Summary: Along the way from childhood to adulthood, the path shifts to ways that are not the most pleasant, but sometimes it is those paths that are the best way to the end. This is a story of one boy's journey and how life twists the path he travels upon.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That much is certain.

(----------)

The Howling Wind

Chapter 1: Twilighted Soul

In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.

-Ellen DeGeneres

(----------)

It was a demon fox; a nine-tailed demon fox.

It was a large, red fox with the power to topple mountains and create tsunamis with a single flick of one of its tails. The destruction done that one day by this one fox is unimaginable. The damage and the death toll put all the wars of the past to shame.

In other words, he was wrecking the place, and he was meeting with little to no resistance.

Well, except the numerous ninjas who were giving it their all to attack the fox and attempt to bring it to its knees. Unfortunately, however, these ninjas weren't doing very much to help the state of the village. In fact, these ninjas were being blown away like oversized dust particles in the wind. One second, a ninja could be launching attacks towards the monstrosity and the next second showed the very same ninja flying through the air along with about 100 others.

Their techniques were being deflected like small pebbles against a mountainside.

Now, there was one thing that these ninjas were doing. And, they were doing it successfully. Unfortunately, it was costing lives by the second to perform. They were distractions. They needed to keep the fox at bay as the final attack is prepared. It was one heck of a gamble. There was a 50-50 chance of this working, and the ninjas hoped that the last shot will finish this.

Because they didn't have a second chance. Whatever they were holding back the Kyûbi for; they knew that the attack had to finish it. If not…

Let's not think about that, okay?

The ninjas heard a loud rumble come from behind them. Some turned quickly just in case it turned out to be another enemy, striking them while they were severely weakened. Though the thought was preposterous due to the fact that no other country would dare attack them knowing the Kyûbi could turn to destroy them as easily as the Konoha ninja. The next thing they saw filled a majority of the ninjas with a relieving breath.

It was merely a flash of red and a gleam from a titan dagger. Their savior had come.

(----------)

The Kyûbi had been defeated. The ninjas that died were buried with great honor. The Will of Flame that was expected from the village of Konoha was spared. The people of the village of Konoha, the leaves themselves, were allowed to live another day.

At the price of one of its brightest embers.

In this village, the leader is called the Hokage. To date, there have been 4 to grace the village with a benevolent rule. The First was known as the seed-spreader of the village; using his own sweat and blood to create a monstrous forest from a wasteland between two other forestlands. The Second was known as the water that fed the village's spirits. This was literal in the sense that the Second was the person who was able to use the waters to feed the trees that were created by the First. After a few years, the ecosystem had become rooted and the forest began to prosper. The Third was known as the Professor; the knowledgeable man who each and every one of the techniques in the village, forbidden or not, provided they were not the property of any other noble family of the village. His rule was a rule based in justice and hope; the structure of the village.

And then, there was the Fourth.

While relatively short compared to the rules of the other three, this particular one based his actions off of the abundant cheer he possessed. Being the leader, his cheer spread to the masses very quickly. He was a legendary man that was known as the Yellow Flash of Konoha, as well as the Yondaime Hokage. He was the very sunlight of the village; the leader who illuminated the village and allowed to prosper through the light he provided. Unfortunately, the fox that attacked stole away the sunlight of the village. And while the structure held steady in the Sunlight's absence, the Sunlight left a gift to the village. While this would have otherwise been a good thing, it wasn't.

It was a new Sunlight. A small child with eyes of blue and locks of gold, the boy was an excellent gift to the masses. It was the sign of new hope; new light.

But, though this new sun was as yellow as the one that passed before, all the leaves saw was a red sun, dangling in the sky, posing a threat to their very existence.

A new, yellow sun; its hue stained by the boiling blood of many.

(----------)

It all started on a day many years after. Usually, days do not have any significant purpose; passing onward with the sands of time as the fires of life are created and destroyed. But, to this day, many people in the village feel that it is significant enough to be excited about. But, unfortunately for them, it wasn't for a positive reason.

But, this story is focusing on a small boy in particular at the moment. This boy has a great amount of pride and arrogance in his ability as a ninja. But to others, the bragging is like a dog with only a bark and not a bite. Ineffective.

His appearance was somewhat…unique. He wore an eye-searing orange jacket with blue highlights speckled around his limbs. His pants were of the same burning color, a ninja's small weapons pouch tied around his right leg. Upon his forehead was a set of goggles; which he personally found useful due to the hobby he pursued. Upon his cheeks, there were a set of whisker-like markings. He had eyes of sapphire blue and hair of the brightest blonde.

However, the stereotype that states that all blondes are stupid did not truly apply to him. If a person were to look closely at his behavior, anyone would notice the advanced ability that he carried. His name: Uzumaki Naruto.

And, as his name implies, he creates chaos wherever he goes.

As it stands right now, Naruto is currently running through the tiled rooftops of Konoha, jumping the gaps with ease, carrying several small, open buckets of paint. He was laughing loudly as he ran, peering back to the "masterpiece" that he created. He began to zigzag through the rooftop roadway as he noticed three ninjas behind him, beginning to give chase. Immediately, they began to create as much of a ruckus as Naruto did as they called after him.

"Naruto, come back here!" they exclaimed, following the quick-footed Naruto through the rooftops. Barely being able to keep up, they continued to roar after him, attempting to apprehend him for what he had done.

What had he done, you ask? He sprayed graffiti upon the rock-face monument that represented the grandeur of the leaders past and present. It was a monument that depicted the faces of the Hokage and showed the majesty and magnitude of the Hokage influence upon the people of Konoha.

And it was covered in latex paint. The faces now depicted the faces after their owners have contracted a nosebleed. By the looks of it, the Hokage were all punched in the nose, as they were all also "crying" lines of blue paint. All the Hokage also had random drawings upon them. The First had a single spiral upon his right cheek; the Second had a small picture which roughly looked like a pile of dog poop on his left cheek and appeared to be making a raspberry due to the fact that his tongue was exposed; the Third had small lines coming out of his eyes, making him appear surprisingly more accurate when compared to the genuine, live, older article, if it wasn't for the fact that there were random drawings of spirals and squiggles upon the rest of his face; and the Fourth had a great amount of paint on his cheeks, both bearing a spiral and random drawings of lines and squiggles that formed nothing in particular.

Needless to say, the ninja population was greatly annoyed by the blonde's antics.

And he was laughing all the way home until a certain chûnin teacher came to capture him. When he did, the people in the immediate area heard a distinct voice.

"What the hell are you doing outside of class, Naruto?!?!"

(----------)

The day began to go downhill from that point, Naruto having to demonstrate his abilities…vividly and the teacher subsequently yelling at the boy for inventing a "stupid skill".

Simply put, it made the user take on the appearance of a woman whose attire cannot even be called "scantily clad". Quite bluntly, whenever the technique was used, a vision of a nude woman would take on the position of the user. The inventor of the technique thought it was genius. After all, the technique has the power to topple a vast majority of the male populace depending on the method of usage. Its name: the Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique). A hilarious reaction was seen in the classroom that day as the teacher flew across the room with a nosebleed. The teacher then proceeded to reprimand the blonde boy for "making up stupid skills" and using the time used to make stupid skills to "study for the graduation test tomorrow, which you have failed three times already, might I add?"

The little boy was then subjected to another punishment; something that he just about expected out of the person who caught him. The catcher's name as well as the mane of the teacher who obtained a complementary flight across the room via the Ero-Express that was Naruto's technique: Umino Iruka. After getting a loud sermon-like scolding after class was back in session, Naruto was given the task of erasing his "piece of art".

"And you're not going home until every last drop of paint is gone!" Iruka yelled from the top of the rock face; looking down upon the orange boy that stood upon a small plank of wood; cleaning off the paint with a small rag and a bucket of water.

"Yeah, whatever," the boy said with his normal arrogant air and with a small, almost undetectable tinge of sorrow; a tinge that was very much unlike him, "It's not like I have anything better to do at home."

Iruka looked down at Naruto and pursed his lips slightly, thinking. Getting a small idea, of how to make the kid feel better, he called out to the boy.

"Hey, Naruto," Iruka said; his voice carrying more compassion than anger. Naruto looked up. He didn't speak; he just looked up. "If you finish cleaning this up before nightfall, I'll treat you to some ramen, okay?"

Naruto's face widened in a grin as Naruto began to rub furiously against the stone.

"YOU GOT IT!" he yelled.

(----------)

One hour and three rags later, Naruto and Iruka were sitting at a small, quaint ramen shop. This particular shop happened to be Naruto's favorite. Ichiraku ramen was "the best ramen in the whole, wide world" as described by Naruto at the age of 9. And, since then, his attitude about the place had not changed. Not only is the ramen quality exceptionally high, the shop was big enough to be easy to spot, yet not too big that too many people would eat there very often. The place thrived due to a steady flow of regular customers and a great deal of recommendations from said regulars to other people of the village.

Naruto was one such regular. In fact, Naruto was there so often, the owners often prepared a bowl just for the boy; extra large since he eats so much in one sitting. Yes, usually, Naruto only had a couple of bowls so that Naruto could pay for it, but when he was treated, the escort made sure they had one heck of a wallet to accommodate for the little boy with the surprisingly huge appetite for the noodle dish. Whenever Naruto visited the shop, whether or not he came in for a meal, things got loud and interesting, just like Naruto was on a daily basis.

"Seconds, please!" Naruto suddenly yelled, making the owner laugh as he clicked his stopwatch to a halt.

"Oh, so close! Missed your last record by 23 seconds!" the middle-aged man yelled as his daughter giggled at the stove, making another batch for their most reliable customer.

"23 seconds, huh?" Naruto asked no one in particular, making a slight, contemplative gesture, "I can beat that!" he yelled as another bowl was placed in front of him.

Iruka chuckled as he watched Naruto cheerfully eating his favorite food, violently pushing aside the urge to make Naruto atop for the sake of his wallet.

About an hour passed, and the laughing died down as a couple customers sat down to dinner in the ramen stand. Naruto, not nearly full yet, did another thing that was severely unlike him. He put down his chopsticks for a moment and removed the goggles from his forehead. Wherever Naruto obtained the goggles, Naruto was not known for taking them off – ever. At this time, the air around the duo of Iruka and Naruto had died down from cheerful to a regularly comfortable silence as Naruto slurped his noodles. Iruka chose this time to confront Naruto about earlier.

"Hey, Naruto," Iruka called as he called for another bowl. Naruto faced Iruka in mid-slurp and cast an acknowledging look. "Why were you doing that to the monument? Don't you know who the Hokage are?"

Swallowing his noodles, Naruto shrugged and answered, "Of course I do! Basically, the people who get the Hokage name are the strongest in the village, right? Among them is the Fourth Hokage, the one who saved the village from a demon fox, right?"

Iruka looked at him strangely. If he knew why the Hokage were to be respected, why did he deface their engraved memory? "Then, why did-?" he started to say as Naruto cut him off.

"Because, I'm going to be Hokage one day. And, when I do, I'm going to surpass them all! Even the Fourth!"

Internally smiling, Iruka moved to continue eating. After today's chase and the great loss of blood from earlier, he was just getting his energy back. It was at this point when Iruka noticed the irregularity that was Naruto's bare forehead.

Looking at Naruto strangely mid-slurp, Iruka cast Naruto a questioning gaze as Naruto faced Iruka. Swallowing his mouthful of noodles, Iruka listened as Naruto spoke.

"Iruka-sensei, I have a favor to ask you."

Looking curiously, Iruka only responded in kind. "What, you want more ramen?" he said jokingly.

Shaking his head, Naruto responded, "No, no, I want to ask you something."

Filled with curiosity, Iruka only pulled an inquisitive look.

Eyes sparkling with excitement, Naruto spoke with a tone that matched, "Can I wear your headband for a moment? I promise I'll give it back! It'll only be a second! Please?!!!"

Softly rolling his eyes, Iruka chuckled towards his craziest student.

"Sorry, Naruto; you'll get your chance to get one of these tomorrow. The headband is a sign that the wearer has become an adult."

"Stingy!!!" Naruto yelled.

Iruka only chuckled as he said, "So, that's why you took off your goggles."

Visually sulking slightly, Naruto quickly held up his bowl. The following exchange was heard soon after.

"Another bowl!"

"What?! You've already had 25 today!"

"Well, at least one record is going to be broken today, isn't it, Naruto?"

(----------)

The next day, the air of the school was filled with tension and excitement. The students of the academy have been waiting years for this chance; some with great excitement; some with great dread.

Naruto, among the students in the class, was one of the students who were filled with excitement. While he was just like the others in the essence of the feeling, he was magnifying this feeling to new levels. Without an outlet for this excitement and the fact that the administration had called for free time before being called for the demonstration part of the exam (there was a written exam, which Naruto grumbled about angrily due to the fact that he didn't know some of the answers) made this time period very annoying for the students in the room, as well as the teachers that were standing watch.

After a well-placed "SHUT UP, NARUTO!!!!" that roared through the building, Naruto was forced to settle down via the hand of a certain teacher.

Eventually, it was Naruto's turn to present. A sigh of relief washed over the people left in the room (which wasn't much since Naruto's last name was late in the alphabet) as Naruto jogged into the examination room. Iruka was sitting at a table with a clipboard in front of him; a stack of headbands at his side, ready to give to the ninjas if they passed the test. Also at the table, there was another teacher; a teacher that Naruto identified as Mizuki.

Iruka scribbled something onto the clipboard and looked up at Naruto.

"Please perform the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)," Iruka stated with an official air. After all, this was a test to elevate the takers to adulthood if they passed.

Naruto gulped. "Damn it," Naruto thought, "Of all the techniques to choose, why the hell did they have to choose the one I'm the WORST at?!"

Taking a deep breath, Naruto prepared to execute the technique. Shutting his eyes tightly, he focused his energy to the places he thought he needed it and began to execute the technique. From the outside, tendrils of energy, called chakra, could be seen circling his body.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called, releasing the pent-up energy into the environment around him, hoping that he got the correct result. Naruto opened his eyes as a large cloud of smoke appeared; a sign of the technique taking place. He looked to his sides; the target of his eyes being the clone that should have come into existence by the execution of the technique. As the smoke cleared, Naruto nervously looked about for his achievement; if he had any. Luckily, to his right, there was one clone in the form of his body.

Unfortunately, it was sprawled upon the ground; looking pale and sickly.

Naruto cringed at the sight of his "creation". Iruka held a look of exasperation.

Naruto was soon bodily thrown by Iruka's subsequent yell.

"YOU FAIL!!!!"

Naruto picked himself off the floor as the other teacher, Mizuki, began to try and bargain something.

"Well, this is his third go-around. And, he did technicallycreate a clone. We could let him pass this time," the silver-haired teacher said.

Naruto held an expectant and excited look as Iruka sat down and switched off the paperwork on his clipboard.

"I'm sorry, Mizuki-sensei. Everyone else made at least three clones while Naruto made only one; a useless one at that."

Naruto glared angrily into Iruka as Iruka looked Naruto straight in the eye.

"I can't let him pass."

(----------)

It was only 30 minutes after the test, but the air had completely changed. When it was tense and heavy earlier due to the test, Naruto was able to join in. Now that the test was over, the people who passed held the proof on their arms, in their hands, around their waists, or one their foreheads. A blue band holding a steel plate with a spiraling symbol of a leaf; the symbol of the village's ninja; was all the proof they needed. They were ninja. They were adults now.

And Naruto wasn't.

Naruto sat on a swing, clutching onto one of the ropes as he looked on to the celebrating children of his class. A group that he wasn't part of.

From afar, out of Naruto's earshot, there was a conversation taking place. Apparently, a couple of people had spotted Naruto's presence on the swing. Naruto wasn't concealing himself, so they were able to point him out easily by simply looking in that direction and seeing the orange clothes that were dampened by the shade of the tree he was under.

"Hey, that kid…" one of them said.

"Yeah, I know. It's that kid. He's the only one that failed," the other said, looking and sneering in Naruto's direction.

Scowling as well, the first person responded with a seething remark. One that would have burned if Naruto had heard it. "Well, that's good. We can have people like him becoming ninja for village, now can we? After all, he is—"

The other person cut her off. "Quiet! We can't talk about that!"

As if Naruto heard this exchange, Naruto covered his eyes with his headband and walked away; leaving a swing swaying by the wind.

Hidden in the crowd, a man in a large red robe (one signifying his position as the Hokage) and a familiar teacher watched the blonde go.

"Iruka, I need to talk to you."

Also hidden in the crowd, another familiar silver-haired teacher watched the back of the blonde boy.

(----------)

Behind his goggles, Naruto showed nothing that would even suggest sorrow. There were no tears, no bloodshot eyes and no swollen tear glands to hide. Even he didn't know why he covered his eyes with his goggles before he left. He just did.

If anything was brought about by the failure of his test, it was a new surge of determination; one that drove to master the technique that has long eluded him. As he walked, his head started to clear. As he head cleared, he thought of what he could do. As he thought, he noticed that his legs were automatically carrying him to a training area; one where he can train in peace.

But, before he could arrive; before he could leave the cobblestone roads of the village to go the training areas, he heard a voice.

"Naruto," a familiar voice said.

As Naruto turned, he saw a familiar patch of silver hair.

"Mizuki-sensei?" he asked.

(----------)

On a random balcony in the village moments later, Naruto watched the sunset as Mizuki spoke.

"Iruka-sensei is a serious person. After his parents were killed in the Kyûbi attack, he's had to do everything himself."

Naruto looked up at Mizuki questioningly. "Then, why does he pick on me?"

Mizuki smiled and faced Naruto. "He probably sees himself in you, Naruto."

Naruto gave Mizuki a small shocked look then looked away as Mizuki continued. "He wants you to grow strong in the real way; the way that is right. Please understand; since you have no parents as well."

A small silence arose a moment later. Mizuki continued to look at Naruto with a small smile. "I still wish I had graduated, though…" Naruto said wistfully.

A small glint appeared within Mizuki's eyes. It only stayed for a split second, then it vanished as he spoke again, getting Naruto's attention.

"Well then, I'll tell you a secret."

(----------)

In the dead of night, Naruto crept slowly through the residential district. Soon, he spotted a house that had become very prominent since the Third's inauguration. Hugging one of the walls of this house with his back, he slowly and carefully moved towards an open window. When he reached it, he quickly jumped in. Sneaking quietly, Naruto moved through the surprisingly big halls of the house of the current Hokage.

"Naruto, what are you doing in my house at this time of night?" a kind, yet stern voice inquired. Naruto basically jumped out of his skin at the sound. Quickly turning, Naruto made a seal with his hands and called out the name of a technique.

"Oiroke no Jutsu!"

A surprised scream was heard from outside the house as Naruto sped off. The Hokage lay in a small pool of his own blood. A small stream originated from his nose as he lay unconscious.

Naruto quickly found the Third's study and sifted through the scrolls quickly until he found a significantly large one. Grinning widely, Naruto jumped out of a nearby window and sped off, using the rooftops as a pathway to the forest.

Panting slightly, Naruto sat and opened the considerably large scroll and began to read it.

"Let's see…the first skill is called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)? Damn it! Why does it start with the technique I suck at?"

(----------)

Time passed; the moon swept across the sky and the Hokage awakened from his unconsciousness. Across the village, a certain teacher lay in bed, thinking about the words that he heard earlier.

"Iruka…"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"I know how you feel about Naruto, but…he is similar to you…"

The teacher continued to think about the event in the past that stole away the lives of both his parents. He recalled the blood, the tension and desperation, and the way he was carried away from his parents as they were sent flying by a mighty red tail.

"No, wait!" he called, "My parents are still there fighting! Take me back!"

The words rung in his head as he thought back.

"Take me back…" Iruka said sorrowfully.

He was then interrupted by a loud set of rapid, urgent knocks on his door. Jumping up quickly, he answered it. Seeing a silver-haired ninja that was familiar to him, Iruka narrowed his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked seriously.

"We must go to Hokage-sama now! Naruto has taken the Forbidden Scroll of Seals as a joke!"

Throwing on his ninja gear, Iruka ran out of his house. Mizuki and Iruka arrived as the ninjas were being dismissed.

"As you know, the Scroll of Seals is a set of forbidden techniques that can cause destruction if used in certain ways. It has been 6 hours since the scroll's theft. Find Naruto as soon as possible!"

(----------)

The ninjas scattered. They all headed in different directions, but only two were en route to where Naruto really was. One was Iruka and the other Mizuki. One was running on a hunch while the other ran on certainty. Their thoughts reflected their intentions.

"If he stole the scroll to learn a technique, I should check the forest. He usually trains in there."

"I'll rally up a few more troops to find Naruto, and then I'll go to the forest and get rid of Naruto. I'll make it look like Naruto ran off with the scroll!"

(----------)

In the forest, there was a clearing. In this specific clearing, there was a small wooden shack; possibly used to store a person's belongings. Also in this clearing, there is a certain blond boy.

Naruto chuckled as he attempted to figure out the puzzle that was the second technique in the scroll. He had mastered the first technique with great difficulty and banged himself up pretty badly in the process. There were stray scratches and cuts all over his body and dirt spots and blood spatters on his clothing. But, on his back, the scroll rested. He basically memorized the seal order and how he was supposed to use the technique. All that was left was to execute it.

As he ran through the seals for the second technique, he tried to direct the chakra into his hands to force out something, but it didn't seem to be working since only a small puff of forced air moved outward. Naruto fell back onto the ground, trying to catch his breath.

Naruto saw something cast a shadow over his body, blocking the moonlight. He looked up and saw the figure of Iruka, quivering in anger.

"I've found you…" Iruka forced out as Naruto jumped up in excitement.

"Hey, it's the nose-bleeder!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Iruka in jest.

"SHUT UP!" Iruka yelled in response.

Iruka calmed down slightly and noticed the random scratches and cuts on Naruto's body. Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head. "Darn, you found me…and I only was able to learn one skill from the scroll."

Iruka rested his hands on his hips and spoke. "Hey, why are you beaten up? What have you been doing?"

Naruto excitedly spoke in response, completely ignoring Iruka's comment. "Never mind that! I'm going to use this great skill I learned and you're going to let me pass, right?!"

Naruto turned away and formed a foreign seal in the shape of a cross as Iruka thought. "So, he was practicing here?" he internally said. "Naruto," he said, making Naruto turn towards him, "where did you get that scroll on your back?"

"Oh, this?" Naruto asked, pointing to his back with a grinning expression, "I heard about this scroll from Mizuki-sensei. He told me about this place, too! He said that if I was able to show you a skill from the scroll, you'd let me graduate!"

Iruka widened his eyes slightly and thought for a moment. A small silence arose from the clearing as Naruto expectantly waited for Iruka to snap out of his thoughts. Iruka narrowed his eyes slightly as he heard a small noise.

It was a small whistling; the whistling that comes from the sound of ninja weapons cutting through the air.

Shoving Naruto violently to the side, Iruka braced himself as a small hail of kunai appeared from the trees. The storm of pointy metal pierced through Iruka, thudding against the shack behind him. Iruka shielded his vitals from harm as he looked to the source.

Up in the trees stood a certain silver-haired ninja; on his body, there was a standard issue forest green vest, exactly like Iruka's. On his forehead was the steel-plated band that was the headband of the village. On his back, there were two large shuriken.

"Nice job finding him before I did, Iruka," Mizuki said with a chuckle as he stood upright.

"So, that's what you're trying to do…" Iruka said dangerously as he reached to grab the kunai embedded in his stomach.

Naruto only was able to be confused at the exchange. He looked rapidly back and forth between Iruka and Mizuki; trying to find out what was going on. It was only when Mizuki spoke that Naruto got the explanation.

"Naruto, give me the scroll," Mizuki said firmly with a crazed look in his eyes. Naruto was still confused as Iruka shouted.

"Naruto, don't give Mizuki the scroll even if it costs you your life!" he yelled as he forcefully yanked out the kunai from his abdomen.

Naruto, still confused, chose to voice his thoughts. "Hey, what the hell is going on here?!!"

"Naruto," Iruka called as he removed another kunai from his body, "that scroll contains powerful and forbidden ninjutsu in it. Mizuki used you to get his hands on it!"

Naruto shot Mizuki a dirty look that basically yelled his thoughts and scattered it to the four winds.

"How dare you use ME?!!?"

Naruto continued to glare as Mizuki chuckled evilly. "Now, now, Iruka; you didn't have to spill the beans, now did you? Since you did, I can spill another secret, am I right?"

Facing towards Naruto, Mizuki continued, "There's no point in you having it, Naruto. I'll tell you why by telling you the truth…"

Whatever this "truth" was, Iruka knew what it was and knew the consequences of its revelation. "No, Mizuki! Don't say it!" Iruka called out.

The shouts fell on deaf ears as Mizuki continued onward with the "truth".

"Naruto, you do know about the incident 12 years ago and the demon fox that was sealed away, right?"

Naruto only shot a puzzled look towards Mizuki, prompting him to continue. Clueless and curious, he continued to listen.

"Since that incident, there was a new rule established in the village…"

"A rule?" Naruto prompted. Iruka's shouts still rang out in the background, but neither Naruto nor Mizuki were listening.

"But, Naruto; this rule was not meant to be told to you."

"Wait, what? What's this rule?! Why wasn't it told to me?!"

Mizuki chuckled evilly once more. Naruto, still confused, looked on in puzzlement, waiting for the response to his question. A devious glint appeared within Mizuki's eyes as he finally responded.

"The rule states that no one is to speak of the fact that you are the demon fox."

The curiosity that filled Naruto moments before was filled with utter shock. Iruka let out a final yell, but this too fell on deaf ears. Mizuki added salt to the wound by continuing with an explanation.

"It means that you, Uzumaki Naruto, are the demon fox. The demon that killed Iruka's parents as it did so many others 12 years ago; the demon the destroyed the village and reduced most of it to shambles. By the Hokage you admire, you were sealed away. And by this law, you were lied to by everyone!!!!"

Pulling off one of the large shuriken on his back, Mizuki continued as he spun the deadly steel ring dangerously.

"Didn't you find it odd that the villagers all seemed to hate you? Didn't you feel that there was something hidden from your eyes while it seemed so obvious to everyone else?"

The wind began to howl around Naruto as the sound of the shuriken grew louder. As he prepared to throw the shuriken, Mizuki finished his statement.

"Iruka is the same! Deep down, he actually hates you!"

Naruto began to do the first thing he thought of. Clenching his eyes shut, he began to charge up his chakra. Tendrils of blue surrounded him as he focused the energy to nowhere in particular. His mind was so cloudy; he could not even come up with a technique to use. Clueless to his surroundings, he didn't notice the final yell from Mizuki followed by the sound of cutting air; the sound of the shuriken racing towards him.

Naruto could feel himself being pushed away. The sound of cut flesh and a spurt of blood were heard a moment later. He then felt the distinct splash of tears on his skin as well as the feel of dripping blood. He could also feel a presence above him.

Opening his eyes, he sees the face of Iruka smiling at him softly.

"Why…?" Naruto prompted.

"Because," Iruka began with a groan, "I was never acknowledged after my parents' death. No one was there to do so. It was so painful…"

Naruto continued to look with a look of awe as Iruka continued, "And so, I started to act like an idiot to get other people's attention since I wasn't good at anything else. But, after the small instances, the pain came back. It was so very painful…"

Naruto felt more tears on his skin. "You must have been suffering, too. If I had done a better job, you would have never had to experience this pain. I'm sorry, Naruto…"

Naruto suddenly felt the urge to run. The cloudy storm that was the torrent of his thoughts was raging in full blast. All he knew was that something was going to happen. And, when it did happen, he didn't want to be around…

As he ran, he heard an exchange between Iruka and Mizuki.

"You saw those eyes, right? Those were the eyes of a demon."

Iruka chuckled softy. "You need to look closer, then. I saw the eyes of an innocent boy."

Mizuki grunted in response. "No matter; I'll kill Naruto, get the scroll, and come back for you later."

Naruto only ran faster.

(----------)

He had been running for about an hour, now. He heard Iruka's voice telling "Naruto" to give him the scroll, but it turned out to be Mizuki disguised as Iruka and Iruka disguised as Naruto. Iruka was now leaning on a tree and Mizuki was wiping off a speck of blood from his chin.

Hiding behind a tree, Naruto listened in on the conversation.

"You'd transform into the thing that killed your parents to save its life?" Mizuki asked in confusion and arrogance.

"What about it?" Iruka asked in response.

"Now, on a more serious note," Mizuki started, "Where's the scroll?!"

Iruka only chuckled softly. "I wouldn't give the scroll to an idiot like you."

Mizuki shook his head. "Moron; don't you realize that Naruto and I are similar?"

"Similar, you say?" Iruka asked; the chuckling smile vanishing from his face.

"By using the skill sin the scroll, the user can do whatever they want," Mizuki said with a devious grin, "a demon fox can't resist using that kind of power."

Sighing, Iruka spoke, "That's true…"

Behind his tree, Naruto felt the sudden, yet slowly moving jolt of disappointment. While he had felt this kind of disappointment in the past, it was never this severe. This was understandable, seeing as the one person that acknowledged him as a person was agreeing with the person calling him a demon, and therefore defying his existence as a human being.

"Damn; even Iruka-sensei doesn't acknowledge me…"

"A demon would use the scroll to further its own means. But Naruto is different."

This phrase made Naruto snap his head upward in shock; the disappointment quickly being seared away by Iruka's words.

"He is one of my best students…"

Naruto felt a smile stretch across his face as Iruka gently corrected Mizuki's remarks.

"He may not be the hardest worker or the most popular, but he already knows the pain of neglect."

Naruto turned away. For some reason, he didn't want them to detect his joy at Iruka's remarks. It was as if Naruto felt that if he let them know, they would stop. He wanted them to last as long as possible.

"And, the last time I checked, demons don't have feelings. If that's true, he's not the demon fox anymore. He is a great member of this village. He is Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto sighed, as if letting out a breath that was held for the longest time. It was near silent, but it was the only indication past the tears rolling down his features that reflected his joyful thought.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei…"

"Yeah, sure he is," Mizuki said sarcastically. Naruto quickly moved to see what was going on. Mizuki was holding his second shuriken, ready to throw it. He spun it dangerously as he spoke again.

"I thought about sparing you for the last kill of the night, but I've changed my mind. Now…"

Naruto gasped as Mizuki lunged forward. He could feel something snap within him as he moved to jump up. Iruka was far too injured to dodge.

"So, this is the end…"

Closing his eyes, Iruka listened to his surroundings for what he thought was his last time. He heard the rustle of trees, the whirr of the spinning shuriken, and finally a blunt impact.

The last sound made Iruka open his eyes suddenly. At that moment, an orange blur seemed to have kneed Mizuki in the chin, making him drop the shuriken. The large shuriken sailed into the trees above as Mizuki hit the ground hard. Naruto ground his way to a halt. Standing up slowly, carrying the scroll at his side, Naruto let in one deep breath. Iruka still looked on in horror.

"Naruto; you idiot; run away!!! Why did you come out?!"

These statements fell on deaf ears as Naruto continued to stand up to Mizuki.

"You, know, now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if Iruka-sensei did hate me. But, if that were true, it wouldn't be because of the fox," a stern, calm voice stated. Mizuki looked to the source and saw Naruto's calm, yet stone-cold face. "Don't touch Iruka-sensei. Your fight is with me. If you try and target him, I'll kill you." The eerie voice made its point many times more effectively than the loudest shout. However, Mizuki only reared back for a moment before combating Naruto's statement with a statement of his own.

"You should not have done that, demon. I'll kill you in ONE SHOT!!!"

Performing a foreign, cross-shaped seal, Naruto continued to speak in his calm voice. "I'd like to see you try it."

Small tendrils appeared around Naruto's body as he began to elevate his voice to a yell.

"I'll return the pain A THOUSAND TIMES OVER!!!"

An enormous cloud of smoke appeared a moment later, temporarily blinding Mizuki and Iruka. They heard small rustles in the trees around them followed by a yell that seemed to come from everywhere.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!!!"

As the yell died down, the smoke began to clear. Both ninja were appalled by the sight they saw next.

The forest landscape had been painted orange. In every direction, there were at least 20 Naruto clones. On the ground, there were at least 500. In the trees, it was likewise. Mizuki suddenly found himself in a horrid position.

There was nowhere to run to.

"What's wrong?" at least a thousand similar voices taunted, "I thought you were going to kill me in one shot!"

Mizuki fell over in shock as all the clones proceeded to move closer to him.

"Well, if you're not going to do anything, I guess I'll have to start off!" all the clones yelled in unison.

The screams from the forest did not cease until sunrise.

(----------)

Mizuki now lay beaten and bloody before Iruka. Still leaning on the tree, Iruka watched as the clones began to vanish, their job completed. Iruka smirked slightly.

"Wow, he really did divide into 1000. No, more than a thousand. They weren't illusions, either. They were flesh and blood clones produced by the high level ninjutsu, Kage Bunshin. He may really surpass all the Hokage," Iruka thought as Naruto chuckled in front of him.

Scratching his head nervously and pointing towards the beaten body of Mizuki, he only said one phrase.

"I guess I overdid it a little…"

Iruka only smiled before...

"Naruto, come here for a second," he said.

(----------)

A rustle of something being removed, the feeling of his goggles being removed, and the feeling that something was put in its place was perceived by Naruto while his eyes were closed.

"Can I open my eyes, yet?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"No, not yet," Naruto heard as he felt something being tightened on his head.

After a little adjustment of the thing on his forehead, Naruto heard Iruka speak.

"Okay; now you can open your eyes."

Naruto didn't see anything new. In fact, something seemed to be missing. Naruto saw Iruka's smiling face, but his forehead was bare. Naruto reached up to his forehead slowly and felt a cloth band. He reached up further and felt the clod metal plate. Engraved in the pate was a spiral pattern in the shape of a leaf. He dropped his hand and looked at Naruto in shock.

"Congratulations; you pass!"

Naruto chuckled and gave an awkward smile. Iruka grinned while suggesting a visit to the ramen shop. But, for the last time that morning, the statement fell on deaf ears…

…as Naruto tackled the teacher in a bear hug.

(----------)

A/N: Good? Bad? Tell me. I really want to know. I'm aware that a majority of this chapter is a direct copy of the events in the anime/manga with detail added on my part to make it more real in the eyes of the reader since there are no pictures in plain text past the internal images that are gathered by reading, but I needed to get it down as a baseline first. One of the only differences thus far is the fact that I shortened the Kyûbi revelation scene. You'll start to see better differences in the next chapter, I promise.

Please review and don't hold back.