Demon of the Hidden Leaf

A/N: This is just an idea I've had on my mind for a while. It's a one-shot, but if I get a lot of positive feedback, I may choose to continue it. Please comment on what you think of it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto and will never be mine, so don't sue me since I own nothing!

Remember to Review!

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Prologue: Judgement

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, walked down the halls of the Hokage mansion where the Konoha Council meeting was to be held. Two days had passed now since the Kyuubi's attack. Two days since the Bijuu had been sealed into Naruto. Two days since Konoha had lost it's greatest hero. An appointment which had been greeted with such happiness by the village only weeks earlier, now found itself in shock as it attempted to recover from the lost. Even now, Hiruzen wondered how things might've been different if he had arrived sooner to help Minato and Kushina.

Hiruzen walked slowly as he entered into the council chambers and sat down at the table where the rest of the council was at. In respect of his position and title, everyone stood and only took their seats after he had. Seeing that all the members had arrived, Hiruzen called the meeting to order. "This meeting is now in session. I believe the first order of business here should be the matter of Minato's successor as Hokage. Do I have any nominations?"

Silence met the aged leader. His old teammate and advisor, Homura Mitokado, was the first to speak up. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say that Konoha is not ready to select a new Hokage. I can't think of a ninja in Minato's generation capable of surpassing him at the moment and to simply place someone in the position out of necessity would make the village look weak and vulnerable." The rest of the shinobi seated nodded their heads in agreement.

"I agree," Hiruzen's other teammate, Koharu Utatane stated. "For now, I believe the best option would be to reinstate Hiruzen as Hokage. He has served us well as our leader in the past and until we find a suitable successor, he should continue to do so. Are there any objections?" When none were heard, everyone looked toward the old man for his response.

The Third breathed deeply into his pipe. "Very well then, I will continue to be Hokage until we find a new leader that truly possesses the Will of Fire and the strength and abilities required of a Hokage." He said, agreeing to the proposal. A sigh of relief was felt throughout the room. One problem was now out of the way and done with.

"I'm glad that we've solved the problem of who will continue to lead the village," A voice from the back of the table spoke up, "The issue of what to do with Konoha's Jinchuriki remains however. I ask you now Hiruzen, what will become of Naruto Uzumaki?"

The aged ninja sighed, knowing that he would have had to confront this issue and man sooner or later. "For now Danzo, I intend to place the boy under my protection until he grows old enough to take care of and think for himself. After that, I will let him choose what his destiny will be in the village, including whether or not to become a shinobi."

A murmur arose from the different members, which Danzo quickly took advantage of. "Bah! You have always been too soft on matters such as these my old friend." He spoke in a firm, commanding voice. "A Jinchuriki is meant to be used as a weapon of the village and should be treated as such. To take matters like this lightly would only be a potential danger and hazard to Konoha!" Several members seated nodded, giving their consent to Danzo.

Hiruzen frowned. "I do not take this matter lightly Danzo and you know I have always had the village's best interests at heart. But I will also not allow Naruto to be misused and abused like he is nothing more than some sort of tool!" He relied angrily, "The Fourth wished for Naruto to be remembered as a hero, and I think I can best honor that wish by granting him the potential to lead his own life where he can make decisions for himself!" A few more members clapped and nodded in approvement, while others still continued to shake their heads and frown.

"Do you really think that is going to happen?" Danzo shot back, "You speak as if you are doing the best thing in the world for him, but I know what will happen in reality." He continued on, in a wise, foreseeing voice. "He will be scorned, rejected, and cast out by society. He will grow up feared and hated by those his age, which will simply cause him to become emotionally damaged and hate and fear those around him. In the process, this will simply heighten the risks and dangers of him loosing control of the Kyuubi and its destructive powers."

"I have already thought up a solution for that." Hiruzen rebutted, "As of now, all shinobi and civilians are forbidden to speak of Naruto's burden to their children and those at Naruto's age. This will allow him to grow up and interact with them without the preconceived fear of knowing what he is."

"Do you really think that will work?" Danzo sneered, "Their parents will simply shove their fears and hatred onto the children's shoulders. Try as you like, but nothing you do can replace the hatred the villagers have for fox and the tragedies that occurred because of it." Then Danzo's eyes narrowed, his voice deepening. "There is a solution to all of this however. Give me the boy. I will put him into ROOT, train him, and make him worthy of containing the strongest of all the Bijuu!"

"I will not allow it!" Hiruzen yelled, "As the Hokage, I use my power to reject this solution and all forms of it!"

"That may be true, but you know if a majority of the Konoha Council sides against the Hokage on a decision, it can be overturned." Danzo retorted matter-of-factly, "I hereby call on the Council to vote on this matter and give their voice on what should be done."

Going around the room, the different members each proceeded to give their opinions. Jonin Commander Shikaku Nara spoke first. "We cannot give into radical solutions at this time when the village must hold true to it's values at all costs. I vote no."

Choza Akimichi spoke next. "I side with you my old friend. I vote no also."

The final member of the trio, Inoichi Yamanaka shook his head. "I am sorry, but I cannot side with you in this decision. I will not risk my clan being hurt any further by the Fox. I vote yes."

Hiashi Hyuga nodded in agreement. "My thoughts mirror Inoichi's exactly. I vote yes as well."

"The hell with both of you!" Tsume Inuzuka yelled angrily, "I ain't gonna be sending off a baby to be one of Danzo's warped little minions! My vote is no!"

"I vote no." Shibi Aburame repeated quietly.

"I believe my answer is obvious." Danzo stated, as his turn came. "I vote yes."

"I am afraid I side with Danzo in this matter Hiruzen." Koharu said sadly. "The risks are just too great I'm afraid. I vote yes."

"I am going to have to disagree on this as well my friend." Homura continued. "I will have to cast my vote as yes."

"Hmph," Hiruzen grunted, "I vote no. With 5 votes yes and 5 votes no, the decision then falls to Fugaku as the tie-breaker." Inside, Hiruzen smiled to himself. In the past, Fugaku had always sided with him on issues such as these. With his support, Naruto would be able to safely grow up in an environment free from Danzo's influence.

"I have heard all of your arguments for and against this plan." The Uchiha clan leader began, "And after hearing all of them I will give my answer on what I believe should be done about the boy. My final vote...is yes."

A stunned silence filled the room. Even though everyone had cast their vote on what they believed should be done, no one had been expecting Fugaku to turn on Hiruzen in the end. A smile broke across Danzo's features. "I see that I appear to have won. In that case, I will be taking the boy immediately to ROOT headquarters." He stated smugly.

"Danzo please!" The Third begged, "He's barely a day old! Don't destroy this boy's life! Minato would've—"

"—Minato is not here. The Council has given it's decision and as such you are required to uphold it. I believe this meeting is concluded then?" he asked. Hiruzen just sat in his seat, unable to speak or move. Seeing he had won, Danzo turned and walked out of the room to collect his new pupil. One by one, the Council members left, a grim look on all of their faces, even the ones who had supported Danzo.

After they'd all left, Hiruzen continued to sit motionless in the dark. A single tear rolled down his wrinkled, old cheek. 'Minato, Kushina, I'm so sorry.' He thought to himself. 'What have I done?'

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Years passed. Danzo took the boy as he had said he would and quickly raised him on nothing but ROOT doctrine. He trained him personally, putting him through rigorous courses and exercises even the most hardcore shinobi might frown upon. In time, Naruto grew up becoming strong and devoid of any emotion other than loyalty to his master and his ideals. As his prowess improved, so did his reputation in Konoha and the lands surrounding it. Eventually, they came to call him the Demon of the Hidden Leaf, both for the burden he carried and the ruthlessness in which he performed his missions.

However, very few people knew who he was or what he actually looked liked in reality. Since the villagers were forbidden to speak of Naruto or the Kyuubi to their children, he became something of an icon to them. Some said he was seven feet tall and carried a sword twice his size, while others said that he was simply a successful ninja who was simply misunderstood and rejected by society. All of this simply played into Danzo's hands, who planned to use the reputation of his subordinate to further his own plans for power.

But then, twelve years later, something happened that Danzo did not expect. Hiruzen succeeded in having the Council disband ROOT as an official branch of the ANBU Black Ops. As of now, all of it's members would be reassigned to different positions directly by the Hokage himself. It was because of this new law that Danzo now stood in his base underneath Konoha as a young, blond boy approached him, kneeling on one knee.

"You summoned me, Danzo-sama. What is my next mission?" He asked in an adolescent, monotone voice.

"As of now, the Foundation is being broken up under the order of the Hokage himself." The old shinobi answered, "All ROOT members are being transferred to different assignments suited to their various skills. This includes you Kitsune."

"Then what is my assignment?" The boy, codenamed 'Kitsune', asked again.

Danzo frowned in response. "The Hokage had decided that it would be best if you were sorted into a Genin team from the academy under the direction of a Jounin sensei. You are to go and meet with him after this to receive further instruction on how this will take place. Until the time comes when we take back Konoha under our control, you will treat this like any other mission you have recieved."

"Very well Danzo-sama." The boy nodded, "I will leave at once." As he turned to leave, his leader spoke once more.

"There is one other thing. For this mission you will not be using codenames. Instead you will use your real one."

For the first time, a surprised look came over the blonde's face. "My...real name?" he asked in a confused tone.

"Yes," Danzo replied, "From now on, you will no longer be known as Kitsune. Instead, you will be known by the name you were given at birth, Naruto Uzumaki."

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The Third Hokage sat in his desk, feeling better than he had in years. 'Finally,' he thought to himself, 'I have a chance to break Naruto free from Danzo's hold! I only hope it isn't too late.' Just then, the door opened a crack, and the same individual he was just now thinking of walked into his office.

"Naruto!" he said in a happy tone. As he spoke his name, the boy seemed to be caught slightly off guard for a minute, only to return to his emotionless expression moments later. "How are you my boy?"

"I am fine Hokage-same." He responded, "What are your instructions for me concerning my mission?"

"This isn't a mission Naruto." The Third answered in a kind voice, "Being part of a squad is privilege and testament to the skills you have demonstrated in the past. It will be a chance for you to work with others of different abilities and create lifelong friendships in the process." As he spoke these words, Naruto's face remained unchanged. The Third sighed to himself, this was going to be harder than he originally thought. "You will report here tomorrow morning where you will be photographed and your files inserted into the academy records. At noon, you will head to the school where you will be told of who your team will be."

Naruto nodded, understanding his orders. "Where will my quarters be at now that I am no longer part of ROOT?"

"Ah, yes. I've arranged for you to have an apartment nearby. If you would follow me..."

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A few hours later, the two walked into the apartment as the Third opened the door, coughing as dust flew out. "It is a bit dusty, but it has all the essentials you will need and with a bit of spit shine I'm sure you could clean up the old place." He said in an encouraging tone.

"What is 'spit shine'?"

Hiruzen sweatdropped in response. 'This might take a while.' Smiling quickly, he brushed off the comment. "It doesn't matter. Just tidy up the place as you see fit, get plenty of rest, and remember to report to my office tommorrow morning. That is all for now." With those remarks, he turned and walked outside, praying that his plan would be a success.

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The day just would not seem to end for the old man however. As night fell, Hiruzen received a report that one of the instructors at the academy, Mizuki, had stolen the Scroll of Seals and was now trying to escape the village with it. The Third quickly ordered all available ninjas to pursue him and retrieve the Scroll at all costs. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could mean disaster for the village.

One ninja in particular had been chasing after Mizuki relentlessly throughout the night. Iruka Umino had been friends with Mizuki since childhood and was now determined to get an answer for why he was doing this. As he jumped through the trees, he saw his old friend come into sight. "Mizuki!" he yelled, "Stop!" To his surprise, the ninja did as he turned around to face him.

"Oh, it's you Iruka. Don't tell me you were actually planning on stopping me." The silver haired ninja sneered.

"Why are you doing this?" Iruka asked angrily, "You've betrayed your friends and your village! Don't you realize the consequences for what you've done could have you imprisoned or worse?"

Mizuki just shook his head in response. "Iruka you fool, I've known all along what it is I'm doing. I've been planning it for sometime and soon this Scroll will belong to my master. I don't care about this stupid village or it's traditions. All I want is power and before long I will have it now!" With those remarks, he quickly pulled out a kunai which he threw directly at his former friend. The weapon buried itself in his chest as it's victim looked down.

Iruka then began speaking. "When I heard you'd stolen the Scroll of Seals, I couldn't believe it. Now that I've seen it for myself, I guess I have no choice but to take you down." Suddenly, Iruka vanished in a poof of smoke, a wooden stump taking his place instead.

'Substitution!' Mizuki realized, 'Then where is—' He jumped aside a moment later as a huge shuriken came racing towards him from behind. "Not bad Iruka," The shinobi congratulated, "I've gotta give you credit for coming prepared. Now I can take you on with my full strength."

"Just try it!" Iruka shot back, as he jumped forward and stabbed with his kunai. Mizuki dodged and threw several small shuriken in response, forcing his opponent to backpedal away from him. Then, pulling the kunai out from the stump and another from his pocket, he charged forward blitzing Iruka with a flurry of blades. The Konoha ninja tried to block them, only to find that he was quickly outmatched. After being slashed several times, he threw a out a smoke bomb, giving him time to jump to the ground floor.

"It's no use," Iruka said to himself panting, "He's way stronger than I am. I have to hold out until backup arrives." He had no time to catch his breath however, as a kunai quickly flew pass his ear, nicking it in the process. 'Whew, that was a close one.' The Chunin thought to himself. However, Iruka then heard a strangely familiar noise behind him. Realizing what it was, he jumped backwards a second too late, getting caught in the explosion that followed. The ninja fell to the ground burnt and beat up as his enemy jumped down to face him.

"A good try Iruka, but in the end not good enough." Mizuki taunted as he raised his kunai to end Iruka's life. As the teacher braced himself for death however, he realized seconds later that he was still alive. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see a sword imbedded in his opponents chest from behind. He fell forward, landing next to Iruka as blood poured from the wound in his chest. But the Chunin's eyes weren't focused on Mizuki. Instead, they were focused on his rescuer standing in front of him.

It was a young blond shinobi, about the age of one of his students, wearing a Konoha forehead protector and a strange uniform he had never seen before. He was carrying a sword in his hand, which Iruka immediately classified as a wakizashi. But his most striking feature was his face. It was devoid of any expression at all for what had just happened and was complemented by three strange whisker marks on either sides of his cheeks.

At that moment, Iruka realized the boy was speaking to him. "Are you all right?" he asked in a monotone voice.

"Ye-yes, I'm fine." Iruka answered, "But, Mizuki is he—"

"—dead? No, I missed his vital organs on purpose so that he could be properly interrogated by ANBU."

"But—what are you doing here?" Iruka asked in a concerned voice, "You're too young to be out doing this sort of work. You could've been killed!"

"I doubt it." The boy replied, "This man was quite weak in terms of Chunin standards. It's highly unlikely that he would be able to beat me."

At that moment, several shinobi arrived on the scene. A man wearing an ANBU Dog mask came forward and approached Iruka. "What happened here?" he questioned in a commanding voice.

"I tried to stop Mizuki on my own, but was unable to do so." Iruka explained. "I would've been killed if our young friend here hadn't intervened."

"And what exactly are you doing here?" The man asked the boy in a suspicious tone.

"The Hokage requested all available ninjas to pursue Mizuki and retrieve him at all costs. I followed his orders and retrieved him as commanded." The boy answered, his expression unchanged.

"Hmph," The ANBU snorted, "Well, you can leave now. Your help is no longer required."

"As you wish." Then, with a blur he was gone.

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Later in the night, Iruka sat in the Hokage's office going over what had happened. Mizuki was currently being held by the ANBU interrogation squad who were investigating what he knew. The Scroll of Seals had been safely returned and was now under heavy guard. But none of these things mattered to Iruka at the moment, since his questions were focused on another topic entirely.

"Hokage-same," Iruka began, "Who was that boy? He wasn't a member of any class in the academy that I know of, yet he clearly was well-trained as a ninja."

"The boy in question is Naruto Uzumaki." The Third explained, "As for why you did not know who he was or who taught him, it was because he was raised and trained by ROOT."

"ROOT?" Iruka repeated, "Well that would explain things, but shouldn't he be on some top secret mission or something?"

"On the contrary, he is the new transfer student being assigned to your class."

Iruka jawdropped, "WHAT? That boy was able to take out Mizuki with ease and you want to put him on a team of untrained Genins? What on earth would make you want to do this?"

A sad look crossed Hiruzen's face, "It is because he is the container of the Kyuubi Kitsune."

Iruka's jaw fell even lower, as an angry look crossed his face. "I don't believe this! When were you planning on telling me that two of my students would be grouped with a monster? I will not allow sir! It's far too dangerous!"

"Iruka," the Third interjected, "I wish to tell you something. Did you know that before the Yondaime died, he wished for Naruto to be remembered as a hero by the village? I tried to honor his wishes, but instead I allowed for him to be taken by Danzo and be turned into his mindless servant. The reason I am doing this is because I am trying to give the Naruto the chance he deserves to become his own person and rule his own life. Is it really wrong to want to give a boy a second chance who was innocent of any wrongdoing in the first place?"

A silence filled the office. Iruka bowed his head forward, ashamed of what he had said earlier. "I am sorry Hokage-sama. I spoke out of turn. I see now the reasons why you are doing this and it was wrong of me to think I knew better. Please forgive me." He apologized.

"It is all right Iruka. You're reaction simply shows how much you care for you're students well-being." Hiruzen told him kindly as he smoked on his pipe, "I have set the pieces in motion and now we must simply wait and watch for what the future will bring." At that moment, a knock was heard on the door. "Come in." The Third called out.

Inside walked Ibiki Morino, the head of ANBU's Interrogation and Torture Force. He bowed respectfully before speaking, "I have come to report on the information we have gained from Mizuki, Hokage-sama."

"Very good." The elderly man replied, "Iruka, I belive it is time you went home and got some rest. You have a big day tommorow and will need to be ready for it."

"Right." Iruka nodded, getting the hint. "Thank you again for everything you've told me. It's given me a lot to think on." With that, the academy instructor turned and walked out of the office closing the door behind him. Seeing that they were alone, the Third motioned for Ibiki to speak.

"We extracted the information from Mizuki rather easily with the help of the Yamanaka clan." Ibiki reported, "What we found was disturbing however. It appears that he was working to bring the Scroll back to Orochimaru."

The Hokage's eyes widened. "Did you discover any hint of where he might be located at?"

"No," Ibiki answered, shaking his head. "He covered his tracks too well for that. I'm afraid we were unable to gain anything else."

Hiruzen sighed, "Very well then. Please continue to try and gather what information you can from Mizuki. You are dismissed." Ibiki bowed once more before turning to leave the office. As he left, the old teacher pondered on what his former student was up to. Whatever it was, he was positive that it would not be anything good for Konohagakure.

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