Hey there, Ookami88 here, and this is my another Naruto story!

I decided to take brown phantom's Hidden Bloodline Challange and think of an original Kekkei Genkai for Naruto that would not overpower him, but benefit him gradually as he learns to control it. I plan to make many twists in this story, some known from other authors (either very common in use, or with the permission from the original creators), and some original. But mostly I'll stick with what we know from canon as I don't have an imagination rich enough to think off a completely new plot.

Also I need to rest my mind of the smut I'm currently writing, "Clash of Missions". It's so hard to make new sexual scenes without going overboard and keep up a decent plot... I have to rest and relax with a story that won't need a lemon in every chapter!

Pairings aren't definite, other than NaruHina (my fav and a requirement for brown phantom's challange rules). And don't expect the two of them being a couple right off the bat! I think that stories making Naruto and Hinata dating in the first three chapter are somewhat unrealistic. It'll start slowly (not as slow as Kishimoto however) but I'll have them paired after the Chuunin Exams at the latest!

I want to thank Chewie Cookies for being a great help with this story and for being my Beta. You're awesome Chewie!

Like I explained to someone in my other story, I'll be translating the unknown Japanese words and names of jutsu on the go. It's easier and faster that way than making an index at the end of each chapter. Hope you don't mind that.

Now without any more stalling on to the story!

Uzumaki Naruto was running through the forest. The young boy had a large scroll tied to his back. Even though the orange jumpsuit he wore stood out like a sore thumb, Naruto wasn't spotted even once during his neck breaking escape from the Hokage Tower. Despite being called idiot and a dead-last in almost everything at the Academy, there was one skill that Naruto brought to the level of art: stealth.

'Hope Jiji won't be too mad at me for taking this scroll. But he sure is an old lecher!' Naruto giggled mischievously as thought of how his original Oiroke no Jutsu brought the great Sandaime Hokage down with a big nosebleed. 'I'll go to this clearing I found a couple of days ago. Nobody should be able to find me before I learn some new jutsu! Then like Mizuki-sensei said, I'll graduate with everyone!'

After strengthening his resolve, Naruto looked forward to take the first step to achieve his dreams. Unbeknownst to him this little, at least in his mind, offense threw the whole village into uproar.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed heavily, hearing all the gathered ninjas' shouts of anger.

"Hokage-sama, we cannot let this slide by as a prank!"

"He crossed the line this time!"

"We must stop him before he harms the village!"

"We never should have trusted him!"

"SILENCE!" Sandaime's booming voice of authority drastically cut off any further comments. "Naruto took the Scroll of Sealing! The seals there are very dangerous and I'm afraid of what could happen if the boy attempts to use any of them." The old Hokage looked at his shinobi with seriousness that was last seen during Kyuubi's attack. "Find Naruto and the Scroll! No harm shall befall him until he's brought before me! NOW GO!" Immediately after receiving their orders, all the gathered ninja vanished to search the boy.

Hiruzen himself was very worried about the hyperactive blond. He thought of the boy like his own grandson, but sometimes he thought that as the Hokage, he could do more for Naruto. Unfortunately, both the Council and never-ending paperwork prevented Sarutobi from doing anything more than what was already done.

'Please Naruto, don't do anything stupid.' Turning back towards his tower, the Third Hokage went to his office, where he activated a very special crystal ball that rested on his desk.

Umino Iruka lied on his bed in his small apartment. He was thinking about today's graduation test and how Naruto was crushed when his Bunshin no Jutsu didn't work like it should have. The look of utter disappointment on his student's face hunted the young Academy teacher almost as much as the nightmares of his parents' deaths. Even if he was a troublemaker and made the teaching a real hell, Iruka liked Naruto. He saw much of his own past when he looked at Naruto, and that was one of the reasons why Iruka managed to see past the young boy's curse.

Still, the nightmares from the night when his parents died were coming back. It was hard for the young teacher to balance his professionalism with the orphan kinship he felt towards Naruto, and his hate for the Kyuubi.

Words of Sandaime Hokage, after the graduation ceremony, played in his head.

"Iruka, Naruto is like you. He's ignored by the most of the villagers, starved for attention and jealous towards other children who have parents. Because of his burden, the adults managed to prevent him from making any real friends. That is when Naruto's pranking drive began. He desires any kind of attention, even if it's only negative. It's always better than being thought you don't exist."

It was true that those pranks brought many troubles upon the blond boy and angered many people, the Hokage Monument being a fine example, but after Iruka heard Sandaime's reasoning for it, it all made sense to him. After all, he was like that himself after the death of his parents.

Sudden knocking brought Iruka out of his musings. He went to open them only to find Mizuki, his co-teacher at the Academy, standing there panting slightly.

"What is it, Mizuki?"

"It's Naruto! He took the Scroll of Sealing!" Mizuki's voice made Iruka very worried.

"What? How could this happen?" Iruka couldn't even dare to think of the consequences of this situation.

"I don't know, but Hokage-sama ordered all the Chuunin to find and bring Naruto back with the Scroll! We must hurry!"

Iruka quickly put on his Chuunin vest and sandals, not even bothering with locking his apartment door. There was no time left. He had to find Naruto before anyone else could!

"Let's go!"

"Let's see what jutsu are here...eto...Tajuu Kage Bunshin (Multiple Shadow Clones)...Gha! Why does it have to be a Bunshin? That's my worst ability!" Naruto exclaimed as he read the Scroll of Sealing.

Currently, the young blond was sitting under a massive tree. A couple feet from him, there was a small abandoned hut, and farther from there was a stream. All in all, this place was pretty secure for a hideout. Naruto stumbled upon the clearing after one of his pranks went a little out of hand and he was chased by an angry ninja, who earlier was hit by a balloon with pink paint. After that incident the Uzumaki boy always came here after his biggest pranks to wait until everything calms down.

Not paying attention to anything around him, Naruto's clumsiness got him a cut on his forefinger from the edge of the scroll. A small drop of blood fell at something that resembled a whirlpool in shape but also had many strange characters around it. Once the drop touched the black ink a puff of smoke brought the boy's attention.

"What the heck?" A round object fell out of the strange picture. Naruto picked it up to look closer at it. "What do we have here...?"

It was a beautiful dark blue orb. Inside it appeared to have some kind of swirl that the young student thought that looked like a whirlpool of small stars...

Suddenly the orb shined with a bright light and Naruto felt it starting to steadily get warmer and finally it began to burn his hand. The orb suddenly flew out of the boy's hand and hung before his eyes, shining brighter with each passing second.

Naruto was scared; he didn't know what to do! What if this orb is some special security of the Scroll, programmed to kill anyone who stole it? What if it was some kind of treasure of the previous Hokage, too dangerous for other ninja to use? What if it was a souvenir of the Daimyo, bought in some foreign country, worth millions?

His frantic thoughts were interrupted when he felt a pulse emanating from the orb. It glowed again for a few more seconds before hitting Naruto in the center of his chest. The blonde felt warmth spreading through his body at first but soon enough it became an unbearable heat. The Uzumaki boy felt heavy, his head pounded and he felt like his veins were on fire. Naruto never registered that dark marks started to appear on his skin, entwining his torso, arms and legs, before settling down, sinking into his skin, and then fading away.

Groaning from a monstrous headache, Naruto woke up and managed to sit up straight, not even remembering when he fell over. Shaking himself out of whatever happened to him he looked at the Scroll of Sealing that was lying two feet from him.

"What the...?" Trying to ignore both the headache and soreness of his stiff muscles, Naruto grabbed the Scroll to read about Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He already forgot about the orb and other weird things.

'Where are you Naruto?' Iruka panicked as he ran through the village, searching for his favorite student to rescue him from the biggest mess that he could ever get himself into.

Following his instinct, the Academy teacher found himself going through the most secluded training grounds. He knew this place, it was one of the most popular hideaways for Naruto when the boy was skipping from school. During one of the blond's pranking escapades, Iruka managed to track the little troublemaker to those training grounds. After that episode, whenever Naruto made another annoying prank on the village, this was always the first place the young chuunin instructor checked when looking for his hyperactive student. Sometimes it worked and Iruka caught the boy there, sometimes Naruto managed to escape, and other times the young blond wasn't even there.

This time however, Iruka had luck on his side.

"Hey, Naruto..." Iruka didn't know whether to be angry or relieved at the sight of the grinning from ear to ear blond boy. Naruto was covered in dirt and had scratches all over his body. It looked like he got into some serious fight, which wouldn't be surprising at all for the academy teacher. Thankfully both the culprit and the stolen Scroll of Sealing were safe, and apparently no other ninja got here before Iruka.

"Man, Iruka-sensei! You found me so quickly that I learned only one technique!" Naruto seemed embarrassed that his teacher could always somehow find get to him. He was scratching his head, a nervous habit he picked up a while back.

'He practiced here...until he was all worn-out?' The words of the young boy shocked Iruka. Then he remembered how Naruto would fall asleep during his lectures, and how he always seemed tired, despite his boundless energy. Maybe he trained more than Iruka had ever given him a credit for? The chuunin was brought out of his musing when Naruto started to speak again, with much more enthusiasm than before.

"Hey, I'll show you a great technique, so let me graduate if I can do it!" With a bright smile and hope in his eyes, Naruto looked at his favorite teacher. "If I show you a jutsu from this scroll, I can graduate, right?"

"Who said that?" Shocked at this revelation, Iruka was wondering who could possibly lie to Naruto like that, and for what purpose?

"Mizuki-sensei. He told me about the scroll and this hidden exam..." The confusion in Naruto's voice was evident to Iruka, but the words his troublesome student spoke right now surprised him greatly.

'Mizuki? Why did he...?' His train of thoughts was interrupted by a sudden whistling sound, which Iruka, as a chuunin, knew all too well. "Naruto! Get down!" Pushing the boy out of harm's way, Iruka felt the pain in his chest as four kunai hit him with a force that threw him into the small hut's wooden wall. Not able to stand straight, the Academy instructor slumped down, quickly losing some blood. Thankfully, his vest stopped most of the impact and the ninja daggers didn't go too deep into his body

"You found him faster than I thought, Iruka," a sneering voice resonated through the clearing. Seconds later, Mizuki appeared on a tree branch above the fallen teacher and petrified blond boy. "You shouldn't bother rescuing him. Naruto! Give me the Scroll, now!"

"Naruto! No matter what, don't hand over the Scroll to Mizuki! Defend it with your life!" Iruka was shouting at his still petrified student. This was very dangerous situation, and who knows what disaster befalls Konoha if Mizuki manages to escape.

"The truth is that Iruka is afraid of you possessing this scroll. Would you like to know why?" The smirk and evil glimmer in Mizuki's eyes made Naruto tremble. "Do you want to know why you're hated by the whole village, including Iruka?"

"What?" Naruto glanced at his wounded teacher with betrayal and hurt in his blue eyes. This look held so many negative emotions that Iruka didn't know how someone has to suffer for his eyes to look like that. However Mizuki's words were more concerning right now.

"Stop it Mizuki! It's forbidden!" Iruka tried to spare his student anymore emotional pain, but it was in vain.

"Twelve years ago there was incident for which a rule was created." The traitorous chuunin wasn't paying any attention to his ex-best friend's shouts. He wanted to see the despair in Naruto's eyes, destroy him mentally, so he could kill him more easily. "It's a rule that only you, Naruto, cannot find out about."

"Only me? What's the rule?" Naruto didn't know if he was more afraid or confused at what he heard. What could this big secret be that only he wasn't allowed to know?

"No one is allowed...to tell you that you are the demon that almost destroyed Konoha! You're the Kyuubi that killed all those people, including Iruka's parents and our Yondaime Hokage!" Sick satisfaction filled the white haired traitor seeing the torment on Naruto's face. Just one more push and the boy will be as easy to kill as a newborn. "No one will ever recognize you! You're a monster that needs to be put down! Now die!" Mizuki threw a giant shuriken at the panicked blond, who tried to run away but tripped.

"Naruto, get down!" Iruka tried to run and shield his student, but all he could do was roll to him and push the blond out of the way, getting stabbed in the back. "Argh!"

"Iruka-sensei!" Something boiled in Naruto, an unknown rage erupted like a volcano inside him, along with a huge amount of chakra that seeped out of him. He turned towards Mizuki, who had a second shuriken in his hands, eyes full of anger. "You bastard! You want this scroll Mizuki-teme? I'll give you a taste of it! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone)!"

Despite the pain Iruka looked around, hearing both Naruto's shouts and then some popping sounds. He saw at least dozen copies of his blond student, remembering the name of this particular jutsu. 'Kage Bunshin? A jonin-level jutsu that creates solid copies of the user. It takes great amounts of chakra to create even one clone, and here my worst student can't be counted on both hands. Naruto, you really are an unpredictable ninja.' Iruka smiled a little, but no sooner than several seconds later, his smile turned into frown, as he saw Mizuki cutting through the clones with ease. Finally, the white haired shinobi caught the real Naruto and grabbed his throat, squeezing it tightly.

"You're really stupid! I may be a chuunin, but only because those idiots can't see talent before their noses! I'm practically a jonin in terms of skills and strength!" Hearing the blond choking, Mizuki threw the boy into a tree and pinned him down, almost crushing Naruto's windpipe. "You may be a demon, but in this body you're a worm. I'll enjoy crushing you, Kyuubi!"

"Stop it! Mizuki, let him go!" Iruka pleaded.

"Why should I? He killed your parents Iruka. He killed and destroyed lives of so many people in this accursed village!" Looking back into terrified blue eyes of his victim, Mizuki smiled maniacally, hate and murder painted on his face as he spoke to the suffocating blond. "I'll do this village a favor when I kill this demon spawn!"

Naruto's will to live was weakening with each passing second. His sight was blurred, his chest burned in demand of oxygen, and his mind was already half-asleep from the lack of air. Not only that, but the blond's unyielding spirit was broken from both Mizuki's words, and the fact that it explained everything that went wrong in his life. The villagers had their reason for hating him, and it was because he was a demon that almost destroyed the whole village, who killed all those people that night, and took away the greatest ninja that had ever come from Konoha.

In a final effort to get away, Naruto unexpectedly kicked his captor in the face, for which Mizuki threw him into another tree. The force of impact was so great that Naruto passed out just a second after.

Everything was dark. He was surrounded by darkness. It was so cold... So lonely...

He couldn't remember who he was! No thoughts could form, there was no smell, so sight...only darkness and voices.

He heard voices of the past...scornful voices...hateful words...words that hurt his very heart and soul...

Then he heard something else, something more recent...Who were those people to him? What did they do for him? Who he was?

Everything was so dark...

It was so cold...

"You fucking brat! I'll kill you for this!" Mizuki was yelling, while trying to stop his nose from bleeding. Apparently, Naruto's kick had enough strength to break his nose. As he descended on the unconscious blond boy, a kunai whizzed past his right ear, almost cutting him. Whipping around, Mizuki saw as Iruka struggled to stand, in his hand another kunai.

"I won't let you touch him, Mizuki!" Iruka hissed through his teeth. It was hard to look tough when your whole body was almost numb from pain, not to mention that the Academy teacher lost a significant amount of blood. But the chuunin wasn't going to look as his former friend commits a murder on his student.

"And just what can you do?" With blinding speed, faster than Iruka could react to, Mizuki appeared before the wounded man, punched him in the gut, and finally the traitor kicked Iruka, making the scarred man fall again and groan in pain. "You're a hypocrite, Iruka. This is the chance you've waited for all those years! You can save the village, avenge your parents and all those people this beast killed; instead you start to defend this brat?" Mizuki stomped on Iruka's wounded shoulder.

"GHAAA!"

"We could be in this together Iruka! Both of use would be claimed heroes of Konoha for finally finishing the Yondaime's work!" With each sentence Mizuki repeatedly stomped on the fallen ninja's wound, bringing him more pain. "And the scroll could make us powerful! Strong enough to rule those worms! All clans and ninja would bow before our might!" Madness burned in Mizuki's eyes, along with the lust for power, and rage that at his former comrade. "But you just had to be so goody-goody! You had to interfere! You're a disgrace to both your village and your race, for protecting that demon brat! The village, no, the entire world would be grateful to us for getting rid of the Kyuubi!"

"Na..." Iruka tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse from screaming, and his whole body hurt. Despite this, he wanted to protect his student and stop this traitor. Even if it meant pain and most probably death, the only chance Iruka had now was to stall Mizuki long enough for ANBU or some other ninja to find them, or at least delay Mizuki's escape. "Naruto...is no demon...He's a prankster and a troublemaker...He's not a genius, but he works hard on anything he wants to achieve...He's Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha! And the only demon here is YOU!"

"Iru...ka...-sen...sei...?" The name was familiar, it sounded good from his tired lips. Some images played in his head, memories of the man that would treat him like a human being. However it was still not enough to revive his will.

He was so sleepy...

Something however happened inside him, after hearing this good man call him by his name. A tiny spark ignited a flame that warmed his heart.

He didn't want to give up, he didn't want to spend even a second more in this darkness!

More sounds came from that place, where the good man fought the bad.

He was losing.

Not expecting an attack, Mizuki was very surprised when a kunai was stabbed in his leg, the one that he was stomping on Iruka's wounded shoulder. Another surprise came when Iruka rolled a couple of feet away and wobbly stood up, only to be knocked by a strong punch in the face. Mizuki was ready to end this with his remaining giant shuriken.

"I'll kill you now Iruka, then I'll finish the demon, hide the Scroll, and when everything quiets down I'll take the Scroll!"

"You won't get far, Mizuki..." Leaning on a tree, Iruka struggled with each breath. 'Looks like this is my end...I only hope that Naruto will somehow get out of this unhurt...'

Mizuki prepared his weapon. Iruka closed his eyes and waited for the end.

He will die! His friend and teacher, the very first person to ever show him acceptation, will disappear forever if something won't prevent it! There had to be something he could do, despite the darkness and coldness that surrounded him!

"What do you desire?"

This question echoed through the thick darkness. He couldn't find the source; it sounded like the very place was talking to him.

"What do you desire?"

Once again this question. Probably he should answer before the voice lose any more patience.

"Iruka...-sensei... I want... to save him..." He was still weak, talking came with a great difficulty. Getting more courage and will power he tried again. "I want to protect Iruka-sensei! I want to save him!"

"Then, get up!"

A powerful pulse ran through him. It was painful. Very painful. Then he felt a tug on his very being.

"Get up!"

Another pulse. Another tug. A white light appeared before him, so hot it burned.

"GET UP!"

As Mizuki was about to throw his shuriken, something unexpected happened. A very strong wall of wind hit the small clearing. It was almost like a small typhoon hit there. The howl was almost deafening. In the middle of this chaos stood Naruto, surrounded by a bright orange light. He was turned back to them with his head held low, so neither Iruka nor Mizuki could see Naruto's face.

"What the hell? What is this madness?"

'Naruto?' Iruka was weak from both pain and the loss of blood, it was hard for him to even think about what was currently happening with his student. 'Is this the power of a demon host?'

Finally the wind weakened and stopped. Naruto stood there, still radiating strongly with this strange light. Mizuki first got rid of his shock and without wasting time, he threw his giant weapon at the still motionless Naruto.

"Die Kyuubi!"

"Run Naruto!" Iruka tried to warn his student but it seemed like the blond wasn't reacting to his surroundings. It was a mistake that cost ninja their life more often than anything else.

Imagine the surprise both chuunin felt when they saw as the seemingly unaware boy unexpectedly spun around, grabbed the shuriken just as the weapon was few inches from hitting him, and threw it away with relative ease, cutting through branches of the surrounding trees. Iruka and Mizuki were beyond shocked when they saw Naruto glancing at them.

The boy's face was completely hidden by a white fox mask, similar to those ANBU wore, but with some significant differences. One of them were slits instead of normal round eye holes, the second was three thick dark orange lines on his both cheeks, where Naruto's whisker marks were located. Another was the lack of anything that could resemble a mouth, and the nose could be only located from how the mask was bending over the blond's face.

Naruto's hair seemed longer, spikier and more wild. His trademark jumpsuit was torn. Strips of what remained of it along with his ripped shirt hung haplessly on Naruto's body. The visible muscles seemed more defined, stronger. Both chuunin were feeling a very high pressure that came from the blond. Mizuki felt also as a cold chill ran down his spine when the blond turned his gaze and seemed to focus on him.

Without warning, Naruto leaped forward, straight at the white-haired traitor. His glowing hands were only fuzzy images as the blond showered his former instructor with in a rain of punches, from which many hit their target. Mizuki felt his vest and clothes burn from the contact with Naruto's blazing fists. For all it was worth, the chuunin protected his face from being hit as it could end badly for him. Trying to take the initiative from his opponent, Mizuki started to counter some of the punches and kicks. It was a very tiring activity because Naruto became just so fast!

'Incredible...' Iruka watched as his ex-friend tried to beat his favorite student but couldn't.

After several minutes of fruitless hand-to-hand fighting, Mizuki wanted to just knock Naruto away from himself, grab the Scroll, and escape before other Konoha shinobi or ANBU come after him. Even if he didn't finish Iruka and the Kyuubi brat off now, he'll come back after getting stronger thanks to the powerful jutsu that are written on the Scroll of Sealing. 'And I'll be a hero...'

Any thoughts Mizuki had had been interrupted when Naruto finally found an opening in his stance. The masked blond hit three vital places: his solar plexus, his liver, and at last, his heart. All three punches were soaked in the strange light and left burn marks on the traitor's clothing and skin underneath it. Mizuki could only gasp and spit a large amount of blood, before falling to the ground, feeling only pain, and how his very life was escaping from his battered body. A few minutes later, Mizuki died. Naruto stood above the body of his first kill. The bright aura of light dimmed and vanished, along with the mask.

It was this moment when Iruka found again his voice. "Naruto? Do you hear me?" The wounded chuunin couldn't move too much, but he had to see if his student was alright. When he didn't hear an answer it worried him. "Please Naruto! Speak to me!"

A soft sob could be heard. "I...I killed him...Iruka-sensei...I'm a...true monster..."

Iruka understood what the young boy was going through. Both the revelation of his terrible burden, as well as the fact that he killed for the first time, not even being a lawful ninja, had to shake Naruto's morals and self esteem. Iruka remembered how he was after his first kill; he vomited right at the corpse of the bandit after stabbing a kunai into his heart.

With a great deal of pain and willpower, the scarred chuunin went over to the crying blond and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know how it is. Believe me that the fact you're feeling like you're a monster is perfectly normal."

"Be-Because I'm t-the...K-Kyuubi..." Naruto hiccuped as more tears fell from his whiskered cheeks, and tried to shake his teacher's hand off his shoulder. To his surprise, Iruka only held him tighter, and spoke as softly as possible.

"No, because it shows that you're still human." When the chuunin instructor saw the teary blue eyes look at him with confusion and shock, he knew that he had to explain it. "Everyone in our profession, sooner or later, will kill someone, be it a bandit, an enemy ninja, or even a completely innocent person that came to the wrong place at the wrong time. The first kill is always hard." Despite his pain Iruka knew that he had to get through the boy now or he'll break down because of guilt. "Later, you'll find it's easier to take lives of enemies, but it's only when you stop feeling anything when killing, or worse you start to enjoy it...That's when you're losing your humanity."

"But the Kyuubi..."

"Is sealed inside you... But this doesn't make you a demon." Seeing another confused stare, with a little hope buried deeper in sky blue eyes, Iruka smiled softly. "You remember the lesson we had about sealing weapons inside a scroll? I know that you pay attention to all practical ninja lessons."

"Y-Yeah..." Naruto was still a little confused but something in the back of his mind was signaling him that the answer was very simple.

"Then you know that just because a kunai is sealed inside a scroll, the same scroll doesn't become a weapon..." Iruka looked deep into Naruto's eyes and smiled when he saw the hope rising. "Only it's container. This is what you are Naruto. You protect us everyday from the beast that almost destroyed our village. And you're doing a great job Naruto!"

"Th-Thanks sensei!" Naruto smiled brighter than Iruka could remember seeing him. The fact that this smile looked much more real than the usual goofy grin, made the scarred chuunin's heart fill with warmth. The blond boy regained his normal hyper personality. "Ne ne ne, Iruka-sensei! Can we have some ramen now?"

At his words Iruka laughed a little, before wincing from the pain of his wounds. "Maybe after we return the Scroll to Hokage-sama, and pay a little visit to the Hospital. I'm still badly hurt. After a medic-nin patches me up, and you fetch some clothes, then I'll take you to Ichiraku. And don't worry about the whole incident, I'll vouch for you and explain the whole situation about Mizuki's involvement, alright?"

"Okay." Naruto said happily. "I'll first take Miso Ramen, then maybe pork, and then beef..."

BA-DUM!

Naruto's blabbering was interrupted by a strong pulse, which was accompanied by an immense pain in the middle of his chest, so powerful that it made the boy gasp and lose his footing. Kneeling on the ground Naruto held his sides, his face twisted and clearly showing his suffering.

"Naruto! Oi! Are you alright? Speak to me!" Again ignoring his own injuries, Iruka was immediately down next to his student as he tried to find out what was wrong.

"Sen...sei...! It burns...!" After those words the young blond blacked out, hearing only worried shouts of his teacher.

Sarutobi Hiruzen went through the white corridors of the Konoha Hospital with pace contradicting to his true age. His wrinkled face wore a mask of calm, but behind it the Sandaime Hokage was sick with worry about a certain blond bond boy. Coming to his destination, he hurriedly opened the door of a hospital room. Seeing the occupants the elderly shinobi turned to the head medic, that was currently present.

"How is he, Kobayashi-san?"

Kobayashi Hatsuro, a middle aged man, looked up from his notes and faced the leader of his home village. "It's very hard to say Hokage-sama. It's already twenty three years since I became a medic, seventeen when I became head of this hospital. I was on the front lines during the Third Great Shinobi War, and I saw many strange and horrible things." The medic sighed and rubbed his left temple. "But I've never seen anything that could resemble what happened to young Uzumaki Naruto here."

"What do you mean?" The aged Hokage asked, hoping for a slight clue of what the young boy, that currently was lying motionless under white bed sheets of hospital bed, was going through. The blond youth was also hooked to four separate IV's, several monitors were showing his heartbeat and other important measures, and an oxygen mask was strapped to his face. Sarutobi wanted to know why such steps were taken.

"Currently the patent is in coma of unknown source." Kobayashi started his explanation. "He was like that after being brought here by chuunin Umino Iruka, who by the way was severely wounded and remains in another room." Sarutobi nodded and motioned for Hatsuro to continue. "Physically, Uzumaki-kun's not in a bad shape; he doesn't have any life threatening wounds, just a couple of bruises and scratches. What did surprise me is this..." The medic uncovered Naruto's body and opened the pajama's top half's front.

Sarutobi couldn't believe his own eyes at what he saw before him. It was like a ghost from the past.

In the middle of Naruto's chest was a painting that looked like a tattoo. The shape was of a four-pointed star. From the arm that went down towards the boy's solar plexus Hiruzen saw a number of inscriptions, which he identified as sealing patterns that circled the now visible Yondaime's seal. Also in the middle of the star on Naruto's chest rested a lightly glowing oval jewel of the size of an adult's thumb.

"Like I mentioned earlier, Uzumaki Naruto is currently in coma of unknown source, but the good news is that from my tests he'll be awake in a day or two, of that I'm certain." The medic could see the elder man sigh in relief. "After discovering these unknown seals and jewel I asked Hyuuga Ko-san, who was here for a check up after his recent mission, to scan the chakra network of my patient with his Byakugan. What we found I had never encountered before, even Ko-san was very surprised... Uzumaki Naruto is growing a second chakra network!"

"A second... chakra system...?" Sarutobi repeated, uncertain if he heard right "Kobayashi-san? What does this mean?"

"I'd like to know myself, however, I can't offer any better explanation other than what I've already discovered." When the Hokage nodded, Hatsuro continued. "After running some tests, consulting with other medics and interpreting Ko-san's description of Uzumaki-kun's both chakra systems, I could conclude a few assumptions of how this will influence the patient's life; first of all, his skills of controlling quite vast amounts of his own chakra will be dramatically increased, maybe he'll be even better at it than some chuunin, and if he continues training in this direction then I can be confident in saying that by the time he's eighteen Naruto-kun will have chakra control on a medic-nin's level."

The elder ninja couldn't help but let his widen a bit at this piece of news. 'To have such a control at such a young age, considering the beast that's locked inside him... Naruto will be a force to be reckoned with.' Sarutobi gave his nod to the medic to continue.

"Second is the physical change. Because of the second chakra network going along with the original paths of his natural pathways, his organs, muscles and even his brain are gaining much more energy than they need to survive, even for a ninja. This forced the mentioned organs to adapt, as to not to be overloaded with chakra."

"What will this mean for Naruto-kun?"

"He'll be faster, stronger and most likely smarter than ever before. Not that he'll have the inhuman strength that Tsunade-sama is know from, or be fast like Maito Gai-san when he takes off his weights or opens Hachimon, but I'm certain that he'll be better physically than most of his peers. He'll also be a little taller because his body is adjusting to the changes. Not to mention that because of the speed that the cells are burning all fuel the body has in order to sustain the steady growth we had to keep at least four IV's hooked to him, to keep him hydrated and to not let him malnourish. However..." Here Hatsuro hesitated. The man didn't know how the Sandaime Hokage will react at this information, considering how close the powerful shinobi was to the boy.

"Kobayashi-san... tell me please what you found out... even if it's not good..." With a heavy heart Sarutobi prepared himself for the worst.

"I had no way to check how the new aspects will influence the patient's personality. We can't ask for help a member of Yamanaka clan, for obvious reasons." Here the medic made a quick glance at the Yondaime's seal. "We also have to include both the physical changes as well as the trauma and shock Uzumaki Naruto went through in recent hours. We'll know for sure only when he finally wakes up."

Hiruzen really wished he could light his favorite pipe and take a long smoke to release all the tension, but there was the 'No smoking' rule in the hospital's rooms, and as the Hokage he had to give a good example by obeying such a rules. Nothing however was stopping him from doing this after he left Naruto's room and the hospital building.

Once again he glanced at the star-like tattoo and the shining jewel in the middle of the boy's chest. "Kobayashi-san, you don't know what these markings are, do you?"

"No Hokage-sama." Hatsuro was surprised by the question and it showed in his confused tone. "Only that they are entwined with this orange chakra from this stone."

"These are seals Kobayashi-san. A very old style and method of sealing that I've seen in only one place." Hiruzen brushed some stray locks from Naruto's face. "The Uzushiogakure."

"The.. Uzushio..." The medic was flabbergasted at this piece of information. He knew the history between Konoha and Uzushio, how the two hidden villages were allied during those times of war. How the Uzumaki clan was feared for their longevity and use of Fuinjutsu, their seals had no real competition. Hatsuro also knew about the destruction of Uzushio at the hands of joined forces of Iwa and Kumo, how the whole Uzumaki clan was practically slaughtered, with only few that survived to go into hiding. Realization suddenly hit him when he looked at the still sleeping boy. "Then... this boy is the son of..."

"All that was said in this room is to be treated as an S-rank secret, Kobayashi-san!" Sarutobi commanded in a stern voice. "It's to protect him. Naruto doesn't need more enemies than he already has. Is that understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I'll inform all personnel that helped me with Uzumaki-kun's case." To take his mind off the recent rain of information, Hatsoro checked a few readings on the machines that Naruto was hooked to. "Currently, everything seems in order. I think it's best to leave him to recuperate."

"Yes, that will be the best..."

Leaving the room Sarutobi took a long last look at the motionless blond boy that he came to see as his own grandson. So full of energy and life, always causing some kind of trouble. Hiruzen could only presume how all today's events and the new development will affect Naruto. He could only hope that it'll be all for better.

'Naruto, you are now a living legacy of an almost forgotten might... The legacy of Uzushiogakure...'

Please R&R so I may know what you truly think of this story and how I may correct it, if needed!