AN: This story idea came out of the blue when I was at camp listening to the sounds of nature and enjoying a nice cup of coffee in front of the fire; weird I know. Anyway, if this story gets good remarks then I will keep it. I will just let you know now that I will deviate from the cannon very heavily in this story and that the Naruto I have planned will be very intelligent and strong but not god-like. Thanks and happy reading, also please leave a review as it helps determine where to lead the story if it takes off; I take all your ideas into account and will incorporate them into the story if I happen to like it. Edited.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto I am doing this for the shits and giggles

ITALICS– thinking

BOLD –jutsu

Chapter 1: A Legend's Beginning

The door to the Hokage Office bursts open and a short boy with blonde spiky hair, blue eyes, wearing black pants, a blue short sleeved shirt, and sandals runs up to the man sitting behind the desk doing paperwork.

"Hiya Tou-san!"

The man at the desk, who looks to be about 25 years of age, wears green and brown Hokage Robes that have designs of leaves in it and has silver hair, chuckles then puts down his stylus, picks up the boy and sets him on his lap.

"Minato, what have I told you about barging in like that?" The man looks down upon him with his azure eyes

Minato pouts "That I am not to barge in because you might be having an important meeting."

The man smiles and ruffles Minato's hair "Yes, and you were lucky this time. Now my son, what was the purpose of barging in here?"

"I want to hear the story of how you came to be Naruto tou-san that and I'm bored."

The man at the desk, now recognized as Naruto, sighs deeply "If you are bored you should be training like I taught you how; you will be going to the academy next week if I am not mistaken."

Minato crosses his arms and humphs "All the other kids got to enter at age six but why not me, why make me wait until I was eight?"

Naruto picks up his son and puts him on his shoulder then proceeds to walk out of the office "I want you to be prepared when you enter the real world; I know we are in a time of peace right now thanks to me but you can never be too sure."

Minato smiles at his father as he proceeds to walk toward home which is in the forest right outside the gates of Konoha "I know but what will the others think of me when I join…AND YOU STILL HAVENT TOLD ME YOUR TALE!"

Naruto flinches at the noise of his child "Dear Kami Minato, you know I have sensitive hearing!" Naruto sighs as he enters the home by placing his hand on the wooden door which soon glows green and melts into the ground; it reforms behind him. "Fine, I will tell you the tale of how I, the Mori no Shugo-Sha (Guardian of the Forest) came to be. Just promise me that you will go to bed after this." Naruto places Minato on the couch then sits down; a red fox with nine tails sleeps in the corner.

Minato nods but before Naruto can start another person comes from the kitchen "I want to hear your tale too nature boy."

The lady steps out revealing her five foot five figure which is dressed in a pink kimono and has buns on either side of her brown hair.

Naruto face palms then stokes his lower back length silver hair "I am starting to hate that nickname you gave me Tenten."

She sits next to her husband and strokes his back then snuggles close making Minato gag and both Naruto and Tenten to chuckle at their son's facial expression.

"Enough of getting lovey….I WANTS MY BEDTIME STORY!"

Naruto and Tenten flinch at the noise which wakes up the fox that was sleeping in the corner of the room; it trots over to Minato, jumps in his lap then proceeds to lick his face then bite his nose. Naruto and Tenten roar into laughter as they see their son holding his nose screaming in pain.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR BAKA-FOX!" Said fox takes his tails and slaps Minato aside the head then proceeding onto Naruto's lap whom scratches behind his ears

Naruto clears his throat "Hush Minato, I am about to start my tale." Naruto watches to see if both son and wife are ready to begin "Well then, it all started eighteen years ago when…"

18 years ago

Naruto, age seven and dressed in his usual orange jumpsuit, just exited the academy with a solemn look on his face; he failed to do the clone jutsu thus failing the academy as it was a requirement to pass that part. Instead of going and sitting on the swing like normal he decided that he would just go home and hope that the villagers didn't do anything to it. Hell, he even passed up getting Ichiraku Ramen which he usually did when he was down like this.

"What's the point in even trying to go to the academy anymore as I get so far only to fail in the end when it comes to that damn clone jutsu."

Naruto sighs as he sees the glares towards him which he decides to ignore and mopes on home in a sad manner which took some villagers, especially the ones that beat him, off guard. They wondered where the hyperactive blonde went and some even had the thought of remorse as it became clear that they were only beating a harmless child. Little did they know that this was the real Naruto; the happy go lucky idiot that they all saw him as was just a mask to gain attention as he had no parents to look up to for guidance, love or respect. Naruto continues home thinking about his life thus far.

"Why am I hated, I ask Hokage Ji-Ji the same question but he brushes me off saying I will know at a later date. I just want to feel love; I just want to show others that I am not a bad person that I want to protect others from harm."

"Come child I will aid you." An angelic voice speaks up

Naruto looks around for the voice that spoke out and finds no one around "Jeez I must be hearing voices now…what else can go wrong today." He says out loud

As fate, karma, or whatever thing you believe in had it, Naruto gets home to see it broken into with graffiti on the walls that say "Go away Demon" or "Rot in Hell Demon Scum" among various others. Naruto sighs at the destruction and goes inside to see if anything was salvageable but knew that the chance was slim. He looks around his small apartment to see it absolutely trashed; the bed was flung across the room and now lay in pieces, the mattress was nothing but a pile of scraps, the dresser that kept all his clothes were gone and Naruto assumed the villagers burned it somewhere. The kitchen was a mess as he found his refrigerator wide open with the contents spilled on the floor; the same went with his ramen cups that were in the cupboard. They were all opened and strewn about the floor. Naruto sighs again then leans against the nearest wall and starts to cry.

"All I want is to be seen differently, not a demon like they call me. Demon's destroy things while I don't even harm a fly."

"Follow me child, I can help." The voice appears again

Naruto looks around again for the voice but cannot find anyone nearby "Dammit, get out of my…wait, what's this feeling?" Naruto feels a pull of something and is drawn towards it; he exits his apartment and races outside to find the source

An orange blur shoots past some of the villagers and Shinobi confusing some but others chuckle at the thought of the blonde haired boy and his pranks. Up in the Hokage Office, Sarutobi was watching the scene with his crystal ball; he has watched him ever since he left the academy.

"What are you doing my boy, where are you off too?" Sarutobi wonders aloud then thinks back to the depressed look on Naruto's face "Was that the real Naruto…no it can't be I refuse to think that the villagers have treated him that bad plus the hospital records show he has come for annual checkups."

He watches in amazement as Naruto uses a smoke bomb and then transform into a standard civilian to confuse the ANBU and gate guards Izumo and Kotetsu then slips outside the gates, running into the forest In the Hokage Office, the crystal ball he was using glows green then shatters; the glass now lay on the desk and wooden floor. Sarutobi is now extremely nervous for his surrogate grandson and began to wonder if it was a good idea to keep the secret of Kyuubi from him. Breaking from his thoughts he quickly signals for ANBU.

"Naruto Uzumaki has just left the village for an unknown reason; I want you to find him and bring him back ALIVE! Am I understood?!" He releases some KI to get his point across

"Hai!" The ANBU chorus then leaves in search of the blonde boy

With Naruto the moment he entered the forest

"Come my child you are close."

Naruto shakes his head to clear himself of the voice then follows the pull in a certain direction and eventually he lays eyes on a section of forest that was bare and in the center of said clearing was a pearl white altar adorned with various flora and fauna designs. Around it, various types of flowers grew and Naruto noticed that the animals seemed drawn to it. The pearl white surface shined brightly as the light that escaped the canopy of the tall trees near it shone down upon it.

"Do not hesitate my child, kneel before the altar and place your hands upon it; we will see if you are truly worthy of my gift."

"What gift…why me?"

Naruto responds but after a tense 30 seconds nobody answers back; reluctantly, Naruto does as the angelic voice asks and when he placed his hands upon the altar the area flashed green alerting all wildlife for miles around and making dead and/or wilting plants and trees to grow yet again.

Naruto blinks to find that he is standing in a large white space and began to wonder "Am I dead? Is this what Heaven looks like?" his thoughts are broken as a five foot four lady with emerald green eyes, tan skin, lower back length silver hair, dressed in green and brown robes with the design of leaves on them covering her voluptuous breasts, wearing sandals, and holding a gnarled wooden staff appears in front of him

"Hello child, I see you came." The angelic voice says

Naruto closes his eyes then opens them again then pinches himself to make sure it's not a dream "OUCH! Ok, this is not a dream….this is all real."

The lady chuckles, it is soft and delicate sounding "Of course child, I sensed your depressed state and your desire to show kindness even though some may not deserve it."

Naruto looks up at the angel and speaks "My name is Naruto Uzumaki not child, may I have yours Angel-sama?"

"Hmm kind and polite I like this kid but I must test him further, I must know his resolve." The Angel smiles "My name is Eurydice, a Dryad or nature spirit which resides in this section of the forest."

Naruto scratches his head "Nice to meet you Eurydice but you said something about a test and a gift?"

Eurydice nods but before she can speak Naruto continues.

"Why, why choose me out of the others out there? What makes me stand out from the others?"

"Naruto, have you always wondered what the villagers hated you for and who your parents were?" Naruto's eyes widen then he gets on his knees in a begging position "Rise child, you do not have to beg now don't interrupt what I am about to do."

Eurydice goes over to the now standing Naruto who lifts up his shirt then making him blush when her soft hands touches his stomach. Soon a green glow covers Eurydice's hands which then envelopes Naruto's malnourished four foot four frame. There is no pain involved which surprised Naruto but what did is an influx of knowledge as well as appearing to grow before his very eyes. Little did Naruto know that seals placed upon him on birth broke turning him into what he was meant to become. The glow gets brighter than a green flash envelope the white area; it soon dissipates to show a now five foot Naruto with an athletic build and wearing the same clothes as Eurydice minus the staff. In front of him stands a small red fox with a nine tails.

Naruto looks at the fox then picks it up and scratches its ears; this action surprised Eurydice as she has not even explained herself yet but soon the fox speaks doing the job for her.

"Oh yah, that's the spot….now do the other." The fox starts but then is dropped ceremoniously to the ground "Ow!"

"AYE A TALKING FOX!" Naruto starts then looks at the tails "Wait…nine tails and my birthday is October 10th. Oh hell no this can't be right!" "Kyuubi?"

The fox chuckles then sits on its haunches "Yes Kit but please call me Kurama. Now before you go all apeshit let me explain."

Naruto thinks for a moment then sits in the lotus position with Eurydice watching her future protector's every move.

"Good, now first to explain is that I did not willingly attack your home, I was put under a strong genjutsu by a guy with red eyes who then controlled me to attack Konoha. This leads me into number two, who your parents were but I think you can figure that out now can't you? After all, the memory suppressant, growth suppressant, and chakra disruptor seals that Danzo put on you all broke after Eurydice unsealed me."

Naruto's eyes widen at the information about the seals and calms himself before anger takes hold, something Eurydice was proud of.

"Danzo will have his day but first let's see if I can figure out who my parents were. Hmmm. October 10th…Kyuubi sealed within me…Yondaime sealed Kyuubi in me but why me not someone else? Think Naruto, why not choose another child?" Naruto suddenly gasps gaining the attention of the two in the room with him "The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze is my father as he chose me, his son, as no other person would willingly sacrifice their own. But who was my mother?"

Eurydice claps while Kurama slaps his tails together "Good job Naruto and I can answer the question of who your mother was. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki and was the second Jinchuriki to me."

Naruto smiles at this information but listens intently as Kurama continued.

"That is not all I want to tell you Naruto. Mito Uzumaki, married to your Shodaime Hokage, was the first person to harbor me; she passed me onto your mother before leaving Uzu."

Naruto interrupts "Hold on a damn minute! You are basically saying that not only am I the son of the Yondaime but I am related to the Shodaime and Nidaime as well…holy shit I'm royalty essentially and the villagers don't know it." Naruto begins to laugh at this realization

Eurydice now decides to speak up "With this information Naruto Namikaze, do you still feel the need to protect or do you wish to destroy those who kept secrets like these from you?"

Naruto sighs "Although I am angry that Hokage Ji-Ji kept this from me I cannot help but be thankful as he was probably doing so for my protection. As for the villagers in general that abused me, I never hated them because deep down I felt they were just misunderstood people that needed guidance. So yes, Eurydice, I vow to protect Konoha but wish to do it in the shadows as I feel I am not ready to return to the village yet."

"Congratulations Naruto, you pass my test and as for your gift I will merge with you in which you will gain the powers I have to protect the forest and the village surrounding it. Though not all will be transferred to you as you have to earn that and choose your own path; I will give you the necessities such as tree travel and basic mana exercises among other things."

Eurydice bows towards Naruto then holds out her hand.

"Take my hand child, become what you were destined to be."

Naruto grasps the spirits' hand then gasps as her body turns into the energy that pulled out Kyuubi and enters Naruto. Memories of a long lost era, one with peace and happiness and strange creatures roaming the lands, are felt as well as the power and responsibility needed to take on this job. His once short spiky blonde hair turns silver then grows down to his middle back losing its spikiness and his eyes change from sapphire blue to an emerald green. The energy recedes and Naruto finds himself still kneeling at the altar who then gasps at his changes as he sees his reflection in it; he peers left to see Kurama standing there with a happy expression on his face. Naruto then stands and closes his eyes and marvels at what he is feeling; it was a calm feeling with the taint of whispers, the whispers of all the life that resides in the forest whether it is the trees, the flowers, or the animals in general. Naruto snaps open his eyes as he feels another presence coming and it feels human; he acts fast. Using Eurydice's memories, Naruto places his right hand on the altar making it glow green then sink beneath the earth; no trace of the once sacred spot would be found. He quickly grabs Kurama and melds into the nearest tree waiting to see who would come; soon enough a squad of seven ANBU arrive at the location.

"Sir, the trail stops here." The Owl masked ANBU states

"There is no possible way to erase a scent like his not to mention his chakra." The Wolf ANBU replies which sparks an interest in Naruto

"If I am not using chakra what am I using?" The memory of Eurydice's training gives his answer "So…I use mana to protect this forest but her memories of how to do so are slim. I guess she was right about making my own path."

Naruto melds out of the tree appearing on a branch overlooking the ANBU, his forest like cloak hiding him completely.

"We all know how large this forest is and if Naruto is out there we can only say good luck and hope one day he returns." Says the Cat ANBU

"Sarutobi-sama is not going to be happy about this." The Bear ANBU states who then punches a tree which brings Naruto to his knees making him grasp his head as he heard the scream of pain it let out; it soon recedes and guardian instinct takes over.

The wind picks up, the branches start to sway and clack together unnerving the ANBU a bit but soon a voice is heard on the wind, an angelic voice with authority.

"Harming my trees will only bring you harm ANBU-sans, my friends don't take lightly to those who harm the delicate balance of nature, the delicate balance of life and death. Leave this place at once but know this, I will always be watching."

The wind ceases as well as the trees which make the ANBU sigh in relief but Bear has other plans. "PFFT! Yah, OK very funny; what can the forest do…throw us out?"

In response to this, the tree nearest Bear sprouts a branch and grabs him much to the shock of the ANBU then throws him with great force toward the six others whom catch their comrade before he hits the ground. The voice speaks again but with it come the growls of various animals.

"LEAVE AT ONCE!"

Needless to say the ANBU leave the forest and soon tell of the spirit guarding the forest and the mouktoun like properties it contained; everyone was surprised yet happy to hear they had someone guarding the forest their Shodaime put up years ago. Out of all of Konoha, there was one person sulking in his own guilt at the news the ANBU told him; the Sandaime Hokage.

"Wherever you are Naruto, I hope you come back one day so that you may forgive me what I kept from you. Minato, Kushina, I am truly sorry for what has become of your son."

Sarutobi sighs and leans back in his chair while glancing on the photo of the Yondaime in his office; he grabs his clay pipe, packs it with fresh tobacco from a bag that he pulled from his robes, lit it with a small fire jutsu, then taking a few puffs enjoying the acrid yet sweet vanilla taste. All the while, tears start to trail down his face.

"I have let the civilian council run all over me since I reinstated myself and now thanks to Naruto disappearing, I see what I must do. Naruto, if you ever come back home I will make sure this is a place where you will be accepted not scorned."