Chapter 1: Prologue

The sun was sitting high up in the sky, while members of the Konoha Village walked about completing their individual tasks. In the eyes of most, it was just another day filled with work and reward; happiness and occupation. For a seven year old Naruto Uzamaki, today was another day of hateful stares from adults and constant abuse from children his own age.

Naruto had just taken another beating from a group out four or five older kids from the Academy. The kids had just run off before anyone could catch them in the act, leaving the young boy on the ground bruised and battered.

"Why? Does it really have to be like this everyday?" He asks to no one in particular. While he is trying to get up, he feels a soft familiar hand on his shoulder. He looks back to a pair of large white eyes and short purple hair. "Oh Hinata, it's you."

He hears a soft giggle from the Hyuuga heiress. "Sorry, were you expecting someone else." They young boy begins to laugh with his close friend and takes her hand, leading them to the forest.

Itachi Uchiha is known as the perfect example of a shinobi: powerful, intelligent and loyal. The average person strived to even become half as strong as said Uchiha prodigy. However, no one understood all of the consequences that came with power. Itachi was expected to always keep up appearances; instead of being treated as a child he is treated as a weapon. In a way, he is obligated to use this strength. It's almost as if I owe the world for being born like this.

Whenever the world became just too stressful, Itachi always would take a stroll in the forest. In the forest, it did not matter who your family was or how powerful you were. Everyone was insignificant in comparison to the vast Greenland.

"This looks like an appropriate spot to rest."

He sits down near a massive Sequoia and begins to meditate. As his mind begins to wander into oblivion and his body rests, he hears the distinct sound of a kunai piercing bark. Immediately, he activates his Sharigan and goes towards the sound only to see a very surprising sight: Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzamaki.

"You should have killed those idiots, Naruto."

The Jinchuuriki looks up at his close friend. To the rest of the world, Hinata Hyuuga was nothing more then a weak, pathetic excuse for a shinobi and heiress. She had lost her mother following the birth of her younger sister, and her caring nature is mistaken for weakness throughout the village.

However, the shy, sweet yet inherently weak little girl was nothing more than a mask. At this very moment, Hinata was throwing kunai into multiple training dartboards that had been positioned throughout the forest. Each of the kunai striked in the center of the bullseye, almost invisible to the human eye as the amount of force used to throw them had enveloped them in the plant. The repeated accuracy and precision that the young girl possessed was uncommon in most Chunin, let alone an Academy student.

"They aren't even worth it." In the same way that the young girl wore a mask of timidness, the orphaned boy bore one of stupidity. Naruto had spent his lonely days studying different types of jutsu in the Konoha library. Due to his close relationship with the Third, he had even been able to take some of the more powerful techniques home. Naruto was actually fully aware of the reason that the village treated him as a social pariah: he was the container of the Kyubi.

"You always say that! I just can't stand it that they treat you that way-I swear to Kami one day I'm going to just snap and show them what a real beating is."

"While your anger is endearing, it is also quite unnecessary. We cannot allow for the foolish actions of others to distract us. You and I are stronger than anyone could imagine; our strength is revenge enough."

The Uchiha prodigy was taken aback not only with the Hyuga's brazen nature, but also by the Uzamaki's cool demeanor. I remember hearing from Sasuke about the Uzumaki boy. He described him as dead last in his class; the village idiot who spent his days pranking others.

"Arigato, Naruto-kun. I needed that." The young heiress then looked directly at the tree that Itachi had hidden behind. "You are very talented at hiding your chakra levels, Uchiha, however my tracing abilities are impeccable. You can come out now."

The Uzumaki and Hyuga then saw the Uchiha come out of his hiding spot, and both immediately went into fighting stance. Naruto took a kunai out of his pouch and sent a huge surge of chakra into the blade, leading to a shroud of blazing white chakra covering the knife. Hinata the went into the traditional Hyuga stance, however her arms were covered in a bright purple chakra.

Itachi eyes went agape as he saw the fighting styles of both ninja. The Uchiha prodigy had been conditioned to hide his emotions after joining the ANBU, however, he still couldn't hide his surprise. He quickly recovered from his surprise and began to speak:

"I apologize for my unwelcomed presence. I mean absolutely no harm."

"Yeah right! You're probably going to go to the Third and tell him about everything we said here," said the Hyuga heiress.

"In any other circumstance, I would most likely apprehend the both of you. But calm down, Hinata. You may be incredibly powerful for your age, but even the combined efforts of the both of you won't be able to defeat me."

I see the hidden anger of the heiress released in a growl, however, Naruto is able to calm her. Interesting, even in her true personality the boy is able to calm her. The young boy then brings down his weapon.

"If you are not interested in reporting us, then what are you going to do with us?"

"What did you two mean when you said you couldn't let the bullies 'distract us'?" asked Itachi.

The Uzumaki boy then gave a smirk; it was not carefree smile or mischievous smirk that the boy was known to possess, but a mix of sinister intentions and sadness. He then stared at the young heiress, who nodded to the boy.

"Hinata and I plan on leaving this forsaken village once we reach an appropriate age. This land is nothing more than one grown on power-hungry self centered actions and hatred. As you know, I am the container of the Jinchuuriki, and hated for something that I have no control over. Hinata is put into a clan that uses seals on its own people in order to control their every movement and decision. This village is absolutely disgusting."

Itachi takes some time to divulge the information. The two hidden prodigies keep their guard up, knowing that by revealing their plans they faced the possibility of punishment. However, the Uchiha then continued to talk:

"Why do you two hide your abilities from the world?"

This time the Hyuga heiress speaks up. "When I met Naruto at five years old, we both realized that our powers far surpassed those our age. However, we knew that if we showed our abilities, we would be used as pawns for the village. We decided that we would rather be seen as useless then manipulated to help this corrupt land."

"I have to admit, that is quite ingenious." Now, it was time for the two young ninja to show shock. Why isn't he berating us, or better yet capturing us for our opinions! The Uchiha then sat down on the soft grass, and ushered both of the ninja to follow his lead.

"You would think that as an ANBU, I would be the one to preach about the greatness of our village. However, I have personally seen the darkness of our homeland. I understand why you both feel as you do." As the Uchiha spoke, both children watched intently at his understanding opinion. "With that said, I am still loyal to this village."

"How can you say that? You even admit that this village is corrupt."

"Your image of corruption is unique, Hinata. Your experience molds your perception of right and wrong, justice and evil. For another person, what you see as manipulation can be interpreted as persuasion. The village of Konoha is in no way perfect, however, the main objective of the village has always been for peace. That objective has been clouded by the greed of others."

The Uchiha looks down at the children, and see that their face is twisted in confusion. The blonde-headed troublemaker is the first to speak. "So, you expect us to just accept that this village is tainted."

"The exact opposite really. I want to train both of you personally." Both of the young shinobi's heads perk up at the Uchiha's words. "You two are only seven, and without a proper teacher your fighting styles will be uncontrolled. There is no use in power if you cannot harness it. You two will become crusaders of justice-and help bring Konoha back to its former glory."

The two children then look at each other, and then nod. The heiress looks back at Itachi and says, "When shall we start training?"

The Uchiha then smiles. "I will tell my family that I have certain private missions for the Hokage in order to train the both of you starting in three days. We will only work after twilight, as there will be few distractions. The only rules that you must follow is that you shall listen to every order I say, no matter to what degree you disagree. Do you both understand?"

"Hai." The say in unison.

"Good."

It had been an entire year since the two hidden geniuses of Konoha had met with the Uchiha prodigy. In those twelve months, the children had become even more powerful. Hinata had learned to more or less master her bloodline-jutsu, and could now create an aura of black chakra around her fist. The young taijutsu master preferred to mix both pure hand-to-hand combat with different ninjutsu to create deadly attacks.

Naruto on the other hand had more or less mastered the art of Ninjutsu to a T. He was able to concentrate his chakra into his hands and release blast of energy towards his enemies. He had also begun to use katanas on request from Itachi-sensei, as he was not as proficient in taijutsu as his female companion.

Unfortunately, Itachi had been having less frequent meetings with the two ninjas in the last few weeks. While they would usually meet up anywhere from three to four days a week, they now were lucky to see him once during the same span of time. He had called this emergency meeting at midnight, warning us how important the information he was about to tell us was.

"Hello, Itachi-sensei. Hinata and I came as soon as we got your message." I told as both Hinata and I kneeled in front of our teacher.

"Naruto. Hinata. I must tell you that from now on, I will be unable to teach you."

Both of the young students faces broke into shock. They always knew that they would eventually be unable to learn from there teacher, but they never guessed that the day would come so very face.

"But, Itachi-sensei, this is so sudden! What has happened?" Asked Hinata.

"There has been a mission that I have been given. Let's just say that there is no option of refusal, and once I complete said task I will be unable to live in the village."

"What is the mission about?" Ask Naruto.

"That is information that I cannot tell you."

While in the last year, Naruto had near perfected his image as the village idiot through mental training/interrogation of his teacher; he still could not suppress his anger at his sensei.

"So you're just going to leave without giving us an explanation!" Naruto screams at the Uchiha.

"Naruto, please." The heiress tries to calm him.

"No, Hinata! He is just going to abandon us without even saying why he has to leave. This is why you and I only trusted each other; strangers will only betray us at the end! I can't believe you have the nerve to make us learn from you, to make us care for you, only to abandon us! What the…"

"Naruto, silence!" Screams the Uchiha. The Uzumaki was taken aback by their sensei's uncharacteristic outburst. He then goes towards the two students and stares into their eyes with his onyx glare. "By even informing you that I am on a mission, I am endangering your lives. I cannot risk the both of you knowing anymore until a more appropriate time. Hopefully in the future I will be able to come in contact with you again and explain more. However, I will need the both of you to trust me, okay?"

The Hyuuga and Uzumaki both nod slightly and look down on the ground. The young heiress let's down a single tear from her face at the realization that they may not ever see their sensei once again, while the Uzumaki shakes in anger. The Uchiha then grabs both children into a hug.

"Remember that you two are not only my pupils, but my legacies. I care for you two like my own blood, and am counting on the both of you." The two children squeeze their sensei, knowing that it may be the last time. "I love you two."

The next day, the entire village was in shock in response to the news that Itachi Uchiha had killed everyone in the entire clan save his younger brother, Sasuke. While the two prodigies feigned ignorance of the situation to the outside world, they grieved in private due to the action of their former teacher. They still had questions as to what exactly had occurred, but they never loss hope in their sensei.

For this was only the beginning of the story.