What's up, guys? ZnK here with a brand new story! Well, not brand new... I've been working on this for two years now, but I haven't been able to maintain inspiration for it. But, you know, several chapters in, I've realized that it would be good to publish this thing to get some feedback. Usually, feedback gets me all pumped, after all.

So, a few things before we start. In this story, Naruto is a Senju. How that is will be revealed in this chapter. He has the Wood Element, and will be able to use it very well. I have always had this idea of a new version of Hashirama and Madara. I have always thought that the two would have been an amazing team if Madara had chosen to stay in Konoha. But I wouldn't know how to write a story with them as the main characters, so I went for the second best option: Make Naruto and Sasuke epic.

So, there will be no bashing in this fic. Sasuke is a good guy. Kakashi isn't some piece of shit sensei who plays favorites. The village hasn't been beating Naruto since he was born. The only scorn Naruto has faced has been glares, whispers, and getting kicked out of shops. Any injuries he's sustained in his youth has been from picking fights.

So, with that said, please enjoy the story!

"Um, sensei?"

Eight-year old Uchiha Sasuke stood, his arms crossed, watching with cold eyes as Akimichi Chouji and Nara Shikamaru, both his age, stood opposite each other in front of their teacher, Umino Iruka, behind the Ninja Academy. A traditional shinobi spar was taking place.

"What?" Iruka asked Chouji, who looked a bit meek.

"I don't really wanna beat up my friend..."

"That's not what we're doing, this is a traditional shinobi spar," Iruka said, smiling. "Even the Hokage and his friends trained like this to help them grow strong."

Shikamaru didn't seem to listen, however. Instead, he just turned away and walked off.

"Sensei, I'm fine with losing by ring out," he announced, which made Chouji smile. "Call the next pair."

Iruka sighed, exasperated, then gestured for Shikamaru to come back and said, "Fine. Shikamaru, Chouji, the symbol of harmony. Next..."

As Chouji and Shikamaru hooked their middle and index fingers with each other, Iruka looked over the clipboard in his hands, trying to decide on the next pair.

"Uh... Next is Uzumaki Naruto! And Uchiha Sasuke! You're up!"

As Sasuke walked into the ring that had been drawn on the ground, the girls in his class squealed with joy. Sasuke hated when they did that. He thought that ignoring them would make them stop, but they seemed to love his loner personality. Ignoring them once more, he looked to the kid who walked into the ring with him.

The boy had spiky, blond hair, intense blue eyes, and three strange, whisker-like markings on each cheek. Sasuke could see that he shouldn't relax when it came to this boy, as his expression was very rebellious, and his already bruised knuckles, coupled with the faded bruise on his cheek and the butterfly bandage over the cut above his left eyebrow told him that this kid was a fighter.

"Let's do this," the other boy, Naruto, said with a grin that screamed defiance and confidence.

"Naruto!" Iruka barked, placing his hand in a half-Ram seal. "Before the spar, you have to make the symbol of combat! It's the proper protocol!"

"I couldn't give a crap!" Naruto exclaimed brashly and very loudly. "Just start the fight, yeah?"

"So stupid..." Sasuke muttered. "Fine, I'll take you down in one-"

"Stop, the both of you!" Iruka ordered. "Sheesh! Listen, these shinobi spars are a tradition that's been passed down for generations! I realize there's a lot of etiquette, but it's important, and here at the academy, we're teaching you the basics! First, you always face your opponent and point your fingers like this. This is the symbol of combat. It represents on half of a seal that might be used to activate a Ninjutsu technique, and means, 'I've come to face you in battle!' When the spar is over, both participants make the symbol of combat and lock their fingers together, to make the symbol of harmony and acknowledge that they are still comrades. This is all part of the proper etiquette for a shinobi spar, and-" Iruka stopped and twitched when he saw Naruto looking away, cleaning out his ear. "Are you listening, Naruto?! This's the second time I've told you this!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

"Say 'Yes,' and say it once, you little brat!"

Naruto scoffed, but then smirked and formed the symbol of combat, staring into Sasuke's eyes, the Uchiha forming the same symbol.

"Begin!" Iruka yelled out, and the two kids charged at each other.

Sasuke was right when he had assumed that Naruto could fight. He was used to being strong and all, so when Naruto seemed to anticipate every strike and counter with the same efficiency as Sasuke himself, the Uchiha was understandably shocked.

The two traded blows, and Sasuke, though entirely focused on the fight, noticed in the corner of his eye how the other students were staring in open shock. None of them had apparently been expecting Naruto to be this good.

Sasuke grunted when he felt a punch connect with his stomach, hard... And when he hunched over, gritting his teeth, his mind's eye flashed back to that night, when he in a rage fueled by grief had charged at Itachi, who had delivered a similar punch to his stomach.

Stumbling back, Sasuke glared at Naruto, and before his eyes the blond's features changed. Instead of the spiky-haired, cocky blond, there stood the source of his hatred, Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke felt that familiar rage fill him, and he charged at his brother with renewed vigor, taking him completely by surprise with his increased speed. He laid into him with punches, then managed to knock him to the ground, jumping on him and straddling him.

His eyes wide with rage, Sasuke raised his fist, ready to pound Itachi's head to mush. Then, he heard the cheering of the girls in his class, and he heard Iruka's call of, "Sasuke wins!" which brought him back to the present. He saw Itachi's mouth curve up into a smirk.

"Hoh, I've seen eyes like that before," he said, and when he spoke, Sasuke heard Naruto's voice, and Itachi slowly warped back into Naruto, whose smirk faded to be replaced by a curious look. "But for once, it's not directed at me... Who are you looking at?"

Sasuke felt himself twitch. He hesitated, then slowly got off Naruto as Iruka said, "Now, both of you make the symbol of harmony, and we'll move on."

Naruto got to his feet and rubbed the bruise that had resurfaced on his cheek after Sasuke punched him rather hard on it. He put his hand in the symbol of combat, then held it out to Sasuke, giving him a calculating look. Sasuke grunted and did the same, hooking his fingers with Naruto's.

They let go immediately, and Sasuke turned away, gritting his teeth.

Later found Sasuke sitting on the Yondaime's head on the Hokage Monument. He had never been up there before, but Iruka, who had noticed the look in Sasuke's eyes, had told him that it was a great place to just sit down and think. He said that he had gotten the idea from another student. When asked who, the teacher had just shrugged and walked away.

Sasuke had to admit, he could see so much from up there. He felt so... small, as though his problems were just a single drop in a vast ocean. He-

"Oi," came a grumpy voice from behind Sasuke, interrupting his train of thought. Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see that kid from the academy, Naruto, standing there, his hands in the pockets of his beige cargo shorts. He hadn't changed shirts, so his white t-shirt still had blood spatter on it. Surprisingly, however, his busted lip had already healed, and the bruise on his cheek had almost completely faded. Naruto pointed at the stone where Sasuke sat. "You're in my seat."

"Don't see your name on it, loser," Sasuke snapped back, glaring at Naruto, whose face scrunched up in anger.

"Want me to kick you off, you little shit?!"

"I'm as tall as you!" Sasuke barked. Then, he scoffed and turned to look over the village again. "What are you doing here?"

"I always come here," Naruto muttered as he walked up to Sasuke and sat down next to him. "The people in this village treat me like crap, so I come up here, and look over the whole village, and... I dunno, I feel something."

"Something?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"An incredible need to protect this place," Naruto explained with a shrug. "I'm gonna be a great ninja, and continue the old man's work."

"Old man?"

"The Hokage-jiji. I'm gonna take over for him as Hokage one day! Then everyone in the village will acknowledge my existence!"

Sasuke scoffed in amusement.

"What a foolish dream."

Suddenly, Sasuke found his collar grabbed by Naruto, who pulled him closer and glared into his eyes with an intensity that Sasuke had never seen before. There was a fire in Naruto's eyes that burned brightly, brightly enough to shock Sasuke into speechlessness. This kid had one hundred percent confidence that his dream would come true.

"Say that again!" Naruto growled out angrily.

"Gerroff!" Sasuke grunted, slapping Naruto's hands off his collar. He righted it again and lowered his head, so that half his face was covered by the high Uchiha trademark collar, gazing darkly out over the village. "I said it was a foolish dream. Empty words aren't going to make them reality..."

"All dreams start out as words. They're the foundation you can build them on," Naruto said insistently. "Without dreams, we will fall into stagnation and our lives will become inconsequential."

Sasuke blinked at that and slowly turned to look at the important-looking Naruto in confusion.

"Stagnation? Inconsequential?" he asked curiously. "What's that mean?"

"Dunno," Naruto said with a shrug. "But that's what Jiji told me when I told him about my dream, and if the Hokage says it, it must be important!"

"Hoho, indeed, Naruto-kun!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke jumped in surprise and turned their heads to see none other than the elderly Sandaime Hokage standing behind them, smiling brightly.

"Ah, Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed as he shot to his feet, pointing accusingly at Sasuke. "This punk said my dream is dumb!"

"Tch..." Sasuke pouted and looked away.

"Don't be too hard on Sasuke-kun," the Sandaime said kindly, walking up and kneeling behind Sasuke, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke's life has been rough recently, so it is understandable that he is skeptical. But it's amazing that you two found each other up here."

"Hah?" Naruto blinked, tilting his head to the side. "What are you on about, Jiji?"

"You both have darkness in your lives, a darkness no one could ever understand," the Sandaime said, which made Sasuke's eyes widen as he turned his head to look at Naruto in shock. This kid had a rough life? "I think that, of all the people in this village, you two are probably the ones who can understand and help each other the best."

Sasuke looked skeptically at Naruto, who gave him an identical look.

"That pampered prince?" Naruto asked at the exact same time as Sasuke said, "That troublemaking idiot?"

The Sandaime just chuckled as he patted both boys on the head and said, "Iruka told me that you two sparred today, the strongest in the class. If you were that energetic during your spar, you should have gotten a feel for each others' reasons for fighting."

Rising again, the Sandaime smiled brightly at them.

"I believe, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, that if you two talk, you will become great friends. It's not good to keep everything bottled up inside."

With that, the Sandaime disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto looked a bit confused for a moment, then shrugged and plopped down next to Sasuke again, humming.

"What he mean? Had it rough?" the blond mumbled, and Sasuke's eyes darkened as he lowered his head again, hiding behind his collar.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Fine," Naruto said with a shrug. "Not like I wanna talk to a punk like you, anyway! I just came here to enjoy the view!"

Sasuke scoffed, keeping his gaze on the village. The two sat in silence for a while, and Sasuke thought back to the spar he had had with Naruto earlier that day. The Sandaime said that they should be able to understand each other, and Sasuke could remember that Itachi had said something similar once, that when two warriors clash, their minds connect, and their true feelings are displayed to each other.

Slowly, Sasuke turned his head to look at Naruto, who kept his defiant look on his face as he looked over the village.

"You have determination," Sasuke spoke up suddenly, which made Naruto look at him. "I got that from our spar. You're constantly trying to prove yourself, and the determination is just an outlet for all the hate you hold inside. Hatred for what?"

"Why should I answer? You didn't..."

Sasuke gave another scoff and looked away from Naruto again. He contemplated for a moment, then said, "I am from the Uchiha clan. My brother was the strongest of us all. He was my hero. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be like him. Then, about a month ago..." Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the events flashing before his eyes. He contemplated avoiding telling Naruto, but felt that it might be best if he talked about it. "About a month ago, my brother killed my entire clan, before fleeing the village."

Naruto blinked in surprise at that.

"Wow... That... sucks, I guess..."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked, hoping to find something else to focus on.

"What about me?"

"Have you lost anyone? The Hokage said we'd understand each other, so..."

"I don't think he meant it like that," Naruto said with a shrug. "I've never lost a family member."

"Oh," Sasuke thought, and couldn't help but envy Naruto for how lucky he-

"Then again, I've never had any family to begin with."

"Huh?" Sasuke blinked in surprise. Maybe Naruto wasn't so lucky after all?

"Yeah, I'm an orphan. No idea who my parents are. I think they died on the day I was born, during the Kyuubi attack, or something."

"Oh," Sasuke said slowly. "Is that why you have such a suppressed hatred?"

"Nope, I don't hate the Kyuubi," Naruto said, shaking his head. "I don't really hate anything."

"That's total crap," Sasuke muttered, giving Naruto a skeptical look. "The Hokage said that we'd be able to understand each other, since we've sparred, and I felt a lot of hatred coming from you."

Naruto scoffed, crossing his arms and turning away while muttering, "What do you know?"

"I know a look of hatred. I see it every time I look in the mirror. So tell me."

Naruto kept his defiant look for a few moments, but then he seemed to deflate as he turned his head to look over the village.

"The villagers, I guess..." he muttered. "They think I'm blind and deaf, but I see and hear everything. Most of these people... they glare at me for no reason, and they whisper things about me, even though they don't know me. They whisper such... hurtful things..."

"Why would they do that? I mean, you're a troublemaking fool, but that's-"

"Shaddap!" Naruto snapped. "I only started causing trouble because they whispered a bunch of crap!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at that. "Then... why are they whispering?"

"Dunno," Naruto said with a shrug. "They've been doing it for as long as I can remember. When I ask the old man, he gets all dodgy and changes the subject."

"So... you have no idea what it's like to lose family... and I have no idea what it's like to not have family in the first place, or be whispered about by the villagers..." Sasuke muttered, furrowing his brow. "How, exactly, are we meant to understand each other?"

"Well, I don't think Jiji meant that we'd understand the thingy itself, but the pain it caused."

"The thingy?"

"The Jiji has a word for it, but I can't p... pron... I can't say it."

"You should work on that..."

"Gimme a break, alright? I never had someone to teach me properly..."

Sasuke scoffed in amusement as he looked over the village again, a small smirk on his face.

"You're pretty useless, aren't you?"

"SHADDAP! I'LL KICK YOU DOWN FROM HERE!"

As Sasuke walked into the academy the following day, he couldn't help but feel... happy? Yes, it was probably happiness that he felt. He and Naruto had talked a lot the previous evening. They had found that the Sandaime was right. Though their situations were vastly different, they had connected thanks to the fact that the pain they felt was very similar, despite being so radically different.

Also, Sasuke felt quite proud of himself for having spent most of the night studying a dictionary so that he could confuse Naruto with big words the following day.

Sasuke looked around the classroom, finding two fangirls sitting on either side of the seat he had taken the previous day. They were watching him expectantly, and Sasuke felt very reluctant to go there, so he desperately searched for another spot to sit in.

He found it, and as luck would have it, the seat was next to Naruto, who was resting his head on his arms, snoozing peacefully.

"Yo," Sasuke said as he came up to Naruto and sat down next to him. Naruto opened a single eye and looked at him.

"Yo," he muttered back, yawning. "You look tired."

"I was up late last night," Sasuke said, smirking. He didn't need to tell him why he'd been up. He'd just settle for using the fruits of his labor.

"Yeah, same here," Naruto said with a nod. "I'm very haggard. I spent most of last night reading a dictionary. It was exhilarating and refreshing at the same time as it was vexatious."

Sasuke twitched. He narrowed his eyes and looked away, realizing that he had no idea what that last word meant.

"I also studied a dictionary, but I never got that far into it..."

"Yeah, those words were probably the only words I bothered to actually memorize properly," Naruto said, sighing tiredly. "It's waaay too much of a hassle to bother with big words..."

"Hn."

"Alright, alright, settle down!" came Iruka's voice as the Chuunin teacher entered the classroom. As usual, this had no effect whatsoever on the class, who kept chattering with each other. Iruka twitched once, took a deep breath, and yelled out, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"

This, as usual, got their attention, and classes got started.

After the class was let out for the day, Naruto and Sasuke didn't go to their respective homes. Instead, they headed to the library, and Sasuke couldn't help but notice the look Naruto got from the librarian, who had looked on the verge of kicking him out before she saw Sasuke accompanying him. He didn't voice this, however, as Naruto was in a good mood, since he had finally gotten a friend.

Well, Sasuke hadn't officially said that they were friends, and though he was loath to admit it, he saw Naruto as one. He didn't really know why. They had just clicked somehow.

So now, they were looking through scroll after scroll, researching ninja and chakra as much as possible. Naruto had wanted to spend the day at Ichiraku Ramen, but Sasuke had convinced him to go to the library. After all, he couldn't grow strong enough to become Hokage and get everyone to acknowledge him by spending his days at the ramen stand.

"Aaaah, sensor ninja, medic ninja, offensive ninja, defensive ninja, Genjutsu specialist, Ninjutsu specialist, Taijutsu specialist..." Naruto muttered, looking through his thirteenth scroll that day. "There's so much to choose from. How do you know which one fits you?"

"I'll be an offensive type, I think," Sasuke said, humming. "Yeah, definitely. I'll also specialize in all three: Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu."

"Hah? You don't seem the Genjutsu type..." Naruto said, tilting his head to the side.

"Well, not right now, but when I get my Sharingan, it'll come naturally."

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long time.

"Sha... rin... gan...?"

"I'll tell you later."

Shrugging, Naruto looked back down at the scroll, furrowing his brow in thought and picked up another one, clicking his tongue and muttering, "I think I'd make a good sensor. Also, I'll probably be a mix of offensive and defensive, specializing in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu."

"It'd be good to have a sensor on the team," Sasuke said, nodding slowly.

"On the team?"

"Well, we're going to be on the same team, aren't we? You're probably the only one in the academy I can stand. And hopefully, that Hyuuga girl will end up with us, too, as she's probably the only girl who doesn't follow me around like a lost puppy..."

"I didn't know we get to pick our teammates..."

"We don't. But we can manipulate things so that we do."

Naruto blinked slowly. Then, he ordered, "Explain."

"From what I can tell, they pair the highest scoring boy and girl with the lowest scoring boy. Therefore, I will become rookie of the year, as is expected of me, but you get barely passing grades, and become dead last. That way, we'll end up on the same team, even if you're just below me in power."

"You sound confident in your own power..."

"I'm an Uchiha, so I have a right to be," was the only explanation Sasuke gave, which made Naruto snort. Then, Naruto burst out laughing, and Sasuke was incredibly surprised to find that he was joining in in the laughter.

"Naruto!" Sasuke barked in an uncharacteristically loud voice. Around his friend (dare he say best friend?), Sasuke had always been different. He was a lot... happier, he supposed one could call it. It had now been six months since they met, and Sasuke had found something more to live for.

When his clan was killed, he had thought that everyone he cared about had disappeared. All he had seen in front of him was Itachi, and his desire to kill the man. Now, however... he had realized that although the Uchiha Clan would always be very dear to him, and he would always miss them, he could get new people who were precious to him. Granted, he had only found one person who he could call precious, but still.

Also, his clan could be revived. That responsibility rested on Sasuke's shoulders now, if he wanted to bring the clan back to greatness. Therefore, he couldn't just focus all his attention on getting strong enough to kill Itachi. After all, if he failed... then the Uchiha Clan would be forever gone from Konoha.

"Naru- whoa..."

Sasuke came to a sudden halt when he reached their clearing in training area three, where he and Naruto had been given permission to train. He found Naruto sitting in the very center, looking around with a bright smile on his face. Why was he smiling? Because trees had sprouted from the ground around him, trees that Sasuke was one hundred percent sure hadn't been there before!

"How...?"

"Oh, hey, Sasuke!" Naruto said, getting to his feet and jogging over to Sasuke. "Isn't this cool? I can create trees!"

"How did you do that? Wood isn't an element!" Sasuke said, eyes still wide in shock. Their senses had sharpened enough that they weren't surprised when the Sandaime appeared in the clearing. They heard him the second his sandal touched the dirt.

"I would also like to know that, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime spoke up, staring at Naruto curiously.

"Well, I just sat there, meditating, and suddenly I started molding chakra, but it felt different, somehow, like my chakra was split in two. So, I tried putting it together again, and... poof," Naruto finished lamely, gesturing for the trees around them.

"Naruto-kun, did you know that the Wood Release is a bloodline limit?" the Sandaime said seriously, making both Naruto and Sasuke go wide-eyed.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, a grin appearing on his face as he turned to Sasuke. "Did you hear that, Sasuke? I have a bloodline, too!"

"Indeed you do, Naruto-kun. Have any of you heard of the Wood Release before?"

"I've heard it mentioned by my father once, I think," Sasuke said, scratching his head. "Other than that, no."

"Nope."

"The Wood Release was the special bloodline ability of the Shodai Hokage, boys," the Sandaime said, and it didn't take more than a second for both Naruto and Sasuke to realize what he was saying.

"Holy mother-hubbering crap!" Naruto exclaimed, eloquently putting into words what both boys felt. "I'm... I'm related to the Shodai Hokage?!"

"And in turn the Nidaime, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime said, nodding. "How, I do not know. I didn't think either of your parents were related to them... The Nidaime never had any children, and the last known descendant of the Shodai is..." The Sandaime's eyes widened. "No... It couldn't be..."

Naruto blinked, then looked at Sasuke, who shrugged. Neither of them needed to speak in order to know that the other had no clue what the Sandaime was talking about. The old Hokage seemed to realize this, as he smiled at them.

"The last known descendant of the Shodai Hokage was the son of Senju Tsunade. However, she was forced to give him up for adoption, against the wishes of the village, of course, as she didn't think she could be trusted to raise a child. I believe that fate somehow intervened, and the child remained in the village despite everything..."

A smirk slowly spread on the Sandaime's face.

"Naruto-kun, I believe you now deserve to find out the truth about your parents," he said, making Naruto's eyes widen, along with Sasuke's, as Naruto had told him that the Sandaime had often said that it would be too dangerous for the blond to know. "Why don't we talk somewhere more private?"

"Can Sasuke come?" Naruto asked hopefully. "'Cause you know I'll tell him anyway."

The Sandaime looked at Sasuke, who thought for a moment that the old man doubted he could be trusted. Those thoughts were unfounded, however, as the Sandaime smiled not even half a second later.

"Of course, good friends should never have to hide things from each other, after all. Secrets create a rift between them that can almost never be mended. So, Sasuke-kun, would you like to come along as well?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Sasuke said eagerly, nodding. If Naruto was related to the Shodai Hokage, he wanted to know about it!

The Sandaime reached out and placed a hand on their shoulders, and then all three disappeared in a blur.

They reappeared inside the Hokage's mansion, in the Sandaime's office, to be exact. The walls were lined with scrolls, showing that that was all the Sandaime did in this office, work on all manner of Ninjutsu.

"Sit down," the Sandaime said, gesturing for four cushions on the floor. He sat down on one of them with the usual old person-groan, and Naruto and Sasuke sat down as well, watching him eagerly. The Sandaime's gentle, grandfatherly look was replaced by a stern and serious one. "Now, Naruto-kun, I want you to remember that this is very sensitive information, and that your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and even your great-great grandparents had enemies that would love to kill you simply out of spite. Therefore, I would like you two to keep this information to yourselves, until I deem you strong enough to protect yourself. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Jiji!" Naruto said, and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Your mother, Naruto-kun, was Uzumaki Kushina, a member of the great Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure no Sato, a now destroyed village situated on an island to the east of Fire Country. This clan was known for their great proficiency with sealing techniques, and their longevity. She was an amazingly strong woman, and very hot-tempered." The Sandaime paused for a moment, and then gave a small chuckle. "In her youth, she was teased in the ninja academy because of her round face and red hair. The children took to calling her Tomato."

Naruto gave an audible snort, and Sasuke had to suppress a smirk, knowing that was the kind of name Naruto would have come up with for someone like that. The Sandaime hummed and put a hand on his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully.

"Of course, that all changed when she started pummeling those who teased her, prompting the children to call her the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero."

Naruto tensed, and Sasuke knew his friend well enough to know that Naruto had suddenly decided not to go name-calling anymore, unless the name-callee actually deserved it.

"Well, what about my dad?" Naruto asked, shaking off the horrible thought of being pummeled by an angry redhead. "Was he a super cool ninja, or something?"

"Oh, he was super cool, alright," the Sandaime said with a nod. "Your father... Your father is the main reason why your true heritage was kept hidden from you. In the last Great Shinobi War, he made a great enemy out of Iwa. He was the man who would one day rise to become the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, Namikaze Minato."

Sasuke felt his jaw muscles slacken, and his jaw dropped in shock. Glancing to his right, he saw that Naruto had the same reaction, staring at the Sandaime in open shock.

"M-My... My old man was...?"

"That's right, Naruto-kun, your father was the Yondaime Hokage, who I now suspect to have been adopted. I believe he may have actually been Tsunade's biological son. The reason why I haven't told you, or anyone else, about this... is that you are, I'm sorry for saying this, a loudmouth, Naruto-kun."

Sasuke couldn't suppress a smirk at seeing Naruto twitch in indignation at hearing that.

"Naruto-kun, if I had told you, then you would have screamed it out to whoever would listen at every chance you had. This would have been brought to Iwa's attention, and they may have tried to kidnap you."

"Tch..." Naruto crossed his arms and pouted. "I suppose..."

"However, I didn't want to keep it from you any longer. Now, you are going to need training. There is a man here in Konoha who is quite proficient at using Mokuton Ninjutsu. And no, Naruto-kun, he is not a Senju," the Sandaime added at seeing Naruto's face brightening. "He was experimented on at a young age, and had Shodai-sama's genes implanted in him by a criminal of this village. He is currently serving in the ANBU forces, but I'm going to recall him to be your instructor when it comes to Mokuton Ninjutsu."

Naruto grinned widely at that.

"Thanks a lot, Jiji!" he exclaimed, then turned to Sasuke. "Let's both become super powerful, yeah?"

"Heh..." Sasuke scoffed, smirking. "As if I'd let you become stronger than me, you fool..."

The Sandaime stared intently at the two children for a while. Then, his eyes closed as he gave a bright smile, chuckling softly. Naruto twitched, and a disgusted look appeared on his face.

"Oi, Jiji... Why are you smiling like that? Are you a pedophile?"

It was the Sandaime's turn to twitch.

"NARUTO!"

So, what did you think? Personally, I thought this was pretty well done. Usually, I would have just jumped straight into the action, but I felt I needed to show Naruto and Sasuke growing up a bit. In the next chapter, we'll start on graduation day! Until then, peace out!

ZnK