We're In This Together

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did it would never have gotten off the ground

If you want good Naruto Fanfiction, find Kenchi618 (Search authors on Fanfiction)the best writer I've seen!

Ch. 1

Konoha, October 10th, Naruto's 6th birthday

"I'm sorry! I don't know what I did but I'm SORRY!" A six-year-old child screamed as he ran through the streets, trying to escape a drunken mob that seemed hell-bent on beating him into a coma...just like last year.

"You were born! That's what you did!" One of the villafers yelled as he threw a large stone at the boy, nailing him on the back of his head.

The boy screamed in pain as he stumbled, but he did not fall. He couldn't, not again. The last time he fell, they caught him and all he remembered afterwards was pain before he felt the sweet call of darkness. He had woken up three days later, bruised and bloody, before the doctors said he could go home. He had told them he was still hurt, begged them to let him stay until he was better, but all they said was "You'll live" before they kicked him out.

"Just leave me alone!" The boy screamed as he ducked through a small alley before he dove under a loose tarp and went still. He heard the mob run into the alley, stopping as they searched for him. He heard them muttering things like "Where'd he go?", "Demon brat!", and "He's a sly one, just like a fox should be!" as they searched for him.

"I found him! He's under the tarp!" One of them shouted as she ripped the tarp off of the cowering child. The mob surrounded the blond-haired boy, the three whisker-like marks on each cheek the only confirmation they needed to treat him like the monster they hated, the demon he contained, the Kyubi no Kitsune.

"Any last words monster?" One of the men asked. He wore a strip of cloth on his head with a metal plate covering his brow, the standard-issue hitai-ate given to any shinobi upon graduation from the shinobi acedemy.

"..." The boy mumbled a response that none of them heard.

"Speak up freak!" The ninja shouted.

"I said my name is NARUTO!" The boy screamed as he stared at mob with a strange glint in his eye, causing a few of them to step back. Only those closest to the boy stepped back, including the unidentified shinobi, but that combined with the wary looks some of them gave him told him one thing.

"They're afraid of me?" Naruto thought.

Before the boy could ponder any further, the mob rushed him, swinging wildly with fists, bricks, sticks-anything they had.

As the onslaught of punishment continued, The young jinchuriki could only curl into a ball and hope that they knocked him out quickly. After all,

"What else could I do?" He thought miserably as he grew angry at the villagers that obviously delighted in his suffering, and the cloaked men in masks that sat on the rooftops, watching the event unfold like it was a play.

Although Naruto never expected anyone to respond to his silent question, one creature did.

"..." The young boy heard what sounded like a whisper echo through his mind, it was so quiet he wasn't sure if was even there.

"What?" He thought as he felt sweet call of darkness once again.

"I SAID FIGHT BACK YOU FOOL!" A deep, rumbling voice shouted in his mind, drowning out the howls of pleasure from the creatures that called themselves humans as well as chasing away the darkness at the edge of his vision and even allowing him to see things with startling clarity.

Despite having no training in taijutsu and never having tried to fight before, Naruto instictively lunged for the shinobi in the mob, letting loose a a terrifying roar as he clawed at his face and slammed his forehead into his nose, breaking it, before jumping off of his body and tearing into the villagers.

He slashed and broke limbs, tore their weapons from their hands and broke them over skulls, and beat their bodies to a pulp, but made sure none of the wounds were lethal.

He avoided arteties, made sure that he didn't break heads open, and did not use his new claws to stab anyone. He would not grant them death, he would ensure they survived and allow them to wallow in fear and despair whenever they met his eyes after this day, and when he became Hokage he would ensure they bowed to him, knowing that this was the same 'demon brat' they tortured on his birthday. He wouldn't hurt them though.

He would just rub it in their faces. After all, a Hokage without villagers is like a king without subjects.

Nightfall, Naruto's apartment

After the villagers had scattered and the men in cloaks had left, Naruto had stumbled back to his apartment, exhausted from running from the mob from early afternoon to late evening and the fight once they caught him. Naruto wasn't the sharpest shuriken in the pouch, but he understood his limits...or at least, he thought he did.

Sure, he was stronger and faster than a child his age should have been without training or physical conditioning, but he was still only five-no, he was six now, the mob had chased him on his birthday...again. Anyway, he was sure that he wasn't strong enough to beat up that many villagers, drunk or otherwise, on his own, especially not when they had a genin on their side, although he was probably a chunin that just didn't wear his vest that day, based on his age and the fact that a jonin couldn't be caught off guard that easily, which made it even more unbelievable.

"Maybe it was adrel...adrenla-"

"It's called 'adrenaline' gaki."A familiar voice said.

"Right, thanks...wait...who said that?" Naruto thought. Instead of an answer, Naruto suddenly found himself standing in front of a massive prison cell, with a giant pair of red, slitted eyes staring back at him, he could see nothing else through the shadows of the cell.

"Hello Naruto, it's good to finally see my jailor in person." The face said, revealing massive sharp teeth as it spoke.

"Where am I, who are you, how do you know me, and what's a jailor." Naruto asked calmly, not the least bit scared of suddenly standing in front disembodied face trapped in a prison cell located in a sewer.

"I forgot, you're only a child. As for your questions, you are currently in your mind, I'd suggest you don't think about that too much since it's actually rather confusing, I am the Kyubi no Kitsune, more commonly known as the Nine-tailed Demon Fox. I know you because I've been with you since the hour of your birth, and a jailor is a person that makes sure people stay in prison. Are you understanding me so far?" The Kyubi explained/asked.

"...I think I got it Kyubi-san." Naruto replied after a moment of thought.

"Normally I'd tell you to address me as Kyubi-sama, but considering who I'm talking to I'll take what I can get. Anyway, I've brought you here to make you an offer Naruto, if you promise to release me from my cell when you die, then I will train you in the shinobi arts and make you strong enough to at least be a candidate for becoming Hokage." Kyubi said.

"Really!? You can make me Hokage!?" Naruto asked, excited.

"No, I can't make you Hokage. I can make you strong enough to be Hokage, but I can't actually make you Hokage, you either need the current Hokage to name you as their successor or you need the shinobi and civilian councils' approval to be made Hokage. I can make you one of the strongest shinobi in the village if that makes it easier to understand." Kyubi explained.

"...Okay, you got deal!" Naruto said. "I swear on my dream of being Hokage and my honor as a future ninja that I'll let you out of your cage when I die, as long as you keep your promise." Naruto said seriously, a small grin on his face.

"And I, the Kyubi no Kitsune, swear on my nine tails to make you one the strongest shinobi in the history of your village." Kyubi replied, just as serious and with a small grin of his own.

"Now, when you get back to your apartment only a few seconds will have passed. What I want you to do is eat dinner, shower, and go to bed. Once you are asleep, I will train you in your dreams on the mental aspects of being a shinobi, which means chakra control exercises, fuinjutsu theory, hand-seal practice, and mental sparring so you can get the basics of taijutsu down pat. You won't be able to get faster or stronger in your mind, but you can learn taijutsu and get your muscle memory down-pat so it's easier to perform in the physical plane." Kyubi explained before the sewer and the prison cell disappeared and Naruto found himself back in his apartment.

Quickly eating dinner and bathing, Naruto followed the Kyubi's instructions and went to sleep, where he trained under the Kyubi's stern gaze, making sure that he did everything perfectly. He started out slow with taijutsu and hand-seals before he started doing them faster and faster, learning entire katas and the required combinations for common ninjutsu.

Apparently, the Kyubi had, in its spare time, created its own form of taijutsu that it had affectionately dubbed the Kitsune no Ken (Fox Fist), that specialized in brutal strikes and vicious attacks. It was similar to the Inuzuka clan's taijutsu, but it had more finesse to it and had two stances it could be used from; the upper stance, which was basically standing on two legs with the knees bent and hands curled halfway between fists and claws, and the lower stance; which was to be used when Naruto drew on the kyuubi's chakra so it would feel more natural to move around on all fours and strike by using his claws.

Both stances relied heavily on speed and feral attacks, but they each leaned more towards one or the other. Upper stance was much more offensive and focused on getting in, dealing damage, and getting out.

The lower stance was similar, but instead of hit and run tactics Naruto would dart back and forth across the battlefield and kick him around instead of leaving him in the same relative location

And so Naruto spent what felt like days in his mindscape learning these things until it was time to start the Kyubi's physical training.

Morning, Dawn

Naruto yawned as he woke up and went to the bathroom before eating his usual breakfast of instant ramen. He quickly put on a blue shirt and a pair of shorts before heading out the door.

"Alright gaki, I want you to go into that clothing store and look for something bright and almost impossible to not see." Kyubi said.

"Why Kyubi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Don't question me, just trust that what I tell you to do will help you get stronger in the long run."Kyubi replied.

"Yes Sensei." Naruto thought as walked into the previously mentioned store and quickly noticed a hideous orange jumpsuit with blue trim and a red spiral on the back, almost like a bullseye on a target lit up with neon. No one could possibly hide or even escape pursuit if they wore something like that, they'd have to be an expert at stealth to...oh. "I never should have questioned you Sensei." Naruto thought as he grabbed the outfit and purchased it, at triple price, and left the store.

"Don't worry about it gaki, I would have questioned me too." Kyubi replied as the walked to the weapons shop that was located near the clothing shop. "Wait, search the dumpster first. They may not be usable in actual combat, but it's better than blowing half your savings on kunai and shuriken that your just going to be using for training for the next six years." Kyubi said. Naruto did as he was told and found over thirty assorted kunai and shuriken that were a bit rusty and had a few nicks or cratches on them, although he left the bent ones in the trash.

"Alright Kit, let's get to a training ground and start training. I also want you to listen to what I'm about to say very closely. When you start at the academy in two days, I want you to-"

AN: Please review and let me know what's good, what's bad, and ways I can improve. I do not have spellcheck so feel free to point out errors.

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