Chapter One

AN: Hello my peeps, Riku here! I've arrived with the beginning of a new story, with hopes it will bring you tears of empathy and happiness along the way. Many of you have been waiting for this particular story to begin, and here it is. I decided to publish this first chapter BEFORE the final chapter of 'ANBU's Mascot', which will be happening very soon. Anyways, please enjoy and let me know what y'all think.

Disclaimer for the whole story: I don't own Naruto; if I did, not only would Danzo not be completely evil, but Naruto's favorite color would be blue instead of orange since blue is way better than orange.

Somewhere no one wishes to be, moments after Danzo Shimura v Sasuke Uchiha…

Danzo Shimura was uncomfortable with how his life turned out. It had begun happily enough, with him being awed at the thought of becoming a shinobi for his clan and the infantile village of Konoha. His early years held a mixture of joy and hardships, but over all Danzo was proud of his accomplishments.

Then the first Shinobi war hit. That one mission, that cost him his idealism, his smile, and finally… one of his best friends. Danzo Shimura died that day, even if no one knew that. In its death arose the 'Darkness of Shinobi', the antithesis to his other best friend and rival Hiruzen Sarutobi. The two friends had taken the mantle once both their sensei died. In Tobirama's untimely demise, an unready Hiruzen was thrust into the Hokage position, something Danzo had always secretly desired.

Time passed, and peace returned to the world, but Danzo was jaded by this point; his mentor, most of his clan, and dream were taken from him in one form or another. So Danzo found a new path, the path of a tool.

Emotions were dangerous, so he sought to lock them away where he could. His still friend Hiruzen grudgingly admitted the use of a group so secret, no one could link them back to Konoha. Over the following years, select shinobi rose from the deep shadows to serve the great tree, and in these roots, Danzo found peace.

It was during this time Danzo found a lover. A pretty civilian woman who had no business being involved with the vile and crippled man Danzo had become; here he was, not even thirty and riddled with scars, the largest of which inhibited his mobility on his leg.

But Tsubaki Namikaze didn't care. She was the owner for a run down ramen shop, one that he visited on a whim after a grueling mission that caused three young ROOT chunin to perish. The woman didn't look at him with the pity of a civilian, but with the understanding of a shinobi, as her swollen belly made her all the more beautiful.

Those three years were happy times for Danzo. His missions were still a wash of dull grey, but his down time was brighter than Suna's sun. Tsubaki's enlarged abdomen was from an old man who took it on himself to teach the woman the 'pleasures' of intercourse. That man was found strung up and gutted, signs of torture evident.

Minato Namikaze, a fitting name as Danzo had no desire to rebuild the Shimura clan, especially as the boy was too beautiful for such a dark name. The ghosts of his clan home still haunted him in its emptiness. Danzo played with the small child on his down time and began to experience the feelings of parental love. It didn't matter if he kept the relationship a secret, that not even Hiruzen was aware of his new family; they were his. Life was bliss.

But of course, humanity's hatred knew no bounds. The Second Great Shinobi War began as a silent tornado. Danzo received word from his ROOT that an attack on the village was emminant from Kumo. In a rush of fear and love he sent his darling wife and secretly adopted three year old to the center of the land of Fire in hopes they would safe.

They never made it; the civilian caravan they were in was attacked and slaughtered, the children kidnapped. Little Minato and the others were being carted towards Iwa, along with a single Uzumaki child who was hitching a ride before being escorted home with an Uzumaki guard. They were found, Minato curled up around the dead girl protectively, on a battlefield near the boarder with the Land of Stone. Apparently Konoha had a battalion waiting to slaughter the intruders. Minato was the only survivor, and Danzo had made him a ghost at birth.

So, confused, the Leaf Shinobi took the only survivor back to Konoha, not completely sure where he came from as Danzo had snuck mother and child into the caravan and no one really remembered the boy from a shinobi clan. They decided that while he might have been from a boarder town or even Iwa, leaving him to die was not an option. At the orphanage, a subtle genjutsu on the matron made the boy be assigned the name 'Minato Namikaze', in honor of the ramen stand woman who went missing a few weeks ago and was known for her kindness despite the 'tragic miscarriage three years ago'.

As Danzo Shimura gave the child who should have called him nothing but Tou- san sleep in a traumatic bliss, he cried while wiping all snippets of memory from the last four months, ensuring the child would never remember his parents as more than a dream.

The next day, Danzo dove into the war, slaughtering more Iwa and Kumo shinobi than most thought possible. His world was completely grey now. Hiruzen simply chalked it up to anger for the audacity of their tentative allies to slaughter civilians.

Over the years Danzo chose to not think of the boy and destroyed his emotions with extreme prejudice; his goal for the Hokage position became twisted in wishing to turn the whole world grey; why did other shinobi get happiness, and let their emotions cause conflict (especially that basterd Sakumo) when he couldn't? No, Danzo would make Konoha great, burn everyone else to the ground, and protect the foolish young from the trap of humanity's heart.

When his child made it to Hokage, Danzo felt a shimmer of pride, but that pride was snapped when Minato stared at him in suspicion on their first meeting in twenty years; Apparently Hiruzen had warned the boy of his…darker pursuits.

Seeing your own child view you as a potential monster was troubling. But it didn't last long. Within a year Minato was dead, the Jinchuuriki Kushina along with him, leaving Danzo's adopted grandson Naruto all alone.

Danzo knew Minato died because of his emotions, his love for his wife. Why couldn't Kushina seal the beast? She was most likely on death's door anyways from the extraction. Instead they both died and Danzo was at a loss.

His plan to take the Hokage's hat in the uproar failed, and Hiruzen had so much security that Danzo had no hope of kidnapping the boy without it leading to war with another nation.

So Danzo watched. And watched. And he grew disgusted. Here was the creature his son sacrificed EVERYTHING for goofing off and playing pranks. One day Danzo observed the boy and realized the problem with his adoptive grandson.

Naruto was lonely. His emotions allowed for him to be. At that point Danzo Shimura plotted to take over Konoha before the boy was killed, then strip him of his emotions. It was sadistic, cruel, and wrong on so many levels, but that was Danzo's goal.

Orochimaru was let free and Kinoe was beginning to be trained; the boy's wood style could help train Naruto in the fox's chakra more than he could in his old age with an inferior arm that radiated Hashirama's power.

The Uchiha were wiped out, and Danzo kept their eyes, much like he kept his old team mates; there was no way Danzo would let those who caused his son to die even an ounce of life. Itachi was an exception and Sasuke was tolerated.

Atrocities were committed, and Danzo kept trying to take over Konoha; but that bitch Tsunade sent his grandson off with Jiraiya, a man who then loosened the boy's seal prematurely. It took great effort to not kill the man and fake Naruto's death when he saw that report.

Then 'Pein' attacked, a boy Danzo was sure was slaughtered by his own plotting. This was the man who was after his grandson. No way in hell.

Naruto came back from that battle a hero, and Danzo barely managed to hold the tiny upturning of his lips when the boy was accepted.

Danzo was going to be Hokage. His dream was coming true. Now to take care of the Akatsuki, ensure Tsunade never woke up, and then make his grandson a proper shinobi.

One who didn't eat ramen. That obsession had to die, as watching Tsubaki, Minato, and Kushina all devour it were painful memories he couldn't repeat.

That's when he tried to kill Sasuke Uchiha. And failed. Miserably. Even with eleven Izanagi, the boy was too powerful, too young, for Danzo's jaded, brittle bones. In his last moments he committed suicide, hoping it would take the monsters (one of whom's chakra reminded him too much of the bastard's chakra that was on Minato's corpse) with him to hell.

Danzo Shimura mused on these memories as he lay with closed eyes, not wishing to open them to the no doubt grim after life that he's earned.

Wake up, a melodious voice commanded him. On instinct Danzo's eyes… eye opened, arm poised for a jutsu. The voice giggled in amusement at the futile effort as Danzo looked around to complete darkness. It was as if no light had ever touched the place.

That won't do you any good, Danzo- chan. When you wake up next, don't freak out. I have big plans for the chosen one and you are going to help me.

Danzo found himself mute, and then his mind went blank, the voice's childish giggle filling his mind.

Konoha, five years after the Kyubi attack, Naruto's apartment…

Naruto looked rather suspiciously at the kid on his couch. His care taker had left in a huff that morning after Naruto pulled a prank on her. He knew the lady didn't deserve it, but she was always so… blank. She never showed any feelings and didn't talk unless it was necessary; it irked the blonde more than the glares and disappointed eyes from the rest of the village and Hokage. Today was the last day she'd be coming as he was now deemed 'capable enough' of not starving or dying from his own mistakes.

Of course, ANBU still checked on him and his apartment had seals that alerted the Hokage to every visitor, not that he knew that. Naruto had been praying for a friend as the woman with bored eyes slammed the door closed, leaving him alone. Sighing, Naruto had walked morosely towards his living room with thoughts of a new prank, only to find his couch occupied by a brown- haired boy his age.

Rather than doing the smart thing and finding a weapon in case it was a trap like in 'Ninja adventures volume three', Naruto gave into his boisterous personality.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE" The five year old bellowed. Eyes snapped open, brown eyes meeting blue in an encounter that would change the shinobi world's path forever.

Danzo looked at the blonde in confusion for a split second, ignoring how they were looking eye to eye despite the fact Danzo was (at least the last he checked) an adult. He disrupted his chakra in a subtle attempt at dispelling a genjutsu in case he had actually been captured instead of dying on that bridge. With a furrowed brow he realized that not only was his chakra impossible to control, but it was tiny.

Naruto looked at the paling brunette who sat there slack jawed, eyes darting around the room. He racked his brain for what to do, remembering what Hokage- jiji had told him to do with guests.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"…Danzo" said the brunette, who looked startled at his own voice.

"Wait here, I'll get ya some water." Naruto said, pointing his tiny finger at Danzo.

While Naruto left to grab some water, Danzo suddenly had a note appear from midair, its words an angry red on the paper.

I have given you another life- don't waste it. Naruto is the child of prophecy and he must live up to that name.

Make him strong or the next time we meet I will have the Shinigami feast on your soul for all eternity.

With Love,

Kami- sama

P.S Congrats you're five! Enjoy the academy, here is your identification papers. Your identity is solid, so if you reveal who you once were the deal is off.

The note disintegrated in the now five year old Danzo, who now held the official Konoha resident papers and ID. 'What 'deal'' He asked mentally as he read the forms.

Name: Danzo

Family: None

Status: Orphan

Cause: Kyubi attack

The form had everything, from blood type to his discharge from the orphanage due to him being entered into the shinobi academy starting next week. After all, academy students are considered shinobi in training and receive funds from the shinobi orphan office for apartments. It was an attempt to promote self reliance and maturity. The final sheet was an instruction sheet from the orphanage matron to check the apartments around this area and hand the landlord the attached official document to get him set up in housing.

By this time Naruto had turned around with two glasses of water in his hands. His eyes lit up at the familiar 'orphan relocation packet' as was the slang.

"Nani?! You're looking for a place to stay Danzo?" Naruto asked. Danzo rubbed his ear at the volume.

"No, I" He tried to protest, still fighting the thought that this wasn't a dream or hallucination or extremely overpowered genjutsu.

"Hehe, well you've come to the right place then! I don't know who told you about this place but I'm looking for a room mate." Naruto stuck his thumb proudly to his chest, the other hand having fingers crossed behind his back. He wasn't actually looking for a room mate, but a really nice voice kept telling him to say that, and who was he to argue with a voice?

'That's it Naruto- chan, you'll have a new friend living here in no time. Then you won't be so alone. I'm so proud of you,' The voice cooed to the excited five year old.

Danzo's voice, on the other hand, was not quite so nice.

'Accept his damn offer this instant before I gut you and revive you for a millennium' Was the 'encouragement' Danzo received.

"…Alright." The brunette gave in. Cue excited screaming.

"YATTA! YIPPIE I HAVE A FRIEND!"

"Silence!" Danzo went into 'commander mode' from his years of beating small children into his image. Instantly Naruto cowed a bit. "If I am to stay here, there are a few rules. First, listen to everything I say, when exactly that I say it."

"…huh?" Naruto said at the confusing wording. Danzo ignored him and moved on, already planning on how to turn this into an advantage for himself.

"Second, no shouting. And third… I will help you become a strong shinobi"

"But you're a kid like me" Naruto pointed out but flinched at the glare.

"Again, I will help you become a strong shinobi, be your…friend" This part was added at the threatening of 'Kami- sama'. "And let you live with me on one condition: you will aid me in my quest to become Hokage!" Danzo finished.

'Why do you even care about that position' The voice growled. Danzo spit back.

'Because if I have to put up with a five year old and going to the academy, adopted grandson or not I demand some compensation.' He demanded.

Danzo knew that children as young as Naruto rarely kept their dreams the same; it was something Danzo grudgingly respected about the blonde in his…past life. He saw no qualms with steering him away from the ambition for his benefit.

Naruto blinked at the odd stipulation and then rubbed his chin.

"But I wanna be Hokage. What about me? Can we both be Hokage?" Like any five year old, Naruto didn't really get the whole 'Hokage' thing yet, just the vague idea. Danzo capitalized on this with a gleam.

"Of course. First I get to be Hokage though." He stated firmly. Naruto thought then nodded. He grinned and grabbed his new friend's hand.

"Let's go Danzo! We hafta give your paper thingy to the land lord. She's alright, just don't look her in the eye, she hates that" Naruto informed his roommate. The blonde was proud of himself for remembering how Hokage- jiji walked him through the process of getting the apartment.

Danzo turned green at being dragged around like a rag doll with a loud speaker in his ear, wondering if being eaten by the Shinigami would have been better.

That night…

Naruto was snoring loudly on his bed while Danzo glared at the ceiling from his futon on the floor. A simple look in the mirror on their way out had relieved the notion that he was a carbon copy of his childhood self and instead was the definition of a plain creature- Danzo was a rather plain child to begin with but this was ridiculous. Hiruzen hadn't met him until they were ten and Danzo had by that point distinct features, so he would be out of suspicion for a while, if ever. After all, Danzo was a common enough name and his hair now was several shades lighter and thicker than the past. With that in mind Danzo had allowed Naruto to lead him.

He had gotten the forms filled out, given papers to the ANBU who stopped them (said ANBU was now observing the room, no doubt on Hiruzen's orders), kept the exact circumstances of how he arrived in the apartment a secret, and managed to make Naruto eat an egg instead of opening the cup boards for that dammed ramen.

Now it was just him and his thoughts. And those thoughts were dark. So many questions flooded his mind.

'Why did it have to be HIM? Why couldn't I go back to Minato's time? Surely, he needed me more, then I could have stopped the Kyubi attack before it began. This…shadow of Minato is useless. Or better yet, why couldn't I just go back to when Hiruzen and I were young? I could have prevented Hiruzen from becoming Hokage and protected the great tree PROPERLY.' All these thoughts were coming to him where before he had pushed them away in the chaos of getting situated.

It was these thoughts that seemed to pull him back to that dark, dark place. Only this time, a ball of light held the voice of the self proclaimed 'Kami- sama'.

'Tee hee, you don't even realize why I sent you back here, do you?' The ball seemed amused.

"No, I don't. I'm useless like this, and Hiruzen will no doubt see right through me… that or my other self will. What's the point of this? The boy was capable of defeating Pein by the time he was sixteen, what does he need me for?" Danzo sneered. While he agreed that emotional training was a must, this voice had threatened him with unspeakable things if he put its 'child of prophecy' through emotional conditioning since it would somehow alter this mysterious prophecy. Danzo called bull shit but one doesn't just dismiss a being who can teleport you into the past and not have the space time continuum fall apart.

The voice sighed.

'Danzo, Danzo, Danzo. You weren't supposed to go down this path of bitter denial about your pain. This is just as much as for you as it is for Naruto. What would Tsubaki or Minato say if they saw you? Or your beloved sensei? Would they be proud of your mistakes?'

"It doesn't matter! They're dead" Danzo snapped. The voice that he still refused to completely believe was 'Kami- sama' sighed.

'And so are you… but the hope of Konoha isn't; Hiruzen once was your greatest friend behind that Uchiha. Perhaps you can create another bond like that. Konoha is blessed to be a beacon of light in the shinobi world, but not if it kept going down the path you started with your meddling into the Uchiha. This is your chance: stop your mistakes and make Naruto Uzumaki- Namikaze the greatest shinobi... and your dream of Hokage won't come true as Naruto deserves it.'

"Tsk…fine. But you're wrong about the Hokage positition! I will become Hokage."

'Hmm we'll see. So we have an agreement?'

"Yes, yes, I'll make the brat into S- class by the time he's thirteen and fix the so called 'mistakes' of my past…and present… adult self. Happy?" Danzo crossed his arms (God it felt surprisingly good to have mobility) and kept his thoughts that the Uchiha still deserved to die for their treachery to himself.

'Excellent!' The ball of light bounced and grew brighter. 'I will check on your progress from time to time, as well as Naruto's; don't disappoint me Danzo.'

Like a light snuffed out Danzo was back in the boy's…no, his… room. With a sigh of resignation, he drifted in a light yet peaceful slumber.

Hokage Tower…

Hiruzen kept alternating from being puzzled and happy for Naruto that a rather mature child decided to room with his surrogate grandson, and distrustful at the suddenness… and the name.

Yes, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew many with that name, but he still kept him self from trusting those with it. Even sitting across from his former good friend was difficult, evident in the fact even now he grimaced at what could have been had Danzo not gone down the path of ROOT.

ROOT was necessary, though not in the way his old friend and rival envisioned. It was supposed to be a group of shinobi more skilled than ANBU in stealth and more willing to do the grimiest of shinobi work with the threat of being disavowed at convenience. Not many could stomach it, but the world required it.

But Danzo took it too far. The one eyed war hawk stared with too much interest at the orb for Hiruzen's liking, no doubt wishing both could be in ROOT to become 'tools' or 'weapons'- especially Naruto. He knew he should get rid of Danzo, but getting rid of one of the last of your childhood friends was difficult. The aged leader was still hoping for another turn around, much like how it was for a few years before the Second Great Shinobi War. Those were nice years, even if Hiruzen never discovered the cause.

"I don't trust him" Was Danzo's simple, yet resolute reply. Hiruzen was about to agree to have more ANBU watch them and dig up more than the superficially trail they had discovered.

But then a wave of peace flowed through him and instead he chuckled.

"No, no, old friend, you are too jaded; let Naruto enjoy his new friend. Maybe they'll help each other in the academy. Now leave me to my work." Hiruzen waved his hand at the man. Danzo, a bit shocked as they were just avidly discussing the issue like they used to as happy chunin on escort missions- not that Danzo would ever admit he enjoyed those discussions- looked at his most hated rival, former (or present… it was complicated) best friend and shrugged.

As he walked out, ROOT agents were already at work digging up information on the child that eerily reminded him of himself. The candle lit halls of the Hokage's Tower shrouded his contemplative expression.

One week later…

"DANZOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" Naruto shrieked in fear. It was going to be their first day of the 'Super Awesome Ninja Kick Butt Academy' as the blonde had so fondly named it. He was already dressed and packing lunch for the day: rice balls.

For some reason his friend hated ramen and after he smashed all his ramen packets, Naruto had relented; he still got it at Ichiraku, but no ramen in the house. Naruto obeyed because he didn't want to be alone again.

While Naruto was hoping from foot to foot and thinking about stopping for ramen after school, Danzo had blearily looked up at the clock.

And then threw it at his roommate's head.

"YWEOCH!" Naruto moaned. By the time he sat back up Danzo was dressed in training gear and threw an identical set at the blonde child.

"Put these on; I picked them up yesterday. We will run around the walls once before class, do thirty push- ups, and work on chakra control. If we have time we'll work on taijutsu."

"B- but the academy is starting soon" Naruto whined even as he put on the black tunic and loose pants. Every morning it was 'run run run' and 'catra…er, chakra control' from the academy scrolls they received for the year. Naruto hated reading from those things, mainly because reading was hard, though his new friend seemed to beat the information into his brain.

Danzo massaged his temple and counted to ten, glad he'd never had to raise any of his shinobi. ROOT babies were taken care of by a specific kunoichi and he never saw them until they were at least smart enough to know not to talk in his presence.

"Perhaps if you didn't wake me up at THREE THIRTY AM when the academy starts at EIGHT THIRY AM, I wouldn't make you run."

"Really?" Naruto was already planning on never waking Danzo up.

"Of course not; I always wake up at precisely five am for training. But now instead of three hours of morning training, we have five hours. Isn't it wonderful?" Danzo smirked while facing away from Naruto, imaging his pale face.

"O- oh yeah, well I'mma beat you, believe it! I'll run faster and longer and make that stupid leaf stick to my head." Here flames of determination were formed.

'Perfect. He took the bait' The former ROOT leader mused.

"Hmm, we'll see." Was all he parted onto the younger child and with out another word they were off, a neck and neck race. For the first time in years, Danzo found himself enjoying a competition.

Even if it was with someone who thought babies came from the toilet.

End! This was a story I had promised you guys awhile ago, and I figured it was time to start it now that Mascot is ending. A few things:
1. This… is a tad more serious than KMM, but not overly so. I'm trying my hand at more emotional writing like in 'From Academy to ANBU' so let's see how this goes.

2. Danzo's backstory… really, I don't think one event would completely make some one such a maniacal evil mastermind, so I gave Danzo depth. Kishimoto never developed his past much, and I figured there had to be more to his interests in Naruto than what cannon and fanon say. Sure Naruto has potential and is a Jinchuuriki, but I don't remember Danzo pushing so hard for Kushina, and it's not clear. Minato's backstory, being so vague, opens up the door for Danzo's character to grow. That's the beauty of Minato: we know so little about his heritage and childhood that it makes it feasible for fanfiction to give Naruto crazy bloodlines or whatever. I just made it to where it gave him a connection to Danzo (no matter how weak).

3. Kami- sama… just, this being will barely show up, but they do mess with the time line a lot, don't they? I noticed in canon how easy it would have been for Madara, Obito, Zetsu, or Kaguya to win… or for Sasuke to turn his back against Konoha again and wreak havoc. This is my response to how to fix it. Kishi just got too power happy by making every bad guy have connections to others and secret super weapons that it's a miracle Naruto won the war. So, Danzo (in chibi form obviously) is going to be that answer.

4. Danzo's dream… I mean, it's plausible. And everyone knows I really don't think Naruto is Hokage material. But, I do plan on them being rivals for the position and who knows? Maybe Naruto will reach his dream.

Sooo… how did you like it? How will the two Danzo maneuver around each other, and will chibi Danzo be able to fix older Danzo's mistakes before they happen? Or will Danzo even survive his first day in a crowd of five year olds? Stay tuned for next time and see you in my other stories!

P.S I plan on Naruto getting toads this time (a shocker, I know) but what about Danzo? The more adorable and pathetic looking the better.