Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…you can stop staring now Itachi
Author Notes: This is my first attempt at a Naruto fic and you can vote for the pairing, either Sakura or Temari. Depending on whom you choose the story will change a little. The main concept will remain however. Say who you'd like to be paired with Naruto in the reviews.
"Jutsu" Bold means Jutsu name
"Inner Sakura/Kyuubi" Bold Italic means Inner Sakura or Kyuubi speaking
"Inner Thoughts/Flashback" Italic means Inner Thoughts of a person or a Flashback when stated
Chapter 1: The Ultimate Sacrifice
A blonde shinobi walked through the dark noisy streets of Konoha as the rain slowly swathed his body. He kept on walking to his destination not taking notice of the harsh weather as he was deeply enveloped in thought. He had shouldered an unimaginable burden for the protection of this village. Its populace had shunned and hated him yet he still yearned to protect them.
He had walked to the foot of a mountain which had the faces of the protectors of Konoha carved into them; a monument to the Hokages of Konoha. The dream of becoming Hokage and having his face carved into the monument seemed farther than ever. He looked at the five magnificently carved faces before his gaze settled onto the visage of the Sandaime, the first person to acknowledge his existence and show him some form of love. He began to climb without using his chakra and pushed his body to the limits, scaling the mountain with his bare hands yet desperately trying not to lose his grip off the slippery surface.
He finally made it to the top and looked back over the village of Konoha. He could see all the lights in the village, from the market streets to training grounds. The rain was relentlessly pouring down. The blonde shinobi looked on admiring the sight not caring about his drenched state. He walked until he was standing on top of the Yondaime's head, the man who had died protecting this village and sealed a demon within him.
He collapsed on to the ground in a sitting position as the exhaustion of his body and the realisation of his situation dawned on him. He had lived a life that no child should have to live yet his experiences taught him wisdom which few people had. He closed his eyes to reminisce.
Flashback
A boy of 12 walked into the Hokage's office and looked at the old man sitting behind his desk. He had just learned that he was the container for the demon Kyuubi which attacked the village 12 years ago.
"Ah, Naruto-kun, please have a seat."
Naruto complied with his request and sat down before hesitantly asking something which he desperately needed to know the answer to yet he was afraid as to what it might be. He was staring into the eyes of the man who had made his life somewhat bearable and shown him love. "Sandaime-jiji…do you hate me for what I am?"
The Hokage looked at the boy's eyes full of remorse and hurt before he got up and motioned for the boy to follow. The blonde haired child followed him, hurting from the lack of an answer. They walked to the back of the Hokage tower until they were on a large balcony foreseeing the monument to the Hokages.
"Naruto, do you know who these people were?"
He looked at the old man dubiously before he voiced his reply, "Of course, they were the Hokages of Konaha, those who had respect and recognition."
The Sandaime looked at the boy, "Being Hokage earns you respect and recognition but it also means that you must protect what you hold precious with every fibre of your being. As a Hokage you shoulder a heavy burden with the task of protecting your village. That is something you hold in common with the Hokages."
Naruto looked down refusing to let any tears escape from his eyes, before the Sandaime continued, "You bear the burden of Kyuubi. Everyday you protect Konoha by refusing the demon freedom…You asked whether I hate you."
The Sandaime walked over to Naruto until he was directly standing in front of him and placed his hand on his shoulder, "I have always accepted you Naruto for what you are, a hero to this village."
A huge smile spread across the blonde boy's face before he hugged the old man who was like a grandfather to him.
End Flashback
Naruto opened his eyes as a single tear trickled down his cheek quickly mixing with the droplets of rain. He remembered the previous mission he partook in with some of the strongest shinobi in Konoha. The objective was to kill Orochimaru, and for him personally to fulfil a promise that he had made to a friend. The battle was fierce with some unexpected visitors which led to unexpected complications.
The team from Konoha consisted of the rookie nine along with their previous team leaders, Team Gai, the legendary Sannin Jiraiya and the Godaime herself. The battle would've been easier if it had not been for the interruption of three S-class criminals part of the organisation Akatsuki, Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame and Hidan. The mission of the Akatsuki was also to get rid of Orochimaru however due to the presence of Kyuubi's container another priority was added to the list.
Naruto managed to stop Orochimaru from performing the technique required to take over Sasuke's body. However everything broke out into a small war. Kakashi the former sensei of Team 7 along with Uchiha Sasuke engaged Itachi. At first Sasuke refused to have any help in defeating his brother and avenging his clan however he soon realised that he needed aid in order to survive the deadly force that was Uchiha Itachi. It was a tiring battle with colossal amounts of chakra dispersed and in the end Sasuke managed to land the final blow to end his brother's life accomplishing his goal.
Team Gai fought Hoshigaki Kisame along with help from Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata however Kisame showed exactly why he was a member of Akatsuki when proving to be a formidable match. Team Gai gave everything they had to defeat their opponent which left them in near death states especially in the case of Maito Gai who opened several gates in order to kill the sword wielding warrior.
Hidan who had survived a previous battle with Konohas forces, which were led by Asuma, unlike his partner Kakuzu who was killed, now had the opportunity for a rematch. His opponents were Asuma and his team along with Yuuhi Kurenai and Aburame Shino. The Akatsuki member put up a strong fight injuring the Konoha-nins drastically however in the end the numbers game was even too much for him to overcome which resulted in his ultimate downfall.
Sakura engaged a fellow medic-nin and Orochimaru's right hand man Kabuto in one on one combat. The fight was on equal parameters and Sakura showed how far she had developed her fighting skills under the tutelage of the Godaime nonetheless her brains were the deciding factor in the outcome of the battle as her quick thinking allowed her an advantage to finish Kabuto off once and for all.
Jiraiya and Tsunade fought their former team mate Orochimaru themselves displaying power worthy of their reputations as dominant forces. However the two Sannins had difficulty in defeating Orochimaru as they were long past their prime whereas their former team mate had time on his side. However Orochimaru's overconfidence led to his downfall and painful death.
However the strongest and most formidable opponent who was not on the battlefield to begin with was left to face off against a shocked Naruto due to Orochimaru's Kuchiose Edo Tensei technique which reincarnated the strongest shinobi to have ever been born into Konoha, the one who had chosen Naruto with the burden of Kyuubi, none other than the Yellow Flash of Konoha himself. The battle was protected by a seal made to prevent any others from interfering. Everybody who had finished their battles except for the Sannins looked on in horror as the emotionless shinobi proved to be too strong for Naruto quickly pummelling him into the ground and injuring him severely. However Naruto's desperation made him call upon the power he refused to use, the power of the 9 tailed demon Kyuubi. Naruto underwent a transformation that had never before been witnessed. His body was swallowed in darkness as his face grew longer and canines grew. He howled in pain as 6 tails of chakra whirled around mercilessly. The transformation left Naruto looking more beast than human as he engaged in the second round of his fight with the Yondaime. The Yellow Flash however still managed to put up a fight quickly hurting the transformed jinchuriki even more as the transformation took its toll on Naruto's body. The blonde boy of 15 unleashed his final attack on the Yondaime successfully dispatching the kunai lodged in his neck which made the Yondaime's form fade revealing the Sound-nin used for the sacrifice.
Although the battle had been won the Leaf shinobi had been injured severely, the worst who was Naruto as blood sprouted from his beaten body. He was saved from certain death as the Godaime worked relentlessly to heal his wounds refusing to lose another precious person. Her work paid off as Naruto survived the fatal encounter and the shinobi returned to Konoha. It had been 2 weeks since he had recovered yet the other shinobi involved in the mission needed more time. Sasuke had returned and his punishment was severely reduced as he had helped to stop Orochimaru and killed the S-class missing-nin Uchiha Itachi. He was confined to the boundaries of Konoha to prove his loyalty before he would be able to partake in missions outside of the village. Today was the official celebration of the success of the mission as the knowledge of Orochimaru's demise was made public. Everybody was overjoyed and the party was still happening. However on what should have been a glorious occasion the rain fell as if the sky were crying.
Uzumaki Naruto sighed as he inhaled the soft air surrounding him and looked at the thundering sky full of sorrow. The consequences of the battle had taken its effect on all the shinobi involved however the price Naruto had to pay was the ultimate sacrifice. He wiped the few stray tears from his face as he refused to give in to his sorrow. "You can come out now Ero-Sennin." Naruto said impassively.
Out of the bushes behind him walked out a large man with long white hair and bandages holding his arm in a sling. The frog hermit Jiraiya looked at his student trying to figure out his predicament, "How come you're not celebrating with the rest of your friends?" He walked over to his student and sat down next to him before the blonde haired shinobi replied.
"Shouldn't you be asking yourself that same question?"
"I was celebrating until I recognised your absence."
"You should carry on and not stop just because I wanted to be alone for awhile."
"That's the problem, why do you want to be alone? These past couple of days you've seemed less happy."
"How would you know? I feel fine"
"Naruto…your mask may have fooled the others but I've been around you long enough to understand when you are hurt. Your eyes betray your actions."
The teacher and student sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes enjoying the view in front of them as the wind rushed past them. The frog hermit laughed resulting in his protégé to look at him incredulously. "What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing, it's just that there are so many hot, wet women down there waiting to be stared at and I'm sitting here with my baka student. I must be getting senile."
"Getting? You passed the point of being senile a long time ago Ero-Sennin."
Jiraiya slapped his student across the back of his head, "Baka, you should show some respect to your sensei." Naruto looked at the large man before laughing.
"Arigatou, Jiraiya-sensei…for always being there."
Jiraiya looked at his student solemnly before a serious expression appeared on his face, "Why are you talking like this Naruto?"
"You once told me that for a shinobi, in every defeat there is victory for we learn something from our mistakes. The more we kill, the more we lose what makes us human as we lose the concept of exactly how precious a human life is…You also said that in every victory there is defeat as more blood stains our hands."
Naruto rose from his position as he said this and walked away from where he was sitting moments before, while his back was still facing the frog hermit he continued, "I unleashed more Kyuubi chakra than I should have. The transformation left unrecoverable damage." He sighed, "This victory resulted in the ultimate cost for me." Jiraiya looked at his student with a shocked face as the realisation of what he meant dawned upon him.
Naruto turned to look at his mentor, friend and father figure with repressed tears, "I'm dying Ero-Sennin." Jiraiya felt as if the weight of the world fell upon him. The death of his former student had a heavy impact on his life and resulted in him leaving the village. He didn't want to experience another one of the people he held precious to lose their life prematurely but he couldn't do anything about it. Jiraiya got up and walked over to the younger shinobi before giving him a one armed embrace. The rest of the village of Konoha laughed and danced the night away unaware of the price one shinobi had to pay as the sky continued throw the rain upon the noisy yet elegant streets of Konoha.
Kuchiose Edo Tensei – Summoning Reincarnation To The Impure World
Author Notes: I know it's a bit sad there will be times like that in this fic but it'll have a happy ending no need to worry about that. Please review and constructive criticism is appreciated.