A discovery

Prologue

Three years have passed since the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. The people were living their lives and ninja were sacrificing theirs for the good of Konoha. At the heart of the village stood the Hokage Tower, full of ninja of various ranks coming and going, departing on missions, or reporting the success of their missions. Unknown to all these highly trained ninja there was a small boy no older than three hiding amongst the building, this boy, was named Uzumaki Naruto, and today was his birthday.

Uzumaki Naruto was the living container for the demon fox Kyuubi, who had attacked Konoha on the day of his birth. He had found out this little detail after listening in on a conversation between two shinobi. He was a small child, with large blue eyes set in a pale sunken in face, and having long hair that none of his previous caretakers ever thought to cut. His caretakers didn't much care for him, having repeatedly denying him food or any comfort that was provided to other children his age. Fortunately their treatment never lasted long, as they were always caught by the Hokage. The Hokage being the one person who actually cared for the mistreated child. After having to throw the tenth caretaker into prison the Hokage decided that Naruto was old enough to care for himself, and provided him a small apartment to call his own.

Today was his birthday, his third to be exact, and also the anniversary of the day that the Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi. Great crowds of people would celebrate this day with parades and festivities. People would cheer and have a merry time with their families, but when the night would fall the drunken crowd would go down the streets and alleys to find the one called Uzumaki Naruto. Knowing they were hunting for him Naruto had to hide, until the next morning when the mob would tire of looking for him. His survival depended on his ability to hide from the angry mob. Luckily for him he had the perfect place to hide.

The Hokage tower's ventilation system!

(Really long flashback detailing what happened between his finding the vents to the day of his birthday)

LONG FLASHBACK!

Naruto found the ventilation system about two months ago while running from a nameless drunk man, who wore a ninja headband. He was near the Hokage tower and had hidden behind a small bush. The drunken ninja had just managed to turn the street corner where he had lost sight of the blond, and looked around in confusion at first before setting his eyes on the bush that held the trembling form of the blond. Panicking the child looked around for an escape route and found an open air vent, where rats scurried in and out of. The grating below it was covered in rust, meaning that it had gotten loose and eventually fell off from the weak pins holding it in place.

Making a quick decision he leaped into the vent pushing the angry squeaking rats out of his way and crawling down the length of the vent. He turned at the nearest shaft, and peeked out behind the corner to see if the drunken ninja would try to find him in here. The drunk had crashed through the bush branding a broken kunai in his hand, looked around stupidly for a moment before running off in search of the blond. He yelled obscenities as he ran, or rather staggered down the street, never noticing the small open vent nearby.

Inside the blond looked around, ignoring the rats that sniffed at him in curiosity. Naruto slowly began to grin mischievously as his mind came up with some interesting ideas, on how to best utilize the vents to his advantage. He could use them to hide away from the villagers at night when they were most apt to try to hurt him. He could also use them to be privy to certain tower secrets he came across, including jounin, and council meetings, and so much more! His grin widened even further, almost threatening to tear his face in two, as his prankster side took over. Pranks! Think of all the pranks he could pull without anyone being the wiser to whom was pulling them almost made him salivate and jump for joy both at the same time. His sly part took over. Blackmail! There was bound to be stuff he can catch jounin's doing when they thought no one was looking! Then he could use blackmail to get them to train him! Get him something he wanted or to give him a jutsu! He inwardly cackled in delight.

The best part was that no would know he was inside the vents watching them! Not until he revealed his blackmail material and got to making them pay for his silence, hopefully without violence, then they would probably board up the vent, making it impossible for anyone else to get in. Once he was sure he wouldn't need the vents any longer he would tell people about it, preferably the Hokage first to ease everything in place. Even if people found out they wouldn't dare charge into the shinobi filled building yelling about "Demon Brats" (He really had to find out why they called him that, but it surely would come up sometime while he was listening to the various meetings inside the building) hiding inside the vents even if it was true. The Hokage would have them carted off to the Konoha asylum without even blinking an eye. After all the civilians were one of the old man's main problems concerning him, living near them, or trying to play with their children, or even trying to get food where they shopped. Yes, Sandaime would not lose any sleep over throwing people into the mental hospital. Naruto chuckled mentally. He was after all like a grandson to the old man, and any talk of him being in places where he shouldn't be was pushing it! The old man knew Naruto was a good boy and that he wouldn't do something like that!

Poor old man…

He obviously did not know Naruto half as well as he thought, as the blond kept his level of intelligence and cunning hidden underneath a fear stricken cover. If he really knew Naruto he would have called him a prodigy, which was due to Naruto's near death experiences that had awakened it at a tender young age. Naruto shook his head, and mentally thanked Kami-Sama for this opportunity. With one last look towards the outside Naruto shuffled deeper into the labyrinth of vents, intent on finding out all he could.

The blond moved about as silent as he could through the endless corridors of metal. Stopping he looked out a small air vent to see a room full of scrolls lining the walls. He idly wondered if these were jutsu scrolls, or just useless scrolls full of boring writings like a recipe for noodle soup. He thought about it and decided that soup sounded tasty right now. He shook his head. No! He can't think about food at a time like this! He had all these vents to explore! Satisfying his stomach will have to wait until he fulfilled his curiosity.

The small blond decided to start at the bottom levels before moving on to the higher ones. After carefully moving down a shaft and nearly falling in his attempt, he looked around at the various corridors of metal. He spotted a small grate close by and moved towards it. He peeked out from behind the horizontal bars into a small room. The walls were painted a blinding white and in the centre tied to a chair was a man with a strap of cloth over his mouth, preventing him from speaking.

Naruto shifted into a more comfortable position and began to examine the man sitting alone in the room. He had a worn headband over his hair; the symbol was that of Iwa. What was an Iwa Nin doing here? Naruto although smart didn't realize what this room was used for or what happened to the people who were strapped into the chair. The man strapped to the chair was shaking, his terrified eyes darting back and forth in his skull, so much so it made Naruto wonder how his eyes hadn't fallen out of his eye sockets yet. Both man and boy jumped when the door was opened and a large man wearing a black headband and trench coat came walking in. He stopped just outside the door and waited. A young female ninja followed, wearing a blood thirsty grin on her face. She too wore a trench but instead of black she wore a tan coloured one. The rest of her clothing left much to the imagination.

She walked in and eyed the tied man with a look akin to glee. Naruto watched as the man paled and began to sob behind his gag. He gurgled out muffled words from behind it. The blond could almost make out 'please' 'OMFG' among other things. It was obvious that the man knew the two Konoha shinobi, although he didn't know how, as he never seen them before. The large man closed and locked the door, nodding to the woman. Her grin grew and she took out a senbon needle from her coat. 'So what's going on here?' The child wondered. The woman advanced on the tied man. "Now, now, little man, don't be afraid. Big sister Anko only wants to play with you!" She sang in a sickly sweet tone of voice. The man cried even harder. Naruto shivered in the vent. The woman Anko looked scary. He sure didn't want to get her mad, if he ever met her.

Naruto stifled a gasp when the purple haired woman lashed out and dug the needle in to the man's hand. A muffled scream echoed in the room. Anko giggled and took out another needle and jabbed it into the man's other hand and twisted it slightly. "So now that the introductions are over with, are you going to tell us what you were doing outside our walls? Just nod for yes and shake your head for no." The man painfully shook his head. There was no way he was going to betray his village! Even if he was in terrible pain! He was loyal to his village and its people! Anko shrugged not at all disappointed in his decision; after all it meant more fun for her! "Your loss then" She then proceeded in sticking the man's skin with more needles in some key points on the man, before moving onto kunai and taking small slices off his skin. The man tried valiantly to stifle his gasps of pain but as Anko moved on to more and more painful things.

Naruto was a little amazed and a little ill as he watched the man being literally turned into a pin cushion. The thing he found most interesting was that the man wasn't dead yet! He never knew that somebody other than him could take that sort of torture without dying or slipping into unconsciousness from the pain. The worst he experienced was when a mob beat him into a bloody mess while stabbing him with anything they could find, by that time his arms and legs were already shattered, his ribs a broken mess and his skull cracked, but he survived only to wake up in the hospital three days later with not a scratch on him. That was the worst beating he ever experienced. He still didn't understand why they hated him so much as to actually hurt him on a regular basis. He tried asking the Hokage once but the old man tried to distract him with an offer of ramen. He went along with, seeing as the Hokage didn't want to speak about it. He mentally vowed to ask again the next time he was beaten.

He focused on the room beyond the grate he saw that the man wasn't saying anything, even though he was crying in pain, and bleeding from slash marks on his body. The blond had to give the man credit; he sure was a tough cookie, much like himself.

POV change

Anko giggled.

It seemed that although the man had seemingly broken upon seeing her and her superior Ibiki he still wasn't talking. Oh well, more fun for her! She walked around the man lashing out suddenly with her leg, and kicked the man's right leg effectively breaking it. The man let out an agonizing scream under his gag. "Wanna play some more?" She asked sickly sweet taking a step back to let him gather himself. The room was full of pained breathing. Looking up the man glared at her talking behind his gag. The sound was ragged. "mhuck mu! Mu mhuckdkinf mhitshc!" Anko smirked and broke his other leg. The agonizing scream he made sent delightful chills run through her body. Ahh this was so fun!

POV change

Naruto held a hand to his mouth to stop himself from screaming whenever the woman broke another of the man's bones. After breaking the man's legs she moved onto his hands. One by one she broke his fingers, bending them back until they broke with a sharp crack. She then moved onto breaking the enemy Nin's hands and feet. The man continued to scream, but still didn't break. Taking out a kunai she began to cut away his fingernails. She turned to the man to see him shake his head, telling her that he wasn't going to talk. Giggling in obvious delight she then took out a pair of shears from under her trench coat and grinned. Bending down she patted the man's broken foot causing him to wince and groan in pain. "This little pinky went to the market!" She sang as she put the shears around the man's smallest toe. The man let out ragged breaths as he tried to prepare himself for the pain. In one clean swipe his toe was cut off. The man screamed long and hard.

In the vents Naruto had grabbed the sides of his head trying to block the man's screams. His shocked eyes stared at the man's squirming form. The man was writhing and bucking underneath his bindings, tears making trails down his face. Naruto shook in horror as he began to experience flashbacks of the times he was beaten by the villagers and even Konoha shinobi. How they would break his bones and how hard he would scream. The sickening snaps and cracks reverberating throughout his body, as the people smashed various instruments over his body. He closed his eyes willing himself to drown out the horrible screams echoing through his head.

In the room Anko had finished cutting every single toe on the Iwa Nin's feet and was about to start on his fingers when the Nin began to nod. She stopped and looked to her supervisor. The scarred man nodded to her. She turned back to the Nin who was still nodding and staring at her with pain filled eyes. She grinned. "So you're going to answer now?" He nodded shaking and crying. She smirked and motioned for the guards to take him to the interrogation room as well as cauterize his feet so he wouldn't bleed to death. They moved quickly and grabbed him but somehow he managed to slip from their grip and land onto the floor. He was too weak to move.

Naruto opened his eyes when the screaming stopped and looked out the grates to see the man about to be taken away. Was it over? He jumped when the man fell, collapsing onto the floor in front of him.

POV change

The Iwa Nin's shifting vision caught a movement inside the vents. He looked up and saw a pair of bright tear streaked blue eyes and long blond hair set in a pale terrified face watching him through the vent. He blinked forcing himself to focus. It was a child! There was a child in the vent! He mumbled out something to his captors. They didn't understand seeing as he had a cloth around his mouth. He screamed. A child! There was a child in the vent! He captors dragged him away, thinking that he had lost his mind from the pain.

POV change

Naruto was paralysed in fear. His heart was hammering away in his chest, threatening to jump out his throat. The man saw him! He knew and was trying to tell the others! He had to move out quickly before they came back! He peeked out of the grate to make sure everyone was gone before shuffling away from the room. Mentally he vowed to himself that he was never going back to that area again! He didn't want to see someone getting tortured again! Bad enough that similar stuff happened to him on a regular basis! He didn't want to see it happen to someone else!

A few minutes later he found an old storage room full of old boxes and broken furniture. Pulling himself out of the vents he carefully made a small bed behind a pile of broken couches and chairs, this way no one would see him if they ever came into the room. Laying himself down onto the soft cushions he slowly drifted off into uneasy slumber, with visions of the Iwa Nin's broken and bleeding body and echoes of his screams lingering in his mind.

In the interrogation room

Anko and Ibiki were shaking their heads as the Iwa Nin kept screaming about seeing a child in the vents, and screaming in outrage when they wouldn't listen to his claim. They shook their heads, in pity. The poor man had lost his mind. There was no way a child could have found their way into the Hokage building ventilation system. After all there was nothing but the highest trained ninja in all of Konoha in this building; surely they have heard something moving within the walls!

Unfortunately for them they were wrong…

The next morning Naruto got up bright and early which he started doing after some villagers tried to kill him in his apartment once one early morning. Since then Naruto tended to wake up before the sun even came up and snuck out of his apartment to hide somewhere before they tried again. He shuffled along the metal vents taking a different route than yesterday fearing another scene like yesterday. He really needed to find a bathroom. After several twists and turns he found a small bathroom in the basement near the white room where the Iwa Nin was tortured by that crazy lady. He examined the room taking note that there was no safe way to climb down into the room and back up without risk of getting caught. He grimaced as his bladder protested. What to do? He hummed looking from the door to the toilets in agony. He really had to pee. Then he noticed that the cubicle was right under the vent he was in. He grinned.

If someone were to look into the bathroom right at that moment they would notice a steady stream of liquid coming from the ceiling vent. Of course most of it didn't hit inside the toilet, some splattering over the floor and toilet seat. Naruto pitied whoever was going to have to clean that up. After he finished his business he was about to move on when a jounin came walking in. Naruto froze. The man walked up to the cubicle and opened the door. Naruto held his breath fearing that the man might hear him and waited. A loud disgust filled shout rang out. "Who in the hell peed all over the floor!" The jounin backed away. "Ugh gross!" He went to the next stall still complaining about the mess in the other cubicle. "If I catch whoever did this I'm going to wring their necks and then use their hair to mop it up! The nerve of some people! They couldn't even call the janitor!" He continued to grumble as he washed his hands and left the room. Naruto bit his lip trying not to burst out laughing.

Snickering he turned and went to look around a bit more before he left to get something to eat for his morning meal. He wanted to explore the main floor a bit more, but no way was he going back to the basement any time soon! He didn't know what else he'd see or hear. Climbing up one floor he peeked into many rooms. A man reading a book in a paper filled room, two people making out in a storage closet, a hallway full of people, another storage room, and the exit. It was the same place he had entered from. Naruto sat still for a second. His stomach was rumbling. He pondered leaving for a moment or two. Should he leave the safety of the Hokage building for something to eat now or later? He frowned and sat back.

He wanted to explore a little more. There were so many things to see and hear in the building, but the old man would be looking for him. He was probably worried after not getting a visit from him in a day. His stomach growled. Making up his mind Naruto began to crawl towards the exit, hopefully the Hokage will be up to paying for him. He poked his head out looking around for anyone who will spot him. The rats were still crawling about, but other than them there was no one else. He climbed out and stretched before running off towards the building's main entrance. He bypassed the guards stationed at the front and went running towards the stairs. He giggled insanely as he expertly evaded the Hokage's irate secretary. He ran towards the Hokage's office and yelled. "OLD Mannnn!" The ageing Hokage looking up from his paperwork and smiled inwardly relieved that Naruto was alright. "Ah, Naruto what can I do for you?" The bounced up on his desk a happy grin at the corner on his mouth. "Let's go for lunch!" Sarutobi chuckled. "It's not lunch time yet Naruto." The boy pouted before smiling. "Ah but you're the Hokage lunch is whenever you want it to be! Besides I'm hungry! Feed me!" He declared slightly pouting at the end. His blue eyes watered up and gazed up sadly at the Hokage.

The Hokage tried he really did but even he the mightiest of the shinobi of Konoha couldn't tear his eyes away from the Bambi eyes the fair haired child shot at him. Realizing he was losing he did what anyone would do, he folded. "Okay Naruto stop the eyes!" The blond grinned, eyes changing back to normal like he wasn't even about to cry. That was way too easy! He thought. The old man stood up and stretched bones and muscles aching from the long hours sitting. "Alright where do you want to go Naruto?" He asked looking down kindly at the blond, who took a hold of his hand and cried. "Where ever you wanna go! Come on hungry now, talk later!" The Hokage chuckled as the small blond pulled him along.

They passed by the Hokage's secretary who glared when the blond blew a cherry at her. Sandaime stopped long enough to let her know that he was going out and to hold all his meetings. She nodded kindly to the man, and bowed. Naruto rolled his eyes muttering under his breath. "Suck up" Neither he nor the glaring secretary saw the Hokage twitch slightly and his lips go up in a slight smirk before he straightened his facial features. The blond turned away from the secretary before once again dragging the older man down the stairs and out the doors.

They found themselves at a small restaurant that the Hokage usually went to whenever he had the time to. They sat down and ordered. Sandaime could see that Naruto wanted to say something but was having trouble trying to ask. "So Naruto what else brought you to my office this morning?" He asked noting that the boy stiffened in surprise before sighing. The poor boy was always hesitant whenever he wanted something. It saddened the Hokage to know this, children were supposed to be outgoing and demanding things they wanted or caught their eyes, but not Naruto.

Naruto looked up at the man and smirked getting braver. "Ah you caught me!" The other chuckled. "So what is it you want?" Naruto thought about it. Along the way to the Hokage office he had seen some cameras near the entrance and got an idea. If he could get a video recorder and take video of everything that happens in the Hokage building he could a lot of blackmail on everybody. It was so exciting! When he got older and couldn't fit into the vents anymore he'll reveal his blackmail material and get whatever he wanted! After all if he used them now they would board up the vents and he wouldn't be able to get anymore blackmail material and information.

The Hokage's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Naruto, is something wrong?" He focused his eyes on the Hokage. He grinned from ear to ear. "I want a video recorder, old man!" The aging Hokage blinked. The boy wanted a video recorder? "What for Naruto?" Naruto's grin turned mischievous. "So I can record the after effects of my pranks!" He declared proudly. Sarutobi chuckled. Of course he would want something like that. "Alright but you must promise that you won't show anyone these tapes or who you got the video camera from." Naruto nodded eagerly. "I promise!" The Hokage smiled at the young child.

After finishing their meal the Hokage lead Naruto to a store that sold all types of video equipment, the old man even went as far as making an account for the child, but only after he made Naruto promise to keep at the limit of 5000 yen a month or he would cut off his account. Naruto teary eyed immediately agreed and launched himself at the Hokage shouting out his heart filled thanks to the only one who ever gave a damn about him. Once Naruto finished picking out the things he wanted the Hokage bid the blond goodbye and left to return to the Hokage building.

Naruto waited until the man was out of sight before he dashed off into an alleyway to find an alternative route to the Hokage building. After dodging several irate civilians and strays he found himself back at the building slipping back into the vents after making sure no one was around. He quickly made his way back to the room where he had slept the night before and took his time learning the ins and outs of his new video equipment. He carefully read the instruction booklet and tested out several camera modes, all the while cackling mentally in glee of how much blackmail he was going to get with his new equipment. He pushed in a new disk into the camera and shoved batteries into the back before grinning. It was time to find some blackmail!

He crawled his way up to the first floor and started looking for something to record. Wait! There in the men's bathroom! He stopped and clicked the record button. He leaned in closer to get a better look. A man was humming while washing his hands. Naruto noticed the pale grey eyes and blinked. It was a Hyuuga! He grinned.

Hyuuga Hitani was a member of the main branch family and proud of it. He had good looks and the perfect body to go with it. His hair was always shiny and soft. He always had the servants comb through his hair every night using specialized oils and moisturizers, and then again when he woke up in the morning. His voice was perfect pitch after spending countless hours standing before his bathroom mirror perfecting his speech. Yes, Hitani was a God among men. He thought as he washed his hands. Hitani rushed to the door and peeked out. There was no one. He would have used his byakugan but the walls had seals placed on them to prevent members of the Hyuuga clan from peeking in on women in the ladies room, or from looking into other rooms where important scrolls were kept. The Hokage had no choice but to place these seals to prevent the invasion of privacy after the female shinobi complained about being afraid to go to the bathroom with Hyuuga around. Now no Hyuuga can look past the walls which annoyed some of the closet perverts to no end. Hitani grinned and grabbed a brush from his clothes. Wetting it with water he began to hum as he straightened out his already perfect hair. "Oh baby!" He sang. "Is it me you're a wanting!" He tapped his foot and swung his hips to his made up tune. "I want you in my bed! Ohhh!" During his solo performance in the bathroom Naruto had to hold his breath, to keep himself from laughing or making any other sound that would get him detected by the Hyuuga clan member.

Tears of hilarity cascaded down his face as he watched the man dance around the bathroom. He couldn't wait to watch this again and again and again! Until, he died of laughter. "Come with me my sweet baby! I'll make you feel alright, under the covers baby!" The man twirled his comb around using it as a microphone. He stopped and brushed a hand over his hair, grinning at his reflection. "That's right you still got it!" He told himself before straightening his clothes and putting on his Hyuuga mask. After he walked out Naruto waited for a few minutes before snickering into his hand. Oh Kami-sama! That was so hilarious! He turned his attention to his camera and pressed stop on the video. He rewound it and pressed play. He snickered as he watched the Hyuuga dance and sing on the video screen. "This was the greatest idea ever!" He whispered as he watched the video before stopping it and putting the camera into its case. With a wide face splitting grin the blond crawled off to find some more blackmail.

The shinobi in that moment felt a shiver of foreboding go up and down their spines. They gave the area around them a quick glance before going back to what they were previously doing, not knowing that their lives were just about to get harder from that moment on.

During the first few weeks Naruto had managed to explore every inch of the Hokage building. He knew where everything was and which vent took him there the fastest, although he never got the nerve to explore the basement just yet, maybe at a later date, once he no longer had nightmares. He already had a small collection of blackmail and various conversations he had recorded, including the Hokage's secret meetings. He even managed to catch the Hokage reading an orange pervert book.

He also found the jounin lounge. It was a place where all the jounin waiting for missions would meet to talk and gossip about their missions, though no actual details were exposed. It was here that the young blond got the most inside information, and blackmail. He also learned about a big secret that involved him and the night that the Kyuubi attacked.

(Yeah…flashback within a flashback…just to let you know)

FLASHBACK!

Naruto sat very still behind the grate as he listened to two nondescript jounin talking in an empty jounin lounge. They were sitting on the couch opposite the grate so he could hear everything they said clearly and plainly.

"You know who I saw today?" One asked his hair and eyes a dark brown.

The other shrugged his hair and eyes a lighter shade of brown. He was currently reading a book. "I don't know, who?"

The darker snorted at his distracted companion who ignored him and continued reading. "I saw the demon child; he was being kicked out of a store, down by the market."

Naruto frowned. He was down by the market trying to get some food, but of course the manager just kicked him out yelling and swinging a large wooden stick at him.

The other Nin looked up from his book. "Hmph! Serves the little bastard right!" He hissed his eyes going back to his book.

The darker haired Nin nodded. "Yeah unfortunately it seems that no matter how much people try to kill it, the damn beast somehow comes back the next day unharmed and has that damned smile on his face! One of these days I know he's going to try to kill us! That little monster deserves death!

The other Nin closed his book and stored it away. "I think we should go kill it and finish what the Yondaime started! We'll be heroes!" The darker Nin stood eagerly nodding his head. "The Kyuubi no Kitsune, will be powerless now that it's in the body of a child! We will make sure it dies this time!" The other Nin stood a manic gleam in his eyes. "Let's go" The darker Nin nodded, before they both disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto was left reeling over the information that he had just received. He gasped as he remembered all the glares and beatings he received ever since he could remember. Now he knew why they hated him! Now he knew why his life was spent dodging objects thrown at him. He felt his tears running down his face. Leaning against the vent he wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his face in his arms. He didn't know how long he stayed like that but once he was finished crying he got up and crawled back to his storage room. As he lay down on his bundle of mismatched cushions he vowed to do everything in his power to live a better life, using disguises and living within the walls of the Hokage building if he had to! He was tired to being treated like trash! No one will ever hurt him again.

End Flashback

After that fateful day he made a decision. He was going to disguise himself. He didn't was to continue being beaten or sneered at just because the people thought he was a demon. He had better things to do with his time, like playing pranks and harassing the old man! And so, after spending some time carefully watching people he concluded that the Aburame's were the masters of hiding their identity. They always wore long coats, with a high collar and a hood. They also wore glasses to hide their eyes, making it next to impossible to distinguish one Aburame from another. Secretly he thought it was funny that they looked almost like flashers, men who wear trench coats with nothing on underneath and run around flashing people. He saw one once when he was hiding in an alley. The man ran out from the other side of the street and flashed a group of girls, who ended up screaming bloody murder, while the man ran away directly towards his hiding spot. Naruto had grouched down further behind some trash cans and watched as a group of ANBU cut the man off and apprehended him.

After watching the Aburame's he began to notice that people outside of their clan treated them with caution. Whenever an Aburame would walk down the street no matter the age, people would give them a wide berth, moving out of their way. In the stores the clerks and other customers would do their best to stay away from them, sometimes even changing direction and going the opposite way. Naruto grinned when he realized that he would also get the added bonus of not only hiding his identity but also protection, in the form of having people ignore and avoid him at all costs. After saving up his orphan stipend he was able to buy a coat modelled after the Aburame's signature ensemble.

The coat he bought was dark grey with black cuffs, and many hidden pockets, including some that he could hide his camera in. It was several sizes too big for him, but that was the way he wanted it. If he bought one his size he would have grown out of it too quickly, so he bought one he could grow into.

After buying his new coat he covered his hair with an old black cloth, and quickly put on the coat. He pulled the hood up and zipped it up right to the collar. He then decided to test out his theory, by going shopping. Several people passed him by without notice, which made it difficult for him to accurately test his theory.

He spotted a store and went in, looking around he saw that the store was full of people buying groceries. He grinned under his hood, and went off into the aisles after quickly grabbing a hand basket. As he walked he carefully observed the people. Slowly they began to take notice of him, and began to subtly shift out of his reach. He went into another aisle where the fresh fruits were stored. He browsed the selections of apples, looking sideways at a woman who was also looking at apples. She didn't notice him yet. He inched closer to her, making sure to pick up a couple apples as he went. He found himself standing side by side with her as she put some into her basket. One fell out of her hand; Naruto caught it before it could hit the ground. He held it out to her, his eyes watching her reaction carefully from under his hood. The woman smiled but gasped when she saw who he was.

"Here you are ma'am." He offered politely.

He could tell that she was forcing herself to smile. "Ah, thank you, but I think that I'll be getting these ones, you can have that one if you like." She told him as she began to move away.

Naruto nodded under his hood and dropped the green coloured apple into his basket. "Very well ma'am, have a good day." With that he moved away and headed for the cashiers. As he turned to the next aisle he gave one last glance at the woman who dropped the apple. She was shuddering in disgust, noticeably shaking her arms and checking herself over for bugs. He smirked under his hood and continued forward.

He stopped at a line full of people. Silently he stood behind a man, who gave him a small glance, before looking away. A second later he visibly stiffened and gave him another look. He grunted something under his breath and looked around for another cashier line. Naruto watched as the man hurriedly walked off and got into another line far away from him. He bit his bottom lip and proceeded to take the man's place. Slowly the other people in the line took notice of his presence and left for other lines, until it was just him standing there, and handing the nervous looking cashier his basket of food.

The blond also wanted to test another theory he had. If no one could recognize him then maybe he could be able to buy better quality food, instead of having to shell out big money for a couple cans of soup and noodles. He watched the cashier swipe the items and total his purchase. He blinked in shock at how much it came up to. It wasn't a large amount in fact it was downright cheap! If he didn't have disguise on he would have had to pay three to five times the amount being shown on the screen. Numbly he took out his wallet and handed the nervous cashier a 1000 yen note. The man rung it up and handed him back his change, though he didn't hand it to him, just left it on the counter. Naruto grabbed his change and his purchases, and left.

He walked out of the store his thoughts twirling around in his head, making it almost impossible to focus. His theories were correct! He could buy things now without having to skimp on quality food! He could walk around without being beaten or overcharged by store owners. Suddenly he felt like a great weight had been lifted from him, he breathed deeply and walked leisurely back to his house, feeling better than he had ever since he could remember.

He had one problem; his hair. Blond was pretty recognizable. If his hood came off his disguise would be for nought, and people would go back to hurting him again. So he went to the store and grabbed a bottle of hair dye, and as he was leaving the store he grabbed a pair of dark sunglasses, to further his disguise.

An hour later he was looking into his bathroom mirror in horror. The hair dye had changed his hair from bright yellow to a shade of grass like green. He angrily looked at the bottle before flinging it away in disgust. "What kind of Aburame has green hair!" He muttered. With one last look at his head he hopped into the shower to wash off any leftovers.

After his shower he got dressed and headed for the Hokage's office. He hadn't had a chance to show his new outfit to the old man, as he had been busy with observing people and testing his new disguise.

He calmly walked into the Hokage building, and up the stairs. He threw a bag of flies he caught onto the secretary's desk and calmly walked away amidst her screams as the flies flew out of their enclosure and around her head. The two shinobi stationed at the Hokage's door got a similar treatment in the form of a cloud of moths who attacked their clothes.

Naruto ran into the Hokage's office before the moths could turn their attentions to his clothes and yelled "Old man!" Instead of a welcoming grin or a 'Good morning Naruto' was two unseen shinobi grabbing his arms and trying them behind his back, while being tied to a chair. The blond took a second or two to react. "Hey what's the big deal?" He screamed looking up at the angry face the Hokage was casting at him. "Who are you?" The old man asked steel in his voice. "You don't act like an Aburame, talk! Who are you?" Naruto blinked behind his glasses, finally understanding. His disguise worked! The Hokage actually thought he was someone else! He burst out laughing.

A fist hitting the table brought him out of his hilarity. "Enough!" The old man gritted. Naruto quieted and smirked behind his coat collar. "You don't recognize me?" The Hokage just stared. Naruto chuckled. "It's me old man! Uzumaki Naruto!" The Sandaime reached over his desk and pulled off his hood. He pulled back in shock, at seeing that it was actually him and of his hair colour. "Naruto?" He exclaimed. Naruto nodded. "Yep, you like my new look?" He asked taking off his glasses.

The old man was silent or a moment. "What did you do to your hair?" He finally asked. Naruto blinked before grabbed his hair. He frowned at it. "I tried to dye it, but for some reason it turned it green!" The Hokage chuckled reaching over and fingering the green locks. "I like it" He decided. Naruto smiled.

Then the Hokage took a better look at the clothes Naruto was wearing. "Why are you dressed like the Aburame?" Naruto grinned. "It's for my pranks! People will be looking for a blond haired boy not an Aburame! It's genius!" He exclaimed in excitement. The Sandaime sat back in his chair. The boy had a point; no one would pay attention to the silent Aburame standing amidst them when they were searching for a loud blond. He chuckled. "That does sound interesting although I don't think the Aburame's will be pleased if they ever found out you used their…" He paused, "Style of dress to play pranks on people." Naruto shrugged. "I'll just have to make sure I don't get caught!" The old man shook his head in amusement.

Naruto tugged at his ropes. "Ah can you untie me now?" The Hokage nodded to the two guards who were standing behind Naruto. They quickly untied the boy and went back to their posts. Sarutobi looked back Naruto who was rubbing his wrists. "So what brought you to my office?" The boy grinned while he put his glasses back on. "Lunch" The Hokage nodded. "I'll have something brought up." Naruto's grin widened.

After a hearty meal the Hokage sat back in his chair with a steaming cup of tea in his hand. He blew on it to cool it down. After taking a sit he looked up at Naruto who was drinking juice with a thoughtful expression on his face. What was he thinking of? He wondered and asked. Naruto's blue eyes looked up. "I was just wondering about something." He answered. The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He asked prompting the young boy to continue. Naruto sat up straighter. "Can Jounins sense everything around them?" Sandaime blinked. "Why do you want to know?" Naruto snickered. "I'm planning a prank!" The Hokage chuckled. Naruto and his pranks, he should have known. "Well jounins as you know are high level ninja, and yes they can sense when someone with chakra is nearby." Naruto nodded and asked a question. "What about people who haven't unleashed their chakra yet?"

The Hokage sat back. "Well they can sense people who haven't unleashed their chakra but since the chakra is still locked away it's so small and usually counted off as a small animal." Naruto nodded Perfect, just what he was hoping for. "Like a rat or mouse?"

The Hokage nodded. "That's right Naruto. So what are you planning on doing to my jounins?" He asked grinning slightly. Naruto looked up at him innocently. "Why do you say that old man?" The other let out a laugh. "Because you asked me about jounins sensing people with locked chakra and that you were planning a prank. Of course you must promise that it isn't going to hurt them." Naruto grinned. "Only their pride" He replied before running to the door. "Thanks old man! See ya!" Chuckling Sandaime waved to the disappearing youth.

Naruto grinned behind his collar. Now he knew why no one could sense him, but he had to make sure no one could hear him. Thinking this he decided to look into which fabrics didn't make much sound while moving about in air vents.

So many things to do, but he was having so much fun!

End Chapter