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When Naruto first realised where, or more specifically when he was, and that no, this wasn’t a genjutsu, they had stopped the stupid ‘eye of the moon’ plan for heaven’s sake and he had died, died like he had deep inside him always known he would, pierced by Sasuke’s chidory, he panicked.
He was supposed to be done. Every single day of his life had been a struggle, most of them filled with his desperate fight against all the hatred and danger the world threw at him.
The only man he had thought had cared for him before Iruka’s change of heart, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had lied to him his entire life.
‘I am sorry, Naruto, I am afraid I can’t tell you anything about your parents.’ - No, you just picked my dad as your successor, I am sure you knew nothing about them, did you?
‘No, I don’t know why people are hating you for existing.’ - No, you just let Danzo convince you to tell the whole village about me being a jinjuriki, holding the very fox that had just hours ago been used to destroy half of Konoha and done nothing to help or protect me from the villagers, all the while keeping the knowledge from myself.
‘I am afraid your parents didn’t leave you anything.’, the Hokage had told him when he had asked if he could at least see a picture of them, know their names, a necklace, a kunai that had belonged to them, anything to make them real and prove that they had been human and that he, Naruto, wasn’t a devil’s span, a demon simply coming into existence without ever having parents or the kyuubi.
- No, he hadn’t been withholding a huge heritage from him, money, scrolls, pictures, techniques, half a clan compound and a seat on the shinobi council as his mother had been from a clan that had once been as high up in Konoha’s hierarchy as the Senju and Uchiha and his father the Yondaime while he was forced to live in drags in a shady apartment in the red light district.
And than lost everything he didn’t even know should have been his during Pain’s attack on the village forever.
Instead he grew up alone, hated and ignorant of his heritage, surviving on the bare minimum that probably would have killed him long before if it hadn’t been for Kurama. Not to mention the betrayal he had felt after he had been told that for his own safety, apparently everyone that had been close to his parents had been ordered away from him so that no one would connect him to his parents.
Because being known as the young, orphaned jinjuriki and one of the last Uzumaki to boot was so much safer for him compared to growing up loved and protected by his parents’ friends, taught like all other children got taught instead of left to flounder on his own, impairing his ability to defend himself.
Honestly, being known as the son of their beloved Yondaime couldn’t have made him a bigger target than he already was.
He just had a whole organisation of s-class missing-nin after him. Not to mention Iwa had always tried to kill him just for daring to remind them of the Yondaime and on the off chance that the yellow flash had indeed propagated, they hadn’t even needed the confirmation in the end.
The village his parents had sacrificed themselves to save treated him worse than scum until the very moment he had convinced Nagato to resurrect everyone he had killed during his search for him, sixteen years later.
He still sometimes wondered if they hadn’t so much celebrated him but what he reminded them of, clad in a cape similar to his father’s, hair longer and the same blond, stature eerily similar as well and not to mention the use of two of Namikaze Minato’s techniques during the fight against Pain: the rasengan and the summoning of some huge toads.
None of them had ever apologised for how they had treated him as a child.
The girl he had loved, seeing her strength and hidden kindness before anyone else, only ever had eyes for Sasuke and was borderline abusive towards him until both of them were too busy during the war for such immature behaviour. Hitting him whenever she didn’t like something, blaming him for everything gone wrong, always making sure Sasuke was safe and healthy first even after he had abandoned them and nearly killed the reminder of team seven on more than one occasion and even going so far as to try and trick her by using his feelings towards her against him.
When he had died, knowing that the threat of Akatuski, Obito, Madara, Orochimaru, Kabuto and Kaguya was over, the elemental nations at peace due to the allied shinobi forces fighting side by side in the war and Konoha on his way to be rebuild, his only regret had been that he couldn’t reciprocate Hinata’s feelings for him, having always seen the shy Hyuuga heiress as something of a little sister to him because of how long she had been a constant in his life for.
He had closed his eyes peacefully as he had taken his last breath, knowing that with his seal open, Kurama would be able to escape being dragged to death with him and could finally be free. There had been nothing but calm acceptance at his death.
But now, he was somehow back in the past.
Having to live through it all again.
He wasn’t sure if he wanted to.
Tiredness and bone deep wariness engulfed him, augmented by the echoing of his growling stomach in what he was sure was one of the basement rooms of Konoha’s orphanage. He had been chucked into it and forgotten often enough during his early childhood to still feel a dreaded sense of familiarity with the cold, dark and lonely place he had immediately recognised.
Unfortunately he felt like he owned his parents and Neji to try and keep living, not wanting their sacrifices for him to be in vain, not to mention without opening the seal on his stomach, he would drag Kurama with him to death, bound as their souls were by the seal, so that wasn’t an option.
Despite, Uzumaki Naruto never gave up. Nor went back on his word, but this time he would be more careful on just what he promised and whom.
Groaning he shook his head to get rid of the depressing thoughts, calmer now that he had mentally recapped his shit show of a life and accepted that yes, he had somehow time travelled and that yes, he was going to make the best of it.
Sitting down and crossing his legs, he tried to make a plan. Or at least try and figure out his priorities. This was basically his second chance at life and he would be damned if he let everything play out like last time.
Planning ahead had never been his fort, Shikamaru and Kurama had always been the ones he had listened to, but the first was currently probably no older than four according to his own height and approximate age and the later was currently unreachable, the seal on his stomach still too new and strong to allow any communication between them.
So, sorting out his priorities it was.
Funnily enough, he realised that both Sasuke and Sakura were fairly far down on his priority list this time around. They had never wanted him, regardless of how much he had tried to convince himself of the opposite.
No, this time his list went somewhat like that:
1. Stay alive or at least free Kurama first
2. to reach 1. I need:
▪ Kurama → sealing supplies, chakra usage, key seal from the toads or more sealing knowledge to deconstruct it himself
▪ stealth and subterfuge (angry villagers, Danzo etc.)
▪ strength
▪ preferably regular, nutritious food
▪ sensor abilities to better avoid trouble
▪ warm clothes and weapons for when he gets kicked out of the orphanage
3. protect the biju
4. keep the world from ending either via tentails, infinite tsukoyomi or a rabit goddess
His throat tightened when he realised that his life long dream of becoming Hokage was no where even on the list any more.
He had once gone from genin to one of the highest ranking shinobi of the allied shinobi forces and realised how every single action he took saved or condemned thousands, how he had to cut his precious time with his resurrected father short in favour of fighting and winning a war and realised that being Hokage was not all it was hyped up to be, especially after watching Tsunade struggle with stubborn old council members, being stuck in her office all day. Not to mention Hiruzen Sarutobi had somewhat soiled the position for him.
Right now, curled up against the cold, enduring hunger grams in the rat infested basement of the orphanage, Naruto could do nothing but cry. Mourn the life he had lost, the few friendships that had gotten erased and pity himself for having to go through his childhood once again.
#
It was on the fifth day that a new wave of desolation and loneliness hit him, having spent his first day back in time checking for genjutsu and generally freaking out which had gotten him thrown into the basement to begin with where he had than spend his days slowly coming to terms with the situation and than alternated between planning and crying.
He hadn’t cried in years, but after loosing his whole life only to be locked away as a helpless child once again, forced to drink his own piss or die, the tears just wouldn’t stop. There was no one to put on a happy facade for anyway. Just him and darkness.
On the sixth day of being locked away and forgotten, Naruto finally unlocked his chakra again and broke the basement door. It was either that or risk getting even weaker and possibly dying. The reoccurring panic attacks and nightmares didn’t help either, weakening him further instead.
It had been a long time since he had been so utterly alone and he didn’t cope well at all.
At this point even getting yelled at for breaking out of his prison was worth it, because it meant something different than total isolation, locked in with his thoughts and a gaping absence of his partner, Kurama.
Cradling his hand that he had broken at his escape gently against his torso, the young Uzumaki blinked against the too bright light. Both his hand and the light hurt enough to give the blond boy a headache, his body too weakened by chronic malnourishment and Kurama’s absence to heal him as he had gotten used to later in life.
Making his way as quickly and quietly through the hated building, skilfully avoiding being seen by either kids or caretakers, Naruto filched a blanked and a hoodie from one of the other children’s room and escaped through the next window he came across.
Judging from his relative height and the ability to run around, he guessed he was likely around three or four years old already, which meant that he would get kicked out of the orphanage soon anyway, so he just upped the timeline somewhat.
Stealing any food was too risky, as was staying in the village once people clotted onto his identity, so the various trainings fields were his best bet. Some of them had a steam or part of the river running through, giving him access to fresh water at least which was more than he could currently say about his stay in the orphanage and he could scour them for any left behind weapons.
Now he just had to make it there without collapsing or being seen.
Naruto sighed, dragging his exhausted body towards the nearest training ground one step at a time.
His body almost gave out when he finally saw the shallow steam running through training ground twenty-four but he forced himself to first rehydrate or risk actually dying.
Taking small slips of water instead of gulping it down was one of the hardest things Naruto had ever done but he knew from experience that he would otherwise just throw it right back up.
The water tasted divine in his mouth despite rationally knowing that it was anything but. There was a reason shinobi usually boiled the water first or threw in purification tablets before consuming it to avoid diseases and parasites, but Naruto had little choice at the moment.
Not to mention how both his Uzumaki genes and Kurama had kept him alive throughout his childhood where he had eaten and drunk way worse things on a regular basis, though he would have to be careful until he had at least somewhat recovered from his stay at the orphanage.
He only just managed to drag himself and his meagre, stolen belongings under a nearby bush before passing out.
-
The next day he was already feeling slightly better, having access to water sure was helpful and after Naruto drank his fill and washed himself and the clothes he wore, dried his body in his blanket and waited for the sun to do the rest, the young boy scoured the training ground for any discarded weapons, wire or other useful things, especially edible berries, roots, mushrooms and so on.
Recognising edible plants had actually been one of the few lessons Naruto had not only paid attention to but that he wasn’t sabotaged at or send out by his teachers before Iruka had taken over during his last two years.
It was mid summer so Naruto was lucky to find plenty to eat, or well, at least enough to keep him going which, once again, was better than what he had previously.
Food and water seen to, and three kunai found to be still in acceptable condition, his next step would be to figure out shelter, preferably something more permanent and as such remote but safe. Staying in a training ground, even one as rarely used as this one could, theoretical, lead to dangerous situations and discovery, but there were only so many options.
Sighing he decided to stay for another day, recovering and working on his kagebunshin no jutsu which would make finding shelter that much easier. Unfortunately he currently had neither the chakra nor the control to make more than three, but that would have to be enough.
#
Two weeks later found a little blond boy training in the woods, determined to do better this time, not to get ridiculed as a dead last, not to be beaten to a pulp by mobs.
He had taken to avoid the village, avoid looking at the Hokage mountain to the man that had failed him so and solely focused on his training, helped along by his kagebunshin who currently focused on chakra control, starting with the tree-walking exercise as it had always been the easiest for him out of all.
Huffing he was laying down the ground, catching his breath after his morning run through the woods that doubled as collecting his ‘breakfast’ as quickly as possible, when he suddenly jumped back, hiding behind a tree after hearing someone coming his way. It wouldn’t do to be found, especially not as exhausted and therefore vulnerable as he currently was.
“Huh, cousin-chan, did you want to invite me for a picknick? I wouldn’t have eaten so much breakfast at auntie’s if that were the case. You should have warned me.”, a cheerful voice said and Naruto cursed, knowing he had forgotten to hide his hard earned breakfast with him, but there simply hadn’t been the time.
“You know this isn’t mine.”, the other young voice deadpanned and Naruto begun sweating.
Fight or flight or stay hidden, Naruto wanted desperately to run, but that would mean leaving behind his food and food was sacred these days. As if on cue, his stomach growled, reminding him of his lack of meal. Naruto could practically feel the looks cast at his hiding spot and not even a second later he was picked up by back of his shirt like a misbehaving puppy, held completely helpless above ground.
He reacted on instinct, knowing well enough what being discovered inside his own village usually meant for him before he was able to outrun Anbu, not to mention escape simple civilians and right now, he was as weak and pathetic as he could get, not even being four years old yet.
Curling into a tight ball as good as possible, he pressed his arms over his head, shielding it and his ribs as good as possible from the following beating, quiet pleas escaping him despite knowing how hopeless it was, how they were always ignored and usually even enjoyed by the crowd.
What he didn’t anticipate, however, was getting dropped like hot coal, landing in the tight ball he had curled himself in, waiting for the kicks to start.
Which they didn’t.
Huh? Maybe, if he continued to pretend to be a stone they would leave him alone? It sometimes worked with the villagers, them getting bored of him and leaving after he passed out or pretended to and didn’t fight back or cry out.
No such luck, he thought as he heard the second human coming closer as well instead of leaving.
Why, why did he have to get through this all again? Why?!
“Hey there, little one, we mean you no harm. I am sorry if we have startled you. My name is Uchiha Shisui and this is my cousin Uchiha Itachi. What’s your name, sunshine?”, a gentle voice said.
When they neither hurt him nor left, even after five minutes, Naruto carefully uncoiled, his muscles stiff from the tension and his morning exercise. Still, nothing happened, instead the two what he now recognised as two older Uchiha kids, were quietly talking about nothing relevant a few feed away, completely ignoring him.
Well than, Naruto thought, maybe his breakfast could still be saved.
Slowly creeping forwards towards his collection of berries, roots and nuts, he grabbed his spoils before taking a hasty retreat to the opposite site of the clearing, leaning against a tree to avoid someone getting behind him again, keeping an eye on the two older kids all the time, especially as he knew just how dangerous Itachi could be, even as a child from what the stories tell.
Still nothing.
Both black haired kids completely ignored him.
Which caught him decidedly wrong footed, especially as in his experience Uchihas usually wanted him dead, in pain or humiliated depending on their mood.
Or maybe Obito, Madara and Sasuke were just shitty examples. And hadn’t Itachi fought with them in the end, exposed as one of the good guys that only got manipulated by Danzo and ordered by the village to massacre his clan? But than again, the then young adult s-rank missing-nin had had the audacity to force a living crow down his throat and torture his sensei so bad that he had needed Tsunade-baa to heal him. Naruto shivered at that memory.
Having finished his breakfast, the young boy wondered what to do. Looking at the still peacefully talking Uchiha children, and that was what both of them currently were, children, he wondered if maybe he wouldn’t have to relocate after all.
The Uchihas seemed to have realised that he had finished his meal as well because they both turned their attention towards the blond again. The older one, Shisui, asked:
“So what brings you out into the Uchiha woods by yourself? Are you lost?”
Uchiha woods? Naruto nearly facepalmed. Of course his secret training ground he had discovered mid way through his academy days was at this time still property of the Uchiha clan. No wonder it had been so desolated when he had found it in his first life.
Still, Naruto had never been a good liar and as such went with the truth whenever possible and distraction or silence when not.
Right now he saw no reason to lie.
“Living. I didn’t know this land was already claimed by your clan, sorry.”, Naruto said.
‘Living’, he saw one of them mouth the word to the other incredulous.
“And you said you were how old exactly?”, he asked further.
“Three, almost four.”, Naruto answered honestly.
“And your parents are….?”, continued the interrogation.
“Dead.”, Naruto deadpanned drily.
“Right….”, the older kid said, rubbing his head likely already having guessed the answer, “And you are not with any relatives or in the orphanage because?”
“I have none that I know of and here I actually have access to regular meals if I find enough, regular baths, light, fresh air and always have something to drink, not to mention it is actually warmer outside here than in the basement of the orphanage if it doesn’t rain that is.”, Naruto listed.
Both kids starred at him open mouthed.
True, it had taken Naruto a while to figure out that how he had been treated was not okay and would have likely killed any normal child long ago, but than again, he had never been normal, had he? Right now he simply didn’t want to be sent back to the orphanage and as such explaining that he was better of in the woods was paramount.
“So you just what? Live alone in the Uchiha woods without anyone the wiser? How do you even know which berries and plants are edible and won’t poison you?”, Shisui-kun asked bewildered.
“The ones that don’t leave me with cramps, fevers or make me sick are usually what I go for, especially if they taste more sweet than bitter or if I recognise them from other people.”, Naruto explained as that had always been his way of learning thanks to lacking resources to learn from.
Sucked when he observed a budding poison mistress once building up her immunity to copy from unknowingly.
Academy teachers had lied to him, given him wrong worksheets, correcting rightly executed techniques to make him worse, not to mention he couldn’t even read or write until Iruka had helped him with the basics.
He knew a lot of people wondered what he had done in the three years he had been with Jiraya-sensei, especially as he hadn’t learned any new jutsu during that time, but to be honest, even with shadow-clones they had had their hands full educating him on what was normal and what not.
Or basically just what normal people didn’t survive like living off of spoiled food and milk on a daily basis, how shouting was not accepted in polite company, the virtue of thinking before acting and most importantly how to be proficient in reading and writing. There had been a reason Jiraya had asked him to prof read and edit his books.
They had so much basic knowledge to cover and correct, so much false information and instruction to get rid of, that there had been little time for much else aside from some basic sealing knowledge, summoning jutsu training and physical conditioning.
But the most important lessons Jiraya had taught him was how to read people and how to fit in without any questions asked. Something that he couldn’t show cast in a fight.
“How are you still alive?”, wondered the younger Uchiha. Itachi looked to be about seven or eight years old and was actually quite cute at that age, despite his serious nature.
Yes, sometimes Naruto wondered the same, especially after getting a shidori through his heart twice now.
“We should probably tell my parents or the Hokage.”, Itachi mused and Naruto felt half resigned to it.
This was certainly better than getting found by an angry mob or explaining how he knew to get to the Hokage for help when the man had only started taking an interest in him after he had gotten kicked out of the orphanage the first time around.
Especially as these woods obviously were still part of the Uchiha clan and he really didn’t want any trouble with that specific clan, no thank you, he had had enough trouble with them for a lifetime. And he knew winter was coming and any more permanent hideout he could build on Konoha grounds would eventually be discovered, leading to the same outcome or worse depending on by whom they were discovered.
Abandoning Konoha was… well, maybe an option if that wouldn’t leave him alone and penniless in the woods somewhere even more dangerous.
Besides, this time, he could learn the henge early and use it for his shopping so that people wouldn’t throw him out of shops, sell him rotting or expired goods, nor overprice him.
Shisui-kun kneeled down to his height, gently asking: “Are they having a food shortage at the orphanage? And what did you mean by basement?”
Naruto was good enough to read between the lines to know what he was asking: Were they mistreating everyone or just him.
So he answered:
“There is plenty of food for everyone else. And at this point the basement is basically my room. They are afraid I am corrupting or endangering the other children so they like to keep me locked away and than forget about me. The other kids are after all just children and actually deserve their attention and food.” Naruto explained, carefully devoid of emotions.
He had talked with Jiraya-sensei at lengths about his childhood and had slowly started to accept what had happened to him as well as realise that this was not normal.
When he had talked about it before, there had always been some shame accompanied his retelling of his childhood, the belief that he had indeed deserved to be treated like that, that maybe he had done something wrong after all, his chest would always feel heavy and words would be difficult to find and speak, but now he could talk about it easily, especially if he distanced himself from it emotionally.
Though reliving all the pain and hatred didn’t make it any easier to talk about because now it wasn’t just confessing to a fucked up past, but talking about his current failings, his current weakness.
The Uchiha children shared a look.
“What did you say your name was?”, Shisui asked, clearly trying to find a reason behind the behaviour of the caretakers in the orphanage.
However, this brought Naruto short. At his current age, he actually hadn’t even known his name, that came only after the Hokage had taken an interest in him, others only referring to him as ‘brat’, ‘demon child’, ‘boy’, ‘devils span’, ‘that kid’ and various variation thereof which had been the reason he had shouted his name around as soon as he had learned it.
Or at least, he had before he had realised that people behaved differently as soon as they recognised him as the Kyuubi jinjuriki which thanks to him was quite early on connected to his name, resulting in him withholding it at first meetings for as long as possible, or rather until they inevitable turned hostile towards him.
However, at his age he had had trouble speaking as well because no one had actually sat him down trying to get him to speak, been interested in what he had to say or actually corrected him if he had said or pronounced something wrong.
Thinking back on what they had called him at the start of their discussion and how he wasn’t supposed to know his own name, he smiled slightly, looking the older one straight in the eyes and softly said: “I rather like sunshine, even if it is just a nickname.”
The dark haired children looked like they were about to cry.
With a pang Naruto remembered that those two were indeed still children, Itachi only about seven years old and Shisui looked to be no older than twelve himself. Too young to be subjected to his dark life.
After his initial shock at being discovered, especially after living through a war, getting killed by his supposed to be best friend and teammate and waking up only to get beaten and thrown into the orphanage’s basement, Naruto had realised how desperate he had gotten in those short few weeks after his time travel for any positive or even neutral interaction. For anyone not looking at him with hate and disgust or fear in their eyes, for anyone not yelling at him or hurting him.
He had started to enjoy the rather morbid conversation and their company but had completely disregarded that they were still only children themselves and it wasn’t fair to trouble them with his own problems.
Standing up, he went towards his little hideout, taking out his stash of found weapons and his blanked, bowed to the dark haired duo and declared:
“I am sorry to have trespassed on your lands. I will be more careful in the future. You won’t have to worry about me, I am fine. Please don’t trouble yourselves with me, dattebayo. Thank you for talking to me.”, he smiled at them and turned to leave. The ‘Thank you for being kind to me’ heard loud and clear between all three of them.
Maybe he should try the forest of death next, though it was outside the village borders, so maybe not.
He found it ironic that once again his heart tried to latch on to the two Uchihas, just because they had actually been nice when no one else was even if he didn’t know how they would react if they knew that he was a jinjuriki. Even if he had latched onto Sasuke previously because he had thought they had both been lonely and that maybe he could make it a little bit less lonely for the other boy by staying at his side. Not that that had turned out well.
“No, wait. You don’t have to leave.”, Itachi exclaimed.
“I don’t want any trouble with your clan.”, Naruto explained.
“At least stay until dinner time?”, Itachi proposed, “We can teach you how to use those weapons of yours if you want.”
Naruto stood stock still. They actually wanted his company? He looked at the other child, nodding along with his cousin.
Preparing to run, Naruto said a tad incredulously:
“I am a demon child, otherwise called fox spawn, devil child, looser or whatever else the population of Konoha comes up with to refer to me. I just told you that adults think other children should be as far away from me as possible and you want to spent even more time with me? Teach me how to become even more dangerous?”
Neither dark haired child made any hostile move, nor did their gazes shift to hatred upon realising just who stood in front of them, though their eyes clearly reflected that they had indeed been warned away from him or had at least heard stories about him.
Both said a resolute “Yes.”, bewildering the blond haired orphan even more.
Slowly Naruto relaxed, realising that he might just be able to try and trust those two and a grin stole itself on his face: “Awesome, dattebayo!”, he declared, fishing out one of his least rusty kunai.
The cousins smiled as slowly the scared, distrustful blond haired orphan transformed in front of them into an excitable sunshine eager to learn.
At the end of the day the boy trusted them enough to sit on top of Shisui’s shoulders, enjoying him using the shushin to teleport from place to place, just like his little brother Sasuke loved to do when he wasn’t trying to copy Itachi’s rather reserved and mature behaviour.
The child’s bell like carefree laughter rang through the woods, placing a smile on the clan heir’s lips as well at the sound.
However, the darker it got, the more nervous and quiet Naruto became.
He wasn’t sure where he could sleep that night, wasn’t sure when the Uchiha planned to take him to the Hokage and he hadn’t collected enough this morning for dinner either, though the cousins had shared their lunch with him.
Shisui obviously noticed the mood change and with a nod at his younger cousin declared: “Well. It is getting quite late, how about I seal all your stuff into this neat little storage scroll for you so you can easily carry it where ever you go and than we go home for dinner? I am sure aunt Mikoto will have nothing against feeding another mouth.”
“Indeed, mother wouldn’t mind.”, Itachi-san assured after seeing the sceptical look on the youngest face who slowly nodded at that assurance.
Regardless, Naruto had pulled on his hoodie, covering his distinctive hair and face while clinking to Shisui, burying the last visible part of his face into the elder child’s shirt.
Naruto was trembling by the time they arrived at the clans head’s house.
While his mother, Kushina, had told him briefly about her close friendship with Sasuke’s mother, Uchiha Mikoto, he had never met her before and knew nothing about her husband, not to mention while usually clan shinobi simply tended to ignore him, the Uchiha police had been less than pleased with all the complains they were getting against him after all the pranks and even for invented offences.
Not to mention he knew he currently had no chance against trained shinobi as the child currently carrying him had so obviously demonstrated earlier that day so he could only hope he would make it out of here alive and without his mind permanently altered by a genjutsu, especially as he didn’t have access to Kurama yet.
Shisui held him securely and rubbed soothing circles across his back and Naruto was between crying and trembling with nerves as a result. No one had ever held him and comforted him like that.
Probably because at the time he had finally found at least some precious people that cared for him as much as he cared for them, he had already been twelve and a genin, an adult in the eyes of law.
Shisui and by extension Itachi Uchiha had already made it on his precious people list, even after only knowing them for a day. He hoped this evening wouldn’t ruin that again.
“Okaa-sama, we are home and brought a guest if that is alright.”, announced Itachi.
A black and blue blur came barrelling into Itachi not even a second later with a happy cry of “Nii-san! You are home!” and Naruto couldn’t suppress the flinch that escaped him at his…. Well he was his murderer of another timeline, wasn’t he?
“Hello, ototo.”, Itachi softly said, ruffling his younger brother’s hair who pouted at him when the Uchiha matriarch came over to presumely welcome their guest.
“Hello Shisui-kun. And who do you have here?”, she asked, looking at the child in his arms.
All three of the arrivals tensed at that, Shisui sheepishly rubbing his head with one hand while the other still held the boy protectively.
“Well, funny story that actually. You see, we found this little sunshine out in the Uchiha woods where we usually train together, all alone, eating berries, roots and plants saying upon getting questioned that he was living there because it was apparently better than staying at the orphanage.
We promised him a meal before alerting any authority if that is alright.”
The Uchiha woman schooled his expression and only raised an eyebrow: “And does our little guest have a name?”, she asked, only to suck in a sharp breath that had her son and nephew tensing when the little boy in Shisui’s arms turned to face her.
Blonde hair, dull, wary blue eyes and whiskers on his sunken in face, all reminding her of her deceased best friend and her husband painfully. There was no doubt just who the child was.
To her utter terror, the child inclined his head, introducing himself softly as if only waiting for a blow:
“Hello, I am called demon child, devils spawn, demon fox, good for nothing, better of dead or simply boy, though I like sunshine the best. Nice to meet you.”
“You don’t know your name?!”, she breathed horrified and the child seemed to think for a while before shaking his head.
“No, I don’t think I have just one name, though there are a lot of similar names I am getting referred to.”, the child said apologetic.
“Oh Naruto, I can’t… the Hokage…”, the woman looked visibly distressed and Naruto felt kind of guilty for lying. He did know his name after all, as well as his parents.
“Kaa-san?” a worried Sasuke asked.
“Alright, alright, sorry. Come in, dinner is ready so go ahead and wash your hands first.”, she declared, collecting her self again.
“That was interesting.”, commented Itachi thoughtfully and Naruto divulged shrugging:
“People always have interesting reactions towards me, though usually they are far more violent with more yelling involved.”
Which, fair. Those who didn’t try to kill him tended to ignore him to the level of where he had to leave his cash on the counter because they would just pretend he didn’t exist at all and Kakashi tended to run away whenever they crossed paths.
Sakura would hit him, Ino yell at him, Sasuke try and kill him and Hinata would faint. He had to admit those were rather extreme reactions to his mere presence.
When they all sat at the table, Naruto was almost salivating at the delicious smell of the food but knew he had to hold back or risk getting sick. He had been starved for at least a week and who knows how long before that and during the last two weeks hadn’t dared to make a fire and as such had only eaten whatever else he could find but nuts and berries couldn’t fill him but were better than nothing.
Now, looking at the delicious smelling roast beef, it was like a dream come true.
He hadn’t eaten something like that in forever, or more specifically not since he had travelled with Jiraya-sensei.
Now, taking care to chew slowly and eat something of every dish on the table, he cried when he felt uncomfortably full after only a single bite of the meat. Not wanting to leave it unfinished, but not wanting to later throw it up again, Naruto was left to glare at the deliciously offending piece of meat, contemplating if he could get away with stuffing it into his pocket for later.
He would just have to be quick and sneaky about it.
Uchiha Fugaku came home just in time to see his wife handing a thin, awfully familiar looking blond boy about Sasuke’s age a box filled with food as well as some of Sasuke’s night clothing and ushering the boys up to their rooms with Shisui to supervise.
“Mikoto.”, he sighed half warningly, half exasperated, like he had expected something like that sooner.
His wife just stared at him and declared stubbornly they would later that evening have a little family discussion after the two youngest children were soundly asleep and that Shisui-kun and Itachi-kun who had apparently brought the boy here could fill them in at that time.
Fugaku knew best not to argue when his wife looked at him like that.
#
The next day saw Naruto waking up in the guest room of the Uchiha clan head, sharing a futon with Shisui-kun after Sasuke had made a fuss, not wanting to share his after already getting forced to share his old clothes that wouldn’t fit him any more anyway, but were just the right size for Naruto.
The blond savoured the feeling of warmth, comfort and safety that Shisui-kun next to him exuded, knowing that it won’t last.
When Shisui awoke, it was to come face to face to a gratefully smiling blond haired child, clutching his shirt in his hands gently as if afraid he would disappear but not brave enough to hold on tighter. His heart went out to the kid that already trusted him enough to initiate contact and seek him out for safety.
After a filling breakfast where he once again observed just how little their guest ate, Shisui was tasked with babysitting duty that day while the others, Itachi included, would bring the situation to the Hokage and hopefully gain permission to help the little sunshine.
Watching the two children together was…. Odd, to say the least.
One was blond, the other dark haired, one tried to be polite and friendly, the other was obviously quite jealous that he now had to share not only his clothes but also the attention of his family and cousin with the stranger.
When the blond haired child tried to avoid Sasuke after his little cousin had been a right brat towards the other, Sasuke kept on trying to rile him up and assert his dominance, after all they were currently in his garden, with his cousin.
Maybe Sasuke was too spoiled and lacking socialisation with other children his age to behave like such a brat, he would have to confer with Itachi-chan soon to rectify that. For now, however, his little sunshine politely asked for further instruction on kunai throwing, expertly diverting Sasuke’s energy and attention towards a throwing competition.
Shisui hoped he wouldn’t regret that.
Naruto had known from the first time he had seen Itachi the day before that he would likely run into Sasuke at some point or another as well.
When he than had met the boy, Naruto was struck with how happy and innocent he looked, eyes free of pain and hatred and looking so unbelievable young. He knew that he had been lucky in a way to travel that far back in time because he didn’t know what he would have done should this Sasuke had looked anything like the adult version of his that had killed him.
But with Sasuke only being a little brat at the moment, Naruto could cope.
And what a brat he had been. It felt as if the boy was determined to be his rival regardless of timelines or anything else. One insult after the other left the boys mouth, jealous about basically everything he could come up with and his Uchiha pride had him pouting for hours after loosing throwing competition after throwing competition while Shisui gave them tips and corrected their stands.
If this was Sasuke before the massacre, unburdened by the loss and betrayal of his family, but still a hostile, confrontational brat, Naruto slowly begun to wonder if he had ever had a chance with the boy at all. Because if he didn’t like him before the massacre, as was becoming more apparent by the minute, than why would he think this would change after.
Naruto took one last glance at his scowling former teammate and decided to never let the boy into his heart again.
Naruto tried to enjoy his time with Shisui as much as he could, especially the gentle and free instruction he got, knowing all too well just how this would probably end.
After all, Mikoto was an associate of his mother and as such ordered to stay away from him, it would only be a matter of time until the old man would pick him up and take him away from the one good thing happening to him in years.
As predicted, the Hokage showed up just before noon, a carefully blank faced Uchiha main family trailing behind him.
Shisui and Sasuke immediately stopped their game of chase.
“Ah, hello Naruto-kun. I have heard you have had quite an adventure, my boy.”, the Hokage started.
Naruto immediately channelled his childhood mask, if the Hokage thought him nearly dying at the orphanage equalled a ‘little adventure’ and didn’t belief the Uchiha when they likely told him he doesn’t know his name, the old man hadn’t earned him any honesty from his side either.
Pointing at the Hogake, Naruto nearly shouted in his usual extravagant way: “Who you, old man, why call Naruto, what Naruto, dattebayo?”, as the Hokage clearly meant him, standing in front of him and looking into his eyes and all.
The Hokage chuckled and replied: “Ah, forgive me, Naruto-kun, my name is Sarutobi Hiruzen and I am the current Hokage.”, clearly expecting Naruto to know what a Hokage was, which he would have, if he hadn’t spent ‘story time’ locked into a basement at the orphanage.
“What is Hokae?”, he asked, which at last brought a slight frown on the old man’s face.
“I am the third leader of this village, of Konohagakure, and as such am called the sandaime Hokage. You should pay more attention at story time, Naruto-kun, even if it may seem boring to you.”, scolded the Hokage.
Naruto started actually having fun at this point, because the other option was to cry at how much this disapproval would have hurt him the first time around and how blandly he chose to ignore any and all signs of abuse that happened to him.
This time, he didn’t ask what story time was, instead ducking his head chastised in order to minimize any punishment he might get. It never ended well for him if he talked back even if he did have valid excuses.
There was a pause when the Hokage sighed and said: “Don’t worry, Naruto-kun, you are still young, there is plenty of time to learn still.”
The child nodded and than looked at the old man’s eyes, asking earnestly: “I am Naruto? Do you know my parents? Do I have parents?”
“Of course Naruto-kun is your name. Your full name is in fact Uzumaki Naruto, but unfortunately I can’t tell you anything about your parents apart from the name they gave you before they died. I am sorry, child.”, the Sandaime said and Naruto could see the barely concealed fury in the Uchiha’s eyes behind the Hokage.
Thankfully they kept quiet about his advanced speech as he was currently toning his intelligence down quite a bit for the Hokage.
Naruto tugged this observation back for later and once again lowered his head in apparent sadness, ignoring the steadily rising anger against the man he had once seen as a kind grandfather.
“That’s okay, sir. Thank you for felling me.”, he said, mouthing his full name as if in awe of finally having a nice name given by his parents of his own.
“Now Naruto-kun, I am afraid you can’t stay here, Mikoto and Fugaku are after all already looking after three children including Shisui-kun, so what do you say about going back to the orphanage? The matrons there do their best to look after you, I am sure and you won’t burden your new friends any longer.”, the Hokage proposed and Naruto flinched at the very idea of going back into that hell hole.
“No, anywhere but there, please. I can look after myself, it’s alright, the orphanage people have many other children to look after, I don’t want to be burden.”, Naruto answered maybe a tad too fast and desperate. He had thought he would get his own apartment if caught outside of the orphanage and not chucked straight back.
“Naruto-kun, please don’t make this any more difficult than it already is. It is the matron’s job to look after children without a family and that includes you. Come now, if we leave now, we might make it before lunch even.”, the Hokage said and reached out to take his hand.
Naruto flinched away violently, nearly vomiting at the contact with the person that wanted to send him back to hell.
“Enough, Naruto!”, commanded the Hogake, leaking a bit of killing intent and picking him up while he was frozen from the sudden turn of events. He got one last desperate look at Shisui before the Hokage shushined them to the orphanage in two jumps, delivering him into the waiting arms of the head patron there.
He got ghost bumps at the sickly sweet smile she regarded the Hogake with, terror cursing through his veins when the Hogake left without a backwards glance.
The second they were inside, he was roughly grabbed by his hair and shaken with all her strength.
“Thought it would be funny to try and run away, did you? Lied to your little friends about us mistreating you, did you now, you little freak? Oh you wait until I have finished with you, I will make you wish you were never born.”, the lady said and a new wave of hopelessness cursed through the young boy.
Even if he did manage to fight her of or run away again, she would only call the Hokage to get him back and make the punishment that much worse.
He passed out after thirty lashes across his back with a chakra induced, metal spikes added leather belt, his back a bloody mess.
#
When he woke up in an all too familiar dark room, he briefly wondered how he was still alive, especially after feeling all the wet blood that had accumulated under him. Everything hurt, but he knew that if he stayed here any longer, he would only get weaker. Again.
Knowing from experience he wasn’t likely to get out of here for at least another week, nor get any food, water or medical attention, Naruto took out the sealing scroll Shisui had gifted him with, took out his stolen blanked and one of his kunai and ripped the blanked into makeshift bandages to prevent him from bleeding out as he could still feel himself loosing blood. His healing factor was likely busy with his concussion, swollen eye and bruised ribs, not to mention Kurama was still unreachable for him.
As were any potential healing powers from the old sage of six path should they have travelled back in time with him.
Bandaging his entire torso before putting on the hoodie, eating half of the left over food Mikoto had packed him the night before to help his body heal, Naruto sealed everything away again and sat down to mediate and plan his escape.
By this point he knew that if he stayed, the Hokage would just force him back again and he wasn’t sure if getting his own apartment would be any better at this point. Not when he couldn’t even stand the old man any more, not to mention if he had any contact with the Uchiha any more, they would very likely get into trouble because of him so he knew that for his own survival, he had to take his chances outside of the village.
And maybe he could find and befriend Haku this time around, or get to Karin before Oroshimaru does, or maybe he could even go to Suna or Taki and befriend Gaara or Fu early.
The more he thought about it, the less held him in Konoha. All of his former friends didn’t know him any more, and with all the deceit and lies that had come to light during the war, he didn’t see the village with rosa tinted glasses any more.
When he tried to cast his senses outside, having learned a form of sensing from the sense nature chakra gave him as well as the Kyuubi’s emotion sensing, he sucked in a harsh breath that jostled his likely broken ribs so painfully that he nearly cried out.
He could sense his fathers hiraishin marks.
And one of them was just outside the village, not far from the orphanage at all.
Grinning he reached out to it, having learned the technique during the war from his father, including how to hijack his father’s seals.
A yellow flash later, all that was left in Konoha of a certain blond was a large pool of blood in an orphanage he had never wanted to be in.
#
Naruto groaned upon landing, likely reopening some of his wounds, but he wasn’t far away enough yet, he had to keep going.
Searching for another of his father’s marks, he was delighted when he found several more, especially as that wouldn’t leave a trace behind.
Four jumps later Naruto was once again in agony and close to passing out, but he had to risk one last jump, just to be safe before he could allow himself to find a hideout to pass out in.
However what he didn’t expect was for the next marker to be on a person he knew all too well.
Looking up into the shocked face of his first sensei, currently on the way back from a solo mission as Anbu Inu, Naruto only had enough time to plead with him: “Please don’t take me back.”, before he passed out in his former sensei’s arms, instinctually recognising him as an alley and therefore safe.
#
Kakashi was currently on his way back from a solo mission in Kusagakure, trying very hard to tire himself out in order to not think about a certain blond boy left behind by the last people he had considered family, pack and whom he was forbidden by the Hokage to even approach.
Minato-sensei had wanted him, friend killer Kakashi, to be an older brother for his at that time still unborn child and Kakashi had been robed into agreeing. Promising to look out for the pub.
And than had been forced to break that promise not even twenty-four hours after his birth.
No, don’t go there, go back, report, take a new mission, repeat, he thought, only to come to a sudden halt when something appeared right next to him in a yellow flash.
The only reason he didn’t stab whatever had just appeared out of pure instinct was that the only person he had ever known to appear like that was dead.
Looking bewildered at his side, he was just in time to catch the small boy before he passed out, pleading with him not to take him back.
Back where?, he wanted to ask, but his thoughts stopped in his tracks when he saw just who had appeared in a yellow flash.
It wasn’t his sensei as he had hoped for a single heart wrenching second, but his son. His pub. The boy he had been forbidden to contact. And he was here, in his arms. Kakashi was close to hyperventilation when he smelled blood. He knew he hadn’t been injured during his mission, everything had gone mind numbingly easy and according to plan so he looked at the passed out child in his arms and saw red. Literally.
‘No, no, no, no, no, don’t die, you can’t die, not you too.’, he thought fanatically, immediately going to work at peeling the boys hoodie off him to search for his wounds.
Peeling of his makeshift bandages, he nearly gagged at the sight of the child’s back and only years in Anbu helped him treat the boy without loosing it.
After loosing his pack, he had thrown himself into medical studies, especially field first aid, unwilling to risk loosing another teammate, however temporary teams in Anbu were from time to time and right now, he was more than glad that he did, carefully cleaning, mending and regrowing the torn flesh, muscles and even nerves and soothing and straightening the boy’s cracked ribs. After putting on fresh bandages soaked in a solution to prevent infection, Kakashi looked at the child in his arms in utter disbelief, one question repeating itself over and over again: And now?
#
When Naruto regained consciousness, he immediately realised that he was feeling way better already and that he was being carried by someone that was obviously tree-hopping with him and the trees didn’t look like they could be found in the land of fire either.
“So, where are we?”, Naruto asked, not recognising the environment.
“Hot water.”, came the reply.
“You are not taking me back to Konoha? You are a Konoha Anbu, aren’t you?”, Naruto asked slightly dumbfounded.
“No, you told me you didn’t want to go back before you passed out, so I won’t take you back.”, Anbu Inu said and after Naruto thanked his sensei for not taking him back and evidently even healing him, there was a lull in their conversation, Naruto coming to terms with having abandoned the very village his father had given his life for and he had once fought so hard to protect.
Than another thought hit Naruto: “Does that mean you are planning on staying with me? Doesn’t that make you a missing-nin?”, he asked bewildered, especially as this was Kakashi-sensei, the man that had mostly focused on Sasuke during their team training and that rarely spent any time with them outside of their team training and missions.
“Yes, you are family, pub, I should never have left you to begin with, orders or not. If you don’t want to go back to Konoha, we won’t go back, it is as simple as that. I guess this does make me a missing-nin though. Huh, who would have thought. Oh and I am Hatake Kakashi or Inu by the way.”, Kakashi replied.
Naruto swallowed down his emotions and tightened his arms around him slightly in appreciation. He had never come first for anyone other than Jiraya-sensei and for Kakashi-sensei to go that far for him, he wondered just how bad the Sandaime had really made his life with his order to keep his parents’ friends away from him.
“I hate the Sandaime.”, Naruto suddenly exclaimed and elaborated: “For lying to me about my parents, for keeping their friends away from me, for keeping my friends away from me, for chucking me into that god forsaken orphanage without ever checking up on me, for throwing me right back in after I had finally escaped and been better for it.
And the worse of it is that he didn’t belief a word that myself or my friend, nor his family said.
We told him I was being starved, neglected and basically thrown into their basement and forgotten about for days at a time, days without any food or water, days without a bathroom.
When I had escaped for the first time, two weeks ago, I had been in that hell hole for six days already and had to drink my own piss to survive and no one cared.
I had been terrified when Uchiha Shisui and his cousin Itachi found me camping in their woods, terrified they’d either hurt me like the villagers had shown a love for, or send me straight back, but instead they listened and shared their meal with me. Afterwards they taught me how to defend myself and throw the kunai I had found on a desolated training ground and took me back home with them.
That day was the first time someone had ever carried me this gently. The first time I ate a home-cooked, warm meal, the first time I officially learned my actual name when their mother slipped up upon looking at me, the first time I actually slept in a warm, comfy futon feeling safe.
The next day the Sandaime came, spouted some bullshit about how I had to go back to the orphanage, despite me seeing in every single eye of the Uchiha how they wanted me to stay.
The Hokage even berated me for not knowing what a Hokage actually was upon his introduction. But how the hell was I supposed to learn such things locked into a basement for days at a time?
Urg, I am not going back.
… Though… can we ask Shisui and Itachi-kun to join us? I already miss them.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go back? I would love to have a few words with some people.”, Kakashi asked in a near dangerous growl, arms tightening around the child in his arms.
Naruto’s eyes widened and he quickly backtracked, because he had never even considered hurting anyone in Konoha.
“No, no, I don’t want to go back, they would immediately chuck me right back where I escaped from and I am not yet strong enough to fight them.”, he answered hurriedly, than had the perfect idea to keep his sensei busy and demanded: “Teach me. Train me. We are on the run now and while it might take them a few days or weeks or even months to realise I am gone, doesn’t mean they won’t sent someone after us probably sooner rather than later.”
Kakashi looked at the child in his arms and agreed. He was his pub, his to protect, but apparently now also his to teach, his to nurture. Unfortunately he had no idea how to teach children without breaking them, but this wasn’t just any child, he was sensei’s child and clearly clever and talented if his escape and even his makeshift bandage and advanced speech pattern was anything to go by.
Speaking of which:
“The matrons at the orphanage did this to you?”, he asked, gesturing towards the child’s bandaged torso, who winced and nodded.
“Hmm”, he acknowledged, “And you used your father’s hiraishin jutsu to escape?”, he clarified, needing a starting point from which to teach the child, completely disregarding that he shouldn’t even know who his parents were, not to mention how to use his father’s signature move that no one else had managed to crack yet.
“I desperately tried to search for any escape when I felt something like markers pling in my consciousness. I reached out with my chakra, enveloped the markers and myself with chakra and pulled myself along the connection.”, Naruto explained hijacking his father’s hiraishin in simple terms.
“Alright, I suppose that is a good starting point. We will start with you mastering this technique first so if you are ever in trouble without me nearby, you can instantly teleport to my side so I can keep you safe, maybe we can even recreate his seal for you so that you have more options to teleport to in case of a fight.”, Kakashi analysed.
#
A few days later, Kakshi had taught Naruto the kagebunshin no jutsu and had two of the five he had managed to create on tree-walking, one on studying his map of the land of hot water, one practising to suppress his chakra to civilian levels and the last one on the henge no jutsu.
Naruto himself was currently practising his speed and endurance Kakashi style while getting acquainted with his ninken pack at the same time. Or, well, he was bloody getting chased by them, while his sensei leisurely strolled behind them, calling out advice to any Naruto in need of it.
A month in, Kakashi was declared MIA, two months in and they had finally realised that they were missing their jinjuriki.
Honestly, had Naruto stayed in Konoha, they’d have only found his rotting corpse at that point, Naruto thought dejected.
On the plus side, Naruto and Kakashi had taken yesterday off to celebrate his fourth birthday, a gesture that had the young child throwing himself at the teen, hugging him tightly, especially when Kakashi paid for ramen in a nearby village and offered him his summoning contract.
Naruto had first wanted to decline, having grown fond of the toads, especially as they were one of the few things he had left that connected him to his father and to Jiraya-sensei, but he knew how precious summoning contracts were, how much it meant that Kakashi had offered to let him sign, and to be honest, he had already learned everything he could from the toads.
They had taught him the frog-katas, collaboration jutsus, how to swim and breath under water and even sage-modus, not to mention he had met his father in person already, not needing the toad contract nearly as much any more.
After signing, Kakashi-sensei had explained that as dogs and wolfs were pack animals, he would start out with two young summons that he would be responsible for and would later on be able to add to his pack.
However, what they hadn’t planned for was to both get transported to the summoning world, coming face to face to the boss summon of the contract, a grey wolf reviling a biju in height.
Next to the huge animal were smaller ones, judging from the aged look probably the contracts elders, some of them various breeds of dogs, others obviously wolves.
“So the little Hatake pup has decided to introduce us to a new summoner.”, A booming voice begun and Kakashi instantly put himself in between Naruto and the threat.
Naruto, however, having dealt with overly large toats, snakes, snails and various biju, wasn’t intimidated easily. Bowing, he greeted the animals cheerfully:
“Hi, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you.”
Booming laughter filled the room they had landed themselves in: “I already like him.”, declared the boss animal, “Fearless but polite. Not a bad combination and he obviously trusts you, Hatake brat.”
“But he isn’t Hatake.”, one of the elders accused.
“No, that he is not. Tell me, Hatake brat, why did you think we would accept him as a summoner when our contract has been with your family exclusively for centuries?”, Kakashi was asked.
Squaring his shoulders his sensei answered: “He is pack. He is the son of the man who took me in after the last of my own family died and as Naruto is now in a similar position, I took him in as mine. He is my brother, my cub and mine to protect and teach and as such I hope the clan of my pack can accept him as such as well.”
“Well spoken.”, one of the elders said while Naruto starred at his sensei open mouthed. No one had ever declared him family as strongly and resolutely as Kakashi-sensei had just done and Naruto wondered what had prompted this change in his usually so aloof future genin-sensei.
“Be that as it may, but there are still more things to consider. We have bonded ourself to the Hatake family for reasons, one of them being that we could teach them as much as they could teach us, being born with better sense of smell and hearing being only one of them. It may be difficult to teach your adopted cub what he doesn’t have since birth.”, another voice chimed in.
Now that Naruto thought about it, he likely did have advanced senses thanks to being with Kurama since before his birth even, sharing his mother as a host since his very beginning.
He just usually blended it out, not wanting to hear even more hurtful words spat at him and his sense of smell usually was too distracting so he had learned to, well, ignore that as well, especially after becoming overwhelmed easily if he focused on it. Though he did use it to smell his beloved ramen from miles away which he didn’t think anyone else could do and his hearing to always stay a step ahead of the Anbu chasing him for pranks.
But maybe that was all normal and not considered ‘advanced’. He didn’t really have any reference point.
“Uh, excuse my interruption, but is there any way to test if I have good enough senses? I mean I have literally no reference point to what could be considered average or advanced concerning hearing and smelling.”, Naruto sheepishly interrupted the ongoing discussion.
All heads turned to him.
“I suppose there could be a chance, considering his special circumstances, but that only brings us to the next complication: The foxes have the higher claim to him and won’t be happy should we snatch their potential summoner away from them without so much as a by your leave.”, the boss summon contemplated.
“There is a fox contract?!”, Naruto blurted out. “Eh, I mean…”
A sigh was heard before one of the elders proposed: “Why don’t I get in contact with the sly fox while you test the boy?”
Murmours of agreement went through the animals and Kakashi turned to the child he had claimed as his own: “I am sorry it got so complicated. I myself have signed the contract when I had been your age and with my father dying shortly after, there hadn’t been much he taught me about the contract.”
“No, no, it’s alright. Actually this is awesome, I have never known there were so many different summoning contracts out there, not to mention those dogs and wolves are super cool!”, Naruto exclaimed.
It turned out Naruto did have enhanced senses thanks to Kurama and had somehow gained not one but three summoning contracts during their visit.
Apparently except for the foxes and wolves, none of the others particular liked to share and as such Naruto went back with two wolf cubs, and a kit while the seagulls (one of the lost Uzumaki contracts) allowed him to sign their scroll and would come to his aid but would like him to find them an additional summoner that worked exclusively with them and was if at all possible of Uzumaki blood. The deal with the seagulls was basically one ‘alright we let you sign and accept you as a summoner if you promise your first born to us and only us’.
Naruto had every intention of shoving them off to Karin as soon as he found her.
The toads had complained and raged before conceding in the end and bowing out because they did already have an active summoner. They left them with the key to Naruto’s seal as it was something his father had given them until Naruto was old enough to summon them himself and ready to learn what it meant to be a jinjuriki, but as it was clear now that they would probably not have any further contact with the boy, gave the seal to the wolves, not trusting the foxes not to unseal the kyuubi themselves.
#
In Konoha, one Saurtobi Hiruzen, current Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves, questioned his life choices after reading the report on one Shen Mayumi, ex-orphanage head matron and apparent murderer of Konoha’s only jinjuriki.
Trying to pacify the Uchiha clan head and his family that no, Naruto wasn’t mistreated and was in fact perfectly taken care of, just like any other normal orphan as well, Hiruzen had finally relented to check up on the boy. Unfortunately he was still busy with the Kumo incident a few months back and as such could only take some time out of his busy schedule after enduring their nagging and frosty looks for close to two months.
However, what should have been a nice distraction to endless paperwork, turned out into something akin to a horror movie. The matron had taken one look at him and turned chalk white. When he had asked to see the Uzumaki child, she had nearly passed out and stammered that he was gone.
That had been the time for the old Hokage to blanch.
Upon further investigation it turned out that the Uchiha had been right in all aspects, the child of his successor, the child that he had wished a happy childhood for, unburdened by politics that would have come with being raised in a clan, had been deeply neglected and beaten within an inch of his life more than once, the worse he had to endure however was on the day he had brought the child back.
Reading the report from T&I where more than one staff member of the orphanage had ended up in, had yielded that their jinjuriki had lost more than a deadly amount of blood, leaving only a puddle of it behind after seemingly vanishing out of a closed room.
Even if the child had managed to escape, the amount of blood and injuries he had had to endure made it more than likely that he had died sometime shortly after his escape, even with his Uzumaki genes and biju sealed inside him. Especially after apparently getting starved on a regular basis, hindering his healing even further.
The amount of blood left behind had already been enough to kill two children his size and the rats they had found living in the basement big enough to have eaten the child a whole if not for his missing bones.
Not to mention no one actually knew just how or when the child had disappeared because they hadn’t bothered checking up on him at all after throwing him into the basement and locking the door and after discovering him missing, the matron had just shrugged called it good riddance. The child could be missing or dead for months for all they knew.
And now he had to deal with his council, trying to answer questions he didn’t have any answer for.
If the child was really dead, according to Minato and Jiraya, the Kyuubi would die with him, but if they were wrong, it would reform in a couple of years somewhere. Or the child was still alive and possibly outside of Konoha, loosing them their jinjuriki and a child from a promising lineage and the last Uzumaki.
Hiruzen once again felt too old for this job. Maybe he should just give the hat to …. well, there unfortunately was no one else. Kakashi, his first choice, had been declared MIA a month ago after failing to return from a solo Anbu mission and the older Uchiha prodigy was still too young, not to mention his own son was still out of the village, guarding the Dymno and refusing to come back just like his students that actually didn’t turn out to be traitors.
Arriving at the already assembled shinobi council, the Hokage decided to cut straight to the case:
“Uzumaki Naruto went missing, presumed dead, some time during the last month, which the caretakers at the orphanage failed to report and were subsequently dealt with. I will organise tracking teams as soon as this meeting is over but hold not much hope in finding him after all that time.”
Predictably after stunned silence, chaos broke out, accusations were thrown about and emotions ran high, especially as all of them knew his parents and knew that he was the village’s jinjuriki and as such a valuable asset.
Hiruzen sighed. It was going to be a long day.
#
With Naruto and Kakashi:
“Ne, ne, can we go to Kusagakure next? I have always wanted to go there.”, Naruto asked.
And that was how Kakashi suddenly found himself watching and teaching two Uzumaki children.
He should have known that the blond would pick up another stray when he asked to travel to Suna a month later, Kakashi thought looking down at the jinjuriki of the one-tailed.
“You know, I somehow hadn’t expected to suddenly be saddled with three brats instead of one when I agreed to teach you, Naruto.”, Kakashi said drily.
“We could always kidnap Shisui-kun if you are missing company closer to your age. I am sure he wouldn’t mind visiting us for a day or two.”, Naruto shrugged entirely unconcerned and was that hope he could detect in the boy’s eyes at the thought of having the Uchiha with them?
Looking down at the three young children the last Hatake had somehow found himself in charge of, he thought he wouldn’t particularly mind having someone else helping protecting his cubs from time to time and maybe he could weasel some information about Konoha out of the teen.
And didn’t Obito like the teen as a child?
Surely that was enough of a reason to give him the benefit of doubt, especially after Naruto had taken such a strong liking to him.
#
When Uchiha Shisui woke up, he was completely confused because honestly, he didn’t expect to wake up again. He remembered missing both of his eyes, vividly remembering Danzo tearing out one of them and Shisui gifting his last remaining one to Itachi for safe keeping before committing suicide via jumping down the cliff above the Naka river.
“Shisui! You are finally awake!”, a voice he had thought he would never hear again exclaimed.
“Sunshine? That you?”, he asked, briefly wondering if he was in the after life and yet wondering why he could see again which shouldn’t have been possible.
He heard yet another familiar voice sighing as it spoke: “When I agreed with Naruto to try and kidnap you to help me take care of the pups, I had honestly thought I’d had to convince you first instead of having to save your useless behind from Danzo immediately upon arriving.”, Hatake Kakashi who was thought to be KIA explained.
“What happened to Danzo?”, Shisui asked, concerned about what the other planned for his clan.
“Dead. Naruto here took offence to him targetting you and together with Gaara-chan nearly levelled the village if not for Naruto being afraid to accidentally kill you and Itachi-kun. I even got to kill Danzo once as well, very accommodating of him to revive himself via stolen sharingans so all of us got a turn killing him. Very satisfying.”, Hatake announced happily.
“How can I see? Why am I already feeling better than even before my fight with Root and Danzo?”, Shisui asked utterly confused when a shy red haired child came forwards and slowly raised her hand.
“That would have been my fault, Naruto-nii-san really likes you and I like Naruto so I wanted to make him happy and made you bite me.”, the absolutely confusing girl exclaimed.
“What?”, he voiced his confusion, grateful to Hatake when he cheerfully explained:
“Karin-chan here has inherited the famed Uzumaki healing bloodline. So seeing as Konoha obviously wants you dead and you own us for saving you and killing of Danzo, you won’t decline your new babysitting duty, will you?”, Kakashi threatened with a smile, than added: “Welcome to your new life as a missing nin. Would you like to do the honour?”
With that he was held out a kunai and his forehead protector.
Still busy processing the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, Shisui let his eyes wander over the group, stopping at the last child.
“Is that..”, he begun only to have Kakashi once again answering utterly cheerful:
“Sunagakure’s jinjuriki Gaara of the sand and son of the current Kazekage.”
Said child bowed to him and offered: “I am Gaara, nice to meet you.”
“Uchiha Shisui.”, Shisui answered bewildered, “Nice to meet you too I guess.”
Everyone smiled.
“So can we go and steal Itachi-san next?”, Naruto asked and the other two children looked expectedly towards Hatake.
“Naruto. I’ve already told you we can’t steal Itachi-chan. He is the Uchiha clan heir, remember? Or do you want the brat Sasuke to lead the Uchiha clan?”, Hatake asked completely calm as if this wasn’t the first time they had this discussion which it likely wasn’t.
The shudder that went through not only Hatake, but Shisui and Naruto as well at the thought of Sasuke leading the Uchiha was more insulting and concerning than it had any right to be, it was his cute, little cousin they were talking about after all.
“No, I guess you are right. And we’ve already dealt with Danzo so it should be fine, shouldn’t it?”, Naruto gave in and than happily tackled Shisui in a bear hug, obviously glad to be reunited again and Shisui caught the little blond child gently.
“I am glad you are alright, Naruto.”, Shisui said honestly, having feared the worse already.
“Me too.”, Naruto divulged, finally truly meaning it even if his happiness laid this time outside of Konoha.
#
Omake:
Shisui watched the group of children happily play with their summons a bit further away, thinking back on the fight they had just won against a group of five Iwa chunin without either his or Hatake’s interference.
“Just what did you do to those children to make them this strong?”, he asked bewildered, still trying to wrap his head around what he had just witnessed.
“Huh?”, Kakashi who had been made a chunin at age 6 asked, not understanding the question or apparently how to train normal children.
But than again neither of the kids were normal or even saw anything wrong with following Kakashi’s Anbu stile training, used to pain and harsh conditions as they all were.
Not to mention their little group consisted of two jinjuriki and one Uzumaki which meant all of them already had the chakra reserves of an average chunin at least so Kakashi had taken the Kagebunshin no jutsu and trained the pups to the best of his abilities. Than there was the advantage of how Gaara had his neat sand ability even without tapping into the one tails, Karin was a born sensor and had her healing bloodline on top of it and Naruto had arrived in his arms by accidentally figuring out his father’s hiraishin no jutsu.
Kakashi just turned to look at the teen who had been made jonin at eight and joined Kakashi in Anbu at nine and offered:
“Don’t worry, I have a feeling you will fit right in with us.”
Shisui facepalmed.
END