-Five years later-
"Yah! Hah!" a voice cried out in the private training grounds of the Namikaze estate.
It belonged to none other than Natsuki Namikaze, container of Kyuubi, the nine-tailed bijuu and daughter of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. The five year old girl was going through the basic moves of taijutsu, kicking and punching the air as though she was fighting an invisible opponent while her parents watched her with pride.
Upon finishing the final moves, she spun around to face them.
"Kaa-chan! Tou-chan! How did I do?" she asked eagerly. Minato smiled as he and his wife rose from the marble bench they were sitting on.
"There were a few mistakes that you've made Natsuki but you're improving. If you carry on like this, you'll definitely become a great kunoichi," he said as the two adults walked towards their daughter.
"Natsuki, know that we're both very proud of you," Kushina stated before the three then embraced each other in a hug.
As the three headed back into the house to relax, Minato had an idea. "Say, why don't we all go out to have some anpan?" he suggested.
"Sure, why not?" Kushina agreed.
"Yay!" Natsuki shouted as she jumped up and down with joy, causing her parents to laugh.
It was known to everyone in the village that the red haired jinchuriki had a craving for the sweet bun filled with the red bean paste. After getting properly dressed, the three left the house and headed for the village, never realizing that they had forgotten someone else.
-Elsewhere in Konoha-
A five year old boy was sitting down by a river, looking at his reflection in the water. He had blonde spiky hair, blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks.
He was Naruto Namikaze, twin brother of Natsuki, son of Minato and Kushina.
Currently, the Yondaime's son was pondering about the lack of attention he had been receiving from his family for the past few months.
'This isn't fair. Why do I have to be left behind?' Naruto thought sadly. [1]
It had all started several months ago when his parents had decided to train his sister in the ninja arts. He had asked to be trained together with his sister only to be told that he would only start learning when he entered the academy at the age of nine. Although he had felt upset, Naruto knew that his parents had a valid reason for doing this. He had heard many tales about the Kyuubi's power and knew that his sister did need to learn how to control the demon fox that was sealed inside her. Besides, his parents at that time had still treated the both of them fairly as they had always done before while Natsuki never treated him any different. With that, Naruto had chose to let it go, reasoning that he could catch up with his sister once he enter the academy through hard work and determination.
However, things soon took a change as the days went by.
Just a month or two after that day, Naruto had noticed that he was beginning to receive less attention from his family than what was normal. At first, he had dismissed the thought, thinking that he was only feeling jealous of being left out and thus being paranoid. But soon, he wasn't sure any longer.
Recently, he had noticed that his parents generally tend to listen more attentively to whatever Natsuki said and would sometimes forget about him and the topic he was trying to talk to them about. He also did not recall his mother cooking his favorite food ramen nowadays and was pretty sure that his sister's favorite food anpan on the other hand was served more often than usual. His father used to occasionally bring back presents for him and his sister whenever he returned from his work but for the past few occasions, it was only his sister who had received things from his father.
As for his sister Natsuki, Naruto had noted that she was now spending less and less time with him as she was now devoting more of her time into her training. While she did apologize to him for being unable to play with him, it did little to help the fact that she too was paying less attention to him. The entire thing was depressing as it seemed that he was no longer important to his family and Naruto felt his heart ache at that thought.
As he continued to ponder about it, the blonde did not notice that he was being watched.
'Hmm, this isn't right.' Takito thought, frowning as he did so.
The shinobi was hiding among the trees not far from where the boy was, contemplating his next move as he continued to observe the Hokage's son.
After the Kyuubi invasion, Takito had spent hours thinking of how he was going to settle down in the village. With the Hidden Leaf Village being severely weakened, there had been little doubt that the Konoha ninjas would be on the lookout for any spies sent by their enemies to take advantage of the chaos and infiltrate the village.
Hoping to avoid attracting much attention to him, he had chose to set up a small medicine shop in one of the poor districts of the village. Having a fair deal of experience with poisons, making simple medicines was not much of a problem to him. To avoid being recognized, he had designed several seals on himself that would cast a genjutsu that gave him the appearances of an old man. He had also managed to come up with a convincing story for his new identity. He was Rikuto Arikato, a simple medicine maker who had traveled to Konoha with his wife Misaki to visit an old friend. However, both his wife and friend were killed in the Kyuubi's attack while he alone had survived. Unable to leave the village where his wife had died, Rikuto had chose to settle down instead.
To further reinforce his story, he had then spent the next few days after the incident 'searching' for his wife and friend throughout the entire village. [2]
His actions had been successful in dispelling any suspicion that the villagers had for him. Many of them had lost at least a friend or loved one and the thought that someone else had also suffered the same pain had replaced the former feeling with pity.
During the first year of his stay, Takito had spent most of his time watching over the Yondaime's son, making sure that boy was safe.
It had been a highly possible thought back then that the other hidden villages like Iwagakure and Kumogakure would send someone to assassinate or kidnap the Yondaime's children but so far, it had looked to be unfounded. It seemed that as long as the fourth Hokage and his wife were alive, Konoha's enemies would avoid doing anything that would incur their wrath.
As the years went on, it seemed that everything would work out the way they should and Takito had recently started to divert more of his time observing the events and political situation throughout the Elemental Countries. He had initially expected Naruto's parents to train the boy and that he would only need to make sure that the boy was safe until he became strong enough to protect himself. Unfortunately, after seeing what had transpired in the past few months, it seemed that things had become much more complicated and that he was going to have to intervene.
He can understand that Natsuki needed an early head start in order to prepare her for the burden she carried but to leave their son's training to the academy?
It would be pretty late for the boy to start training to become a shinobi at the age of nine. Sure, there were several cases that proved to be the exception but they were rare. Both Minato and Kushina as shinobis themselves should know that.
Even if they were unable to focus their attention on their son's training, the least that they could have done was to assign a jounin or chunin teach the boy.
It also seemed that Minato and Kushina were starting to favor their daughter over their son which Takito felt was wrong for it would be setting a dangerous precedent for the two children. The one ignored may bore a sense of hatred or grudge while the favored one may develop a sense of superiority over the others. After all, he had witnessed the results of such actions many times before.
One good example was Orochimaru who had developed a hunger for power and chose to betray Konoha.
He silently hoped that the same would not happen for Natsuki.
'Well, sitting around here isn't going to change anything.' Takito thought so he observed the surroundings for any nearby people.
Seeing that there was none, he deactivated the seals on himself and approached the Yondaime's son from behind. Takito knew that he was taking a big risk in revealing himself but there were numerous reasons for him to be doing this.
At the rate things were going, Naruto's future looked like it wasn't going to be a bright one. While he disliked the idea of training someone, he didn't really have much of a choice. Both Minato and Kushina looked like they aren't going to change their minds anytime soon and Takito did not trust any of the Konoha ninjas to teach the Yondaime's son properly as they were too set in their ways and might spoil the boy. [3] In fact, this may be the opportunity for him to ensure that the boy will not become so narrow minded like most of the people of Konoha and was open to things around him like the Sandaime.
Another reason for him to be doing this was the fact that there was no better chance for him to offer his help to Naruto.
Having watched Naruto all this time, Takito knew that the boy rarely ventured out of the house and only came here when he was feeling very upset. While infiltrating the Namikaze estate wasn't much of a problem to Takito, introducing himself and offering his help to the boy without being discovered was another matter. Furthermore, to have a stranger suddenly appear in your house and offer to help you would seem very suspicious.
In short, it was now or never.
-Back to Naruto-
So busy was Naruto in his thoughts that it came as a shock for him when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Whirling around, he was surprised to see a man standing behind him. The man seemed to be in his early forties, was of average height, had messy brown hair and a fairly chiseled face. But what was most intriguing about the stranger was the pair of dark purple eyes that seemed to reveal a sea of emotions. The man raised his hands in a friendly gesture. "Are you okay? I've seemed to have startled you."
"Err yeah, I'm alright," Naruto replied.
"Well then, do you mind if I sit here?" the man asked, pointing at a beside him.
"No, I'm fine with that," Naruto stated.
Giving his thanks, the man sat down next to the Yondaime's son who went back to his thoughts. The two sat by the river in silence for several minutes before the stranger suddenly spoke. "I'm sorry but I can't help but notice that you seemed to be quite upset. Did something happened to you?"
Naruto didn't know why but he felt that he could trust the stranger with his problems. "It's my parents. They're paying more attention to my sister."
"Hmm, why don't you tell me the whole story?"
Feeling the urge to express his problems to someone, Naruto decided to explain the entire situation he had with his family to the stranger. For half an hour, the man remained silent as he listened to the boy's story. When the blonde had finished explaining everything, he gave a thoughtful look. "I see, it seems to me that your parents are ignoring you in favor of your sister."
"To be honest though, I'm not really sure that I can do anything to help you with your family." [4]
"Oh," Naruto muttered while lowering his head in disappointment.
He wasn't really surprised with the man's answer though there had been a bit of hope that the man could do something to help him with his problems.
"However, I could help you train to become a ninja."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, raising his head in surprise.
"Well, you can say that I'm a shinobi and that I'm more than willing to help you out. If you don't mind training under me, I can teach you the arts of the ninja."
"Really? I can train under you?" Naruto asked, his eyes now wide and filled with hope. Seeing the man nod his head, he yelled with joy. "Sure, I would like to!"
"That's good. By the way, my name if Mirikatoji Takito. What's yours?"
"Naruto Namikaze sensei," Naruto replied.
"There's no need to call me sensei, just call me by name. Before we can begin on anything however, I'm going to ask you a very important question," the stranger known as Takito said before giving a very serious look. "Do you know what a ninja is?"
"Huh?" the blonde said, surprised by the question the stranger had asked.
Now that he mentioned it, Naruto wasn't really sure that he knew anything about it. Sure, there was the fact that a large portion of the people here were ninjas and that his father was the most powerful shinobi in the village but that was it.
"Hmm …" Takito said as he observed the look on Naruto's face. "Well you're only five years old so I wasn't expecting you to know. You see Naruto, being a ninja isn't all about using big explosive jutsus, beating up the bad guys nor is it about rescuing some princess," Takito explained while Naruto listened intently.
"We ninjas are a group of spies or mercenaries that are supposed to get missions assigned to us done no matter how dangerous they are. Usually the missions involve spying, sabotaging, assassinating, and sometimes kidnapping. Being a ninja doesn't mean that what we are doing is good. Most of the missions we do serve only to profit a few while others suffer in the process. We may not like the joy but once taken, we will do it for that's who we are. As ninjas, we don't get many friend. Feared and hated by many, we have few whom we can actually trust. Your friend today could become your enemy tomorrow."
Naruto stared at Takito in awe. He never thought that being a ninja meant doing all those things that the man had just mentioned and realized that it was nothing to what the villagers had told him. His thoughts then went to that of his parents. If what Takito said was true … what does that make his parents? Had they been harming other people [5] in the missions they did all this time?
"Usually, we ninjas would have to work as a team in the mission we're assigned to. It's time like this that the lives of your comrades are in your hands. Even the slightest mistake you make can jeopardize the entire mission and worse, endanger the lives of your teammates. And even when nothing goes wrong, we could still end up losing the lives of those whom we care about."
There was a moment of silence and Naruto realized that the man must have lost a few people that were important to him.
The boy kept quiet, not knowing what to say as he didn't know anything about losing someone important.
"Naruto, the reason I'm telling you this is so that you wouldn't make the same mistake as most kids do. A lot of kids eagerly train to become ninjas, only to see the true reality of things. They then start questioning themselves and are no longer certain of themselves. Being doubtful of yourself as a shinobi will cost you your life. But more importantly, I want you to understand that choosing to become a ninja is not a decision to be lightly made. It's hard to return back to an ordinary life once you've taken this path for you will always have to be wary of everything around you. If you are definitely sure that this is the path you want to take, come back here and you will find me waiting for you. From there, you can begin your training under me."
Finished, the man stood up and began walking away, he took several steps before turning to look back at Naruto.
"By the way, it would be best if no one knew about me and the training I'm offering you," he said.
"Why not?" Naruto questioned.
"I will explain everything in due time if you ever choose to become a ninja. For now, let's just say that the village wouldn't agree to me training you," he said before fading away into the trees.
As the stranger disappeared, Naruto remained where he was, thinking about everything that Takito had just told him.
An hour or so passed before the boy returned home deep in his thoughts.
-Namikaze Estate-
It was late in the evening in Konoha as the sun slowly faded away from the horizon.
The Namikaze family were seated at the dining table eating their dinner. It was during this that Kushina noticed something odd about her son Naruto. It wasn't that her son was quiet; Naruto was always a quiet one and seldom talked even during a party. No, it was that the boy had barely touched his bowl of udon noodles which was unusual as her son would have already been asking for a second helping by now.
Instead, he was staring at his food looking as though he was deep in thought.
"Hey brother, why haven't you eaten your noodles?" Natsuki asked. [6] Apparently, it wasn't just her who had noticed Naruto's odd behaviour.
"Hmm?" Naruto was brought out of his thoughts as he looked at his sister. "Oh I'm fine …"
"Naruto, are you okay?" Minato asked with a concern tone. "You seemed to be feeling down."
"It's nothing Tou-chan. I was only thinking about something," Naruto said.
Kushina wondered whether her son was feeling disappointed about the training that Natsuki was having. It was something that she and her husband had been discussing for weeks after their children's fifth birthday. Both of them knew that it wasn't right to not include their son in the training but it was crucial that Natsuki learned to control the Kyuubi as soon as possible.
Once they are sure that Natsuki was able to control the bijuu, they would include Naruto into the training and divert more of their time with him.
Still, perhaps it would be best for her to ask her son about it. "Naruto, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" she asked in a gentle voice.
"Yeah son, we're here to help you if you're having any problems," Minato stated.
Naruto was quiet as his family looked at him, waiting for his reply.
"I was wondering ... why did Tou-chan and Kaa-chan chose to become ninjas?" he asked, surprising both his parents. [7] The two had not expected their son to ask such a question. But before they could respond, Natsuki spoke. "Isn't it simple? Ninjas are cool and get to beat up the bad guys!"
"Actually Natsuki, that isn't true," Kushina said to her daughter who gave a perplexed look.
"Huh? Then why did Tou-chan and Kaa-chan chose to become ninjas?" she asked.
"Well, you see Natsuki, Naruto," Kushina said at her daughter before turning to look at her son. "Both your father and I have many people who are important to us like the two of you. By being ninjas, we can protect them from those who want to hurt them."
"We also wanted to become ninjas to protect Konoha which is our home. As the Hokage, it is my duty to ensure that Konoha and its people are safe from harm and is prosperous," Minato explained.
Natsuki had an 'oh' expression while Naruto remained silent as both children looked at their parents.
"So Naruto, does that answer your question?" Kushina asked.
"Yeah, I guess so …" Naruto mumbled.
"That's good to know. So Naruto, what caused you to ask that question?" Minato said. Both adults were curious to know how their son had came up with that question. Remembering what Takito had told him, Naruto quickly thought of an excuse. "I-I've just been thinking about being a ninja when it came into my mind," he quickly said.
Kushina smiled warmly at her son's reply.
"Don't worry Naruto, you'll get to train to become a ninja when you enter the academy. Now go and eat your food before it gets cold."
"Yes Kaa-chan," Naruto said as he began to dig into his noodles.
Although his parents had given an answer, there was something about it that didn't make sense. New questions were now appearing in his mind but he did not dare to ask anymore as he didn't want his parents to ask him more questions. The last thing he wanted was to ruin the chance for him to actually receive some training in the arts of the shinobi.
As he chewed on his food, Naruto decided that he was going to have to think through everything he had learnt today on his own for tonight.
-The next day-
It was eight in the morning when Naruto woke up.
His father had already left the house to attend his duties as Hokage. His mother was busy teaching Natsuki the art of kenjutsu as she herself used a sword. Seeing that he was once again on his own, he went to have a light breakfast before heading to the spot where he had met Takito. When he reached the place, Naruto saw no one about so he went over to the exact same spot where he had sat yesterday and waited. A few minutes had passed when he suddenly felt that there was someone behind him.
"I see that you have come," Takito said as he walked and stood beside the Hokage's son. "I'm assuming that you've made up your mind?"
"Yeah," Naruto muttered.
"Do you have any reason for your choice?" [8]
A moment passed before Naruto finally answered. "I want to be a shinobi because I want to protect those who are important to me."
"And do you have anyone who is important to you?"
"Yes, Takito-sama. They're Tou-chan, Kaa-chan and my sister Natsuki. They're my family and because of that, they're important to me."
"I sensed some hesitation in your words. Is there something wrong?"
"I don't know … it's just that …"
"That what?" Takito pressed, seeing the uncomfortable look on Naruto's face.
"It's about what you said to me yesterday Takito-sama," Naruto confessed. "Everything that you told me about being a ninja, about what ninjas do … how does that have anything to do with protecting those who are important to me? And yet, my parents say that they chose to become ninjas for that reason. If that is so, how does doing things like assassinating and kidnapping have anything to do with protecting those who are important to them?"
"I see …" Takito said as he closed his eyes. "I understand your problem Naruto. You are still young and there are many things in the world that you have yet to understand. But I will help you and in due time, you will come to understand how everything works in life."
"Now …" Takito said. "I believe that it's time for me to start training you in the arts of the shinobi. Are you really sure about your decision? I'm going to have to warn you; the road to becoming a shinobi is full of challenges and danger and you will be tempted many times to give up."
Naruto stared directly into Takito's eyes and gave him a determined look.
"Yes Takito-sama, I'm ready. I promise you that I'll be the greatest ninja that you'll ever know."
"We will see about that. Now, follow me; we have much to do."