1 Prologue

Naruto sat on the swing-seat, legs dangling and head hanging. 'Hey, it's not so bad. You started going to the academy when you were two years younger than everyone else, so it's no wonder they all have chakra control two years ahead of yours! You can always try again next year….' Naruto twisted the swing around until the tightly wound ropes cut and burned his arms. Then he let go, whirling around for a few seconds before he put his feet down, scuffing, dragging his sandals on the hard, packed dirt under the tree, throwing up clouds of dust. 'But I don't want to have to do a whole other year of classes to become a shinobi!'

There was a throat-clearing noise behind him. Naruto jumped and twisted around in the seat, nearly slipping backwards off of the swing. In the large, dappled shade that the tree above was casting stood Mizuki-sensei, and he had a proposition for Naruto. The ten-year-old boy didn't quite understand what Mizuki meant by these 'tests' he was being considered for, but he did understand that Mizuki was offering him specialized, one-on-one training with a group located outside of Konoha such as the type that would make him a powerful shinobi in no time.

"Are you willing to try it, Naruto?" Mizuki asked, a smile twisting his cruel mouth.

Naruto nodded vehemently.

"Then come with me at once so I can prepare you for your journey. Don't worry about Hokage-sama," Mizuki said as Naruto opened his mouth to comment on the abruptness of the decision,

"I will inform him of where you have gone. Who knows, when you come back in a few years, you may find that Hokage-sama recognizes you to be strong enough to make chunin. After these tests, there will be no question whatsoever that you are ready to make genin at the very least." Well, what could Naruto do? Mizuki had said the magic words.

Naruto hopped down from the swing and followed Mizuki some distance, soon leaving the familiar, looming shape of the shinobi academy behind and travelling through the heart of the market district. Before too long they were out in the outskirts of the village, where broken glass and stray papers littered the ground and the buildings were of the narrow, crowded, choked-looking brick variety that Naruto found rather displeasing, as it reminded him a bit of the district where his own apartment was located, all grimy windows and broken streetlights. Naruto vaguely wondered why they had had to walk so far, but his queries were mostly eclipsed by the unexpected turn his life had just made, and sheer excitement kept bursting through his creeping doubts.

Mizuki had turned down a broad, deserted side street and Naruto stepped up behind him, rounding the corner to find that Mizuki had turned to face the mouth of the side street and with it, Naruto, who wasted no time approaching his sensei. Mizuki crouched down, placing his eye level slightly below Naruto's though he avoided looking the blonde-haired boy in the eye, one hand taking hold of Naruto's forearm and the other fumbling for something in his pocket, still smiling, always smiling, so coldly, so insincerely.

"Now hold still, Naruto," Mizuki said, pulling back Naruto's sleeve and, before the boy could protest, expertly injecting him with a thin, clear liquid.

Naruto stared in horror, horror at Mizuki and at himself. All his life, he had constantly been taught and retaught not to trust anyone. He should have listened to his doubts! And now he was going to die of some terrible poison at the hands of his sensei! Naruto swayed, eyes unfocused, and collapsed. Mizuki scooped up the unconscious boy and stood waiting until he saw a shadow flicker down at the end of the street. He strode over to meet the robed, bespectacled figure.

"Well done, Mizuki. Orochimaru-sama will be most pleased with your work."

"Thank you, Kabuto-san," Mizuki said, handing the sleeping child over. "What are my new orders?"

"Remain here, undercover, until you receive your orders," Kabuto said, adjusting Naruto's limp form on his shoulder and concealing him in a fold of his cloak. He gave Mizuki a brief nod and left, taking Naruto with him.