Ch 2: Revelations

Chapter 2: Revelations

It had been two years since Naruto started living on his own. It might sound lonely, but it was way better than the orphanage. Another thing that was surprising was that a few people visited him from time to time.

First was his Jiji, he would come to visit once every week. He enjoyed his time with him. The Hokage liked the kid, that's true, but it seemed like he was doing it out of guilt or obligation more than liking to spend time with Naruto.

There was also Kakashi Hatake. He would always bring some toys or food for Naruto. He was always happy to see him. He never knew what it was like to have a family, but Kakashi felt like an older brother.

Lastly, there was Itachi Uchiha. He always had his stoic face and seemed mature for his age. Along with Kakashi, he would teach Naruto various things, like reading and writing. They also always bought groceries for Naruto, as he would get overcharged or kicked out of the stores except for Ichiraku Ramen.

When Naruto learned how to read, he started reading a lot of books, mainly Shinobi history. It was then he learned about the Kyuubi attack. The Nine-Tailed Fox supposedly came out of nowhere and attacked the village, and the Fourth Hokage defeated it.

But that shouldn't be possible. The tailed beasts are made out of chakra, making them impossible to kill in the regular fashion. Suddenly a thought came to Naruto's mind, 'The day the Kyuubi attacked was the same day he was born.' Now it all made sense, why the villagers called him the 'Demon Fox' and why the whole village despised him.

He had read before that the tailed beasts could be sealed. So it is likely that the Kyuubi was sealed in him. Then he had another question, 'Why me?'

He couldn't answer that question until he saw the Fourth Hokage's picture. He had spiky blond hair and blue eyes, and he realized that, 'H-He is my father!' He couldn't believe it, but it explained Jiji's guilt.

When he realized all of these things, he didn't know what to think. It took a while to get over the fact that his own father condemned him to this life.

******

Today was the day when Naruto was going to start his training. He headed to the location Itachi had instructed him to meet at, pondering, 'Why did he choose such a secluded place?' The forest near the village was his destination. Upon entering a clearing, he spotted Itachi alongside an unfamiliar face.

Itachi noticed Naruto's approach and uttered, "You came," in his typical stoic tone. Naruto nodded and began scanning his surroundings. Itachi surmised that he was looking for Kakashi and informed him, "Senpai is on a mission and couldn't make it here. He said he was sorry"

"Oh," Naruto replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "And who is..." he started, eyeing the unfamiliar person.

"My name is Shisui Uchiha. Itachi has shared a lot about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Naruto," the man beside Itachi introduced himself. "You're probably wondering why I'm here. Well, Itachi informed me about your training, so I decided to tag along."

"Is that so?" Naruto replied, seeming a bit vary.

Observing Naruto's cautious behavior, Shisui thought, 'It's like meeting a young Itachi again. He seems to have endured things that no child should, all due to being a Jinchuuriki.'

"No need to be wary of him, Naruto. He's a trusted friend. I brought him along to assist you with taijutsu, as he excels in it more than I do."

"Alright, Itachi-niisan."

"Alright, today we'll be working on refining your chakra control and strengthening your body. We'll continue until you're prepared for the next stage."

For the next four hours, they engaged in rigorous training before parting ways.

On the way back to the Uchiha compounds, Shisui commented, "The kid's a genius. He exhibited impressive chakra control, given the amount of chakra he possesses, and he even withstood my training."

"Hn."

"And you made sure no one comes to that place, right? It would be problematic if people find out that the Jinchuuriki is spending time with Uchihas."

"Hn."

"By the way, do you plan to introduce him to Sasuke? They could become good friends."

"Perhaps when the tension between the clan and the village is resolved."

As Naruto journeyed home, he felt the hateful gazes of the villagers. At least, they were only staring at him. He recalled a time when he was merely four years old, when a mob of civilians and shinobi had chased and beaten him. Except for the occasional drunk men, nobody dared to fight him after Kakashi killed that mob.

Exhausted from training, Naruto decided to take a nap.

******

Hearing the faint sound of water droplets, Naruto opened his eyes. He found himself in a place resembling a sewer. 'Where am I?' he wondered, his gaze sweeping the unfamiliar surroundings.

He began walking in search of an exit and soon stumbled upon a cage, within which a colossal creature lay sleeping. As Naruto approached the cage, the creature's blood-red eyes snapped open.

"Seems like my jailer decided to visit. I didn't expect you to come this early," the creature remarked.

"So, you can talk, huh? And I didn't come here willingly. Where exactly is this place?" Naruto inquired.

"Oh, interesting. You're not afraid. You've got guts, kid," the Kyuubi responded with a demonic grin. "And to answer your question, this is your mindspace. It appears you know who I am and why I'm in your mindspace."

Naruto nodded and then asked, "What's your name?"

"W-what!?", the Kyuubi, expressed surprise.

"You must have a name, right? I assume your name isn't just 'Nine-Tailed Fox'—that's the name people gave you. So, what's your real name?"

'When was the last time someone called me by my real name?' Kurama pondered before replying, "Kurama."

"It's nice to meet you, Kurama," Naruto responded with a smile.

Kurama contemplated, 'Why is he being friendly?'* and then inquired, "You know that I attacked the village and I'm the reason the villagers hate you, right? You don't despise me?"

"You don't seem like a mindless beast. There must be a reason why you attacked the village, and I don't care about the villagers. They hate me without knowing anything about me. Would I be any different if I hated you without knowing anything about you?"

Kurama was taken aback by Naruto's response and stated, "You're a strange kid. Most kids wouldn't attempt to talk with a giant fox."

"It's just that... You seem lonely and remind me of myself," Naruto admitted with a melancholic expression. "Is it alright if I talk to you?"

'I don't know how, but I can sense this kid is special. He's truly unlike the previous ones,' Kurama mused before saying, "Yeah, it would be nice to have someone to talk to."

******

It's been 6 months since Naruto started his training. He's made significant progress in this time. His ninjutsu and taijutsu skills have reached chunin level, thanks to mastering the shadow clone jutsu.

After the first month, Kakashi decided to test Naruto's chakra affinity. He was taken aback when he learned that Naruto had three affinities: Lightning, Fire, and Wind. All three were excellent for offense. That's when they began honing Naruto's affinity skills.

Naruto has become a master of various jutsus, with a focus on lightning and fire techniques, considering the scarcity of wind jutsus in Konoha. Kakashi also taught him Chidori, an A-rank lightning jutsu.

His bond with Shisui grew strong. Shisui treated him like a younger brother and even secured a summoning contract with the crow tribe for Naruto. Nowadays, Shisui's teaching Naruto not only the Body Flicker Technique but also how to use it effectively in combat.

From Kurama, Naruto absorbed a wealth of knowledge. This mainly included shinobi history, tales about Rikudou Sennin, and his sons, among other things. Kurama also told him about the night Naruto was born. After hearing that, he promised himself that he would find him and kill the man who made him an orphan.

******

After today's training, Naruto was heading towards Ichiraku. On the way, he saw some kids bullying a little girl who was crouched and crying. Naruto didn't like what he was seeing, so he went towards them.

"Oi. Leave the girl alone," said Naruto in a threatening voice.

"Huh, who are you trying to play the hero!?" a kid said. He seemed to be the leader of the bunch.

"Hey, it's that kid, the one mom said not to go near," another kid said.

"Just leave if you don't want to get hurt."

"Huh! You think you can beat all of us?" the leader of the bunch said, and all of them started laughing.

Naruto decided he had enough of this and proceeded to knock them out. He then crouched and asked the girl, "Are you alright?"

The girl slowly looked up and said, "Y-Yes, I am o-okay."

"Can you stand up?" asked Naruto, extending his arm.

The girl took his hand and said, "T-Thank y-you."

"What's your name?"

"H-Hinata."

'She still looks a bit shaken. What do I do? How do I calm her down? Maybe ramen? It always worked for me,' Naruto thought and said, "You don't look good. How about I treat you to some ramen?"

"I-It's fine. You don't need to t-trouble yourself," said Hinata, still stuttering.

Naruto took her hand and said, "Don't worry about it, just follow me." And Hinata followed him in a daze.

A few minutes later, they reached the ramen shop. The owner's daughter, Ayame, saw them from afar and waved, "Hey! Naruto." They came over and sat at the counter. "Is she your girlfriend!?" said Ayame with a grin.

"N-No... I just met her," Naruto said, clearly flustered. And Hinata just blushed.

"Don't tease him, Ayame. So, what would you two like?" Teuchi said.

"Pork ramen for me and... Hinata?" he said, looking at Hinata.

"M-Miso ramen," she replied.

They chatted while eating ramen and parted ways afterward. Well it was mostly Naruto asking her various questions. 'Man, she is really shy,' Naruto thought, watching her go her way.

******

The next day, Naruto arrived at the training ground and found only Shisui there. He glanced around, checking if Itachi and Kakashi were present.

"Anbu duties," Shisui explained.

"Hn," Naruto nodded.

'He's becoming more and more like Itachi,' Shisui thought, then said, "Let's get started."

After a few hours, Shisui called for a break. Naruto took a moment to catch his breath and then asked, "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Both you and Itachi-niisan seem off lately. And there's this tension between the Uchiha and the Village."

'Guess I can't keep it under wraps.' Shisui proceeded to lay out the entire situation.

"What are you two going to do?" Naruto inquired, his concern evident.

"We're not sure," Shisui admitted, his expression conflicted. "What do you think about the village, Naruto?"

"If you're asking if I care, then no. If this village disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn't matter to me," Naruto replied casually and then posed a question, "It looks like you're struggling to pick a side."

"I am. I'm trying to avoid a civil war. If it breaks out, many innocent lives will be lost."

"You should make a choice before it's too late or you might regret it."

******

Author Notes:

Please let me know what did you think about this chapter, criticism is also welcomed.

Also, English not my first language. Let me know if I made some mistakes.