Hiruzen Sarutobi had been through many things in his life. He was a veteran of three Shinobi world wars, fought with the Kyubi, guided his village as Hokage, passed on the Will of Fire to the future generations but not in his entire leaf he had heard of the Kyubi, the strongest biju in the world, the beast who almost destroyed Konoha trying to talk with its Jinchuriki.
The first Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, Mito Uzumaki never mentioned of having any interaction with the Nine tailed fox. Nor did Mito's niece Kushina Uzumaki had any type of contact with the Nine Tailed demon fox during her life. But here was Mito's great-grandnephew and Kushina's son telling him that the Kyubi tried to talk to him and influence him.
"This boy is going to be the end of me someday." thought Hiruzen tiredly.
"So let me get this straight the Kyubi was telling you to Kill Sakura and Sasuke?" asked Hiruzen sternly.
"Yup that's about it. Besides that teme was a pain in the ass." said Naruto with slight annoyance in his voice.
"Naruto, you should have better control over your emotions. I taught you better." said Kakashi disappointingly
"I'm sorry Ni-san I don't know how I lost control. But I'll try harder." said Naruto dejectedly. He never liked to disappoint Kakashi and was feeling guilty as he let his brother down.
"That just means you have to practice more and control your emotions. You can do this Naruto, I have faith in you." said Kakashi reassuringly.
Kakashi knew it was never easy when the strongest Biju in the world was trying to control you and honestly he couldn't blame Naruto for losing control. Hell even he would not be able to keep the Biju at bay but still he had to make sure Naruto understood the seriousness of the situation and was making sure of it.
"This is indeed troublesome. Naruto from what you have told me I can assume that the Kyubi reacts to your anger or your hatred for someone so far. This is a very serious matter Naruto and I agree with Kakashi, if you are to remain in control over the Kyubi and stop his influence then you need to control your emotions and strengthen your will." explained Hiruzen.
"How do I do that Jiji?" asked Naruto confusedly.
Naruto too wanted to be in control of himself and not in that of the stupid fox. The thought of being controlled by someone else was not at all acceptable to Naruto.
"I'll do whatever it takes. I won't let you control me you stupid Fox." thought Naruto with determination.
Hiruzen and Kakashi saw the look in Naruto's eyes which showed his determination and were quite pleased and relieved that Naruto was not submitting to the Kyubi's power.
"Alright Naruto, in order to control your emotions you must meditate more." said Hiruzen
"I don't understand Jiji, I am already meditating why do I need to meditate more?" asked Naruto confusedly.
"Because you have not achieved complete control over your mind. By meditating more you will be able to know more about yourself." said Kakashi in an amused voice.
"Hey, what does that mean?" asked Naruto irritatingly.
"That's for you to find out. Try to look underneath the underneath." said Kakashi with a chuckle.
"Annoying older brothers..'' mumbled Naruto with a sigh.
"Did you say something?" asked Kakashi in his trademark voice.
"Oh, you're not getting me so easily." thought Naruto deviously.
"Huh?" asked Naruto in a too "innocent" voice.
This got very different reactions from the two other occupants in the room. Hiruzen couldn't contain his laughter anymore while Kakashi was shocked that Naruto had just played his own card against him again.
"I never thought that I would live to see this day Kakashi. Somebody actually used your own attitude against you." said Hiruzen with a chuckle.
"I wonder what Guy would think about this." suggested Naruto deviously.
"NO PLEASE DON'T TELL GUY ABOUT THIS." begged Kakashi and fell on his knees with fake anime tears dropping from his eyes.
"Only on one condition" said Naruto with a smirk.
"ANYTHING." yelled Kakashi immediately.
"Is this really Kakashi?" thought Hiruzen with a sweat drop.
"You have to teach me Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu. Also you have to give me your new copy of Icha Icha." said Naruto with a smirk
"What? Why do want to learn Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu?" asked Kakashi and Hiruzen in unison ignoring Naruto's demand for Icha Icha.
"As you know my dream is to join The Anbu, and every Anbu member must learn Kenjustu and I want to learn it too beacuse if I start learning now I would be able to master it in a few years or at least be decent enough for Anbu standards. And as for Fuinjutsu I find it to be interesting." explained Naruto
"Well I can teach you Kenjutsu, besides you have learnt many Ninjutsu and your Genjutsu illusions are impressive and your Taijutsu is good too. But i'm not much skilled in Fuinjutsu. Where did you learn about it?" asked Kakashi.
"Well it was mentioned in the academy that the Fourth was very skilled with Fuinjutsu. So I went to the library and read about Fuinjutsu and I want to learn it." said Naruto
"Naruto while I agree with Kakashi in teaching you Kenjutsu, you must wait for some time before starting to learn fuinjutsu as it is a very complex and dangerous art. Its contents are still not discovered to the maximum, even I only have a certain amount of skill in it. The only person who is capable of teaching you Fuinjutsu is not in Konoha right now." explained Hiruzen
"You mean Jiraya, the legendary Sanin." said Naruto
"You know Jiraya is a Fuinjutsu master?" asked Hiruzen with slight shock.
"Come on Jiji, I learnt something from the boring academy lectures. You should remember it better than me as you designed that stupid academy syllabus. You are getting too old for this job, even Konohamaru would remember this." deadpanned Naruto
Hiruzen's eyebrows twitched a bit on hearing the remark but did not comment while Kakashi snickered a bit but remained silent after seeing Hiruzen narrow his eyes at him.
"Alright now go and meditate or do whatever you want." said Hiruzen irritatingly
"See ya gramps. Ni-san I asked for a book didn't eye?" said Naruto deviously.
"NO please not my Icha Icha, I haven't even read it yet." whined Kakashi
"I just remember I had seen a weirdo in a green suit a few days ago. I think I'll visit him..."suggested Naruto with a smirk.
"Fine...but this is not over." said Kakashi angrily and handed Naruto the book.
"I never said it was." said Naruto with a smrik.
"Personally I have no interest in your book Ni-san but it is quite amusing to harass you."thought Naruto deviously.
"I LIKE YOU BRAT. YOU ARE A TRUE KITSUNE." said the KYubi with an evil chuckle
"Can't you just leave me alone?'' asked Naruto tiredly.
"NOPE." said Kyubi amusedly.
"Why do I even ask?" thought Naruto
"That's because you are Stupid." said Kyubi and roared with laughter which was full of malice.
"I'm out of here." said Naruto.
"Alright I'll see you soon Jiji." said Naruto and opened the door of the office to leave.
"Naruto I just wanted to tell you that Konohamaru wanted to meet you." said Hiruzen
"Alright I'll spend some time with him after the academy tommorow." said Naruto and left the office leaving an amused Hiruzen and a whining Kakashi in the office.
"I wonder what that shrimp is up to.'' thought Naruto with a smile etching on his face.
(Flashback: A few Months Ago)
It was a nice evening in Konoha. The sun was about to set. The streets were starting to light up, more and more people could be seen in the streets. The Shinobi were patrolling the village while the civilians were doing their regular activities. All in all it was a very peaceful regular day in the village hidden in the leaves.
Naruto was returning to his home after completing his training in the Forest of Death. It was his routine of completing his training after the academy. He trained everyday in Nin, Gen and Taijutsu and was pretty much tired by the end of the day. This day was not an exception.
Walking through the streets he noticed some hateful glares directed towards him.
"I wonder when they will realize that I'm not that damn fox." thought Naruto with frustration.
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice a small blur approaching towards him. When Naruto realized there was someone heading towards him it was too late as the person collided with him and they both fell on the ground with the person on top of Naruto.
When Naruto got a look at the person he noticed it was a 5-6 year old boy. He wore a yellow T-shirt and brown shorts. He had spiky brown hair and black eyes and the boy was looking at Naruto angrily.
"Hey Watch where you're going." yelled the kid
"Duh, says the person who crashed with me." thought Naruto sarcastically.
"Kid you alright?" asked Naruto formally, even if the kid was an idiot he had to make sure he was alright.
"Do you know who I am?" said the kid proudly.
"Should I care?" sighed Naruto
"What?" asked the kid in shock.
"Why should I care who you are?" asked Naruto irritatingly.
"I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi, Honorable Grandson of the Third Hokage and future Godaime Hokage of Konoha." announced Konohamaru proudly thinking Naruto would just bow before him like the others.
"So?" asked a bemused Naruto who was finding the entire situation quite funny.
"W-h-a-t, but I'm the Grandson.." stuttered Konohamaru but was stopped as Naruto got up and picked him up and stared at him.
"I don't care if you are the Grandson of the Hokage. Every person is known through their actions and beliefs and not by their ancestory, remember that. Also the future Hokage wouldn't be so stupid to run into another person now would he Konohamaru?" asked Naruto sternly but on the inside he was laughing his ass off on seeing the shocked expression on Konohamaru's face.
Konohamaru could only nod dumbly as the older boy was not at all affected by his lineage and reprimanded him.
"As someone had said: To each his own." said Naruto and started walking away after giving a kind smile to Konohamaru.
Konohamaru was quite amazed by Naruto, he saw him as Konohamaru and addressed him as such and not as the Honorable grandson of the third hokage like the rest of the village and even though Naruto scolded him he was happy that someone recognized him.
"Ni-chan, what is your name?" shouted Konohamaru.
"Naruto Hatake." replied Naruto and disappeared in the crowd.
The villagers were quite horrified by thinking that the demon brat was trying to influence the Hokage's grandson but did not do anything fearing the wrath of the Hokage but their opinion neither mattered to Naruto nor Konohamaru.
(Flashback end)
Konohamaru had become quite close to Naruto after that meeting and used to visit him frequently. He was like the annoying little brother that everyone would like to dote on. He constantly pestered Naruto about various things mostly about being a shinobi and his training.
Naruto also enjoyed Konohamaru's company and with time he grew attached to Konohamaru and now loved him like his own little brother. They used to spend a lot of time together, if one could say they were like siblings. Konohamaru's loud personality and Naruto's calm attitude was quite an interesting combination to say the least.
Naruto chuckled a little on thinking about the time spent with Konohamaru. People like Anko, Kakashi, Hiruzen, his friends and Konohamaru brought happiness in his life and were his strength.
Naruto noticed that he had arrived at his destination: Training ground 28. It was one of the most secluded training grounds of Konoha. Not many shinobi came to this place. It was more like a farm then a training ground. Lush green trees surrounded the area with a stream running nearby. There were a few training dummy posts but nothing much significant.
It was the perfect place for meditation or for people who wanted to avoid attention.
"Well few bowls of ramen and a good meditation. Sounds like fun." thought Naruto happily.
But then Naruto noticed that something was wrong in the training area. The entire training ground was a mess, Kunai were spread everywhere indicating that either someone was attacked or a practice was done there. The training dummies looked as if they had been beaten to pulp.
"Woah someone sure was angry." thought Naruto
He then noticed a person lying on the ground a few meters away. Wanting to find out who this person was Naruto went towards the person.
The First thing which Naruto noticed that the person was a woman. She had wore a chunin flak jacket and black shinobi pants. She had a red sleeveless outfit underneath her jacket.
She was very beautiful. Her black hair fell from her head in an almost messy fashion but, for all its messiness, it seemed orderly, almost as if she willed it to follow her demands.
Below her hair he followed that lower to her posterior. Now, Naruto was not perverted, like many people assumed because of his Sexy jutsu. As such, he was surprised when a bit of blood leaked from his nose when he looked at the woman's sexy ass.
His eyes continued their downward journey to see some of the most sexy legs he had ever laid witness to. He could see that this woman's legs were shaped with muscles, nothing too drastic but enough to prove that she worked out enough to keep her body fit. Her feet covered in sandals just like his own. She wears make-up consisting of red lipstick and purple eye shadow.
All in all she looked like an angel.
But there were also many things that were wrong. First of all there was blood coming out of her fists, her outfit was completely messed up with some cuts on various places. Her face had a tired expression and the dark circles around her eyes indicated that either she must have been deprived of sleep or was crying. Naruto assumed that it was the latter as her make was quite messed up suggesting she must have been crying.
Looking at the destroyed training dummies made all things clear that this woman must have destroyed them and quite brutally. He then decided to help the woman.
"Well I can't just leave her like this. Man I wish I knew some medical ninjutsu." thought Naruto
He then stopped the bleeding from her knuckles with some bandages. He could not do anything about the bruises as he was not a medic, but still he checked her and found her vital signs to be stable. He then picked the woman and placed her in shade of a tree and went to bring some water for her from the nearby stream.
After bringing some water for the woman, he sat beside her and started his meditation deciding to wait for the woman to wake up as she definitely looked tired and distressed. Kakashi had once told him to not disturb women in thier sleep, Naruto didn't listen to his advice and had once waked up Anko from her beauty sleep, he spent the rest of the day coiled up with snakes in Anko's little apartment.
"Damn women are scary when they are pissed. No wonder Shikamaru says they are troublesome." thought Naruto with fear as he remembered the incident.
He then started his meditation, everything seemed to be much more peaceful around him. He could feel the cool air rubbing against his body, the peace provided by nature. He was now able to understand what Kakashi meant and was grateful to Hiruzen and Kakashi for that. Everything was going fine when suddenly he felt himself being dragged into his mindscape.
Naruto found himself standing in front of a large sewer. The entire area was flooded with water but the strange thing was the air leaked of Killing intent. It was as if the entire are was full of feelings of malice and hatred. The walls surrounding the sewer were very dull. There were large gates in front of Naruto with a seal on it. All in all it was a very depressing place.
Looking behind the bars he found himself being watched by a pair of blood red eyes which seemed to look at him with pure hatred. He saw that these eyes belonged to a giant fox which was a few hundred feet tall and had nine tails swinging wildly in the air. Recognizing who this person was Naruto could just sigh.
"Why can't he just leave me alone for sometime?" thought Naruto with frustration. The Kyubi was sometimes as annoying as Sakura.
The fox seemed to realize Naruto's boredom and took it as an insult, and soon 5 giant claws seemed to be coming out of the cage and heading towards Naruto aiming to tear him off. Realizing the danger he was in, Naruto immediately jumped a few feet away and activated his sharingan.
"Is that how you greet the person who has carried your sorry ass for 10 years." said Naruto bemusedly.
"SHUT UP YOU IDIOT, I AM THE KYUBI NO KITSUNE, THE STRONGEST BIJU IN THE WORLD" roared Kyubi angrily
"And yet you are sealed in a puny little human like a slave." retorted Naruto amusingly and started laughing loudly on seeing Kyubi growl further and trying to kill him with his claws but the seal seemed to stop it.
"The seal seems to be one of the most strongest seals if it is capable of stopping even Kyubi" thought Naruto in amazement.
"If not for your bastard Yondaime and this seal I would have killed you, ripped you apart and enjoyed hearing your screams till eternity." chuckled Kyubi maliciously.
"You can try." said Naruto with a smirk
"If this wasn't enough, you have those damned eyes." muttered Kyubi which went unnoticed by Naruto.
"What did you say?" asked Naruto suspiciously.
"Why the Fuck should I tell you?" retorted Kyubi bemusedly and laughed on seeing Naruto's eyes twitching a little.
"Listen Kyubi, you and I both didn't want this. You being sealed in a human and me bearing all the hatred because of all the shit you caused. I don't know why you attacked the hidden leaf and personally I don't care." said Naruto tiredly
"You don't?" asked a curious Kyubi
"There are few reasons, first some people deserved it." said Naruto a little angrily
"Oh, is that so?" said Kyubi with a devious chuckle. "I like you Brat." thought Kyubi proudly.
"But not all the people deserved your wrath and second you won't tell me even if I asked you." explained Naruto
"You are smarter than you look." said Kyubi
"Hey, Shut up you Fuzz-ball! " yelled Naruto a little childishly
Both Kyubi and Naruto stared at each other for a few moments angrily. Both seemed to be pretty determined to not back down but in the end Naruto averted his eyes while Kyubi had a smirk on his face on getting his victory.
"Look Kyubi, at least bare with me for the time you are stuck with me." requested Naruto
"Why should I do that?" asked Kyubi arrogantly.
"Because it won't end well for you if you don't" said Naruto demonically with his sharingan piercing in Kyubi's eyes.
For a brief moment Kyubi was quite shaken by this new Naruto. He could see a younger version of Uchiha Madara and the masked man that subdued him, there was a lot of darkness in Naruto. He was not afraid of Naruto, it was quite the opposite, he was intrigued by Naruto. He was his first Jinchuriki that talked with him. Of course it was his fault that he never talked with his previous Jinchuriki, but neither of them wanted to do anything with him. But Naruto was different, even though he possessed the sharingan that Kyubi despised the most in the world, he was not arrogant nor did he consider Kyubi his slave instead he wanted a compromise with him.
"There will come a person in the future, the one who would establish true peace in this world or destroy it completely. All of you tailed beasts will play an important role in this person's life. No matter how far you go, you all will always be together. This person will show you the right path and the meaning of true power. Until that time wait for your destiny and the role you will play in it my children."
These were the words said by the Rikodou Sennin, the person who saved the world from the Jubi(Ten Tails) and became a god and the one who created the tailed beasts. Kyubi could still remember his father's words, the Rikodou Sennin was the only human in the entire world who Kyubi respected and looked up to.
"I wonder if you are the one Naruto.." thought Kyubi
"Oi Kyubi snap out of it. Tell me why have you brought me here? I have important things to do you stupid Fuzzball!" said Naruto irritatingly as Kyubi just stared at him.
"Yeah right, like peeking on hot older women." scoffed Kyubi
"Hey I wasn't peeking nor is she old." retorted Naruto angrily but had a slight blush on his face but fortunately it was hidden behind his face mask.
"Quite protective are we?" teased Kyubi and stared laughing on seeing Naruto's shocked expression.
"Balls" muttered Naruto angrily on being caught red handed by the Kyubi.
"HAHAHA...that was quite funny brat. You are an interesting human." roared Kyubi with laughter.
Naruto was just itching to beat the shit out of Kyubi but remembered something,
"Naruto, you should have better control over your emotions. I taught you better." said Kakashi disappointingly.
"I won't let it happen again. I will control my emotions." thought Naruto
"Alright Kyubi what did you call me here for?" asked Naruto seriously, his voice devoid of any emotions. Kyubi stopped his laughter and looked at Naruto with something akin to interest.
"I wanted you know that I want you to learn everything from the cyclops stupid brother of yours-" said Kyubi and leaked some of his chakra to let Naruto know he was commanding him but was quite shocked when what happened next.
Naruto's sharingan started spinning wildy and instantly all the Kyubi's chakra was suppressed immedaitely leaving not even a single trace behind.
"That's just awesome." thought Naruto in awe on seeing Kyubi's chakra being suppressed with his sharingan.
"What is this boy? He can even suppress my chakra like Madara and that masked bastard. Damn" thought Kyubi a little angrily
"Call my Ni-san stupid again, I'll make you suffer in ways not even you could imagine." threatned Naruto with venom in his voice
"Is that a threat?" asked the Kyubi bemusedly
"That's a promise" replied Naruto with hatred in his voice that even startled the Kyubi
"I'm sure he is bipolar or something" thought Kyubi confusedly.
"Alright keep your mouth shut, I want you to learn as much as you can from the people around you and grow stronger." ordered Kyubi
"What does it matter to you?" asked Naruto confusedly
"It matters everything. Your damn Yondaime created this seal in such a way that binded me to you. A threat to your pathetic existence is a threat to my own because if you die it would take years before I can be born again or I may even die. I don't want to waste my life if you die." explained Kyubi
"Wait so you are immortal?" asked Naruto with fascination
"Yup, I'm Awesome." replied the Kyubi with a smirk
"I beg to differ" replied Naruto with his own smirk
"Get out of here, your vixen is getting up you annoying little punk" said the Kyubi irritatingly.
"Hey she isn't my vixen or any other shit like that you Fuzzball" said Naruto angrily
"Is that so?Then why were you watching her ass with lust in your eyes?" asked Kyubi with a smirk
"Hn" replied Naruto and disappeared from the sewer.
"I wonder if all the Uchiha's speak the same line. It would be interesting to stay with you Naruto" thought the Kyubi interestingly.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and saw nothing had changed in his surroundings during his talk with the Kyubi. The Kunoichi was still slowly opening her eyes, seeing this Naruto went towards her.
"You alright?" asked Naruto in a concerned voice.
The Kunoichi rubbed her eyes a few times before staring briefly at Naruto. Naruto was mesmerized by the women's eyes. They were very distinct ruby red colored eyes with two black rings withing them.
"Her eyes are so beautiful, I wonder if it is a dojutsu" thought Naruto with a light blush
"Stop staring at her you idiot!" yelled Kyubi
"What's wrong you Fuzzball, I'm just looking at her eyes." stated Naruto simply
"If you don't want to be kicked in the balls stop staring!" said the Kyubi loudly making Naruto cringe a bit. But deciding to follow Kyubi's advice this once Naruto averted his eyes from the women.
"Who are you?" the woman asked sternly
"Naruto Hatake" stated Naruto with a warm smile
"What are you doing here? This place is reserved for shinobi and I can see that you are not one, so tell me the truth now!" stated the woman dangerously.
"Gee, is this the thanks I get for helping her" thought Naruto sarcastically.
"Yes, you are right I am not a shinobi but an academy student but I do have permission to come to this training ground." said Naruto
"On whose authority?" asked the woman
"Lord Hokage himself, if you don't believe me ask him yourself, now can you please stop your interrogation." said Naruto irritatingly.
"Gomen, Its just that no one other than shinobi are allowed here, but I'll try to trust you and ask Lord Hokage about this." said the woman softly
"Thank you miss..?" asked Naruto
"Kurenai Yuhi" said the woman
"Here Kurenai-san, I've stopped the bleeding from your knuckles as best as I could but I can't do anything about the bruises as I'm not a medic. Gomen" said Naruto sincerely and offered her water which she drank after giving Naruto a calculating gaze that it wouldn't end well for him if something was wrong, but nothing happened.
"Arigatou Naruto-san, but I have a few questions for you?" said Kurenai
"You can call me Naruto, well I have some questions for you too but please ask your questions first." said Naruto simply and Kurenai gave him a grateful nod.
"Alright Naruto, you said your last name was Hatake. I know only one person in Konoha who has that last name and he doesn't have any blood relative alive now. Care to explain." said Kurenai
"Yes you are right my real name is Naruto Uzumaki, but after Kakashi-ni-san adopted me I changed my name." said Naruto
Kurenai's eyes widened a little on hearing Naruto's real name but schooled her features immediately.
"Do you hate me for what's sealed in me?" asked Naruto sadly after noticing Kurenai's shock.
Kurenai was shocked to learn that Naruto was aware of what was sealed in him and even more shocked when he was able to read her emotions.
"No Naruto, I do not hate you." said Kurenai with a smile
"Why?" asked Naruto suspiciously
"I know the difference between a jailor and a prisoner and I have faith in the Yondaime's ability and seeing that you helped me proves I was right, you are not what people think." said Kurenai giving Naruto a warm smile
Naruto was happy to hear that there was at least another person in the village who saw him as Naruto and not the fox.
"Arigatou Kurenai-san" said Naruto warmly
"Call me Kurenai, now I just wanted to know what were you doing here? You were not peeping were you?" asked Kurenai menacingly with a dark tone.
"No, no Kurenai I just came here to meditate in order to relax. I swear I wasn't peeping on you, I didn't even know you were here. I just saw you injured and helped you, I didn't do anything perverted." said Naruto instantly
"Its alright Naruto, Relax, I think I can believe you are saying the truth." stated Kurenai with a smile
"You believe me? But you don't even know me." said Naruto in confusion
"Yes I only met you now but I find truth in what you are saying and you wouldn't lie to me would you?'' questioned Kurenai
"No Kurenai, I am not lying and thanks for trusting me. Can I ask you a question?" asked Naruto
"I'll answer your question only if I believe that it is in my power to answer that." said Kurenai firmly.
"Fair enough, Why were you crying?" asked Naruto
Kurenai's eyes widened on hearing that Naruto had caught her so easily again, she then remembered how her life had went from better to worse.
Kurenai had been living a normal life as a shinobi, that was until six months ago the Hokage had assigned her a specific mission. She was just a chunin of the village and was one of the best genjutsu specialist of Konoha, as a result the Hokage had given her a mission of teaching Yakumo Kurama, the clan heir of the Kurama clan to control her powers.
The girl had enromous talent in Genjutsu, which was even more than Kurenai but the girl was mentally unstable. She had a dual personality that acted as a defense against any of her insecurities and was preventing her from controlling her powers and becoming a shinobi. Yakumo's unstability was such that she had murdered her own parents by accident and was not even aware of it.
Kurenai tried to help the girl in controlling her powers. Yakumo was a very kind hearted girl, and over time Kurenai grew a lot closer to her and sometimes acted as her elder sister instead of her teacher, but despite all her efforts she failed. Yakumo's inner demon was highly unstable and as such was a threat to the village.
As a result the Kurama clan demanded Yakumo to be killed but the Hokage refused that and instead decided to seal away Yakumo's power.
He then gave Kurenai a top secret mission to seal away Yakumo's power and thus ending her career and hopes of becoming a shinobi. Kurenai with a heavy heart sealed off Yakumo's power for the sake of the village and Yakumo herself. She took this burden of making Yakumo believe that she sealed away her power because she was jealous of her which was entirely false as she did not want Yakumo to hate the village. Kurenai was proud of Yakumo and had high hopes for her but destiny played a cruel hand in her life once again.
Her mother had died when she was a child, so she never received the love of a mother and her father died defending the village during the Kyubi attack. She had lost the people beloved to her and had become a very stoic person who was devoted to her village. She was known as the "Ice queen of Konoha" but she was not cold and uncaring as people thought her to be, instead she was kind, caring and a brave person who had some tragic incidents in her life.
And sealing of the powers of the girl whom she considered her younger sister was the last nail in the coffin and she was unable to bear the pain which came with it.
Seeing Kurenai's painful look, Naruto decided to do something to ease her pain.
"I'm sorry Kurenai, I didn't want to hurt you, but sometimes sharing your pain with others helps. If it is a private matter or something related to village secrets, or if you don't want to tell me I understand." reassured Naruto with a kind smile.
"You are way mature than people your age Naruto. How old are you anyway?" asked Kurenai with the intention of changing the topic.
"You're not the first person to say that. I'm 10 years old, I'll turn 11 in a few months." said Naruto and Kurenai nodded.
They both sat there in the shade of the tree in a comfortable silence. Neither of them said a word and instead were enjoying the beauty of nature and the peace it provided.
Naruto seemed to just relax and had laid down on the grass and was watching the clouds.
Meanwhile Kurenai seemed to observe Naruto. She found him to be a very carefree person, and there was something about Naruto that was forcing her to believe that she could trust Naruto. She could feel a lot calmer in his presence, it was as if her pain was reduced to some extent.
Deciding to start a conversation, she opted to speak first.
"You didn't ask my age?" asked Kurenai curiously.
"Well you are very beautiful and kind person, so your age doesn't matter. And also it doesn't end very well when a person asks a girl her age." said Naruto with a chuckle
Kurenai laughed on hearing Naruto's answer but also had a light blush on her face. Naruto found her laugh adorable.
"I'm 17" said Kurenai and Naruto nodded with a warm smile.
Naruto then took out two cup of ramen from his bag and a bottle of hot water. He then added the water to the ramen and stirred it a little and after a few moments finished preparing his ramen. He then offered one cup of Ramen to Kurenai.
"I know it's not what people like much, but that's what I have right now and if I am right you must have trained very hard so you might be hungry. Would you like to eat some Ramen?" asked Naruto sincerely
Kurenai thought over Naruto's proposal a bit. She found Naruto's words to be sincere but was hesitating a bit.
"I'm not hungry Naruto, but thank you for the offer." said Kurenai politely.
But after a few moments there was a low rumbling noise which came from Kurenai's stomach. Naruto laughed loudly and Kureani looked a little embarrassed. She then took the ramen and started eating it slowly.
They both sat there in silence enjoying their little meal, well Naruto seemed to be enjoying it a lot while Kurenai was eating in silence but if the peaceful look on her face was any indication then she was enjoying it too.
"I have done somethings that I am not proud of." said Kurenai after a few moments.
Kurenai was in great emotional stress, she didn't have many close friends and her best friend Anko was on a mission right now. Sure the Hokage was there but she could not show weakness in front of him but after spending sometime with Naruto and getting to know him to some extent she decided to at least talk with him to ease her pain.
Sure she knew that shinobi lived a life of deception and Naruto could be lying to her but right now she just needed anyone to listen to her and stand beside her.
"Did it hurt some people?" asked Naruto softly
"Yes" said Kurenai solemnly
"Hokage-sama once told me that a life of a shinobi is of pain but we do what is necessary to protect what is dear to us. I am not judging you Kurenai nor am I saying that I can understand your pain and sympathizing with you because as long as people do not suffer the same pain they could never understand the pain of other people." said Naruto sadly
He too remembered his life, the hate and pain that he suffered because of him being a Jinchuriki and could somewhat know of Kurenai's pain but he did not ask what she did as it might be classified as she was a shinobi and he was not authorized to know any such information as he had not become a shinobi yet. But the main reason was he did not want to remind Kurenai of her pain.
Meanwhile realization dawned on Kurenai upon hearing Naruto's words. She knew how much Naruto must have suffered during his life as she had once seen how the villagers treated him and felt sorry for him, but it also made her realize that what she had done with Yakumo was in order to protect her from herself and the village.
This seemed to reduce her pain a lot. She could feel a lot much lighter, the guilt was still there but now it made more sense to her than it did before. She did what she had to do as a shinobi of her village and also protected Yakumo, her precious person.
"Arigatou Naruto." said Kurenai with teary eyes.
"Don't mention it, Kurenai." said Naruto with a warm smile.
"Why do you always wear this face mask? Are you trying to imitate Kakashi?" asked Kurenai wiping her tears.
"You know Kakashi-ni-san?" asked Naruto curiously
"Hai, we went on a few missions together."said Kurenai
"I am not trying to copy my brother. This face mask is special to me." said Naruto
"How so?" asked Kurenai
"This...facemask was the first present that anyone gave me. It shows the bond between me and Kakashi, it was the the first thing he gave me." said Naruto with a smile.
"I understand" said Kurenai solemnly feeling a little sorry for Naruto.
"Hey don't give me that look, I know life is hard but it does have its good times. Besides this facemask looks cool on me, doesn't it?" asked Naruto with a little laugh.
"Yes it looks good on you." said Kurenai with a soft chuckle
"Hey Kurenai, you are a chunin right?" asked Naruto suddenly.
"Yeah" said Kurenai skeptically not sure were Naruto was heading.
"Which is your strongest area in shinobi arts? I mean Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, or Fuinjutsu?" asked Naruto with excitement.
"I am skilled in Genjutsu and a little bit skilled in Fuinjutsu." said Kurenai
"Really? Genjutsu and Fuinjutsu?" asked Naruto
"Why do you have any problem with Genjutsu or Fuinjutsu?"asked Kurenai feeling a little insulted.
"No not at all Kurenai, Genjutsu is a very skilled shinobi arts as well is Fuinjutsu. I find it very interesting, a shinobi could easily complete his mission if he could just disable an enemy's senses and distract him. This would avoid time wastage and some bloodshed also the mission could be completed much subtly. But I am not much skilled in Genjutsu" explained Naruto a little sadly.
He did not mention that he could cast strong illusions with his sharingan as it was a secret.
"Oh, I thought you didn't like Genjutsu. What problems do you have? I might be able to help you as I am skilled in this art." said Kurenai with a smile.
She was quite happy that Naruto did not underestimate Genjutsu like many shinobi instead wanted to learn it and as she was a Genjutsu master decided to help Naruto a little bit.
"Kakashi says that I have very large amount of chakra and as a result I have not mastered enough chakra control to cast Genjutsu, but I can dispel Genjutsu as taught in the academy." said Naruto honestly
''That makes sense, considering Jinchuriki always had large chakra reserves. No wonder he has difficulty in controlling his chakra." thought Kurenai.
"Well I can help you achieve good chakra control in order to let you train in Genjustu." offered Kurenai
Naruto was quite surprised on hearing Kurenai's answer and as such was a little skeptical about her reasons for helping him.
"Why would you help me?" asked Naruto with a little doubt
"I want people to accept Genjutsu as an equally skilled art as Ninjutsu and as a Genjutsu specialist I would help someone who is interested in it." said Kurenai with a smile
"Plus I would be able to do things differently this time and pass on some teachings." thought Kurenai hopefully.
"Well you've got a volunteer for your dream." said Naruto with a smile
"Thanks Naruto." said Kurenai warmly
"Well its getting late, we should leave now" said Kurenai
"Um..Kurenai would you like me to walk you home?" asked Naruto a little shyly.
Kurenai just gave a curious look to Naruto.
"I don't mean it in a wrong way, Hokage-sama taught me that it is a gentleman's duty to walk a lady home. I don't mean any offence but if you don't want it I can understand" said Naruto sincerely
"Its alright, besides I would like your company." said Kurenai with a smile.
"Arigatou" said Naruto
"You seem to be a lot closer to Hokage-sama?" asked Kurenai
"Yeah, he is like a grandfather to me, he took care of me and protected me whenever I was in danger." said Naruto
"I'm sorry Naruto." said Kurenai a little sadly
"Its alright Kurenai, besides I have Kakashi and my friends now." said Naruto happily and Kurenai nodded.
They walked towards Kurenai's apartment chatting all the way about different things and enjoying each other's company. Kurenai was feeling a lot better than before while Naruto was happy in Kurenai's company. After sometime they reached Kurenai's apartment.
"Well good night Kurenai, I'll see you tommorow." said Naruto
"Meet me at training ground 28 in the evening tommorow at 4 pm. I'll give you some pointers there, and Naruto Thank you." said Kurenai with a grateful smile
"Anytime Kurenai, it was nice meeting you." said Naruto with a warm smile.
He then turned around and was just about to leave when someone put a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Kurenai looking at him.
"Would you like to be friends?" asked Kurenai softly
"Um..would you seriously like to be friends with me, I mean I am not much liked in the village and also I am a bit younger than you-" said Naruto but was stopped when Kurenai gave a light flick to his forehead.
"Ow, what was that for Kurenai?" asked Naruto slightly rubbing his forehead. Kurenai chuckled on seeing Naruto pout a little.
"Friends are not made on the basis of age and I don't care whether some people like you or not, you are a good person Naruto and so I would like to be friends with you." explained Kurenai
"Then Friends it is." said Naruto with a wide grin
"I'll see you tommorow Naruto." said Kurenai
"See ya Kurenai and you have very beautiful eyes." said Naruto and disappeared in the street quickly.
If Naruto would have looked back he could have noticed a deep blush and a wide smile on Kurenai's face. He had just helped Kurenai get out of her emotional stress and had made her happy.
"I look forward to our friendship Naruto." thought Kurenai with a wide smile