A nine year old Haruto was walking calmly through the bustling streets of Konoha towards the Hokage tower, all too aware of the hatred filled glares of the citizens he was supposed to protect. So ignorant of the truth, blinded by their hatred and rage towards the container instead of the contained. Humans fear what they don't comprehend or understand, that fear leads to unnecessary hatred towards the focal point of that fear whether it's a person or an object. In this case, Haruto was the center of their hatred.
While he didn't know the full story of the cause of their agony, he had a suspicion, thus the walk towards the Hokage office to get the long awaited answers to his ever increasing list of questions. He would get the answers he wanted one way or the other. Patience is good and all, but everything has limits and this was already past its limit.
They may think that they were being discrete, but it didn't hurt any less, not that he cared what the people thought about his life. He stopped caring long ago about their pathetic opinions. It may sound sadistic of him, but he was aching for a foolish villager to raise his fists against him so that he could rip him to pieces.
It's been two years since he joined Gai in his insane training regimen and it was fruitful to say the least. The man may be eccentric and sometimes on the border of insanity, but there was no questioning the effectiveness of his training. He had trained him to the point of exhaustion. His obsession with Physical training was his greatest trait. He believed that Taijutsu was the most effective of all the Ninja Arts and mostly it was correct.
In the Ninja world, always expect the unexpected. Gai in a rare moment of seriousness said "Chakra can be exhausted, sealed off, absorbed etc, but your skills in hand to hand combat can neither be sealed nor stolen. Believe me it's going to save your life one day as it did mine so many times."
He had taken his words to heart and had joined Guy in his insane training regime with more vigor and more determination than ever.
The Goken Taijutsu style that Gai used was a style more focused on heavy blows and speed and since his strength and speed were already sufficient enough, the eccentric Jonin had graciously offered to teach it to him. He had been awfully humbled that day by the generous heart of the bowl cut haired man.
"Listen to me, Haruto. This style requires more than just physical training. So far, I haven't been able to master it to the degree it deserves but you have the potential to take it to even greater heights than I could ever imagine because you have the ability to properly utilize your Chakra. The physical training required for the mastery of the style, coupled with Chakra enhancement, your blows would be on par with the Legendary Sanin, Tsunade."
The amount of faith and trust he had put in him, there was no way he could refuse and why would he refuse? Gai had him wear weights on his ankles and wrists to restrict his movement, and had him run around the whole village until he couldn't run anymore. Forced him to spar with him until he couldn't even feel his own arms and legs, forced him to carry boulders on his shoulders and climb a mountain, ordered him to swim from one side of the Naka River to the other side with one hand while carrying a glass of milk.
His study in the Art of Sealing was going on at an outstanding pace. Sealing was the kind of art where you didn't need books or scrolls explaining everything, you needed to understand the basics completely to understand the rest. Once you've done that, the rest is only limited to your imagination.
Such a magnificent art, so many possibilities, to be only limited by your imagination and creativity! A fine example is the Paper Bomb. A few lines on a simple piece of paper are able to blow things to smithereens. Not many could master it and to be frank, not many wanted to learn it, simply because they underestimated its effectiveness.
It was surprisingly easy for him, it seemed learning the art ran in his family.
He reached the Hokage office and blissfully disregarded the secretary's glare with an impassive look on his face. Knocking on the door three times, he received the permission to enter. Walking in, he was greeted by the familiar sight of the old Hokage as well as his clones sitting behind and around his desk stamping away papers while grumbling about it being unfair.
Upon his entry, the Hokage looked up from his work to greet him, but stopped when noticed the look on his face.
"What seems to be the problem, Haruto?' he asked in concern and placed the stamp to the side before linking his hands together in front of him.
"I think it's high time you stopped beating around the bush and tell me the full truth." His cold and detached tone of voice even startled the Hokage since Haruto never used that cold tone with him, ever.
"Truth about what?"
"Truth about my parents and why the people despise me"
"Haruto, I told you before that I don't know your parents. As for the hatred of the people towards you, it's because they don't understand." he explained calmly, hoping it would satisfy the boy. Upon seeing the look full of rage and disgust on the boy's face, he knew it was wishful thinking.
"Do you take me for a fool; I walk these streets everyday listening to their hate filled words, seeing their glares. Do you know what they say? 'Demon' and 'fox brat' are some of the most colorful words they use to describe me. I already have a hypothesis; I only need you to confirm my suspicion."
"What hypothesis?" He knew that the cat had already left the bag. The blond had this uncomfortable knack for nearly accurate hypotheses. If he had already formulated a theory, then he was in trouble.
"My birthday is on 10 October and if I remember correctly, the Nine tails attacked the village on the same day. From what I have read in the Library, The Tailed Beasts are massive accumulations of Chakra given sentience and thus cannot be destroyed or killed. The only way to get rid of them is to seal them. Now it doesn't take a genius to put two and two and get twenty two. Not to mention the villagers colorful words like demon and Fox brat. In addition to that I have an Eight Trigram Seal on my stomach. So that leads me to the conclusion that it's sealed in me"
The old Hokage couldn't help but wince with each and every factor being mentioned, knowing all too well that they were true. The other factors could somehow be directed towards something else if he put his mind into it—after all, he was the Professor—but the existence of the Eight Trigram Seal on Haruto's stomach was a dead giveaway.
Even if he tried to come with something, the boy would refuse to comply since even if he was not a Master—not even a beginner actually—in the Sealing Arts, he was still proficient enough to know what that particular seal was.
"Judging from your expression, I would say I hit the nail on the spot." Haruto stated in a dry tone.
The wizened Hokage only sighed in resignation and helplessness. "Yes, it's true that the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi in you, but you have to understand that he had no other choice. He intended for you to be seen as a hero…"
"… And being the loyal citizens that they are, the obedient and faithful people of Konoha took his words to heart and the 'Hero' was treated like a prince." His tone was practically dripping with sarcasm.
The Hokage ignored the blonde's blatant tone of intense sarcasm and continued with a wary sigh. "I explained your situation to the Council, but they ignored the Fourth's wish and demanded your execution. I put a law to ensure your continued survival. The law was that should anyone speak of your Jinchuriki status to another, both were to be executed."
"Great load of goods that did."
"I know." the old man admitted with a defeated sigh and gazed at the boy with a curious expression. "I have to say I'm impressed with the way you're handling the news."
"Fear not Old man, I bear them no ill will, though I should let you know, if they slap me, I will punch them, if they punch me, I will kick them. And if they harm me, I will …. Kill them." At the end of his sentence, his tone almost sounded demonic. The old man could have sworn he saw an aura of Fire around the blond Jinchuriki for a few brief seconds before vanishing without a trace." Now tell me about my parents."
"I am forbidden to tell you until and unless you reach Chunin rank." he replied firmly.
"Lord Hokage, I assure you I can take anyone of your low Chunin down in hand to hand combat, I'm a civilian just by name so that is a moot point. And who forbids you from telling me anyway? Was it the Fourth?"
The Hokage winced when the blond addressed him in such a formal manner. He didn't know whether he could really take on a low Chunin but he was not willing to find out. Anyone trained by Gai was sure to be a pillar of concrete when faced in a battle of Hand to Hand. He snapped his head towards the blond so fast, Haruto feared he may have broken his neck, when he mentioned the Fourth.
"Who told you that?!" he asked in horror. He was supposed to be the one to tell him when the boy became a Chunin. Whoever did tell the boy was going to be severely punished.
"You just did," he calmly retorted," so the Fourth forbids you from telling me the truth. The Hokage have no right to interfere in Clan or Family matters, so that must mean he was either my relative or something. But since I am not blind and can see that I look almost a carbon copy of him, I will take a wild guess and say that he was my father."
The Hokage looked like a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing with uttering a word. The boy just took advantage of his surprise to get his answers! He looked towards his successor's son only to be met with a calm face and relaxed posture.
"Once again, you are correct. Minato Namikaze was your father and your mother was the whirlpool country Princess, Kushina Uzumaki." The Hokage muttered and slumped in his chair in resignation. Sometimes, he hated his job! Admitting all these truths in front of a child, he was once again reminded of his own age.
"You have no idea how much burden you've lifted from my tired shoulders old man. How many times have I wondered if my parents abandoned me for the same reason the villagers hated me, were they too disgusted to even acknowledge me as their son? Now I know, Thank you."
If the Hokage knew the boy would be in so much pain, he would have told him a long time ago. He had made too many mistakes in long life and no time for redemption.
Looking at the boy—no young man—he saw vulnerability on his face for the first time. The boy had the unique trait of staying calm at all times and situations, analyzing the ups and downs and coming up with a suitable solution. He had never shown such vulnerability in front of anyone, not even him.
Always staying calm and collected was the trait of war veteran Shinobi, yet the boy had it at such a young age. Sometimes his curious nature reminded him of his failure of student. He too, like the blond, was too curious for his own good, always seeking answers to the mysteries of nature and life.
But if there was one thing the old man was certain, it was that Haruto would never sway to the dark side. He may be indifferent and cold towards others, but that was only as precaution to protect himself from betrayal. Taking his life into consideration, it wasn't much of a surprise, living on the streets, eating from the thrown out food, protecting himself from mobs. It wasn't until he found him and gave him his own apartment complex. Now that malnourished kid had turned into the perfect example of a shinobi, even if he wasn't a Shinobi yet.
The tall blond was wearing a dark red skin tight shirt, over it a black leather jacket with Anbu pants and black steel toed boots. His blond hair was tied in a long ponytail reaching up to the small of his waist, with two long bangs hanging on both sides of the face and a crimson facemask hiding half of his face. The tall stature, bulging but lean muscles, chiseled chest and abs—no doubt the result of his training with the insane Jonin—lead to a very intimidating presence even at such a young age.
Honestly, he was quite proud of the boy.
"Did my parents leave me anything?" He had no idea how much they had left him.
"I'm truly sorry to be the cause of your suffering, but I'd no choice. Yes they left you quite a fortune. Their mansion is located behind the Hokage monument near a lake, protected by a blood seal." said the Hokage in a sincere but guilty tone of voice. "Now I have some good news. The Academy is starting tomorrow; I have taken the liberty of enlisting your name. They should be expecting you by tomorrow."
He wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it over to the masked blond. "Give this to a teacher named Iruka and tell him that I send you. After your class, come to my office and we'll go together to see your house."
"Thank you. Oh and before I depart, I believe you owe me a favor for solving your paperwork problem." Haruto started in a probing manner.
"Yes. I remember. What is it that you desire?" the aging Hokage asked with raised eyebrow.
"The same thing that solved your problem."
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu ? Why would you need such a technique?" The Hokage had to admit he was intrigued, for the blond didn't ask for a technique unless it was of some use to him. For him to ask about it meant he had some use for it.
"The Shadow Clone memory transfer aspect interests me. It has many uses in training." Haruto shrugged nonchalantly, not revealing how much it interested him. If it could transfer memory, then couldn't he use it to learn something which would obviously take a lot more time if done the normal way? There was only one way to find out!
"Very well, I will be looking forward to its impact upon your training. But a word of warning, it takes an enormous amount of chakra to create, so be careful with its use."
He was absolutely sure that the blond Jinchuriki would never run out of chakra on something as simple as a Shadow Clone, but he had to deliver a warning just in case.
"Don't worry; I have chakra in spades." Haruto said dismissively. "Another thing, do you have a Chakra paper? There is a different feel to my Chakra that I can't describe. It's as if there is a continuous struggle between two forces, but one is a little stronger than the other?"
Could it be the Kyuubi's chakra? The professor mused while stroking his goatee. Different feel to his chakra? Did that imply that the blond was a Sensory Type? It was one surprise after another!
"Fortunately I have some with me right now." Sarutobi reached for a drawer on his desk and pulled out an ordinary piece of paper. "Just hold it between your fingers and channel some chakra into the paper."
Haruto took the paper with interest and a hint of excitement. The Hokage looked on in amusement at the blonde's giddy expression, no matter how much the masked Jinchuriki tried to hide his giddiness, he couldn't hide it from the Professor.
Haruto channeled a tiny amount of Chakra into the paper and watched in barely concealed amazement when the paper was shredded and ignited in flames one after the other, while the Hokage's eyes almost popped out of its socket in astonishment.
Such inhuman affinity for the element Fire and a little for Wind was unheard of! Never in his life had he seen anyone with affinity as strong as the blond. What was even more frightening was that both these elements complimented each other.
When two Natures appeared which complimented each other, then it was possible to create an entirely new Style with enough mastery of the two natures.
"So I have Fire and Wind, but it seems my Fire affinity is far greater than that of Wind. Interesting, yes very interesting indeed. I wonder if my Fire affinity is due to my tenant as all the Biju's have some type of special ability specific only to them." Haruto asked in genuine curiosity and excitement.
Hey, he may be a cold bastard, but he was still human. Who wouldn't be excited when they have control over an element as cool as Fire?
"Haruto my boy, you are going to give me a heart attack one day. Having two elements that complement each other as an affinity is unheard of. Minato as far as I know had Wind+ Lightning affinity and your mother had Water and to a lesser extent Wind. It would be my guess as well that your Fire affinity is a 'gift' from your … ahem... tenant." the aging Hokage stated simply, not trying to show how just how much the show had affected him as he recovered from his shock. "Now get out of my office before you actually do give me a heart attack, I have work to complete."
"Yeah, like reading that novel," Haruto deadpanned.
Hokage coughed in embarrassment at being caught red handed. "None of your business."
"Fine, fine, you should look for a successor you know, your feet are already in your grave."
Without waiting for a response, Haruto leaped out of the window into the street below.
I am not old dammit.