Konoha : Naruto's playground

Amber eyes flashed as a gout of red-hot flame roared down the corridor, illuminating the darkness in a fiery glow of brilliance. As darkness once again descended in the hallway, the 'chink!' of metal hitting metal resumed.

Jiraiya knew he had to get out. Restricted areas weren't his forte; he was a brute-force Shinobi, one that thrived on big, flashy techniques to devastate his enemies in a few blows. Yet his opponent, Orochimaru, was far more suited to the current environment. It was hard keeping track of the furious battle raging between them, the world spinning and revolving as the two separated and attacked again and again, Jutsu flying in every direction in quick succession.

Jiraiya had to hand it to his ex-teammate; power hadn't made him complacent, he was every bit as dangerous as he was when he first defected from Konoha.

Skipping backwards, the Gama-Sennin stopped to catch his breath, quickly flinging himself to the side to evade another Water Jutsu; this time a ball of high-pressured liquid. Naruto had made it out and Jiraiya could feel his Chakra signature getting further and further away by the second. Although the green and red-clad ninja's cover had been blown, it was a necessary risk, and now he had to make good his escape.

"How...did you find me, Jiraiya-kun?"

The Konoha Shinobi grimaced as an image of his last fight with his ex-teammate flashed before his eyes. He had thrown away their bond of friendship they had once shared. The Orochimaru standing before him was not the same one he had grown up with. This one was a mere fragment of the brilliant prodigy that had once graced the Jounin population of the Leaf Village.

He would not fall to his goading.

"Wasn't too hard 'Rochi-chan. I've been tracking you for years."

If the snake-like man was surprised to hear that, he hid his shock well as his face was a mask of indifference.

"Nice paint job by the way! I didn't know you were into rainbows and unicorns! Seems like all those rumours of you loving kids were true huh?"

Jiraiya rolled to the side as a Fuuton: Daitoppa roared down the hallway. He heard a low hiss as he turned back to face the pale-faced Otokage.

"You dare!...I will hunt that brat down to the ends of the Earth if I must! He will pay for such insolence!"

Jiraiya grinned. Oh, he just couldn't miss this chance!

"Aww come on 'Rochi-chan! I know you like it! Didn't you just love animals when you were little? Why there was that one time with that tiger and the –"

Orochimaru screamed in rage as he threw himself forward, three green pythons launching themselves from beneath his right sleeve. Jiraiya hopped backwards, his thrown Kunai already embedded into the heads of the attacking reptiles. Slamming his hand on the cement floor, a dark cloud of smoke obscured his form.

"Look 'Rochi-chan. I know you always wanted to be a clown, I mean with the long hair and the multi-coloured nose and all. But I got places to be, so I'll –"

Ducking down to avoid a swipe from the double-edged sword that swung for his head, the Gama-Sennin pressed his left hand to the floor as he formed a Rasengan in his right. The Delphinium sphere sprang into his palm, a vortex of the purest, tornado blue, lighting up the shadowy hallway like the depths of the ocean.

Throwing his body forward as his Doryuuheki formed, he punched right through, the Rasengan blowing a hole in the middle and catapulting earth and rock at the incensed Missing-nin. As the man was forced to defend, Jiraiya leapt backwards, landing fluidly on the head of his battle toad that he had summoned.

"Well, let's meet again, 'Rochi-chan! Sweet dreams! I'll bring you some picture books next time, rainbows and all! Gamahiro, get us outta here."

With a grunt, the orange and blue toad pulled his two blades from his back, the monstrous Katana thrumming with Chakra. Launching into the air, Gamahiro spat a massive glob of oil from his mouth and Jiraiya followed it with a Goukakyu. The concentrated ball of flaming oil slammed into the ceiling allowing the toad to burst through, his swords cutting into the rock like a hot knife through butter. As they exploded onto the surface, the toad-summoner gazed in bemusement at the sign that met his eyes.

Most of the Oto-Shinobi were incapacitated, strewn about the ground, their limbs splayed and their tongues lolling from their mouths. The ones that remained conscious were down on their knees, panting and sweating as if they had just been through the hardest battle of their lives.

Jiraiya snorted. Typical Naruto that was. Either he killed someone by mistake, or he scared them to the point of urination; and it seemed that more than one had broken their bladders!

As Jiraiya and his summon leapt well out of range, the adrenaline running through the Sannin's veins began to slow. Suddenly feeling very tired, the six-foot Shinobi flopped onto his behind, sitting Indian-style atop the toad's head.

Damn, that was hard. He didn't know if he could beat Orochimaru if they both went full-out. Maybe if he went sage-mode and had Fukasaku and his wife's backup...then again the old toad couple hated being called upon unless it was absolutely necessary. Ah well, a thought for another day. For now, he had to catch up with his wayward 'student' and get him back to Konoha before he blew up some other part of the World.

But boy! Pranking Orochimaru to the point that he totally flipped out?!

Jiraiya burst into laughter as tears streamed from his eyes, the picture of Orochimaru with a rainbow coloured visage etched into his mind's eye. Gamahiro shifted, his right eye staring at his master as if he was a total lunatic.

"Ahhh, don't look at me like that Ken! I've got a good reason to laugh!"

The battle-toad's head tilted almost imperceptibly to the side.

"Did you see the paint-job on the walls and old 'Rochi-Chan's face?" At the toad's small nod, the Konoha Shinobi grinned.

"One word: Naruto."

Gamahiro almost slipped as he landed, his long tongue flicking out in surprise.

What a story he had for his Sensei. Jiraiya just wished he had had the forethought to get a picture!

XXXXXXXX

Naruto stopped by the edge of the waterfall, pondering on his earlier visit to this very same area. The Valley of the End was such a beautiful, yet chaotic place. The roar of the waterfall pounding the river below it, totally drowned out the gentle swish of the running stream above. The trees on either side rocked back and forth, spreading their leafy boughs over the surface of the stream, the reflection turning green and blue alternatively; a direct contrast to the calm, immense sentinel Oaks that stood further behind the tree line.

But the thing that caught his eye wasn't the power of nature's gifts to this place; rather it was the two statues that stood facing each other; their hard stone eyes set in steely glares directed at the one opposite them. One vaguely resembled the first head of the Hokage Monument back in Konoha and the other...

Naruto had a nagging feeling that he should know who the other one was.

Shaking himself from his reverie, the blond grinned ruefully. What was his purpose now? His excursions in Sound had left him feeling vaguely empty. His thoughts were a tumult of confusion, his earlier motivation all but evaporated. What was he here to do? What was his purpose in life?

Why, why were their people out to kill him?

Naruto crouched down, fisting a handful of sludge from the bank of the fast-flowing river. As his thoughts grew louder, he threw the ball as hard as he could, a scream of frustration, of pain and of sorrow ripping from his throat as the grunge scored a direct hit at the centre of the waterbed.

He couldn't understand himself. Hadn't he sworn to fight? Why then, had he fled without helping Jiraiya? Hadn't he pledged his total wrath on every single person who threatened him, threatened to end his existence?

The visage of a red-headed 9 year-old appeared in front of his eyes, a soft smile creasing his face, looking strangely out of place as if he didn't really smile much.

'Gaara...'

He wasn't a mindless killer; that's why he'd helped his friend. But neither could he sit around with the fear of death on his shoulders. He remembered all too well the night of the Uchiha Massacre. He never wanted to experience something like that again.

'Why the hell am I so confused?!'

Leaning down, he slammed his head into the ground, the pain stabbing throughout his being like a bullet. Again and again he repeated the motion, a hole beginning to form in the soft, damp mud. The brown, semi-liquid soil mixed with the red of his blood as a wound opened on his forehead. No matter how many times his head was struck, the uncertainty didn't seem to be going away. As he prepared to smash his cranium once more, he froze halfway; his head and neck parallel to the ground.

'W-What am I doing?'

Raising his head, a few droplets of blood pattered onto the mud, staining it crimson. He stared at the sky, as the battle raged on within his psyche; the short battle between Jiraiya and Orochimaru playing over-and-over in his head.

'This is...the extent of my power...'

Standing stiffly, he walked robotically to the centre of the flowing river. Making the handseals, he announced his technique.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa."

A furious gust of wind shot from around him, drilling a trench deep into the water, waves whipping up around him.

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu."

An orangey-red fireball erupted from his mouth, steam sizzling into the air as the surface of the river evaporated in the wake of such high temperatures.

"Suiton: Suiryudan."

A humongous water dragon jumped from the centre of the water body before diving back down, another wave of the clear, salty liquid washing over his idle form.

"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu."

His body was pulled downwards into the river bed, fusing with it until he popped out underwater. Swimming resolutely back up to the surface, he didn't even stop to think about what he was doing as he made the seals for his next technique.

"Raiton: Hibana!"

The shock ripped through his body, his teeth chattering at the current flowing through his blood and out into the water. Dropping to one knee, his clothes smoked and the thinner parts shrivelled up from the intensity of the electricity it had been subjected to.

'This...this is the extent of my power...'

He stayed like that for a while, his mind blank at his realisation. The picture of the two Sannin standing proudly against each other as they battled flashed through his mind for a brief moment stronger and clearer than the pain and fatigue throbbing through his soul, once again reminding him of what it meant to be a Shinobi.

What it meant to fight.

Looking up from his position down on one knee, he gazed down towards the waterfall, and for a moment, the faces of the two ex-teammates superimposed the statues forever carved in stone.

'Confused?!' he thought bitterly. 'HAH! Why the hell am I confused?!'

A wide grin blossomed on his face as the first vestiges of sunlight peeked over the head of what must be the Shodai Hokage. The 9 year old blond tilted his head upward, allowing the golden beams to strike his face, the remaining damp causing his cheeks to sparkle in the early morning sun.

And with the rising of the Sun, a feeling of joy and warmth raced through his veins. Raising his head to the heavens, the sunlight bathing his face in a halo of golden light, the blond laughed exhilaratingly. There was nothing to worry about! There was absolutely nothing to worry about!

He would train to get stronger, just like he had planned. And when the time to fight came, he would fight and he would fight with everything he had. And if he had to kill...

He would kill. Just like what Shisui had been telling him.

He was suddenly struck by a sense of Déjà Vu, almost as if a day extremely similar to this had occurred before. When he was younger, had he made the same decision? Before he had begun learning Shinobi techniques, had he been through a similar experience?

Had he stood at the birth of a new day's sun, questioning himself; questioning his ability to live, his beliefs and all his actions?

In that moment, a sparkle that had died within his eyes a few years ago, reignited. His eyes glowed, orbs of electric blue as the last of his resolve solidified. Pushing away his doubt, his confusion, his anger and his pain, he stood; water droplets trailing down his cheeks as he faced the edge of the waterfall.

In a burst of speed and an explosion of colour, the Konoha prank-master shot off towards the drop, Chakra pulsating from his feet, cleaving the body of liquid in two as he raced forward. He sucked in a deep breath, pulling himself tightly inwards, his soul resonating with the blue energy pulsating throughout his body.

And then he reached the edge.

In a glorious blaze of golden-blue and black, he rocketed into the air above the waterfall, his body soaring forwards, buffeted by the ferocious speed of his movement. With nothing beneath him, gravity began to do its work and he accelerated downwards. With a whoop, the 9 year old fell like a missile, the warmth in his being growing larger as his fight-or-flight instinct took grip.

At the last possible minute, a mere two metres above the surface of the stream below, the blond-haired Jinchuuriki reached back and whipped his Airboard from its harness, placing it firmly at his feet, a torrent of Wind Chakra already revolving around its length. In that moment, the powerful forces acting on his body equalised and he was left suspended above the bottom of the waterfall, spray from the ferocious waterfall soaking him to the bone as it was thrown upwards after hitting the surface at the end of the drop.

This is what he lived for. Not to die. Not to give up.

But to live his life how he wanted, so that he was happy and retained these thrilling feelings forever. The faces of the ones he'd call friends cycled through his mind; Shisui, Kakashi, Anko, Jiraiya...

...Sandaime-Jiji and TenTen.

And right there and then he forgave them; forgave them for any wrongs they had done. If they wanted to start over, he'd willingly oblige. He was not an Emo, and he wouldn't act like one.

Propelling himself forwards, he resolutely continued one. Banished were his doubt and his confusion and in their place came an eerie feeling of calm and clarity.

It was time he showed the World the real Uzumaki Naruto.

XXXXXXX

Wave Country was a prosperous place. Nami no Kuni was at the centre of the trade route to three of the biggest countries of the continent, with Konoha to the west, Kiri to the east and Kumo to the north. Its position gave it an elevated status in commerce, with most of the trade between all three countries running through its trade paths. The people of Wave were not rich per se, yet they were well off and had everything they could want.

It was to this environment that the evil businessman, Gato, arrived. Through extended corruption and brute-force, the pudgy kleptomaniac demolished the economic stability of Wave and rebuilt it with him at its centre. Naturally, the residents had revolted, fighting back at the injustices that Gato's money had wrought.

Yet Gato wanted none of it.

And so like any typical thug, he chose to put down the rebellion and all elements at its heart. The population became scared, too frightened to stand up to the man, yet there were a few who continued to plague the evil businessman's path.

Kaiza.

He knew little of the man, only that he was opposing his takeover of the country, planning the construction of a bridge with his famous father-in-law, Tazuna. Kaiza had become a kind of icon for the people, and Gato had heard that the man had once jumped into raging waters to secure a dam on the verge of bursting.

What a foolish endeavour!

And yet, he had succeeded, so naturally the oily-skinned Shorty decided to make an example out of the one who embodied the pride and honour of Wave.

By killing him in front of his very own friends and family.

"This is what will happen when you go against Gato Enterprises!" The rotund, stunted man announced from the speakerphone clutched in his chubby hand.

Smoothing his stretched suit over his belly, the businessman stroked his slight moustache as he gazed smugly at the crowds of people gathered around the execution cage that he had set up.

"This man, Kaiza, will pay for his meddlesome ways with his life! This is the rule of Wave, and if anyone questions it, the same thing will happen to them!"

A small shout of rage and fear sounded from just outside the front line of villagers, and a small boy of 5 or 6 pushed his way to the front. He wore a bucket hat, blue and white stripes circling around the top protrusion, the top thrown back revealing his wide, unbelieving eyes.

"OTOU-SAN!"

Gato grinned. Oh? His family was here too! That would make the execution even more satisfying! Signalling to his Samurai bodyguard to get it over with, he stood back to watch the fireworks.

The Katana rose, the sunlight glinting dangerously off its edge. In slow motion, the population of Wave watched in horror as their hero was about to die. But quite suddenly, the blade simply stopped halfway in its descent.

The executioner stood shocked, his mouth slack as he stared at the sky. Slowly, the spectators began to look up too, pointing at the incoming projectile. To Gato, he had no clue what was going on, but what he did know was that the execution wasn't going ahead.

"I SAID KILL THAT MAN! WHY HAVE YOU STOPPED?! WHAT IS –"

Gato's tirade stopped suddenly as his pudgy ears caught a slight whistling sound. Without any warning, what could only be described as a tree branch, slammed into the miniature man's head, followed by the point of a sword driving through his skull.

Gato died instantly.

Alas, if he had been watching he would have been able to dodge, like the villagers did when another Wakizashi landed amongst them. The objects were quickly followed by a human-shaped lump that slammed heavily into the Samurai holding the sword, throwing the two of them to the ground and bashing into the side of the cage.

All was silent for a minute, the Villagers wondering what the hell just happened whilst Kaiza himself mustered the strength to raise his head at the commotion. The sight that met his eyes would have made him burst out laughing if he could manage it. Unfortunately, he was a bit too beat-up to move just yet.

"Oooh, my head..."

Standing slowly, the lump now identified as a young boy with bright golden-yellow hair took in his surroundings cautiously. He was in a sort of square cage with no roof, so that was how he had got in. What unnerved him though, was a huge crowd of people simply staring at him with wide-eyes.

"Umm...Sorry?"

The crowd stared some more.

Looking down at his feet, he saw the unconscious form of the Samurai he had hit. It seemed that attempting the TSS from the top of a hill was NOT a good idea. The force of gravity changed ever so slightly due to the contour of the earth's surface and that caused the angle to increase drastically. Somehow he'd been shot in the opposite direction he had intended to go in. It also seemed like he'd lost his Ryu-Zashi.

"Erm, anyone seen two Wakizashi? They got blue dragons on the side..."

Still no answer.

"W-Who are you?"

The question came from a short, teary-eyed boy. He looked a bit like a snot-nosed brat to Naruto, with typical features. Black eyes, black, straight-cut hair. The only thing going for him was his hat, and in Naruto's opinion it was a bit gay!

"Uzumaki Naruto! You seen my swords?"

The boy pointed and Naruto turned to see one of the pair sticking out of the head of a short, oily-fat, suit-clad man.

"OH MY GOD! DID I KILL HIM?! PLEASE SAY I DIDN'T! MISTER YOU OK? H-HEY MISTER!"

Naruto sprinted over to the downed body. There was no hope; the guy was most definitely dead. Intense dread settled over the blond's mind. How could this have happened?!

But then the crowd began to cheer.

Turning back to the large group of spectators, he took in the looks of absolute joy and respect that the people of Wave were directing at him. And in true Naruto fashion, he only had one thing to say.

"Huh?"

Suddenly a large group of men from outside the enclosure scaled the sides and pounced on the remaining Samurai, wrestling them to the ground whilst they still stood looking on in shock. The Konoha resident didn't know what to make of the situation, but slowly his mind began piecing the events together. A tanned-skinned, brawny man stepped forward, Naruto's second Wakizashi clasped in his fist. With one swift slash, he severed the ropes tying the person that appeared to be the subject of all the commotion from the pole he was secured to.

The guy was moderately tall, a white length of rope tied to his forehead like a bandanna, the knot and ends pushed to his right temple. His most striking feature was a cross-shaped scar carved into centre of his chin, an obvious sign from battle or some other dangerous endeavour. His black, spiky hair was slicked to his head with sweat, matted with dark-red dried blood. The state in which his body remained was the final part to the puzzle for the young blond; it seemed that this man was to be executed, and in a turn of incredible luck, Naruto had arrived just in time to prevent it, although 'arriving in time' might be stretching it a bit.

The villagers began crowding around Naruto, questions flying from every next person. The shock and dismay must have shown on his whiskered face as the elder man who had cut the 'convict' down pushed his way through to stand in front of him. His face was creased heavily with wrinkles, a pair of glasses perched precariously on the tip of his nose.

"Name's Tazuna, kid. What's yours?"

Grinning widely, the man extended a worn hand from his side. Grasping it in a loose handshake, the Uzumaki heir smiled hesitantly.

"U-Uzumaki Naruto. Umm, what's going on here exactly?"

The man's grin widened even more, his dark grey eyes sparkling in amusement. Naruto noticed that he still hadn't let go of his hand.

"Heh, Gaki, you won't believe what you just did! You've practically saved an entire country!"

Stopping, the elder male pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

"Where the heck did ya' come from though? That was one super entrance if ya' ask me!"

Naruto chuckled nervously. Turning he pointed to the tree line to the West.

"Err, see I was practising this stunt thingy...and um – it kinda went wrong?"

All of the gathered villagers sweat-dropped heavily. What the hell kind of hero was that?! Tazuna handed his second Wakizashi to the blond. Naruto spun both blades expertly before sheathing them smoothly. Tazuna's eyes widened at the amount of skill displayed by one so young.

"You some kinda ninja or something?"

Naruto chuckled nervously again.

"Ehehe...somethin' like that."

Tazuna nodded slowly.

"Well brat, I gotta hand it to ya'. You just saved my daughter's husband from dying because he opposed that slime, Gato."

Naruto looked back at the short, fat businessman with the hole in his head. Slowly, it dawned on him what this guy was trying to tell him.

"Wait...so that guy...was evil?"

Tazuna laughed heartily, as did the crowd around them.

"Quite simply, yeah! He was a tyrant, messin' with our trade and business. We wanted to build a bridge to the mainland ya' know, and this chump comes along an' starts harassin' us with his henchmen."

"Wait, so I'm not in trouble or anything?"

Tazuna threw his head back and roared in mirth.

"Kami no, kiddo! You're the hero of Wave!"

Naruto stared blankly at the older man.

"Huh?"

"Ahhh, don't look at me like that ya' super gaki! Come, let's get ya' to my home and we can chat all ya' want."

Naruto's Airboard was thrust into his hands as the crowd began herding him back towards the large village a few miles in the distance. Tazuna's beefy hand was securely holding his shoulder and the blond wondered when the tanned man had let go of his hand and placed it there.

"NARUTO! NARUTO! NARUTO!"

The boy in question sweat-dropped. He actually killed someone by mistake and now he was being treated as the next best thing to Ramen.

And they called him crazy.

Well, maybe he was, but there were others just as crazy, if not more so than him. Placing clasped hands behind his head, he grinned lightly, the warmth in his heart growing stronger than ever before. He could get used to this feeling.

He just wished his life could always be like this.

ZZZZZZ