Konoha : Naruto's playground

TenTen sped down the hallway of Konoha Central Hospital. There weren't many words that could describe the kind of feelings she was experiencing at that moment. Her mind was in turmoil from all the information that had been disclosed to her just 20 minutes prior. She had returned from her evening training like normal. Naruto hadn't been home and although odd, she disregarded it as something else he was doing that night. She remembered cracking a smile and thinking that it would have been interesting to see what he had been up to.

How drastically wrong she had been.

She had taken a quick bath. She hated showers; you had to STAND up and take them, who could be bothered to do that? Plus you had to keep adjusting the water temperature and that was just downright long! So she had taken a hot bath. And once she had been satisfied that her skin had wrinkled enough for the next few days, she had got out and proceeded to make something for her to eat.

And then the Shinobi had arrived. Soft as a feather, TenTen didn't hear anything until the ninja had knocked on the door. Thinking it was Naruto she had opened it to find the imposing mask of an ANBU agent staring at her. What would the elite of the village be doing here?

In a soft voice, devoid of all emotion the ANBU designated 'Rat' had said the words she had not been expecting.

"The Uchiha clan has been massacred. Your roommate has been injured. The medics have asked for your presence so please make haste to comply."

And that was it. The ninja had simply disappeared and TenTen had been left standing in the doorway, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.

"Naruto...in the...hospital?"

She had muttered to herself. Realising just what had come out of her own mouth. She had quickly dressed and left the apartment, making sure to lock it with the spare key Naruto had given her all those months ago.

And now she found herself in front of his door. Room 225, a designated room for trauma and coma patients. Taking that as a bad sign, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was dark and apart from a small bedside lamp that was lit, no light sources were switched on.

With a start, the bun-haired brunette realised that there were three people in the room already and they were conversing in low tones. Her eyes widened when she realised that they weren't just any old people, they were the Sandaime, Jiraiya of the Sannin and a silver-haired ANBU agent. This was no ordinary meeting, that much she was sure of. Something was going on here.

All three elite Shinobi paid her no heed as if they knew she wasn't a threat and she frowned slightly at that; they must have a technique or something that alerted them to anyone in the vicinity. Slowly, she moved forward to see the dark figure lying on the bed. She gasped at what she saw.

Naruto, one of the strongest and most cheerful boys she had ever seen was laying deathly still. There was a large, angry, red welt on his lower jaw, bandages wrapped under and above the obvious injury site as if to keep it in place. More bandages were wrapped around his upper torso and his gut, his face was deathly pale and this caused the 3 whisker marks that she could see on the left side of his face, to stand out.

"...We found him passed out when we got there. There was no way we could have left him among all the dead bodies. His psyche is already damaged enough from what has happened and I shudder to think what would have occurred had he woken up among that massacre."

TenTen turned to find the Hokage addressing the ANBU.

Massacre? The Uchiha were massacred?

'That's right,' she shook herself, 'that's what the other ANBU had said too. Who could do such a thing?!'

"If what we heard is correct, there is absolutely no telling what could be happening within our borders at the moment. Kakashi, I want you to take ANBU squads Alpha, Beta and Delta. Spread out, comb the area and don't let a single thing escape you. If you encounter any Uchiha, DO NOT engage them. This is a flee-on-sight order. Am I understood?" The Sandaime's face was grim as he stared down at the face of her friend.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The ANBU agent paused for a moment, his mask directed at Naruto and seemed to almost sigh, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Was that really necessary Sensei? They are probably long gone by now." As soon as Jiraiya spoke those words the Sandaime rounded on him, his gaze like steel.

"YOU do not have a right to question my actions. You know very well where you stand right now, so do not push me." The red-clad Shinobi bristled at the anger directed at him, but didn't retort.

It was almost as if the Uchiha were involved in their own massacre...

TenTen shrugged over her unease over the recent exchange and spoke up in a tentative tone.

"Ah, H-Hokage-sama. What's wrong w-with Naruto?" Turning as if he only just noticed the young girl, Sarutobi smiled tiredly as he replied.

"TenTen, I assume? Naruto has been talking about you a lot recently." At TenTen's silent response he sighed and continued.

"Naruto was caught up in one of the greatest tragedies to hit Konoha. Someone has killed the entire Uchiha clan, save two, and the attacker deemed it necessary to attack the poor boy just because he was there." Motioning to the bed, the Hokage frowned.

"It seems young Naruto's attacker was merciless in his assault and Naruto has suffered quite a few injuries." TenTen stepped forward to view the blond from a better angle. She found the Hokage's arm blocking her and she stared in shock at the leader of her village.

"Don't wake him." It was an absolute order, and TenTen would have sooner jumped out the window then defy the Sandaime's order; such was her respect for the venerable Hokage. As they all gazed at the unconscious blond, some banging by the door was heard before it was thrown violently inwards, the handles smacking loudly into the wall.

The two ninja had reacted faster than TenTen's eyes could track. One second they were peering down at the comatose patient and the next, they were standing on either side of the intruder, two kunai to his neck. TenTen noticed the toad Sennin recoil in shock before the Hokage.

"Uchiha..." It was barely a whisper.

The intruder's eyes were wide in shock. He was wearing the standard Konoha Military Police uniform of black T-Shirt with the Uchiha fan emblazoned on the back, along with black pants and Shinobi sandals. His hair was frazzled and unkempt, as if he had been through a great storm, but the most distinguishing thing about him, was the pair of glowing red eyes that stared wildly around the room.

"Uchiha Shisui. Report. Your body was found missing at the Uchiha District, where have you been? Your clan is dead!" The teenager identified as Shisui didn't seem surprised from the Hokage's words, but was quick to respond.

"Sir, I have some urgent news. I met Uchiha Itachi fleeing to the North in the 4th quadrant of the Konoha forest. Was he the culprit?" The Sandaime ignored the question as his face grew anxious.

"What transpired from your encounter?" Shisui's eyes glinted knowingly.

"I am invoking Code Red on this report sir. It's for your ears only." The Hokage nodded slightly, his face softening in obvious relief. "More importantly, who from my family survived?"

The Hokage turned back to watch the blond-haired occupant on the hospital bed before answering.

"Your second aunt, Uchiha Mikoto, and her son, Sasuke. There were no other survivors." Again, TenTen realised that the shock portrayed by the Shinobi was far less than what should have been when someone was told that most of their family was dead. What was up with this guy? She didn't notice the slightly saddened expression that flitted across the Uchiha's face.

"Did – d-did he really.."

"SHISUI! We will discuss that at a later time. For now we must attend to the survivors." The Hokage had swung around to confront the teenager when he had spoken and in doing so, the Uchiha noticed the still form of the person on the bed. He gasped.

"Naruto-kun?! What has he got to do with all this? Why is he here?" TenTen heard sincere surprise in the elder boy's voice.

"He was caught up in the massacre. It seems that the attacker beat him quite heavily before he left." The Uchiha looked down sadly at the sleeping form of the blond. After a while he turned and made his way unobstructed, out of the door. 'Probably going to check on his family' TenTen thought.

All three left in the room once again turned to regard the blond Jinchuuriki. For a while there was silence, but then an atmosphere of shock settled in as Naruto began to stir. 'He shouldn't be waking up yet! What's going on?!' TenTen was getting worried. Too many odd things were happening.

As Naruto opened his eyes, all three ran to his bedside, Jiraiya placing his hand on the boy's shoulder to stop him from sitting up and doing anymore damage to his healing injuries. The blond pre-teen's eyes were dull and listless, their delphinium glow absent, as they took in the three faces above him. Jiraiya removed his hand and Naruto began to struggle to sit up. This time the Sandaime reached out, but he did not stop him, rather he placed his hand on the boy's back, lending him support to raise himself.

TenTen stepped back with the others as Naruto glanced around the dimly lit room before staring out the window. He suddenly burst out laughing, his tone cracked and his mouth obviously parched. His laughter degenerated into short wheezing as his lung capacity gave out. The three other occupants turned to stare at each other.

Why was he laughing?

"The Kyuubi..." The scratchy words that emitted from the blond's lips caused an immediate reaction. The Hokage and the Gama-Sennin recoiled as TenTen's confused gaze shifted between her friend and the elder Shinobi.

The temperature in the room dropped noticeably. What was he –

"TenTen." The bun-haired girl snapped to attention as the Sandaime addressed her. "Please return to your current lodgings. We three have much to discuss." TenTen stared for a moment and made to reply before remembering just who she was speaking to. Blushing in embarrassment, she lowered her head, before striding quickly to the door and exiting, closing the door softly behind her.

XXXXXX

TenTen hurried towards the hospital exit. What was so important that she couldn't be there? She had come all the way to see her friend after all and it just seemed weird that the Hokage would send her away. And what was it that Naruto had said?

Something about a Kyuubi.

'Nine-tails?' She thought to herself. 'I'm sure I've heard that term before.' Snapping out of her reverie, she continued on her way home.

At least Naruto was fine, right?

XXXXXX

"What do you know of the Kyuubi, Naruto-kun?" The question wasn't said in an angry way and yet, it was one that Naruto knew that he had to answer.

"The Kyuubi...is sealed inside of me. That's what he said, that Madara." Jiraiya sucked in a breath sharply. His head snapped to look at the Sandaime. This changed everything. Naruto knew, there was no doubt about it, both of Madara and of his tenant. From his earlier behaviour, neither of the elder Shinobi could guess the mental state Naruto was currently in.

"A seal. He showed me the seal, the seal you have hid from me." Pulling up the hospital gown through the bandages, he poked his belly button. "Right here. Big and black, and it definitely wasn't a tattoo." Naruto's head rose and his eyes bore defiantly into the old Hokage's visage. His face had twisted into a vicious sneer, his eyes devoid of any of their previous light. His mind had been damaged beyond repair. And yet the Hokage remained silent.

"All these years I wondered why everyone hated me. Why they always glared at me and sometimes threw things at me. And you knew all this time, didn't you...Jiji?" Naruto's nickname for the Hokage came out scathing, nothing like how much love and trust the blond used to say that name with.

This time, Sarutobi visibly winced. There was no getting out of this situation; he had to explain it as carefully as possible.

"Naruto-kun, Uchiha Madara is a very evil man. While the Kyuubi is indeed within you, do not take what he has said as truth. The Kyuubi was a beast of incredible power, it was not possible to destroy such a thing and so the Yondaime was forced to seal it within you. You are not the Kyuubi, only its jailor. Can a glass be the water within it?" There was a notable hint of desperation in the old Hokage's words.

"No." Jiraiya glanced back at the Uzumaki heir worriedly. This didn't look good at all.

"No, I know I'm not the Kyuubi. Otherwise I would have been able to defend myself against him. T-There was j-just so...s-so much...so much blood!" The blond cried out in horror and terror at the crimes that had been committed that night, grabbing his head in his hands as his whole body shook. Sarutobi cursed aloud. He knew the boy's mind was shattered, maybe irreparably. Hadn't he sworn to protect Minato's son from this happening?!

Striding forward the Hokage wrapped the Jinchuuriki in a tight embrace. He was startled when his student gripped his shoulder and pulled him back forcefully.

"What will you do kid? Will you sit here and cry?" The room became deathly silent as Sarutobi stared at his student in shock. Jiraiya was studying the Jinchuuriki intently, his eyes fixed upon his godson like a vice. Naruto's tear-stained face rose to regard the owner of the voice.

"Will you snivel and cry, whilst others plan to take your life? Will you be content to have this death sentence hanging over your head for the rest of your life?" Naruto's eyes were wide, and the blue of his iris shook slightly as he tried to rationalise why this man was asking him these questions.

"Madara will be back, and next time he'll want your head. Will you stand against him or will you stay laying here as a weak brat until that time comes?" Jiraiya's voice was like steel, his tones hard and his volume forceful. Like hell he would let the son of the greatest Shinobi and Hokage to fall at the first obstacle. He had resolved himself to support his godson and he would be there to help him out of his every pitfall. He would not return to his old lifestyle, not after all he had concluded. He would not be like his two wayward teammates, wasting away with their own problems having forgotten in what direction their responsibilities lay.

Naruto began to laugh again. His laughter rose to mad cackles as his small frame shook from his mirth. As quickly as it came, his bout of laughter came to an abrupt halt and his mouth twisted upward in a cruel smile.

He didn't answer. He simply lay back down and turned over, facing away from the two elder Shinobi. Sarutobi and Jiraiya exchanged a glance and Jiraiya shrugged at the slight expression of reproach on his Sensei's face.

Staring for a little while longer at the boy's still form, they realised he had gone back to sleep. Sarutobi decided to have a Yamanaka check on the boy's mind to make sure the events hadn't completely broken him. At least the seal was still working fine, he didn't want a mad Bijuu destroying the Village anytime soon.

Nodding at each other, the student and teacher began to make their way to the door. Stopping, Jiraiya threw a perplexed glance at the previously happy bundle of energy.

Just how bad had his mind been affected?

XXXXXXX

When Naruto had awoken, he had seen three blurry faces staring down at him. As he waited for his vision to clear up, his mind began to kick back in to full gear and with it, the events of the night.

'Uchiha Madara? A...Seal? And the Kyuubi was locked in the seal, and it was Madara's pet?'

Naruto still couldn't comprehend the alarming things that had been revealed to him. He was weak, that much he realised. His Taijutsu was almost non-existent and it was proven by how easily he had been manhandled by the psychotic Sharingan user. He hadn't even been able to block a single punch let alone fight back! And this guy was coming back for him?! Like hell he was going to stand by and let himself die! He wasn't going to allow the sadness and anger from his childhood get him now, not after all this time. He had already resolved to live his life how he wanted, and he wasn't going to let any threats get in his way.

'You know what this means though don't you?' His subconscious replied for him. 'We have to get stronger. Strong enough to be able to defeat that guy.'

Slowly, the blond-haired Jinchuuriki looked around the room before looking out the window at the Hokage monument. A small thought flashed in his mind, which in its delirious state, caused him to burst out laughing.

'I'll have to pull that prank on the monument. I don't know why I put it off for later.'

And with that, he turned to the occupants of his hospital room, the prior tragedy returning full force and with it, the sickening smell and feel of blood, as if this room had been part of the massacre too. His fear induced mind rocked as he strove to fortify himself against his impending madness. All his senses were strained at the three who were staring at him in obvious concern, but he now knew that they had hid things from him. Things that were destroying his world and causing his bloody nemesis to return full force in his mind's eye.

He would have his answers this night. And then when he was free of the hospital, he would prepare himself to stop any and all people that stood in the way of his life.

XXXXXX

It had only taken a day for the populace of Konoha to realise the sudden change in Naruto's behaviour; it was by no means subtle. As soon as he had been released, he had taken to training like a fish to water. Furthermore, the Hokage was receiving strange news that his successor's son had taken to fighting anyone who tried to jump him in the seedier parts of Konoha's expanse. The reports stated that he wouldn't use any Ninjutsu whatsoever. He would simply go in there all fists blazing and Sarutobi was beginning to wonder if Naruto had finally lost it and gone crazy.

And yet, apart from that, he still seemed to be carrying on the life's goal he had set for himself. One day he had set himself in a tent on top of Hokage monument and stayed there for a week. No-one had known what he was up to until a bright summer's morning, typical of Konoha, where the Villagers and Shinobi alike had awoken to find the Hokage monument decorated in the most ridiculous face painting anyone had ever seen. As Sarutobi had made his way to the office, one Villager had succinctly summed up the majority of people's thoughts.

"Are those...Akimichi swirls? And how come the Shodai's the only one with trees growing out of his nose?!"

There had been instant uproar. Everyone knew who the culprit was, there was no way it could be anyone else. And yet, no-one could catch him!

Teams of ANBU, Jounin, Chuunin and even Jiraiya himself had been trying all morning and yet, the 7 year old had taken to using the Chakra Beacon in his own unique way before using the true purpose of it; decreasing his Chakra output to disguise himself as a civilian who couldn't do any ninja techniques. Not to mention he was fast, knew the Konoha streets far better than his pursuers and also, the fact that every now and then the Shinobi had to waste time dodging random attacks being thrown at them and their resulting complications. One example of this was a Chuunin team led by Umino Iruka from the academy.

Iruka was leading this particular team because he was known for his gentle way of handling kids that seemed to create a bond of trust between the two. Just as they had rounded a corner chasing the young Jinchuuriki, they realised just who was the cat and who were the mice. A blue dragon formed entirely of water burst from the mouth of a non-descript civilian and hurtled towards the Chuunin. Immediately, the medium ranked ninja scattered their formation, taking cover behind the veranda of a fruit seller's shop. They couldn't have known that Naruto was aiming for the cloth overlay that protected the stand outside advertising fresh fruit to all the potential customers that would walk by. The cloth immediately billowed inwards, straining against the volume of water it was trying to hold, before finally giving out and collapsing inwards; drenching the hiding ninja to the bone.

In their soggy moment of distraction, the irritating blond had upped and disappeared, his eventual location not a single person knew.

XXXXXX

Naruto's village-wide excursion of the Hokage Monument had been the only prank he had played that month. He had thrown himself into his training, his Taijutsu improving by practise and his Ninjutsu through scrolls. But TenTen was becoming more and more worried when the once sunny-blond didn't smile for almost a whole month. He was only worried about getting stronger and this seemed to go against everything he stood for.

A particularly clear moment had been when TenTen had come home from training at Higurashi Naoto's weapon store and informed her roommate of being taught sealing methods. The blond had jumped at the opportunity to learn another skill and had badgered the young girl into teaching him too. After much persuasion on Naruto's part, the bun-haired academy student relented; she would have anyway since Naruto let her learn from his scrolls, but she thought that she might be able to get a reaction from him if she was annoying.

And yet, he had kept a level head and simply continued to ask. Not even when TenTen had gone overboard saying that he couldn't possibly learn it as it was too difficult for him; he had just shrugged it off and proceeded to ask again.

Having taught the blond the basics of what she had learnt, she had proceeded to examine him for a few days. She was shocked and jealous at what she saw.

Naruto was getting stronger at an alarming rate. He had mastered all of the techniques he had been given and TenTen even saw him pull off the Kawarimi no Jutsu without hand seals! What really began to tip her scales, though, was that he was even receiving help from Jiraiya of the Sannin!

The seeds of her jealousy and anger had been planted and when she found Naruto with the three steps to learning the Yondaime's signature offensive technique. She quite literally lost herself and this led to her falling out with her friend. Her jealousy and pride so strong, on her request, she moved to the Higurashi's residence and continued to train there.

The impact of this broken friendship would cause huge consequences, not just to Konoha, but to the entire Shinobi world. It would not be for many years till their friendship was renewed.

XXXXXXX

Naruto stared down at the pair of short swords he had received from TenTen on his seventh birthday. They were a stunning pair, resembling the twin daggers Naruto had bought for his ex-friend on her birthday prior to the Uchiha event. They were a shining silver colour with a sapphire dragon stretching from hilt to tip, the silver of the blade accentuating the beauty and shine of the dragon. Every inch of the twin blades were polished to perfection, their edges sharpened and their hilts wrapped.

Naruto gazed forlornly at the blades. He had no idea why TenTen had been so angry at him. Was it because he was training so hard? Was it because he couldn't tell her about what happened that night and the subsequent conversation with the Hokage? Was it simply because he hadn't talked to her much?

Naruto couldn't comprehend the fact that it was a mixture of these reasons, added to her growing jealousy at the attention he received from the Hokage and Jiraiya. He knew it was his fault in some way; maybe he had been too hard on everyone. Deep down he blamed the entire fiasco on his inability to get over the tragedies that had accompanied him throughout his life.

No, he would no longer run away from his problems. He would no longer freeze up when he saw blood or a dead body. And he would definitely get strong enough to defeat the people that wanted him as an enemy. If ninja could kill, he would just have to be able to without being a Shinobi.

With his resolve once again stoked, Jiraiya noticed the complete reversion Naruto's personality had. He was once again the thrumming bundle of energy he had always been, but with a significant difference and this puzzled the elder ninja to no end. His best friend was no longer with him. The once inseparable pair of orphans were no longer seen together and Jiraiya knew he was hurting inside. Before he left for his latest spying mission in Tea, he absently wondered to what Naruto would direct his attention to after this development. Naturally he would be shocked when he returned.

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There will be another time skip next chapter. As most of you would have gathered from reading this, the Massacre's events were necessary to set up the storyline and with that we end one of the major arcs of this fic!

Next chapter will see the prequel chapter to the 'Uzumaki World Tour Arc' and I'm sure that comment is going to all make you wonder just what the hell I mean by it! We see a return to the more humour-driven side of the story, but I don't want to give too much away! I bet no-one saw the breakup of Naruto and TenTen coming! I'd been planning that for a while! Just so you people aren't too angry about that I'm including an Omake!

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OMAKE: The real reason for the 'Air Pads and Chakra Beacon Techniques.

ZZZZZZ

Naruto was stumped. There must be a reason to the Chakra Beacon other than to project your Chakra! I mean come on, when did you ever feel anyone using it?! If it was such a widely known Jutsu, why had he never felt it?

Experimenting with his Chakra constantly he noticed that his Chakra would move faster through his body whenever he used the Beacon. Was it possible to slow it down? If that was the case, shouldn't he be able to apply the same theory to the 'Air Pads' to allow him to walk without a sound?

'Hehe! Sounds like a new prank's in order!'

XXXXXX

It was midday in the Konoha market district. The hustle and bustle of the shoppers was at its height as vendors shouted out deals and customers rushed to buy the goods they needed. In the middle of this stood an average looking boy around 9 years old carrying a small duffel-bag from which he calmly took a pair of headphones that looked oddly like what a builder used when manning a pneumatic drill. After fixing them to his head, he brought his hands up and clasped them into a typical Shinobi hand seal.

And then utter chaos broke out.

Naruto, under three layers of disguise; a Henge to blend in, his Chakra levels lowered to that of an average citizen and his feet covered with a thin layer of Chakra that exited his body whenever he made a step, effectively causing him to make no noise as he walked, released all layers of his disguise and initiating the other use he had found in the Chakra Beacon.

Hatake Kakashi's head swivelled around as he silently patrolled the market districts, noticing the Kyuubi's Chakra being used in that direction. It was monstrous! The elite ninja was breaking out in a sweat at the possible meaning of such an event. Had the Kyuubi escaped its prison?

When he reached the location he almost sweat-dropped at the sight of Naruto laughing uproariously as every Villager around him ran around like chickens out of their hutch! The aura of death and decay had disappeared, and Kakashi sighed at what this would mean for him; more paperwork and cleaning up after the Villagers who couldn't hold their bladders...

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