Konoha : Naruto's playground

Iwagakure no Sato was one of the strongest five Shinobi powers of the continent. Their legacy had stretched back in the history of the Shinobi villages as one of the earliest to be formed along with Uzu no Kuni and Suna. Their favouring of rock-based Ninjutsu had led the 1st Tsuchikage to build Iwa entirely out of a mountain. This gave them quite possibly the best defense against attack than any other Village could claim, even Suna with its endless desert.

However, Iwa had been thwarted a few times. The first time was due to the dratted bloodline clans of fire country. After Iwa's defeat, this had led to the formation of Konohagakure no Sato by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara; Iwa had not been able to lay claim to the 'lands they deserved' due to the humiliation they had suffered at the hands of the lawless Bedouins.

And yet they had survived, pushing onwards in their lives. Iwa began to prosper due to the boom in their population growth, their retreat to their corner of the continent producing results that they had not expected before. And yet, with that advantage, came a huge disadvantage; the number of experienced Shinobi became less and less, until eventually; they were far outnumbered by ninja that had no field experience whatsoever. Their forces began to suffer, the quality of Shinobi dropping to far below the standard that was to be expected of one of the hidden Villages, their numbers a small concession to their dilemma.

And then they had been attacked, by not one, but two tailed beasts. The four and five-tailed Bijuu had laid havoc in their country, once again devastating the land they had worked so hard to create. The Bijuu had eventually been sealed, though the method and by whom was a great mystery. Again they had moved on, marching from their tragedies one after the other; their loyalty to their Kage absolute and their hearts hardened with the fame of their namesake.

They had allied with Kumogakure and through these actions; the Third Great Shinobi War had broken out. Due to their silence in the continent, they had not taken part in the Second Great Shinobi War and their numbers had once again risen to rival that of their pre-Bijuu days. The war had been long and overwhelming, and yet they had begun to prevail. Then without any warning, they had been routed in such a manner that would be remembered for all time.

It was a battle for a bridge, the turning point for that war, the name of which was 'Kannabi'. Iwa knew that it was a weak point in their frontline and it must be defended and so a team of valuable Jounin had been despatched to protect it. Imagine the Tsuchikage's surprise when he heard that not only had his Jounin been defeated by a Konoha team of mere children, but also that one quarter of his entire force had been wiped out in 30 seconds by a single golden-haired Shinobi. Needless to say he was furious.

And utterly, irreparably humiliated.

XXXXXXX

The Iwa populace could hardly be blamed for their reaction on this bright day. Somehow, unbelievably, their nemesis had returned to destroy them once and for all. At least that's what it looked like when they spotted a golden-haired, black-clad figure floating on the clouds above their village. It was so inconceivable to them, that it took them almost ten whole minutes to summon any sort of military presence to the scene.

Of course, for Naruto, he was just really confused over his apparent fame.

As he gazed bemusedly down at the massive sprawling town of limitless rock, he couldn't help but wonder why so many people were staring at him with wide eyes and gaping mouths, their fingers pointing and their faces pale. It was almost as if they were seeing a ghost.

For many of them, they were, but Naruto only cared about the largest scale prank he was ever going to pull, the contents of which he had currently tucked under his arm.

'Ah well! If they want to watch, all the more fun for me!' And with that thought he began to prepare his latest stunt.

Steadying his 'Airboard', he cut all Chakra to the directional seals and maintained a constant stream to the propulsion seal in order to remain stationary at his current height. He then pulled out a bright red balloon that had the words "Mega-Balloon! Can hold up to 50 gallons of absolutely anything you want! Perfect for those national parties or simply a birthday you want remembered!" After ripping the glowing advertisement and packaging from his 'equipment' he pulled out a small flask that declared: "Instant Infinity Paint! For the Shinobi out there, one simple Suiton Jutsu and you're ready to go!"

He emptied the contents of the flask into the open end of the red monstrosity. Replacing the flask in his utility pouch, he made the handseals for the Suiryudan and by regulating a tiny amount of Chakra into the technique, only a small dragon was produced from the open bottle of mineral water at his feet. As the water mixed with the 'Instant Infinity Paint', the 'Airboard' suddenly began to fall due to the blond redirecting his Chakra for the technique. Cursing at his lack of thought, the Konoha resident quickly rerouted his Chakra back to his feet and righted himself on the board.

The balloon literally 'ballooned' outwards as if attached to an air pump. It became so large that Naruto began to have a lot of trouble staying upright and as it grew further, he quickly tied his end and dropped it over the large rock spire of a building at the centre of the Village.

As it fell, the red monstrosity continued to expand until it dwarfed almost a quarter of the Village below it. The terrified Villagers looked up in abject horror as the massive shadow loomed over them, the colour oddly reminding them of blood. It was really a shame that the once mighty Village would become a laughing stock to the Shinobi World in the space of one night. The Tsuchikage would hurriedly attempt to block all avenues of the event escaping his borders, but alas, there just happened to be a team of three Konoha-nin on a scouting mission nearby and they would be instrumental in Iwagakure's humiliation by way of Omni-Paint.

And then it hit the tip of the Tsuchikage spire, and for lack of a better word, exploded. The contents of the balloon, a thick greyish-liquid, were thrown violently outwards and splattered all over the Village, even coating the gaping Villagers who were unlucky enough to be outside on this fateful day, in the viscous goo. Almost immediately, Naruto beheld the phenomenon that was 'Infinity Paint'. The grey liquid changed colour to match that of every shade in the rainbow, no two places were the same colour, and as the blond stared open-mouthed at his handiwork a stray thought hit his mind.

'Is that guy's pants pink?!'

And then he began laughing. The ominous, foreboding sound was like a death-gong to the shocked Villagers. They had been attacked by their worst enemy and he had not killed any of them; no, he had painted them. PAINTED THEM! In what seemed like every colour there ever was.

And then their Shinobi finally reacted, and Naruto was laughing too hard to realise that any and every weapon in the village was currently being thrown his way.

And so he fell.

XXXXXXX

Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Shisui and Mitarashi Anko were the three Jounin assigned to one of the most dangerous and audacious missions that Konoha had ever accepted. It was not an assassination, nor was it anything that could be called routine, but what the three Jounin were attempting to accomplish had a very small chance of success.

After the Third Great Shinobi War, Iwa and Kumo had retreated to their respective corners or the Shinobi continent. A ceasefire had been signed but nothing had really progressed from there. Initially, relations with Kumo had been relaxed, both countries willing to talk to the other and trade had resumed. Konoha's communication network began to return to normal in the aftermath and the Raikage was doing nothing to get in the way. This encouraged the Sandaime Hokage of Kumo's post-conflict intentions, and so he began to take a more lax attitude towards them.

But the trust had been broken completely. After the improving relations had led to increased trade and fewer inhibitions between the two countries, the Raikage had decided to offer an alliance to Hi no Kuni and by proxy, Konoha as well. But it had simply been a farce. The Raikage had really sent his best Jounin to abduct the Hyuuga clan head's daughter as she slept, in order for Kumo to beget their own Byakugan bearing ninja. The plot, however, had been foiled by none other than Hyuuga Hiashi himself.

Kumo had insisted that they had nothing to do with it. The Sandaime suspected that the Raikage had had all information pertaining to the mission destroyed when it was revealed that the mission had failed. Kumo had covered their tracks well and Konoha would pay in the form of the life of the Hyuuga head's brother; Hyuuga Hizashi.

Thereafter, relations between the two countries had degenerated once again and the Sandaime had become wary of Konoha's past enemies. Iwa were still buried in their mountains and the Sandaime knew very well their hate of anything that would remind the rock-dwellers of their previous decimation.

So security had become a pressing concern for the Konoha government and the elders on the council were worried of another alliance being formed that could very well lead to the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

Kakashi and his team had been assigned this mission as the best of the best of Konoha's intelligence and infiltration cells. Out of the three, Kakashi, formerly ANBU captain codenamed 'Inu', had the most experience at the forefront of espionage for his country. Uchiha Shisui, the dubbed 'Shinkirou no Shisui' and one of the strongest wielders of the Uchiha bloodline, was an infiltration genius. His skill in Genjutsu was unsurpassed and so he was perfect material for this mission. Lastly, Mitarashi Anko, the student of Konoha's infamous missing-nin, Orochimaru, had been trained exclusively by the wily and cunning ex-Sannin.

Kakashi had nothing to worry about when it came to the abilities of his teammates. He had only just taken off his ANBU mask two weeks prior and he knew personally how meticulously the Sandaime chose teams for A-rank and above missions.

They had infiltrated Iwa without too much trouble, the advantages of Shisui being on their team showing through above all else. All it had taken was one cleverly designed Genjutsu and they were in free-country. But Iwa wasn't anything like Konoha in that, the ninja village was just that; exclusively for ninja. The Village only housed the country's Shinobi force and no civilians were to be found. Because of this, Kakashi had theorised that to cripple the country all anyone would have to do was disrupt the supply lines from the Civilian towns bordering Iwagakure, as without their source of supplies the Shinobi would starve.

Kakashi shook his head, that wasn't the problem at the moment. He had to keep snooping around acting like a Iwa-nin and hopefully pick up some information. Their mission was for 5 days and if they hadn't heard anything, they were to return home after the given period was over.

Kakashi frowned. Iwa wasn't all it cracked up to be. There WERE Civilians living here, either Sarutobi had misread the mission details or Konoha's intelligence forces were getting lax. The Shinobi and Civilian sectors were simply separated from each other, but they were definitely living side-by-side. Kakashi paused mid-step as several people around him began pointing up at the sky and shouting.

"It's the Kiroi Senkou!" Kakashi's head whipped up so fast that he might have got whiplash. He hadn't heard that nickname in a while. It was the name given to his deceased Sensei for the move he had used to win the last Great Shinobi War. Why on Earth would they be saying that? Didn't they know that the Yondaime Hokage had died?!

And then his blood froze.

Floating in the sky, directly above the Tsuchikage spire, was none other than Uzumaki Naruto. Kakashi's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the phenomenon that was Naruto's 'Airboard'. He was flying! How the HELL was he managing that?!

As his mind wandered over the possibilities of such a technique and its benefits, his battle-hardened subconscious kicked into gear. It was a fact that Naruto did indeed look like Namikaze Minato and that would mean that any minute now there would be a massive fight in the area. Naruto was strong for his age, but there was no way he was getting out alive from this situation on his own.

Kakashi raised his hands to his slanted hitai-ate. Things were going to get ugly and fast. His team's mission was practically over yesterday since they had found that the Tsuchikage was most definitely not willing to go to war with Konoha at this point and he had mentioned as much in a meeting Kakashi had managed to bug. Quickly, he initiated the Chakra Beacon in a short two second burst before cancelling the technique. It was a dead giveaway to anyone who knew his Chakra Signature but that wasn't important at this point. He needed to alert Shisui and Anko and then they needed to rescue the Jinchuuriki and get the hell out of there.

Kakashi wasn't disappointed. Within two minutes, just as a Doton: Doryu Dango hit Naruto's 'Airboard' and the blond began to fall, Anko and Shisui appeared at his side in their respective disguises.

"You see the situation. This is a Code Red order. Rescue the target, preferably maintaining our cover and then meet at escape point 2." Kakashi's voice was almost a whisper, but he could tell they understood. Shisui and Anko had recoiled at the sight of the blond Uzumaki and Kakashi was relieved that they recognised the kid for who he was. Just as Naruto was about to hit the ground, all three Shinobi sprang forward and caught the young boy. Kakashi turned to address the crowd of incensed civilians and ninja.

"We will take it from here." It was a short but authoritative statement and although many nodded, a few of the Shinobi had mistrust painted on their features.

"What do you mean you'll take it from here?! We're going to kill that man for what he has done to us!" The gathered crowd began voicing their assent at such intent.

"This is not the Yondaime Hokage if that is what you are thinking. Has all sense left you?! Namikaze died almost a decade ago! How could this be him?! No, we'll arrest this kid and drop him off at interrogation. He has no headband so maybe he's a missing-nin?" Kakashi's eyes narrowed under his Genjutsu. There were obviously some higher ranked ninja in the mob and they were becoming suspicious.

"Who are you to do such things? State your names and your ranks with Shinobi ID numbers!" Kakashi winced. So it would be a fight then.

The Iwa Shinobi didn't even know what hit them. One minute they were looking at 3 Iwa Jounin holding a blond kid captive, the next, up to 7 of them had been incapacitated. It had obviously been a Genjutsu as now they were gazing upon none other than Hatake Kakashi, the Konoha ninja famous in the Shinobi world as 'Konoha's Copy-Cat' and 'Shinkirou no Shisui'. The third member, they couldn't identify, but she was definitely dangerous if she was accompanying the other two.

There had been a short lull as the Genjutsu had dropped, but as soon as the Iwa ninja realised just who they were dealing with, the world exploded into action.

Kakashi leapt in front of his two teammates, his hand crackling with electricity as he prepared his most powerful original technique: the Raikiri.

"Anko, you're the fastest here. Take the kid and meet at the location I told you. Shisui, I need backup." They responded immediately. Up to now, Naruto had remained silent at the events that were occurring around him, but when the Genjutsu had dropped and he had seen Shisui-san, he had gaped in shock.

And now this woman was trying to run away with him?! He hadn't done anything wrong! Well...apart from painting half the village a variety of colours, but that shouldn't make people hate him! And what was this about the Yondaime Hokage?!

Anko took off, leaping into great bounding strides with the grace of a snake, her body twisting and turning to avoid anything that crossed her path. Naruto was only able to see Shisui begin to make some hand seals before the two were out of sight. Naruto gasped in pain as the woman's arms tightened like a vice around his waist as she made a giant leap for the edge of a building leading to the boundary of the Village.

"Kid, you know how to use those swords?" The question was almost lost to the rushing winds of their escape.

"Err, kinda. I've only had a few lessons. A um-friend of mine taught me a bit." Anko nodded sharply.

"Good. You might have to use those skills."

And just like that, the 8 year old and his escort were surrounded by 4 ninja sporting the Iwa hitai-ate. They obviously knew their home ground far better than the Konoha Jounin did, but this was an inevitable encounter. Anko knew that Kakashi had given her the brat because he knew that she had the best chance of getting out quietly.

Dropping Naruto, the Kunoichi fell into her preferred Taijutsu stance. She was well know in Konoha for her use of the Hebiken, a graceful yet deadly form of Taijutsu that meshed well with her choice of Ninjutsu. But she alone, would be of little use in this situation, so she was going to use all the tools she had at her disposal.

"Kid, I know this is short notice but...I wanna live so we're gonna have to fight." Naruto stared blankly at her admission and was startled when Anko flashed past him, slamming her fist into a wooden log that was an obvious result of the Kawarimi no Jutsu.

Rage boiled up within Naruto's very being. These people were mocking him! Why did they fight unnecessarily? To what ends were they forcing him to stain his hands in blood once again?

"And that is all the proof you require. If you resist me, then grow strong, strong enough to fight me. You have tasted but a particle's worth of my strength so know what you are up against. But know this; I will be back, and when I return it is either your death or mine, Uzumaki Naruto."

The words that the criminal Uchiha had spoken resounded in his mind. The proof that he required, the proof that he was a Jinchuuriki and the proof that for the rest of his life, he would have to fight to earn a place in this cruel, cold world.

"...it is either your death or mine, Uzumaki Naruto..."

Like hell he was going to die! There was no way he would allow himself to succumb to the wishes of that weirdo without fighting it with every inch of his life. He wasn't a Shinobi, he wouldn't be used, but he damn well knew how to fight!

Every action thereafter, was like a dream to the young blond. Anko had her hands full dealing with two of their attackers whilst the other two sprang to fight him. He raised his head, his resolve shining in his eyes with such intensity that the two Iwa ninja paused, and that cost one of them his life.

Naruto's hands raced through the seals for the Hibana and in a burst of speed, slammed his index and forefinger into the nerve cluster just above the rock-nin's spine. The figure instantly crumpled into unconsciousness as Naruto sprang backwards towards his second opponent balancing on a water pipe of the Village's drainage system.

It was then that Naruto noticed where he was. It was a dimly lit side-street, filled with rubbish and big, black bins. Obsidian pipes ran from the top of the buildings on either side of him, to drainage gutters situated at the bases of the buildings, where the walls met the ground.

Naruto reeled backwards as Anko was thrown down the street, her body missing Naruto's head by millimetres. Glancing quickly, Naruto spied one of her opponents clutching at his shoulder, blood running down his arm and dripping from his fingertips. The other was nowhere to be seen but Naruto wasn't stupid enough to believe that the guy had been defeated, he'd seen too many people disappear and then been hit by something without being able to see.

His hands snapped up once again as he initiated the Shinju Zanshu. He quickly melted into the ground attempting to pop up behind his second opponent, but Anko's injured enemy gave a shout and when Naruto reappeared, the Iwa-nin was no longer there.

Reaching back, Naruto gripped the hand guard of one of his swords criss-crossing across his back. He quickly slid the silver and blue blade from his sheathe in time to block the Kunai aimed for his head. Spinning quickly, he threw the short sword channelling wind Chakra as he did so. The blade blew down the street slamming into the unfortunate Iwa-nin's injured shoulder, throwing him bodily into the wall, into which the blade sank all the way to the hilt. The man screamed in pain at the injury as he tried in vain to extract the sword from his body. It was by no means a critical injury but at least he wouldn't interfere.

Naruto searched drastically for his opponent. Without warning, a large cloud of brick and dust ballooned outwards from the adjacent building and the bodies of Anko and her first opponent came blasting through the wall. Both impacted with a 'thud' and slumped to the ground. The last Iwa Shinobi appeared at the end of the side-street, anger glowing in his eyes as he bore down on the unfortunate blond.

Naruto knew that there was no way he could win. He had only managed to get the first guy because of attacking at the least expected moment and the ninja had been pre-occupied with something. This was a whole lot different. One-on-one with what appeared to be a Jounin was not something Naruto wanted to do anytime soon, but his rescuer was knocked out and there was no way he was going to abandon her after it was his fault that she had blown her cover.

Forming the Rasengan in his right hand, his hair flapped in the wind created by the technique as he stepped in front of the two unconscious Shinobi. Dully, he noted that the Iwa-nin he had knocked out had been hit by a Kunai, probably thrown by Anko, directly in the forehead. He was dead, without a doubt.

In his brief lapse of concentration, Naruto instantly recognised his mistake. Damn! Every time he looked away, his enemy was in his face!

Naruto's head snapped back as he was slugged in the nose. With an audible 'crack' the cartilage of said protrusion caved in and blood burst from his face. As he flew through the air from the force of the punch, he was idly aware of a very solid projectile slamming into his small body with all the force of a charging pitbull. It was lucky for him that he was falling unconscious as he had been hit by a deadly Doton Jutsu that he didn't know the name of.

He hit the ground and almost immediately fell into blissful darkness.

XXXXXX

Naruto's eyes opened to a strange sight. What looked like two blobs sitting next to a glowing yellowy-red blob? His eyes focused further and he recognised the strange scene for what it was; Shisui and the silver haired man sitting next to a fire. He raised his head slightly, taking in the forest clearing they were obviously camping in, it was dark out and they were surrounded by trees.

"Naruto, you awake there kid?" It was Shisui who had spoken.

Naruto grimaced at the dull pain that throbbed throughout his entire body. Whatever had hit him was definitely not something he ever wanted to experience again!

"Don't try to move just yet. You're still healing and we can't have you injuring yourself any further." Shisui's voice was more serious than Naruto had ever heard it. Just what had happened back there?

"Where's the fighter woman?" Shisui and the silver-haired nin exchanged glances.

"Fighter woman?! You mean Anko?! Haha! That's going to be hilarious when it hits the Jounin lounge, eh Kakashi?" The silver-haired man nodded absently, his focus entirely directed at the Konoha Jinchuuriki. The gaze was unnerving, but Naruto stared back anyway.

"She's fine Naruto. She just got a bit of a concussion."

"A concussion? What's that mean?" Shisui chuckled slightly.

"She banged her head, that's all. By the way, this yours?" Shisui held up one of his short swords. Naruto stared at it trying to remember how he had lost it in the first place. Hadn't he thrown it at that guy?

"If you're wondering, yeah I took it from that Iwa idiot's shoulder. That was one hell of a throw by the way! It took me 2 minutes to pull the damn thing out of the wall!" Naruto shrugged.

"I put some wind Chakra behind it. It's nothing special." Naruto's eyebrows rose as he saw the two exchange identical looks of incredulity.

"You can use Elemental Chakra?" This time the question was asked by the silver haired man Shisui had called 'Kakashi'.

"Errr, yes? I've been able to use it for a while now." Naruto heard a distinct 'incredible!' from the Uchiha as Kakashi studied him intensely.

A brief silence fell over the camp as Naruto wondered why they were so surprised. He'd been learning techniques for so long now, that he could hardly imagine life without his training and scrolls.

"What were you doing in Iwa anyway? Aren't you meant to be in Konoha?" Naruto looked up at Kakashi's question, frowning at the slanted headband that hid the Shinobi's left eye. Why was his eye covered?

"Ah! Um, well I was a bit bored stayin' there so I decided to see what the world was like!" Naruto's hasty explanation didn't seem to go over well with the two though, as they simply gave him blank looks.

"Kid, you were flying in the air, on what looked like a big branch from a Konoha tree. What the hell were you doing really?" Shisui's tone was dull. "And please don't tell me it was another stunt. Your stunts tend to hurt people." Shisui unconsciously rubbed his right cheekbone where he had been hit from Naruto's 'Ninja surfing'.

"Ehehe..."

"For God's sake, you let off the biggest damn paint balloon in the history of the world! You telling me it was for fun?! Don't you know that Konoha was at war with Iwa only a few years ago?!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head lightly.

"Um...yeah?" How was he supposed to know about the war?! It's not like he went to school. Everything he learnt was self-taught or through scrolls, he had no idea who hated Konoha. But even then, how did they know he was from Konoha?

"Why did they attack me though? It's not like I have a Konoha headband." Shisui and Kakashi exchanged worried looks.

"Beats me kid, but apparently you look like someone from our home that they all know." Naruto nodded in confusion. He didn't understand that, he'd never seen anyone who looked like him. The closest anyone got were the Yamanaka's with their blond hair and blue eyes; but their shade was far paler than his. Plus, his complexion was quite a bit darker, there was no way they could have thought him a Yamanaka.

'Ah well, I did everything I needed to, that's the main thing.'

Glancing around, Naruto noticed that Anko was laid out behind him, her head covered in a swathe of bandages. The bump was an angry purple colour, but other than that she looked fine. Turning from the sleeping Kunoichi, he noticed that Kakashi's gaze was still riveted on him.

"What?"

"That was one BIG Paint Balloon!"

"Hey Kakashi, did you see the Tsuchikage hanging out of the Iwa Spire? His hat was bogey green!"

All three erupted in laughter.

ZZZZZZZZZ