Chương 2: Sage of Six Paths

Note: If you don't care about Naruto's childhood, and want straight to go when he becomes A Genin. Then Skip to Chapter 25 (Genin of Konoha)

"Any man who says 'I am the King' is not True King" - Tywin Lannister

The sun blazed bright gold through the open windows of the Hokage's office. Summer warmth threaded its way even into the deep ravines of Sarutobi's wrinkled hands, easing the aches of worn joints and the onset of arthritis. Though he was faced with a mountain of paperwork three hours high, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure spared a moment for the joy of a summer afternoon. He breathed in the scent of heated earth and leaves, a faint tinge of wood smoke, a whiff of compost. Even the sounds of his village floated upon the gentle breeze: a laugh here, the clatter of a cart there. A light rap on his office door. "Come in," he called out, straightening the official hat where it lay, abandoned, on his desk.

A tall man slid into the room, moving as if neither gravity's decree nor the limitations of joints and bones applied to him. The handle of a sword protruded from behind one shoulder.

"Hokage-sama is Naruto", the ANBU spoke, and the third flinched before immediately leaving through the window.

Earlier

The streets of Konoha were crowded this morning as people returned from work and families went out for dinner. The murmurings of the crowd and its footfalls were loud as they were carried over the rooftops.

In a small ally, a little nook of isolation, sat a young boy of five or six staring out at the crowd with a pair of sad-looking blue eyes. He had a home of sorts. A small apartment where he lived alone.

But he didn't like it much there. Sitting on his bed alone and in silence was unbearable for him. For some reason, he preferred to sit as he was now. He was watching and listening to the crowd of people from a distance.

Sometimes he would walk in the crowd pretending he was one of them. He would have switched places with any of them if he could. If he walked next to someone for a bit, he could almost imagine he wasn't alone. But the look in the eyes of the crowd when he was out in the open was just as bad as being alone in its own way.

Those eyes made him feel cold, and the warmth people had just shown on their faces drained away when they noticed his presence. It felt as though he had done something wrong, but he could never guess as to what it was.

Even now, as he sat watching, a few people passing by would notice him, and he could instantly feel the chilling effect of their impersonal eyes.

He ducked his head into his arms to avoid them. It was his only defence.

"What are you doing in there all by yourself?"

The boy looked up quickly, surprised by the kindness in the man's voice. It was an older man with greying hair at the temples who had spoken. His face held a pleasant smile. The kind of which the boy had often seen but never actually received.

Words escaped the blond child in this unfamiliar situation. He merely just looked on as the man took a few steps into the ally so he could get a better look at the child in the dim light.

"Are you alone? What's your..." the man stopped in mid-step, recognising the boy.

The smile vanished from his face, and his jaw took a hard line as he struggled internally.

The boy felt the chill crawl into his heart as he saw the kindness and warmth dissipate before him. Again he wondered why.

The man took a step back, his eyes clouding, "It's you... I hope you feel every pain you brought to this village..."

He could only blink and watch as the scenario repeated itself. It was not completely uncommon for people to act like this towards him.

The man was back at the ally entrance now, "My daughter," the man shook his head at the floor, "If only you had never come, she would still be..."

He was unable to finish the sentence as he covered his mouth and left. A few in the passing crowd noticed and watched the boy for a time before they continued to wherever they were going.

The small blond boy just sat there unmoving even after the man had left. His body and mind were felt numb from the cold he felt in his heart. He would cry, but he couldn't. Something in the way people treated him made him feel as if it were his fault. That they should be the ones crying while he had no right.

People ignored him, everyone ignored him, they didn't harm him physically, but they always gave him hateful looks; Naruto heard the whispers around him, calling him a monster, some called him 'Demon' but the little blond never understood Why? Despite no physical harm, the glares and the words and the loneliness he felt every day was worse than any harm he could receive.

He was kicked from the orphanage when he reached four years old and forced to live in the streets until an ANBU with a dog mask found him. The following day, The Hokage gave him a place to live, a roof above his head to live... Alone.

The Hokage was kind, but whenever he asked him.

Who were my parents?

He would answer him that they gave their lives for the village, but nothing else, just a vague answer with no real meaning behind it.

Other times he would try to change the subject, but Naruto noticed all that.

He could feel that the Hokage lied to him, but he was the Hokage and not him after all. Compared to him, he was just a child with no people to look after him, with no power to protect himself.

Naruto was only a little kid with no one around, no one to call tou-chan, no one to call kaa-chan, no one to call Family. No one to love him.

The word itself felt strange to Naruto; he knew what it meant, but at the same time, he didn't, he had tried a few times to talk to children of his age, but their parents would always pull them away, telling them that Naruto was nothing but trouble.

Naruto had wanted to read books to pass the time, but the orphanage made sure to never allow his books until three months ago. Naruto didn't even know how to read or write; Learning how to read and write felt like the best day for Naruto.

Hours passed, and he continued to sit there waiting for the sadness to go away so he could return to his empty home. The streets were empty at this late hour, and the city had quieted. It was in this deep silence that he thought he heard something.

It was a faint sound. But it seemed to grow louder in his ears as he focused on it. It was rhythmic...

Drip Drip Drip

He closed his eyes to focus harder... the sound grew louder still.

It started to sound like it was right next to him when he opened his eyes and found himself somewhere unfamiliar.

It was an enormous and very dark hall. The floor was only slightly flooded, but the water came up above his knees since he was so small.

He pressed his lips together, feeling afraid. Only slightly, though.

He began to walk, his curiosity growing as he did so. In truth, he did not want to leave this place. He did not want to go back to the ally or back home. While he was afraid, he also had an odd feeling about this place. Or maybe it was the lack of emotion. In any case, he recognised that he was not alone here.

He walked till he came to an enormous gate that was locked tight. The type of which he thought was supposed to keep him out. Until he heard a raspy breathe from within the darkness.

Then it seemed more likely it was to keep something from getting out. The blonde peered into the darkness behind bars looking for the source of the breathing.

Before Naruto could get closer to see who or what was behind the gate, he suddenly felt a ... gaze behind him. But he didn't feel malice coming from this one, No this one felt calm, even calmer than the gaze of the Hokage. Felt like the feeling he got around in nature, a sense of peace and belonging.

Slowly turning around, almost afraid that whoever looked at him with kindness would disappear, and Naruto would understand that it was just his imagination.

Fully turned, he saw strange purple eyes looking at him directly in the eyes; Naruto didn't know why! But he felt he had seen the older man before.

The man looked old, but the most surprising thing... he was floating above the floor, his legs in a cross position, and below him were six strange dark balls. From the naked eye, the balls looked usual, just dark colour, but Naruto could feel something strange, a feeling...

Naruto's focus turned to the older man again, and he had a long pointy beard and two ... fangs on his forehead. Slightly pale skin, his hair spiky and brown, and a strange small red circle on his forehead had smaller dark circles.

Wearing a long white kimono that covered his entire body, across his chest were six painted tomoe. Despite being old, Naruto could feel the insane strength in him. His chakra was enormous; compared to Hokage, he felt like a dragon compared to an ant.

Naruto stayed silent, not knowing what to say; he still wasn't sure where he was.

"Is good to see you ... Ashura and Indra", the man called Naruto with melancholy on his tone, taking Naruto by surprise. Talking to him as if he knew him, but Naruto was sure that he had never seen the man before.

Indra? Ashura?! Who are they? And why is he calling me like that??

Naruto asked himself, and for a moment, he thought the older man was mistaken, but the strange cold feeling he usually got when someone lied to him wasn't there this time.

Naruto opened his mouth to respond but found no words leaving his mouth, closing it. He took the courage needed and asked.

"Who... who are you? And why are you calling me Indra and Ashura?" Naruto asked respectfully and not meeting the eyes of the older man.

Despite feeling calm and his gaze was kind towards him, Naruto had understood the hard way not to look people you don't know in the eye, some people in shops had started throwing things at him this one time, another time, he had wanted to look at a mask, but the shopper had pushed him roughly to the ground, his back had ache the whole day but the worst part, the shopper had thrown the mask to his head with enough force that his forehead had started bleeding.

Naruto had looked around the crowd of people that had gathered to see if anyone wanted to help him, or maybe looking at the shopper with disapproval and anger...

But instead, the crowd had looked at Naruto with anger, earning approval looks from them, a crowd had gathered around him, and for a moment, Naruto was afraid they would start beating him but instead after a minute, the crowd had split up, some glaring daggers at him, piercing his little heart like knives. Naruto had cried himself to sleep that night, talking to himself, asking himself why no one was with him.

Escaping his thoughts, the older man chuckled and smiled at Naruto that the blond gladly returned. He smiled and spoke with a tone almost like an old friend.

"My name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki. I'm what people know as the Sage of The Six Paths," he introduced himself, still smiling warmly at the little kid in front of him. Hagoromo glanced at the moon and sun symbol on his palms. He had no doubts who the kid was, and he could swear he saw his sons standing behind Naruto, like guards.

Ashura with his usual happy face but almost looking wary.

While Indra had a cold hard look on his eyes, his Mangekyo Sharingan shining like a dark and red star, his Mangekyo looking like the symbol of Uzumaki clan, behind his back was tied the War Fan, Gunbai. His face was as emotionless as the day he fought against Ashura.

Naruto realised where the older man was looking, moving his palms behind his back, almost afraid. He knew about the strange symbols on his palms, even asked the Hokage what they meant, and to Naruto's surprise. The Hokage actually didn't know the answer.

Naruto, of course, had tried to wash it away; he remembered one time, he wanted to wash it away for almost an hour straight without stopping, thinking they were the reason that people hated him after this one woman had called him a freak and that the symbol was there to show it, everyone, that he's a monster in human form.

Hiding his hands away, he turned to look at the older man again with a confused look.

"Sage of Six Paths?" Naruto asked with a tiny voice, almost afraid to ask, his eyes still focusing on the floor.

Hagoromo frowned, his displeasure visible; he didn't really understand why the kage would let the village treat Naruto like this; it is almost like he wants Naruto to betray the village. The Jinchuuriki is supposed to be the most secret weapon of the village. Literally, everyone in the village knows his identity when it is supposed to be top secret so that the information wouldn't come out and no enemy shinobi would try to assassinate him and therefore getting rid of the most powerful asset of the village.

Not only that, but the Bijuu would be revived in the place he died, and without the fourth Hokage this time, and without an Uzumaki to hold the insane strength of Kurama, the village would be destroyed.

Knowing the kid didn't know who he was, Hagoromo smiled again, trying to ease the tension the kid was feeling.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Naruto, as for who I am. People around the world know me as The Father of all Shinobi. I walked this land almost two millennia ago."

Naruto gasped at the information and immediately bowed his head respectfully. But decided to say nothing since he didn't know it would be appropriate to talk without being asked.

"As I said, you don't need to be afraid. And we don't do that here. I'm sure you have questions, so feel free to ask away," Hagoromo spoke with a kind tone.

Naruto said nothing but could feel that the old man truly meant it, so he took a step forward, his hands slowly moving in front and not hiding behind his back anymore. Slightly relaxing, he decided to ask a question.

"Why are you here? And how are you ... alive?" Naruto asked but almost sure that the man in front of him couldn't be alive, at least not in the way humans are usually alive.

Hagoromo chuckled at him. "I'm not really alive, and I won't be here for long. I'm here because of you," Hagoromo spoke and pointed towards his palms.

Naruto, understanding, looked downwards at his palms almost in hesitation.

"You know why I have the weird symbols?" Naruto asked, looking back at the older man again.

"The moon and the sun shows that you're the reincarnation of my sons. Ashura Otsutsuki and Indra Otsutsuki" Hagoromo answered and saw the gears working on Naruto's head.

After a second, Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Reincarnated?! Why?" Naruto asked, but at the same time, he couldn't really believe it, he knew A Shinobi could do many things, but reincarnation is something he had never heard of; again, he didn't know that much since his sources of books and materials to read and earn knowledge were very limited. The old Hokage gave him enough to eat and drink and buy a few things, but sadly every store sold him at three times the price. Therefore leaves him almost no money to spend on books, much to his annoyance.

Naruto had wanted for some time to ask the older man to give him more money probably but figured he didn't have more, but at the same time, Naruto wondered if his parents had left him anything?... If they were shinobi, just as Hokage stated, then the chances that they must have left something to him were high.

"My son Ashura and Indra were brothers but at the same time, Enemies. My son Ashura believed that people working together is where the true strength comes from, while Indra believed that only your own strength mattered. After I announced that Ashura would be my heir, my other son Indra betrayed us and started a war that never ended; my son Indra was reincarnated again in Madara Uchiha and my son Ashura was reincarnated in Hashirama Senju, they fought each other, continuing the war" he stopped with pain in his eyes and looked directly at Naruto's eyes.

"Until you were born", he finished with a hint of relief and pride in his tone. Naruto understood what he meant but at the same time wondered why would that happen; he knew who Senju Hashirama was; the First Hokage was still known as the God of Shinobi. He had never heard of Uchiha Madara, but he must have been strong from what Hagoromo told him.

But this confused Naruto; he wasn't of the Uchiha clan, hell Naruto was sure that he didn't belong to any clan as far as he knew. He had the name Uzumaki, but no clan in Konoha had that name, and no one said anything about an actual Uzumaki Clan.

And he was dead sure that he didn't belong to Senju Clan, so why would they be reincarnated in him.

As if he could read his mind, Hagoromo raised his hand and spoke. "The reason why is because you are a child of Uzumaki, Senju and Uchiha Clan. Just like me," Hagoromo stated with a smile.

Naruto was shocked, and his eyes widened; he instinctively took a half-step back from Hagoromo.

"What... what... that's impossible! If That's true, why hasn't the Uchiha clan raised me, and I have never heard of Uzumaki Clan" Naruto stated with both happiness and anger in his tone. His teeth clenched, his eyes narrowed, and his knuckles turned white as milk.

If what the older man said was true, then why didn't he have a family? His parents might be dead, but what about the others, did the others of his clan not care for him to raise him or ... Did they see me as a Monster?

Naruto asked himself in the end, with a tear developing on his right eye, did they abandon him? Did No one Really Love him? Did they call him demon behind his back like all the others?

"I don't know why Naruto..." he was interrupted by a third voice in the big dark hall.

"Perhaps I might answer that."

Naruto looked around to see who talked when he saw a pair of giant red eyes looking at them from behind bars. The blonde didn't know why, but he didn't feel scared or threatened by the creature behind bars.

He felt relaxed, and a feeling he usually got whenever he ate ramen to Ichiraku.

Hagoromo chuckled and turned to look at Kurama with kindness.

"It's been a long time... Kurama."