ANBU Naruto

Part 1

This begins during the Mizuki incident.

"Enter." The third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, answered the knock on his office door. In walked a tall, dark figure. He was clad in black clothing. His pants ANBU style and a tight, black shirt. He also carries several pouches like any other ninja. On his back is a tanto. Also, a Dragon mask adorns his face. "How may I help you? I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm busy trying to locate the Forbidden Scroll. " questioned the figure. "Yes, that's why I'm here." at this the old Kage raised his gray brow. Taking this as a sign, the figure continued. "It seems to have been taken by one Naruto Uzumaki." Sarutobi began rubbing his temples in exasperation. "Of course it was him." He then pulled out his crystal ball and zeroed in on Naruto.

"You're the Kyubi who killed Iruka's parents!" sneered Mizuki. That stopped Naruto right in his tracks. "Don't listen to him Naruto!" Iruka tried to comfort. "Why do you care for that demon? He killed your parents!" the white haired man spat. "You're right, the demon did kill my parents," Iruka replied. 'I guess that's why everybody hates me...' thought Naruto. "But Naruto is not the demon. He is the vessel, the container. I protect him because he is Naruto, my precious student, not the Kyubi, you ignorant fool." Iruka amended. 'He believes in me! He's protecting me, I better return the favour!,' Naruto then leapt from the trees and put his hands in the cross symbol causing hundreds of Narutos to poof out of nowhere, "Charge!" the army of Narutos roared. One second Mizuki is cocky and sneering, the next, he's bleeding out on the forest floor. Afterwards, Naruto turned to Iruka and approached. "Are you okay sensei?" he asked sheepishly. "Of course Naruto. Come here, and close your eyes." Iruka replied.

"I want him in my ranks." the dragon masked figure stated. Hiruzen's head shot up immediately. "Don't look at me like that. He'll still be in a genin team, just ANBU as well. He needs people who will teach him unconditionally, something I'm sure won't happen under Dog. He has too much potential to ignore and it would go wasted in the regular activities. He just needs guidance." Dragon finished his proposal. "You won't be backing down will you? Fine. But you must  explain what being in ANBU means. And we cannot allow the council to know of this." the old Sarutobi relented. "Very well. I shall tell him after the debrief."

A knock was then heard on the door. "Come in." the Hokage granted. In walk Naruto Uzumaki in all of his kill-me orange glory, carrying the Scroll of Seals in a protective hold. "Hey Old Man. I-I'm sorry I stole your scroll. I was so scared of not passing that I didn't think reasonably and blindly trusted Mizuki-teme. I hope you can forgive me!" Naruto bowed with his eyes squinted shut in fear of eyes that could be filled with hate. To say the old Kage was surprised by his rationale would be an understatement. At Dragon's cough, the Kage snapped out of his stupor. "Naruto, you have committed a grave crime. If I didn't know you were manipulated, I would have had no choice but to arrest and then execute or banish you." The Kage reprimanded. Naruto hung his head low. "But," at that, Naruto looked up. "You stopped a traitor once you realized something was wrong. Not only this, but you even protected a fellow Leaf shinobi. For all of these reasons, I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandemine Hokage of The Village Hidden in The Leaves, promote Naruto Uzumaki to rank genin." Naruto's eyes practically flew out of their sockets and his jaw unhinged to the floor.

 Then, he stood at attention, with his left hand over his chest, and spoke with all of the confidence he could muster, "Hai Hokage-sama!" and sat back down. Hiruzen smile proudly at Naruto. "Alright Naruto, this here is Dragon, the ANBU commander. He would like to speak with you." He continued. Naruto looked over at the looming shadow undeterred with an eyebrow raised. "Yes, well, my name is Dragon, as Hokage-sama has already stated. I wish to make you an offer. At the Academy, you were hindered in your growth as a ninja by biased teachers. They refused to help you with even the most basic of questions. They taught wrong katas and showed you how to do many things wrong. All in all, they did all they could to hinder you." He began. Naruto nodded, having already gotten over this fact. "What I wish to do is enroll you into the ANBU Black Ops, where you would receive unbiased training and grow as a shinobi to become worthy of the Hokage position that you so want. What you must understand first is that, yes, we will help you grow, but you can't be loud and brash while in uniform. It could get you killed. Also, should you choose to join, you will maintain your genin status on your team to hide your identity from the public. They won't be able to know of your deeds. Ninja are meant to help the village from the shadows after all." The tall shadow finished. He then waited as Naruto, for the first time for anything other than pranks, was mulling this over in his head. 'That sounds all fine and good, but why would they want me? And this will also be extremely taxing. I'll just ask Dragon.' He thought. He then looked up and spoke, "That sounds all fine and good, but why me? I mean, I know I'm great sometimes, but why do I deserve all of this?" he asked the man. Dragon started at this. "First off, you stole a legendary scroll from one of the most secure places in Konoha and were only discovered thanks to the traitor. Secondly, you have a very tactical mind. Setting up complicated but overall well-working traps, and then even making jonin and chunin fall for them is genius. You managed to outrun many of my rookie ANBU teams and get them to fall for your traps. Do you still believe yourself unworthy?" the man asked. Naruto's mouth hung agape. He'd never been praised so directly before, let alone for his pranks. He just didn't believe anybody would see him so clearly. "I suppose not... What do you think about all of this Old Man?" Naruto asked. "It's up to you Naruto. But I do agree with all of the points he's made. This could be a good option for you." Answered the old Kage. After a few more minutes of contemplation, he looked at the ANBU commander right in the eye holes and responded, "I accept."