Sage

Ch.1

"Get out of my store you damn hoodlum" The sound of a loud thud followed by pained groans and a few choice curse mumbled under-breath were heard through a street in the bustling Konohagakure no Saito. Of course the young blonde boy from whom these muttered annoyances were uttered in irritation went completely ignored by the rest of the world save for one particularly irate shop-owner who stared at the boy with poorly concealed hatred.

"What's the big idea old man!? I gotta get shuriken and kunai so I can train to be a ninja!" The only reply the whiskered child received was a huff of contempt as the burly shopkeeper turned away.

"As if they would ever let a brat like you become a ninja." He was about to slam the door to his shop closed to emphasise that point but thought better of it, quickly turning to stare heatedly at the blue-eyed visage that was the unwitting centre for so much hatred in the village. "And don't ever let me catch you in my store again or there'll be hell to pay!" With that he finally slammed the door closed, the small door sign flipping to 'open' by the breeze in a twist of irony.

"Yeah, just you see!" The young blonde turned to the rest of the people in the street who continued to go about their day as if this event weren't even happening. "You'll all see! I'm gonna be Hokage one day!" With that the whiskered child took off down the street at a surprising speed for such a small and obviously malnourished boy. After he was gone the residents of the busy shopping district turned to watch him go, some of the older women whispering in hushed voices.

"Did you see him today, disgraceful."

"I don't know what Hokage-sama is thinking allowing someone like that to join the Shinobi academy."

"I know, my little Ami-chan would be in the same year as him; I just know he'll try to corrupt her."

"Well I know for sure I'm warning my boy away from him; that little demon won't destroy the next generation as well."

Of course all these conspiratorial whispers were lost on the running child who was too busy staving off tears percolating at the edge of his vision.

"Hey Jiji, I need your help..." Glittering blue eyes blinked in surprise at the empty office, framed by the panoramic backdrop of Konoha in the expansive window that lit the room. "Jiji?" The young blonde looked around in mild confusion. It was rare he wasn't able to find his Grandfather-figure in his office, often pouring over various sheets of paper that confused the whiskered youth when he tried to read them over the man's shoulder.

'He's not here, well I guess he's out doing kick-ass ninja stuff, he is the Hokage after all.' With that simple piece of seven-year old logic sorting out his confusion the boy quickly went to work. Immediately he headed around the back of the large, ornate oak desk which was piled up with copious stacks of various mission reports and budgeting requests, not that the blonde was at all interested in those. Instead he began to rile through the drawers of the desk; uncaring that he was messing up the painstakingly sorted filing system.

Finally with a whine of annoyance the whiskered blonde threw up his hands in defeat before running them through his messy golden locks.

'Why doesn't Jiji have any shuriken or kunai!' Suddenly a mischievous grin that many ANBU had come to take warning of over the years split his lightly-tanned face as he looked over at the large picture of the forth Hokage on the wall. 'Jiji thinks I don't know about his super secret hiding spot' The grin still splitting his whiskered cheeks the blonde quickly made his way over to the framed photo, pulling it to one side in a smooth motion to reveal a large metal safe.

'The old man shouldn't underestimate Naruto Uzumaki!' The small boy pressed his ear to the cold metal, never once noticing the strange arrangement of kanji and symbol that spread out from the point of contact that glowed a welcoming blue before fading back into the safe. He twisted the dial with well-practised hands until the last click echoed through the empty room. With a small cry of success Naruto swung the large metal door open, only to frown with displeasure.