Chapter 1
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Chapter 1


4 Years Old

About a year had passed since Ken had secretly given Naruto food at night. Since then, their bond had only gotten stronger. During the day, they acted like they didn't know each other at all, but at night they would be like real brothers. Ken would always come over to Naruto's room every night with food and toys to play. They'd play well into the night and sometimes even sleep together in Naruto's bed. Though Ken would always leave right before the sun rose so that the caretakers never got suspicious.

Now, because of Naruto, Ken had also become acquainted with the nice old man that always came over. They all called him "Hokage-sama" but Naruto and Ken always called him "Jiji". Ken could tell the old man was suspicious of Ken at first, but over time, both the kids had become like grandchildren to him.

With observation, Ken had also deduced that this was basically a military state. There were soldiers – or "Shinobi" as they called them – jumping from place to place all over the city. Apparently, there were also ranks here. From all the books that Ken read, he had really learned a lot.

Genin was the lowest. This position seemed to mostly be held by kids and preteens.

Chunin was next. The average age of the chunin seemed to be between 15 to 20.

Jonin was the highest. These people were strong. Most of the jonin seemed around 25 but of course, there were exceptions.

Then there was the ANBU. The elite. The "Spec Ops" of this world. These were the only ones who had a different uniform. Grey body armour and a mask that was supposed to represent an animal.

Ken had also read about three legendary shinobi called the Sannin. The book described each one as extremely powerful – a one-man army.

Then, above all, was the Hokage. Well actually, it was the Kage, but there were five superpowers in this world and so the Kage for Konohagakure was called the Hokage. Like that, there was the Kazekage for Sunagakure, Raikage for Kumogakure, Tsuchikage for Iwagakure, and Mizukage for Kirigakure.

The last and most important thing that Ken figured out was their own identity. He had gone through a lot of history books and had researched the Uzumaki clan. Good with seals, long lifespan, fucking massive reserves of chakra. Combine all that with the fact that he and Naruto were born on the same day that the village was attacked, AND some people seemed to whisper "demons" behind their backs easily gave him so many answers. Ken used to work for CSIS. He wasn't just fucking around. His observation skills were on par with the best of the Kage-level shinobi.

Ken and Naruto had something to do with the Nine-Tailed Fox that attacked. His conclusion: Most likely, it was sealed inside them. Of course, it took Ken a few weeks to get his get wrapped around the fundamentals of sealing, but eventually, he got it. Just a few days ago, he had in fact picked up a book about sealing. After all, if it was something related to his little brother, he'd learn it all.

That was what led to their current predicament.

"So, you're telling me that the head caretaker in the orphanage kicked you both out because she thought you were capable of handling yourselves?" asked the Hokage skeptically.

"That's what she said to us, but I think she just hates us both for some reason." Answered Ken frowning as he fidgeted from his place in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Yeah, Jiji! She's a mean lady! She also doesn't give me food sometimes and I have to sleep hungry," he answered with his eyes down, but quickly perked up, "but Ken-nii-san always sneaks some of the food for me and we eat it in my room at night!" He added with a bright smile.

"Oh… is that so, Naruto-kun? Is that true, Ken-kun?" the Hokage asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hai, Jii-san. I usually steal some food from the cabinets and take it to Naruto's room at night."

"And why haven't I heard about this before?" the Hokage asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ken-nii-san told me not to tell anyone," Naruto answered before Ken could speak up.

"Ken?"

"I didn't want you to worry yourself over us, Jiji. You already do so much for us, and by looking at all that paperwork, I can tell you barely have time to even relax. I just didn't want to add to your burden anymore." Ken replied apologetically.

The Hokage's features softened and a small smile surfaced. He got up from his seat and made his way to the blonde and the redhead. He kneeled down to their level and engulfed them both in his warm arms. They stayed like that for a few moments before the Hokage broke the hug.

"Ken, Naruto, I would never see you two as a burden. I see you both as my own grandchildren. If you have any problems at all, I would like that you always come to me first. Now promise me. If anything like this happens ever again, you'll come to me first." The Hokage got a stern look in his eyes.

Ken nodded, "Alright Jiji, we promise," Ken said, while beside him, Naruto nodded fervently.

"Good. Now let's solve this problem of ours," said the Hokage but was cut off by Ken.

"Um… actually Jiji, I have to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can we send Naruto out first, please?" Ken asked.

"Aww, Ken-nii-san! Why do I have to go out?" Naruto asked while pouting. Ken reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair as he simply smiled.

"I'll take you to Ichiraku's tonight if you do," Ken offered. It seemed to have worked as Naruto quickly let out an enthusiastic 'WHOO!' and jumped out of his chair towards the door.

"You better keep your promise Nii-san!" Naruto shouted as he exited the office. Hiruzen and Ken both chuckled at the little blonde's enthusiasm. The mood quickly got serious as the Hokage then turned towards the redhead.

"Now, what was so important that Naruto-kun couldn't listen in?" the Hokage asked curiously.

Ken sighed, "The other day, I saw one of the caretakers put some sort of white powder in Naruto's food." The Hokage immediately tensed up. "I saw that and switched my plate with his so that if anything happened, it'd happen to me, not him. Then, while eating – well I didn't really eat a single bite – but yeah, while 'eating' I 'accidentally' dropped my plate on the floor. Of course, I got scolded harshly, but that's not the point. What happened after was what caught my attention."

Hiruzen's emotions were fluctuating wildly. He had gone from angry to surprised to proud to worried and now he was again curious. "What happened?" he asked in an emotionless voice.

"That day we were eating lunch outdoors. So, when my food spilled on the ground, a stray cat ate a little bit of it and ran off. The next day… the cat was dead." And now again, the Hokage was absolutely livid. "That's not all, Jiji. I'd say, every single caretaker has attempted to take either Naruto's or my life at least once. If I wasn't there, he might just be dead by now." At that moment, the Hokage looked into Ken eyes and saw what no child should have in their eyes. Pain, suffering, neglect, and the simplest emotion of all: sadness. But it wasn't just sadness… it was a sadness that never stopped. Hiruzen had never felt more unfit to be called Hokage.

"Hyou, Tora." Hiruzen called out as two ANBU appeared out of nowhere. His voice took a steely edge. "Hyou, tell Ibiki to clear up his schedule. Tora, I want every single caretaker in that orphanage to be taken to him. Handle them with extreme prejudice."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" they acknowledged in chorus as both shinobi flickered out of the office.

Hiruzen sighed and spoke once again, "Well, let's get you both back to there and we'll fix this up in no time."

Ken spoke up once again. "Four years ago, the Kyuubi attacked the village."

The seemingly random statement caught the Hokage off-guard as his eyes widened for a fraction of a second. It was so quick, Ken felt like he had just imagined it.

"The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, killed it but in the process, he also lost his life."

"And how do you know about this, Ken-kun?"

"History books, Jiji. I've read so much since I first learned to read y'know. So, as I was saying, the Yondiame killed it. But in another book, it said that Bijuu are merely chakra constructs that can't be killed." The Hokage's eyes finally showed resignation. "In another book, it said they can also be sealed into people and be used as weapons… The Kyuubi is sealed inside Naruto, isn't it?"

The Hokage sighed once more. "Yes. Yes, it is. I truly am impressed that you figured it out."

"It's really not that impressive. We've taken baths together and I've seen that huge complicated seal on his stomach."

"Ken, I hope you understand that Naruto isn't a monster." Ken laughed at that, which prompted the Hokage to raise an eyebrow. "Did I say anything funny?"

"Jiji, Naruto is my brother and just another human being. Anyone who calls him a monster won't be found the next day." Ken finished with a genuine smile that sent shivers up and down the Hokage's body.

"Well, I'm glad you understand that. You are officially more mature than seventy percent of this village. But. This is an S-class secret. Which means,"

"That if I reveal it to anyone, I'll be killed. Yes, I know, Jiji. I read it in a book." He added at the end, seeing Hiruzen's confused face.

"Hmm. Okay well. Is that all?" Hiruzen asked. This had been a long day for him. Now he still had to find more staff for the orphanage. Goddammit.

"Jiji, no matter how many times you change the staff, I don't think that way they see us will change. I was hoping that Naruto and I could have our own apartment. It doesn't even have to be big. Just safe. Please?" Ken looked at him with pleading eyes.

The Hokage seemed to be weighing the pros and cons in his head. It would be harder for two kids alone, but it would also be much safer. And seeing how mature Ken was already. There'd be no problem at all. He could give them both a monthly allowance and assign an ANBU guard.

"Very well, Ken-kun. By the end of the week, I'll have an apartment ready for the two of you."

Ken smiled, "Thank you, Jiji."


A week had passed and, true to his word, the Hokage had arranged for a small apartment for Naruto and Ken to live in.

Currently, Ken was leading a blindfolded Naruto by the hand towards their new apartment. He hadn't told anyone about this. No one knew, other than Ken and the Hokage.

"Ne, Nii-san. Where are we going? We've been walking for soooo long!" Naruto whined.

"Just a bit more, Naruto. Trust me, you'll like it."

"If you say so…" Naruto accepted.

In a few minutes, both brothers were standing in front of a small apartment.

"Okay! We're here! Take off your blindfold!" Naruto did as he was told.

"Huh? Where are we, Nii-san?" Naruto asked inquisitively.

"Our new home."

"What?" Naruto went wide-eyed. N-No way… were his thoughts as his brain struggled to process the information.

"Yep! No more angry caretakers. No more bullies. No more dirty showers. No more skipping meals. Aaand, we get to play together anytime we want!" Ken said with a bright smile on his face.

Naruto's lower lip quivered as his eyes started to water. "N-Nii-san…" he said, trying to hold back the dam of tears.

"You know last week how we met up with Jiji, and I told you to go outside while I talked to him? Well, I told him all about how you were being treated there, and he agreed to give us our own place to live.

Naruto looked down and his hair hid his eyes. Ken couldn't see his eyes, but he could tell Naruto was crying. It was quite obvious with the tears rolling down his cheeks and dripping from his chin. His mouth wasn't a smile or a frown. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, so Ken, for a moment actually thought that Naruto wasn't happy.

"You… You don't like it?" Ken asked.

If Ken's training in his past life wasn't so intense, he'd totally have said that Naruto teleported, because that's exactly what it looked like when the blonde ball of sunshine launched himself towards his brother and wrapped his arms around him.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Nii-san! I love you!" Naruto said hugging Ken tighter and tighter while sobbing into the crook of his neck.

For a moment Ken was taken aback by this sudden action but he quickly regained his composure and hugged Naruto back while rubbing his back. "Hehe," Ken chuckled. "Anything for my little brother."

The duo stayed like that for a while before finally breaking apart and moving into their new home. It was small but spacious, had one bedroom, one bathroom, one living room, and a kitchen. The bedroom consisted of two beds, two tables, and two chairs. The kitchen had a refrigerator, a gas stove, two sinks, and an island countertop. The living was pretty simple; one three-seater sofa, one loveseat, and a coffee table. It already had all their stuff moved in and anything else they might need.

The rest of their day was spent remodelling the new living space and going out to buy food for the two of them. Being the responsible one meant that Ken had to be the one to cook and clean. He'd make sure that Naruto focused on his training instead. There was no doubt in his mind that Naruto would become a shinobi. With the Kyuubi in him, he was meant to be a weapon from birth… but that didn't mean Ken would allow anyone to treat him like one. They have to step over his dead body before anyone got their filthy little hands on his little brother.


Hiruzen Sarutobi had a smile on his face as he watched from his crystal ball. He knew, both the Uzumaki's would grow up to be the strongest in the world.


5 Years Old

A generic looking brown-haired, brown-eyed boy sighed as he walked away from the local grocery store with both hands full of bags. When he was an acceptable distance away, he finally dropped the henge to reveal a five-year-old boy with bright red hair and violet eyes.

Ken had learned the henge technique about ten months back when he finally realized that he was being charged almost three times the average price for any and all goods. It looked like the hate was spread throughout the village, and he could do nothing about it. When enough was enough, he ultimately went to the Hokage to complain and asked him to show Ken the henge that he had seen many shinobi use multiple times.

That was also when the Hokage learned that Ken has already accessed his chakra and had learned the henge in merely three tries. Konohagakure had gained one more prodigy.

After that, both boys used every night to learn something. Ken taught Naruto math (it seemed that no matter where math was the same), and how to use chakra. When he had time, Ken read as many books as possible to learn as much as possible about this world. In just a few months, Ken and Naruto had already finished two years' worth of Academy curriculum.

Ken knew: if the villagers were this hostile towards them, there's no saying how hostile the shinobi would be. He expected them to be more understanding since obviously, they would know about seals and everything, but in the back of his mind, there was that little pessimistic voice saying, "better be safe than sorry". That's why he figured, while Naruto would be the bright optimist of the two – always looking for the bright side of things, he'd be the dark pessimist. How bad could it be? After all, being a pessimist meant that you're either always correct, or always pleasantly surprised. And it was also a good balance to have at home.

Home… that was another thing. Ken could now call this place home. There were posters all over the walls – mostly Naruto's. There was a cabinet full of instant ramen – also Naruto's. Blunted practice kunai and shuriken scattered all over the floor – also mostly Naruto's. Wait… now that he thought about it, what the hell was his? Oh… right… Bookshelves upon bookshelves of, well, books. Lots of them. All the way from geography, history, politics, cooking, different types of trades, to tactics, chakra theory, training manuals, to even some recreational books like adventure, romance, and… *ahem* adult romance (which was under his bed – yes, he was only five but he still had the mind of a… fuck… let's call it the mind of a young adult).

Finally, there was the Hokage. Naruto had made it his life goal to become the Hokage. Sarutobi-Jiji had been the loving family member they never had, but Ken just couldn't shake off the feeling that he knew something. Multiple times when Naruto and Ken had asked questions about their heritage, the Hokage had denied having any knowledge, but Ken had a good 60 years of experience dealing with terrorists, criminals, and other enemies of the state. He could read a person just from one look, and the Hokage's behaviour was basically screaming 'your parentage is very important, and I know all about it but I'm not going to tell you'. In the end, he just gave and thought, if Jiji feels that it's best we don't know about it, then who are we to argue?

And Ken and Naruto went on with their normal lives… well, as normal as possible for a jinchuuriki and a reincarnated soldier.

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