The Protagonist System

311 Knowledge Is Power

With my failure to enter the ninja academy, which Yui, Akiko, and Tsuru were quite happy about, my life quickly settled back down into a normal one. Well, as normal as one could be as a secret ninja. I easily explained the powers I've revealed by quoting them from Danzo's files and from the forbidden scrolls that Hiruzen had hidden at the Hokage Residence.

However, the abilities I couldn't fake, since I didn't use the local version of chakra that everyone around could detect, were the supposed staples that anyone would learn if they had the chakra for it. The first one I couldn't learn? The Shadow Clone technique. It was only a B-Rank jutsu, since it would only produce a single clone and would split your chakra reserves in half.

On the forbidden scrolls was the banned Multi-Shadow Clone technique. This upgraded one produced as many clones as possible while you pumped as much chakra as you could into the technique and it also split your chakra reserves evenly among them all.

That was one of the reasons that Naruto could spam it in the canon story, because he had tons of natural chakra and no control, which the technique handled automatically for him. The problem with it was how chakra intensive it was and a normal person could die when they exhausted their chakra, which was a combination of their spiritual and physical power. With nothing left, your body would expire.

Another one I didn't want to learn, was Edo Tensei, or the technique to bring the dead back to life. You needed a live sacrifice to kill and reform into the person you were trying to bring back. The reformed people were pretty much zombies with infinite chakra generation and if you performed the forbidden technique properly, you could summon the original soul back from the Pure World, the shinobi's version of heaven, and make them into obedient slaves that you fully controlled.

Yeah, that was not something I wanted to be responsible for. I know, I know, there were lots of criminals that I could sacrifice, except I would be bringing people back from their eternal reward to give them a half-life as a permanent slave. They could break free if they were powerful enough, which would never happen if I was the one to perform the ritual.

I did learn how to recreate the Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique, which was definitely going to come in handy. I also found the ritual Minato had used to make a deal with the Shinigami using the Reaper Death Seal. Yeah, it was as nasty as I thought it would be, and thinking back, it wasn't a surprise that it cost him his soul to use it.

*

It was two weeks after my public failing of the academy entrance exam that Hiruzen showed up at the orphanage to inform me that I was old enough to live on my own. I would be provided an apartment and a monthly stipend to pay for rent and for groceries and things, even though he knew no one had taught me about things like that.

He pulled off the grandfather vibe well as he brought me to Ichiraku's Ramen and handed over the first payment and the address for my apartment. Instead of eating like he expected me to, I opened the package and read over the address.

“Hokage, this address is in the slums near the Red District.” I said and both Teuchi and his daughter Ayame gasped.

Hiruzen sighed and looked sad, proving he was a great actor. “It was the only place that would rent to you.”

I let him stew for a moment before I spoke. “Why do I have to rent, anyway? Where's my mother's house?” I asked and Hiruzen looked surprised I knew about that. “If I'm old enough to take care of myself like an adult, then where are all my mother's things? Where is her money? What about her documents about living here?”

Hiruzen's mind was flying through dozens of excuses before he settled for one and he hid his smugness at how it was the truth and also hid the fact it was not the house Kushina shared with Minato. “The house she owned was destroyed when the beast attacked the village.”

I nodded, accepting it to make him relax. “Then where's my father's house?”

Hiruzen's mind skidded to a stop and his eyes went wide before he could stop them.

“Where's the money he earned? His family's land? My mother's land? Where are the deeds to the properties?” I asked and his mouth dropped open. “If there is no house at either place, I can have one built with my inheritance and sell the other one.”

Hiruzen might have been a smart man; but, he was not prepared for such pointed questions from a six year old. He had thought he could deflect and shuffle me off to my new place before he would slip away, and here he was being grilled by me and my very reasonable questions.

“Where are the things my parents had when they were alive?” I prodded. “You can't sit there and tell me that they left me nothing! I was their only child and they died suddenly!”

Hiruzen took a deep breath and let it out. “Now is not the time to get into that.” He said in a placating tone. “You need to meet with your new landlord and listen to the rules he has set in place for you to live there.”

I stood up and looked into the old man's eyes. “My dead parents would be ashamed of you.”

Hiruzen looked shocked and there were several gasps from the civilians around that were pretending to not listen to our conversation.

“You blocked everyone from adopting me when I was a baby and now you are blocking me from my rightful inheritance.” I said and read his thoughts as he went over it. The stipend I was being given wasn't from him or the village. It was from the account my parents had. I looked into the envelope at the money and looked back at his face. “This isn't from the village coffers like you claimed, is it? It's from the money my parents left me.”

Hiruzen didn't quite hide his embarrassment at being called out about it.

“It's true?” Ayame asked, shocked. “How could you lie like that and rob a child?”

“That's enough.” A stern voice said as an ANBU agent appeared. He wore a Kitsune mask, with fox ears and a red triangle on the forehead. “No civilian is allowed to question the Hokage.”

I turned to look at him and knew this was Itachi Uchiha. It was funny, because he was wearing a fox mask and that usually meant he was the strongest of the ANBU, just like the Nine-Tailed Fox beast was the strongest of the tailed beasts.

“Do you say the same thing to the civilian council or his advisers?” I asked and the young man didn't say anything. “Why does he keep interfering in my life? Why does he think he has the right to dictate where I live? What I can do with my life? Why does he keeps idiots like you as my guards at the orphanage and watches my every move?!?”

A thick pressure filled the area and Itachi raised his hand to strike me. Suddenly, a long wooden spoon, that was used to stir big pots of broth, appeared between us and whacked Itachi's knuckles hard. He hissed and the pressure disappeared as he pulled his hand back to rub it with his other hand.

“How dare you try to hit an innocent child!” Ayame growled and pointed the spoon at his mask. “Is it now a crime to ask important questions?” She asked and then pointed her spoon at Hiruzen. “Is that the example you want to set for treating civilians, Lord Hokage? We should shut up and follow your orders?”

Hiruzen sighed and clearly regretted choosing such a public setting to deal with me. “No, this is not how this was supposed to go.”

“Then tell the boy what he wants to know.” Teuchi said and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder to pull her threatening spoon away from the Hokage's face. “Why are you making him pay his own money for rent if he has land? It's not a difficult question to answer.”

“He doesn't want to admit that he can't take the money to invest it in the village, so he wants me to spend it myself.” I said and Ayame gasped. “It's a valid tactic to strip me of my wealth before I'm of legal age to claim it for myself.”

“Which would have been 12 when you graduated the academy.” Ayame said in undersanding. “Except you failed to enter because you don't have any chakra.”

“That's right. I won't be buying expensive books, equipment, or clothing as a student for the next six years. I also won't be renting an expensive apartment, because we all know the landlord will overcharge me for causing him so much trouble.” I said and Hiruzen didn't try to hide his disappointment.

“Why would he do that?” Ayame asked.

“Because once I'm living on my own and well away from a lot of innocent children, all the people that have been hunting for me every year for my birthday, since I'm the focus of their anger and hate, they will finally be able to get to me without interference.” I told her.

“No!” Ayame gasped.

“I've only managed to survive so far because...” I stopped talking and shook my head. “If I say what I do...” I glanced at the Fox ANBU. “...can you guess what won't work this year?”

Neither the ANBU nor Hiruzen commented on that, because they knew it was true.

“Is that true, Lord Hokage?” Teuchi asked. “You want to control where he lives to keep everyone else safe from the criminals you know are after him?”

“Yes.” Hiruzen said. “If he lives in the slums, then the damage will be minimized and the rest of the village will be safe from any riots and fights.”

“And his family lands?” Ayame asked.

Hiruzen sighed. “They were confiscated and sold off.”

“Where is that money?” I asked, just to see if he would admit it. Just for fun, I cast the truth spell Grayfia Lucifuge taught me all those years ago. “And where is my inheritance?”

“It's gone. It's all gone.” Hiruzen said, defeated. “The village needed all the money it could get to rebuild after the Kyuubi's attack and it would be years until Naruto was old enough to claim it. There was supposed to be plenty of time to put it all back...”

“...except there was never a time since then that the village hasn't struggled.” I added.

“If we had gained peace with the Land of Lightning and the Raikage last year, the economy would have prospered and we would have been flush with cash as tourism picked up between the two lands and the surrounding villages.” Hiruzen said. “Peace promotes trade, trade promotes investments, and people spend more.”

“What about their things?” I asked. “Where are the armor pieces, the weapons, clothes, books, or anything else?”

Hiruzen shook his head and wouldn't answer.

“You really did rob him of his inheritance.” Ayame said, her voice soft.

“Why? What did you gain from it? A few more Ryo? Another mission paid for?” Teuchi asked and took the half-eaten bowl of ramen from in front of the Hokage and the ice cold one in front of me. “I don't believe my business needs your patronage any longer, Mister Sarutobi.”

“You dare insult him by not using his title!” The Fox ANBU spat and lunged forward, only to trip on nothing. He flipped end over end, whacked his face on the edge of the counter, and the mask protecting his identity went flying as he fell to the ground. He groaned and sat up as a bunch of people gasped over who he was.

“ITACHI?!?” Ayame yelled and then looked scandalized at her old academy classmate that had graduated years before she had flunked out. “You... you... wait until I tell your mother about this!”

Itachi looked scared before he covered his face with his hands and used the body flicker technique to disappear in a swirl of leaves. I wasn't sure what happened to ANBU agents when their secret identity was revealed and I didn't care. I bent down and picked up the abandoned mask and handed it to Ayame for her to use as proof.

“Thank you, Naruto.” Ayame said and leaned over the counter to give me a kiss on the cheek. “You can have one free bowl of ramen every time you visit.”

“Really?” I asked and she nodded. “Okay, excuse me.”

Teuchi, Hiruzen, Ayame, and the growing crowd watched as I walked away, around a corner briefly, and walked back out from the alley and back over to the stand.

I sat down on the same seat I had been on. “One free bowl of miso ramen, please.”

Ayame looked surprised and then blushed at how easily I could abuse her offer. Her father barked a laugh and clapped me on the shoulder for pointing that out.

“Make that one visit each day, all right?” Teuchi said and started making me one.

“Yes, sir.” I said and winked at Ayame. “I won't abuse it, I promise.”

Ayame lost the blush and nodded. She helped her father and tossed in some extra pork when it was almost done. She brought it over to me and winked back.

“Cheers.” I said and started eating it.

Hiruzen looked a little lost as we ignored him. His eyes dropped to the open package beside me and he opened his mouth, probably to tell me we needed to go meet my landlord. I silenced him and he coughed, rubbed his throat, and he tried to speak again. He stood up and tried to reach for me, only to feel a pain in his side that his hand went to instead.

He stood there for a moment and realized that everyone except Naruto was staring at him with a glare. With a sigh, he turned and walked a short way away and made several hand signals. When nothing happened, as in an ANBU appearing to guide me to my apartment, he frowned and walked on.

I had used telepathy and blocked everyone from seeing his hands move, so he would have to wait for the silence spell to end when he entered the Hokage Tower before he could order anyone to retrieve me. I would be safe in my underground base long before then.

“Thank you.” I said when I was done eating. I took out the money Hiruzen gave me for rent. “Can I get twenty orders to go?”

Teuchi laughed and Ayame grinned at me as I paid her for them and gave them a nice tip. Ten minutes later, I asked Ayame for a loan of a cart to bring the meals to the orphanage. She did one better and came with me after adding a pile of bread rolls and extra packs of meat.

We chatted on the way about what I was going to do and I said I would figure it out. If the slum apartment was as big of a dump as I knew it was going to be, there were plenty of other places around for me to stay in.

“I wish I could offer our place, only it's barely enough for dad and I as it is.” Ayame said, sadly.

“Oh! That's what I can do.” I said and she gave me a searching look. “Construction. I've been studying and can easily add in some extra space for you if you want it, and it won't change the outside very much. Maybe an extra window or removing one to make the rooms bigger by taking a wall down or something.”

Ayame looked down at my feet and back to my face. “You're only six.”

I laughed at that. “I'm old enough to live on my own now. I can do whatever I want.”

Ayame smiled and nodded. “All right, I'll tell dad we'll be your first customer.”

I gave her a quick hug and we delivered the fresh meals to the orphanage, which made the workers and the kids there very happy. Yui gave me several kisses on the cheek and Ayame teased me about liking older women, which I responded to by saying I would have asked her out for sticking up for me against the Hokage if I didn't know she would say no.

It made her blush and everyone laughed, just like I planned. What I didn't plan on was Yui looking sad and disappointed, so I took her hand and led her back to my old room. I knew others were listening, so I had to whisper.

“I didn't ask you out because I knew you would say yes.” I whispered and her face went to a deep red. “I'm glared at and hated too much, Yui. I don't want you to suffer that, too.”

“I know.” Yui said and hugged me. “I still wish you were about ten years older.”

I couldn't help teasing her. “Just wait ten years and everything will be okay.”

Yui blushed and laughed, kissed the top of my head, and led me back downstairs to have her own bowl of ramen. She shared it with me and it was delicious.