This story is PWPN-- Plot with porn. That means it features heavy smut, but is also a plot-driven story.
The first chapter will be followed by a time skip. The story will feature extensive worldbuilding, especially for a lot of the smaller nations that rarely get a chance to shine. I plan to use a lot of minor characters as we explore the world, and occasionally even OCs, to flesh out a lot of Naruto's world. I also wanted to really get into what life as a missing-nin is like, because that's not something I've seen in a story before.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Breaking Point
What do you think of when you hear the phrase 'breaking point?'
Most people picture something snapping. At least, that's what Naruto found. Like a string being pulled in different directions until, finally, it fractures in two.
But the thing about breaking points is that they arrive gradually. Just as important as that final snap is what led up to it. Pressure increases slowly over time, piling on and on...
Sometimes, it doesn't take a dramatic event. There's no warning. Someone can just… have enough.
O-O-O
"Jounin closed in from all sides, but they were no match for the Second's ninjutsu. I wish you could have seen it, Naruto. Water swelled high enough to turn the day dark. It all crashed down at once, washing away the ninja who would have attacked Konoha. The village was safe again."
Naruto clapped. "Tell it again, Old Man! Tell it again!"
Hiruzen chuckled. They were sitting together in Naruto's apartment, the owner cross legged on his bed while the aged Hokage sat beside him in a chair. The village was dark outside the window, but they had a light on and the stories were flowing. Hiruzen didn't need a book. His own experiences were more than enough.
Chuckling, Hiruzen said, "No, no more, Naruto. It's already late, and I've a busy day tomorrow."
Naruto's eye twitched.
"Right!" he said. "You've got speeches to do and stuff! Because of the festival!"
It wasn't an official festival. Instead, if you asked the visitors, most would call it a distraction. Nine years ago, a demon laid waste to the village. Almost everyone lost someone in the aftermath of the attack. So on the anniversary, to avoid getting drunk and sitting gloomily inside, stalls were put up and snacks were sold, and everyone could get drunk outside with company to feel a little less alone.
"That's right," Hiruzen said, rising and straightening his long Hokage robes. "It will be a long day. So we should both get to bed."
He was right. But even Hiruzen didn't understand how right he was.
Naruto grabbed the old Hokage's hand.
"One more story!"
Hiruzen slipped his coarse, calloused fingers away.
"Good night, Naruto," he said with a smile.
He left the room, flicking the lights off on his way out. Naruto sat for a moment, completely still on his bed. He wasn't smiling anymore.
Naruto eventually slipped under the covers, pulling them over himself. It was a long time before he reached any kind of sleep, and when he finally did, the dreams were bad.
Just bad.
O-O-O
Music echoed through the streets of Konoha. The sky was dark, but lanterns lit the street with an orange glow. Naruto forced himself to walk at a normal pace. Don't run; he learned that a long time ago. Running makes people look at you. And the worst thing he could do was attract attention.
Usually, people ignored him. As in, almost everyone, all over the village, pretended he didn't exist. He could barely buy from stores because clerks wouldn't even look at him. If he sat down at a restaurant, they would walk past him, and he'd never be able to place an order. Well, other than Teuchi and Ayame, but they were special. Naruto was almost always ignored, and he was used to that. But on this day each year, things got worse.
A woman was walking the other way. She was a civilian, based on her clothes. Naruto wasn't even in her path. But as he passed by, she shoved him.
"Get out of the way!" she snarled.
Naruto tumbled to the ground. His heart was beating brutally fast, shock mingling with the unease he was already feeling. He forced himself to stand up slowly. Can't attract attention.
Too late. People were taking notice. Their eyes settled on him. His cover was blown. A man with alcohol on his breath approached in the stumbling way that drunks move.
"Get out of here!" he bellowed. "Are you happy, making us look at your damn face! Leave! Back in your den, you damn monster!"
Now, Naruto allowed himself to run. But his legs were short, and this man's were long. He followed Naruto easily, drunk or not, shouting the entire time.
"Are you proud!" he demanded. "Proud of what you did?!"
I didn't do anything, Naruto thought, his eyes starting to sting.
He should've known this was a mistake. He wanted to see the speech the Old Man gave. The stories the Hokage told him were so good, his speeches must be just as good, right? But Naruto had gotten close to the place, seen the crowd awaiting the Hokage's words, and knew instinctively that he had to leave. People were nasty to him, but they never hurt him. That crowd seemed different. One look at these people told Naruto, with some kind of sixth sense, that if he tried to join them, they would do things worse than he'd ever faced.
That same sixth sense spoke to him now, urging him into a passing alley. He trusted his senses. If he didn't, what would he have to put his faith in?
Naruto darted away from the drunk, slipping into the dark passage between two restaurants where no lantern light reached. The man chased him… but Naruto was still following his senses.
He ducked behind trash bags and slid underneath a dumpster. Food waste stuck to his back, the stench of organic rot invading his nostrils. Naruto covered his mouth with both hands, looking at the feet of the man who'd followed him.
"I know you're here!" the drunk shouted. "You don't fool me!"
Naruto didn't know if this man was dangerous the way the others felt. He couldn't take the risk. He tried to make his breathing shallow— to keep quiet and minimize the stink. Tears threatened to spill, but he blinked hard, and that stopped them. That, at least, was a skill he could count on.
Naruto stayed there for what felt like hours. It could have been as little as fifteen minutes. What mattered was that by the time the man stumbled away, and Naruto had waited to be sure he'd really left, it felt like Naruto had been hiding for a lifetime. His hand squelched onto moldy noodle remains as he dragged himself out, hurrying home.
It took a whole hour in the bathroom to wash away the stink. Naruto didn't mind the long shower. In there, even if someone was somehow watching him, they wouldn't be able to tell if the moisture running down his face was water or tears.
O-O-O
"Old Man!" Naruto said, jumping up and down on the floor of his apartment. "Tell me something about the Fourth Hokage tonight!"
Hiruzen chuckled. Naruto's outburst came before he could even remove the Hokage's hat and sit down. He put his hand on Naruto's back, walking them across the room.
"Someone's in a good mood," Hiruzen observed. "Did you miss my stories last night?"
"A little," Naruto said. "But I kept myself busy!"
Behind his smile, the urge to tell the Old Man everything was there. It always was. Other than Ayame and Teuchi, Old Man Hokage was the only one who would listen to Naruto. But even then, what could he do? You can't write a law telling people to be nice to blond orphans.
That's not what convinced Naruto to stay quiet, though. The Old Man was always telling him stories about the old Hokages. They were his heroes! They were strong, and cool, and fast, and most importantly everybody loved them! But that didn't mean the job was easy.
Hokages were supposed to be pragmatic. Old Man told him that a long time ago. They had to do what was best for the village at all times, even when they had a choice they didn't want to make. So Naruto would be like them. Even though he wanted to tell the Old Man everything, he'd tough it out like a Hokage. Since one day, he'd be one too!
Oblivious to Naruto's thoughts, Hiruzen chuckled, settling down in the chair he always used. "You asked for something about the Fourth tonight, didn't you? Let's see. Once, before he was ever Hokage, he was deep behind enemy lines in Earth Country. The rest of his squad had already fallen, but Minato held onto hope. With his trusty Hiraishin technique, he continued his mission completely alone…"
It was a good story full of adventure, loyalty, and flashy jutsu that effortlessly sparked the imagination. Naruto sat on his bed like usual, smiling as he listened. But it didn't reach his eyes.
Every time the Fourth Hokage was in danger, he'd remember Konoha, and his love for the village would push him through. That's how it always was in the stories. Naruto usually ate it up like miso pork ramen. But today, everytime they got to one of those parts, he found it hard to keep smiling.
"Why?" Naruto suddenly blurted out when the Fourth Hokage reaffirmed his loyalty for the dozenth time.
"Why did he think of the village?" Hiruzen asked, accommodating the interruption with a grandfatherly smile. "Because when you love something bigger than yourself, it gives you strength. You fight for your comrades, and the civilians back home, doing anything to protect them. That's what it means to have the Will of Fire."
Naruto nodded and remained silent as the story resumed, but that hadn't been his question. What he meant was, why would anyone love this village?
Deep inside him, unbeknownst to the Hokage and Naruto himself…
Something smiled.
O-O-O
The festival was the worst day of Naruto's year. It scared him, although he'd only admit that privately. Each time it rolled around, he had to steel himself for weeks leading up to it. The day after was always a good one, knowing he'd gotten past the trouble and bought himself twelve new months.
He was supposed to be happy now. That was how it used to be. Less than a week after the festival, he should have been full of youthful energy.
He wasn't.
Instead, he ached. Not physically. No one ever hurt him, unless you counted sparring sessions with other kids in the Academy. Rather than anything being done to him, it was what wasn't being done that was driving him crazy. It felt like he was alone in the world.
The Old Man visited to tell him stories. Ayame and Teuchi always welcomed him, but they had a restaurant to run, and lives to live. They were family. He was just their friend.
It got to the point that Naruto started taking walks. He went to stores before he ran out of supplies, trying to force them to sell to him. Anything, if it would get someone to look at him. He didn't know what had gotten into him, and the worst part was, it didn't even work. He was still ignored. Everyone looked past him. He was a prop to avoid, nothing more.
That's how it had always been. But now, it had started to hurt; or maybe he'd just gotten worse at withstanding the pain. In case you were wondering, loneliness felt cold.
He was still walking that evening. As the sun set, lights coming on inside windows, he trudged down Konoha's sandy streets. The Hokage monument stared down at him, high above and far away. The Old Man wanted Naruto to look up to it. And he really did like all the cool things they did! But right now, Naruto felt like the stone faces were staring at him, judging him. We died for this village, they were saying. Don't you want to too?
Naruto didn't. He really, really, really didn't.
Staring at the monument, he'd come to a stop. The street he was on was a residential one not far from his apartment. There was a park behind him, two-story houses on either side. As he took in his surroundings, he noticed a little girl looking at him from one of the houses.
She was barely more than a toddler, with a single shock of brown hair sticking straight up on her head. She had her nose pressed to the window, squishing it flat. When he saw her, Naruto smiled and waved.
The girl giggled. She lifted her hand to wave back. Before she could, larger arms wrapped around her. Her mother had come to see what she was looking at. Naruto flinched.
By some twisted coincidence, it was the woman who shoved him during the festival. The one who attracted the drunk's attention when she sent Naruto to the dirt. She was hugging the little girl, who had to be her daughter, but her face twisted with rage as soon as her eyes landed on Naruto. She yanked the blinds shut. The sliver of light Naruto was standing in disappeared, leaving him dark and cold— but the real cill was coming from inside, not outside.
Why did they hate him? He'd done nothing. Why did they have to block him out of their lives? He would've been satisfied with a wave.
His last question was nastier, but Naruto wasn't in the mood to be nice.
Why did even people like that get to have a family, when he couldn't?
They were way worse than him.
He trudged back to his apartment with rough, angry steps, his hands shoved in his pockets. He didn't care anymore if those stone faces were judging him. In fact, he'd judge them right back!
These people weren't worth dying for.
O-O-O
That night, Naruto had a strange dream.
He was back in his apartment, even though he knew he'd fallen asleep. That was strange too. He usually didn't know when he was dreaming, but he was certain that this was one now.
He wasn't alone.
A woman was in the spot Old Man Hokage always sat. Instead of the boring chair he used, though, this woman was in a throne. Naruto was pretty sure his real apartment didn't have one of those.
The woman giggled, blocking her mouth with the back of her hand. "That's true, it doesn't. A great shame."
Naruto jumped. Could she hear his—
"Thoughts? Of course." she tilted her head. "You think loudly."
She wore a bright orange kimono. Naruto liked its color. If he'd been older, he might've blushed or started stuttering at the way the outfit left one of her pale legs exposed all the way to the upper thigh, while her bust stretched the kimono's chest. She had high cheekbones that carried an angular, animalistic beauty, and her hair was a bright orangish-red. But as Naruto was a child, so the only things that stuck out to him were her red eyes and the four sharp fangs that boxed in her incisors.
"Hello, Naruto," she said. "I thought it was time that we had a proper talk. To be honest, it's long overdue."
"But I don't know you," Naruto said.
She sighed. "That's what I mean. Is it right for you to live in ignorance? I allowed it before, because I was worried you couldn't handle it. But I can stand by no longer. You're ready for the truth, Naruto."
"What truth?"
"Me," said the woman. "Naruto, I'm your mother."
Naruto got very still. He went quiet, even his mind, so she could hear nothing from him at all.
"You were told I died. It was easier that way. But really, Naruto, I ran away! I couldn't handle this village anymore. I wanted to take you with me, but I wasn't able to when that blasted Hokage got in my way. Still, I escaped. You know what that makes me, don't you Naruto?"
"Missing-nin," he said tonelessly.
Ninja who renounced their village, using their skills purely for their own benefit. The only thing every hidden village could agree on was that missing-nin were dangerous. It was a Kage's job to keep them to a minimum by maintaining morale among existing ninja… and by eliminating those who'd already gone rogue.
"That's right," said the woman. "I've bided my time ever since, looking for an opening. I was worried that if I revealed myself to you, you wouldn't be able to handle it. But you get it now, don't you? This village's true nature is nothing but a prison."
Naruto was silent, staring at her. The woman extended her hand.
"Place your hand in mine," she said. "I'll set you free. Together, we'll reach a wider world. You'll be with me again. Oh, I can't wait to embrace you. We can do all the things that family's do—"
"You're not my mom."
The woman froze, her smile stuck in place. "Of course I am!"
"No," Naruto said, frowning. "The Old Man is strong. You said he stopped you from bringing me, which means you would've had to fight him. But if you got away… I would've heard of you."
Missing-nin were infamous. Their names and faces of strong ones were circulated throughout the village until everyone, even kids like Naruto, knew their names and faces. That's how it was with Orochimaru. Missing-nin were the village's greatest shame, but the village wanted them to be well-known at the same time. That way, when their head was brought back separated from their shoulders, everyone would understand exactly what it meant.
"You're so clever, Naruto," the woman said fondly. "So bright for your age. But you're wrong. The one you call 'Old Man' was so embarrassed by his loss that he scrubbed away all traces of me. Why do you think he bought you this house? Why does he visit so often? Because he loves you?" She laughed. "It's because he feels guilty, Naruto! No one loves you… no one except me."
Her hand was still out, urging him to take it. Naruto knew that if he accepted it, there would be no going back. That's what his instincts were telling him.
"What happens if I say yes?"
"We run away," the woman said. "To be together. Forever."
Naruto looked at the hand, then up at the woman's face.
"You're a good liar," he said.
The woman stopped moving.
"The Old Man tells me embarrassing stuff too," Naruto said. "If he made a mistake, he'd still tell people about you. That's what he's like."
Something about the woman's smile changed. It took Naruto a moment to put his finger on it: her lips had shifted, allowing her fangs to peek through.
"Is that so?" she said. "Damn."
Naruto couldn't pull his eyes away from her hand. Despite being caught in a lie, she still had it extended, urging him to take it. "What really happens if I touch your hand?"
"We run away," the woman said. "I wasn't lying about that. One moment — one move — and you can be free."
"What are you really?"
She looked amused. "Can you handle the truth?"
"How should I know?" Naruto frowned. "I don't know what it is."
The woman reared her head back, laughing. For the first time, Naruto was able to see that her peculiar teeth didn't end with four sharp incisors. Her molars were all pointed, as if designed to tear through meat.
"I'm a demon," she announced, smiling viciously.
"Okay."
For the first time during their conversation, her eyes widened, even if it was marginal.
"Aren't you fearful?" she asked. "You should be. I'm capable of things you can scarcely imagine. My feats shake the world to their core, traumatizing humans like you. A mere glimpse of my true nature would paralyze you. So why do you look so calm?"
"People are the ones who told me demons are bad," Naruto said, "but those same people called me a demon. And I never did anything. So I don't see why I should be scared just because they told me to be. People are wrong all the time."
"If I knew you would be like this, I would've saved us both a lot of time," the woman said. "I'll say it plainly. Take my hand." She was still holding it out. "I'll give you the freedom you're just realizing you desire. I'm an expert on prisons, and that's exactly what this village is. The people scorn you, then expect you to die for them. To bleed for them. You've said it to yourself, Naruto, in your most private thoughts. They aren't worth it."
Naruto stared at her hand. It was so bright and smooth, calling out to him. Would a demon's hand still be warm? He wanted to reach out and see. But at the same time, Old Man Hokage's stories rang in his ears.
They were so full of action and adventure. Ninja pushed themselves further than anyone knew was possible. Over time, one mission at a time, the entire village became their family. That was the Will of fire.
Naruto jumped when the demon snorted. He'd forgotten that she could hear his thoughts.
"Ah, yes," she said. "The illustrious Will of Fire. Even as a demon, I live by my own version of it."
"You do?" Naruto asked.
"Indeed! Wills are what my enemies should write when they wrong me, before my fire burns them to ash!"
"Oh. That's a little different…"
"Mine is better," the demon said with complete confidence. "It means I use my powers for myself, to make myself happy. The Will of Fire you've been fed is far more insidious. It will bleed you of everything you have, forcing you to make sacrifices for people who have given you nothing. It's a death sentence— a tortuous, prolonged one. Even I am not that cruel. My flames burn hot. But they kill in seconds, not years."
Naruto pictured it. He thought of Wind Country's flowing hills of golden sand, Lightning Country's towering peaks, and Water Country's sea-separated islands. The demon was silent, content to let his imagination run free. How many other things were out there to see? He looked at the demon's hand, then up at her smile, understanding her offer. I'll show it all to you.
At first, Naruto was scared. He was agreeing to leave behind everything familiar. Konoha was still all that he knew, even if he didn't think it was all that nice. Instead of lofty dreams, the thing that pushed him over the edge was much simpler.
He remembered what it was like to have a shopkeeper refuse to look at you. To sit at a table and watch the waitress pass you by, hoping each time that this was when she'd finally take your order. He remembered standing in the street as blinds were shut, blotting him out. Each little gesture compounded with a thousand more like it, until the villagers couldn't be more clear in their message.
Get out. Leave. We don't want you here.
Fine! He would!
Naruto extended his hand. The demon's smile widened. When there was only an inch between his small hand and her larger one, he paused.
"What's your name?" he asked.
Her smile grew. She knew she'd won.
"You can call me Kyu," she said.
Naruto took her hand.
O-O-O
On Octover seventeenth, in the earliest hours of the morning, Konoha experienced a major security breach. Inside an apartment that looked innocuous from the outside, just one week after the village celebrated the anniversary of the Nine-tails' defeat, the bijuu's putrid chakra returned.
The apartment burst open in a shower of wood and stone. Those who lived in the surrounding blocks would later report, with a tremor in their voices, that something howled. By the time ANBU arrived on the scene, just minutes later, the source of the chakra was gone.
An orange blur traversed Konoha as fast as an elite ninja. It ran on all-fours, leaping between buildings until it reached the wall surrounding the city. When it got there, it jumped. If anyone had been watching, just for a moment, it would've seemed like the orange blur could fly.
Relax your fingers. Arch your back.
Kyu's instructions were delivered calmly inside Naruto's head. He didn't know how he was doing this, but he knew it was all thanks to her. He landed among the trees outside the village, accelerating again. The ninja would come for him. Kyu told him as much, but he knew even before that. He didn't care. He was smiling.
When he woke up shrouded in power, he'd been scared. Then, he heard her voice.
Stretch out your legs, Kyu said. Pivot. You'll run into that tree.
She was still there. She coached him how to use this power to escape the village, and she was still going. Not only was she telling him what to do, she was showing him.
It was like her body was wrapped around his. When she told him to lift his arms higher, it felt as if she was holding his wrists. Her tone was businesslike; efficient. Yet Naruto couldn't stop smiling. Swathed in her guiding touch, Naruto was reminded of the girl from the window, nestled in the arms of her mother.
His question had been answered. Demons were warm.
O-O-O
Hiruzen stared at the hole in the wall, feeling like an equally-large one had been punched in his heart. A man shrouded in an animal mask and dark fatigues stood beside him.
"Report," Hiruzen said softly.
"Nine-tails chakra was detected at one-fifty-nine A.M. this morning. ANBU immediately moved in, but the target—"
"Naruto."
The man's expression was a mystery behind his mask. "—was too fast to be captured. Caution was exercised to avoid escalation inside the village walls. Teams are currently in pursuit…"
Hiruzen tuned out the rest. Even ANBU could not keep up with a fleeing Jinchuriki. The man finished his report with hollow assurances that they would succeed, and Hiruzen dismissed him. The whole while the Hokage couldn't help the way his eyes roved the apartment.
So much was the same as it had been when he last saw it. There were still instant ramen containers on the tables, and that one spare sock flung across the room behind the door. Yet an entire wall was now missing, along with the boy who called this place home.
What caused this? Had someone hurt Naruto? Did some grieving civilian tell him the truth? It couldn't have been. There were measures against that: ANBU tasked with his safety. Hiruzen read their reports. There were no warning signs.
Something green caught his eye, teetering on the edge of the floor. Hiruzen approached the broken wall and plucked it up. A green frog-themed wallet stared back at him, its stomach half-stuffed with change. It was Gama-Chan. Hiruzen had already seen that Naruto left everything behind, but somehow, holding his beloved wallet made it feel all-too-real.
It hammered in that Naruto had no plans on coming back.
Hiruzen knew how this was going to go. As an academy student, abandoning his duties was already a crime. As a Jinchuuriki, it was one that the village wouldn't overlook. No matter who his father was, Danzo would want the boy dead. Others would agree. The wounds the Nine-tails left on Konoha ran deep, fostering terror at any hint that it might be out of control again.
Hiruzen could already see what his duty was going to be. Naruto would be marked a Missing-nin, and Hiruzen was going to have to do it. Others wouldn't allow the leniency Tsunade got a second time, especially not in a case like this one.
To be Hokage meant to do what was best for the village. It meant to make hard choices, even ones you didn't want to make. Hiruzen cast his senses out, and when he confirmed there were no chakra signatures nearby, sank to his knees.
He'd never wanted to be Hokage less than he did in that very moment.