Looking up he looked her dead in the eye seeing the hidden glee contained within, he decided to say the first thing that came to mind. "My name is Pain bitch!"
...
( Three Years Later )
...
It had been three years, Naruto thought to himself as he walked through the winding streets of Kirigakure. Three years since he had fled his home in the night, fled like some kind of criminal. Three years since he had come across Victor, the bizarre boy who would later become one of his closest friends.
Three years since he had come to the Land of Water to join the Rogue Clans in fighting alongside the Rebels in the Kiri civil war
In those three years Naruto had changed a lot, so much so that he doubted anyone would recognise him as the frail boy who had first arrived at the camp. He now stood at just less than five foot ten inches, with broad shoulders and muscled arms.
His previously spiky hair was now cropped very short, after all having long hair in a fight was just stupid in his mind, it just gave the enemy something else to grab onto. His skin was still pale, but no longer an unhealthy shade, instead it just looked like he hadn't been in the sun enough, which considering the climate of Water Country was relatively true.
Also gone was his mask, the crude thing had been destroyed by Clementine in one of their many spars. Instead he kept his face bare, no longer caring to hide it behind some mask when he was in Kirigakure his home.
Luckily though he no longer resembled his father as much, with his hair cropped and his face slightly fuller and rounder, no doubt due to his mothers genes, the resemblance was no longer so close. Which when added to his eyes, which now had constantly black sclera and crimson red irises made him look completely different.
In Naruto's mind this was what he looked like; he saw no point in hiding it anymore, not now he had found happiness in his new home.
What had also changed was his style; he now wore a pair of standard Shinobi sandals with mottled grey and black Shinobi combat pants, specifically designed for him. On his chest he had a mesh shirt, and an open grey waist coat.
On each of his wrists was a tattooed kanji, a permanent storage seal on each of his wrists that made the need for pouches or pockets pointless.
Thinking back on the last three years Naruto could not think of one thing he would do differently. When he thought of what is life would have been like, either trapped or isolated in Konoha never allowed to be a Shinobi, or dissected in some laboratory. His body dissected to try and see how his abilities work.
No he was far happy where he was; his life before in Konoha was now nothing more than a distant memory, becoming more and more distant every day.
The last three years for Naruto had been quite fun all things considered. The war in Kiri had ended within a year of his arrival. Not that he played that much of a part in any of the fighting.
No, despite his unique abilities he was still just an untrained kid in the Rebels eyes, he along with Clementine and the other kids at the camp had mostly played minor roles in the war. They had run messages sometimes through enemy territory.
They had acted as support for the main forces, going in after to clean up the remaining existence, with some of the more unique Outcasts like Naruto taking advantage of the opportunity.
Naruto had tended to gorge himself on the souls left over from the multiple skirmishes and battles that occurred throughout the Kiri civil war. He had managed to find his niche in their society, where some like Victor collect organs and limbs from the fallen to act as replacements, and others like Clementine ate the flesh of the dead a rather grim aspect of her own kekkei genkai.
Naruto was the only one who devoured their souls, this meant he had an endless supply to eat, an all you can eat buffet.
Of course this was not free; he had to do his part. This for Naruto meant more than just running errands and acting as support for the main force. No thanks to his unique abilities he was the Rebel's main interrogator, drafted in along with Furui to find out the enemies secrets.
How he did this was a secret known only to a few, including Mei Terumi the new Mizukage and his closest companions, Victor and Clementine.
Letting out another sigh as he felt the rain patter down around him, join the constant fog that surrounded this land in soaking him to the bone. Naruto continued to think about the past. With Naruto's help in extracting information the tides of war soon turned as the loyalists soon found that their operatives could no longer hide their secrets.
Panic had begun to spread as the Rebels now seemed to know their every move, their chain of hierarchy and even their hidden bases.
This panic had turned into fear and suspicion as the loyalists began to believe they had a traitor in their midst. The Rebel's took advantage of this and soon began to drive the loyalists back, working in tandem with the Rogue Clans to push the enemy back.
Victory had not just become possible for the rebel forces, it had become likely and Naruto had played a big role in this. Not through the traditional method of combat, though he did fight even if it was just in support of the main forces.
No Naruto aided the rebel forces to victory through providing information, and in the end it was which side had the best information that won the war, not which side had the flashiest Jutsu or the largest army.
Hundreds maybe thousands died in battle during the war, mostly the loyalists, but also many Outcasts and Rebels died, giving their lives on the same battlefield for their comrades and for victory.
Some good did come from this though, as bonds soon began to form between the Rebels and the Outcasts. Bonds formed through mutual understanding of what it meant to be persecuted for having a bloodline.
Bonds formed on the battlefield through sacrifice and bloodshed. What also helped was the fact that the less liberal members of Kiri were loyalists, and these people were getting butchered by the united front of the Outcasts and Rebels.
With the strongest voices against the Outcasts lying dead in the ground, it was no real surprise that after the war ended an agreement was made with the Outcasts.
An agreement that the Outcasts who fought in the war were invited to join Kiri, offered funding and aid in establishing their own Clan's and Clan Compounds within the Village. Most accepted, after all they had lived by the code that there was always safety in numbers and so as a black almost ninety percent of the Outcasts joined Kiri.
It wasn't an entirely one-sided deal though, as Mei had made the offer for a reason when she had been named Mizukage after the Fourth Mizukage was deposed.
After years of brutal war and purges the population of Kiri was almost halved, with multiple Clan's and bloodlines either extinct or on the verge of extinction. Kirigakure was on the verge of collapse; with it being very likely that the Village would just die or become a second rate minor Village.
That was of course until Mei made her offer, at which point the beleaguered population of Kiri doubled, with new and unique bloodlines flooding in.
This led to the Shinobi of Kirigakure being happy that their Village would not only survive but also come out of this possibly stronger. And it also led to the Outcasts being happy after all they now had the support and protection of a Shinobi Village, a village in which they had nearly a majority in.
This opened up opportunities for them to lay down roots, and create a proper society.
There was of course some opposition, with some Shinobi looking down on the Outcasts or not wanting them there at all. Of course they tended to be in the minority and were quickly stamped out, after all, having just come out of a brutal war over the subjugation of bloodlines that kind of thinking was not welcomed.
In a way it could almost be seen as over correction, having just come out of the war the Shinobi took things like prejudice to the other extreme, welcoming in a number of new Clans that had not been invited into Shinobi Villages for a reason.
These problems were soon solved however by the new Shinobi Council that was formed to advise the young Mizukage Mei. A Council made up of both former Outcasts and former Rebels. Giving a voice to all residents of Kiri.
Naruto snorted to himself at that. Thinking about it like that always made it all seem so grand and simple. Unfortunately though it was not even now two years later there were still tensions, still division. Although most of the Shinobi had now just accepted it and some even welcomed it, Shinobi being a pretty adaptable.
The civilians in the Village were not so welcoming; some shops refused to serve former Outcasts, as to, did some of the bars not let them in. However at the same time establishments run by former Outcasts did not allow civilians in so it was not a one-sided thing.
It was towards one such bar that Naruto was now heading, looking to meet up with some friends and also get out of the damp Kiri climate. The bar he was headed to was a particularly grim one called the Poisoned Rat. It was a regular haunt of his, Naruto having taken a liking to it due to its rough atmosphere.
Approaching it Naruto grinned slightly as he saw a reddish puddle just in front of the door, 'looks like some unfortunate fucker picked a fight with the wrong person.' Naruto thought to himself as he stepped over the bloody puddle and into the noisy and sweaty bar.
As he did so Naruto looked around his tongue flicking out of his mouth and wetting his lips as he did so.
"Well look who it is!" A voice called out over the noise of the laughing and shouting patron's of the bar. "If it isn't that fucker, Pain!"
Some of the drunken Shinobi cheered at that, the alcohol slopping out of their mugs and onto the dirt floor as they did so. Others however gained distinctly uncomfortable looks, back away from him as they did so.
"Mina! A doll as always!" Naruto called out to the woman who hailed him.
Her name was Mina, she was a small child like woman with bright white hair and twinkling crimson eyes. At first appearances she looked like a little girl, easily able to pass for a child of maybe eight or nine. In reality though she was a woman in her sixties, a former Outcast who like Naruto did gained a unique bloodline or ability that caused her to leave her home.
Where that home was or how her ability manifested Naruto had no idea. He only knew what she had told him and she was never the most open of people and Naruto knew enough about her to know that pushing for more information from her would likely be fatal.
As despite her innocent and child like appearance Mina was not only deadly but also a massive bitch. She was a sadist who took pleasure in other people's misery. Her unique ability allowed her to feed off of another's life energy, all she needed was to touch you and she would suck you dry, and not in the fun way.
...
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