Naruto 1. Prologue: A New Beginning

_**AN:**_ I know it seems like forever since I gave this story any attention but given the way things were going and my own disinterest in the story-line I had shelved it until now. While I'm only reworking things at the moment I am incorporating a few ideas that hopefully will set this one apart from the rest of the Puppeteer Naruto stories on this site.

For the time being I am limited to how long I have on the comp and the net since I still don't have internet access at my house yet due to Ike but hopefully that situation will be resolved before too much longer. In the mean time sit back and enjoy the revised edition of _**Master of Puppets.**_

_**Addition A/N:**_ This story was originally inspired by SerpentSannin's Puppet Master Naruto and most but not the entire second chapter is taken from there as I have added my own spin to things though you'll have to read carefully to see the differences. While I did not receive permission per say until he lost interest in writing and deleted his account the original version of this story (which yes is still posted) was in his Favorites List.

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_**Detailed Summary:**_ _With the Council calling for the boy's death and his ANBU hard pressed to provide round the clock protection the Hokage is at his wits end to come up with a permanent solution concerning a certain blonde Jinchuuriki. That is until his white haired former student offers him an alternative that will forever change the course of the young boy's life. The Hokage reluctantly agrees to send Naruto away so that a __**"friend**__" of the Toad Sannin, the Legendary Puppet Master and nuke-nin of Suna himself, Akasuna No Sasori, can train him._

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**Prologue: A New Beginning**

The Hokage of Konoha sat at his desk contemplating for perhaps the millionth time since his successor's death how it was that seeing to the safety and well-being of one small boy could cause him so much grief. While it was true that the boy in question was an innocent victim in this entire mess that centered around something done to him the day he was born it never the less caused the formerly retired Hokage seemingly never ending trouble.

"If only I could find someway to remedy this problem without the Council of idiots overruling me like always," he groans to himself for perhaps the tenth time that day.

"You could always send the boy away, you know," a voice from behind him suggests. As the old man turns around in his chair he is almost surprised to find his former student perched in his now opened window. "Actually that's why I'm here," the Toad Sannin informs him. "I've got a '_friend_' that would be willing to take him on as an apprentice if you're willing to go for it."

The Hokage eye's the self professed Super Pervert as he considers the offer. "Who is this 'friend' of yours and why would he be so willing to take Naruto under his wing?"

Jiraiya scratches the back of his head as he thinks of the best way to tell his former Sensei the man's identity. "Well you've probably heard of him since he was pretty well known roughly twenty years ago," he begins cringing only slightly at the Hokage's raised eyebrow. "He's actually a World Renowned Puppet Master from Suna," he says nonchalantly, "Although he _has_ been laying pretty low these past few years."

"You can't be serious," the old man nearly shouts his outrage at his former pupil for even thinking of making such a suggestion. "You want me to send the boy away to be trained by an S-Class nuke-nin," he begins trying to avoid letting his anger get the better of him. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Not really," Jiraiya replies with a friendly and confident smile. "I'd take the kid myself but he'd only get in the way of my work," he reminds the Hokage, "Tsunade's in no position or condition to take on another apprentice and no one in the village can do the job without the Council breathing down their neck."

Sarutobi sighs as he finds himself reluctantly beginning to agree with the Toad Sage. As much as he hated to admit it his former student raised several a valid points. "But can we trust him?"

"Hai," Jiraiya answers without a moment's hesitation. "On this we can," he tells his beloved former Teacher. "He left Suna after becoming disillusioned with the way things were being run. He holds no loyalties to any village and isn't really that bad of a guy. Maybe a little cold and mechanical," the Sannin concedes, "But not that bad. At least if you can look past his little perversions."

"Perversions?" the Hokage asks quirking an eyebrow. "You mean his Human Puppets?" he asks pointedly.

"Hai," Jiraiya admits a bit reluctantly. "Although in all fairness those are all enemy shinobi he's killed in battles over the years either in self defense or while on missions," coming to the Puppet Master's defense although he neglects to inform the Hokage about Sasori being a Puppet himself believing that the old man doesn't need to know that little piece of information just yet.

"Very well," the Hokage finally concedes, "I'll allow Naruto to train with Sasori as long as he's returns to Konoha by the start of the final year of the Academy. Remember that it was his parents' wish that he become a shinobi of the Leaf."

"Hai," Jiraiya agrees almost eagerly. "That should provide them with sufficient enough time to train properly." The Toad Sannin can't help but chuckle at the thought that enters his mind. "He'll be Konoha's first Puppeteer," he says with an almost giddy smile. "That is bound to piss Suna off to no end." The Hokage joins in on the laughter despite himself. "Have the kid meet me in front of the Main Gate just after dawn tomorrow and I'll take him to meet his new Sensei."

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Two days later Naruto and Jiraiya arrive at the entrance of a cave at the base of a mountain range near the boarder of Fire and Wind around noon. Naruto excitement about being away from Konoha and the villagers that hated him is only slightly out weighed by his giddiness at the prospect of finally beginning his training to become an actual shinobi.

The Hokage explained to him that he would be away from the village for nearly seven years while training but that he was to return in time to enter the Academy so that he could officially become a Genin. In the mean time he was expected to be on his best behavior and to learn everything he could from his new Sensei so that he could become a strong shinobi like his idol, the Fourth Hokage.

"Alright kid we're here," Jiraiya tells the daydreaming boy. "Go ahead and put your stuff away while I go and find Sasori." Naruto nods before entering the cave to put his stuff up.

Three months ago the poor boy had been kicked out of the orphanage with nothing except the clothes on his back but the day before his trip the Hokage had remedied that situation by taking the young Jinchuuriki shopping. The old man bought him several changes of shinobi training clothes (some navy blue and some plain black), three pairs of shinobi footwear, a couple kunai and shuriken sets, some minor/beginner Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu and Fuuinjutsu technique scrolls, several blank scrolls (including those used for sealing items for travel), a couple ink and brush sets for his studies, some camping equipment and a years supply of instant Ramen (at least for a normal person). The Hokage then sealed everything into a few small summoning scrolls he had made so that the boy could easily carry everything in his new backpack.

As Naruto makes his way towards the back of the cave, where Jiraiya said the sleeping area is, he passes rows upon rows of shelves filled to the brim with scrolls and books as well as workbenches covered with half finished or barely started puppets with various tools of all shapes and sizes too numerous to count along with shelves containing vials of different colored liquids clearly labeled though he can't read any of them yet. Just past the work area but before he comes to the sleeping area he finds several Puppet parts and weapons grouped together lining both walls. To say that Naruto is in awe by what he finds would be an understatement, in fact as his big blue eyes gaze back upon all that he has seen his young inquisitive mind begins considering the almost limitless possibilities that becoming a Puppeteer presents to him.

Naruto finally reaches his destination and finds a small footlocker with his name written on top of it at the foot of one of the two beds and quickly taking his scrolls out of his pack he puts them and the pack away. "So this is the kid you asked me to train Jiraiya-san," a cold emotionless voice asks from behind him. Turning around Naruto is instantly frightened of the large hunched over man standing beside the Sannin.

"He doesn't look like much," the man says as he moves closer towards the boy. "But I suppose I can fix that in the seven years you've given me." The man shocks Naruto as he pulls off his black cloak revealing that his body is actually that of a large Puppet with a large Kabuki mask on its back with a metal tongue like tail coming out if its mouth. He's amazed even further when the Puppet opens up to allow a red haired teenaged boy also wearing a back cloak to exit the Puppet.

"Naruto," Jiraiya says getting the young boy's attention. "I'd like for you to meet Akasuna No Sasori. He'll be instruction you in the 'Art of the Puppeteer' for the next seven years."

"Pleased to meet you Sasori-sensei," Naruto says as he bows respectfully to his teacher.

"And you," Sasori replies, "Before we begin I want to make it clear that your training will be very difficult and I do not want to hear any complaining or I will stop my teachings and return you to Konoha as is. Do you understand?" Naruto nods his agreement to the terms. "Good before we begin any actual shinobi training we need to develop your body and your mind," he tells the young boy. "We will first increase your speed, stamina, chakra reserves and most importantly your chakra control since this is the most vital component for any Puppet Master. Chakra was split up into two components, physical and spiritual," Sasori tells him, "You will need both to be able to use your chakra effectively. We will train physically by doing physical exercises not involving chakra to increase you physical chakra supplies quicker while meditating to increase your spiritual reserves. Having massive reserves and perfect control of them is a deadly combination that any powerful shinobi must posses and something you will need if you want to learn what I have to teach you.

"To begin I have designed a workout regimen to increase your physical stamina which will involve lots of running, minor physical exercises and swimming for several hours each day. Being that you need speed as well, you can not pack on too much muscle or else you will become bulky and slow instead of strong, fast and agile. You will only be doing exercises that increase your stamina," Sasori informs him, "For once you attained decent enough chakra control you can use your chakra to augment your speed and strength."

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**_A/N:_** I'm ending things here and will have the next chapter finished shortly. I broke them up since they were longer then what I usually write. I know many feel my chapters are a bit on the short side at times but I like to limit the number of words I write so that the chapters don't get too far off base and cover everything I need them to cover. As always please remember to leave a review on your way out and until next time…

Later

Raven


	2. Chapter 1: Sasori's Training

**Chapter 1: Sasori's Training**

It takes Naruto a full week to get used to the harsh training exercises which usually consist of laps around a nearby clearing, sit ups, push ups, crunches, squats and all other forms of physical exercise before Sasori-Sensei even begins his shuriken and kunai throwing training. Each night Sasori teaches him reading, writing, mathematics, strategy, history, and economics before then giving him one hour before bed for meditation. The latter is to help him both relax after the day's training while helping him focus on controlling his emotions around enemies. "Show your enemies even the slightest hint of weakness and if they are good shinobi they will exploit it to their advantage" Sasori regularly tells Naruto in order to drill it into his head. Around friends and those he is wiling to trust with his life he is permitted to show his emotions if for nothing else then to remind himself why exactly it is that shinobi fight and even die, but on the battle field emotions cloud the mind and diminish ones skills leading to an unnecessary death.

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After only one month of training Sasori finally tells Naruto why it is that the villagers hate him so much, The Puppet Master explains to the young boy how the Fourth Sealed the Kyuubi No Kitsune into him on the day he was born and that even though anyone with half a brain should be able to see that he was only the container for the Demon Fox the idiot civilians of Konoha see him as the Fox itself. Naruto takes the revelation remarkably well considering everything that has happened thus far in his young life and vows to prove to those idiots that he is not the Fox but Naruto Uzumaki, the best Puppet Master in the World and the Future Hokage.

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Three months after making his vow Naruto finally meets the Kyuubi in his mind and while at first he is frightened by the Demon Lord he quickly comes to realize that for all of its taunts and threats the Fox holds no actual power over his life and that it is in fact him that holds the real power over both of their fates.

Following their initial conversation the Kyuubi reluctantly enters into an agreement with Naruto that while slightly degrading to his Demon Pride would allow the Bijuu a certain amount, all be it limited, freedom. In exchange for being transferred _temporarily_ to one of Naruto's Puppets, once the young blonde actually learns how to make them, the Kyuubi agrees to help the young boy in his quest to fulfill his dream. The Fox agrees to continue to heal the boy's body when needed and to also help him in his Genjutsu training as Kitsunes are famous for their illusions. What neither of them realize at the time is the fact that the Seal that binds the Kyuubi to Naruto is also slowly filtering the Kyuubi's nearly limitless chakra into Naruto's own chakra reserves, there by increasing them faster then they would have been otherwise. The rate of transfer is equal to about one quarter of one of the Kyuubi's tails per year so as to avoid overloading Naruto's chakra coils.

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For the remainder of the first two years Sasori continues to train Naruto's chakra control while building his stamina to the point Naruto's control reaches a level high enough to begin the next phase of his training. As Naruto's reserves continue to grow, thanks largely to the unknowing Kyuubi, Sasori also begins to teach Naruto some Ninjutsu that he knows will compliment the boy's abilities, such as the Body Flicker Technique, various clone techniques, and the basic academy level techniques such as the Transformation and Substitution, which Naruto surprises his teacher by mastering both quickly and efficiently.

Sasori also begins teaching Naruto about poisons and human anatomy, so he can fully utilize his knowledge about poisons as well as where to strike his opponents to cause the most damage. Naruto quickly discovers that he is naturally talented in this field and even manages to create his own Technique combining his talent for Poisons with the Shadow Clone Technique much to Sasori's amazement as the result is incredibly ingenious. Naruto decides to call the technique 'Poison Clone' and like the Shadow Clone Technique it creates a solid clone of the user with the use of the user's chakra however unlike other clones, upon destruction, it lets loose a cloud of poison that will most likely be inhaled by the attacker before he even realizes what's happening. In order to create the Technique Naruto combines the principals behind the Shadow Clone and Clone Explosion Techniques, only instead of an explosion when the clones are destroyed he uses chakra to create poison.

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Two days before Naruto's sixth birthday Sasori decides that he is finally ready for the next phase of his training to begin. "You have progressed a lot quicker in your training then I had expected," the Puppet Master admits to his apprentice. "Thus, we will move on to the next phase that I believe you will enjoy as a result." Seeing Naruto nod, he continues. "What can you tell me of shinobi techniques?" inquires Sasori opting to allow Naruto to figure out what they will be training in next by leading the answer to him with a line of questions.

"Well, there are many types of Shinobi techniques which can either use one's physical stamina or chakra to perform, such as Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Kenjutsu, Fuuinjutsu and so on. One either learns stances and trains to master Taijutsu and Kenjutsu, but normally, in regards to techniques, one would mold chakra in the way they desire to have the desired effect of the technique they try to use," Naruto answers, as best as he can remember earning a nod from Sasori.

"Basing your next answer on your training so far, what do you think I would like you to train in next?" asks Sasori, goading him for an answer.

"You have tried hard to make sure that my control is as perfect as possible first and foremost," Naruto replies before pausing. "You have also tried to sharpen my mind and increase my intellectual power, so I would guess that you want me to learn Genjutsu?"

With a nod, Sasori decides to explain his decision "Genjutsus are extremely complicated Ninjutsu that focus on using the chakra in your opponent's nervous system to manipulate their senses to your liking allowing you to create phantasms that can cause your opponent to hear, see, taste, smell and/or feel whatever you like. It is extremely difficult and deadly, but once mastered, you can defeat your opponents without using as much chakra as a regular Ninjutsu technique would" he explains to the slightly amazed Naruto.

Naruto then frowns for a moment before asking, "Couldn't someone who is extremely skilled just disable the Genjutsu and make it useless?" he inquires and Sasori nods, conceding the point.

"Indeed, but the main factor there is that will only happen if your opponent is more skilled than you, which we are trying to make sure will not happen. Genjutsu is about subtlety more then power," he begins. "You can also layer your Genjutsu so that you can make it more difficult for them to break, or detect at all. Even though one can disrupt a Genjutsu by using the release technique or flaring their chakra, they must know they're in a Genjutsu first or have the sufficient skill to break out of it. Do you understand its uses?"

With a grin, Naruto nods "How will I learn this sensei?" Naruto asks, showing an excitement that Sasori only saw on the boy whenever he teaches him something new. That is why it is always so easy to teach the boy, he continually soaks up everything he teaches him like a sponge, but he also enjoys it.

"Teaching Genjutsu isn't like teaching Ninjutsu," Sasori tells his student. "I do not show you a technique and you use it," he continues, "What the Genjutsu Masters often do is Create their own techniques and manipulate the chakra in their opponents so flawlessly, they can literally manipulate their opponents at will. I will allow you to practice this on me for a few hours every day at first after that you will train mentally so you can have the focus to perform the techniques," he answers, smirking at Naruto's giddy expression. Most kids his age usually act like this when they get a new toy they wanted, or are taken to buy some ice-cream, but Naruto only acts like this when he gets to learn some new Technique.

"I should tell you," Sasori begins before the boy can get too worked up. "There are certain individuals in Konoha that are Masters at using Genjutsu, mostly because of their bloodline limit," Sasori tells him, immediately getting Naruto's attention. "They are the Uchiha Clan and their Sharingan allows them to have such a masterful control over Genjutsu that they can sometimes perform them without the use of hand seals to mold chakra. It is one of the reasons why I am teaching you this," explains Sasori, "You will need this knowledge if you are to fight against them."

"Why are you so certain that I will be fighting them in the future sensei?" asks a confused Naruto which is only answered by a pregnant pause by Sasori.

"The Uchihas are one of the Clans in Konoha that are currently against you" answers Sasori truthfully. To his surprise though, Naruto just got an extremely determined look in his eyes.

"I may not have the Sharingan, but I will find a way to be better then the Uchihas, you said so yourself that as long as I'm better, my Genjutsu will work right? Sharingan or not, if I am better, they will have a hard time dealing with them and I should be able to disable them, I will find a way to do so sensei," he spoke, with fierce determination, making Sasori smirk. Sasori nods and begins to train Naruto in earnest now, for the first time going one on one as his previous training didn't require much contact between the two, only books and instructions.

To begin with, Sasori shows Naruto one of the low level Genjutsu techniques he knows and uses it on the boy as an aid. This helps Naruto in a number of ways because firstly, he could feel how the chakra is being manipulated within him, he can see it in effect and he can practice breaking it. As Sasori guessed Naruto is able to piece together the steps involved in casting a Genjutsu all by himself after only just a week of this training. He successfully replicates the effects that were cast on him which involved creating a phantasm for Sasori to see.

Once Naruto gets the feeling of how to manipulate the chakra to replicate those effects, he is instructed to find a way to practice on someone else to further his training. Since Naruto can't practice too much on Sasori because the only sense Naruto could possibly use against Sasori are his sight and hearing as the rest are rendered useless due to his puppet body Sasori allows Naruto to go into the nearby villages under a Transformation Jutsu and practice his Genjutsu skills on unsuspecting citizens and bandits.

Using this method of practice, Naruto is able to get the hang of using Genjutsu and their usefulness, however, try as he might, he still can not do them without the use of hand seals. In an attempt to discover an easier way to mold chakra Sasori tells Naruto to first attempt the feat with Ninjutsu by mere repetition. Taking his Sensei's advice to heart Naruto goes back to training his Ninjutsu again and again without move on to the next technique until he is able to master his current technique without the use of hand seals.

It is during this training that Naruto encounters problems with his chakra control due to his larger then normal reserves. Seeking a means to correct the problem he finds a few interesting pieces of information in a couple of scrolls in Sasori-Sensei's library. Brining his situation to his teacher's attention he begins filling the Puppet Master in on his ideas. "According to this scroll there is a special type of metal that the Hidden Villages all use to chain up their Shinobi prisoners that drains their chakra," he tells his Sensei. "And according to this scroll there are also special stones and Seals that can be used to store chakra for later use such as lighting homes or powering barriers."

"You are correct on both counts," Sasori tells him curious as to where this line of conversation is going.

"I was thinking," Naruto begins now that he has Sasori's full attention. "That if we asked Jiraiya to help us combine the three we could make a type of chakra regulatory system that would not only help me control my chakra better but would also give me a type of battery storage system for a few Puppet Designs I had in mind."

"That is certainly and interesting solution," Sasori says with a hint of a smile. "I'll inform Jiraiya and ask him to visit us at his earliest convenience."

Jiraiya's arrival three weeks later provided Naruto with ample opportunity to prepare a basic design schematic for the "Chakra Regulation System" as he calls it and the Toad Sage had been more then willing to assist in its creation. The finished system consists of nothing more then a pair of one inch thick metal bands around Naruto's ankles and wrists with intricately carved seals etched into both the metal and the four grey metallic marble sized stones lining each band.

Once the bands are complete both Naruto and Sasori see a dramatic increase in Naruto's chakra control while noticing no significant decrease in his reserves. Using a training method Sasori tells him about involving the use of Shadow Clones to gain experience much faster by letting his clones participate with his training and then assimilating their knowledge when they were finished Naruto sets about mastering his current Jutsu arsenal to _his_ satisfaction.

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The remainder of the year passes in this manner and by his seventh birthday, Naruto is able to successfully perform low to mid-level Genjutsu the Transformation, Shadow Clone, Clone Explosion, Substitution, Body Flicker and Poison Clone Techniques without the use of hand seals while Water Clone, Mud Clone and a few higher level Genjutsus still require a few single handed seals.

That year of self-study with scrolls and the Kyuubi, along with practicing on non-shinobi is all Naruto is allowed when Sasori interrupts his training. "You may not have Mastered Genjutsu in the way that you desire," the nuke-nin begins, "But you have done so to an extent, in the given time, far better then I had thought possible. I set for you an unrealistic goal that would give you a determination to better yourself," Sasori admits, while looking at Naruto's pleased expression. "I am by no means telling you to stop with your training in this field but we will begin with the next thing I am willing to teach you," the Puppet Master says, exciting Naruto at the prospect of getting even stronger.

"What I will personally be teaching you now is how to use chakra strings as best as possible, and thus, by extent, how to be an effective puppeteer in combat," he explains with a smirk as Naruto let out a whoop of joy. Naruto has expressed an interest in learning the art ever since his arrival at the cave three years earlier. "One must begin small though," he reminds his student, "so you will first be learning how to create and control chakra strings on each finger and only then will we move to the next phase of your training," Sasori explains as Naruto gets into a seated position before Sasori, ready to learn.

With Naruto's excellent chakra control, due to his new "_Chakra Regulation System_", it doesn't take long for him to learn to use chakra strings and Sasori begins by telling him how to create them, by expelling chakra from his finger tips and controlling them with his mind. Naruto practices this control by using chakra strings to levitate Kunai around his body, one at first but it then quickly progresses to ten at a time. Sasori tells Naruto that though he is getting better at it, he will need to be able to control his puppets and by extension chakra strings subconsciously so that if he were to get distracted during a fight, the strings will not disengage, leaving his puppets useless.

In order to do this, Sasori has Naruto dodge projectiles in all direction while using his chakra to both stand on a lake and control ten kunai with chakra strings. The kunai are also not to be hit by the projectiles, thus forcing him to dodge with both his body and chakra strings, essentially the exercise is designed to get Naruto to act as if the strings and whatever they are attached to are an extension of his own body.

The next part of the training involves Sasori bringing out four of his old created puppets for him and Naruto to spar with which Sasori always wins. The point of the exercise is not winning though but rather learning strategy with puppets as well as combining them with Ninjutsu and stealth techniques.

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After a good long year of training with them Sasori is satisfied that Naruto has a solid enough understanding and skill with using puppets in combat that he goes more into theory, or more specifically, more advanced puppets.

"Naruto, it is time I told you where the true power of puppetry lies, this also will reveal to you why I am in exile from my village" Sasori tells the now eight year old Naruto after a grueling puppet spar in which the boy is now able to last for two full hours. "The famous technique that I use in puppetry is the Human Puppet. The technique is exactly as it sounds too, it is the art of using the corpse of a deceased Shinobi and turning them into a puppet that Puppeteers like you can use. The process may seem grotesque at best but as long as it is not misused, there should be no problems," explains Sasori, skipping the theory on how to make Human Puppets for now.

"I, unlike other missing-nin, did not leave my home village of Suna because I was forced to or committed any crime. I left because I wanted to. However, before I did I assassinated the tyrant of a Kazekage, the Sandaime, and took his body with me so I could create a Human Puppet out of him. The man was a menace and a danger to that village so I doubt they really minded, all except for his more fanatical supporters anyway. He was a barbarian and a sick and twisted individual, allowing the more ruthless shinobi free reign on small villages to rape, pillage and murder innocents, even going so far as to indulge on such activities himself. When I realized this, I killed him by slipping him an unrecognizable poisonous substance into his sake and taking him with me" he explains satisfied to see how disgusted Naruto is by the revelation.

"A human puppet essentially, after it is created, retains the chakra abilities and any bloodline limit they had while still alive but are now controlled by the Puppeteer," he says seeing Naruto's eyes widen in shock. "Indeed, I gather you see the potential of such a technique? The Sandaime Kazekage was famous for his ability to manipulate magnetic fields, and thus, his ultimate ability to control the iron sand something that made him the most powerful Kage ever to grace Suna regardless of how much of a monster he was," he explains pausing to see if Naruto has any questions.

"How do you make them and are they alive in any way shape or form after the puppet is created? Are they even aware at all?" Naruto asks slightly nervous.

"To answer your second question first," Sasori begins, "No, absolutely not. The moment the person dies they are that, simply dead. The puppet works though by implementing specially designed devices within the body that preserves and maintains the chakra circulatory system. So once all the entrails are removed and the puppet completed they are simply that, a puppet that can use chakra at your bidding." Seeing that Naruto still finds it hard to understand Sasori takes out a scroll and summons the puppet of the Sandaime Kazekage. Naruto looks on in awe at the floating human look alike and is even more awe struck when Sasori commands his puppet to shoot bullets of iron sand into the wall, just like the original could.

Naruto is grinning like mad before it turns into a frown as he thinks of something "Sasori-sensei, what's the point of me learning the human puppet technique and how to create them when I don't have the corpse of a powerful shinobi to use?" asks a confused Naruto.

Sasori in response actually chuckles darkly before pulling out three scrolls and throwing them at Naruto "You know who Jiraiya-san's former male teammate is, correct?" Sasori asks after throwing the confused Naruto the three scrolls.

"Hai, Orochimaru, the Serpent Sannin," answers Naruto immediately. "An S-Class nuke-nin from Konoha who ran away after the Hokage discovered his experimentations on fellow Konoha citizens…" answers Naruto not seeing where this is going.

"Indeed, well it seems our serpentine friend stole and planned to use the corpses of three very powerful shinobi" he begins, making sure he has Naruto's full attention. "The Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages were buried in Konoha with a preservation Jutsu placed on their bodies so that while in their tomb, their bodies will never decay. Before Orochimaru ran, he replaced those corpses with fakes that had Transformations placed on them and stole the originals. He experimented trying to find a way to replicate their bloodline abilities, control over Tree Release Techniques masterful control over the Water Techniques respectfully," he explains. "Later after the Yondaime's death he snuck back into Konoha and stole the body the same way he had the first two." Naruto's eyes open wide with shock when he realizes where this was going as he changes the grip he has on the scrolls to something bordering reverence.

"He obviously failed, but he never returned the corpses, a spy of mine told me of this and I made him retrieve the corpses for me. I will teach you how to make a human puppet after we go through the adequate theory and we will make one with the Nidaime's body first, then you will do the Yondaime's and Shodaime's on your own. Better try the Yondaime first as the Shodaime's bloodline ability would be more valuable in all honesty," explains the puppeteer. Naruto doesn't even think twice before he nods his head.

Sasori takes the bodies back and informs Naruto that should he want to try his hand at making a Human Puppet, he has to first create three of his own regular battle puppets before he will even allow the attempt. He also informs Naruto that he only has a year to do so. To anyone else this may sound like a lot of time but to Naruto who is ordered to create three original puppets after seeing his sensei's humongous collection this is a daunting task.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Over the next year, Naruto continues his previous training while he also draws the blueprints for and creates his first three original battle puppets: Raven, Kitsune and Kyuubi.

Raven is Naruto's flyer and specially designed to fire poisoned senbon from its wings while its metal talons are laced with poison. Its mouth is able to spray poison gas while its hollowed body can drop specially prepared smoke bombs also filled with poison gas. All in all it is Naruto's best puppet for either incapacitating or killing his enemies with very little to no actual physical damage being done to the body. Raven's sole purpose is to acquiring subjects to add to Naruto's Human Puppet Collection.

Naruto's next two Puppets, while capable of also acquiring targets to add to his "collection" are far more combat oriented in their design.

The first of these is Kitsune, which Naruto bases loosely off of Sasori-Sensei's Black Ant even though it resembles a single tailed fox in appearance. Its body is made entirely of metal rather then the traditional wood and is capable of expanding so that it can capture and contain a target. This is done to maximize the effectiveness of the four small electrical generators built into its legs. The electricity created by the generators can be directed in one of two ways, either into the body effectively electrocuting the prisoner inside or through its claws and tail into the enemy. Its mouth is capable of firing poisoned senbon while its front shoulder blades concealed both poison laced kunai and shuriken launchers.

The second of the two combat Puppets is Naruto's personal favorite, Kyuubi. It is built to not only resemble the Nine-Tailed Fox but is as large as Sasori's Hiruko. Its bladed claws and nine swords like tails are all coated in a special paralyzing poison while its mouth contains a flamethrower powerful enough to rival that of most high level Fire Jutsus. Its nine tails can also fan open up to reveal and fire poison senbon and its front shoulders, like Kitsune, conceal poison shuriken launchers while its chest cavity was capable of launching up to six poison laced Demon Wind Shuriken.

The materials to create the puppets are all taken from Sasori's own tool stash and anything else Naruto needs yet doesn't have is easily purchased by Sasori. The end results thrill Sasori and the field test where Naruto makes his first kills by raiding a bandit camp while controlling all three puppets simultaneously prove to be even better. Even though Naruto is a little sloppy and weak with controlling all three at once Sasori simply reminds him that he will get better with experience.

Sasori also makes Naruto mark his puppets like how he marks his own creations with his own mark, a red scorpion. Taking his Sensei's advice to heart, Naruto then marks all of his own puppets with his own sign, a crimson fox with nine tails.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

After getting the approval of his sensei in regards to being a proper puppeteer, they begin their work on the theory behind creating Human Puppets. It proves to be quite grotesque and yet fascinating to Naruto at the same time. What it requires is for Naruto to remove the entrails from the body and drain it of all its blood. Then, after peeling off the skin, numerous gadgets are installed in the body to keep the chakra circulatory system running and retain the ex-shinobi's former powers.

Sasori has to walk him through step by step after he is sure that Naruto won't throw up at the sight. When Naruto asks how he can stomach such a task so easily, Sasori just chuckles darkly and reminds the young boy that he no longer has a stomach or any other human body parts because he too is a Human Puppet, having converted himself years ago.

With the help of Sasori, Naruto is able to successfully convert the Nidaime Hokage's corpse into a properly working Human Puppet and almost immediately after that, he does the same with the Yondaime Hokage's corpse, though this time it is without the aid of Sasori. After that he converts the Shodaime's with almost total ease. Naruto makes sure to dress all three Hokage Puppets accordingly and to give each Puppet the dignity they deserve with each being dressed exactly as he has seen them pictured in life.

Naruto doesn't dislike them as a matter of fact he greatly respects the three men however, without the proper preservations their bodies would have simply wasted away. In his mind he can use their bodies for the greater good of Konoha which to him is something he is sure they would each approve of.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Naruto has a great amount of fun learning how to utilize the Three Hokages in battle and especially enjoys learning how to use their own special techniques. It is amazing to him to be able to control the Tree Release abilities through the Shodaime and use Water Jutsus with the Nidaime Puppet without a nearby water source. Naruto remembers reading somewhere that the Nidaime had a lightning chakra blade made for him to supplement his water Jutsus that was stolen some time ago by some nuke-nin from Konoha and he resolves to find the blade and give it to his puppet to wield in battle.

As much fun as he has practicing with the Kage Puppets the Yondaime's famous Flying Thunder God Technique proves to be completely useless to him as it severs the chakra strings controlling the Puppet every time he attempts to use it. Even with Jiraiya's help, following a very heated argument about using Konoha's former Hokages and especially his own former student, Naruto is still unable to remedy the situation and for the first time in his life shelves the problem for a later date.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Following Naruto's _almost_ perfect mastery of his Kage Puppets Jiraiya begins training him in the proper use of Seals over the next three years. While Jiraiya's other obligations make it difficult to train the boy properly he does manage to visit for one full week every two to three months.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

It has been just under seven years since Naruto began learning from the Puppet Master and as Naruto's eleventh birthday is now only three months away. Since beginning his training, he has successfully gained excellent chakra control (thanks largely to his Chakra Regulation System), increased his stamina immensely, his speed and evasion skills, mastered several useful supplementary Ninjutsu (to his own high standards) even managing to create one of his own, Mastered Genjutsu Techniques (thanks to his deal with Kyuubi) to the point where he can almost do them without hand seals, learned about different kinds of poisons, strategy, human anatomy, geology, economics, mathematics, literature, strategy and history, created his own puppets, mastered the use of chakra strings with said puppets and created three human puppets from three of the most powerful shinobi in the history of the shinobi world.

It is at this point that Sasori tells him that it is now time for him to start gaining actual combat experience against other shinobi or else he won't be able to grow into a proper Puppet Master. When Naruto asks if Sasori is sure that he is ready for combat against other shinobi the man just smirks telling Naruto that he already has the skills of a Jounin but just lacks the real life experience. With Jiraiya not due to pick him up for another three months they decide to go out and get Naruto the experience he will need to be a successful shinobi and eventually a True Puppet Master.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

_**A/N:**_ Damn that was still a long ass chapter but I just couldn't find any where to cut it in half without taking away from what was happening. Besides I think it was best to get everything finished now rather then to drag the training out any longer. Hopefully the third chapter will be finished some time tomorrow although I don't want anyone getting used to fast updates or expecting too many changes. Like I said before my time is limited and right now I'm mostly just cleaning things up although I did make a few major changes to this chapter if you were paying attention.

While Naruto's Chakra Regulation System will not play too large a roll in most of the rest of the story the stones in it will. The system itself is designed to siphon off his excess chakra and store it in the stones for later use. The main function of the stones will be to serve as chakra batteries for his later Puppets' abilities so that they don't drain his own chakra reserves in combat. The system also gives him far greater chakra control then he would have previously had without diminishing his reserves in the slightest.

As with my previous story Naruto is far smarter and better skilled then in the actual series and once again will not be over powered at all. While I do admit that the new system opens up whole new worlds of possibilities for new puppet designs and powers Naruto himself will not be any stronger then he was in the previous story.

Enough ranting for now I'll see you all again in the next chapter. As always please remember to read and review and until next time…

Later

Raven


	3. Chapter 3: Making New Friends

Chapter 3: Making New Friends

_**A/N:**_ _DAMN_… I admit I suspected that I might make a few of you happy that I was redoing this story but I never imagined I get this kind of response in just a single night. 16 reviews, 1,099 Hits, 20 C2s 37 favs and 84 alerts in just under 24 hours… _DAMN_…

Okay before I continue this chapter I think I should remind everyone that while Akatsuki does not exist in this story its members still do. I'm only doing this since it will have a major impact on the beginning of this chapter and the remainder of the story. Also while many aspects of the original version of this chapter are still present there are several new additions as well as a few changes that will play a key part in the remainder of the story.

Now that that is out of the way lets get back to the story…

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

**Chapter 3: Making New Friends**

Naruto does in fact gain some valuable experience during his final three months with Sasori-sensei and while it might not be as much as either of them wishes it is enough for Naruto to begin to form his own "unique" style.

One of the things Naruto begins to do during this time that both irritates his enemies and amuses Sasori is pulling out a stick of Pocky and actually eating it before the battle even begins. This serves two purposes with the first being to settle his own nerves while allowing him to focus his mind more easily for the task at hand. The second thing is to irritate, if not enrage, his enemies by showing a seeming lack of concern for their abilities.

To add insult to insult Naruto often talks down to his enemies enraging them even further, often to the point that even seasoned shinobi find themselves reduced to little more then stupid brawlers. All together these little pre-battle "rituals" allow him to defeat his enemies far more easily then he normally should while allowing him to still conceal most of his actual skills due largely to his opponents being thrown so far off their game that they require very little effort to actually defeat. During the first two months of this training trip Naruto fights and kills several Chunin and Jounin level shinobi using this method but he only deems one of them worthy of actually being added to his collection.

The Mist nuke-nin and former member of the Seven Swordsmen Kisame Hoshigaki proved himself to be Naruto's greatest challenge by forcing the young shinobi in-training to actually use one of his Kage Puppets. It was actually Kisame's momentary hesitation at seeing the Shodaime Hokage Puppet that gave the victory to Naruto by allowing the blonde to throw a poison laced senbon at the S-Ranked missing-nin's leg.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Three days after completing his Kisame Puppet and only two days after bidding farewell to his now former Sensei Naruto and Jiraiya walk down the road towards Konoha. As the Main gates come into view a faint smile crosses the now eleven year old boy's face as he sets his impossibly blues eyes upon his home village for the first time in seven years. "Doesn't look like things have changed all that much," he comments to the Toad Sannin before they check in with the guards at the gate.

Going their separate ways Naruto heads back to his apartment when he hears the heated whispers and feels the death glares following his every step. '_Yep, things haven't changed that much at all…_' he thinks himself darkly.

Shrugging off the villager's reaction to his return he allows himself an almost evil grin as he remembers the four new future puppets he picked up on their way back to the village. '_I should probably get started on them as soon as I get home_,' he thinks. '_After all I only have a week till the start of the Academy and I want to have them ready by then_.' His eyes seem to glow with an almost sinister gleam at the thought of the reactions his fellow students will have to his own version of Show And Tell.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

During the week prior to the start of the school year Naruto speaks with the Hokage about buying the apartment complex he is living in as his current apartment is just too small for what he now needs. Purchasing the property proves to be fairly easy as even after seven years no one is willing to live in the Demon Building as everyone calls it forcing the owner to file for bankruptcy. With the Hokage acting as his go-between Naruto has no problems buying the building from the bank at far less then market rate. While this does considerably deplete the funds he acquired from the bounties on the shinobi he's killed it does give him his own property with more then enough space to set up a proper workshop.

Using his remaining funds in addition to the seven years of back stipend set aside for his care Naruto is able to purchase the supplies and materials he needs to set about repairing the building. It takes an army of Shadow Clones the remainder of the week to do most of the actual repairs needed to finally bring the once condemned building back up to code along with the modifications Naruto wanted.

Leaving the top floor as the actual apartments his clones convert the bottom and the middle floor into work areas while adding a greenhouse to the roof for growing plants and herbs to use as both poisons and antidotes. Before his departure from the village Jiraiya is kind enough to install a seal based security system in the lower levels of the building at the request of both Naruto and the Hokage.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Naruto wakes up early on his first day at the Academy and after showering and getting dressed he takes a moment to look over his new appearance in the mirror. In addition to his ever present Chakra Regulation System he is dressed in a simple yet functional shinobi outfit consisting of a short-sleeved mesh shirt under a sleeveless open necked black shirt with black pants that end just above his black two-toed shoes. He straps a kunai holster to each thigh and around his waist is a special multi-pouched utility pouch that holds not only his shuriken and senbon but also special poison filled smoke bombs, sealing scrolls, various poisons and antidotes.

While his gear and outfit make him appear to be a formidable shinobi it is actually what covers his arms that will lead him to being respected by his friends and feared by his enemies. His arms are tattooed with special storage seals that allow him to summon his most prized and most useful Puppets. Currently his right arm possesses only three simple kanji for first, second and fourth, though it is in these that hold his most powerful Puppets. His left arm contains the rest of his current collection including his original battle Puppets and Kisame on the inside of his arm for easy access.

Following a quick glance at the clock he makes his way towards the door, pausing just long enough to grab his black sleeveless trench coat before heading off towards the Academy for his first day.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

As Naruto enters the room he notices just how early he actually is. Looking around he can see only four other people already there. The first person he notices is the only girl in the room. She has short bluish-black hair with lavender pupil-less eyes while the second person is almost entirely hidden beneath a gray trench coat with dark sunglasses concealing his eyes. The third person is actually sleeping while the fourth is happily munching away on a bag of chips. '_Hmmm… a Hyuuga, an Aburame, a Nara and an Akimichi_,' he thinks while mentally checking each off in the order he notices them. Deciding to be at least semi-social Naruto walks over and takes a seat between the Hyuuga girl and the Aburame boy, both of whom are seated in the row just below the sleeping Nara and snacking Akimichi.

"He…hello," the girl stutters as he sits down beside her. "I…I'm…I'm Hin… Hinata… Hyu… Hyuuga…"

"Pleased to meet you Hinata-san I'm Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto replies while reaching into his left holster causing the others to stiffen for a moment before he pulls out a Pocky. "Pocky?" he asks offering the treat to her.

"Thank…thank you Naru…Naruto-san," she replies accepting the treat with a slight blush.

"You're welcome Hinata-san," he tells her before pulling out three more sticks and offering two of them to the other non-sleeping boys in the room. "So what are the teachers like?" he asks with a smile figuring that he might as well gather as much information as he can before the teachers arrive.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Naruto's lessons prove to be far more boring then he would have ever thought possible and while he likes his teacher, Iruka-sensei, everything the man teaches them are things that he himself learned years ago. Naruto only continues to attend class since attendance is required in order to complete the course and it also allows him to spend more time with his new friends. To pass the time he often pulls out one of his books and reads silently to himself until called upon to participate. Naruto quickly becomes friends with Hinata, Shino, Choji and Shikamaru and by the end of his first week adds Kiba and his dog Akamaru to the list.

All of them enjoy hearing about his training over the last several years and are amazed by his level of skill and chakra control. Both Shikamaru and Shino are especially interested in his Chakra Regulation System and how it works. When they ask why he needs it he simply shrugs and tells them that he possesses a blood-line that gives him higher then normal chakra reserves and without it his control would suck.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

It is during his second week at the Academy Naruto experiences his fist brush with both the Sasuke Uchiha Fanclub and Sasuke himself. Standing outside with the rest of his class Naruto listens as Iruka explains that the matches are Taijutsu only at that there will be a five minute time limit per match. When his name is called Naruto enters the designated area and is nearly struck deaf by the shear volume of the girls wishing their precious Sasuke-kun good luck in his match.

"Damn…" he mumbles cleaning out his ears. "They could make someone deaf doing that. How do you stand it?"

"Hn," the ever stoic Uchiha replies with a disinterested shrug before assuming his Clan's fighting stance.

"Okay so not one for conversation I see," Naruto says pulling out a stick of pocky. "Anything else I should know?" he asks just standing there. "You're not gay are you," he inquires, "I mean it's cool if you are but don't you think you should let them know so they don't waste their time trying to get into your pants."

To say that Sasuke is shocked or that his Fanclub was outraged by the accusation would be like saying that a hurricane was simply a rain storm… in other words a seriously gross understatement. "I am not gay," Sasuke nearly snarls causing the boys in the class to snicker.

"Then prove it," Naruto challenges. "You've got dozens of pretty girls wanting to go out with you," he adds pointing towards the clearly fuming pack of girls in their class. "Just pick one and make out with her."

"I don't have to prove anything to a dobe like you," Sasuke growls as his temper begins to get the better of him.

"Sounds like someone's in denial," Naruto chuckles holding his pocky like a cigar. "Maybe you really are gay," he accuses again.

"_**I'M NOT GAY**_," the young Uchiha heir yells before rushing forward in a blind rage desiring nothing more then to pummel the other boy into the ground for questioning his sexuality.

Naruto simple sidesteps the initial attack while sticking out his leg tripping his enraged attacker causing the raven haired boy to fall face first into the ground. Acting before his opponent even has a chance to recover he kneels on Sasuke's back while pulling the Uchiha's head up by his hair and placing a kunai against the other boy's throat. "You're right you're not gay," he tells the now shocked Sasuke, "You're dead." Without another word he gets up and walks back over to join his friends while snaking on his pocky and calmly putting his kunai back in its holster.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

The remainder of the school year passes with very few problems for the young Puppeteer and his small group of friends. During this time he starts teaching them some of the chakra control exercises he knows, including both the Tree and Water Walking exercises, as well as a few of the different Clone Techniques he knows that they don't teach at the Academy.

Everyone is impressed by the rather remarkable increase in their own skill levels once they successfully complete each of the chakra control/chakra building exercises. What they all enjoy the most during this time however is watching the Puppet Shows Naruto puts on in the parks and playgrounds for the children of the village. Although they have seen his battle Puppets, having sparred against them a few times, it is the normal non-combat puppets (including unicorns, toads and monkeys) he creates for his shows that impress them the most, especially the way he's able to control several of them at a time during his performances.

Even though numerous civilian parents and nearly every member of the Civilian Council routinely complain to the Hokage about the Demon's attempts at corrupting the village's children through his Demonic Plays the Hokage himself, as well as several of Shinobi in the village, find them rather enjoyable and often take a few minutes out of their day to simply sit back and watch Naruto's performances.

When the Hokage asks Naruto why he puts on his Puppet shows the blonde just shrugs saying that since he didn't really have a childhood during his training it was his way of trying to make up for lost play time although he does admit that pissing off the civilian adults is a nice little bonus.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

The morning of the graduation exam finds the six friends sitting in class happily talking about some random topic when Ino and Sakura race down the hall only to wind up stuck in the doorway. "Thank you for joining us and welcome once again to another exciting addition of Fangirls Gone Baka," Naruto says using a stick of pocky like a microphone loud enough to get the entire class' attention. while sitting on his desk facing Sasuke's two craziest fangirls.

"I'm your host Naruto Uzumaki," he continues, "And joining me today for color commentary are Kiba Inuzuka and Choji Akimichi." Choji and Kiba both quickly move to join Naruto on top of the desk facing the girls using their own Pocky sticks as they join their friend in their commentary of the girls' behavior. They entire class cracks up at the three boys' antics while their friends silently laugh along with them.

By the time Iruka enters the classroom the scene has already played itself out and everyone is once again seated and talking quietly amongst themselves. The test itself is fairly simple and Naruto finds the whole thing quite boring. He actually requests to go last as he doesn't feel the need to embarrass the others so when his time came he stands in front of the class with a smirk on his face.

"Now Naruto," Iruka begins, "in order to graduate you need to create three Clones, perform the Transformation and Substitution Jutsus." Naruto just nods before disappearing in a puff of smoke. As the smoke clears three Naruto Clones and one rather confused Iruka stand in front of the class while the Iruka giving the test leans back in his chair with a smirk.

"I suppose I can let you pass," the Iruka sitting says before Naruto dispels the clones and drops the Transformation while picking up a Leaf headband. Putting his new forehead protector on he makes his way back to his seat passing the wide eyed looks of everyone he passes before rejoining his friends. 'I never even saw him perform a single seal or sensed him use any chakra,' the still stunned Chunin thinks to himself.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

After their test Naruto and the others make their way to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate their graduation with a celebratory meal which Naruto offers to pay for. As they are talk Naruto senses a familiar chakra signature approaching from behind them. "Hey Ero-Sennin," he says turning around to greet Jiraiya.

"Hey kid," the Sannin replies in a subdued tone ignoring the nickname the blonde called him. "Can I see you for a moment… alone?" Jiraiya's tone and body language have Naruto worried.

Naruto's study human nature long enough to be able to tell when someone is hiding something and if the normally loud and boisterous Sannin is this subdued then it must be serious. "Sure," he replies before getting up to join the man outside. "I'll be back in a minute," he tells the others before following the Toad Sannin.

Naruto never rejoins his friends after speaking with Jiraiya although he does send a clone with the money to pay the bill and let them know that he will see them at the Academy the next day for their team assignments.

Jiraiya told Naruto how Orochimaru murdered Sasori and that Sasori's last wish was for Naruto to have all of his belongings and to carry on his work. Jiraiya made sure to inform the young shinobi that he is not, under any circumstances to seek out the Snake Sannin for revenge, but that if he ever finds himself in a position to take the snake-teme out once and for all he is more then welcome to.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Sitting atop the head of the Fourth Hokage Naruto stares out across the village holding the scroll that Jiraiya gave to him after delivering the news of his Sensei's murder. Naruto is only willing to allow himself this time to mourn for the man that had become like a father to him during their time together.

A few minutes before sunrise Naruto stands up and makes his way back to his apartment so that he can add the Sandaime Kazekage to his "special" collection before setting a Clone to work on repairing his late Sensei's body.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Naruto sits with his friends and talks comfortably with them after assuring them that he's fine and just needed a night alone. He tells them that he is done mourning and won't disgrace his Sensei's memory by dwelling on his loss but will honor the man's wishes by striving to fulfill his own dreams. A few minutes later Iruka enters the room and begins assigning everyone to their teams.

Naruto really isn't interested in what the man is saying until he gets to the seventh team. "Team Seven, lead by Kakashi Hatake, will be Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame and Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto cringed at Sakura's banshee scream at having lost her chance to be teamed with _her_ Sasuke-kun while Ino wails at her own misfortune.

"Team Eight, lead by Kurenai Yuuhi, will be Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyuuga," the Chunin says after rubbing his head to try and stave off the headache the cries of Sasuke's Fangirls are threatening to cause him.

"Since Team Nine is still in rotation from last year Team Ten, lead by Asuma Sarutobi, will be Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki," he tells them, "Your Senseis will be here after lunch to meet with you before you begin your lives as Shinobi. You're dismissed until then."

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Naruto and his friends decide to eat lunch under one of the trees in the Academy's training grounds. Being as this will be the last time they will all be together for awhile Naruto decided to make a picnic of it and actually prepared a rather large meal, considering both his and Choji's appetites, for them to all share. Unrolling the storage scroll Naruto unseals the mini-banquette and they all help themselves to the meal he prepared for them.

"So what do you all think of the teams?" Kiba asks as he feeds a piece of sausage to Akamaru.

"Given they line-ups I'd say we're going to be either very formidable or royally humped," Naruto replies, "And not in a way any of us would like."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru says adding his thoughts, "Our team could be considered a Team of geniuses if it weren't for the Uchiha's ego and lust for power. Hinata's Team could either be the weakest or on par with ours depending on how seriously Ino and Sakura take their training. Your Team however is obviously a guerrilla unit that can either become very powerful or very dead very quickly."

"Like Naruto said," Shino comments, "Formidable or Humped." The others can't help but laugh at the Aburame's comment and even Shino gives a short chuckle at his own little joke as they talk over what they know they each need to work on to help their teams become stronger. The boys all agree to work with Hinata when they can should her Teammates prove to be useless. Before returning to the classroom they all agree to meet up later that day at Ichiraku Ramen for dinner before their training officially begins.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

_**A/N:**_ And thus ends the third chapter of the rewrite. I hope you all enjoyed the changes I've made as well as the correction from my previous version. Well that's it for now so once again thank you to everyone for supporting this new version and as always please remember to leave a Review on your way out and until next time…

Later

Raven


	4. Author's Rant

I wish to apologize in advance as this is not a chapter but my own personal rant

I wish to apologize in advance as this is not a chapter but my own personal rant. Review don't review it doesn't matter as I feel this needs to be said.

I have just finished reading the latest (and hopefully not the last) chapter one of the most original and character driven stories on this site by one of the few authors I truly admire who's going through a bit of a rough patch because of some idiot flamers.

As a writer who attracts his own flamers I tried to talk him out of giving up and can only hope that my message got through to him. The author's name is pudgypudge and the story's called The Melt. I would strongly recommend those of you not familiar with his work to please, for the sake of whichever deity you worship, to check both this and his other stories out. He is in my favorite authors list if you need a link.

His situation got me thinking about my own not too long ago and I wanted to take this time to apologize to all of you for allowing my own flamers to get the better of me. I know I said that I put the original version of this story on Hiatus because I lost interest and that it would be unfair to you all to continue. That was a load of crap and I can no longer stomach letting the lie stand. Here is the real reason I abandoned a story that continues to sand as my most popular work to date:

_**zangetsu**_

_**2008-06-10**_

_**ch 8, anon. **_

_**this is the worste story I have read so far. Everything you wrote is just wrong men first u don't have akatsuki in the story without them your story doesn't even sound right. Then there is naruto's personality he is happy and cheerful that is not how a puppet master is supposed to act if u want to know how they are supposed to act read the story of the who inspired u again and u will see clearly. I would like to go over your other problems but I have better things to do. Let others like froggy-slice write puppet story what you are doing is mocking his writing and others like him**_

That ladies and gentlemen is the actual review that hit me harder than any other flame I had received on this story and the real reason for my abandoning it. I am ashamed to admit that I allowed someone who didn't even have the courage of his own convictions to log-in so I could respond privately to his claims. It took me a long time to get over this but now being faced with something similar to a writer whose skills are, I'll be the first to admit, are far better than my own I find myself no longer able sit quietly by without addressing something that should have been addressed a long time ago and my response is this: **_GO FUCK YOURSELF_**……….

That response goes for all you flamers out there: **_Go Fuck Yourself_**…. We as writers put our hearts and souls on the line to bring our fans the stories that we enjoy writing and that hopefully you enjoy reading. It is hard enough taking the time out of our lives to sit at a computer and type up a new chapter and fill the screen with a hopefully compelling story. We love hearing from our fans and it their reviews and praise that often drives us to get through the next chapter in the story even when our personal lives makes such a desire almost none existent.

I fully admit that I personally am nervous and anxious after posting each chapter in my stories and often find myself fearing that no one even saw what I've posted only to get a major rush when I find 30-100 new messages in my inbox with Story Alerts, Favorite Story Alerts and especially Review Alerts. It is these that keeps us going and makes all of our hard work seem with it.

But it is idiots like zangetsu and the other anonymous flamers that can kill not only this joy and a good story but completely shred an author's already frail confidence. Well I'm sick of it and am letting you all know no that I'm no longer standing for it. So I say again to all flamers reading this: **_GO FUCK YOURSELF_**… because I'm done listening to you and after this rant I'm done even acknowledging you exist.

While I can not speak for any other author on this site I personally am finished writing just to please others and will now instead focus on writing the stories I enjoy writing and if you my fans enjoy them as well than all the better.

As much as I loved SerpentSannin's Puppet Master Naruto and enjoy reading some of the other stories in this genre this isn't them and will never be them and if you don't like it tough shit. I'm striving to write my own story and to set myself apart form the rest. I've had it with cookie cutter story-lines and generic concepts. I want my story to stand apart form the others and not be just another Puppet Master Naruto story but something truly original and all my own.

It is for that reason and that reason only that I'm rewriting it and as evident in the last couple of chapters making some major changes. While I'm keeping several things the same this is no longer going to be the same story it once was and I hope you can all live with that because I know I can.

While I'm at it I'm also going to address the issue of pairings once and for all. I don't care who you think Naruto _should_ be paired with or what pairings you would like to see. As far as I'm concerned Naruto is a unique who will never get laid… LOL Just kidding… but it sounded good. No seriously I never plan a pairing when I write most of my stories and I'm not about to start now no matter what any of you may want me too.

Predetermined pairings in my opinion can kill a writer's creative flow unless they're writing a romance which I've only ever done twice, one of which I deleted do to lack of interest. Since this and most of my other stories aren't a romance I have no idea who if anyone Naruto will be paired with. I allow the story to decide which way it wants to go and like you I go with the flow. If one girl stands out then great if not that's cool too. I am not going to limit myself or my story by picking a girlfriend for Naruto and while I do appreciate the suggestions you all leave I'm not going to change my policy.

Now that that's over with I'll try and get working on the next chapter of the rewrite as well as a couple of my other stories so hopefully I can get them posted before too much longer. I thank you all for your time and understanding in bearing with me during my rant but as I said before all of this needed to come out so until next time...

Later

Raven


	5. Goodbye

**_DO NOT REVIEW... REPEAT... DO NOT REVIEW_**

Due to a lack of modivation and lose of interest in the Mangas I'm giving up on my currentnaruto stories. I know this is going to piss alot of you off but I'm sorry. The main reason I write these stories is for my own creativity and entertainment and since I can't bring myself to do either at the moment it's only right that I walk away...

I apologize to all of you that have enjoyed reading my stories stories so much but I just don't have it in me to continue, I'm sorry.

Anyone wanting to continue from where I've left off is welcomed and anyone wishing to use anything found in my stories is also welcomed. Consider this your permission for whatever you wish to use for your own stories or permission to adopt any of my stories you wish.

~Good-bye~  
Raven

**_DO NOT REVIEW... REPEAT... DO NOT REVIEW_**


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