Phantom Shinobi

Chapter 1

(Namikaze Compound)

A little blond, blue-eyed boy sat on his bed. He had just changed into a clean set of clothes, even though all his clothes were the same. He had a black hoodie over a grey short-sleeved shirt, the sleeves of the hoodie reaching past the tips of his out-stretched fingers. He wore light grey cargo pants, black socks, and black leather shoes.

The boy briefly touched the whisker marks on his cheeks, his light blue eyes staring at himself in the mirror as he did so. He got off his bed quietly and walked over to his window. Outside, he could see a total of five people. People who he resented.

Three of the five were adults. One was an old man, with long white hair and a scroll strapped to his back, his name was Jiraiya. Another was a blond, middle-aged man, with a white cloak with short sleeves on his normal clothing, his name was Minato. The third adult was a long, red-haired middle-aged woman with a green apron on, her name was Kushina.

The other two people were five, just like Naruto. One of them, a blond-haired boy, was Naruto's brother. His name was Menma. Naruto didn't like him. The other, a red-haired girl, was Naruto's sister. Her name was Naomi. Naruto didn't like her either.

The group of five were having a grand time, from the looks of it. Kushina and Minato standing off to the side, smiling, while Jiraiya and Naruto's siblings laughed together. Naruto narrowed his eyes at them. They couldn't see him, since he was on the second story of the building, but that didn't stop him from glaring.

Kushina said something to the group, and they walked inside. Probably for lunch. Naruto left his room, stalking his way down the stairs. He paused as he listened to the adults talking.

"I was thinking of having Naomi and Menma sign the toad contract soon. What do you think about it, Minato?" Naruto heard Jiraiya say.

"Sure, after a little more training." Minato said.

"I'm fine with it." Kushina said. "As long as they keep training to be able to restrain the Kyuubi, should Naruto lose control."

Naruto let out a sharp intake of breath, revealing his location to the adults. The adults froze in place. Naruto turned and ran back up the stairs, into his room, and under his bed. He heard footsteps approaching.

Soon, he heard the adults enter the room.

He heard a mumbled command for Jiraiya to leave.

"Naruto? How much did you hear?" Kushina asked, looking about the room. It had a bed in one corner, a dresser and mirror in another, and a small closet in the other corner. She couldn't see Naruto, but she knew he was in the room.

"Go away." A small voice said.

Minato looked at Kushina. Nodding, he left the room to give Kushina and Naruto some time. Kushina sighed, kneeling beside the bed.

"Naruto... please come out." Kushina said, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"No. You and father always leave me alone. Just so you can train Menma and Naomi. Just so they can restrain me. Go away." Naruto said once more, his voice starting to crack. Kushina saw Naruto peek out from under the bed.

Kushina sighed and pulled Naruto out from under the bed.

"Naruto... I'm sorry. But we have to. I'm sorry."

(Time-skip: 1 year later)

Since the incident, the gap between Naruto and his family grew. While his siblings were trained by Minato and Kushina, Naruto had to use scrolls form the library. While his siblings received positive attention, Naruto was slowly forgotten.

This, of course, led to Naruto and his hate towards his siblings. They were obviously the reason why he was forgotten. Why else would he be forgotten?

Naruto knew then, that his goal would be to prove to Minato and Kushina that he was better than Menma and Naomi. It would be two years before the academy started, six years till he could become a genin. He grinned. He could prove that he was better during the chuunin exams.

He just had to get there first.

(Time-skip: Another year later)

By age seven, Naruto had quickly learned what he was good at and what he was bad at. Genjutsu was something he couldn't do, unless it was one that took a lot of chakra. Like turning invisible. He learned he could, thus far, learn raiton jutsu with some ease. He couldn't do the big ones yet, probably not for a long time. Taijutsu though... he could do that easily.

Unlike most kids, who liked flashy taijutsu or taijutsu that required strength, Naruto opted for something more his style. It was based off the Hyuga's gentle fist, just not as stiff or defensive. It was very offensive, but he wouldn't use chakra in his hits.

He released small waves of electricity inside the opponent when he touched them, slowing them down and causing pain. And it only needed a simple tap.

During the past year, he had grown only a few inches, now being almost exactly three feet and two inches tall. Due to spending much of his time in libraries, thick forests, in his room, or even just wandering outside at night, his skin and hair grew pale. Right now, his hair could still be considered yellow, but mixed with white. Making a pale yellow, or platinum blond. His eyes remained the same... just with a little less of hope and life in his eyes. He still wore an over-sized black hoodie and light grey cargo pants.

Most people didn't notice him anymore. Sure, many still hated him for having the soul of the Kyuubi, but he didn't know he had it. He just knew that he had something to do with it. But that didn't change the fact that people didn't notice him easily.

As of right now though, he walked through the streets of Konoha. He was only doing it though because it was night. At night, there were less people to notice him, and he found everything was more peaceful that way.

You might ask, why would a kid, a seven-year-old no less, be walking alone in a city at night? Well, it was just the way Naruto liked it. Besides, Naruto liked to practice in the dark. Plus, at night, there was less noise to hurt his sensitive ears. He didn't know why, but noises as loud as normal talking hurt his ears.

But he would find a way around it... hopefully.

(Time-skip: Age 8)

The academy had started a couple of months ago, and it was already clear what the pecking order was. Menma and Naomi stood at the top of the class, for now. Naruto decided it would be best if he portrayed himself as average. After all, the bottom and top of the class always had the most attention.

He still wore the same clothes from the previous year, just slightly bigger to fit his growth, even though he only grew about three inches in height. Naruto had a kunai holster on his right thigh and shuriken holsters on the insides of the sleeves of his hoodie for easy access. His hair became slightly paler over time, now almost perfectly white. It only had a tinge of blond left in it.

As for the noise problem, he got over that quickly thanks to a gift from a man named Kakashi Hatake. On Naruto's eighth birthday, Kakashi had given Naruto some earphones, blue in color. Since then, Naruto could, almost always, be found with the earphones on and playing some music.

Another upside to it helping his noise sensitivity was that it kept him calm, despite the music he played.

At the moment, Naruto had just arrived at the academy. Quickly walking through the halls, hood pulled up, he walked into his class room. Kids were chatting left and right. Some playing. Some doodling. Naruto stalked up to his desk and sat down in his seat, laying his head down on his folded arms.

He heard Iruka enter the room, despite the music playing in his ears. He lifted his head up, leaning against his hand, so he wouldn't get in trouble for sleeping. He saw the class settle down after Iruka shouted for their attention, thus marking the beginning of another boring day of lectures.

(A/N Section)

I know this is short... but deal with it. Anyways, the next chapter will have a time-skip to the end of the academy with a short summary of what happened in the academy. By the way, as for ninjutsu, Naruto only has two jutsu. They will be revealed as the first two he uses in the next chapter.

I don't have much else to say... so bye for now.