Snake Scent

Naruto asked Hinata if she was willing to live with him, and she agreed. They began eating and training together. Naruto taught Hinata the Shadow Clone Technique. Although she could only create one, it was enough.

Naruto also took Hinata to see the Hokage and told him everything that had happened. Sarutobi agreed to give them an allowance until they became genin.

## At Night, Outside the Uchiha Clan Compound ##

Naruto and Hinata, dressed entirely in black, stood outside the Uchiha compound. Naruto activated his Sharingan, while Hinata used her Byakugan to check for other ninja.

When they passed through the gate and reached the library in the main building, they saw that their classmate Sasuke Uchiha was still awake. They quickly approached, knocked Sasuke unconscious, and continued toward the library. It was enormous.

The library was divided into several sections: ninja arts, clan history, records, and diaries. They went to the ninja section, which was divided into ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. The ninjutsu section was categorized by element: fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, and non-elemental techniques. Each section was further divided into scrolls containing techniques of various ranks.

They began reading some scrolls until Hinata said:

"They're all blank."

"I see. Only people with the Sharingan can read the contents of these scrolls. To everyone else, they look blank. That's quite a clever trick," he said. Hinata frowned.

"Don't worry. I'll read them all, then teach you."

He created twenty Shadow Clones and began reading the techniques...

That night, Naruto and Hinata left the Uchiha Clan compound carrying a large number of techniques to practice later. It was around two in the morning.

"Hey, Hinata, we still have time. Want to check out the Hyuga Clan library?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea. It'll be difficult to sneak in without being noticed."

"Oh, they all brag about having 'all-seeing eyes,' but that didn't stop me from sneaking into the clan compound before and sprinkling itching powder in their underwear." Naruto laughed.

"You did that?" she asked in surprise.

"Of course. They're always so arrogant, but I never did anything like that to you," he reassured her.

"Fine, then let's try," she said.

They headed toward the Hyuga Clan compound and observed it from afar. Naruto spotted four guards standing watch at the entrance. Fortunately, they had not activated their Byakugan. They quietly approached the wall and waited for the guards to finish their routine patrol. They infused chakra into their feet and climbed over the wall.

Once inside, Hinata led Naruto to the library, since Naruto was unfamiliar with the place. Just like in the Uchiha Clan library, only Byakugan users could read the scrolls.

Hinata quickly opened the scrolls and began copying them down, then handed them to Naruto to memorize.

They left the Hyuga Clan compound with new ninjutsu.

They began training even more, especially Hinata. She wanted to master the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist and prove to them one day that hard work could surpass genius.

Several years passed, and Naruto and Hinata had both grown a great deal. They were now ten years old. Due to their constant training, they were taller and stronger than the other children their age.

Naruto arrived at the Hokage Tower and made his way upstairs. When he reached the Hokage's office, he saw his secretary.

"Good morning. I'm here to see Lord Hokage. Is he free right now?"

The secretary looked up at him and said with disgust:

"Why would Lord Hokage want to see something like you?"

"You'd better watch your words, or you might lose your life."

"L-Lord Hokage can see you now," she hurriedly said in fright, forcing a fake smile.

Naruto opened the door and saw the Hokage's smiling face.

"Naruto, how have you been lately?" the Hokage asked.

"Good. I have something I'd like to ask you for help with," he said. The Hokage raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I'll do my best. What do you need?" the Hokage asked.

"Look, I'm a little short on money this month. I know I'm not a ninja yet, but could you assign me a few D-rank missions?"

"Of course, Naruto, but you know those missions are usually carried out under the leadership of a jonin, so they may take quite a bit of your time," the Hokage said.

"No problem, old man. I can create an army myself," Naruto said as he formed hand seals and gathered chakra. Then, amid a puff of smoke, twenty Shadow Clones appeared in the office.

The Hokage's jaw dropped when he saw a ten-year-old using a B-rank forbidden technique.

"Where did you learn that? Do you know that technique was classified as forbidden because of its enormous chakra consumption?"

"Don't make such a fuss, old man. I learned it while watching Kakashi practice with another ninja. Besides, I have plenty of chakra. I can easily create a thousand Shadow Clones and still keep fighting," he said proudly.

"All right, Naruto. Since you're not an official ninja yet, I'll give you these missions first. Once you become a ninja, I'll add them to your file. Come with me to the mission room," the Hokage said. The two of them left the Hokage's office and headed for the mission room.

In the mission room, the Hokage browsed through the available missions.

"How many do you want? Since you can create so many clones, I think you might be able to help us lighten the workload," the Hokage continued.

Naruto thought for a moment:

"Give me ten missions," Naruto said as he took a scroll and opened the first page.

He read the scroll. The mission was to help a farmer till his land.

Nearly an hour passed as Naruto continued hoeing the ground calmly.

Bang!

A loud noise rang through the open area, the sound of metal striking metal. Naruto cleared away the soil and saw a metal door beneath the ground.

What is this? Naruto thought. When the door opened, he saw a staircase leading underground and carefully walked down.

The place smelled of death and decay.

Something is wrong here, Naruto thought.

A long corridor connected several rooms. In one of them were human skeletons and several corpses still decomposing.

As he explored further and checked another room, he saw a table filled with bottles of various colors. He decided it was best not to touch them.

"That smell... snakes."

Naruto had read in the library about a ninja who used snakes as summons and fled Konoha after being discovered conducting twisted experiments on kidnapped children.

"Orochimaru," Naruto concluded. He created a Shadow Clone and said, "Go tell the old man."

The Shadow Clone left, while Naruto continued exploring. One room appeared to be a small study. When he entered and approached the desk, he saw several seals and many blood-filled test tubes labeled with various names, such as "Hashirama Senju," "Tobirama Senju," "Minato," and others Naruto did not recognize.

Orochimaru wants my father's blood, not to mention the Senju brothers'. Naruto continued thinking until he saw several notes that appeared to be diaries. He continued reading.

"That twisted bastard..."