Chapter 13

Seven months.

In seven months the boy had burned a way clear through the academy's curriculum. Passing every test ever placed in front of him with flying colors. It was only written exams that seemed to give him any pause, but tests of strength, skill and stealth, especially stealth, he seemed to push right through them as though he should be teaching the instructor.

There had only ever been a handful of exceptional academy students like this. The prodigal scion of the Uchiha clan heads being the most recent.

Hatake Kakashi was the one before him, driven to such lengths by his own intense drive to be better than his father, who had brought shame to the prestige of the Hatake clan name.

Sakumo himself was another exceptional student, but it had only been expected. The Hatake clan was one of the last to join the village system, the last vanguard of the old way, the times of endless, unremitting war.

Compared to that, the academy was probably a relaxing warm-up exercise.

There were a few others that had managed to demonstrate well enough aptitude to push through the academy in quick succession. Nothing nearly as exceptional as a single year, but in two, or so, give or take a month.

But one thing, Orochimaru knew was that each one of these people, that pushed themselves so hard had one thing in common.

A drive!

They were driven to such extremes. It wasn't by choice, it wasn't by mere, happenstance. They pushed themselves because something made them believe that they had to do this. That they had something to prove, or accomplish.

With the Uchiha it had been a wish to get away from the clan. Fugaku was a strict disciplinarian even by clan standards, the young prodigy had sought the freedom of a gennin team, of missions that would extend their reach beyond the walls of Konoha.

The Uchiha had wanted an escape.

Hatake had wanted to outrun the memory of his father.

Sakumo had wanted to drive himself into the heart of Konoha and plant his clan's proverbial flag as to declare that even though he was not a founder of this village, none would look down or attempt to usurp the prestige of the Hatake a clan that had beaten back both the Senjuu and Uchiha's many times over the years...

But...for the life of him...he could not determine what it was that drove. Naruto.

And something was indeed driving him.

He stayed up all night studying ninjutsu scrolls, reading history books, sharpening his kunai, training. It was more than one occasion where Orochimaru and the Anbu guarding him felt compelled to put him to sleep with a genjutsu, ones that, every day were getting increasingly more difficult to pull off.

It would be years before he could, in actuality shrug off one of his sleeping illusions of course. But the fact that he was able to not only detect but offer at least a token resistance was remarkable.

He was no slacker when it came to the subtle art of genjutsu.

But still, the driving force behind Naruto's sheer...desperation in passing through this process as quickly as possible, or to be as strong as possible was one that he simply could not discern. Not only that but the ever present hostility he harbored towards him had not abated in the slightest. All his defenses came up like an iron wall whenever he even heard the sannin's voice.

Coming from a child, who's first impression was a toothless smile and a grubby, drool covered hand reaching for his hair; who with a giggle finally tugged on it hard enough to make him wince it was a startling change for him to witness.

In truth he was somewhat bothered by it.

Mostly because he knew just how easy such a look could grace many features.

He'd killed...a lot of people. Most Sensei knew about, and if he didn't Tsunade did...

But what he did in his professional life for the sake of the village...and worse...for his own ambitions had taken him to dark places...places he may not have crawled out of in one piece had it not been for key moments that had pulled him back from the precipice of oblivion he'd been standing on at points in his life.

If Naruto ever knew about those...then it would be very easy for him to look at him with those eyes.

Easy for him...for sensei...for a lot of people that halfway mattered.

And that did bother him in several ways. Not the least of which was that whomever had altered Naruto's memories might have at least, an inkling...and to give those memories to a boy...who's to say he or she couldn't just go blathering on to everyone?

That worried him

Still they didn't know...for now at least...and he was grateful for that.

He picked up a file, one that was steadily growing in size since he started it seven months ago, pulling free the pad in order to jot down the notes of this last week.

-Subject demonstrating remarkable aptitude for the academy stealth exercises...

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