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To Measure My Capacity by Uniden

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Chapter 1

Itachi looked down on his brother, his Mangekyou Sharingan fading from view.

”Why,” Sasuke gasped, “Why did you kill them?”

“To measure my capacity.”

”Then why?” A confused Sasuke asked. “Why am I still alive?”

“That’s simple. You’re not worth killing now.” Itachi turned away, and started disappearing into the shadows. He paused and looked back upon his brother’s shaking form for a moment before speaking.

“Hate me, Sasuke. Live to hate me. Live to avenge our pathetic clan. Use your anger as a tool to help you gain power. You have so much potential; potential to give me a proper measure of my power. Do not disappoint me.” With that he disappeared into the shadows intent on leaving the pathetic Konoha village for good.

---

Naruto was crying now. He didn’t know why this was happening. What did he ever do to deserve this? He’s only 6 years old! All he did was bump into the guy. How did that deserve the beating he was receiving now? He had said sorry! He had repeated it over and over. But it still didn’t stop - the pain. The pain was unbearable. Why wouldn’t it end? Naruto’s eyes widened as he saw the incoming bottle, and then - blackness.

Itachi heard the breaking of glass soon after he left the Uchiha compound. That in itself would not cause him to stop his flight from Konoha, but then he heard voices.

”Come on,” a man’s voice said, “he’s as good as dead anyway. You hit him over the head and stabbed the little monster; he’s not going to live that.”

An obviously drunken man replied. ”But – I wanna watch ‘em bleed! Deserves it, he does, afta’ what he did ta ma brother! Damn demon!”

Itachi was strangely intrigued by the development he changed his course towards the commotion. Jumping over the wall separating himself from the ruckus he came across a bloody scene. Sure, it was nothing like the slaughter he just left behind, but still bloody. The sight of a small body surrounded by copious amounts of blood greeted him. There was no way this kid could be alive having lost that much blood. Itachi approached the body and was surprised to see it breathing. His surprise didn’t show, of course. Itachi firmly believed that if you can keep your emotions in check you can have a huge psychological advantage over your opponents in any battle.

‘Oh well, I’d better leave,’ Itachi thought. ‘Good luck, kid, maybe you’ll live’. Taking one last glance at the boy, he saw something that impressed him, and Itachi was not one easily impressed by anything. The various cuts on his face and hands were healing at a remarkable rate. Looking down he noticed the stab wound in his chest closing.

‘This can’t be normal! Only medical jutsu can do something like this, unless…’ Taking a closer look at the filthy and blood-soaked hair of the boy confirmed Itachi’s suspicion. ‘So, this is the Kyuubi vessel. He has impressive regenerative powers. Perhaps he would prove to be a valuable measure of my strength later. But not if he’s left in this village, they’ll probably kill him. I can’t very well test my skills on something dead.’

Making up his mind, Itachi picked the tenderized body up and carried it out of the village piggy back styles. Reaching the outskirts of the village Itachi took one last look before putting as much distance between them and the hunter-nins that would soon be after him as possible.

---

Hokage-sama,

I have taken/saved the Kyuubi vessel from the village. I don’t plan to do anything that would kill the boy or free the Kyuubi. You have nothing to worry about, but I doubt you believe that. He will be returned to the village when he is strong enough to defend himself from those who seek to destroy him, like random drunks. Do not bother sending ANBU after us, they will not find anything.

Uchiha Itachi.


The Hokage sighed. ‘I’m truly sorry Arashi, but it looks like your dying wishes won’t be fulfilled. I tried, but some people just won’t change. Most will be happy the kid’s gone.’

It would be 2 years before the Hokage stopped actively looking for Uchiha Itachi and Uzumaki Naruto.

---

Naruto woke the bright sunlight and birds singing their various tunes. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been unconscious, or how he’d ended up in the middle of a forest. The last thing he could recall was a bottle being swung in his direction. Slowly that night’s events came back to him. He’d just finished a bowl or four of ramen and was on his way home after a day at the academy. He’d run around a corner and bumped into someone. He’d said a quick ‘Sorry!’ before continuing at a more leisurely pace. However, a hand grabbed his neck, and a rough voice said ‘Sorry’s not going to cut it, demon. I think you need a lesson.’ Then there was a sharp pain in Naruto’s stomach. And then another. All over his body. The man was beating him, but Naruto didn’t know why. All he could think was to say ‘Sorry’, and then he’d go away, so he repeated it over and over again, willing the pain to stop. ‘I’m sorry!’ he said between sobs, ‘S-sorry…’ he started mumbling, before curling up into a ball. It seemed to stop then. But then he saw the bottle.

Naruto’s thoughts were interrupted when a teenage looking boy with blank hair and black eyes, wearing mostly black, walked in to the clearing.

”So you’re finally awake, Naruto-kun.” His voice sounded bored and emotionless to Naruto.

”Where am I?” Naruto asked, jumping to his feet. He pointed at Itachi and exclaimed, “And who the hell are you!”

”You’re in a forest, and I am Uchiha Itachi.”

‘Again with the bored voice’ Naruto thought ‘You would think he’d be a bit more interested in well… life.’

“And what the hell am I doing ‘in a forest’?’ Naruto said, mocking Itachi’s monotonous voice as best he could with his own 6 year old voice.

Itachi stared blankly at Naruto, as if the answer was obvious. “I brought you here after I found you bleeding and close to death, away from the village that hates you. I have an offer to make.’

“What kind of offer?” Naruto asked, interested. Sure, this Itachi guy may look boring but he didn’t seem to hate Naruto like everyone else, and apparently he’d saved him.

”I want to train you to become stronger.”

”Why would I want that? And why would you want that?”

Itachi sighed, which was the most expressive thing Naruto had seen him do. “If you were stronger, no body would hurt you. No drunkard could pick on you. You can stand up for yourself and what you believe in.”

Naruto thought about it for a moment. “But I don’t just want to become strong! I want everyone to notice me!”

”You can do that through strength. You can force people to see you, and see things your way.”

’Do I want that?’ Naruto asked himself. ‘Do I want to be noticed through fear? No.’ “But Itachi-san, I don’t just want to be noticed, I want to be respected. I want to have friends. I can’t do that if everyone fears me.”

”You can gain respect through strength. By helping others you would help yourself by gaining their respect. You can do that through strength I can give you.”

Naruto was happy now. “Alright! Let’s do this then!” Naruto’s mood suddenly changed for suspicious to happy to suspicious. “But, wait, what do you get out of this?”

”A genius’s life is hard, Naruto-kun. I was a prodigy among prodigies. I am part of the elite Uchiha clan, renowned for their skills. This alienated me from everyone. There were none to test my skills against, none to challenge me, or force me to become the best I could be. I see potential in you to become strong – so strong you could challenge me. I seek one to measure my capacity against. I have found only one other like you, one other with the potential to push my limits. He is my little brother, Sasuke. In time, I hope you two will grow enough for me to test my skills against.”

Naruto was surprised ‘He wants to train me so I can… fight him? Can I do that?’

“O-okay, I accept. When do we start training?”

”Right now,” Itachi said.

”Alright!”

“Naruto-kun, do you know what chakra is?” Itachi asked.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! We learnt all about it in the academy!”

Itachi was pleased, not that it showed. ‘Good, saves me some time’. “Okay Naruto-kun, we’re going to learn how to walk up trees using only our chakra. Now watch.”

Itachi made formed a hand seal and Naruto saw the chakra gather under his feet. He then calmly walked to the base of the tree Naruto was sleeping against earlier and proceeded to walk up it.

Naruto’s eyes were wide in amazement, “Sugoi!”

“Now you try.”

”Alright! I’ll do this easily!” Naruto copied the hand seal Itachi used earlier and gathered the chakra to his feet. He then ran at the tree, trying to run up as fast as he could. He didn’t get fair before falling on his head.

Naruto rubbed his head, muttering.

“Naruto-kun, walk up the tree. Do not run. Here,” Itachi pulled out a kunai and threw it beside Naruto. “Use that to mark how far you get. Remember, don’t run.”

”Right, right,” Naruto muttered, walking to the base the tree. He got two steps before falling.

”I will go catch some food. Keep at it, and remember, do not run.” Itachi said, leaving the clearing.

”Whatever, I’ll have this done by the time you get back!” Naruto shouted after him.

---

It was several hours before Itachi returned. He saw Naruto run to the tree, make it three-quarters of the way up before losing his control and landing, this time, on his feet.

”Hey, Itachi-san!” Naruto was pretty happy with his progress. “Look how far I made it up the tree!”

Itachi’s disappointment didn’t show. ‘He needs to learn discipline, and he needs to change his attitude. It is essential for a ninja to be keep his cool in any situation. I must teach him that if he is to be of any value.’

”Naruto-kun, come here.” Itachi withdrew a kunai from his pouch and drew a circle with an estimated diameter of 2 meters. “Okay, this is a very valuable lesson for any ninja to learn. When you pass it, you will have an advantage in any battle you fight. Are you willing to do it, Naruto-kun?”

Naruto didn’t really know what the importance of the circle was, but any advantage he could get would make him stronger. “Sure! I’ll do what ever you say!”

’I hope he means that, or I may have been wrong about him’ Itachi thought. “Very well, Naruto-kun. Stand in the circle.” Naruto shrugged and did so. “Do not leave this circle until the sun sets. The consequences for doing so will be very… painful. Do. You. Understand?” Itachi made sure he emphasized each word, to make sure Naruto had heard and understood them.

Naruto didn’t really understand the importance of not leaving the circle, but nodded anyway. Itachi’s lips upturned ever so slightly at the nod.

”Good, we shall start.” Itachi pulled out two shuriken and threw them at Naruto.

”What the hell!” Naruto exclaimed, quickly dodging to the side, though not quick enough to dodge both, the second stabbing in to his left arm. “What are you trying to do!”

”Do not leave the circle, Naruto-kun. You must have discipline if you are to be an effect and powerful ninja.” Itachi’s response did not reassure Naruto at all.

Naruto pulled out the shuriken still embedded in his arm. ”You could have killed me!” He was angry, now. He threw the shuriken at Itachi with all his strength, but missed.

”Naruto-kun, you need to learn to control your anger, and hide you emotions. If you can do this you gain a huge psychological advantage over your opponent. If they cannot read your emotions, they do not know how strong you are. They cannot tell if you are weak, because you are not afraid. They cannot tell you are strong, because you are arrogant. Discipline. That is what you must learn, Naruto-kun. Discipline of yourself and your emotions. Only then can we start your training, as only then you will be ready for it.”

Naruto was not a happy camper. “I want to be strong, but this is stupid! Let me out!”

”Shut up.” Itachi quickly formed some hand seals and drew breath “Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!

Several small balls flew out of Itachi’s mouth and speed quickly towards Naruto, who dodged as much as possible, the flames licking him as the went pass. Not giving Naruto time to yell at him, Itachi started throwing kunai at Naruto from various directions, occasionally adding some weak elemental attacks. ‘He is doing better than I expected. Maybe there is hope for him. Unless…’

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!” A giant fireball flew at Naruto, who had no room to dodge in his circle. He lunged to the side and out of the circle to avoid the fireball, still feeling the immense heat it gave off. He stared wide-eyed at Itachi, shocked at what he had just done - the fact he’d made a fireball that large and the fact it could have killed him.

”…what the hell was that! Are you trying to kill me!” Naruto screamed when he’d finally recovered from his shock.

“You still have not learnt Naruto-kun. You still do not have the discipline required to succeed. We will work on this until you do.” He turned away from Naruto and began picking up the spent kunai and shuriken he’d thrown.

”Well what was I supposed to do! Take it to the face?” Naruto still did not understand the principle of the exercise.

”Sometimes it is more important to suffer now in order to avoid it later.” Itachi still had his back to Naruto. “That reminds me… do you remember that I said that the consequences for leaving the circle would be very painful?” When Itachi turned around, Naruto saw his eyes were blood red which some strange black design.

”Itachi-san, your ey…” Naruto blacked out for a second before waking in a strange dreamscape. He was strapped to a cross, with Itachi standing in front of him. “What the hell is this!”

“This is my world. The world of the Tsukuyomi. This will be your punishment until you discipline yourself. Now, shall we start?”
The sun had finally set. Naruto was bruised, burnt and bloody, but more importantly, still inside the parameter of the circle.

”Good, Naruto-kun. It has been two months, but you’ve passed the exercise. You can now start to obtain the strength you desire.” ‘And the strength I require of you’.

Naruto, breathing heavily, smiled weakly, before passing out, the small smile still on his face.

Naruto awoke near midday. Itachi handed him some food which he readily accepted. “We will try tree walking again today. Remember your lessons and follow my commands without fail.” Naruto nodded.

Naruto stood and walked to the base of the tree. Making a hand signal he focused chakra to his feet and attempted to walk up the tree. He made it about half way before losing his control. He didn’t curse, didn’t yell, didn’t make a noise, he just tried again. This time he made it to the top, where he called done to Itachi, “I did it.” There was no hint of bragging, it just came out as a statement.

Itachi smiled. “Good, Naruto-kun.” ‘You will achieve your strength, and I will acquire my measure.’
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