A/N: This story disregards Dragon Ball GT entirely, the events within having not taken place yet. Not to mention this author has never watched GT (having only read the Dragon Ball Manga), so I would have to look up information far too often.

Of Learned Truths

It was a warm, sunny day on the summit of Mount Paozu. The green scenery evoked a natural clam in even the most hardened of warriors. Home of the strongest warrior of Earth, the summit currently bore witness to a powerful struggle.

"Watch yourself Uub!" laughed Goku as he sent a barrage of ki blasts at the young student from behind. Surprised only momentarily, Uub raised his arms, deflecting the ki blasts around him in a flurry of movement. His eyes shifted around, failing to find Goku.

Where is… there!

Suddenly sensing his teacher's ki, Uub directed his gaze straight up. He found Goku in time to witness him preparing a Kamehameha.

Well then, how will you react to this Uub? the strongest of Saiyans asked himself.

Uub stood his ground in the face of the blast, cupping his own hands together behind him. A ball of energy began to form in each of their hands, as they recited the chant together.

"Ka-me-ha-me-ha!" they bellowed in the same instant, firing the wave of energy simultaneously. The moves collided midway between the two. Uub could feel the earth beneath his feet tremble under the ferocity of the struggle.

"Hey, you're doing pretty good," said Goku with a smile, encouraging his student.

"I learned from the best," replied Uub in equally good humor, but without the smile. His brow furrowed in concentration as his arms trembled. He marshaled all the strength within him, but he was slowly loosing the struggle. The point of contact inched constantly closer to the young warrior.

With a sudden increase in speed, the beam engulfed Uub completely, much to Goku's surprise.

That was too easy, he usually does better than-

His thoughts were interrupted as he sensed ki behind him.

"HA!" howled Uub as he unleashed a full powered Kamehameha to Goku's back. It engulfed the Saiyan completely, instantaneously. Uub's face lit up in wonder for a moment at the prospect of defeating his teacher.

"Combining Instant Transmission and Kamehameha? Boy, that brings back memories!" said the ever cheerful voice behind him.

"What?" replied Uub, turning around quickly, ending the attack. "But I thought I had you that time!"

"You would have, but you forgot something. Instant transmission can be used to evade attacks, not just launch them."

"Of course!" replied Uub, realizing his mistake with good humor. "Well then, let's continue."

"Of course, wouldn't be a test if we didn't."

Goku lowered into his fighting stance again, making it obvious that this time he would wait for Uub to strike. He didn't have to wait long, it was only a few instants later that Uub dashed within striking distance of his teacher, striking him with a kick aimed to the right of his head. Goku blocked easily enough with his right arm, but Uub continued to pound him with his leg, forcing the strongest Saiyan to keep up the defense.

After the fourth hit, Goku grabbed Uub's leg in retaliation, preparing to toss him away. But the younger warrior smirked, and used this hold to position a kick to left of his master's head. It was likewise caught, but Uub continued the momentum, twisting his torso enough to get a hand on the ground. Positively grinning from ear to ear now, Uub used the position to flip Goku off his feet, planting his face into the ground.

Goku's grip on his legs slackened, and the young Uub freed himself, flying up into the sky away from his master. He stopped after a few feet, turned sharply, and sent a barrage of ki blasts down at Goku. Dust began to fly in the air as the blasts beat the master of martial arts into the ground.

Uub stopped moments later, panting.

"I thought you had more in you than that Uub," Goku responded from behind the exhausted student. Uub didn't even flinch, having already anticipated the Saiyan's escape.

"I do. I could probably push myself to about four times this," panted Uub.

Goku's eyes widened in recognition, and he raised his arms to his sides in the air, catching two Uubs by the head in each hand. The master's foot moved, and caught the final Uub as he flew up to attack him.

The Multi-form technique. Very good, wasn't expecting that!

"That was a good try Uub, but don't think something like that'll work so easily-"

The three Uub's cupped their arms behind their back, and quickly fired a Kamehameha each at Goku. The master quickly pushed himself back to evade the three moves, causing them to collide with explosive results.

The explosion caught the many Uubs, and they fell to the ground with a sturdy impact, forming back into one again. Goku floated over his student as Uub began to get up again, a bit less steady on his feet this time.

This is the best spar so far. He's really come a long way!

"You want to end it now, Uub?" asked Goku, the concern for his student evident in his voice. "You just took quite a beating."

"I'm fine…" replied the reincarnated warrior. "If I had to defend the Earth, I couldn't just quit. I will continue."

He rose completely and quickly now, determination burning like a flame in his eyes. Much to Goku's amused satisfaction; Uub prepared another attack, cupping both hands behind himself separately.

"Ka-me…"

Goku responded in kind, holding his hands out behind himself, preparing his own Kamehameha.

"Ha-me…" the two echoed.

But just as Goku was about to utter the final syllable, a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A fifth Uub rushed in between the two, hands held to the sides of his head.

"Solar Flare!"

Goku's eyes widened in surprise, the exact opposite of what he would have recommended doing in this situation. The technique caught in his eyes, blinding him in a flash. His energy faded away as he held his hands to his eyes, in pain for a brief instant from the flash.

The fifth Uub combined with the original, and his power increased to its true level. As the spheres of ki behind him bulged, Uub separated his hands. The ki divided itself equally between them.

"HA!"

Goku's eyes fluttered open slowly, just in time to see the technique launching at him. Two separate Kamehameha waves were flying towards him rapidly. With a dash of speed, Goku dodged to the side, but the energy waves turned sharply to follow him at the last minute, much to Goku's shock.

I didn't know Uub knew how to do that!

The two waves combined into one moments before striking Goku, catching him completely off guard this time. Combined they became more than the sum of their parts, and threatened to do serious damage to the Saiyan.

"No choice then!" said Goku, eyes narrowing. With a war cry to shake the earth, Goku powered up into his Super Saiyan form in a flash. The wave of energy hit him as he raised his guard, knocking him out of the sky. But with his increased power, the actual damage to his body was minimized.

Uub collapsed to his knees in exhaustion even as his sensei fell from the sky. Both student and master panted heavily from the exertion. Goku lowered himself back to his normal form.

"I did it," said Uub proudly. "I finally managed to force you up to your Super Saiyan level!"

"Yeah," grinned Goku, proud of his young student. He surveyed the damage he had taken during the training. It wasn't much, though his shirt was in ruins, along with most of his pants. However, that wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed with a quick trip to the store. Even the environment around them was relatively undamaged; only one major crater had formed, from when Uub had tried to beat him senseless with a barrage of small ki blasts, along with a few spider webs of cracks in the stone from where some of the slightly less devastating impacts had taken place.

It really is a testament to Uub's remarkable control that so little collateral damaged was dealt! And he's pretty creative, strong too. Well, that settles it then.

"Well Uub, we've finally reached that point," affirmed Goku enthusiastically. "There's nothing more I can teach you."

Uub's eyes widened in complete shock. "But I'm not ready to be a Z Fighter! I'm nowhere near strong enough yet, I couldn't even bruise your Super Saiyan form!"

"Power isn't everything Uub," remarked Goku, as he got to his feet. "You've shown something far more important to a Warrior, creativity and control. The most decisive element in any battle is not usually who can toss around the most powerful techniques. Even the strongest move can be circumvented by someone who expects it. Much more important is that the warrior has the control over his own strength necessary to use it correctly, and the creative ability to do something completely unexpected. Just like how you caught me with that Solar Flare because I didn't expect you to be able to form a fifth duplicate. If an enemy doesn't know what you'll throw at him, it becomes harder to defend against, and that is the most decisive element of any battle."

Uub beamed inwardly at the praise, but thought about it some more, betraying nothing but uncertainty in his features. "But even when I did get around your guard like that, you just became so much more powerful than me that my attack did nothing…"

"I'm not saying strength isn't important," admitted Goku. After a moment of thought, he continued, "But, how should I say this...? Strength isn't really something that can be taught to you by others. That's something you have to learn on your own. You've come as far as you can training under me. The rest is up to you."

Uub nodded, "I think I understand. Thank you Goku, for all you have done for me!" he finished, bowing.

"How many times have I told you, that's overdoing it a bit…?" Goku muttered in cheerful humility. "Besides, we're equals now."

Uub shook his head quickly.

"We may no longer master and apprentice, Goku, but we'll never be equals. I don't think anyone is more powerful, or more fitting to teach, than you."

-0-0-0-0-

In the gravity room of Capsule Corp, the prince of all Saiyans was trying to push himself further and further along the path to surpassing Kakarrot. His son, Trunks, was shouting encouragements from the observation chamber, much to Vegeta's annoyance. The younger Saiyan couldn't train with his father under these conditions of course, not even as a Super Saiyan.

"Trunks, increase the gravity to five hundred times," Vegeta requested in his most calm voice.

"W-what? But father, you're not even using Super Saiyan!"

"And I'm training in three hundred times well enough aren't I?" he snapped impatiently.

"But you can hardly move!"

Even the arrogant prince had to admit that was true. Even at only a fraction of the gravity he was requesting, he could only make the slowest of movements without ascending to Super Saiyan. To actually complete the task he had set for himself-to destroy three large, dense metal targets with only his bare hands-was already proving to be nearly impossible.

"I'll never defeat Kakarrot by just staying within my comfort zone!"

"Comfort zone? You're going to kill your-"

Trunks' voice stopped suddenly, making Vegeta's eyes narrow. What was keeping the boy? He had a sneaking suspicion.

"He wants you to do WHAT?" came the shrill cry of the banshee human he had deigned to marry. Which was just what he needed of course.

"Vegeta! How many times do I have to tell you, the room is only reinforced up to one hundred Gs above the setting you last requested! In this case THREE HUNDRED!" she roared down at him from the observation chamber. "If you try to go all the way to five right now, the whole room could collapse on you!"

"That's never stopped me before woman, and it won't now!"

"YOU'VE TURNED IT UP TOO HIGH BEFORE?"

"Um… mom…" interrupted Trunks hesitantly. "I think what dad means is that he, uh… has every confidence that your work will hold no matter how badly he abuses it…"

"Damn right it will," she replied with a distinct humph. "But that doesn't mean you can just tempt fate like that all of the time," she added.

"Well forgive me for actually wanting to achieve my goals," he replied. "How else do you expect me to defeat Kakarrot?"

"And there's another thing! His name is Goku!"

"I don't think Goku really cares what Vegeta calls him mom," Trunks interjected again; a bit less hesitant now that she was calming down a bit.

"Well it's still not his name. But funny you should mention Goku, Vegeta. He's come to visit. He's just outside, actually."

"What?" wondered Vegeta in complete surprise. This had been Kakarrot's first visit in years.

So, did he finally finish training that human? Or did he come to beg for my help? Well either way, this could be the perfect opportunity to test how much stronger he's gotten in the last three years.

"Well then, what are you waiting for? Send him in!"

"To the gravity room? At three hundred times gravity?" wondered Trunks in amazement.

"Kakarrot can handle it," replied Vegeta.

It was only a few moments later when the door to the gravity room slid open, and Kakarrot walked inside. Vegeta watched him carefully, but aside from stumbling slightly as he walked into the room, the other Saiyan didn't seem to be overtly inhibited by the same levels of gravity that was making him struggle so much.

So you have gotten stronger Kakarrot.

"Vegeta!" greeted Kakarrot with cheer. "Man, you've really been working hard haven't you? I feel so heavy in here!"

"You must have been training hard as well, to have such an easy time in these conditions. I expected your improvement to slow down when you were burdened by a student."

"Burden? No way! Having Uub around was great. There was always an opponent around, eager to try his hand at a match. And it sort of forced me not to use Super Saiyan, which I find helps when you're trying to improve yourself, you know?"

"Of course. Everything's harder for a Saiyan than a Super Saiyan."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Bulma's voice coming, once again, from the observation deck.

"I leave you two alone for five minutes and you're already talking about training? You haven't seen each other in three years. Surely there are other things to talk about?"

"Mom, dad's mostly been in the gravity room for those three years… and Goku's just as obsessed as he is, isn't he?" asked Trunks.

"Oh, hey Trunks!" laughed Kakarrot. "You're here too? I haven't seen you in a few years, how've you been? You must've changed a bit by now, huh?"

"Yep!" laughed Trunks. "I've gotten a lot stronger. Stronger then Goten!"

"Oh, that reminds me," Bulma realized quickly. "Haven't you been to see your family yet Goku?"

"Um well… I didn't exactly isolate myself from them you know," Goku laughed nervously. "I saw them just this morning really. Uub and I have been training in the Paozu mountains, which is where Chi-Chi and I live. So I got to see the rest of my family a lot-"

"And you didn't bother to come visit us for the past three years?"

"Oh what are you complaining about woman?" Vegeta scoffed, dismissing her concerns as foolish. "Kakarrot's schedule is his own business. Although I do wish I had been able to track your progress."

"Well then, why don't we test that progress right now?"

"You're challenging me to a fight for once? Well then, I accept. Trunks, increase the gravity to five hundred times."

"Ok dad!" Trunks responded enthusiastically.

"Five hundred times?" Goku inquired, enjoying the idea. "That's pretty intense."

"As it should be."

"Now just wait a minute!" interrupted Bulma, yet again. "I already told you, the room can't safely go that high!"

"Oh relax mom, it'll be fine."

"But, knowing those two, they're going to start firing off ki blasts at each other in a room already destabilized by the intense pressure of gravity that it was not yet designed to withstand! And if they do that, the whole place will collapse for sure!"

"Oh come on mom, don't you think you're being paranoid? Can't you have a little more confidence in your own creations?"

"There's a difference between confidence and recklessness!"

But before the issue could be resolved, a voice could be heard in the gravity room. Completely disembodied, the voice seemed familiar to the Saiyans in the room, though it took them a few moments to place it.

It said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Vegeta, Goku, and I have some business together that we will have to deal with presently. I'm afraid I must interrupt your intended sparring match."

"Who the hell is-" began Vegeta in annoyance, before being interrupted by Goku.

"Kibito Kai, is that you? Hey, it's been a while! Why are you projecting your voice? Can't you just teleport in?"

"Unfortunately you two have turned the gravity in that room up to a point that I'm not entirely certain I could withstand. If you wish to talk face to face, I'll be just outside of Capsule Corp. And please don't keep me waiting just to have a match. It's not critical yet, but the situation we need to discuss still leaves time as a factor."

"Ok, ok, we'll be right out," consented Vegeta unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, if you need help it must be serious. Come on Vegeta," Kakarrot urged, emphasizing with a wave of his arm.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. I'll be right out, alright?"

"Well alright, but hurry up!" Goku chided, running out of the gravity room at a high speed.

And I can barely limp out of this room with the gravity like this. Damn it Kakarrot, will I never catch up to you?

"Well what are you waiting for boy? Turn off the gravity already!"

"Oh, right," Trunks said hastily, turning the gravity back to one. "Wait… was that why you were waiting? So you wouldn't show weakness in front of Goku?"

"Never mind that! Damn it, what could Kibito Kai want anyway?" he muttered to himself as he ran out after Kakarrot.

-0-0-0-0-

As Goku exited Capsule Corp, a million thoughts were in his head. It wasn't so much that he wasn't excited to see the fused Kaioshin after all these years, quite the opposite in fact. It would be great to catch up with the overseer again. But there was the issue of what he intended to ask of Goku. If the overseer of the eastern portion of the entire Universe needed something from you, odds were it wasn't good.

It couldn't be another monster like Buu could it? If he needs something from Vegeta and I though, there's not much it could be but a fight. And it wouldn't be against just any opponent either.

But despite the thrill that ran through the warrior at the thought of another fight like the one against Kid Buu, his more practical side dreaded the prospect. There would be very little good to come out of another such confrontation. The possible destruction of the Earth, or other worlds with sentient people on them, was a very likely concept in such fights. Even wishing things back to normal with the Dragon Balls wouldn't erase the fact that all those people had to die in the first place.

It can be very easy to forget about the consequences of something when it's so easy to set things right again. But we should try never to forget how cataclysmic such a thing really is for the people of those worlds.

He found Kibito Kai waiting for him directly outside the Capsule Corp building. Still the same as ever, the Kai seemed to carry a peaceful, at ease countenance. Seemingly typical of the Kai when they had first met, Goku knew that in a time of crises he would give into his stress quite easily. The Saiyan warrior relaxed a little, therefore, on the sight of Kibito Kai. There wasn't anything to worry about just yet.

"So then, what's this all about Kibito?" inquired Vegeta as he walked up from behind Goku. "I assume you didn't just interrupt us for a social visit?"

"You are correct. In all point of fact, I have an important favor to ask of you both."

"Well, ok then," grinned Goku excitedly. "What do you need?"

"To put it bluntly, I need you both to help train a couple of new warriors, on another world. Ones whom the other Kaioshin and myself hope will act for their world as you two have for Earth in the past, given enough time to improve."

"You want us to do what?" Vegeta scowled incredulously. "And why should I do that? I'm far too busy to train a couple of punks who think themselves heroes!"

"Oh come on Vegeta," insisted Goku. "All you're doing is training by yourself anyway. And it really sounds like, whoever these two are; they could really use our help."

"The Prince of all Saiyans will not reduce himself to helping a couple of weaklings to grow stronger."

"You don't even know how strong they are yet," pointed out Goku. "They may just need a little bit of help."

"No, I won't lie to you," the Kaioshin cut in. "This request will take a while. The current three preferable subjects are currently divided between the ages of seven and thirteen, with only one in the latter. The younger ones are currently quite weak."

"And you thought I would agree to go out of my way just to help you? Incredible," mussed the prince as he turned to walk back to the gravity room.

"I thought you would want to help your fellow Saiyans to reach their full potential."

Vegeta instantly froze in place. Neither Goku nor Kibito Kai could see, but his features had slipped into a look of sheer shock. His mouth was practically agape. There couldn't be more survivors. But the Kaioshin claimed there were.

Goku too was affected by the news. He turned sharply to Kibito Kai, and asked hurriedly, "Wait, there are more surviving Saiyans? How… where… what happened?"

"Relax, if you'll just allow me to explain-"

"Hold on a minute," snapped Vegeta, realizing something was up. "The individuals you described are far too young to be survivors of the destruction of Planet Vegeta! They'd have to be somewhere around our age to have even been alive at the time," he accused.

"I said I could explain everything," responded Kibito Kai, his voice betraying his increased annoyance.

-0-0-0-0-

The young Sasuke Uchiha was out training by the lake. Normally he'd move in to a more central location in Konoha, perhaps one of the numbered training grounds, but according to his father, this would be the perfect place to learn the Jutsu he intended to impart upon his youngest son.

Just to have otou-san actually want to teach me a technique is great! Sasuke mussed excitedly to himself as they walked down towards the edge of the water. But what kind of move will it be? Oh wait, there's so much water! He couldn't be teaching me a… Katon Jutsu?

As they came to the edge of the water, Fugaku spoke to his son.

"Ok Sasuke. Since you seem to be so eager to grow up, we will be working with fire today. Mastery of a Katon Jutsu will earn you the acknowledgment as a full adult of the clan that you seem to seek."

I knew it! Sasuke thought excitedly. He paid close attention as Fugaku ran through the hand seals for the most basic fire technique.

"Did you catch all of that? Those are the hand seals for the Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu, the most basic of Katon Jutsu. To master the technique, just gather chakra in your lunges, and release out the mouth, like so."

He quickly ran through the seals again, and exhaled a ball of fire out towards the lake, where it couldn't burn down the forest if used incorrectly. Not that he would mess up, of course.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" came the sound of his voice through the flames. Sasuke's eyes widened in awe as he felt the heat on his face. He watched the light of the immense ball of flame play across the water. It had a distinct beauty only achievable when possessing great power.

"Now you try."

Sasuke ran through the seals; much slower than his father had, and felt the chakra gather in his chest. It was like a warm, light embrace. His eyes narrowed in determination as he forced it to stay in place. He could feel some of the chakra escaping. He had to make this quick.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" he cried as he exhaled the chakra. But as it left his mouth it simply dissipated in the air. The only visible flame was a small wisp, barely enough to light a lamp, nonetheless set an enemy ablaze.

Fugaku eyed his son's flame, trying hard to hide his disappointment. But he wasn't doing a very good job of it. As Sasuke looked up to him, he could see it on his face.

"Sasuke, why do you want to learn so much so quickly? It's not shameful to take life at the pace you can handle."

"I have to get stronger if I ever want to catch up with nii-san," he replied without hesitation, looking down at his hands to make sure he was doing the seals right, but also to avoid his father's gaze.

"Is catching up with Itachi really so important? He's a genius, of course, but an unhappy one. You'd do well not to follow in his footsteps."

Sasuke's hands faltered as he abandoned practicing the seals. For the moment he just sat by the lake, starring at the water.

"Nii-san's been acting very strange lately," Sasuke observed hesitantly, unsure of if he should bring up such unpraiseworthy things about his father's favorite child. "He seems less happy, less content. It's like he's slowly slipping away from me and… I don't understand what it is. He seems so mad at the world… or at least at us…"

Fugaku flinched, and sat down next to his younger son. Was this the kind of thing that went through little Sasuke's mind these days at the sight of his brother? Fugaku couldn't blame the boy, most his observations seemed accurate.

"You're very perceptive for someone your age, my little Sasuke," he sighed. "I don't know what it is with the boy, but I can't help feel he'd be a lot happier these days if only his mother was around to take care of him too. I think it might be something like that at the root of it all.

"…What was kaa-san like?" Sasuke wondered, not looking up. He just stared at the lake, but Fugaku could see his face in the water. It was clearly depressed.

"She was a great woman," replied Fugaku, fondness conveyed clearly in his tone. "She wasn't an Uchiha, but she was still one of the most powerful kunoichi to ever come out of a Shinobi village. She was even the only person in the village who could really give the Yondaime a run for his money when they practiced together," laughed the elder Uchiha.

Sasuke looked up, startled. "You never told me kaa-san was such a strong ninja!" he said excitedly.

"Certainly the strongest kunoichi of our village. I'd be willing to say that even though she will never be as experienced as Tsunade, she had already surpassed the great medical-nin. Only the Yondaime was truly stronger than her, I should think."

"Incredible!" Sasuke proclaimed in wonder. "But if she was so strong, then how could she have…"

Fugaku understood what Sasuke meant immediately. His eyes glazed over a little as he stared out across the lake. "I have never told you that story, I know. I don't think… you're ready for it."

"What! But… but…!"

"How about this?" smiled Fugaku in amusement. "When you master the Gokakyu no Jutsu, I'll tell you how your kaa-san died. You'll be an adult then, and you'll be ready."

Sasuke nodded eagerly, and got back to his feet.

"Yes father!" he replied as he ran through the hand seals. Fugaku smiled in amusement as his youngest son failed the Jutsu yet again. He got to his feet, and began walking back towards the compound. The young Sasuke looked back towards him as he went, but turned back towards the water wordlessly, so eager was he to learn the Jutsu, and the fate of his kaa-san.

Fugaku looked back over his shoulder with a small smile on his face as he went. He took a final look towards his Sasuke, before continuing forward.

I see so much of her in you already my son. There's a strength in you others might never know. Certainly you are strong enough to know the truth already. But… let's see if we can't squeeze the motivation to learn a new Jutsu out of you in the meantime, he mused as he kept up the pace towards his home.

-0-0-0-0-

The Hokage tower was peaceful that day, a rare occurrence indeed. Shinobi came in and out at frequent intervals during all hours for any number of reasons, many of which seemed to signal a coming crisis. Sometimes there were Shinobi from bordering countries whose patrol patterns had "mistakenly" placed them within the boarders of the country of fire, sometimes there was an unexpected visit from a dignitary of a far off land, and sometimes the academy had just so happened to realize that it was running low on toilet paper. No matter the "crisis," big or small, near or far, the Hokage tower was always at the center of it. Usually there were delegates for some of the smaller aspects of running the village that dealt with the minor issues, but no matter how small, everything went past the Hokage eventually.

This, mussed Sarutobi, was probably the reason there was always so much paper work running across his desk.

Luckily for the old Hokage, even that had been dealt with that day. For the next few minutes, he genuinely had nothing to do, no worries to care about. The rarest state for a village leader by far.

But of course, things never stay quiet for long. The Sandaime's most peaceful day in years was soon interrupted by a knock on his office door. Three raps across the face of it in quick succession, followed by silence. This, observed the village leader, was the distinctly curt pattern of his Anbu guard, who would only knock as such if they were escorting someone into his office personally. Usually these were enemy combatants of the most illustrious nature: battalion leaders, high ranking Jounin who might have valued information, assassins caught outside his door, and all manner of intruding entities. But no such thing was common outside of war time.

And besides that, the Sandaime could sense the familiar, unparalleled energies outside his door. No, there could only be one person that an Anbu would escort to his office during times of peace.

"Send him in," replied the Hokage to the call. He took out his pipe, and was half way to lighting it before the boy was ushered into the room. It dropped from his mouth as he viewed the state of him.

"Naruto…" he whispered is resigned horror. "Who did this to you?"

The blond pariah had just entered his office looking quite the mess. Lesions across his arms, various spots across his body already forming bruises, and to top it all off the entire left side of his face was swollen and bleeding. He couldn't even open that eye. He grimaced as the Hokage spoke. His teeth were red, and one fell out. The boy caught it out of the air, and stuffed it in his pocket as if to hide it.

"N-no body in particular," came his response.

"Naruto, whoever did this needs to be severely punished, you know that. But I can't do anything if you can't tell me who it was," sighed the Sandaime, already initiating the familiar song and dance.

"But I don't know who it was!" protested Naruto, voice not wavering in the slightest, despite the small amounts of blood that trickled down his chin with the words. "I don't know their name, I don't know their face, I don't even know why they did it!"

Sarutobi nodded, closing his eyes in contemplation. It was always the same. A group of people wearing masks, thankfully not at all similar to those worn by his own Anbu, would attack Naruto, beating him severely. Naruto was never able to identify the culprits, though the various groups seemed to be composed of differing individuals, as Naruto was always quick to note their change in height between each incident.

But if the Hokage couldn't catch the culprits, he couldn't punish them. If he couldn't identify the culprits, he wouldn't be able to catch them. Which only left one option.

"Naruto-"

"No, don't even think about it Ojii-san!" barked Naruto heatedly. "I don't want a bunch of Anbu just following me around; I want to know why this is happening in the first place! What did I do? I'd stop if I only knew what it was…"

"You didn't do anything Naruto. It's more complicated then that…"

"I won't accept the guard, Ojii-san…" Naruto replied darkly. "Not until you tell me…"

Sarutobi reflected again on the typicality of it all. Despite his youth and grades, Naruto displayed a disconcertingly crude cunning in these meetings. The young Jinchuuriki had long ago discovered the power of his own regenerative ability, though thankfully never the source of such. Figuring out soon after that his healing set him apart from the normal human standard somehow, the young Naruto had chosen to use this to his advantage.

Advantage was, of course, a relative term. Sarutobi had reason to believe the young Naruto was purposely refusing an Anbu guard until he cracked down and told the child why the village despised him so. Such a feat was only made possible by his advanced healing factor.

"Come on Ojii-san! I've been evading your Anbu guards for months now. You can't force me to accept your help until you just tell me already! Why do they all look at me like this? Like I'm some sort of monster…"

Sarutobi winced. It was true; the prankster had evaded his attempts to have the pariah shadowed, despite the boy's protests, with a remarkable ease. Sarutobi was under the sneaking suspicion that the majority of the Anbu he had sent must have used his so called "evasions" as an excuse to fail in their duty on purpose. However, whatever the case may be, that still left him in a tough position.

Should he tell the child the secret of his past? Could he afford not to? No matter what the stubborn blond thought, the boy was by no means immortal. Acting as he was just seemed to beg the villagers to use more than just their fists.

"…Will you please escort Naruto-kun outside for a minute?" Sarutobi politely ordered the Anbu. "I wish to speak with you alone."

The Anbu nodded, and despite the blonde's protests, took him outside. Instructing the child to wait patiently outside for the moment, he calmly walked back inside.

"What do you think, Tenzo?"

The Anbu bowed, and replied, "Sir, what the boy is willing to go through to learn of his fate is, frankly, astounding. The lacerations across his arms indicate he was held down, possibly by a woman, while the others beat him into the condition he is in now. If he has been willingly going through such, or even seeking it out by abandoning his guard… such resolve is uncommon. The boy accepts these dangers in a way most befitting a true Shinobi."

"Yes... Naruto is certainly… unusual. I think I will have to tell him for his physical well being. I'm not sure how he's going to take it all though."

Tenzo nodded, knowing full well what Sarutobi meant. It is a very uncommon seven year old who can handle the idea of having something like the Kyuubi no Kitsune within them.

"Though his methodology and goals may be a bit misplaced," admitted the Anbu, "his resolve is fierce. If anyone can handle the truth, it is Naruto."

The Sandaime replied only with a nod. Taking that as a signal, Tenzo left the office, returning only a moment later with the young Jinchuuriki.

"Alright Naruto," began Sarutobi. "Perhaps it is time you knew the truth."

Naruto nodded gravely, mixed emotions warring within him. On the one hand, he wanted to grin. After all this time, his ploy had worked. But on the other hand, he understood how solemn this would be. He had deduced a while ago that there had to be something about him that caused the villagers to hate him. Whatever it was, it wasn't a revelation to take lightly.

"To begin, I must ask you what you know of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Naruto nodded, and thought for only a moment before responding, "Not a lot. I know it is a beast of great strength, almost so as to be a force of nature. A single strike of its tail was said to cause tidal waves, and level mountains.

"And I know it attacked our village seven years ago, on the day of my birth. I know it's responsible for the death of both my parents, as you told me. And I know the Yondaime defeated it at the cost of his own life."

Sarutobi nodded, while taking a draft from his pipe. He exhaled a puff of smoke, and turned sadly to the blond.

"All you have side is true. But there's a side to the story you, nor anyone of your generation, was told. And it is this that concerns you the most."

"Ano… what do you mean, Ojii-san?"

"I'm saying…" Here Sarutobi hesitated. But he pressed on. "I'm saying even the Yondaime was not powerful enough to kill the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Nothing can kill a Bijuu, Naruto."

"But then… what are you saying Ojii-san?" Naruto demanded quietly, beginning to worry. Some part of him already knew the answer.

"I'm saying he did not destroy the Kyuubi, but instead sealed it away within a child. And that child, Naruto… was you."

The boy was stunned. His eyes widened, and his mouth nearly flew agape. He stared down at the floor quietly, taking it all in.

"So… this is why the village hates me…?" he asked in subdued horror. "Because I remind them of what it did…?"

"That is correct," the Sandaime confirmed gravely.

"Ok then," replied Naruto casually, bringing his face back into view of the old man and his Anbu guard. His signature grin was plastered on his face.

"Now I know the cause! Thanks Ojii-san, that's really a load off my mind!"

The Sandaime blinked. He hadn't expected Naruto to take it that well.

"You're not concerned about this… at all? I mean, you understand you have an extremely powerful, extremely dangerous force of nature sealed within you… don't you Naruto-kun?"

"Well yeah!" he said with a laugh, rubbing the back of his head the way he always did when he was embarrassed. "But it's always been that way right? Nothing's changed. I juts understand it better is all."

Sarutobi smiled, and nodded. Yes, that was the perfect way to look at this situation. Nothing truly had changed for the child, had it? Of all the ways Naruto could have reacted, the Hokage had to admit that this was perhaps the best possible.

"There's just… one thing I'd like to know," Naruto continued, in a more serious tone. "Why me? Was it only because I was the only child available at the time or… why me?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes, giving off an aura of serenity to the young child. Inside he was anything but. This answer was a difficult one. It involved the boy's father, and for all he had trusted Naruto with so far, the identity of his father would be too much. It would be dangerous to tell him regardless of how he reacted anyway. If anyone else were to learn of this, the boy's life was practically forfeit.

"The Yondaime chose you, Naruto, because he knew you could handle it. He knew you were strong enough."

"But… how could he have known?" Naruto wondered in confusion. "I was just a baby. No one could have known how strong I was."

Sarutobi chose his words carefully. "He knew because he knew your father. One of the strongest Shinobi in the village by far, perfect material for Hokage, and more. These were the perfect qualities with which to describe your father, Naruto. His strength, both physically and of sheer force of will, were practically unnatural. He had hoped you would inherit these qualities."

He smiled warmly down at the blond. It was times like these where he almost felt like the Jinchuuriki's grandfather. And as always in such moments, he felt an immeasurable sense of pride.

"And he was right. I see so much of your father in you, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened in astonishment, but then he smiled gratefully, and nodded. He turned towards the door, ready to leave. His eyes had grown a little moist in his pleasure, to be so favorably compared to his father, and to learn for the first time just how great a man he must have been.

"Thank you… Ojii-san," he gave as his farewell as he left towards his home. He would rest a while, to recover from his wounds. And then… then maybe he'd get some ramen to celebrate his new found knowledge of his ancestry.

As the boy left the office, Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. He looked to Tenzo pointedly and said, "I do not think young Naruto would object to an Anbu shadowing him any longer, Tenzo-san."

"Hai," was Tenzo's only response as he made a hand sign. He disappeared in a burst of smoke, to protect the injured child on his way home.

-0-0-0-0-

A/N: Well hopefully that makes the exposition clear enough. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Oh, and this chapter is much longer than I usually write, but a couple thousand words or so. So much so that I had to cut it off here to keep it manageable, I had originally planed to get Vegeta and Goku situated in Konoha by now, but decided this was a better end to it. I'm not sure how long the rest of the chapters in this story will be, but so far I felt inspired. I promise to get around five thousand words each installment.

Next chapter: Goku and Vegeta arrive in Konoha, to seek out the newly discovered final Saiyans. Where is Konoha? Who are the Saiyans? And what will the defenders of Earth do with the answers?