"The Spiral Lives On"

By Quick-n-Popular

Disclaimer: "Naruto" and its characters are not mine. I only take credit for coming up with this story.

A/N: I owe an apology to those waiting for the updates of my other works of stories. I WILL update them but this idea was still working in my mind and I wanted to see where it would go. I have no pairings in mind for this and, with the exception of Yaoi, I'm open to any and all ideas.

Chapter One: You are the Shodai's Wife?

The Academy was bustling with the arrival of parents who either congratulated theirs sons or daughters from passing the Genin Exam or consoled the ones who had failed. At this particular moment, there were more who passed then failed so the buzz around was full of cheer and happiness. However there was one boy who didn't receive either.

Having failed for the first time, he shouldn't be feeling this glum as it was rare for someone his age to graduate this early but he couldn't help it because as he watched the various parents come to either celebrate or to comfort, there wouldn't be anyone to come for him.

Naruto Uzumaki couldn't help feeling this pain. It didn't help that he could hear the snide or hateful comments directed at him from some of the parents remarking how grateful they were that he managed to fail.

It hurt, it all hurt.

He'd spend some twenty minutes watching the coming and goings of parents and their sons or daughters before he finally removed himself from the swing set and trudging back to his lonely apartment. Along the way the happiness that had surrounded the area echoing in his ears.

The blond haired boy considered his options as he continued on. In retrospect, it probably wasn't that wise to try and take the exam when he was still learning, but he felt that he wanted to put one over on Sasuke Uchiha who had bested him in a taijutsu sparring match; ever since then, Naruto was eager to put one on top of the boy. He had felt that he was on the right course as no one from his class dared to take the open exam so early, but he now knew why they were reluctant.

The test consisted of three parts. One written, which went way over his head; a practical skills and theory, which Naruto felt he had scored pretty well in, and lastly was taijutsu, which he found himself severely outmatched against kids a year or two older than him.

The examiners, in his opinion, seemed a little biased. Here he was, only a couple years into the Academy program, a student with poor test scores, trying to graduate early with students who were gifted or had been in the program longer. Mizuki, one of the examiners, seemed sympathetic at seeing his attempt and lightly encouraged him. Iruka, however, stared a hole into his head with an unimpressed expression.

At the end of it all, the only thing they remarked positively was his theory as they said he was creative. However, in regards to the other ones, they said he was either "too eager" or "Over stepping". Iruka-sensei recommended that he stay with the learning pace of his class instead of trying to fly off the handle and graduate early. Mizuki-sensei's words were a little more helpful as he said the exams were going to change so they might be easier the second time he tried.

Naruto sighed as he got to his apartment. He really wanted to be better than that jerk, Sasuke. He knew that the boy was talented but he still wanted the recognition that he had in the class. Living a life where people either turned a blind eye or whispered harsh things behind your back made you want to be acknowledged one way or another. Naruto wanted it more than anything.

But more than that, he wanted someone who was there for him.

Upon reaching his apartment door, he pulled out his spare key and tried to fit it into the lock but found it barely went halfway. Scowling, he tried it again several times before cursing. His eyes stared at the door knob until his eyes told his mind that there was something different about it. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the knob was new as was the lock. Which meant that the landlord had changed the lock without telling him... again.

Naruto closed his eyes as he growled. Today was just one damn little thing after the other. It just wasn't fair.

Sighing, he turned away and made his way to the Hokage Tower to tell Ji-san, the Sandaime Hokage, what his landlord has done.

The overhead forecast began to be come cloudy when he made his way and within a matter of seconds the sound of thunder and then rain followed.

Cursing some more, Naruto looked for somewhere he could find refuge but nothing within the vicinity looked promising. His eyes looked around and soon found a cobble-stoned path that led to a large well that had a large roof over it. It was run down but the canopy still had a purpose, well, at least for Naruto at this time.

Thunder boomed loudly and lightening could be seen in the distance as Naruto made his haste to the well.

The well had a story behind it. It was said, many years ago, during the Second Shinobi War that a woman had committed suicide upon learning that her lover had died during the ghastly war. Who she was, nobody knew, but it was said that she threw herself into the well to escape her pain. Since then, the well had been boarded up and it was against the law to try and remove the plank. Nowadays the place seemed to have become a hotspot for couples or those who took breaks to gather as seen by the discarded cups and cigarette butts lying around. The younger generation seemed to have carved the names of theirs and their lover's on the well itself thus the whole entire place looked a little rundown.

Naruto didn't care as the roof was still intact which was good enough for him.

The winds were whipping around and Naruto was without his jacket, which was another thing he added to his curses. Huddling around the well, he wrapped his arms around him in an effort to keep warm as the weather continued its torment. After about roughly half an hour the wind died, but the raining continued. Naruto stood up and, like an animal, shook his head to get the wet drops of water away. Sneezing after, still feeling chilled, he looked around as he rarely came over here and he took in most of the garbage and faded heart signs. Sighing and still rubbing his arms for warmth, his eyes soon traveled to the plank on top of the well.

He blinked. Rubbing his eyes, he soon looked again and was surprised to see something he didn't see there a moment before.

A spiral. It was the symbol that he had seen on the back of the flak jackets of the Chuunin and Jounin he had seen around the village; several clothing stores had it fitted to their clothes as well but as to its significance, Naruto was lost. The symbol wasn't the only thing he saw. Around it were crude words and characters which jutted out around the circle giving the whole thing a "sun" like appearance around the spiral.

Curious, Naruto hoisted himself up on to the plank and began tracing the characters around the spiral. When he was halfway around the circle, some of the weathered splinters of the wood caught into his finger, which then started to draw blood to the surface. Naruto winced and brought back his finger and, as a result, bled a few drops of blood onto the spiral. As Naruto began the task of removing the splinters from his finger, the spiral began to glow.

Naruto only caught a glimpse of it before the plank, which had first had been hard as cement, became weak and broke under his weight. Naruto soon cried out as he fell into the inky blackness of the well...

TTT

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, after listening to Iruka Umino gave his report of those who passed the Genin Exam of this year. This year there were many graduates but as to how many would pass their team's test was yet to be seen. The future did look promising as always with as many students graduating and there would be more in this time of peace.

Iruka was soon finished but suddenly sighed and made one last remark.

"I thought you should know, Hokage-sama, that Naruto Uzumaki tried to take the exam as well."

The Hokage, while surprised, was worried about why the boy would find it to be the right time to take an exam that was well beyond him. Despite his parentage, he wasn't the most knowledgeable of students and he was a little awkward as he had no one outside of the Academy to teach him.

"Did he give a reason as to why he decided to take it so early?" Sarutobi asked.

Iruka shook his head, "He didn't mention about planning on taking it when he was in class. But, then again, he doesn't seem to have anyone to confide in."

Well, Hinata Hyuuga would be, if the girl managed to find the courage to approach him. Iruka thought to himself.

The Hokage hummed as he packed his pipe with tobacco, thinking to himself. He remained quiet while he lit the pipe and took in several draws before he looked at the Chuunin instructor.

"I think I'll talk with him, next time he comes in. However, if my suspicions are correct, he'll probably attempt it and fail a second time. He's probably got a rivalry or is trying to impress someone."

Iruka thought for a moment before sighing, "Well, he does have it in him to challenge Sasuke Uchiha a lot of the time in class. Perhaps he's overstepping to try and get past him..."

Sarutobi nodded, in fact it was really ironic seeing as how Naruto was closely tied to the Senju due to his Uzumaki heritage and the Senju were at constant odds with the Uchiha. It seems like things never change no matter how many generations come to pass.

Taking another draw of smoke, Sarutobi's eyes lingered to his crystal ball, wondering to himself if he should see how Naruto's fairing after taking a hard hit from failing the exam.

No...I think I'll let him settle this for himself. He's probably beating himself up already and it won't do to see that. Nodding to himself, the Sandaime turned to the waiting Chuunin and spoke to him again.

"As long as he tries, that's all that matters. I imagine it won't be till his third exam that he'll pass along with those he's been studying with in class, most of whom will make a vast impact as there are quite a number of clan heirs. It'll be important for him to make good relations with them as he'll need it for his whole life."

"But Hokage-sama," Iruka began, "If his grades continue for what they are he might resort to other methods to look good or to draw attention to himself. I've seen it happen before and his little...problem might also get in the way."

Sarutobi gave Iruka a long stare before he closed his eyes and sighed, "I know you're still adjusting to having him in your class, Umino-kun."

Iruka winced, slightly.

"One of these days you I shall have a little chat about that, but for the time being, please listen to your leader. I have absolute faith that Uzumaki Naruto will become a splendid ninja in our ranks. All we have to do is to make sure he takes the right path getting there."

TTT

The air was dusty when Naruto became conscious and when his eyes adjusted, it was also dark. Glancing up, he noticed that the opening of the well was once more closed as he could barely see the light coming through the cracks of the plank. Getting up on to his feet was hard as he was sore from his fall and he had multiple scrapes from when he had hit the surface. Ignoring that, for now, he looked around and soon saw a tunnel lit with torches that led on to who knows where.

Figuring that would be the best, he trudged along through the pathway of seemingly endless torches, hoping to find an exit. He stopped to examine one of the torches as they looked peculiar. He could see another one of those spiral designs that was on the plank engraved upon metal that had the fire blazing above it.

He was about to stand up on his toes and touch it when he heard a sharp voice.

"Who are you?"

Naruto turned and saw that someone was directly in his path. She was a tall woman with bright red hair, done in two buns, and had bright pupil-less eyes. She was wearing a kimono with a red obi wrapped around that had that same spiral symbol he'd been seeing. Her buns had two pieces of paper written in some language dangling from a thread down. On her forehead she had a purple diamond shape symbol.

She was...pretty, in a regal way, but she also had an air about her that Naruto was familiar with as he felt it when ever he met the Sandaime's advisers; a sense of superiority.

Naruto gulped as he could imagine that he was in trouble for breaking into someone's property, someone important by the way this woman looked.

"I'll ask you again, who are you?" She said.

Naruto was sure he was in trouble and it would probably do best not to aggravate her as he had done with the others who felt he was beneath them.

"I-I'm sorry. I g-got, er, I fell into the hole and, um, I know I probably shouldn't be here and, well..." He was fumbling and struggling with his words. However, before he tried to save himself, she made an inquiry.

"You came in from up there? Interesting. Let me see your hand."

Naruto looked at her, oddly, but slowly did as she asked, hoping that he wasn't going to be in any more trouble.

The woman took his hand and observed his already healing skin. Her same hand glowed green and she ran it over his blood and closing wounds. What was merely seconds felt like minutes and she let go of his hand and looked him up and down before she began talking.

"There is a reason why that board was there. No one but an Uzumaki or a Senju was to be able to have access. Your blood allowed you passage."

Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Why would my blood do that?"

The woman stared at him and the corner of her mouth twitched before she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Your blood allowed you to enter because either you're an Uzumaki or you're a Senju."

Naruto nodded slowly but then his eyes went wide. "M-My last name is Uzumaki! But why would my blood be needed to come here?" He then looked around before looking back at the woman. "Where am I, anyways? Who are you?"

The woman closed her eyes and sighed but then gave a warm smile. "I'm the Shodai's wife, Mito Uzumaki. Now surely you know who my husband is, right?"

Naruto froze and his mind raced back to some of the earlier lessons of the Academy where they were learning of the Hokages. Surely though they would talk about the Shodai, the FIRST Hokage. However his wife wasn't mentioned in the lecture, for some reason.

While Naruto was pondering this, the woman, Mito, was looking at this boy with many questions on her mind.

The boy wasn't a complete Uzumaki, as in he didn't have both parents from the same clan. There was something familiar about his face as she vaguely saw it being on another person.

"Tell me, boy, who are your parents?"

Naruto was snapped out of his continuing mental queries and looked at her and then looked off to the side, sadly.

"...I don't know."

His words weren't loud but she still heard them. Mito gave a consoling smile and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry. Did they die in a war?"

Naruto looked up, surprised to hear something other than "figures" or "That's probably for the best" come from someone other than the Hokage. Realizing she had asked a question and recalling what she asked, he shook his head in response.

"I don't think so. The old man, uh, the Sandaime Hokage said he'd tell me when I became a ninja."

Mito's eyes softened but then they narrowed in suspicion.

"The Sandaime Hokage? Sarutobi-kun? Huh, so he's still in charge. I wonder how long it's..." She looked off to the side before she looked back at the boy. "Are there any talks on who the Yondaime's going to be?"

Naruto looked at her funny. "What are you talking about, Mito-san? Everyone knows the Yondaime got killed defeating the Kyuubi, why don't you know?"

Mito's expression was frozen and her mouth was agape in either confusion, terror, or possibly both by this revelation. But then her eyes looked at Naruto's arm once more and she seized it and brought forth her glowing hand again, this time a purple hue, and brought it over his arm but it was only for a few seconds before Naruto forcefully brought back his arm and took several steps back from her.

"What are you doing to me!" He asked, loudly.

Mito starred at the empty space where she had been holding his arm before she looked up to him and her face morphed into confusion but soon it became concerned.

"Don't you know?" She asked.

Naruto looked at her with caution and in irritance. "Know what? What were you doing with my arm?"

Mito sighed and she turned away from him. "What's your name, Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto looked away, "It's Naruto."

The older Uzumaki nodded, "Come with me and I'll answer your questions as best I can."

Naruto's face scowled, the day had really let him down but now it was down right confusing.

"How do I know you'll tell me the truth? How do I know you're really the Shodai's wife! Wouldn't she be really old? You could be lying to me like a lot of people do!"

Mito turned around and surprised him by giving him a sad look, "I see, so that's how things are now. What a pity..."

She then walked up to him and he tensed. However, when she kneel down and placed her hands on his shoulders, he looked at her with confusion.

Mito smiled, "It isn't easy giving one's trust and I'm sure for you it's even harder. I can't promise you'll understand what I have to say or that you can trust me, for that matter. But we have to try and start trusting people eventually. I hope you can at least try with me."

Naruto looked away, unsure of what to do. Then, after a moment of deliberation, he decided and looked back at her, nodding.

She nodded in return and then led them down the passage till they came to a winding staircase at the end of it.

TTT

The Sandaime was worried now. Deciding to take Naruto out for Ramen to make him feel better for having failed his first attempt at the exam, he found his apartment with a new lock and the boy not in it. It wasn't long before he came to the conclusion that the boy most likely was on his way to see him in regard to his judgmental landlord changing his lock, who would be very sorry after Sarutobi was done with him.

Back in his office, he debated about sending his ninja to find him as there had been moments in the past where Naruto disappeared and then was found sleeping on top of the Hokage Monument. This could be one of those times.

However, he had a bad feeling that the boy was doing something or finding something that should have been left alone.

A knock on the door, interrupted his worries.

"Yes?" He replied.

A bandaged man limping on a cane entered, his one visible eye looked at him carefully.

"We had a meeting, Sarutobi, or have you gone senile and forgotten?"

Hiruzen sighed, deciding not to focus on the missing boy for a while as he most likely was somewhere safe and just wanted to remain hidden.

"Of Course, Danzo. When you become Hokage, for so many years, we'll see how your mind fairs."

TTT

The staircase took them several minutes before it led them to a wall that, after Mito placed her hand on it, slid itself open and revealed a dusty old study. Naruto coughed slightly due to the accumulated dust that hung in the air but noticed Mito had no such problems. She led him to the door and held it open for him and motioned in. The Blonde haired boy walked through only to be enveloped in darkness.

"Where are the lights?" He questioned.

Soon a small flicker of fire appeared in the corner of his vision which soon erupted and bathed the entire room in light. The light was a fire in a fire place, which above it held a similar design of the spiral marks he had seen before centered on the mantle of the fire place. Above the fireplace was another interesting design that had a straight line accompanied by two crescent marks rippling on either side.

Naruto stared at the symbol, having the vaguest feeling he had seen it before. Before he could ask, the Shodai's wife seemed to have read his thoughts.

"This is a clan safe housing for the Uzumaki and Senju. The primary residents who were housed here were members of the Senju."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Uh...is it really okay for me to be here?" He asked nervously.

Mito smiled as she sat herself down in a large chair in the corner. "Had you not been someone who was allowed in here then we wouldn't be having this discussion, Naruto-san."

Naruto nodded, dumbly. Mito motioned him to sit in the chair next to hers and he sat down, though his eyes were still venturing all over the area. He wondered idly if anyone in his class, hell, if anyone other than the Hokage himself had the privilege to see this place let alone stand in it.

He noticed that it was a fairly large area, composed mainly of several rooms with the center a large table that was littered with rusting, or dusty, kunai pouches, kunai, shuriken, and tanto parts. A map was held to a wall in the back by a pair of kunai, which looked in his mind like Fire Country's borders and had several marks indicating places of importance; what they were he couldn't fathom.

Overall the place seemed like it had been abandoned for years, with little to no care in its occupants' absence.

Naruto looked to Mito in wonder. What was a such important person like her doing in this place? Assuming she was who she claimed to be.

Mito looked around and closed her eyes, briefly, then smiled before she looked back at the blond haired Uzumaki.

"Well, I think it's about time to address an important issue, concerning you, Naruto-san. In doing so, I'll be answering some of the questions you asked earlier."

Naruto nodded, steeling himself for whatever was about to be said.

Mito gave him a long stare but smiled and nodded, "Alright, then. To begin, I'd first like to ask you if you know how the Valley of the End was made."

Naruto looked down at the floor, his face scrunched up in thought. He pondered it as he remembered the name and when it was discussed in the Academy, but at the time he was only partly paying attention.

"Well," he said, slowly, "Iruka-sensei said that it was made by the Shodai fighting somebody...uh, I can't remember his name."

"Madara Uchiha. He was the co-founder of the village with my husband." Mito supplied.

Naruto stared at her in shock. "THAT'S who it was?"

Mito nodded.

Naruto couldn't believe that someone in the Uchiha Clan had been that important. More so, it peeved him that Sasuke had something else to gloat about to any and all those who listen to him.

"What else do you know of their battle?" Mito asked, "Surely that wasn't all you were told?"

Naruto blinked at her, owlishly before closing his eyes and rubbing the back of his head, "Uh, sorry, I'm not the very best student, not the worst though..."

Mito sighed, "That's unfortunate, but not terrible. Alright, Naruto-san, here's what you're missing. An important aspect of the battle was that Madara was trying to stage a coup to usurp control of the village from the Senju to the Uchiha." She stopped and looked to see if she had his attention and was grateful that she did, so she continued on; "However, what was not brought into the textbooks of the Academy or told to the village was what Madara used that day to try and defeat Hashirama. The Kyuubi."

Naruto sprung from his chair, eyes wide, "What?"

Mito gave him a disapproving stare until he slowly fell back into his seat. She closed her eyes and nodded.

"Yes, the Kyuubi. Controlling the Bijuu, Madara used it to fight the Shodai in a devastating battle. However, in Madara's mind his success was assured but failed to realize that Hashirama's abilities would subdue the massive fox. I was there as well, so when Hashirama and Madara had their final fight against one another, I took the only way possible of crippling his chances of success."

Naruto was hanging off the chair of his seat, "What?"

"I sealed the Kyuubi inside my body."

Silence hung in the air as Naruto looked at Mito with an expression of amazement but soon it morphed into one of disbelief and suspicion.

"Now I know you're lying. If that happened then the Kyuubi wouldn't have appeared and attacked the village and we would still have our Yondaime. Besides, that would be impossible to seal something like the Kyuubi into a human."

"Tell me, Naruto-san, what do you know of the Uzumaki Clan you are apart of? What did your parents tell you?" Mito folded her hands into her lap, staring at him intently.

Naruto sighed, "Well, I don't have parents or foster ones because no one wanted to adopt me. The old man didn't say anything about me belonging to a clan. The Academy didn't say anything about an Uzumaki Clan, either."

Mito frowned and then sighed, "Hiruzen, you fool..." She looked away and then quickly looked back at the child sitting across from her, "The Uzumaki were powerful sealers and masters of Fūinjutsu and I was no exception. Sealing the Kyuubi or any of the other eight Bijuu is quite a feat, but-"

"There are nine of those things!" Naruto yelled.

Mito gave him another stare and the tightening of her mouth had him lean back.

"But," She continued, "There's a possibility in anything and I managed to do that, that fateful night."

Naruto nodded slowly, "Okay...but how did it appear nine years ago, then?"

Mito closed her eyes, "When someone becomes host to a Bijuu, they're come to be known as a Jinjuuriki, a living sacrifice. They hold their prisoner until they die or, if their female, if the seal becomes compromised when giving birth. Another possibility is if the beast is freed when being transferred to another host." She looked at Naruto, "Before I...well... I had the Kyuubi transferred to another person. Another member of the Uzumaki of the clan who came to Konoha to be the next Jinjuuriki because of her special chakra. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki."

Naruto's mind was reeling. Another Uzumaki and apparently someone who became a host for the Kyuubi. He was soon connecting dots as he figured that something went wrong with this Kushina becoming the host which meant that the Kyuubi was freed and the Yondaime was killed because of it.

"One thing which has me puzzled, Naruto-san, is that no man can "kill" a Bijuu. Which means if the Kyuubi was actually defeated then..." Mito let it hang and watched Naruto carefully.

Naruto pondered her words when realization hit. "He must have sealed it! The Yondaime was an awesome Ninja so of course he could!"

Mito nodded, "But what did he seal it into?"

Naruto thought long and hard. But soon something in the back of his mind came up to the surface. His birthday, which was a day he was tormented by the citizens of the village. The names they would call him. "Demon".

The color drained from his face and tears began to come to the surface.

How could he be so stupid.

What he wasn't expecting was that Mito had come and knelt down in front of him and captured his face in her hands, forcing it to face her which she held a kind smile.

"Naruto-san, I have no idea on how you are treated but from what I've gathered, by what you've told me, it hasn't been kind. I am sorry for that. My husband and I hoped that the future Jinjuuriki for the Kyuubi would be kept in secret so that they would be protecting the village and would be able to live like everybody else."

Naruto nodded, his wet eyes closing. "A-Am I m-monster like they say?"

Mito shook her head, "No, you are the same person you see in the mirror every time. Nothing about you is different other than this little thing." She then enveloped him in a hug, surprising him. "It can be hard but I'm going to tell you something I told Kushina-san. The Kyuubi is filled with hate and one way to overcome it is to find love. Love conquers hate."

Naruto wiped his eyes and nodded, "Okay, but how will I-" He stopped when he noticed his hand shimmered through her arm before it became solid again.

Mito seemed to notice as she stood back up.

"It looks like our time is almost up, Naruto-san."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Mito closed her eyes, "I'm not really alive, Naruto-san. What you see is a result of a fuinjutsu with my chakra to help sustain it."

Naruto's eyes widened but they soon settled. "So...You're dead."

Mito nodded, "I died a long time ago."

Naruto looked around before settling back on her, "But why are you here?"

Mito closed her eyes, "I am to guard a secret of both the Uzumaki and the Senju's. However, since I found someone who's tied to both bloodlines, my task is over and I know they'll be safe in your hands."

She walked away from Naruto to a completely barren wall and touched her hand against the surface. A spiral appeared and then characters and runes jutted out, forming spider web-like markings. The wall then swung forward revealing a hidden chamber where sitting on a wooden mantelpiece was a large scarlet scroll. Taking it, Mito walked back to Naruto and placed it on his lap.

"This is a summoning scroll of the Uzumaki Clan. It's an ancient one for the Phoenixes of the Celestial South. It is an extremely rare, coveted, treasure that I now bestow upon you."

Naruto gaped at the large scroll, which was almost as big as he is, fearing of even touching it, realizing it's value and worth. He looked back up to Mito, curiously.

"I don't know anything about summoning. Are you sure its okay to give it to me?"

"I'm sure it'll be in good hands." Mito nodded, "If you run into trouble, ask the Sandaime or one of his students, a man named Jiraiya or a woman named Tsunade."

Naruto filed those names away and was about to ask something else when he noticed Mito fading. He stood and rushed to her.

She gave a warm smile, "The spiral lives on. I'm happy."

"Mito-san, wait! I still..." However, Naruto fell through her as she disappeared completely.

The emotions ran rampant in his head as he struggled to get back on his feet. He felt confused but more so he felt the bitterness of being alone. Naruto could only count on one hand and still have fingers left, of how many people truly cared for him or did anything without it being a falsehood.

Now one of those people were gone and after meeting them for such a short time.

Brushing the residual wetness out of his eyes he turned back to chair and picked up scroll Mito had given him.

He clutched it to his chest, closing his eyes and briefly recounting the past hour he had met with the woman who gave him so many important things.

"Mito-san..." He whispered.

Opening his eyes he decided that he needed to see the Old Man and try to make sense of what exactly happened today and what is was that the Shodai's wife gave him.

TTT

Shuffling his paperwork, as the hour grew late, Hiruzen Sarutobi was getting concerned for his surrogate grandson. One of his ANBU, "Gama", who he sent to the Hokage Monument to see if Naruto was there; reported that no one he had interviewed has seen him. Again, Hiruzen was tempted to use his scrying jutsu to see if he could find the boy, since his confidence in the boy's whereabouts seemed to be waning.

A knock on the doors to his office broke him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?" He called to the Chuunin outside who was just recently put on guard duty.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto Uzumaki is here requesting to see you."

A smile and a relieved sigh came to the aged leader. "Let him in."

The door soon swung open and in stepped the boy he was worried about. Looking at him, it seemed the boy looked tired, emotionally drained, yet he still had that energy he was well known for. His hair and clothes looked dirty, surprisingly, considering the weather.

Hiruzen then, immediately, noticed he had a large, weathered, scarlet scroll in his possession, clutched by his two hands.

His eyes came back to the young boy. "I've been worried about you. With your teacher coming in explaining your unfortunate result with your first Genin Exam and then with finding your apartment lock changed; I had wondered where you might have gone."

The boy had looked to the side and nodded, almost absentmindedly.

The leader of Konoha put his hands behind his back, "I'm glad to see you're alright, Naruto-kun."

The boy looked up and a half-smile formed on his face.

Hiruzen closed his eyes and took a breath. "Seeing what state your clothes are in and what's in your hands, I take it you've been busy."

Naruto nodded, "I met the Shodai's wife."

The Sandaime's eyes widened but soon settled. "Indeed?" His eyes soon went to the scroll in Naruto's hands.

"Would you tell me about it?"

He listened patiently as the village's Jinjuuriki told him about the well in the village square, his fall, and then meeting the specter of Mito Uzumaki. Fascinating and a bit amusing at first, things soon became serious when the boy mentioned that "Mito" identified not only Naruto as a Jinjuuriki but herself and Kushina as well. Something only a select few would know. To his relief, "Mito" didn't make the connection between Kushina and Naruto nor did the boy make an assumption about it.

Hiruzen didn't interrupt the boy and let him finish his tale, concluding with "Mito" revealing her being was a Fuinjutsu sustained and operated by her chakra for all these years.

Naruto was about to say something else but Sarutobi raised his hand.

"This is a lot to take in, Naruto-kun. Please, give me a moment." The boy nodded, for which Hiruzen was grateful.

This certainly had become an all too lively evening. Naruto was full of surprises and he had just found something that Hiruzen was struggling to come to terms with. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that his Mentor's late wife would come up with something so...extraordinary. However it was ill-timed in terms of Naruto in particular. In the Sandaime's mind, he wasn't ready for this type of information. His being informed of what he held and it's ties to the village should have been years from now, when the boy had matured and proven himself ready. But now...

The Hokage sighed, "Naruto, what you learned is serious and very important. First, yes, what...Mito-sama said to you was in fact true. You are the holder of the Kyuubi that the Yondaime stopped and sealed."

The boy nodded and then looked up to him. "Why didn't you tell me, Jiji?"

The Sandaime sighed, "Well, Naruto-kun, I wanted to wait until you were ready. Ready to know important information and be able to understand why. I may have misjudged that as today you seem to be handling it well."

The boy nodded and then went back to looking at the scroll he was clutching, which was another concern that the Sandaime had to address.

A summoning contract can be an incredible source of power but was dangerous in the wrong hands, in this case someone as young and untempered as Naruto. Hiruzen remembered how old he had to be when The Elder of the Sarutobi Clan allowed him access and permission to sign the Ape contract. Even the Sannin, his students, had the age requirements bestowed upon them from the toads, slugs, and snakes. Unless there wasn't an age or chakra restriction, which was the case in some summoning contracts he had heard about, then Hiruzen might be slightly more inclined to allow his surrogate grandson to have such a tool in his pursuit to become an outstanding Shinobi.

There lay another dilemma, because he viewed the young Uzumaki as a possible grandson, he also worried about him with things that could be potentially dangerous, like this summoning contract. What if the Head Summons was like Manda of the Snake Contract, demanding the lives of thousands in return of his services? Could he bare to watch Naruto becoming so cold that he could kill that many people in order to satisfy his summons' desires?

The Sandaime sighed, internally, and observed Naruto delicately tracing the lines of the scroll as he waited for the Hokage to talk to him.

'Then again, that scroll is the only proof that he has a family, or had one, rather. Technically, I'd be right in doing so, taking that away from him until he was ready for it. Looking at it though, if I were to do that, I might lose any warmth or respect from him if I did.'

Thinking about it long and hard, he came to a decision.

"May I have a look at it, Naruto-kun?"

The boy, at first, guarded it clutching tightly, before looking into the Hokage's eyes and then finally relinquished his hold on it. Sarutobi nodded in approval and then turned his gaze at the scroll as he carefully unwound its frail, rolled up form.

The contract looked genuine and, with his vast knowledge, it did seem to be one of the lost Celestial Contracts. The instructions on it put his mind at ease as it seems it worked much like today's animal contracts worked, with the variable hand signs and then a drop of blood to commence the proceedings. However, this one had additional instructions.

It said, below the required hand signs, "Possession of an open mind, an open heart, and will to do anything is key to achieve to unlocking the greatness within and shall make you my summoner."

That had the Sandaime worried. If the young Uzumaki failed in this, would there be some sort of penalty?

After reading the names of the previous summoners listed, which were Mito-sama, herself, and few other Uzumaki's whom he didn't recognize; Sarutobi handed the scroll back to Naruto.

"My boy, this is a powerful and serious gift, you've been given. If you decide to become a Summoner, it means that you'll have to obey and follow your Summons guidance and cooperate with them so that you will work as a team." Hiruzen watched Naruto's eyes widen before they settled into a determined stare. Good.

"If you manage to become a Summoner, you will have to take things a bit more seriously as well." He held up a hand to ward off the protest the young blonde was going to make. "I know you do try hard, Naruto-kun, but you could be doing better, such as paying closer attention in class and not trying to start fights with the Uchiha heir. If you promise me that you'll take things a bit more seriously then I'll allow you to do this."

He watch the boy look down at the floor in thought before he looked back up and nodded.

"I'll do it, Ji-san."

To be continued...

A/N: Please Review and tell me what you think thus far.