[A/N]Hey all, Tek again, and I'm coming at you with a rewrite of chapter 1.

Since the story was removed earlier this year, I started thinking of ways to improve it. One way I came up with involved aging the main romantic couple by a decade and have them fighting a particularly dangerous foe… then have Naruto back track through his life, making HIM the narrator of the entire story. His narrations will be denoted by ~ words typed in italics between these markings ~. Therefore, THIS will become the OFFICIAL Chapter 1, while portions of the original will be chopped out and planted here, to be use as "round-out" material. From there, I will create several extra chapter using pieces from the original; I expect to round out at about three-four chapters by the time I'm done.

Before I leave you to the revised Chapter 1, I have to make an announcement. To the person who left an anonymous review asking questions about Naruto's powers, specifically a "Star Rasengan", I will answer your question: YES, he will. He won't be able to use for quite a time yet, though, so to anyone waiting to see its effect, I'll give you a quick multi-shot glimpse of the "Rasen Hoshigan" and its derivative jutsu, as well as a special weapon I devised for his personal use.

This, however, brings up an IMPORTANT request on my part, and I ask this humbly of all of you, my readers: If you like the story, and have a question you wish to have answered, from now on, PLEASE make an account and SIGN IN to leave a name I can use to send you a personal reply. I don't want to have to use pre-chapter note space to answer an anonymous query about powers and abilities. Therefore, again, I humbly ask those of you who read this and DON'T have an account to PLEASE make one so I can reply to you personally. I like to have some understanding of my fans when I reply. ^_^ Now, since I've gone and used about half a page just with this, I'll get into the rewrite now. ^_^ [A/N]

~~~DEAD CENTER OF THE FOREST OF DEATH, IN A SMALL CLEARING~~~

A dance, she thought; that was what she was witnessing as she fought the blonde man and his indigo-haired bride: a dance of two loving, trusting lovers against a single threat in the midst of a dense forest.

This woman, a shinobi known only by the name Guren, had been a virtual unknown to the Shinobi world. However, three days prior, in a rather brazen attempt to incite terror in the village of Konohagakure no Sato, she'd appeared out of nowhere as an uninvited guest at the wedding of their most recent Hokage… who also happened to be the blonde man she was battling. The woman with him, who had a full figure and a dangerous look in her eyes, had been darting back and forth between her husband and Guren for several minutes now, both of them using the other's apparent natural flexibility and trust in each other to not only dodge Guren's attacks, but expertly counteract them at EVERY turn.

She couldn't understand it; for the longest time, Guren had basked in the fact that the crystal formations formed by her specialty Shoton Jutsu were virtually unbreakable. Unbreakable, except for two specific weaknesses: Attacks with a fire, wind, or lightning-based nature, as they were incapable of being crystallized, and a specific sound wave frequency that only one of her ex-teammates had possessed before the blonde man had killed him.

It therefore terrified Guren to discover that not only did BOTH of her opponents possess a dojutsu that made her Shoton jutsu completely useless, but also that they were able to super-charge the power levels of any and ALL of their pre-existing techniques with the abilities their eyes granted them. And with the blonde man being a master of a jutsu she thought to be long-dead, she paled a bit more every time she saw him form a fresh orb of swirling blue chakra in either hand.

It also didn't help her position that she was quickly going numb; the indigo-haired woman's mastery of the Hyuuga family's Jyuken style was quite extensive. The indigo-haired woman had managed to eliminate several of Guren's chakra points with highly precise strikes. What was worse, she had more than likely done extensive damage to Guren's chakra network as well. She could feel her arms slowly going numb…

Despite these massive setbacks, Guren wasn't out yet. She still had a few aces up her sleeve, and she was waiting for the perfect time to use them. As soon as she felt her left arm go dead, she knew she'd reached the right time.

"SHOPO: CHISHIO SHOHUO!" Guren shouted, holding her still working right arm upright and performing a single hand gesture that held her fingers our like a star. Instantly, Guren's body crystallized. Several extra layers of the crystal substance arose from the ground, encasing the first layer several times over before compacting down into a single, diamond-tough layer.

The blonde man walked over and formed another of his spinning blue chakra spheres, smiling a bit as he watched several small, sparkling orbs appears within it. Looking back at the crystal mass, he grinned maliciously.

"Think you can waltz in on my wedding and kidnap my wife, huh? THINK AGAIN! RASEN HOSHIGAN!" he shouted, thrusting his hand toward the crystal surface and forcing the ball of energy into the structure. He smiled a bit as he watched the ball of energy begin to rapidly shave through the crystal, only to watch as another several layers appeared and cut off the orb from its minute connection to his hand. He stepped back, watching the orb dissolve in the crystalline mass until it simply vanished from existence.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" He shouted, focusing a bit more of his chakra. This time, he created five of them, one on the tip of each finger, each laced with several small, sparkling spots. Breathing deeply, he turned to the crystal mass and prepared.

"HOSHI NO SENPO: RASEN HOSHIRENGAN!" he shouted, slamming his fingers into the crystal. He smirked a bit as the five swirling masses bored their way into the structure, but cursed when once again, extra layers of crystals erupted from below his feet to cover off the damage done. Once again, he watched as the five spheres faded from existence and sat down.

"DAMN IT! What the hell is with this technique? No one can possibly be able to make THIS level of self-sustaining jutsu!" the blonde man said, sighing a bit.

"Naruto, please calm down. I've already figured this out," his indigo-haired partner said calmly. The blonde man, now identified as Naruto, got up and walked over to her. With another sigh, he smiled and looked into her pale, white eyes.

"Well, let me hear it, please. The more we can plan out how to take that thing down before she comes out, the better off we are!" Naruto said.

She smiled sadly, and said, "Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do. The jutsu is fast-acting and self-sustaining, just as you said; it's set on a chakra-based time-delay system. She only used a certain amount of her chakra forming this structure, and she's no doubt using it as a permanent shield while she heals her body. Whatever chakra is being used to fuel this technique had to either be retracted by her, or else depleted by an outside source. It only uses up a small amount of its stored chakra for your attacks, so the more damage you do to it, the more likely you are to break through and force her out."

"In other words, I have to use THAT technique… How much time do you think we have, Hinata?" Naruto asked. Hinata's eyes widened, and soon, her eyes transformed; instantly, the color changed from pale white to emerald green, and two golden six-pointed stars appeared in her eyes, one behind the other, the one in back darker. Around the two formed a series of strange, angled curves, also gold in color, while within her pupils formed a pair of golden five-pointed stars, once again a bright one over a dark one. She gazed hard on the structure for less than thirty seconds, and then closed her eyes, returning them to their original pale-white coloring. She took his left hand in her right and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto… You'll have plenty of time to buildup your chakra. She's comatose in there until the technique runs out. She's got it set for about forty minutes with minute amounts of chakra holding the thing together from inside. If we both begin building our chakra, we can catch her off-guard. You use THAT technique, and I'll be ready to provide back-up in the event she manages to get free before you hit her," Hinata said. Naruto smiled and sat down on the grass, allowing his henge to drop. Within seconds, a pair of orange, black-tipped fox ears popped up on his head while his hair turned a blood-soaked shade of orange. He groaned as nine billowing fox tails erupted from a spot above his tailbone, each of them orange in color with black-colored fur adorning the tips. His canine teeth and fingernails lengthened considerably, becoming ferocious fangs and vicious claws. His eyes morphed, changing from a serene cerulean blue to a feral bloody orange with black slit pupils.

Naruto lay back on the grass and watched as Hinata, his normally jovial and peaceful new wife, underwent the same transformations he had, he found his mind wandering back a ways, numerous thoughts flying through his mind in slow motion. He could almost swear he was reliving his life in third person…

"Naruto?" he heard Hinata say his name and sat upright.

"What's up?" he asked, concerned. She smiled at him, which with her blood-red fox-like eyes, made her look quite unnerving.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked. Naruto sighed and flopped back onto his back.

"I was thinking about how we came to be here, as we are now… The only two living Star Sages… The only two living bearers of the Hoshigan… The two halves of the Kyuubi no Yoko… Me the Hokage, you the head of the Hyuuga Clan… US MARRIED…" he heavily emphasized the last two words, drawing Hinata's attention.

"What do you mean? Did you never expect we'd be married? Or is it that you never expected to get married TO ME?" she asked, a bit scared. If this was going where she thought it was, she may just wind up calling annulment.

"Nothing like that," Naruto said, "The moment I met you, I knew we'd be the closest of friends. From the moment I found out we were on the same team, I intended to ask you out. From the moment we became Konoha's first two-man squad, I fully expected to one day marry you. I only ever saw US together. We complete each other so well; I'm overly emotional and don't think too far ahead of things, while you're more calm and level-headed and always think before leaping. We fill each other's blind spots in battle… not to mention we fill the holes in our hearts…"

Hinata smiled and rested next to Naruto on her side, cuddling up next to her new husband to comfort him. She couldn't care less at this point if she was ruining the wedding dress she was wearing. Right now, her husband needed her.

"It's alright, Naruto…" she said, kissing him on the cheek tenderly, "I know exactly what you mean. Both of us were lonely souls until we found each other… I guess things just seemed to pick up quickly after we met. I-I guess you could say that's why I followed you around everywhere you went…" Naruto didn't miss the subtle hint of a stutter in her voice, and it made him smile. Despite everything they'd been through, Hinata was still the shy little girl he knew and loved… despite her extreme, volatile temper when she suspected people of foul play and her tendency to attempt to finish a fight as quickly as she could so she could spend more time with him. No matter what anyone said, though, Naruto loved her. Her strengths, her insecurities, her moments of vulnerability, her ups and down, he loved them all because they made her who she was.

He never missed a chance to smile wide and kiss her when she was being too cute for words, or to hold her tight when she was nervous and stuttering, or, above all else, the chance to just be near her and smile with her.

To be able to be around the woman who was his everything was his only reason for being alive. Hinata could see it clearly, and loved him even more for it.

For as far back as she could remember she'd always fanned a flame for the impulsive, knuckle-headed blonde boy she'd only recently married. For years, she'd followed him from the shadows, secretly wishing that he'd notice her and say something.

Her biggest problem, however, was her shyness; whenever he was near, she'd overheat and pass out from excitement and anxiety. The one thing she wanted more than anything was to able to stand by his side without fainting. Watching him, however, she'd had her share of doubts, and eventually, severe fears. She'd watched as he fanned his own flame for Sakura, their fellow shinobi, for years. Strangely, around the time he came back from a nearly three year training journey with his sensei Jiraiya the Toad Hermit, he'd acted slightly differently. In fact, the first time she saw him after his return, he acted entirely out of character.

Instead of going immediately for his sensei, Hatake Kakashi, or even Sakura, he'd sought HINATA, of all people, out. That fact alone had been enough to make her faint again.

What surprised her more was the fact that he was there when she woke up… IN HER BED.

Her biggest fantasy had finally come true.

There she was, just coming back to conscious thought, and the first person she saw was her beloved Naruto. The shock alone made her faint again.

Over the months that followed, Naruto spent more and more time with Hinata, helping her boost her self-esteem and increase her strength of will so she wouldn't pass out on him. By the time they'd both made Jounin, which took another two years, the two had managed to become inseparable. This fact didn't escape Sakura, however, who, without Naruto to vent her frustrations on, actively chased after him, much to Hinata's dismay. Naruto settled the entire debacle with a single spar, which he won, though not from actually trying.

Sakura had been all too willing to rush into things and strike Naruto down, and had left herself completely open for a leg-sweep and a single karate chop to the back of her neck, which knocked her out cold. When she came to, Naruto demanded an explanation, and the whole story came out amid a torrent of Sakura's tears. After that, Sakura had dropped out of the Shinobi Program all together. If Naruto, without the use of Chakra-enhanced physical strength, had been able to knock her out with one hand, how could she hope to be effective in battle?

This left Kakashi with only one option: disband Team 7, which at the time, consisted of Kiba Inuzuka, a wild loudmouth, Sakura, and a pale boy from the ROOT division of ANBU named Sai. Naruto had come up with a way to counteract this, though it would break up the dynamic of their squad. Going before the Hokage, he requested to be placed on a squad ALONE with Hinata, while their teammate, Shino Aburame, would be transferred into Kakashi's team, thereby making the first ever all-male squad AND the first ever two-man cell. The Hokage, Tsunade, had been only TOO pleased to approve, and from then on, their partnership was lauded as one of the strongest in Konoha.

Now, here they were, both age twenty-six, freshly married, and with Naruto instated as the new Hokage as soon as he returned from their honeymoon, which, due to Guren's brazen actions, had been postponed.

Looking back on the recent events, Naruto could only find himself to be at fault; he'd been far too busy basking in the glory and joy of his happiest day alive to notice Guren slipping up close. One minute Naruto and Hinata were about to kiss so Ino could take a picture, the next Naruto was kissing crystal; hearing Hinata's muffled cried for help and watching Guren's back recede into the depths of the Forest of Death. Feeling something dark rise within him, he ordered everyone to stay put and let him handle it. With that, he'd plunged headfirst into the forest and tracked Guren's movements to a small stone building in the forest's center.

He also couldn't blame Hinata; that would be wrong and unjust. She had been just as happy as he was, if not more so. Besides, what better time is there to let your guard down and enjoy some down time than your own wedding?

Coming right down to it, Naruto realized he couldn't even blame Guren for this; she'd done what any decent shinobi would have done. She waited for her target to leave and opening and struck a debilitating blow right in the thick of a happy moment. He was brought from his thoughts, however when Hinata shook his shoulder, her face filling his eyes with that innocent, shy look he loved so much.

"Can you tell me the story of how you got your eyes again, Naruto?" Hinata asked innocently, "I know you've told me about a hundred times by now and that it's a painful memory, but… It's just so funny watching you act it out as you tell it!" Naruto chuckled again; Hinata's smile was just too cute, and the way she asked, combined with her smile and her reason for asking again… it was almost too cute for words. With a warm smile and a shake of his head, he looked her in the eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Hinata… Nothing makes me happier than making you smile. Besides… sometimes the best way to get over memories that hurt you is to remember them on a constant basis. Now… Instead of JUST the tale of my eyes, why don't we just see how much of a life story I can dictate in forty minutes?" Naruto asked. Hinata smiled wide and nodded, kissing him on the cheek.

_
RISE OF UZUMAKI NARUTO: STAR SAGE!

CHAPTER 1: WEDDING CRASHER & THE BLONDE BEGINNING

OP: "SOUL DYNAMITE" - ACCESS

~~ It was a warm, spring day in the middle of April, roughly nine-thirty in the morning. I'd gone to see Jiji-san that morning after sneaking out of my flat and heading for the Hokage Tower. I was lucky I hadn't run into any flash mobs that day. After a few moments of talking, Jiji called for an ANBU and requested that he take me into the forest outside of Konoha for a leisurely stroll; with an ANBU guard, I wouldn't be attacked in the event of a mob forming.

I felt even safer at the time, because this particular ANBU was one I'd come to know and was good friends with. He wore a Wolf mask, and most people in the village at the time called him "RAIBU", if only for the fact that he seemed to exude a sharp, electric aura whenever he saw someone either planning to attack me or already attacking me.

I'll never forget that day for as long as I live… Because it was the day that I lost the only remaining family I had… Well, at least until a few days ago. ~

A young boy, eight years old by first glance, and a slightly older teen, clad in grey with a white porcelain mask decorated with a wolf design walked through a lush, green forest. Around them, the wind blew gently, rustling the leaves in the trees.

"Okami-san," the boy said, staying at his companion's side, "Where are we going?"

"Hokage-sama told us to go for a stroll in the woods, Naruto-kun," the masked youth said, smiling behind his mask as the gentle breeze played through his grey hair, which he kept spiked to the left, "And I've told you before. You can just call me Kakashi-san. No need to use ANBU call-signs when we're strolling in the woods, right?" The youth removed his mask a moment later, sliding it off to the left side under his hair. The boy, Naruto, smiled up at the face of his walking companion, which… was masked even further.

As far as Naruto could tell, Kakashi was an extremely cautious person; why else would he wear a second mask that went to JUST below his eyes, and a bandana that covered his left eye under his ANBU mask? However, in spite of this, Naruto respected his older friend. They had only known each other a few years, since Naruto's sixth birthday, and had become quite close. Despite that, Naruto still had trouble with formalities. Kakashi had been trying to "help" him with this.

~ Kakashi was always a very guarded man, never wanting to be seen too often without his iconic face mask. He was a good man then, and he's remained that way over the past years. I was always in awe of how he carried himself with such a dignified air while still remaining so aloof. I wanted to try to be like him and told him so, but after he looked me in the eyes and gave me a sad smile… well, I'll just say that was enough of a hint for me. He hadn't gotten that way from trying for years; he'd gotten that way because he HAD to be that way. It was his only defense against the twisted garbage we have to deal with in this world. ~

"I know… It's just the ANBU have helped me in the past couple years. I have to show my respect!" the boy said. Kakashi gave his little friend what the people of their village referred to as an "eye-smile".

~ That was true, though. The ANBU, from the time I turned four, had helped me out with my basic needs. Jiji had kept me with him until I turned three, and then left me mostly in the care of the ANBU; who were only too happy to help him raise me. Out of all the people who live in this village, aside from you and the others from our generation, they were the smart ones: they had been there when my father, the Fourth, sealed the Kyuubi inside me. They knew WHO I was, and WHAT I wasn't.

I can't begin to tell you how desensitized to death I became, watching random ANBU drop out of nowhere on any given day and kill people. I think after a while, they even decided to get creative and find as many ways to kill people who broke Jiji-san's law as they could, if only to make sure I wouldn't freeze up later. It traumatized me, for sure, but not as much as what happened next.

There we were, walking along, when I felt a strange breeze. We'd been walking WITH it, but the one that blew past us went AGAINST us. That told me something was off… and that's when I saw him. It's rather sad that the only way I could think of to tell Kakashi was to point. ~

A second later, a strong wind blew from several feet ahead of the two. As Naruto shifted his gaze forward, he stopped and gasped. His eyes widened and his breathing became shallow and quickened. Kakashi failed to notice any of this until he opened his eye to see that Naruto had silently lifted one hand to point straight ahead.

"Naruto-kun, what's…?" Kakashi gasped in surprise when he looked to where his young friend was pointing.

~ Even now, when I talk to him in my dreams, Kozu-nii will always have that big gash across his stomach… even though he's dead, and physical injuries don't carry over. ~

Several yards ahead, sitting against a tree, was a young man who looked no older than nineteen years old. Kakashi looked closer and saw a large red gash in the youth's stomach, and from the small pool forming beneath the stranger, Kakashi knew the man wasn't long for this world.

~ This showed me another side of Kakashi that I still deeply admire: his ability to take in the situation calmly and form a plan of action instead of simply jumping in blind, as I tend to. ~

Making a quick decision, Kakashi turned Naruto around and said, "Naruto-kun, stay with him while I go and get the Hokage and some Med-nin! We'll do everything we can for him! GO!" Kakashi took off like a bullet from a gun, prompting Naruto to run to the man's side.

~ I'll never really know what made me say something, but to this day, I can still recall how absolutely stupid I must have sounded, even IF I was scared. Granted, for a while, everything I heard Kozu-nii say was even scarier, but I got over it eventually. ~

"Etoranze-san!*" Naruto said as his slid next to the injured man on his knees. The man looked up at Naruto with pain-filled eyes; seconds later, the man's eyes seemed to calm, and his face curved into a smile.

"Ah… N-Naru-kun…" the man said, trying to sit up a little straighter. He winced when a burst of pain shot through his chest. Naruto leveled his eyes on the man, giving him a look of flustered worry.

The blonde boy started, "W-who are you, and how do you know that name? I hardly let ANYONE call me that, aside from-"

"-Kakashi-san and Sarutobi-sama, correct?" the man finished with a groan. Naruto jumped back a bit.

"H-HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?" he asked.

"Well, to answer your questions in order… My name is Kozue. Namikaze Kozue, your second cousin, once removed. The only reason I have for knowing that name is… because I've been keeping an eye on you for the past couple weeks. Trying… I was trying to find you and… give you the gift of our clan… UNGH!" the man said, groaning again as another blast of pain wracked his body. He soon found himself slowly resting on his back, aided gently by Naruto until his head softly touched earth.

~ Given my lack of medical training, there was little I could do. My mind was numb, and I wasn't thinking straight. Looking back, had I managed to keep from losing my head, I might have been able to save him. ~

Naruto could only listen as Kozue took a deep breath and said, "I knew your parents before their untimely death. I can give you some insight now, but I'll have to give you the rest later." When Naruto opened his mouth to ask how it was possible, Kozue raised a finger to silence the boy.

Between groans of pain, Kozue continued, "One of the unique gifts of the gift I wish to… bestow upon you is the ability to… commune with the dead within your dreams. This does NOT mean that you'd be… dreaming of talking to the dead; IT WOULD BE REAL. You'd remember every … second of the experience as if the person you spoke with had been sitting on the edge of your bed, in the … flesh."

"To begin with… You were probably never told, but… Konoha's Yondaime Hokage is… well, WAS your father. Now, if you've ever heard the stories… of the "Hot-Blooded Red Death of Konoha", you should be able to piece the rest of the puzzle together. To specify, The Yondaime, Namikaze Minato, also known as… the Yellow Flash of Konoha, and Uzumaki Kushina, the Hot-Blooded Red Death, were your parents, with your mother being… the Kyuubi's holder before you. Your father and I… talked a bit after he died, which is how I knew where to look for you."

"I poured… everything I had into my search for you… but ultimately, Konoha's greatest enemy, Orochimaru, who found and attacked me. He saw my powers as a necessity for his plans, and wanted to kill me for them. Unfortunately, my powers are kept sealed unless I need them… and I vastly underestimated him. I'm going to pass soon, but not before I give you the greatest gift of your family's clan. I need you… to close your eyes for me… and to place your head so our eyes are about two feet apart… hurry…" Kozue said. Naruto nodded and, quickly moving into position on the soft grass, closed his eyes.

"Promise me one thing, Naru-kun…" Kozue said.

"What is it?"

"No matter how much I may scream, please ignore it. One more thing: in order to… preserve your mind, I wish to ask that you DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYES until I say to, alright?" Kozue asked. Naruto found it an odd request, but promised.

"Alright…" Kozue said. Naruto stayed silent as he felt two fingers, Kozue's middle and index fingers, touched his eyes thrice. However, he wasn't prepared for what come next.

~ What followed next was nothing short of disturbing. I heard a pair of wet "popping" noises, along with several of his grunts of pain. A set of loud screams was followed by pressure against my eyes that I'd never felt. I could have sworn I felt something wet on my eyelids, but I focused mainly on not screaming or opening my eyes. ~

A wet, disgusting sound filled the air, coupled at first with pained groans, and then loud, agonized screams from directly below him. Naruto wanted to know what was happening, but wasn't about to break a promise. He stayed quiet, even as he felt two round objects pressing harder and harder into his eyes. The pain of the force became intense, but Naruto endured.

"Uzumaki Naruto… By order of the stars themselves, I, Namikaze Kozue, bearer of the long-lived Hoshigan, do hereby bestow upon you my eyes, and thusly, grant you all the power they possess. May you use them wisely until the end of your days," Kozue said.

~ After hearing those words I suddenly didn't want to open my eyes at all. Fear had taken over; I didn't want to see whatever Kozu-nii looked like at that point. ~

Naruto nodded once before Kozue said, "You can open your eyes now." When Naruto did, the first thing he noticed was that everything seemed to be a fair bit fuzzy. He could see everything clearly before, but now… it was as if someone had whacked him over the back of the head with a thick, wooden bat. A few seconds of looking at the hazy images allowed his eyes time to regain focus, but he silently wished he hadn't opened his eyes at all.

Kozue lay beneath him, a smile plastered on his face, with his eyes closed… and multiple trails of blood leaking from the corners of each.

~ At the time, he called it "scary". It was anything but scary, really… It was the second most terrifying moment of my life, eclipsed ONLY by the day we discovered the proper way to use the Hoshiton: Saigo no Ten. THAT was the most terrifying day of my life… I was afraid I'd lose you, Hinata. I didn't want to run that risk; I was more than happy to keep using my Kage Bunshin as remote bombs.

At this point in time, however, I was scared out of my mind. I just discover living family, and I find out they're dying. Who wouldn't be scared hearing that? ~

"I know this is scary for you, Naru-kun…" Kozue said, "But I should explain a few things… about your new powers. They will awaken in stages. The first stage is close at hand; the day you enter the academy… you will be granted enhanced brain power, allowing you to… easily ascend the ranks of whatever class you find yourself in… and take the top seat. In addition, you'll also find yourself able to stop most verbal disputes with a single glance at each party. Your new powers will make you… highly sensitive toward negativity, and will drive you… to stop it, whatever the cost."

"The second stage will hit the day you become a genin… that day will mark the first day of your ability to commune with the dead in your dreams. However… that one will be the most painful of the three stages. The moment you tie your hitae-ate… around your head, your body will be wracked with uncontrollable spasms of pain… pain unlike anything you've ever experienced before. These spasms will only last about a minute-and-a-half… but as soon as they're over, you'll keel over… and slip into a coma. It is during this time… that your mind and soul will split from your body… as its insides are forced through… a phoenix-like state of purification. Anyone in the vicinity will see your body burst into flames. Once you've been completely taken apart… your body will be entirely reconstructed by the stars, which will then return to the skies and solidify your body in flesh and blood. Your mind and soul… will be stored within your subconscious for a time, approximately five days at the most. It is during that time that I'll fully explain everything to you… and I'll bring some special guests with me."

"The final stage," Kozue continued, rapidly losing strength, "will allow you to tap into your full power… but only when you find yourself in a moment of mortal danger. I WILL TELL YOU THIS NOW… DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR THIS MOMENT OF DANGER... it will happen on its own in due time. The moment it does, you will… instantaneously find yourself in control of awesome powers like you've never known… and there will be few drawbacks, aside from extreme exhaustion after the first three hours of use… and easy slips into fatigue as you train it. This will only last until you start to get the hang of it… Once you master the first jutsu… you will never hit another drawback again. As I said, when you make Genin, I'll be able to fully explain everything."

"W-wait, what do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sorry… Naru-kun, Orochimaru really did a number on me… I've been moving slowly through this forest… for the better part of a day… trying to keep my blood levels up by… transfusing my chakra into my bones… to boost blood creation, but it's not working… anymore. I don't… have long left…" Kozue said, giving Naruto a sad smile.

~ It's sad, thinking about what I said to Kozu-nii… I must have sounded like some spoiled rich kid who'd just had a new toy taken away for the first time. ~

"NO! You can't leave yet! I only just met you!" Naruto said, gasping a bit when Kozue struggled to raise his hand to rest on the boy's head.

"Don't worry… Naru-kun… as long as you… believe, I'll always… be close. If you can… remember me, I won't ever leave you. You're destined for great things, boya… great… things…" Kozue said, the last of his strength fleeing him with his last words. His hand slid from Naruto's head and lay limp on the ground next to him.

Naruto stared at the paling body of his now dead cousin. His eyes became more and more focused as the seconds passed, until he could make out even the tiniest details. Kozue's eyelids had sunk into their sockets, his bright blue shirt becoming stained with crimson blood, the faded green of his pants turning brown with drying blood, his bright orange hair resting around his eyes like frames… and he was SMILING. Naruto couldn't understand it; the man had just died after giving him insane powers that he wouldn't be able to use for years, so why was he smiling so serenely?

Then it hit Naruto: KOZUE WAS DEAD. His cousin, who he'd known nothing about up until ten minutes ago, and had barely even gotten to know, was gone. His last remaining family member was GONE, his life and whatever they could have done together as family taken by the hands another. Naruto's eyes shut tight and, allowing his emotions to take over, slammed his fists into the ground on either side of his dead cousin.

~ And here was my crowning moment of brat-hood. I can't believe I actually threw a tantrum like that before I blanked out. ~

"NO! NO! NO, NO, NO, NO!" Naruto screamed, "YOU CAN'T GO! YOU CAN'T! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE AGAIN! NO!" After a minute, his mind shut down, taking his body with it as he collapsed onto the corpse of his cousin.

This scene awaited Kakashi five minutes later when he returned with an aging man in a white robe and a squad of people with green crosses on their sleeves.

"OH NO, NARUTO!" Kakashi and the elderly man shouted, rushing to the boy's side. The medics rushed over and moved the boy off the dead teen's body. ~

Naruto closed his eyes, a single tear flowing from the corner of his eyes. Over the years, he'd told Hinata this story numerous times, and almost every single one of them he'd managed to refrain from crying at what had become one of the defining moment of his life… the other two being when he kissed Hinata, and the other when they made love for the first time. Compared to those three events, the day he became Hokage was barely even a blip on his radar.

"Kind of hard to believe that after all of that," Hinata said, "You took on the guise of a man who'd all but lost his mind. You went from being someone all of us in the academy wanted to be around to someone NO ONE wanted to be in the same room with. For a while, I was scared of you, of what you'd become. However, once we settled into being a team, I began to look deeper. I saw your act for what it was: an act. It was as you described Kakashi-san's attitude; your acting was your way of protecting yourself from the horrible things we have to do as shinobi. And I can understand that completely… given how I am in battle…"

Naruto turned over to face his new wife and smiled.

"Hinata, it doesn't matter to me how you are," he said lovingly, "We all have things that make us different. Love isn't about ignoring or trying to change the things about your partner that make them different. It's about accepting your partner for who they are, and for EVERYTHING they are. Accepting all of one's strengths, weaknesses, insecurities, worries, fears, and oddities is what love is all about. I'm glad I'm one of the few intelligent men left alive who knows and lives by that knowledge."

Hinata smiled and kissed him on the lips.

With a smile, she said, "And I'm glad I found one of those men. I'd hate to be with a man who treats me like an object or a trophy. Although… I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it when you walked with me when you came back from your trip with Jiraiya-sama. It was like you were showing me off to everyone."

Naruto chuckled a bit.

"You could say that…" he said, laughing at the mockingly scandalized look Hinata gave him before both burst out laughing.

"Wait a minute… I don't think I finished my story!" he said, holding her close.

~ THE END… FOR NOW… ~

Hope you liked it! ^_^

For those wondering, the various technique names are thus:

Shopo: Chishio Shohuo=Crystal Art: Blood Crystal Transmigration: A technique that uses a set amount of chakra to seal the user in a self-repairing crystal coffin, which places the user in a comatose state. While sealed away, the user is able to use a portion of their remaining chakra to heal injuries at an accelerated speed. The downside of this technique is that the crystal seal can only take so much damage. If an opponent can deal enough damage to the structure before the preset chakra supply runs out, the technique will be cut off immediately, leaving the user vulnerable to further attack.

Rasen Hoshigan=Spiraling Star Sphere: A standard Rasengan reinforced with stars to add extra cutting power. Instead of simply boring a hole in the foe, The Rasengan now acts in a similar manner to a Rasen Shuriken attack, but without damaging Naruto in the process.

Hoshi no Senpo: Rasen Hoshirengan=Star Sage Art: Spiraling Serial Star Spheres: Exactly what it sounds like. Naruto creates five regular-sized Rasen Hoshigan, one on each fingertip, and then slams his hand, fingers first, into the foe. Cutting power is raised five-fold, and the technique is capable of being used as a time-delayed bomb.