A/N: Everyone always makes Jiraiya out to be a self-centered man who abandons Naruto for his own pleasures. I, however, like to come up with a different theory. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any affiliated characters.

As it was a few days before his 7th birthday, Naruto was scrummaging for extra food so he would be able to eat while hiding from the villagers. Naruto has been beaten almost daily for as long as he can remember, but his birthday, October 10th was always the worst. Managing to find a few scraps of food, Naruto brings his findings to a small cave he found after being kicked out of the orphanage a year ago. While he has no money, Naruto has managed to touch up the place with a few odds and ends he's found on the side of the road.

Before he has to hid, Naruto decides to see if Old Man Teuchi and Ayame will give him a little bit of ramen for supper.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Hiruzen is sitting in his office glaring at all the paperwork he had to do when one of his old students suddenly comes in. "Jiraiya-kun! How have you been? It's been a while since you last visited."

"Fine, sensei. Where's my godson?" Jiraiya was livid. He had stopped by the orphanage on his way to the Hokage tower but was angered when he had heard the news that Naruto had been kicked out a year ago.

"Isn't he at the orphanage?"

"He was kicked out a YEAR ago! I thought you had ANBU looking out for him!"

"Well, I-"

"No. I'm taking my godson with me when I leave."

"I can't let you do that; the council will have a fuss! When would you even bring him back?!"

"I can and I will. The only reason he comes back is if he wants to come back. It's his decision." With that, Jiraiya walked out of Hiruzen's office in search of Naruto.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I can only afford to give you one bowl of ramen." Teuchi felt bad. He knew Naruto needed more food than the scraps he normally found, but by giving the so-called "demon child" free food, Teuchi loses business.

Right as Naruto was about to leave, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Ya know, kid, you're hard to find!"

Naruto looked up to see an older man take a seat beside him. "You were looking for me?" Naruto didn't know what to think. Normally, when people went looking for him it was to hurt him; this man seemed friendly.

"Why of course! You and I need to have a chat. But first, I think lunch is in order; whatever you want, it's on me!" Naruto didn't know this man yet, but how could he give up free food?"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto thanked the man and started to leave when he heard his name called out.

"Hey! Naruto! Where do you think you're going, kid? My name is Jiraiya by the way."

"I was going back to my home…" Naruto mumbled. After a full meal, a nap sounded like a good plan.

"Well, we still need to talk, so how about you come over to my place for the night. You look like you could use a bath and a good night's sleep anyhow." Naruto nodded and graciously followed Jiraiya back to his home.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

As Jiraiya let Naruto into his house, he gave a brief description of the layout. "The spare bedroom and bath is just down this hall, second door on the right. Why don't you clean up and I'll make sure you have some clean clothes to change into." As Naruto bathed, Jiraiya quickly washed and dried his clothes, making a mental note to get him some more before they left.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto walked into the sitting room to find Jiraiya waiting for him. "How do you know me?"

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about, Naruto." Naruto simply nodded and sat down, ready to listen.

"Like I said, my name is Jiraiya. I'm one of the Leaf's Sannin, but more importantly, I knew your father." Naruto's eyes widened at this. "The council doesn't want you to know anything of what I'm about to tell you, but I feel you have a right to know. Your father was my student, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze. He, along with your mother Kushina Uzumaki, died the night you were born. They were killed the night the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the village. The Kyuubi is a mass of chakra and cannot be killed. In order to defeat it, your father did the only thing he could think of and sealed it away. The Kyuubi is too strong to seal it into an object; it would simply just break out. Instead Minato sealed it into a newborn baby. As much as he hated himself for it, your father sealed the Kyuubi in you; believing he couldn't ask another parent to give up his or her child when he could not do it himself and knew that you would be able to handle it. Both of your parents loved you very much and would be horrified at the treatment you have received. While your father wished for you to be seen as a hero for holding back the Nine-Tailed Fox, many villagers believe that you are just a reincarnation of the Kyuubi. Their actions are not justified, but they treat you the way they do because they are scared. However, you, yourself are NOT the Kyuubi. Naruto looked shaken. At this point, Jiraiya pulled out a kunai knife and a simple sealing scroll. Holding up the kunai, Jiraiya asked, "Naruto, what is this?"

"A kunai knife."

"Correct. And this?" This time the scroll was held up.

"A scroll…" Jiraiya then proceeded to seal the knife within the scroll."

"Alright, now how about this."

"A scroll with a kunai knife sealed inside."

"It's not a knife…?"

"No, the knife is inside. This is just a scroll."

"Exactly. See, Naruto, the villagers are wrong. You are not the Kyuubi, it is simply sealed inside of you, understand?" Naruto nodded, finally understanding why he had been treated the way he had. "Do you have any questions?" Naruto thought for a little while then nodded. "Alright, ask away."

"You said you knew my father, but how do you know me?"

"Your father named me as your godfather."

"If you're my godfather, where have you been? Why did I have to live in the orphanage if I had family?"

"I have a very important job as a Spymaster. I had asked Sarutobi if I could bring you with me but the council rejected it. They didn't think all of my traveling would be a good environment for a baby. They opted to put you in the orphanage under your mother's maiden name to keep you safe. I only agreed to it because Sarutobi promised me he would always have someone watching out for you, making sure you ate well and had a place to stay."

"Well, that wasn't the case. Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I came back to give Sarutobi a report since I was in the area. Until now, he always sent me letters updating me on your situation."

"What's gonna happen to me now?"

"I'm taking you with me and after your birthday I will start training you to be a ninja."

"REALLY?!" Naruto jumped up at the thought of becoming a ninja. When he could, he sneaked over to the Academy and watched the kids learning to fight. "But I thought you couldn't take me with you."

"Yeah, well, I don't care. They can't treat my godson like this and expect to get away with it. Tomorrow we are going to get you some new clothes and then set out on our journey! But first, I think we both need a good night's sleep." With that, both Jiraiya and Naruto headed to bed; Naruto dreaming about his upcoming trip.

A/N: And that's a wrap! Naruto might have seemed a bit OOC but I reason that fending for oneself for about a year makes way for a lot of maturing. Sorry for any spelling and/or grammar issues.