Chapter 1: Lies for the weak

"Why?"

"…"

"Answer me Lord Hokage."

This was not the way Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to start his morning. It should have been a regular day with meetings, papers being signed, a quick trip around the village and of course seeing his grandson 'try to challenge him for his position' but instead he sat in his office facing one of his former students and the meeting was anything but happy. He knew this day would come and no matter how many times he practiced he truly knew he wouldn't be ready to face Jiraiya. The toad sage had practically kicked the door in scaring some of the shinobi who came in early, never seeing a pissed Jiraiya they quickly left.

"I want an ans…"

"Jiraiya please listen to what I have to say. Let me explain why I did what I did, hopeful then I will answer you with any other questions." Only getting a hard glare from the toad sage he began his explanation.

"You weren't in the right condition Jiraiya. After Minato and Kushina's death you went missing after a week, do you really think you could raise a small infant in your state. I know you loved them both as if they were your own family but I had to think quickly with the state we were in. The village was already suffering from the last war & we just barely survived the wrath of the Nine-tails. The child would grow up fine and…". Before he could finish Jiraiya stood up, lifting up his right hand before smashing it down destroying his seat plus leaving a hole in the floor.

"Not in the right condition huh? Well sure I just lost Minato who was like a son to me and Kushina who was like a daughter to me and who wouldn't be sad after losing family. The part that I'm angry, no no no that's not the right word, I'm enraged because while coming back to the village I met a young boy named Naruto who looks like a mini Minato starving while the villagers mutter demon kid, murderer and who knows what else at him. You didn't know this but it was me who gave them the idea of the name so it didn't take a genius to connect the dots but wait there's more as Naruto shouldn't be alive from what I remember being told by you as he died soon after the DEMON WAS SEALED!"

"I di…"

"You had no right Sarutobi. I grieved for all three of them, seven years I grieved and you had him right here in the village. You showed me his so called corpse, all this time he was here while you had me running errands around to keep me away but you couldn't do this alone I bet. You had help didn't you?"

Jiraiya stared down at his former teacher as the man was unable to say anything. Happiness was the first emotion that he had after seeing Naruto. He was a little concerned as the young child was acting just a tad scared of him but after offering a quick meal to him the boy he was excited to get something to eat. He was led by him to a small ramen joint where a young girl was happy to see him. The next emotion he had was anger as the Naruto began to give a short summary of his life to him from be kicked out the orphanage, being bullied by children his own age while the most adults just walked away hell some even encouraged the bullying, being unable to go into most stores. Soon after finishing his meal Naruto left giving his thanks to him then heading to class before he would be late.

"Thank you Mister."

Jiraiya turned to see the young girl smiling at him before heading to the back. As she headed to the back another man appeared right after her, he guessed he was the chief from seeing his attire.

"Thank you for being one of the kind ones. That little boy suffers too much while my daughter and I aren't able to watch him".

"Please tell me who else is kind to him?"

After hearing some names and more of what happened to Naruto in his life that couldn't be said in front of the young girl Jiraiya rushed over to the Hokage office and now here he was pissed off. After hearing nothing from the man he once called sensei he began to walk out of the office before hearing Sarutobi saying something.

"Jiraiya I know you're angry but don't do anything to rash. This village comes first and I will protect it and its people."

He continued his walk leaving the Hokage to rub his temples for the incoming headache.

"Kakashi watch over Jiraiya, Itachi head over to the academy and watch over Naruto." If he could sense those two outside his window he was one-hundred percent sure that Jiraiya had as well. The two shinobi leapt off to their targets, watching them leave Sarutobi pulled out his pipe before thinking of the choices he made in the past, unable to decide if they were as good as he thought back then.

"I need to retire."

Elsewhere Jiraiya had arrived over at the academy grounds deciding to stay perched up on a tree. Words could no longer describe how he felt anymore as sat on the branch. Hours gone by as he stayed waiting for something. No longer sensing that he was alone he summoned a small toad giving the creature a small description of Naruto and sending it off while he dealt with his followers.

"So did you two know as well?" he asked getting no response.

"I'll take that as a yes then," as he waited for one of them to make a move. Soon Itachi revealed himself to him with Kakashi still hiding.

"We were told not to tell you the truth Jiraiya-sama," said Itachi as Jiraiya soon glared at the young anbu. He was go to put Itachi on the list of people who pissed him off until remembering that he was one of the people that Naruto told him was kind to the him. Back to Itachi he had moved to stand under him unable to look up at the sage, very few knew of the lie to Jiraiya and while he could only see it ending badly he had hope that he would see through the lie, the corpse that the Hokage had shown him and be in the young boy's life but that should have been just a few hours or days not seven years. When he became an anbu he knew he would learn the dark secrets of the village but nothing like lying to one of the sannin. Soon he shifted his eyes to Kakashi as he stayed hidden from all eyes, surely he was another who regretted learning this secret.

Kakashi was many things but one thing that was common to him was regretful. So many things in his life he regretted and two of them were close by. First was little Naruto, he regretted not being able to adopt the boy and give him more protection. Sure there were times when an adult would try to harm the boy and he would stop them heck evening sending a few off to the hospital but he couldn't be there all the time, he was still a shinobi so leaving out for missions was common for him. He wasn't the only one to watch over the child as Itachi and even Anko would also watch over him. He knew that Itachi watched over the boy and was happy to see Naruto becoming friends with Itachi's little brother Sasuke while when he asked Anko why she merely said that the boy reminded of her of her old self. They weren't the only ones but they were the ones with the time to watch over him when he wasn't at the academy. The second regret was lying to Jiraiya, from what he learned from him days before the attack Minato and Kushina had made Jiraiya Naruto's god-father. He was there when Jiraiya had returned to the village after and remembers seeing him crying over as he was told that Naruto had died, he was so broken that he wasn't even able to tell that the corpse wasn't even Naruto. He looked on Jiraiya wondering what his next move would be.

Soon the doors opened up for them to see the children leaving to play outside. They all caught the sight of a blonde boy being chased by two others while another walked slowly following them.

"Come on Shikamaru, move it lazy bone," yelled a small boy with messy brown hair and two red fang markings on his cheek.

"Go on, all I'm going to do hang under the shade it's the whole point of my break time Kiba," said the young boy with black hair tied in a spiky ponytail.

"Come on now even Choji is acting more fun then you no offence Choji," as Kiba looked on to the bigger child with spiky brown hair opening up a bag of bbq potato chips.

"None taken," as he quickly began to devour the bag but at least offering some to which only Naruto took.

Jiraiya at least grew happy knowing that Naruto had some friends but still couldn't feel anything else. Since all he did was travel he heard stories of how other villages treated their Jinchuriki. He still remembers the awful tales of the Four & Five tails exile from The Village hidden by Stone or the One-Tailed from The Village hidden within the Sand. Jiraiya hopped off the true & began to walk towards the children making sure he made no trouble for Itachi & Kakashi, he knew he could take them both on but that would just alert everyone else. Soon the boys saw him walking towards & tensed up before he saw Naruto telling them something which seemed to relax them.

"Hi mister, mister…sorry but I forgot to ask your name last time," Naruto said which earned him a punch on the shoulder from Kiba.

"You don't even know that guy's name but you tell us to relax. What if this guys a rouge ninja or seller of kids or a killer who kidnaps people & eats their skin," as Kiba glared at Jiraiya.

"Relax kid I'm no skin eater or anything like that in fact I'm shinobi of this village. I'm the legendary Toad sage Jiraiya!" as Jiraiya posed for the four boys earning mixed results.

"Lame."

"Wow, do you do tricks?"

"So that's your name."

"That names sound familiar, are you also known as Jiraiya: one of the three sannin?"

Getting out of pose he quickly sat in front of them answering questions, telling them stories & other things but none of his 'ADULT' stories. Jiraiya had not felt this moment since back when he trained the orphans from the Village Hidden by Rain. He didn't know how long they were out there until he noticed two small little girls; one with dark blue hair the other with short brown hair.

"Excuse us Mister but we've been tasked with getting these four back to class. Come on you guys Iruka's been calling for you four for ten minutes now," said the brown hired girl.

"Aww but class is so boring. Jiraiya here at least makes being a shinobi sound cool instead of Iruka's speeches," Kiba complained getting a glare from the girl.

"Even so I bet he had to deal with the academy too, right mister?"

"Yeah, sorry about that boys but we all had to start somewhere. Head on back with the girls, don't want to get you in trouble with your sensei."

Jiraiya watched as the boys & girl left but Naruto stayed seating down & the other girl with blue hair stayed waiting for him.

"Hey Naruto don't want to keep the young lady waiting right?" as he saw Naruto nodding a no and he could have sworn he saw the girl's face get red.

"Will you be here again to tell us more?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya answered back by giving the boy a thumbs up before watching him leave with the girl.

And so Jiraiya kept his word as he visited the school every day for two weeks to give stories to the kids during their recess break while being watched by Kakashi or Itachi but only he knew that. He soon found out the girl's name; Tamaki, a small girl who was living with her grandmother & Hinata, the Heiress of the Hyuga Clan & he quickly found out the small crush both girls held on to two of the boys. He would confront both girls getting different reaction as Hinata looked like a blushing bride as she told him that Naruto had defended her from a group of kids that made fun of her eyes & said that she looked pretty with them but the funnier one was the girl Tamaki as she said she didn't like the dog boy Kiba as she felt that they were opposites with her being a cat girl which they would argue many times on which animal was better. It truly gave him hope for the next generation but he still saw hate when he was in the village. Times he would travel with Naruto he saw the little boy would walk closer to the sannin as if searching for protection. It was soon that he would ask the boy a question that would change his life for the better.

As Jiraiya was walking the boy back to inside his apartment he decided now was the time.

Stopping in front of the boy's door he asked, "Naruto do you see your life here in the village as a good one?"

"What do you mean by that?" He knew that boy couldn't be stupid even if that's what the test in the academy say. Breathing out a deep sigh he kneeled down in front of the boy.

"Do you see a future here, a place where you can live in, earn a career & raise a family?"

"This isn't the kind of thing that most seven-year-old would start thinking about you know. I... I never had a family & I never thought I would have one, but I'm fine with that because I have people here who are like family & if I leave here I won't be a Hokage like grandpa Sarutobi."

Jiraiya still had not spoken to his old sensei since coming back & learning the truth. "Naruto why do you want to become Hokage?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you want to become Hokage?" is the question I'm asking you.

"Respect," was the answer he gave Jiraiya to which he began to rub his temples.

"Naruto I see the way the people here look at you & honestly you don't need to earn the respect of these people. Things have changed since I lived here & the while the title of Hokage is well respected do you think that they will give it to you with those hateful eyes. Do you know why they look at you with those eyes?"

Silence was all the boy gave him.

Jiraiya put his shoulder on the boy giving him he small smile, "The job of Hokage is protect the village even if it hurts others that he cares about".

By then Naruto stared back at Jiraiya seeing the older man look as he almost looked as he was about to break-down & cry, he soon figured out why.

"He lied to you, didn't he?"

"…He lied to me about someone. He told me about someone who died & kept it a secret for years until I found out that person was still alive."

"I'm sorry for you Jiraiya, but at least you found that person right?"

"Yep & I'm looking right at him".

That earned a strange look from Naruto as the gears in his head started to turn. He looked on confused as his mind was now repeating the sentence that came out of Jiraiya's mouth. "What do mean you're looking at him?"

"I know it's hard for you to understand right now but whatever you've been told I bet I can tell you the truth such as I'm guessing that whatever you were told of your parents was a lie but I will tell you the truth & more. I will tell you everything because you are my student's child, you are my god-son & I'm here to take you away from the hate here."

Before Naruto could say anything about the bomb that was just dropped on him he soon heard the voice of the Lord Hokage.

"JIRAIYA, that is enough. I have let you be with Naruto & I see that you have clearly stepped over the line. Now I'm asking you to come with me & leave the him here."

Jiraiya now stood up beside Naruto as he looked on Sarutobi who was being flanked by Itachi but he also sensed at least twenty others just outside the apartment. He only had one chance if he was going to escape but he needed to stall some time.

"Oh what a pleasure it is to see you again sensei. How's everything going since our last meeting? I was kind of mad last time but now I've had time to think a lot of stuff over, like how I was going to give my god-son a better life."

"Enough I'm going to give you one more chance now," said as angry Hokage.

"Funny thing to say as I was going to give you one last chance too. To clear your name & see if you could give Naruto here some much needed answers. Go on Naruto ask away."

"Don't you da…"

"Is it true about what you told me about my parents?"

Only those three in the hallway could see the hurt in Naruto's eyes as he stared back at the Hokage & for the fourth time in his life he was left silent. Not since the betrayal of his student & the death of his wife was he left with nothing to say.

"Please tell me the truth, you told me my parents were killed during the attack of the Nine Tailed Fox. That no one would want to take care of me because of my parents criminally past, what is my life & how much more lies are there? Please tell me the truth I'm sick of the hearing so many things."

Soon Naruto fell on his knees letting tears that have been held back for so long. Most people saw Naruto as the young orphan boy who would pull pranks & skip classes just to eat ramen but he was more than that. He would always wonder why some people would treat him as a person but others would down right believe as if he was plague. Growing up hearing himself being called a demon & he never know the reasons for it. What was he? That question he would ask himself on some nights. That question would appear in his mind more ever since he was four years old & living in the village orphanage. One night while using the bathroom he felt a small burn in his stomach & while lifting up his shirt he soon saw a strange symbol on his stomach but when he told the Hokage that he was given what was just about another lie now that he thought of it.

"No more lies, if you care for me like you say you do then tell me the names of my parents. At least tell me that."

"I'm sorry Naruto but your too young for those answer." Crushing the small boys hopes before he heard Jiraiya say something.

"Your father's name was Minato Namikaze while your mother's was Kushina Uzumaki & that is the truth Naruto," Jiraiya said calmly as he wiped away the tears from Naruto and smiling down at the boy, this of course only pushed Sarutobi into a deeper hole. He looked to Itachi & nodded his head to give him the order. Soon Itachi charged for Naruto only to barely dodge Jiraiya's fist.

"And so the I'm guessing the time for talking is over then huh sensei?" asked a very pissed off Jiraiya.

"This is not how I intended this to be Jiraiya. I had hoped that this would give him a better future & that the village would soon see him as a savior."

Itachi was no longer ready to go after Naruto. That punch that Jiraiya delivered broke through & destroyed a large piece of the hallway wall. He was sure that they would need more than the twenty anbu out to stop him. He looked at Naruto as the boy stayed even closer to Jiraiya. Had they lost the boy & his trust, was there any chance of getting him back after he just heard the truth that he was lied to since his birth, but now Jiraiya's next action would leave them all with nothing.

"Say good bye to the liars Naruto," as Jiraiya grabbed on to the boy while slamming his hand on to the ground causing a poof of smoke to appear as a large stuff red toad now replaced.

"Itachi alert your squadron now!" as Sarutobi walked up to the stuffed animal to see the sentence 'Liar, liar' written on his chest.

"Damn it, what have I done now?" he thought.

A few miles away from the village Anko Mitarashi was staring at the stuffed toad that was laid on top of a seal wondering if she would regret her decision about leaving the village once again with a sannin. She was only leaving to help give little Naruto a better life, one that would be better than the one she had now. She was tired of seeing the Hokage lie to the boy & seeing him in the way that she once was but getting out her thoughts she saw the toad disappear to be replaced by Jiraiya & Naruto.

"Almost thought you weren't going to make it," as she gave Naruto a wave & a smile. Naruto merely looked down as he felt nothing but a headache after what had just happened.

"Well I didn't really have time to gather his stuff & give a proper good-bye, but it's time to head to Mount Myoboku," said Jiraiya as he kneeled down once again to the Naruto.

"Naruto I knew your confused & are feeling a certain way. You've been lied to & have every right to not believe anything what else anyone is going to tell you but please trust me for I will never lie to you. I want to give you a good life: hell a better one then what was there in the village & I will answer you truthfully. I'm going to give you an option for you, you can go back to the village & I will never appear in your life ever again, so you will live the rest of your life or you can come with me to live the life your parents wanted you to have, it's your choice".

After a moment of silence Naruto gave Jiraiya a statement.

"I only have two question, were those my parent's true names that you said & did they love me?"

"Yes those were their real names & they loved you. I remember the day you mother told your father & I that she was having you. Never will I forget his smile & him running around shouting that he was going to be a father. They wanted to be in your life, see you grow up to make friends, find someone & be a shinobi that would make them proud."

"Jiraiya I don't think I want to become Hokage anymore instead I want to be the greatest shinobi of all time, one that would make them proud," Naruto said as he stood up & no longer looked ready to cry but instead gave both Shinobi a confident smile.

"Good then I will make you become the best," as he smiled back.

"And I'll be there to help you Naruto," as Anko hugged the small child.

"Come on time to head to Mount Myoboku!"

"Yeah, what where?" asked a confused Naruto.

== Author's Note==

Hello anyone who is reading this story, it is I FoxandSox with this AN as I believe there still called that. Let's get a few things straight, first off I always felt that AN were just a way to make stories longer & I feel like a hypocrite right now but unless they were used right like if an author is going to give info on their status or why one of their stories has stopped while others are being up-dates. This will not be one of those stories that will up-dated every two or three days as I do not have the time to do that & I feel that makes people rush their story. I will up-date but only once I've felt that I have given the reader which is you something to truly want like worth the wait & no I will not ask for fav's or reviews, this is not a YouTube channel & hopeful I didn't offend anyone here but with the way the world is that's hard enough.

Second is that this is not my first time on this site, as I was under a different name like maybe five or six years ago & my taste in readings have changed. For example, back then to get my attention all you need to do was write 'lemon' in the summary & bam you got me. Lemons are not something I want to focus on my story so if you're looking for those there's a lot out here & by god some are just godly well written, but anyway what I'm trying to say is my taste & my writing has changed a bit & I didn't know if I made this chapter feel rush or was it slow. I'll just listen to you all about how you felt this chapter was.

Third but not least I don't know why but I feel that I must say that this will be a Harem story. I will not be trying to rush the characters together as I've seen in many fanfics & manga. With that I say that it will be a Naruto Harem but I've already planned out the three ladies who will be with Naruto & no not Anko, she will be like the big sister to our little Naruto. Also if there are any here reading this that are a bit of a homophobic please leave as the I have yet to decide on some characters. Hard to believe that this is still an issue but this is remember that but no it will not be full on guy on guy XXX as there will be lady love too & no not like a porno. Now that I've scared I say about half of the readers who will read this I give thanks to anyone reading this & hopeful I can gain your attention with my story, maybe one of you will be an old reader of mine. Any question you have for me just send me a pm & hopeful I'll be able to give you an answer as long as it's not a spoiler for the story.

Good bye for now from FoxandSox.