Chapter 1

It was currently a week before the graduation exams and Naruto had just snuck into the Hokage vault to steal the Scroll of Seals. The reason for this lay with one of Naruto's two academy instructors, Mizuki.

Naruto's fear of falling the exam for the third time was showing as he hadn't been a hyper as usual and had developed an aura of depression around himself. However, that aura left him when Mizuki had approached him and informed Naruto of a secret makeup test that he could take if he failed the real test.

So given that Naruto's impatient nature and how close the secret test was to one of his pranks, Naruto then proceeded to live up to his unpredictable reputation and made a test run. Just as he did with all of his major.

As such, Naruto could now be found gliding his hand along one of the metal bookcases that filled the Hokage vault. However, Naruto didn't see the tip of a screw sticking out of the bookcase that he was currently running his hand along, even as his hand passed over the screw with it cutting into his flesh. Yet Naruto simply continued on as he looked for his objective with his insanely high pain tolerance, that he had developed from the countless mobs that chased and nearly beat him death several times throughout his life, keeping him unaware of his injury.

Not finding what he was looking for on the current bookcase, Naruto turned to check the bookcase on the other side when he slipped on a fallen scroll and placed his bloodied hand on the back wall to try preventing himself from falling. An attempt the proved futile due to his blood covered hand.

Slowly standing up, Naruto's hand slid along the wall until it passed over a hidden seal. As the seal activated, began to glow with a pulsing blue light. Noticing the change in lighting, Naruto turned and saw the seal as it started to become brighter and brighter until it reached a point that Naruto was forced to protect his eyes from the sharp light.

Upon opening his eyes once more, Naruto noticed a letter that had the words "To my darling baby boy, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze". When Naruto's mind proceeded those words a pissed-off look took over his facial features before he continued to look for the Scroll of Seals.

Once Naruto found the scroll he grabbed it and set it with the letter. With that done, Naruto began looking for the biggest empty sealing scroll that was in the vault. As soon as he had gained the scroll, he opened it up and sealed bother the Scroll of Sealing and the letter into the sealing scroll. Naruto then used the rope he brought with him to make a strap and slung the scroll over his shoulder.

Once Naruto made it out of the Hokage vault he ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the meeting place that Mizuki had told him of. After he got there, Naruto immediately began practicing the first jutsu that he could read off of the Scroll of Sealing.

Yet it didn't take him long to learn the jutsu as it was basically the same as the academy clone jutsu with the only difference being that it required more chakra and a bit more molding of his chakra before pushing it into the hand sign needed to make the jutsu work.

Having succeeded in his task of learning a Jutsu from the Scroll of Seals, Naruto then resealed it into the storage scroll and unsealed the letter. From how the letter was addressed, Naruto presumed it to be from his mother.

Should he have waited until the day of the graduation exams, then he wouldn't have had time to read the letter.

"Glad I decided to make a practice run on this "extra credit test" that Mizuki-sensei told me about," Naruto said to himself as he was now starting to question everything that anyone had ever told him. After all, if old man Hokage knew who his parents were but hadn't told him, then who else knew things that they were still keeping from him. Or who else was flat out lying to him?

Shaking his head, Naruto refocused on the letter in his hands as he opened it and began to read.

Letter

Naruto, if you're reading this then that means one of two things happened. I've either died or have been forcibly sent back to the TRUE home of our clan. Though I should probably tell you who I am first huh. Well, my name is Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze and I just so happen to be your mother. I'm also the heiress to the kingdom of the Uzumaki, and no I don't just mean for the throne of Uzushiogakure, I mean the kingdom of the Uzumaki's true home but I'll be getting to that later. As for who your father was, if you haven't already figured it out, he was Minato Namikaze or, as he was better known as, the Yellow flash and the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.

Now back to my point, Naruto, I want you to know that your father and I love you. That being said, I can only imagine how hard it was for your father to seal the Kyuubi no kitsune into you as I wouldn't have been there. I only know that he would have sealed it into you because only an Uzumaki can survive having the beast sealed into them as only an Uzumaki has the strength needed to hold the demon at bay after it's been sealed away, something that's thanks in part to our bullheaded attitudes.

Next, you need to know that at birth every Uzumaki has a seal placed on them, the seal does two things. First is that it makes it so that the blood covering a newly birthed Uzumaki will pull itself into an identical seal of the one that can be found on their mother or father before it is absorbed into the child, making it the truest form of a blood seal as it is placed into our very DNA. Second, should any Uzumaki ever gain life-threatening injuries, then the seal will send said Uzumaki back to the home of the Uzumaki as we have a medical technique that can undo almost any injury, even going so far as to regrow entire limbs. Though there are two catches to this medical technique, first is it can't be self-administered and second is that it can only be used by the Uzumaki as we are the only ones that inherently have the chakra capacity needed to even use the technique without dying. Sadly, as long as you're a Jinchuuriki the seal won't work for you as the bijuu you hold will be healing you when you get an injury, which will prevent the seal's activation.

Now I want you to remember to listen to your godmother, Tsunade Senju. Though I wouldn't be surprised if someone convinced her that you were dead so they could turn you into a living weapon as there would be no way in hell Tsunade would let that happen to you. Speaking of which, should she not be there I want you to go to the Uzumaki compound. It should be safe for you to live there for some time or until you're... strong enough to go and find your Godmother on your own. Also, there will be four seals on the kitchen table as well as a vile of my blood. The first two of the seals are the same, the third will help you track your Godmother and the fourth will guide you to the TRUE home of the Uzumaki. The other two I spoke of are purification seals. They can purify the DNA of anyone with Uzumaki blood so that they are only Uzumaki. How it works is it mutates any DNA that isn't Uzumaki DNA into Uzumaki DNA. However, it needs the blood of a pureblood Uzumaki, the closer the relation the better. Which is where the vile of my blood comes in. Also, if you do use the seal, know that it will only mutate the DNA your father passed on to you so that it would be as if he had been Uzumaki in blood, so it will still be his DNA.

If you decide to leave the leaf and go to the TRUE home of the Uzumaki, I will be awaiting your arrival as I only wouldn't have come to get you, should I have survived, because I don't know how to get to the Elemental Nations from the TRUE home of the Uzumaki. As it stands, the Uzumaki were only ever in the Elemental Nations because one of our ships were blown off course, so I don't know how far that was. As for why we were even on ships in the first place, you'll learn that when you get home. However, should I not have survived, I want you to know that I loved you more than you could possibly imagine.

Letter end

Having finished reading the letter, Naruto folded it back up and slipped it back into the envelope. However, as Naruto was closing the envelope he saw something that caught his attention. So Naruto pulled the letter back and looked at the back of the paper that the letter had been written on. It was then that Naruto noticed that there was a seal on the back of the letter but how it works as well. Naruto also couldn't help but have the feeling that the seal had been tampered with.

Trusting his instincts, Naruto fixed the seal and then channeled his chakra into a section of the seal. It was then that a map spread across the back of the letter.

Naruto then went back to the Hokage tower and followed the map to the Uzumaki compound. Once there, Naruto entered the compound and headed straight for the kitchen table and saw that there was also a scroll there as well.

Opening the scroll Naruto smirked he saw it was the shadow clone jutsu. Naruto then picked up one of the purification seals and set it on his forearm as he channeled his chakra to it before he then dropped some of his mother's blood onto it, making the seal flash red before it vanished and Naruto dropped to the ground as he screamed in bloody murder before the pain exceeded his tolerance and caused him to blackout.

When Naruto woke up, he noticed that it was still dark out. Which caused him to walk outside to see that the position of the stars showed that only been unconscious for an hour. Naruto then turned to walk back inside and was stunned at what he saw, there in the reflection of the glass door was his new appearance. An appearance he could only see because of the fact that there was a full moon showering its light onto the planet. Naruto now had crimson red hair that reached his mid back, his hair had actually lost most of its wild look and now had a resemblance to the first Hokage's hair in length and the second Hokage's hair in style as Narut's hair was still spiky but the spikes were much smaller and had formed in a greater amount, his clothes no longer fit him as he had grown to the average height of a fourteen-year-old, he still retained his bright blue eyes, he noticed that he had bulked up more giving him the look of a bodybuilder might have but instead of massive bulging muscle his frame reassemble that of an Olympic swimmer but was sculpted to look like that of a body builder.

Once Naruto had adjusted to his new appearance he walked into the house with his first intended stop being that of the kitchen to find something sharp so he could give himself a rushed haircut. Yet as he closed the door behind him a letter dropped in front of him that he could tell was from his mother. So seeing as his time was limited, Naruto made a mass of shadow clowns and had them raid the house for any empty storage scrolls before having them gather everything that was within the house and begin to seal it all away once they had it all organized. Thus leaving the real Naruto a chance to sit and read the second letter that his mother had left him.

Letter part 2

Naruto, if you're reading this then that means you've used the purification seal. As such, there are two more side effects to the seal you now need to know. The first is that it will correct your physical state to where it should be for an Uzumaki of your current age. The second is your hair will grow out as well as turn to the signature red hair we Uzumaki are known for. Also, before you choose to cut or leave your hair you should know that most men in the Uzumaki clan have long hair much like the Hyūga. Though the men in the Uzumaki tended to keep their hair in a ponytail that started at the base of the skull. The last thing I want you to know is that your father and I love you very much.

Letter part 2 end

A small smile formed on Naruto's face once he had finished reading the letter. He now knew something about his family, he had a link to his clan. So given what he now knew and his past as an orphan, Naruto quickly decided that he wanted to honor his family's traditions. As such, Naruto grabbed some black cloth from a passing shadow clone and put his hair into a ponytail that started at the base of his skull. In doing so he used enough of the cloth to have the ponytail started an inch away from his skull before he tied the cloth, cut off the excess and it to another passing shadow clone.

Smiling, Naruto made several more shadow clones and had them explore the rest of the compound so he could ensure that nothing was left behind. Naruto then began to grab random clothing items from the passing clones as well as different ninja gear. Once the clones were finished exploring and sealing everything into different storage seals, Naruto dismissed them. Naruto then read the labels that his clones had placed on each storage scroll before sealing them all away in his massive storage scroll.

Having finished his task of cleaning out the compound, Naruto walked over to the pile of things he had taken from the clones before they could place them into the storage scroll.

After a few minutes, Naruto turned to see his new appearance in the glass door that served as the entrance to his parents former home so he might be able to see his new appearance by his reflection.

Naruto was now in a set western style military boots that were black in color, black Anbu pants, a black kimono-style shirt with a blood red obi that covered half of his abdomen. The hems of the kimono shirt were the same blood red and there was a blood red Uzumaki swirl on his back that covered his entire upper back. The hems, laces, and stitching of his Anbu pants and military boots were also blood red. Over his entire outfit was a trenchcoat-like cloak that had sleeves that were just as baggy as his kimono-like shirt sleeves. The cloak was made of a fairly thick material and had a hood that Naruto had covering his head. The entire cloak was blood red and had a black Uzumaki swirl on his back. He also attached a bow staff to his back as well. The bow staff was roughly an inch thick and six feet long, it was also black with a red dragon spiraling around the entire length.

Naruto grinned as he saw his reflection in the glass that made up the door, in Naruto's opinion, he looked like a badass. Yet the final touch was still missing, so Naruto picked up the last item before he looked down and placed it on his forehead by tying it behind his head before looking up to show an Uzumaki ninja headband was now resting on his forehead.

Walking over to the large scroll Naruto sealed it away on the inside of his new cloak. Satisfied with his work, Naruto went back to the Hokage vault and emptied it of anything regarding the Uzumaki, Senju, or his father by adding it to his scroll.

Once done, Naruto walked over to the Hokage chair and sat down as he turned to look at the village as he waited for Sarutobi to arrive having purposely tripped the detection measures that were in place in order for that to happen.

Moments later, Naruto heard the door open and close.

"About time you got hear Sarutobi," Naruto said in an emotionless voice.

"Who are you, how did you get in here," Sarutobi questioned sternly

"That hurts old man, I would have thought you could have recognized my voice," Naruto said sarcastically as he turned around and glared at the old shinobi. Naruto then paused for a moment before he slowly pulled back his hood so Sarutobi would see more than just his blue eyes that seemed to glow under his hood thanks to them reflecting what little light made it under the hood as it cast a shadow of his face.

"NARUTO! What happened to you," Sarutobi said in shock.

"Not important, what is important is that I AM leaving this hell hole and never coming back. I would have already left, but wanted to see the look on your face when you found out I was leaving the village because I see now that there isn't one person I can trust in this place. Especially when I found out who my parents are, a bit of information you tried to hide from me," Naruto growled out making Sarutobi gulp.

Sarutobi wasn't a fool, he knew Naruto was smart, he knew how meticulous he could be when planning a prank, he knew that when Naruto moved with a clear goal that Naruto would reach that goal without a single wasted movement. Sarutobi knew that Naruto was cunning enough that he could easily turn a simple prank into the most dangerous deathtrap ever conceived. Which was rather terror-inducing when you took into account that Naruto was a far better and meaner prankster than Kushina had ever been.

So given that Sarutobi knew these things and that Naruto had brought him here, Sarutobi didn't dare move as Naruto was clearly so pissed that he looked downright murderous. Which meant that the entire office was more than likely littered with traps that only Naruto would be able to safely maneuver through. Which was causing Sarutobi to really regret letting Naruto refine his pranking skills.

"Naruto, I know you're infuriated with me right now but I promise on my Ichi Ichi collection that I can explain," Sarutobi said hoping to prevent Naruto from going off like a tactical nuke only for that very thing to happen.

"EXPLAIN! EXPLAIN WHAT? THAT YOU IGNORED MY PARENTS WISHES, THAT YOU TURNED A BLIND FUCKING EYE TO MY MISTREATMENT, IGNORED ME WHEN I TOLD YOU MY TEACHERS WERE SCREWING ME IN THE ACADEMY, GIVING ME SUCH A SHITTY APARTMENT THAT A LANDFILL WOULD HAVE BEEN A MORE SUITABLE LIVING SPACE, HIDING WHO MY PARENTS WERE FROM ME UNDER THE EXCUSE I WASN'T MATURE ENOUGH WHEN I CAN ALREADY SNEAK INTO EVERY HIDDEN ANBU BASE IN THE VILLAGE AND PRANK THEM IN THEIR SLEEP YET STILL NOT LEAK A SINGLE WORD ABOUT HOW I DID IT OR WHAT ALL I SAW, OR MAYBE YOU MEAN THAT YOU CAN EXPLAIN HOW THE HELL YOU EXPECTED ME TO KEEP THE KYUUBI AT BAY WHEN I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CONTROL SOMETHING WHEN I DON'T EVEN KNOW IT EXISTS?! OH, AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT, HOW ABOUT YOU EXPLAIN REMOVING MY CLAN FROM THE HISTORY OF THE HIDDEN LEAF WHEN WE WERE THE THIRD FUCKING FOUNDERS. THE LEAF WOULDN'T EVEN EXIST IF MY CLAN HADN'T FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED IT IN THE BEGINNING," Naruto raged having seen the note in the Scroll of Sealing about how the clones transferred knowledge and experience back to the user and had some read a small portion of his mother's library.

Sarutobi was speechless, everything Naruto stated had been valid points and Sarutobi knew his go-to excuses that he used to ease his guilty conscience wouldn't work and left him with no real answers.

"You know what, save it, I'm done listening to your lies. I've already taken what belongs to me and destroyed everything my bastard father left behind. If you're thinking of sending your Anbu after me, forget it, we both know they couldn't catch me before and they sure as hell won't be able to now. Also, you'll be a little too busy with clean up," Naruto said as he jumped out of the window.

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Sarutobi wondered what Naruto had meant when Sarutobi found himself being forced to watch as a chain of explosions were set off all across the village. When the explosions had stopped going off, Sarutobi snapped out of his horrified trance just as he saw the room light up with multiple explosive tags one second before the sent the entire tower sky high in the next second.

A week later with Naruto

It hadn't taken long for Naruto to find Tsunade, he could have just used the seal his mother left but Naruto wanted to test his skills in the real world. So he took what he knew of Tsunade from his mother's diary, that he had been reading in order to get an idea of who his mother was as well as what her life was like, and used it to track Tsunade down. At first, he thought it would be difficult to do so, given that she was a legendary sannin and all, but with his mother's accounts of Tsunade's gambling and alcohol addiction as well as his own experience in trying to remain under the radar, it had actually been extremely easy. It had taken him about a week to find her and that was mainly just his travel time. In reality, it had only taken him a day to find her with the use of his shadow clones once he had reached the port village he had tracked her to.

Waiting outside of the casino, Naruto leaned against the door jam. As he watched Tsunade walk out, he couldn't help but smirked as he let her slightly pass him before he got her attention.

'looks like the legendary toad sage isn't as skilled as he's made to sound' Naruto thought to himself as he waited for Tsunade to get to reach a distance he was comfortable with.

"Tsunade Senju," Naruto asked making Tsunade freeze in place as a girl in a black kimono nervously looked between the shadowy figure and the person she was closest with.

"Depends on who's asking" Tsunade answered back in a tensed tone and without turning to address the one speaking to her.

"The fourth and the habanero had a kid," Naruto said cryptically not wanting to risk it if this woman he saw wasn't who he thought she was.

Hearing this, Tsunade clenched her jaw.

"That died with them," Tsunade growled out not trusting the hope rising in her having seen Naruto out of the corner of her eye when she had left the casino as well as showing the figure that she wasn't going to risk things either. She also did like to bring up this particular would as it never seemed to heal.

"The maelstrom lives on, and sometimes it takes more than one glass of milk to douse the flames of a red hot habanero. Meet me at the Golden Dragon hotel in room 242. We need to talk," Naruto said as he vanished before Tsunade could get a clear view of him due to her having whipped around upon hearing the meaning hidden in Naruto's words.

"Come on Shizune, we need to get some answers," Tsunade growled out at the thought of what this could mean if it was what she thought it was then she had been lied to.

Hotel

Once Tsunade and Shizune got to the specified room they were surprised to see it was one of the nicest rooms in the entire hotel.

Noticing a shadowy figure looking at them from a darkened bedroom, Tsunade started talking.

"First of all, how the hell do you have this room," Tsunade asked knowing most meeting place in the shinobi life were never this glamorous.

"Saved the owner and his family from a group of bandits that were going to rape his wife and daughter, after which they were planning to kill him to help destroy any will to fight that the two women would have had after the raping. They then offered me use of this room for as long as I need it as thanks. Of course, that was after I explained what I was doing alone at my age the family didn't recognize my headband," Naruto explained.

"Now what was up with what you told me" Tsunade ordered

"Nothing up with it, I meant what I said. I'm the son of the fourth and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze. I also meant it when I said there's a chance my mother's alive. Also, you might be interested in these, more specifically the top folder," Naruto said as he tossed his mother's letter to them and a sealing scroll to Tsunade.

Opening the letter, Tsunade was shocked at what was written there as it confirmed that Kushina may indeed be alive.

Quickly opening the scroll, Tsunade was stunned further when she saw all of the files that the Leaf should have about any and all Senju. Yet as she read the top one, Tsunade held it in rage and sorrow as the file was about a mission to make a spy show themselves by sending a team to a known comprised location. A team that just happened to be lead by her fiance.

It was after Tsunade had stopped crying that Naruto showed himself with his hood down.

"I just have two questions for you, what has the leaf done for you and will you come with me because I intended on finding my mother".

"First, I want to know what proof you have that your Kushina's son," Tsunade demanded as she clung to the hope that had forcibly grown within her

"Test my blood," Naruto said as he held out his arm.

Nodding, Tsunade ran through handsign and held her now glowing hands over Naruto's skin as she looked a the projected DNA markers and mentally compared them to Kushina's that she had memorized.

Seeing a match, Tsunade smiled with tears pouring from her eyes as she pulled Naruto into a hug.

Naruto then told her of the purification seal his mother had left him and Tsunade readily escaped it and underwent the process as well.

Not long after that the three left the hotel and headed to the harbor where the purchased and boarded a boat with the last of Tsunade's most recent lone, not that it mattered anymore if she paid it back seeing as how she wasn't going to be setting foot in the elemental nations again for a long time if ever again. It also helped that they were going somewhere that the Elemental Nations had yet to even hear of.

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