I don't own Naruto.

Chapter One: A Little Chat

Jiriaya was sitting in the Hokage's office after having just climbed through the window. He knew he really needed his old teammate to sign off on this training mission but that wasn't what he was nervous about. It was his other little request that had him sweating bullets under her gaze.

Tsunade had listened to him through his whole pitch for taking Naruto on a training mission and she was certainly in favor of it. She'd miss the brat, but it was what was best for him, she'd have a little trouble convincing the council that it was the right choice, but she wasn't too concerned. What was bothering her was her teammate's other request for the boy. Should Naruto finally know who his parents were and why he was stuck with the nine-tails in him? She'd wanted him to know in the past, but the truth that if it got out he'd be in for a new level of trouble had always stopped her. With the training he was about to receive, maybe it was time he knew.

"Alright, you can take him with you, but I expect you to take his training seriously, he'll need to be strong for when the Akatsuki come for him." She said glaring at the self proclaimed super-pervert.

He nodded and asked, "And about my other request? I'd like to be the one to tell him, Minato was the closest thing I had to a son, and I am the boys godfather afterall."

Nodding, Tsunade smiled, "He's going to find out eventually, this is just another reason for you to take this training seriously." She thought about the sealed Namikaze jutsu library that only Naruto could access and made a decision. "Get him and meet me at their place, you can tell him and we'll show him his legacy together."

Jiriaya was a little surprised, pleasantly surprised, but still surprised, he had thought the training trip was a sure thing, but revealing the s-rank secret about Naruto's parentage was something a long shot, and to get both left him in a good mood, in fact his mood was good enough to make a pass at his chesty teammate. "You know Tsunade, after we tell him he'll have to go prepare to leave, so we'll be all alone, how about a date?" He was grinning from ear to ear, after all he already had one long shot request granted, maybe now was the best time to ask for another. As he was losing himself in his fantasies waiting for a response he didn't see the fist coming for his cheek until it hit him.

'I guess that's a no.' Jiriaya thought as he was flying out the window. Oh well, time to go find the brat. He landed on his feet about halfway across the village, not for from Naruto's apartment, it was still early so he should be home. Not bothering to knock, he went in to see the blonde heating up a cup of instant ramen.

"Pervy sage what are you doing here? I told you not to hide from granny Tsunade here anymore!" Naruto said with a mixture of irritation and sleepiness in his voice.

The older man's eyebrow twitched a little, both at the unwanted nickname and the reason the boy assumed he was here. He cleared his thought and said, "Get dressed kid Tsunade and I have some stuff to talk to you about." He tried to sound serious, but the boy noticed a bit of his excitement leaking through, and the was enough to set him off.

"Both of you, huh? It must be something super important, like naming me the next Hokage, or deciding to let me skip chunnin and go straight to jonnin.." As the boy was rambling on he was running around gathering his ninja gear and he rushed into the bathroom to brush his teeth and change. Jiriaya just smirked at the kid's enthusiasm. It was nice to see him in a good mood. He'd been really upset since that Uchiha brat ran out to join the snake.

When Naruto was ready the two of them set out for the wealthier parts of town. Having been an orphan and thus poor for his whole life Naruto only ever went to this part of town to pull pranks on people who had treated him badly. Most of the major clans were set up on this side of the village, along with the richest of the merchants and a few of the ninja that didn't belong to a clan, but still lived long enough and got powerful enough to earn a sizable fortune. Walking down one of the major streets and seeing all of the huge houses and elegant gates Naruto couldn't help but to think of his apartment. It was a good size for him, but he could see that the whole place could probably fit in just one of the rooms on some of the building he was looking at.

Naruto was never one to sulk about his lot in life, from an early age he learned that things were never going to be easy for him, and that was why he wanted to be the best. He didn't care how hard he had to work, he was going to be Hokage and protect everyone, no matter how hard it was. He based his whole nindo on never giving up, because he knew that that was the only way someone like him would ever reach their dreams.

They finally stopped at a gate with a tag across the middle with what looked like a huge estate behind the gate. Looking up at his master Naruto began to ask, "So what are we doing…"

"Looks like you beat me here, sorry, the council had some things to say about this, but when I put my foot down most of them let it drop." Tsunade said as she was approaching. She walked up to the tag and pressed a special release seal to it, to allow them access to the estate. Walking in she looked at Naruto and said, "Come on in, we've got some things to talk about."

A slightly confused Naruto proceeded with Jiriaya right behind him. After they passed the gate it closed again with another seal in place on the inside. Looking around the estate he could see the grass was overgrown and there were weeds around the wall. It looked like nobody had been here in ages. "What is this place? I don't think I've ever been to this place before." Naruto said while looking at the mansion they were approaching. Neither adult said anything, so Naruto fell silent, figuring he'd get his answered when they went inside.

Inside the mansion the three of them sat in down in the dining area, both adults facing the boy with serious expressions. It was Jiriaya who spoke first, "Alright brat, there's some thing I need to tell you, and something we need to come clean on. That's why we're here." He paused and decided to lead with the trip, since the other bit of information would take a lot longer to discuss. "I've been tracking the movements of the group that those two who attacked you are in. They're gathering the jinchuriki for something. So for your protection I'm going to take you with me to train while I gather intel, we'll be gone for a while, a couple years at least."

Naruto took that in and thought about it. He was going to be leaving for years, not seeing his home or his friends. He wouldn't even be able to eat any Ichiraku Ramen. He wasn't happy and he was about to say so when he thought about his fight with Sasuke. He didn't manage to bring his friend back with him. He couldn't beat him even using some of the bastard fox's power, he needed to be stronger. He clenched his fists thinking about that and then relaxed and grinned, "I guess if I'm training under you there'll be all sorts of things I'll learn to make me stronger right? I know I need to be stronger to protect the village if I ever plan on being Hokage so as long as this help with that I'm all for it."

Jiriaya was glad to hear that. He knew how hard it was to leave the village for so long for the first time, and was hoping Naruto wouldn't get hung up on that. Taking a breath now it was time for something that was long overdue. "Alright, now for what we have to own up to," he said looking at the boys curious expression. "You've never been told who your parents were because your father made several very powerful enemies, and it would have been dangerous for people to know who you are, and that's true, but now you have strong enemies of your own, and you're old enough to keep this a secret. Nobody but you me Tsunade and Kakashi can know about this, alright kid?"

Naruto's heart was suddenly beating very fast. Was he finally going to know about his parents? His breathing quickened and his eyes lit up in a flash. Nodding his head vigorously he began swearing up and down never to talk about it with anyone else. Jiriaya chuckled a bit and continued, "Well let's start with your mother, her name was Kushina Uzumaki, she had to keep her surname because the council didn't approve of your father marrying her. It was done in secret to keep council from getting involved." He looked at Tsunade and asked, "Did you bring the marriage certificate?"

"No, sensei must have kept it in his personal records, because there was nothing in the tower about it." She had hoped to be able to give the proof to Naruto when he found out, but she'd have to get it from the Sarutobi clan for him later.

Naruto was shaking with excitement at learning his mothers name, he had so many questions he wanted to ask, but there was one that kept coming up in his head, "Why would the council not approve of my mother? Hell why would they even have a say?" Naruto was more than irritated to think that his mother would have been treated anything like how had been as a child.

"The council didn't approve of your mother because she was born in another village, Uzushiogakure, the Uzumaki clan was the premier clan from that village before its fall. Kushina came to Konoha when she was nine. As to why the council was involved at all, well that had more to do with your father's position. They didn't think it would be appropriate for the Fourth Hokage to marry someone who wasn't from Konoha originally." Jiriaya smirked as he saw the look on the boys face, he didn't understand yet. He started counting down from five in his head and by the time he got to two the boys expression changed to one of pure shock. With a smile he continued. "So your father's name was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage and the Yellow Flash. You have a proud lineage Naruto, and you were loved very much by your parents."

Tsunade joined in to tell the boy more about his parents. He had so many questions for the two adults and they were delighted to finally be able to tell him everything he deserved to know. Tsunade had been longing to let the boy know of his past for so long, to ease some of his pain the way he helped ease hers, and also because it was his right to know about his parents. Jiriaya was also happy that he could finally share all that he knew about the two heroes with their son, but at the same time he was nervous, because he wasn't done with telling the boy about people who should have been there for him, but the last person wasn't dead and had no excuse.

"There's one more thing I have to tell you, Naruto, before Tsunade shows you why we're here. You know the Fourth was my student and like a son to me, well he also made me to be your godfather. That's one reason I've tried to take care of you recently." Jiriaya could only hope that he wouldn't resent him for not being there too much. Sure he had plenty of excuses he could use, but he knew none of them would matter, not after the kind of loneliness the boy had went through.

Hearing that, Naruto looked at his lap for a moment. He didn't really know what to think. He should be happy that he had someone who was family now, even if they weren't related by blood, but he had been so along, and nobody had been there for him, he wondered how different it would have been if the old pervert had raised him for a moment before deciding not to worry about it now. This was a time for being happy, and just like that, he was. Looking up he flashed a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes and said, "So I have a family after all, thanks Pervy Sage."

Jiriaya felt even worse about leaving the boy alone after hearing what he said. The boy thought of him as family, his only family, and he had abandoned him for years, letting him live alone and hated. His shame grew every time he looked at the boy until finally he had enough. "Alright Tsunade, why don't you show him what's downstairs, I think I need to get a little air an then I'll join you.