INHERITANCE, a Naruto fanfiction

AU. Naruto's reality is tipped on its head when the mission to Nami no Kuni goes awry. With a set of fresh, untempered skills and a thousand scattered glimpses into tragedies past, is it any wonder he's struggling to remember how to live? (And if he never does... Well, who needed hope anyway?)


"FALLOUT": INHERITANCE ARC #1 | CHAPTER 1: GLIMPSES OF THE PAST


If Naruto was asked to describe his current situation, he supposed he would call it 'drifting'.

Yeah, 'drifting' works.

The world was spinning, and an intricate web of colourful scenes was flashing through his mind. Not all of these experiences – for he could identify them as memories – were his own, but he recalled them all regardless, which was strange. He was seeing all these things from either his own viewpoint, or that of two others. As they flashed through his mind's eye, they burnt themselves within his memory and a new scene played itself out. His mind was spinning and hurting, and his whole existence seemed like it was being rewritten. He couldn't comprehend why this was happening, but he hoped that the recollections of the two 'others' may provide some answers as to what was happening to him.

One of them was a stern red-haired woman with deep, black eyes that was utterly dedicated to her family and her profession. She'd been through more than her fair share of hardships, and had lived a long life. She had a slender face and figure, and often wore her hair in two buns at diagonal angles atop her head, while her preferred fashion was a formal white kimono with a dark-green obi around her waist. She even wore this gear to battle, and was a master of some strange ninja fighting style using symbols. The woman was apparently a 'Fūinjutsu Master', whatever that was.

Her name was Uzumaki Mito.

The other was a young girl with the same fiery red hair alongside violet coloured eyes, but whereas the previous was stern and tempered with maturity, this one was loud, brash, and quick to anger. Regardless, she was notably insecure about her appearance, which Naruto couldn't understand, since he found the red-hair the two women shared to be incredibly beautiful. She also had an alarming addiction to Ramen, much like himself. The similarities between the girl and himself were startling, and he idly wondered how close of a relation she was.

After all, her name was Uzumaki Kushina.

As the flashes of memories passed – and really, it felt agonisingly slow to him – Naruto began to put a few things together. For one, the girl had met the woman when the latter was very old, and her life was ending. He'd lived through that memory on the elder woman's side, and he felt that the woman was feeling a deep sense of regret and sadness as she beheld the small child. They both came from a place called Uzushiogakure, the home of the Uzumaki Clan.

Uzumaki Clan.

Yeah, Naruto had needed a moment when he discovered that little fact.

Naruto kept watching the memory from the old woman's perspective, until he picked up on a fact that stopped him dead.

Vessels.

Vessels for the Kyūbi.

These… were his… predecessors…

Beyond his shock and confusion, Naruto vaguely recognised the fact that he had no knowledge of what 'predecessors' meant until now.

'Huh… weird…'


Kakashi carried Naruto towards the hospital at a fast pace, studiously ignoring the glares the villagers directed at his unwell charge. Naruto had fallen into a coma after the battle in Nami no Kuni {Land of Waves}, developing a high-fever and convulsing at irregular intervals. Kushina had told Kakashi, before, that the process for awaking the Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains) was rarely kind, but this was…

It seemed appropriate, albeit shocking, that both Sakura and Sasuke had displayed an unprecedented level of concern for their teammate's condition. Although, truly, it was rather understandable. Kakashi wasn't by any means a chakra sensor, but he could definitely feel the wild fluctuations that Naruto's chakra network was experiencing, and it was likely the other two genin could as well. If the levels of chakra the boy was expelling – whilst unconscious – happened to be any indication, the young jinchūriki's reserves were growing. At quite the astonishing rate, actually. Faster than could possibly be healthy.

So Kakashi had dropped everything they were doing after the battle, informing Tazuna that they needed to head back to Konoha immediately. They'd been sent out of the village with their client's blessing.

Unfortunately, Naruto's condition had deteriorated when he was moved, and it had been all Kakashi could do not to simply ditch his other genin and run straight to the village with all the speed he could muster. Regardless, they'd still made the distance in two days. The blond had yet to emerge from his coma, and his convulsions made traveling rather difficult, but they'd managed. Both Sakura and Sasuke had been largely silent throughout the trip, barring a few concerned inquiries on behalf of their teammate's health. Sasuke especially had been more persistent than normal, but that was logical considering the circumstances.

Sasuke had told Kakashi the whole deal – Sharingan and all – and the Copy-nin would have likely been much more interested in the matter if he hadn't been preoccupied with his student's rapidly declining health.

Entering into Konoha Hospital, Kakashi immediately headed to the reception desk. "I'm told that one of the gate guards called ahead and made you aware of the situation?" he questioned, and never before had Kakashi been so glad that Konoha's medics are invariably dedicated to their patients' well-being, above all else, because if he'd had to deal with a hateful, bigoted villager right now he sincerely doubted his ability to restrain himself.

Instead, the receptionist merely nodded, batting not even an eyelash at the identity of the wounded shinobi in question, and immediately directed him to place the blond on a nearby gurney. Doctors immediately assailed the Copy-nin and demanded answers from Kakashi about the situation that placed his genin in such a precarious situation, reports on whether or not his state had deteriorated or improved, along with probing for any theories as to how this came to pass. Begrudgingly, Kakashi admitted to his concerns that the Kyūbi is the mastermind behind this, and gave an outline of events surrounding the manner in which Naruto was left in such a condition, but left out the emergence of the two kekkei genkai, as the Hokage would surely make such things classified. The other Doctors seemed to pick up on this - after all, despite being medics, they were first and foremost shinobi - but did not question it, knowing that the care of Uzumaki Naruto was invariably left to the Head-Medic and Hokage, at the end of the day.

Receiving memories of his Kage Bunshin – created to deal with the gate guards and debrief the Hokage – dispersing after meeting the Hokage, Kakashi simply sat down and waited for the Sandaime's arrival.


Several Minutes Prior:

The Sensei-Bunshin led Sakura and Sasuke to the Hokage's Tower, immediately bypassing the Mission Assignment Office, to Sakura's confusion. As the Bunshin spoke to the Hokage's secretary, Sakura realised it was due to the increased ranking of the mission. And really, completing an A-Ranked mission was not what she had expected when she left the village two weeks ago - but she was content regardless. Sure, Sasuke-kun was wounded, and Naruto was currently fighting for his life - and she definitely did not expect to care so much about that, yet she did - but they survived, and completed a mission so far beyond their skills, and they survived, and Sakura could hardly believe it.

But she still felt the determination settled in her gut, the steel in her mind as she mentally prepared herself to demand more training from their sensei, because she felt so useless on that bridge, and she refused to ever feel that way again, not when it could be avoided. Not when she could do something about it. And by the determination shining in Sasuke's eyes, she thought he had reached the same conclusion.

Being ushered into the Hokage's Office, Sakura immediately brought herself to attention, bowing to the Hokage and then raising her head to stare at the wall behind the aging Sandaime, and the window that overlooks all of Konoha.

"Report," the Hokage said, his voice serious and oh-so-slightly cautious, and suddenly she recalled how close Naruto was to the Sandaime, and that they just seemingly returned from a mission without him.

Kakashi did as instructed, outlining the major details of their numerous encounters with Kirigakure nukenin promptly, succinctly, and leaving out most details, likely to be left to the mission report. When he got to the battle at the bridge, and the defeat of the Ice-using shinobi, however, he paused. "Hokage-sama, I believe it may be best if my genin are not present for the rest of the briefing, as there are some... extraneous circumstances involved."

Sakura finally looked away from the wall, breaking protocol to stare at their sensei questioningly. Sasuke seemed rather put out, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, the Sandaime nodded and asked them to leave. Before they could do so, however, Kakashi recalled their attention to him. "You are not to speak of what you saw during the confrontation on the bridge to anyone, do you understand? Once I speak to Hokage-sama, this will likely become an S-Rank secret. Nobody can know, unless the Sandaime himself gives you explicit permission to tell them, understood?" their sensei stared them dead in the eye, his countenance surprisingly serious, and Sakura couldn't help but nod, vaguely acknowledging Sasuke doing likewise beside her. Turning around, she opened the door and left, not even bothering to ask Sasuke-kun out on a date. She had too much on her mind.

Like training.


Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Hatake Kakashi with tired eyes, even as he performed a simple hand-seal and activated the silencing seals around the room, placed by Uzumaki Mito and attuned only to the Hokage himself. Their nature made it entirely impossible for any method of spying or recording to work in this office, all at the Hokage's order.

Across from him, the son of the White Fang sighed and dropped into the chair, all strength seemingly leaving him. Now that the two genin were gone, the Sandaime was able to ask the question that had remained on his mind since Team 7's arrival to his office. "Kakashi-kun, where is Naruto-kun?" he asked simply, but the sheer myriad of emotions hidden within those few words was enough to startle him. Him, the Shinobi no Kami {God of Shinobi}! He knew that he shouldn't care so much, couldn't afford to, truly, because his position as Hokage was supposed to deny him such frivolities, but he could not suppress the unadulterated need he felt to know the state of his surrogate grandson. The boy was much like his parents - cheerful, quick to learn (even if it went unnoticed by most, he was not known as 'The Professor' for nothing), and highly charismatic. And Hiruzen had high hopes for him.

"In the Hospital," the jōnin explained, and the Sandaime's stomach dropped. "I'm just a Bunshin - the original is with him," he added, needlessly, since Hiruzen had long since noted that the man's chakra reserve had been cleanly halved, in such a manner as was indicative of Kage Bunshin usage.

Hiruzen grimaced despite himself. "How bad?" he asked, and felt dread pool in his gut as the masked-nin's expression darkened into a glower.

"He's in a coma and his chakra is fluctuating like nothing on earth," Kakashi began, then steeled himself and continued, "His chakra reserves have doubled since it happened, and it's not showing signs of slowing. In fact, if anything, it seems to be gaining speed." The Sandaime frowned, because Uzumaki had naturally large reserves, and Naruto had inherited at least a fraction of his mother's special chakra. For his reserves to be doubled already indicated that he was already approaching Kage-level reserves, and that would open a whole new can of worms. But before Sarutobi could open his mouth to question him, Kakashi said ten words that shocked him to his core. "He also awoke the Sharingan, and Kongō Fūsa."

Hiruzen choked on his pipe.

The Kongō Fūsa was perhaps the rarest bloodline in the shinobi nations, barring the Mokuton (Wood Release) and perhaps the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse), the latter of which behaved in much the same way as the legendary Uzumaki bloodline. It had only been seen in two separate users by the same person once in recent history - Uzumaki Mito, who had met both her Grandfather, and his successor to the gene, Uzumaki Kushina, although only just barely for the latter. Hiruzen had always felt that something was wrong there, since the Kongō Fūsa gene invariably passed through direct familial descent, meaning the user before Kushina had been one of her forebears. Yet Kushina's mother had been born to an Uzumaki mother and a male of the Kaze no Kuni {Land of Wind} deserts, her matrilineal ancestry traceable for about a century. Her father, however, had emerged at seemingly random, a red-haired baby being deposited in front of one of the Uzumaki Clan's fortresses during the Clan Wars, about eight years before their end, and mere months after the birth of Hiruzen himself. He was left with merely a note, naming him Uzumaki Atsushi, with instructions to treat him well. (1)

Sarutobi had thought the Kongō Fūsa – referred to by some as simply the Kusari – to have finally died off, since he had seen Kushina manifest the chains after Naruto's conception, and even after the birth, and the user invariably lost the ability once the child who would pass the gene along was conceived. It was a strange bloodline, only emerging when unknown conditions were met in the genes and chakra of the carrier, and he knew that past attempts to draw it out had failed. His former student, Orochimaru, had been especially obsessed with the bloodline, and had - in one of his few sanctioned experiments, and with Kushina's grudging permission - studied her blood extensively in an attempt to replicate the ability. All he had been able to ascertain was that the Uzumaki's special chakra was necessary to its development, and since none of those were around at the time bar Kushina herself, the project had been scrapped.

And the Sharingan...

'So the seal failed...' he thought, and couldn't find it within himself to be surprised. 'After all, while talented, Jiraiya-kun is nowhere near Mito-sama's level.' Oh, in some ways he had expected it, but he had secretly hoped it would not happen, since it would cause far too many problems. Especially since the Uchiha had been nearly wiped out since the seal was placed. It wasn't likely that Naruto would even be capable of passing on the Sharingan anyway, given his potent Uzumaki Chakra.

The Uzumaki Clan's special chakra was effectively a bloodline of its own, and normally it prevented the emergence of other bloodlines within clan members after a few generations had passed. Some few examples to the contrary were present, but highly rare. The placement of a seal to prevent Naruto awakening the Sharingan had been considered almost unnecessary, but it appeared to have had no effect.

A sliver of anxiety struck Hiruzen. The emergence of two of the three kekkei genkai known to man that could suppress a bijū in a single boy, at the same time, was unheard of. It was also terrifying. And he remembered all too well the ANBU guards he'd needed to protect Kushina from those few factions aware of her existence. In the end, he'd been forced to draft the Uzumaki herself into ANBU just to attempt to offset the incursions. He didn't want that for Naruto.

Sarutobi sighed. "I am sure you have questions Kakashi-kun, and I have some answers to provide you, but first, I must know... what happened? How did this eventuate? Did the Yondaime's seal..." Hiruzen gulped suddenly, feeling every bit his age as he stared hard at his successor's student. "Did the Kyūbi escape?"

Kakashi ran a hand through his spiky hair, his single visible eye unseeing as he looked out the window behind the aging Sandaime. "I honestly have no idea," he said at length, and that worried Hiruzen more than he would admit. "I felt its chakra for a moment, but it receded. If my timeline of events is correct, this happened after Naruto's Sharingan awakening, and prior to his unleashing the Kusari."

The Professor rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, before snapping his gaze back to the shinobi in front of him. "I will have the seal checked. I would assume Naruto-kun called on the chakra sub-consciously, and the bijū responded in a bid for freedom, but the seal prevented its full release. Regardless, I shall arrange to have the seal reviewed and, if possible, tightened. Disperse yourself. I shall join your original in the Hospital shortly." Sighing again, the Sandaime watched as the Kage Bunshin nodded and dispersed, before writing out a quick note. Biting his thumb, he summoned one of the younger of his Monkey summons, a messenger, to his side.

"Get me Jiraiya," he said, handing it the note, and grimaced as the small monkey chittered, and embarked to complete his request.


Two figures sat in a seemingly empty place. The 'place' - for it could really only be described as such, and little else - was simply bright white and seemed to stretch on forever. Of the figures, they both appeared to be around to same age, yet one was in fact slightly older, and the other slightly younger.

"Are you sure we made the right decision, Onii-sama?" the younger questioned, gazing at his counterpart questioningly. The figure turned, and regarded its younger sibling solemnly, before nodding.

"Yes. It is the only hope for the scenario I foresaw. No other alternative allowed for such a desirable outcome. Although..." the figure trailed off uncertainly, his unique eyes glazed over for a moment before snapping back to the present. Eventually, he sighed. "I must confess, much is risked. So many possible divergences..."

"Then why?" the younger demanded angrily, despite himself. He was not usually quick to anger, but after so long, to think that such a thing was possible... "Why not continue the cycle as normal? Is entrusting it all to a single soul more desirable?

"Yes, it is," the elder insisted, after a scant moment of consideration. "Even more potential for divergence is permitted otherwise, and this way, all potential threats are dealt with, if the child can truly pull this off." His words caused the younger brother's eyes to widen.

"Tru-truly?" he whispered in shock. He couldn't have even imagined such a desirable outcome could actually eventuate...

Sure, he'd had his hopes, but still. To have them confirmed...

The elder nodded once more, his tone bespeaking his certainty. "Yes, but he will face much hardship on the road ahead. Not the least of which being the constant conflict his ideals will encounter, both from without and within."

The other hummed in thought for a moment, before asking another question. "Was it truly necessary to drag out so much latent talent? Surely having so much power will make him more predisposed towards…" he trailed off as his elder sibling shook his head in the negative.

"In fact, it was more likely to end poorly if less was drawn out. He needs them both to respect him for this to work, and such inherent talent was a necessary step in that. It will not sabotage his relationship with either of them, although the damage of being forced to wait this long has done that for us. Besides," the figure continued, and grimaced, "he will need every ounce of power he can get his hands on, to face the trials ahead."


Naruto experienced another memory from Kushina's perspective.

The redhead walked slowly, determinedly, towards the Konoha ambassador's home. She was not blind - she had seen the effect the man had on Aiko-oba {Aunt Aiko} - and thus it was time for her to set things straight. Sooner, rather than later. Hopefully, her target would be present and available, and hadn't left Uzushio to return to his home yet, otherwise Kushina's damage control may very well be for naught, and it would be too late.

Her oba-chan {Aunty} was pregnant, and her evil, stupid boyfriend had done something to upset her. Didn't he see that she was in pain? Suffering? Carrying his child? Carrying Kushina's cousin, and the young girl refused to allow that man to hurt her beloved Aiko-oba any longer.

So what if she was only five years old? She would be six in a few months, and this was her oba-chan in question. Kushina would be damned if she let this man not do what he was supposed to. Her oba-chan was only seventeen! She was going to be a kaa-chan at seventeen, and it was all that man's fault!

Approaching the door to the ambassador's home, where the man was staying while in Uzushio, she knocked once on the door, knowing that the only person who could be home would be her oba-chan's boyfriend. After all, the ambassador was currently out of the village, and Aiko was at Kushina's parents' house right now, crying into her sister-in-law's shoulder. So it was up to Kushina to fix this.

Kushina looked up as the man opened the door. "Kushina-chan! How can I help you this fine day?" the figure exclaimed jovially, grinning down at the girl.

"If you make Aiko-oba cry again, I'll force-feed you your toes," the almost-six-year-old said calmly, and immediately turned around and left. Behind her, a thoroughly bewildered - and slightly terrified - Jiraiya stared at her retreating form as he stood in the now-open doorway, slack-jawed.


Kakashi stood and kneeled before the Sandaime as the man entered the corridor outside Naruto's room, only rising once his Hokage ordered him to do so. "So, how is he, Kakashi-kun?"

Kakashi grimaced, but spoke regardless. "The Head-Medic is in with him now. He's awaiting your arrival, Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime hummed, moving towards the door before turning back to his immobile subordinate. "Well then, come along Kakashi-kun. We can't keep the Doctor waiting," he said, ignoring the shocked Copy-nin behind him. After all, the Sandaime was notorious for not permitting anyone to enter Naruto's room in the hospital, even those close to the village's pariah. Sure, Kakashi was his sensei, but still...

The Yondaime's final remaining student followed his leader obediently, entering the hospital room currently belonging to his sensei's son. 'Oh God,' he thought, deep self-loathing making itself known as it coiled its barbed tail around his heart. 'I have failed sensei and his son so badly... we all have.'

He should have been stronger. He should have found the necessary willpower to take Naruto in, when even the child's own godfather was too cowardly to do so. 'How hypocritical!' he inwardly mocked. 'That is the exact same problem I had. Although, it's not like either of us would make decent role models. Still, better a bad one than none at all, right?'

"So, Koyanagi-san?" the Hokage questioned, and Kakashi immediately pulled his attention back to the present. "What is wrong with Naruto-kun?"

Koyanagi Akira was a tall, grey-haired and green-eyed man in his late 60s. He had been a student in the class after the Sandaime in the Konoha Shinobi Academy, graduating as the Rookie of the Year. He had been drafted by Tsunade's mother, the then-Head of Konoha Hospital, almost immediately, demonstrating a proclivity towards the medical field. He had quickly risen as Senju Chikako's apprentice, achieving the rank of chūnin in his first attempt one year later, and being promoted to Tokubetsu Jōnin within two years of that. After that, he had never bothered with his other skills, instead refining his iryō-ninjutsu to incredible levels. In turn, he had taught only two students - Yakushi Nonō, a young prodigy in medical ninjutsu and intelligence gathering, who was taken in by ANBU at a young age, and Senju Tsunade herself. Of course, the latter was often busy with her team when she was younger, but she made time to learn all she could from her late mother's only student. In time, Tsunade had taken Akira's prodigious skills and evolved them to an unsurpassed level, earning her the title of most powerful Medic-Nin in history.

During the Second War, when Tsunade had tried to change the system and include Medics on every team, Akira had been one of her primary supporters. Even his word did not equal to that of the Hokage, however, and he had been among those mourning the loss - past, present, and future - of life resulting from the decision. A degree of tension had existed between Koyanagi and Sarutobi ever since, but neither attempted to repair it, despite the relatively close friendship the two had shared in the past.

He was also one of the few people in the village to be aware of Naruto's parentage, and the identities of the previous two Kyūbi jinchūriki.

The aged Doctor sighed, and turned his attention to his once-friend. "Not well, Hokage-sama. From what I can ascertain, Naruto-kun's very genetic makeup is undergoing intense change, being transformed into something else. At first, I had thought it was the Kyūbi attempting to change his body into... well, something of a more desirable vessel," the man admitted sheepishly, shrugging slightly and seeming quite embarrassed at making such a negative assumption, but continued on regardless. "As I have reviewed it, however, I have made several... intriguing discoveries!" the man stopped speaking abruptly, turning to the bed and its occupant, gazing at Naruto in undisguised fascination. He seemed to forget their presence for a moment, and only Kakashi clearing his throat brought the man's attention back to the other two men.

"Well, Koyanagi-san?" the Sandaime questioned, and if Kakashi had been any less of a shinobi, he may not have noticed the minute tenseness to the man's body. As if waiting for a trap laid by the enemy to spring.

How intriguing...

"Ah! Of course," yet again, the kind elderly gentleman seemed terribly embarrassed, but Kakashi got the feeling he wasn't quite as self-conscious as he let on. The man drew in a deep breath, before releasing it all in a sudden exhalation/exclamation of "I believe the Kyūbi has drawn out Naruto-kun's latent abilities! In effect, the bijū has drawn out the kekkei genkai present within about three generations of Naruto-kun's ancestry!"

For the second time that day, the Sandaime choked on his pipe. Meanwhile, Kakashi choked on what little air he could get into his lungs.


Suddenly, the visions changed.

Instead of random memories from his two predecessors, Naruto was thrust into one of his own.

It was one of the nastier experiences he had encountered as a child. He was generally despised for his role as Kyūbi jinchūriki - and there was another word he didn't remember learning - but the populous was more spiteful and neglectful than outright violent. There had, however, been a few exceptions. This memory was of one of those.

His younger form cried softly, clinging to the swing he sat upon as he watched the happy families passing by. Looking back, Naruto did not remember feeling this saddened by this, nor this angry. Not outwardly, but inwardly. Angry and hateful and 'Why won't you acknowledge me?' with maybe a little 'I'll show you!' mixed in.

He didn't remember feeling this at all.

And yet, he did.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over his six-year-old form, and Naruto looked up into glazed, manic red eyes.

"Ah, the demon!" the man - looking to be about eighteen years old with short, straight black hair - exclaimed, even as he grabbed hold of a retreating Naruto's wrist. Naruto's mind chanted a mantra, well-used and oft-repeated.

'I am not a demon. I am not a demon. Hokage-jiji would tell me if I was a demon. I am not a demon.'

"Now now, not so fast little demon. You see, you killed my father. He was a great man. Yūhi Shinku (2)," the man slurred his speech slightly, and Naruto wrinkled his nose at the smell of cheap alcohol, much like the stuff the Orphanage Matron drank often. And by 'often', he meant 'whenever the Hokage wasn't coming by to visit'. He knew not to mention it, 'cause last time, he'd gotten a beating for being a tattle. He didn't enjoy it.

It was rather telling that Naruto was used to this by now, and that he didn't seem shocked that he had apparently murdered someone. Instead, he repeated his mantra in his head over and over again, begging the man to go away. Instead the man chuckled, and tightened his grip.

"I'm gonna make you scream, little fox. Just like he did as you killed him!" the man screamed, taking a kunai out of seemingly nowhere and embedding it up to the hilt in Naruto's stomach.

Finally, Naruto's mantra broke, and he screamed, vaguely recognising the sound of the man's insane laughter as he removed the kunai and made another slash.

Naruto remembered this. Finally, finally it made sense. But the emotions didn't. Hatred, rage, agony, disgust, unadulterated anger. He had never known he could hate so strongly.

Suddenly, he was dropped, but didn't meet the pain of the harsh ground, as his muddled mind expected. Instead, he was held against what felt like a body of someone at least several years older than he was. He remembered this, too.

He could make little out of the older figure, other than his glowing red, three-tomoe eyes.


"Wha... what?" Hiruzen questioned softly, hardly believing his ears.

Drawing out latent kekkei genkai was not an entirely new concept. Orochimaru's research into the Kongō Fūsa was just one of the many attempts in his long history of attempted bloodline-replication. It wasn't really necessary, since most kekkei genkai users passed the gene along to their child with little trouble - after all, chakra had a tendency to draw out latent abilities on its own, to strengthen its user - but within the Uzumaki, things were different.

Orochimaru had been especially interested in the Uzumaki vitality. It was, after all, incredibly strong and unique. He had studied the ability, attempting to draw out latent kekkei genkai from within the DNA - and at the time, Sarutobi had believed that it was because Orochimaru wanted what was best for the village, and a more powerful Kushina certainly didn't hurt it - but had achieved no results. The chakra was just too unique.

So, for this to happen, was...

"How?" Kakashi muttered beside him, his tone incredulous. The Head-Medic seemed to ponder the question a moment, before sighing.

"I honestly have no idea, Kakashi-kun. All I can assume is that the Kyūbi had something to do with it. The seal does seem to be less powerful than when I last saw-" the man was suddenly cut off as the Sandaime rushed past him, raising the hem of the blond's jumpsuit jacket and staring at the seal.

The visible seal.

The visible seal which was only supposed to appear when Naruto was channelling the Kyūbi's chakra.

'Oh. Shit.'

Kakashi paled considerably, as did his superior, while Koyanagi seemed nonplussed. "Is this bad, Hokage-sama?" the man questioned, and both men came within millimetres of faceplanting.

"YES, it IS!" Kakashi exclaimed. "This means the Kyūbi's chakra is being actively channelled!"

"Ohh..." the green-eyed man trailed off thoughtfully, before snapping his fingers in sudden epiphany. "That explains the traces of bijū chakra in his system!"

'Why did I associate with this man, in the past?' Sarutobi pondered in disbelief. Perhaps time had addled his once-friend's brain.

"Koyanagi-san, while that is a logical conclusion, I must admit it doesn't completely explain the situation," Hiruzen interjected smoothly. "Naruto-kun awakened the Kusari, which Kushina had not passed on, as per that particular gene's nature, at the time."

Akira hummed thoughtfully, before nodding. "Normally, that would indicate a flaw in my hypothesis," he agreed. "However, as you know, I treated both Kushina and Mito-sama, when the latter was in her final years. And I am detecting substantial amounts of both of their chakra signatures within Naruto's own, seemingly blending with it." Kakashi still seemed confused at the information, but the Sandaime's eyes widened in realisation.

Inwardly, Hiruzen was berating himself for not noticing it sooner. He had been very close to both Mito and Kushina, and now that he thought about it, he could detect trace amounts of both of their chakra in amongst Naruto's. Although it wasn't quite the same, indicating that the three were combining to create an entirely new chakra-signature, alongside the bloodline-chakra now possessed by Naruto. It still didn't explain the how, though.

"Which brings me to my next item of importance..." the man continued.

"Hokage-sama... I believe Naruto-kun is descended from Mito-sama, directly."


Naruto was experiencing one of the elder woman's memories, from a different time period this time. At this stage, she was still young and youthful, looking to be a few years older than he was. She was also scowling.

"Mito-chan," the man in front of him-her spoke softly. "I know you dislike this, but our alliance with the Senju has been destabilising recently. We've crossed a few boundaries they think their 'sibling' clan should not cross, and we need to reassure them. The boy is very nice, from what I've seen, and is the current Clan-Head's eldest nephew."

Naruto-Mito glared at the man, but nodded stiffly, turning to the other occupant of the room. "Did you also agree to this, Otou-sama?" she bit out coldly, a nasty bite to her words that left Naruto shivering. Damn, this lady was intimidating, even when he was her! Not allowing the man to speak, she turned back to the eldest and continued, fuming. "The disrespect! To expect the Clan Heir's eldest to marry into a... a... side-family! I don't understand why you abide this disrespect, Ojii-sama."

The eldest man sighed again, and turned his gaze to his son, who answered for him. "Mito," her father answered, and her head swivelled to meet his gaze evenly, well-repressed bitter, bitter anger and hatred churning in her gut. "We have already crossed too many boundaries. While the Uzumaki are powerful, we are not on the level of the Uchiha or Senju. Our fūinjutsu and kenjutsu may be formidable, and our numbers great, but we have never been strong users of ninjutsu or genjutsu, like our sister-Clan. We need this alliance, and this is one of the terms they demanded."

"Hmph. Why not simply secede from the Clan Wars altogether? Oh don't give me that look," she added when her father stared at her incredulously. "All of us here know that the idea has crossed both of your minds in the past, more than once! We do no good fighting in this conflict!"

The man nodded, humming thoughtfully. "Perhaps so, but we cannot run. To do so is not the Uzumaki way, especially when our family and honour is on the line. Besides," he added, his voice turning deathly serious. "I sincerely doubt that the Senju, or Uchiha for that matter, would stand idly by and allow us to leave this conflict. The Senju need the allies, and we have killed too many Uchiha over the centuries for them to simply allow bygones to be bygones."

"I'm afraid your father is correct, Mito," her grandfather commented. "And as your Clan Head, I am making this an order. Sadly, it is a necessity to protect the future of the Clan, even if I wish it did not come at such a cost." The elderly man's genuine sadness spoke volumes, and Mito found herself calming down. She had never been able to hold anger at her grandfather for long. He was far too kind, and she owed it to him to believe him when he said that there were no other options. "Now come!" he exclaimed, grinning. "We shall speak no more of this! I must depart for the Alliance meeting at Amaterasu no Tani {Valley of Amaterasu} on the morrow. Let us relax this evening."


The Sandaime's eyes widened comically, his composure slipping in a rare moment of absolute befuddlement. Beside him, Kakashi had renewed his choking, gasping for air that just wouldn't come. And judging by the glint in the man's eyes, Akira was loving the reaction he got.

Bastard.

"How..." the Shinobi no Kami trailed off in shock, finally regaining control over his mouth after much struggle. "Why would you say that, Koyanagi-san?" he struggled to maintain a level tone to his voice, withholding his own amazement at what may very well be the confirmation of his own, long-held beliefs.

He had been friends with Uzumaki Atsushi, as had his sister - to the point where she had even named her son after him, in honour of the man after his death - and both had long held the suspicion that he was descended from the Shodai's wife. The timing was suspicious: after all, it was not well-known that Hashirama-sama and Mito-sama's marriage had been loveless for many years, a political marriage to strengthen the weakening ties between the Uzumaki and Senju. The old gossips from around the Senju Clan compound had long suggested she had been having an out-of-clan affair, since she had vanished from the Clan's 'public-eye' for an exact year before returning - the precise year that Atsushi was born in, although few ever made that last connection. Adding in that Kushina had gained the Kusari, which could only indicate a direct descent from Uzumaki Hoshihiro, Mito's grandfather, and it became clear that something, somewhere along the line, had been covered up.

"Indeed, indeed!" the iryō-nin exclaimed, seemingly oblivious to the inner-thoughts of his Kage. "The integration of her chakra would not be working so well if they weren't related, even on the limited level of two shinobi of the same clan! His body is not rejecting her chakra at all, meaning that it likely recognises it as a 'progenitor' of sorts! Simply fascinating..." the man trailed off again, staring at Naruto in a manner that gave both shinobi the creeps.

"... and the Sharingan?" Kakashi interjected suddenly, abruptly, and the Sandaime winced. This wouldn't be a fun conversation...

"Kakashi-kun," Hiruzen began, grabbing the man's undivided attention. "You are aware of Minato-kun's birth parents, and their deaths when he was but a child?"

It was a sad tale, truly. Kazue, a woman with purple hair and cerulean blue eyes, and Satoru, a man with spiky blond hair and brown eyes, coming together and bearing a child. They had both come from tragic pasts, losing their parents at young ages, only to find each other. The whole affair was truly a tragedy, especially when Kazue and Satoru, alongside the attending hospital staff, had been murdered by a member of the Military Police, whom Minato's parents had prevented from attacking their newborn son at the cost of their lives. Sarutobi had ensured that any knowledge of who Minato's parents were had been kept from the public, out of concern that the man who killed them had done so under duress.

Receiving a nod in return, 'The Professor' continued. "What you did not know is the circumstances behind that. You see, Kazue and Satoru, Minato-kun's parents, were of the Uchiha and Senju Clans, respectively."

Kakashi stared at the 'Shinobi no Kami', dumbfounded. Even though Konoha was founded by the two clans, they had never interbred, as inter-clan relations had never improved to such an extent. "Why, Hokage-sama? I thought the Uchiha and Senju..."

Hiruzen nodded sadly, smiling wistfully at the memory of the two. "Love," he answered simply, and it was enough to explain it all. "Satoru and Kazue met as children, both taken in by a mutual family friend, Uchiha Kagami. They bonded quickly over the mutual loss of their parents at a young age, and their bond grew over time. Uchiha Kagami was, of course, Sasuke-kun's grandfather, and Obito-kun's great-uncle," he added at the end, and Kakashi remembered taking a D-rank as a genin, tending to the Uchiha man's garden. He was unfathomably kind, unlike many Uchiha, and had been assigned directly under the Nidaime in the First Shinobi World War. He also remembered now, belatedly, that Obito had introduced him as his 'Super-Awesome ōoji-chan'. Kakashi found himself feeling rather glad that the kind man had died prior to the violent massacre of his Clan, by his own grandson no less.

"So... Kazue and Satoru died because they had a half-Senju, half-Uchiha child?" Kakashi questioned, and the Sandaime nodded once more.

"Indeed," the man agreed, and sighed sadly at the memory. "It was obvious that the murderers, members of the Konoha Police Force, were under orders, even if we couldn't prove it. All I could do was fake Minato-kun's death, have Mito-sama seal away his kekkei genkai, and place him under the charge of a trustworthy shinobi with a fake last name. Otherwise, he may have been targeted again, and I would not allow another to die the same cruel, pointless death that those two suffered," the Sandaime finished, inwardly acknowledging just how bad inter-clan relations got after that. 'That was truly the beginning of the conflict between the Uchiha and the village. Much hope had been placed on Minato-kun, to be the final bridge between the two clans.' After all, regardless of what some people said, the division between Clans remained even today, if not to the same extent as it once did. "I would assume that Kazue is where Naruto gained his Uchiha DNA from."

"Actually, Hokage-sama that is another thing," Koyanagi added in cheerfully, and the legendary shinobi just knew that whatever was about to be said would complicate things even further. He was proven correct with the Doctor's next words. "From what I have observed so far, there is too much Uchiha DNA present for Naruto to be receiving it from just Kazue and her parents. Now, since most of Naruto-kun's ancestry is known, I believe it is likely that Mito-sama's 'mystery lover' was an Uchiha."

Sarutobi gave up on smoking his pipe today. It seemed to have picked up an unhealthy attraction to the back of his throat. Sadly for Kakashi, he was merely choking on air, and it was unlikely that he could give that up for a day.

"Tru-Truly? How... why?" Kakashi questioned, because he knew the story of Uzumaki Mito, or Senju Mito as most knew her. The two legendary lovers, a powerful shinobi and kunoichi, both incredibly strong in their own right. But together? Rumoured to be unbeatable. Their love was just as legendary as the two themselves, said by some to be one of those rare bonds that would never expire. And to think that she would have a... fling with a shinobi from a clan composed of her lover's greatest enemies... it seemed too ridiculous to be true.

"I can't answer that," Akira responded, seemingly put out by having to make the admission. He continued on regardless, though. "All I can speculate is that the relationship was brief, and during the time when Hashirama-sama and Mito-sama's relationship was merely an arranged marriage, and nothing more."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with that fact, while Sarutobi nodded slowly. "Thank you, Koyanagi-san. Is there anything else?" and he really hoped there wasn't anything else, because he needed a break, badly.

He was rewarded by a shake of the man's head. "Not at the moment, Hokage-sama. Although, I will be honest... I am unsure of how to treat Naruto-kun. This is an unprecedented case. It may take him quite some time to wake up, if he ever does."


Two Days Later

Walking through one of the Desert-cities on the border of Kaze no Kuni, an exceedingly tall figure allowed his eyes to pass over the fine specimens that the community had to offer. The female form was such a beautiful thing, and he needed to gain inspiration for his next masterpiece. It was a shame he needed to speak to a contact here, since there were rarely onsens in Kaze no Kuni, meaning he would have to wait to re-affirm his claim to the illustrious title of 'Super-Pervert'.

Suddenly, a small monkey passed through his field of vision, and the Toad Sage grimaced.

Glaring at the offending creature, Jiraiya considered ignoring it, but thought better of it. His sensei rarely felt the need to contact his only loyal student unless the situation was truly important.

Taking the message and ignoring the creature's feeble attempts to drag him by his trousers' leg back in the direction of Konoha, he read the hastily-scrawled text. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he turned and bolted for the village of his birth, barely remembering to create a Kage-Bunshin to remain behind and speak to his contact before dispersing.

Left behind him in the dust, the small monkey summon chittered in confusion before dispersing.


Two Days Later (… again)

'Jiraiya,

Naruto has returned from a C-Rank turned A-Rank mission. The seal has weakened, significantly, and he has fallen into a coma. More has happened, but nothing I feel comfortable relaying in a message such as this.

Return quickly,

Sensei'

As Jiraiya approached his sensei's office, he pondered those words.

He and Sarutobi had not been on good terms for over nine years - ever since Orochimaru's defection (3) and the final fracturing of the 'Sannin'. Technically, they had not been a team since Tsunade had finally mustered up the courage to leave in the middle of the Third Shinobi World War, abandoning her village and comrades in a long-foreseen decision, with nary a thought for those she left behind. Of course, by then they had become very dysfunctional regardless: Tsunade and her drinking, leaving the ninja force due to her hæmophobia; Orochimaru's descent into madness, not obvious at first barring his obsession with his experiments; Jiraiya's own grief over losing all of his students aside from Minato, alongside his girlfriend and unborn child; and lastly Hiruzen, and his depression and stress due to his position, with the distance between he and his family and friends making the whole situation that much worse.

Both he and his sensei blamed each other, to an extent, for the fracturing of their team, even if both knew the fault truly lay elsewhere. Both were simply too stubborn, and too proud, to admit to it first, and thus found themselves at an impasse. Perhaps if one of the other two were to return again, then they may be able to begin repairing their relationship, but as it stood it was unlikely to happen.

Hopping directly up to the windowsill in his sensei's office, Jiraiya waved lazily as he got down and walked in front of the Hokage's desk. Said man turned to the Toad Sage, eyes gazing sadly at the form of his last loyal student. And Jiraiya had never seen the Old Monkey looking so tired. "Sensei," he said simply, by means of introduction, as if he hadn't been absent for over five years now, and he hadn't visited his godson in almost eight. The boy probably didn't even remember him, not that he'd blame him. Who would want to remember a failure like him?

"Jiraiya," the Sandaime answered back, measured and unfailingly polite, but no more than that. The rift between them denied them anything more than that. "You got my message in quite good time," the man commented idly, and Jiraiya could pick up the faint disapproval. Only four days to get there, meaning he was easily found by a simply monkey summon.

A minute clenching in his jaw was the only obvious sign of discontent on the Sannin's face. "I was in the general neighbourhood, meeting with a contact," he said simply, and the oldest of the pair merely hummed thoughtfully. 'Okay, damn these games,' sick of skirting the issue at hand. This was his godson, and even if he was much more absent than he should be, he would own up to his mistakes and face them.

For Naruto.

For Minato and Kushina.

"How bad is Naruto?" he questioned intently, staring at the man with ill-disguised concern.

"Oh," Sarutobi remarked softly, light, mocking shock colouring his tone. "Why Jiraiya-kun, I didn't know you cared."

Jiraiya growled lowly, glaring at the old man with all the disdain he could muster - and Kami knew there was a lot of it - as he spoke through gritted teeth. "That's a low blow, sensei, and you know it."

The Hokage hummed again, before sighing. "Perhaps it was, Jiraiya-kun, perhaps it was. Allow me to fill you in on events over the last few days..."


Once the Toad Sage had recomposed himself after the multiple shocks to his system, he turned his eyes to Konoha's Hospital. Without so much as a nod in farewell, the man was gone from his sensei's office. If the man had something more to speak to him about, he could tell him later.

Running through the streets, not even batting an eyelid at the sign for the closest Onsen, the Yondaime's sensei rushed towards the Konoha Hospital. He had only visited his godson fleetingly since his final student's death - a result of his deep grief and self-blame, that Minato had died because of him, and the training he gave him, that the man who was his son in all but blood was now gone - only leaving small trinkets behind, and not enough time to leave memories in the child's life. He got reports, sometimes, if incidences occurred, like that insane chūnin who had attacked Naruto in a drunken stupor when the boy was six.

The man had screamed and begged at his public execution, at the testimony to the severity of attacking Uzumaki Naruto, but Jiraiya had not regretted his actions as the man's personal executor. Not as the man begged. Not as he cried. Not as he screamed obscenities or feeble defences. The only thing Jiraiya had regretted was his foolishness in not making sure that Naruto was far, far away from the execution. Far away from the gruesome sight. But regardless, the last loyal Sannin had raised his eyes from the man's corpse, to the gathered crowd, to the surrounding buildings, and horrified realisation had passed through him as he gazed into his godson's amazing, blue eyes.

And he had never even had the guts to go and comfort the child, because seeing those eyes reminded him of another pair of eyes, too-similar eyes, which had also born witness to death for the first time. And he was too weak to do anything about it a second time.

Shaking the memory away, Jiraiya headed inside - using the door, since there were likely no windows in Naruto's current room, due to the severity of his case - and made his way to the reception desk. After a few quick inquiries, he was off to the blond's room, traveling the distance in a contemplative silence. About halfway there, he was met by his sensei, the man falling into step beside him with nary a glance or word. Once they entered the room, they found Kakashi sitting there, staring sadly at the young shinobi in the bed. Looking up, the man stood and prepared to bow, but a wave from Jiraiya dissuaded him. Turning to the Hokage again, Kakashi sighed. "There has been no evidence of a repeat event, Hokage-sama," the shinobi said to the Hokage, and the aged man nodded slowly, even as the Toad Sage turned his attention on the two at the question.

"'Repeat event'?" he questioned warily, and both of the other men present grimaced. "What else could have possibly happened?"

Sighing, the Sandaime turned to his student and began to recount events. "Well..."


Flashback - Two Days Earlier


Kakashi sat at his student's bedside, gazing at the young shinobi forlornly. He had failed another teammate, and now a comrade - a child - was suffering because of it. His sensei's child, which made it all the worse.

Kakashi had never felt so much like the failure he was as he did then.

He'd spoken to Sasuke and Sakura, explaining vaguely the nature of the abilities the blond had awoken and the importance of keeping them secret. Both had readily agreed, although Sasuke was still harassing both Kakashi and the Sandaime about Naruto's parentage. All they had told the boy was that there was Uchiha DNA within three generations of the boy's ancestry, and that they would tell him when they could pinpoint it precisely. While still intensely interested - and slightly desperate for information - the Uchiha had been appeased for the time being.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes popped open, and Kakashi jumped back in shock. The blond blinked in shock, looking around the room before zeroing in on Kakashi.

"Sakumo-kun?" the blond asked, and the Copy-nin felt his blood run cold. "What am I doing... the seal!" he suddenly exclaimed, pulling his hospital robes up from beneath the sheets with over-estimated movements. As his student did this, Kakashi sent two Kage Bunshin to alert Koyanagi-san and the Hokage. Suddenly, the blond stilled.

"WHAT?! HOW... WHY... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" the blond screeched, staring at his body in incredulity. Turning his attention to Kakashi, he pointed accusingly at the Yondaime's last student before frowning. "Hatake-kun, you don't look well," he commented suddenly, and a fresh wave of confusion flooded through Kakashi's mind. "How did I... end up in this boy's body?"

Kakashi didn't think his blood could get any colder.

"Ky-Kyūbi?" he asked in shock, his voice soft in the otherwise dead-silent room.

The blond snorted. "Err, no. Wait, how do you know about that?! That's classified information, and..." the blond trailed off thoughtfully, staring at Kakashi strangely. "You're... not Sakumo-kun. You look similar, but... different. How?" he demanded, and Kakashi couldn't help but obey.

"Hatake Sakumo was my father," he responded, drawing up a barrier of the cold darkness where his emotions should be, to protect him from the bitter sting those words brought up. "But how would you know that, Naruto?" he commented idly, only the intensity in his single visible eye betraying his mask of indifference.

"Naru...to?" the Yondaime's son questioned slowly, blinking owlishly. "Who is Naruto?" he asked.

Kakashi's heart stuttered to a temporary halt.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and there stood the Head-Medic of the Hospital, staring at the figure on the bed strangely.

"Koyanagi-kun!" the blond exclaimed, and both Kakashi and Akira were floored. What on Earth? "You look so old!"

"Ano... well, I am turning sixty-eight this year, Naruto-kun..." the Doctor trailed off, raising an eyebrow at the figure on the bed. The figure huffed, glaring at the man.

"I am not this 'Naruto' person you keep calling me! Honestly, who names their kid after a Ramen topping? Sounds like something Kushina-chan would... do..." the blond trailed off thoughtfully. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "How did... what... urgh, of all the things for that blasted fox to do!" he exclaimed, rage colouring his face as his voice rose higher, directionless killing intent spiking in the room. "It should know better than to mess with an Uzumaki seals-mistress!"

"Mi-Mito-sama?" the green-eyed man queried softly, disbelievingly, staring at the figure on the bed with apprehension.

Said figure allowed a sigh of gratitude to escape, turning their gaze to the man and nodding once. "Indeed. It appears that my consciousness has been placed into this boy's body by the Kyūbi... but, I must ask how this child came to be jinchūriki?" the blond asked softly, looking between the two men in confusion.

Kakashi was in shock. Was his student gone, replaced entirely by the Shodai's wife? Had he unwillingly lost his body to the Kyūbi's machinations? How could this have even happened, unless...?

"You... you're like Naruto, aren't you?" he questioned softly, incredulously, because there was no way he could have possibly expected to discover something like this when he came to visit his student today. "A jinchūriki," he clarified, when the figure stared at him in confusion, and was rewarded with another nod of the head.

Just then, the Hokage entered.

"Hi-Hiruzen?" Mito-Naruto questioned incredulously, staring at the man in something akin to horror. "You're so old!" they blurted, and Kakashi couldn't help the slightly manic giggle that escaped. Even as it did so, he brutally smothered its compatriots, barely dodging the proverbial jutsu as Sarutobi looked at him strangely, before turning his bewildered gaze on the blond.

"I'm afraid that happens when you're my age, Naruto-kun. How are you feeling? We weren't expecting you to wake this soon..." he trailed off at the strange look Mito-Naruto continued to give him.

"Hokage-sama," Akira interjected, staring between his superior and his charge. "Naruto-kun claims to be... Mito-sama."

Hiruzen was suddenly very glad he'd left his pipe in his office, today. Damned medics and their dramatics.

Mito-Naruto stared at the three shinobi thoughtfully, seeming to choose their words very carefully before turning their attention to the Sandaime. "I trust, by your current attire, that you are still Hokage, Saru?"

Sarutobi nodded, inwardly glad the Uzumaki had chosen to use one of Mito-sama's less embarrassing... endearments, and responded. "I chose a successor, but he died when Kushina's seal failed during childbirth. You knew him, actually - Minato-kun. He sealed the Kyūbi within he and Kushina's son... Naruto, your great-grandson."

Mito-Naruto's face was ashen.

"So," the blond whispered, repressed anguish colouring their tone. "You... know, then." Hard eyes, reflecting just a hint of betrayal, turned to the aged Hokage. "Did Tsunade tell you?"

Hiruzen blinked in shock. Of course. That explained a lot.

Tsunade had been absolutely devastated by the news of her grandmother's impending death, having not long lost her brother in one of the pre-war skirmishes. However, she had driven herself forward with a vengeance. She had taken it upon herself to raise and aid Mito's appointed successor, Uzumaki Kushina, and had stayed with her grandmother in the woman's final years. Kushina and Tsunade had bonded rather quickly, and Tsunade had become the young girl's rock, especially when word had come of Uzushio's fall in the opening battle of the Second Shinobi World War, mere months after Kushina's arrival in Konoha.

And Tsunade had raged. She had been just as inconsolable in her grief as so many others. As Hiruzen and his sister, who lost a man who was practically a brother to them. As Orochimaru, who had formed bonds with the Ranmyaku Clan of Uzushio, and even been granted permission to enter their ancestral home, the Ryūchi Cave, and sign the Snake Summoning Contract. As Jiraiya, who had finally managed to fall for a woman other than Tsunade, only to have her killed alongside so many others from her Clan. As Mito, who had lost her beloved younger brother and so many old friends. As Kushina herself, who had lost her entire family, her entire village. Kushina, who swore in blood that she would wipe Kirigakure from the map. And Tsunade would have helped her, if she hadn't been ordered away to other borders.

Sarutobi sighed, remembering the void in the pair's relationship, formed when Kushina had come back from a mission in the Third War half-dead, long after the trauma of losing Dan had developed into hæmophobia, and because there was so much blood and Kushina almost died Tsunade hadn't been able to bring herself to visit the girl in the Hospital. Oh, she'd tried - she'd even managed to get a few feet in the door, until she encountered a man who was being wheeled past on a gurney, bleeding profusely - but it hadn't ended well, and if anything, her hæmophobia had worsened after it. She'd been truly regretful, and begged Kushina to forgive her and understand when she got out.

But of course, Kushina hadn't understood. Not at all.

Oh she'd raged. And she'd screamed. She'd asked how the so-called 'Best Medic' in Konoha - in the world, even - had been able to stand idly by and allow someone who was supposedly important to her to come so close to dying. And it had touched a nerve in Tsunade, who had acted.

She'd punched Kushina through a wall.

By the time the argument had been ended - forcibly - Kushina had ended up with multiple broken bones and Tsunade was hyperventilating as she tried to distance herself from her bleeding leg, which had been nicked by one of Kushina's Kongō Fūsa. Kushina, beaten and bloodied and hurt - both psychically and emotionally - had angrily declared that she never wanted to speak to Tsunade again. And she hadn't, either. Once she was no longer catatonic, Tsunade had taken the recently-adopted Shizune, gathered her belongings, and departed the village that night, never to return again. In spite of Kushina's best efforts.

It would make sense for Tsunade and Kushina's past closeness to have been due to Tsunade knowing just how closely related she was to the young Uzushio survivor.

"No," Sarutobi responded truthfully, his eyes meeting Mito-Naruto's and bespeaking his sincerity. "I wasn't even aware that Tsunade-hime knew of this. We ourselves only discovered it due to the fact that your chakra and Naruto-kun's is merging far too easily for you to be anything but directly related." Mito-Naruto sighed, smiling slightly in apology at the man. The Sandaime continued. "Although, if you have any ideas as to how exactly this happened, that would be appreciated."

Mito-Naruto hummed thoughtfully, eyes closing in thought for a moment before opening. "I had a... theory about being jinchūriki. That a small, residual presence of chakra would 'latch-on', for lack of a better term, to the bijū's own, remaining even after extraction. I suppose that the Kyūbi had more awareness of what was going on outside the seal than I thought. Either that, or the residual chakra also contained 'echoes' of the memories the jinchūriki had prior to bijū extraction, including memories from before the bijū was sealed within the host in the first place. Actually," they hummed again, rubbing their chin in thought. "I'd say it's the latter, since I possess my memories from before the sealing as well. I can also feel Kushina's chakra-presence, although it's not as strong as mine. Almost as if it's also tied into the seal..."

Hiruzen frowned at her final comment, since that made absolutely no sense. Regardless... "Do you have any idea on how to stop this? It's causing extensive damage to Naruto-kun's mind." If anyone knew how to fix this, Mito would. Sadly, the blond only shook their head.

"No, I'm afraid not," Mito-Naruto responded, sighing sadly. "However, I can give you a seal to apply, that will make the experience much easier on him. Not remove the memories, but rather allow for their slow integration into his psyche. He should, hopefully, awaken in a day if this is successful, and from there the damage will likely gradually recede as Naruto becomes acclimatised to his new memories..." they winced, staring at the Sandaime in trepidation. "Saru, some of my memories are... not at all pleasant. And I can't imagine Kushina's life was easy, however much I hoped it would be. He will need support as he works through this."

Instead of Hiruzen, Kakashi - who had been largely silent throughout the meeting - nodded. "I assure you, Mito-sama, Naruto will have all the support he needs. I won't allow Minato-sensei and Kushina-sama's son to suffer needlessly." The conviction in the man's voice seemed to comfort Mito-Naruto, and they nodded. Koyanagi, who had quickly left the room without them noticing to obtain a scroll and ink, returned and handed the two items to the jinchūriki, who began creating the seal.

As Mito-Naruto receded into unconsciousness, Sarutobi began placing the seal. (4)


Flashback End


As Jiraiya digested that, Koyanagi entered the room.

"Ah, Jiraiya-kun!" the green-eyed man exclaimed gleefully, his eyes bespeaking a sadistic glee that only a particularly terrifying medic could possibly hold. "I believe you haven't undergone a medical exam in quite some time! Would you care to check yourself in, so that I can... rectify that?"

The other three men in the room shivered in unison.

Koyanagi Akira was also feared throughout the village as the source of Tsunade's atrocious bedside manner. The man was known for being horribly invasive during medical examinations, to the point of actually injuring his patients by accident during their check-ups, and then attempting to pass it off as some horrible disease they'd contracted. It had only gotten worse as he got older. Especially to those who required a constantly clean bill of health, like the village's elite.

The three men shivered again.

"I'm... ah... afraid I don't have time or that right now, Doctor," Jiraiya interjected nervously, shooting a glance - half fear and half a desperate cry for help - to the other two men, but received only pitying glances in return. 'Cowards!'

"Rubbish!" Akira responded, grinning. "That's an order, and not even the Hokage has the power to rescind this particular one. March," the man demanded cheerfully, and Jiraiya gulped.

"But... we need to talk about my godson!" And he did not whine, not at all, despite what everyone else would say to the contrary.

Koyanagi waved airily, his grin not fading in the least. "But of course, of course. Still, I'm sure your talk can wait until after you're done with the examination!" Jiraiya gulped again, and followed the man.


Jiraiya limped back to the Hokage's office an hour later, waddling like a penguin with something unfortunate in a similarly unfortunate place (which, admittedly, was not too far from the truth). Damn that crazy old coot and his insane theories. 'Suffering from prostrate problems my ass...'

Jumping up through the window, he walked in and sat down in the chair opposite the man, wincing. He glared at the Hokage as the man chuckled. "Oh yeah, very funny. I swear, why that guy went into medicine instead of T & I is beyond me." In response, Sarutobi broke out into actual, uproarious laughter.

"Well, Jiraiya-kun, we do still have a problem," the Monkey-Summoner replied once he had settled, staring intently at his last loyal student. "Naruto-kun has yet to awaken, and Mito-sama said he should have woken by now. Furthermore, the trauma to his mind is extensive, and still increasing, since he hasn't had a chance to assimilate all the information yet," the man sighed sadly, staring above Jiraiya at the portrait of Minato on the wall. "This is simply beyond Koyanagi-san's abilities."

"Well then," Jiraiya said, and grinned. "I have an idea of exactly who to get, and how."


Two Weeks Later

A busty blond figure walked the streets of a minor community in Tea Country, hesitantly counting her winnings as her assistant talked animatedly. The woman was clad in a grey, sleeveless kimono-like blouse which she wore a green haori over, the kanji for 'Gamble' emblazoned in a red circle one the back. She wore dark bluish-grey pants and an obi to match, with open-toed, strapped black sandals with high heels on her feet. She also wore red nail polish on her fingernails and toenails, as well as pink lipstick. Around her neck was a necklace, featuring a single, long turquoise gem in the centre with two small metal balls on either side of it. She had pale skin, pale blond hair tied into two loose ponytails, brown eyes and a curious diamond-shaped mark in the centre of her forehead.

Her companion beside her, who was holding a female pet pig, had shoulder-length black hair that framed her face, and black eyes. She wore a long, bluish-black kimono with white trimmings, a white obi holding it together, and low-heeled, open-toed sandals. She was fair-skinned and had a slender build. The pig she carried, interestingly enough, wore a dark red jacket and pearl collar.

Suddenly, a familiar figure dropped in front of both women, shocking them as they both stood and stared at the man in shock.

Jiraiya eyes rose and met those of his ex-teammate, staring into them with a serious intensity unfamiliar on his face. "Hime, please," he began, and she was about to open her mouth to offer an instant rebuttal, but the desperation in the man's eyes stopped her. She knew that look. As a medic, she had seen it often, and was sure it had been reflected in her own eyes several times throughout her life.

The look of panicked anxiety belonging to those about to lose someone precious to them.

"Please," he continued, and she almost said yes right that moment, because even though she had endured so much, lost so many people, she didn't want her teammate to go through the pain she knew all too well. Not again. If she could do anything, it would be to prevent that. "Please save our godson."

And Tsunade gasped.


For those who picked it up, YES, the bit at the end of last chapter was Dark!Naruto merging with regular Naruto. The whole reason why will be made clear soon.

(1) Timeline events are a tad unclear about this stuff. I'm using ShounenSuki's Timeline on the Naruto Wiki as the best source for the dates of events. This makes Kushina's father 56 years of age when Naruto was born, if he was still alive at the time, and he would be 68 turning 69 later in the year at the current time, much like Sarutobi himself. He's dead though, so no matter. :|

(2) Shinku is not an OC, although he wasn't initially named in the series (I originally named him something else, but I've edited it since the Databook's release). He's Kurenai's father. The crazy guy, however, is devised entirely by yours truly. He's supposed to be Kurenai's younger brother. He'll reappear once more in another flashback, and be mentioned in passing, and then he'll be gone.

(3) Dates for Orochimaru's defection are unclear, but I'm thinking he was still in the village for a good few years post-Kyūbi, prior to defecting.

(4) Sarutobi used the Reaper Death Seal, and is known as 'The Professor'. He's obviously a highly skilled fūinjutsu user.

Now, I know a few will be thinking 'It takes three days to make it to Konoha from Suna, not two.' but bear in mind that Jiraiya wasn't actually in Suna itself, and he's a super-powerful Sannin. He can travel at greater speeds than the common lemmings, especially when he's driven.

Now, I did make a slight error, as the Uzumaki genes can be tamed, as shown by Naruto and Tsunade not having the Uzumaki red hair. The reason for this is simple - Senju genes. The Senju's DNA is the one type considered capable of 'calming' the Uzumaki genes, although the overwhelming nature of the chakra tends to remain. Naruto will NOT be getting an appearance change, barring largely cosmetic ones in Part 2. His blond hair will remain for the above-mentioned reasons, and another one which will remain unrevealed for some time.

Thanks for reading! Catch you next time!