Title: Legacy Namikaze

Summary: Post Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Upset by the treatment of Konoha, Naruto decides to cut his losses and framed his death on a mission. A few years later, Akatsuki is on the move- along with a mysterious organization led by a boy holding an eerie resemblance with the deceased blonde. Parings undecided.

A/N: So here is the (not so long) awaited Chapter 2~ There isn't much action in this one but just read on ok? So, enjoy! (I hope ;) PS: Please read the A/N at the bottom for parings and such!

Disclaimer: I had Naruto last night with my noodles and soup…the edible one

"Talking" 'Thoughts' "Biju speaking/shouting"


Chapter 2: Decisions and Planning

Haruno Sakura always prided herself as one of the smartest kunoichi of her generation, yet looking back, she lacked anything 'ninja-ish' other than book smarts. Heck, even the 'dead-last' of the generation had gotten to the final round of the Chunin exam where she had something that resembled a catfight with Ino rather than a proper fight to secure a spot (of which neither did) in the 3rd round of the exam. It was pathetic really, when her 'one true love' Sasuke left, all she did was weep and beg Naruto to bring him back, only to spit on his and the retrieval team's efforts. She felt absolutely horrible.

Flashback no jutsu

She watched as a battered and bloody Naruto carried the limp form of Sasuke through the Konoha gate before rushing up to greet her teammates.

"Naruto!" The blonde wearily raised his head before allowing a grin to cover his face as he felt his spirits rejuvenate.

"Sakura-chan! I told you I'd bring the Teme back and I will never go back on my nindo-ttebayo!" He replied as enthusiastically as possible.

"Thank you for bringing Sasuke-kun back," the bubblegum haired girl thanked Naruto before she turned to Sasuke and felt her heart skip a beat. There was blood everywhere and he barely seemed to be breathing- had Naruto done all that damage? She could feel anger at her teammate boil within her and spoke the next words without thinking.

"I tried my best-" Naruto was abruptly cut off by his crushes next words.

"What were you thinking? I asked you to bring him back, not to kill him!"

Naruto could only stare, "He was a stubborn bastard and wouldn't give up without a figh-"

"So you had to incapacitate him this badly? You could have killed him Naruto-baka! If you wanted to impress me then you didn't have to beat Sasuke-kun up so badly!" She shouted angrily at the boy.

"It wasn't to impress you-"

"Lies! I asked you to bring him back, not to do this to him!"

"Sakura." Shikamaru's voice intervened in the heated exchange of words (although more one-sided on Sakura's part), "This was a mission, several of us are in critical condition and it was to be expected that we would bring Sasuke back with at least a few injuries."

She knew Shikamaru was right but Sakura felt so immensely angry at Naruto, she opened her mouth to apologize but felt her mind go blank. Taking one look at the crestfallen face of her comrade and she felt guilt well up inside her so she fled to her house, pushing through the villagers as she stumbled her way through the crowds and onlookers. Amongst the murmurs, she could hear someone talking, "So the demon decides to take out his anger on his teammate? The poor girl…I always knew he would prove to be too strong and making him a ninja was just asking for trouble."

'What?'

Flashback no jutsu: Kai!

She made up her mind, as soon as possible, she would apologize to Naruto. She had acted rashly and she would do everything to make up for it- perhaps allow Naruto to take her out to Ichiraku Ramen.


Naruto sat contemplating at home. He knew Sakura had not intended what she said and had done it on the spur of the moment but it still hurt. He had learnt to block out the sneers and cold comments directed at him but it got mildly irritating after a while. He had thought about leaving Konoha but never had given it as much thought as now. After his supposedly 'best-friend's' betrayal, he felt unsure of his loyalties to Konoha. He had always held onto the beliefs that sooner or later the villagers and shinobi of Konoha would be forced to acknowledge him. Naruto could count the people that truly cared for him on one hand: (He was oblivious to Hinata's affection towards him)

Tsunade, Jiraya, Teuchi and Ayame from Ichiraku Ramen and Iruka.

Was he really only worth that much? Sure, he had always though himself lucky to have people that cared for him but would his absence truly affect them? Shaking his head sadly he eyed the box and katana in the corner of his room, he had not opened them and considering his name (at least his first name) was on the box, he assured himself that if the blood seal worked, chances were it was meant for him or someone from his family.

Family. The word brought a warm feeling to his chest. 'Maybe, I'll find out who my parents were…" He thought to himself but pushed any curiosity regarding the strange artefacts out of his mind. He pulled out an ink brush and a blank scroll and felt his resolve solidify: He wanted to know what it was like outside the village and Konoha would only try to prevent the pariah from wandering too far from Konoha and keep him under a tight leash.

He chuckled mirthlessly to himself, 'How hypocritical of me? Sasuke, if only you knew what I was thinking now after the stunt you pulled.' He thought.


Timeskip: 3 days later

Naruto sat back and observed his masterpiece of a plan. The fact that he had come up with such a proposal would seem outrageous to his peers and mentors. Even by his standards, the boy felt proud: it was fool proof. He grinned before seamlessly forming two kage-bunshin and gave them instructions. It was only a while longer before his plan came to fruition. He looked up at the figure lingering outside his door.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Naruto, the council requested you be at the meeting to decide Sasuke's sentence, it's at…hmm, 2:30," Kakashi told his student before shunshin-ing away. "Ja ne!"

"WHAT?" Naruto glanced at the clock: 2:31. "…DAMN YOU HATAKE!"

He hurriedly slipped on his beloved orange jacket over his t-shirt and ran towards the Hokage Tower. Upon arriving he stopped outside to catch his breath before nodding to the ANBU outside the room and cautiously pushing the doors open. Naruto swore under his breath as he was the glares of some village representatives and braced himself for the oncoming 'Why-the-heck-were-you-late?' shouts to fill the room.

"Boy," Hyuuga Hiashi started, "You are early."

Naruto spared a look towards the clock hanging above the Hokage's seat. It read 2:45. "What?"

"That's excuse me you impolite dem-I mean brat," a village representative sneered as they corrected themselves on the last word.

Naruto stared confused as Hiashi (He looked like Hinata but had the signature I-have-a-stick-up-my-ass attitude and aura) continued, "The meeting is starting at 3:00."

"But Kakashi-sensei told me it was at…oh my god, he tricked me!" Naruto cried. And to think he ran all the way from his apartment to the Hokage Tower (Which for your information was on the other side of the village) because he was told the wrong time!

"Hatake Kakashi huh…troublesome," Shikaku Nara grumbled as he placed his head back down onto his folded arms on the table.

"Oh! Are you Shika's dad? Because he looks exactly like you!" Naruto questioned the Nara although he already knew. 'Best to keep on the safe side and pretend to be dumb until I can put the plan into motion,' Naruto thought.

It was then the Godaime Hokage made her entry into the room. Tsunade Senju was a relatively busty, blonde Hokage who was hailed as the Legendary Medic and part of the Sannin trained by the Sandaime himself. No one really paid any attention when she took a bottle of sake from who-knows-where and took a swig before calling the meeting to attention. "We'll be discussing the Uchiha's punishment after that little stunt he pulled."

"The traitor deserves death for what he did!" Tsume Inuzuka shouted much to the dismay of the civilians.

"You cannot do this!" Haruno Mebuki* cried, "The wretched curse mark was controlling his actions and tainting the poor boy's mind!"

Tsunade glared at the woman. "Kakashi placed a seal on the curse seal Orochimaru gave him and although it did not fully restrain the curse seal, Sasuke would not be affected by it unless he willed. Seeing as he went willingly with the Sound Four, he obviously had made up his mind."

"At least reduce his senten-"

"I suggest you keep your mouth shut, this is a shinobi matter and therefore falls under the Hokage's jurisdiction. In fact, civilians are not meant to be at this meeting so why are you here?" Yamaka Inoichi asked. He was by no means bias against Uchiha Sasuke but hearing his daughter talk and gossip on and on about the same one boy got irritating after the four hundredth and seventy fifth time. He probably wouldn't have minded too much if the boy was Nara's kid… (He did have the brains and if he wasn't so lazy would make a good shinobi)

"My child, Haruno Sakura is on Uchiha's team so I should be able to have a part in this for the safety of my child!" She protested weakly.

"Nu-uh, not good enough now out, all of you civilians," Naruto hollered while mimicking a shoo-ing motion with his hands towards the door.

Tsunade caught the malicious look on Homura and Koharu's faces as they made to speak. Thankfully she intervened. "You," She indicated towards the elderly pair and Danzo (much to her distaste), "can stay because you are his guardians." Upon seeing the satisfied looks of the advisors, she let out a sigh.

"So, baa-chan, what's gonna happen to Sasuke-teme?" Naruto inquired as he grinned. Gasps of horror echoed through the room, evidentially they had not known his affectionate nickname for the Hokage and were nervously waiting for the wrath of Tsunade to befall the disrespectful boy. None came except a playful whack on the back of the blonde's head.

Naruto tried not to flinch when her hand came into contact with the sore spot from a few days ago as it started to throb painfully. "Strange," He thought, why had Kyuubi not healed it by now?

"Continuing on, the usual sentence would be jail-" Tsunade was cut off by Naruto.

"EH! You can't do that dattebayo!" He shouted out.

Chouza frowned, "And why not Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto wracked his brain for anything, "B-because maybe the civilians were right when they said the Teme wasn't in the right state of mind and the curse seal was affecting his though process!"

"And what evidence do you have to back it up?"

"Uh…" Naruto faltered before trying to reason with the plump clan head, "Because in the Forest of Death where Sasuke got the seal thingy-"

"Curse seal." Tsunade corrected Naruto.

"Ah right, curse seal, now where was I up to? Oh yeah, so when Orochimaru bit him he said something creepy like 'Sasuke will soon come to me to seek power' or something along those lines. And I mean, If he went all the way just to give Sasuke the curse seal then he must have been really confident that the seal would work. So the seal could have been really strong and affected Sasuke-teme by implanting thoughts into his head with promises of power." Naruto finished, quite proud of his theory.

Unfortunately Shikaku had to add in his opinion, "Orochimaru didn't just come for Sasuke since he came to invade Konoha hence the Konoha-Oto Invasion and he has been unstable and a flight risk from the beginning. Solitary confinement is a better option if we plan on keeping the Sharingan."

Tsunade rubbed her temples, "Although protocol would lead to confinement, as much as I want to do that, the seal is an unknown factor so we'll have to wait for Jiraya to come back but for now I say that he is placed under house arrest to be watched extremely carefully and is forbidden to travel outside Konoha borders unless supervised by an authorised Jounin or higher. And he will be required to make weekly visits to a psychiatrist. Inoichi, he's all yours and I expect a fortnightly report on his mental stability- we don't want something like this happening again."

"Tsunade," Danzo spoke rudely lacking any honorifics at the end of her name, "I would like to be put in charge of the Uchiha's training because he could become a great asset to Konoha's forces."

"That's Hokage-sama to you Danzo, don't make me strip you of your position," Tsunade threatened knowing it was empty- Danzo had control of Ne (Root) and it was too risky to take his position away when the village was just recovering from war-time actions.

"Baa-channnn," Naruto whined feeling the tense atmosphere, "Can I go now? Iruka-sensei promised to take me out to ramen and I'm hungry!"

The Hokage chuckled, "Everyone dismissed then." She said before striding out the door (not before opening it and nearly ripping it off its hinges) and calling Shizune. "Shizune! I need sake!


It was late afternoon when Naruto arrived back at his apartment; he had taken several detours in order to avoid the civilians and some shinobi that disliked him in order to get home. It didn't help that his home was situated in the centre of the red light district, although the citizens there were friendly and understanding to him there was always some sort of crime or explicit actions happening every second alley. He knew Konoha like the back of his hand, being forced to grow up in less than pleasant areas and conditions, heck, he had even been to Training Ground 44 before (though he was admittedly frightened and more than reluctant to explore).

The boy sat down at his battered table and examined the box and katana he had picked up a few days earlier. He decided to look at the swords first- one seemed to be short and dagger-like in appearance, it had a white sheath with silver engravings running from the top of the sheath to half way down, only to split into an elegant design of an animal (Naruto wasn't sure if it was a hybrid of some sort because he couldn't discern what type of animal it was) that held a close resemblance to a box and wolf intertwined in what seemed a deadly battle. It was the blade of the short-katana that fascinated Naruto: It was completely black. At a closer glance, however, there seemed to be barely visible silvery etchings on it. 'Seals,' Naruto thought, 'What are they doing on the blade though?'

The longer blade proved a disappointment apart from the design on the sheath that had a reverse colour scheme of the short blade, Naruto tried to draw the blade but it remained solidly attached to the sheath. As much as he pulled and tugged at the guard, it seemed to remain stuck fast. He had assumed that the blades were to be used in conjunction with each other but how could he use them if he couldn't even unsheathe one?

So it was that Naruto found himself staring at the box. It was nothing special in appearance compared to the swords from before- lacquered wood and rather small in size, most likely only able to contain a few items or scrolls. The name puzzled him- what if it wasn't meant for him? He knew Naruto was an extremely rare name, not to say that no-one else had it but even in Konoha the chances that there was another Naruto about were close to nil. He drew in a deep breath and slid open the lid.

Naruto wasn't expecting anything grand but the sight of some old scrolls seemed to make Naruto's spirits wither a bit. What if they were jutsu scrolls? He brightened up at the prospect and grabbed one. There was a seal on it and he wasted no time on making a small cut on his thumb and letting it drop onto the seal. To his dismay letters formed around the seal that made out: Not until you are 16.

"What?" Naruto asked no-one in particular, "What does it mean that I can't open it until I'm sixteen? That's unfair!" He scowled and picked up the second scroll before repeating the process from before. This time the kanji burned away and Naruto watched as the scroll slowly unfurled. He read.

Dear Naruto,

Hah, I'm no good with being all super formal. It's me, your mum.

You are probably wondering, who am I? Well if you are reading this then Sarutobi-sama must have given you these scrolls. But firstly, your father and I have to apologize; after all, if you are reading this then we are dead. I can't imagine how hard it must be growing up on your own though I hope that Sarutobi-sama has assigned someone to look after you. I can't tell you about your dad- the second scroll is from him but for safety reasons (He had and still has a lot of enemies, Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) in particular.) When you turn 16, hopefully you are strong enough to know who he is and can defend yourself from those who hold a grudge against our family.

Though I can tell you a bit about me. I came from Uzushiogakure, also known as the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides. We were renowned for our long lives and given the name Chōju no Sato. (The Village of Longevity). We were renowned for sealing as well, but it led to the downfall of the clan and me being one of the survivors became a kunoichi of Konoha.I wasn't called the Akai Chishio no Habanero (Hot-blooded Habanero) for nothing! I was sent off to the Konoha academy before the destruction of Uzu though. Did you know that the Uzumaki spiral was placed on flak jackets as a symbol of goodwill between the Senju clan and Uzu.

You probably know about the Kyuubi no Yoko sealed inside you by now and you weren't the first Jinchūriki (Power of Human Sacrifice) of the Kyuubi. I was the vessel for the Kyuubi before it was sealed into you, you have no ideas how traumatized I felt learning that I was sent to Konoha because my special chakra made me suited to be the Jinchūriki of the nine tailed fox.

The tantō and tachi are from your father and I. When you've achieved mastery over the tantō you'll be able to wield the tachi with it. There is another scroll sealed at the bottom of this containing many jutsu, I'm sure you'll you it wisely though some will be restricted until you meet a certain condition.

You are going to and have received a lot of pain and suffering. Remember who you are- find a gola, a dream and don't stop until it comes true. Don't give up until the very end. Never think you aren't loved, your father and I love you so much, you have no idea how happy we were to find out I was pregnant!

Remember that you will always, always be my precious son, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto.

-Uzumaki Namikaze Kushina

"I do have parents…why wasn't I ever told?" Naruto said at last. 'And they loved me too,' he added silently. He glanced back to the swords, tachi and tantō, so it wasn't a long and short katana. He shrugged before channelling chakra into the seal, a large scroll that looked oddly familiar appeared in a cloud of smoke above it. Curious, Naruto opened it before shouting out in surprise. "What the- It's a copy of the Fūin no Sho! (Scroll of Sealing) And it has the uses of Kage-bunshin too!" Grinning, he closed the scroll and re-sealed it before hiding the box and swords under a section of loose floorboarding.

"Namikaze…my dad's name," Naruto began, "It has a nice ring to it."

He grinned, "I like it."


A/N: Done! *Sakura's parents' names are revealed as Kizashi and Mebuki in one of the magazines by Kishimoto. Her mum has blonde hair and her dad has pink hair. This is around 2,000 words longer than chapter 1, they will get longer I promise. You'll see what Naruto has planned next and there will be some action in there too. I hope I didn't make them too OOC and apologies if I did. His is currently unaware his dad is the Yondaime but has his suspicions. And so: Who should he be paired with? You can vote for any female that is not from Konoha. *le gasps I know* This is because it will interfere with the plot. (If there are a lot of votes I can try but please try not to) so no Naru/hina, Naru/saku etc. sorry.

~Nhazun