-Guest Reviews-
Guest: In regards to your statement about Obito using Izanagi, I will agree that I did not consider that. HOWEVER! He did not obtain a spare eye until the Uchiha massacre, so therefore using Izanagi would've made him use up his Kamui Sharingan, along with his only eye at the time. Whether he used it or not, he still would've been defenceless, since he wouldn't have been able to escape or see at all without any eyes. So there... that's my counter-argument.
I don't own Naruto... if I did, this story would be canon... or maybe Small Changes would be...? Hmm, whatever.
So, I'd like to start off by saying how deeply impressed I was by the level of follows/favourites I received... in a day! I swear, it took me like a month to get 100 follows on Small Changes (that may be an exaggeration).
Good neeews everyone! Since I finished this chapter and the next chapter of 'Small Changes' early, I'm posting them early!
Quote of the chapter/day: "Unexpected occurrences are both bad and good, depending on what they entail. Regardless, one should always plan for the bad, lest they be beaten before they begin."
Prologue Arc
Chapter 01: The Young Descendants
-Last Chapter-
"Thank you. You're all dismissed, I'm very grateful for your efforts..." Minato said, before remembering something. "...but remember: none of this leaves this room... not the exact details anyway, you can make a sort of alibi; tell people Kushina was experiencing post-birth issues." He added, as they all nodded before making their way out, though many shot another look at Naruto and let out an aww.
Once they were all gone, Minato let out a long breath and collapsed into a seat beside the bed. It had been a long day, but they'd all made it... and now they were a family.
Life... was looking good.
-Start-
The day had been nearly disastrous for Minato, Kushina, Naruto and the whole of Konohagakure... so nobody could blame the new family for sleeping off the night.
Well, they tried to anyway... unfortunately for them little Naruto was being rather loud throughout the night. Kushina and Minato would take turns attempting to make him sleep, or attempting the 'tough love' thing of letting him cry it out... suffice to say, neither option worked very well. It was almost horrifying just how much oxygen such a small person could use up in one night.
For this reason, the couple were absolutely exhausted. It seemed Naruto didn't understand the difficulties of the day, since he made no attempt to make it any easier on them. Still, the day had passed and now both Minato and Kushina had duties to deal with. The list wasn't exactly short, but Minato decided to start with the most pressing.
He sent out a message to assemble the elders and the Sandaime so he could discuss the events of the previous night, along with breaking the death of Biwako to the previous Hokage. It was never easier doing these things, but fortunately Hiruzen was an old and wise man, so he would probably be able to deal with it. So here he was, in his office with Hiruzen, Koharu and Homura – the two council members.
"I bet you three are wondering why I called you here so urgently..." Minato started, standing from his seat and walking around the front of his desk. The three of them nodded calmly, since it was fairly rare that Minato called upon them. "...there was an incident last night, involving the birth of my son." He continued, not caring that neither of the council members knew he was having a child. Hiruzen was well aware, since his wife was in charge of delivering the child and Minato trusted him a great deal.
"What kind of incident are we talking about?" Hiruzen asked neutrally, also ignoring the looks of shock from the two council members. Homura gained an annoyed and indignant scowl from the lack of attention the two Hokage were showing them, and decided to air his concerns.
"Hang on a minute, why were we not informed of these events?!" Homura shouted at Minato, who rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, not having time to put up with these two fools. It was a tiring day, night and morning... he just wanted to get this over with!
"As you may or may not be aware, my wife is... was the Jinchūiki of the Kyūbi, it was in the village's best interest that people who were aware of that information not be informed about the pregnancy... to avoid exactly what happened yesterday." The blond Hokage said sternly, making Homura fall silent quite quickly. It didn't serve him much good to argue with Minato, the man was very effective in his planning.
"You're saying that someone attempted to take advantage of the seal's weakening?" Hiruzen asked suspiciously. It was almost impossible for someone to obtain all the information required to make such a move, and for Minato to call them all meant it must've been nearly successful. Homura and Koharu looked shocked at the statement, since they were well aware of the repercussions.
"Yes... that person was able to infiltrate the barrier, use my son as leverage to separate me and Kushina and nearly succeeded in releasing the Kyūbi. We were only able to stop him because the seal was less weakened than it should've been." Minato replied bitterly, severely disappointed in himself for allowing someone to get so close to releasing the Kyūbi. The fact that this person was Obito, who was nowhere near his prowess before his 'death' was all the more concerning.
"What... what happened to Biwako?" Hiruzen asked concernedly, while Minato's face fell somewhat. It really wasn't nice to deliver this news...
"I'm afraid she died, Hiruzen." The man replied sadly. Hiruzen nodded and lowered his head a little before clearing his throat, looking far more passive than he was expected to be. It was clear he was using his expertise to hide his emotions, though that probably wasn't good for him.
"What happened to this man? Who was he?" Koharu asked inquisitively, deeply interested who could get the better of Minato Namikaze, one of the strongest Shinobi alive. Minato frowned at the question, not really happy about it.
"The man is dead. His name... was Obito Uchiha, my 'deceased' student." He replied calmly, and Hiruzen quickly remembered the news of Obito's death. If the boy had survived such a fatal situation, then there was obviously something suspicious going on.
"Was this a plot from the Uchiha clan?" Homura asked sternly. Minato suppressed the urge to sigh at the question, since the council always seemed to need a reason to blame the Uchiha clan. It was strange, but it was mostly due to the Nidaime's distrust of the clan... and the fact that the council along with Hiruzen and Danzō were in his team.
"I don't believe so. He seemed to be acting of his own accord, since his plan was to ravage Konoha... the point is, we need to bolster our security. I don't want this happening again." Minato said decisively, not giving room for debate. The elders – along with Hiruzen – got up, gave a bow and quickly left. Minato let out a sigh, this would be a long day too...
-Namikaze Household-
"Pleaaaase stop crying Dattebane!" Kushina quietly raged, having more issues than she was ready to with little Naruto. He was like a tiny demon, sent to ravage her eardrums... not that she thought that; a mother always thinks their child is an angel... well, all good mothers. That didn't stop Naruto from crying though, since it seemed impossible to stop the boy.
'I need a better plan...' Kushina thought to herself, a small vein bulging out of her head. Who could blame her for having a short fuse right now? She gave birth, was immediately kidnapped, transferred a demon linked very closely with her chakra network and got barely any sleep through the night! Worst. Birth. Ever!
"Would you like to hear a story Sochi ('son', I think...)?" The red-haired woman asked the child, who actually seemed to quiet down a little to look at her intently, though it may have been her imagination.
"Alright, let's see...oh! How about a little story about where I came from? It was a huge city called Uzushiogakure that was filled with people from the Uzumaki clan, Tou-san was a nice man named Kuniumi Uzumaki... I never knew my mother, but I remember my Tou-san saying she was an attractive blond woman who got pregnant on accident." Kushina started, thinking back to the description of her mother... something about a beautiful blond Shinobi who was there temporarily, to restock on supplies.
"...anyway, everyone there had red hair, like you and me, yes that's right! Like you and Mommy!" The woman said playfully, as Naruto started giggling cutely. She was somewhat glad nobody was around, but this was how mothers were meant to be, right? "...the village was on an island surrounded by big whirlpools; big spinning water things!" She said excitedly as she spun around a little for reasons not discernible to anyone who may have been watching. She then felt a presence and paused, turning very slowly to see the smiling face of Minato.
"Don't you say a word." She hissed with a very distinct blush. Minato laughed at her embarrassment, not quite sure why she thought he'd care that she was doing what she was. That was quite normal for mothers, so it wasn't exactly a bad thing.
"I thought that was wonderful, I knew you'd be a great Mom." Minato said warmly, as he walked forward and hugged her, their child between them looking more complacent than he had since his birth. Kushina's blush somehow deepened as she turned away with a small smile
"D-don't say stuff like that, geez." Kushina stated, clearly embarrassed with the situation. Minato decided to relent for now, seeing that if she got any brighter her nickname may start to hold some credence.
"I came home because Kakashi is coming around... I need to tell him about Obito..." Minato stated casually, before hearing the door knock. "...oh, speak of the devil." He continued with a smirk as he walked over to the door. Opening it, he saw his student clad in his regular ANBU uniform, missing only the mask.
"'Sup Minato-sensei?" Kakashi said coolly. Minato laughed a little awkwardly at Kakashi's 'hip' attitude (as Guy had taken to calling it). Gesturing him inside, he walked a few feet before pausing, his singular eye being glued to the young form of Naruto. "...i-is that...?" He continued in surprise, having somewhat forgotten about the boy's birth date.
"Kakashi, I'd like to introduce you to my son Naruto!" Minato said proudly, making Kushina smile as she looked down at him. Kakashi tentatively walked over to the woman and looked at the boy, and he could quickly tell that he was their child, sharing his father's eyes and his mother's hair... it was almost uncanny.
"Hey little guy, aren't you small?" Kakashi said with warmth that he hadn't been acquainted with since the death of Obito and Rin. Minato smiled at the fact that his son could crack Kakashi's shell so easily, finding it a little amazing in fact. "...do you mind if I hold him?" He asked slowly, not sure if it was alright to ask such a thing.
Kushina pulled Naruto a little closer to her, seemingly trying to protect the child from some sort of danger. Minato shook his head casually at her overprotective attitude, she would definitely make a good mother... whether that meant she'd also spoil the crap out of the kid was irrelevant. Walking over, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a disarming look. Frowning, she slowly gave Naruto to Kakashi – but not before giving him a death glare should he do something wrong.
Giving the woman a small eye smile – since even at this age, he still wore his infamous mask – Kakashi very carefully took Naruto off her. Naruto quickly looked up at Kakashi with a seemingly interested face, before cutely raising his hands to touch the silver haired boy's face. Kakashi laughed at the boy, somehow knowing that he would be rather close to the child in future.
"He's very lively, isn't he?" The silver haired boy stated with amusement, as Minato and Kushina laughed along with him... though they couldn't say that was always a good thing.
"You have no idea..." Kushina muttered a little bitterly. He'd been around for a day and a half and was already giving her a serious headache. Still he was far too cute to hold it against him, it was like trying to be mad at a puppy giving the 'guilty look'... it was just too damn difficult.
The couple allowed Kakashi to hold Naruto for a little while before deciding to get down to the reason he was actually there, since that would probably ruin the atmosphere. Kakashi had always taken Obito's 'death' pretty hard, and now that they knew the boy survived and somehow became a crazed villain... well, it wouldn't be easy to take in. Minato gestured to Kushina, so she took Naruto off Kakashi before he took him into another room.
"Now, for the real reason I called you over." The blond Kage started slowly, rubbing the back of his head a little nervously, it really wasn't easy to deliver this news. Kakashi centred his attention on Minato, who let a sigh escape him before beginning.
"Yesterday, after Naruto was born we were attacked by a man who was able to infiltrate the barrier around the village along with killing the ANBU. After causing a fair amount of trouble, we were able to kill the assailant, who wore a mask throughout the engagement... after removing it I discovered that the man was... Obito." He said professionally. Kakashi naturally looked shocked at the announcement, looking away from Minato with wide eyes.
"O-Obito?! B-b-but he died, he would have returned if he was a-" Kakashi stammered out, before Minato cut him off by gripping his shoulder to stop him. Kakashi then turned his gaze to Minato's face, who had nothing but seriousness etched into his features.
"I'm sorry Kakashi, but it's the truth... I don't know how he survived, nor where he's been, but he had one side of his body scarred, he had only one Sharingan eye – on the same side... it all fits in." The Hokage replied, making Kakashi frown sadly. It was understandable, so Minato did not attempt to say anything to comfort him... it was likely that Kakashi wouldn't appreciate it.
When Kakashi recovered, Minato saw him off. It seemed as though Kakashi's life wasn't getting much easier, but hopefully he'd cheer up sometime soon. Maybe he could find a special someone, or perhaps they could have him interact with Naruto, since he seemed to have taken a liking to the child. He could even be a kind of brother figure, that would certainly be something!
-Four Years Later-
"Kakashi-nii! Stop using Ninjutsu you cheater!"
The shout came from a four year old child with somewhat wild red hair, three whisker marks on each cheek and bright blue eyes. This child was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, since Kushina and Minato couldn't decide what surname for him to adopt. There was the choice of their family name, Namikaze and Kushina's clan name, Uzumaki. Both were important, so they figured it would be best for him to just have both.
The reason he was shouting was because he and Kakashi were having a 'spar', that generally involved Naruto trying to hit Kakashi while the man just laughed at his feeble attempts to do so. It was a rather productive exercise, since Naruto was quite a determined child, so the laughing would encourage him to do better while Kakashi could use the time to interact with his 'brother'.
As an only child who's only parent killed himself when he was quite young, Kakashi didn't really have any experience with family. He figured the way he interacted was like he would interact with a younger brother, so the two ended up treating each other as such. It was good for both Naruto and Kakashi, since Naruto had a role model and Kakashi had a pseudo-family member.
Naruto had also met his godfather at the age of two, a rather eccentric man by the name of Jiraiya. He was a very perverted and cheery individual who generally seemed to live life to the fullest while he could, which given the fact that he was in his forties wasn't looking that long... Shinobi life expectancy wasn't the best. Naruto had taken quite the liking to Jiraiya, though Kushina threatened the man with a fate worse than death should he corrupt her baby with his unflinching perverseness.
Minato and Kushina were both making the most of parenthood, which wasn't very difficult for either of them since they were extremely happy with their family and child. Kushina would – as Minato predicted – spoil Naruto whenever she got a chance, and the two were practically inseparable. Minato knew that Kushina would probably have a mental breakdown when Naruto was old enough to move out, but that was that. Minato was also a very good parent, being both strict and caring as to raise a nice but also hard working child who was happy with his life.
Naruto himself was a very sociable and nice boy, nearly to a fault. He'd try and find goodness in just about everything (Kushina still remembers the day he tried to brighten up the sight of a dead dog) and was quite 'smart'... for a four year old boy. He was also ridiculously energetic, just like his mother was, due to the Kyūbi and the Uzumaki genes... it was a rather large problem when he first learned to walk, since he wouldn't bloody well stay still!
His Shinobi training – if you could call it that – was started as soon as he turned four, but it mostly consisted of throwing blunt Kunai or Shuriken and going for the occasional run. He was too young to stress his body with harsh labour, so he was explicitly barred from doing so by his mother, who was still extremely protective (it was becoming a problem too).
It became quickly apparent to both Minato and Kushina that Naruto was nearly obsessed with becoming a Shinobi and though Kushina originally argued that he shouldn't be one because she didn't want her darling child submitted to the harsh Shinobi world, she eventually relented since he basically needed to be a Shinobi after becoming the Kyūbi Jinchūriki. That was why Minato sometimes despised his job... since he needed to view his own son as a military asset.
A few weeks after Naruto's birth, Minato made a public announcement of his marital status and that he had fathered an heir. That quickly doused the flames of many female individuals who wanted Minato for themselves while the rest of the village rejoiced the birth of their beloved Hokage's son. That was the good part of being Hokage, being important to the entire village.
The events of Naruto's birth and the surrounding occurrences still troubled Minato to no end, and he'd allowed Kushina to kill Obito so there was no questioning the boy about his motives. Then there was the seal, there was no viable reason for it to have stayed so... stable throughout the entire birthing. It was all very confusing...
...But back in the current, Naruto was still glaring at Kakashi cutely for the usage of Ninjutsu during their 'spar'. If Kakashi was being honest, he got careless and nearly let Naruto hit him, before using a Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) to escape.
"Sorry Naruto, I didn't think... you're getting better though, soon enough you'll be stronger than I am." Kakashi said warmly. One of the best things about interacting with a four year old boy like Naruto was that you could always marvel at the look of happiness on their face when you told them something they wanted to hear. It was contagious... like a deadly virus... of joy.
"You bet I will! Then I'll beat Tou-san and become the strongest person in the village!" Naruto boasted childishly, though Kakashi couldn't find it in him to argue. Off to the side around a small table, Minato scoffed jokingly at the proclamation while Kushina giggled cutely at Naruto's attitude, it really never got old.
"Of course you will, so long as you work hard for it." The silver haired man retorted wisely, making Naruto frown cutely in thought. Minato was glad that Kakashi was teaching Naruto important things like this. It wasn't as if he wasn't doing so himself, it was just refreshing to know Kakashi wouldn't fill his head with nonsense.
Kakashi had opened up a lot over the past four years – thanks in no small part to little Naruto, the bundle of joy – and had managed to overcome his PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) that had resulted from the death of Rin at his own hands, even if it was inadvertent. Obviously Kakashi's interaction with Naruto was very beneficial to his mental health, so Minato encouraged it when possible.
As Naruto continued to [pointlessly] attempt to attack Kakashi, Minato and Kushina were just watching with amusement, pride and contentment. Life had indeed been pretty awesome since Naruto was born – even if they included the times where he would keep them up all night – to the point where Minato was starting to get too cheery. It really didn't reflect well on him as Hokage if he was always happy about everything, but he hardly cared.
There was the slight issue with the Hyūga clan last year, when a supposed peace treaty was used as a guise by Kumogakure to attempt to kidnap the clan heir of the Hyūga. It ended rather badly for them, since the one who attempted to do so was quickly killed by Hiashi Hyūga – the clan head – and the whole thing ended in failure. Kumo attempted to get Hiashi killed and sent to them for the 'betrayal' of the treaty, but Minato was sharp and easily able to negotiate the event to a point where neither side benefited from the endeavour.
"He really is the best child we could have hoped for." Kushina stated with adoration. She and Minato had probably gotten even closer since Naruto was born, and the two were far happier now that their marriage was public knowledge.
"No arguments here." Minato replied, pulling Kushina closer to him. She made no movement to stop him, allowing herself to rest against his side. Over the last four years she still hadn't been very capable of Shinobi duties and her chakra network was still recovering, though she had no daily issues whatsoever as long as she acted carefully. It was a source of irritation that she couldn't really reach Naruto much of anything, but so long as she got to spend time with him she didn't really dwell on it too much.
On another side of Konoha, another important child was enjoying their own time.
-Uchiha Compound-
"Nii-san, could you help me with my Shuriken training?" A cute, four year old girl with black hair in a small ponytail and equally black eyes asked. Her brother turned to her and gave her a quick prod on the forehead with his index and middle fingers.
"Forgive me Satsuki-chan, maybe next time." Came the voice of Itachi Uchiha, the prodigious son of Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan. Satsuki frowned in a childish pout, turning away from Itachi. The boy in question chuckled lightly as he began walking away, giving a quick wave to Satsuki before leaving.
Satsuki Uchiha was also the daughter of Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha, but due to Itachi being the eldest and being regarded as a prodigy she wasn't given as much attention. Due to this, she began to adopt a more serious outlook than most kids her age, being very serious about becoming strong and respectable to earn her parent's attention (or at least her father's).
Her general attitude was still quite warm, since she got plenty of love and attention from her mother and brother – whenever he was around – though her father would unintentionally focus on Itachi to ensure he became as great as he could be. She was far too young and naïve to fully understand these things, but she could still be a little upset by them.
Her mother – Mikoto Uchiha – walked into the room to see her daughter obviously pouting for some reason or another, and if the sound of the door was any indication it was probably because Itachi had just left. She wasn't a Jōnin for nothing; she did know her stuff, even if she was retired due to the need to raise two children.
"Don't pout now my angel, you know your brother would love to help you with your training, but he's a Shinobi and he does have duties of his own." Mikoto said suddenly, making Satsuki whirl around to face her. The young girl nodded politely at the statement, since the Uchiha clan tended to be quite strict about appearances. Mikoto shook her head at her overly polite daughter and walked over to her... honestly the girl was four years old, she didn't need to get her manners down quite yet.
"Come on Satsuki-chan, let's get going." Mikoto said, taking her daughter's hand. Satsuki's expression took an adorable look of confusion at the statement, since they hadn't planned to go anywhere.
"Where are we going Kaa-san?" The girl asked inquisitively. Mikoto gained a slightly sly smirk at the question, knowing that the girl wouldn't expect the answer. She was a retired Shinobi, but she was no wallflower. They began walking as Mikoto looked down at Satsuki, who was looking up at her with confusion.
"Your brother isn't the only one who's good with Shuriken." Mikoto replied, making Satsuki's expression brighten considerably.
-Later That Day, Konoha Streets-
Naruto and Kushina were walking through the streets of Konoha at roughly midday, shopping for some ingredients for a small meal they were planning on making. Naruto was just along for the ride, since he and his mother would always be around one another. Sometimes Minato was jealous of just how close the two of them were, but it was hard to get upset at just how cute they were.
"Kaa-san, when can I start learning... uhh... what was the thing with seals called again?" Naruto asked with almost adorable levels of confusion. Kushina laughed at the look on Naruto's face, it was so worth it to become a mother. Placing a finger to her chin, she thought it over for a second.
"It's called Fūinjutsu Naru-chan, and you can start learning it when I think you're ready." Kushina answered decisively, making Naruto pout slightly. She'd told him not too long ago that the Uzumaki clan specialised in Fūinjutsu and since then he'd been adamant about learning it, even if he couldn't always remember the name of the art.
Kushina ruffled the top of Naruto's head lovingly when she saw the pout on his face, and she could understand where he was coming from. When she was a young girl she'd always want to do everything and anything she could to become a strong Shinobi, and when she moved to Konoha she originally set her sights on the Hokage position (though Minato put a stop to that pretty quick).
The two continued to walk until they arrived at a small store, where they purchased most of the ingredients and whatnot that they needed. As they began to stroll around Konoha a little – since Kushina had made it very clear that she didn't want Naruto to get lost if he was ever alone – Kushina noticed somebody that she hadn't seen for a very long time, along with a young girl.
"Mikoto?" Kushina said in surprise. Truth be told, the two hadn't intentionally stop seeing each other, but their new children and other duties got in the way to the point where they just forgot to see the other. It was a similar situation when Itachi was born, but Kushina could go see Mikoto since she wasn't raising her own child.
"Kushina! It's good to see you!" Mikoto replied, as they walked over to each other. Naruto followed his mother while Satsuki did the same. Naruto looked over at Satsuki with interest, since he didn't know a very large amount of kids his age, other than a few he'd met by accident like Kiba and Shikamaru.
Satsuki looked over to him, noticing his rather intense gaze. Rather than blushing, smiling or any of the usual reactions a small girl would have Satsuki simply turned away from him with a small scowl, apparently finding his staring to be annoying. Naruto frowned and looked down slightly, before he smiled once more. It was quite difficult to keep Naruto sad, and now he had a new goal: befriend this interesting girl.
"Hi, I'm Naruto. What's your name?" Naruto asked, having walked over to see the girl. Kushina and Mikoto both watched on discretely, since they were both hoping that their children could be friends. It seemed Satsuki wasn't quite sure about such a thing, so she narrowed her eyes and looked over at him with little obvious interest.
"Satsuki Uchiha." The girl replied, stressing the Uchiha part. Naruto raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly in confusion, but decided to just let the girl get away with whatever she was trying to imply. Smiling, he he raised a hand towards her.
"Nice to meet you Satsuki!" He continued, trying to ignore her disinterest. Satsuki – being raised with courtesy and politeness as two key factors – raised her own hand and grabbed his own harder than necessary. Noting that he didn't seem pained in any way from the grip, she allowed a small smirk to cross her face. Who knows, maybe he could be a rival.
"Hn... nice to meet you too." She replied with a bit more enthusiasm than previously, though she did use her distinctive 'hn' that she tended to use when she didn't particularly care about a situation. Naruto smile brightened at the reply, as he basically filtered out any boredom in her tone mentally.
Kushina raised an eyebrow at Mikoto, who just shrugged at her daughter's attitude. She was a lovely girl when you got to know her, but she wasn't very fussed on meeting people that she deemed 'useless', which was her initial image of Naruto. It wasn't that he appeared useless, he just didn't scream 'Shinobi-material' from appearance alone, since he was almost too cheery and his red hair was a bit weird... though she had to admit, it did look good on him.
"I hope we can be friends Satsuki." Naruto stated warmly, his very aura inviting the girl in. Satsuki wasn't exactly easy to break though, and she did a marvellous job of almost completely ignoring the tone and statement. Shrugging her shoulders somewhat as she released his hand, she proceeded to cross her arms.
"Maybe, anything could happen." Satsuki replied non-committally. Naruto took note of her unenthusiastic tone this time around, but only because he was able to perceive the statement as a challenge. Grinning foxily, he let out a small laugh before pointing a finger to his own chest.
"We will be friends, because I don't take back my words!" The red-head exclaimed confidently. Satsuki found herself a little caught off guard by the determination in his words, since nobody had really taken a massive effort to befriend her before... hell, her own father somewhat shunned her. It brought up strange feelings to have this boy profess such a statement.
"I... believe you." The onyx-eyed girl retorted thoughtlessly. Kushina and Mikoto smiled, knowing that Naruto had obviously done something right if the look on her face was any indication. Mikoto could already tell that Naruto had a way with people, and that he'd undeniably be a good influence on her daughter... it was a good thing she and Kushina were friends, since they could manipulate events to get the two together, when necessary.
Naruto's infectious smile was almost annoying with its intensity, as though it was trying to be the happiest thing in existence. Unfortunately for Satsuki, she had little time to be annoyed by it before the 'infectious' aspect of it took over. Against her will, a small but sincere smile broke out across her face, making her turn around to attempt to hide it.
"Well we should probably be going, how about you come over some time? You can bring Satsuki if you like." Kushina stated. Mikoto nodded in acceptance, since she had no reason to not go over... it had been a while since the two had been together, and it would be a nice opportunity for Satsuki and Naruto to get to know each other a little.
"That sounds good, I'll see you around Kushina." Mikoto stated, before grabbing Satsuki's hand. Giving the girl a quick smirk, she turned and began to walk away with the girl trailing just behind her.
Naruto watched the pair leave, and for some strange reason he felt a source of resonance within the girl. He didn't realise what it was of course, being far too young and unskilled to properly deduce what was happening, but he could feel a chakra within her all too similar to the one he often felt within himself. It was like their lives were intertwined.
"So, what do you think of Satsuki hmm Naru-chan?" Kushina asked suggestively. When Naruto looked at her strangely she laughed awkwardly, realising she just attempted to insinuate that her four year old child would be interested in girls. She really needed to think about things. Regardless of the way she asked the question Naruto still decided to answer.
"She's a little moody, but I think she's a nice person." He replied honestly, as was his usual reaction. Whether it was because he was four years old or because that's who he was was unclear, but Naruto never seemed to lie about anything. Kushina also knew he was a strangely good judge of character, so that was that.
Over with Mikoto and Satsuki, Mikoto was having similar thoughts. Her daughter had never been the most social person, so she would try and make her befriend Naruto if at all possible, at least so she wouldn't have no friends whatsoever when she entered the academy. The Uchiha clan were generally a little stuck up and considered themselves to be 'better' by default, so Mikoto would try to ensure Satsuki didn't follow the trend. Who knows, maybe Naruto could show her that non-Uchiha were strong too?
"So, what are your thoughts on your new friend my angel?" The Uchiha matriarch asked curiously, wanting to get the gist of her daughter's current thoughts. Satsuki frowned in thought and furrowed her brows, thinking the question over a little. Sure Naruto was a little strange, maybe a bit too cheery, but he also seemed kind, somewhat strong... wasn't bad on the eyes either. Upon that thought a tiny blush overcame her face before she promptly shook it off, she wasn't interested like that.
"He's pretty weird... but I don't think it's a bad thing." Satsuki said slowly, trying to word it the best way she could. Truth be told she didn't know what to think of him, he was just plain confusing... and she'd known him for less than an hour! At least it would make her life a little more interesting though, and that thought brought a smirk to her face.
'Everything's going according to plan.' Was the shared thought of both Mikoto and Kushina.
Roughly two months passed from that point, and Naruto and Satsuki had seen each other a few more times after the initial meeting. The two seemed to have differing opinions of where their relationship was heading, since Naruto wanted them to be friends while Satsuki was almost as stubborn as he was, claiming that the two of them were rivals. Mikoto and Kushina had difficulty trying to get the two to get along due to this, so it ended up becoming a somewhat love/hate relationship.
After a little persistence on Naruto's part, Kushina started to show him a little regarding Fūinjutsu. To Naruto's horror, he had little to no skill in the art and Kushina assumed that he simply wasn't built to take it up. Naruto spent about a week in a sad spell, thinking that he'd in some way failed his clan, but Kushina was able to cheer him up eventually.
Minato had also decided to test Naruto's elemental affinity earlier than expected, simply due to the fact that he was both curious and had devised a crazy theory about a certain something that he refused to share with anyone.
Flashback no Jutsu!
It was a sunny day in Konoha, and the young red-head more commonly referred to as Naruto was in a small training ground with his father, since the man had a day off after a few favours were called in. It wasn't easy for Minato to get days off, so he made the most of them.
"Alright Naruto, do you have any idea what this is?" Minato asked, holding out a small slip of seemingly unimportant paper. Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion, wondering what his father was getting at, it was just paper right?
"Uh... it's paper, right Tou-san?" Naruto answered a little unsure, thinking that it had to be a trick question. Minato had taught him that lying and trick questions were somewhat identifiable by body language and facial expressions, but he hadn't gotten many of the key factors memorized yet.
Naturally, Minato let out a hearty laugh at Naruto's innocence and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately before quieting down. Holding the paper upwards, he poured chakra into it steadily before starting to talk.
"Close! It's chakra paper." The man answered, as the paper cut in two down the centre. Naruto instantly became excited at the usage of the word 'chakra', since the mere mention of the Shinobi arts would always get him in a good mood. It was always Ninjutsu that got Naruto most excited though, despite the fact that Kakashi noted he was something of a natural at Taijutsu.
Giving a sheet to Naruto, the young boy looked at the paper like it was some sort of puzzle, wondering just what he was meant to do with it. Minato gave a quick run-down of the usage of chakra paper while Naruto listened more carefully than usual. After hearing it all, he held out his chakra paper and ran a current of chakra through it, making it get damp before turning to stone and crumbling.
'Doton (Earth Release) and Suiton (Water Release)... could it be...?' Minato thought to himself with furrowed brows and an easily noticeable frown on his face. Naruto saw the expression and assumed that he'd done something wrong, which quickly broke Minato out of his reverie.
"Sorry about that, it seems like you have the Doton and Suiton affinities." Minato stated, making Naruto smile at his 'awesomeness'. It was known that dual affinities were somewhat rare, so it obviously made a Ninjutsu freak like Naruto rather happy to hear he had two affinities.
Flashback no Jutsu! Kai!
Since Naruto had two affinities that Minato was not trained in, he took the liberty of getting a few scrolls containing low level techniques, along with a highly classified scroll from the Hokage's library that mixed in with his crazy theory. Kakashi – upon hearing of Naruto's affinities – volunteered to help out with the boy's training, since despite his singular affinity he was trained in both Doton and Suiton (thanks to the Sharingan).
Kushina obviously wished to oversee Naruto's training with his water Ninjutsu, since she had a Suiton affinity herself, like many Uzumaki were known for. It made sense, Uzushiogakure was surrounded on all sides by water, so perhaps environmental factors affected nature affinities. It would certainly explain why each great village had a 'dominant' affinity. Konohagakure was known for fire, Sunagakure was known for wind, Kumogakure was known for lightning, Kirigakure was known for water and Iwagakure was known for Earth.
"Alright, what's first in this scroll... Suiton: Mizurappa(1) (Water Release: Wild Water Wave)... alright, that seems simple enough." Kakashi stated, moving back from Naruto a little. They were currently in a pretty basic training ground with fair access to all resources (Water, ground etc.). Naturally, Naruto had not yet learned to mould his chakra, but it was still wise for him to get the idea of how Ninjutsu worked on a basic level.
"Suiton: Mizurappa(1)!" Kakashi called out after going through a few seals. He then expelled a small stream of water from his mouth that caused minor scathing to nearby trees and washed things away. Naruto jumped in excitement from seeing the technique in use, before Kakashi turned to him with a small eye smile.
"To perform that technique, I moulded my physical and spiritual energies to create chakra. I then gathered that chakra within me, gave it the necessary element through concentration, built it up as water and expelled it. The usage of hand seals are used to focus your chakra, but skilled users can perform techniques with little to no hand seals at all."
"That... seems pretty hard." Naruto replied, looking a little crestfallen. Kakashi smiled behind his mask, his brows arched in a mixture of pity and warmth. It was always amusing to see the different expressions Naruto took on, since the boy always seemed impossible to say no to regardless.
"It can be to begin with, but it becomes second nature in no time." The silver-haired ANBU operative replied. It wasn't actually that difficult once you got a handle on it, but by description alone he could easily understand how it may come across as such. Naruto nodded, his crestfallen look being replaced with his usual radiant smile. Kakashi rolled his... eye... at the action while Kushina giggled on the sidelines.
"Alright Naru-chan, why don't you try moulding your chakra?" Kushina suggested as she walked over. It never hurt anyone to attempt to mould their chakra, as far as she knew. It was entirely possible that she was wrong, but the chances were slim.
"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed, as he put his hands together as he'd seen Kakashi do previously, trying to 'feel' for his energies. After a few hours, he'd made a little progress – not enough to perform a Shinobi technique, but a noteworthy amount – and was complimented on his quick learning by Kakashi, while Kushina dotted over him like she was known to do.
-Uchiha Compound-
Satsuki was currently in her room, doing various girly things that she wouldn't be caught dead doing elsewhere. Then there was a knock on her door, since nobody could enter without knocking lest they face her tiny wrath. Stopping her actions and walking calmly to the door, she opened it to see Itachi, who had been on a mission for about two weeks.
"Nii-san! You're back!" Satsuki exclaimed, jumping at Itachi to embrace him into a big hug. There was a very warm side of her that she only showed to Itachi and Mikoto, though Itachi probably saw it more often than Mikoto. Itachi smiled his usual bright smile that he wore when interacting with her, the beloved sister.
"Yes, I'm very sorry I was away for so long... missions are missions I'm afraid." He replied somewhat tiredly. Long missions were probably the worst thing ever, at least when you had people you were able to miss. Pulling out of the hug, Itachi gave the girl a sly smirk. "...so why didn't you tell me about this new friend of yours?" He enquired jokingly, making Satsuki pout a little.
Truth be told she wasn't really the best with people – her family, again, being the exception – so even though she did like Naruto she found it hard to feel comfortable around him. This was why she insisted that they were rivals rather than friends, because she knew she wouldn't feel comfortable being any closer with him than they were. That wasn't to say she didn't have a superiority complex, because she did... but that wasn't the entire reason.
"Well... I didn't think it was that important." Satsuki answered, though she was lying a little. She was actually quite glad that Naruto seemed so damn invested in befriending her, even if she wasn't quite willing to give the same investment. Itachi smiled warmly at her, before poking her in the forehead – as was their 'thing'.
"Everything in your life is important to me, you know that." The Uchiha prodigy retorted jokingly, though he was dead serious at the same time. Satsuki was more important to him than anyone, maybe even his parents... though he had secretly began to dislike Fugaku – his father – due to all the pressure and expectations the man piled on him due to his prodigious skills.
"Right... sorry Nii-san." The young girl replied ashamedly, looking down to the ground. Itachi placed his finger beneath her chin and raised her head to face him before flashing her a smirk that made her shame dissolve. It was weird just how easily Itachi was able to do that, it was quite similar to Naruto in fact.
"No need to apologise, now come on... I believe I owe you some help with your training." Itachi stated knowingly, making Satsuki smile brightly before the two of them ran out, barely even having change to say goodbye to Mikoto before doing such.
'Geez... those two are inseparable.' Mikoto thought to herself with a smirk, before going back to her duties. The best part of being a housewife was all the time you got to spend with your children and family, it was simply wonderful. Kushina still hated it though, since her energetic attitude made it hard for the woman to simply sit still, even if she did love the time she got to spend with Naruto.
As another productive day came to a close, Naruto got into his bed with his mother watching over him, before bidding him goodnight. He couldn't wait to enrol in the academy, it was only two years away from him now! He could taste the Shinobi techniques he'd have access to already, and maybe he could spend more time with Satsuki and make some other friends, that would be nice too.
So many things awaited him, and he couldn't wait to sink his teeth in.
-End-
Sorry if you are... unhappy with the level of detail I went into regarding Naruto and Satsuki's younger years, but I really didn't want to waste a bunch of time on such inane details. I'm also aware Naruto and Satsuki may have come off a little smarter than they should've been at the age of four, but if Itachi can look like he's an adult at the age of 13 – when the Uchiha Massacre occurred) – then I can do what I like! (Seriously, I think Kishi blundered a bit with that...)
So there we have it... the fallout of the birthing 'issues', Naruto and Satsuki's early years, some various hints and details.
Somewhat boring chapter, sorry!
Anyway... Review, Favourite and/or Follow.
LiamMorg. Out.
Ja Ne!
*Suiton: Mizurappa means two things. #1 Water Release: Wild Water Wave. #2 Water Release: Water Trumpet. For reference, Suiton: Mizurappa(1) will always mean Wild Water Wave and (2) will always mean Water Trumpet.
Edit: Minor changes regarding affectionate suffixes, they always get me! *Shakes fist*
