A day later Naruto was watching fondly as Inari was walking and trying to keep a leaf stuck to his forehead with chakra, his little tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in concentration. They continued walking and stopped when the enormous gates of Konoha came into view. Kakashi motioned towards them with his hand and said: "There it is Namikaze-san, The Village Hidden in the Leaves your birthplace and home." Naruto made a face at the comment but then they started walking again, covering his head with his cloak so no one would see his face and the slightly cold winds would not bother his son who was once again sleeping in a sling on his chest. In the village on top of the main gate one of the Chunin on duty turned to those who had gathered below and said loudly so he could be heard: "I can see team 7 and Namikaze-sama is with them! Someone go and inform the Yondaime that they are headed this way now!" one of the genin dashed away and the others turned back to the gate, all of them extremely excited that their hero had been found and was finally going to return home after having been gone for nearly sixteen years.
About five minutes later the group made it to the open gates and Naruto stopped when people started cheering, streamers flying through the air and people screaming different forms of welcome and many different things. Naruto just stood frozen in his place with a nervous look on his face and was taking a step back when he heard: "NARUTO!" Everyone in the crowd parted and Minato slowly walked through the crowds, tears rolling down his face. He was getting closer and was about to take his son into his arms when the sound of a baby crying suddenly filled the air. It was at that that Naruto unfroze and opened the cloak, Minato looking on with wide eyes as his son fed a small black haired baby from a bottle that the little boy with them handed him: "We should find somewhere to rest Naruto Nii-san. Baby Yosho will want to go to sleep once he is done with his bottle as usual." Minato shook his head to clear it and said as he took a careful step forward: "You can come to our home to rest if you would like. Team seven is dismissed but you can come with us if you wish Kakashi."
The three students nodded and left to return to their homes while Kakashi followed the small group to the Namikaze compound where Minato led them into the main clan home and up a set of stairs to a room that appeared to have been decorated for a baby boy: "This room was supposed to belong to you Naruto but when you were a few days old someone kidnapped you and were never given a chance to use it." Naruto nodded in thanks and sat down in the rocking chair on the far side of the room to finish feeding the baby. About ten minutes later he left Inari to watch over the baby and went downstairs to get a cup of tea. He sat down at the table and was reaching for a cup and the large pot when his father took him into his arms, holding him tightly: "You have no idea how much we have all missed you my little Naru-chan! I have had people searching all over the Nations for years but no one found any kind of information at all! Your grandmother and grandfather even went out to look for you but..." "Where is he? Where in the world is our grandchild?"
There were loud footsteps and then a set of doors flew open to reveal Tsunade and Jiraiya, both of them with teary smiles on their faces as they looked around. Naruto just started at the two over his cup of tea for a moment but when he had a moment to look at Jiraiya his face darkened and he used his mind seal to send a mental message to to Haku the shorter Hunter-Nin, who looked at the older man and then started throwing senbon made of ice at him: "YOU! You were the pervert who was arrested for peeping at our hot-springs! I cannot believe that a filthy pervert such as you is even remotely related to Yakushi-sama!" The two Hunter-Nin chased the older man outside with their weapons and Tsunade asked; "What did he mean by calling you by the name Yakushi? I only knew of one missing man by the name of Yakushi and that was Kabuto the apprentice of Orochimaru." When he lifted the cup to his lips to drink Minato saw the rings on his left hand and his eyes widened: "You married the man who kidnapped you?!"
Naruto nodded and let them get a closer look at the wedding and engagement rings he was wearing. He then took a piece of paper from one of his pockets, wrote something down with his brush and ink and then went outside to watch Haku and Zabuza chase Jiraiya around. Minato and Tsunade went to sit on the porch with them and read the letter carefully: 'I married my beloved Kabuto on the day I turned nine. Almost two months ago he went on a mission to Snow Country but the only thing to come back out of his entire team was his bloody headband and lifeless body. If I hear anyone say anything bad about my beloved then they are going to make an enemy of Sound.' The two watched the scene for a little while longer until the two hunters had finally beat Jiraiya enough that satisfied the both of them. Once they had come back to the group Tsunade turned to Naruto and asked as he sipped another cup of tea: "Would you like to go out for dinner to celebrate your return Naru-chan?" He looked at Haku for a moment and then the young hunter asked in place of his master; "He would like to know if it is going to be casual or formal Lady Tsunade." "It is just going to be casual so would the two of you like to come with us as well? The restaurant we will go to has a private area in the back so you can remove the masks if you wish."
Minato put a hand on her arm and said as she turned to look at him: "Mother, you know that the Hunter-Nin are not allowed to remove their masks without the permission of their Kage or they can be arrested for treason." "There is no need to worry about that Lord Hokage. W have been given permission by our Otokage to take our masks off in the presence of Yakushi-sama. And we would like to shower and change to go out if we can." Minato nodded and led the three of them to some of the nine bathrooms that they would be able to use. Once they had gone into their respective bathrooms Minato turned to Tsunade and asked: "Mother, would you like to go and see your great grandson?" Tsunade nodded happily and after a moment Jiraiya followed them with an eager look on his face, Kakashi close behind so he could see the child again as well.
They walked upstairs and to the nursery where Inari got up from his chair and blocked their way into the room: "Did Naruto nii-san say that you could come in and see the baby?" before they could say anything Inari looked down for a moment and then looked up at them again: "He told me that you could come in but do not wake him up or remove him from the crib." He moved back to the chair and started his book on the history of jutsu again, not noticing the looks that they were giving him because he was reading such an advanced book. They shook their heads and then went to stand by the crib, each of their faces growing soft because the baby was so adorable in their eyes. He was fast asleep clutching a snake plush doll and his black hair making him look like a little angel.
They watched him for a little longer and then went downstairs where they each froze in shock, Kakashi glad he was wearing a mask to hide the blush on his face. Naruto was wearing a beautiful white kimono with a black dragon around a silver snowflake on a large red shield with his hair in his customary braid. He turned and they saw that his eyes had changed once again. They were now a deep violet with sapphire rings with a silver snowflake in the middle in place of a pupil. He was wearing sapphire and onyx earrings and his white gold pendant that held the large sapphire as well. The small group broke out of their stupor and went down to the mail floor, Haku and Zabuza having decided to stay behind with Inari and the baby instead of going outside. The group then went outside and walked down the street, people that had been celebrating stopping and staring at the ethereal beauty of Naruto, who seemed oblivious to what was going on.
The were walking towards the more well off areas of the village when Naruto looked up, his nose sniffing the air. He just stood there thinking for a moment but then he turned a corner and went in the opposite direction, the others following him and wondering what in the world he was doing. He kept walking through the streets looking around until he came to a stop in front of the favored ramen stand of the Yondaime Ichiraku ramen, his eyes widening in joy when he saw the older man behind the counter. Naruto quickly went in and tapped the man on the shoulder, said older man turning around and dropping his spoon, a shocked and relieved book on his face: "Y...y...I cannot believe it! I am so happy that you were able to make it out of the village safely!" He jumped over the counter and went down to one knee in front of Naruto tears of happiness rolling down his face: "Otokage-sama thank Kami that the shinobi and kunoichi were able to get you out in time! I thought that you and your father were still stranded in Sound." 'We were still there Ichiraku-san but after my father was hit by those strange jutsu more than a month ago he was turned into an infant; a newborn as a matter of fact. Our people wanted to protect us so they almost forced us to leave with out jutsu libraries and other important things. Now please stand so I can give you a proper greeting.'
The older man stood up and Naruto took him into his arms, hugging him tightly with a tear rolling down his face, Minato and the others looking on with wonder when the tears turned into jewels of the purist clarity and fell into a pouch hidden within the folds of his kimono. When the two had finally pulled apart the older man went back behind the counter and Naruto turned around to see Minato, Tsunade and Jiraiya standing there in complete shock, Kakashi standing to the side reading a book that made Naruto frown yet he did not do anything about it. The three got over their shock and sat down at the counter to look at Kakashi, who sighed, put his book away and said: "Yes what you heard was correct Sensei. Naruto is the Shodaime Otokage of the Village Hidden in the Sound. Tazuna accidentally let it slip on the day wen left Wave and the Hunter-Nin asked me to keep it a secret, which I did."
"He also came up wit a seal that allows those with it to understand what he is thinking since he does not have the use of his vocal cords." They widened their eyes again and Jiraiya asked: "Can we see this seal Naru-chan? We promise not to copy it we just want to see what it looks like." Naruto thought about it for a moment but then put down his cup of tea and pulled an ink pot and brush out of his sleeve and Ichiraku handed him a piece of paper that he could use to write it down. He dipped the brush into the ink and the others watched in awe as the brush flew over the paper in a blur. It was like that for a few moments but then he put the pot and now clean brush away, a satisfied look on his face as he drank some more tea. Minato and Jiraiya went to the side to examine his work and Tsunade sat down next to him: "So what kind of ramen do you wish to eat Naru-chan?"
"Oh he cannot eat ramen Tsunade-sama. But there is something here that I can make that he loves to eat so I will start it now Naruto-sama." The young man smiled gratefully and Minato asked as he looked up from examining the seal: "And why can you not eat ramen son? It is the best kind of food in the world!" Naruto wrote on another piece of paper and Minato read it: 'It is not that I do not eat ramen it is that I CANNOT eat ramen. My beloved once gave me a little bit from his bowl and I fell ill so he examined me and found out I was extremely allergic to it. He was going to tell my father about it but I had to send him and his squad on an urgent mission and he could not do so and I forgot as well. My father then took me out to eat ramen when I turned four and I ended up in the hospital for three days. I have not eaten any kind of ramen since then but Ichiraku-san makes the most delicious white rice and steamed vegetables! My father and Wufei loved to eat them as well.' "And who is the one you call father Naru-chan?"
Naruto reached into the hidden pocket within his sleeve and handed him the picture he pulled out, taking a sip of tea when they had taken it. The three looked at it and Tsunade said in growing anger: "So Orochimaru had you for nearly sixteen years? And he never told you of your true parentage did he?" Naruto gave her another piece of paper and she read it out loud: 'He would tell me stories of my family every birthday but I felt that since he raised me that he is my father. I would have liked to come and look for them but since I became the Otokage at the age of two and I absolutely loved my village I swore to protect them with my life and decided never to leave them no matter what.' "You have been a Kage for nearly fourteen years!? By Kami that is incredible!" Naruto winced and covered his ears, his face showing his extreme pain: "Naru-chan are you alright?" Naruto slowly nodded and after a few moments he pulled his hands away and their eyes widened when they saw the blood on his hands: "Naruto!" He winced again and put his hands back over his ears, a lone tear rolling down his face and disappearing into his pouch. Teuchi put the tray he was holding on a side counter and jumped over the counter once more: "Please let me see and treat your ears Naruto-sama." Naruto slowly moved his hands and sighed with relief as his friend put his hands over his injured ears, the older man using a cold jutsu to heal the damage by the loud yells.
Once he was done and had cleaned the blood away he let Naruto take his meal to a quiet area on the other side of the village so he could eat in peace. Once he was gone Teuchi put their orders in front of them and said: "Please try to control your voices around Naruto-sama. He has extremely acute hearing and when someone yells right next to him like that it makes his eardrums hurt and then they burst if the noise is loud enough, which explains the blood on his hands. Just leave him alone for a little while and he will be fine." He bowed to them slightly but before they could move he yanked the paper Jiraiya was trying to sneak into his pocket away and burned it on the stove where the noodles were cooking: "Stealing a seal from our Otokage is a capitol offence Jiraiya-san. This seal is a secret of Oto and is going to remain that way." Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head and said: "I am sorry Ichiraku-san but it is an amazing piece of work and I wanted to examine it further." "That may be true but I am not going to allow someone who is not one of our allies to try and replicate this delicate piece of work so do not try it again."
On the far side of the village Naruto had found a quiet place in one of the parks to eat his dinner, still curious on why people were looking at him with heavy blushes on their faces or looks he did not understand in their eyes. He sat down by the water, opened the box and just sniffed the wonderful smell coming off of the vegetables and rice in the box, many of the people who had been following him running away so he would not see the blood coming out of their noses. When he had finished his meal about half and hour later he went to sit closer to the water and slowly sipped the tea he had gotten: 'Oh Kabuto I wish that you were here with me to see this beautiful sight right now. I tried to convince you not to take the mission to Snow Country but your team wanted to do it and were the most qualified at the moment since many ANBU were busy with other missions. But if that lying bitch Princess Yuki had told us the truth about the mission I would have sent one of Duo's ROOT squadrons or Setsuna's Royal ANBU squadrons. If I ever see that bitch again then the one she loves the most is going to die by my hands.'
Naruto sat gazing at the water for a little longer and then stood up, brushing the grass off of his kimono and walked back into the main part of the village, stopping at some of the booths and looking at different things. He thought about how Inari would love the carnival and different activities so he went back to the Namikaze mansion and went to the nursery where he told the little boy of what was going on within the city. His eyes lit up with joy and he dashed off into the bathroom to clean up a little and change clothes while Naruto changed the baby to an outfit that would keep him warm: "May we accompany you Naruto-sama?" 'Of course Zabuza! I believe that you and Haku would enjoy this carnival and my little father here would most likely enjoy it as well.' Zabuza smiled and went to get Haku while Naruto went downstairs to wait for the others, the young man digging through one of the many closets to find a stroller for the baby, which he finally found in one of the far closets on the other side of the living room: "Naru-chan?"
Naruto looked up from putting the baby in the stroller but when he saw Minato, Jiraiya and Tsunade standing there having horrible thoughts about his father Orochimaru he went to stand by the stairs and ignored them, an angry look on his face. He wrote something on a piece of paper he pulled out of his sleeve and gave it to them before going over to the excited Inari, who was sitting down by the door with the two others putting on his shoes. Minato turned the note over so they could read it and when they saw what was written on it they started to cry like no tomorrow: 'I was able to tell what kind of thoughts you were having about my father. Because of certain circumstances I am able to read some minds if I concentrate and heard everything you thought about him. Because of that me and the others are going to leave in the morning.' They jerked their heads up and ran to the front to see if they could catch them and change their minds but the group was already long gone, Minato falling to his knees because his son he had lost so long ago was mad at him and may be leaving: "Hokage-sama a letter has just arrived for you from Suna."
Minato wiped his eyes, took the scroll and dismissed the Jounin so he could get back to his post. He opened it and started reading what had been written: "'Hokage-sama we have heard what happened to Sound and that their Otokage was able to make his way there to Konoha. Two of his five Gonnin were here at the time confirming a part of our alliance with them and they are going to be there is about two days. If the Otokage us there then please be sure that he stays in the Village at least until they get there. Thank you for your help.- Baki, Godaime Kazekage- Village Hidden in the Sand.' We have to fine Naru-chan and be sure that he does not leave. We do not know what will happen when these two Gonnin will do if they come and he is not here." The two nodded and they went into the village after they closed their home gate and sealing it then went in different directions to see if they could find Naruto and his small group to give them the scroll that Suna had sent and see if he would stay.
In the village in the middle of the festivities two hours later Inari was having the time of his life at all of the games and other things, Naruto, Haku and Zabuza smiling slightly as baby Yosho slept in his stroller, not a care in the world: "Naru-chan!" He quickly covered his ears and turned around with an annoyed look on his face to see Jiraiya coming towards them with a relieved look on his face and a scroll in hand: "This scroll just came from Suna and we believe that you should read it as well." Zabuza checked to make sure that there was nothing dangerous in it. Once they deemed it safe he opened it and read the message on it, his face lighting up with joy when he read the words: 'Shisui and Gaara are going to be here in two days! How could I have forgotten that they had gone to Suna to confirm the alliance? In the morning I will send letters to Tobi in the Demon Village, Itachi in the Twilight Village and Hizashi in Whirlpool. They should know about this in case they wan to make their way here. But I know that they will come since my birthday is going to be in four days and they never miss that.'
Haku widened his eyes and said: "How could we forget that your birthday is in four days Naruto-sama? Are you going to do the regular tournament this year or do something else instead?" 'If possible I would like to hold a challenge tournament on the first day of the regular tournament. Father promised that we would be able to hold one when I turn 16. maybe if we ask the Hokage in the afternoon tomorrow he will allow us to use their arena.' Haku nodded and turned to Jiraiya: "Would it be possible to get an audience with the Hokage in the afternoon or morning Jiraiya-san?" The face of the older man lit up and he asked: "So does that mean you are not going to leave the village tomorrow?" Zabuza chuckled slightly and said: "I think that you misunderstood that note. It meant that we were going to leave the compound tomorrow and not the village. Naruto-sama does not like to stay with those who are disrespectful to his father." Jiraiya nodded and said: "He will be free of appointments at one in the afternoon so you can come by at around that time."
They nodded and continued back into the carnival while Jiraiya went to the Hokage tower where Tsunade and Minato were in the main office waiting for him: "I finally found Naruto and his little group!" The two jerked their heads around to face him and Minato asked: "Were you able to convince him not to leave the village dad? Please tell me that you were able to convince them not to leave!" "That is just the thing Gaki they were never going to leave the village in the first place. They told me that they were only going to leave the family compound and not the village itself. So expect Naru-chan to come and see you at around one tomorrow to discuss something about his birthday." Tears of relief fell from their eyes and Jiraiya sat down when Minato pulled out some sake and some saucers, pouring each of them some: "At least he is still going to be in the village. Maybe we can have the stay at the Uzumaki house that his mother left him in her will before we got married and she died. I think that it would be big enough for him and his family." They nodded and Minato started on the paperwork to transfer the deeds from his deceased wife to his son.
Down in the carnival Inari was sitting at a table enjoying a large box of assorted dango and tea while Naruto was changing the baby while Haku and Zabuza sat at the same table eating some dango as well. Naruto threw the diaper away and was walking back to their table when he had a flash of pain on his face: "Naruto-sama are you feeling alright? You do not seem..." before he could finish talking Naruto collapsed with extreme pain on his face. Zabuza diving forward to catch him before he hit the ground: "Naruto-sama what is the matter sire?" 'The r...rice had r...ramen stock...hospital...please...' He winced in pain once more and then fainted, his face still showing that he was in pain: "Haku, take Inari and Yosho to the hospital while I take a quicker route to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible. Then I want you to see if you can find out where Naruto-sama ate dinner so we can ask what they put in his food." Haku nodded and they watched as Zabuza carefully picked up Naruto and took to the roof route ninja used to get around the village, many people having seen what happened and started rushing to the hospital to see what was the matter: "Come Inari we should hurry to the hospital to see if there is anything we can do to help." The little boy nodded and put the remaining plates of dango into his box so they could eat them later, his mind full of worry for his new friend.
I am back you wonderful peoples! I hope that you liked this latest installment of my story and please review so I know what I can do to make it better for you. Now I own nothing except the story line and a few of the ideas but if anyone can tell me what manga or anime the Ironfist tournament came from I would appreciate it. I am sure I heard about it somewhere after I wrote this... Obi-Chan