Chapter 3: A Time For Explanations

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Splinter Cell. They belong to their respective owners

Sarutobi opened his eyes; an unwilling groan escaped his lips. He raised his head to find himself in a hospital room. A bottle of glucose was connected to him…his eyes widened as he remembered the events of last twenty-four hours.

Naruto's awakening…

The boy crying his heart out…

The screams!

The Chakra poisoning…

Kami! Naruto…with surprising strength, Sarutobi dragged himself out of the bed and made his way to Naruto's room number. As he reached the room, he couldn't help but smile at the irony fate put the boy through. The numbers 999 were displayed on the door in bright red.

As silently as he could, he opened the door. Startling a medic, who was just finishing with his check up on the boy.

"How is he?" inquired the Hokage.

"Much better Hokage-sama. I expect him to be at 100 efficiency within two to a maximum of three days."

A small smile crept up on the older man's face, highlighting the many wrinkles and age lines on his face, and for the first time the Hokage looked his age…"You never seize to surprise me Naruto." The words were said so quietly that, the medic, who was standing close to his lord, could barely hear them. The doctor switched his gaze to his patients' face.

How could a boy, who could give an old man such happiness, be a demon. He thought before leaving the room as quietly as he could. So as to not to disturb the surrogate grandfather and his grandson.

Sarutobi moved to sit on a chair near Naruto's bed, when a slight twitch in the yellow haired brat's hand caught his attention. The smile quickly upgraded itself into a full blown grin as he took a seat and placed his hand on Naruto's much smaller one. The slight touch caused Naruto to jerk into consciousness. A red glow could be seen, emanating from behind the bandages.

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Naruto woke up upon feeling a hand touch his own; he moved his other hand to his eyes, only to find them be stopped by bandages.

"I think that we should wait for the doctors, ne Naruto-kun."

"O-ojisan…" the boy sounded surprised, and for a moment Sarutobi wondered if his so called had made it through the ordeal with his sanity in tact…

But before Sarutobi could continue his train of though, he was hugged fiercely by a seven year old prankster. The hokage returned the hug, only to feel Naruto shaking slightly.

"Are you alright Naruto?"

Naruto lifted his head, and Sarutobi could see tears escaping from behind the bandages. "I…the man…" Naruto choked out, "He was killing you!"

"Who? As you can see my boy, I am absolutely fine. There's some time before the medics come to check on you again, so why don't you tell me the reason for your fears?" the elder man asked.

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So for half an hour, Naruto explained, to the best of his ability what that man had done.

Upon finishing, Naruto asked exactly what Sandaime had dreaded. "ne, ojisan…who was that man?"

Sarutobi looked at the boy, he was about to reveal a secret that he knew would change Naruto's attitude towards the village. He just hoped that the boy could forgive both him and this village. With a sigh Sandaime parted his lips, to unknowingly reveal a secret that would rock the foundations of the entire shinobi world.

"Naruto, you know that Kyuubi attacked Konoha seven years ago, right?"

After being answered by a nod, he continued, "A great battle followed. Even the combined might of every ninja of Konoha, we couldn't put a stop to the demon's rampage. On the contrary, we actually managed to annoy it. The battle lasted for the entire day. That is until the Yondaime appeared upon his summon. He used one of his special techniques and Gamabunta's attacks to draw the Kyuubi's attention. This gave the remaining ninja's enough time regroup and use their most powerful jutsus at the demon. Managing to atleast disorient it. This gave the fourth all the time he needed to completed the most advanced sealing technique known to man. Using his on body as a medium, the fourth summoned the Shinigami. Using the death god's power, yondaime managed to seal away the Kyuubi in a child. No one knows where he got the child from, some say that he was an orphan, and some he was the child of yondaime himself…that child was you Naruto…"

Comprehension dawned on naruto's bandaged face. His eyebrows shot up, and his mouth opened slightly. "What does that mean oji-san. That I'm yondaime's…"

Not wanting to give Naruto the wrong idea, Sandaime quickly stopped that train of thought. "No Naruto, as far as I'm aware the Fourth had no child, and was unmarried. I believe that your resemblance to him is because of the seal he crafted on you."

With an almost unnoticeable nod, the blond continued, "So that's why they hate me, the villagers I mean. They think that I'm kyuubi…I'm not, right."

"No your not Naruto, unfortunately though the villagers only see you as a scapegoat…I think that a part pf them believes you to be innocent, but the loss of their loved ones is still fresh in their minds. Whenever they see you Naruto, they pain comes back, and rational logic leaves them, they can't see reason…I request you, please do not be angry at them. I know that it's a bit much to ask, but I know you. I know how you are behind that mask of yours. Don't forgive them, but I beg you, please don't judge them too harshly."

"I promise ojisan. I will not hate them, they can't control their actions. I promise that one day, I will lift the curtain that blinds them, and make them see the truth…I promise."

"I also want to warn you Naruto, Kyuubi is a fox, and like all kitsunes, he is extremely cunning. He tricked you once already and will try to do so again, be extremely careful when dealing with him, and if possible don't talk to him at all!"

"Now on a pleasant note, the doctors and I believe that Kyuubi has given you your eyes back…"

But before they could continue their conversation however, a group of medics entered the room. Upon seeing their patient awake, their eyes widened a bit. But they only acknowledged both the occupants with a short bow, "Hokage-sama, Naruto-san."

"Ah, I'm glad that you came. I was just about to send for you anyways. I think that Naruto here might be getting a little frustrated with the bandages, and I'm sure all of us are excited to see his eyes. Do you think that it's safe to remove the bandages medic-san."

"I don't see any reason not to Hokage-sama." Said a medic, while scanning Naruto's body, who had his mouth wide open, slight drool was beginning to escape.

The other medic picked up the scissors which were placed in a small tray full of other medicines and tools. He moved over to Naruto, "Please close your eyes Naruto-san, and don't open them till you are instructed to do so." He ordered the boy, who only replied with a nod of his head, his mouth firmly shut again.

With a firm hand the second medic tilted Naruto's head and kept him firmly in place. The other medic used the scissors to quickly rid the boy of the bandages that were covering his eyes. "Now Naruto-san, slowly open your eyes and tell us if you can see again."

Slowly Naruto opened his eyes. A red glow surrounded his eyes, and he immediately shut them. "Too bright…" he managed mutter. With a nod, Sarutobi signaled the medics to switch off the lights and close the curtains. "Open them again Naruto," he commanded softly.

Once again Naruto opened his eyes, in the dark room Naruto's eyes glowed like a shining beacon. "Whoa…everything's so…bright," he exclaimed.

"Listen to me Naruto, I want you to relax your eyes. Close them and think about something that soothes you." Instinctively, Naruto thought about the darkness, the feeling of complete invisibility that the darkness gave him. It was his savior; it helped him hide from villagers and guided him home. Unknown to him, Naruto's chakra had started reacting to its master's call, and Naruto's form started flickering. One second he could be seen, and the next he seemed to dissolve completely. But Naruto didn't notice all this, he was experiencing peace for the first time in his life, the feeling of tranquility. He felt free…more free than he had felt ever, he could sense everything in the room. From the three other occupants to the small insects crawling on the walls.

The feeling stopped however, when the lights came back on. Suddenly feeling blinded, Naruto quickly opened his eyes, forgetting for a second his previous experience. What he saw however, confused him to no extent. The Hokage had kunais in both of his hands, and the doctors had something green coating their hands. The Hokage's hands tightened around the kunai when he saw Naruto's eyes.

"What!" exclaimed Naruto, freaked out by the sudden hostility shown by his adoptive grandfather. Without a word, the Hokage pointed one of his kunai to the mirror. Naruto practically jumped from his bed and made his way over to the mirror. What he saw, gave him the shock of his life, and the citizens of Konoha a splitting headache, as a shout penetrated all windows and houses. The sound was even heard, in a heavily soundproofed room, in the lowest dungeons of the Hokage tower, where it put a sadistic smile on the face of one torture expert.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

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A/N: A slightly longer chapter. I hope you all like it. I just want to say that English is not my first language, so there are bound to be some errors in the chapters. I need a beta, someone who has prior experience in writing action/adventure stories. Anyone who is interested can contact me via PM. I want to thank all those who reviewed and took some time to explain my faults. THANK YOU!!! I hope the explanations in this chapter were up to everyone's satisfaction. My exams have started and it will take me a while to come out with a new chapter (another 10days max). For those who find the story becoming boring, worry not. The action starts In the coming chapters. These few chapters were there to build a strong base for the chapters to come.