Author Note: N/A
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
-Chapter III-
It has been a couple of years since Yugito arrived in Konoha. During the two years, Gaara's seal has stabilized considerably with help from Naruto, Ginko and Yondaime. When the news reaches Suna, the Kazekage sends a delegate to bring his children back to Suna but only Kankurou agrees to go back. Temari is already in her first year of the Ninja Academy and Gaara wants to remain in Konoha so he can be present when it's finally time for Shukaku to be removed from his body. In accordance with Ginko's suggestions, Naruto, Gaara, and Yugito's skills have improved by leaps and bounds with constant training. In a couple of years, the three will be entering the Ninja Academy but their skills have easily reached Genin level even without using their tenants' powers. At the moment, Naruto is sitting in the Hokage's office with Ginko, Gaara and Yugito.
"All right Naruto, not that I don't appreciate you visiting me, but what is the real reason you four are sitting here?"
"I've been meaning to ask Naruto the same thing. We should be training right now."
"Relax Yugito-chan. I know there has been a lot of missions for the village lately, so I figure we should come here and see who we want as our Jounin instructor."
"Isn't that a bit early Naruto? You three still haven't entered the academy. Besides, there is no guarantee that the three of you will be placed on the same team."
"Dad…" Naruto says, with a dark smirk that causes Minato to gulp, "we will be placed on the same team, right?"
"Of… of course. I don't see why you won't be."
"Hokage-sensei, why did you let Naruto-kun scare you into agreeing to something?" Rin, Minato's newest assistant, asks, walking into the office with another pile of paperwork.
"Naruto can be very convincing when he wants to," Minato says, clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment, "anyway, has any teams returned yet?"
"Yes, Kakashi-kun's squad is waiting outside."
"Oh? Send them in."
Nodding her head, Rin walks back outside and soon, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai enter the office. Seeing the smile on Gai's face and the exasperated looks on the other three's faces, Naruto can't help but laugh, which causes Gai into another speech about youth and Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai to turn and glare at the blonde boy.
"That is very nice Gai. However, I'm more interested in hearing about the mission."
"Hai. Hokage-sama," Asuma says, cutting in, "we managed to track down an assistant to the former Daimyo of Yuki no Kuni. However, when we lead him to Koyuki-hime upon our return, Koyuki-hime has refused to leave with the assistant. They are currently waiting outside the office."
"Oh? Please send them in."
"Greetings Hokage-sama," the eleven years old Koyuki says as she walks in with a middle age man.
"My apologies for troubling you at this time Hokage-sama…"
"Excuse me, your name is…"
"Oh, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sandayu."
"Sandayu-san. I have heard of the predicament from my ninjas. How do you propose to resolve the problem?"
"It is up to the princess to decide her future. It would seem that she has her mind set on remaining in Konoha and it would be my duty to honor her wishes. However, I would like to ask Hokage-sama to arrange a dwelling more appropriate than the simple apartment that the princess is residing in."
"But I thought Kakashi and Rin lives in a house…"
"Koyuki-hime asked Rin if she could move out last year due to… certain noises. So we found her an apartment near our house," Kakashi answers.
"I see…"
"It would be highly unnerving for me to see the princess living by herself, and since she refused to allow me to live with her, I am hoping that Hokage-sama can find another place for Koyuki-hime…"
"It's up to her to decide but… I suppose I can allow her to move into the Hokage Mansion. Yugito and Temari are very good friends with Koyuki-hime so it should be appropriate."
"It would be great if I can live with Temari-chan and Yugito-chan!"
"I suppose that is to your satisfaction as well?"
"Of course. That is more than satisfactory."
"Well, then I guess this matter is settled."
"I would like to remain in Konoha as well, so if it's not too much trouble, would it be possible for me to move into Koyuki-hime's apartment?" Sandayu asks.
"Of course. It doesn't make much sense for us to leave it empty. Since it's going to be rented out again anyway, I don't see why you can't live there."
"Thank you Hokage-sama."
With the matters settled, Minato orders everyone in the room, including the three children, to go to Koyuki's apartment and help her move into the Hokage Mansion. Just as everyone is filing out of the office, Minato notices Naruto pulling Gai to the side.
"Naruto-kun, is there something you want to tell me?"
"Well, yes. Have you thought about adopting someone?"
"I do not know if I would have the time…"
"But adopting is the youthful thing to do!" Naruto says, knowing exactly which buttons to push to get the response he wants.
"Of course! I shall adopt every orphan in the village…"
"Why don't we just start with one first…"
"Why, Naruto-kun, do you have someone in mind?"
"Yes. You see, Gaara, Yugito-chan, and I were playing yesterday and we spotted an orphanage. There is someone inside that tries so hard to become a ninja that I think your youthfulness will certainly help him on his quest!" Naruto says, trying to keep up with Gai's enthusiasm.
"Naruto-kun, you must tell me where this orphanage is and what is that child's name!"
"I don't know the exact name of the orphanage but it's the one near the tower, and the boy's name is Rock Lee."
"Thank you Naruto-kun! I shall go and adopt him now lest his enthusiasm of becoming a ninja dampens and he loses his youthfulness."
"Go ahead, I'll tell the others you'll join us later with good reasons," Naruto says as Gai runs off, "well, that takes care of that."
"The way you're changing everything, you won't know what will happen in the future now," Minato says, walking up next to his son.
"That's the point. If what happened in my last lifetime happens again, it'll be too late to reverse the damage," Naruto says, "besides, I failed them last time. I'm not going to let that happen again."
"Anything I should know that will happen soon?"
"You know someone by the name of Uchiha Itachi?"
"Of course. He's the genius of the Uchiha clan."
"Does he have a good friend by the name of Uchiha Shisui?"
"Yes. What are you trying to get at?"
"Itachi will try to massacre the entire Uchiha clan with the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. The death of Uchiha Shisui will be the sign. I think you should try to protect Shisui instead of letting Itachi kill him. The Mangekyou Sharingan will be very difficult to deal with."
"I'll keep that in mind. You have something to do. Go ahead."
"Oh, and when this is done, I want to take a trip out of town."
"Any particular reason?"
"You'll see."
"I'll send Asuma and Kurenai to go with you."
"OK. Well, I should get going. Kakashi and the others will wonder what's taking so long."
After helping Koyuki and Sandayu settle in, Minato assigns Asuma and Kurenai to accompany Naruto on a trip out of town. Naruto was hoping to leave without anyone else noticing. However, Gaara and Yugito caught wind of the trip and demanded that they tag along as well. Naruto begrudgingly agree to let the pair tag along, thinking that it might be more beneficial if they are present.
"So how far away is this place we're going again?" Yugito asks.
"We should be almost there. The town should only be a couple of miles away."
"Another couple of miles! We've been traveling for two days already!" Yugito screams.
"Hey, Kurenai, is that town the one I think it is?" Asuma whispers while the children are arguing.
"I think so, but there must be a good reason why Hokage-sama wants us to go there."
Just before the group walks into the town, Naruto asks Yugito and Gaara to transform into adults with the Henge no Jutsu so they can blend in. What surprised Asuma and Kurenai more than seeing the children's ability to use the Genjutsu so flawlessly is the fact that Ginko also transformed into a small dog. Shrugging it off as a Genjutsu created by the children, Asuma and Kurenai simply follow the three children into the town with Naruto in the lead.
"Now where would she be…" Naruto says to himself.
"Where would who be Naruto-kun?"
"Kurenai-nee-chan. Do you know where is the most famous casino in the town?"
"Don't you think you are a bit young to be gambling?"
"This is important Asuma-nii-san."
"…It should be over this way."
Following Asuma's direction, the group stops in front the largest building in town. Before the two adults can ask any questions, Naruto walks inside confidently, followed closely by Yugito and Gaara. Looking around, Naruto calmly walks toward a table where a gray hair elderly women and a teenage girl is sitting at. The two women took a quick look at him before returning to their own business. A few rounds later, the old woman is trembling in rage while the teenager is doing her best to calm the old woman down.
"All right brat! What is the big idea of betting against me every round!"
"There's no rule saying I can't do that right?"
"Why you little…!"
"Please calm down, there's no need to draw so much attention on ourselves…" the teenage girl says.
"You're right, let's go. I've had enough of this kid."
As the old lady stands up and walks away, Naruto stretches and stands up as well and follows the two women out of the casino. By then, it's clear to the two women that Naruto's group is following them. Running up the street at a speed much faster than someone her apparent age should be able to run at, the old lady pulls the teenage girl around the corner. When the group finally catches up, they find themselves in an empty dead end alley.
"Hey Ginko-chan," Naruto says, turning toward the fox turned puppy, "can you find them for me?"
Ginko bears her fangs and growls at Naruto in protest before submitting and tries to pick up the scent. Before Ginko can even get serious, the two women walk out from behind them at the entrance of the alleyway.
"So, who are you and why are the five of you following us?"
"There you are Tsunade-baa-chan."
"Did… did you just call her Tsunade-sama Naruto?" Kurenai asks.
"No, he just called me an old lady."
"Well you are," Yugito says.
"If you kids are any better with your craft, you'd see that this is just a Henge," Tsunade says.
"Oh, I can see through the Henge just fine," Yugito says smugly, "but that doesn't change the fact that you're still old."
"Yugito, be quiet, Tsunade-sama is one of the strongest ninjas in history."
"Relax Asuma-nii-san. Besides, Yugito-chan is right, it doesn't change the fact that she's still old. And since when do strong ninjas rely on Henge no Jutsu to avoid debt collectors."
"Debt… collectors?"
"You three kids should be grateful that the two older ones are wearing Konoha headbands or else I would've attacked a long time ago. Let's go Shizune, I don't have time for this."
"What? Too busy to even listen to how I can help you pay off some of your debt?" Naruto says.
"…Keep talking," Tsunade says, turning around to face Naruto again.
"Yugito-chan, we made quite a killing at the table just now, didn't we?"
"Good enough to quadruple what we walked in with."
"Get on with it kid."
"You have some gambling tools on you right?"
"I have some dices…"
"One roll, whoever has the highest total wins. If you win, you take the money…"
"What if you win?"
"You come back to Konoha with us."
"And I want to do that why?"
"Well, if that's the case. I made enough to pay two Chuunins for the B-ranked protection mission. It's a nice vacation, let's go home now."
"Wait! Fine, you got a deal," Tsunade says before muttering, "can't believe I let a kid blackmail me."
"Well, let's go then."
"All right, you go first."
Taking the dice out of Tsunade's hands, Naruto rolls the dices and gets two ones and one two. Laughing, Tsunade snatches the dices off the ground and promptly rolls three ones.
"The legendary sucker strikes again," Naruto says, rolling on the ground in laughter.
"That one doesn't count! This is the real one!"
Rolling the dices again, Tsunade gets one five and two sixes. Still shaking slightly in laughter, Naruto picks up the dices and rolls three sixes. Staring at the three dices in shock, Tsunade starts trembling in anger.
"Fine! You win. We'll go back to Konoha. Doesn't mean I have to stay there anyway. We have to go back to the hotel to pack."
"Let's go then. We have one more stop to make before going back Konoha."
"One more stop?" Kurenai says, looking over toward Asuma.
After checking out of the hotel, Tsunade and Shizune follows Naruto's group out of the town. It doesn't take very long for Tsunade to see where Naruto is leading them.
"You're not thinking about getting him, are you?"
"Yeah, but I don't trust him around someone as pretty as Kurenai-nee-chan. So I wanted you to come along to keep him in line."
"Aren't you a bit young to be trying those lines on a girl Naruto?"
"What does Kurenai-nee-chan being pretty or not have to do with how old I am Asuma-nii-san?"
"You scared that Naruto might steal your girl away Asuma?" Tsunade jokes.
"Che. I don't know what you're talking about," Asuma says, turning his head away blushing.
About two days later, the group stops at a famous hot spring town about a day's travel away from Konoha. By this time, everyone besides Naruto is at the limits of their patience. Outside of Naruto and Tsunade, no one knows why the group has to travel for so long and still isn't resting comfortably in Konoha. Kurenai, Shizune, and Yugito forgave Naruto briefly when he mentioned the town's special attraction, but their anger returned tenfold when he told them they couldn't rest until they find their second target. They only relax somewhat when Tsunade told them it's in their best interest.
"So where should we go now that we're here?" Yugito asks.
"You all go and check in at that hotel. I'll go and start looking for my target," Naruto says.
"I'll go with you. I'll convince him to come to Konoha with us," Tsunade says.
"You seem eager."
"If I'm going back there to suffer, I'm taking him with me, willingly or not."
"All right, let's go Tsunade-baa-chan. Let's go and interrupt Ero-Sennin's research."
"Tsunade-sama, perhaps I should go with you…"
"No Shizune, you go with the others. Remember, you girls stay away from the hot springs until we come back."
"O… OK."
"I never thought you'd be so eager to go back to Konoha Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto says after the others leave for the hotel.
"What?"
"The quicker we find Ero-Sennin, the quicker we get out of town, the quicker we get back to Konoha."
"I guess the thrill of pounding that old buffoon to the ground outweighs the negatives."
"Heh, you call him an old buffoon but you won't admit that you're old yourself."
"Young man, I'll have you know that women are like fine wine, the more time they have to develop, the better they become."
"Yeah, and if you let them develop too long they turn into vinegar. I don't mind drinking wine, but vinegar? Blah."
"I'll have you know that vinegar happens to be very good for your body!"
"It might be for you, but I ain't interested."
Tsunade's eyebrow twitches at Naruto's retort. She contemplates killing the boy then running off with his money, but she realizes that she'd be leaving Shizune behind. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Tsunade turns her attention back to the small boy in front of her.
"Your name is Naruto right? Are you Minato's kid?"
"Yeah."
"How are your folks doing? I haven't seen those two brats ever since I left Konoha."
"My dad's the Hokage. I don't know much about my mom though."
"What?"
"I've never seen her my entire life. I guess she didn't make it out of the maternity ward and my dad is not telling me cause he doesn't want me to be sad."
Tsunade raises her eyebrow at Naruto's words. Last she remembers, Kushina happens to be a perfectly healthy young woman. While there is always the chance that her health deteriorated or she had complication during childbirth, she ranks the chances pretty low unless there was extreme stress during the process.
"Tell me kid. When's your birthday?"
"The day Kyuubi attacked," Naruto says, knowing where Tsunade's question is leading.
'Well, that would explain the stress, but the chances of death is still pretty low…'
"I wonder which hot spring is Ero-Sennin peeking in on."
"Did you just say he's peeking in on a hot spring? I thought you said he's researching," Tsunade asks, all thoughts on Kushina flying out the window.
"Yeah, that's what he does for his research. It's for his books."
"Why that no good little… I knew he's a pervert and likes to take a peek every now and then but… just wait till I get my hands on him."
Naruto winces as Tsunade stomps through the street, her hands going through the motions of wrangling someone's neck. Fearing for Jiraiya's safety, Naruto quickly rushes up next to Tsunade, hoping to at least be present to save Jiraiya from certain death, though he probably can't do much about the extended hospital visit the old pervert will no doubt endure. Eventually, the pair finds the Sennin sitting up in a tree giggling perversely. Emitting a low growl from her throat, Tsunade knocks the tree over with one punch, which completely shatters the trunk. Even as he's falling to the ground, Jiraiya knows exactly who is responsible for his fall just from seeing the destruction.
"Hello Jiraiya," Tsunade says, cracking her knuckles.
"He… hello Tsunade. Fancy seeing you here."
Even with Naruto wrapping his arms around Tsunade's ankle, the medic-nin simply drags Naruto along and proceeds to dish out one of the more painful beatings in Jiraiya's life. Tsunade finally stops when she remembers why they are looking for the old pervert to begin with. Picking him up by the collar, Tsunade glares at Jiraiya, giving him a silent warning to not let her catch him again before dragging him toward the hotel.
"Tsunade, what are you doing here?" Jiraiya asks after finally regaining his senses.
"To drag you back to Konoha."
"But Tsunade, you hate that place. Why would you want to go back there?"
"That's none of your business. Beside, I would think you would want to see that student you are so proud of."
"But I thought the brat…"
"According to this kid, Minato is still alive and well."
"I've been meaning to ask, who's the runt?"
"My name is Namikaze Naruto, Ero-Sennin."
"What did you call me!"
"You have no right to complain Jiraiya. Do you want me to teach another lesson?"
"No, no, it's OK."
Scrambling to his feet, Jiraiya quickly dusts himself off before gesturing for Tsunade to lead the way. Putting her hand on Jiraiya's shoulder to make sure he doesn't try to escape, Tsunade nods toward Naruto, telling him to follow. To say Kurenai, Asuma, and Shizune are shocked when Naruto's group arrives at the hotel is understatement. While Asuma is focused on all the injuries on Jiraiya's body, Kurenai and Shizune have an understanding look on their face when they consider why Naruto and Tsunade won't allow them to use the hot springs.
"Jiraiya-sama! What happened to you?" Asuma says, rushing next to the Sennin.
"Tsunade-baa-chan happened to him," Naruto says, putting his arms behind his head, "I'm heading to my room."
The next morning, the group gathers at the lobby of the hotel. After letting Jiraiya suffer through his injuries overnight, Tsunade tends to his wounds so they can head back to Konoha. Jiraiya and Shizune seem surprised by Tsunade's eagerness but the others wave it off saying that she just wants this whole ordeal over with. After another day of traveling, the group finally finds themselves in front of Konoha's gates. It appears that the people have already gotten wind of the two Sannin's return and almost the entire village is crowded around the gates to see if the rumors are accurate.
"Look at all the people. I didn't know you two are still so popular," Naruto says, remembering distinctly that there weren't nearly this many people the last time around.
"They must be avid readers of my works."
"As if anyone would want to read the garbage you write."
"It might be difficult to get through the crowd," Asuma says before the two Sannin get into an argument, "shall we take to the roofs to avoid the crowd?"
"No. Let's just get this over with," Tsunade says, "better do this now than to have them stopping us in the streets at every turn."
Naruto studies the crowd as the group wades through slowly. Out of the corner of his eyes, he notices a little girl around his age with large chocolate colored eyes staring at Tsunade in admiration. One look at her hairstyle and Naruto knows exactly who that is. Tugging at Kurenai's arm, Naruto gestures for the Chuunin to lean in before whispering something in her ears. Nodding her head, Kurenai disappears leaving behind a group of very confused ninjas. Giving them his innocent smile, which only increases their suspicion, Naruto gestures for the group to keep moving. Eventually, the group arrives at the Hokage Tower while a bored Kurenai is waiting with the little girl Naruto spotted. The girl's face brightens up as soon as she sees Tsunade and rushes up to her before Kurenai can try to stop the girl.
"Tsunade-sama! It's a pleasure to finally meet you," the girl says.
"Kurenai, who's this?" Tsunade asks.
"I'm not quite sure. Naruto asked me to bring her here."
"Arigatou Naruto-sama," the girl says, bowing toward Naruto.
"That's all right Tenten-chan. And what did I tell you about calling me that?"
"Naruto, is she a friend of yours?" Asuma asks.
"Yeah, we met Tenten-chan while Gaara, Yugito-chan, and I were playing at the park one day. She told me one day when we were talking about becoming ninjas that her idol is Tsunade-baa-chan… OW!"
"Don't call Tsunade-sama that!" Tenten screams as she hits Naruto again.
"There's the Tenten we know," Yugito says.
The adults can help but smile as they watch the kids interact with each other. A few minutes later, Kurenai reminds the group that they still have to meet with the Hokage. Naruto makes Tenten go with the group to meet his father despite her claim that she wouldn't be allowed near the Hokage. Tenten is surprised when the entire group is allowed to enter the Hokage's office with a simply wave from Naruto to the assistant.
"Oh, Naruto, I see that… you've… returned…" Minato says as he notices the people around his son, "Jiraiya-sensei? Tsunade-baa-chan? Shizune?"
"Minato you little brat! You and your son are exactly the same!"
"Sorry Tsunade-baa-chan," Minato says, shielding himself just in case, "it's a pleasant surprise to see the three of you."
"You should thank this little brat for bringing us back," Tsunade says, ruffling Naruto's hair.
"Hey, cut it out!" Naruto says, swatting away Tsunade's hands.
"Why don't you all wait outside," Tsunade says, "Jiraiya, Minato, and I have some things to discuss."
Looking toward the three adults in confusion, the group slowly files out of the room. Back in the office, Jiraiya and Minato notice the change in demeanor on Tsunade and immediately become serious.
"Now, I want you to tell me exactly what happened six years ago."
"Six years ago… that's when Kyuubi attacked right?" Minato says.
"Yes. I want to know what happened."
Minato looks hesitant for a moment, something that's not lost on Jiraiya and Tsunade, before telling the two Sannin what happened, leaving out details of the events a couple of years afterward.
"That's great Minato, but what really happened," Tsunade asks again, "I'm more interested in what happened to Kushina."
"Ah…" Minato looks brightened up for a moment before becoming downcast again, "Kushina, of course, she was your favorite. She… she's still in the hospital…"
"Naruto told me that he thinks she's dead."
"She's in a coma. Been that way since she gave birth to Naruto," Minato says, still avoiding the others' eyes, "the doctors says that they don't know if she'll ever wake up, but every bit of emotional support helps. I've been visiting her everyday."
"Don't you think it would be better for Naruto to see her?"
"I'm not even sure if she'll live! I… I don't want to get Naruto's hopes up just to lose her. The doctors already said if not for the fact I've been visiting so often, she probably would've died already," Minato says, "besides, she knows what I intended to do to Naruto. I'm not sure if she… agrees with my decision. I don't know if she can accept it for Naruto to talk to her. It might worsen her condition."
"Minato, don't be unreasonable. Naruto is her son. No matter if Naruto has the demon sealed in him or not, she'll still love him."
"…You're right…"
"Well, now that you got that out of the way. I'll start asking my questions," Jiraiya says, "so, did you ever figure out why things happened as it did when you tried the sealing?"
"I… actually I… I think it's best if you ask Naruto. It's not my story to tell."
"What is that suppose to mean?" Jiraiya asks.
"Naruto wants to keep that a secret. I tend to agree with him."
"What does that little kid have to hide?" Tsunade asks, the conversation piquing her curiosity.
"I can only say there is a lot more to the little kid than what meets the eyes."
"Well, if I'm not going to get any more information, I think I'll visit Sarutobi-sensei."
"You go ahead Jiraiya. Tell Sarutobi-sensei I said hi and that I'll drop by later," Tsunade says, "Minato and I have to visit someone first. And I better not find you out of this village or peeking in on hot springs!"
"But Tsunade…" Jiraiya says as Tsunade glares at the Sennin, "wait! This isn't about the hot springs. It's just that… well, I don't think you should go see Kushina with your hemophobia and all."
"I've gotten over it. At least I think I did. I've been practicing the last two days after Naruto told me that he thinks Kushina is dead."
"Why would you…"
"I think I would be quite well aware of my favorite apprentice's health conditions Jiraiya. I find it highly improbable that she would die from childbirth. Actually, I am surprised that her condition is bad as what Minato said. I guess I gave the doctors more credit than they deserved. I'll have my hands full training them…"
"Train them? Does that mean you will stay in Konoha?" Minato asks.
"I'm not going to leave Kushina like this. I guess I'll stay until she recovers."
Additional Author's Note: Leave a note if you like the story.