"Somehow by using this jutsu it delays the events of your birthday so we have a few days but you have to let it happen how it happens. You must not interfere. You're the legal guardians of Naruto now. I've explained it to everyone that it needs to, no one will ask questions." Minato explained. "I'm sorry you have to see this, son."
"I wish it could be different. Isn't there anything we can do?" Hinata asked them.
"No, there isn't. We've thought through everything we could. No offense but we have experience and knowledge that you don't. It has to be this way." She nodded, understanding. They would be off observing the events. After everything happened they would take Naruto, hide away a while and then raise him.
They last night Kushina asked to talk to Hinata alone. They were Naruto's room. Kushina looked at the crib and at Hinata. "I can see you love Naruto a lot." Hinata couldn't respond. "My son, you have been there for him haven't you?"
"I have tried but I was very shy. I wish I could have done more. My parents never allowed it." Kushina nodded understanding. "I too hold the nine-tales and even though people have known me my entire life, they avoid me. They don't trust me."
"I never knew but I knew better than to treat anyone that way. My mother taught me that. I did my best as I could to be there. He has been there for me more than I could. When I thought that I would die, or be sealed, killed or forgotten by my family he was there to remind me to be strong and fight. To never go back on my word. My nindo, my ninja way." Kushina smiled at her son's encouragement.
"He'll fall for you. Don't worry about it. You're pretty and smart. You're going to save him and be there for him like no one else. There isn't a lot of people who would or could do this you know. He picked you and that means a lot. I was a lot like Naruto with Minato but I saw it. I wish you all great happiness and success."
"Thank you," Hinata stated quietly.
"You're very pretty and very smart. You know how to handle Naruto and are a good friend. You'll raise my boy upright and for that I will be eternally grateful. It will be easier now, having met you, knowing that he was okay without you guys raising him that now he will definitely be. That he won't be alone. He'll have parents, the best parents."
"There will never be better parents than you two." Hinata responded.
"We are good people, Minato and I. Great ninjas, even smarter leaders but something that could never be close to true is that we were even fair parents. I guess this is different for this lifetime. But we already failed even though we got a redo. The fact is we left our kid to be alone, fend for himself, sealed a horrible demon inside him so he could be hated. We're bad parents." Kushina cried.
"Believe it or not, there are worst things." Hinata told her. "You taught him through example to be a strong and good person. You gave him the tools and strength to be who he is. You are a good parents even if you weren't there. Sometimes it is better if some parents weren't there than to lead their child astray and destroy them. Naruto lived and became happy and successful and as his parents, you succeeded. My mother told me that if I was kind and strong, good to people and lived life as best I could that she had done her job. You did those things, you are great parents." Kushina hugged her.
"You could be lying to me but I stand convinced that it was true. Thank you Hinata. Thank you for being there for him, and for raising him. You will be much greater than Minato and I, I know that. I believe in you. These boys are going to need to you to be strong. You're a strong enough woman to do that."
They hugged and sat there talking about Naruto's childhood for a while. Meanwhile Naruto had been talking with his dad.
"So… she your wife?"
"What? No! I'm not even dating her!" Naruto yelled out.
"What? How could you do that to her? You lead her to a life stuck with you forever raising you as a child, leaving her entire life and you can't even manage to date her."
Naruto thought about it and it was sort of stupid of him to do that to her. "But she wanted to. Iruka-sensei said I would know when I found the right person to go with me. Hinata is a lot better than me to go. Hinata thinks about the whole village and not just fixing her childhood. She's going to help me raise myself because without her I couldn't do it. I didn't mess up!"
Minato sighed. "So you're going to spend every day of the rest of your life together with her, not dating or married, being parents to Naruto? Is that what he deserves?"
"No…" he mumbled.
"I thought I had a smart son."
"Hey, I'm smart! I became hokage!"
"Well apparently there is a lower standard than in my day because that's plain stupid." Naruto jumped at his father who jumped out of the way. Minato stopped and laughed. "You have a bad temper like your mom. She'll beat you up if you fight in the house."
"Then let's go outside!" Naruto yelled.
"Calm down, that's unnecessary." Minato told him. "Just think about it will you, down the road? It's too late now. I hope you didn't make a mistake and that she doesn't regret it. She seems wonderful, you're lucky she's here because if I can't take care of a kid alone no way you could." Naruto frowned.
"What should I do?"
"All I can say is that you owe her every day that she lives and that you live, that this Naruto lives and that everyone lives. Even I and your mother owe her everything…" he took a deep breath. "Treat her nice, remember that she didn't have to be here and that you could be alone. Make sure that every day she's happy she is here with you because you took everything away from her and she had a great future ahead of her."
"Dad…"
"Yeah Naruto," he responded.
"What if I made a mistake? What if I'm wrong? What if I screw up the entire universe?"
"Then you screw up. Sometimes it happens. You can't save everyone and you will make mistakes Naruto. You should know, like being a hokage, you have to be smart enough to know what you can control, you can't control and do all you can within your power. Make the best decisions you can and try your hardest every day and then if something goes wrong you can live with yourself knowing you tried and there is nothing else you could do. Once a decision is made you can't always change it so you have to make the best of it. Besides, you're not so much of an idiot that you could screw up the entire world. I mean, it was pretty bad off how I left it, right?"
"Yeah, you did mess it all up pretty bad…" Naruto said laughing.
"See, and you can fix that." Minato smiled at his son. "I'm proud of you Naruto. You turned out great and this way you can do better. I'm glad I met you. It's time now."
"Hinata!" Naruto called. She came out nodding. They did as they were told. Naruto, now Naru dressed like a normal villager while Hinata dressed the same. They stood outside the door, they all knowing what would happen next. They all exchanged hugs.
"Good luck. Take care of our son for us." Kushina begged, crying. "Thank you for everything."
"I will." Hinata responded. "Thank you too."
"Bye mom. Bye dad." Naruto said quietly, looking first at the floor and then at them.
"Bye Naruto," they said together. They then looked at Hinata and smiled.
"Take care of our son, both of them." She nodded. They hugged again and Hinata pulled Naruto along. He wouldn't see his parents again after that. It had been too short, and so happy and yet so sad.
The events happened quickly. They were a little different than the first time but it remained the same. The kyuubi had to leave Kushina which would kill her. To protect the village it was sealed in Naruto, killing Minato and it ended the war. Naruto didn't move from the spot on the opposite side of the room while the baby Naruto was crying out.
Hinata walked over to baby Naruto and picked him up. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm your new mommy. I can't replace her but I'll be there to help you, to love you. I'm Hina-chan." She walked over to where Naruto was now on his knees, no longer having the strength to stand. "This is Naru-kun. He's gonna be your dad. We'll take care of you. Don't cry, don't be scared. It will be alright."
Naruto looked at Hinata holding the baby and just cried. He was alone again. His parents had left him again. "Shhh, it will be okay. You're not alone. Neither of you are." Hinata put Naruto in his arms. "You have each other and you have me. We're a family now. We'll take care of each other. You're not alone anymore, you will never be." As Naruto looked into the eyes of the baby Naruto he didn't see pain or loss, he saw hope and love and it made it bearable. He leaned against Hinata who also had tears going down her eyes. He cried silently while he held himself as a baby.