Wisdom of Chance, Chapter four: It Begins.
A Question, An Answer, and A New Beginning
For the Sake of Secrets
~ Forenote ~
The poll has ended. The votes were 31 to 23 against the spin off. I'm posting it in a separate story anyway. The Pilot chapter of Wisdom of Chance: An Evil Awakens will post a shortly after this chapter.
"Grandma, I'm soo sorry I never told you!"
For a moment Tsunade could only look at him as if he had crapped his pants.
"I'm sorry?" She asked as her calm, dignified expression, slowly morphed into one of beat-red rage! "What did you just call me brat!"
She took hold of his medical gown and drew him into the air, stopping herself from pummeling him because the expression on his face was one of guilt and sorrow, not of fear or defiance. "I'm sorry I never told you that Minato had a son."
The gaki dropped, landing on his back, as her hand opened in shock. Her eyes widened open and she couldn't breath. The Sannin simply stood where she was, her arms still outstretched as if she still held him. "A son? Mina-chan?"
Her chest finally accepted air and began to heave as her mind panicked. How did this kid know anything about that man!? Could he have actually had a son!? And more importantly, how did the boy know Minato was her son!
"Tsu-hime? What is he talking about?" The fact that Naruto had somehow found out about his parents was one thing, but that the boy thought being Minato's kid meant he was Tsunade's grandson was completely unexpected.
Almost as if his voice broke a trance, the medic began moving again. "I have to check something, I'll talk to you in a minute."
She yanked the crippled child up onto the bed once more and put not only her hands on his head, but this time, her forehead too.
Pulling at his mental network, she tried to isolate any foreign mental signatures. It took a moment before she found what she was looking for, but the neural shadow moved away from her.
It was unlike any she had ever seen. Memories couldn't just up and move on their own! The best comparison she had to this was an anti-Yamanaka jutsu developed by sensei. But this one was far past his theories…
Unless the bijuu had been the one to cast it. That would explain its mutation into autonomous activation…
But why would the Kyuubi be afraid of a Yamanaka jutsu? The entire clan knew not to enter the boy's mind. And those too young to know why had been told of extreme consequences if they ever did. And how the hell did the fox even know sensei's technique anyway?
Pink.
The fox had been telling her something about pink…
Refocusing her mind, Tsunade used the mental image of her sensei and a call of truce to summon the neural shadow. She only needed to glimpse a small passage of the mental network to recognise the third Hokage's mind.
At first she had thought the brain damage had simply been result of the thousand clones the boy had created, and that healing it would have simply wiped the strain away. However, it seemed Naruto received all of the memories of the shadow Hokage clones!
Which meant, he knew everything…
Tsunade couldn't let him find out like this… She had to at least explain to the man standing behind her.
Turning from the boy, Tsunade asked, "Jiraiya… Who is Naruto's father again?"
With a swallow, the toad sage answered. And Tsunade felt her heart break. She had a grandson! All this time, she had been abandoning him! It was one thing with Mina. He had his sensei!
Placing Naruto under a minor forced sleep genjutsu, Tsunade laid him back in the bed. "He used his own son…Baka!"
"Tsu-hime…" The toad's voice was now becoming threatening. "What did he mean when he called you grandma? He wasn't just making fun of your age!"
Without meeting his eyes she replied. "We need to talk. Until we figure out what to do, he should be kept sedated."
0o0o0
As they headed out from the hotel her apprentice and the pinkette rushed up to her. "Tsunade-sama, Sakura here, has something she would like to ask, and I would like to support her request."
The girl placed her hands together and bowed deeply. One of her arms was bandaged and the other bare, she wore her outfit exactly as Tsunade had recommended for the medical ninja in battle. It seemed to have made a trend. Her neatly trimmed hair was bright pink and held back by her Hitai-ate.
Young Sakura politely made a proper request of apprenticeship. But the only thing the medical Sannin heard was a massive gravelly voice, shouting warning to the Senju.
And her mind made the connection. Pink...The girl's hair...Anti-Yamanaka technique...
She didn't intend for the venom and contempt that bleed through her voice. "I don't know why Naruto forcibly forgot about you specifically, but I will find out! And when I do, I will be the one to decide your fate! For now, you can stay out of the way and away from the patient!"
Leveling a look at her apprentice, Tsunade ensured she understood. The cheer in the woman's eyes quickly turned to wrath as the small genjutsu passed between the two.
She understood everything it carried. Naruto was the host of the nine, hunted by the Uchiha clan-killer and threatened by a pink girl with a Yamanaka jutsu.
As the two young women returned to the room, Sakura tried to offer her help. She needed to know what Naruto had said! If Tsunade knew what she had tried to do, then it was too late to use that.
"I'm sorry Sakura, however I cannot allow you near the patient."
The cold voice of the woman before her was nothing like the friend she'd been only a minute ago. Her eyes were filled with anger. Sakura couldn't understand it! Why! Why was she being so hostile!
0o0o0
"Minato…" Jiraiya began. The two Sannin had gotten a private booth in a karaoke bar. They were meant to be sound proof already, however the seal master didn't take any chances.
The moment they arrived he pulled out several tags and placed them around the room.
"He couldn't let the beast get loose. Even if Kushina pulled it back into herself, she would have died shortly after. Her seal wasn't like Naruto's, the fox would have simply reformed in a matter of months. Maybe a year or so."
Sitting on the other side of the small table, he picked up his glass and downed the contents.
"I don't know the details, but from the description of the battle, he must have cut the beast in half and only sealed half of it into the host. The other half he pulled inside himself."
"The few who witnessed it and heard their discussion, say that he used her soul too. They wanted to meet their son when he grew up. The only way they could see him was if he were the host. Besides, you've met Minato, back when he was on my squad."
"He could never have simply sacrificed his son. He made sure the boy would be protected. He named me the godfather for one, and I was there for him for the first couple of years, until the old man sent me away…"
The look of guilt on his face told Tsunade all she needed to know about how Naruto had been treated since then.
"We couldn't tell people who he actually was. If Iwa found out they would have renewed their war efforts, and it would have been an easy guess for anyone, who met the Minato even in the battlefield, to decide the Hokage used his own son."
Tsunade could admit that it would have been easy, those birthmarks on his cheeks didn't make it any harder.
"So we passed a fake off as Kushina's kid, and said we were giving an orphan her name so it wouldn't die out."
"It didn't seem to work. Too many people knew about his situation and even after the Hokage passed the law forbidding anyone from sharing that knowledge they still did. In whispers they told it to their friends and they told their kids to stay away from the 'demon child' calling him a bad omen or just dangerous. The kids isolated him and he acted out. It became a cycle."
Her teammate sat silently looking over her face, searching for her reaction. But all she could feel was betrayal. Not from him… Jiraiya had been a wonderful sensei for her son, and he had no choice in the five year banishment the Sandaime had imposed. It was time to confess her own transgressions.
"Shimaza no Gai."
Those words hardened the Sannin's face as he recalled what she'd done. On the one hand it had been a massive deterrent to war with Iwa… On the other, she hadn't stopped at just the shinobi, almost every single person, man, woman or even child, had died.
"If I tell you everything you must swear not to react to it until we are safely back in the leaf." Ignoring the mild shock melting through his hardened expression, Tsunade pleaded. "Once we are in the Senju dojo, I will submit to any retribution you wish. But I can't expect you to react any better than I could."
"You have my word. What happened in Shimaza?" His voice was just as hard as his face, but it also had a small waiver in it. He already guessed what she was going to tell him.
"I found out my son died fighting the Kyuubi." A swallow in his throat and wrath appeared on his face.
"Shortly after Nawaki died, A couple months before we face Hanzo—"
"I remember." He cut her off.
"You were in Ame for almost a year, the second war had just ended and I couldn't bear the thought of my son being hunted down for being related to me. I thought of telling you so many times, you two were so happy as a team, and when Dan died… I couldn't take him away from his father so I left without him."
"And some Iwa-nin laughs about his death in Shimaza and you lose it," the toad sage finished for her. "I begged, I got down on my knees and begged Hiruzen to bring you back! No wonder he refused!"
The Sannin stood and turned away from her. "Did Dan know?" He didn't even try to muffle the hatred in his voice. "Or did you lie to him too!
"He knew. He accepted it for what it was."
"You're going to come home." There were no options in his tone, she had no choice in the matter.
"You're going to accept Sensei's hat." There was little she could say to argue. Even if she wanted to refuse, if she had the courage to risk his rage, she could never abandon her grandson the way she had her son.
"You're going to tell him exactly who we are! And why you denied him his family!" The guilt and rage in his voice had leaked through as his voice cracked.
With a wavering voice, she conceded his commands.
0o0o0
Sakura waited in the lounge of the hotel. Shizune had been so cold to her!
It isn't fair! Screamed Inner-Sakura. All she did, was try to protect the boy she loved! But even with no memories or mobility Naruto still found a way to ruin her life!
To be fair, the girl thought to herself, he didn't mean to mess me up. I am the one who tried to abandon him.
Still her inner was upset. The Sannin had said no! Because she did something to him? And if she found out that Sakura actually had tried to leave him for dead, and had been the cause of his memory issue, then she would never change her mind.
Frustrated at this, Sakura had her inner spat.
How was she supposed to get Sasuke to love her, if no one will train her? Not their sensei, Not her parents, she couldn't even get a lesson from a drunken medic!
Inner-Sakura was just as adamant about it. She had been right when she told Sakura to take that!
She knew what she had to do. Taking out the scroll she had copied from the one in her friend's hiding-space, she quickly went over it. The actual Yamanaka jutsu. It would help her force him to forget what she had done.
According to the scroll, their jutsu didn't always require the bloodline ability of parting their souls, to be performed. This was the part that had convinced Sakura to make her copy.
All the beginners of their clan needed skin contact with the head of the mind they were entering to do the jutsu. This way their soul didn't have to leave their body. Meaning anyone could do it as long as they had skin contact with the target's head.
Since she wasn't a Yamanaka she wasn't sure if she would even survive it if her soul did leave her body. But She didn't have to risk it.
A small extra ingredient she had already prepared, discreetly dropped in the woman's food gave her the opportunity she needed. Once Shizune needed to use the toilet, she moved. Slipping in, so she didn't disturb anything. She still had her key to the room, so she was in without incident.
Stepping over to the bed she placed her hands on either side of the unconscious boy's head and prepared herself for the jutsu. The snoring pig sleeping next to him shifted slightly but didn't wake.
Just as she was about to activate it, his eyes opened. The blue orbs of pure innocence stared at her guilt. "Hello, Who are you?"
"I'm your nurse…" The question was a godsend! Thank all fortune! "Don't you remember me?"
"No… I should though, I seem to remember everybody else. Even all Jiji's friends it seems."
The pinkette didn't have time to figure out what he meant by that, so checking his eyes and vitals, she quickly dismissed herself.
She hadn't even been in the room for a whole minute, so she easily passed to the lounge before the Sannin's food poisoned apprentice came out.
Inner-Sakura wasn't satisfied with their exit. They should have made sure! But Sakura herself, simply didn't want to think about what she had been willing to do.
0o0o0
The next morning had two Sannin leaving the hotel behind. Tsunade had drank all night. Only coming back that morning, when the hermit actually drug her by one of her hair tails.
Before they could return home, Tsunade had to pay off her debt. A small loan of cash from the author of a popular book series provided the capital. They would return in a couple hours. For now though, the other four locked down their room. Shizune finally agreed to be somewhat civil, and Sakura had been allowed back into the room.
A cheerful Naruto was a welcome sight. He still didn't remember her, but at least he was back to normal. The older medic analyzed their interactions closely and soon began relaxing a little. Sakura began asking the boy about his memories and he replied with joy.
He remembered the instructions that the pervy-Senin had given him. No mention of the secret memories! So he told her about his time in the academy of all the people he had known. Hhe mentioned how what he learned there differed from what he had learned from Shika-kun. All of his friends had been there for him and he was almost overwhelmed by it.
The boy had mumbled something about sensei's intestines and hinata, but Sakura had already began tuning him out by that time.
The day was uneventful and quiet until the two elders returned.
Something was wrong when they arrived. Their exit from the village was swift and silent. But they were on their way back to the leaf long before whoever was looking for them knew they'd left.
0o0o0
He had a grandmother! And a grandfather!
The Chunin could hardly contain his joy at this revelation. As he walked alongside his sensei he briefly stopped dwelling on his extra memories and family members to simply enjoy the use of his legs. Naruto was more than happy about that!
He couldn't stop thinking about them for long, the two adults seemed to hate each other…
Ero-jisan would sometimes look almost as if he was going to strangle Tsunade-baachan. His grandmother on the other hand, was drunk. If not for Shizune-nee, she wouldn't have been able to move from the hotels they slept in on their way back.
Neither of them would speak to him about it, and he was still under orders not to tell anyone about his memoires. Which Naruto guessed meant he wasn't allowed to call them his grandparents at the moment either. That memory wasn't the only one he'd had.
Naruto could remember so many small details of the past. A past that he had no part in. He hadn't even been born for most of it. He couldn't even make sense of it. All the other memories were jumbled and confused almost as if they were little tiny bits of ramen floating in the broth, and every time he tried to grab at one, it would be carried away.
Then there were the times when he would see something or someone, and just like with his grandparents, a memory would slam into him and he would relive the events. Sakura actually laughed one time he did it. He had just taken a bite of his lunch, and the face he made at the vendor when the taste reminded him of Biwako's cooking, sent the pinkette into a giggle fit.
Thinking of the woman who had died even before he was born, Naruto was reminded of another love… The Hyuuga. Hinata was in love with him. At the time she told him, Naruto had no idea what love was. Even before that, he thought it was just another word for liking things.
Kakashi was going to suffer for his trick! Granted, Naruto wasn't even sure he was right about this, but the man had been manipulating him! If not for the memoires of Biwako, Naruto never would have understood just what Kakashi had been hinting at. And if not for the thoughts he put into Hinata's confession Naruto never would have realized that the Jonin was using tiny little hints in every other thing he said to point Naruto in the girl's direction.
Still, even Sasuke had been trying to do the same. The Sandaime had few memories of Hinata, outside of her grandfather Hizami and the tragedy with Kumo. The only Hyuuga the old man dealt with regularly was Hiashi.
Hizami would have to be dealt with. Naruto was appalled when his thoughts about Hinata and Neji pulled up the eldest Hyuuga's actions. He had been the one who decided Neji's dad would die. He had placed Hinata's dad in servitude by threatening to use that bastard cage seal thingy on Hinata's little sister.
The Hokage had only so many memories of the clan. But Naruto seemed to have passed through the most outstanding of them.
Outside of those, Naruto hadn't really found any memories of anyone he knew. Not that he hadn't tried, but he couldn't simply pull the memories out at will. Still, as each day passed a few more began to settle so he could see them.
Many of them had been useless tiny details of days long past. However every now and then he would remember a council meeting or an edict being written. The moment he remembered one of these, he would be pulled aside and he would walk with Baa-chan as the others moved out of hearing range. They had a few long talks about the laws Jiji had passed.
One of them had even been about him. Apparently when he joined the academy the village council was afraid he would go rogue so the old man had created an addendum to his law about not telling anyone he was the host of the nine tails. In exchange for letting him join the academy, the council had the right to repeal the law if he ever presented as a threat to the safety of the village.
Until he remembered that, Naruto had no idea just how hard the old man had to work to get him in the academy…
Then he felt guilt.
Not even the old man's anymore. Naruto was crushed by the fact that the Sandaime had died. And at the time, he hadn't even cared! He had been in the hospital, completely okay with the fact that his only family had died!
The man had been there for him his entire life! And he hadn't even said a prayer for him!
His grandmother held him as he finally began to grieve the loss of the man who had supported him from the start. And when he was cried out, she began to ask him for more dirt on the village.
0o0o0
It looked like half the village was gathered at the gates when they returned home. So many of them had heard who was being brought back. Sakura had only just found out on the return trip that Tsunade was going to become the next Hokage.
There was something going on that she couldn't figure out. And Naruto-baka was at the heart of it. Not that she really needed to know. She was content to simply fade away from the drunken woman's wrath altogether. She just had to find another way into the Uchiha's heart.
Heading through the crowd the Genin fled in the direction of the flower shop where she knew, Ino would be waiting to hear about her trip. In total it had taken a little more than three weeks and Sakura was almost as interested in hearing the gossip going around the village since she left.
To her surprise, she met Sasuke on the way over. "Sakura, glad you're back!"
To hear those words from him in real life! Sakura stumbled and ever so gracefully landed on her face. Pulling herself of the ground she shamefully looked up. Her teammate was offering her a hand up! Taking his hand she allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.
"How is Naruto!? Sensei was attacked!"
The question and statement both caught her off guard. "Oh kami! Is sensei okay? Who attacked him?" Seeing the Uchiha's expectant look the kunoichi added "Baka's fine, he remembers all the important stuff, but he doesn't seem to remember how he was hurt or why the hell he had a crush on me in the academy… So I would like to think he's doing better than ever."
"It was a group called the Akatsuki. They collect the bounties of powerful shinobi. Apparently they thought they could collect sensei's. My brother was one of them."
"Sensei won't wake up, I heard that Tsunade of the Sannin came back with you guys. Do you think she'd be willing to look at him?"
Okay… Inner-Sakura was ecstatic that Sasuke was so engaged with her right now, but Sakura herself couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going on. Sasuke's brother was with the group that attacked and he didn't freak out?
"Are you going to be okay? Did you see him?"
"I'm fine, I wasn't anywhere near the battle. I only found out when sensei didn't show up for training. The nurse there had specific orders to only allow a few people in his room so I don't know how he's doing."
The had finally made it to the flower shop when Sakura realized that he had been walking ahead of her and she was simply following him… So did that mean that Sasuke was here for flowers for sensei?
"Sasuke-Kuuuuun!" the soft cooing in Ino's voice was nothing like how she normally greeted the Uchiha!
"Ino, I'm back!" Sakura felt a deep fear gripping her chest.
"Hey Sakura! How was the trip?" Ino rushed over and launched herself into a full body hug of Sakura.
What the hell! When was Ino so close to her? Inner-Sakura whispered foreboding in her ear as she contemplated the possible causes of the situation.
Backing up Ino looked at her guiltily. Pulling Sakura into the house, they left Sasuke waiting outside.
"Sakura, please don't get upset. I need to tell you something you might not want to hear…"
Sakura knew what was coming next! Sasuke had chosen her!
"I spilled my guts about your nightmares! I'm soo sorry but I had to. He was freaking out and I needed to do something!"
Abruptly Sakura's mind came short. "You did what!?"
"I told him about the nightmares you've been having about Naruto getting hurt. He's your teammate, he should have known that you were upset about it, and I didn't know you were keeping it from him."
That was not what she had been worried about! But it actually might have worked in her favor. If Sasuke thought that she had simply been too horrified of what had happened he might not have told sensei!
Then her mind processed the rest. He had been freaking out… She had to do something.
What had Ino done!?
"It's fine, I wasn't hiding it, I just didn't get to see him much because of the medical training. How bad was he freaking out?"
"Well I was going to visit Lee when I heard him screaming at one of the nurses for information over what happened. Your sensei was hurt badly in the fight, but it seems he was able to hurt Itachi worse. The other guy had to carry Itachi out of the village. The council announced that Tsunade was coming back to help with the wounded the next day."
The revelation shocked Sakura. Wounded? "How many got hurt?"
"Most of it was collateral damage from the fight between Gai-sensei and the mist Ninja. Not many were hurt from that, but Kakashi-sensei and Itachi's fight caused some kind of super fire that killed a lot of people."
That was bad news but Sakura quickly dismissed the nausea it caused.
"And then Kakashi-sensei began fighting differently. I think Itachi asked where Naruto or Sasuke was. No one knows which of them they were after but Itachi going after his brother makes the most sense. The civilians who saw it said that you're sensei was making things disappear with his eyes! And the battlefield has all of these twisty spots where something happened. It was as if he didn't care if anyone else got hurt."
Well there was a reason she had been coming to see Ino first. She always had the gossip. The girl could filter through the bullshit and exaggerations and cut right to the details.
"So how did Sasuke-kun Take it? How did you calm him down?"
"He freaked! How else. But I eventually got him to see my dad. I know you would never trust me doing it but after I explained what I had done for you, Sasuke was almost too happy to see dad for a treatment."
After they spoke a bit longer they agreed that they had kept Sasuke waiting long enough.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Sasuke-kun." the echoed sound of their voices saying the same words sound in the the flower shop.
"That's fine." the Uchiha smiled. "Ino, I was actually stopping by to thank you for talking to your dad. I thought maybe you would like to get something to eat?"
Both girls stopped in their tracks.
"Sasuke, why are you only asking her?" Sakura's pouting voice was as cute as she could make it.
Looking at his teammate with a blank face, the Uchiha replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Well with how often you rejected Naruto, and as violently as you do. I thought my chances of asking without getting injured would be higher if I asked Ino."
0o0o0
Having payed off all her debts, Tsunade no longer had anything holding her back. She would become Hokage. The moment the council was able to confirm her position she would be making quite a few changes.
Starting with releasing Naruto's heritage as her sensei had commanded. Ending with the brutal humiliating dismemberment of the village council. She had heard of how they bickered when her teammate tried to ensure sensei's final wishes were met.
She had already seen to all the wounded of the most recent attack. At least the severely wounded. And she hadn't even began looking at the victims of the invasion.
They had been after Naruto. Hatake confirmed it when she woke him. His forbidden ocular jutsu had drained his chakra nearly past the point of survival, and the genjutsu placed on him the moment he slipped had kept him under for good.
After a short debriefing, the Jonin had to be put back to sleep.
It seemed Itachi was sick. And now hurt as well. When he asked where Naruto was Kakashi simply blinded him! As well as everyone in line of sight of the battle at that moment. In the next moment, his hounds attacked full throttle and the Jonin leveled a full village block in his attempt to kill Itachi.
The missing-nin had been soundly beaten before he resorted to burning down the village.
The loss of his sight, even temporarily, had been all the advantage Kakashi had needed. Once his hounds sank their teeth into the Uchiha it was practically over. He had been blinded, hamstrung and bled out. Kakashi had almost cut him down with his chidori when the black fire appeared.
When the Uchiha began spraying his black fire at everything, the only way Kakashi could stop it was to warp it to another dimension.
He hadn't gotten it all, but he got most of it. And he also got Itachi!
The man had lost a finger.
That was it.
But later on the finger had been enough to discover the illness.
And once Kakashi ran out of chakra, that was the end of the battle. He was put in the ultimate Uchiha genjutsu and left where he dropped, as Itachi's partner swooped in and pulled the man out before Kakashi's backup could rejoin the fight.
A small knock on her new office door came from a tall blond man. A Yamanaka. The Sannin felt a pang of mistrust. "Come in."
"Tsunade-sama, I would like your permission to examine Naruto's mind."
Red flags and warning bells, alarms and flares all over her mind went off! "NO!"
"I understand your reluctance, however the damage the boy suffered has become a point of interest for my clan. Admittedly it was my daughter's research into his condition that instigated it. However the acute recurring memory loss of a single specific person is something I myself would find intriguing."
"It's already been fixed. No Yamanaka is permitted to so much as look at the boy without my expressed permission and presence. You should know the risks of entering his mind."
Her flat rejection and harsh refusal made it clear that she wasn't going to budge.
"On another note, Tsunade-sama. It would be prudent to have him examined by a psychologist. I myself have seen to his teammate and from the boy's memories of the event, Naruto-kun was put through something that would traumatize even some of the most war hardened Jonin."
Tsunade couldn't deny that. Naruto had been damaged badly, not only in those fights, but also throughout the rest of his life. He was her grandson. It was time she knew everything she had missed.
"I'll take care of that. But since you're volunteering, you can begin compiling every scrap of information the village has over his life. If he ever had the sniffles or a papercut, I want to know when and why. The moment I have been coronated, I'll write out executive orders to correspond with this request. Including an all access pass for any information concerning him."
The Jonin's face went pale, and he rigidly acknowledged her statement. "I would suggest you look over the most recent village statues from the past ten years. You will need to know how Sandaime-sama has been managing the village since the Yondaime passed."
It was a good idea. Not that she hadn't already planned to. "Thank you for mentioning it. I never would have thought to do my homework."
Whether he thought that was sarcasm or serious, her glare was all the dismissal the man needed.
The Sannin knew what she needed to do. Her few glimpses into the Sandaime's rule through Naruto had been alarming to say the least.
But for now, She had a meeting in a dojo.
0o0o0
Uzumaki Naruto enjoyed sleeping in. it wasn't often that he even wanted to, but today he did. And so… He did.
He thought he had gotten enough sleep in the hospital, but after working out the last few days he realized he needed more rest now than he had before.
Shizune-nee had been upset at him for pushing too far. But he was fine after a night's rest so he did it again. And this was the result it seemed.
No big set back like she feared. All he needed was to sleep in for once.
Besides. He needed to catch up.
It had been over a month since he was hurt. There was no telling how much stronger Sasuke had gotten.
The thought of his teammate brought Naruto back in his mind. The boy had been genuinely worried about him. His attempts to become real friends had been enough to make Naruto giggle at the thought. He almost wanted to turn it around on the teme. Except that the boy seemed to mean it.
The other boy had even made his own assumptions about Naruto's romantic life. Just as their sensei had, he tried to lead the injured boy towards Hinata.
Naruto wasn't sure if he did like her. Sure he felt somewhat responsible for what happened to her, and she was kind awesome. And it wasn't like he had ever even thought of another girl like that. But he hadn't even know what liking was until Kakashi-baka had explained it.
He was going to be confused about this part for a long time… the one-eyed lazy son of a bitch!
He still had a week of physical therapy before he could return to , and even then, as a Chunin it was his choice. And when he saw that man again he was going to tear him a new one! He'd take the man's entire collection and burn them! He'd shave off that gravity defying hair and super glue a black bowl-cut to his bald head!
Oh yeah! The Jonin was going to pay! He'd make him weep!
)-(
A flash of thought passed and he remembered a Chibi-Kashi curled in a ball weeping at the monument. He was a Jonin, and drunk as young as he was. He thanked the young boy's rival and sent him away. Little Gai had never seen his friend like this. But knew that such loss was hard to live with.
)-(
Naruto felt horribly sick. It was bad enough that he felt like he was peeping at the old man's private memories. But now Kakashi-sensei's too!
How was he supposed to get revenge on someone he had seen weeping like that!
0o0o0
Shizune had gathered all of the documents, legal statues, and even court proceedings from the last ten years. Everything. It had taken almost thirty trips even with the Hokage-slaves… as Tsunade referred to the Chunin assigned to assist her.
Of course, if that was what her master demanded, she sure as hell wasn't going to argue. Tonton looked rather smug carrying that little whip in her mouth, marching like a royal general at arms.
It wasn't like she would have been able to carry it all by her self. Even if there hadn't been so much of it, she had nearly exhausted herself healing the elder medic's injuries.
How could that toad bastard be such a brute!
Monster!
She didn't want to say it, out of consideration for her loyal companion, but the word pig had even slipped out…
Hence letting the poor lady hold the whip.
Her master had been broken, almost as bad as miss Haruno said Naruto-kun had been. Laying in a pool of her own blood at the bottom of a crater. The entire dojo was smashed apart… Shizune simply refused to understand how Tsunade was able to simply brush it off as justice due.
The moment she was healed enough to move she set to work.
Ordering the Hokage-slaves to stack the last pile of scrolls and binders on the table, Shizune could barely even see her master through it all. The woman was no slacker. She had already passed through almost a third of the documents delivered…
Oh well, it seemed some of those had already been tossed at the door and were ready to be returned. Nodding at Tonton, the commanding pig swung her head around and the whip in her mouth cracked just behind a Chunin's back.
0o0o0
Page after boring page passed by. The Sannin knew she could use a drink, but she didn't have the resolve to keep working if she gave into that craving. Most of her wounds had already faded. Shizune did good work.
The shadow of the pain remained. And a part of her didn't really want the shame to fade.
Besides that, the medical legend had to be prepared. When she decided to oust the village council it had simply been a stubborn and petty thought, born from the descriptions she had heard from her grandson and his ancestor. Bastard.
However as she read each new law that was passed by her sensei, she realized the wrinkled sack of shit had screwed her almost as badly as her teammate.
How could the old bastard be such a senile fool! That stupid monkey had signed over so much and she hadn't even gotten through half the legal history of the last ten years!
She resigned herself to needing to see the rest. So she simply stood up and walked out. She passed over to the village archives and began looking over the laws since the day she left.
It took hours before she caught up to the time her son died. He had been a wonderful leader. But his predecessor was in no condition to retake the hat.
Tsunade had only needed to pull a few statues from her son's legal reign. And then she returned to the office where she had been examining her sensei's second reign.
More than half of these documents would have to stay.
If only she could find a loophole or a linchpin to cut out and send the whole mess falling down around the belligerent congress.
But she failed.
The third Hokage had sealed into law that the council held more power than the Hokage, one tiny bit at a time. But that didn't mean she couldn't simply bully them.
It had been a couple days since she began and she had found nothing to help her. However she kept out the majority of documents she'd had pulled. They would serve as a reminder of what she had to fix. Each one held a strip of the Hokage's power.
She was going to take each strip back. She would take it all back!
And why? Because her grandson wanted to become Hokage. Because when he visited her, he would tell her more things he remembered and she would have to find them in all these papers.
She had even began asking him for details on some of the ones she found herself and he had provided. The kid had become a goldmine as far as her sensei's guilty conscience went.
His insight into the laws of the village had been twisted by his own views of them, but it was still the rotten monkey's memories.
Not that Naruto had any luck in choosing what he remembered. They only got a portion of the things she asked about, but from each one he would remember more.
0o0o0
It was over. All the ceremony and ritual had passed. She, Tsunade of the Senju clan had been named Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
She wasn't ready for the responsibility. She didn't even think she deserved it. Not after everything she had done.
If the villagers could see how she had acted as a child, or later on how often she had gotten drunk, or how she gambled, what happened in Shimaza no Gai, or even… That… Her mind briefly drifted back to the Senju dojo.
The village wouldn't even let her through the gates if they knew everything she'd done.
It did seem like her teammate was going to be okay though. Her punishment had been painful. Humiliating. And in the end… only just a little too far. But if an Icha-Icha Hate-Rape ever came out, she was going to murder the toad.
The last thing she needed was the village reading one of his smut novels and making the connection.
Getting her small blush back under control, Tsunade sent a runner out to inform all the council members that an emergency meeting was being called.
0o0o0
Naruto's things had been moved into the Senju compound. He had been given the choice between here, the Namikaze, Uzumaki, and even Ero-jiji's homes to move into. He still almost couldn't believe he had a family now.
He was going to miss his apartment, but it would fade. Just like when Jiji moved in with Biwako-chan, and left his small apartment behind.
Baa-chan's big meeting had gone well by the way she grinned. Even ero-jisan seemed in a better mood.
She had promised to tell him all about it after she became Hokage, but only if he promised to keep it secret until then. Jisan had also insisted he never tell anyone about the memories. Which meant that legally he wasn't supposed to know until his heritage was released.
Now that it was, the only ones who did know were Shikamaru's, Hinata's, and Kiba's parents. And the Cat anbu whom Baa-chan had named her new Anbu commander… And maybe the last guy who was the anbu commander before that… Who ever he was. Naruto still hadn't located that memory.
Today all three of them sat down and each of his grand parents told their side of the story. The fact that he had gone missing when he was seven was a little surprising. He could remember a few things about himself, but most of it was good things. Why didn't he remember that? Or the fact the Jiji had banished Jisan for almost five years?
His extra memories were going to be kept secret from everyone, but if he wanted to tell people about his family it was his choice. Since Kakashi-sensei already knew about his dad, the Chunin decided it was okay to let him know about his grandparents too. But after a long and hard trail of thought, Naruto only had two people he wanted to tell, and Iruka-sempai was the second…
Sempai… Naruto thought to himself with a laugh.
0o0o0
When Naruto arrived at training ground seven the place looked completely different than he remembered.
It was colored with tiny details from Jiji's past.
And there at the monument stood his sensei. The Jonin who had known who his father was this whole time. The man who had tried to trick him into a relationship with someone. The Baka who had abandoned him to train Sasuke-teme! The Asshole who—
Naruto shook himself as another memory passed over him.
The Sandaime had known about the match!
He and this prick had planned on the teme being late! Hehe, Well he had shown them all right!
Sitting on one of the training posts was his teammate Sasuke. The brooder was smiling for a change. He had seen Naruto. "Oi, Baka! What was sensei's first thoughts that he told us about our team?"
"That he didn't like us dumbass." Naruto replied and bumped the Uchiha's outstretched fist with his own.
Quickly jerking the hand back he shook it and looked at it as if it was melting off.
"Wait a second!? That plague that killed off your clan wasn't catching was it?" His mock of ignorance wasn't lost on the blushing Genin.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for making that up. I wanted to see what it was like to have someone not whispering about my traumatic loss for a change."
Well that only made sense if his loss was worse than your entire family dying from illness. Which Naruto guessed would have made Sasuke into a germaphobe instead of an avenger.
Again, Naruto met with another missing memory, Naruto had nothing on the Uchiha massacre. Not even a stray thought years after the fact. It was as if Jiji had no idea it even happened.
"Hi Sensei, Sasuke-kun," The almost depressed greeting changed to a delighted and warm welcome when the pinkette saw Naruto. "Naruto-kun! Are you going to train with us today?"
Naruto recognised her. Sakura, the nurse who had gone with them to get Tsunade. "Hey Sakura-san, I didn't know you trained with Sasuke."
"Of course I do, I am a member of Team Seven after all, or did you forget that?" As misplaced as her attempt at humor was, Naruto's mocking bow and apology to his kohai saved her from the glare Sasuke was ready to send her way.
After another round of introduction they began training. At first it was just some stretches but then they headed over to the lake and began waterwalking. Sasuke had it down, even if he was still a little shaky. Sakura was able to get through it in only a few moments before she joined Naruto in his laps around the lake.
Sometime around noon they stopped and Kakashi sent the two Genin to the mission's office, telling them to wait there for them.
"So, Naruto. Now that you know who your father is There are some things I thought we should talk about." the Jonin crouched down beside him looking him in the eye. "Firstly, I knew. And I know your probably mad that I never told you, but I wanted to be your sensei where your father was mine. And i would have lost that right if I broke the Sandaime's trust."
This was an apology! "I was selfish, but I spent years watching over your while I was in the Anbu and I was ready to simply be Kakashi-sensei. I don't need you to forgive me, I don't really care about that, but You have to forgive him. I might not be the best person for this talk but I feel that with my relationship to your dad, I may be the closest thing you have to family."
"Actually Sensei, My dad's parents are kinda cool too you know."
His reply made the copy ninja's head jerk as he gaped at the Chunin in front of him.
"Haha! Sensei you should see your face it's like a fish with a mask!" Naruto dropped to his butt and laughed at his wide eyed sensei.
"You know Minato sensei's Parents?" came the astounded voice of the Jonin.
"Yeah, but it's a secret, I can only tell you if you actually teach me something cool!"
"That's okay, I don't need to know. It'll be penance for never telling you about yours." Naruto could almost believe the man didn't want to know!
"Aww come on sensei!" the Chunin pleaded.
"Well…" the Jonin drew out his considering face. 'I suppose I could teach you how to smooth talk that Hyuuga girl who's so taken with you."
"That reminds me!" Naruto shouted as he leaped off the ground to a standing position. Pointing at his sensei he made his accusation. "You were trying to trick me! You jerk! I know exactly what you were doing with those hidden meanings and double wording and shit!"
Well, It would seem he had been caught after all. "Did it work?"
"Kinda." Naruto scratched the back of his head.
"Well Naruto, since I owe you for that too, how about I pay for the first three dates you take her on? Dining, Reservations, flowers, I'll even help you pick out a new outfit!"
"Whats wrong with my outfit!?" The boy shouted indignantly.
"Outside of it being your only one? I'd rather not be here all night reading off the list soo…"
0o0o0
They had left the training ground hours ago! Where the hell were those two!? Even Sasuke-kun had gotten impatient.
Godaime-sama was assigning missions for the first time today and wanted to accept the first mission she ever assigned.
Kakashi-sensei was supposed to come pick it up that morning, but per usual he never did.
The office was crowded when the two Genin had arrived. Tsunade-sama was pissed and had simply told the waiting shinobi, "If you don't like it, blame the lasy ass sensei of Team Seven. He's officially fair game to any retribution that doesn't involve property damage or other costs to the village. But leave his students alone, hell take pity on them. They're not his students by choice!"
By the time they got to the mission's office, it was nearly packed and others had already left or began gathering outside.
Finally the Jonin and Naruto burst through the doors. "Sorry we're late Hokage-baa-chan!" came Naruto joyful shout as he rushed to stand beside the Genin of his team.
"I had to shake down some old mutt for what he owed me... By the way, Kiba... that wasn't funny, and you're going to get your shake down too... Anyway the old mutt could only pay me with new cloths and dinner reservations. Soooo, wanting to get the most out of the deal I had to go with him to—"
"Naruto!" Sakura snapped at him, "That's not what you call the Hokage! Show some respect!"
It was bad enough he had been rude to her during the trip but now she was the Hokage! And worse! They were in public! All the Genin and Jonin who had teams were here! They didn't need to hear his lame attempt at one of sensei's excuses!
"Oh, yes, sorry." Naruto took a step back and bowed, "Hokage-baa-sama?" He asked looking up at her and rubbing the back of his head.
She couldn't help it.
Really, she just couldn't.
Inner-Sakura cheered her on as she brought her hand up and swung it down on a collision course with the top of the baka's head.
The Hokage appeared instantly in front of her. Her still bandaged right arm held tightly in the medic's hand. "And what else is my Grandson supposed to call me!?"
Sakura could only stare at her in shock as the woman leveled her with more killing intent than even Orochimaru had in the exam.
"If you ever hit him again, I will kill you where you stand."
Sasuke's mouth dropped open. "No way, you're the dobe's grandmother!"
There was a crunch, a sharp gasp of pain followed by whimpers, and Tsunade leaned her head back as her free hand grabbed her face.
"Baka!" the Fifth Hokage groaned into her palm.
~ Note ~
Yeah, Sakura took a good look at Ino's Clan scroll's. She made a copy and learned enough to try the jutsu. But she didn't go through with it…
Icha-Icha: Hate-Rape! Publishes at the start of the shippuden timeline of this story. Just thought you might want to know…
Tsunade's talks with Naruto and his window into her sensei's mistakes led her to looking closely at the laws passed in the last few years… her reaction to it was not pleasant. But what will she do to correct the issue? And what happened during the meeting?
Kakashi's fight with Itachi went differently. Very much so. But what would have happened if he had gone all out without regard for bystanders? What if he had been willing to actually level a village block to kill the man? You can't tell me there isn't a jutsu to blind everyone who can see the area… and that the copy ninja doesn't know it.
Once he tossed public safety to the wind it would have been easy for him to land a good hit.
This time Sasuke didn't chase after them. Why? It shall be explained in his POV!
Kakashi's offer to pay for Naruto's dates with hinata are not going to change this! It is a Naru-Tenten. This just completes the triangle.
In the next chapter of this story, we will finally get to see the outcome of Naruto's heritage! And the very start of the "Tenten's Ulterior Motive Challenge!" Sakura has been rejected completely… and her rebound guy has thoughts on another little princess at the moment… So what will happen when the third member of the Naru-love-hunt joins the fun?
And what did Kiba do that wasn't funny you may ask? Find out!
Next Chapter… A Rumor, A Relative, and A Romance!
Things Naruto Still won't remember:
The End of the two battles he was just in.
The Uchiha Plot,
Anything concerning Sakura from before the Kyuubi was suppressed.
The private times between the third and his wife,
The worst and bloodiest scenes in the war,
Any of the abuse that Kakashi Erased.
And anything before the third made Chunin, because that was just too long ago. Naruto won't even be able to remember the actual promotion, he just knows that all his memories are from Chunin and up.
The Pilot chapter of Wisdom of Chance: An Evil Awakens will post a shortly after this chapter. It is a spin off starting at this chapter in progress.
Imagine if Sakura had used the jutsu on Naruto… What would have been the consequences? How could that have lead her to becoming the Jakuna no kogo? (Demon Empress)
Anyway, that's in the spin off…
Most items in all my Naruto fan-fictions will be based off of T8: Retroversion's timeline. Many of these details will be universal across them all.
Meaning any mission or OC, or other major details will be included, based on their background and trigger events.
{This will not include Kurenai's conspiracy or Hinata's abuse}
While T8: Retroversion will be my main Fic, Five others are on my list to work on at the moment: LATE Naruto: Life After the Ends; Uzumaki: A Lone Fox; The Thousand Ninja; Village Hidden in Plain Sight; and Wisdom of Chance. Descriptions on profile.