Chapter Nine

"Fugaku Uchiha, I beseech thee to come to me." Naruto said, hoping this worked.

Sasuke watched with more interest than he ever had before in his life. 'I'll get to see my father again. He'll be proud to see me with my sharingan and to hear I killed a missing nin that even gave my sensei trouble. And he can tell me how to kill Itachi.'

Unfortunately, nothing happened.

Naruto looked at Minato. "Did I mess up?"

"It works better if you can picture the person in your mind. Sasuke, could you provide a picture of this man?"

Bothered by the lack of a working summons, Sasuke frantically tried to draw his father's face from memory. It wasn't that hard, given he looked at an old photo of his parents practically every day since the massacre. When he finished he handed it to Naruto, his eyes saying what his mouth couldn't, 'You better succeed this time dobe.'

Naruto looked at the surprisingly well-drawn portrait of Fugaku. "Not exactly the happiest guy in the world is he?" Sasuke growled deep in his throat over this.

"Now Naruto-" Kakashi tried to say.

"Sensei, look at the guy." Naruto replied, showing the picture of Fugaku. In it the deceased Uchiha was all but scowling. "He looks like the stick up his ass is a cactus. Sasuke, if this is how you remember your father, I feel sorry for you."

Outraged, Sasuke wrote down another note and forced Naruto to read it. 'At least MY father raised me. Yours decided he'd rather die then have anything to do with YOU.'

Deeply offended by this, Naruto snarled and instantly started to pummel his teammate, who decided to pummel back. There was no semblance of ninja skills here, it was exactly like a child's playground beat-down.

Minato and Kakashi quickly broke it up and pulled the two apart. "Hey! Settle down!"

"Dad, look what he wrote about you." Naruto said, grabbing the note and holding it up to him.

Joyed that his son called him 'dad', Minato ignored that for the moment and read the note. Once he did, he sympathized with his son. He handed the note to Kakashi and stared down at Sasuke. "You've got a lot of nerve young man to say such a thing. I died to save my village so people like you and my son would still have a home. Now you apologize to my son right now."

Sasuke hmmphed and looked away, his pride refusing to let him admit he acted in the wrong even though he knew he had spoken/written in anger more than anything.

"Alright, since you refuse to apologize, we'll have Naruto summon someone else." Minato said, helping his son back on his feet. "Naruto, why don't you try summoning someone you're a little more familiar with, just to be sure you aren't doing it wrong."

"I think I know who to try it out on." The whiskered blonde said before closing his eyes and trying to build up his chakra as if to do a jutsu. "Zabuza Momochi, I beseech thee to come to me."

Kakashi and Sasuke were shocked he chose that particular person to summon, but could object, mists started spewing out of the ground like there was a pocket of steam underground. The mist quickly took the form of a person, and features formed quickly to, until Zabuza Momochi was very recognizable, albeit transparent.

"What just happened to me?" Zabuza asked, staring at his hands seeing how ethereal he was now.

"I brought you back to see if this works for me." Naruto said. "Also I thought Haku might want to see you again. She's over there." He pointed to where the girls went off to.

Zabuza looked that direction and nodded. "Thanks kid. Is she okay?"

"She's mourning for you, but she's not suicidal. But I'm sure she'd appreciate this."

Zabuza smiled. "Thanks again kid." From the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke. "But before I go..." He cocked his fist and punched Sasuke right in the jaw. Or he would have, if his hand didn't go right thru the Uchiha's body. "What the hell?"

"You can't hurt others like this, nor can anyone hurt you. You won't get anything like a physical body unless you agree to be my son's Einherjar, a soldier under his command." Minato told the ghost.

Zabuza looked at the blonde man. "You're the Yondaime Hokage right? And this kid's your son?" Minato nodded. "I guess there are worse things I could agree to, but I'm going to check on my apprentice first while I have the chance."

"Go ahead." Naruto told him. Zabuza wasted no time in leaving. Naruto then turned to Kakashi. "Got a picture of your father?"

"Not on me, but once we get back to Konoha-" The cycloptic nin said, but stopped when he considered the implications. "Sensei, some people in Konoha will try and push the CRA on him once they learn what he can do."

Minato thought it over. " Hmm... you're right."

"What's the CRA?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke was half-tempted to tell the blonde that he didn't want to know. He knew full well what the CRA was, but refused to enact it for himself yet because it would have turned the fangirls into fangirls in heat. But before he spoke, he briefly pictured Naruto chased by hordes of fangirls and mentally grinned. 'I doubt anyone would want him even then, and if there are girls dumb enough to want him, let the dobe see what it's like.'

"CRA stands for Clan Restoration Act. It's one of the oldest laws in Konoha but to this day it's never been enacted." Kakashi told his student. "Because Konoha has several clans with unique fighting styles, the CRA was put in place to be a way to keep them from dying out in case their numbers were greatly reduced."

"How does it work?" Naruto asked.

"In the simplest terms, the last few members of the clan are given the right to have several wives or husbands, depending on their gender, and must have children with all of them, the number of wives in your case based on how many Uzumaki are left and how likely your children are to receive your bloodline. So in your case, I'd say no less than four wives would be possible for you."

Naruto looked shocked, then revolted. "Like even one girl wants to be around me. How can you expect more than one to even consider this?"

"Naruto, you may be more desirable to women than you believe." Kakashi told him, mostly saying it to calm him down. 'I hope he doesn't ask for an example, because I'd be stressed to give him one.'

Naruto did not look convinced. "Even if that was true, it's kind of an insult."

Kakashi looked confused. "How so?"

"It's like Konoha's saying I have more value to them as a sperm donor than as a ninja. That I'm not worth training but my kids are. And I'm supposed to ignore all this just because I supposedly get several girls that all conveniently love me enough to share me? Yeah right, it's not going to happen. You know it and I know it."

"Well I'm pretty sure there's at least one girl out there that would want to be with you someday." Minato told his son. "What about your teammate, or the girl you saved?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, once Sasuke enacts this CRA for himself there won't be any girls left for me. Though if there was one girl who actually did want to be with me, that would be enough for me. And I don't care if they think my kids'll be more valuable then me, I'll still be the greatest Hokage ever!"

Sasuke quickly scribbled down his thoughts. 'I don't want that. Hell if you can get Sakura for yourself then good for you.' Naruto read it but didn't respond. Instead he put it in his pocket.

"Let's ignore this for now and get to training." Minato said, getting both boys in better moods.


That night everyone was resting up, except for Minato, Kushina, and Kakashi.

"It's likely there are people employed under Gato that are still left and not happy about being out of work now. And if that's true, then they may decide to take matters into their own hands here." Kakashi theorized.

Minato nodded. "Sounds reasonable. While we're here we ought to go ahead and deal with it. But let's leave the children out of it, they've done enough already."

"Won't we need someone to show us where these survivors likely would be?" Kushina asked.

"Haku might be able to show us, or how about Zabuza? Since he's a ghost he could scout if nothing else." Kakashi suggested.

The jounins turned to the main room. Haku was happily interacting with the ghost of her mentor, glad to know she could see him again thanks to Naruto. And thanks to a photograph Tsunami provided, Naruto had managed to summon the ghost of Kaiza as well, greatly pleasing Inari. Sasuke was silently fuming that he didn't have his father back, but no one was paying attention to that.

"Hey Zabuza." Kushina called out, grabbing the missing nin's attention. "Did you ever decide on if you want to be my son's einherjar?"

The swordsman looked to his apprentice. "Haku, what do you think of the boy?"

"There's a lot to him I don't know yet, but what I do know makes me think he's a kindred spirit and not someone who'd want the worst for anyone. I'm certain that if you found him you'd do for him what you did for me. Plus, I admit his ability to bring you back even if only temporarily has increased his appeal to me. So I'm comfortable in placing my trust in him."

Zabuza was glad to hear that. "Good. I didn't want to leave until I knew you'd be looked after. I still dislike how suicidal you sound without me to stop you."

"If you take their offer, you can do more than just look." She pointed out.

"It would be fun to fight again. Alright, I'm in. How do we make it official?"

"You two shake on it." Kushina answered.

Zabuza, Haku, and Naruto both looked unconvinced. "That's it?"

"What were you expecting?" Kushina asked.

"I don't know, but not that." Zabuza replied.

Naruto extended his hand. "Good enough for me." Zabuza decided not to complain and extended his own hand.

The two hands connected and this time Zabuza didn't pass thru what he was touching. He could feel Naruto's hand and a surge of warmth spread from his palm to his entire ghostly body. For two brief seconds he could also swear he had a seizure as a ghost, something that shouldn't be possible in any sense of the word.

Then it stopped, and Zabuza did something he hadn't done since he died.

He breathed.

"Zabuza-sama... you're alive." Haku happily told him, seeing her mentor look flesh and blood again rather than spiritual. She then hugged him to make sure she was not seeing things, and was pleased to feel a real body.

"Not quite." Minato told the ice wielder. "He only looks alive. He's like me, a dead spirit but with the same limitations as a living being. Helps us learn how to fight better when we remember that we can get hurt."

Kushina looked to her son. "Now Naruto, you can summon him when you need to, just remember the instructions for it. And try not to use the same personal phrase you would use for your father." He nodded and Kushina looked over the adults. "Now, why don't we go take care of what's left of Gato's forces and assets?"

"Sounds good to me." Zabuza said. "Just let me go get my sword."

"Don't wait up for us. Just behave for our hosts." Kakashi told his students before all the jounin went outside to take care of the loose ends of the mission.

Haku looked at Naruto warmly, then surprised him with a hug of his own. "Thank you Naruto. I cannot thank you enough for letting me see Zabuza-sama again, and for saving me from myself on the bridge. I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything." He told her, embarrassed by the close contact.

She looked right into his eyes. "Yes I do. I'd be dead if it weren't for you. Not only that, not only do I now get to keep seeing Zabuza-sama, but he gets to be in Heaven now thanks to you. How can you say I don't owe you?"

"I was just doing what was right. I don't expect to be rewarded for doing the right thing." He told her.

"You don't have to expect it to deserve it. I owe you my life and that's final."

"But-" He objected.

"Just let her have her way Naruto." Sakura told him, smiling at him since he was so flustered. "It'll be easier on you if you do."

"Umm... okay? But what do you plan to do Haku-chan?" He asked.

She smiled, having never been called chan before but liked it. "Simple, I go where you go and help you when you need it."

The whiskered blonde pried her off him. "Haku, I don't need a tool. I'll be happy to be your friend, but I'm not going to be some sort of master for you."

Getting an idea, Haku knelt down and sat submissively. "Naruto-sama, how may I please you today?" She said, trying not to laugh at his bothered look. Even Sakura wanted to giggle at the act.

"Don't do that." He said.

"Do I not satisfy you Naruto-sama?" She asked, faking upset.

"Haku, you're freaking me out here." He said.

"Then allow me to make you calm again." She said.

"Alright Haku, you can stop the act before you give this guy an aneurysm or something." Sakura told the brunette.

Smiling, Haku stood up. "Alright, but I meant what I said about owing you Naruto."

"Everything okay?" Tsunami asked as she walked in the room, dressed but with a towel wrapped around her hair.

"Yeah but what's with the towel?" Naruto asked.

"I guess with Gato gone the city finally got its hot water back. We can have real baths again instead of scrubbing ourselves with cold water."

"Really?" Sakura asked, and Tsunami nodded. " My turn!"

"Hey Sakura-chan shouldn't we draw straws or something for turns?" Naruto asked.

"Hell no! I haven't had a real bath since we left Konoha! I need this!" She shouted, giving everyone, even Sasuke, a look that clearly said 'Try and stop me'.

"I guess we can wait." Naruto said, hoping to avoid retaliation.

"Good." Sakura told him just before going to take her first real bath here. Until now the best Tazuna's family could provide were cold baths or water that had to be heated over a fire first.

'Kushina-sama made a lot of sense today.' Sakura told herself as she got into the bathing room. She filled the tub with confirmed warm water then started to take her clothes off. 'I can't use being a ninja as an excuse for getting things I want. I need to actually work at getting stronger so I can support Naruto and Sasuke-kun, not drag them down because I want other things for myself.'

When she got into the water she sighed and looked at the ceiling. "So what do I do to get stronger? Kushina-sama says a weak kunoichi is a dead or raped kunoichi and it's immature for me to assume that can only happen to other girls. Maybe Naruto would actually train with me if I stop turning down his offers. Besides, it should help us get along better. I don't want there to be a problem between us, but how do I really fix it?"

She got her answer as something Naruto said came back to her. "Until Sasuke gets back on his feet. Then I'll just be an afterthought again. I'm glad she's being nice now, but I know it's just temporary. She left her best friend to devote her attention to Sasuke, her best friend. So why wouldn't she do the exact same thing to me?"

Then the words of Kushina came to her. "I sacrificed my life so he could live, and apparently the rest of the village have taken that sacrifice for granted. And from what I heard, so have you. I'm not going to let a little girl who only likes my son when no one else is around talk to me like she has a moral high ground."

"Is that the problem?" Sakura asked herself. "Does Naruto really think I'm not going to try and be his friend? But why would he think that? I..."

She found she couldn't finish that thought, then sighed, staring at her reflection in the bathwater. "Of course he would you damn fool. Just look at your past history. You did break things off with Ino, and the one time you were nice to Naruto was when he was tied up in the bell test and needed food, and the only reason you offered your own was because Sasuke-kun did first. If... if he hadn't, would I have left Naruto to starve?"

At that question her eyes widened and both hands went to her face, fingertips touching above her eyes while her palms hovered shakily over her cheeks. "Dear Kami what kind of person am I? Would I really have left someone to suffer until someone acted first?" She closed her eyes. "No, I'm not like that. Of course I'm willing to help others."

'Then why didn't you?' She thought before she stopped herself. 'Was it really because Kakashi-sensei warned you not to? Or was it because it was Naruto that was hungry?'

Her mind went silent, but the implications of what she thought made her want to vomit. She withheld the urge and instead huddled into herself as if cold despite the warm water. She also started crying.


Team Seven had to stay in Wave for another week to oversee completion of the bridge. Luckily with Gato gone and any remnants of his operation destroyed by the jounin, construction soared on the project and it easily got finished ahead of schedule. Gato's funds were given back to Wave though Kakashi made sure some went to pay for their mission.

During that time Team Seven had a lot to keep themselves occupied. Naruto was the most busy. He spent virtually every moment he could training with Kushina in his newfound powers. Most of this included kenjutsu, which Zabuza assisted him in when he was summoned, and improved his taijutsu form greatly. Needless to say Kushina was quite disgusted with the form someone in Konoha made him learn. With the manner of fighting he did have, the only way Naruto could hit someone was by accident.

That wasn't all Naruto was doing. Thanks to summoning the ghost of Kaiza, Naruto got the idea to allow the people of Wave to talk to the spirits of their deceased loved ones. He of course made them swear never to tell anyone outside Wave so enemy villages or ninja wouldn't get the wrong idea, and made clear there were limitations to how he could summon them, but the people agreed to anything as long as he could fulfill his end.

Ultimately, almost everyone got to see a deceased father, son, brother, grandfather, uncle, or friend again, even if only for one night. Not every request could be made, but the people of Wave who could give Naruto photos were very grateful to see their loved ones in person one more time.

Sasuke's jaw stopped hurting but he still couldn't speak properly. He made an effort of training away from Naruto, going out of his way to avoid the blonde. Kakashi was worried that Sasuke was jealous he hadn't seen his own father's ghost yet and wouldn't be a team player until he got what he wanted.

Sakura surprised Kakashi by being the opposite, always trying to be around Naruto. She actively trained with him when she could and helped him understand things better. There were no cries of idiot or hits to his head. Not to say Sakura thought everything he said or did was smart, but instead of demeaning him she corrected him. Kakashi was glad she was starting to get along with him more.

The day came for Team Seven to leave, and it was also the day Kushina had to go back to Sessrumnir. But she didn't plan on leaving until the last possible minute. Haku agreed to go with them to Konoha as long as everyone knew she was not to be used as a breeding factory and Naruto would still summon Zabuza on occasion. No one argued.

The Konoha nin and Haku were on the now completed bridge and everyone in Wave was gathered to see them off. Some were asking to see ghosts again but Naruto told them he had to get going.

"We cannot thank you all enough for what you've done." Tazuna told the team. "Thanks to you, we are free again, and now we have the courage to stand up for ourselves if someone else decides to finish what Gato started."

"We're glad to help, though next time don't lie about the level of ninja you need." Kakashi told him in good spirit.

"We won't. Oh, and before you head off, allow us to give one of you a gift." The bridge builder said before looking at Naruto. "You boy are the one who reminded us what we should fight for, and you gave us peace of mind regarding those we lost. For that, it was unanimously decided we would name this bridge the Great Naruto Bridge."

The blonde was speechless. "Re... really? You don't have to you know."

"Hey my first choice was Super Naruto Bridge, but Great Naruto Bridge won the vote."

"Super?" Naruto repeated.

"So we should call it the Super Naruto Bridge then?" Tazuna asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No, the other one sounds better."

"Then the Great Naruto Bridge it is. Feel free to come by and see us again anytime you want."

Everyone nodded but Sakura could tell Naruto still felt unworthy of the praise. "Relax Naruto, this is what you always wanted right? To be recognized and acknowledged? If you can do that here then maybe you really can become Hokage someday."

He was surprised to hear that, but he smiled at the pinkette. "Yeah, you're right." Then he turned to the villagers and gave them a thumbs up. "Thanks everyone. When I become Hokage of Konoha I'll be sure to thank you for this."

Haku leaned to Sakura and whispered. "Did you mean that or are you just trying to make him feel better?"

"Can't it be both?"