-x-x-x-

Chapter 10.

Revelations.

-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-

For two weeks, ever since Ino first started to spend time with Hinata and Naruto, she watched her two new friends walk away for their daily training at the end of classes.

Somehow, these few hours she was together with them were becoming more precious as the days passed. She always felt sad when Hinata and Naruto left together, leaving her alone. Her mind knew that the two were more than friends and that she was nothing more than an acquaintance, but her heart told her that she should be with them. That they belonged together. Even though they began to spend time with her, she knew that their initial interest in her must have been due to her mind attacks. Naruto never said it outright, but she was not a Yamanaka for nothing. She knew that the very first thing that worried them was that she would give their secrets away. Now that she thought about it, this was why Kyuubi told her to look into Sasuke's mind. Had she not done so, she was certain that her former fangirl personality would have been tempted to spill Naruto's secret to Sasuke in order to gain some sort of attention. Now though ... she had no interest in the last Uchiha.

Ino smiled at Naruto and Hinata. "See you tomorrow," she said with a wave of her hand. The girl expected nothing more than the usual partings, but she was surprised by Naruto's words.

"You want to come train with us?" he asked.

Ino nodded slowly. "Yes, I'd like that."

"Great," Naruto said. He grabbed Ino's shoulder, then Hinata's. Ino felt her stomach lurch, her vision darkened, and then, she was somewhere else.

Glancing around, she recognized the place from Naruto's memories. It was his new home.

"You want to spar?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Ino nodded, "but first, I want to see you and Hinata spar, if you don't mind."

"Sure," Naruto said.

Hinata and Naruto moved away from Ino and faced each other. Both fell into their fighting stances. Seconds passed while both looked as if they were frozen, and then, they both moved towards each other. When they met, Hinata's hands began to blur towards Naruto. Naruto's hands were just as fast. His hands intercepted the girl's hands, diverting most of them even before they got close to their target. Some of the deceptively gentle hits were barely diverted and occasionally, Naruto was forced to shift his body back or sideways to evade Hinata's fingers.

"Impressive, is it not?" a voice behind Ino said.

The blond haired girl whirled around to come face to face with a red haired girl. "Kyuubi."

"Ino-chan," Kyuubi purred. "I am so very glad you decided to come."

"Actually, it was Naruto's idea."

-x-x-x-

Yamanaka Inoichi stared at his daughter Ino as she inhaled the food in front of her. He had just returned from a two-weeks mission and he was surprised by the change in his daughter. Usually, she ate little due to her diet. Before he left, he'd noticed that Ino no longer gushed about her "Sasuke-kun". He had hoped that his princess would finally take being a kunoichi seriously. The amount of food she ate was barely enough for a civilian, let alone a growing ninja. No matter how much he and her mother told her to eat more, she never listened, because "Sasuke-kun" liked slim girls.

Inoichi doubted that the brat liked anything. From the boy's psych evaluation, he wondered how long the boy would survive in the field. There was no doubt that the boy was skilled, but he was ruled by his emotions. His all consuming desire to prove himself the strongest, would probably lead to an untimely death. Still, if he managed to live a few years, he would be quite a shinobi.

The boy was strong, but he was no Itachi. Itachi was cool and logical in the field of battle. Sasuke was ruled by emotions. When the boy would finally fight his brother, Itachi would have no problem with dealing with a less skilled, mentally unstable Sasuke.

Ino hadn't mentioned Sasuke for some time. Inoichi could only hope that Ino got over her infatuation towards the last loyal Uchiha.

Ino finished eating and rose to her feat. "Thank you for the meal," she told her mother then headed upstairs to her room.

Half an hour later, Ino came down. "Mom, daddy, I'm going to train," she said.

Inoichi smiled. Finally, his daughter decided to take her training seriously. "Okay, princess. Say hi to Shikamaru and Chouji from me."

Ino stilled at her father's words. "I'm not training with them."

"Oh?"

"I'm training with Hinata and Naruto," she said looking at her father for a reaction.

"I see," Inoichi said, not giving one. "Have fun."

-x-x-x-

Naruto was watching Ino dodging Anko's attacks with a look of amusement on his face.

At first, Ino thought that she would be able to keep up with Naruto and Hinata. Unfortunately for the girl, she was wrong. Naruto was physically strong and fast. Thanks to clone training, he was also skilled. Hinata was intensively trained since she could walk. Now that she had Naruto and Kyuubi to support her, she was no longer the meek girl. Ino expected for Hinata and Naruto to be stronger than her. What she didn't expect was for them to be stronger than her for hours. Hinata was able to train for hours and Naruto had an unlimited supply of stamina.

For someone like Ino who trained rarely and ate little, It came as a shock the effort put into training by her two new friends.

Naruto was not too worried though. Anko promised that she'd have Ino in top shape by the time she became a genin.

Naruto felt one of his clones disperse and he looked away from Ino.

The Hokage walked slowly towards him and Naruto gave him a smile and a wave in greetings.

-x-x-x-

The Ino-Shika-Cho team moved stealthily, careful not to be seen by their target.

"So, this is where he lives now," Yamanaka Inoichi muttered.

"Inoichi," Nara Shikaku whispered, "do you really think this is a good idea? If she finds out about this, she'll be troublesome."

"Yeah," Akimichi Chouza agreed. "She'll be very upset if she finds out that we were spying on her."

"She's my daughter," Inoichi replied. "I have the right to see to her safety."

Shikaku shook his head. "She isn't going to see it like that."

"She's not going to see it at all," Inoichi said firmly. "We aren't going to tell her about this, so we have nothing to worry about."

"Inoichi, what if she sees us?" Chouza asked.

"We are elite shinobi and she isn't even a genin yet."

The Nara clan leader shook his head. "What about the boy?"

"What about him?" Inoichi grumbled.

"You shouldn't underestimate him," the Nara cautioned. "Even before he decided to take being a ninja seriously, he had a knack with stealth and traps. There's more than one ANBU that can attest to that."

"You think he can spot us?" Inoichi scoffed.

"Yes," a voice from behind them said.

As one, the ninja trio whirled around, ready for anything except what was in front of them. "Hiashi!?"

"What are you doing here?" Inoichi hissed at the pale eyed man.

Hiashi said nothing but point a finger in the distance. The trio looked at what they were pointed. For a minute, nothing happened, and then a small fox jumped from a bush and looked around.

"That is one of Naruto's summons," Hiashi said. "This is the closest we can go without being spotted by them."

"He has fox summons?" Chouza asked in a shaken voice.

"Yes," the Hyuuga replied.

The Yamanaka clan head started to jump towards his daughter, but Shikaku stopped him. "Inoichi, don't do anything stupid. It's just a summon, it's not like the Kyuubi escaped." The Nara clan head glanced at Hiashi. "Right, Hiashi? There's nothing to worry about."

"Indeed," Hiashi nodded. "The Hokage knows about this, so there is no need to worry about it."

"Right," Shikaku nodded. "See Inoichi? The Hokage knows about this. There's nothing to worry about. That's not the Kyuubi, just a summon. Right?" he asked Hiashi.

"Indeed," Hiashi replied with a small smirk. The Hyuuga clan head made a hand seal to activate the Byakugan. The pale eyed man fell silent for a few seconds. "That is not Kyuubi. Kyuubi is two kilometers in that direction."

"Hiashi," Shikaku said in exasperation. "You should know better than that. The boy is just the container. He is not the Kyuubi."

"I am well aware of that," Hiashi stated.

The three men froze at Hiashi's words.

"Hiashi..." Shikaku's voice trembled. "Are you telling us that the Kyuubi escaped from the seal?"

"No. I believe that the Kyuubi and Uzumaki came to an agreement. The Kyuubi has been able to manifest outside the seal for a while." Hiashi narrowed his eyes at Inoichi, who looked as if he was about to do something stupid. "Do not do anything hasty. Your daughter is quite safe."

"Safe?" the Yamanaka snarled. "My daughter is about to come into close proximity with the strongest of the Biju! I am not going to let my little girl anywhere near that monster."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yamanaka Inoichi! I am not exaggerating when I say that there is no safer place for your daughter than in the company of Uzumaki Naruto and his prisoner. My Hinata is also in their company, and I am more than certain that she is safe with them. The Kyuubi is very protective towards our daughters. They are in no danger from the Kyuubi." The blond man looked as he was about to disregard the pale-eyed man's words and go towards his daughter. "Inoichi," Hiashi continued, "the Hokage is well aware of all this. You would do a grave mistake if you did something without his approval."

"I think we should all go see the Hokage," the Nara said.

"Inoichi, let's not be hasty," Chouza said. "Ino was safe enough until now. Let's go see Hokage-sama. If we go, I am sure he'll put your fears to rest."

"But, Ino..."

"Ino is safe," Shikaku grumbled. "And if you head in there in your present state, you're liable to do something stupid. Now, don't be troublesome and let's go see the Hokage."

Inoichi nodded grudgingly. "Very well."

-x-x-x-

Sarutobi Hiruzen heard a knock on his office door. "Enter," he said and the door opened to let four clan heads in.

The first one was Hiashi and following him was a placid looking Nara, a distraught Yamanaka and a worried Akimichi. The four men lined up before his desk and bowed. "Hokage-sama."

"Hiashi, Inoichi, Shikaku, Chouza," the Hokage nodded at the visitors. "What can I do for you?"

"You can start with, why is the Kyuubi able and allowed to manifest?" Inoichi paused for a moment and then added, "Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi lit his pipe and took a deep breath. He turned his head and stared at the Hokage monument for a long time. "And how did you get this idea, if I may ask?" Sarutobi finally said.

"That would be my fault, Hokage-sama," Hiashi stated.

"I see. And why would you think that the Kyuubi is able to manifest, Hiashi?"

"I am the Hyuuga clan head," Hiashi replied. "My eyes see everything."

Sarutobi stared at the pale eyed man.

"Like your meeting with Uzumaki Naruto," Hiashi added. "I was curious of my daughters new friend and I followed her on one of her visits to Naruto's home.

"That was a week ago," Sarutobi pointed out. "Why is it that you come here today?"

"Since it was obvious that you were aware and approved of the situation, I thought it was best not to interfere. My daughter has shown a great improvement in her ninja skills and confidence since she began to associate with young Naruto, so I believed that this was a beneficial situation for both Hinata and Naruto. However, Inoichi is worried of the situation. He was about to enter the area where he would no longer be able to mask his presence from Naruto's scouts."

"So you told him about the Kyuubi."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hiashi said.

"Very well," Sarutobi nodded at Hiashi before looking at Inoichi. "Inoichi?"

"Is the Kyuubi free?"

The Third Hokage sighed and took a deep breath of smoke. "The answer to that question is, yes and no. The Kyuubi is able to manifest on a limited scale. Naruto has the ability to allow her consciousness to manifest in a shadow clone."

"Hokage-sama, is the seal broken?" the Nara asked.

"No," Sarutobi shook his head. "The seal remains unchanged. There is no reason to worry about it. Her ability to manifest is contingent on Naruto's approval."

"Hokage-sama, is this wise?" Shikaku asked. "Kyuubi is a daemon. He is not to be trusted. Even if he behaved himself until now, there is no reason to believe that he will continue to do so."

"Actually," Hiashi said, "Kyuubi is female."

The members of the Ino-Shika-Cho widened their eyes in surprise.

"Really?" Chouza asked.

"Indeed." Hiashi replied.

"Troublesome," Shikaku grumbled.

"It doesn't matter if the Kyuubi is female or male," Inoichi said. "She is still a Biju."

"Shikaku, what would you suggest?" the old Hokage asked.

"The boy should be told to not allow the Kyuubi to manifest. We should also see if we can apply a new seal to suppress Kyuubi's ability to come into physical or mental contact with Naruto and her ability to manifest, even if Naruto allows it. After all, the Kyuubi is guilty of the death of many of our shinobi and civilian population. Even if you chose to allow the boy to have a normal childhood, unlike the weapon others wanted him to become, the fact is that the boy has the potential to be as strong as any Kage. We can not allow such a potentially powerful shinobi to be influenced by the Kyuubi. If we do, then we risk having Naruto influenced by the daemon."

"I've had a few conversations with the Kyuubi," Sarutobi said. "I do not believe that to be the case. From what I gathered, Kyuubi has no other desire than to protect Naruto and his friends."

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi said, "she's a daemon. She must be lying."

The Nara clan head nodded. "I have to say that I agree. I see no logical reason to allow any form of contact between Uzumaki Naruto and the Kyuubi. Considering the villagers opinion towards Naruto, I'd say that there is a big chance that the Kyuubi will be able to manipulate the boy into losing his loyalty towards Konoha."

Sarutobi grimaced and shook his head. If he were to seal Kyuubi's ability to contact Naruto and her ability to manifest, the blond boy would never forgive him. It might even drive him past the braking point. It was Kyuubi that turned his life for the better. Sarutobi had no doubt that Naruto remained loyal to him and the Village. But now that he had people he loved and loved him back, Naruto would never allow anyone to harm them. If the Hokage were to do as Shikaku proposed, Naruto would see it as a betrayal, as harming his friend. Sarutobi shook his head. He didn't have the heart to separate Naruto from one of his few friends. It was fortunate that doing what was best for Naruto coincided with doing what is best for Konoha. "I do not think that Kyuubi has any desire to destroy Konoha," the Hokage said.

"How can you say that, Hokage-sama?" Inoichi asked. "If not for the Fourth, the Kyuubi would have destroyed us."

"Yes," Sarutobi sighed. "I've discussed this with Kyuubi. According to her, she may not be completely at fault for her attack."

Shikaku narrowed his head in suspicion. "Are you saying she was controlled? Was she under a Genjutsu?"

"She did not say," Sarutobi replied. "According to her, she was attacked while she was asleep ... by Konoha nin."

"That can't be!" Chouza exclaimed.

"Perhaps. It could be that this was an operation conducted by Konoha nin. I think it unlikely that Minato would have ordered such a thing, but there are others that might have ordered such an operation. It is also probable that an enemy of Konoha framed us."

"Does she have any clue about who would have done it?" Shikaku asked before adding, "Presuming that she was telling the truth."

"She says that she doesn't know. It may be that she has some suspicions, but she did not share them with me."

"Can we trust her words?" Hiashi asked.

"I put this very question to Enma - the monkey boss summon. According to him, daemons tend to tell the truth."

"Sometimes a truth can be more deceiving than a thousand lies," Shikaku said.

"Indeed, I am well aware of that," Sarutobi grunted. "Even so, I do not believe that Kyuubi cares about us. She sees humans as irritations. However, she cares about Naruto, Hinata and Ino. I believe she is fond of them. It's one of the reasons I allowed her to interact with Naruto."

The Nara clan head nodded slowly. "Because if she begins to care about Naruto and his friends, then she is unlikely to harm them, and by extension, Konoha. But, can we truly trust that she cares about them? Is it not possible that she is just deceiving us? Or more likely, that she begins to care about them the way a Aburame cares about their insects? If it means that she will be free of the seal, wouldn't she sacrifice them the way an Aburame sacrifices part of the hive in battle?"

"I believe that the seal used to imprison the Kyuubi would make that unlikely," the Hokage said. "Do you know that there was another Biju that was sealed using a similar seal? It was when Sand first sealed the One Tail. Shukaku was driven insane as the result of the sealing. The monk who performed the seal wanted to be immortal, so he sealed his soul as well. He became one with the One Tail. The Daemon was not what we can call stable and when he absorbed the monk's soul - a soul that was far more insane than the Biju, it resulted into the bloodthirsty Shukaku who revels in blood and death."

"And Kyuubi's sealing was similar?" Shikaku asked.

"Minato wanted to destroy the Kyuubi once and for all. His plan was that when Naruto died, the link created between Kyuubi and Naruto would kill not only Naruto, but Kyuubi as well. According to the Kyuubi, that is not what will happen. Similar to the way the mad monk became a part of Shukaku, Naruto too will become part of Kyuubi. She'll still die and it might take longer for her to manifest, but it is impossible for a mortal to kill her."

"I bet she wasn't too pleased about that," Chouza muttered.

"At first she was not," Sarutobi nodded gravely. "But now, I believe that she is pleased with the situation. While for us, merging with a second soul would be ... unpleasant, for Kyuubi's alien mind, it is quite different. I believe she enjoys the company. One day, Naruto will die and they'll become one. Enma thinks that this will not change Kyuubi that much. Unlike the One Tail, Kyuubi is far more stable and intelligent. The most likely result is that Naruto's personality will have a small influence on Kyuubi's mind. It is also possible that Naruto's whole personality will survive and he'll be able to influence her to some extent. From my talks with Kyuubi, she concurs with this. For that reason, I believe that Kyuubi is unlikely to cause harm to Naruto. She cares far too little of Konoha to jeopardize her future just to get rid of a few humans. She will not risk her relation with Naruto just to kill us."

"I think I understand," the Nara clan head said. "She wants a companion and an ally in Naruto."

"Indeed," Sarutobi nodded. "For that reason, I do not doubt that she will protect him and his friends."

"And the village by extension," Hiashi added.

"I wouldn't be too sure on that," Shikaku said. "I don't think he's that well liked in the village."

"Actually," Sarutobi replied, "Naruto begun to get along with his classmates this year. He is very good friends with Hinata and Ino and on somewhat friendly terms with Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. I believe that these bonds of friendship will help both Naruto and his friends."

"Inoichi," Hiashi said. "I believe that this means that we are not to interfere in Naruto's friendship with our daughters."

Inoichi clenched his teeth in anger and glared at the Hyuuga.

"Remember that you are not Hyuuga," Hiashi stated.

"And what do you mean by that?" Inoichi snarled.

"I merely remind you that while I - as the Hyuuga clan head, will always be able to forbid Hinata to interact with young Uzumaki, you will loose that right when your daughter comes of age or she becomes a genin. Only we, the Hyuuga clan have such rights toward our clan members. The Yamanaka have no such privilege. I think it would be wise to let the children... enjoy their friendship."

"Their friendship with Kyuubi," Inoichi said flatly. "Do you know how many of my clan Kyuubi killed? I have no problem with the boy. I know he is not the Kyuubi. But I can not trust my daughter's safety to that thing."

"And are you going to forbid her from seeing her new friends?" Hiashi asked. "Perhaps you preferred it when she was infatuated with the Uchiha child. I am curious what reason you will give her for forbidding her to see the boy."

"She will understand."

"I doubt it. After all, she is her mother's daughter," Hiashi said with a small smirk and Inoichi winced.

Sarutobi leaned into his seat, wondering why Hiashi was trying to help Naruto. The most likely answer was that he had something to gain from this. Hiashi knew how much Sarutobi cared for the blond boy. By informing Inoichi that Kyuubi was able to manifest and then supporting the boy, Hiashi had to have gained something. Somehow, Sarutobi doubted that Hiashi did it out of the goodness of his heart. Still, if Hiashi managed to convince Inoichi to let his daughter be friends with Naruto, Sarutobi would owe the Hyuuga a large debt. Even if he wouldn't be able, he did try. But there had to be more to it than this. Most likely, Hiashi was trying to pave the road to a future alliance with Naruto. If Naruto discovers that Hiashi gave Naruto some help from behind the scenes, the blond would feel indebted to Hiashi. But perhaps there was more to it than even this. While most Hyuuga took pride in their eyes, few of them were able to see beyond their pride. Perhaps Hiashi was able to see what the villagers refused to see That Naruto and Minato were... That would make Hiashi think favorably towards the Fourth's legacy.

"I doubt that you will be able to convince young Ino that she should distance herself from her new friend," Hiashi continued.

"One day, she'll understand why I did it," Inoichi said.

"She would not need to wait," Sarutobi stated. "Inoichi, your daughter knows that Kyuubi is sealed in Naruto. She has also met Kyuubi." Inoichi opened his mouth to add something, but the Hokage cut him off, "She also knows that Kyuubi is Kyuubi. No doubt, you thought that Naruto kept it secret from her. You are wrong. Naruto told Ino about Kyuubi and your daughter accepted his explanation. If you wish to tell your daughter that you are the same as the villagers who hate Naruto, then by all means, do it. I can not stop you."

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi sighed, "I do not hate the boy. But Kyuubi..."

"I understand. Do as you wish, Inoichi," Sarutobi said. "I can not force you to do anything. Ino is not yet a genin. However, I believe that it would be wiser to not interfere. You are quite right to say that Kyuubi is dangerous. She decided to attack Konoha because someone disturbed her sleep. Think of the advantage of having her as a protector for your daughter and the village. Before you leave you should know that Kyuubi's ability to manifest is an S-rank secret. If I hear that this information was spread about the village, I will be very ... displeased."

-x-x-x-

Author's Note: One thing about Naruto teaching the Shadow Clone to Hinata or Ino. Not going to happen for some time. Naruto is a chakra monster and he has a particular affinity towards this technique. You have to have medium Chuunin chakra reserves and control to make just ONE clone. At this point in time, Ino might die of chakra exhaustion if she tried to make a clone. Hinata might be able to do it... but she still has too little chakra to make proper use of it. (What use is a clone, if you exhaust yourself creating it?) Only a Jounin can afford to expend the chakra for a clone

Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Published: December 15, 2009.

-voider-

-x-x-x-