Author's note: Well, there's a reason that this chapter has taken longer than the others. I finished up the first arc of the fic, so it's taking some time for me to get some new stuff. Don't worry, though. I've got a reservoir of ideas in store.

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Chapter 10: The Long-Hidden Truth

The party was wonderful. Teams Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma had all shown up to celebrate the graduation of the last two original rookies to chuunin. Naruto and Sasuke undoubtedly had the most fun, though Hinata and Sakura were very close. The two men spent the entire night laughing, smiling, and having fun with everyone.

Sakura had sighed happily as the two enjoyed themselves. "Good friends having a good time. This is how it should've been three years ago," she'd said to Kakashi, who'd been sitting next to her, book in hand.

"No," Kakashi had replied to the pink-haired girl, watching the two as well. "This is how it should have been the whole time."

/\/\/\/\/\/\

One year later, team Kakashi was comprised entirely of jounin. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had each aced their exams on the first try eight months earlier.

"I think that mission was too easy," said Naruto as the team arrived home one evening. "Granny Tsunade's underestimating us."

"She probably just wants to give the other teams a shot at the tough missions," replied Sasuke, holding hands with Sakura. "I mean, we can't always do the crucial, high-danger missions."

"Oh, but those are the most fun!" complained Naruto.

"Sasuke's right, Naruto," inserted Kakashi, not looking up from his book. "If we do all the 'fun' missions, how will the other teams keep sharp? Training's never like the real thing, you know this."

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto still felt disappointed at his lack of interesting missions. Suddenly, his stomach began growling. "Hey, you guys want to get anything to eat?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you going to go to dinner with Hinata tonight? You couldn't stop talking about it during the mission."

"Oh!" Naruto's eyes widened in remembrance. "You're right! I completely forgot! What time is it?"

"Around seven thirty."

"Ahh! I promised to meet her at seven forty-five!"

"You idiot!" Sakura yelled at her teammate, "Get going or you'll be late!"

"Right! Thanks for reminding me, bye!" Naruto called, hopping away frantically.

"The more things change," said Sasuke.

"The more they really just stay the same," finished Kakashi.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I hope I'm not too early," thought Hinata at seven forty. She was waiting for her blonde boyfriend at the restaurant they'd agreed upon. "Maybe Tenten-chan was right… I should have been fashionably late. But I didn't want to keep Naruto-kun waiting…"

"Hinata-chan!" called Naruto, landing next to her, panting heavily. "Wh-what… time is it?" he asked, catching his breath.

"Seven forty-one, Naruto-kun… why?"

"Alright!" he cheered, throwing a fist in the air. "Right on time!"

Hinata was confused, but smiled anyway. "Shall we get going, Naruto-kun?" He nodded and they headed into the building.

"Naruto-kun… do you know what day it is?" asked Hinata after they'd sat down at a table.

Naruto scratched his chin in wonder. "Uh… it's… Tuesday, right?"

"Yes, it is, but," Hinata tried to voice her thoughts, "Don't you remember… what happened, today?"

"Ah!" Naruto cried out in realization. "I became a chuunin last year!"

Hinata was becoming disappointed. "You mean… you don't remember what else happened that day?"

"Eh? Did something else happen?"

"Oh… no, never mind," Hinata said, a frown on her lips. Turning her head away, she said, "It's just something- mpht!"

What had interrupted Hinata was the sudden motion of Naruto's hands cupping her cheeks and a subsequent kiss. "Just kidding, Hinata-chan," said Naruto, smiling lovingly. "I know what day it is. On this day last year, I told you that I loved you and we had our first kiss."

"Oh, Naruto-kun," she sighed, gazing dreamily at her love. Her heart swelled with the knowledge that he'd remembered.

"And for our anniversary, I got you," he reached into his coat pocket, "This," he finished, pulling out what appeared to be a locket of a golden fox holding a leaf.

Hinata gasped, reaching slowly to take the jewelry, her hands shivering. "N-Naruto-kun," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "It's… beautiful!"

"Go on, open the leaf," he said, pointing to the little latch on the side of the locket.

Doing as he instructed, she flipped open the small piece of metal to reveal a photograph inside. "Naruto-kun…" she murmured, a joyful blush on her face. The picture within the locket was of the two of them exactly one year ago. Tenten had taken it at the celebration they'd had that evening. They were holding each other, arm in arm, beaming at the camera. The photo was taken mere seconds before they'd embraced in another kiss. It was also the last time Hinata had consistently worn her jacket. Below the photo was engraved the word "Love".

"Do you like it?"

"Naruto-kun," she said again, "I couldn't have asked for anything more! But," she paused, feeling suddenly guilty. "I didn't get you anything… I'm sorry…"

Naruto remained grinning. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. I've already got the only thing I could ever have wanted."

Hinata was confused. "What's that?"

Looking deep into her eyes, white and round like the full moon, he whispered, "You."

The red in her cheeks deepened, her heart nearly bursting in happiness. Yet again, they shared a kiss, though this time it was Hinata that initiated it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

A week later, Naruto woke up in a dream-like state. "Ahh," he thought, breathing in the morning air. "Surely life can't get better than this." The week had been slow, mission-wise, so Naruto had been able to spend a lot of time with Hinata and the rest of his friends.

"Have a good rest?" said a voice at the window.

"Gah!" Naruto yelled, falling out bed. As he got up, he saw that it was Kakashi who had surprised him, a smug grin on his face. "Sensei! Don't do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Right, right, sorry," said Kakashi, though clearly not at all sorry. "Anyway, I was hanging around the Hokage building and Tsunade-sama had me go fetch you. There's something important you need to be told and I have to be there too."

"Eh?" asked Naruto, calming down in an instant. "What does she need to say?"

"Well, you'll find out when we get there, won't you?" said Kakashi slyly. "Now get dressed and let's go."

…………….

As student and teacher arrived in Tsunade's office, the former saw that his other teammates were there too. "Eh? Sakura-chan? Sasuke? What're you guys doing here?"

"I don't know," said Sakura, "Tsunade-sama only said that she had to say something to you and that the two of us should be here with you."

"Maybe it's something concerning Akatsuki," said Sasuke, "We haven't had an attack in a while."

"Hmm," said Naruto, "That could be it. I wonder which pair they're sending after us now?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but that's not it, Naruto," said Tsunade, entering her office. "Good morning, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi." The three answered with a bow. "It's nothing so dangerous or life-threatening, though I know you'd like that. It's just that today is a pretty important day in your life specifically, Naruto. You probably already know this, though."

"Huh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I don't know why this day's important."

Tsunade's mouth opened in disbelief. "Don't tell me you don't remember! It's October tenth, you idiot! Your birthday!"

Eyes wide, Naruto exclaimed "Oh! Right! I completely forgot!"

"Please tell us you're kidding," said Sasuke, his hand on his forehead.

"Shut up!" Naruto cried indignantly, "It's just that October tenth is the day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, so everyone's usually sad about it! It's never really been a happy day for me, so I don't take time to remember it!"

Tsunade frowned sympathetically and sighed. "Well, either way, I'm sure you don't think I dragged you here for a birthday party. The truth is that I've got a very special letter to give to you," she said, holding out said letter to Naruto.

"Who's it from?" asked the blonde, taking the letter and opening it.

"It's not 'who' that you should be asking," replied Tsunade, "But 'when'. This letter was written to you seventeen years ago."

"Whaaat?" yelled Naruto. "seventeen years ago? Why did it take so long for me to get?"

"Just read it and find out," commanded Tsunade.

Sakura and Sasuke gathered around Naruto to read the letter with him. With haste, the excited teen quickly began reading the letter:

"My dear, wonderful Naruto,

If you are reading this, that means two things: One, you are now seventeen years old and the current Hokage has given this to you, and two, I am already long dead.

I have had this letter held, waiting for you for such a long time because I feel now you will finally be ready to accept it as a man.

I'm sure you've spent countless nights wondering why you exist in this world. You've been forced to live without the love of any parents, and most probably the hatred of everyone. Though I've asked the people of the village to consider you as their hero and savior, I severely doubt they will be able to see past the secret that they all must hold. But by now, one of them must have slipped up and told you the truth: You are the container for the nine-tailed demon fox.

There are many reasons I did this. First of all, I needed to do my duty and save the village. If I had not, surely this town would be lying in the wake of the fox's destruction. Secondly, I could not ask any of the villagers to give up their own child. So I needed to use my own: a beautiful, happy boy of only a day in age. Because of the complexity and severity of the skill I needed to perform, I had to sacrifice not only my life, but also the life of my loving wife… your mother.

Your mother was the most fantastic person I've ever known. She would laugh and smile and make people's lives better. After you were born, she nurtured you, giving you all the love she could muster. When she found out what I had to do, she agreed to be the second life necessary. Because she was the second life, she died a few days after I had. I wish I only had to have used my own, but the chakra and life force of the Kyuubi was so immense, the death god would not be satisfied with just one life. She cried for hours when she knew she would have to leave you.

Having made a contract with the death god, I feel as though I can see into the future, Naruto… your life will be painful for a long, long time, something I wish I could prevent. But afterwards, you shall lead a glorious life, gaining masses of friends, many of them who will have been your enemy beforehand. You have inherited your mother's ability, it would seem, to make the lives of the people around you better. My greatest student and my own master will teach you, allowing you to grow very strong. I hope stronger than I, though I cannot say, for my vision into the future is limited.

I leave to you everything that was in my possession, including the mansion where I lived. I also leave to you my ultimate technique. Though it is incomplete, I am sure you will finish it and create an unstoppable move. One more thing I give you is this bit of information: You have an incredible kekkei genkai (bloodline limit), one that I tried very hard to unlock. Unfortunately, it was among the many things I did not have time on earth to complete, one of which was raising you.

Finally, I leave you with one last gift, something that I can be proud to say you received directly from me: Courage. Your spirit is indomitable, and your bravery and willingness to protect those you care about will boost you forward, letting you reach the heights you've surely dreamed of. And now, I say the one thing I never had the chance to say to you in my life.

I love you, Naruto. Goodbye, my son.

-Uzumaki Arashi, the Fourth Hokage."

Naruto finished reading the last line, his hands ghostly white as they clutched the paper. He reread it, again and again, as though if he didn't, it would disappear.

"Oh my God," was all Sakura was able to say.

"Naruto…" said Sasuke. His eyes had widened as he finished the letter.

Kakashi placed a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder. "It's okay," he said. "You don't need to hide it.

Naruto fell to his knees, staring at the ground. "No… I'm… I'm fine… This? This is… this is nothing," he mumbled through a series of stifled sobs. "I… nothing changes… it's just… something."

"Shh," said Tsunade, leaning down and holding Naruto, in a hug, "We all know how strong you are. Crying at a time like this isn't a sign of weakness."

After a moment, Naruto let out a huge sob and hugged the Fifth back, tears streaming down his face. Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi stared down at their teammate, feeling sympathy for him.

"Why…?" asked Naruto after most of his sobs died down, "Why didn't anyone say anything…? Didn't they know? They should have known his last name! They should have known my last name!"

"The legendary Arashi had great potential and the training to go with it," said Jiraiya, stepping in through the window. "While you only had the former. Because you were an orphan, you only had what little training was offered at the academy. People quickly forgot that he was an Uzumaki and just called him 'Arashi no densetsu (the Legendary Arashi)'. Something the Fourth forgot to mention was that when the Kyuubi attacked, the entire Uzumaki clan was wiped out, save you.

"B-but, I don't unders-stand," said Naruto, sniffling a bit, "Why did I have to live in that terrible, tiny, rundown apartment all this time? Why couldn't I have lived in his mansion, eh? Why did I have to go through this whole ordeal my entire life, eh? Tell me!" he cried, lifting himself off of the floor. "Why did I have to suffer?"

Jiraiya frowned in guilt. "… The truth is that you were made to suffer for your strength. Akatsuki was already in the process of forming, and Arashi knew that the only way you would be able to become strong without training is that you'd need to suffer."

"Wh-what?" asked Naruto, a new wave of tears beginning to flow. "My own father did this to me? His own son? And I thought he l-l," he strained to get that word out, "Loved me!"

"Don't think that he didn't love you," said Jiraiya, "He loved you more than he loved his own life, which is exactly why he sacrificed himself. When the plan was created, he and your mother cried until they couldn't anymore. That was the only time I'd ever seen him shed tears."

"What do you mean, 'created'? Who formed that p-plan?" Naruto demanded, his tone becoming harsh.

Jiraiya's grimace became darker. "I have carried this guilt for seventeen years. I left Konoha to try and forget about it, but all of the beautiful women and delicious sake in the world couldn't make me forget. It was I, Naruto, who made that terrible plan."

Suddenly, a crack was heard, much like the sound of lightning. Before anyone could catch it, Naruto was in front of Jiraiya, his fist inches away from the Sannin's face. Jiraiya had not flinched, but instead was ready to take any punishment Naruto would give him. The boy's whisker marks were thick, his nails sharpened to claws, his fangs enlarged and his eyes blood red. However, from those fox-like eyes, tears continued to spring forth. Then, Naruto uttered very softly the only thing he could. "…why?"

"For the same reason that your Father made your seal special, so that the Fox's chakra could blend with your own. I did it for your protection."

"My… protection?" Naruto's voice became shaky. "How in hell did you think that I was being protected? Every time the villagers burst down my door and ruined my home, every time I was beaten for no reason at the academy, every time I went hungry for days on end, I suppose that was for my protection!"

"It's true that you suffered needlessly, more than even the plan entailed," said Jiraiya. "But it is said that when a broken bone heals, it becomes much stronger than before. Look at how strong you've become, Naruto! You've defeated countless foes, against all odds, including one of the Sannin! Had you not suffered like this, you would just have been a regular Konoha ninja and Akatsuki would have taken you in an instant!"

Naruto lowered his fist slowly away from Jiraiya. His whisker marks thinned, his claws shortened, his fangs receded, and his eyes reverted to their azure state. Naruto realized that he was right. He was strong, not just because of his own talents, but because of the suffering he'd been through and how hard he'd fought to survive and subsist in his environment, "I see," he said, turning away from his former teacher. "I'm sorry I burst out at you like that, Ero-sennin." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they saw that Naruto was back to normal.

Jiraiya smiled. "Don't worry about it. Now come on, don't you want to show your friends your new home?"

"Oh!" Naruto's head immediately perked up, the smile having returned to his face. "Come on, guys, let's go check it out!" With that, he ran out the door.

"He's going to have quite the surprise when he realizes that he doesn't know where it is," said Tsunade, eliciting a chuckle from all.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Woah…" said Naruto, eyes wide and staring up at the structure before him. It seemed "mansion" was quite the understatement. This building, if it could still be called that, was absolutely tremendous. It was by far bigger than the Hokage building, and rested just a few yards away from its former owner's likeness on the mountain.

"Well?" asked Sasuke. "Are you going to just stand there gawking or are you going to let us in?"

"Excuse me, Mr. 'I-Have-A-House-That-Puts-Most-Towns-To-Shame,'" replied Naruto. "Some of us aren't used to living in places like this… I can barely believe the Yondaime lived here for his whole life!"

"Actually, he didn't," inserted Jiraiya. "At least, he didn't when I first met him. He wasn't the heir to the Uzumaki clan at the time, so he didn't get any benefits from them. In fact, he lived in an apartment quite like your old one for quite a while until he had earned enough money to have this place built."

"Speaking of my old home, I should probably get my stuff from there."

Tsunade smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm having Izumo and Kotetsu bringing your things here, though it'll hardly be enough to fill this place up. Besides, there's already much nicer furniture in there."

"You guys are filling me with anticipation!" cried Sakura, "I'm tired of standing around! Let's go in!" With that, she marched across the threshold of the mansion. Or at least, she tried to, but she was rather forcefully blown away from the building.

"Sakura!" yelled Sasuke, swiftly catching her. "What happened?"

"I… don't know," Sakura muttered, recovering from the dizziness she was struck with. "I tried to walk in and it… just pushed me back!"

"Just a bit of protection, Sakura," said Kakashi, gesturing towards the tag on the door. "Because Yondaime didn't want any greedy thieves looting his empty house, he had very powerful protection seals placed on the door. Therefore, entrance to the house was restricted until one of the Uzumaki blood stepped in. Seeing as there's only one person in the world like that left…" He looked towards the boy he'd made reference to. "Naruto, would you mind leading the way in?"

Grinning at his father's cleverness, Naruto replied, "Sure thing, sensei! Come on, everyone!" As he walked through the doorway, the seal faded away, and the lights flickered on automatically. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke gasped.

The house looked even more incredible inside. There was a marble staircase in the center of the foyer that lead to what looked like an uncountable number of rooms. A large chandelier hanged above their heads, illuminating everything around them. Several portraits mounted the walls, depicting what Naruto only guessed were the deceased members of his family, as one of the portraits was of his father.

But what caught everyone's eye the most was the large banner hanging from the ceiling which read, "Happy birthday, Naruto. Welcome home."

"Wait," said Sasuke. "Are you honestly telling me that they planned this event seventeen years ago?"

"What can I say?" said Jiraiya, "The Fourth was a good planner, something our friend here inherited only in terms of battle."

Naruto ignored this comment. "How… many bedrooms are there?"

"Fifteen," answered Tsunade, "According to the schematic, there are three dining halls, several bathrooms, and a rather large ballroom."

"Yondaime liked to live extravagantly, didn't he?" said Sakura.

"He earned it," replied Jiraiya, "But the thing about that is that despite achieving the title of Hokage, despite being extremely powerful and successful, he was always the same Arashi that I had trained, the down-to-earth, lovable guy that was friends with everyone in the village." "Something that you will surely share, Naruto."

Just then, Naruto came out of his reverie of amazement. "This place… is incredible!"

A grin came across Tsunade's face. "And it's all yours, Naruto. Have fun."

"You bet!" he yelled, racing up the stairs. "Let's check this place out!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

After a thorough inspection of the mansion, everyone had left except Naruto. The young shinobi remained lying on his new bed in the master bedroom. "This is so nice," he thought, feeling the softness of the mattress. "When Izumo and Kotetsu come with my things, I'm going to have them burn my old bed." He smiled at how that sounded. "My old bed. Amazing. I'm never going to have to spend another night in that apartment ever again. And it's all thanks to the Fourth Hokage… No. It's all thanks to my father, the greatest shinobi and human being to ever have existed."

The next day, Naruto met up with Hinata; nearly bursting with the anticipation he was feeling from wanting to show her his new home. He wanted to surprise her, so he took her out on a long, eventful date first: Dinner, a movie, and a nice long walk together.

At the end of it, the two kissed, and as they parted, Hinata asked, "Whose place do you want to go to this time?" They had each been at the other's house many times, and even spent the night a few times, though they'd never gone farther than just kissing. Naruto had preferred the Hyuuga mansion because it wasn't as rundown as his apartment. Hinata preferred his apartment because there were no family members watching them there.

Naruto smiled. "Let's go to my place this time, shall we?" Though she was surprised at his unusual suggestion, she nodded. Once again, Naruto bit into his thumb and, after performing the proper seals, planted his right hand into the ground, yelling, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique!)" Naruto leapt up onto the frog that appeared in the smoke.

"Good evening, Gama-kun," said Hinata, bowing slightly. The frog croaked and lowered its head in return as she climbed aboard his back. No longer frightened of the immense heights the amphibian could leap to, she spent the ride merely holding on tightly to Naruto, loving how much warmth he gave off. But she noticed something was different. The ride was longer than usual, and they seemed to be heading toward the Hokage faces. "Naruto-kun!" she called over the extremely loud winds. "This isn't the way to your apartment! Where are we going?"

"You're right, it isn't!" he called back. "Don't worry though, we'll get to my place soon!" The frog landed once more with a resounding thump, leaving a small indent in the ground. Naruto helped Hinata off of the frog as it disappeared and said, gesturing toward his mansion, "We're home."

Hinata looked in the direction where he was pointing. "Wh-what?" she said, eyes widening at the enormous structure in front of her. "'Home'? This is… wait, I've seen this before!" A memory from years ago floated to the surface. When she was at the academy, she'd seen this building in a history book. "This is… the Yondaime Hokage's mansion!"

"That's right."

"But, I… don't get it. You said, 'We're home'… why did you say that?"

Naruto was enjoying every second of this. "I mean just that. This is my home now, Hinata-chan. I inherited it from Yondaime."

"How?"

He smiled. "Simple. I'm his son."

She remained silent for a moment. "His… son? Really?" She knew he wasn't lying, but needed to make sure she'd heard correctly. "N-Naruto-kun… that's amazing! Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I just found out yesterday," he began, and told her everything he'd found out the previous day.

"Oh, Naruto-kun… I'm so happy for you!" She reached up and planted a quick kiss.

"I'm happy too, Hinata-chan, because I'm finally somebody," he said softly.

Hinata's smile was replaced by a confused expression. "What do you mean, Naruto-kun?"

"I mean, I'm finally someone worthy to be with you, Hinata-chan… I know that your father doesn't approve of our relationship. He thinks I'm just that worthless nine-tailed brat who doesn't have a dime to his name." He grasped Hinata by the shoulders. "But don't you see? If he finds out that I'm the son of the Yondaime, he'll have to allow it! He'll-"

In a reversal of roles from the week before, Naruto was cut off by Hinata's lips making contact with his own. Overcoming the initial, shock, he kissed her back and parted their lips, allowing their tongues to dance with each other. After this fiery embrace, Hinata looked deep into his azure orbs. "Naruto-kun, I wouldn't care if father sent both branches of the family to keep me from you. I'd fight all of them off until I died, just so that we could be together. It doesn't matter to me where you came from or who your father is, or even what my father thinks of you… I love Naruto-kun for Naruto-kun."

They held each other for a while until Naruto whispered, "I'm such a fool."

"Hm?"

"I should've realized that you wouldn't care about what your father says… that's why I fell in love with you, Hinata-chan. You never judge anyone prematurely… and you won't let anyone else cloud your judgment."

"Naruto-kun, you're the same," she said. "But still, Yondaime being your father isn't a bad thing, is it?"

He smiled. "No, not at all," he said, grasping her hand. "Now come on. You've got to see this chandelier. It's huge!" As she giggled at his silliness, he led her inside.

/\/\/\/\/\

Hmm. Pretty uneventful chapter, but I liked it. Oh well, please keep reviewing! I'll try to have the next one out soon!

EDIT: Thanks to Dragon Man 180 for the correction. The truth is I'd lost my copy of Naruto volume 1 and was too busy to check on my own, so I forgot which one it was.