Guys, how are you doing? I hope everyone's doing fine! :)

Another chapter is finished! *applause please*

Ah, excitement.

Well them, enjoy!

They left early the next morning, checking out of the hotel and leaving the bill for Minato to pay. Shouldering their backpacks, they bid goodbye to the inn owner and left Kirigakure within an hour, in which they were stocking up their water and food resources.

Naruto noticed how his father relaxed slightly once they were further away from the village and it lifted the mood from tensed to bright. He knew the last days of their journey would be less stressing than the previous, since they didn't have any further ambush attacks to fear. What hadn't changed was the pace of their traveling; Minato mercilessly sped forwards and didn't give his two protégées any time to catch a proper breath.

However, by now, Naruto was used to the endless walking and branch-jumping, maybe because his own mood was brighter as well because of the fact that he had an answer available – yes, his conscience told him he was developing a plan for something he shouldn't do, but he hardly cared. He only had approximately one week and a half until he was going back, and that time was much too short to waste an opportunity like that. Besides, he was a shinobi and he was smart enough to get a sneak peek inside the diary for a second without getting caught. Minato would never notice, no harm would be done and everyone would be happy.

Easy as pie – theoretically.

His plan involved to 'borrow' the diary once they were in Kumo. Naruto, trying to be a genius again, figured they might even get separate rooms, considering the Raikage had invited them and certainly would make sure his guest from Konohagakure had a nice and comfortable stay for the one night they'd spent in his village. Even if not, Naruto had a plan b – he would volunteer to unpack some of Minato's heavy water bottles in his own backpack, because he was younger and needed more stamina training, and because Minato would never say no to a request like that, the teenager could take his time and rummage through his father's backpack. Naruto would find the diary and take a quick look, be satisfied and then go on as if nothing at all had happened.

With a grin, he decided it was a really smart plan, something Shikamaru might do, too. Yes, he patted his own shoulder – mentally – while kicking his whining conscience to finally shut up about stealing Minato's diary and breaking his trust.

When they were nearing Kumo at noon of the third day after they had left Kiri, Minato decided to hold a quick meeting explaining his strategy. The trio rested by a small lake to get refreshed before the Hokage filled them in his plan.

"Alright,", he began while sitting down on his backpack, "It's best for you to let me do the talking. Especially you, Naruto, since the Raikage might get suspicious should you get suspicious – if you know what I mean."

Naruto didn't, but he nodded nonetheless.

Minato turned his head to his former disciple, "Kakashi, stay on alert non-stop. I know Killer A like the back of my hand, he's not gonna play fair. I'd even bet my coat it he has some sneaky plan up his sleeve to get more information out of me than I am willing to share."

"So, you want me to keep my Sharingan unconcealed?"

"Basically, yes.", he answered, "You know how to handle it, right?"

He gave him a thumbs-up, "You can count on me, sensei."

"Ne, ne!", Naruto moved closer to his father, beaming eagerly, "What about me? What should I do?", he was unpatiently awaiting his instructions, but his enthusiasm was dropping the longer Minato needed for an answer.

He scratched his chin as if he was thinking really hard before he said, "Well, actually... do the same as Kakashi."

He gasped, "I don't get any special task?"

Minato smiled apologetically, "It's just a diplomatic meeting. Maybe Killer A gets creative this time and places a bomb under my chair, but I doubt he'll go that far. All in all, watch out for anything strange and try to inform me discreetly – emphasis on discreetly - about it. Alright?"

"So, I can't show my awesome power?"

Kakashi snorted, "What power..."

Naruto glared, "Shut up."

Minato smiled helplessly, then, "I'm sure you have a wide range of powerful jutsu to use, Naruto, and in another situation I'd encourage you to do so, but today is an exception. Don't be too disappointed, I'm sure there will come a day you can shine with your abilities."

Naruto gawped at him in awe – that had been some nice way with words, and his anger flew away piece by piece. Then, Minato looked at Kakashi, "How was that? Rhetorically good? Diplomatically nice?"

And Naruto's mood dropped again.

Minato received a second thumbs up from his former disciple, "It was good, sensei."

And Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Did you just practice your diplomatic skills with me?"

"Yeah. Can't ever have enough practice, can you?", he smiled to himself, and if he had been Maito Gai, there surely would have been a teeth-sparkle, "Good, we'll reach Kumo in about two hours. I'm counting on you two to not screw this up. Lately I've had some sort of success when it came to calming the Raikage down, I wouldn't want you to crush that."

"Understood.", both echoed. Content with what he heard, Minato got up, shouldered his backpack again and then the trio walked on.

The first impression the Raikage had left on Naruto could be described with one word: Hot-headed.

And another: Crazy. Oh, and here's another: Short-tempered.

And all impression he had of Killer A came back to his mind once the three of them had stepped inside the Raikage Tower of Kumogakure. Greeted nicely and politely by two of Killer A's advisers, the trio was led to his office. However, as soon as they neared the room, they already heard the Raikage's angry voice drumming through the doors – joined by the sound of wood cracking to pieces, "Damn you, Minato, you insolent brat! You're late!", came an angry roar; one of the advisers who had led them to this room rolled his eyes, "Geez, that's the third desk this month.", while the other only shook his head with a sigh.

Minato glanced down at his watch and frowned, "We're only two minutes late...", he muttered to himself and Kakashi shrugged, "I wouldn't worry, sensei, that just means he's fine - I'd be worried should he be waiting patiently behind his desk."

"True."

Another crashing sound made them all cringe for s second, "I'll smash him to pieces, that is! How dare he making me wait?"

The adviser cleared his throat, "I am deeply sorry, Hokage-sama. But I'm sure you're already familiar with, well... Raikage-sama's extraordinary behavior."

Minato waved his hand in a dismissive way, unimpressed by Killer A's little show, "Don't worry about it. We better not let him wait any longer, though, or he'll smash whatever is left of his office."

"Indeed.", the adviser replied and knocked on the door before stepping in, "Raikage-sama, the Hokage has arrived and is ready to see you."

"Finally!", the Raikage barked, "Let him in!"

Minato walked insie the vast office, a polite, yet flat smile on his lips, "Killer A, it's a greeting I've expected from you."

The Raikage stood in front of the mess that once had been his desk; behind him stood Atsui and Samui, both dutifully fulfilling a bodyguarding task as well. Killer A straightened to his full height, which surpassed Minato by at least two head. In fact, the Hokage looked like a tiny boy compared to the Raikage's giant-like body.

"I don't know what you mean, Minato!", he hollered, but then he glanced at the smashed table – torn apart in the middle, most certainly done by the Raikage's fist – and then grimaced at his fellow Kage, cleared his throat while camouflaging his embarrassment, "That was an accident. My fist slipped when I wanted to pick up my coffee cup."

"I'm sure it did.", Minato replied nonchalantly, then he pointed decently at Kakashi, "You already know Hatake Kakashi, my former disciple."

"Pfh.", was all the Raikage had so say, "He still looks like a spineless wimp."

"It's nice to see you again, too.", Kakashi replied cockily, already having pulled his hitai-ate upwards and staring bluntly at the Raikage with his crimson Sharingan, "Always a pleasure."

Atsui crossed his arms around his chest, "Pfh. Cocky bastard."

Minato cleared his throat, "The young shinobi next to him is a distant relative of my mine, Namikaze Naruto."

Naruto barely could keep himself from gawping at Minato – what the hell? – and then he remembered his real last name and understood what he had done. Typically Minato, always a step ahead, and he suddenly started liking the ring of it, "Namikaze Naruto,", he whispered quietly to himself with a grin on his lips, but quickly remembered where he was and straightened up. The Raikage was suspicious nonetheless, raised his chin a bit and scanned him thoroughly, "Distant relative?", he asked, "Can't be that distant, you practically look identical. Besides, how come I've never seen him before?"

Minato nodded with a smile, "Naruto is the son of my cousin twice removed, who is married to a craftsman who lives in my hometown, but after their marriage, they moved further towards the border to Iwa and I hardly see them. He is only visiting for a few weeks and I decided to make use of his extraordinaire abilities."

Killer A knew his fellow Kage was lying, he just needed to find a backdoor to discover it, "How come he is a shinobi, then? Hardly anyone of your clan became one, am I right?"

Tension crawled up Naruto's body, and all he could do was hope for his father to handle the situation, for he felt it was smarter to keep his mouth shut and not do anything stupid. But luckily, his father wouldn't be caught with a lie that easily. He put on his best smile, "My aunt had already wanted my cousin to marry a shinobi instead of a craftsman, seeing that I had become Hokage, so she let Naruto here enroll the Academy. He lived with his family again ever since he's graduated."

"Then he's still a genin?"

Minato's smile didn't falter, "Actually, yes, I didn't have the chance to promote him yet. But his abilities surpass the level of a Chuunin."

Nice one, Naruto grinned widely, seeing it was actually the truth Minato was talking. He could always count on his father, and pride shone on his face when he saw the Raikage rendered defenseless.

"I see.", the bulky man replied after a while and then turned to introduce his two followers. He pointed at Samui first, "This is Samui,", and then at Atsui, "And this is Atsui, two of my closest followers and my brother's disciples. I'm sure you are familiar with them."

Minato nodded in acknowledgment, before he decided to take a seat. Kakashi dutifully stepped closer once he was seated in front of the Raikage, and Naruto decided to copy him. It didn't even take a minute until someone knocked. A man Naruto didn't know entered. He wasn't a shinobi, he could tell, and then he watched how he moved towards them, "Raikage-sama, I'm bringing a new desk."

"Perfect."

The man took a scroll and opened it before summoning a new desk and trapping the broken one in the scroll again. With that done, he bowed to his Raikage and then left the room wordlessly. The Raikage let a moment pass until he was sure the man had walked way from the office before he cleared his throat, "Minato, the reason why I called you is because of your wife giving birth in less then two weeks. How is she, by the way?"

"She's fine, thanks for asking, she sends her regards. And, yes, I do know my wife will give birth, I didn't fail to notice."

The Raikage either didn't get the small joke, or he went on as if Minato hadn't said anything, "I'm sure you know why I called for an audience concerning this matter, right?"

Minato nodded briefly, "I guess no-one's more aware of the complicated circumstances than I am, A.", he replied and put his hands, neatly folded, on the table before he went on, "But I can assure you, I am taking no risk. It is my village and my wife's and son's life that's at stake, after all."

The Raikage's eyes briefly flickered over to Naruto, who unwillingly cringed under the stare. Until now, everyone who had looked at him had known who he was – okay, except his own mother (he probably should get over it already) – and he was almost a hundred percent certain the Raikage would notice as well. He probably wasn't the smartest, but he wasn't that dumb either. After considering Naruto's face for a few seconds, he turned back to the Hokage, "This is the Kyuubi we're talking about. And I doubt Konoha is able to handle it alone."

Minato chuckled quietly and leaned forward a bit, "I'm pretty sure we can handle it. Not to mention, the Kyuubi won't break free."

"You seem so self-confident."

"I am self-confident.", Minato replied, "And I do wonder why I shouldn't be. My wife's a member of the Uzumaki clan and no other clan has ever developed such powerful fuuin jutsu – the Kyuubi's is firmly locked away inside her, sealed by her powerful chakra – and I guess I don't have to remind you of that, right? After all, you tried to get those chakras."

The Raikage scowled, avoiding to meet Minato's eyes, as if he was embarrassed even though it had been his father who had ordered to kidnap Kushina, "That incident is a matter of the past."

"I know,", he said nonchalantly, "Besides, I myself will be keeping the seal from breaking. Sarutobi-sama has found a hidden place far away from the village which I will protect with barriers. Rest assured, A, nothing will happen. My son will be born to this world, that is all."

The Raikage laughed, "Minato, you foolish boy...", he wiped over his face, "You always manage to entertain me. I'd really like to believe you, I do. But every seal can break, and this seal will break, as it did with Mito's."

"Mito's seal didn't break."

"It almost did."

"Almost is not completely.", Minato argued back, "Why are you so concerned anyway? I don't see you being Hokage, nor married to the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki."

Killer A drew in a deep breath through his nose, "Fine. But we have to consider the seal will break, and that will lead to the Kyuubi breaking free. How will you handle that?"

Minato's expression sobered up and Naruto unconsciously held his breath, remembering when he asked him what he'd do in that case, "Not that it is any of your business...", he said calmly, "But I plan to re-seal it."

Then, the Raikage burst out in a deep, boisterous laughter, "Re-seal the Kyuubi! You are no Uzumaki, Minato, how are you supposed to do that? It will cost you your life, and even then, it's no guarantee it will work!"

Naruto, feeling goosebumps spreading all over his skin, dared to look at Minato's face, but it was covered by his hair and hitai-ate, not to forget the collar of his coat hiding the lower part as well. A stone was in his heart when he awaited the dreaded answer. Minato didn't break the eye contact, not for one second, "If I have to do so,", his voice had dropped an octave, "Then I will do whatever it takes."

Thick silence spread over them, the tension in the room rising. Naruto caught the Raikage moving his hand towards Atsui, wondering why he found the gesture suspicious; how he had waved that hand, it had seemed like he was giving an order. Feeling he should stay on double-alert, Naruto drew some natural energy and tried to subtly change to Sennin-Mode in order to see what was going on. Seeing nobody had noticed, he didn't let his guard down for a second.

The Raikage leaned back in his chair, "What kind of father abandons his family the moment his son is born?"

Naruto felt the stone on his heart becoming heavier and glanced at Minato again, who showed no signs of nervousness or any other sentiment close to that. Instead, he answered steadily, "What kind of Hokage abandons his village in the gravest danger?"

Killer A wasn't replying anything, and Minato saw it as a chance to go on, "As I said, I will do what is necessary to protect both my family and village. The Kyuubi is and has always been in Konoha's possession, thus it is our problem to deal with. I appreciate your concern, A, but I won't need your help."

"Have I offered my help?"

"Haven't you?", Minato smiled a bit, "Am I wrong? Isn't that why you asked me to see you before my son is born?"

Naruto chuckled quietly, finding it amusing to see the both banter about the obvious. He checked on Atsui and Samui – the former's chakra flow was wavering a bit. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, not understanding why his chakra should move when he was only there to keep watch.

Something was going on here, and it wouldn't get past Naruto's attention.

The Raikage wasn't answering.

Minato shrugged, "I regret you don't trust me enough to be able to handle it, A. I never questioned your way of handling the Hachibi. By the way, how is your brother doing? I haven't seen him in a while."

"He's doing fine, actually.", A growled, "Rapping and getting on my nerves. Besides, concerning the Hachibi – unlike your wife, Bee has complete control over the Bijuu."

Minato sighed a bit, "I know. But Kushina has done what she could, and I am more than content how she is able to deal with the fox. I'm sure you're very well aware that the Kyuubi is nothing but a mass of deep hatred – hardly a cooperative being."

"If it burdens you so much, Minato, I can offer you to take the Kyuubi.", he said bluntly, "I have skilled shinobi who can handle the fox, unlike these wimpy shinobi of your village."

Naruto gnashed his teeth together, gladly wanting to show Killer A who was boss here and who had nearly full control over the Kyuubi, but he knew he had to keep himself from letting his temper rule his self-control, he had on order to follow. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint his father, nor cause him any trouble.

Minato's expression darkened a bit, "There is only one person who will be its Jinchuuriki, and that is and will be my wife, until the very day she passes away."

"And who will be the next?", A asked, getting impatient, "There is no other Uzumaki out there."

"You're wrong.", Minato replied firmly, "You are forgetting that my son will also carry the Uzumaki's chakra. And I am more than sure he will be able to control the Kyuubi just as Kushina does. You don't have to worry, A, I have everything laid out perfectly. I have never wasted a move before, I don't intend on doing so now either."

"I can see that.", the Raikage growled, almost angrily, and looked at Naruto again; this time it didn't slip Minato's attention either and he glanced at his son as well. At the same time, Naruto saw Killer A waving his hand again and he quickly looked at Atsui – whose chakra started to flow rapidly. There was no mistake about it, chakra only moved like that when the owner was preparing a genjutsu; Naruto had dealt with enough Uchiha to know how it looked like.

Naruto being Naruto, his shinobi instincts switched on and took over for his brain when he dashed forward, jumped over the table – startling not only Minato, but everyone in the room – fully changed to Sennin-Mode, drew a kunai, swirled it around his thumb until he could grab the handle nicely; he grabbed Atsui's collar and slammed him against the wall before bringing his kunai close to his throat.

Samui was taking action immediately, trying to help her brother, but Naruto quickly conjured a bunshin and kicked her away, let the bunshin restrain her from moving by keeping her in a firm headlock.

His actions caused a commotion to break out; "Naruto!", Minato snapped when he got up from his chair, "What are you doing!"

Kakashi, too got up and moved closer towards his former sensei, narrowing his eyes and getting a kunai ready.

"What am I doing?", Naruto yelled back and pressed Atsui closer to the wall, "He was going to place you under a genjutsu!"

From the corner of his eyes, Naruto could see Minato glaring at Killer A, "Is that true?", he growled angrily, his voice dropping to a freezing tone.

Killer A tried to get his head out of the sling, "I wouldn't know-,"

Kakashi interfered, though, "It is. I saw his chakra changing – he was clearly trying to use a genjutsu, sensei."

"I'm disappointed in you, A.", Minato said sternly, "I came here on friendly terms. And again, you prove me wrong when I was starting to see you as an comrade, not as a rival."

"The Kyuubi is too powerful for one village to handle.", the Raikage growled and stood up as well, "But you are too foolish to listen to me – and you will see I was right the moment your son is born, for a great catastrophe will happen to your village."

"Let that be my problem to handle, A.", he snarled, "But next time, try to act wiser. I have two shinobi who can identify chakra flows, it was a dumb idea to use genjutsu."

"I have to take drastic manners in such times."

"I am here as an ally, not as a foe.", Minato's voice was rising, "When will you understand that the war is over? We can't go on fighting in times of peace, we can't go on envying other village's power, A. Those times are over. Believe me, my nights would be spent more peacefully if I hadn't had to deal with the Kyuubi, but the last thing I'll do is running away from what is my challenge to take."

"Cocky bastard.", he muttered under his breath, refusing to accept defeat.

"Naruto, let go of Atsui and Samui, please.", Minato said and the teenager listened to his order and let his bunshin disappear before he pocketed the kunai and calmly walked back to his father's side.

A eyed him curiously, "Those markings around your eyes...", he said and suddenly all pairs of eyes were on him – "Boy, this is not what I think it is, is it?"

Even Minato seemed surprised seeing his son being a Sennin, "Unbelievable...", he whispered, then noticed he was dropping his guard and quickly covered the situation, "Impressed, aren't you? Naruto is-,"

"I am a Sennin.", he said proudly, "And I won't let your sneaky ways get in Minato's way. I know you don't believe him! But you better should – because he's going to do the right thing, not only for us, but for you as well."

Okay, that probably was the point where he should stop talking, but Naruto was feeling an adrenaline rush, mixed with the joy over his successful attack that he couldn't keep himself from continuing, "He is a better Kage than you will ever be, because he has something you lack – the ability to believe and trust in other's and himself, unconditionally. So you better stop bitching about the Kyuubi and play with open cards!"

"How dare you speak like that to me!", the Raikage roared – smashed his desk again, out of sheer anger and pointed at Naruto, "Such cockiness from a stupid boy like you are! Minato, you better pick better followers than people who don't know when to shut their mouths!"

Naruto was feeling the anger boiling, "If you wanna start a fight, we can fight!", he snapped, and his brain totally said au revoir then, he burst forward and grinned widely, letting parts of the Kyuubi's chakra boil to the surface, causing his skin to flicker golden for a brief second. He knew the grin on his lips was a feral one, like it always happened when his chakras merged with the Kyuubi's, "Maybe you need a little proof how an Uzumaki can handle a Bijuu, eh?", and he felt the blazing hot sensation of the Kyuubi's chakra fully shrouding him in golden flames. The Raikage wasn't going to say no to a challenge and instantly let his Raiton armor cover his body. He sped forwards, his speed only a tiny bit slower than what Naruto was used from him, and before anyone knew, both were ready to place a fistpunch into each other's faces.

The Raikage roared, but before either of their attacks could do any harm, Naruto felt a firm hand grabbing his torso. Within the next moment, he felt the horrible sensation of a Hiraishin tearing his insides apart, causing him to lose control over his Kyuubi infused chakra and drop it all. When he appeared in the real world again, he was locked inside Minato's arms, who in turn had appeared behind the Raikage, holding a kunai steadily against his neck.

Minato let go of his son, Naruto stumbled to his feet, flabbergasted by the insane speed his father had just shown. His eyes moved towards the Raikage – not even Atsui, nor Samui had had a chance to move yet – and Killer A turned around slowly, "I can't believe it...", he muttered, but Minato's eyes were hard as steel, "You had no right to prepare an attack against him, A."

"You cannot scold me for something he has done as well. Besides-,"

"Let that be my problem to handle, he disobeyed my orders, not yours.", Minato said, and Naruto suddenly saw he tried to cover him up – Naruto had clearly revealed who he was, or better said, what was inside of him, and yes, that had been far, far, far too much. Why did he always act before he was thinking about it? Why did he always believe he could be smart when he just wasn't? Why had he said that? With all this talking about the Kyuubi and Uzumaki, his head had gotten confused, and he had gotten angry, causing him to, well... do this. He saw Kakashi slapping his face, shaking his head and the Raikage then grimaced at Naruto, "Boy – who are you? And what is that power you are using?"

And Naruto, as he always did when he felt cornered, remembered to not let enemies show insecurities, "I am Naruto Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan and I am from the future-,"

"That is enough, Naruto.", Minato cut him off sternly.

He quickly turned to look at his father, "But-,"

"I said, enough.", he repeated himself before sighing, "Yes, Naruto is not related to me in any way. I believed it was smarter to hide his true identity – for he is indeed from the future, and I want only a few people knowing that."

"How? How can that be possible – to be from the future?", Killer A barked, "And why did you hide that from me, Minato? More importantly, you have seen what I have seen, I guess it sheds a completely new light on our meeting, doesn't it?"

Minato met his stare stubbornly, "I saw him using a chakra amor – just like you covered your body with Raiton chakra."

"Minato, you are truly a bastard.", he grunted, "Acting all nicely and politely while lying to me shamelessly! Blaming me for taking needed measures when you did the same! We will never see eye to eye, we will never be comrades – Kumo and Konoha, there won't ever be a balance! Look at him! That was the Kyuubi's chakra he was using!"

"First, I don't know what you mean, and secondly, balance or not I don't care, and lying to you is not what I did, I did keep to myself what I believed to be mine alone, you were the one who tried to interfere a business meeting with genjutsu.", he snapped, "For a Kage of your status, it is nothing but cowardly to try and use a genjutsu to access information that is none of your business.", he turned around walked towards the door. He was in a hurry and Naruto knew why, "The meeting is over, I've said what I wanted to say, the birth of my son won't lead to the Kyuubi breaking free."

"This boy is from the future and has the Kyuubi's power.", the Raikage snapped, "I won't let you leave like that! Let him tell us what will happen."

Naruto felt himself panicking; what should he do? He had clearly revealed he was a Jinchuuriki, and he was sure Killer A hadn't overheard that tiny detail, but he couldn't tell anyone in this room the truth, especially not A and his followers.

"Don't answer him, Naruto.", Minato said, "You don't have the obligation to listen to his orders."

"Minato!", the Raikage said, "This boy knows a lot! It could be of great value – why won't you let him speak? Why do you cover for him? Answer me!"

Because he's my son, Naruto thought when he looked at Minato, and because I don't wanna hear the truth either. His insides cramped and Naruto wanted to punch himself for his own stupidity. Seeing it in retrospective showed him how much trouble he had caused – he only hoped Minato had a plan in his head; if the Raikage knew the Kyuubi would change its Jinchuurikis, it certainly would bring more problems for Minato to deal with.

"Killer A, please respect that this is entirely a personal business. Would you like to know if you are going to wake up tomorrow? I'm sure Naruto can tell you."

The Raikage seemed to understand, but replied nothing.

"Besides, this boy is already in a turmoil for being in a time where he doesn't belong, I don't want him to be put under more strain. As for now, I have nothing left to say. Do you?"

He sure had, it was perfectly readable from his face, but he shook his head, "No. It's fine with me, for now. But don't think I will let you get away with this easily, we will speak about this boy's abilities before you leave, am I understood?"

"Fine with me.", Minato answered, "We will leave at eight in the morning, Killer A. It has been a pleasure to meet you."

Naruto saw how the Raikage frowned at Minato's last words and then saw how his father nodded towards Kakashi, a request in the glance he gave him. Kakashi subtly nodded back, then bowed to the Raikage. Naruto caught the Sharingan's tomoe moving a bit, and quickly glanced at the Killer A – who looked drowsy and sleepy. He wasn't the only one, Atsui and Samui both looked sleep-deprived, too. Naruto understood, and was happy his future sensei was that skilled in using genjutsu.

The situation was saved, and he felt a stone falling from his heart.

"Have a nice day, everyone.", Kakashi grinned and waved his hand as a good-bye before he left. Naruto followed quietly and his relief was short-lived. A gnawing feeling of anxiety settled down in his insides; Minato was mad, he was mad as hell, and he had the feeling that a mad Minato was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

"Did it work?", he asked tonelessly. Kakashi nodded and put his hitai-ate over his Sharingan again, then crossing his arms behind his head, "They won't remember what Naruto burst out so wisely when they wake up tomorrow. Don't worry, sensei, it's all gonna be okay."

"Good work, Kakashi.", he replied, but didn't say anything to Naruto. Instead, they left the Raikage tower in total silence. Once they had found an inn to stay for the night – even if the Raikage had prepared rooms, Minato's pride probably would never allow himself to accept the offer now – and settled down. Minato had booked a room for himself and a double room from Kakashi and Naruto, but both were connected with a fusuma; a so-called family room and Naruto had to giggle at the name, when in fact Minato was taking the children's room since it held the single bed.

Once they had removed their luggage from their backs, Minato looked at Naruto, "Please watch our backpacks. I promised to call Kushina once I arrived in Kumo. Kakashi, please arrange a seat in the restaurant below, we haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Sure thing."

He gave Naruto a hard glare, "We will talk once I am back, you have some explaining to do."

"Yeah...", he said in a quiet voice he hardly used, but Minato's scolding stare worked wonders with his loudmouth.

The icy atmosphere didn't vanish once Minato was out of the room, Kakashi followed him once he had dropped his gear and didn't waste one word about the previous incident either.

Naruto was left alone and started laying out futons, trying to already come up with a good excuse once Minato came back to demand an explanation. When he was done with the futons, he sighed deeply and exhaled loudly through his mouth. Actually he didn't think he had done such a dumb thing – it actually had been pretty cool. Besides, the Raikage had figured out who he was before he had used the Kyuubi's chakra anyway. Plus, Kakashi had said he had handled it, it all would be fine. He would apologize to Minato, listen to any lecture he had in store and then go on as if nothing had happened. Nodding to himself, Naruto decided to put the backpacks to the futons of their owner. He carried his and Kakashi's over to their sleeping places, and when he touched Minato's, it struck him like a lightning bolt.

He had completely forgotten about the diary – and this was the perfect chance!

Naruto looked around, trying to guess whether he had enough time left. If Minato was talking to Kushina, he had a lot to tell, meaning he had a lot time to follow his plan. Kakashi might be back earlier, but he wasn't worried getting caught by him, he could explain the situation easily to his future sensei and make him shut up with a few spoiler threats concerning Icha-Icha. As long as Minato wouldn't barge in, everything would be fine.

Although his conscience was becoming stronger and stronger – especially since he had busted the meeting with Raikage – he felt the temptation tingling his fingertips and he hardly was able to resist. Shaking his head, he placed the backpack down. No, it wouldn't be right. Minato was already mad, he shouldn't do something that shady to completely throw him off the edge. Naruto walked away from the backpack, but only one step - on the other hand, this uncertainty was killing him, and Naruto had never been good at handling his curiosity.

Really, what harm would be done?

Nobody would notice.

He opened the backpack, remembering where Minato had put the small notebook during the night in Kiri and rummaged through the various pockets. His fingertips touched fabric and plastic while his senses were strained to the maximum, carefully trying to grasp any sound, "Come one, notebook, where are you...", he muttered to himself and when his fingers touched book-like material, he beamed and pulled the small diary out.

"Yasha!", he said to himself, looked around again to check he really wasn't going to get caught; a few girls passed the room, giggling and chatting and Naruto felt the hairs in his neck bristling. Sighing out of relief, he flapped through the pages, "Alright, let's see what we have here..."

He flapped towards the last entry, let his eyes wander over the letters.

And then he grimaced.

He turned to the middle part.

He grimaced even more.

Naruto jumped to his feet and started shaking with frustration, "What the hell is this?", he asked himself, turned page after page after page – but all he could read was something strange, signs he had never seen before and he didn't understand anything at all – it was a whole other language!

"Are you kiddin' me?", he growled and angrily flapped through the entire notebook, "Another language? This is a joke, right? Right?"

He hated the fact that his father was so smart. Of course he'd use something to make it safe from stranger who tried to read it! He was the Hokage, after all, people would kill to read some secret info about him!

Naruto's eyebrow was twitching and he fought the urge to throw that damn notebook against the next wall, "This is bullshit.", he growled and was ready to accept his defeat. It had been worth a try, after all. Maybe he just should find the courage to openly talk to his father about his burdened feelings. With a deep sigh, Naruto tried to fight away his frustration and was ready to store the notebook back inside his father's backpack.

And that was when the fusuma opened.

Naruto felt his heartbeat stopping.

"Naruto, can I talk to you for a sec-,", Minato's voice stopped abruptly and suddenly, a silence that was louder than anything Naruto had heard engulfed the two of them.

All the teenager wanted to do was slapping himself; of course he was going to get caught. It was like a law of nature - do something forbidden and you're bound to get caught – he really should've known better. Actually he had known better, he just had been too stubborn again to not screw shit up. Only five seconds, if Minato had shown up five seconds later, nothing would've happened.

Naruto slowly turned around, notebook still in hand and all, and looked sweetly at his father – probably a dumb thing to do – and then slowly moved the notebook towards the backpack and put it inside. What he tried to accomplish with that was a mystery to him.

He grinned helplessly and was completely out of words to say, which meant he had no excuse to make his situation any better.

"Ehe...", he scratched the back of his head and then watched how Minato looked at the backpack, then at him, then back at his backpack. His face changed – from shocked to angry in less than a second. However, it wasn't an open, bursting anger, but something Naruto hated to experience; the disguised anger, and apparently Minato was a small genius when it came to that category. There was no need for any questions, it was crystal clear what Naruto had been doing. Yes, his little stunt during the meeting with the Raikage was now the cream, and the diary-stealing the cherry on everything that had happened lately.

And Minato's voice could've frozen hell all over, "Now you really have some explaining to do, Naruto."

A/N: It's finished! Chapter 10! Yay! :)

Naruto, you bad, bad boy, just couldn't resist, huh? And Minato is a troll, hihi. I couldn't resist either. Complain all you want, but did you really think Minato wouldn't protect his most private thoughts in any way?

So. About Atsui and Samui, I just take it everyone remembers them, and I have no idea if they are old enough to be old enough for bodyguards in the past, but then again, there aren't many Kumo shinobi I know... and I kind of was too lazy to think of two... so excuse if I mixed their age up or stuff. Plus, in the first draft, it had been Darui and Karui until I noticed those are even younger... so if I forgot editing a name, please ignore the mistake. ^^"

Now, go and tell me what you think!:3

~ Janie