*****

Naruto darted up from his sleep, reaching for a kunai. He had no wounds again, no pain anywhere. He felt a tiny bit sore in the back from the fight last night, but better a few sore muscles than to be dead. He lowered his hand and looked at his surroundings. Kakashi was sleeping still, the sun just now rising. He looked at the clock, 6:10, he was right on time. He needed to wake Kakashi up, otherwise forget about breakfast. That, and he remembered what the 4th had said...

Ask Kakashi some time..... What did he mean, something else? Are these dreams really some kind of vision, or am I just going crazy? Naruto shook his head again, then remembered what he needed to do. He shook Kakashi, saying his name. He didn't get up the first couple of times. Man, either he sleeps heavy, or he really is lazy... Naruto took both of his pointer and middle fingers, placed them together, and then said, "Don't make me use this, Kakashi sensei..."

Kakashi rolled over, "Alright, alright, you got me..." He pushed himself off of the sofa-bed, then stretched for a bit. "So.. judging by the hour, I guess you got at least some decent sleep?"

"Well, better than the past few days, no scars on me today."

"Good," Kakashi said with what would be assumed to be a smile, you never could tell because of that facemask, so his eyes told you everything. "Well then, we'd better get going." A knock came from the door. Sakura, no doubt. Naruto quickly went to the door to answer it.

"Hey Sakura, come on in." Sakura entered with a brown bag, placing in on the small table in the room.

"Alright," She said, pulling out three breakfast sandwiches, "Here you two go. So, Naruto, how's your back feeling?"

"A bit sore, but otherwise good, should go away in a few hours."

"And your dreams, did they come back?"

"Well... sorta..."

Kakashi interrupted, "Whoa there, let me get this straight, you're still having the dreams?"

Sakura looked at Kakashi, "He's been having them, yes."

Naruto interjected, "But they've not been the same. Slight variances in the pattern. But it's for the better." He wasn't about to tell them that they were getting more intense at the end, how they were impacting his thoughts. That'd be suicide, no way that he would be able to get away with that...

Sakura looked him in the eye and knew he was hiding something. She wasn't going to put him on the spot. Maybe some time when they were in private again, she might ask him what else was going on. The last thing she needed was another outburst right now. That, and he wasn't in the best condition at the moment. The Kyuubi may be able to heal wounds and get him back up to speed, but that didn't change the fact that his lungs still needed a bit of time to recover from the damage.

Naruto scarfed down his sandwich, then gathered his stuff. Putting on his jacket and cape, he grabbed the book off of the nightstand, looking at the pages in the back. He noticed a page handwritten by two people. One was clearly written by Jiraiya, the other he couldn't tell. Jiraiya's note read: Naruto, this is my final gift to you, take it, and enjoy your namesake. You've made me proud, and your father would have been proud. Take care, and I pray that you never forget about the things that are important. Good luck, future Hokage! Jiraiya.

The other note read: Master Jiraiya, you've made a spectacular masterpiece here. When you feel the time is right, give this book to Naruto. I hope he sees what I saw in you... And Naruto... Take care of yourself, and remember to never give up on the things that matter!

Naruto took the book to Kakashi, showing him the back page. "Kakashi sensei, who's handwriting is this?"

He looked at it long and hard. "It's been a long time since I've seen anything written by this man.... It's the 4th's. That's what I was going to tell you, this is your namesake, the book your father got the name from. Minato Namikaze is your father."

Now he understood the more than that statement..."Then why is my name Uzumaki? Was it to cover up who my father was?"

"Yes and no, that's your mother's last name.... She...//Died giving birth to you... It hurt your father, so he chose to give you her name, it was all he had left of her."

"Makes sense, I guess... Why didn't anyone tell me that?"

"No one knew who you were, save for a few select people in the village, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and I are amongst the few who knew. Technically, I wasn't supposed to know, but I snooped around a bit."

"Figures. What would the village have thought if they knew I was the 4th's son?"

"To be honest, Naruto, I doubt they'd have cared. You have the nine-tails, that's reason enough to hate you.."

Sakura interrupted, "Naruto, it doesn't matter what they would have thought about you, what matters now is that they care about you. I probably wouldn't have acted the way I did around you if I knew who your father was." She walked towards him, placing a hand on his arm. She knew what she was about to say might hurt him, "But I wouldn't have fallen in love with you, because you'd have been different. You've really become humble, Naruto, and I can't see you being anything else but what you are. Lord knows why these terrible things have happened to you, but what matters is that you've come a long way from being that sad boy on the swing, alone."

Naruto's dazed and confused expression gave a lot away. He was dealing with a flurry of emotion, trying to accept that his own father chose this fate for him. Did he know that I was going to suffer because of this?

"Naruto," Kakashi said, "Sakura's right. Everything happens for a reason. I don't know why things happened the way they did either, but what I do know, is that your father never meant to harm you. Keep that in mind."

"I just don't know...."

Kakashi took something from his pocket, handing it to the boy. "Naruto, this is something your father gave me all those years ago. It's a pendant of his clan. Even though he wanted Jiraiya to be your godfather, Jiraiya asked that I watch over you as a child. I did my best and got Iruka to help, that's why you were placed on my team, but your father gave me this as a gift. He wanted you to have it, so take it. After all, isn't he the reason you wanted to become Hokage?"

"Yeah..." He took the pendant, and grabbed a piece of string from his pouch. He put in on, just under the necklace that was given to him by Lady Tsunade over three years prior. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.... I think I understand what he wanted me to become.... Someone who never backed down."

"Indeed. He felt the same way about being a ninja. In everything, don't give up..."

Naruto wiped a tear from his eyes, he remembered when the toads had given him the book. Jiraiya really believed in the same things his real father did. But he kept telling him to give up on Sasuke... Why? Simple, because he remembered the one time he didn't back down. It backfired, and it hurt. That was the whole reason, he wanted to protect him. He wanted to keep me from the scars...

Sakura had already packed up, keys in hand, "Well, we'd better get going, the sand is waiting for us."

Naruto nodded, his mind wandering all over the place, trying to pull itself together. "I wonder how Gaara's holding up, I haven't seen or heard from him since the last time we were here."

"If what I've heard is right," she replied with a smile, "I think you'll be in for a pleasant surprise."

*****

Sasuke Uchiha stalked through the land that was once the village hidden in the sound. A man approached him, asking about how the previous night had gone. He received a blow to the face. Blood streaked through the air, the man's nose broken, he smacked into a building, his back let out a crunch. The others went about their business, trying to hide their fears, though it was clear that they knew better than to let their guard down.

He walked into the main building, taking the phone off the cradle. He punched in a number, and it rang. And rang. And rang. Damn it, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up! thought Uchiha, it was driving him insane.

"Uchiha..." A voice said, "What is wrong with you, if they-"

"Shut up, Kabuto. Naruto is still out there with Sakura and Kakashi. I know what went down, how the hell did they find out about the attack?"

"What, did you think they were going to just give me a free pass? I had to tell them something."

Kabuto chuckled, "Besides, last I checked, you were planning on killing the whole village first, were you not?"

Sasuke growled, clearly angry, "Don't try to play that game, Kabuto, I'll do whatever the hell I want to do, all you're doing is giving me info in exchange for services, got it?"

"Whatever, Sasuke..." He hung up the phone.

Sasuke threw the phone across the room, infuriated at the insolent fool. A black-garbed individual stood behind his back. "So, Sasuke, why are you wasting your time with this foolish boy?"

"Shut up, Madara, this is my war, not yours. The only thing I'm giving you is the beast. I don't give a damn about it."

"And what is it that you seek?"

"True vengeance for out clan."

"And how far are you willing to go for it?"

Sasuke looked at Madara, a fiery anger in his eyes, "To the death..."

He smiled, "Good." And with that, he left as quickly as he appeared.

Damn it, why does this always happen? Oh well... Whatever. Kabuto had better be giving results soon, otherwise we're toast. Patience... Patience is key, all it takes is a bit of time. I'll get my vengeance for my clan... And my true brother.! Naruto Uzumaki.... Go rot in hell.

*****