-August 5th, 342 NE-

-11:00 AM-

-Konoha Hospital-

"Very good, Naruto-kun. Your control has really been improving lately. At this rate you'll have no trouble with medical techniques when you graduate," Shizune said. "For your next exercise, I-"

"Shizune-nee-chan," Naruto interrupted, "why do I have to wait? I'll be graduating in a few months anyway and the Hokage has already approved me to study medical techniques... why can't I just start now?"

Shizune grimaced. She had really been hoping someone else would tell Naruto so that she wouldn't have to break the news herself.

"About that… didn't you hear about the new law the Hokage passed?"

Naruto frowned and shook his head. "No…," he said slowly. "What law?"

"Well, after Itachi tried to… kill you, the Hokage decided that Itachi had gone insane due to the pressure of his work and his young age. He made a new law that made the minimum age of graduation twelve years of age, regardless of prior training or merit, and that no one can join the ninja forces before they are twelve years old. So you can't graduate early," Shizune said apologetically. "I know you really wanted to, and you deserve to, but at least…," she started to say, but trailed off as she looked at Naruto.

Naruto's fists were clenched, and his entire body was shaking. Shizune stepped back swiftly when she noticed tendrils of red chakra curling off of his body. She was about to call for help when Naruto took a shaky breath and slowly calmed down, the red tendrils receding.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked hesitantly. "Are you alright? What just-"

"Does he hate me?" Naruto asked suddenly, his voice clipped and angry. "Does he really think I will go insane like Itachi did? Does he think I'll hurt people? Why would he do this to me?"

Shizune approached slowly and pulled Naruto into a hug. His body kept shaking every now and then, but he didn't say anything further.

She could have defended the Hokage, of course, explained his reasoning and pointed out that the law applied to all children equally, not just Naruto himself. The other ninja children were also advanced for their ages, and would likely manage to graduate two or three years early, even if they weren't quite at Naruto's level.

She understood Naruto's anger, at least to an extent. He had spent a lot of time discussing his early graduation with Ino and the other children, and they had eventually decided that Naruto should graduate as soon as possible, and the other kids would try to catch up to him. Ino in particular was pushing herself very hard, perhaps even too hard, in order to graduate along with Naruto.

Even if they didn't manage though, they had sworn that they would find a way to become teammates in the future. It had been quite touching when the adults heard about it, and they had all begun pulling strings in the background to help make that happen.

Then Itachi had gone rogue and the Hokage's new law had gone into effect, and all their effort and heartache and sacrifice had been rendered essentially meaningless with the stroke of a pen.

Shizune didn't feel like defending the Hokage, even if in this case Sarutobi believed he was helping Naruto and the other children. She would be perfectly happy if Naruto and Sarutobi had a severe falling out over this, although she didn't think it would go that far.

No, she decided to unleash Naruto on the Hokage while he was primed and ready to blow.

"You could always ask him yourself, you know…," Shizune said, a small smirk on her face.

-Same Day-

-11:30 AM-

-Hokage's Office-

"Hokage-sama… Naruto would like to see you. H-He's, um-," his secretary started to say over the communication seal.

"Oh, that's fine. Send him right on in. We might even make a lunch of it," the Hokage said cheerfully. It was unusual for Naruto to visit him while he was at work, but a welcome distraction whenever it happened.

"Al-alright, Hokage-sama," his secretary replied uncertainly.

The seals on the doorway flashed blue as they deactivated, and the door was pushed open. As it closed and he heard footsteps approaching, Sarutobi looked up, a smile on his face. "Ah, Naruto-kun, it's good to…," he trailed off, his smile fading quickly as he took in his surrogate grandson's appearance.

Naruto stood before his desk, hands clenched and a thunderous expression on his face. The marks on his cheeks, which had slowly been growing more and more prominent over the years, looked particularly dark against his flushed face. Before Sarutobi could gather his wits or even begin to figure out what was going on, Naruto began speaking, his voice a low hiss.

"Why would you do this to me? Do you hate me, is that it? Was this all some joke to get my hopes up, just so you could crush them personally and laugh at my pain? Is this the 'special arrangement' you talked about so long ago?"

"Wha-"

"What am I supposed to do now? Continue wasting my time learning nothing, letting my skills fade away until I'm just another faceless ninja? Is that what you want? Or do you think I'm just like Itachi? Do you think I'm going to snap and start killing random people? Do you think I'll kill Ino, is that it? Am I so untrustworthy? Why?"

If any of his ninja had dared storm into his office and rant like this, they would have quickly found themselves regretting their temper – but when his surrogate grandson stormed in, his expression moving between enraged and betrayed, Sarutobi found himself at a loss. Now that Naruto appeared to be finished, however, he finally got a chance to speak.

"Naruto-kun, what is going on? Why would you think I hate you? What do you think I've done?" Sarutobi asked, bewildered.

"That law… no one under the age of twelve can graduate and become a ninja," Naruto hissed.

Sarutobi finally began to understand why Naruto was so upset. "Naruto-kun, that law wasn't aimed at you, and it wasn't just because of Itachi. A lot of children have been forced into the ninja world far too young, and even if they don't snap like Itachi did they still bear the scars of that – Itachi was simply the last straw. That law should have been made many years ago," Sarutobi patiently explained.

"But what am I supposed to do?" Naruto cried out. "I've only got two months before I would have graduated, and I can't learn anything more from the Academy. That's four years of wasted time, and Ino-nee-chan and the others will soon be facing the same problem.

"I had already planned to start learning from Shizune-nee-chan the moment I graduated, and now I can't. So many other techniques and skills require a ninja license before you can learn them, and you just blocked all of those off until we're twelve," Naruto said firmly.

Sarutobi sat back in his chair. "Ah, I see. You aren't concerned so much about the graduation as you are the training, is that correct?"

Naruto hesitated, some of the heightened emotion fading from his face. "Well… yeah."

"In that case, I think we can work something out. I won't change the graduation age for anyone, but the Hokage can waive certain requirements in special circumstances, including rank requirements. There have been cases in the past where it was necessary for one reason or another to disclose techniques or information to those who didn't otherwise have the qualifications to acquire them. Would something like that satisfy you?" the Hokage offered.

Naruto appeared to consider that for a minute. "What would that mean, exactly?" he asked finally.

Sarutobi smiled, pleased that Naruto had calmed down and was actually thinking about things rationally now. "Well, with that waiver you would have the right to request training in any area available to a genin ninja, despite not being one yourself: techniques of C-rank or below; specialized taijutsu styles; more advanced stealth, tracking, and trapping; the sealing arts-"

Naruto's head snapped up at that last one. "Seals? Really? I've never been able to find anything about them, even though they seem so useful."

Sarutobi nodded sagely, "They are incredibly useful, but also quite dangerous and potentially unstable. I'm sure you've come across references to the explosion in the Land of Wind that occurred roughly one hundred years ago."

Naruto nodded, an odd expression on his face.

"Well, a lot of people think that's the sort of thing that can happen if you don't take seals seriously, and I agree. Sealing knowledge is carefully controlled and unsupervised experimentation is strictly forbidden until you have proven sufficient mastery of the subject. Konoha is very fortunate to have one of the only three acknowledged seal masters in all of the Elemental Nations, Jiraiya," the Hokage said, pride evident in his voice.

"Anyway, genin can begin studying and reproducing basic seals, but even then they aren't allowed to move further without a more experienced sealing specialist guiding them."

Naruto nodded, a speculative look on his face. "That sounds… good, but what happens if I learn all of that before I graduate? There have been plenty of ninja who went from genin to chuunin in less than four years."

"They were promoted, yes, but they hardly mastered everything available to a genin. Even you would have trouble doing that, I think. Still, should that come to pass we can reevaluate your situation then."

Naruto nodded to himself, and fell silent as he contemplated the Hokage's words. Sarutobi allowed him to think for a few minutes, then prompted him for a response. "Naruto-kun, do you think that would solve your problem? I understand your concern, but I am offering quite a lot here…," Sarutobi said.

Naruto opened his mouth, then shut it firmly just as quickly. After another few seconds, he nodded to himself. "Ino too. And the others."

"Hmm… I'll need to evaluate their skill levels, but I think that I can agree to that," Sarutobi said finally.

Naruto finally smiled, completely relaxing. "Thank you, Hokage-jii-san!" he said happily.

Sarutobi smiled back, relieved that he had been able to help Naruto and that their relationship seemed fully recovered from this little incident. A bit of paperwork and a few meetings with students was a minor price to pay for that.

Kuushou couldn't stop laughing inside Naruto's body. He had been genuinely pissed at first, but on the way to the Hokage's office he had begun to calm down and see the potential benefits of the situation. All it had taken was a guilt-trip and a betrayed look to get the Hokage to fold, and now he had all the training he could possibly want without having to worry about missions or other ninja duties. Further, he would finally learn something more about seals as well.

Yes, this would work out just fine.

-September 15th, 342 NE-

-10:00 AM-

-Yamanaka Residence-

"Are you sure you want to start learning the Yamanaka mind techniques, Ino-chan?"

"Yes, Tou-san, I am. The sooner I start learning the better off I'll be, and the more I'll be able to help Naruto. I'm ready; I know all the theory by heart, my chakra control is more than good enough, and my reserves are sufficient as well."

Inoichi sighed, uncertain about what to do. He had been very proud about Ino's interest in training and amazed at her progress once she began applying herself – he had always thought of his daughter as brilliant, but she managed to surprise even him.

Then there was her intense focus, especially after she started attending the Academy. He knew it was very important to Ino to graduate along with Naruto, but she had really worried him with how hard she pushed herself. He actually had Shizune-sama check her over several times in the past year to make sure she wasn't damaging herself or her chakra networks. The check-ups went alright, but he had put his foot down and forbidden Ino from pushing any harder anyway. She had complained, but relented when Naruto stepped in and told her that he didn't want her hurting herself by training too hard. Inoichi was thankful for Naruto's help, but also a little disappointed that Ino valued her brother's opinion more than his own.

She had relented... and shifted her focus onto studying. She had advanced mentally as rapidly as she had physically, and she really was ready to begin learning the Yamanaka clan jutsu, even though Inoichi himself hadn't reached this point until he was already a genin.

If he was honest with himself, however, it wasn't the techniques that concerned him – it was the conversation he would have to have with Ino about why she could never, ever, ever use any of the Yamanaka mind techniques on Naruto. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't take his word for it; she might say the right words, but she would push the boundary and eventually try the technique despite his warnings... and then she would be dead.

He shivered at the thought and almost decided to refuse Ino on the spot, but controlled himself. This discussion was coming sooner or later, and perhaps it was better to get it over and done with. It's not like she would ever turn against her little brother anyway, especially not over something like this.

"Alright, Ino-chan. You can start learning the first technique tomorrow."

She squealed and hugged him, her "professional ninja" personality gone now that she had gotten what she wanted.

"However... we need to have a talk before that. Let's just... step into my office for a minute."

She looked a little confused, but followed along. Once they were settled down into the comfortable chairs with the privacy barrier firmly in place, he cleared his throat and began.

"Now, before I tell you what the secret is, you have to understand that this is a very important secret. I don't mean like an embarrassing secret, I mean an official ninja secret, an S-Rank secret. I can only tell you because the Hokage requires that all Yamanaka capable of using the mind techniques be informed. If you tell anyone that doesn't already know, you will be executed," Inoichi said firmly.

Ino paled, shocked that what she was about to hear was that important.

"If you don't think you can keep this secret, then tell me now and we can call this whole thing off."

Ino looked hesitant for a long moment. "Would I still be able to learn the mind techniques if you didn't tell me?" she asked quietly.

"No," Inoichi replied immediately, his voice firm, almost harsh. He wasn't about to risk losing his little girl because she wasn't properly warned. He'd never forgive himself, and he doubted Naruto would either.

Ino flinched slightly, unaccustomed to seeing her father this serious about anything. She was actually a little scared about this whole thing now; she hadn't expected anything like this when she asked for more training. She wasn't about to stop now, though. She couldn't be on a team with Naruto if she couldn't keep up, and she refused to ask him to slow down for her sake – and so she had to learn more jutsu.

Taking a deep breath, Ino straightened her spine and sat up fully in her chair. Once she felt prepared, she nodded shakily, unable to speak at the moment.

Inoichi sighed, and began to talk. "The secret has to do with the fate of the tailed beast which attacked Konoha eight years ago..."

Once Inoichi had explained the situation and Ino had gotten control of herself again, she asked quietly, "How come Naruto never talked about this? Would he be executed too?"

"He doesn't know."

Ino's disbelieving expression quickly shifted into a stubborn one, one that Inoichi recognized all too well. He really should have seen this coming. "Ino, you can't-"

"How can I not? How could you have not told him after all this time?"

"Ino-chan, please, there are very good reasons that-"

"Like what?" she snapped. That she had just snapped at her own father never even crossed her mind as she began to work herself into a righteous fury. "What could possibly be good enough to keep this from him? If it had been me, would you have kept the truth from me too? I feel bad enough, and it's not even my secret! How would he feel? How is he going to feel, when he finds out? Or did you never intend to tell him at all?"

Inoichi flinched. Ino had hit far too close for comfort, and her words dug into his already guilty conscience. He had asked himself these same questions before, and had no better answers now than he did then.

Inoichi grabbed hold of Ino as she started to march out of the room, probably intending to tell Naruto that very instant.

"Wait, wait," he said. "Don't- I'll-," he started to say, then finally sighed in resignation. At this point the only way he could prevent her from telling Naruto at the first opportunity, consequences be damned, was to either wipe the information from her mind or forbid her from ever talking to Naruto again. Either choice would destroy his relationship with his daughter.

"Just... let me talk to the Hokage, alright?"

"... Fine," Ino relented. "But if he doesn't tell him, I will!"

-Same Day-

-2:00 PM-

-Hokage's Office-

"Hey Hokage-jii-san, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, Naruto-kun, Inoichi here raised an interesting point that there was certain information you should be made aware of," the Hokage said, sending a glare towards Inoichi.

Inoichi flinched, and was already dreading the required sessions with Gai, but it was either this or watch Ino get executed for telling Naruto the secret. This would also make his daughter happy and relieve his own sense of guilt, though, so he couldn't really bring himself to feel that bad about it. He'd probably have a very different perspective on things once he had begun "training" with Gai, however.

"Oh? What's that, Tou-san?" Naruto said. It had taken Inoichi over a year, but he had finally managed to get Naruto to refer to him as something other than "Yamanaka-san."

"Er, well, the Hokage is going to explain, actually," Inoichi said lamely.

Naruto turned his attention back to the Hokage, cocking his head to the side curiously. His expression didn't change in the slightest as the Hokage explained about the attack and the sealing.

Both Inoichi and Sarutobi felt uneasy at Naruto's lack of reaction. "Naruto-kun, did you understand what I said?" the Hokage asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Hokage-jii-san. It's just... was I not supposed to know? I mean, I know other people weren't supposed to know, but you didn't think I knew?"

Sarutobi's jaw slowly dropped down. "Y-you knew... since when? Who told you?"

"I've known for as long as I can remember," Naruto replied, his head still cocked to the side.

Inoichi's eyes suddenly widened and he groaned in understanding. The Hokage looked at him expectantly.

Inoichi's buried his face in his hands. "Of course... he remembers everything since ANBU HQ," he muttered to himself. He looked back up at Naruto. "It was the 'mask people', wasn't it?" he said out loud, using the term Naruto had initially used for the ANBU in his earliest memories. "That's how you found out."

Naruto just nodded.

Sarutobi's own eyes widened in understanding. "Why did you never say anything?" he asked Naruto.

Naruto shrugged. "No one wanted to talk about it, and there wasn't really anything to say. It was over and done with, and it's not like people treated me badly because of it."

"That's... very mature of you, Naruto-kun. I suppose I should have expected that." He shook himself. "Well, now that we all know that we all know, is there anything else you'd like to ask? About your parents, perhaps?"

Inoichi shot the Hokage a hurt look, but stayed silent.

Naruto shrugged again. "I have parents, the Yamanakas. Why should I care about the people who conceived me when they abandoned me?"

Inoichi's face glowed with pride and happiness, but Sarutobi's face was ashen. "No! They didn't abandon you! Your father died fighting the tailed beast, a hero of Konoha. I'm sure he loved you very much."

"And my mother? Where is she?"

Sarutobi had never hated himself more than at this moment. "She... left," he said, looking away.

"Then she is alive, and left me behind. Thus, abandoned," Naruto said firmly. "If that's all, then I would like to go home now, Tou-san," Naruto said pointedly, looking at Inoichi. Inoichi nodded slowly, sensing the tension in the air between Naruto and the Hokage. He looked back nervously as he escorted Naruto out of the room, but the Hokage didn't look at them.

"She... that's not...," he mumbled to himself. "I'm so sorry, Kushina."

-Same Day-

-2:30 PM-

-Yamanaka Residence-

Ino was waiting for them when they got back. She walked straight to Naruto, said "I don't care," and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"So you don't think I'm the tailed beast?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Hmph. You're my little brother, and that's all there is to it," Ino said firmly. "Anyone who says otherwise can go f-"

"Ino!" Inoichi interrupted, looking stern, though he was struggling to keep from laughing himself. Now that everyone in the family knew, it was like a weight he didn't even know was there had been lifted from his shoulders. Apparently having to keep the secret from Ino and Naruto had affected him more than he had realized.

"Besides, some stupid tailed beast wouldn't have saved me from that Kumo ninja, it wouldn't have made me feel better when I thought you would hate me, and it certainly wouldn't be smart enough to listen to his beautiful brilliant older sister!" she said, laughing.

Naruto began laughing too, letting out a low chuckle. "No, I suppose 'some stupid tailed beast' wouldn't," he said, grinning. "I'm very happy to hear you say that, Ino-nee-chan."

"See? You know when your sister is right! Which is all the time, of course," she said, grinning.

-Same Day-

-5:00 PM-

-Shikamaru Nara's Residence-

"So, what did the Hokage call you in for? Did you manage to weasel more concessions out of him this time?" Shikamaru said as he moved his Silver General forward with a firm clack. "Please say no, my mom has been pushing me to practice my shadow techniques even more now that I can learn the useful ones."

Naruto snorted. "No, no more waivers," he said as he moved his own piece on the board. "He just wanted to talk to me about something. It didn't take that long... turns out I already knew all about it, so it was really a wasted trip."

"Hmm...," Shikamaru replied thoughtfully. It was unclear if he was thinking about Naruto's reply or the situation on the board. Knowing him, it was both. He grinned suddenly. "Checkmate," he said, moving his piece with another firm clack.

"Yep... saw that one coming a few moves back, couldn't get out of it. Where does that leave the score again?" Naruto asked, smirking.

"Troublesome... you've still got a three game lead, as if you didn't already know."

"Ah, but I like to hear you say it," Naruto replied. He paused thoughtfully as they reset the board for their next game.

"Hey Shika... want to know a secret?"

-September 19th, 342 NE-

-4:00 PM-

-Uchiha Training Grounds-

Sasuke stared at the training post, fists clenched. His knuckles were ripped and torn, blood slowly dripping from his hands and dropping to the ground with a small plop. He didn't notice.

"Foolish little brother," Itachi said, poking him in the middle of the forehead with a small smile on his normally expressionless face.

Roughly thirty feet away a training target stood, riddled with kunai. A few had landed outside the painted rings, but most were clustered near the center of the target, and some had landed firmly in the bulls-eye. He didn't care.

"So you played with the other children today? Did you have fun?" Itachi asked.

"Nii-san! We weren't playing, we were training!" Sasuke protested.

Itachi just smiled, his hand moving upward and his index finger already extended.

Sasuke's clothing was torn and rumpled, and his pants were covered with dirt and grass stains. He paid his disheveled state no mind.

"Fight me, Nii-san!" Sasuke yelled. "I know you fight with Naruto, so why won't you fight me?"

Itachi just looked at him with a blank face. He rarely smiled at Sasuke anymore, and never poked him in the forehead like he used to.

"I do not 'fight' with Naruto. I train him," Itachi said, and turned to walk away.

"What's the difference?" Sasuke cried out, frustrated.

"Everything."

Sasuke had the training ground to himself today, as he had every day since his father's disastrous rebellion. The Uchiha District used to teem with activity, the clan preferring to stick close to each other and trade internally whenever possible. The clan would use their own private training grounds more often than they would the public training grounds around the perimeter of the village.

Always before when he would train there would be at least one other member of his extended family present, often more. Now the clan had dispersed, scattered throughout Konoha. He rarely saw any Uchiha other than his own mother and brother after the rebellion; the others had started shunning his family, though they pretended otherwise.

"Kaa-san, why does no one visit anymore?" Sasuke asked at breakfast one morning.

His mother sighed quietly. Her face was haggard and her eyes had dark circles around them, and she rarely smiled now. He missed her smiles.

"They don't like to be reminded of what your father did," she replied, aimlessly poking at the food on her plate.

"But it's not our fault!" Sasuke replied indignantly.

"No, it isn't," she said.

"But... aren't you the clan head now? Don't they have to listen to you?"

His mother just smiled sadly.

That had been before Itachi tried to kill Naruto and became a missing-nin. He had thought the rest of his family had been distant before. He had thought the other people in Konoha had been somewhat reserved before. Now...

Sasuke let out a scream as he began pounding on the training post, blood flying through the air with every blow. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fa-

He was interrupted as someone wrapped their arms around him, pinning his own arms to his sides. He struggled for a moment before he heard his mother's voice sobbing in his ear.

"Please stop, Sasuke-kun. Stop."

He slowly relaxed before he turned around inside his mother's embrace and threw his arms around her neck.

"It's not fair!" he wailed, tears coming to his eyes.

"No honey, it's not. It's never fair. But I'm here, and I won't leave you," she consoled him, rocking him gently. Sobs wracked his body as he held onto his mother tightly. Mikoto was also crying, though she kept her attention focused on Sasuke.

"Why?" he finally asked after he had cried himself to exhaustion.

"I don't know, Sasuke-kun. I don't know," she answered, hugging him tighter.

-October 21st, 342 NE-

-1:00 PM-

-Uchiha Clan Head's Residence-

"Who is it?" Mikoto called out through the door. No one had tried to attack her or Sasuke yet, but she no longer felt as safe and welcome in the village as she used to. Someone would eventually decide to try, and she didn't plan to make it easy for them.

"Kiku Yamanaka and Yoshino Nara," a voice answered.

Mikoto opened the door hesitantly, suspicion on her face and her sharingan activated. The voice sounded like Kiku, but voices could be faked. It wasn't Kiku who convinced her though; it was the sight of Naruto standing behind her, his red aura brighter than ever; there was no possible way to fake that. Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino were there as well.

"Hello, Yamanaka-san," Mikoto finally said as she shut off her sharingan and opened the door fully. "Can I help you?"

Kiku smiled softly. "The children wanted to visit Sasuke, and Yoshino and I realized we hadn't seen you in awhile. We thought you might like some company."

Mikoto stared at them for a long moment, then suddenly turned away. Kiku still caught a glimpse of the raw emotion on the former kunoichi's face though, and knew she had made the right decision.

"Of course," Mikoto said after a few seconds, her voice thick. "Come on in."

-A Small Outpost in the Land of Whirlpools-

A yellow flash suddenly went off in the room, and Kushina tensed for a moment before realizing what it was. She smiled gently as she turned to look at her husband. He had ink smudges all over his hands and face, and his expression was strained. He managed a smile though as he looked at his wife and newborn child.

"Hey honey," Kushina said softly, hefting the bundle in her arms slightly. "Look who it is, Naruto. It's your father."

Minato moved closer and looked down at his son. The small tufts of yellow hair made him chuckle. "I told you the yellow would win in the end," he said quietly, reaching out a hand to stroke Naruto's head.

Kushina stuck out her tongue quickly before smiling herself. "It doesn't matter, he's still beautiful... even if he is blond," she joked. She moved a strand of her vibrant red hair over Naruto's head, humming thoughtfully.

"Can... can I hold him?" Minato asked quietly.

Kushina just nodded and lifted Naruto to allow Minato to take him more easily. Minato reached out, hands trembling, and took the bundle. "He's so heavy," he choked out.

"Yeah, he's a big, strong, healthy boy. Our son," Kushina replied. She felt like crying a bit herself, seeing Minato so worked up over holding his child. She let out a sudden gasp as she felt a massive surge of chakra in the battle.

"Minato... what's going on out there?" she asked. "How is the battle going?"

"I'm not sure, I had Sarutobi take over so I could prepare the... so I could prepare," Minato replied, still focused on Naruto. "I don't think it's going well, but it will be over soon. Very soon now," he repeated quietly to himself.

"What are we fighting, though? What was that sound? Is it enemy ninja?" Kushina pressed, her ninja side coming to the front for a moment.

Minato smoothed back Naruto's hair and just stared at his son for a long moment, tears dripping down his face. Kushina felt a pang of unease.

"Minato, what-"

"It's a tailed beast. A nine-tailed beast," he said suddenly.

"A tailed...," Kushina's voice trailed off, her eyes widening as she took in the ink stains on Minato and remembered the seal he had been studying these last few months. "Minato," she said insistently, "give me Naruto." Her hands reached out to take back her child.

Minato took a quick step backward, his arms folding around the bundle protectively as he clutched his son to his chest. He shook his head. "I... I have to do this. It's the only way."

"Minato," Kushina said again, struggling to move her body out of the bed. She cursed her weak state; Naruto's birth had been long and difficult, even with Tsunade's help. "Don't do this. Please. Just... just give me Naruto."

"If it's any comfort," he said, his voice strained and tears spilling freely down his face, "you won't have to kill me yourself."

Kushina was crying as she begged, "Please, don't. Please."

Minato barely managed to choke out the words "I'm sorry," before he disappeared from the hospital room.

Kushina woke with a gasp. That nightmare always left her feeling helpless and weak, even years after the actual event and after enduring it at least once a week ever since. Of course, that it was a memory rather than a nightmare didn't help matters any. It was a horrible memory, the memory of when her life had begun to go wrong - though the worst betrayal came a few days later.

She couldn't even hate Minato, not really. It hurt so much to know that he had just taken her son without even asking her opinion, but she missed him far more. She also understood him, understood his self-sacrificing tendencies and his need to protect everyone he could. She had witnessed the nights where he forgot to sleep, so focused was he on his work as Hokage. She had seen the personal sacrifices he made, the sacrifices they both made, to allow him to spend as much time as possible helping the village.

And his expression, just before he disappeared from the hospital room... she knew he hated himself for his actions far more than she ever could, but he still did it – for the good of the village.

That same village that had taken her son from her without so much as an apology. They didn't even remember her anymore, convinced somehow that she had perished in the battle with the tailed beast. She knew who to blame for that; the one to blame for everything wrong in her life it seemed – Hiruzen Sarutobi.

She felt her blood pounding in her veins as she thought of that two-faced bastard, his smiling, kindly facade masking the ruthless and remorseless ninja who had lived far too long. How she longed for the day when she could plunge her sword into his black heart and spit in his face as he died.

He had stolen her son – his life was the least she could take from him in return.

A/N: Closing in on the end of Part 1 now; some hints of events going on outside of Konoha and one more important event within Konoha remain.

This chapter wraps up the Itachi incident and its aftermath and also reveals some more information about what happened with Kushina and Tsunade. This still isn't the whole story regarding that particular situation, obviously, but it will be interesting to see what you can infer from the information so far.

Two more chapters coming this weekend: one tomorrow and one on Sunday. I'll probably be averaging two to three chapters a week from here on out, unless I get another random burst of creativity that keeps me up til 2 AM. Those are awesome, but getting up the next morning sucks.