I apologize this comes on a Monday morning. I tried publishing this on FF last night(Sunday), but Doc Manager would not work for me. Anyway, here it is.
I do NOT own Naruto.
"E-Ero-Sennin!?" I yelled.
He frowned, "Kiddo?"
I pointed at him and stammered. I wasn't sure what to say. What would ANYONE say? If your dead family member suddenly appeared before you, what would do?
Hinata was faring a little better than I was. She spoke next, but her face was pale, which was saying something. "W-what are you doing here?"
"What, can I not pop in and say "hi!" to my family?"
"NOT IF YOU HAVE BEEN DEAD FOR TEN YEARS!" I yelled.
He held his chin, as if thinking, "It's been that long, huh? Wait, how old are you, Naruto?"
Common sense told me to shut up, but my curiosity got the better of me, "I-I'm almost thirty."
He looked at Hinata, "And I take it you are that Hinata girl, the one he was despairing over."
She slowly nodded her head, her face still pale. Ero-Sennin looked down and saw the wedding band on both of our hands and a big grin spread across his face, "Hah! You two got married!" He ran over and got me in a one-arm headlock, giving me a noogie.
He sure acts like him...
I quickly got out and stared at him, "Who are you?"
"I'm hurt that you don't know your own godfather."
"My FATHER died ten years ago. How can you be him, when he has been dead this long?"
He sighed, "You will come to know that soon enough, but for now, sit, we have a lot to talk about." He gestured to the both of us, but we just stared at him.
"Come on, now, just humor me."
Reluctantly, Hinata and I walked over and sat down on the couch as he took a seat in the recliner that was next to the couch. I finally got a good look at his clothes. He wore clothes that I'd never seen him wear before. His pants and shirt were the same color, somewhere between a light brown and tan. Over this was a red vest. He also donned a pair of sandals. If it were possible, it would seem that his hair was more ridiculous then from before.
I held back a laugh as I watched him stare at Hinata and I. He noticed my stifled laugh and said, "What's so funny, kid?"
"The clothes."
He looked down and said, "What's wrong with my clothes?!"
I small chuckle escaped as I said, "You look like some old Japanese hermit."
He smiled, "They were considered wise."
"But perhaps not as perverted as you."
We both stared at each other after that comment, and then suddenly burst into laughter. Ero-Sennin and I always picked on each other, so we found it easy to laugh at the simplest things. Our conversations always seem to lead back to his perverted-ness.
God, I missed him... I know this isn't Ero-Sennin, but he sure acts like him...
After we calmed down, he started "I take it you are curious as to why I am here."
"That's an understatement." Hinata said.
He looked down and said, "One second."
Using his hands, he formed various different figures with his hands before shouting, "Sound Barrier Jutsu!" His hand glowed blue for a second, but nothing else happened. I wasn't too surprised. Still, his hand glowing blue was a little daunting.
"There, now no one can hear us."
I looked around the room, "You sure? I mean, these walls aren't soundproof."
He sighed, "Just trust me. Besides, that is what I want to talk to you about."
"Anoo..."
We both looked to Hinata. "Can you be more specific than that? What are you going to talk to us about?"
He smiled and looked at me, "I'm glad you married this girl. You need someone who can think straight."
"Hey!"
He chuckled, "As to your question, Hinata, it's time you two learned the truth."
"T-the truth?" I asked, cursing myself for the stutter that came out. Naruto immediately wrapped his arms around me. He knew I would do that.
"Yes, the truth. I just...I don't know how to explain it."
"Start with why you are here." I suggested.
"I like this girl, Naruto." Of course, I blushed.
"Well, suffice to say, I am dead-."
"Well, duh!" Naruto shouted, interrupting him. I slapped him on the back of the head, "Sorry, continue."
He snickered before continuing, "I am dead. I am what you would call a...clone."
"Clone?"
"Yes, a clone. But, not a clone in the scientific sense. I-" He paused for a second in thought, "Do you remember when I told you about the people long ago that could use chakra?"
Naruto slowly nodded.
"Those people were real, not part of myths or legends. People back then could use chakra and make clones of themselves. Now, these clones weren't living flesh and bone, but they were real nonetheless."
"...and you are a clone of Ero-Sennin?" Naruto asked skeptically.
"Yes."
Naruto slowly sat forward, clearly not accepting his explanation, "Let's pretend, for sake of argument, that what you are saying is true. How do you know me? If you are a clone, wouldn't you be your own person?"
"No, the clones that were made of chakra had all the memories of the person who used the jutsu."
"Jutsu?"
"Oh. When someone used chakra to perform different tasks, that task was called a jutsu."
"Ah. Then may I ask when you were created."
He looked down, "The real me, made me the night he planned on telling you to explain the Kyuubi to her." He gestured to me.
"So, right before you..." Naruto's voice trailed off.
"Yes. Right before he died, he made me for the specific purpose of showing you the truth."
We both looked up at him. "What truth?" I asked.
"What is the best way to explain this...?" Jiraiya asked, mainly to himself. After a moment he returned his attention to us, "Have you two ever seen the Matrix?"
"Yeah." I answered.
"You could say that we are in our own little," he moved his hand in a circle, as if gesturing the world itself, "Matrix."
"...so you're saying that everything we know as reality, is not really reality." Naruto stated.
"Pretty much."
Naruto stared at him a moment, "You're crazy."
He held his hand up, "Before you go accusing me, allow me to explain."
Naruto stood up, his temper getting the best of him "Why would I-" I grabbed his hand. He looked at me and sat back down, his temper gone. I snuggled closer to him.
"Thank you Hinata-" Jiraiya started before I interrupted.
"I'm not buying it either. I'm allowing you a chance to explain yourself, but that is it. I'm not saying we will buy the story."
"Wow, for such a quiet girl, you sure have spunk."
"I've had a rough life."
He smiled, "I sympathize." He sat back in his chair, collecting his thoughts.
"I guess I'll start with a basic explanation of jutsu. In the time of the ninja, there were three type of jutsu. There were Ninjutsu, which were similar to "magic," there was Taijutsu, which was hand-to-hand combat, and there was Genjutsu, which was the practice of illusion, " He paused, "Are you with me so far?"
We both nodded.
"To put it simply, the world is under one big Genjutsu."
"So, under one big illusion?" I asked.
"Precisely."
"How did it happen?"
"Well, a certain man did it. He looked at life as meaningless, saying that even love fades as a flower. He believed that peace could only be achieved through illusion, which is why he cast this Genjutsu on the world."
Naruto frowned, "Well, that's crazy. How can anyone believe that?"
Jiraiya smiled, "That's exactly what you said."
We both stared at him like he was crazy, which was how he was beginning to sound.
"What do you mean?"
He sighed, "In reality, meaning when you two are not under this Genjutsu, you two are ninja. The man I mentioned earlier declared war on the ninja world, forcing us all to combine forces to defend our homes. We succeeded in defeating his army, but we could not stop him from using the Genjutsu."
"Well, if everyone was under the Genjutsu, why do you remember it? From what I gather, no one should even know what is going on." I reasoned. To be honest, I didn't trust Naruto to say anything. He was still fuming about this man claiming to be his deceased uncle.
"In the ninja world, I am dead. Somehow, when he cast the Genjutsu, even the dead, the dead who could still be feasibly alive, were raised. A down-side to such a wide scale jutsu, was that those of us who were raised, remember the world as it was before."
"Wait." Naruto started, "in the memory that you conveniently blocked, my father seemed to know about it. Does that mean...?"
Pain shot across Jiraiya's face, "Your parents died the day you were born."
"So those two weren't real?"
"No, they were real. As I said, those who were dead in the ninja world, were suddenly resurrected. Your mother and father were real." He grabbed his face, "To be honest, he did everything he could to keep you from the life you had in reality."
"Which was?" I asked.
"In the real world, Naruto was sealed with the Kyuubi on the day of his birth. The Kyuubi had previously attacked and destroyed half of our home, so, naturally, the people associated Naruto with the Kyuubi. Without parents, or any form of guidance, he was hated and despised by the people of the village. He was alone for a good portion of his life."
"Tch. Sounds like the life I had growing up."
Pity showed in Jiraiya's voice, "Which is exactly why Minato asked me to watch you. He didn't want you to have to endure that pain again."
Naruto looked down, "At least I had Ero-Sennin."
He smiled, "I'm glad you did, kiddo." He stood up, clapping his hands together. "All right, I think it's time we undid this Genjutsu."
"Wait, we didn't say we bought it." I said.
He laughed, "Don't worry, you will after this. Naruto, do you have the necklace the real-me left?"
"H-Hai!"
"Good. I want both of you to stand around me in a circle." Reluctantly, we both stood around him.
"Naruto, take off your shirt."
"What!"
"Just do it." He demanded.
Naruto agreed, albeit begrudgingly. I blushed at the scene and turned my head. Though it wasn't anything I hadn't seen before, I still was embarrassed by the idea.
Some things you never grow out of...
After Naruto's shirt was off, and I was forcing myself to look away, Jiraiya said, "Good, now Hinata and I will both touch the seal."
"What sea-" Naruto quick speaking as a spiral began to form on his stomach.
"Well that's new."
"It will only show itself if you are aware of it. I kept the seal a secret from you for a reason, which I will explain in a minute. Now, it's time to go!"
"Wait, where are we going?"
"To see the Kyuubi, of course."
Naruto: "..."
Littlepans: "..."
Hinata: "..."
Tsuande: "..."
Littlepans: "I don't know what to have them say."
Well, can you guess? I figure its obvious now. Are you surprised? Disappointed? Let me know!
Review/Comment Please!