I don't own Naruto in any way.
Hello everybody and welcome once again for the new chapter of this story. This week the story went over the 200K mark in hits and I wanted to thank each and everyone of you for making this possible. It's amazing just how many people read and review for this story so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Things have been busy these past few weeks with studying and tomorrow my exams start so I'm quite nervous about that. I hope to pass them but it will not be easy, there's just so much I have to learn. Ah well, no sense in panicking now I suppose, we all went through those times didn't we?
Any way enjoy the chapter and let me know your remarks or suggestions.
Chapter 21: Namikaze Naruto
Naruto wake up feeling great and well rested. He looked around and saw the familiar bedroom in Anko's apartment. He got out of bed and went to look for Anko, who he knew was home since he had woken up from the sounds of someone showering. He entered the kitchen and saw his girlfriend standing there wearing nothing but a towel exposing a serious amount of skin. Though he was used to it by now, she still had an effect on him and she knew it all too well. She loved to tease him and try to embarrass him whenever she got the chance and secretly he liked it as well.
"Good morning Anko-chan." Naruto said slowly hugging her from behind her making her spin around so she could face him.
"Good morning to you too Naruto-kun." She said before kissing him. "finally awake huh? It took you a while, I thought you would be up much sooner than that."
"How long have I been out?" he asked surprised.
"You've slept for two whole days. But I guess you deserved some rest so I let you sleep." She said grinning. "but don't think for one minute that you're out of the dog house mister! I'll find a way to punish you for that stunt you pulled."
"Two days? I slept for two days? Wow, what happened while I was asleep?" Naruto asked. "and I'm sorry for fighting Orochimaru but if I didn't help Jichan he would have been killed and that was something that I couldn't allow to happen."
"I know, just because I'm a little mad doesn't mean I don't understand the reason why you fought. And I'm very proud of you, you were amazing Naruto. Lots of people have been talking about you and the rest of the genin but more on that later." Anko said while sitting down to eat her breakfast. "for now you need to take a shower and eat because the Sandaime asked to see you as soon as you were awake."
Naruto nodded and quickly went to take a shower which he enjoyed very much before getting dressed and eating breakfast. Anko too had gotten dressed and was ready to leave and a good twenty minutes later they were walking to the Hokage tower. Naruto watched around looking at the damage Konoha had suffered from the attack, his village had taken some heavy blows but he was sure that they could and would repair everything with time. When they passed a large crowd Naruto was surprised that some of the people smiled at him or even waved at him and he looked at Anko for an explanation.
"A lot of people have heard how you helped saving the Hokage and how you fought to protect the village." She answered softly. "the people of Konoha love the Sandaime, he's always kind and caring. They want to thank you for saving their leader Naruto-kun."
Naruto nodded a little red from the praise and the stares he was getting but unlike before these were stares of kindness and some form of respect for him. He couldn't be more happier, maybe he had succeeded a little in his dream that the people of Konoha would see him as Naruto and not as the Kyuubi child. He thought about it for the rest of the trip to the tower and vowed to keep doing his best to prove his was anything but a demon. When they arrived at the tower they went straight for the Hokage's office and to his surprise all the rest of the genin were gathered there as well. Before he got a chance to ask however they were told to go inside. When they entered the office they saw that beside the Hokage all of the Jounin sensei's, Iruka sensei, Ino-Shika-Cho senior team and Hyuuga Hiashi were gathered there.
"Ah welcome, I'm glad to see all of you in good health, please take a seat everyone." The Sandaime said while happily puffing on his pipe. When everyone had found a seat he continued. "First of all let me say how proud I am to know each and every one of you. You have proven yourself to be excellent shinobi of the Leaf and you have defended you home village splendidly and for that you have my thanks."
"Now, let us get to the real reason we called you here today. Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and TenTen please step forward." The hokage asked to which the genin got up and took a step forward a little confused.
"Hyuuga Neji, during you fight in the finals you have shown an mastery of the Hyuuga techniques like few did before you. When the attack hit us, you were willing to put your personal differences aside for the good of Konoha and for that I thank you. You and the genin beside you fought alongside with the Anbu to protect this very tower and it secrets and while I can't award you the rank of Chuunin let it be known that the Anbu were very impressed with the four of you." Sandaime said. "They have told me that if any of you would ever like to join the Anbu they would be waiting."
"Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino, I'm sure the two of you were as disappointed as I was when your match was interfered and cancelled by the attack. I would have loved to see the fight between the two of you. Like Neji I can't award you with the rank of Chuunin but once again the Anbu were impressed and they will keep an eye for the two of you." He said smiling at Kiba's shocked face.
"TenTen, while you didn't fight during the finals you fought marvelously during the invasion and according to the Anbu you're well on your way to become Konoha's next weapons mistress. They were very impressed at the way you fought. You too will be granted an invitation to join the Anbu when they think you're strong enough." The Sandaime said with pride. TenTen was a bright red color by the time the hokage was finished and could hardly believe the praise she had gotten. The four genin were told to sit down which they quickly did.
"Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji please step forward." The Hokage said calling for the next group of genin. "The three of you protected Konoha Hospital from destruction and hereby saved dozens of lives, I thank you for the bottom of my heart. You have impressed many people with your actions and your fathers and I have decided that the three of you are ready to learn the more advanced clan techniques of your respective family." He said making the genin look towards their dads earning a nod from them.
"Nara Shikamaru, during your fights in the Chuunin exams you have demonstrated to possess an excellent mind capable of strategic thinking. You have shown us that you understand what the best actions are in any given situation. A shinobi is not someone who only fights, a shinobi knows when it is time to fight and when not. You forfeited your match even when you won the battle for the right reasons, sometimes it's better to fight another day. For your understanding of this and for your incredible demonstration I hereby award you the rank of Chuunin. Congratulations." Sandaime said handing a Chuunin jacket to Shikamaru who accepted it with pride. The rest of genin clapped glad that their friend had been recognized for his hard work.
"Uchiha Sasuke, please step forward." Sandaime said making Sasuke step up with a smirk on his face. "you have fought well during the invasion, helping defeat the enemy that attacked the stadium and for that I thank you. Unfortunately I cannot make you a chuunin for several reasons, the first is that you should have been disqualified for the finals for coming late" Sasuke's smirk disappeared soon after that "and secondly you disobeyed a direct order from a superior shinobi. Sasuke, do not presume your name will grant you everything. Had this been a normal mission you would have been punished for insubordination but the Jounin in question asked for a verbal warning only. Consider yourself lucky." Sandaime finished sternly.
"Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto please step forward." He continued. "The three of you saved not only Iruka here but also all of our future shinobi. Had the three of you not been there I would have to inform a lot of parents that their son or daughter had been killed for being an academy student. Thank you for not making me do that, there is nothing worse than informing someone that their child has been killed." He solemnly said.
"Haruno Sakura, it is said that admitting a mistake is harder than making one and I find this being true. You admitted being wrong in your ways of becoming a kunoichi and you have redeemed yourself with the help of your friends. I am very proud of you and so is your Jounin sensei and we expect you to continue to work hard. You have become a true kunoichi of the Leaf and I'm sure you'll become very strong." He said looking at Sakura who had tears in her eyes from happiness.
"Hyuuga Hinata, of all the people here you are the one who impressed me the most. Your fight with Neji was nothing short of amazing, for someone as young as yourself to start creating a powerful Taijutsu style capable of fighting the Jyuken on equal level is absolutely amazing. I hope you keep on working very hard now that you have shown us just how strong you truly are. I know you father would like to say a few words so please listen to him." Sandaime said looking at Hiashi who nodded. Hinata turned to her dad and prepared for the worst.
"Hinata, for many years I saw your kindness and gentleness as a weakness unfit for a heir of the Hyuuga family. I made you suffer for several years and I cannot even begin to imagine how much you must resent me for it. I can only say how sorry I am and that I will try to be a better father for you. You have proven yourself to be strong and I have never been so glad that I was wrong about something. Your mother would be so proud of you Hinata, I know I am. " Hiashi said while looking at his daughter. Hinata was shocked when she heard her father words, not only did he apologize but he even told her he was proud of her. This was something she had wanted to hear for years and she couldn't help but a few tears of happiness ran down her cheeks before she went over to give her estranged father a small hug showing that she forgave him. She then returned to her place alongside Sakura and Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what can I say that hasn't already been said today? During the Chuunin exams you've shown me that you have surpassed my wildest expectations. You defeated Gaara, who was nothing more than a killing machine but you didn't only defeat him you changed him as well. You showed him that a life of killing people isn't the only way, you saved him from himself and that is something that not many people can achieve. During you fight you used a technique thought lost when the Yondaime Hokage died while protecting this village, a technique beyond most of the Konoha shinobi, a technique that not even I can perform." The hokage said earning a gasp from most of the genin. They had been told about that technique but they didn't know it was so special and hard to perform.
"You helped taking control of the situation after receiving your orders from your sensei and showed that you are capable of leading a team. Therefore it's my pleasure to award you with the rank of Chuunin. Congratulations, you've earned it." Sandaime said beaming with pride when he handed the jacket to his adoptive grandson.
"Thank you Hokage-sama." Naruto said while accepting it. He was enormously happy, he had done it. He had become a Chuunin, he was a step closer to realizing his dream of become Hokage and he couldn't be prouder of himself. The rest of the genin (except one brooding Sasuke) congratulated Naruto and told him that he deserved it.
"As a final word, I would like to say that each and every one of you have made me and your Jounin sensei very proud. You have made Konoha proud and have shown to us that each and every one of you possess the 'Will of Fire'. Continue to work hard to protect the village and those you love. All of you are dismissed except Naruto and Anko." He finished before dropping in his chair. He still needed some more rest but he couldn't afford to do nothing, the village needed him right now.
"Sit Naruto, the official part is over you can relax now." Sandaime said joking. He knew how much Naruto hated formalities no matter what. Naruto grinned and sat down with Anko next to him. "First of all, let me congratulate you again on making Chuunin. You earned it."
"Thanks jichan. That means a lot to me." Naruto said smiling.
"Naruto, I owe you my live. If you hadn't broken into the barrier to fight alongside with me I wouldn't have survived of that I'm sure." Sandaime said.
"Stop it Jichan, I'm just repaying you for everything you did for me. Besides its only normal that I would help you, you're the leader of the village I love and you're one my precious people." Naruto said making it sound like he did the most obvious thing in the world.
"Fine, anyway the reason why I still needed to talk to you is the following. Now that you made Chuunin, you can use your dads name if you want. If you choose to use it then I will announce it to the village tonight." He continued.
"Off course I want to use dads name but what is happening tonight?" Naruto asked.
"Tonight is the funeral of the people who died during the attack and I will have to speak to the crowd. Moral is at an all time low now Naruto, though we suffered much less damage than we expected we still lost 13 shinobi. Therefore I personally think that the village could use some good news for once." Sandaime said while looking out the window. Naruto nodded, he understood the importance of keeping the villagers occupied and somewhat happy otherwise problems would start appearing and that was something they couldn't deal with right now.
"I'm old Naruto, too old to be Hokage. Orochimaru was right in one thing, things need to change and therefore I will be retiring from the post of Hokage as soon as possible." Sandaime said shocking both Naruto and Anko who started protesting. "calm down, both of you. I have a successor in mind who will do an excellent job."
"Ah, so you finally saw reason. Fine give me the hat, old man. I'll take care of the village for you." Naruto said jokingly making both Anko and Sandaime laugh.
"Thank you Naruto I needed that. I'm sorry but while I'm sure that one day you will be Hokage for now you'll have to wait." He said making Naruto pout in his seat. "but I have a request, I want you to join Jiraiya in finding my successor. She's my former student and she'll do fine as a Godaime Hokage."
"You mean Tsunade-sama is your chosen successor?" Anko asked surprised.
"Really? You want her to become Hokage? It thought you told me she hated the village after losing her brother and lover in the war."Naruto said.
"While it is true Tsunade left the village, she doesn't hate it. It's just too painful for her to remain here where everything reminds her of those she lost. Jiraiya is looking for clues to where she might be and he'll be back by next week." Sandaime explained.
"But why do you want me to go with him? I mean, I don't even know the woman how can I help then?" Naruto asked confused about his part.
"Naruto you convinced a Jinchuuriki who had been killing for years to give up that way of living. If anyone has a chance at convincing Tsunade in becoming Hokage it's you." Sandaime laughed. Naruto just looked at Sandaime but nodded, in fact he was anxious to meet Tsunade. She was one of the strongest shinobi the Leaf had ever had and maybe she could teach him some stuff beside medical jutsu.
"So I'll leave next week? Fine by me, just send Ero-sennin to come and get me." Naruto said.
After Sandaime told him to be ready for the revelation of his name later tonight he dismissed them saying that his friends were waiting for him outside. Both of them nodded and left to find the rest of the genin, Jounin sensei's and their fathers. They didn't have to search long as they were waiting for them just in front of the tower and they quickly made their way over to them.
"Hey everybody, what going on?" Naruto asked.
"Ah Naruto, Anko now that the two of you are here we can get to business. We're going to celebrate off course. I mean you and Shikamaru have made Chuunin and the rest of the genin have received the Hokage's personal thanks." Kurenai started. "This calls for a drink." On the way they encountered Lee, who was still injured badly, and Gai and they too were invited to join them.
At this everybody, except Sasuke who left saying that he had better things to do, cheered and followed Kurenai. They went to a small restaurant (Chouji was complaining he was hungry) and ordered lots of drinks and food. They were talking amongst each other and were having a great time, talking about how proud they were of themselves and what they had planned for future training.
"So Naruto, can I ask you a question?" Kakashi asked looking up from his orange book.
"Sure thing Kakashi-sensei but I can't promise I'll be able to answer it." Naruto said from across the table.
"What exactly happened after you penetrated that barrier? I mean they're plenty of rumors going around but what really happened?" He asked interested. The others were now listening as well seeing they too wanted to know.
"Well…." And for the next 20 minutes Naruto told them how he fought alongside Sandaime to defeat Orochimaru though he didn't explain why his raw chakra had such an effect on Orochimaru's arms. Everybody was listening so intently that most of them forget about the food and drinks (well except Chouji and his dad). This was nothing like the rumors they heard, some parts were the same but in the end the truth was even more shocking that the rumors.
"Holy shit!" Kiba exclaimed, earning a slap on the head from Kurenai for his language. Everybody laughed but they all thought the same thing as Kiba.
"YOSH, NARUTO-KUN FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE BURNING WILDLY. DID YOU HEAR LEE? WHEN YOU'RE HEALED WE'LL HAVE TO WORK HARD." Gai yelled out making everyone but Lee wince at the volume.
"YES GAI-SENSEI, AND IF I CAN'T BECOME AS STRONG AS NARUTO THEN I WILL RUN A 1000 LAPS AROUND KONOHA WITH EXTRA WEIGHTS" Lee added loudly.
"AND IF YOU CAN'T DO THAT, THEN I WILL CLIMB THE HOKAGE MONUMENT WITH ONLY ONE HAND AND…" Gai would have continued but Asuma held his hand over Gai's mouth saying they understood.
"But seriously Naruto, how did you get that strong?" TenTen asked. She had been very impressed with his sword and when she had heard that he forged it himself her respect for the blonde Chuunin went through the roof.
Naruto thought for a second before he looked at Anko and smiled. He put his arms around her, grabbing her into a hug and kissed her on the cheek before turning back to TenTen. Everyone was looking at the two of them.
"TenTen, I'm strong because I had the best teacher someone could ever have. She taught me everything I know and without her I wouldn't be half the shinobi I am today. Anko-chan here trained me for six months and during that time I realized what being a shinobi is all about. After that I joined Team 8 and Kurenai-sensei, and they are without a doubt the best team I could ever have joined. We trained and lived together, helping each other getting stronger and better shinobi. Finally there's Sandaime-jichan, he taught me that a shinobi can get truly strong when he fights to protects the ones he loves and that became my motivation." Naruto said while still holding Anko in his arms.
"I think I understand but still Naruto, you were the dead last in the academy and now only a year later you're the strongest of us all." Ino said softly, she didn't want to hurt Naruto's feelings by calling him dead last again.
"Ino, there's a reason why I was the dead last and someday I'll you tell all about it but for now it needs to be a secret. I hope you understand?" Naruto said. Ino nodded not wanting to lose the fragile friendship she had started with Naruto during the month before the finals.
"I have a question if you don't mind." Asuma said and Naruto just nodded to show he didn't mind at all. "What's between you and Anko?"
"I love her. She's my teacher, my best friend and hopefully one day the mother of my children though that's still in the far future." Naruto answered with a smile. Anko who heard the mother part just turned to him and kissed him soundly on the lips showing just how much she like that idea.
After that the girls grilled Anko about how they got together while the men congratulated Naruto for landing one of the sexiest kunoichi in Konoha. They continued to talk and eat for several hours before they had to get ready for the funeral service later that day. They promised to meet each other there and went to their respective homes. When Naruto and Anko arrived at her apartment they still had some time left so they cuddled on the couch happy to have each other. After resting a bit Anko told him that she was going to get a shower while Naruto picked out his clothes for the service. He would have to be presentable when the Sandaime announced his heritage to the village. He went over to his closet and started going through his clothes. Finding a long-sleeved black shirt he grabbed it and put in on the bed, next he found a dark blue pants with he thought would go great with the dark shirt. On top of his shirt he would wear a black jacket, all in all he looked quite handsome in all black but seeing as this was a funeral service black was the only color acceptable in his mind.
Anko stepped out of the shower feeling somewhat nervous for the events later on, the funeral she could deal with as she didn't know any of the fallen shinobi. She was nervous about the announcement of Naruto's heritage and what the consequences could be like for them. She was a little worried about how the towns people would react after hearing that the Kyuubi brat was none other than the Yondaime's son. Naruto's reputation had changed quite a bit after his battle alongside the Sandaime but it wasn't to say that everyone loved him or respected him, that would be impossible as changes like that need time. She stepped into the bedroom and saw Naruto standing fully dressed and she had to admit he looked great in them, seeing him standing there she unconsciously licked her lips in desire but she shook her head saying that there wasn't time for that. She quickly open her closet and grabbed her dark dress and nodded, she didn't like wearing such clothes but for a funeral she only wore this, it was a beautiful dress that wasn't too revealing but still stylish and somber. After getting dressed she stepped outside the room and saw Naruto staring at her, she smirked loving that she could have such an effect on her lover.
After both of them got ready they left for the Hokage tower were the service would be held. The tower had enough open space to allow the village's shinobi's to gather, the funeral was only accessible to shinobi and family so that was more than enough space. When they arrived the saw that the other were already there waiting for them, nodding to everyone the shinobi silently made their way over to the front so that they could pay their respects to those who had fallen to protect Konoha. Almost every shinobi had or would have to come to such a ceremony so most of them knew what they had to do or what would happen. When everyone had gone forward the Sandaime slowly got up and walked to the front of the podium and looked at those present.
"Our village has suffered a great loss, a loss that will be felt for years to come. In the attack on Konoha several days ago we didn't just lose several shinobi, we lost husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. Each of the shinobi had loved ones that the protected by paying the ultimate price, they fought not only for this village but also for those gathered here today. We will miss them greatly but we will never forget them, they are heroes and thus should be honored as one." Sandaime started his words. "They have shown us what it means to be a Konoha shinobi and I for one could not have been more proud of them. Fallen heroes of Konoha, I thank you." He finished while bowing deeply to the coffins making everyone gathered there do the same.
The rest of the ceremony was spend in silence as one by one some of the family or friends of the deceased came forward and spend a few memories with the crowd. Soon the service came to an end and Sandaime asked them to gather at the town's main square for an important announcement that concerned the whole village. Wondering what kind of announcement this could be they all followed the crowd to the main square. When they arrived they saw that a lot of people had gathered there already. Anko and Naruto were asked by an Anbu to follow him to see the Hokage, making the rest of the group wonder what was going on. Kiba, Shino, Hinata and Kurenai smiled knowingly already figuring out what was going to happen next. A half hour later the Sandaime finally made his appearance at the stage silencing the crowd.
"People of Konoha, we're gathered here today after Konoha suffered from an enemy attack. We lost some good people to the attacks and we have sustained lots of damage. Yet I stand here before you knowing that we can get through this together. We will not succumb to our fears and grieve but we will strive to once again rise up from the ashes like a phoenix. We will show the world that Konoha isn't some weak village and to do that we will work together like we always have in the past. Together we can overcome anything that comes our way, together we will show them what it means to be from Konoha." Sandaime shouted to the crow and slowly but surely the crowd answered with cries of agreement.
"I have more news, news that will rock Konoha's very foundations and for that I ask that you be patient for a little longer. For almost 14 years I have kept a promise to keep a secret, this promise was made to our beloved Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato. The time to reveal the contents of that promise had come." The Sandaime said into the microphone so that everyone could hear what he was about to reveal. The people gathered were already talking amongst themselves wondering what the secret from the Yondaime could be. "Many of you know how Minato was married but not a lot of people knew who he was married to and that his wife was pregnant of his child. The night of his death Yondaime asked me to keep this information secret until his child was old enough to protect himself and those he loves." Sandaime paused for a few seconds.
"Minato feared that if the knowledge of him having a child would become know then his child's life would be in grave danger from his former enemies and I believe he was correct. The child of Konoha's Yellow Flash would be a prime target for assassination thus I kept quiet. I watched Minato's child grow up from a distance and saw that just as his dad before him became a remarkable shinobi of the Leaf, willing to risk his life to protect the village and its inhabitants something he proved during the attack on our village just a few days ago. People of Konoha, I would like to introduce to you all, the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, please step forward Namikaze Naruto formerly known as Uzumaki Naruto." Sandaime spoke loudly.
Naruto stepped out of the shadow dressed in his usual outfit but with his Chuunin vest on and faced the crowd. He bowed to the Sandaime and then to the people in front of them. The crowd was shocked into silence, nobody could utter a word at the revelations. They could hardly believe that the one many people saw as the Kyuubi brat was none other than the Yondaime's son, this had to be a joke or something. People started whispering and talking to those standing next to them and soon the whole place was ready to turn into chaos. Naruto looked at Anko and Sandaime and they gave him an encouraging smile telling him to proceed.
"People of Konoha, please listen to me!" Naruto said into the microphone and as one the crowd fell back into silence. "I'm sure this must be a shock to many of you but please hear me out. I know many of you are surprised to hear that someone like me is the son of one of the greatest heroes of our village. For years I saw the Yondaime as my greatest hero myself, he was the man I wanted to become, he was my goal and still is my goal. To me he was everything I wanted to be so you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that he was my father." He ended softly. "My father loved this village and everyone living in it and for this village he was willing to sacrifice his life. On the night the Kyuubi attacked he didn't hesitate to protect this village and in the end he succeeded in saving us all but so many lives had already been lost. I realize I'm a reminder of what happened that night and for that I'm truly sorry. But my father entrusted me with a mission, a mission to protect this village just like he did and I intent to honor his wish." He continued while grabbing a kunai form his holster. The people were listening to him with attention and saw him take out the kunai. Naruto placed the edge of the kunai in the palm of his right hand and made a deep cut making blood fall on the ground.
"Like my father before me, I swear on my blood and the pain in my hand that I will protect this village until my dying breath. I will fight all of Konoha's enemies and those foolish enough to try and hurt us. This is my promise to you all and those who know me know that I never break a promise, ever." Naruto said before bowing deeply to the crowd. The stunned crowd was silent for a few seconds before several people started clapping in their hands and cheering for him. Slowly more and more people joined the clapping and cheering filling the area with excitement. Sandaime was looking at the crowd with pride in his eyes, never had he been so proud of his village and it showed. Though many people would still need convincing he believed Naruto had made a big step in gaining the acknowledgement from the villagers.
After that people started to go home still shocked from the revelations they heard leaving only Naruto and his closest friends and surrogate family. Those who already knew Naruto's secret were happy that things had gone so well but they also knew that many people were too shocked to fully understand what just happened. The next few days would really show in what degree Naruto would be accepted by the village. The others who didn't know anything about this were shocked but now that they thought about it they had to admit that the resemblance between father and son was obvious and they were slightly embarrassed that they didn't make the connection by themselves. They didn't ask too many question knowing that this had been an emotional evening for Naruto so they just said they're goodbye's for the night and promised to meet up the next to help out with the repairs of the village.
The next week went fast for the group, each of them was assigned a task that would help rebuild the village, academy students were ordered to help clean the debris from the destroyed buildings and genin were asked to help rebuild the outer wall that protected the village. Chuunin and Jounin were asked to take care of the remaining missions since they couldn't show any weakness and thus had to keep on taking the requests of their clients. Naruto however was asked to help in the village since Jiraiya could return any day with information about Tsunade and her whereabouts. Naruto seemed to enjoy helping out and with the large amount of Kage Bunshins that he was able to make he was a one man's army. He and his clones took care of the buildings that were only partially damaged and that could be repaired and by the end of the week most of the work was done to a great relief of the villagers.
Speaking of the villagers, a lot of them had started to accept Naruto and some even apologized for how they treated him when he was younger. Naruto smiled and said that the past is in the past and that they only had to worry about the present and the future. Especially the younger generations, those who had born several years before and after him were seeing Naruto as a hero for saving the Sandaime and helping in the fights. The older people however were still wary and mostly set in their way of thinking but that was something he could deal with. His friends were already over the shock and treated him no different than before, to them he was still Naruto and being the son of the Yondaime wouldn't change that which Naruto was grateful for. They had asked some questions but that was the end of that and they spend a lot of time together after their mission for the day was done.
Naruto was sitting on the top of the Hokage monument looking at the village and thinking how much his life had changed over the past year. After years of struggling he finally made progress on his way to being Hokage, he had made Chuunin and to him it seemed surreal but he knew he had worked hard for it and that he deserved it. He wondered what would happen now and how things would play out for him and his friends. He sensed a familiar person approaching him and turned around.
"Hey gaki, your girlfriend told me I could find you here." Jiraiya said while sitting down next to him.
"Yeah, I like to come here and think about everything that's going on in my life. Ever since I was a little kid this place seemed to be my safe haven. Weird huh?" Naruto said with a smile.
"Not really, everybody needs a place where they can relax. Mine is a hotspring where I can do research." Jiraiya said with a perverted grin on his face. "that reminds me, why didn't you tell me you had such a sexy girlfriend? Care to share some details?" he continued pulling out a notebook.
"You answered your own question Ero-sennin. I better not hear that you used Anko-chan and me as inspiration or else…." Naruto warned him.
"Pfff gaki, you're several decades too young to be any threat to the great Jiraiya-sama." He snorted.
"That may be so, but I'm sure Tsunade would be glad to punish you in my stead. I do remember her having a super strong punch." Naruto said with a grin making Jiraiya pale at the thought of being punched by one of Tsunade's fists.
"Fine, you win." Jiraiya sighed. "Anyway, I need to talk to you, Anko and the old man. It's urgent so go get her and meet me at the tower."
Naruto nodded and used 'Shunshin no jutsu' to get home faster. Once there he grabbed Anko telling her that they were needed at the Hokage's office right away. She nodded and they started making their way over to the tower. They immediately went to the office and knocked before entering.
"Ah, good you're here please sit down." Sandaime said looking very serious. "Alright Jiraiya what's going on?"
"First I'll like to say that I have a lead on Tsunade so we'll leave tomorrow before she gets away again." Jiraiya said while leaning against the wall.
"Very well, Naruto you heard the man. Be ready by 5 AM and meet us at the North Gate." Sandaime ordered Naruto who simply nodded. "What's next?"
"Right, and this is the bad part. As you know my spy network is one of the best in the world, and for years I have been gathering information on Orochimaru and his whereabouts. Several years ago I heard that he joined an organization called 'Akatsuki' and for quite some time I didn't know what their purpose was. No matter what I tried information on them was almost non-existent and their actions were sparse." Jiraiya told them.
"But about a year ago I heard an interesting story about them and I started researching them for up close and what I found was anything but good. It seems that Akatsuki's members are some of the most dangerous nukenin in the bingo book. It's safe to say that each and every one of them is classified as a S-rank shinobi and I have an idea of some of their identities. What I sure of is that Uchiha Itachi is one of them so we can assume that they'll all be around his level." Jiraiya said shocking them all.
"Are you sure? That's most disturbing indeed. Do you have any idea what their goal is?" Sandaime said, his pipe long forgotten.
"I did hear something and that's why Naruto should hear this. I discovered that they are trying to gather the nine Bijuu, for what I don't know but they will be hunting down the Bijuu and the Jinchuuriki pretty soon. Until now they have been gathering information, money and manpower but it seems that this stage of their plan is reaching an end." Jiraiya finished before walking to the window and sitting down next to it.
"So there after the Kyuubi? But how would they get it, I mean dad sealed it and you told me that it can never get free right?" Naruto asked a little shaken by what he just heard.
"While it's true that Minato's seal is very strong I believe that they have a way to extract the Bijuu from the Jinchuuriki otherwise they wouldn't start such an organization." Jiraiya said.
"What would happen to Naruto if the Kyuubi is extracted from him?" Anko asked concerned.
"Honestly? I have no idea but I think it's best to assume that Naruto wouldn't survive the process." He answered softly, he didn't want to scare them but he thought it was best that they knew what was going on. Keeping secrets from Naruto would only result in tragedy, he needed to know about what was going to happen.
"Anko-chan, no need to panic yet. Thanks Ero-sennin for telling me all this, I guess there's only one option and that's to train and get stronger so I can defeat them." Naruto while holding Anko's hand so she would calm down a little.
"Glad to hear you say that gaki because I'm taking you as my apprentice from here on out. Anko here has done a great job in training you but if you want to become strong enough to face S-rank shinobi you'll need a lot more than she can teach you. No offence Anko." Jiraiya said giving her a little smile.
"None taken, you're right Naruto will need your guidance but I'll warn you right now if you turn Naruto into a pervert you will regret it. Do I make myself clear?" Anko said advancing on the Sannin with a kunai spinning in her hand. Jiraiya quickly nodded hoping she wouldn't use that kunai to cut off his most prized body part.
"Okay, calm down Anko. I'm sure Naruto will be fine." Sandaime chuckled at the scene.
A few hours later they had come up with a temporary plan to start Naruto's training and how they would proceed to deal with the Akatsuki. They would take care of a more detailed plan when Naruto and Jiraiya returned from searching Tsunade and hopefully return with her ready to become the Godaime Hokage. Naruto and Anko went home since Naruto had to leave in a few hours and they wanted to spend a little time together before he left.
"So Jiraiya, what do think about Naruto?" Sandaime asked his former student.
"The kid is strong, that's for sure but he'll need a lot more training if he wants to have a chance against Akatsuki." Jiraiya said.
"That's why we're here isn't it? To teach him and help him get stronger." Sandaime said while taking his pipe in his hand.
Jiraiya nodded and said his goodbye as well telling his teacher that he would see him at the gate the next morning. Sandaime nodded and walked over to the window where he could see the faces of the previous Hokage's carved into the mountain. He looked over at the Yondaime's head and couldn't help but feeling sad, he always thought that Naruto should have had his dad at his side to guide him trough life but seeing as that was impossible he would gladly take on that duty.
'Minato, you and Kushina would have been so proud of Naruto. No matter what I promise to both of you that I will do my very best to ensure his safety. There is no doubt in my mind that he will become the greatest Hokage of all times and I'll make sure he gets there.' Sandaime thought before he turned around and walked to the door hoping to get some sleep as well.
Not much action in this chapter but a lot of emotions right? I hope everybody's happy with how I rewarded Naruto and the rest. The funeral and the declaration of Naruto's parentage was hard to write , I wanted it to feel a little natural and I hope I succeeded in that. The next chapter will be the start of the search for Tsunade so things are going to change fairly quickly now, until now I stayed pretty much loyal to canon for the main events but I hope to come up with some original storylines myself.
The next chapter will be released on Sunday 15th of June: Chapter 22: And the search is on!'
See you guys then.