Hei guys, here is the new chapter. Hope you all enjoy this chapter :D

Next chapter, "Elite Jounin battle"

CHAPTER 55: THE TRUTH REVEALED

Three months had passed by since Naruto had left with Jiraiya for his two year training. While most of the Konoha 9 were also improving when they could, they still had to go on missions whenever they were assigned to.

Haruno Sakura's training was going well with the legendary medic, Tsunade. Although her training was mostly in Konoha's hospital, her training had been moved to the Hokage tower after Tsunade realized she needed to supervise Sakura's training more after realizing her potential.

It was another typical morning as Maki prepared himself for the day. It was a struggle for the Jounin to even get up from bed. When he finally managed to do so, he took a quick hot shower and then brushed his teeth quickly. Once he was done, he headed back to his room, removing his clothing and putting on his Jounin outfit.

Once he was done equipping with five of his custom kunai in his pouch. Once he was done, he headed downstairs for his breakfast. Suyuki was already busy with cleaning the house as Maki ate his breakfast quickly.

"Where's Sakura?" Maki asked as he washed his plate.

"She headed out early for the Hokage tower." Suyuki answered, "Honestly, that girl. The least she could do is to have a proper breakfast. It's not good for the body for a growing girl."

Maki laughed and Suyuki sent him a death glare, immediately stopping the Jounin. Maki lazed around the house for another ten minutes before he headed out of the house as he had to report to the Hokage for a patrol mission. He had no missions to take today and decided the extra income he would receive from patrolling would be nice.

Since the six months had passed, Maki was extremely busy with either missions or when he had the time, train on his own. Kakashi was also busy not just with missions, but he had the responsibility to also train Sasuke. As a matter of fact, Kakashi was becoming more of Sasuke's personal teacher as Kakashi helped improve Sasuke's usage of the Sharingan. The only time Maki was called to help train Sasuke was to improve Sasuke's fire abilities.

Sasuke basically had three teachers training him. Kakashi; who mainly trained Sasuke in the Sharingan, Maki; who trained Sasuke in improving his fire affinity and finally Gai; who trained Sasuke in the Taijutsu field. The pink haired Jounin could see that Sasuke was quickly getting stronger, probably around the skills of a trained Chuunin and he had no doubt in one year, Sasuke could easily be considered a Jounin.

About ten minutes later, Maki entered the Hokage's office to find the 5th Hokage busy with paperwork. Even from where he stood, he could clearly tell that Tsunade was extremely frustrated with the load of work. Shizune noticed Maki and gestured for him to approach, although Maki wondered if this was the best of times.

"Hokage-sama?" Maki began.

"Eh?" Tsunade looked up from her work and immediately smiled, "Oh Maki! What do you want?"

"I'm here for my patrol assignment."

"Ah right," Tsunade stretched while she looked for the assignment. She just wanted to burn some time after the huge paperwork. She finally retrieved a piece of paper and looked through it, "Right… Maki… Maki… There, you're assigned to patrol to the west of Konoha."

Maki nodded and gave his bow of respect and proceeded to leave the office when Tsunade stopped him.

"Maki, is there anything you've heard from Jiraiya?"

Maki gave a confused look, "No, not yet. Is there something wrong?"

Tsunade shook her head, "No, I just wanted to know if there was anything. After all, you're the only one that has the means to communicate with that perverted idiot. Just let me know if he does contact you."

Maki bowed once more in acknowledgement and left the office to begin his patrol duty. While walking in the hallways, to his surprise, he spotted his niece coming to him in his direction while carrying a stack of documents. He wondered what she was doing carrying documents when she should be training.

"Sakura?" Maki called out, surprising Sakura.

"Uncle Maki? What are you doing here?"

"I've got patrol duty, just had to collect my assignment from the Hokage." Maki eyed the documents then turned to Sakura, "Why are you carrying these documents?"

"Tsunade basically made me one of her new assistants," Sakura explained, sighing at the same time, "Just like Shizune."

"So you have to carry documents for her now…?"

Sakura nodded, "It's just one of the many tasks I have to do now. Only then will she supervise my training."

Maki sweat dropped, "I see… Well, good luck then!"

Sakura groaned once more and made her way to the Hokage's office while Maki went ahead for his patrol duty. Maki walked on the streets and kept an eye for anything that could go wrong. Normally, he'd just create clones for patrol while he sat somewhere and relaxed but he felt productive today.

Ten minutes later, Maki was found sitting in the nearby park relaxing while three of his clones patrolled his area. Some of the ANBU's that were assigned to his area sighed at the lazy Jounin, wishing they had his large chakra supply to use clones while still being efficient. It was almost unbelievable that Maki had trained since he was young to increase his chakra capacity to the point that he had a supply like that of a Jinchuuriki, an extremely rare occurrence.

***Training Grounds***

At training ground number eight, Uchiha Sasuke thrust his Chidori towards Kakashi but Kakashi easily intercepted the attack, grabbing Sasuke by the wrist and stopping the attack. Sasuke then stared at Kakashi in the eye to deliver a Genjutsu but Kakashi's one was superior, placing a counter Genjutsu.

A few seconds later, Sasuke was released from the Genjutsu world and sat down, panting heavily as sweat poured down his back. Kakashi grinned beneath his mask, knowing that Sasuke was frustrated that he could still not defeat Kakashi. It was impossible in his current state as Kakashi had more battle experience and their skills were still too far apart. But he could in two years time, Sasuke would be a challenge and could even beat him then.

"What's next in my schedule?" Sasuke questioned, still panting.

"You should relax a little," Kakashi advised, "It is not wise to tire your body out."

"No, I can still keep going!" Right on que, Sasuke felt a little dizzy and Kakashi simply laughed.

"Like I said," Kakashi said, "Relax. Your body needs time to recover even if your heart wishes to go further."

Sasuke was not happy to stop their little spar but Kakashi knew what was best for the Uchiha and he obeyed. Sasuke lay down on the grass and looked at the sky, staring at the clouds and the birds that above him. Kakashi gave Sasuke a chakra pill and the boy gratefully swallowed the pill. Sasuke's training would normally require him to train from dawn until dusk with ten to twenty minutes break in between. It was the only way for Sasuke to improve as quickly as he can before Orochimaru might strike again.

As Sasuke slowly regained his strength, Kakashi read his favorite perverted book. With missions, training Sasuke and training on his own, it was taking up most of his time and his time on reading his book was greatly reduced. This was one of the few times he could enjoy his book.

"Ne, Kakashi…" Sasuke suddenly said, sitting up, "why is my brother… after Naruto?"

Kakashi sighed, "I'm actually not supposed to tell you… But seeing as you're his team mate, you should at least know what group your brother is in…"Kakashi paused for a moment before he continued, "Your brother is currently in an organization called Akatsuki. All you need to know is that the group is comprised of S-rank missing nins and… as to why they're after Naruto…"

"It's okay if you can't tell me Kakashi," Sasuke said after noticing Kakashi hesitated, which the Jounin rarely did, "Even the dobe wouldn't tell me."

Kakashi nodded, "Let's just keep it that way then. We do know that they will be after him in two years, which is why we're training you, Sakura and Naruto to be strong. You and Naruto especially need to be stronger."

"Don't worry about me," Sasuke said with his confidence tone, "By the time I'm done, I'll be the one teaching you a thing or two."

Kakashi chuckled as the both of them got up. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and Kakashi revealed his as the two now began concentrating chakra to their eyes. Kakashi had read some interesting information in one of the archives regarding the Sharingan and wanted to try it out. Sasuke decided to tag along in this part of the training, interested in the theory.

***Evening time, Western Konoha***

After dispelling his clones, Maki had to rest on the nearest bench as all the information his three clones gathered rushed into his head. After ten seconds, he was fine. Although most would need at least two minutes to recover, Maki's excessive use of the Shadow clones had allowed him to recover faster.

Nothing of importance had occurred from what the clones had experienced. The only reason why he took up patrol missions was the extra income he would receive. Most elite Jounins rarely take up patrol missions since it was the ANBU's main duty.

As Maki made his way towards the Hokage tower, a group of ninjas were sprinting past him and he could see they were carrying an injured ninja, a Chuunin from the vest he wore. Maki immediately asked one of the ninjas that were close by.

"What happened?"

"I'm not too sure," The ninja replied, looking at where the group of ninjas was going, "But I heard that a group of Chuunins were ambushed by 'The Reapers.' Well, at least that's what I heard anyway."

Maki's immediately felt a shiver run down his spine, "The Reapers? If that was true… how did he survive the encounter?"

The ninja shook his head, "He was a lucky one. He lost two of his team mates as they made their escape. I heard they were coming back from a mission when they were ambushed… Very unlucky of them to meet those bastards."

Maki nodded and slowly started walking again towards the tower. The Reapers; the group of ninjas that were comprised of former Leaf and Rock ninjas that abandoned their village after the war. Ever since then, they had been attacking Rock, Leaf and any ninjas from a village. The only reason why the Reapers still existed was because none of the Five Powers could locate the base of the Reapers. Even the Inuzuka Clan could not detect their scent, which was somewhat troubling for them.

Maki stood there for a minute contemplating the issue before he continued on his path to the Hokage tower. There was nothing he could do regarding the Reapers. At least not until Konoha or any of the five villages finally decide to do something about the Reapers. Although they have caused problems, it would require a large amount of time and resource to fully deal with them.

Maki entered the mission hall and gave his report to the administration staff there. He received his pay and was about to return home when he spotted Sasuke in a distance and Sakura was speaking with him. From his niece's expression, it seemed to be something urgent.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Maki asked as he approached his two students.

Sakura had a troubled look on her face and took a few moments before she said, "Uncle Maki… We need to talk to you… Alone."

"You can just tell me right…"

"Alone!" Sakura spoke firmly and Maki kept his mouth shut, "We'll be in the archives. We'll meet you there, uncle Maki…"

Maki simply nodded in understanding and his two students left. For the life of him, he wondered what it could be that was so important that they had to speak to him without anyone listening in. What was even more troubling for Maki was that Sasuke also had a troubled look in his face and that rarely occurred with the last Uchiha of Konoha.

The pink haired Jounin allowed five minutes to pass before he made his way towards the Konoha archive. The archive was located on the second floor of the Hokage's tower and it housed all the important information Konoha had. From it's history down to every known technique that Konoha knew. The archives were sacred and only a small number were allowed in such as the council, the Hokage and a few select ninjas. Luckily for Maki, he and six other elite Jounins were among them. Maki wondered how Sakura was able to gain access to the archives but then remembered that she was now an assistant to the Hokage.

Two ANBU guards stood watch at the entrance and when they spotted Maki, they allowed him through. When Maki entered the archives, he was not surprised that the place was empty. He browsed through the massive room, looking through the old dusty shelves when he finally encountered Sakura and Sasuke. The two were sitting behind a table and in front them were a number of printed documents and books.

"Hei…" Maki began but his two students had a stern look on their face. As Maki took a seat, he inspected one of the documents and the title was about the Kyuubi. Maki read the other documents and they were details of the Kyuubi attack and also, the law that the third passed regarding the sealing of the Kyuubi.

"Uncle Maki…" Sakura finally said, "Is this true…? What these documents say… Are they true…?"

Maki was silent as Sakura's eyes demanded an answer. He browsed through the documents that were laid on the table. Indeed, each of them foretold the accounts of the attack or days before the attack had occurred. Another document was about the law that the third passed regarding the secrecy of the container and clearly naming Uzumaki Naruto as the nine-tailed container.

"How… When did you find out…?" Maki asked but it was Sasuke who answered.

"She was asked by Tsunade to grab some files after her training," Sasuke explained, "It seems while she was looking for the file, she stumbled upon these… She reported back to the Hokage with the files and she was dismissed. She immediately came here and read them. I was on my way to meet with Tsunade when Sakura bumped into me. She told me everything and I didn't really believe her until she brought me here."

Maki was not surprised that the ANBU's had not stopped Sasuke from entering the archives. As the sole remaining Uchiha, he was basically the head of the clan and had clear access to the archives. Not to mention that Kakashi was personally tutoring him now, there was no reason for the ANBU to prevent him from entering.

He realised that lying to them would do no good. It would be utter bullshit. The law clearly stated that the young generation should not know of the truth but now that two of them had found out, he had to reveal the truth. Then again, Maki felt that the two were Naruto's team mates, they would have found out eventually since the Akatsuki would come for him in two years' time.

"Yes, it is true…" Maki finally said, "Exactly twelve years ago, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. You were all told that the 4th Hokage died protecting the village and the Kyuubi was killed. But that was obviously not true. The Kyuubi was a monster with a vast amount of chakra, it was impossible to kill and nearly impossible to seal it. So… The 4th had to seal it in a newborn baby… And that baby was Naruto…"

Maki decided to not give the detail that the 4th was also Naruto's father but he doubted that secret could last. But until the three Gennins were strong enough, he could not risk letting them know about Naruto's heritage or assassination attempts would occur from the village of Rock.

"Why…?" Sakura asked, her voice clearly in anger, "Why did the 3rd pass this law?" Sakura nearly shouted, shoving the document regarding the law to her uncle, "Why was it kept a secret? We deserve to know… We're his team mates…"

Maki sighed, reading the old document and smiled as he explained to his niece and student, "Can you imagine…? We lost many lives in the attack and many of them were husbands… fathers… wives… brother, sisters… Do you understand the pain of loss…? The people of Konoha lost many loved ones all because of the Kyuubi and now that it is sealed in Naruto… They threw their anger at him…"

"It was because of this that the 3rd had to pass the law forbidding anyone to speak to Naruto about the truth." Maki paused for a moment, "With that, the adults could not speak the truth of why they hated Naruto and that protected him from the hate of the young generation."

"But that didn't stop from some of the other kids hating him." Sasuke countered.

"True," Maki admitted, "But they were only following in their parents footsteps. They knew they hated Naruto, but they had no idea why. With that, Naruto was still able to make friends with some of you who chose to ignore the hate threw on Naruto…"

Sakura and Sasuke were silent, knowing that Maki had meant the friends of Naruto. Maki stared at the two, waiting for any more questions or bombards he would receive. Finally, Sakura spoke.

"Fine, I understand why we weren't told the truth about Naruto," Sakura started, "But how could the villagers hate Naruto…? Can't they see that he was a hero? He still is! He's holding the nine-tailed fox from causing another rampage!"

Maki nodded in understanding, "Yes, that's true but the loss of loved ones blind people to what they should appreciate. Like your mother, she lost her husband and she still can't forgive Naruto for that."

"And what about you, sensei?" Sasuke questioned, his eyes glaring at Maki.

"I never hated Naruto…" Maki answered confidently, "It's true he killed my brother… But it's because of Naruto that Konoha still stands today. My brother loved Konoha and Naruto is the container that is holding onto the demon that could have ended Konoha's existence."

"So this is all true…" Sakura concluded softly, "Naruto… holds the nine-tailed fox within him…"

"Yes…" Maki confirmed, "But I hope that the truth remains between you two. The young generation might find out later, but hopefully they'll be matured enough by then. For now, none of this reaches to others, understood…?"

Sakura and Sasuke nodded, but Sakura was obviously still shaken by the truth. As they cleared the documents, Sakura was the first to leave, stating that she wanted to go home and rest. Once she had disappeared from sight, Sasuke spoke up.

"Is that what Akatsuki is after…?" Sasuke spoke, "The Kyuubi? They want the nine-tailed fox within Naruto?"

It was now Maki's turn who was shocked, "Who told you of this…?"

"Kakashi, I asked him about it and he told me about the Akatsuki… But he didn't tell me about why they're after Naruto. I guess I know now…"

Maki sighed, "Yeah, they'll be coming for the Kyuubi in two years time. For now, Jiraiya-sama is gathering more information on what them but that's all we know regarding their aims."

"I see…" Sasuke smirked, "Guess I'll have to get stronger to protect that idiot!"

Maki chuckled, "I see…"

The two packed everything and left the archives. By the time they left the Hokage tower, darkness had already enveloped the sky. They had spent a long time in the archives and Sasuke parted ways from his teacher to head back to the Uchiha compound.

Ever since the incident of Sasuke's kidnapping, the ANBU were heavy in the Uchiha compound. The council did not wish to risk him being abducted again so Sasuke was safe. But Maki doubted that if Orochimaru truly desired it, he could easily obtain him. Maki guessed that Orochimaru wanted Sasuke to develop his Sharingan more before he attempted another strike to obtain the Sharingan.

When Maki finally arrived home, he could smell dinner was already prepared. He found Suyuki preparing the table but Sakura was nowhere to be found. Normally she would be helping her mother lay out the table so this was something Maki had not expected.

"Isn't Sakura back…?" Maki asked.

"She's up in her room," Suyuki answered, "She must be real tired from her training with Hokage-sama. Normally she'd help me with this but well…"

Maki nodded and immediately went for his niece's room. He opened the door slowly and found his niece on her bed looking out the window. Maki approached her slowly until he was actually by her side but he said nothing. Sakura and Maki were silent for a moment but Maki felt as if an hour had passed by.

"Do you hate Naruto…?" Maki finally said.

Sakura shook her head, "No, of course not… It's just that… To find out everything so suddenly… I hadn't expected that at all."

Maki sat down on the bed and placed his hand on her shoulder, "You have to understand, Naruto couldn't tell you even if he wanted to. We all forbade him and it was for his own good at the time. But now…"

"I know…" Sakura replied, "It's okay uncle Maki. I don't hate Naruto, I could never hate him. But I'll need to get used to the fact that he actually contains something within him."

Maki smiled and Sakura returned the smile. Suyuki called for them for dinner and the two headed downstairs for their dinner. As they ate silently, Sakura's resolve grew stronger to improve herself with the remaining time she had before Naruto returned.

'I'll get stronger,' Sakura thought, 'So that I can protect Naruto… Just you wait!'

I apologise if the ending was a little rushed. I felt that I needed to explain how Sasuke and Sakura found out about the Kyuubi and decided to do it here in this 'filler.' So I hope you enjoyed it and please REVIEW :3