A/N: I know there's been minimal interaction between Naruto and Ino, but it'll be coming next chapter. Hope you enjoy, and as always, read and review!

"I have something to tell you guys," Naruto said after Kina had been tucked in and all the guests had left.

"What is it sweetie?" Kushina asked.

"I don't know how to introduce this, so I'll just come out and say it: I lost my eye."

"That Obito! I told him to bring Naruto back in one piece!" Kushina said, glaring at Minato as if he was responsible for it.

"Mom, it's not his fault. It was my choice, and he wasn't there to stop me."

"Why wasn't he there?" she pressed.

"We got separated."

"Why were you separated?"

'Did this woman ever run out of questions?' Naruto thought to himself. "Because there was nothing Uncle Obi could do."

"And why's that?"

Naruto lifted the headband up, revealing the Rinnegan. "Because the man who wanted to talk to me had two of these. Even if Uncle Obi had a chance to grab me, he would've been beaten in seconds."

Minato and Kushina simply stared, dumbfounded.

"You talked to the Sage of Six Paths?" Minato asked excitedly. "I always thought he was a myth."

Flashback:

Naruto and Obito were walking down the path to the boats that would take them to the Hidden Mist Village. They were taking a break from their running regimen, which was supposed to help Naruto become faster and build his endurance in a fight.

"Naruto, what do you know about different dimensions?" Obito asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean planes of existence, outside the one we're in."

"Oh. I didn't know they existed."

"I want to show you something." He put a hand on Naruto and teleported him into his favorite dimension, the one with the white pillars.

"What the fuck?" Naruto said.

Obito laughed. "My Sharingan can do this." And then teleported them into another dimension, the one with the colorful sand dunes.

"So the Sharingan takes you to different dimensions?"

"Just mine and Kakashi's."

"Speaking of which, how did that happen? How did he get yours?"

"I gave it to him."

"Why?"

"It was a gift."

"Odd."

Obito laughed, and took them to a snowy mountain top. "My use of this is very limited, so this next stop is going to be our last one. I'll give you a choice: there's a lava one, a desert one, and one that's like this, except it has an abandoned castle."

"Definitely the castle."

"I figured."

He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder again and took them to their last stop. Obito could already feel his right eye going dark. He really had to stop using his abilities. There was no real reason to show Naruto except for his enjoyment, and this was his only eye, so he had to be careful.

"Woah," Naruto said.

"Come on, let's go inside."

"Inside? We can go inside?"

"Yeah, it's completely empty."

"Awesome."

They trudged through the snow, and walked inside. It was dark, and eerily silent. The wind was still howling outside, but it was barely audible in the castle, even with the door open. Obito kept walking, and Naruto followed him. There was some kind of altar at the end, which Obito stopped at. He swiped a hand across the dust on it and looked at the clean spot he made. Naruto wanted to draw a smiley face in the dust, but the moment his hand touched the altar, the floor beneath him opened and he dropped through.

He landed and looked around. For the most part, it looked deserted. The place was lined with scrolls and books, but before he could take a closer look at them, an old man appeared before him. He had a staff, and a white cloak, but the thing that stood out the most about him were his eyes. They were purple with concentric lines around his pupils. He'd never seen eyes like that before.

"What's up with your eyes, Gramps?" He asked.

"You possess Ashura's chakra," the man said eerily.

Naruto looked around him, but there was nobody else with him. The man was definitely talking to him. "Who's Ashura? Who are you?"

"I am Otsutsuki Hagoromo - rather, a clone of his — also known as the Sage of Six Paths. Ashura is my son."

"I don't know anybody named Ashura, my man. Sorry."

"I don't expect you to know him. He lived millennia before you."

"So… what are you talking about?"

"You are his reincarnate."

"Huhh?"

"How did you get here?" He asked, once again changing the subject. Naruto was getting irritated by this guy not answering his questions.

"I don't know. My sensei's Sharingan can go through dimensions."

"So you did not reach here by yourself."

"No."

"I see, so you do not have Indra's chakra."

"Who?"

"My other son. Give me your hand."

Naruto reluctantly held his hand out, and Hagoromo took it and closed his eyes. "So what do you mean 'I'm his incarnate'?" Naruto asked. He felt power coursing through him. After 30 seconds of silence, Hagoromo opened his eyes again.

"Indra's chakra resides in Uchiha Sasuke."

"Really? Sasuke is my best friend."

"Then you must ensure that nothing breaks that friendship. You must finally break the cycle of war between them."

"War?"

"Yes, they've been fighting since I died, constantly reincarnating within people."

"Who?"

"My sons," Hagoromo said. Naruto sensed a bit of frustration in his tone now. If he was really getting angry now, maybe he should've just explained it a little at the start. It was a bit childish of him to get irritated when he was the one at fault. He was about to let Hagoromo know how he felt, but Hagoromo spoke again. "Come closer, I'd like to give you a gift."

"What kind of gift?" Naruto asked.

"My real self left this with me to give to the one who possessed both Ashura and Indra's chakra, perhaps a grandson of the two who made amends, but I think you would make a fine candidate to wield this." He pulled out a jar from thin air. Inside was the same eye that he had, soaking in a yellow liquid.

"You want to give me that eye?"

"Yes. I'm not sure I'll ever meet another person like you, and I don't know the chances of you and Sasuke sharing a grandson. You are my only chance for someone to use this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Take your eye out."

"What?!"

"How else will you get it?"

"You want me to remove my eye? Completely?"

"That is exactly what I'm asking. Hurry."

Naruto put his left hand up to his left eye and pulled it open. With his right hand he eased his thumb, index, and middle finger onto the surface of the eye. He pulled it open further and put his fingers behind his socket. He gripped around the eye, and pulled. It felt like someone was sticking a knife through his brain, but he kept pulling. He gave one big pull and ripped it from the socket.

He doubled over in pain, breathing heavily. Hagoromo put his hand on Naruto's back. "Good."

He opened the jar and held it out to Naruto. Naruto put his hand in and tried his best to ignore the slimy texture and consistency of the liquid. He pulled the eye out and held it for a second, letting the liquid drip off of it.

"No, put it in immediately. The liquid will help it attach to your nerve," Hagoromo said. Naruto braced himself and shoved the eye into his socket. It moved a little on its own before his vision returned. It was an extremely weird sight that he saw. It was like he gained new knowledge.

"It's a bit overwhelming at first. Are you seeing random scenes of places you've never been to?"

"Yeah."

"That's the perspective of your summons. They also have the Rinnegan, and you can toggle through their lines of sight if need be."

"Rinnegan? That's what it's called?" This whole time, he had been looking down at the ground, but upon hearing this, he looked up, and was given an even bigger surprise. He saw Hagoromo normally, but if he focused enough, he could see his chakra network.

"Yes, that's the name. Judging by your reaction, you're seeing my chakra?"

Naruto nodded.

"Throw a jutsu at me, any jutsu."

Naruto made a Rasengan.

"Hmm. Just hold your hand out."

He did, and Hagoromo put his own hand over Naruto's. The Rasengan began spilling into his hand, like an egg yolk spilling out of its barrier. A second later, the Rasengan was completely gone from his hand.

"How? Is that another power?" Naruto asked.

Hagoromo nodded. "You can absorb any tangible ninjutsu. Ready to try?"

And so he did. He didn't get it the first time, or the second, or the tenth, but eventually, he did. And Hagoromo taught him about the rest of the abilities of the eye, and told him the story of his sons. He warned Naruto of the dangers of possessing it, and how this small little ball was possibly the most coveted thing in the world.

"You must keep it hidden at all costs. Use it only in the most dire of circumstances," Hagoromo said before pulling Naruto's headband over the eye.

"Gramps, why are you doing this? I really don't think I should have this kind of power."

"You may not think so now, but you would be surprised how different you are from other people. The only negative emotion that you hold is a bit of jealousy towards Sasuke, which is something few people in history can boast. You are beyond qualified to have it."

"I just don't feel worthy of it. It's like I'm an imposter."

"I'm sure that's how your sensei feels too, having a transplanted Sharingan."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw your whole life. You will get used to it, and the older you get, you will realize that nobody else has the kindness that you carry."

"Okay. I'll take your word."

"Good luck, Naruto."

"Thanks, bye Gramps!"

"Oh, one more thing Naruto. Sakura is never going to like you. For your sake, get over her."

Naruto stood there. The Sage of Six Paths, a god amongst shinobi, just told him to get over the girl he liked. It seemed his suspicions were right, and it was so obvious that Gramps saw the hopelessness of liking her in 30 seconds.

He was transported out of the room, appearing behind Obito, who seemed to be staring at the spot that Naruto fell. Naruto was in there for at least an hour, so what was he doing?

"Uncle Obi, how long have you been staring at that spot?"

He jumped and looked behind him at Naruto. "What the fuck? How did you get there? You just fell down there!"

"Huh? I've been gone for so long."

"No you weren't. You fell and then appeared behind me!"

"Hmm. Time stops in there."

"In where?"

"I was in a room. I met the Sage of Six Paths."

"What? He's dead."

Naruto explained the whole thing, and showed him the eye. Obito couldn't believe that someone had actually obtained that eye. Now, there was practically nobody that could ever beat Naruto.

Naruto explained all the powers and the warnings Hagoromo had given him. Obito wholeheartedly agreed with the comment about getting over Sakura, which helped Naruto eventually realize that she just wasn't worth his energy. He was wasting his time trying to garner the attention of someone who would never pay him any mind romantically.

They continued on their trip to the Hidden Mist, where he mastered the 3 other elements that he hadn't learned already: fire, water, and earth. He trained his Rinnegan abilities when he could, and even made friends with his summons.

He had gotten used to having the eye, but he still didn't think he deserved it. Hagoromo said that he would understand when he was older, so he'd simply have to wait it out.

Present:

"Take that out right now!" Kushina said, reaching for his eye.

"No, why?" Naruto asked as he backed away from her.

"It's dangerous. What if they had found out you had it today? They would've gotten from you no matter what!"

"That's why I always keep it hidden. Before the fight, Uncle Obi told me to take the loss if I have to resort to pulling it out."

"Where is your other eye?"

"It's in my bag."

"Go get it."

"But mom-"

"Get it."

"Naruto," Minato said. "When did you get it? How many villages had you been to?"

"We had visited all but Hidden Mist."

"So you were under the Mizukage's watch for how long? 6 months?" He looked at Naruto for confirmation, who nodded. "And she didn't even suspect it?"

"Not that I know of."

"And all the abilities you displayed today were not an effect of the Rinnegan?"

"Yes," Naruto said, though he was lying about mastering the elements.

"Okay. Go up and get it."

Naruto sighed and trudged upstairs.

"Kushi, I think it's fine." Minato said. "He's hidden it from everyone."

"And what if he screws up? What if someone tries to get at him for it?" Kushina asked.

"Then he'll fight them off. You saw what he could do today; the stuff he showed was Jonin level, without using his eye. And I'm sure he didn't use every jutsu in his arsenal."

Kushina sat down on the couch. Minato came over and wrapped an arm around her. "I know you're worried about him, I am too. But he's not a kid anymore. Sure, you might still see him as your little baby, but he's 17 now, and he's more than capable of making his own decisions."

"Okay. Fine."

He kissed her on the cheek, and she snuggled into his chest. Naruto came stomping down the stairs with the jar in his hand. He put it on the table, harder than normal.

"What now?" He asked irritatedly.

"Control your anger," Minato warned.

Naruto looked down. It was crazy how fast his dad could switch demeanors. "Sorry."

Minato picked up the jar and got up. "You can keep your eye. We'll store this as a keepsake, or in case you end up losing that one."

"Really? Thank you!"

"Don't thank me, thank your mother."

"Thank you mom!" He said as he went up to hug her. She hugged him back, and gave Minato a quizzical look over Naruto's shoulder. He just winked and smiled and headed down to their basement.