Way of the Ninja

by PokePikamon

What happens when Naruto gets overpowered at a young age and has to defend the village after which the responsibility of restoration of his clan is upon him alone. Naruto OP, Civilian Council bashing, Sasuke bashing, Naruto x Harem(lots of pairings), Might contain lemon, not decided yet. Still rated M just in case. If you can't stand long stories, don't read.

12. Revelation

Hey guys, back again. Nice to see you.I don't think I have much to say this time. Just that anything anyone wants to add or suggest is welcome as always. Criticism is appreciated if it's with logical reason. Praise is appreciated with or without logic. xD

Also, if you don't like the story at any point, feel free to exit. I'm writing what comes to me naturally, and I can't fulfill everyone's criteria. Although I do try to incorporate if something's good from a suggestion.

Here's a reply to all those who gave their precious time to review.

@biginferno :

I have all these characters in my mind and more since some time. It's just that I'm not just going to fill up characters all at once and mess it up. I'll start with the primary girls and then see how much I can progress with the harem without disturbing the main theme (Action/Adventure). 5 or 10 or 15 Idk sky is the limit lol. Lemons will most probably be there later on just because whenever I've read a story it's more fun to actually read them in a proper story which is based primarily on the actual fighting Shounen theme rather than just some random one shots etc. So these will not be the primary purpose of plot. Unless my libido thinks otherwise, that is. xDD.

@PraetorXyn :

Yes, it was around 17-18k words.I guess that I'll just go on with whatever suits the story. If the rules aren't being applicable on the smuts, then shouldn't be a problem here too. Shifting to AO3 doesn't suit me much since I find it difficult to find content that I would like to read. It's as you said, less user base or interaction, I guess. Tags don't seem to work as much since pretty much every story tags everything many a times. Thanks for the suggestion, though. I appreciate it.

@A10riddick :

Glad you liked it. Stay tuned for more. :)

@StressedByAMountainOfBooks :

No problem, every suggestion is valuable to me. It's as I said, a ridiculously OP Naruto without undergoing training or such would look really boring. Almost all Shounen rely on characters undergoing intense training or such, starting from DBZ. He gave Kakashi a hard time, that surely is a feat in itself before making it to Genin. Imagine if Kishimoto had made Naruto defeat Orochimaru in Chūnin exams, it would surely have been fun at the time, but the story would lose any interest later. So it's better to take it slow.Sasuke bashing surely, I mentioned in the summary. Sakura might have an interesting character development I guess. Not sure yet.Tsunade, Jiraiya, everyone will have their role.

@DameNingen1 :

I'm happy you didn't leave the story after you commented "This is where I exit stage left." last time, lol.Naruto never took damage from Mizuki, didn't rely on Kyūbi's power, just lost a little control over emotions. Kyūbi tailed mode leads to a rampage, nothing of the sort happened, he was angry at Mizuki and took it a little too far under the influence, that's it. Don't know what do you want from an OP Naruto.

@thomaspheasant :

Your wish has been granted.

---

Chapter-12

Good morning, Konoha.

Yet another beautiful day as always. Rustling leaves, chirping birds, quietly flowing streams exhibiting the beauty and peace of nature.

(A/N : Guys, I really don't know how to start a chapter other than this thing. -: Sorry.)

Our hero can be seen walking around groggily in his home having just woken up. He followed his routine perfectly on most days, yet it's okay to give yourself once in a while. At least that's what he told himself.

So, reason about it, you may ask? Well, the previous day after the test he had gone to the hospital to get his wound dressed up. Having nothing much to do, went back home and started again reading his newfound book. Not that he found it as great as Kakashi did, yet it would be wrong to say that it wasn't interesting at the least.

So, he lost the track of time and went to bed well past midnight until he finished the book. As expected, sleep cycle kicks in. 'Early to bed, early to rise' must have an antitheses too. That's your reason.

Now, on the surface, it does look like a good ol' boring leisure day. But is that what fate has planned? Hmm, doubt that.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Huh, who'd want to meet me so early in the morning?", Naruto said to himself.

Looking at the clock he realised that he didn't have any idea what the time was and said, "Scratch that. It's quite late. I'll just go check."

He walked to the door and knew already who was on the other side sensing the chakra. Opening it gently, he saw an all too familiar ANBU with a cat mask standing there.

"Ohaiyou, Neko-chan. How may I help you?", Naruto said grinning, although there were mildly visible dark circles under his eyes.

"Lord Hokage has summoned you. You are to report to his office in an hour. That's all.", she said.

"Oh, I see. Thanks. He must've found some mission for me, I *inhales* gueeeeeessssssssss I'll go as soon as I can.", Naruto said yawning midway through the sentence.

As he was about to turn back and close the gate, he jolted awake as a sword tip pointed at his neck and poked the skin ahead.

"Want me to help you wake up? I'll make sure to do it so well you won't be able to sleep for the next week.", she said as her voice easily gave out her irritability.

Naruto put up his hands deliberately over his head and said, "Sorry, I surrender. I'll have to pass up on the offer. But thanks, I'm totally awake now."

One thing he understood completely well from his knowledge of medicine and human body was about women's so to say 'Time of the month'. And through various experiences during training, and Hayate's constant request to not irritate her, he had also understood that it's for the best of everyone that you absolutely do not argue or in any way annoy them at that time.

Although why a seasoned ANBU ninja like her also was a victim of the symptoms was beyond him. 'Must be very painful, maybe.', is what he told himself.

"Good. One day with Kakashi and you're picking up bad habits. It's good for you that I'm on duty otherwise I'd have to knock some discipline back into you.", she said.

"Hai! Nekkkooo-chan!", Naruto replied.

Yūgao blushed slightly as she was always embarrassed when Naruto said it like that, fortunately the mask was on. He always addressed her as Yūgao Sensei when she had her mask off, but since she remembered she was always Neko-chan for him behind the mask.

"Good. Be on time. Lord Hokage was had a serious look on his face. Might be something important.", Neko said as she vanished via a Shunshin.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Hokage's orders, no can ignore.", Naruto said as he closed the door and went on to carry on his daily chores.

---

Scene Break and Time Skip

(At Hokage office)

"Come in."

The door to the office of the Hokage opened and Naruto walked inside after waiting for the permission that was just granted.

"Ah, Naruto. I was expecting you.", the Hokage said taking a glance at Naruto while doing paperwork.

Naruto mechanically walked inside as if in a parade and saluted, "Uzumaki Naruto, at your duty Sir! What pleasure do I have to be of your assistance?"

The Hokage looked up directly at him confused as to why his behaviour changed. He had tied up his headband although the rest of his attire was as usual. He looked into his eyes and yet couldn't clearly know if he was joking around again or being serious.

Hence, he went with a neutral statement, "You don't need to do that. Just be normal."

Whatever the case be, Naruto would understand.

"Do what, Sir?! What orders do I have?", Naruto said.

"Drop the act, Naruto.", the Hokage said now believing that he was just pulling his leg.

"Hehe, sorry. I see all the ANBU doing that so figured to give it a shot.", Naruto said relaxing himself.

The Hokage just nodded a little and then went back to performing his paperwork. After standing for a few minutes, Naruto asked,

"So, what mission have I been called here for?"

"There is no mission for you. Kakashi told me missions for your team are due to start next week.", the Hokage replied.

"So then why did you call me here?", Naruto asked confused.

The Hokage yet again took a minute only to answer, "Why, now I can't even wish to just meet you without a reason?"

"It's not that, but I think something might be up. I can see that from your face, dattebayo! Plus Neko-chan said that you were very serious when summoning me.", Naruto said.

The Hokage closed the file in front of him and took a deep breath. He sighed knowing that it cannot be avoided. Better face it now and be done with it.

"Listen Naruto, this is a very important thing that I want you to know. And honestly I don't know how to tell this to you.", the Hokage said.

"What is it? You can tell me anything without any doubt, dattebayo!", Naruto said.

---

Unbeknownst, a shady figure was listening to the very conversation through the small slit of the opened door.

It looked like it was waiting patiently to either eavesdrop on sensitive information or to strike at the first chance.

"Finally, I might get a chance to know some secret to the Hokage's weakness.", a slight whisper was heard.

"Yeah, I've been looking too for quite some time. Couldn't find one.", a voice from behind said.

"Yeah exactly, right. It's the same with me-- hey wait what?!", the figure turned back.

What he saw was a crouching Naruto just infront of his face smiling wickedly.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh", he shouted as he ran inside the office through the door and stumbled on his own feet and fell down face first.

Both Naruto and the Hokage looked startled at the floor only to find a young kid lying there with his butt sticking up.

Naruto looked at the door where his shadow clone who he left to keep away intruders was standing and then dispelled. He gained all the memories of the clone.

"So who do we have here?", Naruto said in general.

The kid stood up dusting his clothes and said, "You! How dare you play such dirty tricks?"

Naruto took a good look at the boy. He had spiky brown hair that were protruding out of a hole at the top of his helmet. He had brown eyes and a chipped lower tooth.

He was wearing khakhi coloured shorts and a yellow T-shirt on which the Konoha symbol was printed in red.

"Talking about dirty tricks, who was spying on us through that door? I just happened to catch you in the act.", Naruto said.

The boy was was little embarrassed but said, "I wasn't talking about that. You pushed me and I fell down. Who's responsible for that?"

"I didn't even touch you. You tripped over your own scarf. How long is that, do you mop the floor around with it?", Naruto asked.

"Liar! Either apologize to me or I'll have you punished.", the boy said.

Before he could say anything else though, the situation turned upside down for him. Literally. xD

He didn't even realise when Naruto had grabbed his right leg with one hand and pulled it upwards suspending him upside down, with the other hand being in his pocket.

"Hey, what the hell?! Leave me alone, you jerk!", the boy shouted while wriggling around wildly.

"Now, listen to me you little pipsqueak. You don't get to come around here and threaten to punish me for something I didn't do. This is the Hokage's office, have some manners. Is that clear?", Naruto said looking him in the eyes sternly.

The boy gulped and said, "H-Hai!"

Naruto went back to normal and asked, "So who are you and what are you doing around here? Got lost on your way home?"

The boy realised that he was being made fun of and was about to shout again when--

"Honourable Grandson, so this is where you are, I've been looking everywhere. Hokage-sama, I hope he didn't cause you any trou-- Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! Hey you, put him down right now!"

Naruto saw someone come through the gate. He was an adult ninja judging by the blue attire he had taken on and wore weird looking black goggles with a blue bandana.

"Hi there, is this your kid? Or did I hear it right, he's your 'Grandson'? You sure don't look that old, gramps. I'll give that to you. Got some tips for him?", Naruto said gesturing at the Hokage in the end.

The ninja turned red out of anger and embarassment while a chuckle could be heard from the Hokage behind Naruto's back, before the ninja retorted, "My name is Ebisu and I'm an elite Jōnin who only takes the very best and promising of students under my guidance. I'll have you know that I'm a perfectly young virile male, not that you have anything to do with it. And the one you're holding-- hey let him down didn't you understand the first time-- is the Honourable Grandson of the esteemed Sandaime Hokage-sama!"

Naruto was surprised at the revelation and turned his head towards the Hokage. The Hokage looked while smoking out his pipe and nodded ever so slightly.

Naruto looked at the kid once again by lifting him further up in front of his eyes. He looked at the Hokage again.

"Let him down or else it won't be good for you.", Ebisu said.

Naruto did the same thing once again, looked at the Hokage and the boy one by one.

"Hey, gaki! What're you looking at? Huh? That is the Hokage's grandson. You are crossing the line now!", Ebisu continued but was ignored again.

After doing it the last time, Naruto said,

"So you were a brunette, huh?"

Ebisu fell down animé style. "What the hell? You wasted so much time judging that!"

"Yeah, so uh, what are you doing here again?", Naruto asked.

"I was here to land a sneak attack on my grandpa. Although you saw through it and saved him. You're good.", the boy said.

"Haha, I already told you. I didn't do anything, you tripped on your own mop.", Naruto said waving Konohamaru in different directions.

"I'm the Hokage's grandson, didn't you hear? Put me down right now or I'll have my grandpa punish you!", the boy said knowing that he'd do it since everyone was afraid of his grandfather.

"Okay. As you wish, Honourable Grandson-sama.", Naruto said as he dropped his hold on Konohamaru's leg causing him to fall down on his head.

"Owwwwwww! What do you think you're doing?!", the boy said rubbing his...helmet, for some reason.

"You can't stop yourself from falling on the floor yet you wanted to be able to attack Hokage-sama? Funny enough.", Naruto said.

"That's it. You have crossed the limit. You bullied the Honourable Grandson of Lord Hokage. As his teacher, I cannot let that go unpunished.", Ebisu said going towards Naruto.

Naruto just turned back towards him slightly looking him in the eyes and said, "I'm sure I clarified that I didn't ask him to be here in the first place. But if you want to fight so badly, then bring it."

Ebisu was shocked at the display but had now no choice but to act on his words.

Before anything could happen though, the Hokage said, "Enough now, everyone. This is my office, not a playground. Ebisu, take him back from my office please. I have some business to attend with Naruto here."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. As you wish.", Ebisu saluted and picked up the boy on his shoulder to leave the room.

As he was leaving, Naruto said, "Hey, wait." stopping him.

The boy looked at him with annoyed eyes, "What is it?"

"I never got to know your name. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you.", Naruto replied with a slight smile in his face.

The boy's eyes widened slightly but then replied, "Konohamaru Sarutobi."

'Likewise.', he added in his mind.

---

"Your grandson is quite active. Just like me.", Naruto joked.

"Haha, that's double the trouble for me.", the Hokage said and both of them laughed.

The laughter died down soon and only stillness remained.

"So, you were saying……..", Naruto let the statement linger on.

"Ahem…..yeah. Listen Naruto, what I'm about to tell you is an extremely confidential information. No one except the two of us can know about it. Do you understand?", the Hokage said.

"Uh-huh. Yes, Sir!", Naruto gulped as he spoke.

"Good.", the Hokage said as he activated privacy seals all around his chamber which restricted any sort of communication between the outside and the inside.

He continued, "The thing is tha--"

"Sorry for the interruption, Jiji. But you specifically said no one else can know about this except the two of us, right?", Naruto said.

"I'm sure my mind has not weakened that much with age that I'd have misspoke. Why do you ask?", the Hokage asked.

"I thought that included the ANBU as well.", Naruto replied.

"Yes, as a matter of fact it does. I already sent them all away before we even started speaking.", the Hokage said.

"Except?", Naruto asked.

"Don't play puzzles with me, Naruto. Tell me clearly what do you want to say.", the Hokage said confused and annoyed.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't sure if that one is here on your orders or is he defying them?", Naruto said pointing towards the bookshelf in the corner of the room opposite to the windows.

"What? I don't sense anybody there.", the Hokage said.

"Neither did I. Until I used Chakra Resonance. It's really faint, like only an outline. You can pull the first three volumes of Ninjutsu encyclopaedia from the third shelf from the bottom and you'll be face to face.", Naruto said both of them looking at the shelf.

Suddenly, a black blur was seen running away from the bookshelf towards the window.

Oh my, something interesting is going on. Let's see what happened just now.

(Intruder POV, Flashback : A few minutes ago)

"Ahem…..yeah. Listen Naruto, what I'm about to tell you is an extremely confidential information. No one except the two of us can know about it. Do you understand?", the Hokage said.

'Finally, I can retrieve some useful information. The Hokage's face tells it. He is speaking the truth. It's perfect that Danzou-sama chose me to act as a spy on the Hokage, I've perfected the Dormant Corpse jutsu to it's extreme.'

"Sorry for the interruption, Jiji. But you specifically said no one else can know about this except the two of us, right?", Naruto said.

'Now what, another kid roaming into Hokage chambers? No, the privacy seals are active. What is this gaki talking about?'

"I thought that included the ANBU as well.", Naruto replied.

'What? Did he somehow detect me? Impossible. My breathing is so shallow, there is barely any air movement inside my lungs. My position is so still, not even a fly can detect if I am a statue. I erased all scents on me beforehand. The Hiding With Camouflage technique requires only the barest minimum amount of chakra around my body, there is no way anyone can sense me.'

"Neither did I. Until I used Chakra Resonance. It's really faint, like only an outline. You can pull the first three volumes of Ninjutsu encyclopaedia from the third shelf from the bottom and you'll be face to face.", Naruto said both of them looking at the shelf.

'What? He did sense me, and he's just a child. What is this Chakra Resonance he's talking about? Anyways, I won't be able to capture him to present him to Danzou-sama, with the Sandaime Hokage here. It would be in the best to report it to Danzou-sama. With my presence detected, I won't be able to spy anymore here. The situation is still tipped in my favour. Both of them are still not sure of my presence. And there are no ANBU Black Ops here. The Hokage will certainly not be able to pursue me once I'm out of that window. The kid won't even see me.'

He played one last time all the details in his mind and thought, 'Analysis complete. Mission aborted.'

With that in mind, the intruder ANBU instantly infused chakra and sprinted towards the window in a Shunshin.

He had almost reached the window within a second, and saw at the very corner of his peripheral vision, that the Hokage was still seated in his chair looking at him.

'Perfect. The Hokage is even more frail and senile than I imagined. Danzou-sama is right, as always. The village needs a strong leader.'

He had pulled out a kunai to strike the window glass to break it in such a way to create at least enough space for him to hop through.

Naruto was standing quite a distance in front of the Hokage, so the intruder couldn't see him on the side.

Nevertheless, it wasn't necessary since the boy wasn't a threat enough to distract himself even for a fraction of a second to turn his head and be wary of his position. Or so he thought.

It was going all fine and dandy, until Naruto actually was in his vision now.

No, not the peripheral one. He was horizontally crouching right in front of him. One second he wasn't there, the next moment he was.

"Why are you running away?", he said.

The intruder was too much surprised to even think.

'What the-- It's too late. I can't change course and risk engaging the Hokage. Collateral damage unavoidable.'

The ANBU planned to hit the window the same way, just with Naruto in between the two too. As he jerked his hand forward to stab Naruto in the gut …….

(Wake up to reality, enough POV)

As soon as Naruto saw the ANBU running away, he immediately rocketed himself towards him using the Flash Step.

As expected, Flash Step being much faster than Shunshin, Naruto reached in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"Why are you running?" xD (Reference : It's a Meme, Google it.)

Naruto asked him before going to handle him physically because he thought that the ANBU may have been scared or something.

That thought was thrown out of the window as soon as the intruder prepared to do the very same act with Naruto.

As he thrust forwards with his kunai, Naruto retaliated reflexively using a super punch right in his face.

The kunai didn't do much except graze the skin on the side of his chest while the punch left the ANBU flying across the room with more speed than he had done with initially and crashed into the wall.

Had it not been the privacy seals, somebody or the other would've surely raised an alarm immediately. The intruder was out cold immediately as his mask was shattered through which trickling blood could be seen.

Naruto looked towards the Hokage when he saw him staring back and forth between him and the shinobi. He immediately raised his hands up defensively and stated, "Jiji, you saw that. It was self-defense. He attacked first."

The Hokage would have laughed had the situation not been like this. He was never going to accuse Naruto of anything let alone punish him. His immediate awe was in the fact that Naruto had clearly sensed an intruder in his private office chambers and had the quick presence of mind to effectively neutralise him one way or the other.

He didn't even try to move from his chair since Naruto had already been mid-way at that time to intercept the enemy.

The Hokage gestured him to relax and went to take a closer look at the eavesdropper. The guy was clearly an ANBU but he had never seen him on his own command.

He had his doubts, so he opened his mouth to check whether those were valid or not. To his satisfaction as well as dismay, his doubts came true as he saw a silencing seal on his tongue.

"Danzou, I never thought you'd stoop so low as to do something like this. He's still running the Root under the covers. He placed this spy under my nose so that he could have his own way with the matters of the village.", the Hokage said bitterly.

"Mind telling me what's this about? I really don't want to know that I just dismantled the facial structure of one of your bodyguards.", Naruto said.

The Hokage looked at Naruto and judged it okay to tell Naruto about the matter. He explained how Danzou and him were teammates before but the latter always had the taste for war and strength. After Hiruzen was chosen Homage, Danzou formed his own organization, The ANBU Root, and operated it from the shadows. The Root was disbanded officially a long time ago yet it didn't seem like it was enforced upon.

"I see. So what're we going to do with him?", Naruto asked surprised that something of that sort still carried on under the shadows.

"Give him to the TI, of course. Not that it will be of much use though. Danzou takes great measures to protect his secrets.", the Hokage said as he removed the seals and called his ANBU squad.

Three ANBU appeared immediately and bowed to the Hokage.

Neko was the squad captain of the bodyguard unit at the time and looked at the ANBU in horror. She looked at Naruto who just averted his gaze whistling slightly.

"He was hiding inside the bookshelf. I assume it was since yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, none of the important matters or information was revealed during the time. Still, it is a blunder on our part. Strengthen the surveillance for now. Keep the matter quiet, we don't want to alert anyone connected to the enemy. You can take him away now.", the Hokage said.

She alongwith the other two ANBU once again chanted a "Hai!" and Shunshin'd away with him. The only ones left in the room were once again the two of them.

"I guess you must have more important matters to deal with right now.", Naruto said indicating the recent incident, "I think I can wait some more time for what you were going to tell me."

Naruto turned to leave the place but was stopped by the Hokage.

"Wait, Naruto. Quite to the contrary, it is now evident all the more that I need to tell this to you. Have a seat.", the Hokage said as he walked back to his table activating the privacy seals once again.

Naruto walked to the chair and sat down while the Hokage walked to the window looking outside.

After a silence of few minutes, in which Naruto uncharacteristically remained quiet, the Hokage said,

"What do you think of your parents, Naruto?"

Hearing this, Naruto's eyes widened as he never anticipated the conversation could actually lead him into discovering what he always asked the Hokage since his childhood.

"Uh, I-uh, don't know what to say.", Naruto started as he gulped, but then added, "All I know is that my parents were killed in the tragedy of the Kyūbi rampage that took place twelve years ago. Yondaime Hokage-sama found me as an orphan and gave up his life to seal the demon fox away in my body to save the lives and existence of all the people in our village."

He had thought that he got over it completely long ago, but it was proven opposite when his voice faltered and tears ran down his cheeks as he said,

"I could never know if it was the truth or not, but I always wanted to believe that my parents did love me……..that they didn't abandon me…….that they didn't hate me. It keeps me thinking that they're watching over me, and that I'm not alone anytime."

The Hokage still looking outside the windows pulled out the pipe and exhaled a deep sigh.

"The Yondaime Hokage's wife gave birth to a child on that fateful day.", he said.

"Oh, I've never heard of him. Actually, I don't even know who Yondaime-sama's wife was. They must be living somewhere away from here, I guess.", Naruto said.

"Do you think the Yondaime Hokage was a man of honour, Naruto?" , the Hokage asked.

"Of course. I don't have any doubt about that. Everyone holds him to the highest prestige. And I'm no different.", Naruto replied.

"And yet, you assume that he would be willing to sacrifice someone else's child to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Spirit when he couldn't do that to his own?", the Hokage asked rhetorically.

"No, I don't want to believe that. But in the end, he did, right?", Naruto said, his eyes starting to dry up.

From the other side, there was no reply.

"Say something! So what if he did?", Naruto asked impatiently and frustrated.

Hiruzen still didn't look at him as he couldn't bear to talk to the child face to face. He just stood there quietly.

Naruto had already guessed the other possibility instantly after Hiruzen asked the question but didn't even want to approach it from the start.

But now with the Hokage forcing him to look on the other side, he said,

"No, you don't mean……it can't be……"

and his voice cracked, tears flowing freely once again on his face as he stood up from the chair smashing his palms on the table.

Hiruzen took one last puff and knew that he would have to state the truth in the end. Exhaling it out, he turned his head towards Naruto with a look that could have conveyed anything but a lie, and announced,

"Yes, my boy. You have realised the truth. Your father was none other than Minato Namikaze, Yellow Flash of the Leaf, or you may know him as……"

"…..the Yondaime Hokage.", Naruto finished softly.

He was breathing heavily as he slowly turned his head to look at the framed pictures of the previous Hokage, skipping three at a glance and focusing on the last one.

Honestly, he wasn't a bit surprised at how similar he looked to his father. He had exactly the same colour of hair and the same sky blue eyes, although the shade in his own was a bit of deep azure. That might have been due to his mother, he wondered.

A bit of more hair, minus the whiskers and he'd look the same as his dad. Why'd he not notice it before? Why did nobody notice it, actually? Nobody knows. (Plot armour, lol.)

The Hokage was waiting for Naruto to take it all in using as much time as he wanted. He would patiently stand there until then. The situation was rolling out normally, at least for now. To be honest, he didn't even know what to expect, considering the circumstances.

Naruto looked at the Hokage with an expression that he wasn't able to discern. Although, he wasn't able to look further as Naruto ran towards him.

Hiruzen closed his eyes was whatever was to come.

He had prepared to take whatever anger Naruto had to dish out on himself. Verbal or physical, it didn't matter. He had endured so much of the mental stress, it was only right to let it out. Years of frustration must have an impact on one's mind. To be the revered Yondaime Hokage's son and yet had to live a cruel childhood. And it was all because the Hokage himself couldn't take care of him properly.

He was just frightened of the possibility that if Naruto loses control of himself then a huge disaster would be upon Konoha right now. But he trusted the boy to be brave enough and took a gamble. As long as he himself was the target, he was going to sacrifice whatever he could.

It was his duty, as the Hokage to a citizen and as his guardian.

Yet, he couldn't comprehend why he was suddenly encircled in two arms at the moment.

He opened his eyes to see that Naruto was tightly hugging him while lightly sobbing on his shoulders.

"Arigatou, Jiji! Arigatou!", could be clearly heard reverberating in his ears.

"What for?", Hiruzen replied without thinking and immediately regretted at the impassive sounding attitude the words carried.

Naruto didn't seem to mind it as he said, "Thank you for telling me this. You don't know how much I'm relieved to hear that my parents did love me. And on top of that, my dad was the Yondaime Hokage. The hero of the village. How cool is that."

"Naruto, I- You aren't angry with me? Your parents left you in my care and I couldn't save you from my own villagers. I also kept the truth of your parents' identity hidden from you.", Hiruzen asked patting his back.

Naruto having calmed down, broke the hug and said, "I mean, I am a little. But not with you, I'm just angry with how things turned out. You did what you had to do. I do think about how things would turn out if I had a normal life. But right now I don't, so I'll just go with the flow like I always do."

'Minato, I'm sorry to say but you did a mistake leaving your legacy in my hands. I don't deserve to be treated like this, yet he gives me such absolution. He is truly kind.', the Hokage thought.

"Jiji, not that I have any problem with it, but why tell me this now?", Naruto asked.

"Naruto, my boy, I had kept this a secret because your father had a lot of enemies. If this information spread out anyhow, all of them would want to exact their revenge upon you. It was the best course of action, as far as I thought. But I may have been wrong. You are a ninja now, and certainly not an ordinary one. You possess the knowledge and experience that your father had, while also having the passion and skills that your mother did. I have given you the choice to make your own decision. You can take up the name of your father if you wish to do so. I can assure you that I will support you whatever you decide to undertake.", Hiruzen said.

"You don't have to regret about anything. You did what you thought was the best for me. I don't have any complaint whatsoever.", Naruto said.

"Thank you for forgiving me, Naruto. For I don't deserve it.", the Hokage said.

Naruto just acknowledged the statement and then went on to ask, "Can you tell me more about Tou-san? And Kaa-san?"

"First, I think it would be best to tell you what happened on that fateful night 12 years ago.", the Hokage said.

Naruto nodded and listened with the utmost concentration and curiosity.

And then the tale of the day Naruto Uzumaki was born on, began.

---

Time Skip

Naruto was quite intrigued in the story that the Hokage had recited to him.

This was of course just a first person account of what happened in front of the Sandaime's eyes, so had to have many blind spots. And he had noticed all of them.

For example, initially he thought, why did the Kyūbi suddenly appear in Konoha out of nowhere? Yes, it's a natural aggregation of chakra and can appear anywhere. But to pinpoint specifically Konoha, out of all places in the Land of Fire, or the whole world seemed farfetched. But there was no other reason for it to be, so it was acceptable as a fact that Konoha had real bad luck on the day of his birth.

Next, Naruto was saddened to hear that the old Hokage's wife had also died that same day. He was told that she was on the team that was appointed to carry out Naruto's delivery. All of the persons on that team had died supposedly because the Kyūbi had appeared at that place for the first time, which already contradicts the fact that it suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the village itself. Nobody saw it coming from anywhere, right? Now even if one were to that were true, why would the Kyūbi come all the way to the village from that place which was a considerable distance away rather than cause destruction in the other parts of the land? Maybe somehow it had a grudge against Konoha. That was the only explanation left.

The actual reason he got to know in the later part of the tale.

Lastly, his father had come to save the village and seal the Nine Tails inside him which made him the hero of the village. And he was grateful to him. He got to know that his mom was the previous Jinchuriki of the Kyūbi, which was stupefying in itself, but was more fixated on the fact why his father was not present there at the time of his birth. If it was so pre-evident that the seal might be loosened then all the more reason to be cautious.

Why couldn't he seal the Kyūbi there itself inside him if it got released? Or inside his mother again? Why'd he wait until the Kyūbi reached the village? Why? Why?!

All of that had to be looked from many angles to be clearly understood but there was no one alive at the time who could give an account of what had happened that night.

And most importantly, the fact that was bugging him the most was the Kyūbi's statement back then,

"You'd fail to understand the truth even if I were to tell you."

There was something that had to be connecting all these dots. Whether all of it was a mere coincidence was questionable at the least.

In any case, he couldn't get any more out of the information he had, thus dropped it.

"Whatever happened was nothing less than a catastrophe, but I'm glad my parents were able to save the village. Not only Dad, Mom gave her life to protect the village too. And to protect me.", he said.

"True. Both of them were the heroes. And they wished that you'd be regarded the same as you restrained the Nine Tailed Demon Fox Spirit within yourself. Alas, the people of the village weren't insightful enough to understand that. I'm sorry, Naruto.", the Hokage said.

"I already told you. None of it was your fault, it was them. Those who stand behind and blame the shield that protects them from the bombshells aren't even worth taking the time to talk about.", Naruto said.

Judging the atmosphere to be tense, Naruto added, "So, can you tell me more about my parents' life? As individuals, not that I didn't want to know about the incident."

"I think that will be great.", the Hokage said.

"Awesome, tell me now. Come on, please!", Naruto asked.

"I don't think that would be the best thing to do.", the Hokage replied.

"What? I know that you're busy and all and we've used a lot of time but…… ", Naruto said surprised.

Hiruzen immediately raised his hand to indicate that he shouldn't jump to conclusions.

"i didn't mean it that way. What I mean is, it would be better if you see it for yourself.", he said.

Naruto was confused but stayed put knowing that some explanation would be further ahead.

The Hokage instead moved away from him in a comparably wide space and performed a few hand signs after biting his thumb. Naruto recognised it immediately.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"(Ninja Art : Summoning Jutsu!)

(A/N : Fun fact. Did you guys know that this is the only jutsu in the Narutoverse that specifically requires the castor to actually say the name of the jutsu out loud for it to be activated?)

The room was filled partially with smoke and a big ape appeared out of it. He looked around immediately for some danger signs ready to engage in a battle.

Naruto took a good look at him. He had white fur all around his body except the claws or where the clothes hid them. He was also wearing a Konoha forehead protector.

"Hmm, why did you summon me, Sarutobi? Did that snake bastard come to make nuisance again?", he said.

"Hello, Enma. No, fortunately not. I have summoned you to meet someone here.", Hiruzen said as he motioned towards Naruto behind him.

The ape looked in the direction only to find a small blonde kid checking him out head to toe observantly.

"Is this some sort of a joke, Sarutobi? Who is this kid and why have you called me all the way here to meet him?", the monkey said.

"You should be able to recognize him. Doesn't he remind you of someone?", the Hokage said pointing towards the side wall.

The giant monkey turned his gaze towards the wall and instantly recognised the blonde hair that he had just seen.

He looked at Naruto twice before knowing for sure.

"So it is really that child, huh.", he said keenly noticing the whiskers.

"Yes, you were there when he was born. You must know his identity.", the Hokage said.

Emma just nodded in affirmation.

Hiruzen called Naruto to come near them and he was there in a flicker.

"Naruto, meet the Monkey King, Enma. A breit introduction here. He is my personal summoning animal that I got through the contract. His special ability is that can turn into a staff that is even tougher than diamond. We have been together in battles for most of our lives. As you just heard, he was also present in the battlefield on the day you were born.", the Hokage said.

"Nice to meet you, Enma-san.", Naruto said bowing a little.

"Same, kid. You're really well mannered, I must say.", Enma said.

"Well, you must be as old as Jiji. We should always respect elders.", Naruto said.

"Hey, don't compare me to him. I'm at least 20 years younger than him. Well, whatever. What's your name?", Enma said.

"Naruto Uzumaki.", he replied.

"Uzumaki, huh? Nice. So then Sarutobi, you just called me here to meet him, that's all?", Enma asked.

"No, I wouldn't dare to disturb you just for that, would I? I need the box that you've been carrying around for some time now.", the Hokage said.

"What box-- ohhh you mean that one? Are you sure, though?", Enma said bending his head slightly looking at Naruto and then back, "Maybe you should wait some more until he grows old enough?"

Hiruzen sighed and said, "I have made my decision. He is old enough to understand. I don't have any right to deny him of this. He'll be going on dangerous missions soon enough and Kami forbid if something happens to him before he grows up supposedly old enough, I won't be able to forgive myself, ever."

"I trust your judgement. You've thought it out and that is completely fine. It is my duty to warn you again in case you act hastily and may regret it later.", Enma said.

Hiruzen nodded relaying that he understood perfectly.

Enma put his hand inside the small pouch on his side, and pulled out an article.

It was a plain wooden box with a Leaf symbol in the middle of it. Nothing fancy, just the upper lid detachable variety. He extended his hand for Hiruzen to take it.

"What is this box, Jiji?", Naruto asked.

"This is something your parents left behind for you.", the Hokage said.

"What? Really?!", Naruto said as he grabbed the box hastily and tried to open it.

Alas, the lid wouldn't even budge no matter how much force Naruto tried to apply.

"Huh huh, what is this thing made of?", Naruto asked out of breath.

"Don't be in a hurry. Look close enough and you'll see.", the Hokage said.

Naruto looked at the box closely and saw that it wasn't just a plain wooden box after all. On the mahogany background of wood, there were minute intricate markings extending all around the box.

"It is sealed by the use of Fūinjutsu. A high level one. No one can break through using sheer force.", the Hokage said.

"Whoa, that's amazing. Now what?", Naruto asked.

The Hokage smiled and extended his hand gesturing Naruto to bring the box near his hand. Naruto obeyed.

The Hokage placed his hands above the box and infused chakra pushing it into the seal. In a few seconds, the seal glowed a bright shade of gold and started retracting into one point until it completely shrinked in the form of a circle. Naruto watched in awe.

"Now, try opening it again.", the Hokage said.

Naruto nodded and tried lifting the lid again. Somehow as if magically, it was so light that it could be lifted with one finger easily. He opened it completely, and placed the lid aside gently.

There were two objects inside the box. A scroll and a …….kunai?

Although, it seemed a very odd shaped kunai with three prongs, two on the side being a tad bit shorter. Also, there was a seal wrapped around the handle of the kunai.

"I think my work here is done, Sarutobi. I'm leaving now.", Enma suddenly interrupted.

The Hokage looked at him and nodded.

"Arigatou, Enma-san. You kept it safe all these years for me. I'll see you later.", Naruto said.

"No big deal. That's the least I could do for the Fourth. I also have big expectations from you like your father. Don't be burdened by it, take it positively. Later, Uzumaki.", Enma said as he vanished into a puff of smoke.

Naruto looked at the box again and picked up the kunai gently in his hand.

"Whoa, this is quite heavy.", he said.

"This is a special type of kunai that your father used. It is more efficient in attaching to the surfaces due to its heavy weight, wide area and multiple ends.", the Hokage said.

"So my dad used to use explosive attached kunai? I don't see any other reason for doing that. These are at least not suitable for hand to hand combat.", Naruto said flicking the kunai in the air.

"Far from it. You are yet to be aware of the Yondaime's special technique. By any chance, do you know anything about it?", the Hokage asked.

"I read a lot about the Yondaime wherever I could. But the texts weren't very specific about it. They were mostly first person account manuscripts of what they had seen during the war.", Naruto said.

"And what did they say?", the Hokage asked going with the flow.

"Well, basically nothing except one. He was……fast. Fast enough that nobody saw anything. Neither friend nor foe. The famous Kannabi Bridge demolition was only possible because the Yondaime killed a thousand Iwa shinobi in a matter of seconds when we were in a state of crisis of manpower.", Naruto said.

"And how do you think he did that?", the Hokage asked.

"Well, I can only guess. He might have a special technique but the best I can think of currently is that he used Shunshin very proficiently.", Naruto said folding his arms.

"I'm afraid not. We did have a deadly Shunshin user once but he's no more with us now.", the Hokage said, his eyes showing a bit of sadness and guilt. "Anyways, that's all in the past. Now, to the topic. The Yondaime Hokage, my boy, used a special technique known as the Hiraishin."

Naruto absorbed the words for a few seconds before a light bulb went off in his mind and his expression changed suddenly to surprise as he said, "You mean the Flying Thunder God?!"

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow but said, "As a matter of fact, yes. How do you know about it? You didn't recall it before."

"Well, I don't want to remind you about it but don't have a choice. I took the Scroll of Sealing, remember? So, I was kind of curious and took a look at it.", Naruto said sheepishly.

Before the Hokage had a chance to say anything, he continued, "I don't know how to use any of them, I swear. Those were mostly quite complex except the Multi-Shadow Clone which was forbidden just because of the risk of chakra exhaustion. There was a mention of this jutsu too. It teleports the user to a different place where a specific seal had been placed. Oh wait -- so that is the seal on this kunai. Anyways, there wasn't much written about it and was still very crude and incomplete, hence risky."

"True. But the Yondaime perfected the jutsu formula. Your mother's contribution was invaluable in his research as she was a master of Fūinjutsu. The seal you just saw on the box was also put on by her. After years of training, your father mastered this jutsu and became one of the strongest shinobi of our village. He was so fast that he got the nickname……", the Hokage said.

"…..Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō, Yellow Flash of the Leaf." , Naruto completed.

The Hokage just nodded in affirmation.

"That's so cool. I'll get one of my own nickname someday.", Naruto said half grinning.

"Sure, you will. I can at least see that far into your future right now.", the Hokage said laughing.

"Hehe, thanks. So Jiji, what's in that scroll? Can I read it?", Naruto asked.

"Sure, go ahead. This was a message from both your parents although as far as I can see, it's written mainly by the Yondaime. It's not written for you though, I'm afraid to say.", the Hokage said.

Naruto just nodded and opened the scroll. It said……..

Greetings, Sandaime-sama.

I am writing this letter to you as the time of the arrival of my child in this world comes closer day by day. This will only be needed under extremely dire circumstances, but being ready for anything is a part of the job.

I do not mean to be pessimistic, but we live in a ninja world, where the unexpected should be expected. Thus, as parents, it is imperative that we prepare to pass on everything that belongs to us to our child in case anything happens to the both of us. Granted that it is a far cry and that neither of us wish to be unfortunate enough not to be there to support our child, but both of us carry huge risks to our lives and those around us given our status.

I assume you already are informed that we are having a son. Inspired by the gutsy ninja, I've decided to name him Naruto. He is all have on my mind at the moment.

So, getting back, I need you to take care of him should something happen to both of us. The seal will be weakened and there's a high probability that the Kyūbi can escape. If we don't make it, we entrust you with the care of our child. I would have asked someone else you-know-who had he not been skipping all his duties peeking around women's baths. Sorry to burden you with the responsibility, but there's no one trustworthy enough as you that I can ask for this, Sandaime Hokage-sama.

Lastly, I've left the kunai inscribed with the encryption key along with this message. I ask of you to hand it over to Naruto when you judge him capable enough to handle the truth. And if you don't, I am also willing to give it away as a gift for the sake of the village. Although I sincerely hope that it doesn't come to that, for I have faith in my son. I also wish you good health and a long life.

Yours sincerely,

Minato Namikaze

Naruto scrolled it back after reading the entire letter twice and sighed deeply.

"This box was kept beside you when I picked you up that day.", the Hokage told Naruto.

"Thank you for letting me read it. It feels good to be able to get a chance to know my dad's way of thinking through a (one sided) conversation even if a little.", Naruto said.

"Nothing to be thankful of. The real reason I asked Enma to get this box here was not because of the scroll but this specific kunai.", the Hokage said holding up the kunai in front of Naruto.

"What's so special about it though? I mean I do understand now that it was used especially to perform the Hiraishin but I have no use of it as there's no one I know who can perform that jutsu.", Naruto replied confused.

"This one is not a regular kunai. It's the key that your father told about in the letter.", Hiruzen said.

"Oh, now that I think of it, there was a mention of a key in the end. I didn't think much about it since it was up to you whatever to do with that key.", Naruto said.

"I am sure that it's time that I return everything back to you, the rightful owner and heir of the Namikaze.", the Hokage said.

"Jiji, you're doing nothing but confusing me even more. What is all this about?", Naruto asked baffled.

"Here, see this?", the Hokage smiled and showed him the back of the kunai.

Upon a closer look, Naruto saw a little whirl carved at the end in red colour similar to that on his clothes or on the back of the flak jackets of the Konoha Shinobi forces from which a lot of minute seals were emerging to cover all over the handle

"What's so unusual about it? I've seen that a lot.", Naruto asked.

"Yes, but it's not present on just every kunai that your father used. This kunai, Naruto, is the key to their home.", the Hokage said.

"What?! I don't understand.", Naruto said even more perplexed.

"What part of it?", the Hokage asked.

"The only relevant part, duh. Why go all the way to store away a key? People must've broke in as soon as they heard that the Fourth had died. There are a lot of people who won't even think about doing that but there are also a lot in this village who won't blink before robbing someone's grave if they felt like doing it for fun.", Naruto said in a constantly rising voice.

"Do you think that the person who was the Hokage of the whole village at one point of time wouldn't think of that?", Hiruzen asked almost nonchalantly.

Naruto calmed down but said, "Still, I don't get it."

"I think that it would be best to look for yourself.", Hiruzen said pushing the kunai towards him lightly.

"Would it still even be worth looking? Must've been encroached by spiders and termites if not people.", Naruto said rolling his eyes almost as if making fun of him.

"As I said, all your answers you will find there. Now is there anything else you want to ask?", the Hokage asked.

"Well, yeah. There are a few, actually. If you aren't in a hurry, of course.", Naruto said.

"Not today, I'm not. Speak up whatever you want to ask.", the Hokage said.

"Well, firstly why would you go through all the trouble of asking Enma-san to keep the box for you? You must be having a nice cupboard in your office or at your home, I guess.", Naruto asked.

"Just a while ago, I told you about Danzou. As I said, he can go to any lengths to obtain powers that supposedly could help him increase the power of our village. If he'd get his hands on the key of the Yondaime's home, he'd go vandalize it in hopes of finding the secret to the Fourth's jutsu. That's why I had it kept with Enma where it was completely safe.", the Hokage explained.

"So he was really that much after the secrets?", Naruto said.

"Yes. The Yondaime was very cryptic about giving information. Most of his working hours were concealed inside the house. Even if there's nothing worth scrap inside, as long as there's uncertainty, Danzou wouldn't have let it be. As a matter of fact, he had argued against me in the Council after the incident.", the Hokage said.

"Really? How so?", Naruto asked curiously.

"He was already aggravated due to the fact that I had taken up the title of Hokage once more instead of allowing him to be the next one. It was one of the meetings where I had denied to give any answers and just ordered to agree whatever I had in mind regarding the Yondaime's property and possessions. Most of the councilmen were already saddened by the Hokage's loss and the village's destruction and thought no more of it. Danzou, and the other elders, although objected at my decision giving various irrelevant reasons. Even if due to malicious reasons, he was right about the fact that it can't be left around indefinitely. Therefore, I declared that the property be left as it is for the next 25 years and will be assimilated into village resources after that on the condition that no blood relative demands the claim on that until then. That shut him up for good. Not that he had any other option.", the Hokage explained.

Naruto started laughing and said, "Hahaha, serves him right. Guessing his character, he must have been really mad at you."

"I suppose you're right. But I trusted him to work for the better of the village ignoring his methods even after that. It was a big folly on my part, andhehad to take responsibility for me.", the Hokage said whispering the last part.

Naruto clearly heard but could not make head or tail of it. He shrugged it off not poking in further.

"Have you ever seen though what's inside like? You had the key.", he asked.

"No, I haven't. I had no business entering the Yondaime's home without any reason. He left the key with me only to protect it until you become deserving enough of it. Besides, as I told you, the more the topic went cold the better. Else, Danzou would have raised another issue even if I had a reason to go there.", the Hokage said.

"I understand. This Danzou guy is dangerous, period. Next, why would that design be any different on the back of the kunai if it's so popular?", Naruto asked.

"That des-- symbol is not just any fashion symbol, Naruto. It holds a significant importance to all of Konoha. Why would it be engraved in all the uniforms of the Leaf Shinobi forces, didn't you ever ask yourself?", the Hokage chided.

"Well, we live in the Land of Fire so I guessed the red colour had to do something with it. And the spiral, I thought, just looks cool.", Naruto said.

The Hokage shook his head and said, "That is the crest of a clan that existed long ago in the Land of the Whirlpools."

Before he could continue, Naruto interrupted, "What? You mean to say that everyone is wearing the clan crest of some old forgotten clan of some faraway land and they are just... okay with it? Moreover, you allow that?!"

The Hokage was now getting irked constantly by his actions. "Naruto, I want you to keep your mouth shut and listen to me until I complete.", he said giving a forced smile which was easy to read. Naruto quickly got the hint and sat down keeping a finger on his lips as a visual affirmation.

"As I was saying, it is true that it is the crest of a clan from a faraway place, but it is not just some clan. They were the reason we're able to live here today in peace.", he started.

"It was at the time of the Second Great Ninja War, that the Leaf Village itself was in a situation of crisis. Many personnel were deployed in different places either to aid our allies or to engage the enemy's advance forces. The enemy took advantage of the situation and planned to besiege Konoha. The Leaf was a close ally of this clan and didn't delay in asking for their support. The response was prompt and we got assurance that they were sending the best of their shinobi to aid us. Honouring their word, they did deploy their prime forces on the front. Although…….", he continued.

"Although what……..did they turn back?", Naruto asked.

"It was the Hidden Cloud village. The Raikage was a greedy man who wanted to acquire for himself and his village a lot of unique abilities, especially in the midst of war, when no one would have the chance to debate against anything. The clan was also one of his targets. As soon as he heard that the forces of the clan are being divided, he launched an assault on the Village Hidden in the Whirly Tides, where the clansmen lived. The forces of the clan got the information from their intelligence unit about the upcoming attack on their home."

"I see. They had to save their own village so they couldn't have been able to help us. I don't blame them.", Naruto said.

"That's where they defied all logic. There was not one member of the clan who had put their lives above honouring their promise. And it was the same with their leader. They were allowed to help Konoha and ordered to return back as soon as possible afterwards.", the Hokage said.

"Wait, you mean they left their home undefended to save us?!", Naruto asked bewildered.

"Such brave souls they were. As I said, it is only due to them that we were saved. Nidaime-sama had sacrificed himself against an elite Kumo unit to save his comrades including me. I was appointed the Hokage by him but I was too inexperienced myself and without even enough manpower, there was little we could do on our own.", Hiruzen said.

"What……what happened to their village?", Naruto asked.

"As soon as the attack on Konoha was averted, they turned the heels and travelled continuously until they reached their village. Konoha was in a really bad shape already and we couldn't spare a significant enough part of our forces to back them up. The Hidden Cloud's forces had raided the village and destroyed it almost completely. The returned forces of the Hidden Eddy still engaged in combat and managed to wipe off the entire Kumo regiment but lost their lives in the process too.", the Hokage said.

"Oh Kami, they basically sacrificed everything for us and we couldn't do anything for them.", Naruto said feeling grateful to those who saved his village.

"I can't deny that.", Hiruzen said sadly.

"Did you just say they wiped off the entire Kumo regiment by themselves after fighting and traveling for days in the midst of war?", Naruto asked wide eyed.

He added almost immediately, "Just exactly wqhat was the power of the people of the clan that Kumo wanted so badly?"

"Hehe, you catch on quick. The clan was known for it's supreme life force and longevity. Also, they were masters of Fūinjutsu which could even restrain mighty creatures, one of which you already know about. This ability would have been useful for Kumo to capture them.", the Hokage explained.

"They annihilated an entire population just because the Raikage wanted that power? What kind of barbarity is that?!", Naruto asked gritting his teeth.

"This is the Ninja World, Naruto. Brutality is it's second nature. Even if it wasn't, humans are wild creatures, just like any other. They search for power. For power gives them authority over others. There are all kinds of people, some good and some bad, as you already know. Some bad enough that they aren't even human anymore. But we have to live among them, for that is society as a whole for us.", the Hokage said.

Naruto just nodded in silence as he knew what the Hokage was talking about.

"The Hidden Cloud also had to suffer a heavy blow to their forces without any success in obtaining any resources or information. The clan had already destroyed everything that could be used by Kumo to gain power. After that, Kumo stepped back from the war which added another factor in achieving it's end.", Hiruzen said.

"And so we honour them by embedding their clan crest in our flak jackets as a memory for their sacrifice.", Naruto implied.

"True. However, you missed a small point. Their crest, you see, was blue in colour. Yet we wear it in red, why? To remind ourselves that it was their blood which gave us another chance at the gift of life, willingly giving away their own.", the Hokage said.

Judging the sorrowful atmosphere, Hiruzen decided to tell him the good part.

"There might have been a few survivors. It's said that a few managed to run away before or during that battle…….", he started.

Naruto looked up gaining interest, but before he could any more, the Hokage said, "…… although there were mostly rumours." only for him to be dejected again.

"But, there was one I could say sure of. She was a little girl sent by the head of the clan to take refuge in Konoha. We were delighted to be of any help and took her among one of us.", the Hokage said.

Naruto perked up and asked, "Really? Who is she? Can I meet her? She must not be that old by now."

"She's no more with us, Naruto. She died in the attack that happened on the village twelve years ago.", the Hokage said lighting his pipe again.

Naruto skipped a beat listening to this.

'Another death on that day. Why did the Kyūbi have to kill them?! She was the last of her clan, and she died too. Is that death on my birth, too?', Naruto thought, his eyes starting to hold back the tears that were trying to get free all of a sudden.

"So the clan is now done for. We couldn't save them then, and we couldn't save her now. What was the difference?", he said dejectedly.

The Hokage knew that he had to break it to Naruto now or later. The latter not being an option. He took a deep breath and said,

"I think you're stil not getting it, my boy. You should have guessed very well who the woman was by now, and I'm assuming you might already have. Isn't that right, …….."

Naruto had no idea what the Hokage was talking about. He never knew such a woman. The Hokage always keeps quite a lot more of expectations from him that he could process in his mind, it seemed to him. Until this point, he couldn't make head or tails of that statement. In other words, he was blank.

Hiruzen exhaled the smoke and looking deep into the boy's eyes, he finished,

"……..Uzumaki Naruto."

---

There was a few seconds of complete silence.

Naruto's eyes widened to the point he felt they could pop out any second, but he couldn't care less about it at the moment.

After a few seconds of analysis on why'd the Hokage suddenly pronounced his full name, he had put the two and two together. No, at that time it felt more like he had differentiated the Harmonic Series and the Basel Problem, hitting a striking realisation.

The clan that saved Konoha was the Uzumaki clan.

The village the clan lived in was Uzushiogakure.

The land was named as Land of Whirlpools.

Uzumaki literally means Whirlpool,how the hell did he not realise this sooner?!

That meant the girl that was sent to Konoha for refuge was an Uzumaki too. She died on the day of his birth.

She was an Uzumaki.

She was his mother.

And so was he, an Uzumaki.

The Lone Survivor.

His head was heavy with all the things he had learnt that day and started throbbing. He clenched his teeth and gripped his head as he felt something trying to take over. His breathing became abnormally shallow and rapid.

"Naruto! I'm sure this must be hard for y-- are you okay? Listen to me, Naruto?", the Hokage said concerned and alarmed as the air in the room suddenly started thickening.

"No, I don't…….think so. I think I'll just see you later.", Naruto said as he stood up from the chair wanting to get away as soon as possible feeling something bad.

As soon as he took a few steps, the world started spinning and his legs gave over as he kneeled down.

The Hokage was now very much distressed as he could sense a large amount of energy being concentrated in Naruto. It wasn't his own though, the chakra was so vicious it could only be demonic. The chakra was getting exponentially spiked.

If the energy got released all at once, it would be impossible even for the Hokage to contain the blast and would at the very least blow up the building they were standing inside.

Naruto, on the other hand, was desperately trying to control whatever was happening to him. He knew one thing though, that the chakra that was bubbling inside can't be let go of. He was clenching his eyes hard concentrating everything inside and suddenly something flashed in front of him and disappeared as soon. But he knew he did see something.

It was him. Himself, looking straight at him. Felt like he was standing in front of a mirror. And yet, not.

The only difference was the glowing red monstrous eyes.

He was frightened but still didn't lose his focus on what he had to do. He concentrated all his chakra around the other one and suppressed it hard enough for it to go back or dissipate.

Once he was done, he took a deep breath, gave out a satisfactory sigh…….. and the world turned black.

---

Naruto woke up a little light headed and checked his surroundings. He was lying on the couch in the Hokage office while the Hokage was quietly working on his desk.

He sat upright slowly feeling a little dizzy but the headache was gone.

"Oh Naruto, are you feeling better now?", the Hokage said looking up at him.

"Yeah, quite a lot. How long was I passed out? It's not been days, is it?", Naruto asked sheepishly.

"Haha no, nothing like that. It's just been half an hour.", the Hokage said.

Naruto let out a comfortable sigh.

"What happened to you?"

He jumped away a bit looking at his back. Neko was there, standing with her hands folded.

"Hey, don't scare me like that! I'm already a little disoriented. And really, it's nothing. I just didn't have enough sleep last night, so became a little dizzy.", Naruto said.

"Sleep deprived? You sure didn't look that way this morning.", she said with a glare that he could even sense behind the mask.

"Yeah. I encounter some problems when my sleep schedule is disrupted. Nothing to worry about.", Naruto said wanting to evade the topic, so he quickly turned to the Hokage and said, "So Jiji, I'll talk to you later. Bye, thanks again. And bye, Neko-chan!"

The Hokage understood that it had been enough for him for the day. He nodded and allowed him to leave. Rest of the matters, if any, can wait until later.

With that, Naruto disappeared in a flicker leaving through the window.

Knowing that she couldn't leave mid-duty, Neko decided to have a conversation with him sometime else, and albeit quite annoyed, went back to her position.

---

Time Skip

It had been four hours since he left the Hokage Tower.

He was just wandering aimlessly around the town in circles (or ovals or rhomboids or whatever). He had gone to Ichiraku's Ramen in order to freshen his mood or forget about other things for some time, but it didn't work.

All it did was worry Ayame why Naruto ate only six bowls of Ramen and said that he's finished. He paid up and left saying that he wasn't that hungry today.

After all, he still had a plethora of questions still haunting him. For starters, he was reflecting upon what he should do next now that he knew all this. The past was in the past, he had already decided that there was no need to dwell on it, whatever he knew or didn't doesn't matter. But now that he did, and what to do?

Should it make a difference in his current goals…..or his way of thinking…….or something like that?

Or should he just forget that it ever happened and sleep it out at home like a bad dream?

But again, he was so confused that why is all this crossing through his mind in the first place? The Hokage had decided that he was wise enough to deal with it so it wouldn't be just right to just leave it at that.

Fortunately, none of it was public information yet. Neither that he was the son of the Yondaime Hokage whose face they watch everyday on the rock statues, nor the fact that the once respected Uzumaki clan had one last member left (at least, as far as he knew) and it was him.

To the public's eyes, he was the same Naruto Uzumaki who shouted about being Hokage every now and then for years and painted the Hokage's face as a prank.

Why did no one notice that his last name was Uzumaki?

The answer to this one wasn't that complicated. To the general public, especially the younger generation, the name of a clan which existed years ago in some far away land would naturally not arouse any interest or questions. And to those who knew about it, deception wasn't a tough task either.

Heck, he had asked Tsunade once that why is his last name Uzumaki when he was found as an orphan and both of his parents were dead already. He got the same answer as everyone else did.

"Well, you see, the wife of the First Hokage, my grandmother……her name was Mito Uzumaki. Since their children took up the name of Senju, so the old man decided to name you Uzumaki Naruto in her honour."

Even then, it didn't seem like a convincing lie to him. Yet he thought that even if she's lying it was because he actually did have a last name but the Hokage didn't want to tarnish his parents' image in the citizens' eyes at least after they were dead.

The rest of the people didn't even think much about it. After the destruction the village went through, and the demise of the Yondaime, who would investigate so deep into the demon child's last name which was covered up so well by the Hokage himself.

Back to the current situation, it was quite a unique way of imagining the situation he was in, which he never really thought about until yet, as it could make a really big impact this time and the choices didn't seem exactly obvious to him.

He was in a dilemma as he felt like he was standing blindfolded on a cliff.

One step and he'd fall down. Either land in a lake and continue ahead or fall into a trench and die. What lied ahead, nobody knew.

There was always an option of turning back, which always was the safest.

And the more time he took standing there, the more difficult it would get to decide. In the end, the possibility of ending up in the lake or in a trench were not any better than the other compared to tossing a coin.

Within his thoughts, he didn't realise that somebody was following him until now. He turned his neck swiftly to verify whether what he sensed was malevolent or not.

Even in that mindset, he couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes when he saw a panicked kid pull out a cloth and stand along the wall trying to perform the "Cloak of Invisibility" jutsu so poorly that even a civilian would laugh. The black stripes seen between the wooden planks on the wall were vertical and he was holding them horizontally, not to mention the obvious hands and feet sticking out in all directions alongwith the pineapple crown of hair poking from his helmet.

He ignored the boy and started walking again assuming that the boy would be embarrassed and turn back on his own. After a few turns, he could still sanse the boy walking in erratic patterns completely devoid of any tactic that a spy would use and instead quite opposite of it.

He decided to leave him alone again since he remembered that he himself roamed around in time wearing bright orange clothes while training to become a ninja which would metaphorically scream "I'm here! Come attack me!" if here were on a mission.

"Go back home, kid. I know you're there.", he said in an attempt to scurry him off.

Yet again, his forehead ticked when the boy started following him again after losing him for 5 minutes. When he turned back to tell him to buzz off, he looked at a perfectly cuboidal supposed-to-be-a-rock box of cardboard which was poorly painted.

Naruto had never sweatdropped that hard.

After a minute, the stalker lifted up the box a little to see whether Naruto had left or not. He could not see Naruto's feet anywhere. He removed the box and stood up looking around to see if there was any sign of him.

"Huh, where'd he suddenly go?", he said aloud.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a sword impaled itself in the ground a few inches in front of him. He was so surprised he fell down on his butt losing his balance.

When he looked up, Naruto was standing in front of the sword with his hands folded.

"What do you want?", he asked.

"How'd you know I was here?!", the boy asked.

"Well, duh. A perfectly carved block of stone which has the most unnatural design of a rock I have ever seen lying in the middle of the road following me for 10 minutes isn't suspicious, I guess.", Naruto replied.

"Fine. I know it isn't very realistic. But that was all I could make that I thought could work.", he said.

Naruto sighed looking at the dropped face of the boy and said, "Look Konohamaru. I know you're trying to be a ninja. But you'll have to train hard to do that. What you're currently doing is what kids do to play around imitating to be ninjas."

Konohamaru looked at him with a hanging jaw.

"What?", Naruto asked feeling conscious about it.

"What did you call me again?", the boy asked.

"If I remember correctly, your name was Konohamaru, right? Don't expect me to call you by titles or anything.", Naruto said.

"You just called me by my name?", Konohamaru asked.

"So what?", Naruto asked getting irritated.

"I knew it! You are the one I was looking for. Please make me your apprentice!", Konohamaru said rubbing animé tears with puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, appren-- whaaaaaat?!", Naruto said surprised suddenly forgetting his earlier thoughts.

"Yes. I want to become a ninja who is stronger than my grandfather.", Konohamaru said with determination.

"Sorry kid, but I'm not stronger than your grandfather if that's what you're implying.", Naruto said laughing a little.

"I know that already. But you acknowledge me as myself. Everyone just identifies me as the Honourable Grandson of the Great Hokage. The only way I can be acknowledged

my when I become stronger than him.", Konohamaru said.

Naruto looked at the boy with curiosity. He had never thought about it. He didn't realise it before but now he knew that it wasn't that simple even being a celebrity or something like that until you don't make a name for yourself.

He had been treated like shit for years in the village because he was considered filth and nobody acknowledged his existence.

And here was another, the complete opposite. The boy was the grandson of the Hokage, honoured all over the village. Wherever he went, people would shower him with praises and greetings. And yet, the same. It was all due to his grandfather. His existence too was not acknowledged, just in a different manner.

Now he was sure of one thing, that merely disclosing his identity would make him acknowledged or even respected in front of the world would have been a fool's dream.

"Hey, I'm guessing your silence is a yes?"

He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by a hand waving in front of him.

"What? No, no. I was just ….ahem…..sorry about that. Look, I can definitely say that I get where you're coming from. You want to prove your own worth to everyone and not just hide inside the shadow of the Hokage.", Naruto said.

Konohamaru just nodded furiously.

"But…..", he added, "you realise that I'm just a Genin, right? Heck, it's been one day since I officially became a shinobi. How can I possibly take up a student when I have zero field experience? Plus, you already have a teacher, the one with the weird looking goggles."

Konohamaru's face fell as he said, "I understand. You have your own work to do too. Just to say, my Sensei is the same as other people. He's strong, but he's always going on about how I should train hard just to be like my honourable grandfather Hokage."

"I guess I'll have to do something on my own, after all.", he added.

He turned around picking up his cardboard box deciding to leave.

"Hey Konohamaru, wait!", Naruto said looking at him.

Konohamaru turned around again and looked at him with an inquisitive gaze.

"Uh, fine. I can't be your full time teacher, but at least I can be your……senior, per se. I can give you advice or some useful tips or something, I guess. If you get what I mean.", Naruto said.

"Really?! Don't worry, I get it completely. Thanks boss!", Konohamaru said delightfully.

"B-Boss?", Naruto asked startled.

"Yeah, you're the senior, so it's natural I'd call you boss or maybe senpai, if you prefer that.", Konohamaru said.

Naruto didn't know why, but he suddenly shivered hearing the word Senpai as he remembered reading it almost all night that he was awake yesterday reading that novel.

'Give it to me, Senpai. Yes, put it deep insid--'

He instantly shook his head clear of all the details in that obviously feminine voice.

"Ahem……no, just Boss is fine. I guess since you're my underling, I'll have to help you with something. Let's go, come with me.", Naruto said.

"Yes, boss!", Konohamaru said grinning.

In a few minutes, both of them were standing in a clearing in a random training field.

"Okay, now. I'm gonna teach you to perfect the Cloak of Invisibility technique, since from what I've seen you've got it completely wrong.", Naruto said.

Konohamaru sweatdropped crying animé tears.

"So, the first thing you need to know is that this technique is completely useless in a battle, unless you're extremely proficient at it. It's used mostly for spying purposes or hiding from the enemy in a generalized search. I used it a lot in my pranks though, hehe. What you need to understand first is that you have to keep yourself completely still, while focusing that the camouflage you're using blends in nicely with the surroundings. You have to think like a chameleon who is patiently waiting for it's chance to ……..

In this manner, Naruto helped Konohamaru perfect his technique, and the day went by.

---

Time Skip (Late afternoon/Early evening)

Both Naruto and Konohamaru were sitting on a log in the shade and munching on some chips.

Naruto had brought them some light snacks while Konohamaru trained to perfect his technique.

"Konohamaru, your Sensei's approaching.", Naruto said finishing his chips quickly and the boy did the same.

"Should I leave before he comes? He'll give you a hard time.", Konohamaru asked.

"Oh, definitely not. We're going to test our training results right now. This is the perfect opportunity.", Naruto said smirking.

Konohamaru just tilted his neck in confusion.

---

A few minutes later, Ebisu approached the clearing and found Naruto sitting on the same log as if waiting for him.

Looking around, he didn't see Konohamaru anywhere.

"What did you do to the Honourable Grandson?", Ebisu said frowning.

"Look for yourself. He's not here. He already went home.", Naruto said nonchalantly.

"I don't believe you. I just came from the direction of his home.", Ebisu said.

"Well, how should I know? You are free to look for him, if you think he's here.", Naruto said.

"Don't try to fool me. He's not here. You hid him somewhere, didn't you? Tell me where he is.", Ebisu replied.

"I already told you, I'm not stopping you from looking for him.", Naruto said.

"Looks like I'll have to use force on you after all.", Ebisu said.

Naruto saw that cold look in his eyes that he had seen so commonly around since he remembered anything. But he had long forgot to give a damn about it.

"Just for the record, whatever I'll do will be in the name of self-defence.", Naruto said smiling.

"You won't be be thinking about any records by the time I'm done with you.", Ebisu said readying his stance.

Naruto grinned and suddenly dozens of Kage Bunshin spawned around them.

'So many, but how? Of course he can. How can I forget, he has that demon's chakra inside of him.', Ebisu thought.

"Huh, if you think I can be defeated by a bunch of Kage Bunshin, you're in for a good beating yourself.", he said.

"I'm sorry, Ebisu-san, I think there's a misunderstanding. I'm not going to attack you with these Kage Bunshin, I would never think of it.", Naruto said innocently.

Being a little suspicious yet confused, Ebisu asked, "What are these for then?"

"Oh, you might wanna have a look at this first.", Naruto said as he pulled out a small book out of nowhere.

Ebisu realised something and reached into his pocket only to find it empty. It was the latest edition of the Icha Icha series that Kakashi also kept reading these days. Although, Ebisu at least had the decency to not read it around in public.

"Hey, h-how did you get your hands on it and when?", he asked red faced.

"That is a question for later. Now for your initial query, here's a gift. See you next time.", Naruto said making a half Ram sign and throwing him back his book.

Ebisu quickly prepared himself for an attack, but how could he even possibly think of dodging an attack that flattened the Hokage himself.

Oiroke no Jutsu : Harem

The clones jumped on Ebisu transformed into an erotic young girl pounced on Ebisu from all sides. He had an instant massive nosebleed and passed out from hypovolemia.

"Hahahahahahahaha, works like a charm. Everytime!", Naruto said as he rolled on the ground laughing.

He went to the log he was sitting on and tapped on it.

"It's okay. He won't be getting up for a few hours."

Suddenly, something detached from the log and a cover removed itself only to reveal Konohamaru.

(A few minutes earlier)

"Oh, definitely not. We're going to test our training results right now. This is the perfect opportunity.", Naruto said smirking.

Konohamaru just tilted his neck in confusion.

"What do you mean?", he asked.

"You have to use your Cloak of Invisibility to hide from your Sensei.", Naruto said.

"Oh, I see. I'll go look for a good place then.", Konohamaru said feeling excited at the idea.

"Uh uh. Nowhere else. Hide here.", Naruto said pointing at the log.

"Whaaat? No way, this is in plain sight. He'll recognise me immediately.", Konohamaru said.

"That's the whole point to hide, you idiot. And remember, sometimes the best way to hide something is to keep it in plain sight. Now come on, he'll be here soon.", Naruto said.

"Oh yeah sure, what about you?", Konohamaru asked.

"Don't worry about me. I'm a pro at playing pranks.", Naruto said and winked.

(Present time)

"You did great, he didn't have a clue you're here.", Naruto said patting him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, it's thanks to you. I learnt something I haven't been able to for months.", Konohamaru said.

"Hehe, it's nothing.", Naruto said sheepishly.

"How did you defeat my Sensei though? Are you that strong?", Konohamaru asked.

"Who knows. But we didn't fight, I just played a prank on him. It won't work twice.", Naruto said.

'But again, it might. He's a complete pervert.', he thought.

"Wow, you are so cool, Boss.", Konohamaru said gleefully.

"Haha, it's nothing.", Naruto said grinning.

After a few moments of silence, Naruto said, "Kono, listen. It was fun and all today, but this isn't how it will be forever. You will have to train regularly like you did today and even harder. I will have my hands full with my own work. We won't be able to do this everyday, as I already clarified. You start taking it seriously as soon as you can, that's my advice to you. Listen to your Sensei, and especially your grandfather. There's no one in the village who thinks and knows what's better for you more than him."

"Going more superficially, I think you should focus on building your physical strength or rather stamina right now. Try to study a little every now and then, whatever interests you. You can then move on to the next stage as you grow, step by step.", he added.

"I understand, boss! I have a question, though.", Konohamaru said saluting him.

"Sure, speak up.", Naruto said.

"You must also have a goal too, right?", Konohamaru asked.

"About that, yeah I have. My dream is to become the greatest Hokage ever.", Naruto said as he turned to walk away from Konohamaru.

"The Hokage, really?", Konohamaru asked.

"Yeah, you wanted to be able to become even stronger than the Hokage, right? Even if Jiji gets old by then, I'll be your opponent. You'll have to train hard, if you want to beat me. There's no point in doubting yourself now. Keep moving forward!", Naruto said in a motivating tone almost out of vision now.

Konohamaru smiled widely and shouted, "I will. Arigatou Gozaimasu!" and bowed.

Naruto raised his hand in a parting gesture without looking back and disappeared from sight.

---

(Somewhere secret in Hokage's mansion)

"My decision to trust him was right, after all."

The Hokage was sitting alone in a dark room looking inside a crystal ball watching the events unfold.

He was glad that Naruto was able to impart the wisdom in his grandson that he had been trying hard for him to get to understand for some time now.

"Although, I still have to think about issuing a restraining order on using that jutsu anywhere in Konoha."

He had an instant nosebleed as he thought about it.

---

If you couldn't already guess, Naruto was currently sitting on top of the Hokage monument, on his favourite one, to be precise.

Until now, it was just because he found the Yondaime Hokage cool, being the hero of the village, kind of a role model thing.

Today was a different feeling, though. All those times he had wondered about his parents and it was the first time he knew that his father was literally supporting him all the time, indirectly.

(A/N : Lol, forgive me I know these are not always funny. This one here was probably not too, but I just like doing these puns which use the word "literally" in the right manner and not just to emphasize the point, which is wrong.)

Now that he had a little more time to think about it, he also thought about how surprising it was to hear that the Nine-Tails was already sealed in a Jinchuriki twice in Konoha before himself.

And the fact that both of the hosts were Uzumaki, the second one being his mother.

'The village must have already realised after sealing the Kyūbi in the first host that it can only be successfully contained inside an Uzumaki host due to their extreme life force. My mom was the only option they had at the time. There was only one Uzumaki left.', Naruto thought, 'Did she even have a choice, though? Or was it just imposed on her like it was on me?', his anger flaring the more he thought about it.

"I can't stop wondering about it. What happened that night, Dad? Why didn't you stop the Kyūbi from being released? This had had to be a foolproof plan.", Naruto asked as if his feelings would be conveyed through the rock monument.

But his anger died down slowly knowing that nothing would be achieved by being clouded by biased feelings.

'What am I complaining of anyways. In the middle of all that, I didn't even have a chance to ask anything about my Mom. I don't even know her name.', he thought as he chuckled slightly at himself.

He took a long sigh and stood up making up his mind.

He recalled the final advice he had given to Konohamaru.

"There's no point in doubting yourself. Just have to keep moving forward."

He basked in the waning glow of the evening sun. The sunset view was beautiful as always, no doubt about it. Still it was nothing new. One could see that scenery everyday from that point.

Yet, for him, it always brought him different conclusions to a day. Just yesterday, he was a normal shinobi. Granted, he still is a normal shinobi, but life just kept giving him constant twists and turns.

He also realised that all the choices life had given him led him to where he was now. The choice to travel with Tsunade, the choice to train in the arts of the Ninja, the choice to become a shinobi of the Leaf. And all of this was because he embraced the opportunities, for the better, without a doubt. Had he not accepted change, he would've been the same way as he was before.

"Hehe, what am I afraid of anyways. The only thing permanent in this life, is change. I can't stay where I am forever. I will take on whatever lies ahead in my life and give it my all as I have ever since.", Naruto said.

He flicked out the tri-pronged kunai into his hand.

"All it takes to make it happen, is……", he added taking a few steps making it to the edge of the rock.

It felt almost laughable considering the stark similarity he felt with his internal dilemma taking in a form of physical situation. Although not blindfolded now, he still didn't know what lied ahead. Yet, he understood that there was only one way to go through it and it was to close his eyes and take……

"A Leap of Faith."

He jumped forward knowing that there was no turning back now. Life have him yet another choice and he had taken up on the offer.

---

And that's it. Cliffhanger.

But he jumped off the cliff, right?

What am I even saying, nevermind. Bad joke. :)

To be honest, I did want to complete the whole parents sequence in this chapter. Maybe a few thousand words more. But this ending seemed good to me, so I posted it. Readers will have some idea where's the story going until I write the next one.

The next chapter will be a little short, I guess under 8-10k. Still, I might be able to expand it since it's always like that with me lol. I start wondering if I'll be able to reach 5k and end up with around 15k going with the flow, mostly by extracting and presenting the minute details from the crude blueprint.

Thanks for all the support as always. Leave a review if you can.

Until next time, Ja ne!