A/N: I do not own the anime series Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto!
Flashback
"Naruto! Do you remember the technique I just taught you?"
Minato asked in a solemn tone. He needed his son inside the library, but the librarians would kick him out the moment they see him. Well, getting kicked out was rare as librarians wouldn't even let him get close to the library.
"Yes! Dad! The transformation jutsu! An illusory technique that would fool civilians into letting me inside their shops, but I must avoid chunin and jonin, as they may be able to figure out the technique and dispel it!"
That was Minato's and Naruto's plan. They would use the E-rank transformation jutsu to fool the librarians into letting Naruto inside their shops, but Naruto would need to avoid chunin and jonin just to be safe. Genin have no way of seeing through the transformation jutsu, except for the truly exceptional ones.
"Now, open your eyes and practice the jutsu. Once you can do it, go inside the libraries and read the books inside to learn more. Don't forget to have fun, Naruto."
End of Flashback
"Hello, mister! Do you have books about…?"
A boy around the age of eight asked the librarian for books he wanted to read. The books were all about short stories, and some were about the things taught in the academy. Listening to the boy, the librarian felt as if he was being enchanted and his mind was relaxing.
"Of course, it's over there! Do you need me to get it for you?"
"No thanks! I can get it on my own! Thank you, mister!"
The man smiled. He wanted to chat with the boy for a bit more time, but he had to respect the boy's privacy.
Naruto wandered around the library before he found the books he was looking for. Chakra Control, Ninja History, Legend of the Fourth Hokage, Legend of the First Hokage, and Legend of the Second Hokage. Unsurprisingly, the book with the least volume was the Legend of the Fourth Hokage, as he died too early, while Ninja History was the thickest book among the books he took. He sat on one of the tables inside the library and started to read.
The library was spacious, with large shelves full of books taking over half of the whole library, while there were tables and chairs on two sides of the library. In the middle was the librarian.
–Inside Naruto's mind.
"I've got to admit, the brat has a good head on his shoulders."
Kurama watched as Naruto read books with undivided attention. If you look closely, you could see that his eyes bolted from one side to the next, and it would repeat until he turned the page of the book he was holding.
"Yeah, and I am proud to have him as my son. To be honest, I've never felt this much pride in my entire life before. I guess this is what it feels like to be a father."
Minato beamed when he heard Kurama praise Naruto. He smiled for a moment, but then his face revealed a weird expression as if he were trying to gaze into the heavenly mysteries.
"Something is weird, however. I just find it too weird that a four years old child can read so many books and have such focus. I mean, I was a genius as well, but even I found reading to be boring from time to time!"
"Hahaha! Don't compare the child to yourself, Minato. I've heard of people like your son. Back when I was roaming free, I had a human companion. He wasn't strong like Hashirama, but he wasn't weak either. He once told me a story about a child so smart that he started to read when he was only four years old. He even told me once that that same child became his disciple, and how that child was able to surpass every single one of his expectations. In short, people like your son are what we call once-in-a-lifetime geniuses, or a once-in-a-century genius. Whichever you like to call them, they're undoubtedly geniuses among geniuses."
Hearing his friend talk about unparalleled genius, Minato could only nod his head dumbly. Here he was thinking that he was a genius when apparently, the real geniuses have yet to be born, and it just so happens that his son was one of those true geniuses.
"Do you know anyone else that fits the bill of these so-called geniuses?"
Minato asked, intrigued at the idea.
Kurama, sensing Minato's emotions, began to tell another tale.
"Don't sell yourself short, Minato. You are a genius. Apart from you, the most well-known ones are Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, and Tobirama Senju. There are several others, like Akajai Uzumaki, Mito Uzumaki, Jinsou Yin, and many more. I only remember those near the land of fire, since I never left the land of fire. To be honest, I only knew these people because I was either captured or became imprisoned, and that human companion of mine told me of their names. Oh right, the genius I just told you about was Jinsou Yin. My human companion once told me that Jinsou Yin could make it rain on a desert, and he could create islands in the middle of the ocean."
"Wow…!"
Hearing about Jinsou Yin's achievements, Minato couldn't help but exclaim.
"Is… Is this Jinsou Yin still alive today?"
"Hmm… I don't know, it's been more than a century since my human companion died, and when he died he told me that Jinsou Yin was already 34 years old. Still, he told me that Jinsou Yin was able to create a jutsu that extended the life, so I can't say for sure if he is alive or dead."
"If he is still alive, I wish to see him… though I don't know how I would see him seeing I am dead."
Minato laughed before he came back to admiring his son.
Naruto was currently looking at three books. It was a book about the first Hokage, the second Hokage, and himself, the fourth Hokage. Naruto was comparing the different Hokage together, and he would giggle when he found something similar about the three Hokage.
"*sigh* Letting Naruto inside the library was one of the best choices I've made. I can't believe he can understand those complex words."
"Ha-ha! Minato, your kid is going to be a bookworm!"
–Outside the mindscape
"So papa uses a jutsu the second fire created! Wow~!"
Naruto mused. He knew he couldn't say 'Second Hokage', or 'Tobirama Senju', because his sentence would easily be understood that his father was Minato Senju, the Fourth Hokage. However, he could call the first Hokage as the first fire, and the second Hokage as the second fire, while he could call Minato papa, father, or dad with no problem.
"Then, how was the first fire so strong? He and the second fire were siblings, but how could he become so strong? Is it because he is the eldest? No, that shouldn't be it… The wood-style jutsu, is it because of that? But that still doesn't explain it. If it's because of his wood-style jutsu, then why do other Senju– 'fire' not have that ability? I mean, he had a couple of children, and several grandchildren, but none of them had the ability… A mystery, a true mystery."
Naruto was confused about how the first Hokage became so strong, but Kurama knew.
"*sigh* boy, if you only knew about the forces beyond this world, you would understand, but Hashirama is nothing but a failed genius."
Kurama sighed as he remembered the various powerhouses that existed beyond the elemental nations. Meanwhile, Minato who heard this was stunned.
"What? Failed genius? FAILED genius?! How is that even possible?! He was called the God of Shinobi because of his godly strength, so how is he a failed genius of all things?"
Kurama looked at Minato and remembered that he too was inside the seal. He sighed again and began explaining things to Minato. After hearing everything, Minato was pale and prayed that his son wouldn't have the same fate.
Back with Naruto. The sun had set, and the streets were dark. The street lamps were turned on, some were flickering, while some were in good condition.
Walking down the streets of Konoha, Naruto felt sad. He felt sad because he knew that his ancestors built this place and protected it. Died protecting it. The first Hokage build Konoha from scratch along with his friend Madara Uchiha. The second Hokage refined the village and brought it to soaring heights until he died protecting the future of the village. Meanwhile, his father, Minato Senju, the fourth Hokage, died protecting the village and even sacrificed his own son to secure the village's safety.
In return, what did the villagers do? They neglected him. They even chased after him while holding weapons! They ignored him just because he carried the nine-tailed fox inside of him. Thinking about the sacrifices his father made for the village, and how the village repaid his father's heroic deeds made Naruto cry.
The third Hokage, Hiruzen. He didn't like the man, and neither did his father. His father told Naruto that Hiruzen should be taking care of him right now, but he wasn't. If he couldn't take care of him under impossible circumstances, he could've let Jiraiya take care of him, as he should be doing. But where was Jiraiya? The only reason Minato didn't blame and hate Jiraiya was for old times' sake. After all, Jiraiya was his teacher.
Under the moonlight, Naruto let his tears flow as he sobbed. The trees blew and the cold breeze touched Naruto's skin, but he couldn't care less. He just wanted to cry, cry, and cry again. He wanted to cry tonight so that he wouldn't cry the next day.
Minato felt his heart break in pain and betrayal. His heart broke in pain because of what his son was feeling, and what his son had to go through. His heart broke in betrayal because the people he trusted his son with broke their promises and left his son to fight the whole world alone, without anyone's warmth to help him fight the cold and unforgiving world.
A/N: In this fan-fiction, the Otsotsuki would still exist, and their goal of eating chakra fruits that the ten-tails creates or whatever remains the same. The only difference in this fan-fiction is that the nine tailed beasts know of the Otsotsuki, and there are also countless people like the Otsotsuki out there. After the main story of Naruto Shippuden is done, I will continue the story by introducing some powerful foes. So, stay tuned and keep reading the fan-fiction, because the end is still far away~!
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