Shikamaru frowned at the information he heard Ino and Sakura gossiping about. Nah! Naruto may be an idiot, but he had a weird knack of things. He would be the last one to fall for such a trick. He almost laughed at the idiocy of others had been believing the concise note Naruto had written.
"Naruto is safe", Shikamaru remarked garnering everybody's attention at the table where they were eating barbecue. Choji nodded in agreement, as did Kiba.
"He may seem like an idiot, but he is hyper aware. Even a small fly doesn't miss his eye! I don't know how he trains, but his reflexes are the best among all of us. Even a single slip or changing of your facial muscles, can hint that you are deceiving him", Kiba commented making Sakura frown.
"Then pray to tell me why that baka is so bad?", she asked with a half-sneer. Shikamaru glared at her with intensity, before sighing.
"He has been alone his whole life. I admit... I started avoiding him when I realized that the children started to isolate me and Choji with Naruto. I ran away, but he still didn't treat me differently for avoiding him. He came with an understanding face saying that he wasn't angry on Choji and I, and that it was fine if we ignored him and played with others", Shikamaru confessed as Choji nodded in agreement. Ino looked at two with wide eyes. Even though she thought she knew everything about her two teammates, she didn't have an inkling of idea that the had been buddies with Naruto once.
"Why didn't you ever tell me this?", Ino asked in confusion. Kiba snorted at that.
"We couldn't face ourselves after that. How were we supposed to tell others? He sacrificed his own happiness on the scale that we would remain happy. How many of us could do this when you, we, were six? You two fought like wild cats and destroyed your friendship over a boy at seven! You only thought of your own feelings", Kiba said harshly pointing at the two girls. The two flinched at the accusation.
"The only person he was close to before, and even now, is Hokage-sama. He has always been there as long as we can remember. He used to make time and visit Naruto once a week, and check up on his health. And he needs to look after a village. There wasn't anybody else until Iruka-sensei came around. He had been neglected so much by then, that all of Iruka-sensei's time was spent teaching him the basics, and they barely finished for the Genin exams", Choji stated making Sakura cower at the three glares being directed at her.
"Does anyone know how Hokage-sama came so close to Naruto?", Shino asked the trio of boys. Shikamaru shrugged.
"He has been visiting Naruto ever since I, or any of us remember", Choji replied making Tenten frown.
"I know he visits us specifically to get kunais for Naruto. Like I have heard my father criticize the villagers a lot of times. They don't see who Naruto is beyond that. That's what he said", the female from Team Nine spoke up. "Its like only a few people treat him as a human".
"I should not speak about this, because Kurenai-sensei and Kaa-chan almost bit my and Hinata's head off when I mentioned the seal on Naruto's stomach", Kiba remarked, before pointing to his stomach. "Hinata described it as a circle in two pieces, and four rays protruding from each, and red chakra leaking out randomly from it".
"Isn't human chakra blue?", Choji asked with a frown. Shikamaru furrowed his brows at the information. Shino too seemed pensive.
"You know that I tag all of my team members and friends with a bug, right?", the boys nodded whereas the two girls scrunched up their faces. Tenten rose a brow at the information. "Aburame Clan uses them for recon and tracking. But there's something which is told to new members. Never tag Naruto for longer periods, or you may lose your hive entirely. When asked that, they had ignored us", Shino said with his usual passive face.
"I know there's something which is forbidden for the older generation to speak about Naruto. It's like they are trying to hide something, just naming it as bad influence. I often wondered if his parent did something wrong, but Tou-chan or Choji's dad said that nobody knew about who Naruto's parents were. They said that he just...", Shikamaru trailed off, his eyes widening to the size of saucer plates.
"What happened Shikamaru?", Ino asked worriedly. Shikamaru snapped his head towards her, before shaking it in denial rapidly.
"I just remembered something I need to do. Sorry, but I need to go", Shikamaru said before bolting away, assuming that his father would be at the Hokage Tower in his office. Choji and Kiba raised a brow at the vanishing figure of Shikamaru.
"Did he figure something out? He just stopped at... Oh! OOHH! Shika! Wait for me!", Choji scampered after his childhood friend. Kiba too realized the same thing and ran after the two.
The three girls and Shino stared at the now empty seats. Tenten craned her head sideways, not knowing what to say. "We shouldn't pry. Why? Because they feel guilty for isolating Naruto, and they think they can help him", Shino remarked making Tenten nod in agreement.
Sakura looked down guiltily. Even though they had been teammates for over three months, she knew next to nothing about Naruto.
"Do you think Naruto can beat Neji?", Tenten suddenly asked. Shino smirked underneath the high collar jacket.
"As long as I have known Naruto, he has a knack for unimaginable feats. He couldn't create a simple clone in the Academy, but now, he spams kage bunshin after kage bunshin at a rate which would kill even our senseis of chakra exhaustion", Shino commented amusedly.
Shikaku had been having a peaceful lunch with Choza, Inoichi and Tsume Inuzuka, the latter joining that because of her tracking capabilities.
"So, even his tracks have been covered?", Shikaku asked with a frown. Tsume nodded sadly.
"I tried tracing out the Kyubi's chakra, but it too came out as a blank. The trail just moves around the apartment, before vanishing", Kuromaru, Tsume's partner reported. The four adults frowned at the information.
"A seal master is at work", Choza commented. "You can't suppress such humungous chakra without seals. What seal masters do we know of?", he wondered out.
"Jiraiya-sama, and Chiyo-san from Suna. The one Kiri had died soon after the Third War, while the ones which Iwa and Kumo have are frail to even move from their bed", Inoichi replied.
"Jiraiya-sama hasn't been in the village for years, and Chiyo-san isn't a seal master, Inoichi. Have you seen the Kazekage's son? That's her work", Tsume commented.
"So, there's a seal master, who can sneak into Konoha, kidnap a high priority target, and vanish without a trace, while taking a literal chakra generator with him!", Shikaku exclaimed exasperated.
"Hey don't assume it's a boy! It can be a woman too!", Tsume retorted making Choza look at her bewildered.
"Eto... Tsume-san, we don't have any interest in the kidnapper's gender. We need to find, Naruto-kun", he spoke up making the woman grunt.
"You don't need to do that, Tou-chan", a voice spoke up from the doorway. The four adults frowned seeing Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba looking at them with emotionless faces. "Naruto is hyper aware. He would be the last one to get kidnapped from any of us", Shikamaru added making Shikaku frown.
"Shikamaru, he has vanished without a trace. Not even Kuromaru can track his smell", Shikaku said in an exasperated voice. Kiba snorted.
"What gave you the idea that even Kuromaru can find him? He can erase his tracks easily. He is a genius when it comes to these things. How do think he managed to hide from you so long after he pulled of his extraordinary pranks?", Kiba asked with a raised brow. Choji frowned behind them.
"Guys we are going off track", he warned. Shikaku rose a brow as he drank water.
"Does Naruto keep the Kyubi locked away in his body?", Kiba asked unceremoniously. Shikaku spit out the water in shock, as Choji and Inoichi choked on their pieces of food.
"What gave you that idea?", Tsume blurted out in shock. Shikamaru rose a brow with an expression which screamed 'are-you-an-idiot'.
"The older generation look at him in fear, and often call him a demon. You can't call someone a demon on a whim. Then, when we were discussing about Naruto now, you said that he just popped out of nowhere on the night of Kyubi attack. That and Kiba telling me about the seal was enough to figure out that Kyubi was sealed inside Naruto", Shikamaru explained as the two boys nodded in agreement.
"I know it is forbidden to tell that he holds the Kyubi to our generation. If it was just allowed, the villagers would have openly told that and not label him as a bad influence", Kiba added as silence descended in the room.
"Well, that hit bull's eye", Shikaku started. "So, how do you think if him now that you know he hold back the troublesome Kyubi?".
"We are ashamed of ourselves. You remember Choji, Kiba and I used to play with him when we were six or seven. When the other children started isolating us because of our interaction with Naruto, he stayed away so that we wouldn't get isolated. All while he was dealing with the Kyubi inside him", Shikamaru said quietly.
"Does Naruto know about the Kyubi?", Choji asked with a frown.
"Yeah. Mizuki was arrested because he told that Naruto. Well, he was supposed to know about the Kyubi after graduation, but from Hokage-sama, not a snake's traitor", Choza answered his son's question.
"Snake's traitor?", Kiba asked puzzled.
"Team 7 fought him in the second stage", Tsume replied. "Orochimaru".
"You mean the one who bit Sasuke-teme? That pedophile?", Kiba blurted out making the room burst out in laughter.
"Who called Orochimaru a pedophile?", Inoichi wheezed between laughs.
"Naruto had described him as a creepy pedophile who could summon snakes, and bit Sasuke on the neck", Shikamaru replied in amusement.
"Well, that isn't surprising. He called Ebisu a pervert on his face", Tsume commented. "Trust that boy to come out with interesting nicknames".
Soon the room became quiet, as Shikaku decided to ask something Shikamaru had noticed. "You said Naruto was hyper aware, right?", he asked as Shikamaru nodded.
"Like even a small movement or noise, and he can catch it", Kiba answered as the room suddenly turned cold. "Did we say something wrong?", he blurted out in fear.
The four adults realized that they had leaked out their chakra in anger. Choza clicked his tongue. "Nothing, Shikamaru-kun, Kiba-kun, Choji. We just realized something", the big boned man replied. "You can go, but don't tell this to anyone. Hokage-sama's law is execution for anyone who tells Naruto's status as a jinchuriki", he warned as the three kids nodded and gulped in fear.
As soon as the three boys left, the four shared a look. "What Temari-san noted and Hokage-sama said was right. Naruto has been abused", Inoichi remarked with a frown.
A few hours away from Konoha, a blonde woke up with a searing headache. He clutched his head at the pain, groaning as shifted his prone form. He opened his eyes when someone tapped his shoulder, and turned to look at the person.
"What happen- URGH! What was that?!", he asked in disgust at the sudden bitter taste that assaulted his mouth. The man laughed at his reaction, before giving him another saucer full of the same substance.
"It is a medicine for headache. You went ahead and dispelled hundred kage bunshin together, who had been around for twelve hours, baka! Nobody's brain can take twelve hundred hours worth of information in an instant!", Jiraiya scolded as Naruto hung his head low realizing his mistake.
"So I shouldn't dispel them together. Should I dispel them in short batches with breaks in between?", the blonde asked, before pinching his nose close and taking the medicine again.
"It depends on how much time your clones have been around. I would prefer one after every fifteen seconds, if it exceeds an hour. Now eat your dinner. You have been unconscious for four hours. I need to do something", Jiraiya said as he pushed a plate in Naruto's hand before getting up.
"Yes, Ero-Sennin!", Naruto responded making the man frown.
"Didn't I warn you to not call me that?"
"I will call you Ero-Sennin if you act like a pervert, Ero-Sennin. I know you are going to do your so-called research"
"Brat", Jiraiya murmured under his breath. "I am not a pervert. I am a super pervert", Jiraiya replied making Naruto frown.
"Yeah, yeah. Sensei, fuinjutsu was quite easy, ya'know! I remember everything from the first four books", Naruto remarked making Jiraiya stop in his tracks.
"Come again?", Jiraiya asked in shock, wondering if he had heard wrong. Naruto ate the food in his mouth, before speaking again.
"I said that I remember everything from the first four books sensei. I understood quite a bit of fifth and sixth", Naruto replied making the white-haired pervert look at him in shock. Jiraiya sat down in front of Naruto in an instant.
"All right, start with what you learnt in the first book", Jiraiya instructed as Naruto frowned but explained everything he remembered from the books, eating simultaneously. Jiraiya heard Naruto's answers in shock, still not believing his ears.
"That all I remember... Yeah, the position for strokes when making seals which involve time", Naruto remarked in the end as he drew five lines and an unique character at specific intervals. Jiraiya rubbed his temples in disbelief.
"Naruto... You... you...", Jiraiya stammered making Naruto gulp in fear.
"Did I say something wrong?", Naruto asked unsure. Jiraiya shook his head in denial.
"No! You idiot! You father and mother had taken over eight months to reach the same level! You reached that in relative time of a hundred and eight hours!", Jiraiya exclaimed shocking Naruto.
"You mean... I did this faster than Tou-chan and Kaa-chan?", he asked in a whisper as tears brimmed in his eyes. Jiraiya nodded as tears started flowing down Naruto's cheeks as he smiled.
"Why are you crying? I just you surpassed your father!", Jiraiya said making Naruto shake his head in denial.
"Its not that Jiraiya-sensei. Knowing that I know fuinjutsu like Kaa-chan and Tou-chan made me feel connected to them, ya'know", Naruto choked out making Jiraiya smile softly.
"I never understand how fuinjutsu works in you Uzumakis", Jiraiya commented with a small smile.
"You have never told me about Kaa-chan, Jiraiya-sensei, ya'know!", Naruto remarked as he calmed down. Jiraiya eyes lit up at that.
"Oh! Kushina was one hell of a character! In fact more dangerous than you with your pranking tendencies! She had once replaced the detergent powder in the Hyuga Compound with pink dye! You should have seen all those stuck up Hyugas running around in pink garments! It is going to take long. You fail in pranking tendencies when compared to your mother!"