DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Naruto universe but I do have an imagination of my own. The beginning of this story is heavily inspired by the story ARVUM by Hanamaki. I desperately tried to get permission to continue that exact story, etc., but received no response, sadly.

A/N: I am currently revising many of the beginning chapters of this story. I hope you'll bear with me because it will take some time. I hope that by the time I am through, the story will be easier to understand, although some mysteries presented will not be solved for quite some time!

Thinking

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

Whiteness.

"Three signatures in the room: Genma, Raido, gotta be Iwashi. Huh, so Dad's Hokage Guard?"

"Remember, brat, you're not supposed to know that."

"I know Kurama. What the hell is going on? Why can't I see? Where are you?"

"In the garden having a tea party, idiot. You've been out a while. I had been trying to break through the seal. Finally got help from that suicidal yellow-headed flesh bag sire of yours, of all people. Obviously, you remember me now. Just wait, though, you're going to freak." There was a great rumbling sound. "More idiots approaching. You'll awaken soon."

Images appeared, one on top of another too quickly in Naruto's mind: trying to reach Shi, getting grabbed by someone she didn't know in a mask… Chi's chakra going crazy, crying hysterically, and trying to reach him, only to get… Oh no! No, no, no!

"Naruto-chan - calm down! You're alright. You're in the hospital. Do you know who I am?"

That voice… it can't be him, can it?

"Jiji?"

"Kami-sama, thank you," the Sandaime Hokage whispered. "You've been in and out for nearly a month, Naruto-chan. Do you remember what happened?" A drink was offered to the young blonde. It was clumsily taken and drank, gratefully.

"Some of it. Ano, Jiji, I can't see. I mean..." Deep intakes of breath were heard by her sharpened senses. "Aa, don't freak out, I can sense you. Five of you, right Jiji? Anyway, it's not like it's all dark. I'm just seeing white right now so it'll be alright. Don't worry!"

"What am I going to do with you, Naruto-chan? Here I should be reassuring you, but you're telling me that everything will be alright. I believe everything will be more than fine." The old man let out a deep breath. "Don't worry Naruto, I believe in you, and…"

"That's what Tou-san said, too," the blonde said softly, eyes pointing down.

"Gomennasai, Naruto-chan?" Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, looked anxiously at the previous Hokage's guard - his successor's guard - that was guarding his successor's secret child, as well as his Jonin Commander, Shikaku Nara.

"My Tou-san: the Yondaime, Jiji. He put his chakra in the seal." The silence nearly suffocated the room. The child wasn't supposed to know about the seal either. After all, the seal contained the nine-tailed fox demon.

"Did he speak to you, Naruto-chan?"

"Hai, Nara-san," the blonde confirmed.

Shikaku's eyes widened, as did probably everyone else's in the room, but he wasn't paying attention. How the hell did the kid know who he was? Whatever. This was more than a drag, but Minato had been his leader as well as his closest friend outside of his teammates, plus Kushina had been friends with - well she had been friends with everyone - after she finished beating the hell out of Inoichi and most of the other boys when they were young. Especially Inoichi, that egotistical bastard - especially back then.

"I think I remember most of it." The child's eyes teared up.

Naruto could feel the wave of loss and what was it? Oh. "It's okay - don't be sad. You were trying to make sure his enemies couldn't get me? Or mom's, right?"

"You know about her, too?" the Hokage asked with regret in his voice.

"Knew her name before, or I figured I did. I mean, there's only one Uzumaki on the Memorial Stone. I followed that guy that avoids me like the plague. He's… never mind. Gomen. That's not important right now. I think he used to be around, though. He always felt… familiar. Like home." Tears began to fall out of the child's eyes, thinking of the silver-haired teenager. An older image of him superimposed on the idea she had in her mind as her breath was taken away. What's going on?!

Shikaku cleared his throat. "Naruto-chan, you said your father spoke to you. Was it just a personal message then? Or was it something else? I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, but please understand: he was the leader of our village and…"

"Is this room secured?" the child asked rather sharply, eyes and expression so much like Minato's, even though her eyes apparently couldn't see. All members began putting up seals and/or summons to secure in and around the room at the Sandaime's nod. When the child was assured that it was safe to speak, it was done in a very low tone. "The fox was ripped out of Kaa-chan by a man in a mask. An orange swirly-mask with one eye-hole, where there was a Sharingan, Tou-san said."

"There was an attack. This is what we assumed. We also saw the Kyubbi with the Sharingan eyes. The entire village did," the Hokage agreed.

"The fox was controlled," the child said, head shaking back and forth. "He… he - the fox I mean, wanted to get out but Tou-san was preventing it - holding the seal - but then the masked man came in after I was born. He put an explosive tag on me or something. Tou-san rescued me and that's when he took Kaa-chan!" The blonde's voice was shaking. "That guy in the mask said he was Madara Uchiha. Look, I don't know if he was or not, but he told Tou-san that he was going to make a new world and Tou-san believed him! He said he was the strongest person he ever fought! And, and…" the child by this point was nearly sobbing.

The five shinobi had surrounded the child unconsciously: it was just too much. All of them had known and loved Minato and Kushina. They all cared for Naruto-chan, but were not supposed to interact with the child. But here sat this 7-year-old, beaten and abused, having gone through Kami-knows-what… What were they supposed to do? Something had to change!

"Don't tell the mummy."

"I don't understand. Naruto-chan, whom do you mean?" Sarutobi asked.

Shikaku wanted to scoff. There was only one "mummy" he could think of, especially in the eyes of a child. He knew that Naruto spent time in the Hokage tower, and he couldn't stand Danzo. He remembered thinking when he was younger that The Warhawk served his purposes in the village, but when his Hokage - Minato, the Yondaime - ordered ROOT to be completely taken down, he was grateful. That bastard, Danzo, was up to Kami knows what, and he knew that he and his cohorts - including the Yondaime - felt if something needed to be done to serve the Leaf, be it dirty or clean, it should be on the books. He had a sinking feeling that the Sandaime didn't look at things the same way.

"Do you think we can speak more about this tomorrow, Naruto-chan? You look exhausted," Hiruzen asked. The child nodded.

Shikaku was sure that he wasn't the only one that found it interesting that the Hokage decided to stop the "interrogation" right after The Warhawk, Danzo, came up. He could be wrong. He wanted to believe that the man truly loved the child as a grandchild as he claimed, but that could be false.

"Well then, I offer you a good night's rest, Naru-chan. Hopefully tomorrow you will feel much better, and I also will pray that your eyesight returns in full to you by then or soon after." The blonde nodded with a tight grin. "Shikaku-kun, shall we?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

It was only moments later that a clone of the Nara clan head, who was also the Jonin Commander, returned to the room to hear an interesting conversation. Naruto was yawning widely when he entered.

"So Naruto-chan. Why ya pretending to be a boy?" Genma asked.

The blonde's shoulders sank down and she brought her covers up to her cheeks, perhaps trying to cover the bright blush there. "It's not like it started out that way, senbon-san." Snorts echoed in the room. "I just, I just had a…" she sighed heavily, "gum thing."

There was a squawk of laughter. "What? You've gotta explain that chibi-chan!"

"Don't call me small! It was just gum! I got it in my hair and had to cut it out! And anyway, that old bitch - EEEP! I mean the matron at the orphanage, you know, shaved my head. Ah, it doesn't matter: she threw me out, anyway, thank goodness. I had grown my hair back out, but then… Well, that gum thing happened." The guards and Shikaku had listened with their emotions flowing as if in a river. The tale might otherwise be funny, but truly it was sad and tragic: they never wanted the child to go into the civilian orphanage, especially - she should've gone to a clan but the council was so against it. The gum incident had probably ended up helping her stay somewhat safe until this attack.

"You want to tell me how you knew who I was, Uzumaki-chan?" Shikaku finally asked. He just couldn't leave before knowing.

The girl twisted her lips to one side and eventually sighed. "You feel like Shikamaru-kun. Your chakra's lazy and cold: not in a bad way, but like a cold drink or something. Big weirdos, the both of you." The man couldn't help but chuckle. Leave it to Kushina's daughter to be such a brat, and Minato's to be such a smart-ass little shit. Combine the two? Yeah, he couldn't help but be more than interested, after all, he'd like to see the Leaf not be destroyed.

When he got real though, he was positive of two things: she needed both protection, and to be raised to protect. He'd make damn sure she got them from now on.