Beginning A/N: And we are back, ladies and gentlemen, and let me just say that I am amazed by how many reviews that this story has gotten in the short time that it has been up! And I want to thank everyone who helped me find a site where I can watch Digimon Frontier for the sake of this story. Thank you everyone! And a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, your support is very much appreciated! Now, strap in, because it's time for us to dive back into this story and see where it goes! Just a quick disclaimer though, I have commissioned an artist by the name of Noirchotic on Deviantart to draw the Spirits of Wood that will be used in my story. She hasn't started on them yet, so it's likely that it will be some time before the next update of this story. And if I do update more in the future before they're finished, they'll probably be smaller updates.

A/N 2: Okay, before we begin, I think I need to make a few things clear. First of all, this story takes place during Digimon Frontier which means that the Digidestined don't have partner Digimon. Instead, they BECOME Digimon. Which means that the same will be for Naruto, as he becomes the Warrior of Wood. Second of all, I know that the family dynamic may seem confusing, but this is an A/U, meaning that events are different from those in the canon continuity. Now, with that all out of the way, on to the chapter. Thank you for understanding.

Dialogue Key

"..." = Regular Speech

'...' = Someone's Thoughts

"..." = Demons/Summons Talking

'...' = Demons/Summons Thinking

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto or Digimon!

Digimon!

Naruto, Takuya, JP, Tommy, Koji, and Zoe swipe their D-Tectors across the screen as Fractal Codes flash across the screen before the six chosen children run towards a bright ball of light.

Look to the past,

As we head towards the future,

To reclaim the Digital World.

Flashes of the Human Spirits of six Legendary Warriors, Agunimon, Lobomon, Kazemon, Kumamon, Beetlemon, and Kukunomon appear across the screen as the six legendary children are shown with a burning light in their cores representing the spirits. They leap over a hill as we catch flashes of their adventures, from riding through the seas on the backs of Dolphmon, to just running across an open plain.

With faith in ourselves,

And trust in each other,

We'll live by the lessons we've learned.

Naruto looks up at the sky as he remembers the life he's lived, neglected by his family all for his sister because of a stupid prophecy made by an old toad with alzheimer's who is high on opium all the time. Naruto clenched his fists as a single tear slid down his face which he quickly wiped away. He stood up and made his way towards his fellow chosen children, who held their hands out to him.

As we work towards one solution,

Through a spirit evolution!

JP and Koji stood on a hill amongst a colony of Elecmon as they watched the sunset, while elsewhere, Tommy and Zoe rested under a tree with a Geckomon and bore witness to a trio of Digi-Eggs hatching. Naruto and Takuya, meanwhile, were sparring against each other in their human forms with Naruto teaching Takuya what he knew about the ninja arts. Later on, the six children are seen morphing into their human spirits.

I am the one!

Huuh!

I am the one!

A quick flash to each chosen child shows them with varying degrees of worry, before they start to spirit evolve.

Digimon!

Forever united as one!

Digimon!

Together the battles are won!

Digimon!

Through us let your spirit evolve!

Flashes of each chosen child through different stages of spirit evolution are shown as they take on the forms of Agunimon, Kazemon, Beetlemon, Kumamon, Lobomon, and Kukunomon. Each Digimon uses an attack that corresponds to their elemental powers of fire, wind, thunder, ice, light, and wood.

If we're all for one world,

There's a world for us all.

The six Digimon stand together as they give off a heroic aura, staring down an unknown enemy in preparation to fight to their last breath and save the Digital World.

If we're all for one world,

There's a world for us all!

The Chosen Children and six other Digimon stand in a circle around a towering beam of light shooting up from the ground.

Digimon!

The new Digidestined strike a heroic pose as they prepare to take up the mantle of protectors of the Digital World.

Leaving the Village!

Minato Namikaze sighed within his office. He had to take care of some last-minute work and had returned to his office after having lunch with his wife and daughter. Honestly, sometimes he thought that Hiruzen sacrificed himself all those years ago just so he could get away from the eternal menace to every governing body known as paperwork. He could use Shadow Clones to do the job, sure, but it was just a small stack of paper this time, so he figured he might as well take care of it personally.

Though, he was beginning to regret that choice.

"Request from Civilian Councilwoman Haruno to cut funding from the academy in order to build a civilian shopping center, denied. Motion to have civilian mob that attacked Naruto released from prison, big fat denied!" Minato said, scowling at each new page.

He had been aware of the civilians and their attacks on his son for years now. He's tried his hardest to prevent these attacks, but it seems that the stupid civilians just can't get it through their thick heads that their actions have consequences. Especially when said citizens are drunk. The next form he picked up was actually one that seemed like a good one.

"Request from Tsume Inuzuka for an arranged marriage between Naruto and her daughter, Hana? Hm. I'll have to have her come to my office to discuss this in greater detail." Minato said to himself, setting that form in a pile labeled 'undecided'.

He actually found similar requests from various clan heads and kunoichi as he went through his paperwork. One from Hiashi asking to marry his daughter, Hinata, to Naruto. One from Mikoto for her daughter, Satsuki, who was Sasuke's older twin sister by three minutes. She's a nice girl, much better company than Sasuke who got too much of his father, Fugaku's, attitude. And a highly skilled upcoming kunoichi to boot. He also got one, surprisingly, from Anko Mitarashi of all people. Each of these papers went into the pile as Minato made a mental note to call a meeting with the clan heads involved, along with Anko, so they could speak about these possible arrangements.

But looking after these forms, Minato couldn't stop the guilt and sadness from filling his being. It would seem as though his actions regarding his son were finally hitting home. And they were giving him a great big slap in the face as he realized what a fool and pathetic father he'd been to Naruto.

He remembered how he had fainted when Kushina had announced that she was pregnant and how excited they both had been when they learned that they were having twins. Then the night of the sealing came, and he was fully prepared to sacrifice his life to seal the fox into his children, but Sarutobi intervened and did the sealing instead, giving his life to do so. From that day on, knowing that his children would have difficult lives as Jinchuriki, even with himself and Kushina alive and there to raise them, Minato had vowed to himself that he would raise his kids with all of the love and care that they needed.

But then Jiraiya came along and told them of that damn prophecy. Minato didn't understand why, but he was so quick to jump to the conclusion that it was his daughter who was the Child of Prophecy and he and Kushina seemed to shift their attention solely towards Mito. He knew why he shifted his focus, though. It was because of the Nine-Tails' Yang half that was sealed within Mito. Originally, he had wanted to help his daughter gain control of its power early because the Yang half seemed to be far more aggressive and malevolent than the Yin half had felt. So, he felt that Naruto's training could wait, at least when it came to controlling the Yin half's chakra. But when he checked both of his children's seals… he hadn't felt any demon chakra from Naruto's seal.

It was as if nothing had been sealed in his son to begin with! Like the Yin half died because it wasn't strong enough to sustain itself without its other half. He didn't know how true that was, but he didn't question it at the time. Neither did Kushina, for that matter.

The Fourth Hokage sighed and looked at two framed photographs on his desk. One was of himself, his wife, and his two children when they were just six months old. Minato had been holding Mito while Kushina held Naruto, both parents beaming with pride and love for their little ones. Mito had been dressed in a green frog onesie that his sensei had given to her while baby Naruto was dressed in an adorable blue dragon onesie with the hood over his head. Both babies were giggling and reaching for the camera in the picture, though in reality they had been reaching for their Tsunade-Baachan who had taken that picture. The second picture filled Minato with sadness.

It was a framed photograph that was taken when Mito and her brother had joined the academy. Mito had a big grin on her face and was holding up two victory signs while her mother had one hand on her right shoulder and was holding a victory sign with a toothy grin of her own. Minato stood to his daughter's left and was wearing his signature cloak and had a proud smile on his face. Kakashi knelt down next to Mito with an eye smile, while Jiraiya and Tsunade stood to either side of Minato and Kushina. Jiraiya had a big smile while Tsunade had pumped her fist in the air at her goddaughter's accomplishment. But there was one person missing from the photo.

Naruto was nowhere to be seen in this photo.

The Fourth Hokage couldn't help but feel that he was responsible for pushing his son away like this to the point that he wouldn't appear in any of the family portraits, especially one for a milestone like this one. Narrowing his eyes, Minato made his choice then and there.

"Screw this paperwork! I need to set things right with my son!" he exclaimed.

He quickly shut and locked the window to his office, made a few shadow clones to handle the paperwork in his absence, threw on his cloak, and flashed out of his office to his home.

Unknown to Minato, he had closed the window just as Jiraiya was about to jump into his office causing the Toad Sage to cartoonishly slam against the window, slowly peel off… and fall from the top floor of the Hokage Tower and have a Wile E. Coyote landing.

~Streets of Konoha~

"Nii-Chan! Nii-Chan, where are you?" Mito called out as she ran through the village.

She had been searching for her brother for the better part of the afternoon, since he hadn't been in the compound when she and their mother had gotten home, but she had no luck in her search. And it had been like this for as long as she could remember.

Back when they were little children, and even nowadays, people Mito's age would only ever want to be friends with her. There were also those who would only try to befriend her brother so they could get closer to her. And every day after classes at the academy she would be hoarded by her friends and the boys who would be trying to win her over, causing her to lose track of her brother every time she tried to talk to him. And as she had learned from experience, he could be highly elusive when he wanted to be. And this appeared to be one of those times.

Mito sighed as she stopped running and slumped forward in defeat. She definitely wasn't going to be finding her brother that easily.

She had remembered that it was their birthday and she wanted to hang out with her brother before the party tonight and try to break through the cold shell that he had developed over the years. But it looked like she wasn't going to get that chance. But then she noticed a shinobi store that sold really high-quality ninja gear. Weapons, clothes, the works. Mito couldn't stop the big smile forming on her face.

She may not be able to spend time with him, but she can at least get him a high-quality birthday present. Mito immediately rushed into the store and began to browse.

~Uzu-Nami Clan Compound~

Back at the Uzu-Nami compound, Kushina was in the kitchen getting ingredients ready for supper that night. It was her children's birthday and she wanted to go all out for their special day. That line of though caused the semi-retired kunoichi to pause as she was about to open the fridge. Her thoughts drifted to her eldest twin, Naruto. She remembered in their childhood how she and her son used to be so close, and how he had been such a happy ball of sunshine whose smile could bring happiness to anyone, even if they were having a bad day. But that all changed when she and Minato has started training Mito in their clan arts and how to control the Yang half of the Nine Tails' chakra. He had started to become cold and distant, and he didn't join them on any family outings. And now that she thought about it, she couldn't even remember the last time she celebrated the twins' birthday with BOTH of her children. And that was a very bad thing since they share the same birthday.

She instantly felt like the worst mother on the face of the planet. Kushina has never wanted her son to feel alone and isolate himself from his own family, and yet she and her husband had done exactly that! Whether they meant to or not! How could she have allowed herself to favor one child over the other?

She knew why she did, though. It was because of Jiraiya and that stupid prophecy. Like her husband, she too had mistakenly jumped to the conclusion that the yin half of the Nine-Tails had somehow, for lack of a better term, died soon after the sealing due to being unable to handle the stress and left Naruto as a Jinchuriki without a Bijuu. So, she and her husband had shifted their focus towards Mito who they knew still had half of the Nine-Tails sealed within her.

And now, her actions were coming back to haunt her.

Kushina remembered the vague glances of photographs in her family albums from when Naruto was four years old onward. How he seemed to be distancing himself from the family more and more as he got older until he just stopped appearing in them altogether. She remembered how when he was younger, he would ask them for training to become a strong ninja like them. But instead of allowing him to join Mito in her training, they all had brushed him aside and told him that he had to wait until he and Mito were old enough to be enrolled in the academy. Herself included. Kushina felt like such an idiot for her actions and wanted to go back in time and slap her past self across the face before ripping her a new asshole for her neglect towards her son.

Determination replaced her sense of guilt as she resolved to make up for her neglect towards her son. And the first step would be preparing a nice, hearty dinner that she knew her son would love. She may have neglected her son, unintentionally or otherwise, as much as it pains her to admit that, but she knew enough about him to know that he didn't like ramen as much as she and Mito did. She still wasn't sure why that was, but she did know a recipe that she knew he would enjoy.

As Kushina went back to grabbing ingredients, she heard the door slam open and saw her daughter and husband at the door clamoring to get their sandals off as they tried not to fall over.

"Whoa, you guys look like you just ran all over the village twice, ya know! What's gotten into you?" Kushina asked.

"I need to talk to you both, Kushina. It's about Naruto." Minato replied as he finally got his sandals off and went to remove his cloak.

"That's what I needed to talk to you guys about!" exclaimed Mito.

"I guess we're all on the same page, then." Kushina said.

Mito took a seat at the table while Minato moved to wrap his arms around Kushina's waist and pull her into a hug from behind.

"What is it, Kushi-Chan? What's wrong?" Minato asked.

"It's Naruto. We've neglected him so badly, and it took me until just now to realize what we were doing. I pushed my baby boy away…" Kushina explained, tearing up a little.

Minato turned her around and cupped the side of her face in his hand, wiping her tears away with his thumb. A look of understanding and regret made its way to his face.

"I know, Kushina. I've realized the same thing, and I want to try and reconcile with Naruto and bring him back into the family. And the first step starts today. After dinner, I'm going to offer to start training Naruto in our family arts." Minato said.

Kushina smiled and said, "I'm sure he'll love that."

"Does that mean that Nii-Chan is gonna train with me?" Mito asked excitedly.

Minato just nodded, smiling as he had a feeling that he would succeed in mending the rift between his son and the family. It may be a long process, and it's likely that Naruto won't be so forgiving right away but Minato is at least semi-certain that he will succeed in restoring the bond he had with his estranged son. The family was broken from their thoughts when the door opened and slammed shut. They looked over to see Naruto covered in cuts and bruises, with many of the cuts bleeding a lot. And he appeared to be favoring his left leg over his right, as if his leg was broken.

"Damn villagers not knowing the difference between the sword and its sheath, can't believe they got the drop on me…" Naruto silently grumbled.

"Oh my Kami, Naru-Chan! What happened?" gasped Kushina.

Naruto didn't even spare her a passing glance on his way to the stairs as he answered, "Training accident. I got carried away and got myself hurt because of it. Clumsy me."

Minato, Kushina, and Mito didn't buy that excuse for a second, with Minato having a pretty good idea how his son really got those injuries but didn't force the issue. They didn't want to make the rift between themselves and Naruto greater than it already was. Sighing in resignation as Naruto ascended up the stairs, each member of the family went to do their own thing. For Minato, that meant discreetly sending out Anbu to arrest all those involved in his son's latest beating. Mito needed to wrap her brother's birthday gift, and Kushina shifted her focus to preparing dinner for her family.

Hours went by and Naruto had finished meditating to keep his anger in check. And the way he did this was by sparring against Megumi in his mindscape. It really helped him vent his anger and not let it build up until he exploded. Goodness knows what the village council of idiots would try to do if he suddenly started killing civilians and ninjas of the village. It was actually a good way to vent and quite productive as he learned much about Taijutsu and Kenjutsu from the now Ten-Tailed Vixen, who was more than happy to spar with him and listen as he ranted.

He looked to the digital clock on his wall and saw that it was just about dinner time, and his nose caught a pleasant aroma.

'Hmm, orange chicken… white rice with green onion and a touch of lemon zest… freshly steamed vegetables… Is the world coming to an end?'

Naruto quickly bolted to his window and looked up at the sky, as if scanning for any looming threats. When he saw none, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank Kami, the sky's NOT falling!" Naruto said with a sigh.

"Is it really that surprising that Kushina cooked such a meal tonight? Your reactions seem rather excessively dramatic." Megumi asked.

'Considering her and Mito's addiction to that stuff that they shovel down their gullets on a near daily basis, I'd say my reactions were pretty tame." Naruto replied.

"...Fair point." conceded Megumi.

"Naruto-Niichan! Kaa-san says dinner's ready!" Mito called from the stairs.

Figuring he shouldn't test their patience tonight and potentially ruin his plans to escape, Naruto quickly left his room and washed up before descending down the stairs. To his surprise, he found his parents and sister sitting at the table waiting for him. He raised an eyebrow as he took his seat at his usual spot, picked up his chopsticks and began to eat, and only then did the others start eating their dinner.

'Okay, what the actual hell is going on here? For the longest time they've treated me like I don't even exist, and NOW they're suddenly taking an interest in me?' Naruto mentally questioned.

"Perhaps they've finally realized that they have a son, and in your sister's case, a brother." Megumi suggested with a scowl.

'Yeah? Well, they had their chance to include me in their family long ago, and they blew it. I'm not about to forgive them that easily.' Naruto said to the Bijuu.

"So, kids, how have classes at the academy been going?" Minato asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"They're going great! I think I might just make the Top Kunoichi spot if I keep doing so well!" Mito said with a smirk.

Kushina couldn't help but giggle at her daughter's behavior. Mito's exactly like she was when she (Kushina) was that age.

"Well, that's good, Mito. And what about you, Naruto?" Minato asked.

Naruto just closed his eyes as he took a bite of rice.

"Classes are going fairly well, although, if I may be blunt, the lessons are boring and quite unnecessary." Naruto said.

"Don't you think that's a little harsh, Naruto? I mean, sure the theory behind the subjects might be kinda boring, but the lessons themselves-"

"You misunderstand, Hokage-Sama." Naruto said, not noticing Minato's wince at the use of his title. "The lessons are boring because I already know all of the material. I simply choose not to flaunt my knowledge and don't care for becoming Rookie of the Year. Titles are meaningless in a ninja's career, anyway."

That got some shocked looks from both parents and daughter alike. They had no idea that Naruto was so far ahead of his classmates, and if he was as skilled as he was suggesting, he probably could have graduated from the academy years ago if he wanted to. But it seems he just didn't want to.

Naruto quickly finished his meal and went to put his dishes in the sink so he could wash them when he was stopped by Kushina.

"Naru-Chan, you don't need to do that. I can wash your dishes for you." Kushina offered.

"That won't be necessary. I don't wish to burden you more than I already have." Naruto said.

That one really hurt Kushina, Minato, and Mito. Did he really think of himself as a burden to them? Boy, they really screwed up worse than they thought. As Naruto finished washing his dishes he was about to go upstairs when Minato stopped him and asked him to wait in the living room for a moment. While suspicious about their intentions, Naruto nodded and remained in the living room as he waited for Minato and the others. It didn't take long for them to finish eating before the family was gathered in the living room.

"So, why have you asked me to wait for you?" Naruto asked.

"Well, son, your mother and I have been talking and we've decided that we're going to start your training in our family styles today." Minato said.

"Isn't this exciting, Naru-Chan? You'll get to learn all about the Uzumaki sword style and our clan's Fuinjutsu! Not to mention you'll learn your father's Hummingbird Style Taijutsu and the Rasengan! And best of all you'll get to train alongside your sister-"

"I decline."

Kushina stopped mid-sentence upon hearing her son's words. Had she heard him right? Did he really just decline the opportunity to learn their family styles?

"Wha? What do you mean you decline?" gasped Minato.

"I mean exactly as I said. I decline your offer to be trained in your styles." Naruto said with his arms crossed.

"But why, Naruto-Nii? Don't you want to train together?" Mito asked sadly.

"Once upon a time, when I was a little boy, I did want to train with you and our parents. But those hopes and dreams were dashed when I turned seven years old. The way I see it, there are only two reasons you decided to train me. Reason one is to keep up appearances. It would be seen as a sign of weakness if the eldest child of a clan head is seen as weak by the rest of the villagers, so you training me is a way to save face with the rest of the village." Naruto explained.

Minato's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. That wasn't what he was thinking at all, but he just couldn't form the words to tell his son that.

"Or it could be option two… you see me as the village weapon. And a weak weapon is a useless weapon, so you wish to train me to be strong even when I can't use Bijuu chakra like Mito here. That way you can unleash me on the enemy in times of war, just as the Tsuchikage would do to the Jinchuriki of the Hidden Stone Village." Naruto theorized.

Now that one REALLY hurt, to be compared to the Tsuchikage.

It's no secret how the Village Hidden in the Stone treats its Jinchuriki as outcasts and sees them as expendable weapons to be used against their enemies.

"So, no. I will not accept any training from you, and will continue to get stronger on my own." Naruto said.

With that, he ascended up the stairs and back to his room, leaving a devastated family behind. Minato wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter as he attempted to comfort them, but he too was feeling pain and regret. Pain that his own son thought so little of him, and regret in knowing that he caused his son to feel that way.

"What do we do now, Minato-Kun?" Kushina asked though her tears.

"I don't know, Kushi-Chan. I truly don't know." Minato replied. "But I'm not giving up on my son."

And so, Minato spent the better part of an hour just sitting on the couch comforting his wife and daughter as they cried out their sorrows.

~Later that Night~

It was nine o'clock at night and the twins' birthday party was now in full swing. Although most of the guests were only there for Mito. Adults were mingling and talking about various grown-up subjects, the youngest children in attendance were playing games that had been set up to keep them entertained, and all of Mito and Naruto's classmates from the academy were in attendance. Naruto stood off to the side with a neutral expression as he just watched everything go on. He couldn't care less about these frivolous activities. He stopped caring after his ninth birthday where they had only celebrated for Mito. There was a large stack of presents on the table from various guests, though he was sure that they were all for Mito.

Naruto couldn't stop himself from glaring at his sister as she talked with her friends, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten, the four girls gossiping about who-knows-what. Deciding that he needed to be alone before he unintentionally blew his top at someone, Naruto made for the stairs to go to his room.

"Not one for festivities, are you?"

Naruto turned around, having recognized the voice. It was one of his father's former teammates, Hiashi Hyuga, and his eldest daughter, Hinata. Naruto's eyes softened considerably at the sight of the girl he protected from bullies when they were six.

Hinata had long midnight blue hair that grew down to the small of her back, pale skin, and the signature pupilless white eyes of the Hyuga Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan. Although hers were tinted a soft lavender. She was wearing a formal kimono and had a heavy blush on her face as she looked at him. Clutched in her hands was a wrapped box that was obviously a present.

"Oh, Lord Hyuga. Good evening." Naruto greeted formally.

Hiashi had a friendly smile on his face as opposed to his normally stoic facade that he usually wore in public and formal settings.

"It's bad for your emotional health if you don't socialize." Hiashi advised.

"Unfortunately, socializing isn't so easy for me, as I'm sure you know, Lord Hyuga. Believe me, I've tried with very little success." Naruto replied.

"So instead of partaking in the festivities you choose to retire for the night, hm? People will worry." Hiashi said.

Naruto knew that the elder Hyuga was right, but he couldn't stand the atmosphere of this party any longer. It was all about his sister as it has been for the past thirteen years, and Naruto didn't want to be in the presence of so many people who ignored his very existence for any longer than he had to. He knew that the few friends that he had made in the village might be upset if they didn't see him tonight, but he needed to clear his head.

"Well, I haven't been one for parties since I was four, so…"

Naruto didn't need to finish that sentence. Hiashi and his daughter understood what he was saying quite well.

"Did you need something, sir?" Naruto asked.

"Not me, personally. But my daughter has something she would like to give to you." Hiashi said, placing an encouraging hand on Hinata's shoulder.

Hinata's blush deepened so much that she would make strawberries green with envy as she stepped forwards and held her present out to Naruto.

"Ano… h-h-happy b-birthday, N-N-Naruto-Kun…" she stuttered.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and happiness.

"You… you actually got me a present, Hinata-Chan?" Naruto asked as he accepted the gift.

Hinata could only nod as she watched her crush examine the box before he began to unwrap it. Opening the lid, Naruto reached inside and pulled out a pair of green goggles with lenses that were tinted orange. They looked a lot like the goggles that belonged to his father's dead student who he's seen old pictures of. Obito Uchiha, if Naruto was remembering right. They felt like they were made from really high-quality material, too.

Naruto didn't know why he did, but he wrapped his arms around Hinata, bringing her into a hug as he thanked her for her gift. Naturally, this caused Hinata's blush to reach atomic levels as her whole body turned red and steam seemed to be coming off of her head.

'N-Naruto is… hugging me!' Hinata thought with a combination of embarrassment and joy.

Embarrassment due to her own shy nature, mostly because of the crowd of partygoers who weren't really paying attention, not that she knew that, and joy at being hugged by the man she deeply admired and truly loved. Inevitably, this led to Hinata having a fainting spell in Naruto's arms as she slumped over, still red all over and now with swirly eyes, much to her father's humor. Naturally, Naruto was concerned over Hinata's fainting spell. He wasn't as dense as people thought; he's seen the signs of Hinata's attraction to him. But he was concerned that her fainting spells could be the result of a medical condition.

Hiashi chuckled and took his daughter into his arms as he laid her on a nearby sofa to recover. Naruto was left perplexed by what had happened but chose to move past it. Even though he could hear Megumi's melodious giggling within his mindscape.

'Wait, melodious? Where'd that come from?'

"Aww, you shameless flatterer, you." Megumi said.

Naruto mentally scowled as he could practically feel her teasing grin.

'I hate it when you read my thoughts.' he said to Megumi.

"Then stop thinking out loud." quipped Megumi.

"Oh, there you are, Naru-Chan!"

Naruto was broken from his conversation with his tenant as Mikoto, the matriarch of the Uchiha clan and two of her children, Itachi Uchiha and his little sister, Satsuki.

Unlike her younger twin, Satsuki is actually a stark contrast from the stereotypical Uchiha, taking after her mother in personality and looks. She has the iconic pale skin, black hair and onyx eyes of her clan, but her eyes shined with a warmth found in very few members of the Uchiha who usually were filled with arrogance and pride. About as much as the Hyuga Clan Council of Elders who Hiashi was trying to disband so that he could finally abolish that wretched seal that keeps his clan divided.

But we're getting off topic.

Like Hinata, Satsuki was wearing a formal kimono, except hers was red with golden flower petals embroidered on it. Naruto was brought into a hug by Mikoto, who was honestly more of a motherly figure to Naruto than Kushina had been for many years.

"Happy birthday, Naru-Chan." Mikoto said.

"Thank you, Mikoto-Kaa-San." Naruto said with a small smile.

"We're glad we caught you before you decided to get away from the party. We wanted to give you these." Itachi said as he pulled a scroll out from his kunai pouch. "Inside this scroll are several Ninjutsu and Genjutsu techniques that our clan has copied over the years using our Sharingan. I've also included a copy of our clan's Interceptor Fist Taijutsu style in case you wanted to expand your arsenal."

Naruto accepted the scroll with a grateful smile.

"Unfortunately, Anko-Chan couldn't make it to the party since she's on a mission away from the village, but she did ask me to give you this." Mikoto said as she pulled out a sealing scroll.

Unraveling the scroll, she unsealed a beautiful Wakizashi sword in a plume of smoke. The hilt was wrapped in black cloth and had two golden tassels attached to the pommel, while the guard was rectangular and gold in color. The sheath of the blade was made from finely carved and stained cherry wood that was treated with Chakra to make it impervious to cracks, mold, and decay.

"This blade is Anko's way of showing her support for you. Follow your heart, Naruto, and you will find your path in life." Mikoto advised.

Naruto held the weapon like it was a priceless artifact.

"Thank you, Mikoto-Kaa-San. And please, tell Anko-Chan that I said thank you as well." Naruto said gratefully as he holstered his new blade on his belt.

Mikoto just nodded and said that she would.

"Happy birthday, Naruto. I know how much you don't really like shinobi style clothes and think they're uncomfortable, so I got you an outfit that I thought would make you look good and feel comfortable in." Satsuki said as she held a wrapped package out to Naruto.

Naruto rose an eyebrow as he opened the gift but found himself elated as he saw the contents. It was an outfit like those that the more traditional samurai warriors wore.

"Satsuki, this is so sweet!" exclaimed Naruto.

He set the box on a nearby desk and reached inside to pull out the contents.

Satsuki shuffled her foot bashfully as she said, "I hope you like it. I wasn't sure if it was your style or not."

With a big smile, Naruto first pulled out a pair of wooden clogs and a pair of dark brown "tabi" socks.

"It's perfect." Naruto said, never losing his smile.

"Hopefully, it's the right size?" Satsuki said, though it sounded like a question.

Next, Naruto pulled out a neatly folded tan colored "shitagi" kimono, a burnt orange obi sash, and a pair of dark brown "hakama" pants, once again, neatly folded.

"Satsuki, I love it." Naruto said.

And he really did. Over the years, during his training, Naruto found himself growing more and more inclined towards wearing more traditional clothes that samurai wore, since, to him at least, the more modern 'hip' ninja clothing just didn't seem to fit him right and always felt very uncomfortable. Especially the mesh armor that ninja wear under their clothes. He would have bought himself some traditional samurai clothes, but he could never get his hands on any since he lived in a ninja village. Satsuki must have had this outfit custom made and special ordered from the Land of Iron where Samurai are still trained in large numbers.

Satsuki smiled and relaxed at that.

"Okay, I'm glad. I almost got you a leather jacket, but then I remembered that Mito is more into modern stuff, you're more into traditional clothes, so when I heard from Kaa-San that we could order these clothes from the Land of Iron I just knew I had to get them for you." Satsuki said.

"And I'm very grateful. Thank you all." Naruto said.

He gave the three Uchihas a hug, and even gave Satsuki a little peck on the cheek, though he didn't know why he did that, and went upstairs to change into his new clothes… and begin the final phase of his plan.

Mikoto gave her daughter a knowing grin as she saw Satsuki standing there with wide eyes and a megawatt blush. But that blush quickly disappeared as she remembered something.

"Tonight's the night, isn't it?" she asked somberly. "The night that he finally…?"

"I'm afraid so, Satsuki-Musume." Mikoto said quietly. "He's finally leaving the village and pursuing his own destiny. I know that you don't want him to leave. We don't either. But I think that we can all agree that this is the best course of action for him to take. His growth will merely be stunted in this village because of all of the bigots here. Not to mention that the council will attempt to do everything in their power to take away whatever happiness Naruto manages to find."

Satsuki stayed quiet. She knew that her mother was right, but that doesn't mean that she has to like it.

"Hopefully, the party will give Naruto a long enough headstart." Itachi said. "In any case, we'd better go mingle. Best to avoid looking suspicious."

Both Uchiha women nodded and went to rejoin the party.

Back in Naruto's room, he had just changed into his new clothes and was looking himself over in a full body mirror. He had a big smile as he holstered his O-Katana and Wakizashi in his obi sash. Finally, he put the goggles that he got from Hinata on in a style similar to a ninja headband. He figured that Hinata's gift would come in handy to keep debris out of his eyes. And he found that these ones were, surprisingly, very comfortable to wear. He honestly expected the straps to pull on his hair, but they didn't.

"That Uchiha girl has good taste, Naruto. The new look suits you." Megumi said.

'Thanks, Megumi-Chan.'

"Before we leave, come into your mindscape for a moment, please. I have something I need to discuss with you in person." Megumi said.

Giving a mental nod, Naruto sat on his bed and began to meditate. He awoke in his mindscape and found Megumi in human form sitting in the shade beneath a large oak tree. Resting in her lap was a large scroll that was about half as tall as he was. Walking over to Megumi, he didn't need to say anything as Megumi set the scroll down between them and unfurled it a little to reveal blank spots on the parchment.

"This is my gift to you, Naruto. You have come a long way from when you first started training, and I believe that now is the time for you to sign this. This is one of the three Legendary Summoning Contracts, which will allow you to summon creatures so powerful that hardly any other summon is foolish enough to challenge them. They're not all-powerful, mind you, but they're definitely much more powerful than the average creatures." Megumi said. "This is the summon scroll for the dragons. An ancient race that roamed the earth long before the time of the Sage of Six Paths. Their leader was a dear friend of mine when I was still part of Kurama, and he gave me the scroll to safeguard until a worthy summoner was found. And I believe that you are more than worthy, Naruto."

Naruto was floored. Megumi was really letting him sign a contract for a race of creatures THAT powerful? Honestly, he didn't feel that he was worthy of doing so. But he trusted Megumi's judgment and kneeled down next to the scroll.

"Thank you, Megumi-Chan. I promise to do everything in my power to prove myself worthy of it." he said.

Megumi gave him a warm smile, as he had already proven himself more than worthy in her eyes.

"Now, you won't be able to summon the dragons until you sign the contract. This isn't as simple as writing your name in ink. You must use your own blood in order to sign the contract and make a pact with the summon animal. Then leave a set of bloody fingerprints from the hand you wish to use for summoning. Be sure to infuse your chakra into your blood as you're signing, or it won't work." Megumi instructed.

Naruto nodded and bit his thumb, drawing blood which he quickly used to write his signature on the first blank square, pumping chakra into his blood as he did. Then he pressed the tip of each of his remaining fingers against his bloody thumb and pressed them down beneath his signature. His signature glowed blue for a brief moment before the glow died down. Megumi quickly rolled the scroll back up and it vanished in a poof of smoke.

"There. The contract has been signed. To use the Summoning Jutsu you must weave the signs 'boar', 'dog', 'bird', 'monkey', and 'ram', then pump as much chakra as you can into the jutsu in order to summon the boss of the contract. He will test you to see if you are worthy to summon the dragons. You should do this once you're a marginally safe distance away from the village." Megumi explained. "Now, you should get going. You only have a small window of opportunity to make your escape."

Naruto nodded and exited his mindscape. His eyes snapped open as he quickly left a letter on his pillow for someone to find should they enter his room, though he thought it was unlikely that anyone would. Opening the window, he jumped out the window into the darkness and began to make his way out of the village. By the time anyone would notice he was missing, it would be too late, and he would be long gone.

Or at least that's what he thought.

***To Be Continued…***

Ending A/N: And there's chapter two of the story! I hope you all like it. Like the previous chapter, this one is meant to lay down some buildup before we get to the actual Digimon portion of the story. The meat and potatoes, if you will. Or in this case, the Thanksgiving turkey. Like I said, this story won't be updated with large updates often until the Digimon Spirits of Wood that I commissioned from Noirchotic on Deviantart have been finished. And as for Hinata? I have plans for her in this story. What are they? You'll just have to wait and see. But that's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading and, if you celebrate it, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Pairings: Naruto x Harem (Zoe, Ophanimon, Hinata, Hana, Satsuki, Anko, Megumi, Lilithmon, Tayuya, and Samui)

Takuya x Small Harem (Kin, Kuzuhamon Maid Mode, and Karui)