Chapter Four – Study
Two blurs raced along the streets of Konoha towards the Academy. Although neither were even Genin, they were moving at a speed that most Chunin and even a few Jonin would have been envious of, leaving two almost-parallel lines of dust behind them as they dashed through the main gate of the Academy and skidded to a stop.
"So..." panted Naruto as his grinned at his brother-in-all-but-blood. "Who won? I... I kind of lost track there."
"I do not know myself." Lee grinned as he pulled out a small scroll and held it out. Naruto channeled some Chakra into it and a pair of weights materialized from it. Placing them on his legs, Lee adjusted his legwarmers to hide them and then took a few experimental paces. "I know that if I had been wearing my weights, you would have beaten me."
"You're getting better way faster than me, though." Naruto laughed. "If we'd done this last month, I would probably have won."
"I cannot disagree with that statement, Naruto-nii-kun." Lee grinned, doing a few stretches to cool down. "I have been improving very fast since we first met, I am glad that my hard work in fanning my flames of youth to match your conflagration of youthfulness is starting to pay off."
Naruto grunted as he stretched, then he turned back to face Lee.
"You may be unable to do the rest, but in a straight Taijutsu spar, I think you'd flatten any Chunin. And once we get through the academy, you'll be unstoppable, nii-san." Naruto said.
"We will be unstoppable." Lee corrected with a wide grin as they started to stroll towards the main entrance where several children and their parents had already assembled waiting for the academy to open. "I will prove that a lack of chakra does not prevent one from being a great ninja."
"And I'll cheer you on and spar with you to fan your flames of youth." Naruto finished, lightly throwing one arm across the taller boy's shoulders and giving him a gentle one-armed hug. Well, gentle for him. Lee laughed as Naruto released him.
"Your control is improving, Naruto-nii-chan. That was only five times as strong as someone your size could do." Lee said.
"I thank Kami every day that you and Guy-sensei are tough." Naruto admitted with a wry grin. "I'm still scared to actually touch anyone else, but you two have the best chance of surviving if my control slips."
"Speaking of control, I saw you sending out Kage Bunshins again this morning." Lee noted. "How many, and what for?"
"My chakra control's still shaky. Shaky, heck. It's still terrible. I sent out three hundred, a hundred each on tree-climbing and water-walking and the rest are practicing hand-signs and the three jutsus."
"Ah, my best friend and eternal rival, there are times that I feel my youthful flames are dim beside yours. I sometimes wonder how things would be had I been gifted with the ability to use Chakra even a quarter as powerful as yours. But I am not depressed; I see it as a challenge!" Lee sighed.
Inside the Academy Classroom
Naruto sat down gingerly on the chair that had been specially reinforced for him at the Hokage's request, and placed his steel-encased notebook on the steel-and-oak desk. Around him, the rest of the students were filtering in and seeking out spaces to sit. Naruto glanced left to see Lee give him a grin and a thumbs-up.
"Do not worry, my most-youthful friend, our flames of youth shall let us overcome all obstacles so that we may become great ninja!" Lee exclaimed.
"Does he always speak like that?" A feminine voice said.
Naruto jolted at the unexpected voice, causing his chair to creak in protest, and then he turned and looked to where the voice had come from. A girl clad in a wrapped-top and loose trousers were looking at him, her expression quizzical.
"Ahhh, yeah. But you get used to it. He's Rock Lee, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said.
" I'm Tenten Higurashi." the girl said, staring at him intently. "Um, why is your chair reinforced like that?"
"Naruto-nii-kun's flames of youth are a veritable conflagration, granting him incredible strength." Rock Lee exclaimed and Naruto had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. "His youthfulness also grants him great speed and superior senses, but..."
"But I have some control issues with them." Naruto interrupted. "I've got my usable strength down to under ten times normal, but it's hard to not accidently damage anything around me."
Tenten's eyes widened in suprise.
"It's a Kekkai Genkai." Naruto explained almost sheepishly. "Trouble is; it activated wrong when I got hit by a stone. It was meant to make me stronger as I aged, but it went from off to full without warning."
"Wow." Tenten whispered. "I wonder how you'd do with kunai and shuriken, if you're that strong."
"Alright brats, listen up!" came a strong voice from the front of the classroom. "My name is Akema Akamichi and I'm your teacher. Now, time for register. Raise your hand when I call your name."
Academy Training Grounds
"Hehehe, oops?" Naruto sheepishly said.
Everyone was staring at the training dummy which had a hole punched straight through it. Behind the dummy, a tree had an almost identical hole, as did the tree on the other side of the path, the stone wall behind the tree, the wall of the house behind that wall and, judging from the cursing going on, several items of furniture inside the house in question.
"Umm, you did say to throw it hard, sensei." Naruto said.
Akema tore his gaze away from the path of destruction and sighed deeply.
"Okay, until further notice, you are to throw shuriken and kunai as lightly as you can without sacrificing accuracy. I heard you were strong, but... hmmm... come over here. Now, punch the training log." Akema said.
Naruto nodded, took a deep breath and settled into one of the stances that Gai had taught him. Ducking slightly, he unleashed a powerful uppercut.
The airborne log dwindled as it arced towards the horizon, a trail of splinters marking its path, the rapidly fading thwip thwip of its passage the only noise in the practice field.
"...okay... Naruto, you are excused from sparring..." Akema sighed.
"I'll spar with him, sensei!" Rock Lee exclaimed excitedly. "Naruto-nii-kun has been my sparring partner for over a year and it helps us fan our flames of youth to unmatched levels!"
Akema stared at Lee, obviously unable to form a coherent thought.
"Excuse me; did I hear you say you sparred with him?" Akema asked flabbergasted.
Naruto turned to look at the speaker, who turned out to be a boy with long black hair and pale eyes that lacked pupils.
"You... you're Neji Hyuuga, right?" Lee asked.
The correctly-identified boy nodded, his gaze fixated on Lee who spoke in his usual excited tone.
"Regarding sparring with Naruto-kun, I do indeed, and it helps my speed and strength to reach heights unsurpassed by any but my beautiful sensei, Might Guy, and my most youthful friend Naruto!" Lee said.
"You spar with the boy who just punched a training log out of Konoha?" Neji asked.
"I hold back." Naruto protested. The silence of the onlookers told him that his protest hadn't helped his situation in the slightest.
"Well, if you're certain, Lee. You two get the first spar. Try not to kill each other…" Akema said.
Lee grinned widely and Naruto replied with his normal foxy grin as they entered the ring. Naruto settled into his Gentle River stance while Lee straightened into a classic Goken stance.
"Hajime!" Akema said.
Both figures seemed to blur as the sound of rock-hard flesh hitting rock-hard flesh echoed through the academy grounds. Clouds of dust obscured the blurred figures from the onlookers gaze as they exchanged blurring combinations of punches and kicks, and then one of the figures was launched out of the circle and straight through a tree. All the watchers gasped.
"My youthful friend, are you alright? I did not hurt you, did I?" Lee asked.
"I'm fine, Lee." Naruto laughed as he pulled himself upright, absently breaking the branches that had landed on top of him as he did so. "That was quite a move you pulled at the end. I wasn't expecting that one. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen it before. What was it?"
"A most youthful variation of the Rising Leaf Fist taught to me by our wonderful sensei." Lee grinned. "I was unsure that it would work against you, but when you did that mid-air attack, I realized that you would be unable to resist it."
Naruto laughed and bowed to Lee, who returned it.
"It worked. It would have been a KO against anyone apart from me. Get the strength up, and it'll probably take me out as well." Naruto said.
"I shall practice it most diligently!" Lee laughed with pleasure. "And I shall use it to enhance our flames of youth to levels unmatched by anyone else!"
The shocked students watched the two walk off, then one of them spoke in a trembling voice.
"Are… are they… even human?" A student asked in shock. Nobody answered him.
In the Academy lunchroom
Tenten sat down and pulled out her bento box, then glanced over at the two boys that the class had almost unanimously designated as the Dangerous Duo, when they weren't being called the Twin Dragons of Destruction or the growing-in-popularity Oh Kami, It's Them, Run Away, Run Away!
Her eyebrows rose at the sight.
Naruto was carefully eating ramen, using metal chopsticks. Despite the obvious care he was taking, the chopsticks had slight dents from where he had obviously squeezed too hard, while the metal bowl containing the ramen was almost an inch thick, and was likewise boasting a number of small pressure-induced dents. And she recognized them. Her father had made several sets like that a year or two back, and he occasionally had to make replacements.
Lee's choice of utensils was also surprising. Like Naruto, he was using chopsticks, but his chopsticks were made of lacquered paper and a small box by the side of his meal held several more of the thin paper tubes. The box in which his sushi was placed was obviously made out of very thin paper with a thin layer of lacquer preventing it from collapsing. She had to ask.
"Pardon the intrusion, but why are the two of you using such… odd chopsticks." Tenten asked.
"Metal ones are the only sort of things that don't break for me at the moment." Naruto said. "And Lee is working on enhancing his control by using chopsticks that are as fragile for him as these ones are for me."
Tenten's eyes widened. She had helped to make some of those metal chopsticks, high-grade rolled steel with a strength rating better-suited to a club or sword. And they were as fragile as paper tubes to Naruto? Just how strong was he?
"That is indeed the case, my youthful friend has great difficulties with fragile items, or even items that people like you would not consider fragile, so he needs those metal chopsticks to aid him in practicing his control while he eats. And since it is such a youthful training method with many advantages, I use these paper chopsticks to train myself in the art of… oh bother." Lee said.
Lee sighed as he put down the broken chopstick that he had, in his excitement, accidently tapped against the table, causing it to bend out of shape, and took a new chopstick out of the box.
"Don't worry, Lee." Naruto laughed. "I blame the table for that one."
"Yes!" Lee shouted. "I shall buy the most delicate table I can and use it to help me train my control!"
"It might be cheaper for you to make a table, rather than buy one." Naruto warned quickly, then he face palmed. "I can't believe I just let myself get sucked in like that. Fragile tables. I'm not sure that that's a good idea, Lee."
Tenten tried to hide her giggles, and then her gaze slid to the knife which was seemingly glued to Naruto's leg.
"Naruto-san… where did you get that knife from? It's… amazing!" Tenten exclaimed.
Naruto paused, and then pulled at the knife. To Tenten's astonishment, it was not held in place by a hidden strap or anything like that.
"How did it do that?" Tenten asked.
"It's a… mystical knife that was a gift to me by someone who believed in my potential." Naruto said as Lee picked up a leaf and gently lowered it onto the blade. The blade cut through the leaf without any resistance at all, and Naruto placed the knife on the table and motioned for her to examine it. Tenten eagerly reached out… and her hand passed straight through the handle as if it wasn't there.
"What the..?" Tenten asked.
Naruto and Lee both smiled at the shock on her face.
"Only I can use that knife. And I can call it back to me at will." Naruto said, holding his hand up and curling his fingers, whispering the word "come" as he did so. An instant later, the knife had appeared in his hand. "It is only solid in my grasp, although the blade remains sharp if I throw it at something. No-one except me can use it and I have been told that as I grow older and gain more control over my chakra, I'll be able to make it change shape."
Tenten's eyes widened and she stared almost reverently at the blades Naruto returned it to his thigh, where once again it affixed itself without any noticeable support.
"That… that is… I've heard of the Raijin, a sword made out of lightning, but that knife… what is it?" Tenten said.
"My youthful friends' most incredible knife is called the Kitsune's Fang." Lee said before popping another bit of sushi into his mouth. Swallowing, he continued. "It is a most incredible blade, able to slice through anything and will surely be part of Naruto's most youthful legend when he becomes a fully-fledged ninja!"
"Ummmm… yeah. What Lee said. Kitsune's fang, wonderful knife. Sharp." Naruto said.
Tenten giggled again.
At the bunker
"Hello, my cute and youthful students! Does the Academy continue to fan the flames of your youthfulness?" Guy shouted.
"Yosh, Guy-sensei! I am learning new things every day and I shall prove that being a Genius of Hard Work allows even one who cannot use Chakra to become a truly great Shinobi!" Lee said. Naruto smiled at Lee's enthusiasm.
"It went great, Guy-sensei. Today, most of the class started to learn the leaf exercise. After I caused it to explode for the fourth time, they agreed to let me practice by doing the tree-walking and water-walking." Naruto said.
"Naruto-nii-kun and I had a most youthful spar today!" Lee added. "We fought each other to a standstill, showing that our Flames of Youth were undiminished!"
"Excellent! I have prepared another meal to provide fuel for your Flames of Youth." Guy said expansively as he waved them in. From where he was sitting at the steel-braced table, Kakashi gave a lazy wave, sliding an orange book into his pocket as he did so.
"You need to eat well so your Flames of Youth remain undimmed! Is that not so, my eternal rival?" Guy asked.
"Hmmm? You say something, Guy?" Kakashi said.
"Arrrgh! Once again with that hip and too cool attitude, Kakashi!" Guy exclaimed.
Naruto managed to stifle his snickers as he sat down and looked at the food before him. Guy-sensei, for all his eccentricities, was undoubtedly the best chef he had ever met. A knock sounded at the bunker's door. Lee got up and answered it. It was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Good afternoon." Hiruzen said.
"Ah, Hokage-sama. Please, come in, be seated. We were just about to eat." Guy exclaimed and Naruto looked across.
"Hi, Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Hello, Naruto, Lee, Kakashi." Hiruzen smiled, removing his hat and sitting down as Gai started to serve the meal. "I hope you don't mind me joining you, but I wanted to check on how you were doing. You are half-way through the first year, is everything going well?"
"Sure is!" Naruto grinned. "I've made several new friends and… thanks, Guy-sensei, this looks wonderful, as always. Ummmm, where was I, ah yes. Several new friends and I've learned loads. Some of it is a bit boring, but Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei said that if I wanted to be one of the best ninja ever, I should learn it, so I did."
"That's good to hear." Hiruzen said, and then he shifted his attention across. "And Lee how is your studying going?"
"My flames of youth are truly being fanned to a veritable inferno of youthful energy and passion with the studying at the academy and the spars I have with my most youthful friend Naruto here!" Lee said eagerly. "I am making progress despite my handicap and I hope to join the ranks of the Shinobi under our command, where I shall prove that being a genius of hard work is superior to being a genius of simple skill!" Lee exclaimed.
Naruto hid a smirk at Hiruzen's blank and slightly dazed expression.
"I… see. That is… good to hear. Oh, thanks, Guy. Mmmm, this smells wonderful!" Hiruzen said.
"Thank you Hokage-sama. Everyone dig in." Guy said. Everyone dug into the delicious meal that Guy prepared.
The next morning was the graduation test for Lee and Naruto. Little did every one know was that only Lee is going to pass and Naruto failed but Naruto will bonce back.
At the bunker
"Welcome back my two favourite cute students! I have made a marvelous repast to celebrate… your… your flames of youth seem diminished. What happened?" Guy asked concerned.
Kakashi seemed to appear behind Guy and stared at the duo. Lee was wearing his Hitai-ate like a belt, the same way that Guy did and once again Kakashi had to restrain himself from sighing. Despite his best efforts to persuade him otherwise, Lee had insisted on molding himself in the image and style of the Jonin who had seen the potential in him and found him a sparring partner to help him maximize his potential. Naruto, though…
"Naruto-kun, where is your Hitai-ate?" Kakashi asked; his voice filled with concern. Naruto sighed.
"I don't have one." Naruto said.
Kakashi froze in shock while Guy raised his eyebrows.
"How is that possible, Naruto-kun? I know that Kakashi drilled you in Henge, Kawarimi and Kage Bunshin until you could do all three without seals, and both he and I have taught you all the other things you needed to know, so how could you have not passed?" Guy asked.
"The examiners made a most unyouthful decision and disallowed the Kage Bunshin." Lee said, watching worriedly as Naruto trudged through the doorway. "They said that the test called for a pure Bunshin, and that if Naruto could not perform such a Jutsu, he could not pass."
"And with Naruto's chakra reserves, he is unable to use a pure Bunshin and probably never will." Kakashi growled, clenching his fists. "Dammit! I was sure that he'd pass with flying colors… I should have followed your example and made him my apprentice, Guy. If I go the Hokage now, maybe I can…" Kakashi said.
Guy turned and placed his hand firmly on Kakashi's shoulder.
"Kakashi, whilst Lee is now my student, along with two others, Naruto is more than welcome to join my team for training. In addition, I shall ensure whenever I am not leading my team, I will be there to help Naruto continue to refine his control. When the next exam comes around…" Guy said.
"I'll take Naruto as my apprentice then so that they can't sabotage his passing." Kakashi nodded, and then he blinked. "It just occurred to me. This way, he has a chance to meet students his own age, rather than those a year or two older than him."
Guy nodded, and then frowned.
"I heard that the Last Uchiha is in that year. As the only other Sharingan wielder in Konoha…" Guy said.
"He will be assigned to my team." Kakashi finished with a sigh. "I hear he's an arrogant snob, but with Naruto, I know that at least I'll have one pupil I can get along with. Even if you have corrupted him somewhat with your… youthfulness."
"He has combined my youthfulness with your hip and too cool attitude, creating something unique." Guy smiled, looking across to where Lee was talking quietly to Naruto. "I shall train him for the next few weeks until the academy restarts, maybe trying to wear him out will keep him from brooding, although with his stamina, that will be tricky."
Kakashi nodded slowly. "I have nothing useful at this time. Tell me if you need help with anything."
Later that night, Naruto laid awake in his bedroom thinking about how he didn't pass the Genin exams.
"Why couldn't I pass the exam? I want to become a Ninja just like Guy-sensei and Kakashi-sensei." Naruto thought. "Maybe I have to train more before I can become a Ninja. Damn this headache is killing me."
Naruto got up and went to the bathroom to get some aspirin and when he looked in the mirror, he screamed. His eyes were red with a little bit of white and a black diamond in the middle. Kakashi and Guy came to the bathroom with a Kunai in each hand.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Kakashi asked concerned.
"My eyes? What's wrong with my eyes, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said as he turned to look at Kakashi. Kakashi's and Guy's eyes widened and jaws dropped in shock.
"We need to go see the Hokage, Naruto. He may know what's going on with your eyes." Kakashi said as he looked at Guy with a serious look.
"Alright. Let's go Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he left the bathroom and headed to the front door of the bunker. Guy nodded at Kakashi who nodded back.
Kakashi and Naruto made their way over to the Hokage tower.
At the Hokage Tower
Hiruzen sat in the office working on the most evil of things. Paperwork. He was reading a document when a knock sounded at his door.
"Come in." Hiruzen said as he pushed the document aside.
Kakashi and Naruto walked in. Kakashi looked at Hiruzen with a serious look.
"Hokage-sama, Naruto has activated his family's Kekkai Genkai." Kakashi said. Hiruzen's mouth dropped open in shock.
"He activated it early. What was the cause?" Hiruzen asked.
"I went to the bathroom to get some aspirin when I looked in the mirror; I saw that my eyes changed. What's its name?" Naruto asked. Hiruzen got out of his chair and went to a shelf full of scrolls and pulled out a scroll and walked over to Naruto and gave it to him.
"The name is in the scroll and the abilities of the Kekkai Genkai as well." Hiruzen said. "Just apply some blood and it will open."
Naruto applied some blood to the seal and his eyes lit up in amazement. The seal disappeared and the scroll opened up. Inside the scroll was the description on the Kekkai Genkai Naruto received. Naruto started to read the description.
To whoever is reading this, my name is Takahiro Uzumaki. You have received the Ryūgan (Dragon's Eye). This appears every other two family generations, so you must be one of the luckiest ones then. This Kekkai Genkai allows you to have complete control over Steel (Koton) style Jutsus and the Scorch (Shakuton) style Jutsus. It also allows you to see the flow of Chakra (One Tomoe Sharigan Level) and it gives you clear vision. I wish you luck in the future with this Kekkai Genkai. Before I forget, you can make weapons if you run out of them.
Takahiro Uzumaki
Naruto closed the scroll and smiled.
"What did the scroll say Naruto?" Hiruzen asked.
"It gave the description of the Kekkai Genkai and the abilities of it. It's called the Ryūgan (Dragon's Eye). It says I can see the flow of Chakra almost like Kakashi-sensei's Sharigan, clear vision, and allows me to have complete control over Steel (Koton) style Jutsus and Scorch (Shakuton) style Jutsus." Naruto said. Kakashi and Hiruzen's eyes widened.
"Those are rare abilities to have. Perhaps your mother and father had those abilities but we never saw them activate it." Hiruzen said.
"Can you tell me my parents' names Jiji?" Naruto asked with hope in his voice.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you because your parents had too many enemies and those enemies would kill you if they find out whose parents' are yours. But someday I will tell you your parents' names." Hiruzen said. Naruto nodded.
"It's getting late Naruto. We should get you home and into bed." Kakashi said.
"But how am I going to shut off my Kekkai Genkai?" Naruto asked.
"Channel some Chakra through and think about your blue eyes." Kakashi said. Naruto did just what Kakashi told him to do and when he opened them, he had his normal blue eyes.
"Good night Jiji. See you later." Naruto said as he and Kakashi left Hiruzen's office.
After Naruto and Kakashi left, Hiruzen thought about the Civilian Council. They keep on trying to deny Naruto's heritage but they cannot prove that Naruto is Minato and Kushina's son. Only the Shinobi Council knew the truth. The Civilian Council want Naruto's heritage for themselves because they are greedy but Minato put a stop to that. He put a seal on the gate of the house he shared with Kushina and sealed all of their prized possessions in a scroll and gave it to the Toads for safe keeping.
Ninja Academy Classroom
"Good morning class, and welcome to your final year. We have a new student joining us, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto nodded at the students facing him, his eyes darting across as he tried to identify them.
'Hmmm, that one's an Akamichi, hard to mistake that body shape. Shades and big coat, no expression, has to be an Aburame. The sleepy one is obviously a Nara, the blond girl… Yamanaka. Wonder if I'm a Yamanaka, they're the only other blonds in the village other than me. Emo boy has to be Sasuke Uchiha…wow, his hair looks just like a duck's butt, how does he get it like that? Boy with dog… obviously an Inuzuka. Dark-haired girl with pale eyes, Hyuuga? Doesn't seem stuck-up like Neji, wonder if she's his sister or something. Pink hair…what? Pink? Okay, I got nothing. I have no clue what clan she comes from. I wonder what her special skill is?'
"…NARUTO!" Iruka shouted. Naruto jolted.
"Yes Iruka-sensei? What did you say?" Naruto asked. Iruka sighed.
"I can believe Kakashi helped to raise you. I said can you please introduce yourself to the class." Iruka asked.
"Oh! Sorry. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I've studied under Kakashi Hatake-sensei who knows hundreds of Jutsus and Might Guy-sensei who is the best Taijutsu master in the village. I often spar with Guy's student Rock Lee, who is the only person my age strong enough for me to be able to fight with without having to hold back too much. My likes are making friends, cooking, learning stuff and ramen. I dislike those who judge others without getting to know them first, and those who try to bully others. And my special skill is a Kekkai Genkai which means I'm awesomely strong." Naruto said.
"How strong are you?" Someone asked.
Naruto managed to hide his surprise. The question had come from the Nara boy, who was sitting up and staring at him.
"I don't really know. I once punched a log almost out of Konoha and threw a kunai through a target dummy and several trees." Naruto said.
"And two walls, a sofa, a table, a door and into another wall." Iruka sighed. "That throw is legendary, and the reason why Naruto is excused target practice at the Academy. As for sparring, none of you can hope to defeat him in a straight Taijutsu fight." Iruka said. Naruto nodded.
"Only Guy-sensei and Lee-nii-san can beat me." Naruto said. Sasuke scoffed.
"Like we'd fall for that. You must be a real dobe to think you could get away with claiming that." Sasuke said.
Iruka stared at the Uchiha for a moment and then glanced at the other adult in the room, who looked back at him.
"Alright… Sasuke, I give you permission to spar with Naruto after lunch. Naruto, please be gentle with him. In the meantime, there's a spare seat by Hinata. Hinata, please raise your hand." Iruka said.
The Hyuuga girl raised her right hand and Naruto walked over and sat down, mentally thanking Kami that he had finally managed to get his control to a level where he could pass for a slightly stronger than normal boy as long as he paid attention to what he was doing.
Ninja Academy Outside
"Go Sasuke-kun!"
Naruto winced slightly as the shrieks of the fan-girls assaulted his ears and Sasuke took position opposite him, a superior smirk on his face.
"You face the last Uchiha, Uzumaki. Surrender now and you won't get hurt." Sasuke said. Naruto hid a grin. This was just too perfect.
"Hmmm, did you say something?" Naruto said.
Sasuke's expression instantly darkened as Naruto imitated Kakashi. Growling slightly, he dropped into a stance that Naruto recognized.
'The Intercepting Fist, hmmmm? But he hasn't activated his Sharingan yet, so that leaves several open spots I can capitalize on.' Naruto thought.
"Begin!" Iruka shouted.
Even as Sasuke tensed, preparing to attack, Naruto moved. Holding his strength back meant very little in relation to his speed and he had been practicing with Guy and Lee sans weights. To the watchers, he seemed to vanish and reappear just in front of Sasuke, pushing his hand into Sasuke's face and then he was gone and reappearing behind Sasuke, striking out even as Sasuke jolted back from the first impact. Six more strikes and Naruto returned to his starting position as if he had never moved, while Sasuke staggered, trying not to fall over as he recovered from the high-speed series of light slaps.
"Sensei, I learned a certain Taijutsu move from Kakashi-sensei. If Sasuke refuses to forfeit now that I have shown just how outmatched he is, I will use the secret village Jutsu on him." Naruto said. Iruka paled. He had seen Kakashi use it, and knew exactly what Naruto was referring to. By his side, Mizuki scoffed.
"You're bluffing. Why would Kakashi teach you of all people?" Mizuki said.
"I don't know." Naruto shrugged as Sasuke managed to pull himself back into his starting stance. "Perhaps because we live under the same roof?"
"Do your worst, dobe." Sasuke sneered. "I'm ready for you this time."
"Naruto, don't…!" Iruka started to shout, but it was too late. Naruto had moved, his hands forming the Tiger seal.
"Ultimate secret village technique: One Thousand years of pain!" Naruto
With a strangled scream, Sasuke was launched into the air, both hands clasped on his behind. His fading scream was the only sound anyone heard, as almost everyone else was staring in horrified amazement at Naruto, who was half-crouched with his hands thrust out in front of him. A distant splash announced that Sasuke had made contact with the hot springs. Next minute you could hear Sasuke's painful scream because he was getting beat by the women in the hot springs. Else where a similar thing was happening to an older man.
"…do it." Iruka finished with a sigh. "You know, there are few ways that are both more painful and humiliating to defeat an opponent without doing damage that needs medical treatment. I think I need to speak to Kakashi about what he's taught you."
"Guy-sensei taught me too, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, causing those who knew Guy (or knew about him) to stare at him, jaws dropped in shock. "He said that my flames of youth are amongst the brightest he has ever seen."
Iruka shook his head and glanced over at the assembled (and still shocked) audience.
"Okay, I am outlawing that move for all future spars in the Academy grounds. And if anyone is idiotic enough to take on the student of both Kakashi and Guy outside the Academy, they deserve whatever they get. Naruto, how long have they been teaching you?" Iruka said. Naruto frowned.
"Well, Guy-sensei started teaching me to control my Kekkai Genkai a bit after I turned five, he waited until my seventh birthday to start my Taijutsu instruction. Kakashi-sensei started me out on chakra control at the same time, you know, the whole tree-walking and water-walking thing, and he also started to teach me Ninjutsu when I turned seven. So… say six years for control and a bit over four for the rest." Naruto said.
"How the hell did you fail your graduation exam?" Iruka asked with a shocked expression on his face. Naruto shrugged.
"I have too much chakra to do a pure Bunshin and the examiners refused to accept any other sort. Kakashi-sensei's taught me several other sorts. The first one that he taught me was the Kage Bunshin, which I use loads for training, and after that exam fiasco, he taught me the water clone, fire clone and earth clone techniques. I think it was so that the examiners would look like total morons if they tried to fail me for that reason again." Naruto said. Iruka blinked several times.
"You know… four different clone jutsus?" Iruka said in disbelief. Naruto nodded.
"Yep. Guy-sensei's taught me three different Taijutsu styles, but not the Goken. That one he reserved for Lee, who's his apprentice and I understand his reasons. Goken makes you stronger as you learn it, and I'm way too strong as is. He's also taught me physical and mental self-control, and cooking, so I really owe him. Kakashi taught me to read, do math, history and almost fifty different jutsus. He even tested my affinity, it's wind and fire, by the way, and he said that he's going to try and arrange lessons for me in how to use it." Naruto said. (AU SIDE NOTE: Kakashi tested Naruto's affinity and as a result, he got fire and wind for his Scorch Style).
Iruka looked dazed by the revelations, as did several of the other students.
"And with all of that, you failed because of a plain Bunshin?" Iruka asked. "What in Kami's name were those examiners thinking? I am so going to have to persuade the Hokage to change the graduating requirements because of this."
"I wouldn't bother." Naruto drawled. "The Civilian Council's responsible for the Academy, and they're trying to screw things so that more civilian kids get waved through. That's why the Genin-test failure rate has gone waaaaay up. Anyone not of a ninja clan's pretty much screwed since the Academy doesn't cover the things that Ninja really need to know. Nutritional requirements, physical conditioning and fitness levels, Hinata over there's the only Academy Kunoichi from this year that I'd think has a clue on that one, situational awareness, the art of camouflage and hiding, not wearing bright colors like pink or red… the standard things that give you a chance of not dying in your first mission outside Konoha. Instead, we learn about dead guys and shinobi rules that don't work when actually applied. If I hadn't been taught what I have, I'd have been really screwed when I finally made it out there. " For almost a minute, silence ruled as everyone stared at Naruto. He looked round and shrugged.
"What? I learned from the best. And when I do get out there, I'll prove how good I am." Naruto said. Iruka shook his head.
"But if you need to perform a standard Bunshin, and you have too much Chakra for it…" Iruka said.
"Meh, I'll be fine." Naruto said dismissively. "Kakashi-sensei filled in the paperwork yesterday and the Hokage approved it. At the end of the year, pass or fail, I'm going on his team as his apprentice, like Lee is for Gai. Would be there already, but none of us thought the examiner would be such a stuck-up moron. Oh, hi, teme! Enjoy your swim or the relaxation you needed with that stick shoved up your ass?" From beside Iruka, the dripping figure of Sasuke glowered.
Ninja Academy Lunch Area
"Could it be true?" Sakura said as she sat beside Ino, both of them looking at their light lunches.
"Could what be true?" Ino asked.
"What Naruto-baka said." Sakura said, poking at her salad. "I mean, I'm about the only civilian that is near the top, everyone else is from a clan. And most of the reason that I'm near the top is because I do so well in the tests, and they're all history and stuff."
"I… don't know." Ino mused. "Dad's been telling me to eat more and Mom's been trying to add more to my lunch box, but I don't want to get fat. But from what he said about Hinata being the only one of us who has a clue about that… she eats more than we do, but…"
Sakura nodded, glancing over to where Hinata was sat beside Naruto, listening to him and occasionally turning red.
"My dad warned me not to try and use my family's Jutsu on Naruto." Ino added. "He said that if I survived doing so, he'd lock me away for being so Kami-damned stupid. Who is Naruto? What do we know about him?"
"He's an orphan." Sakura said, her brow creased in concentration. "My mum mentioned that he was born on the day the Kyuubi attacked and he lost both parents to the Kyuubi…"
"Then that's the place to start." Ino said firmly. "Tomorrow we hit the archives. I'll bring Choji and Shikamaru along. Shika's lazy, but brilliant. You know paperwork, Choji can help us move stuff around and we'll hit the archives tomorrow, and see how much we can find out about him." Sakura nodded and her lunch.
Ninja Library
"Sakura! Over here!" Ino called. Sakura walked up and smiled at her friend and rival.
"Ino. Shikamaru. Choji. Sorry I'm late." Sakura said.
"We've only just arrived ourselves." Ino said, glaring at Shikamaru. "Lazy-ass here wanted to spend all day either in bed or cloud-watching."
"Troublesome blond." Shikamaru groused. Ino elbowed him.
"Okay. Let's go!" Ino said. As they entered the records hall, Sakura pulled out a sheet of paper and unfolded it.
"I wrote down everything I knew or could remember about Naruto, as well as my deductions." Sakura said. Shikamaru took the sheet and scanned it quickly.
"Naruto Uzumaki, born Sep 10th, day of Kyuubi attack. Both parents killed in said attack, blond hair and blue eyes, whisker birth-marks. Kekkai Genkai grants enhanced strength and toughness, able to throw Kunai through multiple walls, able to defeat any academy student in combat, able to beat Sasuke-kun… Sasuke-kun? Taught by Might Gai and Kakashi Hatake, knows four clone types. Knows approximately fifty Jutsu, total may include clones. Good start, Sakura. You forgot hated by majority of village for unknown reason, but good start." Shikamaru said. Sakura nodded as Ino halted, looking round.
"Here we are. Records from the Kyuubi attack. Okay, first we check for any Uzumaki's." Ino said.
The group started to headed for the U section of the archives and started looking for any Uzumaki's.
"Uzumaki Kushina." Ino read from the file. "Female Jonin, formerly of Whirlpool. Well, since she's the only Uzumaki we've been able to find, I guess that she's probably Naruto's mom. Shika?"
"There is a family resemblance in the facial structure." Shikamaru said after examining the picture in the file and the photo of Naruto that they had brought with them. "Overall, I would say, very likely." Ino nodded.
"She looks a bit like him, and she has his surname. So where do his eyes and hair come from?"
"His dad?" Choji asked and Ino nodded.
"I agree. We need to find all the blond Shinobi who died that day, then sort out the ones with blue eyes! Shika, keep reading, try to get confirmation that she's Naruto's mom. Sakura, Choji, let's search! Blond hair and blue eyes." Ino said.
Sakura nodded and started to work her way through the files. The first dozen or so were all Aburame with black hair, and then other colors started to appear. Brown, red, silver. The first blond appeared, but he had green eyes, so Sakura returned the file to the shelf, mentally noting its location as she continued to work her way through the many files. After half an hour of searching, only two files had been placed on the table.
"Who'd have thought?" Choji exclaimed. "Blond hair is really, really rare in Konoha. I only found four male blonds, and only one had blue eyes."
"Seven and none respectively." Sakura said, wiping her forehead before the sweat could drip into her eyes.
"Four and one." Ino said. "Choji, who did you find?" Choji opened the file, looked at the name and swallowed.
"Kenshin Yamanaka. Chunin." Choji said. Ino pulled the file across and stared at the picture for several minutes, then shook her head.
"Hair's the wrong shade of blond, too light, and he looks nothing like Naruto." Ino said.
"Then this will be troublesome." Shikamaru said, looking up from the other folder. "This one has hair and eyes exactly the same as Naruto, and similar facial features. In fact, Naruto could almost be this guy reborn." Ino leaned over, her eyes going straight to the picture.
"Kami, you're right about his looks, Naruto is going to grow up hot! Dammit, I may have to challenge Hinata for him. Same grin, his eyes are the same, who is… no way. There is no way… I can't believe it… we must have missed another blond in the archives…" Ino said. Sakura leaned over and glanced at the picture. Sure enough, the man in it looked exactly like a de-whiskered, aged-up Naruto. Then she saw the name and her jaw dropped.
"Naruto's dad is the Yondaime Hokage?!" Sakura exclaimed. Choji leaned over to look.
"Wow, must be. I mean, just look at him." Choji said.
"They both died in a cave outside Konoha." Shikamaru said slowly as he scanned the data. "He died from severe abdominal wounds and… and performing a classified Jutsu. She died from severe abdominal wounds and… childbirth complications. Too many coincidences. Must be them. Troublesome."
Ino and Sakura stared at each other, unable to speak. No-one noticed the pale-eyed dark-haired girl who had been shadowing them, hurrying out of the archives, her eyes wide in shock. She saw something when she was helping one of her clansmen organize files.
Ninja Academy Classroom
"Why do you keep staring at me?" Naruto half-yelled, causing Iruka to look up from marking the papers in front of him. "You lot keep staring at me as if I've grown another head or something!"
Iruka glanced at the rest of the class. Sakura, whose gaze was normally fixated on Sasuke, was indeed staring at Naruto, her eyes filled with an odd mixture of disbelief and shock. Ino was also staring intently at Naruto, while Choji's gaze was interested, but placid. Shikamaru was actually awake and was glancing at Naruto with a calculating air. Hinata was also glancing at Naruto, but Iruka mentally marked that as normal, because she had been doing that since the first day he had joined the class. Iruka sighed and prepared the Jutsu that always worked in situations like this.
"EVERYONE SHUT UP AND PAY ATTENTION!" Iruka shouted. Releasing the Big Head Jutsu, Iruka smirked as everyone's attention snapped back to the front of the classroom.
"Now, the lesson for today is…" Iruka said before he was interrupted by Ino.
"The defeat of the Kyuubi!" Ino half-shouted as she rose from her seat. "Sir, how did the Fourth actually defeat the Kyuubi? What role did Uzumaki Kushina from Whirlpool play? Was Kushina really Naruto's mother? Why was she on the front lines despite having just given birth? Did she have the same Bloodline Limit that Naruto has? Did the Yondaime have a bloodline Limit? What happened…"
"INO, SHUT UP A MOMENT!" Iruka shouted.
Ino paled and sat down as Iruka used the Big Head Jutsu again, but her litany of questions had caught the attention of everyone in the classroom.
"Ino, many of those answers are classified. I am not allowed to answer them at this time. What I can tell you is what you already know, that the Kyuubi attacked Konoha and the Fourth used a very powerful Jutsu to defeat it, at the cost of his life." Iruka said.
"Defeat, not kill." Shikamaru said, his body tense. "The Yondaime was a master of Fuinjutsu, even better than Jiraiya of the Sannin. He probably used a seal to defeat the Kyuubi, but what happened to it? All that chakra must have gone somewhere…"
"What sort of seal could hold something like the Kyuubi?" Sakura asked, following Shikamaru's logic. "What container would be strong enough?"
Iruka and Mizuki were both sweating.
"The reaction of our teachers indicates that your speculations are more accurate than they are currently comfortable with." Shino said from the back of the classroom. "I admit to curiosity about the fate of the Kyuubi. My clan experimented with seals to complement our fighting style, but all those who tried were unable to master Fuinjutsu to the required degree. We did, however, learn quite a bit about sealing in the process. The Kyuubi was an incredibly strong entity, whatever it was sealed into would have needed to be a living being with a chakra system to imprison the Kyuubi, otherwise the youkai of the Kyuubi would have caused extreme strain on the container, causing it to break and releasing the Kyuubi to continue its actions from where it was interrupted."
Sakura turned white and stared at Naruto, as did Ino.
"What?" Naruto asked.
"This is beyond troublesome." Shikamaru groused. "If you take a Kunai and seal it into a scroll, does that turn the scroll into the Kunai? Shino has Kikkai inside him, does that mean he is a Kikkai? Anyone who thinks so is being stupid, and that is just so troublesome."
'This is bad, kit.' Kyuubi's voice sounded inside Naruto's mind. 'Looks like both your secrets are out.'
'Both?' Naruto thought, still looking at Sakura and Ino. 'What do you mean both?'
A sigh sounded in the back of his mind.
'The way those two are staring at you, and what that kid just said, they know that I'm sealed inside you. And the questions about Bloodline Limits earlier, they either know or suspect your parentage.'
"Wait a minute!" Naruto gasped, not realizing he was speaking aloud. "Are you saying my mom was Kushina and my dad..?"
"Troublesome, but it seems that way." Shikamaru said, lowering his head onto his folded arms. "Take away the whiskers and you could be the Yondaime reborn. I don't know why no-one ever saw it, heck, I don't know why I never saw it, and it's such a drag."
The entire class was staring at Naruto.
"Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, stay behind. Everyone else, lessons are over for the day. Go home." Iruka said.
Hyuga Residence
Hiashi raised an eyebrow in query as he looked into the Hyuuga Archive and saw his eldest daughter searching the files, muttering under her breath as she did so. Moving silently to just behind her, he listened to her mutters.
"Marriage contract… marriage contract… I know I saw it here somewhere when I was helping Ko-san sorting out the filing system… marriage contract… Aha! Let's see… As requested by Uzumaki Kushina, wife of… wife? Ino and Shikamaru were right… and witnessed by Hiashi Hyuuga and Namikaze Minato, it is agreed… unmarked by the Cage Bird Seal… into the Namikaze clan… Oh, Kami! I was right! Ino, Sakura and Shikamaru were right!"
"About what?" Hiashi asked.
Hinata leapt into the air with a high-pitched Eeeeep! before spinning round, eyes wide. "T… t… tou-san… wha… what are… are you…"
"I could ask the same question, daughter." Hiashi said with a frown. "Should you not still be at the Academy?"
"They l… let us out early, t… tousan." Hinata said, looking down. "B… but we l… learned something in cl… class that I had to… to check."
"And what did you learn?" Hiashi asked coldly. Hinata took a deep breath and steeled herself.
"That Uzumaki Naruto is the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage." She said softly, but clearly. Hiashi froze.
"That… can't be right. The council confirmed that Minato's entire family died during the Kyuubi attack and that the one who was tasked with a certain burden was given her name to honor her sacrifice." Hiashi said.
"Then why did the Yondaime choose Naruto to be the vessel of the Kyuubi?" Hinata asked, deepening Hiashi's shock even more. "Who could he trust to hold that burden, other than his own son?"
Hiashi's eyes widened further. It had been the council who had announced the deaths of the entire Namikaze clan, but they had done so before Hiruzen had returned to the position of Hokage. And as for Naruto, Danzo had kept insisting that the boy be given to him, but what if it was for more than being turned into Konoha's weapon? If he was Minato's son, he stood to inherit a fortune, as well as the Jutsu stored in the sealed Namikaze mansion. The thought of what Danzo could do with the Hiraishin and the Rasengan, not to mention the scrolls on Fuinjutsu that Minato was reputed to have written, was terrifying.
Lost in his thoughts, Hiashi failed to see Hinata sneak away, the contract secure in her hands.
Hokage Tower and in the Hokage's Office
Sarutobi looked at the trio of students in front of him, then rubbed his forehead.
"Let me get this straight. Because of your curiosity and inability to keep quiet, one of the S-ranked secrets of the village has been released and is undoubtedly being spread, while you came so close to releasing a second one, that coincidentally has the potential to totally ruin the life of the person it is about, that even I cannot fathom how no-one else picked up on it. Have I missed anything?" Hiruzen asked.
"This is such a drag." Shikamaru sighed. "I'm assuming the first secret was Naruto's parents. I must point out that keeping it a secret even from Naruto is just wrong. He deserved to know. The only real reason I can come up with for not telling him is that by not telling him, he would not look for an inheritance and thus it could be taken away from him without causing a big investigation."
"It was to protect Naruto!" Hiruzen snapped. "His father made many enemies, enemies who would stop at nothing to see the Namikaze line driven to extinction!"
"Naruto has insane levels of speed and strength, lives with and studies under the two strongest Jonin in Konoha and is more advanced than a Chunin." Shikamaru stated. "If he cannot defend himself, then over half of the ninja of Konoha need to reconsider their employment. How much does he stand to inherit?"
Hiruzen pulled out a folder and flipped it open. Shikamaru looked at the first page and his eyebrows almost hit his hairline.
"Wow! He could destroy the economy of the village by deciding to move it to the capital."
"How much is it?" Sakura asked. "The Haruno clan are responsible for almost four percent of Konoha's financial reserves. Shikamaru showed her the number and Sakura's eyes widened in shock.
"How?" Sakura asked.
"The Uzumaki fortune." Hiruzen sighed. "When Whirlpool fell, most of its wealth was smuggled out by the few survivors and Naruto's mother inherited it. And it wasn't my choice to try and deny it to him! I did what I could to save what little fortune Naruto will inherit from his parents. Although I have a feeling that Minato and Kushina have a secret bank account that was setup for Naruto in case something happened to them and gave it to Jiraiya to hold onto."
"But you're the Hokage." Ino protested. "You can do what you want."
"But he is just one man." Shikamaru said. "An old man who retired from the job once and who only took it back after his successor died. He doesn't want this job, but there is no-one else he can trust to do it. I would guess that keeping Naruto ignorant of his legacy was the price of support from the civilian council in exchange for not tormenting him directly as he holds the Kyuubi."
Hiruzen nodded and Shikamaru sighed.
"Troublesome. If you haven't been building up support for yourself, things are about to become a real drag. Naruto is technically a ninja at the moment, but if he leaves the academy, he'll become a civilian, giving him the right to leave at any time. As the last of his clan, he has the right to demand all his clans' belongings so he can re-establish his clan elsewhere… including any symbols…"Shikamaru trailed off and Hiruzen nodded slowly.
"Including the spiral that is part of the Leaf and the one on the Jonin jackets." He said soberly. "Should Naruto decide to leave, Konoha will become the laughing stock of the Shinobi world, and the damned civilian council refuse to understand! They see the fox, not the boy. And nothing I can say makes them think otherwise."
Ino and Sakura exchanged a glance, then Sakura raised her hand.
"Umm, we're sorry about the whole parent-thing, we didn't know it was meant to be a secret. Although it wasn't actually all that well-hidden, you should have removed his mother's files if you had wanted it to be a secret…" Sakura said.
"I thought it had been removed." Hiruzen grumped.
"…and as for the Kyuubi thing, apart from us, I think only Shino really figured it out, and he has bugs in him, so he won't be freaked by it and everyone else will be talking about him being the Yondaime's son, so I think that that secret is still secure…"
Hiruzen sighed and nodded.
"You're probably right. As you were unaware that it was meant to be a secret, you won't be punished this time, but next time you decide to investigate something, for Kami's sake check in first with ANBU, myself or one of the clan heads before going public with it."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." "Hai!" "Understood. How troublesome." Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru said in unison.
"Dismissed." Hiruzen said.
The three students fled before Sarutobi could change his mind. He sat back, massaging his head for a moment, then spoke again.
"Are you sure he'll forgive me for this?" Hiruzen said.
The air in the corner of the room seemed to shimmer, then Guy and Kakashi appeared.
"Naruto will not blame you." Guy said soberly. "I am certain he will understand that the knowledge of his parentage was kept from him for his own safety."
"I agree with Guy on this." Kakashi said. "Yes, I know. Rare. But he's right. Naruto will understand, but you need to speak to him about it. And not here. He'll need to be somewhere familiar and reassuring."
Guy and Kakashi exchanged a glance, then Guy nodded.
"Hokage-sama, will you be available to visit for tea?" Guy said.
"I shall." Hiruzen said slowly. "And afterwards, given how many secrets have spilled, I think I shall take Naruto to his father's mansion. Kakashi, will you come as well?"
Before Kakashi could answer, an ANBU appeared in the office.
"Hokage-sama. You must come quickly. The Yondaime's mansion caught on fire and has burned down to the ground." GIRAFFE said as he appeared in the office.
"WHAT!" Hiruzen shouted.
"Yondaime's mansion was on fire. COW and I were patrolling the area when we saw two unknown people leave the Yondaime's mansion. Although they didn't have anything in their hands. Before we could stop them, one of them performed a Fire Jutsu and set the mansion on fire. COW put the fire out with his Water Jutsus but it was too late. The mansion burnt to the ground." GIRAFFE said with sorrow in his voice.
"Thank you GIRAFFE. Your dismissed. Both you and COW have tomorrow off." Hiruzen said. GIRAFFE nodded and body flickered out of the office.
"What am I going to tell Naruto. His parents' home has been destroyed. But thankfully Minato and Kushina sealed their stuff in scrolls and gave them to Jiraiya and the Toads for safe keeping." Hiruzen said.
"Indeed. You should tell the council about this Hokage-sama. Guy and I will be your witnesses." Kakashi said. Hiruzen nodded.
"I believe it's time for them to know who is in charge around here. GOOSE!" Hiruzen shouted. GOOSE appeared in the office.
"Your orders sir." GOOSE asked.
"Gather the council and have them in the chambers in ten minutes." Hiruzen said. GOOSE nodded and body flickered out of the office.
"Let us go to the chambers." Hiruzen said as he put his Kage robes on and the hat on his head. Kakashi and Guy nodded their heads and body flickered to the chambers after Hiruzen body flickered to the chambers.
Inside the Council Chambers
Hiruzen, Kakashi, and Guy body flickered into the chambers just as both of the Shinobi and Civilian council were arriving. The elders, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu arrived after the council did.
"What's this about Hiruzen?" Danzo asked but was silenced when Hiruzen let out a good amount of Killing Intent.
"It's Hokage-sama to you Danzo. It's about damn time; each and every one of you knows who is in charge around here. A great tragedy occurred earlier today. The Yondaime's mansion burnt to the ground. Minato would be rolling in his grave if he saw what happened to his mansion. The mansion and what was left inside before Minato and Kushina sealed their most prized Jutsus in scrolls were lost in the fire before Naruto could even take possession of the mansion. I hope you are happy." Hiruzen said.
Both the councils were shocked even Homura and Koharu were shocked except Danzo. He was the one who ordered the mansion ransacked before being burned. The two agents that he sent brought back nothing. Not even Naruto's birth certificate or the Marriage certificate for Minato and Kushina.
"Where is the Minato's personal Jutsus Hokage-sama?" Shikaku asked.
"Safe with one person that the Minato trusts and the summons of that person as well. He is also one of my students." Hiruzen said. Shikaku nodded.
"So you mean Naruto's birth certificate showing proof that he is the son of Kushina and Minato is with Master Jiraiya?" Hiashi asked. Hiruzen nodded.
"Also there will be an audit of the Civilian council. You people disgust me. You stole from the Uzumaki Fortune when it was rightfully Naruto's." Hiruzen said.
"You have no proof he is their son. I don't think the demon will get any money." Saki, Sakura's mother said.
"Oh I know that. Before Minato and Kushina died, they sealed a good amount of both the Uzumaki's and Namikaze's fortune and then some into scrolls and gave them to Jiraiya and the Toads for safe keeping. I also sent word to the Fire Daimyo. He was not pleased and is sending his PERSONAL auditors to look over the civilians' accounts. I think this meeting is over. Dismissed." Hiruzen said.
The Shinobi council looked pleased and happy for Naruto while the Civilians hated Naruto even more. Because of him, they might lose the money they were stealing from his family's fortune. They were cursing him for their misfortune when in reality, it's their faults.
AU NOTE:
Hello, my lovely readers. I am not dead, I just don't have any energy anymore cause of my job. Yea I know it is not an excuse but it's the truth. My job starts at 4 till whatever time in the morning and my schedule keeps on changing cause we never know what time we will get out. It could be 2 in the or 4 in the morning. But anyways I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please let me know how it is. I combined chapters 4-6 into one and tweaked some of it but not all of it. Naruto will receive all of his inheritance from his parents. I adopted the original story and the author gave me permission to do whatever I want with the story since it is mine. I will not add the Kagetora name to Naruto's last name.
Group 1 (January, May, and September)
The Love I found in his Arms
The Leaf's Bomber
Jonin Sensei: Naruto Uzumaki
Sakura's Choice
Group 2 (February, June, and October)
Kirara's Journey
Kagome's Decision
Of Blades and Water
Just This Once
Naruto: Rise of the West's Greatest Emperor
Group 3 (March, July, and November)
Darui's Cherry Blossom
A Kitsune's Rise to Power
Betrayal has its benefits
Serena's Choice
Sarah's Crisis
Group 4 (April, August, and December)
Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei: Revival of Family
Naruto: Return of the Prince
Otokage
A New Journey
Olivia's Choice