Chapter Four

A week goes by and the teams go with Tazuna to work on the bridge. Everyone feels much more ready for a fight after their training. They walk along the trail until they reach the bridge and stop. They see that the workers are all dead. Each ninja immediately gets into formation. They see multiple figures appear in front of them.

"Looks like you were right to assume Zabuza would bring help this time," Kurenai tells Kakashi.

"Yeah," he agrees. "Along with the fake hunter nin, it seems they released the Demon Brothers and brought a few mob members as well. We all know the plan everyone. Sasuke and Naruto, I trust you two can handle the brothers since we've fought them before?"

"No problem," The two genin tells him.

"Whatever you're planning Kakashi, it won't work. We won't be underestimating those genin this time. I'd advise you all to hand Tazuna over before we end up killing you along with him." Zabuza tells him.

"I'm afraid that my answer hasn't changed. So let's cut the chatter and get this over with." Kakashi lifts his headband up revealing his sharingan eye and with that the fight begins.

Sakura and Shino stay by Tazuna and defend him from the mob members. Sakura uses some genjutsu Kurenai taught her on the mob members to keep them from attacking all at once making them easier to fight off while Shino supports her using bugs to distract and incapacitate them. Because none of the mob members are ninja, the two genin are proving to be too much for them to handle.

Since Naruto and Sasuke already know how the two Demon Brothers fight together, they decide it would be better to try to split them up. Naruto makes over a hundred shadow clones and has them distract one of them while the original and Sasuke deal with the other.

Kurenai is surprised by how many clones Naruto made, having been the first time seeing it, but shifts her attention to her own fight. Haku, the fake hunter ninja, creates a bunch of ice shards from the water and shoots them all towards the jonin and genin duo. Hinata quickly activates her byakugan and defends herself and Kurenai from the attack. Kurenai figures this ice ability is a part of a bloodline and can already tell that this fight might be a bit more difficult than she thought.

Meanwhile the sound of metal clashing is heard over at the fourth fight. Kakashi and Anakin decided on each other having a specific role. Anakin will engage Zabuza in a sword fight and keep the mist ninja busy, while Kakashi focuses on ninjutsu and attacking Zabuza's blind side. Anakin has his sharingan activated and enhancing himself with the Force. He knows he isn't physically strong enough to fully block an attack from the huge sword, but he does redirect any attack that he is unable to dodge. Anakin's countless years of experience from his previous life is really paying off in this fight and is proving that he wasn't the poster boy of the Yuuzhan Vong War for nothing.

Zabuza is surprised that a mere genin has lasted this long against him in a sword fight. There was something very odd about the boy he was fighting. The genin is just twelve, but he seemed to have the experience of someone almost the same age as himself. The way the boy handles himself with a sword seems to come off like it was just as natural as breathing and the demon swordsman can't seem to recognize the style. Not only that, the boy could read almost every attack Zabuza threw at him. If they weren't currently enemies, he would have half a mind to try and recruit the boy based just on his skill with the sword so far. Zabuza isn't blind to notice the sharingan in the kid's eyes, but even that shouldn't be enough to defend himself with. Just because one could see the attack coming, doesn't mean they are fast enough to protect themselves. Especially a fresh from the academy genin he figures the kids are young enough to be. No, this boy has something else helping him. He figures it has something related to how the boy was able to grab him midair and throw him through a couple trees without even touching him. That was one hell of a surprise costing Zabuza to fracture a couple of ribs. He has no doubts that he could probably deal with the kid easily if Kakashi isn't proving to be just as much of a pest. Any time Zabuza tries to overpower the young genin, the copycat ninja appears and copies the ninjutsu making it useless. He grows more frustrated as the fight drags on.

Anakin is amazed at the effects of the sharingan. Time seems to slow down for him and as the fight goes on he's slowly copying Zabuza's moves. Not that it'll help his fighting style much since Anakin is currently not using a big ass sword, but it is helping in predicting attacks a lot easier. As good as a duelist Anakin is, even he can't fully get around the strength of an adult ninja. Another overhead attack comes at him, and he uses his own sword to push it to the side and move out of the way but not before receiving a cut on his left arm.

The fight at this point has been going on for some time and Anakin is breathing heavily. He takes a quick glance at the other fights. Sakura and Shino seem to be mopping up the final mob member. Hinata and Kurenai seem to be dealing with some sort of ice dome that Haku created. The last fight comes at a surprise to Anakin. Sasuke looks like he managed to unlock his own sharingan, but is knocked out by the one of the Demon Brothers. He notices that Naruto is covered by a fox-shaped red chakra. Naruto seems to get a boost of power and blitzes one of the brothers and implies his claw through the man's heart. Anakin doesn't like the hateful energy that is coming from that chakra, and the vicious change it has on the blonde. They'll have to have a talk about managing that hatred later. It seems that everyone else has felt the raw energy coming off of Naruto.

Zabuza sees that he finally has a chance to turn his own fight around by the distraction. He swiftly kicks Anakin away and swings his sword at Kakashi. The masked jonin jumps back from the attack. Zabuza quickly runs through some hand signs as Kakashi mimics him. Water springs forth from both parties and clashes against each other. The water blocks the view from Zabuza as he hears what appears to be thousands of birds chirping. As the water finally drops, Kakashi appears in the air with his right hand covered by lightning. Zabuza smirks at the wide open Kakashi and takes a swing at him, only to be smashed from behind. Anakin is behind him, clutching his side, and Force lifted a tree stump to hurl at the mist swordsmen. Zabuza is now unable to continue his attack as he is quickly thrown towards Kakashi. The Chidori stabs Zabuza in the chest and through the tree stump. He falls to the ground coughing up his own blood and barely hanging onto life.

Haku sees his master defeated and immediately drops his own fight to try to run towards Zabuza. The ice dome drops to reveal Kurenai covered in a few senbons with Hinata panting on her knees. With the mist gone, Kurenai quickly puts Haku under a genjutsu. Haku stops in his tracks, of which Hinata closes the distance between them and thrusts her palms into Haku's chest. The fake hunter ninja is unable to defend himself and falls lifeless to the ground. Hinata follows along with him in exhaustion.

Naruto manages to defeat the last brother and takes a look around at the battlefield. He notices Hinata on the ground and rushes to her. His red cloak disappears as he cradles her in his arms.

"She's alright Naruto," Kurenai tells him over his shoulder. "She's just exhausted and needs some rest." Naruto just nods, but doesn't let up his hold of her. Kakashi can't help but smile how close the two genin of his are.

The group pauses when they all hear laughing. They look over towards the source to find a short man with forty armed thugs with him. "Well it's a good thing that I came when I did. I knew you and those worthless ninjas weren't worth the price you wanted," the man says.

Zabuza sneers, "What are you trying to say to Gato?"

Gato smirks, "What I'm saying is that I never planned on paying you. I just had to wait until you all tired yourselves out and then my men and I will easily clean up whoever's left!"

Zabuza is furious, "Don't think that just because I have a hole in my chest means I am unable to kill you before I die. Since I've essentially been fired, I no longer have a need to kill Tuzuna. Consider this a professional courtesy Kakashi as I will now kill the man threatening your client's life." He lifts his great sword and rushes towards the mob. The Konoha ninja watches first hand as to why he is called a demon swordsman one last time.


Later that night Anakin is walking onto the porch of Tazuna's house. He has a field side bandage where the kick from Zabuza bruised his ribs preventing him from sleeping. Once he steps outside he sees Sakura sitting on the porch bench with a face of distraught. Worried, he takes a seat next to her.

"You ok Sakura?" He asks.

She doesn't look at him, but shakes her head. "I'm not too sure what I feel."

Anakin questions her, "Would you like to talk about it?"

She sighs, "We've been told that when we become ninjas that we will be expected to kill. I never put too much thought into it, but I guess I should have. Those men would have killed our client if I didn't, but it doesn't help with what I'm feeling."

"The first kills are always the hardest." Anakin agrees.

She turns to him, "But you didn't kill anyone today did you?"

"You forget I have a previous life," he mentions.

"Oh yeah, it's still weird to think about no matter how many times you remind me." She comments looking down now.

"Yeah, plus I was in a war so I know enough to understand what you are feeling." He states. "We're friends and teammates, so feel free to talk to me about it."

She doesn't answer, but Anakin starts seeing a stream of tears fall off her face. He hesitates for a second to blush slightly before wrapping his arms around her. She grows a stocked blush for a moment before she starts to struggle away. He persisted, "Sakura, don't try to fight it. Just let it all fall out. There's no one but me and you here, so don't be afraid to show a little weakness. It's my duty as a friend to be there to help you during the times you are troubled."

She eventually relents and wraps her arms around him and cries into his chest. "It's just so much harder than I was expecting. I keep telling myself that I had to do it, but every time I close my eyes tonight I see them. They won't go away. I'm scared and I don't know what to do."

Anakin pats her back, "It's alright, it's natural to feel as you do. It might sound weird to you, but I'm relieved to see you a little remorseful. It means you haven't lost your humanity. Plus sometimes I still see the people I've killed in my dreams as well. It gets easier throughout time, but as long as you have me here with you then I'll always be willing to be the one you vent everything out to."

"T-thanks Anakin-kun," Sakura tells him through her sobs.

After a while of crying, she calms down and starts breathing lightly. Anakin looks down at her to see she fell asleep on him. He can't help but notice how cute she looks sleeping. With no heart to wake her, he gets himself comfortable and lets her sleep. Soon however he falls asleep as well. They wake up the next morning in full blush to find themselves on the bench together with a blanket over them (courtesy of Kurenai who went to find where her genin were.)


The group finds themselves back in the Leaf Village after a few days of resting and the bridge complete. They took the time to bury the missing mist ninjas before they left the Wave village. There were questions (mostly from Sasuke) about Naruto's sudden power boost, but the jonin avoided the questions saying it wasn't for them to talk about it.

Anakin on the other hand can't stop thinking back on the event of that night with Sakura. He hasn't gotten a chance to talk to her more since Sasuke being around draws her attention. She's usually "Sasuke this" and "Sasuke that", but the moments where she's not fangirling is when Anakin is able to see the best side of her. Sure she's got a fiery personality, but that's one of the charms he sees of her.

"Um Kurenai-sensei, it seems Anakin is doing it again." Shino tells her. Everyone in the Hokage's office turns to him.

"You really weren't kidding Naruto when you told me that he gets lost in thought so easily. To think he managed to tuned the world out while we were reporting to the Hokage." Kakashi says.

"A-actually when he does this," Hinata starts, "it usually starts long before he reaches where he needs to be. His body seems to go on autopilot and he doesn't notice the world around him. He probably doesn't even realize we're in front of the Hokage." This causes a few sweat to drop, especially from the hidden ANBU after trying to picture how disastrous it would be if they ever tried something similar.

"I got this," Sakura tells them as she punches Anakin on his head.

Anakin snaps out from the pain, "Ow hey what gives?"

"Baka, we're in front of the Hokage and you're over there spacing out! Honestly, I'm not sure what's worse. This or the laziness of Shikamaru." She berates him.

Anakin takes a look around and gets embarrassed, "I'm sorry Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen just shakes his head, "I'll just write this off as you being tired after this mission. Just don't be making a habit out of it, or at least when you're coming to see me."

"Yes thank you I will keep that in mind," he says.

"Now back to the matter at hand. It seems like this report is quite the turn of events. Never would I have imagined this mission would turn out like this. I am ranking this missing as an A-rank mission and you will all be paid as such. Congrats on a job well done young ones. This is truly a mission I never expected genin to be able to pull off without any deaths. You all earned yourselves a few days off." The Hokage tells the group who are all in smiles about this. "Now there is a matter of which I wish to speak to the jonin, Anakin, and Naruto about. The rest of you are dismissed."

The other four genin leaves the room, no doubt guessing what the topic will be about. Hiruzen quickly puts up a silence barrier around the room. Kakashi says, "Hokage-sama I know what you are about to discuss, but do all parties present know about the topic." He nods towards Anakin.

Anakin looks at Kakashi, "I do know about it. I was there when Mizuki told Naruto about his situation." The masked jonin quickly nods.

"Alright since that situation is settled," The Third proclaims, "Naruto, is it true you used the Kyuubi's chakra during your fight with the Demon Brothers?"

"That would be my assumption. I can't figure out where else I got the extra boost in chakra or power from," Naruto confirms.

"Hmm, would you mind lifting your shirt so we can check your seal?" The Hokage asks.

Naruto complies and lifts his shirt up. The seal comes into view on his stomach. The Third walks over to it and checks it out. Anakin and Naruto don't understand seals so they are completely clueless about what the old man is doing. After fiddling with the seal, he walks back to his desk.

He takes a puff of his pipe, "Well good news is that the seal seems to be fine. Although I will say to not use its chakra until you are properly trained on it. It will play on your emotions to try and take over your body to escape. So please try to control yourself and not give into your emotions like during the fight."

"I'll try, but it's not easy just to turn off my emotion just like that," Naruto replies.

"I think I can help with that Naruto," Anakin chimes in.

Everyone turns to him and the blond asks, "How can you?"

"Well I'm sure you know about the Force by now right?" They nod so he continues. "Well during my Jedi training in my previous life, we are trained in not giving into our fear or anger. While yes you would become strong, it will only take you so far and if you continue using those negative emotions then you will easily become a slave to it. It's like an unhealthy addiction and can take complete control over you leading to a dark path. I can help you in managing it so you can remain collected during fights."

Alright I'll do it. You've been my first friend my age so I trust you know what you're doing." Naruto rests his hand on his chin. "Although we both are on different teams, finding time for the two of us to train together outside doing missions and team training will be tough."

Kurenai points her finger up, "I have an idea for that. Our team was training together in the Wave, so we can set up days where both teams can come together to train with each other. We've already gone over what our teams are lacking in, so this would give us a way to cover what the other can't."

Kakashi nods, "I agree this would be a good idea. For example: Naruto has trouble when it comes to genjutsu either using it or repelling it. I'm trying my best to teach him, but I think a master of genjutsu like Kurenai would have a better time helping him with it. On the flip side, I can help Anakin more with his sharingan than she can."

"If you both agree that it would benefit your teams then who am I to disagree?" The Hokage asks. "Now there's a reason I wanted Anakin to stay other than about the Kyuubi chakra. I hope you three can forgive me, but I'll have to talk to him alone about something." The other three bow and say their goodbyes. He just pinches the bridge of his nose. As if Naruto using the chakra wasn't already enough, I now will have to deal with the fact that there is now another known Uchiha survivor at the same time. I'm going to regret being pressured to give that mission to them. He thinks to himself.

"I'm sorry Lord Hokage, but it's not like I intended to awaken the sharingan." Anakin says. Hiruzen freezes upon how his mind was read like an open book. "Again I'm sorry, but you were making your feelings easy to read that I really didn't even need to try."

The man just sighs, "I'm getting too old for this. Anyways I don't blame you for anything that happened. We both knew there was a chance it could happen, but I didn't expect it to come so soon. I hoped you'd at least be a chunin before it happened, so you could defend yourself better. There's no doubt that once the council finds out that they will lose their heads over it (Danzo especially), but luckily I kept your hospital papers from back then and you have those memories so explaining it all to them shouldn't be too difficult. Although now I'm afraid that your decision of whether you wish to take the Uchiha name or not is coming very soon. I should mention that if you refuse, there's a good chance that you won't be able to reclaim it later since Sasuke is still here as the current clan head, and judging from what I heard about his reaction to finding out about you, I doubt he'll be willing to accept you. So speaking to the council about this might be your only opportunity. I'll delay the meeting for a couple of days, so please spend the remainder of your time thinking about this."

"I will. Thanks Lord Hokage," Anakin replies before leaving.


Later that evening, Anakin is sitting on the Hokage Monument. He has to agree with Naruto that this is the best place to be in the village. It's away from everything, but gives a great view of everything, especially the sunset. It's the perfect place to think about what he wants to do. His mind is torn from the Uchiha memories wanting to be a part of the clan again, and his Solo memories not feeling like it would be right to. He sighs to himself.

"Having a problem there?" He hears a familiar voice call to him.

He quickly turns to the voice he hasn't heard ever since he came to this world, "Grandfather?"

Anakin Skywalker walks in his ghostly blue form and takes a seat next to his grandson, "Who was you expecting? Perhaps that cute pink hair teammate of yours?"

Solo faintly blushes, "What? I don't know what you're talking about. I can't believe you. Years of not talking to me and that's the first thing you go to?"

Skywalker chuckles, "Heh, I had to do something to get you out of your brooding mood."

"Thanks," Solo hugs his grandfather. "It's good to see you again. It's been so long since I left and haven't heard a word from you that I was beginning to worry about our family."

Skywalker hugs him back, "I'm sorry. I wish I could come more often, but as you know I'm limited on how I can appear here. That doesn't mean I wasn't watching over you. I just had to train myself to be able to come talk to you. Even in death it seems there's always something about the Force to learn."

"That's alright since you're here now. So tell me, how is everyone?" The boy asks.

"Well as you probably assumed, they didn't take your death well. Your father especially. He hated the fact that he once blamed you for Chewbacca's death and thinks you dying is his punishment for it. He's doing better know, so don't worry too much about him. Jacen also didn't do too well. He seems to be going down a darker path after your death. He reminds me too much of myself when your great grandma died in my arms." Skywalker says.

"I can only imagine. Have you talked to any of them about me?" Solo asks.

"I tried talking to your mother after your death, but she was too crushed at the time to hold a conversation with me. I tried talking to everyone in the family, but none seemed to want to talk. The exception is your uncle really is the one who will talk to me regularly. Well as regularly as one does when talking to a Force Ghost. I told him about what you went out to do after your death, and saying it came as a shock is an understatement."


Years earlier in a galaxy far far away.

Luke looks out the window of the capital starship he is in. All he can see is the emptiness of space, just like how he feels for the loss of his nephew. The life of a Jedi is never easy, but to see the young die while the old live in this kind of life can be very heartbreaking. He calls out into the Force hoping that he is able to find an answer for this feeling of failing his nephew. He perks up when he feels a response.

"Father, it's good to see you. Although I wish it was for a happier occasion." Luke states.

"Yes I wish it were so as well." Anakin says.

Luke turns to face his father, "I'm finding myself lately asking 'Did I not train him enough' over and over again. I've lost family before with Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru, and you as well Father, although handling your death was easier since I can talk to you like this; but losing Anakin feels so much different. I loved my nephew just like I love my own child, Ben, and the same is for Jacen and Jaina. I've watched him grow from a baby to becoming a great Jedi and I am glad to have been his teacher. So not only did I lose a nephew, I lost a student and a son."

"I know the pain of losing someone you love is difficult to bear," Anakin tells his son, "but he died to save the ones he cared about. Take some comfort in knowing that he willingly died in something he believed in."

"This is true, but it doesn't make the pain completely go away."

"I know, but you are strong and our family will need someone like that to help them through this. Helping them will in turn help you. Just like you did for me. That's what being family is about."

"You're quite right. Although I'm not sure taking family advice from a father who wasn't there for my sister and I for the first twenty years of our lives is a good idea." Luke jabs.

Anakin shakes his head, "Come on, cut me some slack. It's hard to be there for children I didn't know I had."

Luke smiles, "Not like you did much better after you came to me when you found out. If I recall, you chopped my right hand off."

"Whoa hey now, Skywalkers losing their right hands to a Sith Lord is a tradition. I lost mine so it's only fitting that I pass down the hand cutting to you. I expect Ben should be next sometime soon, else you face the chance of dishonoring your ancestors." Anakin jokes.

"Hahaha," Luke laughs.

Anakin smiles, "Feeling better now?"

Luke nods, "Much, thanks Father. Now tell me, how's Anakin? I assume he's with you now."

"Anakin was a bit shaken up at first, but he's a smart kid and took it quite well," he replies.

"That's good. Will he be able to come to us the same way you can?" Luke asks.

Anakin shakes his head, "Unfortunately it's not possible at the moment."

"What do you mean at the moment?"

"Luke take a seat." The Jedi Grandmaster sits down and Anakin sits with him. "Now what I'm going to tell you is fairly hard to believe, but know I wouldn't lie about this especially during these times." Luke nods for his father to continue. "When he died, I pulled him out before becoming one with the Force. The reason being that the Force is in need of him. The Force is becoming unbalanced in a world far from this galaxy, though sadly said world knows nothing of the Force nor how to combat the threat. So I sent Anakin to the world to help it out while also giving him a chance to live a new life, instead of ending with one cut so short."

Luke is stunned. It takes him a few minutes to process what he just heard. After collecting his thoughts he asks, "So he's still alive?"

"Yes and no. The Anakin you know is dead, but his soul and what makes him himself is still alive." Anakin answers.

"So he's still alive," Luke sighs in relief. "Even if he is a little different, as long as he is who he is I can take comfort in that. So how is his new life?"

"Well he seems to be doing alright. He just started so he's still getting used to it, but he already has friends to help him out. I believe he will be just fine there." He replies.

Luke nods, "I'm guessing you're looking over him, so please let me know how he is doing from time to time. I think it'll be better if I wait until everyone is emotionally well enough to hear this. Knowing Han and Leia, they'll probably race to where he is to be with him and bring him here. So since Anakin is there to help balance the Force then it's best he remains there. When you next talk to him, let him know I'm proud of him."

"I will son. May the Force be with you." Anakin stands up and disappears.


Present day

Anakin Solo listens to his grandfather's story with a smile, "Thanks for telling me that. It's encouraging to know that I have at least one person from my previous life who knows about me."

Skywalker places a hand on Solo's shoulder, "I'm sure they all would feel the same way. Now speaking of lives, that brings us to what you are doing out here."

The smile falls, "I'm sure you already know."

"I do, but I would like to hear your own thoughts on the matter before I say anymore to you."

Solo sighs, "I'm not sure what to do. Having the memories of two people is really conflicting with my decision. I would really love to be a part of the clan of the Uchiha and live up to my parents' family, but I feel like I would be throwing out the last bit of what makes me a Solo/Skywalker. Like no matter what I pick, I will be giving up my other half."

The elder Jedi shakes his head, "You're confusing the matter more than it should be. It's ok to give into this life that you have been given. In fact I encourage it."

"But what abo-"

"Again you're confusing the matter." Skywalker interrupts. "Being an Uchiha and loving the memories of the family you were given in this world isn't giving up what you were. You will always remember our family and we will always be with you no matter where you go as long as you trust in the Force. Plus it doesn't matter what your name is whether it's Solo or Uchiha, you're a Skywalker to me no matter what happens and I'll love you all the same. The same can be said for the rest of our family. So please take full advantage of what you are given here. Living in the now is the best way you can make our family happy, for if you aren't happy then we aren't."

"You're right, but it's still a big decision to make." Solo claims.

Skywalker nods, "It is, which is why I ask that you think over what I've told you. Also don't underestimate the friends around you. People like Naruto and Hinata love their precious people, which they include you in. There's also your teammates as well. That pink crush of yours-"

"She is not!" Solo protest with a blush.

"Sakura and Shino trust you," Skywalker continues while ignoring the protest. "I won't be able to always come talk to you like this, although I'll try. Anyways, what I'm saying is that you're not alone. The people who care about you will listen if you were to speak up. You don't have to hide things from them until it's forced to come out, like on your last mission."

"Alright, I'll think it over Grandfather." He complies.

Skywalker just smiles and sits with his grandson to watch the sunset.


The next morning Anakin is walking through the village thinking about his talk with his grandfather last night. Getting another opinion is great to have, but he feels just having one is not enough to base his decision on yet. Who to talk to is something he's unsure of. Preferably someone with an outside perspective. The first person to come to mind is Sakura, but the words from his grandfather calling her his crush are echoing in his mind. He tries to shake them out, but they still linger. He sighs and tries to think of someone else. Besides he doubts she would give an unbiased answer since she fawns all over the only known Uchiha left. Luckily for him, two other options appear before him.

"Hey Anakin!" A blond calls to him with a blue haired girl.

"Oh hey guys, what are you both doing?" He asks them.

Naruto answers, "Well we both got done eating ramen from Ichiraku and are currently just roaming the town."

A smirk spreads on Anakin, "Oh? Have I interrupted your guy's date?" His teasing had the intended effect when a bright red blush covers their faces.

"W-whaat-t? A d-date wi-wii-with Na-na-nar," Hinata starts stuttering until she becomes unintelligible. Appears she can't fully get rid of the stuttering when it comes to this. I'm going to enjoy this immensely, Anakin muses.

"We're not! We're just friends," Naruto denies although Hinata seems to have become downed after hearing the last part.

Naruto honesty you have to realize what you have sometime soon, Anakin shakes his head.

"Nevermind us, what are you doing?" Naruto tries to change topics.

"Fine I'll drop this for now," Anakin sighs. "Since it's no longer hidden to you two, I might as well be honest. I'm on my way to see my parents. Would you both like to meet them?"

The pair freeze for a second. They think back to the mission and remember what their friend has told them. He was in the massacre all those years ago, so there is only one place his parents would be and it isn't at his home. To offer them to go with him would mean he deems their friendship high enough to share an intimate moment. They both couldn't refuse and agrees to go with him. They follow him to the cemetery and they stop at two gravestones. They are well kept and have wilted flowers laid before each grave.

Anakin removes the flowers, and replaces them with new ones. "Sorry about that Mom and Dad. Had a mission outside of the village and didn't have time to replace it or to tell you that I'd be gone for a while. Team Seven's mission was a C-rank turned A so my team needed to back them up."

He then goes into detail about what happened during the mission. Naruto and Hinata watch him from the side. It's clear as day by the way he addresses them that their sensei wasn't lying about how often Anakin comes here.

"By the way, I brought my friends with me today. This is Naruto and Hinata." He continues pointing towards them.

They walk next to him, "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha. It's nice to finally meet you both."

Anakin smiles, "I always meant to introduce them to you eventually, and since I am then you're probably already assuming that me being an Uchiha has finally been relieved. Can't exactly have a sharingan and not raise questions." He then drops his happy look into a serious one. "It also means I don't have any longer to sit in the shadows about the big topic. Whether I become an Uchiha or not. The Hokage gave me until tomorrow before I go in front of the council and make my decision. I'm not sure what to do. I would like to, but I'm also a bit worried. Having two lives isn't as easy as one might think. Most would say move from the past, but the past is the reason I am who I am. I talked to Grandfather last night for the first time in years and he said I should do it. It's nice to know he is encouraging of it, but I'm still not sold on it yet."

Hinata looks at Anakin quizzed, "You talked to your grandfather? I thought you said you didn't have any family here?"

He looks over to her, "Oh right I guess it would confuse you guys. My grandfather from my previous life can still commune with the living after death. It's a Force ability few know. According to my uncle, there are four who are able to do it. Though only three of them really speak to him, which is my grandfather and his previous two masters. The fourth, Qui-Gon, doesn't speak to him. His guess is because they don't know each other. Anyways I'm getting off track. My grandfather is able to come and speak to me because of it, although he has difficulties since the Force is mostly untouched here."

"You're right, it is confusing." Naruto says scrunching up his face trying to figure out what he heard.

"That's quite alright. The Force is a complicated thing." Anakin assures him. "Just think of it like the Force allows him to come and talk after death."

"Oh okay that's much easier!" The blond exclaims. "It's cool to know that you can at least talk to someone in your family. I wish I could talk to someone in my family. It's too bad they're dead."

Hinata looks down at this, but Anakin arches an eyebrow. "Dead? What makes you think that?"

"Well that's what Jiji told me when I asked about my family. He won't give me the names of them, but says they're dead." Naruto answers.

"What about your clan?" Anakin asks again.

"Clan?"

"Yeah the Uzumaki clan. Since you share the name I figured you were part of it." Anakin replies.

"Wait so I have a whole clan and no one has ever told me?! Why haven't I seen any of them?" Naruto asks.

Hinata speaks up, "Well the clan was wiped out in the last war. Other villages deemed them too powerful and feared them enough to band together to kill all of them in The Land of Whirlpools. You would have known if you weren't always playing pranks."

Naruto hopes dies down, "Oh so if they are all dead then that means I'm back to being alone."

"Not entirely," Hinata begins. "They were wiped out long before your birth, so that means that there surely were some survivors. And besides if you were listening in history then you'd know that the First Hokage married an Uzumaki. They have a grandchild still alive, Tsunade Senju I believe her name is, and she is one of the three Sannin that the Third trained. So that means there is at least one family member, who is a distant relative, that is alive."

Naruto perks up again, "Really?! That's awesome! I have a family left! I wonder if I have any others."

"You might. They could be around but have a different last name. We could check the library for the records of the people in the clan. We might even find out who your parents are." Anakin suggests.

You're right! Come on let's go then!" The hyperactive genin says leaving a dust cloud where he originally was.

Anakin shakes his head while Hinata giggles. He turns to her, "Come on we better go catch up to him before he starts causing trouble."


They finally manage to catch Naruto before he starts to make a ruckus in the place that barely lets one whisper. After calming him down, they head inside. The building is filled to the brim with various books and scrolls that seem to not have an end. They only make it a few steps before a civilian staff member behind the counter stops them, or more specifically Naruto.

"I'm sorry but we can't allow you to enter here. Please leave now," She states.

"And why is that?" Naruto asks her.

She scoffs, "We don't allow demons in this library. Leave before I call security."

Naruto is about to explode, but Anakin steps in front of him. He waves his hand at her, "You want to let him come in."

"I want to let him come in," she repeats much to the other two's confusion.

"You want to go home and rethink your life choices," He tells her.

"I want to go home and rethink my life choices," she repeats, getting up and leaving.

The pair is staring at their friend. He notices and addresses the issue, "The Force has a strong influence over the weak minded. I don't like using it, but she really needed that."

He then walks on not saying anymore on it while the other two follow him. They search the library until they find the Uzumaki records they were looking for. There wasn't much on the clan, but since they were only here to see who were known members they weren't bothered by it. They set the scroll down on the table and begin reading through it. Turns out there are a few ninja villages other than the Leaf that have had an Uzumaki after the Third Ninja War. One of which being the Grass village having a mom and daughter there, though records about them don't say anything. They work down the line until they find something that catches their attention.

"These records don't show me having parents." Naruto says dejectedly.

"Well perhaps they haven't updated it in a while. You are the only Uzumaki in this village since your birth, so it stands to reason that nobody could update it." Anakin interjects.

"True, but not knowing who my parents are isn't going to help in updating it." He comments back.

Anakin sighs, "That's not what I meant. What I mean is that the last living Uzumaki could be your parents."

A light bulb goes off in the boy's head, "Oh you're right! Alright so who are the last ones left then?"

Hinata skims her figure down the scroll, "Well according to this, someone by the name of Kushina was the last one alive. She apparently died on the day the Nine Tails attacked."

Anakin rest his hand under his chin, "Hmmm… Hey Naruto, isn't your birthday on the tenth of October? The same day that the attack happened?"

"Yeah it is, why are you asking me that? You know I don't like thinking of my birthday." Naruto says firmly with memories of the "Demon hunt" from the mob of villagers chasing him down flooding into his mind.

"Sorry but you know I wouldn't bring it up unless it is important." Anakin apologies. "What I'm saying is that there might be a connection. She could have given birth to you and died when the Nine Tails appeared. Hinata, what does it say about her?"

Hinata goes through the scrolls and books until she finds the information on Kushina. "Says here that she was a great kunoichi, being nicknamed "Red Hot Habanero". She had a huge chakra pool, which is common in Uzumaki, and was able to use Chakra Chains as well."

"Chakra Chains?" Naruto asks.

"Seems that the Chakra Chains are a sealing technique that the Uzumaki clan can make out of their own chakra. They will wrap around their targets and nullify their chakras. Apparently they are strong enough to hold the Nine Tails as well." She reads off.

"That's so awesome! I want to do that." He says.

"Well given it's an Uzumaki technique, you probably can. Though how you go about it is beyond me." Anakin comments. "Anyways, what happened to her?"

Hinata goes back to reading, "Seems she was stabbed through the back from the Nine Tails."

"So not from childbirth? Hmm… Does it mention anything about her being pregnant?"

"Let's see. It seems she was put on medical leave for a few months before the attack. It doesn't state why, but there were reports of her stomach getting bigger than normal. So she might have been." She concludes.

"So does that mean she's my mom or not?" Naruto asks.

Anakin shrugs, "Not sure. It could have been, but without medical records then it isn't easy to say. Although my gut tells me that she probably is your mother. Although there is one person who most definitely knows."

"You mean Jiji?"

Anakin nods, "Yes. You said that he already told you that your parents died and seeing how she was the only Uzumaki alive in the village during your birth, I have a feeling we are right. Being a Hokage means he probably would know more about the Chakra Chains and other Uzumaki things also."


The three made their way to the Hokage tower. After waiting for the prior meeting the Hokage is having, the door opens and the previous ninjas leave. They make their ways to the door and knock. Once they hear to come in, they open it to see an old man covered in paperwork. The man's expression lightens seeing the three.

"Ah Naruto, Hinata, Anakin. It's good to see even after being put on separate teams, you three still stick together. What can I do for you?" The Hokage asks.

"Well we were talking about the Uzumaki clan and came across something that may be related to one of my parent's identity." Naruto explains.

Hiruzen's face goes stern. He ushers the hidden Anbu out of the room and sets up a privacy seal. "What have you come across?"

"Well the last Uzumaki died on the same day as my birth." Naruto tells him.

"That could easily be explained that her death was because of the Nine Tails. Coincidences happen all the time. Surely you didn't come here just with that reasoning." Hiruzen questions. While he is glad that Naruto is able to figure it out, he's not going to give in confirming it without probing them more.

"We've come across something that's too weird to be a coincidence." Anakin says, getting an eyebrow raised from the Hokage. "Isn't it weird that the Nine Tails just so happened to appear on the same day as his birth? We've read the records in the library and we found that Kushina was able to hold the Nine Tails with her Chakra Chains and there hasn't been an incident since then. That is until the attack. So there must have been a reason as to why she wasn't able to subdue the beast like usual. She must have been weakened somehow and the months of medical leave before till that day suggest our conclusion is right."

If the Hokage was shocked, he didn't show it. On the inside however, he is impressed by their reasoning and investigation. Although is a bit saddened that he wasn't able to be the first one to tell Naruto about who his parents were. He knows how important they are to the boy, but the enemies his father had meant that the secret must be kept to keep him safe. Wait, Naruto's father had made tons of enemies in the war, but his mother not as much. There actually is a way to keep him safe from his father's enemies without keeping him in the dark about his mother. For one, their marriage was kept secret to only a few trusted people. Yes this could work for now, at least until Naruto is strong enough to defend himself.

"Seems I owe you guys some credit for your findings. I never would have thought this is how you would find out about your mother, but I'm glad you decided to come to me first. To answer your conclusion, yes Kushina Uzumaki is your mother." Hiruzen confirms.

Naruro's face lights up, "Yes! We were right. Can you tell me about her?"

The old Hokage smiles, "Of course I will. I always planned on telling you, but you have accelerated my plans." He then talks all he can about the woman who was Kushina. Naruto absorbs the information like water while Anakin and Hinata stand with him.

"She sounds like an amazing ninja. I'm so happy to finally know who my mom is." Naruto says.

"From the sounds of it, you inherited her personality." Anakin comments.

Hiruzen chuckles, "He has indeed. I do miss her."

"What about my father then?" Naruto asks. "Is he an Uzumaki as well?"

The Third shakes his head, "No he wasn't, and I'm sorry but I can't say who your father was just yet. He had too many enemies and they will directly come after you once they find out for revenge. However I promise to tell you when you become strong enough to defend yourself."

Naruto gets a little down because of that, "Oh okay, I understand."

"Don't make that face. I know it must be difficult, but I must do what I can to keep you safe. That was my promise to your parents." Hiruzen goes into his desk and pulls out a picture. "Here, this is a picture of your mother. I want you to have it." Naruto takes the picture to take a look at it with Hinata and Anakin. They all see a young woman with red hair in a ninja attire.

"She's beautiful Naruto-kun," Hinata tells him.

"She really is," the boy agrees with watery eyes.

Hiruzen smiles looking at the happy expression of his surrogate grandson. He has imagined what it would be like to tell the boy, but it doesn't compare to the amount of warmth it brings to his heart seeing it first hand. After a while, Naruto regains his composure.

"There are a couple more things I've come here to talk about." He says.

"Oh and what does that entail?" The Hokage asks.

"Well one of which is finding I have another family within my clan still alive. Namely the one you trained." He says.

A sad expression comes to Hiruzen. "Ah you mean Tsunade. That's a valid reason, but sorry to say that I have no clue where she is or where to reach her. She left the village before you were even born for personal reasons. I miss her and hope she'll eventually come back."

"Oh well okay then. I was hoping to meet some family still alive, but that's fine I guess. I waited this long so I can wait a little longer." He states. "Lastly I was wondering if you had any scrolls about the Chakra Chains technique Mom could do?"

"I do. In fact your mother has a scroll left for you about it." Hiruzen walks over to a hidden shelf in the wall and pulls out a scroll and an envelope and hands both to Naruto. "The scroll contains the information about the Chakra Chains and the envelope is a letter from your mother. I haven't read it, so what she has to say is only for you."

"Thanks Jiji!" The blond hugs the Hokage who returns it back. "Can I come back to hear more about my mom?"

"Of course you can. It'll be a nice escape from all this paperwork." He replies.

"Thanks Jiji. Come on guys, I want to start training on this." Naruto rushes out of the office with Hinata following after.

Anakin stands there for a few moments before Hiruzen breaks him out, "Please don't tell me that you have spaced out again. Especially during an important moment for your friend."

Anakin looks at him, "Don't worry about it. I was paying attention to everything that happened. I am very happy for him. It just got me thinking about my situation and I think I found my answer."

The old man studies the genin before smirking, "It's good to know you have found what you're looking for. I look forward to seeing what tomorrow's meeting will bring."

"Thank you Lord Hokage. I best be leaving before this room is covered in paper." Anakin says bowing before leaving.

The Hokage looks around the room to find that even more paperwork has found its way into the room. "Dammit! It's multiplying like rabbits in heat!"


Author's Notes:

Well this is the longest chapter I've written. The reason being that I originally planned on the Wave Arch having two full chapters, but I didn't like most of what I was writing so I took out what I didn't like and merged it in here. I'm not the kind to be very descriptive on a fight, since I like to just let imaginations play it out itself. Maybe a weird writing choice, but I'm happy with it. Also Naruto now knows who his mother is. I figured anyone with a working brain in the village could probably come to this conclusion of Naruto's mother if they tried, so they might as well do that. I don't have much to say for Anakin since I figure it explains it.

I also have an answer to a review question:

Black Arachind: I could not find what lightsaber form Anakin uses. But from what I remember reading from the books, I'd say he is probably a Form V (Shein/Djem So) user. He trained under Luke, who uses Form V, so it makes the most sense to me that the student uses what the master teaches him. Although with how skilled he was with a lightsaber, I wouldn't be surprised if he is able to use multiple forms.

Anyways, that's all from me so I'll talk at y'all later! Thanks for reading!