Chapter 11: Time for the Truth
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Knowledge of Naruto's change is told to many of the ninjas of Konoha. Tsunade and many others fear what will happen during the meeting with the clan heads and councilors. It is something Tsunade does not want to do, but is a wise decision to tell now, then finding out from others.
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It was early in the morning. Tsunade was felling better then what she had been in the past few weeks. She went over ideals in her head about Naruto from how to deal with the meeting at noon to his training.
She let out a yawn, guessing she should have stayed in bed. She opened the door to Naruto's room and a smile crossed her lips. She kept back her laughter, seeing the fox/boy sleeping on his back. She looked around the room and back to the boy. Her smile fell slightly, hoping all would go well.
She walked into the room. She grabbed a small bag and put a shirt, boxers and a pair of shorts in it. She did not know if he might change back, but it was best they were prepared. She left the bag hanging on a chair and walked up to Naruto.
She chuckled to herself, watching his left front leg twitch. A mischievous grin crossed his lips as she stood next to the boy. She reached down and scratched his belly, watching one of his hind legs jerk.
Naruto was having a good dream that was filled with ramen and he was the king. Servants brought him bowl after bowl of his favorite food, including the instant kind. The dream started to fade as his servants brought him the largest bowl of ramen he ever seen.
He woke up to his leg kicking, enjoying being scratched on his stomach. His eyes widen and he jumped to stand, only managing to fall off the bed. He heard chuckling and looked to find Tsunade grinning.
He rolled over and stood up, grumbling, but it sounded like growling to her.
"Good morning brat."
He nodded and started to stretch like a dog, letting out a yawn. He heard her laughing at him and he snorted at her. He rather went back to bed. He looked to her, wishing he could talk, but really be back in his human shape.
"We are going to my office. Shizune will be bringing you some ramen to eat."
He fox grin at her and found he was wagging his tail. He looked at his tail, his eyebrows furling. He looked back at Tsunade as she laughed at him again.
"Let's say it is attached to your emotions."
He tilted his head to the side slightly, she seeing it as a shrug.
"Come on."
He followed her out. She grabbed the bag and they traveled down the stairs to the bottom floor of the Hokage home. He saw that Kakashi was there, reading his book. He huffed in laughter when the man quickly put the book away when Tsunade shot a glare at him.
"I will bring him to your office, after he does his morning business." Kakashi said
Naruto let out a growl at the man. Kakashi ignored him.
"Make it quick, the meeting with the ninjas will start in an hour."
He nodded and walked to Naruto. He placed a hand on his head and both disappeared. Tsunade shook her head and did the same, arriving in her office.
-FOXED-
Naruto found he was in his team training area. He looked to Kakashi, finding the man reading his book. He snorted and disappeared into the forest. He would come up with a way to get back at anyone that made fun of him in this shape.
He wonders what abilities he received from the fox and if he would learn his father's namesake. He let out a sigh, knowing it will be a tough time for him. He came back to Kakashi, finding the rest of the rookie nine and Gai's team in the clearing. He stayed back, wondering if they would truly be his friends.
He was glad Sasuke was okay and he did not know what to do about him being different. He looked to Ino and Sakura as they talked to themselves. He sneezed, not liking the looks on their faces.
He came into the clearing, not liking when everyone became quiet. He saw that some tried to keep a smile from forming.
"Naruto, come here." Sakura said
He looked to his female teammate. He saw that her hands were hidden behind her back. He glanced to Ino, seeing that her hands were hidden as well. He did not like their smiles as he moved to Kakashi instead. He sat down next to the man and looked up.
"I am ready to go to obba-chan."
Kiba translated and had a smirk on his face when he finished.
"It will be in a few minutes Naruto." Kakashi said
He glanced to Sakura and Ino as they descended on him. He did not know what they had in store as they knelt next to him.
"I think we can make you into our mascot Naruto. Each of us will have to take care of you and you make a cute pet." Sakura said
He definitely did not like where this was going. He watched as both Sakura and Ino reach up and quickly scratched behind his ears. He tried not to look pleased from the starching, but his tailed gave him away with it thumping the ground.
He gave a whine when they stopped. He ignored the laughter as he watch as Sakura pull out a brush from behind her back. He glanced at Ino and saw she had a brush as well.
"What have I gotten myself into?"
He had no time to move as both girls started to brush him.
"Maybe I could get use to this, but I want to change back."
He was kind of glad the two stopped and moved from him.
"Well, lets see, a pet will need to be walked, feed, groomed, cleaned up after, kept an eye on; so I guess we will have to make a schedule who has him, maybe a week? Also he will need to be house trained so he won't chew on stuff like shoes or get on the couches." Kakashi said as he read his book
Naruto looked to Kakashi and an ear twitched. He glanced at his friends, thinking revenge was duly in order.
Kakashi walked up to him and patted his head.
"Naruto come."
That was the last straw and Naruto grabbed hold on the Copy Ninja's pants and ripped down. He spat out the cloth and snorted at the group. He glanced at Kakashi, growling when he found the man wore another pair of pants under the other.
Kakashi scratched his chin.
"A ninja is always adaptation to situations learned?"
The group laughed and Naruto let out a huff. He glanced at the man.
"Okay everyone, you need to come to the Hokage office at eleven-thirty, see you then."
Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto and both disappeared. The group left with Sakura and Ino coming up with ideals to torture Naruto.
-FOXED-
Naruto walked from the jounin, towards Tsunade. He noticed they were in a larger room then her office. She noticed the ripped pants of Kakashi and sent a glare at the man.
"You better be here on time." she said
He nodded and left the room, after he pulled his book out. Naruto looked up at Tsunade and she smirked at him.
"Your breakfast is in that small room. You stay put till I call for you."
She pointed to a door along the wall and he nodded. He quickly walked in, finding six bowls of ramen.
-FOXED-
The hunters moved on a trail they would mistake as a game trail. No major roads lead to the ninja's hidden village. The group was a mixed of emotions as they traveled. Ron was in the front, trying to come up with a way to be let in the village and how to see the leader.
He never has been to a ninja village, but had dealt with ninjas before and found them very rude. He glanced back at his men and knew they felt the same way as him. He was afraid he was lost, not knowing if he was going the right way or was given to right directions.
A scowl crossed his face as he moved on the trail.
-FOXED-
Tsunade looked at all the chuunin and jounin that could fit in the room. She saw their uneasiness as she looked at them. She would have liked to tap her foot, but a fox head was resting on it and she could hear the soft snores from it.
Her headache was coming back as she waited for Kakashi to show up. She steeple her fingers when one of the doors to the room opened up. She heard murmuring from the ninjas and was ready to yell at a tardy jounin. She closed her mouth, when she saw it was Gin.
The women nodded her head and moved to an empty seat next to the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, I see you are waiting on Kakashi-san, again."
"Yes and I can hardly wait till he arrives."
Tsunade thought of the torment she would love to give the man. The door opened up again and Kakashi's voice easily traveled over the quite crowd.
"Did she start the meeting without me?" he asked someone
"Hatake, come here." Tsunade said
The crowd parted enough for the man to walk through. He scratched his chin once he was standing in front of the desk.
"Sorry I am late…"
"Save your lame excuses for your team." she said, glaring at the man. "Sit."
Kakashi quickly moved behind her and sat next to Gin. Tsunade looked to the ninjas and cleared her throat.
"In the past few days, I have come into information of why the kyuubi attacked our village."
She let the group talked to themselves for a moment before she cleared her throat. The room quickly became quite. Tsunade smirked to herself, finding that Naruto was still asleep.
"From what I learned, as well as Kakashi, Gin-san, and Jiraiya, the fox did not attack by its free will. It was summoned by unconventional means and was put under a control jutsu. The jutsu broke, once sealed away."
She saw many were confused when she said sealed. She knew some of the younger chuunin were still very young when the kyuubi attacked.
"Ask your fellow ninja's for the full information about what happened during the battle with the fox, in quiet. The law of the Third placed is still in effect."
Heads nodded at her words.
"From what we have learned, the kyuubi might have been summoned but we do not know by whom."
Anger went through the crowd and Tsunade sent a glare at them and they quickly quieted down.
"I know how you fell, but we can not just take our revenge and risk the safety of Konoha even if we knew who summoned it. We will plan for now, but we may not make full war. We must out way our revenge."
Many were not happy about this.
"Now, from where we received this information. I ask you to stay quiet till I finish. About two weeks ago, the kyuubi started to merge itself with its container, by its own free will. From what it told us, it gave its container abilities I do not know of nor the container. The fox is now dead, but the seal still holds back its power like it did, but a side effect that it did not know that would happen, happen. The container shifted into a fox."
Many people stared speaking up, asking questions. Ones who held hate towards Naruto called for him to be killed. Ones, who did not know, were confused and wondered who the container was. She felt Naruto's head move from her foot.
She stood up and slammed her hand on the desk. The groan of the wood, reminded the ninjas of her God like strength.
"He will not be killed and you will be quiet. I am disgusted by many of you who call yourself part of Konoha. The boy was chosen to bear this burden because his father did not want to burden others of his decision and yes he does know who his father was. Naruto come out."
Many went wide eyed. Naruto walked out slowly from under the desk. He poked his head around the desk and gathered the courage to move so everyone could see him. He did not know his tail was tucked between his legs and his ears were folded back.
Tsunade sent a glare at the group. She saw many cower down.
"He is as you can see, in the shape of a fox. I wanted to get this part of what happen to him over with. I ask you to keep this to yourselves and I will have the others know of this. Now you are free to return to your duties."
The ninjas left the room in quiet. Tsunade looked to Naruto as he laid down, knowing he was glad they were gone. She looked to Gin.
"That went better then I thought. I will see you at the noon meeting." Gin said
The women stood up and walked out of the room. Tsunade rubbed her temples, knowing the meeting with the clan heads and village elders would be much worse. She found that Kakashi sneaked out with the ninjas. She looked to Naruto.
"Naruto."
He looked back at her.
"Let's go to my office, I need a drink and a nap."
He followed her out of the room and kept close to her. Everyone that looked at him knew who he was. He did not know what to make of the looks he received. Many were regret.
He quickly entered her office and she slammed the doors shut, a clear single not to bother her. She smiled to herself, at keeping up with the workload as Hokage. She walked to her desk and sat down. She watched Naruto as he moved to the window and looked out.
She smiled to herself as she pulled a drawer open and pulled out a bottle of sake and a cup. She poured her some and put the bottle back. She drunk the sake in one gulp and dropped the cup in the drawer, shutting it. She let out a sigh. She glanced at the couch, her smile deepening. She looked to Naruto as he watch the going on outside.
"You better be quite brat. If someone comes in, hide under my desk."
He nodded and watched her move to the couch and laid down on it. He shook his head and lay down under the window. He let out a sigh and let himself fall asleep.
-FOXED-
Shizune walked into the Hokage office, knowing she would find Tsunade asleep. She was a bit surprised to find the women asleep on the floor, but guessed she fell off the couch. She walked to her teacher and knelt down.
"Tsunade-sama, you need to wake up."
Tsunade stirred and blinked, finding herself on the floor. She pushed off the floor, sitting on her knees. She let out a yawn, feeling refreshed from her nap.
"What time is it?" she asked
"Eleven. I came to get you ready. Many of the elders are not happy with this sudden meeting."
"Who cares about them?" Tsunade said with anger
She stood up and looked to the window, not finding Naruto. She walked to her desk, looking under it. She smiled, seeing Naruto curled in a ball, asleep. She let out a sigh and sat down.
"Did you get it?" she asked
Shizune nodded and pulled a box from her pouch. Tsunade open it up, smiling at what was inside. A knock from the doors and Kakashi poked his head inside.
"Sorry if we are late, I…"
"You are actually early Hatake-kun. Bring them in." Tsunade said
Kakashi nodded his head and the four jounin leaders of team 7, 8, 10 and Gai's team walked in, followed by their teams. Sasuke flexed his arm, glad to get the cast off. Shizune left the room.
"I will ask you to come to this meeting, to show support for Naruto. You will be hidden behind a partition. It will be a bit uneasy since some of your family will be there. Now, Naruto will show you where the meeting will be taking place. I need to talk to your senseis."
The group nodded and Tsunade looked under her desk. She shook her head slightly, finding Naruto still asleep.
"Brat wake up and take your friends to the meeting room we were in this morning."
Naruto picked up his head and looked up at the women. He got up and moved out, yawning. He stopped when the tip of his tail was grabbed. He looked back at Tsunade. She pulled the item from the box and Naruto saw it was an orange collar with a smaller metal plate with the symbol of Konoha.
Tsunade slipped it on, smiling at him. Naruto pulled his tail free and looked at the women.
"What about my forehead proctor and necklace?" he asked
Kiba translated and Tsunade smiled at him.
"I put them up for now. Once this mess is over with, I will give them back to you."
He nodded and took off past the group. They followed him out. Sakura quickly made her way next to Naruto.
"Naruto, when do you think you will summon a kitsune? Kakashi told us."
Naruto glace to her and looked ahead of him. The group traveled down a long flight of stairs. Naruto paused at two large double doors. He looked at the group.
"I don't know when."
The group nodded after Kiba explained. Naruto nosed the door open and the group walked in. Shizune looked up from the desk as she straightens out papers.
"Good. Now you will sit behind the partition. There is food and drink for you to snack on. Tsunade has set up the meeting to discuss some topics of the village, before talking about Naruto. I did put up a vision, sound and scent barrier around the partition. You will still be able to hear what is going on."
"Wear them out and then hit them with something they were not expecting." Neji said
Shizune nodded.
"Now why don't you go sit down, I know many will arrive early." she said
The group walked towards the wall. They passed the partition that was pure white. Chouji made his way to the table with food. Shikamaru found a window and moved chairs together and lay down on. The rest found seats. Naruto moved to a window that had a large spot of sunlight on the ground. He did not know why, but he enjoyed sun bathing.
He curled in a ball and fell asleep. The group looked at him for a minute and many had smiles on their faces. They sat down. The four girls got together and Sakura and Ino pulled out many items from their pouches. Hinata was shy, and did not know what to make of the smiles from the other three.
Ino and Sakura laughed as they pulled out ribbons and TenTen had a grin on her face. The boys looked at them, knowing it was not going to end well.