Naruto vs Sasuke: The Aftermath

by Kingkakashi

At the Valley of the End, Sasuke nearly kills Naruto and it affects everyone in many ways. See a vastly different direction after this battle to the Naruto story, than what the Canon did. There will be action, surprises, & romance NarxHin KakxKur JirxTsu & many more. Warning be prepared for the most Evil Sadistic Sasuke ever, and Sakura takes a beating in the early chapters. Enjoy!

62. Homecoming Part 3

Summary: Naruto, Kakashi, and Jiraiya have returned to the Leaf village after nearly four years away training. Many reunions and surprises awaited them upon their return. How will they react to the various changes to their home and the people they care about? As the Konoha they left years ago is no longer the same home they have returned to.

Naruto vs. Sasuke: The Aftermath

Chapter 62: "Homecoming Pt.3"

---

"Jiraiya-kun!"

Tsunade cried out in horror, as she rushed over to where Jiraiya had fallen. A few minutes later, Jiraiya began to stir from his slumber, as he felt something wet hitting his face and someone was stroking his cheek, while also channeling some chakra into the hand to alleviate any pain he might be feeling from the punch. Tentatively opening his eyes, but still in a daze, he looked up to see Tsunade's weeping face, as she cradled his head in her lap, before Jiraiya groggily said with slight irritation.

"Not the greeting I was expecting my hime, but one that I have received before from you."

As Jiraiya lifted his head to get up, his face was suddenly pulled into Tsunade's ample cleavage, as she hugged him tightly to her and said apologetically.

"Oh Jiraiya-kun, I'm so glad that you're alright! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you, I didn't know it was you and was just acting out of instinct."

Any irritation Jiraiya had been feeling instantly vanished the moment his face was enveloped by Tsunade's considerable…..assets. However, as much as he enjoyed his current predicament, he was starting to find it difficult to breathe, as Tsunade was hugging him so tightly to her bosom. Reluctantly, the Toad-Sage found the strength to push his face away and said in a gasping voice.

"It's-it's alright, I, I shouldn't have surprised you like that."

"Why are you here? I spoke to Kakashi earlier and he said you were getting preparations ready for and I quote, the most beautiful woman in the world for tonight." Tsunade stated in a saddened tone of voice.

Jiraiya looked at the blonde Hokage in utter bemusement and heard her tone of voice, before saying in a exasperated voice.

"Take a look around the room my hime."

Tsunade looked around and gasped, as she suddenly remembered that the first sight that had greeted her when she entered her home was the living room being filled with flowers, chocolates, and sake. Taking a moment to process what she was seeing, Tsunade realized this must have been the preparations Kakashi had been talking about and she turned back to Jiraiya and stammered.

"You-you mean these were the preparations that Kakashi was telling me about and that I'm-I'm the most….."

"And that you're the most beautiful woman in the world, yes my hime, why would you think otherwise?" Jiraiya asked interrupting the blonde Hokage.

Tsunade felt tears of joy and happiness start to roll down her cheeks and she grabbed Jiraiya to place a sizzling passionate kiss. After a minute, the two Sannin broke apart panting and Jiraiya cocked his eyebrow and stated in amusement.

"Now that's the greeting I was hoping for!"

"If you play your cards right, you'll get an even better greeting later on." Tsunade coyly replied.

The blonde Hokage gazed around the room some more and smiled happily, before the memory of the last time they had seen one another flashed across her mind and she turned back to Jiraiya and hesitantly asked in a stammer.

"Jiraiya-kun, did-did you read the letter I gave you before you left?"

Jiraiya stood up and walked over to where he had hung his grey cloak and pulled out of a pocket a worn torn letter that he had read and reread countless times. Showing Tsunade the frayed and tattered letter, he answered in a stoic voice.

"Many times my hime."

"Do, do you remember what I asked you the last time we saw each other?"

"I remember."

"So is there a chance for us…..do, do you accept my proposal?" Tsunade asked with as much hope as she could muster in her voice.

"I'm sorry my hime, but I do not."

Tsunade's face became crestfallen, as she felt her heart breaking. She quickly turned her head to the side, as she didn't want Jiraiya to see the tears welling in her eyes and said in a choked voice.

"It's, it's alright, I understand, I really do. I know I've said and done horrible things to hurt you in the past. I've no right to ask you to just forgive and forget all of those sins I've committed against you, because I don't deserve it. So I understand if you no longer have any love for me anymore because of it."

"You understand nothing Tsunade!" Jiraiya sternly snapped, causing the blonde Hokage to look up in confusion, before he continued on and asked.

"Do you remember the last time we made love?"

Tsunade thought about it for a moment, before she answered.

"Y-yes, it was in my office when Naruto-kun was healing in the hospital after the Sasuke Uchiha retrieval mission."

"That's right and do you remember that we had a terrible argument afterwards."

"Hai, I remember." Tsunade replied in soft sad voice, as she recalled that day.

"Well then you should also remember on that day I gave up one of my dreams. My dream of being with you, because I finally realized that day that no matter how much I love you, your heart would never be mine."

"But, but Jiraiya-kun, that's not true I, I, meant every word I said to you before you left and the letter…." Tsunade desperately sputtered to convince her fellow Sannin otherwise, before he held up a hand to interrupt and silence her, as he said.

"Let me finish my hime!"

"Now, I told you on that day you would no longer need to worry about me asking you to marry me anymore."

"What does any of that have to do with us today?" Tsunade tersely asked, as she rose from the floor and stood with her back to Jiraiya, as she fought with herself to hold back her tears.

"Because for the first time in my life I'm going to break a promise that I've made."

Tsunade turned back to look at Jiraiya in utter bewilderment and asked.

"I, I don't understand?"

"I know you don't my hime, because if you did then you would have never had that foolish thought about me no longer have any love for you anymore. I love you Tsunade. I love you as much today as I did 40 years ago, and I'll always love you till the day I die no matter what has transpired between us in the past."

"Then why did you reject my marriage proposal Jiraiya-kun?"

"I rejected your marriage proposal because it is not dignified for the princess of the Senju clan to be asking any man for her hand in marriage. That is why I'm breaking my promise to you of never asking to marry you ever again."

Jiraiya then stepped forward and knelt on one knee before a stunned and trembling Tsunade and presented a small velvet covered box and opened it to reveal a striking engagement ring featuring a 0.80 carats of round brilliant diamonds surrounding and enhancing a single 24 carat Queen cut diamond center. Tsunade's eyes grew wide as she gazed upon the radiant piece of jewelry and tears of joy began to cascade down her face when she heard Jiraiya ask.

"Will you my hime ….no, that's not right… my queen, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

As Tsunade gazed at the ring and then at Jiraiya with love and happiness in her eyes she quickly pulled the Toad-Sage up and smashed her lips onto his in a fierce yet also loving kiss. A moment later she broke off the kiss only to pepper Jiraiya's face with multiple kisses, while saying over and over again.

"Yes, yes, yes, of course I will marry you!"

After a minute of this Jiraiya was finally able to regain control of the overjoyed woman in his arms and he placed a long passionate kiss onto her to calm Tsunade down. After a another minute, the two Sannin broke apart wheezing for breath, before Tsunade stated on loving appreciation.

"Thank you for giving us a chance….for giving me a chance that honestly I probably don't deserve."

"Shhhhh, don't talk like that my love, the past is the past and it serves no purpose to dwell upon it. We should just look forward to the future of our lives…..our lives together now." Jiraiya tenderly replied, as he placed a soft kiss onto Tsunade's forehead, before adding.

"I have a gift for you my queen that I think you will enjoy."

"You're the only gift I need Jiraiya-kun."

Jiraiya placed a chaste kiss onto Tsunade's lips, before he walked over and picked up a rather large suitcase and placed it on a table. The blonde Hokae's curiosity was piqued, as Jiraiya motioned to her to come open up his gift to her. Tsunade unlatched the large case and opened it, before she gasped in shock at what she saw. For inside the case was hundreds if not thousands of betting markers and IOU's that Tsunade had accumulated over many years at the gambling halls and casino's she had frequented and to her detriment had….lost.

Tsunade looked to Jiraiya with confusion and asked.

"Where did you get all of these?"

"Have you ever heard of a man named Tyrannus? He said he met you in a gambling hall several years ago"

"I don't recall meeting him and I'm not familiar with the name, can you describe him?"

"He is or I should say was an older man near sixty now. He has a full head of black hair and a thick black mustache, and a blue tint to his right eye, while he wore an eye-patch over his left. His attire consisted of a blue, full-length military issue coat and slacks with black dress shoes. He also had a sword in a scabbard strapped to his side."

"I think I remember that guy now, it was about 10 years ago when Shizune and I had traveled outside of the elemental nations to the far west. He tried to date me, but I wanted nothing to do with him. He was just a creep as far as I was concerned. Are you saying you got all of this from him."

"I did."

"But why would he have all of these markers?"

Well, to call Tyrannus a creep is understatement. He didn't handle your rejection of him very well, as he made it a point to buy up as many of your promissory notes and markers he could get his hands on during his travels."

"Why would he do that?"

"His plan was once he had a sufficient amount, he was going to locate where you were and force you to submit to him or he was going to call all the markers in and demand payment for everything."

"By submit you mean…"

"That's exactly what I mean."

Tsunade's infamous temper began to rise within her at the thought of what this Tyrannus was planning for her. It made her blood boil and then suddenly she remembered something Jiraiya had said and asked.

"You referred to this Tyrannus person in the past tense. Does that mean what I think it does?"

"It does, Tyrannus is no longer among the living."

"Did you kill him because of what he was planning to do to me?"

"I won't lie my love, I dearly wanted to kill him, but he had committed too many atrocious crimes in the land he ruled called Tyrannia. His oppressed people deserved to administer the justice Tyrannus deserved, more than I did. So I just threatened to kill him unless he turned over all the markers he had on you."

Tsunade was astonished that Jiraiya did this for her and asked in disbelief.

"And you're just giving me this with no conditions or strings attached, all because you love me?"

Jiraiya merely nodded his head to Tsunade, before he jokingly stated.

"I will always love you and as for the gift, I will say I never imagined there would be so many. I guess you really did earn your title of being the Legendary Sucker in the gambling world."

Tsunade merely smiled sweetly at the Toad-Sage, before she said in a sultry sexy voice.

"You're wrong Jiraiya-kun, let me show the real reason why they should call me the Legendary Sucker."

Tsunade then proceeded to slide down Jiraiya's body, as she lowered herself onto her knees and began to loosen the belt to his pants.

"Oh Kami!" Jiraiya exclaimed, in a pleasured excitement.

---

Over an hour later, both legendary Sannin lay naked on the floor of Lady Tsunade's living room, as a fire crackled in the fireplace, both of them panting and exhausted from their...reunion. As Tsunade rested her head on Jiraiya's chest and rubbed her hand up and down his torso she commented appreciatively.

"Kami, you are still one highly skilled bastard when it comes to the art of making love. And I've never seen you so strong and fit before in my entire life."

"I'm only as good as the woman I am with my love." Jiraiya fondly replied, while brushing a strand of hair out of Tsunade's face, before he added.

"As for being in such good shape, training for nearly four years with a little dynamo like our grandson and an elite Jounin will tend to do that to a man."

The blonde Hokage smiled upon hearing Jiraiya's words and snuggled her cheek into his chest a little more, as her hand continued to explore Jiraiya's torso, before it glided across the ugly rough claw-like scar in the center of his chest and she asked in concern.

"Does it bother you Jiraiya-kun?"

"It acts up from time to time, but thankfully that medicinal salve you created for demonic inflicted wounds helped to ease the pain when it occurred."

"The amount of pain you feel from it is probably tied into the amount of scar tissue that has developed since it happened. I'll schedule you for a surgical procedure to see if we can't remove a lot of that dead tissue to help reduce the pain you feel when it acts up." Tsunade commented in loving care, before she asked.

"You say you got injured when the Kyuubi attempted to take control of Naruto-kun, but how did that happen?"

"Long story short, all three of us were trying to prevent a village and its people from being destroyed by a raging flood. Naruto needed to call upon more of the Kyuubi's chakra than he could control without losing himself. Fortunately, the little gaki fought the Kyuubi for control of his body and I was able to slap a chakra seal onto him and drive the demon back into his cage. Unfortunately, the fox-demon was able to deliver a vicious slash with his claw, before being driven back."

"Were all of you able to save the village and its people?"

"We did, Naruto held the flood waters back, while Kakashi using a massive Doton jutsu erected a dam to contain it, and I evacuated the villager's using a giant toad summoning."

Something suddenly clicked in Tsunade's mind and pieces began to fall into place, as she thought to herself.

'Saving a village from a flood…..erecting a dam…..using a giant toad! Jiraiya-kun also said this Tyrannus person ruled a kingdom called Tyrannia. I've heard about all of this before, but where?'

A moment later, the image of a report that Tsunade had read a few months ago about the Grey-Men flashed across her mind. Looking over to her coat stand, the blonde Hokage saw the same type of dark grey cloak hanging on it that Kakashi had been wearing and she jumped out of Jiraiya's arms and exclaimed.

"You three are the Grey-Men!"

"Huh, who are the Grey-Men?" Jiraiya asked in confusion.

"The Grey-Men are this mysterious group of three men with magical powers and unbelievable strength from the far west. We've been hearing innuendos, rumors, and whispers from travelers coming from the west for the last few years about them. They were rumored to have saved a village from a flood by magically summoning monsters and the instantaneous assembly of a dam. They are also rumored to have overthrown a warlord in a kingdom called Tyrannia freeing its people. I thought they were nothing but a myth or fairy-tale, until we learned that they were the one's responsible for saving Kazekage Gaara from the Akatsuki a few months ago. Tell me Jiraiya-kun are the three of you these Grey-men?"

"Well, I didn't know we had garnered such a title, but yes Naruto, Kakashi, and I are these Grey-Men."

"I can't believe I didn't put it together until now." Tsunade stated scolding herself.

"Don't beat yourself up about it my queen, it's not that big a deal."

Tsunade merely exhaled a frustrated huff, but after a minute realized that Jiraiya was right and resumed cuddling up against him. After a few minutes of reflective thought about Naruto the blonde Hokage softly asked.

"Tell me about our grandson."

"What would you like to know?"

"Everything, tell me everything about him. I've read a little of the report Kakashi dropped off, so I know about some of the adventures you three had. But the report doesn't tell me anything about how much Naruto-kun has grown."

Jiraiya inhaled and then exhaled a deep breath, before he began.

"He's grown into a fine young man these past four years. The little gaki is even taller than me now by an inch or two. He's also a spitting image of his father only he's bigger, stronger, and in some ways smarter than Minato-kun was at that age."

"How skilled and strong has he gotten?"

"Well, he's reached Kage level strength in both and I daresay he's probably become the most proficient and deadly Fuuton (Wind) jutsu user in all of the elemental nations. The little gaki has also surpassed me in the Toad-Sage arts as well. Truthfully, I figure there are only three people in the village that could fight him on a somewhat equal basis and those people are you, me, and Kakashi. And that's only if Naruto doesn't call upon any of the Kyuubi no Youko's chakra."

"You mean if I had to name a new Hokage tomorrow, it would be Naruto-kun!" Tsunade exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmm, if you had to do that I would say nominate Kakashi instead, he'll do in a pinch. Naruto's got the strength and skills of a Kage, but he needs more experience. And from training with Naruto and myself these past few years, Kakashi has also reached Kage level in strength and skills, plus he's already got the necessary life experience that Naruto currently lacks. However, give our grandson a few more years and he'll be ready to take the mantle of Hokage."

"That's about the same age Minato-kun was when he became Hokage. Naruto-kun really has become just like his father hasn't he." Tsunade declared in a sad tone of voice, as she thought of her long departed son.

"I still miss him to my love." Jiraiya tenderly stated, as he placed a soft kiss on top of Tsunade's head.

Tsunade appreciated Jiraiya's efforts to comfort her and said.

"You said he's a spitting image of Minato-kun, is he really that handsome."

"I'm not sure handsome does the kid justice. I swear in any town or village we've been in the past year every available girl has seemingly flocked to him like bees on honey. Give Naruto a few days in Konoha and he's going to have a fan-girl club that dwarfs any Minato had to deal with before he found Kushina."

"Hinata's not going to like that. Oh Kami, I fear the hospital is going to be inundated of young girls with Gentle Fists injuries over the next several months." Tsunade commented in amusement.

"Well I can't speak for Hinata, but I can say our grandson has been pining away for her ever since we left. As far as he's concerned there is no other girl for him other than her."

"It's been the same for her Jiraiya-kun. Hinata has done nothing but train herself to the bone since Naruto's been gone all in an effort in her mind to be worthy of him. The girl has become one of my top kunoichi's both in strength and skills the past four years. Hell, she even won the kunoichi division of the Konohagakure 18 and under Shinobi tournament I held a couple of years ago. And for as handsome as you say Naruto-kun has become, then he's the perfect match for Hinata. That girl has grown to be so beautiful, she actually silenced an entire crowd of people when they saw her in a bikini and cost me $10,000 ryo's to that damn Nara brat by doing so."

"I saw her when we arrived at the gate, she has definitely...grown into a striking young woman." Jiriaya commented a bit too appreciatively earning a slap to his chest from Tsunade who said while giggling.

"Cradle robber!"

Jiraiya merely chuckled and pulled Tsunade a little closer to him, as he noted.

"I'm just saying it must be some hereditary trait within Namikaze males to always fall in love with such beautiful women all of whom have sizable...attributes you might say."

"Well I hope you love us for more than just our bra size."

"Of course we do my love."

"That's good to hear."

"But the bra size doesn't hurt either." Jiraiya quipped in amusement, earning another playful slap to his chest from Tsunade.

For the next several minutes both Tsunade and Jiraiya remained contentedly curled up in each others arms in front of the fire. It was a pleasant and peaceful moment for the two veteran shinobi and they reveled in the comfort of being with one another. Alas the moment was broken when Tsunade had asked the question that had been plaguing her mind since Jiraiya had returned.

"Jiraiya-kun, have you, I-I mean did you tell Naruto-kun about who you are?"

The Toad-Sage exhaled a defeated sigh before answering.

"No I haven't, I'm still as much of a coward about that as I've always been since I returned to the village and saw Naruto for the first time."

"You're no more a coward than I am."

"Be that as it may my love, we should have told him the truth when he and I found you in Tanzaku Town to bring you back to the village to become the next Hokage."

"Perhaps, but you and I both chickened out at the same time when we were returning to the Leaf village. You remember what he said and how angry he got that night."

(Flashback)

As Tsunade sat across the campfire from Naruto, she studied the young boy intently. She had only recently learned that this boy from her home village was in fact her grandson. This news was not only surprising to the blonde Sannin, but also emotionally overwhelming to her. To see the living legacy of the son she had abandoned so long ago brought back a myriad of painful memories and emotions of guilt, regret, and sorrow.

Her heart broke even further when she learned from Jiraiya that their son Minato had placed the unimaginable burden of becoming the Jinchuuriki (Human Sacrifice) of the very demon that ended his life into his own son to contain and protect the world from it. When the Slug Sannin had learned of her son's death, she had also heard that a boy named Naruto Uzumaki had been chosen by him to be the container of the Kyuubi no Youko, but she never knew or even suspected that he was in actuality her own grandson and this knowledge crushed her.

Tsunade was furious with Jiraiya for presenting to her a living embodiment of all of her most egregious sins. However, as furious as she was, the blonde Hokage was also happy that a part of her dead son lived on. Tsunade felt a burning need because of this to learn more about her grandson and decided to strike up a conversation with Naruto, much to Jiraiya's surprise.

"So Naruto, tell me a little about yourself."

"Huh, why do you want to know about me obaachan?"

Tsunade's breath hitched in her throat and being called grandma by her grandson, even if he had no idea how truthful he was addressing her. Taking a moment to calm herself and mustering up her courage the blonde Sannin continued on.

"I, I'm just curious about you gaki. You have a lot of fire and passion to become Hokage and I was just wondering what your motivation is? Why do you want it so badly?"

Naruto scowled a bit, before he announced with fervor.

"I want to be Hokage because when I am the people of the Leaf village will finally have to acknowledge my existence and respect me!"

Tsunade was not expecting that answer and was confused by it, as she asked.

"What do you mean acknowledge and respect you?"

"I mean I'm sick of having to live my life under the hatred and indifference the villagers hold for me all because of something that bastard Fourth Hokage did to me!" Naruto replied, the hard angry edge to his voice evident to everyone around him.

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya slightly winced upon hearing Naruto's rage about Minato and their first instinct was to come to the defense of their son. However, they instantly realized especially Jiraiya that Naruto had every right to feel the way he did considering the life he had to live because of his father's actions. Unfortunately, unlike Jiraiya, Tsunade had no knowledge of what Naruto had endured growing up and she asked in bewilderment.

"Why are you so angry, what happened to you?"

"Why am I so angry, what happened to me…..you don't want to know! Let's just say I wouldn't wish my life upon my worst enemy!"

"I don't understand, surely your life couldn't have been that bad, I mean who raised you?"

"I RAISED ME!" Naruto angrily shouted, before he continued on.

"I raised me, I had no choice. I was placed me in an orphanage where I lived for the first seven years of my life before they kicked me out. I then lived on the street for the next two years, until Jiji found out about it and he put me in an apartment in the southern borough of the village."

"The southern borough, that's the red-light district of the village!" Tsunade openly exclaimed in shock.

"Huh, the red-light district, I don't know what that means. What I didn't know at the time, but I do know now is that the southern region is the slums of the village. But do you want to know what's funny, the people down there treated me better than the people in the other parts of the village did. So I'm actually grateful that's where Jiji put me."

"Who is Jiji?" Shizune questioned.

"Jiji is old man Sarutobi the Third Hokage."

"So Sarutobi-sensei tried to take care of you?" Tsunade hesitantly asked.

"He tried, but the Council was always doing something to prevent him from doing so. I guess he did the best he could, but that still didn't stop the people of the Leaf village showing me how they felt about me."

"What do you mean Naruto?" Shizune spoke up and asked again, as she held Tonton Tsunade's pet pig in her arms.

"I mean parents telling their kids to stay away from me, merchants who refused to sell such luxury items like food or clothing or if they did sell me something it was three times as much as what they would charge other people. I was shunned and ignored by the adults, which I hated, but then they would occasionally remind me that being shunned and ignored isn't so bad when they decide to recognize my existence and then felt that they should do something about that. And I was subjected to all of this for something I didn't have any control of in the first place."

"What is it you didn't have any control over?"

Naruto looked over to Shizune and gave a weak smile, as she waited for him to answer her question, before he said in a somber sad tone of voice.

"I like you Shizune-san, you've been kind and have treated me nice since I met you. I don't want answer that question, but I'm sure you'll learn of it soon enough once we return to the village. So I'd like to spend a few more days of you treating me as you have, before you find out and end up hating me as well."

"Why would you think I would hate you?"

"Because everyone does once they learn about the burden I carry."

Naruto then rose up from the log he had been sitting on and announced.

"I-I don't feel like talking about this anymore, I'm going to go to bed, goodnight everyone."

As everyone bid goodnight to Naruto and watched him enter a tent, a pall of uncomfortable silence gripped the three remaining adults around the campfire. Shizune and especially Tsunade attempted to come to grips with what they had just heard about Naruto's life growing up. After a few minutes, it was the Slug Sannin who finally broke down and asked Jiraiya in a choked voice.

"It, it really wasn't that bad for him growing up was it Jiraiya. I mean I can't imagine Sarutobi-sensei would allow what Naruto just described to happen while he was Hokage."

Jiraiya remained silent and unmoving for about a minute, before he exhaled softly and said.

"No, it wasn't that bad, it was worse than what the kid described. Naruto pretty much gave a sugar-coated version of some of what he had to endure growing up. However, I can tell from what I learned from sensei, he left a lot of things unmentioned about the hellish life he's put up with. As for Sarutobi-sensei, like Naruto said he tried his best, but the Civilian Council had gained too much power over the years in running the village and basically handcuffed the old man at every turn. In fact, the biggest regret the old man had next to allowing Orochimaru to live and escape the village was that he didn't do a better job in raising and protecting Naruto, that he swore on Minato's memory that he would."

"I think I'm going to go to bed as well, goodnight Shishou Tsunade, goodnight Master-Jiraiya." Shizune agitatedly announced, as her imagination was conjuring up many unpleasant things that Naruto might have gone through in his life.

The two Sannin bid the young woman goodnight and watched the first apprentice of the Slug Sannin enter her tent. After a few minutes of uneasy silence Tsunade turned to Jiraiya and asked.

"Should we tell him?"

"I don't know Tsunade; we both essentially abandoned him for various, but still inexcusable reasons on both our parts."

"I didn't even know Minato-kun had a son! You and Sarutobi-sensei never told me!" Tsunade snapped in defense.

"We have to know where you are before we can tell you anything and you made it a point not to be found and cut the bullshit! Are you going to sit there and tell me that you believe Minato…your son would actually choose some random child to be the Jinchuuriki. You might have abandoned him physically, but I know you. I've no doubt you kept tabs on him as he grew up, while you traveled the elemental nations. So you knew about Kushina and don't sit here and tell me that you didn't." Jiraiya retorted angrily.

A tense silence gripped both Sannin, as they glared at one another. Finally Tsunade turned her head away from Jiraiya's withering gaze and admitted.

"Yes, I did keep tabs on you and Minato-kun as he grew up. I wanted to make sure you were raising him properly."

"You could have made sure of that, if you hadn't left!" Jiraiya tersely replied.

Tsunade wanted to refute Jiraiya's statement, but she couldn't. She had fled like a coward in the night, not just from the pain of death and loss, but from what could have been with the man she loved and their child. And the Slug Sannin knew there was no reason or excuse that could justify what she had done. Exhaling a defeated sigh, she looked up and answered in a regretful tone of voice.

"You're right, I know what I did was terrible and if I could go back in time and change it I would, but I can't. You're also right that I did know about Kushina, but I never knew she and Minato-kun had married of that she was with his child."

"Minato had many enemies after the Third Great Shinobi War and had only been Hokage for a short time. He wanted for things to settle down and let the village recover, before he announced and introduced to the world his new wife and child. However, even if you didn't know about Kushina's pregnancy, you had to suspect who Naruto Uzumaki truly was especially after you heard his description."

"It's true I did find it curious that a supposed orphaned infant with blonde hair was chosen by Minato-kun to be the Jinchuuriki, but I mourned so long the death of our son that I didn't even consider who that child might truly be. You're right, I should have known that Minato-kun wouldn't choose just some random infant to place such a burden on."

"Well the past is the past and there's nothing we can do to change it." Jiraiya morosely stated.

"So should we tell Naruto who we really are?" Tsunade asked again.

"As I said I don't know, but if you wish to tell him, I won't try to stop you and I will follow whatever you decide to do. Why don't you sleep on it, I'll take the watch for the night."

Tsunade nodded her head and rose to join Shizune in their tent. However, before she entered she turned around and said in loving appreciation.

"I never told you this before, but you did an wonderful job raising Minato-kun after I left and I do thank you for that Jiraiya-kun. Minato-kun became a became a great man because of you."

"Thank you for that my hime, but he could have been even greater if you had been around."

Jiraiya's comment stung Tsunade's heart, but she wouldn't deny its truth and merely entered her tent to ponder everything that had happened and she had learned about the past few days.

The next morning, the foursome of shinobi was back on the road heading towards the Leaf village. Shizune noticed that her mentor seemed troubled about something and that her Sannin teammate also appeared to be anxious or nervous as well. Naruto seemed to be oblivious to the conflicted demeanor of the two Sannin and walked along the road with his hands linked behind his head. After a few miles, Tsunade decided to speak and Jiraiya visibly tensed up a bit when she said.

"Naruto can I ask you something?"

"Huh, sure baa-chan, what do you want to know?"

"I was just wondering, what if you weren't an orphan, what if you did have family out in the world, how would you feel about that?"

Naruto paused and his face scrunched up in deep thought, a moment later he answered.

"I would want to know why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"I mean I would want to know why they left me to suffer at the hands villagers. I would want to know why they could sit and see me struggle just to live. And I would want to know why they didn't care for me or find it their hearts to love me even if it was just a little."

Naruto's answer was like taking a kunai directly to both Sannin's hearts, but what Naruto said next shattered any resolve they had for revealing their true heritage to him.

"It doesn't matter, for all I know if I do have family, more than likely they just deserted me because they think I'm a demon and hate me just like everyone else in the village. And if that's the case, I'm better off without them and if it isn't, then I don't think I could ever forgive them for abandoning me."

(End of Flashback)

Both Jiraiya and Tsunade held onto each other a bit tighter in an attempt to comfort one another from the pain that memory brought to them. After a few minutes Tsunade once again broached the question to Jiraiya and asked.

"So should we tell him Jiraiya-kun?"

"We have to tell my love, he deserves to know the truth no matter what the consequences to us."

Tsunade shivered slightly, as she thought of what Naruto's reaction might be. Jiraiya felt her quake and spoke up once more.

"I know you're scared about telling him and truthfully so am I. We should have told him five years ago, but we were cowards. And with everyday that has gone by since then, we've doomed ourselves, because the longer we waited, the harder he's going to take it."

"I'm so scared that he's going to hate us." Tsunade said in a frightened tone.

"We have no one to blame but ourselves if he does. We should have been stronger, but we both let our grief and anger of Minato's death overwhelm us. If we hadn't been so selfish to let that happen, one if not both of us could have been there for Naruto growing up. Now, all we can do is pray to Kami that he will find it in his heart to forgive us."

"Who says we're even deserving of forgiveness?" Tsunade asked with guilt and remorse.

Jiraiya couldn't even respond to Tsunade's question, because in his heart, he knew she made a valid point.

---

Early the next morning Tsunade sat in her office and gazed admiringly at the engagement ring that now adorned her hand. The blonde Hokage was simply awestruck at the beauty of the ring and had never felt this happy in a very long time. She was going to marry the man she had loved for nearly her entire life and the mere thought of that made her almost giddy with excitement. In fact it was that thrilling feeling that had awoken her so early in the morning, that she decided to let Jiraiya sleep in, while she went to the office, but not before leaving the Toad-Sage a note to meet her there later.

Tsunade had also sent out a Chunin messenger to locate both Kurenai and Hinata to have them come to her office as soon as possible. The blonde Hokage had grown close to both women over the past four years due to their mutual bond of the men they loved being away from all three of them. Tsunade almost viewed both Kurenai and Hinata as surrogate daughters and they were the first two people she wanted to share the news with of her engagement to Jiraiya.

When the Chunin messenger arrived at the shared apartment of both Kurenai and Hinata to deliver the message, only Kurenai was there. This puzzled then Genjutsu Mistress, until she saw a note on the table indicating the Hyuga girl had gone to Ichiraku's to get some breakfast for Naruto and to ask that Kurenai please not wake him up. Kurenai informed the messenger where Hinata could found and then took a quick shower, before she hastily got dressed, as she thought to herself.

'It must be pretty important for Lady Tsunade to request our presence so early in the morning.'

Leaving a note for Kakashi by the bedside that simply read.

Meet me at the Hokage's office, Love Kurenai.

The crimson-eyed kunoichi placed a chaste kiss on Kakashi's lips and then hurried out the door filled with excitement, as she couldn't wait to tell Hinata of her engagement to him.

Hinata was just finishing up the breakfast meal she had cooked for Naruto under Teuchi's watchful eye, before he asked in curiosity.

"Hinata, what exactly are you making?"

"Well you know how much Naru-kun loves ramen, I thought I would make him some of my own creation. The ingredients are a bit different, but essentially it's a breakfast ramen dish."

"What is it exactly?"

"Ummm, I guess you could call it a ramen omelet."

"A ramen omelet, I've never heard of such a thing, how do you make it?

"Well I came up with the recipe on my own, but it's fairly simple. First you cook ramen and drain it. While the ramen is cooking, heat an 8 inch sauté pan over medium-high heat and add some clarified butter. Saute some stir fry Onions and some green and red bell peppers in the pan until the onions are translucent. Then mix in the noodles with the onions and bell peppers. Add your previously made egg mixture seasoned to taste with salt and pepper."

"How many eggs did you use Hinata."

"Well three to four should be enough for most people, but knowing Naru-kun's appetite I used six. Now where was I, oh that's right add the egg mixture into the pan along with some pre-cooked chicken, sausage, ham, whatever you want to use and make sure you stir and spread everything evenly over the bottom of the pan. Cook until brown, which is usually 4-5 minutes, turn and cook other side until brown. Once done cut into wedges and serve. Would you like to try a piece Teuchi-san? I made one earlier that is cooling on the counter over there."

"The restaurant owner cut a small wedge and took a piece with his fork. Eyeballing the morsel of food carefully, he finally ate the portion. Teuchi was blown away about how good the dish tasted and complimented Hinata, before asking with excitement."

"Hinata it tastes wonderful, absolutely delicious! Tell me do you have other breakfast recipes involving ramen?"

"Yes, I have maybe a dozen ideas that I've come up with so far."

"Could you lend me those recipes for the restaurant, I think they might become a huge with the customers."

"Well, since you and Naru-kun both own the restaurant, I don't mind sharing my recipes with you Teuchi-san. You've always been so kind to me and especially to Naru-kun growing up."

It was at this point that the Chunin messenger arrived and notified Hinata that her presence along with Kurenai was requested at the Hokage's office by Lady Tsunade. The messenger informed the Hyuga girl that Kurenai had already been contacted. Hinata asked if Teuchi would have someone deliver Naruto's breakfast to her apartment, while she went to see the Hokage. The restaurant owner agreed and then watched the Hyuga girl sprint away with fervor, as she couldn't wait to tell her teacher about her engagement to Naruto. A moment later Ayame arrived and noticed the strange looking dish that her father was eating at the counter and asked.

"Dad, what is that you're eating?"

"This my lovely daughter is a ramen omelet that Hinata had made for herself. She got called away to the Hokage's office and told me I could have it. Come over here and try it, because it's a dish along with others that is going to allow us to now serve breakfast from the restaurant, instead of just lunch and dinner. Thanks to Hinata, we're going to make a fortune!" Teuchi answered with eager glee.

Ayame tried a piece and thought it was one of the most scrumptious things she's eaten in a long time. However, before she could eat anymore, Teuchi shoved a brown paper bag in her hand and said.

"Ayame-chan, be a dear and deliver this to Naruto over at Hinata's apartment."

"Oh dad, I wanted to have some more of this omelet."

"Don't worry, Hinata gave me the recipe, I'll make you a fresh one when you get back."

"Thanks dad, I'll be back soon."

---

As Kakashi slowly stirred out of his slumber, he realized that Kurenai was no longer occupying the bed with him. Rising up and looking around, he spied the note she had left sitting on the bedside table. After reading said message, the silver-haired Jounin took a shower, before he stumbled around the room looking for his clothing. A few minutes later, he was quietly closing the door to Kurenai's bedroom, so as not to wake up Naruto and Hinata, before making his way to Hokage Tower.

A few minutes later, Naruto was roused from his sleep by a knocking on the front door. Looking around he wondered where Hinata was. Quickly grabbing a pair of shorts, he groggily made his way to the front door and opened it. He was surprised to see Ayame standing there holding a brown paper bag and sporting a fierce blush.

For her part, Ayame was trying her best not to stare at Naruto, but was finding it difficult. Clad in only his shorts, the young woman could help but gaze admiringly at his broad shoulders and well defined chiseled muscular chest, before her attention was drawn to Naruto's perfect six-pack abs. Now Ayame had known Naruto since he was a little boy and always viewed him as a surrogate little brother. However, even though this is how she felt about him, the young woman still found herself flustered that he had become such a fit and handsome young man. It was the sound of Naruto's voice that finally broke Ayame out of the stupor she was in."

"Ayame-chan, how come you're here?"

"I'm, I'm here to drop off some breakfast Hinata made for you." Ayame stammered, before she held the brown paper bag before her.

"Oh, but why didn't my hime deliver it?"

"She got called away to Hokage Tsunade's office."

"Hmm, ok I guess I could have breakfast and then go meet her there. Thanks Ayame-chan for bringing this to me."

"No, thank you Naruto-kun." Ayame admiringly replied, before she turned around and stumbled away, as the image of Naruto's bronzed muscular body was forever ingrained into her memory.

As Naruto watched Ayame stagger away, he wondered why she was acting so strange and openly commented.

"Weird?"

---

When Kurenai arrived at Tsunade's office, she found the blonde Hokage sitting at her desk sporting the biggest smile she had ever seen on the woman. However, before she could inquire about why Tsunade was so happy, the sound of footsteps running down the hall caught her attention. Turning around she was greeted with Hinata sprinting into the office. Seeing Kurenai standing before her, Hinata exclaimed with excitement.

"Kurenai-sensei, I have the most wonderful news to tell you!"

"Hinata-chan, I have some incredible news to tell you!"

"It can't be as amazing as my news!"

"I'm pretty sure it's more amazing!"

Then both women shouted out to each other at the same time.

"Naru-kun asked me to marry him!"

"Kakashi-kun asked me to marry him!"

Both women stared at each other wide-eyed, as they each processed what the other had just said, before they both squealed in happiness and hugged each other, while jumping up and down around the room. Meanwhile, Tsunade flopped down into her chair with a dejected visage adorning her face. She was happy for the two women currently bouncing around her office. However, she became a little depressed that she wasn't the one to be able to share her engagement news first with Kurenai and Hinata. After a minute, both Hinata and Kurenai began to calm down and looked over to see the crestfallen look that Tsunade now bore. Walking over to the blonde Hokage, it was Kurenai who spoke up first and said.

"I apologize Lady Tsunade for our….excited behavior. You called for Hinata and I to be here this morning. How may we serve you?"

"Is it a mission Hokage-sama?" Hinata questioned.

"No, no, it's not a mission. I just had some news I wanted to share with the two of you, that's all."

"What news do you wish to share?" Kurenai asked.

The blonde Hokage softly mumbled something, but neither Kurenai nor Hinata could understand it.

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade, could you speak up a bit."

Tsunade exhaled a frustrated sigh, before repeating.

"I said I wanted to share with the two of you that Jiraiya-kun asked me to marry him."

It took a moment for that information to register in both Kurenai and Hinata's mind, before both women were hugging the blonde Hokage and congratulating her as well as one another. After a few minutes, the trio of newly engaged women began to settle down, as they sat around the desk and Tsunade commented in excitement.

"I have to show the two of you this beautiful engagement ring Jiraiya-kun gave me. I've never seen such a dazzling piece of jewelry in my entire life."

"It can't be any prettier than the one Naru-kun got for me." Hinata stated, as she reached into her pocket to place the ring onto her finger.

"I'm afraid Kakashi-kun's got you both beat with the ring he got for me." Kurenai declared, as she too retrieved her ring to place it upon her finger.

As all three women compared their rings, they were surprised at the similarities between them and Kurenai commented.

"I don't understand. All three rings have the same round brilliant diamonds surrounding a single diamond center. You don't think they're fake do you?"

Hmm, knowing some Jiraiya-kun's miserly ways in the past, I wouldn't put it past him, but I have a hard time believing that Kakashi or Naruto would stoop so low as to use cheap fake rings."

"I can assure you those rings are neither fake nor cheap and I'm insulted that you would even think of such a thing." Jiraiya's voice rang out startling the three women, as he leapt into the office through the open balcony.

"Then how do you explain why they look so alike?" Tsunade countered in question.

"Because my love, all three rings came from a single diamond. I just didn't know that Kakashi and Naruto had purchased the other two."

"What are you talking about Jiraiya-kun?"

Jiraiya exhaled a weary sigh, before he began to explain.

"On our return to the village, we stopped off in a town called Jewel, I'm sure you've heard of it."

"Of course, what woman hasn't, it's renowned for having and creating the most beautiful and dazzling jewelry in the entire world." Kurenai answered.

"Well while we were there, we stopped in a well know Jeweler's store and on display he had three of the most astounding rings in a separate case from all of his other pieces. He explained that he had crafted these masterpiece rings from a single brilliant diamond stone that he was able to cut into three perfect 24 carat diamonds. The remaining shards of the single diamond stone he fashioned into those round brilliant diamonds surrounding each of the main diamond of your rings. However, if you look at the main diamond of your rings, you'll notice that each one is different. You Kurenai have a Round cut diamond center on your ring, while you Hinata have what they call a Princess cut. And finally you my love have what is called a Queen cut diamond center."

All three women examined their rings and compared them and realized that the toad-Sage was correct in what he said, before he spoke up once more and declared.

"It's actually kind of romantic if you think about it. Not only did you three lovely ladies get engaged on the same day, but the very rings that signify your betrothals are all cut and created from the same single beautiful diamond."

Tsunade, Kurenai, and Hinata looked to one another and thought about what Jiraiya had just pointed out. After taking a minute to ponder it, they all reached the same conclusion, it was indeed romantic and special that all three women were somehow linked with each other and the bond that had developed between them over the past four years they all felt had just gotten stronger. It was then that Jiraiya's boomed out once more and he offered up, while bowing and sweeping his arm in front of him.

"Hinata, Kurenai, may I congratulate the two of you on your engagements. Both Naruto and Kakashi are extremely lucky men to have landed such two exquisite beauties as yourselves to become betrothed to."

"Th-thank you Master-Jiraiya, that is most kind of you and my congratulations of your engagement to Lady Tsunade." Hinata replied back with sincerity.

"Yes Master-Jiraiya, I thank you as well and offer up my congratulations to both you and Lady Tsunade of your betrothal." Kurenai complimented in earnest.

"Thank you ladies, I appreciate that very much."

"You got engaged Master-Jiraiya!" Kakashi exclaimed in surprise from the window sill he was perched on.

"He did Kakashi-kun, to Lady Tsunade." Kurenai replied, as the silver-haired Jounin jumped into the room.

"Really, how drunk was she when she said yes?"

Kurenai slapped Kakashi's shoulder in response and the blonde Hokage scowled a bit, before Jiraiya spoke up and in retort said.

"Very funny Kakashi, I could ask you the same thing considering you somehow managed to thaw out the infamous Ice Queen of the Leaf village."

"Point taken." Kakashi answered earning another slap to his shoulder from his fiancé.

"If you two juvenile idiots are done with your jokes, I'd like to discuss a few things with you." Tsunade openly declared, before a shout outside the office was heard.

"Hina-hime, where are you?"

A moment later Naruto came strolling into the Hokage's office and swept Hinata off of her feet and twirled her around, before he planted a very passionate kiss onto her lips. The Hyuga girl blushed furiously at Naruto being so openly affectionate with her in front of everyone, but soon found herself succumbing to the pleasurable feeling of their embrace. After a minute, Naruto finally pulled away leaving Hinata slightly panting, as he said with joy.

"Hina-hime that was the best breakfast I've ever had in my life. Thank you for making it for me, it was totally awesome believe it!"

"You-you're welcome Naru-kun." Hinata replied in labored breath, as she attempted to calm herself down.

"So how come you got called in by baa-chan?" Naruto asked his lavender eyed fiancé.

Tsunade winced slightly at hearing Naruto's address of her, but decided now was not the time and said.

"I called her in, because I had some news I wanted to share with her."

However, before Naruto could inquire any further a distant shout was heard from down the hall.

"Minato-kun get back here!"

A second later a miniaturized version of Kakashi ran into the office and looked around before he spied Naruto and ran up to him. Naruto looked at the mini-me version of his sensei with curiosity, before he turned to Kakashi and asked.

"How come there's a mini-me version of you Kakashi-sensei, is this a jutsu you didn't teach me?"

"Judging by what I heard last night Naruto, it's a jutsu you already know." Kakashi mumbled under his breath earning a jab to the ribs from Kurenai's elbow.

"Are you my Unca Nawuto?" The young wide-eyed boy asked in excitement.

"Huh Unca Nawuto?"

"Naru-kun, this is Kurenai and Kakashi-sensei's son Minato-kun." Hinata explained.

"But, but we just got back yesterday, how is that possible?" Naruto exclaimed in confusion.

"Naru-kun calm down, Kakashi and Kurenai were….together before he left with you for your training.

"Really, you and Kurenai-sensei." Naruto stated in disbelief.

"You seem surprised?" Kakashi asked.

"Well I am, I always figured Kurenai-sensei would have better taste." Naruto answered in amusement.

"Ha, ha, this coming from the baka who somehow managed to land a princess." Kakashi replied in sarcastic retort.

Naruto was going to respond when little Minato asked him once again.

"Mister, are you my Unca Nawuto Awnty Hinata talked to me about?"

Naruto knelt down and looked Minato square in the face and with a big smile answered.

"Yup, I'm your Uncle Naruto."

The young boy suddenly leapt up and hugged Naruto, who rose with the child in his arms, as Minato carried on in excitement.

"It's great to see you Unca Nawuto, Awnty Hinata told me you're the coolest ninja in the world….. next to my dad I mean. She said you can play with me and we can eat ramen together and that you can teach me all sorts of cool jutsu's!"

"You love ramen too!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, I think it's the best, only mommy won't let me have it as much as I want."

"Sure we can all of those things together Minato-kun."

"Can I join the two of you?" Hinata asked the little boy, while taking him from Naruto's arms and playfully tickling him.

Minato giggled and grinned from ear to ear, before he answered.

"Sure you can Awnty Hinata, you're my favorite awnt in the whole world."

"I'm hurt Minato-kun, I thought I was your favorite aunt in the whole world." Anko announced in a mock pain-filled voice from the doorway of the Hokage's office announcing her presence and Iruka's who was standing next to her to everyone in the room.

"Ummm, is it ok to have two favorite awnt's in the whole world?" Minato sheepishly asked to all the adults in the room.

Everyone laughed at Minato's question, before all the adults assured him that he could have as many favorite aunts and uncles as he wanted. As Anko and Iruka entered the room, Kurenai asked in curiosity.

"Where are Aniko and Anika?"

"Oh there downstairs visiting with their Uncle Ibiki, they'll be up shortly." Anko casually replied.

"Who are Aniko and Anika?" Naruto openly questioned.

"Aniko and Anika are Anko and Iruka-sensei's twin daughters Naru-kun." Hinata answered.

Naruto looked back and forth between Iruka and Anko in confusion, before he screamed out and pointed an accusing finger at Iruka.

"Someone call the Anbu, that's not Iruka-sensei, but an imposter! The real Iruka-sensei warned me when I was younger to stay away from Anko, because she ate men up! There's no way he would get together with her, while I was gone!"

Anko glared at her husband, who sheepishly looked away, before he strode forward and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and in a calm soothing voice said.

"It's really me Naruto; I did marry Anko-chan, while you were gone."

"But-but, I don't understand, how why?"

Iruka inhaled then exhaled a sigh, before he wrapped his arm around Naruto's shoulder and launched himself into a laudatory tale.

"Well you see Naruto after you left, Lady Tsunade had a very dangerous S-class mission she needed completed. You already know how wild and what a terror Anko was before you left. So Hokage-sama decided Anko needed a boyfriend to help subdue and calm her down. It was strictly a volunteer mission due to her man-eating tendencies I had warned you about. Well, no one volunteered, but I knew for the safety and general welfare of the Leaf village someone had to, so I did. After awhile, Lady Tsunade then upgraded the assignment to a SS-class mission, a suicide mission for all intensive purposes. For the Hokage had deemed it necessary to further calm Anko down, she should get married. So for the good of the Leaf village…no for the good of the entire world, I stepped up and married her."

"Wow, that's so brave of you Iruka-sensei." Naruto declared with sincerity, as he was believing everything Iruka was saying to him.

Meanwhile, everyone else save Anko who was currently grinding her teeth was doing their best not to erupt in boisterous laughter at the story Iruka was telling.

"Thank you Naruto, it's probably is the bravest thing any shinobi has ever done in the line of duty in the history of the Leaf village. There's talk in the Konoha Council of placing my name onto the Memorial Stone, even though physically I'm still alive on the outside….. just dead on the inside." Iruka stated, as he placed his hand over his heart.

A moment later, Iruka suddenly found himself on the floor sporting a nasty bump on his head, as Anko stood over him and spat angrily.

"I could easily solve that problem of yours of not being dead on the outside! I grant you the incomparable privilege of being with the sexiest and most beautiful woman in the entire Leaf village if not all of the elemental nations and this is how you explain us being together to the gaki!"

"Sexiest and most beautiful woman in the entire Leaf village if not all of the elemental nations, what a crock! Didn't you already lose this argument when I compared you to my Hinata-chan back in the Wave country a few years ago?" Naruto scoffed in derision.

However, before Anko could respond, a shout came from the doorway.

"Okaasan!" (Mother)

Everyone turned around to see two identical four year old girls, who looked like smaller versions of Anko herself. The little girls sported their mothers light brown eyes and violet colored hair, which was styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail with a pseudo Hitai-ate tied around their foreheads. They also sported Anko's trademark tan long-coat and short copper-colored skirt, which also had a dark blue belt around their waists that connects to the skirt. Anko's daughters also had the same gray leg bracers with dark blue shinobi sandals. About the only thing that differed between the Umino women's attire was that Aniko and Anika did not wear the very revealing mesh body suit that stretches from their mother's neck down to her thighs, but instead wore tasteful white blouses given to them by their Aunt Kurenai.

Then two little girls ran up to their father and hugged him fiercely around his head, as they asked.

"Poor Otousan, is Okaasan being mean to you again?"

Iruka merely nodded his head sadly and both girls placed a kiss on each of his cheeks to comfort their father, before they turned their attention to their mother and leveled a harsh glare at her and yelled at Anko in unison.

"Bad Okaasan, stop being mean to Otousan!"

Anko could only cross her arms in a huff and declare.

"Why is Kami so cruel, even my own daughters are against me!"

"I can't believe what I'm seeing right now." Kakashi whispered into Kurenai's ear.

"They might be the spitting image of their mother both in appearance and attitude, but they are most definitely daddy's little girls much to Anko's annoyance." Kurenai whispered back in amusement.

"Still, I never would have imagined in a million years that it would be Iruka with Anko."

"What can I say love is blind."

"And crazy if you have to deal with Anko."

Kurenai giggled, before playfully slapping Kakashi's shoulder about his joke. It was then that Aniko and Anika spoke up once more and openly asked.

"Now where's Minato-kun?"

For his part, Minato scrambled out of Hinata's arms and back into Naruto's and hugged him tightly, while shivering and whispered in his ear.

"Please save me Unca Nawuto, they want to hug and kiss me and do all sorts of other yucky girl stuff."

Naruto thought a moment, before he whispered back.

"Jump down and hide underneath baa-chan's desk, I'll handle the rest."

Minato jumped down and Anko's daughters saw him and moved in to catch him. However unbeknownst to Aniko and Anika Naruto subtly went through a series of hand-signs. Then a puff of smoke emerged behind Tsunade's desk and Minato came running out and paused to look at his would be suitors.

"You can't catch me, thwpppppp!" Minato declared, while pulling his bottom eyelid down and sticking his tongue out giving the two girls the raspberry, taught to him by his Aunt Ino.

Minato then sprinted out of the office, as Aniko and Anika shrieked.

"You get back here Minato-kun!"

Just as the girl's took a step to give chase, a shout rang out stopping them.

"Hey you two, do you think I'm going to let you leave, before you give your baa-chan a hug first."

Both girls ran over to Tsunade and hugged her tightly, while saying.

"We're sorry baa-chan Tsunade."

"It's ok." Tsunade replied, as she kissed both girls on the cheeks and then swatted their butts and ordered.

"Now go get him girls!"

"Tsunade-sama!" Kurenai yelled in indignant protest, as Anko's daughters ran out of the room with a determined look in their eyes.

A few seconds later, Minato emerged from under Tsunade's desk, before running up and jumping back into Naruto's arms, as he said with gratefulness.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Unca Nawuto, that was so cool! How did you do that?"

"Awww you don't have to thank me, it's just a little combo-trick I know using a shadow clone and a henge to disguise them."

"Can, can you teach me it?"

"Sure I can!" Naruto, happily answered, before the sound of Kurenai clearing her throat alerted him to also add.

"So long as it's ok with your mom and dad."

Minato looked over to his parent's with pleading eyes, before Kurenai said.

"We'll talk about what jutsu's you can learn from your uncle and your father later."

"I can teach you some cool jutsu's as well." Jiraiya announced to the little boy.

"Huh, who are you?" Minato questioned, as he jumped down from Naruto's arms.

Jiraiya's face became crestfallen and his head dropped down in defeat, upon realizing Minato hadn't even noticed him in the room until just now. As the little boy walked up and stood in front of him, the wizened Toad-Sage shook off his disappointment and declared, while doing his introduction dance.

"Who am I, I little one am the fabulous and most legendary Sannin…..The Sensei of the 4th Hokage himself… Jiraiya the Toad Sage Master Extraordinaire!"

After Jiraiya was finished, the silence in the room was deafening, before Minato erupted in giggles and said.

"You're funny!"

Once again, Jiraiya whole body slumped in gloomy defeat at Minato's response, before Kurenai spoke up and said.

"Minato-kun, you remember me and Aunt Hinata telling you about the man who was teaching your Uncle Naruto and your father, while they were gone, he's Master Jiraiya."

"Oh yeah, I remember now mommy, baa-chan also talked about him, she said he was per, per, per…"

"Perspicuous, personable, perfect." Jiraiya stated, listing various adjectives to help Minato.

"No, baa-chan said you were perveted."

"Perverted Minato-kun." Tsunade spoke correcting the young boy.

"That's right….perverted!"

And for a third time in as many minutes, Jiraiya felt his heart sink into depression.

"What does perverted mean?" Minato innocently asked.

"Something I'm sure with Kakashi as your daddy you will learn about later on in life." Jiraiya answered jovially, before he lifted the boy high in the air, as Minato laughed in enjoyment.

As the young boy settled into Jiraiya's arms, he noticed a familiar book in the toad-Sage's pocket and exclaimed with glee.

"I got one of those books too!"

Minato then reached into his vest pocket and pulled out an Icha-Icha novel much to Kurenai's embarrassment and proudly showed it to Jiraiya, as he happily said.

"My mommy said this book is my otousan's favorite and that he reads it all the time!"

For his part, Kakashi stared on in awe and felt tears welling in his eyes at the sight of his son holding what he considered one of the finest pieces of literature ever written. The silver-haired Jounin felt his chest swell with pride in knowing his son was carrying on a fine Hatake tradition. Jiraiya also beamed proudly at seeing the little boy holding one of his novels and announced.

"I'll let you in on a little secret Minato-kun; I'm the man who writes those books your father enjoys so much."

"Really! That's so cool!"

"It is, in fact let me autograph it for you."

Jiraiya then signed his name onto the cover, before he noticed something odd about the novel. Opening the book, he shrieked in disbelief, as many passages of the book and been blackened out by a marker. Dismayed at who would do such a thing, the Toad-Sage asked in pain-filled voice.

"Minato-kun, who was it that vandalized this masterpiece of literary art?"

"Huh, oh you mean the black marks, mommy did that, but she never told me why?"

Both Jiraiya and Kakashi looked at Kurenai with accusatory stares.

"You're both lucky I let him keep one of those books at all! I never would have if it wasn't the only way to keep him from crying." The crimson-eyed kunoichi growled out in no uncertain terms in defense, as the memory of how Minato came to obtain one of those books flashed in her mind.

(Flashback 3 Years)

It was the middle of the night and Minato simply refused to sleep and had been crying all night long. Kurenai had tried everything she could think of to get her son to stop crying. She had changed his diaper, she had fed him, she had Hinata check to see if he had gas or was in any pain or inflicted with an illness. None of those things were the cause, so all Kurenai could do was hold Minato wrapped in a blanket close to her, while making soothing shushing sounds into his ear. Suddenly, the young baby ceased to cry and when Kurenai pulled her son away from her, she noticed he had inadvertently grabbed her Icha-Icha novel from her pocket she had been reading. It was then that Hinata entered the room and asked.

"What did you do to get him to stop crying?"

"I don't know, I guess he just finally got worn out." Kurenai answered, as she took her book out of Minato's cherub hands and put it back in her pocket.

"WAAAAAAHHHH!" Minato erupted in a wail once again.

Kurenai immediately brought Minato close to her again and tried once more to clam and soothe her infant son down once again. It was then the Genjutsu Mistress felt Minato reach out and attempt to grab her book again. Moving his hand away only seemed to cause Minato to cry even louder, as he attempted to grab it once again. It was Hinata who finally groaned out of weary frustration.

"Let him have the book."

"Wha-what?" Kurenai stammered.

"I said let him have the book Kurenai-sensei, let's see what happens. I mean it's not as though he can actually read it."

Not being able to come up with an alternative solution, Kurenai reached into her pocket and gave the novel to her son, who happily grasped it and immediately stopped crying. Both women were unsure of what to make of this when Hinata suggested.

"Take the book away from him now."

Kurenai did this out of curiosity and instantly Minato began to wail loudly again.

"Give him the book back!" Hinata exclaimed in alarm.

Kurenai thrust the book back into Minato's hands and the boy smiled and immediately fell silent, as he clutched the novel close to him. Both women sighed and were grateful at the silence that now permeated their home. However, Kurenai blushed furiously when Hinata declared.

"Well there's definitely no question about who Minato-kun's father is, as that demonstration is better than any paternity test."

(End of Flashback)

Kurenai was broken out of her memory, when she heard Minato ask.

"Mister Jiraiya, I call the Hokage baa-chan, so would it be ok if I called you Jiji? (Grandfather)"

Jiriaya couldn't help but smile and he felt his chest swell with happiness, as he answered.

"I would be very happy and proud if you want to call me Jiji Minato-kun."

Minato smiled brightly and hugged the Toad-Sage, who returned the embrace and said.

"Besides, it makes sense for you to call me that seeing as I'm going to be marrying your baa-chan."

"WHAAAAAAT!" Naruto exclaimed in utter shock and disbelief.

"Naru-kun calm down, Lady Tsunade and Master Jiriaya got engaged yesterday, just like you and I."

"Don't forget about me and Kakashi-kun Hinata."

"You two got engaged as well?" Naruto asked in confusion.

Both Jounin nodded in unison at Naruto, before he bore a grim look upon his face. Hinata noticed the forlorn look on Naruto's face and asked in concern.

"What's wrong Naru-kun?"

"Umm, well I wanted the day I asked you to be my wife to be a special one for you Hina-hime . Now to find out that you have to share it, I feel bad that you won't consider it as special."

Hinata merely smiled before she placed her hands around Naruto's head and pulled him down to place a tender loving kiss upon him. A moment later, she looked into his eyes with adoration and said.

"Naru-kun that day will always be special to me and the fact that it is also the same day that both Lady Tsunade and Kurenai-sensei also got engaged I don't mind at all. In fact, it makes the day that much more special to me, as I can now share that day with two of the women I admire and care for the most in my life."

Both Tsunade and Kurenai got choked up after hearing Hinata's words of admiration she felt for the two of them. Both women cared for the Hyuga girl very deeply and they held a strong devotion for her. Naruto's voice suddenly rang out as he stated with affection.

"You're the best my hime, I love you so much."

"I love you too." Hinata sweetly replied, as she and Naruto leaned in to share another kiss.

Everyone in the office gazed at the young couple happily, until a voice called out breaking the mood.

"Yuck…!" Minato declared.

Hinata and Naruto broke their kiss and looked to Minato still in Jiraiya's arms and Hinata said.

"Minato-kun, that's not nice."

"I'm sorry Awnty Hinata, I was just hoping Unca Nawuto didn't do that hugging and kissing and all sorts of other yucky girl stuff."

Naruto merely grinned at the young boy, before he proposed.

"I'll tell you what Minato-kun, I promise I'll only do that hugging and kissing and all sorts of other yucky girl stuff with your Aunt Hinata, is that ok with you?"

Minato thought about a moment, before he answered.

"Yeah, I guess that's ok, it seems to make Awnty Hinata happy when you do that icky stuff."

"Thank you Minato-kun, I appreciate your understanding." Hinata said in amusement.

"You're welcome." Minato happily replied, oblivious to the humor of his aunts statement.

Kakashi walked over and retrieved his son from Jiraiya and holding him said.

"You know son, one day you're going to want to do that hugging and kissing and all sorts of other yucky girl stuff with a girl."

"No way otousan, girls have cooties and I don't want to get any cooties."

"Oh I see, the dreaded cooties. Let me ask you, does your mother or Aunt Hinata or baa-chan Tsunade have cooties?"

"Mommies, aunts, and baa-chans don't have cooties; don't you know anything about cooties?" Minato instantly answered, shocked by the lack of knowledge his father had about the nature of cooties.

Everyone in the room chuckled at Minato's exasperated reply, before Naruto spoke up again.

"So pervy-sage, are you really going to marry baa-chan?"

"I am, I proposed to my beautiful queen last night and she graciously said yes."

"How drunk was she when she said yes?"

"I asked the same question earlier Naruto and never did get an answer." Kakashi stated, earning another harder slap to his shoulder from Kurenai in response and the blonde Hokage glared and was about to leap up from her chair, before Jiraiya placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and said in retort to his grandson.

"I can assure you gaki that we were both of clear minds and sober when we got engaged."

"Well I guess it makes sense." Naruto absently commented.

"Why do you say that Naruto?" Tsunade questioned in curiosity.

"Well both you and pervy-sage are pretty old, so there probably aren't a lot people around your age who aren't already married. So it makes sense that the two of you just go ahead and get married rather than both of you waste a lot of time searching for someone who is as old as you guys and still single." Naruto casually replied in amusement.

"You little brat, you won't think I'm so old when I'm pounding you into next week!" Tsunade shouted, as she began rolling up her sleeves and stood up from her chair.

"Ha, ha, ha, take it easy baa-chan, I was just kidding around, but I do want to know one thing."

"What's that?"

"Do you truly love pervy-sage, because I know he truly loves you?"

Tsunade's rage instantly vanished upon hearing Naruto's question and she looked over lovingly at Jiriaya who took her hand into his and kissed it, before she turned back to Naruto and answered with no hint of hesitation or uncertainty in her voice.

"Yes Naruto, I do truly love Jiraiya-kun and have for a very long time. It was just my stupid foolishness that kept us apart for so long."

"That's good enough for me! Congratulations baa-chan, pervy-sage, I hope you will be as happy together as Hinata-chan and me. Congratulations to you as well Kurenai and Kakashi-sensei, the same thing for you two as well."

"Thank you Naruto-kun." Tsunade gratefully replied, followed by similar verbal appreciations from Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Kurenai.

The mood in the Hokage's office was quite happy and festive, before Anko made the mistake of asking for Jiraiya's autograph on her Icha-Icha novels.

"Master-Jiraiya, would you be so kind and autograph your magnificent trilogy series you published last year for me. Iruka-kun and I are huge fans and we've had loads of naughty fun role playing the characters you created in them."

"ANKO!" Iruka yelled in embarrassment, as he slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Ahhh yes, the trilogy series, thank you for reminding me about that Anko." Tsunade declared before she began rolling up her sleeves again and started moving towards Jiraiya, while leaking some killing intent.

Jiraiya wasn't sure what was going on and started to back away, when he suddenly felt two other sources of killing intent being directed towards him. Turning around he then saw both Kurenai and Hinata stalking towards him. A chill went up Jiraiya's spine at the look they were giving him, as he continued to back away, until he realized the three women had cornered him in the office. As Tsunade, Kurenai, and Hinata glared at him, it was the blonde Hokage who finally asked in a sweet yet ominous tone of voice.

"Jiraiya-kun, the three of us would like to know if you wrote your three smut-filled novels and based the women in them off of myself, Kurenai, and Hinata?"

Gulping nervously, the Toad-Sage looked back and forth between the three women, before he gathered all the courage and conviction he could and announced.

"No I did not!"

"Lying isn't going to save you from your current predicament Jiraiya-kun." Tsunade sternly declared.

"I am not lying, I will admit I did base several facets of the character Madame Nadetsu in the exceptional novel The Captain Conquers the Gambler off of you my love. I didn't have a choice, as the little gaki would not let me do any research after a certain….…incident. So I needed a beautiful woman to inspire me and I could think of no one more beautiful than you to accomplish that."

Tsunade anger lessened considerably after hearing Jiraiya's affectionate words. However Kurenai and Hinata were not so easily swayed and the crimson-eyed Jounin asked.

"So you admit to using Lady Tsunade as inspiration in your book, but you're going to stand there and deny that you didn't use Hinata and myself in the others!"

"I am!" Jiraiya answered confidently.

"Why!"

"Because I didn't write the other two books of the series."

"But if you didn't write the other books, than who did unless….." Hinata openly questioned, before everyone slowly turned their heads towards Naruto and Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, I just heard a cry for help in the village!"

"I did as well; we must go at once and render assistance!" Kakashi replied, as he put Minato down and he and Naruto made a mad dash towards the open balcony.

"FREEZE…..!" Kurenai and Hinata shouted in unison, stopping their would be husbands in their tracks.

Both women then snatched up their respective novels from Anko and marched over to stand in front Naruto and Kakashi holding the books up to their faces, before they said simultaneously.

"Explain!"

"Uhhh, explain what exactly Hina-hime?" Naruto stammered nervously.

"Please explain Naru-kun how you ended up writing such a book?"

"You to Kakashi-kun!" Kurenai followed up.

Both Naruto and Kakashi looked at one another, before their shoulders dropped and they exhaled a defeated sigh, before Naruto began to explain.

"It was a few months before we left for my Sage training with the toads on Mt. Myoboku. While we were camping one night, pervy-sage decided to check in with his publisher and got some bad news."

(Flashback)

Jiraiya flopped down on a log in front of the campfire and lowered his face into the palm of his hands and groaned out loud.

"I'm doomed."

"What's wrong pervy-sage?"

"Would you stop calling me that gaki!" Jiraiya snapped in frustration at Naruto.

"Is something troubling you Master-Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked in genuine concern.

"It's my publisher; he's demanding my next works of literary genius in two months or they're threatening to rescind the advance they already gave me."

"So, pay the money back, it's not like you can't afford it now." Naruto casually commented.

"It's not the money I'm worried about; it's a matter of pride for me to my faithful readers. I've kept them waiting too long already for my next masterpieces."

"Can't you get your next novel done in two months time?"

"Perhaps Kakashi, if I bear down I might be able to finish up The Captain Conquers the Gambler in time, but that still doesn't help."

"Why not?"

"Because my publisher gave me an advance for a three-book trilogy series of Icha-Icha, not just a single book. Like I said, I could finish up the first book in time, but there's no way I could write two more novels before the deadline hits."

A pall of silence fell over the three shinobi, as they contemplated the Toad-Sage's situation. Each of them racked their brains furiously for a solution, but it appeared there was none. Suddenly, Naruto jumped up and exclaimed.

"I got it, while you're working on finishing up your book pervy-sage, me and Kakashi-sensei can write the other two for you."

Both Jiraiya and Kakashi stared incredulously at Naruto, before both men erupted in laughter and the Toad-sage said with a little derision.

"Naruto it's not that easy to write a literary work of art as I do. I appreciate the offer to help, but I doubt either you or Kakashi could produce a work of genius as I do."

Kakashi who had been laughing with Jiraiya suddenly stopped and looked over and declared.

"I can't speak for Naruto, but I've been an avid reader of your work for most of my life Master-Jiraiya. And I believe I do have an insight of the Icha-Icha series and could easily write a successful novel."

"Please, it's just a perverted book, how hard can it be to write." Naruto dismissively declared.

"Hmph, so you two think it's just so easy to write a literary masterpiece as I do. Both of you have no idea how much genius it takes to produce one of my novels." Jiraiya replied with indignation.

"Genius, bah what a crock, all it takes is a little bit a perverted mind to write one of your books that's all."

"Alright gaki, let's give it a shot, both you and Kakashi can make your feeble attempts to write the rest of the trilogy. I guarantee in month's time, both of you will realize the harsh truth that brilliance such as mine to compose such literary masterpieces is not so easily accomplished by just anyone!" Jiraiya declared in smug confidence.

(End of Flashback)

"So Kakashi-sensei and I took a few days to read and study what pervy-sage had already written for The Captain Conquers the Gambler to give us some ideas on how to carry forth the trilogy. After that we wrote The Pirate of Love and The Princess and the Peasant Prince in two months for pervy-sage and he submitted them to his publisher."

"Who might I add thought the novels Naruto and I wrote was some of Master Jiraiya's best work he had seen in years." Kakashi openly commented.

"I should find a new publisher after such a erroneous and insulting comment." Jiriaya mumbled to himself in annoyance.

"So did you and Kakashi-sensei base the women in your books off of me and Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata hesitantly questioned Naruto, unsure of how she was going to respond to his answer.

"Ummm, well I didn't know who provided the inspiration for Kakashi-sensei's Renaiku character, but yeah I did base my character Princess Nathia off of you Hina-hime."

A stern visage seemed to spread across both Hinata and Kurenai's face, which Naruto noticed and asked in confusion.

"I don't understand, are you mad because we used the three of you as our inspiration to write those books? But why wouldn't we use the women that we love as our inspiration, would you feel better if we had used other women?"

An epiphany was had by Tsunade, Kurenai, and Hinata upon hearing Naruto's query. As all three women began to ponder how they would feel if their soon to be husbands has used some random women to provide their inspiration and motivation for the characters they wrote. After a minute, the trio of kunoichi's had now decided that they would most definitely…NOT like it if they had used any other women but themselves for the novels. Upon this realization, the tense mood of the room seemed to disappear and all three women smiled brightly. While Jiraiya and Kakashi exhaled a sigh of relief, as they realized Naruto had just saved them.

"Tho-those things you wrote, you, you really wanted to do all those th-things with me Naru-kun?" Hinata whispered in a stammer into his ear.

"Well, we sort of did a lot of those things already last night my hime." Naruto whispered back, causing Hinata to squeak and blush a deep crimson red.

Minato who had been trying to follow what had been going on the past few minutes without much success walked up to his father and asked.

"Otousan did you and gigi, and Unca Nawuto write books about mommy, baa-chan, and Awnty Hinata?"

"Ummm sort of."

"Cool, I can't wait to read them….when I learn to read I mean. Can you read me the one about mommy as a bedtime story tonight?"

"I, I, I, Uhhh…Ummmm,….Uhhh….." Kakashi sputtered in response, as he desperately struggled to come up with a suitable answer.

"We'll talk about it later Minato-kun." Kurenai interjected, before she flashed a brief scowl at Kakashi, who could only shrug his shoulders in defense.

"Ok, but after that one can we read Awnty Hinata and baa-chan's books next?"

Both Hinata and Tsunade began to blush upon hearing Minato's request, before Kurenai replied.

"We'll discuss that when the time comes."

Meanwhile, Anko couldn't help but snicker at how uncomfortable all the other adults in the room had become and she commented in sarcastic amusement.

"Those should be some…..educational bedtime stories for Minato-kun."

"This earned the Snake Mistress a harsh glare from her best friend Kurenai."

Tsunade loudly cleared her throat in an effort to change the subject and said.

"Ahem…..Kurenai, Hinata, why don't the two of you take Minato-kun out for some breakfast. I've got some sensitive matters to discuss with Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Naruto about their mission."

"Is that going to take a long time baa-chan?" Naruto questioned in curiosity

"I don't know, we need to go through the report Kakashi turned in about all of your adventures shall we say while you three were gone. Why do you ask?"

"Me and Hina-hime are supposed to meet up with Kiba and our other friends at training field #11 later on this morning for some sparring and light training."

"Well, I'll try to keep it as short as I ca….."

A loud alarm began blaring throughout the village interrupting Tsunade and a moment later Kotetsu Hagane appeared in Tsunade's office and kneeled before her.

"Kotetsu, why have you and Izumo activated the main gate alarm?"

"Hokage-sama, one of our long range scouts has reported an Otogakure snake summoner riding a huge serpent flanked by a small force of what appears to be curse-seal monstrosities are advancing towards the Leaf village. They are a few miles away and should arrive shortly at the main gate. Izumo has already begun evacuating the civilian's near the gate as we speak."

"Damn that bastard ex-teammate of ours!" Tsunade cursed in anger.

"What's going on?"

"It's Orochimaru again Jiraiya-kun! He's been sending raiding parties into the Fire Country ever since he got his ass kicked during the invasion three years ago. I think he does it as a reminder to me that he's still out there. However, he's never sent a force this far into the Fire Country and he's never used any curse-seal soldiers before either. I don't know what he's got planned, but I'm sure it isn't good. It looks like our meeting about your mission and your sparring session with your friends Naruto is going to be postponed." Tsunade replied to the Toad-Sage, before turning her attention to Kakashi and Anko and ordered.

"Kakashi, Anko I need you to coordinate with Ibiki and take charge of the Anbu forces in defense of the main gate. I'll need every available Anbu and Jounin to handle those curse-seal monsters, while Jiraiya summons Gamabunta to take care of the Oto summoner and his slithering summons."

"Send the kid." Jiraiya casually said.

"What?"

"I said send Naruto to take care of the Oto summoner and his snake, I'd be of better use on the frontline with the Anbu and others against Orochi-teme's walking freaks show."

Tsunade looked to Naruto and privately didn't relish the idea of sending her grandson out to fight against a snake summoner. Shinobi who could call upon powerful dark summons were usually highly strong and skilled warriors to be able to do so. However, Jiraiya seemed unconcerned about it and finally Tsunade asked with a little hesitation.

"Can you handle it Naruto?"

Naruto merely grinned from ear to ear, as he punched his fist into the palm of his hand and in a voice brimming with excitement and confidence declared.

"It will be a piece of cake baa-chan! I'll stop that Oto-teme and his pet before they get anywhere close to the village….believe it!"

"Naruto, put this coat on!" Jiraiya ordered, as he pulled a short-sleeved long white haori out of a closet, which was decorated by orange flame-like motifs on the bottom edges.

"Why do I need to wear this?"

"Because you're representing the Leaf village in battle and I'd like you to look a bit more presentable and respectable than you fighting in an orange t-shirt and wrinkled pants." Jiraiya snapped in irritation in a voice that would brook no argument on this matter.

"Fine, I'll wear it pervy-sage." Naruto replied in exasperation, as he put the coat on, before he asked.

"Is there anything else?"

"N-no, there's nothing else, you can go Minato…err I mean Naruto-kun and good luck." Tsunade answered; stunned as were all the others by how much Naruto looked like his father in that coat.

A moment later after he kissed Hinata goodbye, Naruto suddenly disappeared from the office in a flash of brilliant yellow light.

"The Hiraishin no Jutsu!" Tsunade shouted in disbelief, before she turned to Jiraiya and asked.

"Naruto's knows the Flying Thunder God technique, but, but how?"

"What can I say my love, I told you Naruto in some ways was smarter than Minato-kun was at his age. He knows the jutsu, because he learned the dark secret behind the technique your uncle created that makes it work even sooner than Minato-kun did."

"Wh-what is the dark secret about the technique Master-Jiraiya?" Hinata asked with some concern etched in her voice.

Jiriaya turned to look at everyone in the room before he uttered one foreboding word.

"Blood!"

---

Author Note: Hmm, I'm not sure if that qualifies as a cliffhanger, but there it is. So here is my holiday gift to you all of chapter 62, which as you can see it was heavily focused on Jiraiya on Tsunade. Along with those two, I hope no one went into diabetic shock with the amount of adorable Minato that so many of you have commented you like so much. As for the rest of the chapter, you can see it was a varied mix of a some angst, drama, humor, and emotions.

Now some people might say that Tsunade was a bit ooc when she was alone with Jiraiya. However, take in account that she is going to act differently when in private with Jiraiya, because she's finally admitted to herself after so many years of denial that she does truly love him. Tsunade will keep up her strong, tough woman facade around him in public, but when they're alone, she's going to let her guard drop and be the loving wife to Jiraiya she feels he deserves.

Btw, the recipe Hinata described in the chapter is an actual recipe. If anyone decides to make it, please let me know how it taste. I would attempt to make it myself, but my cooking skills are so bad I could burn water, lol.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'm anxious to see what your reviews will be for it. I do wish to thank everyone both old and new readers who took the time to review my last chapter. It almost set a brand new record for me in reviews for any of my chapters. Actually, with the romantic lemon in it, I was surprised that it didn't. For those of you who did review, you all had a lot to say about it and I'm pleased that this story has such a strong fan base with readers who actually write out well thought-out reviews. Because of that, I enjoy reading many of your reviews, so please leave lots of them, as they do help a writer get a sense of the thoughts and opinions of the fans of a story. They also can help lift the spirits of an author as well. Also, to any readers who are staff members to any C2 communities, please feel free to add my story to your community if you feel it is worthy of it. I won't mind, I swear. I'll even pinkie swear if I need to?

Also,

HAPPY LABOR DAY TO EVERYONE!

---

News:

In 2010, my fellow author brown phantom initiated a poll asking the following question.

Who is the best Naruto fan fiction writer on this site?

Upon completion of that first poll I finished a very respectable 8th to which I thank all of you who voted for me on that poll very much for making that happen. Now brown phantom has decided to run a second poll asking that same question. So I humbly ask if you feel I'm worthy of being one of your 10 author picks to please place a vote for me on brown phantoms second poll. I thank you in advance for your support and normally I would provide you the links to the profile pages for brown phantom for you to use. However, one of the "oh so wonderful" changes FFNET has recently made is making it more difficult to list a link anywhere even if it's a link on their own freaking site. So just do a quick search for the author, brown phantom. As I said I finished 8th on his first poll and I would be ecstatic if I could improve on that showing, but I will need all of your help to achieve that.

End of News:

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Now, onto everyone's favorite section Kingkakashi's rants on the manga yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I have very little negative things to say about the following issues of the Naruto manga.

*Warning I do give away some spoilers in my rants, so read at your own risk.

#638 – This chapter begins with Sakura shrieking at Hinata about what happened to the Juubi and the Hyuga girl using her Byakugan explains that the Juubi disappeared by being absorbed into Obito allowing him to become the Supreme Jinchuuriki. The First Hokage attempts to trap Obito in a much more complex wooden stock jutsu that was able to hold the Juubi, but Obito crushes it easily. Obito then destroys the barrier the four Edo-Tensei Hokage's had erected. Obito then confronts Naruto, Sasuke, and Minato who tries to reason with his former student, before the First, Second, and Third Edo-Tensei Hokage's jump in front of him. Hashirama openly admits that Obito is stronger than him, before he and his brother Tobirama are viciously ripped in half by Obito ending the chapter. A decent chapter and a pretty good cliffhanger from Kishimoto, as the good guys are basically screwed if they just lost the First and Second Edo-Tensei revived Hokage's.

#639 – Good news, Hashirama and Tobirama survive and are able to place a couple of seals onto Obito as he attacked them allowing them to use their very own damaged revived bodies to bind Obito. While bound, Tobirama then unleashes a continuous series of exploding notes onto Obito. Unfortunately, once again the power of the Supreme Jinchuuriki seems unstoppable, as Obito survives virtually unscathed. The Third Hokage Sarutobi attacks with a barrage of shadow shurikens, but it fails as well. Obito then counterattacks launching some sort of weird dark bijuu chakra spear damaging Sarutobi, before Obito is able to grab him by his face and blast his head off.

Naruto openly complains that he and Minato should be trying to help the First, Second, and Third Hokage's. To which Sasuke criticizes him, telling Naruto that the Hokage's are Edo-Tensei revived and that they're attacking trying to find a weakness in Obito and that Naruto should stop bitching and study what's going on. Then we get another example of Kishimoto's love of Sasuke, as he has Minato silently compliment the duck-haired butt Uchiha. Minato and Hashirama move in to attack Obito, but Madara decides he can't wait any longer to fight the First Hokage and cuts him off. Meanwhile, Obito is starting to have some problems controlling his power and Minato moves in to attack. However, Obito counter-attacks both Naruto and Sasuke putting them in peril ending the chapter. Overall, a pretty good chapter other than the brief snippet of Uchiha love and another good cliffhanger at the end a swell.

#640 – There really isn't a whole lot of substance to this chapter. Minato ends up saving Naruto and Sasuke in the nick of time. Obito starts losing control of his mind and body form the intense power of the Juubi. Minato moves in to attack the struggling Obito. The rest of the chapter is Obito fighting to gain complete control of the Juubi's power with some flashback memories from him thrown in for effect. He gains total control and thwarts the Fourth Hokage's attack at the last instant taking Minato's right arm off. The cliffhanger of this chapter is Obito attached a mini-bijuu bomb onto Minato before he used the Hiraishin jutsu to flash back to Naruto and Sasuke and now it looks like it's about to explode taking all three of the heroes with it. A decent chapter, but like I said very little actually took place in it.

#641 – This chapter starts with Minato about to Hiraishin away with the bijuu bomb to save Naruto and Sasuke, when a Tobirama clone steps in and takes the bijuu bomb and using the Hiraishin teleports back to Obito and attaches the bomb to him and it explodes. You then switch to a scene of the First Hokage Hashirama locked in a fierce battle with Madara. The rest of the Shinobi Alliance army is watching the battle in awe and wetting themselves in fear at thought of getting involved in it. Shikamaru rallies the troops earning a silent compliment from Temari that he would make a good Hokage.

Back to Obito, who somehow managed to block the bijuu bomb thus remaining unaffected. Naruto and Sasuke rush in to attack and create an opening for Minato and Tobirama to use and attack Obito. It looks like Naruto and Sasuke's combo Rasengan and Amaterasu attack is going to fail and hit Minato who has suddenly jumped in front of them. However, Tobirama manages to use the Hiraishin and switch out Minato with Obito and the combo attack from Naruto and Sasuke hits him dead on. The end of the chapter is Sakura continuing to screech at Hinata about what's going with Naruto and Sasuke (somebody get the pink-banshee some binoculars please) and Hinata using her Byakugan answers that they're both smiling. A good chapter for the most part, with a lot of action in it.

#642 – Well, this chapter starts with the aftermath of Naruto and Sasuke's attack on Obito...did it work? Of course it didn't work, don't you know Kishimoto yet. Obito didn't even get a scratch. The good guys then discover that Obito's jutsu has somehow negated the regenerative affects of the Edo-Tensei so the four revived Hokage's can no longer sustain any serious wounds. Naruto decides he and Sasuke need to take their power to another level and Naruto attempts to go into bijuu mode, but fails as Kurama hasn't replenished his demonic chakra yet. Kishimoto for whatever reason, because it sure isn't comedy has Tobirama mock the intelligence of both father and son in Minato and Naruto. Gamakichi fires off one last attack onto Obito who easily defeats it and tells Naruto that was his parting gift, as his summoning time is about to run out and he vanishes back to Mt. Myoboku.

Minato and Obito then have a small philosophical discussion, before Obito starts insulting his former sensei. This hacks Naruto off and he defends his father by launching an attack with the help of Tobirama. It appears that both Naruto and Tobirama realized that while Ninjutsu is proving ineffective against Obito, Senjutsu does work and Naruto nails Obito with a powerful Senjutsu Rasengan. Minato is suitably impressed when suddenly a voice rings out in his head and the chapter ends with a foreboding shadow shaped like the Kyuubi no Youko inside Minato's brain saying it was a touching speech by Naruto, enough to move even him. Overall, a pretty good chapter, as it was filled mainly with battle-action scenes. I may rip on Kishimoto about several things, but the man can write really good battle scenes when he chooses to.

#643 – Ok, so we all know that when Minato sealed the Kyuubi no Youko into Naruto, he only sealed half of it into his son and the other half into himself. So this chapter begins with the half that Minato sealed inside of himself admonishing Minato for his self-pity and regrets he's feeling, if he had only recognized that it was his own student who unleashed the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon years ago. You then switch back to the aftermath of Naruto's attack onto Obito and it did dome damage. Obito is pissed that even though he's the Supreme Jinchuuriki now, he can't believe he has this weakness against Senjutsu based attacks. Obito decides it's time to implement the Infinite Tsukuyomi and creates this giant monstrosity of a bijuu tree and it rises high into the sky and it produces four massive bijuu bombs.

Everyone is freaked about this, especially the Alliance army and they don't know what to do. Even Shikamaru is baffled and can't come up with a plan for them. Hashirama tries to convince Madara to stop their fight, but the elder Uchiha refuses. The First Hokage comes up with a plan to redirect all of those bombs, but Obito negates it by creating a huge barrier that surrounds everyone, thus trapping them inside with the bombs. All seems lost, until Naruto asks his Dad to bump fists and by doing so the two halves of the Kyuubi no Youko are reunited. Obito points out to Naruto that tomorrow is the anniversary of his parents death, which also means that it's Naruto's birthday. So he and Minato have successfully linked up the Kyuubi's chakra and prepare for the greatest father-son attack ever ending the chapter. Another good chapter from Kishimoto as once again it was action-based for the most part.

#644 – This chapter starts off with Naruto and Minato powering up using the full 100% capacity of the Kyuubi noYouko. You then cut to the Shinobi Alliance army still freaking out and realizing their trapped within this barrier and Obito is about to set off the bijuu bombs killing all of them. You then switch back to Naruto and Minato and apparently Naruto and Kurama have come up with a plan, which he starts explaining to his father. Once again Naruto sends out his chakra to everyone to protect them, only this time its even stronger. Obito unleashes the bijuu bombs and like with the Edo-Tensei Hokage's barrier they had erected previously, Obito's barrier also holds and the blast is eventually funneled up and out of the barrier into the sky.

In the aftermath, Obito discovers that Naruto's chakra protected everyone once again, while Minato using the Hiraishin was able to teleport all of them outside of the barrier. The next few pages is the explanation of how Naruto and Minato were able to pull off what they did in saving everyone. Kishimoto makes another attempt at humor by having Naruto comment that the Second Hokage know a lot about his Shadow Clone jutsu. Tobirama is insulted by this, as he's the one who invented that jutsu in the first place. The chapter ends with Minato wanting to have a "Hallmark Moment" with Naruto, as he reminisces about his and Kushina's death. Naruto says there's no need ending the chapter. Overall, not quite as good as the previous couple of chapters, but still pretty decent.

Yes, I'm still thoroughly disgusted that Kishimoto hasn't done anything yet with Hinata's confession to Naruto now reaching 207 freaking issues!

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Now I'd like to give a shout out to a couple of stories of quality work that I recommend. I urge all of you to check-out these fine works when you have the time.

Recommendations:

"Truths Revealed Lies Exposed " by VFSNAKE: Well, the King of the excellent crossover story is now giving the people a very original and creative Star Wars tale that isn't a crossover. The story is a gripping piece filled with many twists and turns from the original. I also have to say the personality this author is developing for Darth Vader is very unique and rarely seen in Star Wars stories. Most of you already know about the quality of VFSNAKE work. So I'll just say if you're a Star Wars fan and would like to read something very different, unique, and entertaining about that universe. I'm absolutely positive that you will enjoy reading this tale.

"Hinata's Decision" by The Gallant Toad Sage: This is a cute, funny, and romantic short story involving Hinata and Naruto. It's very light-hearted and enjoyable to read and if you're looking for something fun and different in a NarutoxHinata story, then this is one you should checkout. However, I do warn you in advance that it does contain some explicit adult situations, as Hinata and Naruto are 19yrs old in the tale.

Now please be kind and leave precious valuable reviews on these stories.

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As always, if anyone wants to discuss my story in greater detail, just shoot me a PM. I enjoy talking about the story with any readers who really have an interest in it. I'll try to respond back to you as quickly as I can.

Take it easy and be good!

Kingkakashi

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School Time:

Incomparable

Definition: Beyond comparison, matchless or unequaled.

Etymology: Late Middle English 1375-1425a.d.

Part of Speech: Adjective