Naruto was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he had just met Senju Hashirama when said man's younger brother suddenly appeared next to him.

The child lowered his spoon and turned to welcome the ghost, but his words failed him when he saw the cold expression on the man's face.

'My brother just made a disconcerting discovery.' The Shodai's words still rang clearly in his head.

Whatever this discovery had been, it must have affected him deeply. He had seen hints of his jiji's cold fury before, but it had never been close to this level.

For a moment Naruto felt like he had walked into the eye of a raging storm.

Calm.

Dangerous.

Deadly.

"You never have to fear him," Hashirama's words whispered quietly into his ear and Naruto resolutely put his spoon down, hopping down the chair to throw his arms around the man's waist.

For several long seconds, Tobirama simply stared at him before his gaze softened slightly and a hand landed gently on the child's head.

"I had a dream last night," Naruto informed him quietly. "I saw your brother."

Tobirama stiffened. "You saw…Hashirama?" he whispered, almost inaudibly.

Naruto nodded. "He said that you made a dico.. disco.. dinoncenting discovery."

"Disconcerting," Tobirama corrected automatically, trying to wrap his mind around the child's words. Had his brother really visited Naruto in his dreams? Why? How?

"What else did he say?" he asked, trying to keep the urgency out of his tone.

"He was worried about you," Naruto answered. "He is happy that you are not alone and…", the child paused and raised his head to look at the man. "He said that he is proud of you and that he loves you."

He tightened his arms around the ghost. "This hug is from him."

Tobirama blinked, the cold pressure around him subsiding, and he huffed out a small laugh. "Already dead and still watching out for me. That is just like him."

He sighed deeply and pressed the child tightly against him. "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto nodded against his stomach. "There was something else he said," he added, hesitant to break the mood.

"What was it?" the Nidaime asked quietly.

"He said…", the child fidgeted uncertainly. "He said…" Naruto swallowed, suddenly feeling very unsure.

No. He couldn't say it.

What if Hashirama-ji- the First was wrong?

Sure, Tobirama-jiji had been very nice to him. But did that really make them family?

Naruto threw an overly cheerful smile at the man and tried to wriggle out of the embrace. "It's a secret."

The ghost frowned and easily kept the child in place. "Do not use masks with me, Naruto," he chided him. "Your acting skills are sorely lacking, and I do not appreciate being lied to. What did my brother say, and why do you think I would disapprove of it?"

Naruto's shoulders slumped. He should have known better than trying to trick the Nidaime.

Fine.

"He said that you had all but adopted me," the child mumbled, quoting Hashirama's words. "And that he would be glad to call me family." The last sentence was added almost inaudibly.

Tobirama froze for a second, a strange expression flitting over his face before it eased into something that could only be described as fond tranquility. "He really has not changed at all."

Naruto tilted his head, confused by the man's easy reaction.

"Well, technically he is correct," Tobirama's eyes lowered to meet his. "The Senju and Uzumaki clans have always been very close. In fact, we consider each other sister clans, because we share an ancestry long before we split into our respective clans. You and I are related, very distantly."

"Really?!" Naruto replied, staring wide-eyed at the ghost.

"Yes," the man agreed. "In some way, we are indeed family."

Tobirama knew that he had just answered and evaded the child's indirect question at the same time. Nothing he had said was a lie, but it did not truly relate to the true meaning behind his brother's words.

He knew his brother well enough to know that Hashirama had not meant the literal relation. He had meant the personal one. The one between Tobirama and Naruto and not the one between the Senju and Uzumaki clans.

But the child was still skittish and insecure when it came to bounds. So, the best thing he could do was to inform him of the one connection that could never be severed.

To give Naruto something to claim and cling to.

Feelings could change, but your ancestry didn't.

Tobirama had always been the practical one.

And speaking of practical. There was something else he had to do.

He had been hesitant about telling Naruto the extent of Danzo's betrayal. He wanted to shield him a bit longer, preserve at least some of the innocence that had been robbed from his youngest brother – along with his life – when he had been the same age as Naruto.

But then he had remembered his younger brothers.

Itama, Kawarma. They had lost their lives way too young in a war they should never have been forced to fight in.

He did not want Naruto to join the long list of people he had lost.

The child needed to hear the truth.

For his own protection.

Or he would never understand the danger his former student posed now.

"Sit down, Naruto," the Second told him firmly. "There is something you need to hear."

Naruto was angry. Very angry. How someone could do something so…so mean was beyond his comprehension. He really wanted to go and give that Danzo person a piece of his mind.

It had taken Tobirama quite some time to get the incensed child do calm down and even longer to stop him from storming up to the Hokage and demanding the man's immediate arrest.

It was the reminder that Naruto could not explain the source of his knowledge that finally stopped the child's raging. That and the fact that Tobirama had promised to deal with it in his own way.

Judging by the way Naruto's kitchen window almost froze over at the Nidaime's declaration, it would not be a pleasant experience.

The child wisely decided not to get in the way of the ghost's plotting, and he busied himself with searching for a place to put his tomatoes while he waited for his team to arrive.

To his surprise, it was only Shisui who found him an hour later.

"Most of the team is still resting because they spent the entire night searching the village," the young man informed him. "We won't be training today, but we can do something else."

He waved a piece of paper into the boy's face. "We can test your affinity."

The air shifted slightly as Tobirama appeared next to them, looking rather interested.

"What do I have to do?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Channel chakra into it," Shisui answered, grinning brightly.

Naruto happily took the offered paper and called upon his chakra.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Three pairs of eyes watched incredulously as the paper damped and clumps of wet earth dropped to the ground.

"I don't believe it," Shisui muttered quietly.

Tobirama felt a sudden sense of déjà vu when he saw the paper react the exact way his brother's had a lifetime ago.

Water and Earth.

"This will remain a secret," Shisui told Naruto once he had calmed himself down. "You cannot tell anybody about this."

"He is correct," Tobirama agreed immediately. "This is another one of those dangerous secrets I have told you about. Especially with someone like Danzo around." His face darkened. "If someone asks, your affinity is water Do not let anyone know that you have the ability to develop a bloodline limit."

Naruto nodded, dumbfounded. "Okay…"

Shisui rose his eyebrows. "You are not asking why?"

"I don't need to," Naruto answered resolutely, meeting Shisui's gaze with a serious one of his own. "I know why."

His friend laughed in amused surprise and leaned forward to ruffle his hair. "You really keep surprising me, kid. Let's keep this a secret between the two of us, okay?" He winked.

He received his answer in form of a very tight hug courtesy of an extremely happy child.

Shisui easily returned his hug. "You are welcome, Naruto. Now let's go and bug Itachi, shall we?"

Tobirama's esteem for the Uchiha was raising quickly. To promise to keep a secret like this from even the Hokage. He was torn between being grateful for his discretion and being appalled at his lack of dutifulness.

If someone had kept a secret like that from him, he would have been very displeased. But then again, he was not really Hokage anymore, was he? He was Senju Tobirama now, and while he still desired to protect the village, his current duty was now far more direct.

It was to guide and shield Uzumaki Naruto.

His brother's legacy.

And if he had anything to say about it: The future Hokage of Konohagakure.

Uchiha Itachi had been lucky. His unit had not been among the ones called to investigate the chakra disturbance.

The Uchiha suspected that it was because of his clan affiliation and the close proximity of the incident to the clan compound.

Shisui had not been called in either, even though his team had been running around the entire day and night.

Neither his father nor the Uchiha elders had been very pleased about being excluded from that particular investigation.

Unwilling to listen to their complaints, it was hardly his fault he had been excluded, he had excused himself to go training. It was an excuse that always worked well with them. Nobody wanted to stop him from furthering his abilities and bringing honor to the clan.

Thankfully, Sasuke was still in the academy, and Itachi was silently relieved that his little brother had not been forced to listen to this.

He wanted him to grow up happily.

But sadly enough, that was not something within his powers to grant. All he could do was to excel and shield Sasuke as much as he could.

His dark musings were interrupted by two very familiar figures flickering in front of him in practiced unison. He absently wondered how long they had rehearsed getting that one down and raised his eyebrows at the overly dramatic "Ta-da," he got from both of them in lieu of a greeting.

"Well done," he complimented them drily. "Do you wish for me to sign you up for a circus performance?"

"Naruto, I think we have to eat all these sweets alone," Shisui told the younger boy mock-seriously. "Itachi is being mean again."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "You can have the pocky then."

"Pocky?" Itachi was instantly interested.

"Only for nice people," Shisui replied, dangling the box in front of his best friend's face.

Itachi rolled his eyes and snatched the box. "You two are the best shinobi to ever grace this patch of snow-covered grass with your presence."

Naruto huffed. "That's hardly impressive considering that it has just stopped snowing." He mentally patted himself on the shoulder for actually managing to use so many grown-up words. Trying to decipher his jiji's lectures was really paying off.

Shisui shot him another surprised look while Itachi's lips twitched slightly in amusement. "Exactly."

Naruto threw a strawberry biscuit at his face.

Itachi caught it easily.

The orange-masked man was staring at the waterfall roaring down between the two imposing statues, his legs dangling down the Uchiha's head.

"How is the situation?" he inquired, not turning his head away from the natural boundary.

"The Search has stopped. Konoha is calming down," a shadowed figure answered, its blurred outlines sharpening as it slowly emerged out of the ground. "They have found no chakra residue."

"So the child managed to conceal it," the masked man replied easily. "Interesting."

"You had the child within your grasp," the shadowed figure muttered, stepping closer. "Why did you not take him? He would have been helpless within your dimension."

"Are you questioning me?" the orange-masked man asked sharply. "I have plans, Zetsu and it will be an excellent test for... Pain."

"A test?"

"He is a very driven individual," the masked man answered, slowly rising to his feet. His steps were soundless as he approached the edge of the statue, a tiny flame igniting on top of his palm. "But I wonder how far he is willing to go to reach his goals. There is a difference between killing someone and robbing a child of his youth. I want to see what he will do."

The flame wavered in his hand. "Will he show mercy?"

"Or will he crush him?" Fingers closed slowly around the quivering flame. The orange light flickered in desperation and disappeared.

"What will you do, Uzumaki Nagato?"

Yellow and red eyes followed the smoke slowly fading towards the moon's bright gaze.

A/N

A word on affinities: Please remember that this story is marked as AU. Affinities and nature transformations work differently than in canon and will be explored more later. If you don't like it, then I suggest you leave now, because things are only going to be more AU from now on. I am not forcing you to play on my playground; you are free to wander off to the sandbox next door ;-)

On another note. My workload increased a bit (too many ill /quarantined coworkers :-/), so it'll take me a few days longer to update.

Thanks for your support! :D

alharethabdelmonum Thanks. :D Haha. Yes, that jar's gonna be filled really good. ;) Take care!

thtadthtshldntb Really? I am flattered. =) His reaction is something I always wanted to see, too. I don't think it will be pretty. Well. At least here it won't. Yup, that's true. That was one of the things I was thinking about when I wrote the family part. It's mentioned in this chap, too. =)

buterflypuss, Gouravsilentreader Thank you! :D

OneAutumnLief Haha. You're welcome. =)

Yamajiji Thanks. Yup, Danzo's not gonna like it.

Guest 16 Wah~ I am really happy you like it! I am always over the moon when people tell me they like Team Ke. :D And Kakashi, well... he has a hard journey ahead of him *xD* It's really a cool sentence, right? And of course, Danzo will get what he deserves. Please stay safe, too!

Princess Hinashi Good question. ;) It won't be nice, though.

lostxinxthexdarkness Thanks! I am looking forward to that part, too. It will probably start within the next two-three chapters.

Maelstrom22 Thx! Yes, there was. We'll see that one later. =)

Rob4133 Thank you! :D Well, I am not saying yes or no, but I think the hints are rather obvious by now. *xD*

Reaping Shadow Happy you like it. :D Haha, I'd love to do that, sadly my workload has a bit increased, so it would probably take me a bit longer, rather than shorter. Sorry *xD*

Tygreezy25 Hm. Good question. There are hints in this chapter ;D He did inherit his "Legacy" after all.

yatinsharma250600 Thanks =) That part came a bit unexpected for me, too. But it fit somehow. I tried looking for a canon scene that fit it, but it's rather difficult since we are still pre-canon here. I am up for ideas on that part, but we will see him fighting at some point. I tried to at least hint at his mental growth in this chapter a bit.

sayaka uzumaaki Thanks. :D Haha. Yes, he really is.