Chapter 6 – Revelations
It would be a couple of months since the lunch at the Nara's. Naruto, Choji, Kiba and Shikamaru remained very good friends. They would hang out and do things together. It would range from playing ninja to watching clouds. It has been a very good thing for every one of the boys. For Naruto, he had people who acknowledged him. He no longer had to crave for it because he had his buddies. It cut down his pranks and the village was actually thankful for it. For Kiba, Naruto is like the brother he never had. They were always challenging each other, each wanting to be the top dog. They were the best of friends.
For Choji, the plump academy student had friends who had his back. They helped him to toughen up a little and not to be pushed around much. He was always picked when they had an activity and he was never picked on by the four. Choji was a much happier person. For Shikamaru, he was a little more active like her mother wanted. He had to just to keep up with Naruto and Kiba. However, they would do stuff that he wanted to do and never really complained. They watched clouds and sometimes, they would talk about stuff. He found the two less troublesome than before.
They ignored the people in the class who called them 'losers'. It was something that everyone did because they were still in the lower ranks. Despite their success in the two exercises, they still cut class, disrespect authority and did not pay attention. Everyone did not take the group of four serious and thought that they would never amount to anything. They ignored them and just continued to hang out. If they wanted to call them 'losers', then let them.
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The new term begins and everyone was sitting and waiting for Iruka and Mizuki. It did not take long for the two to enter and they faced the class. After getting their attention, Iruka gave them all a serious look.
"Okay class, I would like to welcome you to the new and improve term of your ninja training." Iruka began.
"What do you mean sensei?" asked a student.
"Due to the exercises that you all took last term, the Hokage and several others has changed the curriculum of the class. You will be the first class to go through this change and if it is successful, it will be implemented for future students." Iruka answered.
"What will these changes be Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto.
"Well, for our lectures, we will have more participation than before. You all will give your opinions and have debates. The only thing is that if it gets too mean, we will put a stop to the discussion immediately. Another thing that we will do, are those exercises. Every month you will be assigned into teams and give a real-life situation that your whole team will receive a grade on it. Another addition will be the guest speakers. At some time, a former or current shinobi will enter the class where you will a Q & A with them." Iruka explained. The class liked what they were hearing, even Naruto looked excited. Iruka saw this and smiled. With no more questions, Iruka started the class off with the new set of terms.
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The four friends were looking down into town from the hill that they were resting on. During lunch, they were able to sneak away and cut class. Despite the new stuff that they were doing, they did need a break. Lucky for them, they had become masters at breaking out of the academy and not being found. They met up after they all split up to escape. They were currently watching the clouds like they always did.
"You know maybe we shouldn't have cut today. Wasn't there someone cool coming in to talk?" Naruto asked.
"Nope, it was my dad. All he really does is goes to meetings with the council since he's a jōnin commander. Besides, it would be like me talking to the class." Shikamaru said. The guys agreed and continued to watch the clouds. That's when Kiba spoke up.
"Hey Naruto, in a about a week, you won't be able to keep up with me anymore." Kiba said with a smirk.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked with narrowed eyes.
"Guess who's learning the Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu in a few days?" Kiba asked with a smirk. Naruto sat up and looked at Kiba with wide eyes.
"No way! That's not fair!" Naruto shouted. Kiba just grinned and so did Akamaru. Choji looked at the two and chuckled.
"So, you're learning stuff too huh? Dad is starting to teach me how to do the Human Boulder. What about you Shikamaru? Are you learning the Shadow Possession Jutsu?" he asked.
"Not like I have a choice. My dad is so whipped he would do anything to not get yelled at. Luck for me, he always out with his drinking buddies to teach me." Shikamaru said.
"Aw man, you guys are so lucky!" Naruto exclaimed before lying on the grass. He looks up into the sky. "I wish that I had some cool family ability."
"I've always wondered about that Naruto." Shikamaru spoke. The blond looked at him with confusion. "I know that you're an orphan but usually there is a record of your family somewhere. You mean to tell me that you have no information of you your parents can be?"
"Well, I have looked but I'm not really welcomed at the archives. I've talked to the old man but he doesn't give me a straight answer. I think he knows but I'm not sure. I mean, he always tells me that they loved me very much but I would like him to tell me a name at least." Naruto said with a somber tone. Shikamaru looked at Naruto with confusion.
"What about your surname?" Kiba asked.
"I checked that too but it is almost like there is no record of another Uzumaki besides me. It is almost like it was removed." Naruto said. Shikamaru looked even more confused about this. That was just weird. Who would erase another member who could be Naruto's family? This deserved a bit of investigation.
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"So what's up Shikamaru? Where's Naruto?" Kiba asked. The Inuzuka was invited to the BBQ restaurant to talk to the two.
"I didn't invite Naruto because it concerns him." Shikamaru said. The two boys looked at him with curiousness. "Naruto's birthday is coming up in two weeks. I think that we should get him some information that he has been dying for."
"You mean that stuff he was talking about yesterday?" Kiba asked.
"Don't you find it odd that all information has just been removed? I know that the Hokage and Naruto are close so why wouldn't he tell Naruto? I think we should give him that closure because it would be nice." Shikamaru said.
"Okay, I get that but how are we going to do it? Like you said, it is like the information has been removed from the archives. How are we going to find anything about Naruto's family?" Choji asked.
"While there is no information about Naruto's parents with the name Uzumaki, there has to be something about the name." Shikamaru said.
"We're going to do some reading, aren't we?" Kiba said with a groan.
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The three were searching the library for anything that had the name Uzumaki on it. It took them a while but they found an old history, detailing the lands of old. They put the book down and opened it. They made their way through the book and found something about Land of Whirlpools. Shikamaru began to read.
"The Village Hidden by Whirling Tides or the Hidden Eddy Village was a shinobi village of the Land of Whirlpools. It is the home of the Uzumaki clan." Shikamaru paused and looked at the three who looked at him. Shikamaru continued reading. "The village is also called the Village of Longevity due to the people of the Hidden Village living notoriously long lives. The Hidden Eddy Village has close ties to the Hidden Leaf Village due to the Uzumaki and the Senju being distant blood relatives. The ninja of this land we very well versed in the act of sealing techniques. They were feared and respected worldwide. It would be this reason that the Village of Longevity was destroyed. There are records of survivors but they have scattered throughout the world." He finished reading and they leaned back.
"Holy shit. That was just," Kiba began but did not finish. Choji looked at Shikamaru.
"Do you think that this will be enough?" he asked.
"Let's find out some more stuff. We gather it all up and we make a book. We will give it to Naruto on his birthday." Shikamaru stated. The other two nodded and they went to get help.
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It would be two weeks later when Naruto was told to get dressed and come to the Inuzuka home. He didn't know why but who was he to say no to Tsume. Lucky for him, he had guards watching on this day. People tended to get a little antsy on his birthday. So, he made his way to the Inuzuka home and entered. It was a dark and he could not hear anything. He careful entered the house and searched. That's when the lights went on.
"Surprise!" Naruto jumped two feet in the air and looked for an exit. When he heard laughter, he looked to see that everyone her knew was here. Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Tsume, Hana, Chōza, Chiharu, Ayame, Tenchi, Yoshino and Shikaku gave him all smiles. "Happy Birthday!" Naruto looked at the group in wonder. His eyes began to tear up but he quickly wiped them away. He gave everyone a very big smile.
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Naruto was enjoying his birthday a lot. There was food and friends. It would be the first birthday that Naruto ever had. It would also be his happiest birthday ever. There would be nothing that could ruin this day for him. It was time for the presents and Naruto couldn't wait. From Ayame and Tenchi, he got free coupons for Ichirakus' ramen. Chōza and Chiharu gave Naruto a cookbook that he could use at home. Tsume gave him some cool looking ninja clothes. Hana got him a set of ninja tools. Shikaku got him a book of puzzles. Yoshino got him a potted plant. That's when his three friends stepped up.
"We got something that we think you will like." Shikamaru said and handed him a book. Naruto saw the book and was curious about it. "Open it." Naruto shrugged and opened the book. He read the first paragraph and was stunned.
"Uzumaki clan?" Naruto whispered. The adults were stunned and gave each other looks. Naruto looked at his friends. "Where… Where did you guys find this stuff?"
"We found an old history book about all the old lands. There was a section on your clan's home. Your clan was great man. Do you know that you're like distant relatives of the Senju clan?" Kiba said with some excitement.
"We even know that your clan was well-known worldwide. It was the reason that they were destroyed. Oh, I'm sorry about that. Still, they did not go down easy. Even with the combined forces of Hidden Mist and the Hidden Cloud, they left with nearly sixty percent of their forces taken out." Choji added.
"There specialty was an art called sealing jutsu. They were masters of it. So, now you have something that you can do just like us." Shikamaru said. Naruto was still silent and the three were a little worried. "Naruto, is everything okay?" Naruto did not answer him. They all saw drops of tears dropping from his eyes. Kiba reached out to comfort him but he quickly left the room and out the property. The guys were shocked by the reaction. They thought that they did a nice thing for him. That's when Shikaku came up on them.
"Do not feel bad boys. You did something really wonderful for him. He's really grateful to you three." Shikaku said.
"So, what just happened? If I didn't know any better, I would say that he was angry as well as sad." Kiba said.
"He is angry and sad Kiba. The reason is because the one person that he trusted above all else has been lying to him. Your present confirms it. You guys enjoy the food. Shikaku and I are going to make sure that Naruto is alright." Tsume said. The two left, leaving three very confused boys.
XXX
Hiruzen was enjoying a smoke. He had finished his paperwork and he had some time before he would make his way to the Inuzuka home. He knew that Naruto would be having a surprise party and he was happy for the boy. He had finally gotten some recognition from some good people. They did not use him and they genuinely cared for the boy's well-being. It would be a happy surprise for the young blond.
Suddenly his door was thrown open. Hiruzen looked at the entrance way and saw that it was Naruto who did it. The boy was in tears and he looked at him with anger he had never seen before. Naruto continued to look at him with anger and took slow steps toward his desk. When he was in front of it, he slammed the book that his friends made for him right in front of him. Hiruzen looked at the book and saw information about the Hidden Eddy Village. Hiruzen looked at the blond with a sad expression. He could see the hurt and betrayal in his eyes.
He would normally attempt to talk, to explain, but he saw that this would not end well.
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Authors' Notes: This is a little different than I had before. While, I do think that Naruto is super tricky, I did not really enjoy the two chapters I had him do to learn about his clan. It just seemed easy to me when I re-read it. This way just seemed more believable than what I had before. His friends' wanting to do something for his birthday was a really good idea. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter.
