Naruto and Sakura were in front of Sakura's house. Since the young pinkette stayed with the blond for the night. They were here so she could change her clothes. When they walked in, Naruto was shocked to see two dead bodies on the ground. It wasn't his first time seeing one. In the red light district, he's seen a few people die from overdoses or alcohol poisoning. Not to mention the memories Kurama showed him of his parents fighting enemy shinobi together. He aspired to be just as strong if not stronger than them so he could make them proud.
Sakura still felt nothing for her mother or stepfather's corpses. Which is still really weird to her. But she was actually grateful for it. She really didn't want to be sad over them. Granted Sakura knew girls her age shouldn't be killing yet. The young girl knew that at that point, it was either her or Hiro. Her choice was quite clear.
She ran to the bathroom to clean herself up. Naruto waited for her in the kitchen. By the time Sakura was dressed and had clothes packed up. It was already 8:30. Naruto and Sakura agreed that Sakura could room with Naruto as long as she wanted. He enjoyed having company. Plus neither he or her really wanted to be alone. Sakura was more than happy to move in with the blond she's only met less than a full day ago. It was amazing how much safer she could feel with him over her own family.
The duo ran to the same spot they met at yesterday. When they got there, Sasuke was already there. It was only 8:50.
"Well it's about time you two showed up." The raven haired boy smirked.
"Hey didn't you say 9? It's only 8:50." Naruto voiced.
Sasuke shrugged. "I did but I got impatient with waiting. I've been up since 7."
"Couldn't wait to see us again huh Sasuke?" Sakura teased lightly.
"Honestly no I couldn't." Sasuke admitted.
"Heh me and Sakura felt the same. We left to go to her house early so we wouldn't be late showing up. She's going to be staying with me from now on. We don't know what should we do about the corpses in her house though." Naruto answered.
"I guess we could go tell my mom about it. You might have to tell her exactly what happened Sakura. I'm pretty sure she won't try to get you into trouble. Like you said, you were only defending yourself. Plus it's going to be hard to punish an 8 year old girl for killing a chunin without any proof. Not to mention he did have ill intentions towards you." Sasuke suggested.
Sakura shuddered. "Ugh please don't remind me."
"Sorry." The raven haired boy apologized.
Said pinkette waved him off. "Well guys how about we go to the library first instead? That way we could find something that interests us to try to learn?"
Both boys agreed, the trio made their way to the library.
(Uchiha District)
Mikoto Uchiha was a bit worried about Sasuke. She was extremely worried when he left yesterday. He didn't return until a bit past midnight. Normally she would've scolded him for coming in so late. But she let him be since she knew he probably did not want to be home. Not that she could really blame him.
The Uchiha Matriarch did notice how much happier her youngest son seemed when he did return. It made her wonder what could've happened to make him that happy.
Imagine her surprise when he nearly skipped out on breakfast this morning. As soon as he was done eating. Sasuke gave her a hug and ran out the door. While she was happy that her son wasn't still upset by her idiotic husband's harsh words. It made her wonder just what was going on with him.
She sighed. Mikoto knew she wouldn't figure out anything until Sasuke decided to come home. And she had no way of knowing when that was going to be. Right now she had the house to herself. Itachi was still on a mission. Fugaku was with the clan elders thank god. She really did not want to be near him. Last night she forced him to sleep in a different room. He had another thing coming if he thought he was going to sleep in the same bed as her after the shit he pulled. It pleased her when Fugaku didn't put up a fight about it either.
The house didn't need to be cleaned. She thought about making lunch but there was no telling if Sasuke was coming back for lunch. Fugaku hardly came for lunch and even if he did. This time around he'll have to make his own.
For now all the retired jounin could do was watch tv. Mikoto decided to do this because she really did not feel like walking through the village. While she did love Konoha. She did not love how some people looked at her because she was an Uchiha. Mikoto is known as a legendary kunoichi in her own right alone throughout the whole continent. Yet some people still think of her as a typical arrogant Uchiha like most of her clan members. It really pisses her off that she has to deal with that image. A huge part of her regrets not taking the title of clan head. She could have made a difference as to how people perceive the Uchiha clan. Unlike Fugaku who seems to enjoy their clan being looked at this way. She was grateful that as cold as Itachi turned out to be. He wasn't arrogant. No he eldest son was far from arrogant unlike his father. Sasuke is the same. Her youngest child is not arrogant either. With him all Mikoto needs to do is keep him from becoming arrogant as his he gets older and grows stronger. Mikoto knew that out of her two children. The one who really had the most potential was Sasuke. As much as Itachi has accomplished at a young age. Sasuke is the one will end up being the strongest out of their family some day. She believed that whole heartedly. There's nothing that will ever change her mind about that.
Speaking of her lovable sweet son. Mikoto felt his chakra signature closing in. He was right in front of the gate to the district. He was only 5 mins away from here. What caught her attention was the two other unknown chakra signatures along with him.
"I wonder who Sasuke-chan is with? Hmm hopefully he's made some friends his age. He really doesn't talk much with his cousins. Only Shisui when he's around. But like Itachi, Shisui is also very busy now a days." Mikoto said to herself.
Her question was answered when she felt all three chakra signatures at the door. Imagine her surprise when she sees her godson Naruto Uzumaki. The son of her best friend and sister in all but blood Kushina Uzumaki. One of Mikoto's regrets is that she never got to take care of Naruto. She wanted to adopt him the next day after the attack. However, she wasn't the only one who wanted him. Danzo Shimura also wanted to take care of the blond. Everyone knew he wanted to raise the boy to be a weapon. A weapon of his own ideals. Then there were some of the civilian council who wanted nothing more to kill Naruto. Mikoto wanted nothing more than to kill them along with Danzo that day. Unfortunately, the Third Hokage had to make a decision and put Naruto in an orphanage. That way no one could complain about the imbalance of power between clans. It was already bad that some believed the Uchiha clan had something to do with the release of the nine tails.
Mikoto also recognized the girl with them. If she remembered correctly, her name was Sakura Haruno. It was easy to say that Mikoto never got along with her mother. From the time where they were academy students all the way to adulthood. It didn't even matter if Mebuki ended up flunking out of the academy since she didn't pass the graduation exam. Somehow Mikoto always ended up butting heads with her. She learned about Sakura a few years ago when the girl was no more than 4 years old. She was one of her only ones who knew Mebuki was not mentally stable due to her husband's death. It made her feel bad for the child. Mikoto had wanted nothing more than to take the child herself to take care of her. But she would've gotten into trouble doing something like that. It also didn't help that at the time Mebuki was on the civilian council.
'Who would've thought that Sasuke would make friends with them two out of all the people?' Mikoto said to herself.
"Welcome back home Sasuke-chan." She smiled. "Mind introducing me to your friends here?"
"Hey kaa-san, this is Naruto." Sasuke pointed towards the blond. "And this is Sakura." He pointed to Sakura. "We became friends yesterday. Since we all decided we want to become shinobi when we get older. We should start training together. We actually just came back from the library. Sakura made us read a book about chakra." Sasuke explained.
Mikoto was surprised to hear this. "Oh? So you three think you have what it takes to become ninja huh?"
All three kids grinned at her. "I know we do for a fact dattebayo!" Naruto said.
Mikoto's eyes went wide while Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto curiously. "Dattebayo?" Sakura echoed.
Naruto looked sheepish while he was rubbing the back of his head. "Ah that's a verbal tic of mine that I get when I get excited. Kurama says I get it from my mom."
Now if Mikoto's eyes weren't wide before. They sure was now.
"Oh so you do know your parents? I thought you said you never met them?" Sakura asked.
"I didn't but Kurama was sealed in my mom before me. So he knows my parents pretty well. He showed me a lot of his memories of them. Many didn't know that my mom and Kurama were pretty close. Really only my dad and one of my mom's friends know. But I don't know who that is." Naruto answered.
"Uhh Naruto are you sure you should just be talking openly about Kurama like that? Didn't you say it was against the law to do so?" Sasuke questioned his friend.
"Eh I don't mind, it's not like I'm ashamed of Kurama or being a jinchuuriki. I just don't like how I'm treated for something I had no say in. Plus that law doesn't apply to me since it's about me. I can tell whoever I want about it. At least that's what Kurama said. Apparently he was listening to when the old man told the village about the law. He told them the same day, he announced my jinchuuriki status." The blond shrugged.
"I guess that makes sense. But you should still be careful about it. I wonder what happened to your parents while the Fourth Hokage was sealing Kurama inside of you?" Sakura said.
"Oh well you see the Fourth is my father. I'm the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." Naruto shrugged again.
Sakura and Sasuke were shocked. "Holy crap you do look just like the Yondaime!" Sasuke yelled.
"How in the world didn't anybody else notice it? It's as plain as day!" Sakura asked.
"Kurama said their hatred is blinding them to what's in front of them. I guess that means is that they refuse to acknowledge me because of what happened that night. At this point I'm kinda over it." Naruto answered.
Mikoto didn't understand how in the hell did two of the biggest secrets in Konoha could be discussed so casually between these three. But she had to admit, she was very amused. 'At least I don't have to hide anything from him. Can't really be blamed if he found out from Kurama himself. I'll just have to warn him about going around and telling anybody. But I'm sure Kurama himself has already made that very clear. Naruto doesn't come off as he's stupid. So he must really trust Sakura and Sasuke.' Mikoto thought to herself.
"Well it's nice to meet you two. I'm glad my little Sasuke-chan is finally able to make him some friends. By the way Naruto, I'm glad you do know about your parents. You see it was forbidden for anybody who knew them to tell you about them. It was part of the Sandaime's way of keeping you safe. If I could've had it my way. I would've adopted you like I originally planned to and told you about them myself. But unfortunately life had other plans." Mikoto voiced.
Naruto was surprised to hear someone wanted to adopt him. "W-why would you want to adopt me?"
Mikoto smiled at him. "Because I'm your godmother. Actually you have two godmothers and one godfather. I understand if you don't believe me. But you can ask Kurama since he knows about me. I'm the only one besides your parents who knows of his true nature after all."
Now Naruto was stunned. He quickly asked Kurama for confirmation. He received it immediately. It took everything he had to restrain himself from hugging the life out of her. Seriously who would've thought that this entire time. It was people out there who was supposed to take care of him? "Umm can I ask you where were you when I was put out of the orphanage?"
This was news to Mikoto. "You were what?!"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah I was put out of the orphanage when I was 5 years old. I had to live out on the streets for awhile until old man hokage found out what happened. He put me in an apartment and that's where I've been living in ever since. I live in the red light district."
The matriarch felt like face palming herself. Out of all the places for a child to live. Why put him in such a dangerous area? 'It's like the old fool is trying to get him killed! Who knows how many drunks he's had to deal with by now.' She thought to herself.
"Tell me Naruto, have you been attacked by the villagers often. I wouldn't know because every time I tried to search for you. I could never find you. Normally I would be able to try to sense your chakra signature. But I didn't know what it felt like. So it was even harder to find you. I even asked the hokage about you. All he ever told me was that you were doing just fine." She frowned.
Naruto really didn't want to admit just how bad he had it in the beginning. But he figured he might as well tell her the truth. She is his godmother. Also from his perspective, she seems to genuinely care about him.
"I..had some run ins with the adults several times. It's not as bad as before. It's actually toned down a lot within the last year in a half. But sometimes the drunks still like to bother me. It's rare when I get beat up now. Back then, if Kurama couldn't heal me quick enough. Then I normally ended up in the hospital from the beatings. Old man hokage always told me that I should forgive the villagers. I kinda got the idea from him that if I don't fight back. Eventually the villagers will see the error in their ways. He said fighting back will make me no better than them. If I don't fight back, one day they'll all respect me." Naruto answered.
Sasuke and Sakura couldn't believe that the hokage would actually tell Naruto such bullshit. He was basically telling Naruto to be their punching bag.
And if they were mad, Mikoto was fucking livid. 'Is Sarutobi out of his damn mind?!' "What in the world is he thinking. It's like he's telling you that you should be the one asking for forgiveness. Who bloody knows when that 'one day' would come. It won't matter if you end up being killed before they see how stupid they are." She ranted in anger. How dare he put her godson in such danger.
"Well Kurama didn't like it either. In fact he's not really fond of the old man. I myself don't really care all that much since I don't really see him as much anymore. I can always go to him if I wanted to. But I'd rather not irritate Kurama by being by him unless I have to. Plus the old man is busy a lot." Naruto said.
"Kami if he knows you're a jinchuuriki. Shouldn't you have anbu guarding you? I mean it only makes sense if he knows how people feel about you?" Sasuke asked.
"I think I did before. But they only a couple actually tried to look out for me. I never really saw them unless I was in trouble. But I don't think I've had any for a long time now. Kurama hasn't sensed anyone following me ever since we first met." Naruto said.
Mikoto sighed. "Meaning that you've been unprotected for who knows how long. Just what the hell are those idiots thinking?"
"Who knows but hey at least I'm not alone anymore. Sakura-chan is going to be living with me from now on." Naruto grinned.
Mikoto was curious as to why. Sasuke could see it all over her face so he explained the situation. To say Mikoto was shocked in an understatement. To think that an 8 year old girl was able to kill a chunin. Retired chunin but chunin nonetheless. She had no reason to believe either Sasuke or Sakura was lying. For one Sasuke never lies to her about anything. Another reason is that what 8 year old girl would lie about being molested? If anything Mikoto was happy that Sakura did kill him. Even if the girl wasn't in control of her body.
'So Mebuki is finally dead. Well can't say it's all that surprising. I just feel bad how Sakura is an orphan now. Both her and Naruto have had it pretty rough up until now. Is amazing to see the girl not even fazed from killing. Then again she did say even she didn't understand why didn't she feel bad about it somewhat. It was definitely not normal in any case. Then there's that bloodline she and Sasuke talked about. Never heard of such a bloodline before. Maybe just maybe I've found what my new role is in life. I can't rely on Fugaku to do his job with Sasuke. So it's up to me to make sure my baby boy becomes as strong as he can be. It's time for me to also take up my responsibility as Naruto's godmother as well. He'll be like my adopted son. Hokage be damned, he's not stopping me this time around. I feel really bad for Sakura. There's no way I can just leave her on her own. I can't believe that Mebuki would actually abuse her own daughter like that. She doesn't deserve to have such a sweet beautiful girl as her daughter. No what Sakura needs is a proper strong mother figure just like the boys do. Looks like I'm going to finally get a daughter.' Mikoto thought amusedly to herself.
"Well since you three want to become shinobi. How about you become my students?" Mikoto offered.
All three kids looked at her in shock. "Are you serious kaa-san?!" Sasuke yelled.
The matriarch giggled. "Of course Sasuke-chan. Don't you know that your mother is a retired jounin? Not only that but I have the strongest sharingan of our clan. It's pretty amazing since it's rare for a female member to unlock it. I was one of the lucky ones. Also your mom was quite a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Me and Naruto's mother were one of the most feared duos in all the elemental nations. I retired once I became pregnant with you. Also I'm much stronger than your father. By the way Naruto and Sakura, I'm sorry if I hadn't introduced myself before but I'm Mikoto Uchiha."
Naruto was the first to answer. "Awesome! I definitely want Mikoto-sensei as our sensei!"
Sakura's eyes were wide. "M-M-Mikoto Uchiha?! You are the most powerful kunoichi! Even stronger than Tsunade-sama! Your moniker is HonÅ no hakai no megami! (Flame Goddess of Destruction)" The young pinkette couldn't believe that she was in front of such a legend.
"Oh? So someone as young as even knows of little old me? I'm flattered Sakura-chan." Mikoto smiled.
"Ehh? I never knew you had such an awesome nickname? How come it's the first time I'm hearing about this?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well it's not like a lot of kids know about me since I retired before you were born. The older generation knows of me certainly. Plus Sasuke-chan, you never asked. It's only recently you started to ask more about me. But don't worry, anything you want to know I'll be happy to share." Mikoto told him.
Sasuke was satisfied with her answer. He was more excited that he would be learning under his mom.
"Well since you three look so excited. How about we go ahead and head to go training grounds in the district? Before we do anything, you kids needs to learn about chakra more. And I mean for just practical purposes. Not what the books you read said." Mikoto said.
"Hai sensei." All three chorused together.
(Uchiha District, Training ground 2)
"Ok so I assume you all know what chakra is correct?" Mikoto asked.
She got three nods. So Mikoto continued. "Good, so while you three may have already accessed your chakra. You still haven't mastered its basic uses yet. While it might not seem that chakra can do much. In our line of work, chakra can seemingly make the impossible very possible. You would be surprised at just what you could see out there in the world."
"But what do you mean by basics sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Meaning the basic uses of chakra for a shinobi. Like tree walking, water walking, tree hopping, basic sensing skills. The first two I named are chakra control exercises along with the leaf concentration practice. Honestly, from what I know, the academy standards have vastly dropped over the years. I guess since we are in a time of peace. There's no reason to push the students so hard anymore. All that's doing is making our forces lazy. But hey I'm not the hokage." Mikoto replied.
"So uh sensei, what does it mean when we do master the basics?" Naruto questioned.
"You will definitely be more advanced that most academy students. To graduate now a days all you need to know is 3 very basic jutsus. Henge, bunshin, kawarimi are all you need to graduate. Once we see how good your chakra control is. Mastering those three jutsu's should be fairly easy for you three. Then again, Naruto in your case. Your chakra reserves are most likely larger than Sasuke and Sakura. Because of your Uzumaki blood. You're a born with fairly large reserves. Your mother was the same way. That's not even including the massive amount that Kurama possesses. So you will need to work hard to get good control. Otherwise you will be wasting extra chakra in your jutsus." Mikoto explained.
"Hai sensei." Naruto nodded with a determined expression.
"So what are we starting off with?" Sasuke asked.
Mikoto smirked. "Meditation."
All three kids groaned in disappointment.
"Oh come on you three. Meditation is very important. It helps one get in tune with their chakra. Also it's good for you mentally. I promise you guys this will be a key part into your training." Mikoto smiled.
"Ugh how so?" Sakura said.
"Meditating can help improve your senses. A shinobi needs to have sharp senses to survive on the battlefield. Trust me they can save your life. I can't tell you how many times my senses save my tail." Mikoto said. "Sometimes you may not be able to rely on your eyes. You may be blinded by something. Which will force you to focus on your other senses. Like your sense of smell or hearing for example. If you get good enough at sensing chakra. You could see chakra outline a person's body with your eyes closed. Even if they are at a far distance. To get to that level takes a lot of training. Most jounin even struggle sensing to that degree. It's easier if you are a naturally born sensor. Like me for an example. Luckily for you, I can teach you three how to get close to that degree of sensing. It'll be up to you as to how far you can take it." Mikoto explained.
That seemed to catch their interest. "Also while doing this, we will be incorporating hand seals to get you three used to moulding your chakra. You are going to practice moulding your chakra with and without hand seals. I won't lie to you guys. My training will seem a little harsh at times. But I'll make sure you all are leagues above your classmates by the time you graduate. You have about six to seven months until all three of you can go."
"Can we really become that strong sensei?" Sakura looked a bit doubtful.
Mikoto noticed this and gently patted the girls head. "Yes you can, in fact you can become even stronger. But you have to put in the hard work to do so. I have high expectations for all three of you. We are also going to figure out this little bloodline of yours Sakura-chan." She smiled.
Sakura returned her smile." Ok Mikoto-sensei."
From there on, Mikoto had her 3 students meditating. Naruto had the easiest time with it since he's used to going into his mindscape to see Kurama. Sakura and Sasuke were coming along well. Mikoto could feel how calm their chakra is. She was a bit surprised at how quickly they picked this up. Well not so much Naruto but definitely the other two.
For an hour she made them meditate before she started teaching them how to sense chakra in not just a person. But in anything that holds chakra. It didn't matter if it was a rock. Imagine her surprise once again when it took all three of her students no more than a few hours for them to get the hang of sensing chakra all around. If she was honest with herself. She didn't expect them to pick up chakra sensing for awhile. Training yourself to sense foreign chakra was a difficult task that took time. Apparently these three didn't get the memo. The one who could sense the best out of them so far was Sakura. Her control over chakra was astounding. Mikoto was very taken off guard when she noticed how much bigger the pinkett's reserves were than she originally assumed. It's quite something since she's never sensed this amount of chakra from Mebuki ever. It wasn't her Sakura's birth father was a powerful man either. He was nothing more than a merchant according to Sakura.
Questions upon questions kept popping up about the three children she was teaching. If she didn't know any better, she would have to say that all three of them just may be natural born sensors like herself. Something like this was truly something.
She had decided to cut training for the day. They've been here for quite some time now actually. For their first day, they all did wonderful in Mikoto's opinion.
Now she was fixing them all dinner. Fugaku still hadn't returned home yet. Not that she minded. Oh no Mikoto was certainly enjoying herself spending time with her students. It made her wonder just how she would've done as a jounin instructor.
"Wow Mikoto-sensei, I've never had cooking this good before." Naruto voiced in amazement.
"I gotta agree with Naruto sensei, even my mom couldn't cook this good." Sakura added.
"Oh you two stop it. I just may get a big head from being flattered so much." Mikoto giggled.
"So mom what are we working on tomorrow?" Sasuke asked.
"Other chakra control exercises. You'll continue meditating. But we'll also be doing tree walking. If you guys master that quick enough. I may let you try water walking. And can't forget about the leaf exercise. If you guys get these down by the end of the week. We'll start sparring. It will also give me a chance to show you how to enhance your physical prowess. Like speed, strength, general awareness you name it. Once all of that gets done. We'll move on to some low level jutsu. But I will be putting you all through the wringer once it comes to taijutsu." Mikoto lightly warned.
Somehow Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all felt dread in their stomachs at the same time.
After dinner Sakura and Naruto left reluctantly. Only because Mikoto noticed it was getting really late. She knew they wanted to stay. So did Sasuke. Hell even she wanted them to stay. But she figured she should let them go home for the first time. Next time she would offer them to stay over. She wanted to build a close bond with Naruto and Sakura. She already had one with Sasuke. But she needed one with her other two students as well.
The Uchiha matriarch wondered just how far will her students really go. If her hunch was right. Then it's safe to say that they will end up going further than she can imagine. One thing Mikoto knew was that she needed to get back into shape. If she planned on being a jounin instructor in the next few years. She needed to get back to her A game.