Naruto, Sasuke, Namiko and Naruto's Grandma crowd around the Sacred Scrolls. Naruto unrolls the Sacred Scroll of Joe. Sasuke Unrolls the Sacred Scroll of Dave.

"It's blank," says Naruto's Grandma, poking Dave's Scroll. "Just like you said. But something is supposed to be on it, right?"

"Yes," Nods Namiko. "It's hidden."

"But how, 'tebayo?" asks Naruto.

"Who wrote it?" asks Sasuke. "If we know who wrote it, we can figure out how they might have hidden the information."

"I heard your Dad say that it was Shisui's Grandpa and Lord Second," says Naruto. "But we don't know anything about Shisui's Grandpa, 'tebayo."

"True," says Sasuke. "But what if he was just like Shisui, and got on sugar highs really easily? That would be funny."

Naruto laughs. "What if he was just like Shisui, and he was also on a sugar high when he wrote the scroll!" Naruto suggests jokingly. "He probably would have written it on the back of the scroll by accident, dattbayo."

Everyone laughs, then suddenly, Sasuke stops. "Wait…" she turns Dave's Scroll over.

Everyone else stops laughing and leans forward intently, staring at the scroll.

"Is it…?" Namiko whispers, trailing off mid sentence.

Sasuke activates her sharingan and examines the back of the scroll. "It is!" she laughs. "Heh, it's all on the back."

Naruto and his Grandma start laughing. Namiko just stares at the scroll with a disappointed expression on her face.

"So did you solve it then?" asks Mr. Nice Hokage, leaning over the table between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Yes we did," says Naruto. "Just now, 'tebayo."

"It's on the back," adds Sasuke. "I can see it with my sharingan."

"That's odd, I can't see it at all," says Mr. Nice Hokage.

"It's definitely there, Dad," says Sasuke. Then her face turns pale. "D-D-Dad...?"

It hits Naruto like a ton of bricks that the Hokage caught them. "Mr. Nice Hokage!" he yells, falling off his chair in shock.

"You only just now noticed!?" screams Namiko, who is flattened against the wall.

"Ah, Lord Hokage," says Naruto's Grandma, smiling. "Naruto finally cracked and stole the Scrolls like we thought he would."

"Good, good," says Mr. Nice Hokage nodding. "It's odd that I cannot see the writing. Maybe it's only visible to a certain level of sharingan."

"Perhaps you ought to gather a few people with different levels of Sharingan and see who can see it and who cannot," suggests Naruto's Grandma.

"I will do just that," nods Mr. Nice Hokage. He turns towards Naruto, who is still on the floor with his legs sticking up in the air, and Namiko, who is still flattened against the wall. "Are you two alright?" he asks, a concerned frown on his face.

"Y-Y-You're not mad at us?" stammers Namiko, shaking like a leaf.

"Of course not!" says Fugaku, reaching over and patting Namiko on top of her head. "Kazama, Ichiraku-sama and the Council of Clan Heads all made a bet on how long it would take Naruto to steal the Sacred Scrolls, and whether or not he would drag you into it. Now that Naruto has, it looks like we all owe Ichiraku-sama 1,000 yen."

"Naruto, get up off the floor," says Naruto's Grandma sternly.

"I'm stuck," says Naruto. "I can't move, 'tebayo."

"Naruto, you can float," Sasuke reminds him.

"Hahaha…" Naruto laughs in embarrassment and floats back onto his chair.

Mr. Nice Hokage shakes his head sadly and Naruto's Grandma smiles like she is about to cry.

"What?" asks Naruto. "What's wrong, 'tebayo?"

"Nothing," says Mr. Nice Hokage, turning away.

Naruto's Grandma sighs. "I really wish your parents were alive," she says sadly. "They would have been so proud of you - sneaking past highly trained shinobi to steal two Sacred Scrolls and then deciphering them in seconds where a team of specialists couldn't do it after two months."

Naruto blinks. His parents would have been proud of him? Maybe. But would they have loved him? Did they love him?

"Naruto's parents?" says Namiko curiously. "Who were Naruto's parents? How come they aren't around?"

"They died protecting the village," says Mr. Nice Hokage, turning his head slightly to look over his shoulder at the rest of the room. "That is all you are allowed to know for now, child."

"But…" Namiko tries to protest.

Mr. Nice Hokage turns back to the table, scoops up the scrolls and rolls them back up. Then he tucks them into his kunai pouch and leaps out of the window without another word.

"What…?" says Namiko, still backed up against the wall.

"An Uchiha is still an Uchiha, after all," sighs Naruto's Grandma. "Though he seems more in-touch with his emotions than most Uchihas, it seems Lord Fugaku cannot handle having them around other people."

Sasuke sniffs. "I could've told you that," she mutters under her breath.

Naruto turns to Namiko. "We're not in trouble, so stop worrying, 'tebayo," he says, thinking that maybe Namiko is worried about getting kicked out of the village.

"You're in a little trouble for stealing," Naruto's Grandma corrects him. "No dessert for either of you tonight, and no ramen tomorrow!" she says sternly.

"Whaaat…!" Namiko yells, peeling herself off the wall.

"NOOOO!" Naruto laments. "No ramen for a whole day, dattebayo!?"

Naruto sits on his bed with the photograph of his parents that he stole from the Third Hokage's house. He hasn't looked at it since he got back from his mission with Iruka sensei and everyone else. But, earlier, when Naruto's Grandma mentioned his parents, Naruto remembered that he has not looked at the photo since before the mission.

There they are: Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Smiling from inside the photo, smiling out at whoever looks at them. When he stole the photo Naruto thought he would keep it with him all the time. But then he learned about Mr. Kurama, and he put the photo away and did not look at it for a while. When he finally did look at the photo again, those smiles washed away all his doubts about whether or not his parents loved him.

They did, they had to - no one who smiles such kind smiles could hate their own kid.

Naruto's parents would have loved him, they would have been proud of him. Everyone says so.

Naruto stares down at the photograph: stares at his parents' smiles and realizes something. Those smiles were not meant for him.

Would have.

They would have loved him.

Meaning they didn't to begin with.

They didn't. If they had, why did they seal Kurama inside Naruto?

They didn't have a lot of choice, Naruto, says Mr. Kurama. It was kill me or seal me inside you, and they weren't prepared to kill me,

So they would rather seal what they see as the manifestation of hate and evil inside their own baby than kill an enemy? Naruto snaps at Kurama, tears blurring his eyes. Anger wells up inside Naruto: anger and hurt.

He tears the photo in half and throws it on the floor.

Then Naruto turns away so that he does not have to look at torn photo. His eyes fall on the scarf his mother made for him. The scarf is just lying on top of Naruto's dresser, he wears it sometimes when it is cold outside. It has been a long time since he thought of it as the scarf his mother made.

Why would she make him a scarf if she didn't love him?

Naruto looks over at the torn photo. It is upside down. He cannot see his parents. He looks back at the scarf. Naruto jumps off the bed and stands there confused. Should he pick up the photo? Should he throw away the scarf with it?

Naruto hears footsteps in the hall. Someone must have heard him crying. Someone always hears him crying. But never his parents. They are dead and they never loved him anyway. They might have, if they got to know him.

But they never got to know him.

Naruto turns and runs over to the window. He leaps out into the garden and runs away. Where he is running to, he does not know. It is growing dark, and Naruto's eyes are blinded by tears. He does not know where his feet are taking him.