-Hana-
Hi all!
Here's the second chapter of the fic. Longer one this time, don't get used to it.
In this one, I'm going to group all the flashback scenes I had in the original into one chapter with a couple of minor changes.
Don't really have much to say, more original content will be there from the next chapter onwards.
Oh, and can we have a warm welcome to my new Beta-Reader; Fanfiction0000! They have volunteered their time to (hopefully) make this story a little better!
Final thing, the first version of this story has officially been removed from the site, but that shouldn't be a problem for you guys, this is going to be the definitive version of the fic! Besides, i only lost like 50 reviews and 10,000 or so views. I'm sure you guys would help me get those numbers back... Right?
See ya at the bottom!
(Hokage Mansion, Konohagakure no Sato – Year 65)
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood somberly in his office overlooking the re-construction of his village. Shinobi and kunoichi of all ages flitted around the village doing their best to help out any villager in need in any way they could. The whole village came together to help itself heal from the massive blow they had received when the Kyūbi no Kitsune had attacked their village.
The village had taken many losses that night, but none other more prominent than their own Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Minato was a man loved by the villagers, he was a powerful shinobi and a great leader for the short while he was Hokage.
The man had sacrificed himself to seal one half of the Kyūbi into his son and the other half into himself using the Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) a powerful fūinjutsu that summoned the Shinigami to seal off the target's soul. It was a highly guarded kinjutsu because of the heavy price the user would have to pay to use the technique; their life.
Having died without naming a successor and with the village in crisis, Hiruzen had been reinstated as the leader of Konohagakure.
Countless other lives had been lost when the Kyūbi appeared in their village out of thin air, but all was not lost. Minato's son was alive and healthy.
Naruto was a bright and bubbly infant even if he had a powerful monster sealed within him. The boy was being kept in Konoha General Hospital which had been miraculously safe from the attack.
The Hokage took a long drag from his pipe.
He wasn't naïve enough to believe that the boy could have a normal, or even peaceful life. He was the jinchūriki, it was fated that his life would be miserable at worst and unpleasant at best save for some sort of miracle.
After having just been born, the boy had already lost both his parents and had a demon sealed within him.
No, the boy was not going to be having any semblance of a normal life.
A gentle knock on his door shook the Hokage out of his revere,
"Come in," he called out.
A tall and well-built man with fair skin entered the Hokage's office. He had waist-length, spiky white hair that was tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended all the way to his chin.
He wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. He wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for "oil" on it.
It was his student, Jiraiya.
"I came as soon as I heard," the white-haired man said.
As soon as the Kyūbi attacked, Minato had sent his fastest messenger to fetch Jiraiya, who was following up on a lead on a mission near the borders of Hi no Kuni.
"So, it's true then? Minato's really dead," Jiraiya sighed, "I didn't want to be one to outlive my student."
Hiruzen nodded somberly, he knew how much Jiraiya cared for Minato.
Jiraiya stiffened up, saving the sentimentality for later. He had someone he wanted to desperately meet.
"So," Jiraiya said, "Where's the boy?"
"He's in the hospital, he was put there after the attack to make sure he's okay."
The mention of the hospital stung the Hokage, his wife would have been one of the many medic-nin helping out at the hospital if not for her untimely demise during the attack.
"I'd like to see him."
(Konoha General Hospital, Konohagakure no Sato - Year 65)
Finding Naruto hadn't been very difficult once Jiraiya reached the hospital. As soon as the medical staff recognized the Toad Sage, he was promptly escorted to where he wanted to go. During which, he took note of how busy the hospital was after the attack.
Staff rushed about from room to room while even more patients were being taken into spare rooms to be taken care of. The attack really put a strain on the village's healthcare system, with the number of injured, Jiraiya was sure that many wouldn't live to see the next day.
Jiraiya cursed himself for not being there to help Konoha during the attack, for not being there when Minato and Kushina died. His spy network was important for Konoha, but was it really worth it if it meant he couldn't be there for those who he really cared about?
His thoughts were broken by the genin sent to escort them pointing out to the infant ward of the hospital.
Naruto was held with the rest of the infants in the childcare wing of the hospital, having just been born. Jiraiya particularly noted how few children there were in that wing. Besides Naruto, there lay only a couple babies. Most of them, civilian and seemingly a few days or weeks older than the blond.
Jiraiya was further surprised to find a woman already inside the ward and observing the blond baby with an unreadable expression on her face. The woman was fair skinned having long, black hair with bangs hanging on either side of her face to roughly frame her cheeks and black eyes. She wore a simple dark brown blouse with a red plum skirt and blue sandals.
"You can go inside and hold him if you wish, Jiraiya-sama," The genin said, "Although, I am curious as to why the great Ichinin of Konoha and the Matriarch of the Uchiha clan is so concerned about a random baby."
The Toad Sage stiffened at the title, but didn't let any emotions betray his body,
"You needn't concern yourself with any of that young genin."
Jiraiya took a closer look at the boy.
The boy was dark skinned and had a scar that ran across his face horizontally. He had brown hair tied in a ponytail at the back and bangs that were allowed to frame his face. He wore a white shinobi gi and had his forehead protector as a makeshift belt.
"What's your name, boy?"
The boy seemed confused by the strange request, having been expected to be dismissed as soon as he was done escorting the man to his destination.
"My name is Iruka, sir. Umino Iruka."
Jiraiya bent down to meet Iruka in the eyes,
"And tell me, Iruka, why are you here? You are but a genin and you don't seem to have any medical capabilities or jutsu."
Iruka blushed in embarrassment,
"My parents were killed in the attack. I just want to help out whoever is still alive."
Jiraiya smiled at the boy,
"The will of fire is strong in you. Cherish it, for it is becoming quite rare these days."
Jiraiya stood back straight and waved the boy off a wide grin on his face.
"You can go back now, make sure to help as many people as you can."
The boy nodded enthusiastically,
"I will!"
With that, he ran off back to where he would be more useful than standing around with Jiraiya.
Jiraiya entered the ward.
"That was quite a speech Jiraiya-san."
Jiraiya turned to face the woman who had spoken,
"I did not expect to find anyone else here, Mikoto-san."
Mikoto shook her head sadly.
"I did not wish to be here either, but that idiot Kushina had to go and get herself killed," the woman sighed, "I already miss her."
Jiraiya nodded, understanding where the Uchiha was coming from,
"I miss them too."
Mikoto and Jiraiya stood next to the sleeping boy, neither sure of how to proceed.
A tuft of blond hair – extremely similar to Minato's – stuck out from the blankets Naruto was wrapped in. He had three whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks, no doubt an influence of the Kyūbi on the boy from his pregnant mother being the jinchūriki.
Jiraiya was honestly fascinated by how the physical traits were passed down from the Bijū, he didn't expect any such features to be passed down to the boy. Perhaps it was due to prolonged exposure to the Kyūbi's chakra while Naruto was still inside Kushina's womb.
"He's adorable, isn't he?" Mikoto whispered.
"Yeah," Jiraiya nodded with a soft smile on his face, "He is."
"He looks like a mini-Minato"
Jiraiya chuckled, the boy really did take after his father.
"He's got Kushina's nose, though."
Naruto began to stir when he heard the voices, his eyes fluttered open.
The blond baby stared directly into Jiraiya's eyes.
Naruto's eyes were a deep, earthy brown. His eyes looked like soil that had been freshly tilled, ready for seeds to be planted so that the plant may grow big and strong. It looked nothing like either Minato's or Kushina's eyes.
In fact, Jiraiya knew exactly who Naruto's eyes looked like.
"He's got his grandmother's eyes."
(Forests outside Konohagakure no Sato – Year 41)
Jiraiya was incredibly confused when he was asked to meet in such a strange location. He was in the forests outside the border of Konohagakure, heavy rains poured down, drowning out any other sounds that could have been made. He was in a small abandoned watch tower. It was run down and the wood was rotting. Jiraiya doubted if it had been in use since the second or third shinobi world war.
The interiors were bare bones, only a table and two chairs occupied the inside of the wooden structure. There were no windows on the bottom floor, but there was a ladder that led up to the viewing platform.
The door burst open moments after he had entered the building himself, a buxom blonde entered holding a bundle of blankets in her hands. She was drenched from the rain and her skin glistened with water and sweat.
She held a small baby in her hands, which surprised Jiraiya, but he decided to ignore that for now and focus instead on the girl that had come barreling into the room.
"I was surprised to receive your letter Tsunade-hime," he said.
"I'm so glad you're here Jiraiya."
Tsunade let out a sigh, she sounded relieved to see him. She also sounded exhausted, her eyelids drooped and her breathing was labored.
The white-haired teenager raised an eyebrow,
"I have so many questions Tsunade. Do you know how worried Orochimaru and I were when you just up and disappeared for almost a year."
He was underplaying the worry and anger he had felt, of course. Over time, he had learned to accept that she had done what she did for some reason, and decided that holding it against her would do nothing good for either of them.
Tsunade panted a little, still catching her breath.
Jiraiya continued, undeterred by the lack of response he was getting,
"First question," His expression softened, "How are you? Are you okay?"
Tsunade looked surprised, having fully expected to be grilled on as to why she had gone missing for so long and having returned with a baby.
"I'm," she panted, "I'm fine. Just a little tired."
Jiraiya stared at her incredulously,
"You don't just look 'a little tired' Tsunade," he pulled out a chair for her to take a seat, "You look like shit."
Jiraiya was never one for being subtle.
"Okay, now for my second question."
Jiraiya looked directly into her brown eyes to show how serious he was,
"Why did you think that it was a good idea to just run away from the village without telling anyone?"
Tsunade opened her mouth to debate that statement, but he cut her off,
"I know you told Sensei, but that still doesn't change the fact that you didn't tell me or Orochimaru. You know how much we care about you right?"
Tsunade said nothing, wanting to hear out everything the white-haired man wanted to get off his chest.
"Could you imagine my surprise when I go to your house to see how you were taking Nawaki's death," Jiraiya paused for a moment to see how Tsunade would react to the mention of her brother's death. It was the reason she had left the village after all.
Her face didn't betray her emotions so he continued,
"Only to find you missing."
Jiraiya inhaled sharply, reliving the memories all over again.
"Orochimaru and I searched all over the village for you, ya know. It wasn't until later that Sarutobi-sensei finally told us that you took an indefinite leave of absence from your kunoichi duties after the death of your brother and that you had long since left the village."
His words fell into a hushed whisper.
Tsunade regretted not telling Jiraiya and Orochimaru that she was leaving, but she had been embarrassed. She was ashamed of what she had done in the aftermath of finding out what had happened to her brother.
As if sensing his mother's discomfort, the blond boy in her arms began to stir.
Tsunade swung her arms slowly in a rocking motion, hoping that the boy would go back to sleep. If only, until she was done talking to Jiraiya.
"You could have told us, Tsunade."
Jiraiya finally decided to address the elephant in the room, one that he had been avoiding ever since he saw the girl burst into the watchtower. He couldn't avoid the topic anymore, and besides, he was really curious.
"Is he yours?"
Tsunade looked at her best friend. His eyes shone with compassion and worry. She nodded slowly,
"His name is Minato."
Jiraiya took a step closer to Tsunade, and observed the boy.
"He's got your chin."
"That's why I called you here," Tsunade said, steeling her nerves for what she was about to say, "I need you to take him."
Jiraiya stared at his best friend like she had grown a second head. Tsunade didn't allow him to interrupt her,
"I need you to take my son back to Konoha and find him a good family that will take care of him," she took a shaky breath, "I can't look after a kid Jiraiya, I'm only seventeen."
Jiraiya couldn't understand what Tsunade was trying to say,
"What are you saying Tsunade, we can help you take care of Minato-kun."
Tsunade shook her head,
"No, I've already made my decision. I'm going away from the village for some more time. I can't stand it there anymore. I can't stand the looks of pity from the villagers. I can't stand looking at the shinobi who allowed my brother to die."
She extended her hand, forcing Jiraiya to hold onto the boy.
"Don't tell anyone that Minato is my son."
"What about- "
"Not even Hiruzen-Sensei or Orochimaru. You are the only person I am trusting with this."
Jiraiya opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.
Tsunade turned around, facing away from Jiraiya,
"Maybe we will meet again someday Jiraiya, but for now this means goodbye."
She stood at the door frame for a moment.
She then turned around and gave him a hug.
After unwrapping herself from the embrace, she reached into her pack and pulled out her hitai-ate,
"Give this to him when he graduates."
She then kissed Minato on the forehead, knowing that this could be the last time she would lay eyes upon her baby boy. Regardless of what she told Jiraiya, she had no real intention of returning to Konoha.
"Find him a good family Jiraiya, please."
Jiraiya simply stared dumbfounded as he stood there, baby in hand and Tsunade's words ringing in his ears.
She ran back out into the storm, never turning back.
So that's it for this chapter, hope you guys enjoyed it!
Any suggestions are always welcome!
Don't forget to read and review!
BAIIII!
Beta: Fanfiction0000