Chapter 45 – New Revelation

"Talk"

'Think'

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei.

A/N: Thank you Dreamy-Girl2016 and shippudenn596 for your supports

Uzu no Kuni

"Yo!"

"Jiraiya-ojiisan!" cried Naruto and Noriko.

"Jiraiya-sama!" said Tenzō in a surprise "How long have you been here?"

"He was here since we got here" said Kakashi.

"WHAT?!" yelled Naruto, Noriko and Tenzō.

"How come we didn't notice?" asked Noriko

"That's an example of the difference between genin and jōnin" answered Kakashi.

"I though you are a Sannin?" asked Tenzō.

"That was not an official rank, the name Sannin was an honorary title given during the Second Shinobi World War" explained Kakashi.

The three of them looked at Jiraiya in starstruck. Overcame with embarrassment, Jiraiya switched the topic "Weren't you talking about the brat's-" pointing at Naruto "mother?"

Kakashi shot an annoyed looked towards Jiraiya, before looked back at his students "I'm still waiting"

The three of them looked at each other before mumbled "We promise"

Looking at Naruto, Kakashi said "Noriko's right, Naruto. Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina, and she was the previous jinchūriki"

Naruto's eyes widened at the revelation and he looked stunned. Then he felt tears in his eyes, he bowed his heads, hoping no one would caught him crying, only to find out that there are droplets of tears on his hand. A pair of small hands grasped his hands while he felt another grasp on his shoulder. He looked to the left and saw Noriko, then he looked to the right and saw Tenzō, both of them smiled at him.

Words failed him at this moment 'I have a mom' Naruto thought happily.

XXX

Kakashi and Jiraiya were watching the three of them sleeping with Rajah. After the revelation, Kakashi ordered the three of them to sleep, relieving them of their nightly duty. Noriko opted to sleep outside with Rajah and this was followed by Naruto and Tenzō.

"You know you can just deny it, why don't you?" asked Jiraiya.

"I could, but that big cat-" Kakashi pointed to Rajah with his chin "sorts of lie detector. Besides, Noriko is not the type to let it go. She will eventually found out about it and it might be under bad circumstances. So, better to tell the truth now when the condition is in our favour"

Jiraiya smiled at Kakashi's answer before asking "Where's the cat coming from?".

Kakasi explained what had happened during the final genin's test. Jiraiya chuckled fondly, imagining Tsunade chasing down three genins 'She hasn't changed at all' he thought.

After that, he ordered Kakashi to take the first rest. Looking at the small fire, he said to himself 'Eight years, huh'. Last he met Naruto and Noriko when they were four, all innocent and now, they've embarked to the shinobi's world where the good and the bad intermingled to the point that it is easy to get confused and got lost, morally.

'Eight years, and the only thing I found was Orochimaru has joined and left Akatsuki, which was led by my students whom I thought were dead. They hired a bunch of missing nins and now, they are after jinchūriki' thought Jiraiya. While he found many clues, a lot of them led to nothing.

In between that, Shisui sometimes requested him to check on new information which he obliged. It was a coincidence that while locating a runaway spy with sensitive information, the spy was recruited by a pair of nukenin wearing red-cloud robes.

His spying was interrupted when a large venus trap appeared and alerted the nukenin of his presence. The fight ensued ended with the three of them dead. Nevertheless, he managed to seal the bodies and send them to Konoha for further analysis.

Jiraiya also tried to establish contact with Hanzō but failed. He even sneaked inside the hideout where he, Konan, Nagato and Yahiko had lived for a short while. He saw signs of activities but from the thickness of the dusts, it indicated that the hideout has been abandoned.

Jiraiya sighed. He looked at the sky and woke up Kakashi from his sleep.

Konoha

Shisui was having breakfast with Shizuka when a toad appeared. It passed a scroll to Shisui first before vomiting a lot of scrolls. Once finished, the toad puffed off.

Shisui read the scroll. It was from Kakashi, reporting what had transpired the night before.

"Uh uh" said Shisui "Naruto knew about Kushina" before passing the scroll to Shizuka.

She read and smiled "Good" she said.

"Good?" asked Shisui.

"Yes. Why don't we just ask Kakashi and Jiraiya to tell about Yondaime as well?" suggested Shizuka with a smile.

"What? Naruto's not ready-" Shisui began to rant when Shizuka cut him "Look, I know you and Sandaime-sama are trying to protect him. Naruto is a shinobi now. He is trained under one of our best jōnin. It's only a matter of time before he'll find out anyway. Both his parents' names were written next to each other on Memorial Stone and they were buried next to each other. Keeping their names a secret is futile now he knows about Kushina".

Shisui sighed "I guess you are right. There is no one better to tell than Jiraiya and Kakashi. But I'm worried that when Naruto gets excited, he'll run his mouth without thinking"

Shizuka smiled gently "I know, but remember, that Naruto was Academy Naruto. Now that he has become a shinobi, I'm sure he knows better".

Seeing the worry look on Shisui's face, Shizuka said gently "Have faith in him. You've trained him since he can run and jump. Besides, he has a good team. I'm sure Noriko will hit him if he's about to do something stupid" they both chuckled at that.

Shisui nodded reluctantly "I'll send words to Kakashi and Jiraiya"

End Chapter 45

Nukenin – Missing nin

Uzu no Kuni – Land of Whirlpools