Chapter 18

As the morning sun began to shine on a very important patient in Konoha's main hospital cerulean blue eyes met eyes of emerald green. Green eyes, the eyes of his wife lover and best friend, Sakura Uzumaki. Sakura's eyes had always been very expressive and Naruto had spent a lifetime and a half learning that language, as far as he was concerned knowing what her eyes were saying had saved his skin and her knuckles many times over. Right now they were in what he jokingly called 'make me yours' mode mode, their almond shape even more pronounced and smokey. All her love was in those eyes and she was pouring it out and into his, at times like this no words needed to be spoken.

Naruto just stared into Sakura's emerald green sloe eyes and could feel the love she had for him, mate mark or not, for them it had always been this way. Finally fully awake he raised his head up and kissed her on the nose and greeted her with a smile, "Hey you, I'm sorry for giving you such a fright."

"Baka," came her reply as she lightly tapped his arm at the shoulder, "It wasn't your fault, it was who ever tampered with Haku-chan's senbon. It worked out in the end, hey, you even got to meet your father."

Naruto's smile got bigger at Sakura's words, "I did, didn't I? From what he said I should meet my mother sometime in the future too."

"Really? When?"

"Dad didn't say, all he gave me was that mom would show up when I began trying to merge mine and Kurama's chakra."

"Hmmmm," Sakura uttered in thought, "Well no use in trying to figure out what he means, maybe Ero-jijii might know. It seems that he's quite the expert on tailed beasts and their hosts."

"Oh, I am!" announced a new voice into the room, "So what would you want to know about regarding your guest?"

Naruto looked at his Jiraiya, while he teased the man for his hobby/second job, he looked up to and loved the elder Namikaze. It didn't take much for that to happen, no matter what the young blonde had said at their first meeting, Jiraiya was family and if Naruto learned anything from living his first life it was this, family was everything. Giving the man a sad look Naruto motioned to the bedside chair, "Grandfather, you need to sit down for this so please."

Seeing the serious look on his grandson's face Jiraiya sat down, "So gaki, what's with the long face and before you start I have wonderful news, my newest book, 'Icha Icha and the Ninja Prince was listed as a best sell at number one across the continent."

Naruto's eye twitched a little bit as he saw the grin on Sakura's face, "So, you managed to get a book out our love life after all huh?" seeing his grandfather's smile and his vigorous head nodding Naruto didn't have the heart to be mad. It was one of Sakura's dreams after all and who was he to deny any of her dreams?

"Grandfather, you as well as anyone knows that my dad sealed Kurama into me right?" seeing Jiraiya nod his head again Naruto continued, "Well, I met him yesterday, I met him as I was adjusting the seal to let Kurama try to clear out my chakra system," Naruto added as he let that bit of information sink in.

After a minute of silence Jiraiya spoke up, "Kid, as much as I love your pranks you of all people know that my son is off limits for pranking purposes. Now, I'll ignore what you just said since yesterday's events took a lot out of you but, if you ever pull this shit again Hokage or not, you're still my grandson and I'll beat you within an inch of your life. Minato's death hurt me and Tsunade more than we let on so, please no sick jokes right now."

Naruto leveled a steady blue eyed gaze at his grandfather and replied, "I'm not joking grandfather, so let me finish please. I swear this is no..."

Kurama's voice cut into Naruto's thoughts at that very moment, "Make two clones and have the perv put up privacy seals, it'll be easier to show him, and you."

"But dad said that he couldn't inhabit a shadow clone, that it was impossible," Naruto argued beck to his long time mentor and guest.

"Bah, he lied. And before you say anything that's what true shinobi do, they lie, cheat and steal. Anything to win or avoid getting hurt is acceptable to them, you and the little vixen were raised in a society that values honor and honesty above all else. Naruto, I know what he said but he had his reasons but trust me, your father felt it was for the best."

"Okay, if you say so," Naruto reluctantly agreed as he formed the hand sign of his soon to be signature move, "Jutsu, Kakge bunshin."

As soon as the words were uttered two clones appeared that at first looked like their creator before morphing into the familiar features of Kurama as well as a far more older version of Naruto, a Naruto that appeared to be in his late twenties.

Before Jiraiya could activate the seals Sakura hopped off of her husband and ran through the activation signs before flipping through some more that not only locked the doors and windows but opaqued the transparent surfaces as well. Glaring at her grandfather in law as well as father in law she henged her appearance into wearing some clothes instead of her normal nightwear (cough, none, cough cough). Resettling onto Naruto's lap she looked at the clone that had Minato's looks.

"I thought you told your son that you couldn't inhabit a shadow clone poppa-san. What happened?"

Minato-clone looked down and mumbled something under his breath, "Kurama, happened. He and I had a difference of opinions last night after you two left. He won."

"I see," Sakura remarked with a smile in her eyes that shouted 'I win! CHAA!'

Turning away from the girl before he was dispelled by a fatal nose bleed Minato-clone looked at Jiraiya and bowed, "Father, long time no see, you're looking well."

Jiraiya's face turned from red anger to purple fury at that moment, "You little brat! I told you not to use my son in one of your sick pranks! Get over here so I can kill you so Tsunade can heal you so I can kill you again!"

At that point Kurama stepped in, "Jiraiya! Cool it! This isn't a prank, this is really your son in one of the kit's clones. This really is Minato, your son Jiraiya, it's really Minato's soul fragment and chakra."

Stopping in mid-stride Jiraiya looked at the clone a little closer, "Minato? How? We were told you'd died, they told us we had lost you, Kushina and Naruto," the man sobbed, "That bastard Danzo told us all that you were dead, how? How are you here?"

Closing the gap Minato-clone grabbed his father, "I know this is hard to deal with and understand but Kushina and I had made a seal as a fail safe that would contain a soul fragment and chakra of hers. When I lost her I modified the seal and inserted my own soul fragment and chakra into it so I could help my son when the time came."

"And that time? It has passed?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, as soon as he began to make changes to the seal. There are other seals integrated into the containment seal that will bring forth scrolls for jutsus when they are signaled that his body is ready to learn them," the clone explained, "Kushina as you know is sealed as well, she'll be released once Naruto is old enough and strong enough to begin to merge with Kurama's own chakra."

"But...but how are you still here? A chakra construct like you is only able to exist for no more than a few hours to a day at the most. Only a seal master... Kushina, Kushina had something to do with this didn't she?"

"Yes father, Kushina was able to incorporate a very ancient seal, one that's so old that it's existence has nearly died out. It has two parts, the seal that contains the chakra and soul fragment and a power source. Until it's needed the source is inert and undetectable, even activated you would need to know what you're looking for to find it," the clone said as he continued to explain it's existence,

"Now, the beauty in how this all works is this, Kurama's chakra powers the battery. The battery pulls his chakra into itself and converts it to a safe source before mixing it with mine, the ratio is 99.5% Kurama's chakra and .5% mine. As I told Sakura-chan and Naruto I'm still me and and I should be able to stay with Naruto for quite a while."

Jiraiya began to smile, his son and daughter in law had not only created a seal designed to contain a tailed beast but modified it as well to contain the essence of at least two persons. Never had he been prouder of his son and student than he was at this moment and had longed for a chance to have a talk with him again, "Minato, I can't believe that you and Kushina were able to create and change a seal of the magnitude. If hadn't seen it I swear it wasn't possible, I'm very very proud of you."

"Thank you father, that means a lot to me, I'm glad we have this second chance to be together," Minato answered with a deep bow.

"Bah, don't bow to me son, I'm just a broken down pervert, you however, you became Hokage and then passed it down to your son. Naruto's the one that's going to need your support and wisdom," Jiraiya responded to his son's words.

Just then the privacy seals flashed blue before deactivating. Before anyone could react the door opened up and Tsunade walked in followed by Kakashi. As soon as the door closed the seals flashed again and activated. Tsunade had reached the side of Naruto's bed only to stop and stare at the two visitors in the room, "Minato, my baby, Danzo told us that you and everyone in the family had died. How are you here?"

For his part Kakashi kept silent, he was reading to chakra on these newcomers and at the very foundation of them was Naruto's chakra. The red haired man he knew as Kurama in his human form but he felt his sensei's chakra in the other. That can't be was what his logical side was telling him while the creative side was yelling to let go and enjoy the ride.

As Kakashi stared the Minato lookalike had crossed the room to Tsunade and wrapped the older woman into a tight hug, "It's so good to see you again mom, it's so good."

With those words the dam broke and Tsunade began to weep tears of joy, sadness and regret. Joy because her son was somehow back, sadness because of all the time she had missed out with Minato and regret because she had never been able to see him one more time before he sealed the fox. All things being equal she was happier than she'd been in a very long time.

Pulling away from her son and wiping her face Tsunade looked at her only child, "So, I know you've already explained to Jiraiya and the others so give me the short version, how are you back?"

Smiling Minato nodded once before speaking, I modified Naruto's seal to hold a soul fragment and a portion of my chakra, Kushina did the same by the way, and once certain conditions happened the seal that basically contained me activated. Now, because the modified sections are powered by Kurama's chakra I can theoretically remain until Naruto passes away and his body releases what's left of Kurama's chakra."

Tsunade looked at her son for a moment before nodding, "That sounds like something you and Kushina would have done. And that's something that concerns me, you need to keep your external visits to a minimum, the villagers are still freaked out that Kurama is actually a nice guy..."

"Hey! I heard that!" Kurama yelled out in annoyance.

"Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted, keep you external visits confined to Naruto's house and only in front of family, close family, Naruto, understand?"

"Yes baa-chan, I understand. Come over tomorrow night and you and dad can catch up okay?" Naruto asked.

"Sure brat, anyways, I come with good news, you are free to go home, just rest for a day or so and you'll be fine. The other thing I have for you is that Sasuke and his teams completed the mission last night,early this morning. I know it's something that you..."

"No, you're wrong, I understand why he acted as he did. Sasuke swore not only complete loyalty to me but pledged his clans fealty to Sakura and myself. He acted as a clan head whose patron had been threatened. I think that it's time to do away with the civilian side of the council grandmother. They've proved for the second time their willingness to commit treason in less than six years. Those that remain are to be taken to T&I and while there mind walked by a Yamanaka to see where their loyalties actually lay. If they're cleared then they can take a position on a liason council that has absolutely no power in the running of this village."

Tsunade looked at her grandson for a moment before speaking again, "Are you sure that's wise? There's already complaints about the Senju, Namikaze and Uzumaki clans trying to build a dynasty who's only goal is to rule the village. How do I, we, explain it to the Fire Lord? Or the villagers for that matter?"

"Simple, present them with the charges against the council and all their shady dealings before the old one was disbanded. Then let Sasuke inform them as to what he found out about their cherished council. The Fire Lord is only interested in whether we pay our taxes and tithes on time, unless he thinks that Konoha is plotting against him he's not interested in the village. His indifference to my, our, plight," he said grasping Sakura's hand for emphasis, "is proof that we are expected to occupy our time with our own devices."

Turning to the Minato clone Naruto looked eyes with his father, "What do you think father? Let the council continue doing business as if nothing happened or permanently disband it because they didn't learn their lesson the first time?"

"Disband it, it was first convened to aid Lord First in setting up the village and it's laws and policies. It was never meant to be a permanent fixture but after he fell in combat his brother left it in place because of the turmoil of the death of the first and the wars. By the time Hiruzen took the seat people like Danzo, and the elders" as he said that word he looked like he'd swallowed vinegar, "had set them selves up their own little fiefdom. They were to ingrained in the daily operation of the village they were impossible to remove without a fight. If it was disbanded once without us falling we can do it again, just make sure the village knows the reasons for doing it were justified."

Naruto nodded to his father and then looked at his grandmother, "I believe you have your answer obaa-chan. Now dad, I hate to cut this short but I really hate hospitals and the longer you're out of the seal the riskier it becomes. I'll see you later but first you should at least meet your grandchildren seeing as they've been awake the whole time."

At that three mops of disheveled hair popped up, the girl had orange hair and rosy cheeks and a bright smile, "I'm Uzumaki Moegi, are you really my grandfather?"

Minato just smiled at her and nodded his head as the second child, a boy with classes and a stuffy nose looked at him, "Good morning grandfather, I'm Uzumaki Udon."

As he finished the last boy spoke up, "I'm Sarutobi-Uzumaki Konohamaru. I'm the grandson of two Hokages and the son of one more. When the boss retires then I'll be Hokage and I'm going to be greater than all of the others," he stated with an air of finality.

"I see, then I guess that along with advising your father I'm going to have to take you on as an apprentice?" Minato asked with a smile.

"Only if you want ojii-san, I don't want you to neglect the boss's training because of me, he might need it more because mom always calls him a ba..."

"Baby!, Naruto I mean, he's my big baby," Sakura interrupted as she shot a glare at Konohamaru.

Udon laughed at his adopted mothers act as Moegi was mumbling under her breath, "That's not what she was calling him the other night when he said something wrong," causing another outburst of laughter.

Minato wisely chose not to respond to either his daughter in law of new grandchildren. He did however walk toward his former student and warmly embrace Kakashi, "I understand that you kept your promise regarding Naruto, thank you Kakashi."

"Sensei, I wasn't able to keep it until recently. The council and elders did all they could to keep me from raising him. Had I been able to none of this would have happened. If you want to thank someone thank Naruto, he's the one that rammed the last application past the council."

"The council, I see. Mother, if there's a reason to be found to do away with that body of fools and toady's then that as good a reason as any. Kakashi, it doesn't matter if it was the day after Naruto lost his mother and I or if it's just the past week. You still lived up to your promise and I'm proud of you. Now, Naruto, is he still late for everything like he was when I was his boss?" Minato asked with a smile.

"No dad, well, he was until I set him straight on a few matters," Naruto replied.

"Oh? And just what did you threaten him with?" the former fourth Hokage asked.

"Nothing, I just, well I talked and he listened. It was a very private conversation but it helped Pops to start living again," Naruto answered in a serious tone, "Now, I think we all need to get our things and go home, what do you kids say?"

With the three monsters, err, children, Sakura and Naruto presentable Kurama dispelled the clone he was using as Minato gave a last round of hugs and kisses to his family before he to retreated into the seal. After that the Uzumaki family left the hospital before word got out and he was besieged by well- wishers and headed out to Ichiraku's for breakfast.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

The weekend had passed very quickly as Naruto created a clone for his father to use so he could prank Zabuza and Haku. Minato then spent the rest of the weekend catching up with his parents who finally told him the whole truth concerning his conception and the guilt Tsunade had about thinking she had lost him as well as keeping his existence from Jiraiya. That was water under the bridge as far as their son was concerned, what brought him great happiness was hearing that they had after so many years and missed opportunities decided to get married.

The catching up went into the night and eventually had to end. Monday saw a very bright-eyed Naruto walking into his office followed by a grumpy Sakura. Umeko was on her feet at once and quickly poured Sakura a cup of coffee with three shots of vanilla and five of hazelnut creamers in it as well as five sugars. While in the Navy Sakura had developed an addiction to very sweet and very high caffeine content coffee. Most days she didn't need it but days like this Umeko was always prepared for and Naruto viewed it as her saving his life.

In fact Umeko had, by now, been hired as their secretary/clerk permanently. The mission for academy students was still there, in fact it made things more difficult for them to operate but as in real life things are never easy. That aside, Umeko filled a role that couldn't be filled by a student as keeping the Uzumaki couple up to date with appointments along with incoming and outgoing mail and documents was always going to be a full time job. Umeko was destined to be the personal secretary of either Naruto or Sakura, who got custody of her when the time came was left for her to decide.

Taking the offered cup Sakura sighed in relief and satisfaction, "Oh thank you so much Umeko-san, you have no idea how much I needed this."

"It's not a problem my lady, I heard what had happened last Friday. I'm glad everything worked out in the end," Umeko replied before looking at her other boss with concern, "Naruto-san, are you sure that you're okay to be here?"

"I'm fine Umeko-chan and if Sakura-chan says I can go back to work then I can go back to work," came Naruto's reply that was then followed by a smile.

"If you say so. Well then, this morning you have a meeting with a delegation from Suna regarding the treaty negotiations followed by a full debrief of the latest operation DRACO carried out," the girl informed her bosses, "That's funny, I don't recall seeing any authorizations for an op by that group though."

"It was a last minute operation that was authorized by Sakura and given to Genin Uchiha to oversee. The initial reports said it was very successful and we gained valuable information," came Naruto's terse reply while looking at his wife.

"I see, well after lunch you'll have the afternoon free if you want to catch up on things before you depart with the last group going to Wave in the morning."

"Last group?" Naruto asked, "The first group wasn't to leave until they were cleared by me, who authorized them to begin moving out?"

"That would be Senior Genin Hyuuga, he and his team split the class up into formations and assigned one Veteran from the last operation in Wave to guide the groups there. I asked Lady Tsunade about it and she signed off on the orders. Do you want me to call them back?"

"No," Naruto answered, "Don't bother to call them back it would waste time and resources. Besides, this is what Sakura and I've been waiting for, the genin, especially Maito Gai's team, to start taking charge of operations when I or Sakura aren't available. Oh, by the way Umeko, pack for at least a month out of town, we're going to need your skills while the water training is going on," Naruto finished with a grin.

Just as the girl began to argue Sakura just took her by the hand and told her that she'd help the poor girl pack all that she would need. Sighing in defeat Umeko sat at her desk and glared at the student assigned to assist her for the month, "What are you looking at? Take these and file them...AND GET ME SOME TEA!" she shouted at the vanishing back of her assistant as he walked down the hallway to file away the folders he was given.

/

Ten minutes later Naruto, along with Shikamaru, Hinata, Sakura, Jiraiya and Hiruzen sat at a table in one of the conference rooms in the tower. Sitting opposite them was the Suna delegation, Lady Chiyo, her brother Ebizo and the Kazekage's eldest child and only daughter Temari. As the group sat in silence it was obvious that there were still feelings between at least two members of the group.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had not taken his eyes off of Chiyo from the moment she walked into the room. It was the same with her, all she could see was the face of the man she'd never fallen out of love with. The others in the room watched with mild interest, Jiraiya scribbling into his notepad, the one he used for 'research', Ebizo with hope that the villages could finally come together, hopefully his sister and the retired Third Hokage could work something out and Temari just looked on with a combination of boredom and disgust.

Bored because she felt this was a waste of time and she had been informed that should it arise, she would be the sacrifice the village and her family would make for a political marriage. Her disgust stemmed from the fact that two old people, old enough to be her grandparents, were sitting in front of her and flirting like there was no tomorrow.

Sakura and Naruto on the other hand watched the two elders carry on with hope that they would still be that in love when they reached that age. Shikamaru was trying to stay awake and it was beginning to become troublesome to stay in this room while Hinata just blushed and tried not to stare. After a few more minutes of elder watching Naruto leaned over and whispered into Sakura's ear earning a blow to the head,

"No Naruto, I don't think grandfather Hiruzen needs me to prescribe some of those 'little blue pills'," she huffed, "Keep it up and I'll make sure you won't be able 'to keep it up', know what I mean?"

"Yes my love," he replied as he rubbed his head.

Seeing and hearing the Uzumaki's exchange Temari looked at Sakura, "Excuse me, but did you just hit and then threaten the Hokage? I mean, yeah he's still a kid but he let's you get away with that kind of thing?"

"Troublesome, Naruto, you better do it because your relationship with her is just too much trouble to explain" Shikamaru deadpanned.

Shooting the lazy Nara a dirty look Naruto then flashed his brightest smile at Temari, "Temari-chan was it?" seeing a slight but annoyed nod, he continued, "Well, it's like this, Sakura-chan is allowed to do whatever she wants to with me as she's not only the love of my life and owner of my heart but she's my wife and mate for life."

At that moment all eyes were on Sakura and because of Naruto's words had her blushing from head to toe. While it didn't excuse her idiot of a husband any of his antics in such an important meeting it did make her regret hitting him for the blue pill remark. Glancing up she saw Temari's eyes wide open in disbelief, the wife of young Hokage was not only allowed to punish him for making smart comments but has such loving praise heaped upon her. Not only that, Temari could see in Naruto's eyes that he meant every word he said.

'Wow, if I'm to be married out to a Leaf ninja then maybe the wife of the young Hokage wouldn't be so bad,' thought the young Sand genin. Looking up she asked Naruto what he meant by Sakura being 'his mate for life'?

"Just as I said, she and I are together for our entire lives," he said, "Look, let me explain it another way alright?" seeing her nod he continued, "It's no secret that the Nine Tailed Fox was sealed into me by my father before he died, right?"

"Well, for some reason I tend to have fox like characteristics and mannerisms, I'm told my grin reminds people of a fox. Anyway, part of our marriage ceremony involves the placing of a seal upon myself and Sakura. It's called a mate mark and it's a reward from the Nine Tails, mostly to Sakura, for our faithfulness to each other during our most trying times."

"Simply put we both have a seal that marks us as a couple for life, just as foxes do in the wild, we're mates until our deaths," Sakura said before adding, "Our parents agreed to a marriage contract before we were born but my parents tried to renege on it because of what was sealed into Naruto."

"So, you two have been married since you were kids?" Temari asked.

"Wellllll," Naruto started, "Kid is a little strong, let's just say that officially we were married when Sakura turned thirteen and leave it at that okay? The whole story is more...complicated. Now, that we're all acquainted or reacquainted was should start, besides Sakura and I will be leaving on a mission in a couple of days and I still need to receive a report from my number three man."

Ebizo nodded in agreement, "Yes, let's begin. Suna as you know is in a financial mess because of our Wind Lord sending the bulk of missions to your village instead of to Suna. He claims that the treaty is to blame but refuses to hear any advice concerning the reopening of talks."

"Yes, this is why I and Rasa-san's predecessor tried to re-open talks after the third war, to make an attempt to put in place things that I and Chiyo-san had worked on after the end of the second," Hiruzen remarked, "It was met with hostility by Konoha's council any time the subject was broached. The most vocal opponent and the one that had numbers on his side is the traitor Danzo."

"It was a shame too, all that work and late night conferences gone to waste as well," Chiyo said as she closed her eyes and smiled, "It was a very bold idea for two young jonins, trying to convince two distrustful allies to trust.

"And this is why we're here," joined Naruto, "To correct the wrongs of the past, including your Desert Lord. It's my understanding the the previous one was found dead under suspicious circumstances. It's our belief that Danzo went behind the Hokage's back and, contrary to our laws, removed your Lord and replaced him with one that was...more compliant to his wishes, not Konohagakure's. We believe that the purpose of this interference was to weaken Suna to the point that you would have no choice to go to war with us. Danzo wanted the Hokage's seat and to see Konohagakure as the ruler of the Elemental Nations."

"That's something that we, my grandson, wife, and sensei do not want," Jiraiya interjected as he studied the faces of Ebizo and Chiyo, "It's much more beneficial to us that we have strong ties to our allies that are forged in trust and friendship. As such we have invited your village to put on the table things that you wish to see changed."

"As you wish," Ebizo replied, "Of course the first thing would be to address the mission imbalance and in light of what you've told me, the removal of the Lord of our nation. If what you've said is true and I've no doubt it is, then he is a danger to both of our countries."

At this Temari stood up yelling, "WHAT?! Grandfather Ebizo, this is treason you're proposing. While my family has no love for the daimeyo he's still the leader of our country."

"Temari-chan," Ebizo replied with a gentle voice, "As the head of the Suna council and the senior elder of the village I'm permitted to act unilaterally in situations as this. If it's true that the daimeyo is in the pocket of a traitor to our ally then he must be removed. As such as one of the items for rectification I request that Konohagakure correct the wrong done by such traitor."

At this point Shikamaru finally sat up and became more animated, "As troublesome as it is I for one find merit in this request. As my friend Shino would say, why? Because it was through our lack of vigilance and understanding of what Danzo was capable of doing. Remember, he did have that private ANBU at his disposal and it's safe to assume he still has control of it's remnants."

"I agree," Naruto joined, "this is our villages fault and our traitor, therefore we need to be the ones to clean up the mess. We will need all the intelligence you can pass to us on the target, is that possible?"

"Yes young Hokage," Chiyo replied, "It'll take time but it's not only possible but necessary for the safety of both our nations."

"Good, the other thing I ask for is time, it may take as much as a year before all the pieces come together, is this acceptable?"

"It is," Ebizo nodded, "One does not rush an under taking such as this."

Hiruzen nodded, "Good, good, anything else?"

"Intermarriage between the two villages, do you still have the notes on what we discussed Hiruzen?" Chiyo asked with a hint of sadness. The subject of intermarriage was one they had once held a stake in but both were forced to marry someone of their clan's choice.

"I do, and I'm sure it's more acceptable now than it was in the past. If it is then you will be one of the first wives under the new treaty," the old man said softly as he looked into Chiyo's eyes.

At that Temari huffed, she didn't like the fact that one of the most revered elders of her village was blushing like a teen on her wedding night and for who? The former leader of a village that was taking their missions from her people and pushing them towards a war they didn't want.

Before she could voice her opinion Ebizo spoke up,

"I think that's a wonderful idea you two, I've always liked you Hiruzen, you have a way of making my sister happy. As to the whole subject, it will bring our villages and nations closer together and over the years reduce the chances of war between us. After all, it's that much harder to attack a village when your in laws, cousins, nephews and nieces lived there."

Hearing that Temari realized something, not only would intermarriage strengthen ties but...in a darker fashion the villages held one an other hostage. The only flaw was that at some point in the future immigration would balance out then stop. At that point the villages would begin to develop their own singular identity. When that happened the whole cycle of conflict would start over, but for a few hundred years there would be peace and growth.

Taking a calming breath she spoke up, "I also think it's a good idea, once the villages have multiple family ties we could see a long period of peace, at least between our villages."

Seeing the approving looks she continued, looking at Naruto she spoke again, "You said that you're one with the beast sealed inside of you. Is there a way to help my little brother attain this relationship with his?"

"First off the biju don't like being referred to as beasts, they actually have names and are rulers of their own summoning realms. As you know, I hold the Nine Tailed Fox so who does your brother hold?"

"The One Tailed Raccoon," Ebizo replied, "It was placed on the boy while his mother still carried him. The result was the death of his mother and an unstable seal. Gaara has been unstable ever since."

"YOU SEALED A BIJUU INTO AN UNBORN CHILD CAUSING HIM TO LOSE HIS MOTHER? WHAT KIND OF FOOL ADVISED THE KAZEKAGE THAT THIS WAS A WISE CHOICE?" Jiraiya thundered, "There is no way you can be sure of the seal if it's done that way. You say he's unstable, how so?"

"He can't really sleep or the beast will take over," Temari answered before continuing, "His blood lust grows daily and he's so cold and trusts no one. Our uncle tried to kill him on our father's orders once my brother started to defend himself from the villagers."

"Defend?" Sakura asked as she looked at her husband who had grown quiet since Jiraiya's outburst.

"The villagers would call him a monster and try to hurt or kill him when ever he left our home. When my brother was little he was so innocent and trusting and those fools took advantage of that. One day they nearly killed him when a burst of sand appeared and began to manifest arms. The villagers hurting him were all killed, the council demanded that our father "correct his mistake". Shortly thereafter our uncle tried and failed to get through his sand defenses," Temari explained.

"Then that's another thing on the table and one we will see through," Naruto said softly, "Temari, I as the Godaime Hokage, promise you that we will fix your little brother's seal."

Temari blinked at his words, the loud blond runt had just made a promise that she had no doubt he would keep. She smiled at the teen and was really thinking of how she wouldn't mind being a second wife to this young man.

Sakura picked up the looks Temari was giving her husband and sighed. The idiot had done it again, impressed a girl to the point that she saw a ring on her finger. But Temari was different, she was from another village and had been dismissive of Naruto when she entered the room. Taking a chance Sakura looked at the girl and spoke,

"Temari, I hope you won't think I'm rude but you're not just here for the talks are you?"

Shaking her head with a sad smile her reply was very soft, "No, like my brother Gaara I'm a sacrifice for the good of the village. Should a political marriage be asked for I'm the one to enter into it."

"I see," Sakura said in a solemn tone before smiling, "Looks like you lucked out since Hiruzen-jijii and Lady Chiyo have more or less decided to tie the knot. However if you'd like, you're more than welcome to stay for a longer visit, think of it as a vacation."

"I'd like to Sakura-san, but, since I'm no longer a sacrifice I need to get home to my brothers, I'm...I'm the closest thing to a mother they have."

"Then send for them, you can stay with us and our family," Naruto said, "We can also look at your brother's seal as well. I and my class have a two month training period but I'll send for you all once we're back. I'm sure that Shikamaru here and his team would be happy to deliver the message and escort you all back here."

Looking at her elders she saw them smiling at the proposal, "I suppose we could do that since there are other things that need to be discussed, like wedding plans," she replied as she smirked at the older couple in love.

"Very good, if that's all Sakura-chan and I will take our leave. Shikamaru, Hinata, I believe you're to accompany us to on this event? Good, we'll meet at the gates in two hours," Naruto instructed as he stood to leave.

Pausing to give Temari a friendly hug he didn't notice her furious blush spreading across her face. As he passed his two grandfathers he said a few words and patted Hiruzen on the back, "You know Jijii, you and Ero-jijii belong to an exclusive club, you both have a second chance with the women you love. I'd make the most of it and no matter where you two decide to settle I'll sign off on it."

With that the party of genin left the room, "He's more mature than I thought he'd be," Ebizo said as the door closed.

"He's had to grow up more than he should," Hiruzen stated sadly, "Naruto never had a chance to be a child while in the village and because of his treatment I had no choice but to send him and Sakura-chan into exile while I and a few trusted shinobi cleaned house."

"So, he's like Gaara in so many ways but one," Chiyo observed, "He never let his dark side consume him."

"He's come close but Sakura-chan has always been and continues to be his light," Jiraiya remarked, "That girl has the patience of a saint and the strength of a Sage. She has to though, not only does she have Naruto to keep in line but their children as well."

At this Temari paled, "Sakura-san...Naruto-san...they have children?" she squeaked, "How? I mean I know how but she's...she's so tiny!"

At that the remaining Konoha representatives began to laugh, "Oh no, that's not how they have kids, Sakura is still not ready physically, but they did adopt three orphans that just started the academy. She's mother hen to them and her husband as well as his cousin and his apprentice," Jiraiya informed the girl.

"Not only that, she has had to learn how to deal with the Uzumaki clansmen that have begun to return to Konohagakure and Wave," Hiruzen added, "They're a very enthusiastic bunch where family is concerned."

At that Chiyo and her brother felt a chill go down their backs, the Uzumaki clan has started to reform. With their seals, jutsus and combat techniques Konoha's forces will only get stronger. They must cement an alliance between the two villages before the Otokage comes calling on their village again. There was something that rubbed the two elders the wrong way, even Rasa was not comfortable around the man. As they were deep in there thoughts Jiraiya broke them out of them with an invitation to dinner at Knonha's newest restaurant, Lee Ho Fook's.

Two hours later Naruto and Sakura met their genin escorts along with the jonin assigned to them. Hinata was glaring as hard as she could at the orange book in Kakashi's hands as Shikamaru and another boy talked quietly in the shade. Kakashi nodded as Naruto's party arrived, not only was Naruto and Sakura there but the three children, Zabuza and Haku as well. At the moment Naruto was arguing with his cousin.

"I'm telling you I don't need you to escort me no matter what my mother ordered," the blond yelled.

"Tough brat, it's me and Haku or one of the other Uzumaki shinobi but you will have a clan escort," Zabuza replied with a smile hidden behind his mask.

"What about Kakashi?"

"What about him?"

"Well he's my father and..."

"Sorry kiddo but your cousin is right on this," Kakashi said as he butted in, "The leader of the Uzumaki clan is to be escorted by at least one clan bodyguard at all times when he's outside of the protection of the village. Since I'm not a blood relative or born into the clan that leaves me out."

"So, even though I'm the head of the clan I have no say because of mom's orders to you?"

At this Zabuza just smirked, "Yep, sounds about right, well no time like the present. Look at it this way brat, without the old geezer it'll take us a few hours to reach Wave."

Naruto just hung his head and looked at Sakura, "It's times like this that I wish we could've brought a Hotel with us."

"I know baka, but how do we explain it? My god, how would we hide it?"

"I don't know but I sure wish we did have air support. Fuck it, everyone ready? Moegi did you 'go' before you left home?"

"Yes, and I wish you'd be a little louder dad, I don't think the academy heard you," came the embarrassed cry from the sole daughter of the future Hokage.

As Sakura chuckled Naruto gave a last exasperated sigh, "Fine, let's get this circus on the road then."

Four hours later the party stopped at the foot of a great arching expanse of concrete, "The 'Great Naruto Bridge'? Really? I thought they were going to name it the 'Great Liberation Bridge," Naruto said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"They wouldn't listen and insisted on that name," a voice called out as the figure of an older male came into view. Walking next to him was a boy about Konohamaru's age.

"Tazuna, Inari," Naruto said as his face split into a huge grin, "How's everything? How's Tsunami-chan?"

"Fine, brat, everything and everyone is doing just fine," Tazuna replied before bowing to Sakura, "Lady Sakura, you're still as pretty as ever, and who are the kids? They're younger than you two, you're not thinking of running them through this training too are you?"

Sakura smiled and shook her head, "Thank you Tazuna-san. These are our children, Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi. The adoption was finalized a couple of weeks after the liberation. Kids, this is Tazuna the bridge builder and now administrator of Wave and that's his grandson Inari."

The three children each sketched bows to Inari and Tazuna before Konohamaru looked over to the new boy, "You're the kid the boss, I mean dad always talks about, what makes you so special?"

"I don't know," replied Inari, "I mean we didn't have the best start but Naruto-nii gave me and my mother hope. He's also a good listener, when I was scared he just sat and let me talk about what I was afraid of. Why did you start to call him boss anyway?"

"Well, he started out teaching me a special jutsu," as he said that he saw Sakura give him the look as she had never approved of her husband's first jutsu. Naruto had always claimed it was an 'anti-pervert' measure, Sakura was convinced that it was his way of sneaking into the girl's locker room and showers when the were attending high school. Deciding to take a safe track the young Sarutobi now Uzumaki continued,

"He also took me and the others in when no one else would, none of us had parents, they all died serving the village, so dad knew what it was like for up and he and mom adopted us."

"So, you're all kind of like me, I lost my dad when he tried to save the village," at that he looked at the ground, "I...I didn't know my father, he ran out on us before I was born."

Inari was surprised when he felt three hands descend onto his shoulder, looking up he heard Moegi speaking to him, "Father had a rough life before his exile as I'm sure you know. He must have seen something in you that reminded him of his early life. Since he's taken you on as a little brother that means you're part of the family now, okay uncle?"

Hearing that Inari's face split into a smile, "Yeah, I guess so. So, I guess you're studying to be ninjas like nii-chan?"

"Of course," Konohamaru said with his own smile, "We're all going to be on the same team when we become genin. Are you going to some kind of school as well?"

"Yeah, the maritime academy just started classes and I'm learning to be an officer in the Uzushiro fleet. Naruto-nii captured three ships from Kiri and they belong to Whirlpool and Konoha. It's the...what did the head master call them? Oh yeah, they're the backbone of our Navy. One day I'm going to command one of them," Inari said with the same conviction Naruto used to use when he'd proclaim himself as the next Hokage not knowing that he actually was.

Naruto just smiled at the four kids and turned to Tazuna, "So, things going better since the liberation then?"

"Oh yes, I can't thank you enough for having those medics come over here to take care of the people. They're doing a great job, in fact two of them have set up a schedule and make a circuit of the island visiting the outlaying villages and hamlets. Don't worry, only one goes out at a time and always with an armed escort," Tazuna informed his prince.

"I thought we took out all of Gato's men, why the armed guards?"

"Well, one or two managed to escape the search for them but surprisingly most of them actually turned themselves in. We held a trial of course and all but two were released, the others were executed in accordance with the law. The ones that were released were given a sentence of service to the crown, that's you by the way, and were placed on a work release," the old man explained,

"Their jobs are to not only hunt down their former comrades and try to convince them to return and pay their debt and escorting the medics. The town administration view them as valuable assets so their safety is paramount. I know what you're thinking but those men that we tried were in the worst possible way when we caught them. The Konohagakure medics treated them and in some cases saved their lives, the men that guard them all swore blood oaths to protect any medic that serves this land."

"Well, if you trust them okay, I trust your judgment, if not I wouldn't have put you in the position. Now, how goes the work on the compound?"

"The rubble of the bunk and cookhouses were cleared a couple of days after your teams left. We've built new structures in the clan's style and razed that whorehouse the midget lived in. We placed a memorial park there to honor Kaiza and the others that Gato killed. The village also built a large traditional house for you and your family."

"And the training area?"

"Classrooms are located in the maritime academy and there are several areas that fit your needs for beach landings. You know that Whirlpool's military had naval infantry before...before the fall," the old man softly said as if remembering better times.

"It did? I take it then that Akai and his men are the last of them?" Naruto asked seeing the man nod his head, "Would they be interested in teaching what they know to the younger generations? I don't wish to see anymore of our culture lost."

"It won't be, Akai and his men are teaching all they know to the academy students but I'm sure he can spare a couple of men to help out. I know that they can teach the history of it as well as the tactics we were trained in. I suppose you'll be needing to use some ships and boats to train on as well?"

"Yeah, we only have a month so we need to hit the ground running in the next few days. I figure two or three days of classroom work, history and tactics as well as knots and the rest on the water. I figure we start them on the fishing boats, send them out with a crew, learn a trade," at that Tazuna and the others laughed, "Once the week is out give them a day to rest and then work up to those ships we took from Kiri."

Tazuna nodded, "I was wondering about them. What happened when you got back to Konoha anyway?"

"Well, along with the letter we sent to the Mizukage letting him know that his forces and plans had been stopped we sent him the morgue scrolls containing his invasion force as well as the debriefing that genin team he sent after me gave after they defected to Konoha. As for them, Obaa-chan has them teaching all they know to the students in the academy."

"That's great and all but what did Kiri say or do?"

At that Naruto and Sakura both laughed as Naruto answered, "Well, in exchange for not declaring war he gave up his claim on the rest of our lands. Personally I think that the revolution he's facing is the reason he's had to pull his forces out but this is as good a reason to give for losing those islands as any. Whatever let's hims sleep at night. Now, let's move on to the compound, it's been a long day for us all," as he said that he reached down and stroked Moegi's hair.

Said girl looked up and smiled at her father as that gesture was always soothing to her when she was scared or nervous. Looking at her brothers she took their hands and as one they began to follow Naruto and Sakura to their home for the next month.

A/N:

Okay, it took a while to get this out but like I've said, the further from canon this gets the harder it becomes to write. I hope that this is as good as the other chapters as I covered a lot of items. Yes, I did take the Minato inhabits a clone route but I needed to in order for the story to advance. So, I've closed out Naruto's near death experience, had Minato inhabit a clone to give closure to his parents and meet his grandchildren. We've also seen the opening of the treaty negotiations and the start of the next phase of training for the genin. As I said I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter as I did find some spots that I had to remove and do over, at least four times, before they worked. And to answer the question, yes, Hiruzen and Chiyo will get married in a later chapter. I plan on doing something special for Temari but that's later down the road.

I've recently decided I can't stomach is the Boruto manga. I was able to flip through the first volume and I wasn't impressed. This is the manga that's fueling the rumors of Naruto's death in case you've not heard and to me it's a way to justify chapter 700. Personally I treat chapter 700 and the sequels to Naruto as a genjutsu cast along the lines of the one Naruto and Sakura went through as a means to torture the guy. I mean one of his biggest fears was not being a good father and look how he treats his family. He puts the village before them and as a result his son hates him for it. While I know that it will never happen I keep hoping for one last manga volume that give us our favorite pairings. Since that will never happen it's up to us to give Naruto and Sakura the life and family they deserve.

So, that's it for my rants. Now a little note, in this chapter Naruto and Sakura discuss wanting a 'Hotel' and if they had it where would they hide it. Well, the Hotel they're discussing is actually the model of helicopter I was an AO on, the one that Sakura therefore crewed and the one that took Naruto into harm's way. The full designation is HH-60H, a Navalized Blackhawk that was designed from the wheels up as a dedicated rescue aircraft. Now, this is my way of asking if I should have Naruto try to get something like that into the Elemental Nations? I mean I do have plans to send a team to the ruins of Sora at some point to recover any and all they can from it's ruins. I also want to introduce something along the lines of the SWICC boats the SEALs use to get in and out of places that have water ways they can access. Maybe in the next chapter he can talk to the boat builders in Wave. If anyone thinks it's not a good idea please PM me and make a very clear and concise argument as to why. I'm not going to put M2s and Miniguns on them but I will have something like a minigun that fires crossbow bolts mounted as well as a cannonade or two that are obtained from the Land Of Iron or Spring. We're going to assume that Konoha aided Koyuki during Naruto's absence.

Now, the next chapter will have the genin literally learning the ropes of Littoral Warfare and then it's back to Fire Country and the Namekazi clan for desert survival. At some point I will be sending Zabuza to Mist along with a few Leaf genin to aid the rebels. Remember that when Naruto and Sakura returned the intel given them pointed to a war in three to five years, they now have three years left so this is the time to get up to strength in terms of experience and forces and to cement strong alliances. They have Wave, a leftover from Whirlpool in their corner as well as Spring, with Suna willing to make a stronger bond. Should they get Kiri to side with them it would make the other villages think about taking sides with Danzo and Orochimaru.