Hello, everybody! Looks like eternity passed since the last time I updated. I'm terribly sorry! My vacation was longer than I expected (my journey was really pleasant, I liked Italy a lot:) ) after that was my birthday…I hope you didn't give up waiting! My greatest thanks to my beta-reader, Phillipa Engles, who did excellent work and corrected all the errors. Thank you again:)

As usual I'm waiting for your reviews and I hope you'll like the 8th chapter!

Chapter 8. The house at the seashore.

He awakened at the feeling of tree branch coming close to his face and exhaled in pain. His body felt like he had gone through hell and everything around him was in thick fog. He couldn't understand if it was day or night. He tried to move his legs and found it completely impossible to do – at least one of them didn't obey him at all.

"It is broken," sudden thought came into his mind, revealing more painful memories about the day before. He bit his lip to suppress cry.

"Take it easy," somebody's familiar voice advised him.

"Who is that?" Naruto wondered and then his eyes opened wider as he realized.

"Yondaime!" he exclaimed partly in relief and partly in horror.

"Don't shout!" Arashi asked. "I dealt with your kidnappers but I'm not sure if there are more in this forest."

Naruto looked around and understood two more things – they were moving at high speed and the 4th held him in his hands. Everything around him was still in fog.

Naruto shook his head trying to get rid of this feeling.

"They gave you some medicine to keep you unconscious," Arashi explained feeling uneasiness in Naruto's moves. "I don't know what exactly it is but it affected your regeneration – your leg hasn't healed yet and it doesn't look like it's going to heal soon though, so I put the bones back in their place."

"Where…are we going?" Naruto asked in small voice – he felt like his strength was leaving him at frightening speed.

"I have a friend nearby who can help you," Arashi answered. "Konoha is much farther so it's our only choice."

Naruto bit his lips tighter. Here, Yondaime tried to help him even though he knew the truth. He couldn't handle this anymore.

"Leave me," he asked trying not to cry again.

"What?" Arashi stopped in his tracks in surprise. "Naruto are you all right? Do you recognize me? It's me, Arashi, Yondaime hokage!"

"I…get it…"Naruto slipped out of Arashi's hands, tried to take a step and when he realized he couldn't do it, he caught the nearest tree's branch to keep himself on his feet and – most important – to not look in Yondaime's eyes.

Arashi stood right behind him with uncertain look on his face, not knowing what he should do – should he leave him alone and let him explain or use some jutsu and put Naruto to sleep again just to not see the horrible pain on his face.

They stood in silence for some time and it felt like an eternity for Arashi and then Naruto continued.

"I…don't deserve it."

Arashi's eyes widened.

"What did they tell you?" he asked trying to understand and finally when no answer came to him, said gathering the remains of his calmness into his voice.

"Naruto, answer me."

The blond boy turned around and Arashi was shocked – he was crying.

He couldn't believe it. His son didn't cry when he stood face to face with shinobis of hidden moon in a battle he couldn't win. He didn't look frightened when the ceiling fell right onto their heads. He just moved dumbly to save Sakura when they didn't know if she was alive or dead and there wasn't a single tear in his eyes. And now he was crying. Why?

Naruto just stood and looked somewhere far away tear after tear falling from his eyes.

"This is abnormal," Arashi shook his head. "They must have given you something that affected your mind. "Naruto, listen to me. Inhale deeply and try to relax. Everything is ok now."

"I just don't get it," everything looked like Naruto didn't listen to a word Arashi had said. "How can you do anything to me after all that?"

Arashi's heart stopped for a moment.

"Naruto," he began.

"How could you protect me, give me a place to live under your roof when you knew everything? To me, kyuubi kid who destroyed your family," he stopped for a moment gathering the strength to continue, to tell Arashi the painful truth, the face of the 4th when he was talking about his wife, still standing before his eyes. "To kyuubi kid who killed your wife and son?"

Arashi felt like he's boiling inside. How unhearted these men must be to tell that lie to the boy! Making him believe in such foolish words. It looked like that all he did to them was too soft. Arashi had a feeling he must return and turn these ninjas into dust. All that stopped him now was a crying boy standing just in front of him.

Arashi's heart squeezed. Now Naruto didn't look like a brave shinobi ready to chase into battle without any second thoughts. He just looked like a little boy who was frightened and didn't know what to do.

Arashi came closer his heart pounding in his chest like a huge bell. He didn't know what to say..no..it wasn't the truth…actually he knew what to say but didn't know how.

"There is enough shock for him already," a sudden thought came into his mind. "I can't…"

So he just came closer and sat near the tree looking at Naruto attentively.

The boy turned his eyes from him at the same moment.

"You know that it's not the truth," Arashi said in calm stern voice but soft at the same time. "You are not kyuubi. You have nothing in common with the monster that almost destroyed out village. You were the one who saved all of us."

Arashi closed his eyes and confessed.

"I was weak after all. I couldn't handle it with myself so I needed your help badly. You were the true hero, not me. You controlled Kyuubi all these years not letting him do awful things. You helped me and I'll help you with all I can. Forever."

"But your family…"Naruto began his voice slowly turning into his old one. "Your wife."

"She died fighting with kyuubi," Arashi nodded. "It is the truth but I'll repeat it until you understand – you have nothing in common with this creature. You are Uzumaki Naruto. You are…"

Naruto's eyes stared at him for a moment and then the blond boy felt like the remains of strengths leave him completely and began to fall.

Arashi was quick – he caught him his nose in several centimeters from the ground.

"You have a fever," he concluded not really sure who was shaking more - him or Naruto. "Try to sleep a little. You'll feel better."

"Blondaime," Naruto whispered his eyes closing.

"What?" Arashi smiled at his nickname coming out of his son's mouth.

"Thank you," the boy whispered again and fell asleep.

Arashi bit his lip trying not to cry himself.

"I won't let anybody hurt you anymore, Naruto," he whispered pulling the sleeping boy closer. "Maybe I don't have as much power as Umi had but I'll protect you till the last breath as she did, son." The last word fell soundlessly from his lips and then he got up and continued moving through the night.

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"You wanted me to see something, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked as she stepped on the grass of the clearing. "Hm, that's impressing," she gazed with amusement at two shinobies tied tightly to the tree. Both were beaten badly and were unconscious but definitely alive.

"Looks like Arashi found them after all," she nodded noticing burn marks on their hands.

"But they haven't returned to Konoha with Naruto. Why?" she wondered.

"He says he knows the answer," Kakashi turned to her holding a small frog.

"Blond hokage asked to tell you that he's gonna take Naruto to a friend of his," the frog said.

"Is Naruto alright?" Tsunade asked.

"He was unconscious," the frog answered. "That's all he asked me to tell you. Can I have a snack now?"

Tsunade's face expression turned into worried one.

"It was really serious," she concluded. "Otherwise he would never be in search of help from outsiders."

"What shall we do now?" Kakashi asked. "I shall continue searching then."

"No," Tsunade turned around. "The mission has ended here. We all return to Konoha."

"What?" Kakashi stared at her. "But Arashi-sensei and Naruto are in danger! We can't!"

"Kakashi," Tsunade turned to him. "He's hokage. Trust him. As for me, we can't move further – a few miles ahead the territory of hidden mist begins. And if we move farther…"

"It will mean the beginning of war," Kakashi continued for her. "Hey, everybody! We cut the operation and return to Konoha!" he shouted to the others.

Tsunade headed the procession while the white-haired shinobi stopped for a moment and turned back to the dark forest where his ex-teacher was.

"I hope everything will be alright, sensei," he whispered and then turned back to join the others.

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First rays of light began to touch the ground when Arashi finally stopped near a little house at the seashore.

This place was protected from the eyes of outsiders by hills so it was rather difficult for him to reach the point but he couldn't stop.

He hesitated for a moment before knocking an old wooden door that looked like it wasn't old – it was ancient – but then forced his hand to do it. He needed a poison specialist at that moment and here lived the best one he knew. Naruto didn't feel any better and the fever became even worse and Yondaime really was afraid for his life.

"Nami!" the 4th called in a small voice and continued knocking. "Please open the door!"

Everything could change in such a long time, he understood that but also he had a feeling that the person who lived here when he was here the last time was still in this house.

"Please open the door!" he asked.

"Right here!" he heard a familiar voice just behind his back and turned around only to receive a solid punch in his face. He was too tired to feel the motion of chakra and block it.

"Nice to see you again, Nami," he joked trying to catch his breath. Finally he did and straightened, looking at the red-haired woman with dark green eyes. She didn't look either old nor young – it looked like her age froze somewhere between those two points and wasn't going to move to any side." She wore a simple green dress and her long hair was put into a braid.

She wore an expression of disgust while looking at Arashi almost like she had just seen some awful creature.

"I have sworn to myself, Arashi," she said in cold voice. "At the moment I learnt that you had been resurrected…I have sworn to myself I'll kill you when I see you the next time!"

"Nami," Arashi raised his right hand trying to make the situation easier.

"It's all your fault, Uzumaki!" she shouted not leaving him a chance to put in a word.

At that moment Naruto made himself comfortable in Arashi's hands and whispered something like 'Sakura, it wasn't me. I haven't eaten your lunch, believe it!', and continued sleeping.

Arashi exhaled, visibly relaxing – but the last thing he needed at that moment was Naruto learning the truth about his parentage in such a foolish way.

"Nami," he continued trying. "You can kill me, you can do anything you want, I won't raise a finger to defend myself but I beg you, first of all help Naruto!"

"Naruto?" her red eyebrows raised in surprise. "You have come all this way to ask me to help some kid? And you think I'll help you after all you did?"

She wanted to add more but her look gaze onto Naruto's face and she stopped in shock.

"It just can't be," her gaze stopped at the face of the blond haired boy laying helplessly on Arashi's shoulder. "Is he…"

"Yes," Arashi whispered. "He's her son."

The red haired woman hesitantly reached her hand to touch Naruto's face almost like she wanted to make herself believe in the reality of all that was happening. The boy squeezed his nose in his sleep and she smiled.

At the same moment Arashi received another punch to his face.

"That's for not telling me the truth," Nami concluded.

Arashi rubbed his check. The would be a bruise there for a long time, he realized unhappily. But if she could help Naruto he would have gone through even more painful experiences.

Nami opened the door and let Arashi with Naruto in his hands, come in.

There was a small but rather bright room.

"Lay him here," Nami gestured to the bed at the opposite corner. "What happened?"

"One of the poisons of hidden mist," Arashi explained. "The one that keeps a person unconscious. I have the sample," he gave her one of the needles he found while interrogating the kidnappers.

"Good," Nami took the needle and started examining it.

"It did something with his regeneration," Arashi continued hesitation in his voice. "You know he has an improved regeneration thanks to kyuubi…"

"Kyuubi?" she turned around while making some medicine. "So he's the infamous kyuubi kid who stopped Shuukaku of the sand? You put that monster into your own child. That's priceless. What else don't I know?" her voice was full of irony.

"He doesn't know who his parents are," Arashi said, attentively examining the burns on his hands and doing his best not to look at Nami.

"Oh," she turned around to him with expression of angriness turning into pity. "What a mess you have done, do you understand that Arashi?"

"I do," the blond hokage sighed. "Will you help him?"

"Of course," she smiled, a bottle with blue liquid in her hand. "I'll give it to him and everything will be alright." She turned to Naruto and quickly put the needle under his skin.

"Thank you," Arashi nodded.

"I can't do anything else," she turned around. "Umi would kill me if she knew that I wouldn't help her son."

Naruto's breathing became deeper and Arashi touched his son's forehead felt like the fever was fading away. Yondaime sighed with relief.

Nami watched the scene with unhidden interest.

"Looks like you have a lot to tell me, Uzumaki Arashi," she said finally.

The blond man nodded.
"I'll try to fill you in," he said. "I'll tell you everything, listen."