Chapter 3: 3 years later

"Naruto!"

There was an enormous crash and the sound of breaking glass echoed across the house. A small blonde boy skidded across the room, a bar of chocolate in his hand and a mischievous grin plastered across his face. He wore an orange t-shirt with a red whirlpool affixed to the front and a pair of small blue shorts, which complemented his dazzling bright blue eyes. Hearing his mother close behind him, he made a dash for the door. Freedom was in sight; he extended his arm and grabbed hold of the handle. All he had to do was twist it and then-

"And where do you think you're going?"

Before he knew it, Naruto was lifted off the ground and held in the arms of his father, who was already dressed in his Konoha Shinobi fatigues. Naruto crossed his arms and pouted, looking at the ground below.

"Every time" he moaned, exaggerating his expression and making a point of not looking up. "I always get so close and you just turn up out of nowhere."

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a Dad if I didn't, would I?" Minato replied, lightly patting the head of his son, who didn't seem too eager to respond. "Oh come on, I've been away for a week and this is all I get?"

Naruto didn't react for a couple of seconds, still keeping up his act. Then, his cheeky smile returned and gave his father a hug, laughing as he did so.

"What did you get me?" he quickly asked, as he started looking through the top pockets on Minato's jacket.

Just as Minato moved to reach into his back pocket, where a small model of a toad was hidden, a small cough came from the opposite side of the hallway. Kushina stood there, shooting her husband a disapproving look. Realising his mistake, Minato withdrew his hand and put on his best fatherly face.

"Now Naruto, you know that you can't have sweets before breakfast" Minato said, taking the chocolate bar from his sons grasp. "Now, if you eat your breakfast and behave for the rest of the day I'll give you your present tomorrow morning."

This was apparently an unacceptable compromise as Naruto returned to sulking. Knowing that he would give up after a few minutes, Minato simply carried him back towards the dining room and sat him down at the table. He went to join Kushina in the kitchen but quickly thought better of it. Knowing it was best not to leave him alone, Minato made signs and placed his hand on the table.

"Now, Gamaki here will keep an eye on you so don't try running off again" Minato warned, as the small yellow toad took a place just in front of the boy. Naruto continued acting as if he hadn't even noticed, although his not so subtle glances at the toad betrayed him.

"He has the same face as you when you get angry" Minato joked, as he joined his wife at the counter as she continued making breakfast.

"Minato, something happened while you were away" Kushina suddenly announced, her voice tinged with nerves.

"With Naruto? What was it, is he all right?" Minato asked, with all sorts of horrible scenario's running through his mind.

"Yes, he seems fine for now" Kushina began, as she twirled her hair around her finger. It was a nervous habit that she seemed to have picked up over the last couple of years and it was a sign for Minato that this was really serious. "A couple of days after you left, we were playing in the garden. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just those little play fights you normally have with him. After a while, he got a little too enthusiastic so I told him it's time to stop. He got a little frustrated and started crying."

"Well, that's a little unusual but nothing too bad" Minato commented. "He has done that with me a couple of times."

"I know but this was different" Kushina continued. "He was completely hysterical, the way he was crying was unnatural. I tried to calm him down the best I could but he didn't pay any attention to me. He started crying harder and harder and I noticed the whiskers on his face were raised and there was a slight red tinge to his eyes. It was terrifying Minato, I had no idea what was happening. That was when I noticed it, the bottom of his t-shirt was lifted up and I could see the seal on his stomach, clear as day. So I grabbed one of those seals that Jiraiya gave us a couple of years ago and it seemed to work, he returned to normal and fell asleep."

"Those seals are designed to suppress powerful chakra, made specifically for Jinchuriki" Minato commented, sounding incredibly concerned. "If that worked and if the seal appeared, that must mean that some of the chakra of the Kyuubi must have been leaking through."

"How is that possible?" Kushina asked, looking on Minato for answers.

"I'm not sure," Minato thought. "Could the seal actually be weakening? If so, why did it occur at that moment? What can I do to counter this?"

This inner monologue was interrupted by a distinctive knock on the door. There was an immediate reaction in the dining room, as Naruto knocked the toad out of the way and ran towards the door.

"I know who this is!" he yelled, as he turned the handle and opened the door. "Kashi!"

The masked Shinobi initially seemed displeased with this but soon smiled at the child's naivety.

"You know Naruto, one day I'll make sure you can say my name properly" Kakashi chuckled, as Naruto practically jumped into his arms. "You need to speak properly if you want to be Hokage like your Dad."

Naruto made an exaggerated grimace and stuck his tongue out at the suggestion.

"I don't wanna be Hokage," he said. "Too boring, all Daddy does is paperwork."

"Doesn't complain about paperwork when I use the money to buy him toys" Minato laughed, as he walked over to greet his student. "Naruto, what did I say about staying at the table?"

"I know" Naruto sighed, as he dropped back to the floor and walked to the dining room in a sulk. Minato gave a wry smile before turning back to Kakashi.

"You're here earlier than I expected, which is very unlike you. What happened with the genin team then?" Minato asked, fearing the answer.

"Waste of time" Kakashi replied, as he walked further into the house and to the dining room. "They just didn't get it at all, absolutely no team work they all just wanted to go for the bell on their own."

"Sounds exactly the same as your team when you took that test" Minato pointed out. "You only really got the teamwork aspect after I suggested it to you, don't be so harsh in the future."

"Maybe" Kakashi said, clearly not all that convinced by his Sensei's words. "Even so, they were more than hopeless, I have no idea how they got out of the academy. Even if they worked as a team, they had no chance of getting the bells."

"Typical Kakashi, forgetting that everyone else isn't a child prodigy like him" Kushina teased as she walked in to the room with two plates of breakfast. "I bet you sit around wondering why everyone else can't use at least 400 jutsu don't you?"

"Sure do" Kakashi replied cheerily, as he looked down at the food he was just given. "Kushina, I just ate."

"So? You can always eat some more. You don't eat enough Kakashi" Kushina declared, as she gave Naruto a smaller bowl of cereal. "You don't need to worry about your mask either, we've all seen your face here."

Giving up, Kakashi pulled down his mask and began to eat. As was usual whenever he was around, Naruto spent most of his time trying to see what was underneath Kakashi's headband. Kakashi would tease him by slightly lifting it every so often, before quickly putting it back down before he could see.

"So what time are we leaving then?" Kakashi asked between mouthfuls.

"Within the hour, we already have everything packed we just have to wait for the ANBU guard to get here" Minato replied. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if I would be back in time so we had to push our departure back a little. Luckily I was able to get through everything quickly."

The next hour was spent talking about Minato's time away and Kakashi's experience of being a regular Jonin again after he quit the ANBU. Finally, after Naruto had gathered every toy he owned because it was absolutely necessary to bring them, the guard arrived and they left the house. As they walked towards the village gate, Kushina spotted someone she knew in the crowd.

"Hey, Mikoto!" she called out, catching the attention of the black haired woman talking to her child.

"Oh, Hi Kushina" she replied, looking slightly flustered. "You leaving already huh? Wish I could say the same; we still have a lot to do. Fugaku has been in Suna the entire time, so I've been left with his duties while he's been away."

"Sounds tough especially with a clan as big as yours" Kushina sympathised. "Still, it will all be worth it to see your son become a Chunin."

"What! Sasuke isn't becoming a Chunin is he?" Naruto yelled, barging in on the conversation. "But Dad says we can't enter the academy at our age!"

"She means my brother, stupid!"

The boy next to Mikoto was the same size as Naruto and roughly the same age. His black hair was spiked and messy and he wore a high collar blue shirt with his clan's symbol emblazoned on the back.

"Sasuke, don't be so rude" Mikoto said, giving him a scolding look. "Anyway, we best get going hopefully we'll get there the night before it all starts."

"We'll see you there then" Kushina replied, as the two walked away from each other.

"Kashi, are we there yet?"

"Yes Naruto, we're finally here."

The three-day journey to Suna had been mercifully uneventful, with the only difficulties being Naruto's almost constant complaints that he was tired despite the fact that he was always on someone's back and his questioning of how far they had to go. They'd picked a good time of year to travel, so they had also avoided the difficulties associated with the weather that could sometimes plague the route between the villages.

"Oh wow" Kushina gasped, as she gazed upon the entrance to Suna for the first time in her life. "That's amazing."

The entrance to Suna was rather unique. The village was completely surrounded by a giant wall of rock and sand, with only a small gap in the middle of the wall that acted as the entrance to the village. The walls themselves had several layers which stretched all the way around and when there was an important event ANBU were stationed there. It made for an impressive and terrifying sight and let any visitors know that, despite what rumours may say, this village did have considerable military might.

A brown haired man with a cloak similar to Minato's stood waiting at the entrance flanked by 7 others of varying ages that made up the council of Suna. He walked over to Minato with his arm outstretched and an obviously forced smile across his face.

"Welcome Lord Hokage" he said, as he gave the shortest of handshakes. "It's an honour that you could make it and for us to enjoy these exams."

"No, the honour is all mine" Minato replied, giving the standard answer one must give at these highly formal meetings. They then spent the next five monotonous minutes making various introductions between everyone gathered, with Naruto rather hilariously changing his name every time he met a different person. With the formalities done, they were invited inside the village. To the Konoha parties' dismay, it turned out that there was no real shade from the relentless heat of the sun as they walked through the streets of the village. Finally, they reached the Kazekage's office, which meant that everyone apart from Minato could go to their lodgings. However, Naruto had other ideas.

"Daddy, Daddy" Naruto said, while he pulled at the bottom of Minato's robe. "Can I go and play in there?"

As soon as Minato had spotted the park situated next to the office, he knew that Naruto would want to go in there. The child seemed to have an obsession with the place, visiting the park in Konoha at least once a day.

"Kakashi-"

"No way" Kakashi declared, cutting off his teacher.

"Oh please Kakashi" Kushina pleaded. "If you don't I'll have to and I really need to get some sleep."

Predictably, Kushina's guilt trip worked and Kakashi found himself sitting on a park bench as Naruto showed off to every child present. Sometimes, he wished that he'd stayed with the ANBU.

The first thing that Minato noticed about the Kazekage's office was that there was nothing to notice. His own office was filled with memento's and family pictures, with a smattering of brightly coloured scrolls about the place. In contrast, this office was very bland and the best that could be said about it was that it was very organised.

"So, the Raikage isn't here yet?" Minato asked, having prepared himself for a meeting with the man during his travels.

"He won't be arriving until tomorrow" the Kazekage responded, as he took a seat behind his desk. "He wasn't intending on coming until he heard that a Konoha shinobi had made the finals and that you were personally attending."

Minato sighed heavily after he heard this information. The current Raikage, A, seemed to be in constant competition with him and he was not the most rational of men. A battle from years ago appeared to be the catalyst for A's obsession with him even though Minato barely remembered the fight itself apart from seeing the tentacle of the Hachibi. However, he put that issue to the back of his mind and focused on something rather more important.

"Have you looked over the terms of the agreement?" Minato enquired.

"I have and I still have some issues with it" was the response. "The exchange of information is still far too broad and I am most certainly not willing to reveal our training techniques. We may be looking to sign a peace treaty but we all know that in this world they tend to be worth less than the scrolls they are written on."

Minato had been afraid of this. Despite his attempts to create peace treaties and to collaborate in the face of what he felt was impending danger from the man he feared was Madara Uchiha, the fact was that none of the villages seemed willing to sign treaties due to the possibility that it would leave them vulnerable through deception.

"Well, I suppose that you should make your amendments for us to review then" Minato said, although he knew that it was pointless. He may be desperate to establish peace but he would never agree to the ludicrous demands that Suna had made in the past.

"So, how are you kids?" Minato asked, looking to change the subject.

"What are you trying to insinuate?" the Kazekage demanded to know, suspicious at where this was headed.

"Nothing, I'm just genuinely interested" Minato responded innocently. "You're the only Kage other than myself that has young children, how do they cope with it?"

"My children are upstanding members of this village," the Kazekage declared, with a small amount of pride in his voice. "Kankuro has already began learning the art of puppetry and Temari is showing a lot of promise."

Minato was sure that the Kazekage had three children but he decided not to look into it any further. He wandered over to the window to check on how Naruto was doing. The Kazekage did the same and then turned to make a comment to Minato. However, before he could even open his mouth his face turned white.

"No" he said, as he turned towards the door. "Your son is in danger, we must get down there now!"

If there was one thing that Naruto was good at, it was making friends with everyone he meets. Kushina called it his "special gift" and Naruto was relishing using it in a new village. Within a few minutes, all the kids around him were laughing at his jokes and cheering him on as he attempted the stunts he tried to copy from his Dad. However, it was late in the day and soon enough everyone started going home. As the kids filtered out, he noticed one more boy in the corner of his eye sat on the swing. He wore an oversized brown robe and a very sad expression on his face. Naruto walked over and noticed that the boy was clutching a very old and dirty teddy bear.

"Hey, what's his name?" Naruto wondered, as he examined the bear closer.

"I don't know" the boy whispered, avoiding eye contact and pulling the bear closer to his body.

"Well, what's your name?"

"I'm Gaara" came another timid response.

"Gaara? That's a strange name," Naruto said, eyeing up Gaara suspiciously. "But, my Mum says that you don't judge people before you get to know them and my Dad says that you should always shake someone's hand when you meet them so."

Naruto held his hand out and this time it was Gaara that eyed him suspiciously. Unsure of himself, he mimicked Naruto's movement and attempted to touch the offered hand. However, before he could a small wave of sand seemingly came out of nowhere and knocked Naruto's hand away. This seemed to thoroughly depress Gaara but Naruto thought that it was the coolest thing he had ever seen.

"Wow, this is fun" Naruto said, as he tried his best to get past the sand. "Hey will you teach me how to do this?"

Gaara didn't respond, he just sat there smiling at the boy in front of him. Although, this smile soon turned to the most miserable frown as his father and Minato suddenly appeared before them. Minato looked incredibly confused but the Kazekage was enraged.

"Gaara!" he screeched, as the youngster scrambled from his seat and away from his father. "What have I told you about approaching people like that! Do you want to kill everyone in this village? Get out of my sight!"

Gaara quickly sulked off, wiping tears from his eyes as he went. Minato knew that the sensible thing would be to walk away, act as if that hadn't happened. Except, he knew that he couldn't do that; the guilt would eat away at him.

"Kakashi, take Naruto" he ordered and wasn't met with any resistance. It was obvious why Minato wanted his son out of earshot.

"Even if he is the Jinchuriki of the Shukaku, that is no way to treat a child, especially your son."

"You have no right" the Kazekage spat, glaring back at Minato. "You have no right to question me or my methods. He has to learn to control it, so far he's been nothing but a failure."

"What, so you think that isolating him is going to help?" Minato yelled, walking over to the Kazekage. "You really think that putting him down and making him miserable will make him more able to control a beast infamous for feeding on negative emotions? How big of an idiot are you?"

"What do you know about it?" he snarled, getting close up to Minato's face. "What do you know about having to train your own child to control a Bijuu?"

"I know exactly as much as you!" Minato shot back, without even thinking. "I know what it's like to look at your own child and see a demon. I know the intense feelings of guilt that threaten to engulf you. You know what I don't know? I don't know what it's like to look upon your child and see misery staring back. That's because he's my son first and a Jinchuriki second and that's how it must always be."

A silence followed the end of Minato's passionate speech, as both comprehended what was just said.

"So, your son holds the Kyuubi?" the Kazekage said. "I have to admit, I would never have suspected him. How do you do it? How does he keep everything in control so easily?"

The conversation had begun to enter territory Minato wasn't comfortable with but he also knew that he couldn't turn back now.

"Well, I think it's threefold" Minato began. "Firstly, he inherited strong chakra from his mother which helps to suppress the beast. Secondly, his seal his strong but has enough leeway so that he can use that chakra in the future. That is the third point, in the future. He is much too young to go through that now, his life is going to be difficult enough the least I can do is give him a childhood. The first point is something you can't replicate and I can help you with the second if you like. The third is down to you."

In al honesty, Minato hadn't expected much from that given how stoic the Kazekage usually is. However, that very same man fell apart right before his eyes. They spoke for close to an hour about all manner of subjects relating to their children and by the end an agreement was in place. Minato would perfect Gaara's seal and the Kazekage would at least try to treat him like his son.

It was dark by the time Minato reached the apartment on the outskirts on the village. The time taken to apply the new seal to Gaara was longer than he had anticipated and he had to get his lodgings before Naruto was put to bed. He just hoped that this wouldn't cause an issue and that the people he wanted to meet would still be awake.

"Ah Minato" the man said as he opened the door. "I was worried you weren't going to show up."

"My apologies Fugaku" Minato replied, as he stepped inside to the rather cramped accommodation. "My meeting with the Kazekage was more complicated than I had planned."

"Well, that's a difficulty experienced in all villages" Fugaku sneered, not trying to be subtle. "You yourself can be an enigma at times, you preach inclusion yet your latest act has pushed us further away than ever."

"I'm not following" Minato admitted, while racking his brain and trying to figure out how he had offended the Uchiha this time.

"Your order that internal affairs can no longer be investigated by the police was very insulting" Fugaku growled, as he clenched his fist.

"What? I never-"

"Hey, what's going on?"

A young boy stepped out of the hallway carrying a battered old book in his hand. He looked very similar to his father, except his hair was a slightly lighter shade of black. Like all in the Uchiha clan, the clan symbol was attached to the back of his black shirt.

"Nothing Itachi, we were just discussing something" Fugaku reassured his son. "The Hokage has come to see you, it's tradition for the village leader to wish his candidates good luck the night before the final exam."

As Minato spoke to Itachi, the main thing that struck him was how calm the young Uchiha was. The night before his own exam, Minato stayed up half the night pestering Jiraiya into helping him practice his jutsu. However, Itachi didn't seem concerned in the slightest.

"So, what's with the children's book?" Minato asked, recognising the title as one he had read to Naruto once.

"Oh, I was reading it to Sasuke it's the only way he sleeps" Itachi chuckled. "He's heard the same story every night yet he still insists on it."

The brotherly bond between Itachi and Sasuke was one of the main reasons why Kushina had been trying to convince Minato to have another child. However, with all he had to do he knew there was no way they could make it work. Still, he could see the benefits when he heard the caring way that Itachi spoke about his younger brother.

"Well, I'll let you get some rest for your big day tomorrow" Minato said, as he stood up. "Just know that you have the whole of Konoha will be cheering you on."

"Minato, I'm happy to see you."

One of the first things people noticed about A was that he was incredibly tall, towering over the average Shinobi. That combined with his hulking physique created a rather intimidating man. He did his best to put this to use when greeting Minato, trying his best to crush his hand when they shook. To his credit, the Hokage didn't even flinch.

"It's been a while A and congratulations on your promotion" Minato said.

"Yes, I'll take up the mantle my father left for me and make Kumogakure the strongest village in the five great nations" he declared. "For now however, I'll be happy with simply watching the two Genin we have in the finals wipe the floor with your lot."

Minato and the Kazekage exchanged glances but decided it was best not to answer back to that. A was notorious for his quick temper and the last thing they needed was for an argument between Kage's to be played out in front of everyone gathered. Instead, they simply turned their attention to the tournament at hand.

The giant stadium erupted in cheers when the four Genin walked out. There was two Genin from Kumo, one from Suna and Itachi from Konoha. The first battle was between Itachi and the Suna Shinobi. Suffice it to say, Itachi's victory was incredibly easy. The difference in skill was incredibly noticeable; the poor child from Suna just did not have an answer to anything Itachi could throw at him. The Kazekage muttered several words of annoyance, while A simply laughed out loud.

"I'd be embarrassed if someone from my village performed like that," he bellowed. "Now, my Genin are up next and they'll show you how it's done."

The second battle was much closer in terms of skill. As expected of Kumo Shinobi, their taijutsu was top class. Surprisingly, the winner seemed to win using a well-executed genjutsu. A was unsurprisingly smug with this but Minato was still confident in Itachi. A Shinobi relying on genjutsu would be in trouble against an Uchiha.

"Now then Minato, how about we make a little bet on the outcome of this match?" A suggested.

"Oh no" Minato quickly replied, knowing that A was a sore loser. "I wouldn't want to take your money like that."

Before A could give a response, the two Shinobi walked out and prepared for battle. Itachi kept his calm composure, while his blonde haired opponent had a cocky grin spread across his face.

"The fight between Itachi Uchiha of Konoha and C of Kumo will now begin."

The pair wasted no time in starting the battle, C drawing a katana from his back and launching his attack. Itachi responded by taking a kunai from his pouch and fending off the assault. Using just one hand compared to his opponents two, Itachi was clearly on top and had C on the ropes.

"Kenjutsu was never really C's strong suit" A grumbled, as he kept his eyes firmly on the battle. "However, just wait until the ninjutsu begins you'll be impressed."

As if he heard A's words, C jumped back and quickly formed hand signs. Itachi responded by doing the same thing, although his signs were made at a much quicker rate.

"Such speed" the Kazekage gasped. "That would be impressive even for a Chunin."

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

A great fireball was expelled from Itachi's mouth and flew over towards C. The blonde Kumo Shinobi quickly jumped out of the way but the size of the attack was bigger than he had anticipated and his leg was caught.

"Come on, stop messing around" A muttered, as he clenched his fist tightly. "Finish it C!"

Itachi stood and watched his opponent coolly, looking to figure out his next move. In contrast, C was livid and gasping for air.

"I'll admit, you're good" he spat, as he made seals once again. "However, let's see you fight against this!"

Ludicrously, C disappeared right before Itachi's eyes and he found that he was unable to even move his head.

"A paralysis genjutsu?" Itachi wondered, as he closed his eyes. "That's rather impressive, I didn't think I'd have to use this here."

"Ah yes, your boy may be good Minato but he cannot escape this illusion" A boasted as he watched the action unfold. However, a second later his face dropped. Just as C moved towards Itachi to strike the final blow, he stopped in his tracks. After that, Itachi simply struck him instead and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"How did that happen?"

"He saw through the genjutsu and reflected it back" Minato explained, also amazed by what he had just seen. "It may have been a powerful genjutsu but not good enough that it can't be seen through by the Sharingan."

"The Sharingan? That boy has unlocked it already?" A enquired. "Of course, the dojutsu of Konoha, I should have known. It's unfair that this power should only reside in your village; it infuriates me. Well know this Minato, this does not mean that you are better than me."

With that, A dramatically stood up and walked away from the area without so much as a goodbye. Minato could merely sigh and shake his head. It was becoming clear that the problems both within and outside of his village were only going to get much more complicated.