Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any characters in this fan fiction.

Chapter 2: Family

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage, known throughout the lands as the Professor, sat in shocked silence by what he had just witnessed. The old Hokage's mind was still processing the scene that had unfolded before him. He had seen many things in his nearly 60 years of life but none of them surpassed what had just happened.

At first he had thought Naruto was simply holding back, after all, Jiraiya had been training the boy for the past few weeks. Then the boy had seemed to literally speed up, even almost beyond the old kage's vision, but for just a few moments, and then returned to his normal speed. Then it happened a second time and it became obvious that Naruto was as surprised by the change in his speed as the Hyuga boy. Then in a single moment Sarutobi realized his mistake, it hadn't been simply an advancement in Naruto's speed or abilities. Naruto's skills had increased that dramatically. Naruto was truly shocked by what was happening to him. And it was in that moment that everything changed and the arena had been filled with the bright light of a yellow flash.

Even as the words of the proctor registered in his brain he could hear others beginning to overcome their shock, "That… that was the Hiraishin!" "The Fourth Hokage's technique!" "How does he know that!?" "The demon's taunting us!" "He kind of looks like the Fourth"…

A thousand thoughts entered into his mind as the Third Hokage knew he needed to reign in the situation immediately before it got out of hand, "Excuse me Kazekage-san but I have an internal situation to see too. Cat and Crow with me."

The old Hokage of Konoha vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves to appear next to the blonde boy, "Genma-kun move to the next fight. I don't care if sponsors came to view the last Uchiha, he is considered disqualified and you are to move through the list. As Naruto's guardian I am exercising law 571 article 12 and taking Naruto for an immediate screening by a medic. I will have him back before his next fight. Cat I want another five teams of Chunin in the stadium immediately to handle any fights which may break out from this situation. Crow, retrieve Jiraiya immediately, tell him the Fourth's legacy has been revealed."

"Hai!" the two ANBU responded before vanishing in shunshin's.

The Hokage placed a hand and offered Naruto a gentle smile as the tired boy looked up at him, too exhausted even to speak. With that they vanished from the stadium to appear in the underground medical facility.

"As Uchiha Sasuke has not arrived on time he is disqualified and Gaara no Subaku advances. Kankurou no Subaku and Aburame Shino report to the floor," Genma announced despite the fact that the crowd was obviously no longer paying attention.

Medical Center Below the Stadium

The old Hokage arrived to find his student already waiting. The white haired sannin was leaning against the wall and gave his sensei a nod of greeting, "I figured you'd want to see me sensei, I was watching the entire incident."

It was obvious to anyone that Jiraiya was upset. His posture might have appeared relaxed but there was stress around his eyes and a haunted look to his features as if he was trying to pull himself from the past.

Naruto looked up at the white haired pervert and felt a surge of gratitude for coming to watch his fight. He gave the old ninja a cheesy smile of gratitude, "I kicked his ass ero-sennin!"

With a roll of his eyes the old sannin smiled slightly but was unable to lose the stiffness in his posture as ruffled Naruto's hair, "That you did gaki, good job!"

Knowing they had a limited amount of time the Hokage decided he needed to step in before the two started a blow-by-blow replay of the fight, "Jiraiya, I need you to check the seal immediately for any problems," Sarutobi told him.

"Had to put on a show huh gaki? Alrighty, lift up your shirt so I can check and make sure everything is alright with your seal," Jiraiya told him with forced cheerfulness.

"I also need you to tell him the truth Jiraiya, after this incident rumors will spread everywhere. He is now your primary responsibility and will require your protection," the sannin's old sensei told him even as he saw Jiraiya freeze at the words.

Hiruzen knew it wasn't fair to ask this of his student, he also knew it was his fault for what was about to happen but it had been the best choice at the time. The two exchanged a quick glance, one whose meaning was utterly clear. Jiraiya blamed him still for how Naruto had grown up and Sarutobi clearly said if Jiraiya didn't tell him, he would.

"I suppose it is long overdue," Jiraiya muttered as he felt a chill enter his spine as Naruto looked between the two but Jiraiya moved before he could voice his confusion.

Jiraiya kneeled to Naruto's height and placed a heavy hand on the boys shoulder. He could see the blonde was exhausted, even beyond anything that the sannin had seen during their training month, it was probably the reason why the boy had been so quiet so far.

"Naruto, I knew your mother and father. I was your father's sensei. I was, well, very close to them," he told the blonde haired youth as tears began to water in his eyes, "Your father was like a son to me and when we found out you were going to be born they asked me to be your godfather and guardian should something happen to them. I... you… you were named after a character in my first book because your dad liked it so much," tears were openly flowing down the sannin's face as he remembered the day Minato had informed him he intended to name his son after his sensei's book.

Naruto stared at the old man in front of him. Every lonely night he had cried himself to sleep, every time he had sat alone on the swing, every time he had watched from afar as other families walked away from him with their smiles came crashing down into his heart. The shock of emotions nearly rent Naruto into pieces to discover he had a godfather, a guardian, a man who should have taken care of him. And despite the warring emotions within him only one question came to his mind and in his confusion he barely whispered a single word, "Why?"

That single word was enough to terrify Jiraiya. It was said with so much raw emotion, the loneliness, the pain, everything the boy had suffered for thirteen years was in that single word and he was asking for an answer from the man who could have made all of it go away. The man whose responsibility it had been to protect him and watch over him and drive the darkness away. And the piercing blue eyes stared at him waiting for an answer, they dove into Jiraiya's slowly, steadily and begged him to answer.

As much as Jiraiya wanted to look away he didn't, he didn't shut eyes to his godson's pain or to the raw emotions welling inside himself, he let them flow and faced them as he had not done in years, "Naruto … I wanted to take you with me. Sensei and I, we talked about it for hours after your father died. We knew that if you came with me you'd be forced to grow up on the road and my work would take us into some of the worst places on the planet. Even more than that I knew if I was seen with you it would be obvious whose son you were. Your father earned many enemies in his time and all would try to kill you before your first year was out, despite any protection I might be able to offer you."

Taking a deep breath Jiraiya continued, "I did everything I could to help you, I sent you those gifts on your birthday, gama-chan and your sleeping cap and that orange jumpsuit even. I paid for your apartment and tuition to the ninja academy. I asked sensei every time I wrote him what you were like and how you were doing. I squashed any rumors and left false trails for anyone who might be trying to find you. I came back just to watch you in the Chunin exams and planned to meet you at the hotsprings that day. I wanted to train you, to teach you everything I know and I still do."

Jiraiya continued, his pace quickening as he came to his conclusion, "I wanted to be here for you Naruto and I know I can't make up for the past and I know it is cold comfort to know that I was looking out for you from behind the scenes when you needed me by your side all of these years. But I want to teach you everything I know, and I want to protect you. I know you may never accept me as your godfather and you might never be able to forgive me but I just hope you'll give me the chance to redeem myself for not behind here all these years and accept my training as your father did."

Jiraiya bowed his head as he finished, unable to take the look coming from Naruto's eyes as he absorbed the words that Jiraiya had spoken.

"Naruto," Sarutobi said, "I think you should know it took a lot of convincing to get Jiraiya to leave you here. He had adoption paperwork already filled out for you even before the night was over. He was going to take you and I take full responsibility for him leaving you. I felt it was better that you grow up here where you would be safer in anonymity and the possibility of friendship. I never expected the village to circumvent me or ignore the Fourth's will the way they did. I also think you should know Jiraiya wrote letters weekly asking about you and had me send him pictures of your pranks, he always wanted to know about you," the old hokage told the young man in front of him.

"You… you wanted pictures of my pranks?" Naruto asked in a quiet voice.

"I still have them, I keep them on me when I travel and look at them at night. You might look like your dad but you act just like your mom," Jiraiya said with a hint of a smile as his eyes gained a faded look to them as he remembered the red head that had stolen his pupils heart.

"Who… who were they?" Naruto asked. The one question he had wanted an answer to for so long, the one thing he had always been denied as part of his identity, who were his parents?

Before the Hokage could stop them Jiraiya answered, "Your father was my greatest pupil and the Fourth Hokage Naruto, Minato Namikaze and your mother was the last of the Uzumaki Clan, cousins of the Senju, Kushina Uzumaki."

"Naruto, you must understand that we kept this information secret to keep you safe, if Iwa or any other number of enemies your parents made learned you were alive they would have stopped at nothing to see you dead in vengeance for your parents," the old Kage told him.

Naruto wasn't sure what to think. His mom and dad had loved him, wanted him. He was the son of the Fourth. And even now he was being offered what he longed for ever since he could remember. A family. Yet that same family could have been there for him his entire life. But he had worked in every other way he could to help him. It was all so confusing for Naruto and he wasn't sure how to take it all in. He tried again and again to work things through in his head but one thing always returned, Family.

Naruto could see the pain that Jiraiya carried inside him. It was clear he hadn't wanted to leave Naruto as a baby and it had taken convincing and almost an order from the hokage to force him to do so. Now he was asking for a second chance. As much as Naruto wanted to be angry at him, as much as he wanted to yell and scream, and as much as he wanted to rant that the old pervert should have been there from the beginning the thought of finally having a family brought him up short.

"W-would you stay with me?" he asked hesitantly.

"Naruto, that's all I ever wanted to do. And it will always be my greatest regret that I wasn't there for you as you grew up," Jiraiya told him as he tried to convey his regret and pain through the words.

Tears formed in Naruto's eyes, "I'm not sure how I'll feel later, it is all so confusing, I'm angry at both of you and yet happy to know I was loved and wanted but… but I'd like that… if you'd stay that is… godfather."

With those few words the found themselves in a tight embrace as the Hokage smiled softly. He knew they did not have long but that this was a necessity and he motioned for the medic who had appeared at the door to wait in silence as the two shinobi before him finally gained something they had each yearned for, a family.

It would be a long road ahead for them, Jiraiya carried many emotional scars and Naruto would have to work through much of his own anger and resentment but it was a start. A small step but a good one none-the-less.

With a polite cough the Hokage brought them back to reality, "Naruto-kun would you please lift up your shirt so Jiraiya can check your seal? And Izumi-san here will perform a scan of your body."

With a nod Naurto positioned himself on the bed and laid back as he lifted his shirt. Jiraiya channeled some Chakra into the seal to bring out and began to examine it.

"I don't see anything wrong with it Sarutobi-sensei. Everything looks perfectly fine, I'd guess that what happened likely had no effect at all on the seal itself. But I'll keep an eye on it to be sure prolonged use doesn't cause any problems," Jiraiya told his old sensei.

Izumi meanwhile was running several medical scans, the most important was a bloodline scan. While they would need to take blood samples later for more definite proof the scan would give at least an initial indication of whether a bloodline limit had appeared.

"I don't see anything wrong Hokage-sama. From all appearances Naruto-san is in good health, although his body is in extreme stages of exhaustion. The bloodline scan does indicate that he has awakened a bloodline limit but there is no match currently. We will have to take a sample later for a more definite test," she informed them.

Before the conversation could continue Crow appeared within the room, "Hokage-sama, Uzumaki-san's fight with Gaara no Subaku will begin shortly, he must return or be disqualified."

With a nod Jiraiya placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, "I'll take him back up. Kick his ass Naruto, I know you can do it."

Jiraiya looked down into the face of his godson. And simply the knowledge that someone cared for him, that he had a family watching him and cheering for him sent renewed vigor into the blonde boy, "I'll make your proud… godfather."

With a smile the two vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves to appear in the middle of the stadium. And then all hell broke loose.