[7 years later]
"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked his men who were supposed to be keeping watch over his wayward son. There was an explosion in the distance and immediately everyone jumped.
"Sir! Another mine has been set off… by a monkey sir!" Someone radioed in their report. Only one idiot was stupid enough, conniving enough to have their pet monkey set off their carefully hidden land mines and not have any casualties.
"Naruto!" Kakashi face palmed, knowing that only that boy can cause so much trouble.
"Naruto-kun!" Haku exclaimed, tweaking the tall blonde's ear ruthlessly. "Pay for those!"
Laughing, Naruto ran a hand through his untamed shaggy yellow hair. Out of sheer teenage rebellion, he purposely kept it at this length because he knew that it drove his dad crazy for some reason. "Aww, you know that those are just gonna end up at the village anyways! Isn't that right, Gaara?" Nevertheless he flipped the fruit vendor a few coins before biting into the apple with a loud crunch.
Gaara rolled his eyes at the antics of his friend and choose to ignore him.
"We should head back." Haku's lips thinned together as he checked the time. "Saru-chan's probably been discovered by now."
Green eyes turned disbelievingly at Naruto and Gaara openly stared at him. "You set your pet monkey loose in the mine field as a distraction?" It would've sounded like an accusation if he hadn't monotoned the entire thing.
"Not intentionally…" Naruto dodged the topic of matter expertly and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, kinda? I mean, Saru-chan needed the exercise anyways and I didn't want to set those off myself… Better him than me?" As time passed, Naruto's prankster tendencies only grew worse and the entire village was becoming hard-pressed to keep up.
"Don't worry Gaara-kun. If Hatake-san asks, we were on patrol with Kaiza-san the entire time." Haku reassured Gaara who looked like he wanted to throttle Naruto with his bare hands.
Naruto grinned at his two best friends and knew that despite Haku's subtle threat of letting him get the brunt of the consequences, Haku wouldn't follow through. If anything, the older boy probably already secured a solid alibi just for him alone. "Now you're just being mean Haku."
They walked along the canal-side, with Naruto's interest catching every new stand or food cart. While they were strolling through town, the three boys didn't miss the tall-tale signs of another gang encroaching on their territory. Lately there were rumors that Gatou and his men were trying to claim this place as their own.
Gaara started bristling like an angry cat when he saw graffiti sprayed all over the street walls. "How dare they!" He growled lowly, glaring at the offensive message scrawled about. "I'll kill them."
"No need for killing." Naruto pacified the redhead. "I'm sure they'll clear their way through this town soon enough." Gaara could be a little… trigger impulsive as it turned out and the last thing they needed was a blood bath. "Maa, hey look! These are from Water Country!" It was the latest manga volume that Naruto liked to keep updated on. It was about some crazy ninja in an orange jumpsuit.
"Please leave me alone!" A man cried out suddenly.
"Gatou don't want no books. He wants his money!" Four big brutes surrounded a man threateningly, all looking like they were up to no good.
"I-I don't understand? Why do I have to pay a fee if he's not the landlord here?" The man looked scared but he had enough guts to stand his own ground against four men who were all bigger than him by two fold.
"No Naruto-kun… We should mind our own…" Haku sighed as it was too late. The other boy was already gone. "Business." Turning to Gaara he said placidly, "This was how we ended up with you last time."
The other boy just shrugged in response.
"Look. Gatou's a business man. He's got this real respectable joint set up here but how's it gonna work if he gets no money?"
"Not from honest and respectable people through dishonest means!" The man spat back, dark eyes furious.
Before the thugs could hit the man, Naruto smirked and hurled the rock in his right hand as hard as possible, hitting his intended mark. "Hey! Why don't you go and run back to Cake-Bastard to get the hell outta town? We don't want the likes of you scum hanging around here!"
"Agggh!"
"Waraji!" His friend drew out his sword. "I'll get you for that you little punk!"
"See if you can, Tattoo-face!" Naruto launched himself forwards, catching them off guard. Kicking the sword out of his hands, the blonde quickly spun himself around and pushed the other two thugs into the water. "Man, what a bunch of losers!" He laughed, flipping them off. "Had enough yet?"
"You're gonna get it!" Waraji pulled out his own weapon, a massive cleaver.
Naruto didn't seem to mind the challenge; in fact he welcomed it. He was too fast for Waraji to hit and Zori, his companion didn't have a weapon to be considered as a threat. Weaving in between the strikes, Naruto purposely danced around him, hopping in and out of striking range just to tease him.
"You all right?" Haku offered a steady hand to the man who looked like he was in a daze. Helping him up to his feet, he handed the man his dropped belongings.
"Is… Is he going to okay?" The man couldn't keep his eyes off the fight.
Gaara studied the two thugs before quickly loosing interest. "They're not worthy enough to be even killed." He declared, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Ignore Gaara-kun." Haku laughed lightly, dismissing the redhead's conclusion. "Naruto-kun will be fine. He's been in worse scraps than this before. I'm Haku by the way. What's your name?"
"Um… Umino Iruka." He said, rubbing the scar across his nose. "Thank you for helping me out…"
"Thank Naruto-kun. Oh look, he's just about finished."
Sure enough, the blonde knocked out the two with a powerful spinning kick and landed on his feet gracefully. "Yeah, up yours assholes!" He stuck out his tongue at the two groaning henchmen. Sauntering over, he stuck out his hand and said, "Hi! My name is Naruto! Nice to meet you!"
"You bring another Outsider in here, again!" Kakashi tried not to raise his voice, but he was so close to loosing his temper that everyone in the general vicinity automatically took a step back. "I thought the incident with Gaara was enough." Where did the sweet little toddler who'd do anything for his dear daddy go? When did this hellish, mule-headed rebellious teenager replace his little blonde mop of fluff?
"Gatou's men are after them. I couldn't just sit by and watch." Naruto shrugged, face lighting up when his monkey jumped into his lap. "Oh hey Saru-chan! You're alive! By the way, his name is Umino Iruka and he says he's from Fire Country. I've never met anyone from there before-" The moment Naruto mentioned Kakashi's former country, the man already drew out his gun. "No Dad! Don't shoot him!"
"Hatake-san, I'd advise you to reconsider your actions." Haku diplomatically placed himself between Iruka and Kakashi. "I can assure you that Umino-san means no harm." Everyone knew how Kakashi loathed anything and anyone that had to do with that nation. "Gatou's men were trying extort from his humble book stand."
"They're causing trouble in town." Gaara added to Naruto's defense. "We should eliminate the problem immediately."
A typical Gaara response.
Slowly lowering his arm down, but still wary of Iruka, Kakashi asked, "What can you do?"
"E-excuse me?" Iruka was sure that this Kakashi person wasn't going to outright kill him now, but he was still nervous.
"What skills do you posses?" Kakashi repeated himself, his voice a little biting. "Seeing that you know the location of our village you are not allowed to leave here alive."
Iruka couldn't stop gaping at him. "L-leave here a-alive?" He sounded faint and started to wobble on his feet a bit.
"Think of it as a good thing! Gatou and his men are after you anyways… you'll be safe here!" Naruto tried to make the situation sound better than it really was. "You look like you'd be some sort of teacher or something. You look kinda nerdy enough. Iruka-Sensei. Sound catchy."
"I was… a school teacher before I came to Wave Country…" Iruka admitted.
"That's good." Haku smiled at the man. "The children here are always in need of a good teacher. The last one, what happened to him again?"
Naruto scratched his head absentmindedly. "Oh you mean Mizuki-Dummy? He was caught stealing money from Dad and I think we shot him. Or did we stab him? I kinda forgot. Do you remember Gaara?"
"He was shot." Gaara (un)helpfully supplied.
"Right. Oh yeah, man was Dad ever pissed."
No one noticed that all the color had drained out of Iruka's face, leaving it pastier than a piece of paper.
"Well then Sensei." Kakashi lost his interest in the newcomer already. "It'll be Naruto's responsibility to show you around and get you settled here. He'll explain the rules to you and such. Curfew is at ten. Caught breaking it and we won't hesitate to shoot." He turned abruptly and left the room, his men following him.
Bending over in a hushed whisper, Naruto conspiringly whispered, "Don't worry. They don't really. We've been caught sneaking out so many times that they don't shoot at us anymore."
It was actually Haku who showed Iruka where his living quarters were going to be because Naruto really didn't have a clue to where the man would sleep. The blonde admitted that he planned on having Iruka camp it out in his living room before Haku smoothly suggested that the new quarters had just been built and Iruka could stay there and out of sight of Hatake-san.
That man had a cruel streak in him and wouldn't hesitate in making Iruka's life miserable.
"Actually, I think he took it rather well." Naruto fed Saru-chan some fruit bits to keep his pet happy. "Last time I pulled this, he beat me up for four hours."
"It was called training Naruto-kun." Haku found some spare clothes for Iruka and gave them to the man. "There are three meals served at the mess hall everyday. You're responsible for everything else."
"It was torture." Naruto argued back. "Oh yeah, there's the village mandatory training sessions every other day. You can learn how to defend yourself there so next time you won't get your ass handed to you." For Naruto though, everyday was a mandatory training day unless it was some sort of special occasion or dire emergency. Even Haku didn't have as much instruction as he did.
Iruka tried spluttering his own defense but Naruto's attention was already fixated somewhere else and he cheerily waved him goodbye before jumping out the window.
"Don't worry. He always does that. He should be fine." Haku answered Iruka before the man could even have the chance to open his mouth. "He's a bit scatterminded at times but he means well. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. Gaara-kun, I'm sure that Iruka-Sensei will appreciate that hand grenade once he knows how to properly utilize it. Please put it back without causing an explosion." The feminine boy said so pleasantly that he might as well be talking about the weather.
Gaara scowled but did as he was told, and all Iruka saw was a flash of what he assumed was a grenade. "Good night Sensei."
"Err… Good night to you too…Gaara-kun…"
"Yo! Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto popped in through the window, nearly giving Iruka a heart attack. "Just checking if you're doing okay and all." His light blue eyes spotted a pretty girl in a picture frame and he swung himself inside to pick it up for a closer glance. "Wow, who's she?"
"Oh, her?" Iruka had remarkably taken everything into good stride and was even settling into his new living quarters. His features changed into a sad one, a similar expression that Naruto often saw on his dad's face whenever the older man thought he wasn't looking. "She used to be an old student of mine. Her name is Sakura."
"Sakura." Naruto slowly tested her name out, liking the way the syllables rolled off this tongue. "That's a pretty name! Sakura-chan! Is she related to you? You're way too young to be her dad… are you adopted Iruka-Sensei? Maybe that's why she's so pretty and you're well.. you."
"What's that's supposed to mean?"
"You should take this training a bit more seriously," chided Haku as he finished his shots and set his gun down. Naruto was goofing off as usually, shooting at everything but the target. It made Iruka rather nervous actually. "Gaara-kun, please don't aim at the chicken. Tsunami-san will be angry if her prized hen is dead."
Gaara innocently blinked as he raised his arm a bit higher and shot at the dummies. "I do not know what you are talking about."
"I am being serious! Look Haku! Did you see that? I got that orange up on that branch!" Naruto laughed loudly, finishing his rounds and holstered his gun in one fluid movement. "With my closed! How awesome is that? Hey, Iruka-Sensei, you're holding it all wrong."
Iruka never held a gun in his life was having a poor time trying to aim and shoot straight. It didn't help that every time he pulled the trigger, he flinched and the recoil of the weapon made his arms shake so much that it was lucky if he managed to hit anything at all. "Why do I have to learn this?" He complained, squinting one eye and aiming again.
His next shot hit Tsunami's hen and it died in a pitiful squawk.
"It was not me." Gaara defended himself, holding his hands up in the air.
"Aw, crap." Naruto scratched his head. "Maybe if we can play if off right, we can blame Inari…"
By now, Haku should be accustomed to these daily blooming bursts of migraines but having a complete novice make a kill shot from at an impossible range was pushing close to it. But first, it looked like he needed to consolidate a grieving (and in shock) Iruka.
"I-I killed it! Oh my god! I'm a horrible person!"
The three boys didn't point out that technically Iruka was now a part of an elite mercenary group of outlaws and the death of one chicken was really laughable. If left alone to their own devices, Haku could perfectly dissect a human body (he secretly aspired to become a doctor), Naruto could easily go around and topple some governments (he got bored too easily) and Gaara could go around and paint the town red (they blamed it on Zabuza's bad influence).
Before Haku could point out that Iruka could hardly be considered as a 'horrible' person, his sixth sense flared up and he automatically drew out his favored senbon needles. Naruto and Gaara already had their weapons out- Naruto his gun and Gaara his explosives. Motioning Iruka to be silent, the boys quickly took up positions without even glancing at each other.
Somehow it seemed that Gatou's men found the location of their 'hidden' village. Naruto noted that they were trying to encircle the village and signaled to Haku that they should be mindful of their 6'oclock. Gaara smirked reassuringly at him and mouthed, Say when.
When! Naruto mouthed back, running forwards while keeping low.
Something exploded loudly behind them and the thugs were either swearing or silent. The bombs went off three more times before the entire village became silent. It served two purposes, firstly to distract Gatou's men and secondly to raise the alarm in the village.
What Naruto was more interested in was when did Gaara had the time to plant all those explosives. "When did you rig those? Wait, don't tell me. I don't wanna know." He shook his head while shooting three men down. Some things were better left unsaid.
"Where did you get enough explosives for that?" Haku wanted to know the other pressing question. He highly doubted that it was through legal and legit means.
"You're not the only one that uses Saru for distractions." Gaara shrugged, rolling behind an upturned table where Iruka was cowering and threw a flash grenade. "Flare." He pulled Iruka's head down so that their own weapon wouldn't blind the teacher. The three boys closed their eyes before a blinding flash erupted from the small bomb.
"Oh." Naruto jumped behind a fence to hide himself and reloaded his gun in one fluid movement. Picking off the stumbling blind men was kinda sad really. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. "You could ask next time, you know."
"I will do next time," promised Gaara solemnly.
Their quipping came to an abrupt end when Zori and Waraji came out with Tsunami as captive.
Gaara swore, Haku sighed, and Naruto froze. Things got a whole lot more complicated now it became a hostage situation.
"N-Naruto…" Tsunami whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"Tsunami…" Years of training didn't register in his mind; the only thing he could think about was Tsunami getting hurt. "Let her go! She has nothing to do with this!" The only mother-like figure in his life was going to die if he didn't do something.
"Naruto…" Haku warned the blonde, sensing that the other boy was going to do something utterly stupid and life-threatening again.
A resonating crack and Tsunami's frame slumped forwards and something in Naruto snapped. Immediately the two men surrounding Zori and Waraji died, the gun barely having enough time to cool down before Naruto aimed it at them. Waraji died first, and Zori had enough sense to start running away.
"Naruto! Come back!" Haku tended to Tsunami, just in case she was alive. "Gaara!" The other boy already started chasing after Naruto. "Tsunami-san." The young man knew that she was dead the moment she was shot and all he could do for her was to close her eyes for the final time. Poor Inari… He thought.
Naruto's body was on auto-pilot. Every time he moved, it was out of years of muscle memory. Jump, duck, don't forget to roll, fire, repeat. All he could think about was getting those men what they deserve.
"Naruto!" Gaara's warning came too late.
He heard the click as his foot stepped on the land mine. Body freezing, he dared not to shift his weight around. The slightest amount of movement would kill him. "Damn it." The blonde swore softly, closing his eyes. Gatou's men stopped running and chuckled at his predicament. From pulling at the trigger uselessly, he knew that he was out of ammo too.
Gaara had his weapon out but it was two against him; Naruto would get shot either way.
"Looks like you're out of luck, brat." Zori sneered at him, taking careful aim. A gunshot rang out in quick succession and the thug fell backwards, a scarlet pool of blood quickly blossoming around his wound.
"Dad." Naruto breathed shakily, body filled with relief. "They shot Tsunami- Haku and Gaara- Shit, I'm steeping on a mine!" He babbled, his mind going a million miles a second. "I'm gonna die… Shit!"
"Calm down Naruto. And don't move. Everything will be fine." Kakashi's calm voice steadied the blonde who looked like he was going to cry at any second. "Just keep still." He bent down and took out his knife, keeping eye contact with Naruto. "And if you were a bit more mindful of your surroundings, you wouldn't be in this mess." Kakashi tittered, slowly wedging the blade of his knife under Naruto's shoe.
The young man made a sound that sounded like a mix between hysterical laughter and a pitiable cry. As Kakashi set to work on disarming the dangerous mine, Naruto tried to calm himself so that he wouldn't start shaking like a leaf and trigger the already volatile bomb. "S-sorry Dad…"
"Don't apologize." Kakashi grunted, sparing only the briefest of concentration. They both heard the almost inaudible click and their gazes met for that split second. "Naruto!" Kakashi moved first, knocking his son away from the explosion.
Naruto blacked out.
When he came to moments later, Naruto felt as his entire world had been shook upside-down. Picking himself off the ground, his hazy mind registered that debris were on fire. Fire? Explosion…. The land mine… "Dad! Dad!" Naruto frantically looked around for his father, all feeling dropping from the pit of his stomach and his mouth ran dry. "Shit… Dad! Please be okay… Dad! Help! Someone help!"
Kakashi was lying in a pool of blood, his right leg a bloody mess. He was also unresponsive to Naruto's cries. The last time Naruto openly cried was seven years ago, but as the tears dripped from his cheeks, he could care less. Naruto somehow managed to hoister Kakashi onto his back and started staggering back to the village.
"Na-Naru…" Kakashi weakly spoke up, using all his strength to talk. He needed to tell Naruto the truth; it was seventeen years overdue. If he was going to die, then at least he owed his son that much. "Listen closely."
"We're almost there Dad." Naruto was painfully aware that Kakashi lost a lot of blood already.
"Seventeen years ago, Earth Country initiated an attack on Fire Country. I was part of an elite team sent out on the most covert of operations…" Kakashi began, the pain was distracting him.
"I know Dad. And then Fire Country betrayed your team and you were the only one that survived." Naruto wished that he could run faster but this was a quick a he could go with someone as heavy as Kakashi on his back.
"I was sent as a part of a team to eliminate the targets that were considered a threat to Fire Country. We succeeded but then we were betrayed by our own country." Kakashi continued, as if he didn't hear Naruto. "The only reason why I survived was because of your father… your real birth father… Namikaze Minato."
"W-what?"
"You have to get… retribution for your father's sake… six men responsible…" Kakashi trailed off, finally slipping unconscious.
"Dad? Dad! Wake up! We're here… you can't die! You can't leave me alone…" Naruto almost stumbled over, painfully dragging himself to the village medical clinic. "H-Haku! Dad- the line mine… Is he gonna be okay?"
"Calm down Naruto-kun. Get Hatake-san on the bed." Haku instructed, ordering people around instantly. "Boil the water. Get the bandages. Get the doctor in here!" The usually soft spoken boy's tone was harsh and commanding, channeling some of Zabuza's spirit. Pulling on some gloves, he told Gaara to watch over a distraught Naruto. "Hatake-san is under the best care possible."
The redhead pulled Naruto away from the clinic and into the waiting area outside. Leaving Naruto only for a moment to grab a clean shirt and a wet cloth to wipe away the blood, he watched Naruto bury his face into the towel. Wordlessly sitting down next to Naruto, he silently gave him his support. It was all Naruto needed.
Iruka and Zabuza came by to see how Kakashi was doing and how Naruto was holding up. They waited with them for as long as they could before Zabuza had to go back to his village patrol (as well as issue a manhunt for Gatou and his cronies) and even Iruka couldn't get Naruto to respond. Eventually he had to leave to manage his class of children as well.
A while later, Naruto sniffed and rubbed his red puffy eyes. "Dad… told me some stuff… about me and him…" He laughed bitterly, running his hands through his shaggy hair. "This is so messed up!"
"Explain to me." Gaara never seen his friend so frazzled before. Sure, he may be a bit hyperactive and arguably have ADHD, but Naruto was like sunshine. Bright and happy, giving others warmth and cheerfulness; right now it was as if he was caught up in a middle of a storm.
"Dad's not my real dad. Seventeen years ago, Fire Country's government murdered my real dad… What am I suppose to feel right now? Pissed off? Hell yeah I am! At Dad too for keeping something like this from me! But can't be mad at him right now because he might…" Naruto helplessly trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. Giving the redhead a weak smile at best, he added, "I left out a bunch of details…"
Gaara had a pensive expression on his face as he slowly divulged the carefully hidden parts of his own mysterious past. Beyond that he was sold to those men, no one knew of his background. "I have a father, an older sister, and older brother. My mother died giving birth to me, but I had a kind Uncle who took care of me." He said in a low tone. "I remember father was an important man because he was always busy with his work and never came home. But they hated me. They blame me for mother's death." There was no emotion on his face, a careful wiped slate.
"Why? It wasn't your fault." Naruto looked perplexed. As tough as Kakashi was on him, there was no doubt that the man truly loved him like his own flesh and blood. He never had to grow up where he felt unwanted and hated.
Shrugging, Gaara continued his story. "Even my Uncle secretly hated me for taking away my mother as I found out the night he kidnapped me and sold me to some men. I eventually ended up in Wave and that's when you found me." He concluded his tale with a ghost of a smile haunting his lips. "I also left out a bunch of details…"
The two friends looked at each other and burst out laughing. In times like this, it was probably the only thing they could do.
"Thanks Gaara." Naruto finally said, finally regaining some of his spark back. "Do you ever…" He hesitated, pausing before he spoke. "Ever want revenge for what your family did to you?"
"When I start thinking like that," Gaara got up to his feet. "I am also reminded of the fact that if it weren't for them, I would have not met you or Haku."
Naruto had a stunned look on his face. He opened his mouth to reply but Haku opened the door with a reassuring smile. "Hatake-san will be fine. He's unconscious but you can go see him."
"Dad's gonna be okay…" Naruto breathed, feeling like the world finally had sunshine in it again.
In terse silence, Naruto and Kakashi sat upright all but speaking to each other. The young man was trying not to stare at his dad's leg (or lack of) while Kakashi didn't seem to be able to look at the blonde all together.
Finally Naruto couldn't take it and took the initiative to talk first. "Dad… I'm sorry!" He blurted, blinking back the tears that were threatening to well up in his eyes again. "If it weren't for me, your leg-"
"It's all right Naruto." Kakashi said softly, motioning the boy to come closer. Naruto leapt into his arms, hugging his dad tightly as if the man would disappear. "Oof." Kakashi wasn't prepared for that and the air got knocked out of his lungs. "I promised your father that I'd keep you safe…" Now that the truth was out, Kakashi felt no need to pretend any longer. As much as he wanted to pretend that the painful tugging at the corner of his heart was just a figment of his imagination, every time he talked to Naruto about real birth father it became even harder to breathe.
"What are you talking about? You are my dad." Naruto mumbled. "You're the man who raised and cared for me for the last seventeen years. Namikaze Minato might be my father, but you're always gonna be my dad."
Kakashi gazed down at Naruto with a rare tender expression, his hand stroking Naruto's yellow hair. "Thank you, Naruto."
Naruto wanted to make this moment last forever but he knew better. Drawing away from his dad's embrace, he sucked in a deep breath. It was now or never. "That incident seventeen years ago… Who was responsible?" He wanted to know who destroyed his family before it even had a chance to start.
"I know that there were five men behind the betrayal. The only name I can confirm is Homura Mitokado. He's a dirty politician in the government." Kakashi affirmed, his voice a low growl.
"What's gonna happen now?" He knew that the older man would not be content living the rest of his life here, nestled away in this village. And with his leg in that condition… Naruto's heartbeat quickened when his mind placed together the fragmented pieces of the puzzle. God, his dad was going to get killed if he tries playing assassin like that. How fast could a one-legged man run?
"Justice for Minato-Sensei and the others." Kakashi replied, confirming Naruto's fears.
"Can… you be satisfied with just living?" Naruto always wondered why his dad trained him so hard, why he had work himself until he was sweating blood and tears. It was his destiny to carry out a revenge plan spanning seventeen years long.
"You know I cannot Naruto."
Sucking in another huge breath, Naruto closed his brilliant blue eyes. "If I took care of it… Got justice for father and the others… can we just live our lives out in peace somewhere? Have a normal life like everyone else?" Years later, he'd look back on this moment and laugh at his own naivety.
Kakashi reach up and pulled off a pendent under his shirt and gave it to Naruto. It was a small sniper's bullet tied to a chain. "This was the bullet your father took for me. It went through him and hit my shoulder instead. Never forget who you are, Naruto."
Holding the very object that killed his father gave Naruto mixed feelings. He wanted to hurl that thing out the window while wanting to keep it forever. It was his father's last memento to dad- the gift of life. Starting from this moment onwards, Naruto couldn't just dillydally they way he had been most his life. He needed to get serious. "One last question… My mom, is she still alive?"
"She is." Kakashi affirmed, pulling out the worn picture from his pocket. "But she abandoned you." I'm so sorry Kushina-san… but your son can't have any distractions in his life now. This is for the best. "You look just like him."
Naruto reverently stared at the old photograph as if it would disappear. His dad, Kakashi with his obvious silver hair was a lot younger looking in the picture standing next to a man that looked just like an older version of himself. Touching the picture tentatively, Naruto realized why his dad always told him to get a haircut whenever his bangs got too long. Without his whisker marks, he could've passed himself off as his clone. So this was Namikaze Minato.
And lastly, the woman in the photograph with long red hair. "Mom…" He whispered, tracing her face lightly with his finger. This was the woman who abandoned her only child. For what reasons? A spark of anger flared up. If you were gonna have kids, at least have the sense not to throw them away afterwards if you don't want them! Returning the photograph to Kakashi, Naruto's face hardened. "I'm going to change, that is my destiny…"
