A/N: I want you all to know that I've seen the error of my ways and will, from now on, explain things better than I have been. I thank my reviewers for their comments because they help me improve this story. Oh and sorry Clarlie (hope I spelled your name right, sorry if I didn't) for stealing your nickname for the 4th…I didn't know, but thank you for allowing me to use it!!

Note: to look at the picture I based Yondaime's appearance on, go to my profile. Oh and I'm fully aware that that is a picture of Pein, but whatever.

Disclaimer: see Chapter One

Live or Let Die

Naruto shook his head and settled down onto his pillow. Though he thought it was rather sad that the man could be brought down just with the thought of his son knowing about his sexcapades, he was glad his father was unconscious because now he could think unhindered by the man's comings and goings throughout the day.

The past week had passed in a blur for Naruto, and he had not had time to seriously think about what he would do now that he was in the care of his father. In the beginning, he had come with the sole intent of killing his father and leaving, but now, now that he owed him his life, he wasn't sure whether he could accomplish this without feeling a serious twinge from his conscious.

'How do you kill your father, especially after he's saved your life?' The question had plagued his sleep for several nights now and he was no closer to the answer now than he had been when they'd started.

When it got right down to it, Naruto realized that the urge to kill his father had actually died sometime the first day. It was probably when he'd felt that first surge of safety as his father held him close to his body as he helped him eat, but it could have been any of a thousand things that had occurred that first angsty day.

'What am I supposed to do now?' He had to go back to the village. In fact, Naruto noted with a slight frown, his wounds should have healed by now. He'd been hurt way worse than this before and, thanks to the Kyuubi's unwillingness to live in his dead body, he had healed perfectly everytime. The wound on his thigh still bled everytime Yondaime redressed it the same with his broken left arm. It was insane.

Unnerved by all this, Naruto drifted into an uneasy slumber.

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Naruto woke again at noon with a distinct feeling that something in the cottage wasn't quite right anymore. Naruto pushed himself up with his right arm careful not to move too much lest he jar his mending ribs, broken left arm or wounded right thigh. Settling himself, Naruto looked around: everything looked normal enough. The sun was shining through the window Yondaime had opened this morning while making ramen for them to eat. The cottage was filled with noon light and was exactly the way he remembered from this morning. Shifting uneasily, Naruto glanced at the floor only to gasp when his eyes fell on the form of his father.

Well…at least he thought it was his father. His features were the same, but his hair was…orange, and he had these weird tattoos on both his eyes and in the center of his forehead.

'Where the hell did that beard come from?' Naruto was confused and slightly afraid. What if someone had killed his dad before he could? Annoyed, Naruto violently shook his head.

'Oh get a grip…I'm not going to kill him. Let's face it…I don't want to anymore.' Naruto grabbed the pillow behind him and threw it at the person on the floor.

Naruto got a perverse pleasure out of watching the man jump, startled, in the air and look frantically around for his attacker.

"Hey. Over here." Naruto, in an odd spot of wisdom, decided not to say anything about the man's appearance and figure out if this man was an imposter by his attitude towards him.

'Though why anyone would go through the trouble of impersonating him is a mystery to me.'

So far, Naruto had not made eye contact with the strange orange haired man, but when he finally turned to stare at Naruto, how evil the man's eyes looked surprised him.

He was so surprised that he, without thinking, blurted out, "Where'd you get the beard?"

The man got a puzzled look on his face and felt his chin. Naruto watched as the man's eyes became round, and when he spoke, the extremely deep voice surprised Naruto.

"Shit." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the strangled curse.

"Who are you? Where's my dad?" The man sighed and sat down in the chair next to Naruto's bed. Naruto shifted away from him, and the man smiled grimly.

"Don't you recognize me, Naruto? It's me, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. You know, the fathead?" Naruto shook his head.

"You don't look like my dad." Naruto purposely left out any description of his father. He just knew this man was a liar.

Again the man sighed. Locking eyes with Naruto, he made the correct seals to activate the jutsu that would have him looking like his old self again.

Ignoring Naruto's gasp, he leaned back in his chair and stared at his son. Naruto was in shock. How could he do that, and which was his actual appearance?

"How-?"

"It's called Henge. That orange haired appearance is how I actually look. I do Henge because I hate looking at that everyday." Naruto stared silently at the familiar dark blue eyes of his father and felt confused. Why would anyone want to alter their appearance for no reason?

"But why? Do you mean to say that something happened to change the way you look? What was it, and why didn't you tell me?"

Yondaime didn't answer right away. In fact he didn't say anything for a very long time. He just leaned backwards in the chair and stared at the ceiling. Naruto began to drift off, pain from his wounds and mental exhaustion weighing him down. He almost didn't hear his father's answer.

"Who would want to look at the monster they've become? Like an acclimation of all my sins on my face." Naruto fell asleep before he could reply.

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