A heavy silence followed after Pakkun and the rest of the pack disappeared. Finally, Jiraiya turned back to the scroll.

Naruto. If you are reading this, then I'm sorry that I never got to see you become Hokage. I wish that none of you guys have to read this will, but sometimes you just can't control fate.

Naruto clenched his teeth. He will not break down right now, after all, Kakashi-sensei would have wanted him to be strong.

You can't tell how proud I am of you, Naruto. You're no longer that impatient and obnoxious brat that you were. Instead, you've finally matured, even if you're still obsessed with ramen and don't think before you act.

'Don't think before you act,' Naruto thought bitterly, 'that's exactly why you had to go save me, because I didn't think before I acted.'

You're no longer alone, are you? The village finally acknowledges you for the excellent ninja you are, not the demon inside of you, and you've earned it. If anyone else was put into their position, they would have hated the village, or given up. But you never gave up, and someday, I'm sure you'll become Hokage. You have many friends and comrades who care about you. Because you, in some way, changed their life, just as you've changed mine.

Before I met you, I thought true heros were only in stories. The heros in the stories would always succeed in everything, no matter what hardships they faced. And I've come to realize that you, Naruto, are exactly like them. You made me believe in miracles again.

Naruto was surprised. Kakashi-sensei thought this highly of him? He never thought that he would have this much of an impact on everyone.

I have something that I want to apologize for, Naruto. I knew your mother and father.

Naruto's eyes widened. 'What?'

The only people to know it were the elders, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, and the Third Hokage. Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the previous jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Your father, was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

Naruto was stunned. The Fourth Hokage was his father? He felt anger rise up inside of him. Why had no one ever told him before? The Third Hokage, Tsunade-baa chan, Ero-Sennin, Kakashi-sensei? Also, why did the Fourth Hokage seal the Nine-Tails into his own son?

Jiraiya put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and looked at him sternly.

"Calm down Naruto."

"Calm down? I just found out that my own father sealed the Kyuubi into his own son! How can I be calm? And why did you never tell me?" Naruto pushed Jiraiya's hand off him.

"There's a reason, Kakashi will mention it. Would you like to find out?" Naruto glared at Jiraiya, but nodded.

Now before you get all mad, Naruto, there's a reason why Jiraiya and I didn't tell you. The Third Hokage ordered none of us to mention it to you, he thought it would keep you safe. Jiraiya and I knew only because the Fourth Hokage told us. We were entrusted with the information because Jiraiya was his sensei, and I, was his student. However, I felt that you are now mature enough to know, and that Tsunade-sama never said that we couldn't.

'The Yondaime trained Kakashi-sensei?' Sasuke frowned. 'Why did he never mention it?'

I know you must feel hurt, that you're own father sealed the Nine-Tails into his son. But that's exactly something Minato-sensei would do. Minato-sensei wouldn't force any other parent to give up their child to be a jinchuriki, because he had no right to. But that's not the only reason why he sealed it into you, Naruto. Minato-sensei and Kushina-san believed in you, that you would have the strength.

'They...believed in me?' Naruto thought, stunned. Strangely, he couldn't feel anymore anger towards his parents. After all, they did what they had to. Besides, he wouldn't wish the pain of being a jinchuriki on anyone.

Trust me, Naruto, your parents didn't think that the village would treat you as a demon. They thought you would be treated as a hero, the jailer of the demon. But, they were wrong, and you grew up all alone. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you when you were young. I was 17 at the time, in ANBU. The Third Hokage ordered me to stay away from you. He feared that if I was seen by your side often, people would suspect that you were the Yondaime's son. I wasn't known for being kind and fond of children, so taking care of you would raise suspicion. If you being the Fourth Hokage's son became common knowledge, people would target you, and you would be in danger.

Naruto could still remember the pain he felt when he was young, that no one cared about him, that no one would care if he died. Until he met Iruka-sensei, he thought that everyone else hated him, except for the Third Hokage. And now he knew...that someone else had cared.

When I saw you all alone, I wanted nothing more than to comfort you. I always felt like I failed Minato-sensei and Kushina-san. Still, I tried to help in what little ways I could. Between missions and being in the hospital, I visited you, pretending to be an ANBU on guard. Whenever someone dared to attack you, I made sure they didn't do it again. Also, I made sure to give you a birthday present every year.

"Naruto?" Sakura waved her hand in front of Naruto's face, but he didn't react. He suddenly remembered something, when he was four years old.

(Flashback)

It was October 10th. Most of the village were attending the festival, but Naruto knew better than to go there. The last time he went there, he almost died.

Naruto was currently in an alleyway, searching through the trash can to see if there was any food that he could eat. He was starving. When Naruto saw a moldy apple, he was so happy that he failed to hear the footsteps behind him. When Naruto finally realized that there were people behind him, it was too late, and he was cornered by 10 people. They were all drunk, but Naruto noticed that they all had a headband on, which meant that they were ninja.

"Look, we found the demon brat!" One of them glared at Naruto, swing a bottle of sake around.

"What should we do with the monster?" Another one of the ninjas said. Naruto felt angry, he was not a monster or a demon.

"I'm not a monster, my name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto shouted at them. They all looked at him, and they looked angry.

"You're a monster! A monster who killed my friend 4 years ago." They all looked drunk, and Naruto learned that when people were drunk, they were more likely to injure him. Naruto searched the alleyway to find a way out, but there was none.

"Let's kill him! If we do we'll be doing the village a favor. Come on, let's do this!" Naruto watched in fear as they all took out a kunai, their sharpened tips gleamed. He desperately tried running past them, hoping they were too drunk to stop him. However, one of the ninjas easily grabbed him and threw him crashing into a wall. Naruto tried to stand up, but the ninja held him still with one hand, and raised the kunai with the other. 'Maybe this time...this time I'm going to die."

The kunai descended, and Naruto braced for the pain. Suddenly, a gloved hand grabbed the ninja's wrist, and effortlessly threw the ninja off Naruto. Naruto looked up at his savior, and gulped when he realized that he was wearing a porcelain mask. 'An ANBU.' Naruto silently thought to himself. He knew that ANBU were elite shinobi, who protected the village and the Hokage. But he always felt scared when he was near them.

"Who are you? Why are you protecting the demon brat?" It was obvious that they were too drunk to recognize that the person standing in front of them was an ANBU.

"The 'demon brat' has a name...Naruto." Naruto would have been shocked that he was referred to by name, but the waves of killing intent the ANBU was giving off paralyzed him with fear. 9 out of the 10 ninja in front of him looked ready to turn tail and run, but one of them looked too drunk to notice.

"I don't care what the monster is called, just step aside and let me kill it. I'll even let you help." The ANBU moved so quickly it looked to Naruto as if he had teleported. The ANBU punched the ninja in the stomach so hard that he coughed up blood, and before the ninja could move, the ANBU held a kunai to his throat.

"If you weren't a Konoha ninja, I would you kill you right here. However, since I'm so kind, I'll let you guys go just this once. If I count to three and I see that any of you are still here...I'll kill every single one of you. One...two…" The shinobi ran out of the alleyway, screaming like the devil was after them. The ANBU turned to him, and Naruto shrank back in fear.

"Please don't hurt me." Naruto pleaded with the ANBU. The ANBU kept walking until he was standing right in front of him. Naruto half expected him to just take out a kunai and kill him, but instead the ANBU just knelt down.

"I won't hurt you, don't worry, Naruto. I'll only hurt the people who hurt you. Well, I have to go now, good-bye." The ANBU slowly reached out and ruffled his hair. Then, he stood up and disappeared. Naruto was shocked. Why had an ANBU showed up to protect him? Sure, the Third Hokage did assign ANBU to watch over him, but they never stepped in unless he was seriously injured. And they never talked to him. Naruto frowned and decided to get out of the alleyway, but when he stood up a package fell out of his lap. He was pretty sure that hadn't been there before. Naruto carefully opened it, and nearly shouted in joy. There was a teddy bear inside, a warm jacket, and a lot of food. He eagerly crammed some bread into his mouth, and put on the jacket. Before he walked away, he looked at where the ANBU had disappeared.

"Thank you, ANBU-san." Naruto whispered to the spot.

(End Flashback)

That ANBU, had been Kakashi-sensei? Naruto had tried asking the Sandaime about it, but he never got any answers back. He had assumed the ANBU had forgotten about him, because he stopped getting presents when he became genin. That's when...that's when he started getting presents from Kakashi-sensei.

However, I couldn't always be there. I couldn't keep you always keep you safe. There were times when you got seriously hurt. I'm sorry.

On a happier note, I have something to give you, even though it isn't mine. You should know that the Fourth Hokage, your father, had a special kunai that he could teleport to. I want you to have it, it was the only one that I had. Also, I have a picture of your parents that you might like to have.

Jiraiya gave Naruto a kunai and a photo. The kunai was bigger and heavier than a usual kunai, and it had three-prongs instead of one. Naruto studied the seal formula on the handle before looking at the photo. Naruto felt his breath catch in his throat. He saw a man with bright blonde hair and blue eyes with his arms around a woman with long, red hair with a face like his. Naruto felt tears leak out of his eyes, he had finally gotten to see his parents. Sakura and Sasuke leaned over to look at the photo.

"Wow, you look just like them, Naruto." Sakura said softly, and Sasuke nodded his agreement. Naruto silently felt pride for looking like his parents. Naruto wanted to stare at his parents for a little longer, but he turned back to the will.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. You all mean so much to me, and I watched you grow from brats into young adults. However, I feel like it's only fair, that since I know so much about your pasts, that you should know about mine.

Throughout my past, death followed me wherever I went. My mother died when I was young, and I was brought up by my father. When I was 6 years old, my father chose to abandon a mission to save his comrades. The war continued because of him, and the village blamed him for that. He killed himself out of shame. My genin team consisted of Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and our sensei was Minato Namikaze. Because of my father's death, I was cold and arrogant. I blamed Obito for being stupid and a crybaby, and constantly preached about following the rules. On a mission, Obito died saving me, and gave me his sharingan. I promised him to protect Rin. However, when Rin got the Three-Tails sealed inside her, she wanted me to kill her, so she jumped in my way while I was fighting, and I killed her. I joined ANBU, and by the time when Minato-sensei died, I was a skilled assassin. I killed more people than I could count. After the Uchiha Massacre, the Sandaime retired me out of ANBU, and then...I met you.

So there, now you know my past. I won't blame you if you think I'm a horrible person, because I deserve it. I'm so sorry that I was such a bad sensei, that must be why you left to get taught by stronger and better teachers. Imagine that, the three brats that I once passed were taught by the Three Sannin. Take care of yourselves, and don't feel too sad that I'm gone. The thing I want more than anything, is for you three to be happy. Keep on pursuing your dreams, and keep training hard. Soon you'll be the most powerful ninjas in the world. However, use that power to protect your comrades, not to do selfish deeds.

Good-bye forever, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. I love you all.