Disclaimer: Naruto and every character of the Naruto universe belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and companies, I don't know.
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Original upload date: 1th of March
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Chance for a Prophecy
Chapter 28. – Cloudlight
Sarutobi Hiruzen silently ran his eyes through the small apartment. Even two weeks after the funeral, Minato hadn't gotten the courage to pack and clean Nohara Rin's place. Everything was left untouched, and only the thin layer of dust indicated that the place had been abandoned.
The Third walked into the bedroom, his eyes drifting from place to place until they settled on the small desk in the corner. His gaze lingered on the lines of medical scrolls placed in tidy piles, but his eyes caught a glimpse of a scroll that was out of place. It didn't have a title, and it was tucked deep under the mess. However, the edge of the paper was worn-out like it was used daily.
He carefully slipped it out from under the rest and immediately unrolled it. It was a general storage scroll.
He had arrived back from his training trip just in time to attend the funeral. However, he wasn't close to the girl, but as a once Hokage, he felt that it was his duty to attend, just like with the loss of every single shinobi during his reign.
So, how did he find himself inside the locked apartment of a dead comrade? He was driven by his curiosity. His wife did tell him that the girl was looking for an audience before her death. But he pushed it aside in favour for other topics until now. But the nudging feeling never stopped. The girl wanted to tell him something important, especially if she hadn't turned to Minato nor Jiraiya.
Sarutobi furrowed his brow and channeled some chakra into the closing seal. It wasn't a fancy design, just a regular one you could've bought at every single shinobi shop if you had the money for it. The seal immediately obeyed, releasing it's contents in an instant. The small puff of smoke cleared, revealing a lonely sheet of paper as it's only content. It was just plain notepaper, the edge jagged as it was torned out from a notebook. But the Third immediately recognized the tidy handwriting. The perfect strokes, the unswerving lines… He had supervised his late student for years until he reached that level.
Hiruzen studied it for a long minute, disregarding his suddenly loud heartbeat and re-reading what was before him over and over again. His eyes were wide and confused as soon he realized what was in his hands. He released his grip on the storage scroll, and it rolled to the farthest corner of the room with a loud thud, stirring up the soft dust on its way. Millions of dust motes danced slowly and sparkled in the sunlight, but Sarutobi's gaze was unfocused.
He stood there motionless, while gears turned in his head, dots connected with insane speed and more and more parts of the jigsaw clicked into place. A puzzle that hadn't let him rest ever since a blond boy crashed into the village.
Yamanaka Inoichi was shocked beyond words when Konoha's fastest messenger hawk knocked hurriedly on his window with its sharp beak. It didn't waste any time because as soon as the mind reader opened the window, the hawk turned to reveal the small brown package on it's back with an immediate summon from his Hokage to Konoha's Torture and Interrogation headquarter.
When he stepped into the room, he was directed and found himself face to face with Minato. He almost made a step backward. The look on his Hokage, on his friend, was the perfect mask of immense betrayal that painted dark rings under his blue eyes.
Inoichi gradually looked to the other occupants of the room when he finally gathered enough willpower to tear his gaze away from Minato's tortured face.
Jiraiya looked equally broken, weary, disappointed and betrayed beyond words. He could think of only one common thing which could trigger something like this from all of them. Only one person got in his mind, and it made his stomach flip.
Inoichi slowly turned his head toward the two sided mirror to see the slumped form secured to the chair. The familiar mop of untidy blond hair shrouded the captive's face, but he knew very well that he would find azure eyes and whisker marked cheeks under the golden mass.
It was Namikaze Toroku. He remembered. And by the betrayed looks, he was a threat.
Inoichi clenched his hands into fists and glanced up to Minato, his eyes pleading to every Kami to let him be wrong. But his hope disappeared when Minato looked away from his pleading gaze as he gave his order. "You are authorized to use force. I want to know everything from his past. Do what is necessary."
Inoichi nodded unsteadily, but as a veteran, he immediately tried to harden his emotions. But he failed pitifully. He let his own feelings surface when he stepped inside the room. He was aware that it flickered through his face, but he didn't care. He had heard the boy mumble a faint apology, but he ignored it. He felt equally angry and betrayed. He let the boy into his house, into his life, even shared his joy with him when his daughter had been born.
With one last glare at the blond crown, Inoichi raised his hand and slipped it under the golden hair. His hot palm connected with the boy's ice cold forehead, and the interrogator released his jutsu, to this time, forcefully enter his mind.
Inoichi found himself on the familiar passage he hadn't visited for long months. But what he found there shocked him to his very core. A blond girl stood in front of him with folded arms and a stern expression on her fine features between the shelves, blocking his way toward the boy's memories.
The very same blond girl whose death he witnessed when he had first entered the boy's mind. Her lengthy, platinum blond ponytail freely hung on her lean back, determined eyes observing him suspiciously. They stood there for a long silent minute, only observing each other and waiting for the other to make the first step. Inoichi was the first to open his mouth to demand an explanation, but the girl interrupted him before he could start his sentence. "I won't let you go further."
Inoichi frowned with confusion, so he asked the simplest question, "Why?"
"Because you are here against his will."
The interrogator stayed in silence for another long section, his eyes glued on the determined girl while his mind raced over several options. "Are you a projection of his consciousness?"
The girl raised an amused eyebrow. "No."
"Then what are you?"
"A projection, an echo, a memory, a mirage. Choose what you like. It doesn't matter. But I won't let you go any further."
Inoichi's frown hardened. "If you aren't part of his consciousness, why won't you let me through?"
The girl's eyes hardened, but her lips turned up into a soft smile. "Because he is one of my precious people."
Inoichi narrowed his eyes. He was definitely facing with a mental barrier. But he didn't find anything like that until now. Heck. He never saw anything like that before. He saw the projection of the consciousness fighting with him in the form of the actual person, but never another. He'd seen and met traps, locked, chained, sealed doors and once even a labyrinth, but never another person defending the consciousness. But this meant that this barrier was here since the girl had died. "Why didn't you show up earlier?"
The girl shrugged and disregarded his question, instead, stubbornly repeating her first statement. "I won't let you go further."
Inoichi let out a weary sigh. This would be much harder than he first thought. He started to run through a short chain of hand signs, but to his biggest surprise, the girl in front of him did the same. In the next blink, two mind techniques triggered against each other putting out each other's effect. The girl was good. He had to admit. Inoichi narrowed his eyes, but before he could move, the girl suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of him, one hand extended, a graceful finger touching his forehead while a sad smile was plastered on her face. Her azure eyes pleadingly locked on his own. "Leave. Please, I don't want to hurt you."
But he didn't listen. He narrowed his eyes and tensed his muscles to gain distance, but before he could jump backward, the girl simply pushed him out from the blond's consciousness with one swift jolt of her chakra.
Inoichi stumbled backward to seek support until his back hit a wall. His eyes were wide in his surprise while his heavy breathing echoed in the small room. Naruto flung his head up, his eyes equally wide in his shock and confusion. His breathing was as harsh as Inoichi's. The two blonds gathered themselves in the next seconds, and Inoichi shook his head to clear his thoughts. He wasn't in his mindscape for more than one minute, and he felt himself absolutely drained. His throat was suddenly dry as his voice cracked in the room. "Wha—What was that?"
Naruto shook his head to clear his own spinning brain before he answered, his voice equally shaky. "I—I don't know. I didn't know she was there! I don't know when she…"
The room dangerously slipped under Inoichi's wobbling legs. The mind reader rushed out from the room just in time to avoid an embarrassing moment in front of a captive. When he shut the door behind him, he immediately leaned to the opposite wall of the passage to seek support so he could calm down his waving stomach and spinning brain. A small droplet of cold sweat traveled down from his forehead to land on the floor with an unnaturally loud splash.
Inoichi knew those symptoms too well, but he'd never felt them himself. It was the after-effect of a powerful mind jutsu. He shook his head once again, braced himself and dragged himself inside the other room as the disturbing sensation died down to a manageable level.
He met three pairs of concerned eyes. The lead interrogator Kawa Makoto also joined their ranks, waiting for his own turn. Inoichi shook his head once again and dropped himself on the inviting empty chair so his still trembling legs could have a break. Minato stepped closer, but Inoichi shook his head. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would throw up on the Hokage. Another wave of nausea rushed through him. The interrogator immediately squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his palms on his eyes to fight with the symptoms as best he could.
The others didn't distract him, even if that was what they wanted at the moment. They patiently waited for him to finally gather himself. He was able to do so, but only after a long, tensed minute. He slowly let his hands fall into his lap and raised his head toward Minato.
"I'm sorry. It seems I won't be able to use my regular interrogation jutsu on him. The girl from his memory fragment…She had put a mental barrier on him and a damn strong one. I've never ever met anything like that before. She wasn't attacking physically; she used a mind jutsu like me. Those in a mindscape have an increased power, and the advantage of home was on her side. I can break the barrier, but it'll take time, maybe days."
"We don't have days. We need answers now." Minato started to massage the bridge of his nose in frustration. "We will move on the traditional ways. I'll give him one last chance. We will try to interrogate him before I hand him to Makoto for a more…" Minato's eyes drifted into the room with the equally shaken blond, and his eyes traveled toward the veiled metal table. "…drastic ways."
Minato couldn't help himself. Despite what he knew, he still wanted to give one last chance to the boy before he handed him over. If he confesses to them, he wouldn't have to suffer.
Inoichi nodded, watching as the two men left the room and entered to the other one. They shared a glance with Makoto before they turned their attention fully on Minato, who took the role of an interrogator while Jiraiya settled down in the background.
Minato locked his stabbing eyes on the slumped form. The boy hadn't moved since they stepped in, but their eyes met for a fraction of a second when the boy peaked between his golden bangs. Anger rose in Minato, and he desperately tried to collect himself, but when he opened his mouth to demand answers, the restrained fury in his voice was transparent. "What's your name?"
"I'm Namikaze—"
"You are not a Namikaze anymore," Minato hissed out as he walked closer until he threateningly towered above the secured shinobi.
Naruto finally realized that at that very moment he wasn't facing his father, his friend, nor his brother from the last year. Namikaze Minato, the kind and always smiling shinobi wasn't here with him at the moment. He was faced with the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha.
His voice and his blue eyes were cold as ice, without any love or care, only animalistic fury, sheer hatred and disappointment burned in those azure irises. He was now the man who would do anything to protect his village from danger. And this man was now thinking he was the threat. Danger to his loved ones, to his comrades, to the citizens of Konoha. Naruto slowly raised his head and turned toward his teacher, carefully avoiding Minato's burning eyes.
"Ne, Jiraiya? Do you remember when we were talking on that tree branch toward Suna?" The sannin nodded. He remembered very well that conversation when Toroku asked to kill him if he ever lost himself. Who would forget that kind of promise? "I want to absolve you of your promise."
"You can't absolve me from that promise because you are not him." Jiraiya stated with a calm and collected voice, but he couldn't really hide the cold edge of it.
Naruto hesitantly tried to shrug, but his muscles weren't obeying his will. The shug reminded the Toad Sannin more of an awkward twitch or spasm than the intended motion. "Maybe it's true. I'm not exactly him, but he is in me, and I was in him. His previous experiences, his feelings, his care, and his bonds are here with me. I'm very grateful for him ya know. He saved me, and he gave back a part of me that I thought I had lost long ago. It's funny that he built similar bonds as me, however, in a different perspective and way." Naruto lifted his head and looked straight into Jiraiya's narrowed eyes. "Sensei."
He braced himself, and finally, his head moved toward Minato. "Family..." A sad smile crossed his face.
But Minato didn't care for his previous words. He asked once more, this time another question with the same cold and demanding tone. "Where are you from?"
Naruto averted his eyes and started to fix his gaze on the streaks and curves of the wooden table in front of him. He stayed in silence for several moments before he slowly licked his sore lips to answer to his father. "I was born in Konoha."
"You weren't born in Konoha," Minato stated calmly.
"True. Technically I was born outside of the village because of some special…circumstances of my mother." An awkward chuckle bubbled out from Naruto's dry throat.
Jiraiya finally took a step closer. "Drop the act, kid. We know you are from Amegakure."
"Ame? Why do you think I'm from Ame?" Naruto raised his eyes curiously to Jiraiya, who frowned back at him, folding his arms together in front of his chest before he answered.
"We know about Akatsuki's plan. We know about they are after the jinchuuriki and the nine bijuu. We know you are here to steal the kyuubi from Konoha's jinchuuriki."
"Don't use that. Don't use that word! I hate it." Naruto suddenly spat out, his tone filled with disgust.
Anger overwhelmed the young Hokage's mind once again, but Jiraiya thankfully continued before Minato's anger could rise to an unmanageable level.
"I know you had been working with Nagato before he died, and you are part of the Akatsuki."
Naruto frowned, but after a second, he burst out with a hysterical laugh. "Me? Hehe, as the member of Akatsuki!? Well, that was good!" He slowly braced himself and forced his trembling body and the giggles to finally die down.
"So you aren't denying that you had worked together with Nagato before he had died," Jiraiya stated.
"Yes and no." Naruto giggled once more, and the frown deepened on the toad sage's features.
Minato finally lost his composure as the previously manageable anger overflowed his dams. The Hokage slammed his fist into the small table in front of them, and Naruto immediately flinched when the strength of his father reached him. Despite the several seals on his body, he couldn't shake his natural instinct to escape. "Who are you!? And this is your last chance to answer without torture!"
An unstoppable tremble ran across Naruto's body as Minato leaned threateningly close over him, flushing away his good mood immediately. His suddenly much higher form raised high above his secured body pinned to the chair, feeling himself like an ant facing its destiny: a slowly approaching boot.
The Hokage's pores were emitting anger and killing intent toward him, making his gut squeeze and his hands start trembling. He finally knew now why his enemies feared him during the war, why they almost wet themselves when he appeared and why he gained the flee-on-sight mark in the bingo books. Naruto slowly closed his eyes, fleeing from the scene, escaping from those cold blue eyes, running away from the room into his own mind.
His eyes locked onto the soft grass of the meadow in front of Kurama, not daring to meet with his eyes. The giant fox watched him without a word before he finally opened his enormous mouth.
"Naruto…as he already told you, the game is over. You should confess if we don't want to take a long break again in this department, and I doubt they will be as moderate this time as the first."
"Yeah, it seems so," the blond answered with a sour smile, his gaze still secured on the softly swaying grass. He gradually raised his head to meet with Kurama's searching sight. "I don't want it to happen like this."
"I know, brat," he murmured with a unusually soft whisper. "Go now. Show them that Uzumaki Naruto can do everything. Even messing with time."
Naruto hesitantly nodded and slowly opened his eyes as he came back to reality. A fresh wave of dulled killing intent washed over him again, tearing into his flesh and his organs. He forced his limbs to stop trembling, and without looking up, he heard his distant voice.
"Send away the ANBU, Inoichi, and Makoto from the other room, and I will tell you everything."
Minato narrowed his eyes to a thin line, silently weighing the boy's words. Gradually, he nodded toward the mirror as a silent order. Naruto closed his eyes again, reaching out for a tiny bit of nature's energy only enough to check that they were completely alone.
Jiraiya's eyes twitched as a familiar tingling sensation got past his ears, but he immediately shook off the feeling. It was surely wrong. It couldn't have been senjutsu. He, instead, concentrated on the teen with his every nerve.
Naruto let out a long, calming breath, straightened in the chair and looked directly into Minato's azure. The young leader left a small pause before his now calm voice filled the small room. "What is your purpose here?"
Naruto didn't answer for a short hesitant moment, while he carefully picked his words. The question hung in the air like a guillotine above a condemned head. The jinchuuriki inhaled another bit of oxygen, and his gaze hardened with determination. "To protect my precious people. Including both of you."
Minato snorted. Despite what the evidence already told them, he had the guts to say something like that? He answered with a flat face and ice cold tone. "Stop this! Jiraiya had overheard your conversation in the bar yesterday. We know you are an assassin, and you are trying to strike on me and Kushina during my child's birth."
The skin on Naruto's forehead wrinkled as he desperately tried to recall every single word of their previous conversation at the bar. And when he made that two times in a row, he gave a mental slap to himself and to Kurama. "That is just half of the truth. I do plan an assassination, but I would never hurt you. My target is someone else."
Minato narrowed his eyes even more. "Who?"
Naruto tried and failed to shake his head, but the unsteadiness just vaporized from his pores. "Who?" Minato repeated, this time not as calm as before.
"I don't want to hurt you," Naruto protested, but the toad sannin couldn't shake off the feeling that he actually answered. The sage eyed the nervous teen until he made his decision.
"What was your original rank and village?" Jiraiya's voice stabbed the weary and weak voice of the kid like a knife, and he made a satisfied mental smirk when the boy relaxed and moved his attention on him. A false safety before he could move back to the previous issue.
"Genin—" He couldn't finish his sentence. Minato slammed his fist onto the table once more, causing Naruto another violent twitch.
The Hokage's eyes slitted dangerously. He hissed and spit out the words between his teeth like they were sour venom, leaning into Naruto's personal space. "Do you think we are stupid? Do you think we really believe that? You are not a genin."
Naruto blinked, and a shiver ran through his spine as killing intent started to leak again from the pores of the Hokage. He didn't avert his gaze; their eyes were locked defiantly while he answered. "My official rank was genin. I had only one opportunity to participate in a chuunin exam when I was thirteen, but it was distracted by an attack. After that, I had…other things to be aware of. I never got another opportunity to take part in the exam."
The blue orbs darkened several shades, but after a blink it was replaced by the familiar, cheeky sparkle, and a soft chuckle left him, a nostalgic expression appearing on his face. "You know, I even failed the academy exams three times because of those damn bunshins, and I received an on field promotion. I was the dead-last of my class. I was so damn pathetic."
Minato's eyes narrowed one more time. "You got Namikaze blood in your veins, but not from my father."
"I'm not your half-brother, but…I am your blood relative."
"Then who are you?! Who made you? Was it Orochimaru? Are you one of the products of his wicked experiments?" Jiraiya burst out in his frustration. He wanted answers. Now. He was slowly getting tired of this cat and mouse play.
"Made? Ahh no, I wasn't made. And especially not by the hand of that Snake freak. I was born. I was born from the love of a man and a woman. But I don't think I should explain it to you, Ero-Sennin. You know bees and stuff like that. It was embarrassing enough hearing it for the first time from you, and I don't want to repeat your own lecture." Naruto chuckled awkwardly.
"Ero-Sennin?"Jiraiya repeated slowly, and deep down, he really acknowledge the nickname.
Naruto looked around, eying them one by one. It hurt. It hurt to see as much suspicion and ice in those eyes which were once filled with love and care for him. He fixed his gaze now on Minato and gave him a small desperate smile, letting out a long breath before he proudly straightened himself in the chair as much as he could in his restraints and with the paralysis seals on his body.
"I am Konoha's Number One Unpredictable Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja dattebayo! My mother is the beautiful Bloody Habanero of Konoha, Uzumaki Kushina. My father is the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato." Everybody froze in the room, but he didn't bother to glance around, just continued. He feared that if he stopped he wouldn't be able to restart.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I will bear on the tenth of October, next month, and I had died— or I'll die— seventeen years from now at summer, sacrificing my own life during a battle. Things went…wrong…very wrong. I wanted to use a modified Shiki Fuujin to seal away that damn Uchiha and the juubi...Well, actually I used it. At least, I think…" Naruto made a wondering look before he continued with a grimace on his face. "But I always mess up everything. I couldn't even die like a normal person. I wanted to become a hero, to die with the pride that I managed to save everyone at the price of my own life. I was maybe a little bit selfish." His gaze suddenly became distant and hazed, but it was gone with his next blink.
"Then, I find myself here… in the past. First, I thought I had failed, and that bastard got me with the sharingan, and I'm in a genjutsu. Especially when I saw you in that passage. You know…You were my role model even when I didn't know who you were, Dad. And when I heard Jiji behind the shinobi, I thought that I… So, that is my story. Time travel. Crazy stuff, huh?" A small awkward chuckle left his mouth. Then, Naruto sank in the chair, letting his head hang down onto his chest and his golden locks cover his eyes.
"You probably don't believe what I said. Sure. I also wouldn't believe it. It was hard for me to accept myself. But that is the truth. I'm from the damn future."
No one spoke a word for a long, silent minute until Minato finally opened his mouth and broke the stillness of the room. "You are insane."
Naruto didn't bother to look up into the cold eyes of his father. His voice was weak while he whispered into the oppressive silence of the room. "If I can get back my scroll you found with me, I could show you some things. I stored my personal stuff there. Training plans, the first script of the gutsy ninja with Ero-sennin's autograph to you, Dad. Pictures of not yet born or newborn children as teenagers. My hitai-ate I got from Iruka-sensei. I can show you how Kakashi-sensei will look. But I can't open it until Ero-Sennin lets me sign the toad summoning contract again. I can tell you things I shouldn't know, or I can show you techniques no one else is capable of." He let out a sour chuckle in his frustration, then slowly shook his head or at least tried. "My only real evidence is in my blood and memories."
Jiraiya snapped his finger, and his chakra flickered like a beacon. An ANBU appeared in the room in an instant. "Make another blood test, and this time, compare it with shinobi ID U-3458. Security level SS. Do it. Now. With record speed." The ANBU gave a small nod, not to the sannin, but to Minato and then left the room with a puff, leaving some slowly whirling leaves in the still room. None of them dared to move or voice their thoughts.
Only the secured teen's faint mumbling could be heard in the tensed room. "I'm glad that I managed to see you all again. I was happy. Really happy. I'm sorry, Dad…. I'm really sorry. I'm sorry, Ero-sennin. I failed you and your legacy. But now— now I will—I will protect all of you. This time, I won't let you die. None of you." He whispered more to himself then to the people in the room. He was scared now, to his very bone. Everything was a big mess, and he was bushed.
"This isn't going too good," muttered the fox with a deep frown on his face.
"I know, Kurama. I messed up again." Naruto's voice was soft, nearly enough to call it a whisper, but Minato narrowed his eyes more if that is even possible when he picked up the words. Kurama. Back at the hospital when they had first met, he said the same name.
"And don't talk to me aloud. They will think you are insane."
"It doesn't matter if I'm talking to you aloud. They already think I'm insane."
"Idiot."
"Furball." A soft chuckle escaped him which only worsened his status. Naruto finally raised his head and looked around the room, eyeing the two motionless men inside the small space. Finally, Minato unfolded his arms and turned toward the door to leave the place without a single word.
"Dad, wait! Please." Naruto's desperate voice cracked.
The village leader stiffened at the door, his muscles tensing, ready to jump over and tear out his organs in his already raising anger. "You are going to stay here and be interrogated until you either decide to tell us the truth or your mind breaks."
"Please," Naruto pleaded, but it only fueled Minato's slowly raising fury, holding onto the thin line that restrained him from snapping.
The toad sage let out a long sigh. "We are finished, Gaki." Jiraiya also turned around to follow Minato, but only after shooting a puzzled look toward the young boy. His eyebrows furrowed to a thick line. What if it's possible? The sage shook his head. It can't be. But so many things would make sense then. His scroll and those closing seals…the third layer with the fox's chakra, the fourth with the summoning contract, the trap on the last layer from Mount Myoboku. His actions, his seemingly irresponsible knowledge about things. He stopped in his snail pace and glanced back at the slumped form of the boy. He was on the verge of opening his mouth, but a faint whisper from the boy stopped him.
"I'll do it…." The faint sound also stopped Minato, his hand hovering above the door handle for a long moment before the blond's determined voice reached his ears again. "I'll do it. I—I'll allow you inside my mind. She won't resist this time. I'll take care of her somehow. I can show you my memories."
Minato gritted his teeth and didn't answer immediately. The suffocating silences was stretched to its limits. Gradually, the Hokage turned around, his azure blue orbs meeting with identical blue ones. The same orbs which sparkled with ploy during the past months, which he watched with care and love. They were desperate. Pleading. He didn't want to see those emotions behind those eyes anymore. The only thing he wanted to see were the eyes of a man who deceived him, who was after the life of his family, who influenced his decisions, his life, and who knows what else he had already done inside the shadows.
But this time, he wasn't here as Namikaze Minato. He had to act on the behalf of Konoha, and he needed answers to ensure her safety. He calmed his waving emotions and made his decision with a clear head.
Minato finally nodded and after a short hand sign and a flicker of his chakra, the weary Inoichi stepped inside the room again. He rested his eyes for a long moment on the slumped form of the blond boy and handed over two devices to the two men inside the room which connected them with the captive's mind and his technique. Naruto felt the familiar warmth of the man's palm on his forehead, but he didn't move his body, nor reacted to the touch in any way. He could feel the gathering chakra inside Inoichi's palm, and Naruto's mouth moved to warn the interrogator in advance. "Before you step in, I must warn you ojii-san. You will see strange and confusing things. Don't freak out."
Inoichi eyes narrowed, but after a long break, he released the gathering chakra and his technique.
Three men stood inside a long passage lined with shelves slumping under scrolls and books. It was a familiar scene for the veteran interrogator; he had already been in this place dozens of times during his weekly check ups with Toroku. However, just like half an hour ago, they found themselves in front of a frowning blond kunoichi.
She defiantly stood there just like last time, her lean arms folded in front of her chest to keep them from moving any further in the captives psyche. "I've already told you. I won't let you further."
"Wow. I have never been here before." The three men and the girl immediately flung their heads toward the cheerful voice to face the young blond man, currently observing the shelves in front of him curiously, running his fingers through the titles until a confused grimace appeared on his fine features. "Huh…I didn't know that I even learned this technique."
"It's okay. He is here to lead us." The interrogator stepped out from the group and approached Naruto with a stern look on his face. "Why have you never appeared before?"
The teen shrugged, and a well-known foxy grin appeared on his face after he finally turned toward them, slowly putting the scroll back on the shelf. "I've never tried."
"What are you going to do with her?" Inoichi pointed toward the blond girl, who still stood there, her blue eyes wandering suspiciously from one intruder to another.
"Try to ask her kindly to let us in." Naruto shrugged once more and stepped closer to the projection of Ino with a soft smile on his face, his movement followed by Inoichi's raised eyebrow and surprised eyes.
Naruto slowly approached his late comrade until there were only some steps between them. Her gaze immediately flung on his small, kind smile. They stood there, neither of them talking for some time. Naruto's soft voice was the first to interrupt the peace. "It's been a long time."
"Yeah…I think." Her voice was equally soft, but it still echoed back and forth between the shelves. Naruto eyed the girl for another stretched and silent minute before he gradually reached out to touch her hand. To make sure she was really there. But it simply slipped through her. "This is your consciousness, baka. I can't hurt you, and you can't touch me."
A curious frown appeared on Naruto's face. "When did you do this?"
The girl shook her head, her long ponytail fluidly following her motion. "I don't know. I don't have memories. I'm only a projection. The essence of my original self's will. That is, to protect your mind."
Inoichi frowned by the new information. There was a technique like that in the family archive. Or at least something similar to that. A Yamanaka mental barrier, which puts the protective projection of the user against an intruder. But no one had been able to use that technique for decades. And this girl looked young. Or was very young when she had died. Maybe at the same age as Toroku. Inoichi stepped forward. "Will you let us pass this time?"
A hesitant frown appeared on the blond girls face. "It depends on him. If he is willing to let you pass, you can pass. But only with him. I shouldn't even be here. Maybe your forced entry triggered the defensive mechanism. I think my original wasn't counting on a Yamanaka invading his mind instead of an Uchiha."
Another soft smile appeared on Naruto's face. But his eyes sparkled with playful mirth. "I've always known you never hated me. Even when you told me so."
"Baka. How should I know that? I told you, I don't have memories." A small, embarrassed smile appeared on the young girl's face, but she obediently stepped aside with a small pink shade on each of her cheeks, letting the small group pass, but she could still hear Naruto's soft, almost unnoticeable murmur.
"Thank you, Ino."
Minato let his eyes wander on the enormous quantity on knowledge, his eyes drifting from title to title, while Inoichi and Naruto led the small group toward the end of the passage to a wooden door, toward the memories of their captive.
The small group stepped through the door, and they found themselves inside a meadow with soft and sweet grass under their feet, an unnatural, azure blue sky overhead, and endless colorful spots of wildflowers laid all over the landscape. The sweet scent of lilies immediately reached their noses, and to Minato's biggest surprise, his aching nerves immediately settled down. It was pure…and peaceful. Only the shelves broke the illusion and reminded him that he was in someone else's mind and not outside. Inoichi's voice kicked him out of his musings.
"Where are your old memories?"
The blond boy looked around with a confused face while he scratched the crown of his head in an all so familiar manner they had seen thousands of times when he was puzzled. "Well, I don't know exactly. Sorry. Kurama! Help me out please!" An irritated "Ch." echoed in the meadow, but almost instantly, a point of the scene started to wave and wobble, and after a long moment, a vigorous orange door appeared in the middle of a place filled with moonflowers and crocuses. A breeze ruffled the delphiniums in the background, and Inoichi noted them with a side-glance. Levity, fun, big-hearted, ardent attachment and joy. The cheekiness of Toroku.
Inoichi frowned. That was definitely not the boy's voice. Maybe a split personality? And to be able to place a genjutsu in the mind... He'd never heard of anything like that before. He glanced to the side to spot a huge weeping willow surrounded by countless dark crimson roses, which weren't there during his last visit. It was definitely a memorial. A place to mourn. His eyes widened when he spotted a small, black framed picture of a smiling girl gently placed against the base of the tree. It was Rin.
Minato traced the interrogator's gaze, and he had to restrain a flinch when he also spotted the picture of his late student. He didn't know how he should feel himself. He struggled between anger and his own mourning when he spotted the picture of the kindly smiling girl.
Naruto, not concerned by their sightseeing, slowly took the lead after an amused look, and opened the orange door and stepped through it. A muffled splash could be heard from the other side of the door, and the three men shared a confused and suspicious glance before they also stepped inside, following the curious Inoichi.
To their biggest shock, the meadow was gone, their feet sinking into ankle-deep water. The azure blue sky and the meadow were replaced with rough, concrete walls. The scent of lilies disappeared, and the only thing the interrogator could smell was rust. Inoichi frowned. That was definitely very different from his previous mindscape. A result of a harsh past. A childhood trauma maybe? Then, the previous mindscape was the result of the last one year with them.
But that would mean he was happy here. It made absolutely no sense. If he was a threat, if he wanted to harm Konoha, why would his mindscape look like that?
Minato glanced toward his sensei, who also noted the extreme change with narrowed eyes and answered with a shrug. They followed the two blonds without a word, trailing behind them across the long tunnels and passageways until the ankle deep water suddenly disappeared, and they found themselves in a giant hall filled with shelves, slumping under the enormous amount of books and scrolls, under their captive's uncountable number of old memories, stretching high toward the unreachable ceiling.
"How on Earth…" Inoichi felt his jaw drop until it almost hit the ground, and the teen let out a small amused chuckle at the face.
"It's this much because of the mass amount of shadow clones I use. Their memories are also here somewhere."
Inoichi glanced to one of the shelves and spotted one title almost immediately. "Shadow Clone, No: 928 156". Naruto spaced his steps and headed to the back of the hall where his newest memories laid.
Jiraiya couldn't restrain himself. He suddenly reached out and grabbed one of the smaller scrolls, without reading the title written on the side with obviously childish hands. He opened the scroll and at that very moment the blond teen turned back to continue his explanation and noticed just what his white haired companion had done.
The scrolls, the books and the shelves faded away, and the scene was replaced with a stand full of masks. A very young version of the blond glanced at the variety with wide eyes, sparkling with childish interest. He couldn't be more than eight. The man behind the counter turned toward him with a smile, but when he spotted the whiskered cheeks, his face suddenly moved into the perfect image of anger, hatred and disgust. He grabbed the nearest mask, and with a harsh movement, he simply thrust it to the child with enough force to hit him. The child's emotions hit them hard as soon as he landed on the hard soil. The confusion. The disbelief. The anger. The irritation. The despair. And finally, his loneliness.
The people around them stopped to watch what was happening, but none of them moved to help the boy. They just stared at the boy's trembling form. The child looked around, his anger rising inside them again. 'Don't look at me like that! Don't look at me with those eyes! Why are you doing this?!' A shiver ran down Inoichi's spine by the stares, but before he could observe the scene, it disappeared in an instant.
Jiraiya felt a hand on his joint, and the scene faded away the same way it came into existence. Their eyes met for a moment, but the boy's eyes this time mirrored no emotion. They were staring at him blankly, so uncharacteristically different from his normal cheerful sparkle. He obviously secluded himself from the previous scene.
Naruto snapped the scroll from Jiraiya to roll it up and carefully placed it back where he got it, his face still cautiously blank. "I let you in by my own will, but there are some things you don't have to know about me." Inoichi made a mental nod. Definitely hard childhood.
A deep frown appeared on the Sennin's face, and he glanced to the side to note the emotionless and cold facade of his student. If there was a slight chance that Toroku had told the truth, then the previous scene made no sense. The villager's stares, their hatred and their disgust. If he was really Minato's son, why would anyone treat him like that? The Toad Sage narrowed his eyes when the puzzle slowly started to come together. His eyes moved to the blond teen, measuring up from head to toe.
The third closing seal on his scroll with the mixed chakra. That one reminded him of the chakra of a…. The glares. His planned assassination at the childbirth! Then Kurama is...! Oh, damn it! Jiraiya visibly flinched when Naruto opened his mouth.
"These are my memories, carefully locked away from you, from Inoichi, and for a short time, also from me."
Minato folded his arms in front of his chest, and he turned toward his once-known brother with ice cold eyes. "For how long?"
Naruto winced and turned away from his father's piercing gaze. "Since the kidnapping attempt in Iwa. I regained all of my memories back there."
A satisfied snort could be heard from Jiraiya's direction. The veteran shook off his previous shock and braced himself to look as calm as he could. "I knew something had changed in you back then."
"Yes. You were always good at it. You always knew when something was wrong."
Minato broke the chat, his voice cold and demanding. "Show what you want to show, and don't steal anymore of our time."
The soft smile immediately melted away from Naruto's face, replaced by an emotionless mask. But Jiraiya could still see the hurt in those blue eyes. "As you wish, Hokage-sama. I will answer your every question." Naruto made a slight bow.
"If you aren't after my life, then who is your target?"
Naruto stayed in silence for a long hesitant moment, chewing on his lips slowly. Then, in the end, he let out a sigh. He made a hesitant step toward one of the shelves and gently took out a scroll.
The air waved around them, and they found themselves in the middle of a room next to a slightly younger version of their captive, defiantly staring up to a hole in the roof, his teeth clenched together in his anger.
Minato's eyes trailed back and observed the man in front of them, a man in a bright orange mask with a swirling symbol and one eyehole. The same mask he spotted during the carnival after the chuunin exam.
His body was shrouded by an ebony black cloak with blood red clouds. Minato's eyes narrowed when he spotted the shining crimson sharingan through the only eyehole and the wooden restraints around his body. The man's laughter filled the room. Then, he slowly vanished inside a vortex while the blond boy next to him dropped onto his knees and slammed his fist into the ground. The Hokage narrowed his eyes even more when he finally noticed the wooden cage as the boy wasn't focused only on the masked man.
The memory was slowly replaced by the place with the shelves again.
"Who was he?" Minato asked bluntly.
Naruto locked his eyes with the ground under his feet while he answered. "He called himself by a lot of names. But let's just stick with Tobi. "
"He is an Uchiha." Jiraiya took a step toward the blond, who only nodded as an answer, and in the next second, Minato's still cold voice reached them.
"You were fighting with him when you appeared. And now you want to finish what you began. But why would he be there during the childbirth?" The bond boy made a thoughtful face, then shook his head.
"I wasn't fighting with him. I was fighting with Uchiha Madara. But I have to stop him to stop Madara's plan, because he knows…He knows when the seal is going to be the weakest. He wants the fox." Minato's frown deepened while Jiraiya gulped. He was right then.
The toad summoner made a slide glance and restrained a wince when he noted the cold denial on Minato's features. He could understand it. Really. Minato still couldn't shake off his betrayal and suspicion. He was still too shaken up to put one and one together and think rationally. But still… There was still a slight chance that all of this was just a part of a well composed attack on Minato's heart. But Jiraiya was sure that they would have their answers with time.
However, this fact only unnerved him more. He wasn't sure he could endure the truth. The tiny part of Jiraiya's mind prayed for the second option. That the boy was just an enemy. Because if what he told was true. If he was really Minato's son from the future, then the next years will hold a lot of pain.
A snort echoed suddenly, and the Yondaime's face scrunched up into an annoyed grimace. "Uchiha Madara is dead."
The time traveler shook his head with a confused frown plastered on his face. "He must be dead now. At least, he should be dead now. After Rin's death, he…" He stopped as the words stuck in his throat. His confused face suddenly twisted into a frustrated grimace. Naruto raised his hands and tore into his blond locks to channel down some of his waving emotions. "Agh. It's complicated! But I have to stop Tobi before he gets the fox." Naruto let his hands fall to his sides and finally raised his head, and his blue eyes locked with his father's.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes while he observed the flaming blue pools. They seemed so determined, so sincere. The sage let out a sigh and asked a question which had bugged him if his theory was right. "What was your previous relation to the Sandaime?"
The boy didn't answer, instead he slowly walked toward another shelf, fetching a second scroll. The world around them faded away once more, and they found themselves inside the familiar office of the Hokage tower.
A slightly older version of Hiruzen was observing a small blond child in front of him, around six or five, his aging eyes shining with concern. Jiraiya could spot the white streaks in his teacher's once brown hair. The currently faint lines on his face were now deep, and he could also see a few faint liver spots over his face which he was sure he hadn't gotten yet.
The projection of the Third let out a long breath and put his pipe to the side. "Why did you do that? Why did you dye the Inuzuka dogs pink?"
The child's face hardened and folded his arms in front of his chest, turning away from the Hokage. He stubbornly refused to answer, evidently sulking for a long minute. However, he couldn't get rid of the demanding wise eyes, and with time, he lost his composure under the heavy gaze.
The boy finally turned back with a pout, his features the perfect mirror of indifference, but Jiraiya could already see the first tears unsteadily equilibrating on his eyelids. "Because one of them called me bad names." He cracked through the lump of his throat, and the first tear lost its balance.
Sarutobi let out another weary sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose, watching as a second tear escaped Naruto's eyelids. Hiruzen gently beckoned, and the blond child hesitantly obeyed, squeezing his eyes shut when he reached Hiruzen's side, waiting for a punishment, but it didn't come.
The Hokage instead wrapped an arm around him and put him onto his lap soothingly. "Naruto. Pulling pranks on them isn't the right answer."
The tears gradually stopped, and the child gathered himself. His hurt was gone, replaced by a defiant pout. But after a long silent minute, it was slowly gone and the small child nodded in acceptance, wiping his tears and raising his head to look up at the aging leader. "Jiji?"
"Yes, Naruto?" Hiruzen asked soothingly.
"I'm sorry." The Hokage slowly shook his head, and a warm, caring smile spread across his wrinkled face, when the small child leaned closer to the Hokage's chest, desperately seeking comfort. "Jiji?" The small child's faint mumble filled the office again.
"Yes, Naruto?" He repeated patiently.
"They never talk like that with you. It's because you're the Hokage." It wasn't a question. It was a sour fact slipping from the lips of a five-year-old child. "I'm going to be the next Hokage. And then...and then all of them will look up at me!"
Jiraiya frowned. Sarutobi wore the Hokage's robe, and the child called him as it. He was in charge again? He made a side glance to Minato, and almost immediately a painful grimace spread across his face and paled, when he realized why the Sandaime was in charge.
The named old man opened his mouth, but before he answered the scene faded away, and they were back next to the shelves.
Minato slitted his eyes while sheer confusion spread across Inoichi's face. The mind-reader made a side glance at their captive, who locked his gaze on the ground. He desperately tried to figure out what the hell was going on, but for now, it was a fail. He could only hope that with time, all of this mess would make sense to him.
Naruto was lost, utterly lost in his consuming and empty mind. The sudden fear overwhelmed his thoughts and fogged his brain. He didn't have the courage to look up at the others. He was afraid of what he would find in their eyes. Disbelief? Most likely. Suspicion? For sure.
Gradually, he finished his battle with his inner demons and glanced to his father. Defiance. He immediately winced and trailed his eyes toward Inoichi. Utter confusion. Finally, he moved his attention to his once sensei, and at first, he couldn't really comprehend the expression on his face. With time, he finally realized that his gaze was locked on the almost invisible sad smile on his face. Naruto's tensed muscles instantly relaxed as a wave of hope rushed through him.
"Show us the rest please." Jiraiya's baritone cut the silence like a knife, but it wasn't offending. It stroked his shoulders in a soothing manner, reassuring his soul and giving him the power he needed.
Naruto didn't answer, only a small, almost invisible smile tugging his lips upward as he nodded.
Author's Note:
Next chapter will be out on the 15th of March :)