Kumogakure Ninja

Posted: 19-04-11

Updated: 28-06-11

CH23: A Family Reunion & Revelations

(Forest of Death)

Hari gripped onto his hair with frustration. "I can't fix this, Yugito!" Naruto wasn't breathing, and hadn't been for nearly twenty minutes; his lungs were collapsing once again and his heart simply stopped beating. The damage inflicted by Orochimaru was simply out of his means to fix. There was no way he could fix damage organs that had been plunged through with a legendary sharp blade. "I can't fix this… It's happening again." A shocking image of the Kusa genin that died in his arms days before gripped him. Nothing but cold, unrelenting fear swept over him, sending shivers down his spine. Naruto looked just as silent and peaceful as the nameless genin that had died before.

"Is he dead?" Ino whispered with shock, looking at her peers.

Yugito wiped the tears of her cheeks and shook her head. "No, he can't be." As much as she wanted to believe though, she simply couldn't bring herself to believe the words coming from her mouth. 'If he dies… if he's dead…' Yugito shook her head and lunged for Hari, grabbing onto his collar and shaking him violently. "He's not dead, Hari! Get back to work. You can do this, you can save him!"

Hari had already shut down at this point and he merely shook his head with a crestfallen look at his fallen comrade. "It's too late, Yugito. His heart's stopped and he hasn't breathed for over twenty minutes. There's no saving him now." Hari solemnly took out the breathing tube and cuff out of Naruto's mouth with tears running down his cheeks as he silently cried.

Sakura looked over to the pair of Kumo genin and swallowed thickly, looking back down to Sasuke. "If it's been that long, there's no way he is still alive. I'm sorry… for your loss." It was an utterly tactless and poor timed thing to say and the rosette instantly regretted it.

"What did you say?" Yugito hissed at her with venom.

"N- nothing. It's just that your teammate ha- has been clinically dead for-"

"He is not dead!" Yugito spat. "He can't be dead." The blonde kunoichi pinched down on Naruto's nose and took a deep breath, pressing her lips to his and blowing air down his throat. "I'm not going to give up on him!" Yugito discharged another wave of lightning. "One, two, three."

"Yugito," Kenji tried to reason.

Yugito did not hear him. She refused to hear anyone had to say. Naruto was alive and she knew it. "One, two, three."

Hyūga Neji merely said in a hollow whisper, "He died a noble death protecting his comrades. Such was his fate." The Hyūga turned to his teammates and nodded to them, "Let's go." Tenten merely nodded and followed whilst Lee sported tears and pumped his fist. "Yosh, I will become a splendid ninja for the both of us, Naruto!" The Azure Beast of Konoha left to be with his team.

"One, two, three." Another mouthful of air and shock of lightning to no avail.

"Yugito, please don't do this," Taiko was unsuccessfully fighting back tears of her own and placed a comforting hand on Yugito's shoulder, trying to pull her back.

Yugito violently shook her hand off and continued. "One, two, three."

Taiko turned to Kenichi and nodded. They both placed their hands on her arms and shoulders and pulled her back gently but forcefully. "Come on now, Yugito. He's dead. It's too late." As Taiko said the words, she felt absolutely dreadful and horrible but they had to be said.

"No! One, two, three," Yugito resisted at first, violently even as she elbowed Kenichi. The genin took it without complaint however and continued to pull her back along with Taiko. Eventually, with a cry of anguish and stinging tears Yugito allowed herself to be pulled away.

"He can't be dead!" Yugito screamed. "I won't let him!"

"Come here, Yugito," Taiko pulled her into a hug and tried to console her, whispering comforts into her ear and holding her tightly. Yugito wrapped her arms around her and buried herself into Taiko's embrace. The older kunoichi held on tightly and allowed Yugito to shake uncontrollably and cry.

Hari sat silently next to his friend and eyed the whiskered genin with inconsolable grief when a sudden movement caught his. "Naruto?" Hari clambered to his feet and leant in quickly. "Yu- Yugito come quick. You've got to see this!"

The genin nearby both from Kumo and Konoha quickly looked over as Naruto's finger twitched.

"Is he alive?"

"I think so. Back away, give him so space to breathe…" Hari was eyeing Naruto tentatively, watching with pure fascination as the blood on his clothes began to liquefy and seep back into his wounds. A sudden burst of chakra bodily blasted Hari away for a good ten feet.

"What is that?" Chōji shouted.

Hari scrambled to his feet and got back to his friend's side and gasped. "He's healing! His hands is moving- Naruto! Naruto can you hear me?"

Yugito turned away from Taiko's embrace and watched with tearful eyes as Naruto started breathing.

-ooo-

(Naruto's Mindscape)

Drip! Drip! Drip!

"Hello there… son."

Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha and the heralded slayer of the Kyūbi no Yokō appeared not to be a day older since his death nearly fourteen years ago when he sealed the Kyūbi within Naruto, mere hours after his birth.

"…"

Naruto was in a world of shock. His eyes were practically bulging out of his sockets, his brain unable to comprehend what had just been said to him. Here in his mindscape, standing right next to him, was the Yondaime, smiling at him kindly.

"Did you just call me 'son'?"

"YOU! BLASTED YONDAIME, COME HERE SO I CAN DEVOUR YOU!" the Kyūbi howled, striking its claws through the bars of the cage that imprisoned it.

Minato moved so fast Naruto's head was spinning. One moment he had been at the gate to the cage and the other he was thirty feet away at a safe distance from the gigantic fox that began to trash and howl in his cage with fury.

'He's so fast…' Naruto saw the look of cold disdain on Minato's face and almost cringed as he felt a shiver go down his spine. That was when he noticed he wasn't feeling any pain; it was as if the Yondaime's presence made it all go away. "Yondaime, why don't I feel any pain? I was practically dying in my own mind just now." A wave of exhilaration splashed through him. He was speaking to perhaps the strongest shinobi to have ever lived.

Minato did not reply straightaway, his calculative eyes on the Kyūbi as the fox itself seemed to be trashing and howling in its cage although no sound emitted from it. Then, finally, Minato looked down onto his son with a kind smile. "I'm sure you've got a lot of questions, Naruto, but first I need to know what you were about to do."

"Huh?" was Naruto's intelligent reply. 'How embarrassing!' Naruto shook his head and swallowed thickly. "I was going to rip up half of the seal so the Kyūbi could force more chakra through… me…" he trailed off, noticing the Yondaime nodded already and was eyeing the fox again. The Kyūbi was roaring and trashing in its cage, ramming against the bars that imprisoned it, yet no sound carried over to the two blondes.

"Good, I was checking if you still were in control of your mind." Minato then smiled, it was a warm smile only a father could give a son. "We need to talk, Naruto."

Naruto snapped out his distracted trance and nodded to Minato, distancing himself from the older blonde, remembering exactly what the Yondaime Hokage had done to him. "That's right. You called me your son, what's that all about? Am I really your kid?"

Minato nodded without hesitation. "That's right, you are my son, Namikaze Naruto, although you go by your mother's surname these days. As for you why you're not feeling pain anymore, it's tied to the same reason I'm here." Minato shot the Kyūbi one last glance and then turned to his son. "Before my passing I placed a fragment of my soul and chakra within you, Naruto, in case the day came you ripped off the seal or lost control."

"I didn't lose control," Naruto said defensively.

"No, you didn't, Naruto." Minato smiled mirthlessly. "I need to ask you something, son. I've been in your mind for as long as you lived, meaning everything you've experienced, I know off," Minato allowed time for a nod of acknowledgement and continued, "Are you happy in Kumo?"

Naruto almost raised an eyebrow at him and felt a strong indignation swell up in him. Was the Yondaime judging him for leaving Konoha all those years ago? "Of course I am! I have everything I ever wanted in Kumo! I've got friends, the people there treat me with decency and Kirabi's like a father to me. A better one than you've been," Naruto added harshly, the smile on Minato's face annoyed him. It was such an annoying smile, he would've preferred a sneer or a smirk instead.

"You hate me, don't you, Naruto?" Nothing betrayed any resentment from Minato as he posed the question.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "No, I don't hate you. What were you doing all this time in my mind anyway? You should know I gave up on hate a long time ago."

"Because Kirabi told you to," Minato nodded. "It was the same day he started training you to use the Kyūbi's power." Minato waved his hand to the right and instantly phantom copies of a younger Kirabi and a six-year-old Naruto stood conversing.

"Now listen up, Naruto, before we start you need to promise to me you'll let go of the hate and give up on all plans for vengeance," Phantom-Kirabi instructed his new student.

"But why?" Phantom-Naruto shouted in return. "It's not like I don't have a good reason to hate them! Why do I need to be the one to forgive? It's not fair! I didn't do anything to them, even if the Kyūbi did horrible things, it's not my fault. You told me so!"

Phantom-Kirabi placed his large hands on the boy's shoulders, covering most of the boy's frame. "Naruto, hatred and vengeance never lead to anything good. If you keep hanging on to it, it's going to ruin your life as well as others'." Phantom-Kirabi sighed and then said, "I think it's time I tell you a story from when I was a boy, Naruto."

The copies seemed to fast-forward rapidly, but Naruto already knew the story.

"… Fortunately, in the end, Motoi let go of his hatred and now we're best friends, but that doesn't happen nearly as much, do you understand me, Naruto? People can become real monsters if they let their desire for vengeance rule them. In fact… the Hachibi jinchūriki before me was a ruthless monster, he gave into the hate and ultimately he killed a lot of people… including my best friend Motoi's old man… and mine. For a very long time I hated the Hachibi and I hated the jinchūriki before, and I hated myself for being a jinchūriki, the same as the person who killed my father. It wasn't for big bro I would've become the same, eventually." Phantom-Kirabi sighed heavily. "Do you see where I'm getting at, Naruto? Hate just gives birth to more hate. The cycle keeps on going and more monsters are unleashed on the innocent."

Naruto winced involuntarily as he knew was going to be said.

"I'm not going to raise a monster, Naruto. You don't want to be a monster, do you?"

Phantom-Naruto burst into tears at that and shook his head violently. "N- no! I don't wanna be a monster, Kirabi!"

Naruto glared at Minato. "Stop it."

With another gesture of Minato's hand the phantom images disappeared. "Kirabi meant well, Naruto," said Minato calmly, "But in a way, he stunted your growth more than you realize- umph!"

Naruto's fist smashed into Minato's face with such incredible impact the older blonde flew to the ground, landing hard on his back and blood streamed down his nose and out of his mouth.

"Don't you dare speak about Kirabi that way, Pops!" Naruto spat the nickname with venom. "If it wasn't for Kirabi, I'd be some crazy killer like Orochimaru or Gaara! It's because of Kirabi I'm the man I am today, he raised me like a son!" He then added with an ice cold tone, "He's a better father to me than you ever could be."

Minato's eyes narrowed and turned equally cold. "He didn't do a very good job raising you, did he?" Naruto gasped and looked like he was about to kill him, shaking with barely restrained hate, but Minato pressed on. "He forced you to 'give up' on negative emotions so you wouldn't grow to become a monster but what he really asked of you that day was to bottle up your hate and anger like he did. How can an adult ask that of a child, to bottle up his emotions and let it stunt his growth? Look at what you've become-"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto kicked Minato in his ribs and continued to kick the Yellow Flash repeatedly, angry tears running down his cheeks as he roared in anger. The Kyūbi had stopped its trashing and was now silently roaring in laughter, cheering him on. "You don't have the fucking RIGHT to say anything!"

"If you gave up on hate, then why are you so angry? It's because you are weak." Minato blocked a kick with his forearm and shot Naruto the same look of cold disdain he had given the Kyūbi. "You're a disappointment."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Naruto now moved on to punching Minato repeatedly, holding him up by his hair and slamming his fists in the Yondaime's face. "STOP TALKING!"

As his fist repeatedly bounced off Minato's face, a cold sensation spread throughout his body. This wasn't working. He didn't feel better from hitting his old man. There was no satisfaction, no gratification… Why wasn't this satisfying him? Why didn't he feel any better? He kept smashing his fist into Minato's face, willing himself to take some sort of satisfaction out of it, but none came. He felt just felt even angrier than before.

"AAAH!" Naruto reared his back fully and swung it-

Minato's hand shot out and caught his fist, blood trickling down his chin. "You say you love Kumo, Naruto, you speak of it as if it's a paradise but you have no idea what Kumo did to your mother!" An expression of shock etched unto Naruto's face and his hand froze, he opened his mouth but no sound followed. "Kumo tried to kidnap your mother when she was only a young girl. Those power-craving fools abducted her, and they were going to kill her, and they would have if I hadn't stopped them! Do you know what the shinobi that kidnapped your mother tried to do to her?"

"I- what do you-"

Now Minato was angry and he jumped up, flooring his son as he began to return the punches. "If I hadn't gone stopped those animals, Naruto… Your mother didn't deserve what they tried to do to her!"

The pain didn't register completely with Naruto. The only thing he noticed was the painful glint in Minato's eyes as he drove his fist into his son's face. Before each punch Naruto counted, he could sense hesitation and regret in Minato. It was as if… he was forcing himself to do this. Blood trickled down the side of Naruto's head, but the pain he felt from it did not even begin to compare to the pain he felt in his chest.

Minato cocked back his arm to deliver another strike when a black blur tackled him to the side. Naruto scrambled to his feet and his eyes widened when he saw a perfect replica of himself beating down on Minato. The 'Naruto' before him was in a constant shroud of darkness.

"A memory?" Naruto whispered to no one, wiping blood of his face

Minato threw the other 'Naruto' off him and got to his feet and wiped the blood of his face with a wave of his hand. "There we go," he said smiling. "This is you, Naruto, or better yet, this is the dark version of you."

Naruto looked at Minato and then at… himself? "Who are you?" Naruto didn't quite know what else to say. "You're just like me, but you're not… you're different."

Dark-Naruto scowled at him. "No, we are the same guy, through and through, Naruto. I am you and you are me."

"He's lying, Naruto," said Minato. "This creature is a figment of your mind. This is, in some ways, the real you but he's only a representation of your-"

"Wh- WHAT the FUCK is going on?" Naruto demanded with a shout. "This is fucking insane, my mind is going crazy!" Naruto held his head, digging his nails into his scalp. 'The Yondaime's my dad? … Kumo tried to kidnap my mother? … This is me?'

"Don't listen to him! He's just a coward, Naruto! He's why we're hated so much! He's why we had to run away in the first place!"

"He is?"

"YES HE IS!"

"Naruto, you need to listen to me. You created this dark version of you to deal with your own dark emotions." Minato was forced to duck to the side as Dark-Naruto charged at him with a Shippū Shūren, swiping at his face.

Naruto seeing himself attack Minato narrowed his eyes and charged alongside with his dark-self, as though he was using a Kage Bunshin. The pair charged their Hurricane Drills and continued to work in tandem, flawlessly weaving their attacks one after another. However, Minato was the Yondaime, arguable the most gifted shinobi in history and was by no stretch of the mind a pushover. Minato dodged their attacks effortlessly, going as far as boldly slipping between as he spoke.

"This is what you created, the result of all the pent up anger, hate and frustration created this version of you," Minato explained calmly.

Dark-Naruto and Naruto stood shoulder to shoulder and shouted, "YAGURA!" and hundreds of compacted air bludgeons surged at the Yondaime. Minato moved so quick they hadn't even blinked and he was right beside them, standing on his hands and kicking them both aside.

Naruto soared through the air, opposite of his dark-self, and skid painfully on his shoulder. "I hate you!" Naruto roared. "You want me to let my feelings out? FINE! I fucking HATE you, Yondaime! I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!"

"That's right! He's the reason for our pain, Naruto! If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have suffered like we did… they wouldn't have spat on us in the street, they wouldn't have vandalized our home or throw rocks at us because they felt like it. If it weren't for HIM, we would have had a NORMAL LIFE!" Dark-Naruto screamed.

Naruto and Dark-Naruto both formed a single Shippū Shūren on their right arms and charged at Minato's sides, simultaneously screaming, "DAI GIRI!" The massive drill blades moved to quick however as Minato simply disappeared at reappeared next to Dark-Naruto with a steeled expression on his face.

A ball of energy formed in Minato's hand and before Dark-Naruto could move, he slammed it in the dark-self of Naruto. "Rasengan."

In a massive sphere of energy, Dark-Naruto exploded backwards, sent hurtling and immobilized through the air. Naruto's eyes widened, but he quickly snapped out of it, remembering he was fighting it out with the Yondaime.

Naruto charged towards Minato but was met with incredible pressure as Minato held up his hand in his way. Naruto gasped for air as he struggled, his entire body feeling like it weighted a trillion tons. "What did you do?" Naruto's eyes widened as kanji wrapped around his torso, wrists, ankles and elbows. Minato used an Fūinjutsu on him!

"I'm sorry I made you angry, Naruto, but I had to get you upset so you could come to terms with yourself and the darkness a part of you has always hanged onto."

Naruto's eyes widened. "WHY?" he shouted. "Why are you even here? Why is all of this happening? It's too much!" Naruto felt as if his head was going to explode. So many revelations in such a short span of time were giving him an migraine.

"I think I can help you with that, Naruto."

Minato, Dark-Naruto and Naruto all turned to source of the new voice and Naruto's breath hitched upon the sight of a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties approaching.

The woman had long red hair going down to the small of her back in nine thick locks, she wore jōnin trousers with the assorted holsters and pouches and a tight, dark blue shirt matching her pants with long and wide orange sleeves that stopped above her naval, showing off her abs. The shirt bore the emblem of Konoha as well as a spiral on her back. She wore her headband around her neck and eyes were a brilliant shade of violet.

"Kushina," Minato strode to the woman and embraced her, planting a chaste kiss on her lips. "You shouldn't have come out here."

Uzumaki Kushina shook her head and smiled gently at her husband. "I want us to see our son together, Minato." Kushina then turned to Naruto who was red in the face. "Come here, Naruto. Give your mother a hug."

Minato held up his hands in a ram hand seal and the Fūinjutsu cancelled, allowing him movement over his body.

Naruto took a step forward but then shook his head. "No, this has gotta be a trick. The Kyūbi's messing with me, this can't be real…" Naruto rubbed his eyes, refusing to cry. "You're not real. None of this is. The Yondaime isn't my father and my mother wasn't so beautiful… I need to wake up." Naruto held his face, pinching himself as hard as he could. When nothing happened, a sense of dread struck him. "Maybe I'm already dead…"

Kushina and Minato looked at each other and smiled affectionately. Kushina then strode over and pulled Naruto into a deep and warm hug and held him tightly. "We're not a part of your imagination, Naru-chan. This is all in your head, but it's real."

"That makes it sound like we're not really here, Kushina," Minato deadpanned dryly.

"Shut up, stop trying to embarrass me, dattebane!" Kushina said embarrassedly. "Naruto, are you crying?" Kushina held her son at arm's length and as she had expected he was crying. "Don't cry, Naruto. It makes me want to cry with you."

"Tell me this isn't a dream or some sick joke!" Naruto cried.

"They're real, but that doesn't mean they're not responsible for the shit we had to put up with, Naruto! Let go of that bitch, she's his accomplice!" Dark-Naruto shouted angrily. "Stop being such a damn weakling! Dry your tears, stop crying and destroy them! You know they deserve it!"

Minato laughed, it was genuine heartily laugh. "Son, this isn't a dream. Right before your mother and I passed away, we sealed a tiny fragment of our soul and remaining chakra in you. We'll explain right after this." Minato disappeared in a blink of an eye and reappeared in front of Dark-Naruto and placed his hand on the Naruto replica's forehead. The dark matter seeped into his palm quickly and soon Dark-Naruto had disappeared.

Minato moved towards the Kyūbi but Kushina held up her hand. "I've got it, Minato, don't use too much of your energy." Kushina let go of Naruto who seemed absolutely crushed but she quickly reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm just going to remove that pesky seal that's messing with your body, Naru-chan."

Naruto blushed both at the affectionate nickname and in realization of how clingy he was being. "… Dad? I'm sor-"

Minato cut him off immediately. "Don't apologize, Naruto, it was my intention to get you angry. Besides, I don't feel pain in here, neither does your mother. Here, you should get dressed."

Instantly, out of nowhere, a black shirt appeared in Naruto's hands with the Konoha and spiral emblem. Naruto pulled it over his and felt a pull at his naval followed by a celebratory "Kyah!" from Kushina. Naruto dropped to his knees under the buckling sensation. "My chakra… it's returning."

Kushina rejoined them and took Naruto into another embrace and ran a hand through his hair as they snuggled together. "We have a lot to talk about, Naru-chan."

"We do indeed, son."

Kushina then smiled and said, "How about we change the scenery first. I always wanted to have a family picnic."

As if on command the scenery changed instantly and no longer were they in the dark, grimy sewers. They were now in a beautiful park, sat on a hill under a sakura tree with a picnic set laid out.

"Shall we?" Kushina proposed with a smile.

-ooo-

(Real World: Forest of Death)

"Calm down, it's over!" Hari shouted at the genin with their weapons drawn as Naruto's crimson chakra began to seep back into his body.

Yugito watched Hari lay down the unconscious Naruto and inspect his wounds. She bit her lip knowing that just conspired would undoubtedly lead to questions.

In a corner on her right Shimura Ayame was crying, shrieking with grief over her deceased teammate whilst Madao was glaring at them as he held onto his teammate in a comforting embrace. Team Manako was eyeing them with just as much suspicion as did team Shikūyo. Luckily the Konoha genin had already parted, Yugito did not want to imagine what it would have been like to explain Naruto was the jinchūriki of a monstrous demon fox to the Hidden Leaf genin, much less her own. She was surprised they hadn't asked any questions before they left…

"So are you going to tell us what the fuck that was?" Sawada Tokashiji spoke up; reminding her team Hitaro was present. They were two teams short of all Kumogakure genin teams entered in the exam. "That chakra… it wasn't human."

Yugito looked over her shoulder to her fellow jinchūriki and teammate. Hari gave her a dark look but said nothing more. "It's complicated," was all Yugito could come up with.

"Complicated?" Madao spat venomously. "What's so fucking complicated about that freak's chakra? I always knew he had crazy chakra levels, hell we could sense it over a fucking mile away but that wasn't the same chakra. That was unnatural!"

A harsh comment died in her throat as Madao held on tighter to Ayame. 'He's only deflecting his anger,' Yugito thought with a sigh. She pinched the bridge of her nose, wishing she had some memory altering jutsu to use. "You wouldn't understand."

"I'd like to try, Yugito-san," Hibari of team Shikūyo replied rather testily. "I have no objection against helping you guys out, we are allies after all, but I'd think we're entitled to an explanation. Naruto went toe-to-toe with Orochimaru, even if he did lose. Him being alive in the first place… it's phenomenal, not to mention he killed that giant snake with one blow. And now that shroud of chakra… I would like an explanation if our camaraderie means anything to you."

"It's a Kekkai Genkai," Yugito lied. "Naruto's bloodline limit gives him strange chakra… it's got a mind of its own sometimes and-"

"Buuullshit," Kobayashi Nobori drawled out, standing next to his and Tokashiji's teammate, Miyabi. "Sorry, but you're going to have to do better than that, Nii," he said, smiling through his perpetual slanted eyes making him look more of a fox than Naruto.

"I suggest you watch your tone before I rip out your tongue," Hari threatened aggressively. "Miyabi's teammate or not, if you speak to Yugito like that again, Kobayashi, I will slice and dice your ass."

Nobori rested his hand on the butterfly sword he had strapped to the small of his back. "Oh?" the fox-faced genin taunted. "I would like to see you try, Seido. I've come a long way since academy days, don't think you're still in my league."

"Enough!" Kenji barked loudly at them. He was sitting on a rock in a corner within the cavern as Taiko wrapped gauze around the left side of his face. The loss of his eye had come as a surprise to all of them but it had been overshadowed by the recent events of Orochimaru attacking them. "If you two want to fight, feel free to do so later or so help me I will cut you both down."

"Ke- Kenji!" Taiko exclaimed with shock. Kenji was rarely angry and when he was he usually turned cold but she had never seen her boyfriend turn outright violent, at fellow Kumo shinobi no less.

Hari slid the chikutō in his sheath as Nobori did the same and nodded. "Fine…" he conceded and then turned to Yugito. "Are you sure you want to tell them? You don't have to if you don't want to, Yugito."

The blonde kunoichi shook her head. "No, like Hibari-senpai said, we are comrades and we owe them an explanation," she said firmly. Yugito took and deep breath and looked around the fire lit cavern. "What I am about to tell you is a secret within the walls of Kumogakure. Please keep this quiet and do not speak of this to anyone. If you do, the consequences are you own. Are we clear?"

Some of the genin in the cave nodded and Hari swallowed thickly.

"It's common knowledge Yotsuki Kirabi, our sensei, is the jinchūriki of the Hachibi," Yugito looked around the cave, observing each of the genin's expressions. "Kumo has always had possession of the Hachibi, ever since the First Shinobi World War."

"What does this have to with any of us?" Ayame asked, her voice still shaky from crying over her deceased teammate. "What does it have to do with Naruto?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kenji said, standing up and adjusting the makeshift eye-patch himself, much to Taiko's annoyance, although the kunoichi had been distracted herself as they listened to Yugito. "Naruto is a jinchūriki."

"A what?" Miyabi asked.

"Jinchūriki," Nobunaga repeated in his deep voice. "The container of a bijū, a tailed beast."

Hari eyed him with a suspicious glare. "How do you know this?"

"My uncle Darui is good friends with Kirabi-sama. Apparently he knows you guys too."

"Huh, I was wondering why you looked so much like Darui-sensei-"

"Can we just get on with?" Nobori rudely interrupted. He exchanged death glares with Hari, although he grinned foxily in a taunting manner, and then turned to Nobunaga. "What's a bijū, huh? It sounds stupid."

"I'm not sure," Nobunaga replied in his deep voice. "Yugito-san?"

"I'll answer that," Yugito conceded. "I can't tell you all the facts as it would take too long and some of those facts are S-ranked secrets… However, simply put, a bijū is a beast of purely concentrated chakra, far more potent than any human's. They are sentient beasts with incredible power, one alone could destroy an entire country within days and revamp landscapes in hours. In total, there are nine bijū, all named after the number of tails they hold, hence why Kirabi-sensei's bijū is called the Hachibi," Yugito paused for a moment, allowing time for the information to sink before continuing with a reluctant sigh. "I am the jinchūriki of the Nibi, the Two Tailed Cat."

The genin gasped and exchanged looks of shock amongst themselves. Hari clenched his fists whilst Yugito turned into her impassive mode, shielding herself from emotional turmoil. Silence reigned for a few moments, broken only by Nobori. "Eh, so you're the second weakest? Figures as much, you don't seem very strong."

Yugito didn't dignify the taunting remark with a reply, however Hari was not as patient or forgiving and turned to Nobori's teammate. "Tokashiji if you don't shut that fool up, I'll fucking kill him."

Tokashiji was not as intimidated and merely shrugged uncaringly. "Go for it," the shortest of the genin told him; he then looked at Yugito. "What about Naruto? What bijū is he contain? You said there nine, so if you're the Nibi and Kirabi-sama is the Hachibi, which is Naruto?"

"They're not the bijū, Sawada-san," Kenichi corrected him. "You ought to know, from what I hear you're a good friend of Naruto. Does Naruto look like a huge beast of chakra? Wouldn't think so either. Please think before speaking on such sensitive matters," the Tomaro told him diplomatically in a bout of rare maturity void of his usual humourous disposition.

To his credit Tokashiji flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," he said to Yugito, "I didn't mean it like that. Obviously you're the containers, not the actual beasts. I should have thought better before speaking."

"It's fine," Yugito said dismissively, knowing Tokashiji didn't meant it like that and it was simply his ignorance speaking.

Silence again.

It was silent as all the genin of the other teams were processing the information, attempting to comprehend what this all meant and how it would affect them. Eventually it was the ever-so quiet and elegantly pretty kunoichi of team Shikūyo, Fūjihara, who repeated the question.

"What bijū does Uzumaki-san contain, Nii-san?" she asked with a patient tone that gave much away of her empathic disposition to her fellow kunoichi.

"The Kyūbi no Yokō."

"W- What?" Taiko almost hissed. "This brat- Uzumaki," she amended once Yugito shot her a murderous glare, "He's the strongest out of all of you? He's even stronger than Kirabi-sama?"

It was a fair question and the genin took it unto themselves to pry Yugito, focusing their attention on her as one.

"No," Hari decided to answer for her, imagining how uncomfortable she must be feeling even if she didn't show it. "I haven't known for very long, but Naruto certainly isn't the strongest. The Kyūbi is the strongest out of all nine bijū, but Naruto can't quite control it. He told me himself he could only grow two tails at the moment but he can't keep it up for very long or he'll lose control and starts to destroy everyone and everything… friend and foe."

"Hold on," said Miyabi. "He can't control the beast?"

"Neither can I for very long. It's an extremely difficult thing to do as the beasts are sentient and their chakra has a mind of its own. It took Kirabi-sensei decades before he had full control over the Hachibi and the Hachibi is actually one of the amiable ones, if not the only one. The Nibi does not care and all the Kyūbi wants to do is get lose and kill everyone Naruto cares about."

"Then what if he loses control? Does he unleash the Kyūbi upon Kumo?" asked Hibari.

Kenji shook his head, "I very much doubt that. There must have been a few occasions when Kirabi-sama lost control when he was learning to control the bijū, he must have slipped up at least once and if so, then probably wouldn't be alive if the Hachibi freed itself completely."

"Like I said, it's complicated," Yugito told them.

As they continued to debate amongst themselves, rapidly exchanging questions and theories, Miyabi spoke up and posed the most innocent question so far. "Naruto can grow a tail?"

Hari and Yugito simultaneously face-palmed. This was going to take a while.

-ooo-

(Naruto's Mindscape)

Naruto's eyes were wide with shock. It was hours later, and in those mere hours his entire world had been put upside down and then blown to smithereens. The entire time his parents spoke he was silent, nodding and grunting in understanding but simply too shocked to say anything. He didn't trust his voice to sound anything but high pitched. As they told him stories, they projected them in his mind, making their memories part of his own so he could see what conspired clearly.

Amongst the many, many stories he had heard some were simply astounding.

Uzumaki Kushina was the Kyūbi's jinchūriki before him. His mother was not the first jinchūriki however, but the second. Before his mother, Uzumaki Mito was the Kyūbi's jinchūriki. Uzumaki Mito was the wife of Senju Hashirama the Shodaime Hokage of Konoha.

He had a clan, a very famous clan at that. The Uzumaki's founded the Hidden Whirlpool village, they were related to the Senju's and Uchiha's, and quite possibly, the Hyūga's. They excelled at Fūinjutsu and ninjutsu. They were so strong, they struck fear in others to the point they were ultimately wiped about by combined forces of Iwa and other minor villages. Prior to their destruction, the Shodaime and Nidaime were particularly close to his clan.

As a child, Uzumaki Kushina was kidnapped by Kumo shinobi under the orders of the Sandaime Raikage, Yotsuki Makuden… Kirabi's old man. The jōnin that kidnapped her almost committed unspeakable acts, and they would have succeeded if it wasn't for his father, who caught the trail of red hair Kushina left behind. Kushina and Minato were pretty much inseparable ever since that day.

Most importantly: his parents would have lived if it hadn't been for Uchiha Madara, the co-founder of Konoha. If it hadn't been for Uchiha Madara, Naruto would never have had the Kyūbi sealed in him, his mother and father would have never died and he would have never been hated and mistreated as a child.

"I'll kill him."

It was plain and simple. No emotions: no anger, no rage, no frustration… simply the goal of killing came to Naruto's mind as he said it. He wasn't crying, his fists weren't clenched nor was he gritting his teeth. His eyes were just as blue as they were before, though they were wide open and his pupils were noticeably diluted.

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to rip him apart… I'm going to make him suffer and then I'll kill him."

Minato and Kushina shared knowing looks and the latter then cupped Naruto's face forcefully and made him look into her eyes. "We don't want you to seek revenge, Naruto."

Naruto covered his mother's hands with his own. "But he ruined everything. It wasn't for him, you would be alive, we would still be together and we'd be a family. I might even have little brothers and sisters."

"Naruto," Minato was fighting back the tears as much as Kushina was, "We never wanted any of this for you, and I hope you know that. We just wanted you to…"

"Live…" Kushina finished for him. "Naruto, we wanted for you to have a normal life, you know? We wanted to raise you ourselves, teach how to talk, how to walk, how to mend a broken heart, how to hold a kunai right… Oh, God, I can't believe what we missed out on."

Now Kushina was crying and so was Naruto as Minato embraced the two of them. "Kaa-chan, I didn't know what Kumo did… I'm so sorry, I thought Dad was lying and I'm just so ashamed-"

"Shhh," Kushina held him tightly. "It's okay, Naruto. If that hadn't happened, Minato wouldn't have saved me and perhaps you wouldn't have been born," she giggled at his blush at what she implied and cooed as though he was an infant.

Minato ruffled his hair and said with a chuckle, "You mother was hopelessly in love with me cause of that incident, Naruto, so don't be down, son."

"Is that so, mister 'I would recognize such beautiful hair anywhere', huh?" Kushina prodded her husband hard with her elbow. "I didn't think of it at the time, but that's a creepy thing to say, you know? It sounds like you're a stalker or," a deviant smile graced her features, "One of my many, many admirers."

Minato hung his head, getting a giggle out of Kushina who then awarded him with a passionate kiss. As it went on Naruto felt the urge to vomit and pulled a face that conveyed those thoughts exactly.

"Oh, grow up!" Kushina playfully slapped him on the arm.

"It's not much different from you and that pretty girl on your team, Yugito was it?" Minato added with feigned ignorance. "She could give your mother a run for her- I mean, she's very pretty, you're lucky to have her," Minato quickly amended, catching the dark look Kushina shot him.

Naruto blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's nothing like that, it's just a kiss. I don't think she's really into me. She was just worried cause she thought I was about to die, which I guess I did." Naruto said red in the face.

"Three kisses," Minato counted, "And believe it or not, your mother wasn't into me that much, even after I saved her. It took a while before we got to where we are. It was a bumpy ride, and not the good kind," Naruto blushed a shade of dark red at what his father was playfully implying, "But in the end, it was all worth it," Minato added with a lovingly kiss on Kushina's head.

"Your father was extremely flaky and girly-looking as a child," Kushina elaborated much to Minato's embarrassment. "I actually bullied him for a while in the academy. Can you believe it?"

"Thank you, dear, here I was trying to give him the impression I'm a cool guy and there you go telling him such embarrassing things."

Naruto laughed. "It's okay, dad, you are cool. You're the coolest guy I know, and not just cause you're strong," Naruto told him with a sense of pride and then added with a huge smile, "I'm proud to be your son."

"Thank you, Naruto, I'm proud of you, too," Minato ruffled his hair affectionately. The Yondaime then added with a serious expression, "And just so you know, I allowed her to bully me. She was an extremely cute tomato-girl as a child and I couldn't help but indulge her."

"Tomato-girl?" Naruto repeated.

Kushina slapped a hand over Minato's mouth and smiled nervously. "Oh, just something about my hair… it doesn't matter, I turned out to be a bombshell anyway!" Kushina declared with a fist pump.

Naruto sweat-dropped and merely nodded. 'That was embarrassing to watch… I see where I get my sense of humour from. Dad's kind of shrewd but Kaa-chan is like me, I wonder if she was a tomboy when she was younger.'

"Anything on your mind?" Minato asked, holding his wife in an embrace from behind, resting his head on her shoulder and his arms on her tummy. "Son?"

Naruto rubbed the tears away. "No, it's just that I'm happy we got to do this. I never knew what a family was like until now… you know, the whole family dinner, a mother's love and fatherly advice… it never meant anything to me until now." Naruto took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Dad, Kaa-chan, this means the world to me."

"Naruto we love you more than anything, you know that, right?" Kushina pulled her son into another embrace and then pulled Minato in it too. "I love you two more than anything. The only thing I truly regret is not witnessing your grow up myself, Naru-chan."

"It must have been hard, especially those first six years, son," Minato ruffled his son's hair again and kissed his head.

Naruto shrugged in an embarrassed fashion, he wasn't used to being fussed over. "Well, it was hard learning stuff. Like you know, brushing my teeth, learning how to read and write and for a long time I did hate you for leaving me but I never knew my parents were heroes. I knew never knew you two were such amazing people… why are you crying, Kaa-chan? Is it something I said? I'm sorry-"

"Don't be, Naru-chan," Kushina shook her head. "These are happy tears. I'm so proud of you I know I can move on now."

Naruto flinched. "You're leaving me, so soon?" Naruto held on tighter. "No… please, Kaa-chan, Dad, don't leave now…"

"Don't worry, Naruto, we've got some time. We put in more chakra than we needed. We have a few more hours at the very least," Minato reassured him.

Naruto released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Is there a way I can strengthen your seal, Dad? I'm just beginning but I'm pretty good at seals, maybe I can keep you guys longer."

"Maybe," Minato said easily, "But it wouldn't be right, Naruto. We've passed on in the real world, it's the order of life. I know you don't agree, please don't give me that look, son, but that's just how it is."

Naruto looked downcast and hung his head, nodding. "OK…"

Kushina and Minato exchanged meaningful looks and then nodded simultaneously.

"Naru-chan, we weren't here to teach you when you were younger but we've got a lot to teach you, if you want," Kushina offered with a motherly grin.

Naruto's face lit up. "Really? Then, ye- yeah! I wanna be as strong as you were- no, ever stronger than you were! I wanna show the world what the son of the Yellow Flash and the Chishio no Habanero can do!"

"That's the right attitude, Naruto!" Minato praised encouragingly. "So you want me to teach you the Hiraishin? It'll be a while before you can use it but practice makes perfect."

Kushina kissed her son on the forehead. "The Uzumaki Clan passed down a lot of its secrets to me when I was a child, Naru-chan. You should explore the ruins when you're older, from what I remember there's a hidden labyrinth underground that leads to a vault with most of our Fūinjutsu. You should probably wait till you're a little older, but in the meanwhile I can teach you all about chakra chains."

"I- Dad- Kaa-" clearly overwhelmed Naruto took a deep breath. It took him a moment a moment or two to collect his thoughts before he could answer. Turning to his father, Naruto said with an serious expression: "I don't want to be the second coming of the Yellow Flash, Dad, I want to show the world what I can do, not what you could, but I'd love to learn the jutsu so I can make my own, better version of it." He then added with an embarrassed blush, "I'll pass it on to my kids, it'll be a clan jutsu or something…"

"If anyone could do it, it's you, Naruto," Minato said with a prideful smile, ruffling his son's hair again.

"Thanks, Dad." Then turning to Kushina, Naruto grinned, "I'd love to raid my own clan's tombs, Kaa-chan, but I get the feeling you want to teach me chakra chains more." His parents shared another set of meaningful looks, prompting him to raise an eyebrow. "What? Is it something I said?"

"Yes and no, Naruto," Minato said vaguely.

"Don't confuse him, Minato," Kushina chided her husband with a playful slap on the arm. The Red Hot Habanero then smiled to her son, "We've noticed you're an extremely empathic person, Naru-chan. Like Minato said, we've been with you this entire time and we've seen things from a different perspective than you have."

Naruto looked profoundly confused, "I don't understand, Kaa-chan."

Kushina stroke his cheek. "It's okay, we didn't think you would, Naruto." She laughed softly in a very motherly fashion at his embarrassment. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Sometimes we don't notice things about ourselves others do. What your father and I mean is that you are naturally empathic to people around you, it's why they're drawn to you and you always find yourself in rather interesting situations."

Naruto then replied with a sour expression causing his parents to laugh. "Gee, Kaa-chan, it's not like I go looking for trouble- okay, maybe that's not true, but things don't always happen to me because I want them to."

"It's an interesting power, Naruto," Minato told him, "It's not a bloodline limit by any means, as neither I or your mother had one, but it's a strange trait about your Naruto. People are attracted to you, no matter what they do and eventually they change."

"What? No way, Dad that just sounds weird!"

"Weird like Takeshi Takezo?"

Any retort Naruto came up with died in his throat as the image of a crying Takezo apologized to him.

Kushina chuckled. "Your old man is very smart, Naruto. When he's right, he right."

"But- but-" Naruto closed his mouth to formulate a response and then spoke again. "That's just weird. I don't change people, how would that even work? If I did change people, then wouldn't Yugito have, I don't know, liked me earlier? I've been around her for years and she hated me until a few months ago."

Minato and Kushina laughed at that.

"What's so funny?" Naruto demanded with embarrassment. "It's not funny."

"Yugito may be a strange case, Naruto, but don't forget the people are you that have changed. Aside from the samurai, the Raikage changed as well, did he not? From what I remember, or you actually, he used to be rather aggressive and impatient. Compared to how he is now, it's quite a change."

"Yeah, but he just got used to me pranking him all the time."

Kushina then decided to jump in. "Kirabi must have seen it in you, too, Naru-chan. He wouldn't have taken you along with him just because you're a jinchūriki, he must have known what the ramifications could have been. He's become like a father to you over the years hasn't he? Quite a big change from the quirky man he was all those years ago."

"Or that Emiko girl?" Kushina added. "My she was so pretty, you should look her up if things don't work out with Yugito."

"Kaa-chan!" Naruto knew he sounded extremely whiny but some things he wished his parents couldn't witness.

Still, Naruto had to admit his parents were making a very valid argument here. "I guess… there's something odd about me," he eventually admitted.

"Not odd, special," Kushina corrected. "You are special, Naru-chan, in more ways than you understand right now. But in a few years you will."

Naruto got red in the face again. "I guess-"

"Listen to your parents, Naruto," Minato said with a stern expression he could hold up for approximately five seconds before they all burst out laughing.

"So these things you want to teach me… are you going to teach them to me now?"

Kushina and Minato nodded to each other and then the latter spoke. "You'll find out as we leave, son. For now, let's just enjoy being together."

"Sure, Dad, Kaa-chan," Naruto nodded with a smile.

"I have a few favours to ask you, Naruto," Minato then added.

-ooo-

(Hokage Tower)

"Report!" the Sandaime barked at his ANBU operative. In only a few hours after he had been informed Orochimaru had infiltrated the village, there had been sightings of a giant snake summon, reportedly thirteen genin had been killed by said summon and three operatives had lost their lives in chasing the Sannin.

The boar-masked ANBU kneeled in a crouch and complied with the order. "ANBU squad one encountered Orochimaru of the Sannin in the Forest of Death. They did not see how it began, but apparently Uchiha Sasuke was fighting Orochimaru, lost and was saved by…" the operative trailed off.

"Who?" the Sandaime demanded.

"Former Konoha resident and jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, Uzumaki Naruto and his teammates of Kumo. They fought… admirably, however they were unable even land a hit. Orochimaru was playing with them until Uzumaki unleashed his bijū chakra," the ANBU gave the Hokage opportunity to interrupt and continued a moment later, "Orochimaru summoned several of his familiars but they were swiftly dispatched."

"All by Uzumaki Naruto?"

"No," the ANBU said, "He killed quite a few with his raw strength and ninjutsu, but his teammate used an interesting kenjutsu to take out one of the bigger serpents. Orochimaru quickly knocked them both out and he… seemed to have killed Uzumaki with the very same ninjutsu Uzumaki had used on his familiars. The Shippū Shūren I believe."

"Uzumaki Naruto was killed?" The ANBU shook his head, much to the relief of Hiruzen for emotional reasons and to the Sandaime for the political ramifications. "Then what happened?"

"It appeared Uzumaki Naruto was dead after Orochimaru used a seal on him. However other Kumo genin joined in and saved him and his teammate, at which time one team left and a kunoichi belonging to Uzumaki's team appeared. I believe she, too, is a jinchūriki," receiving a question glance the ANBU explained, "She overpowered Orochimaru in a stalemate with unusual chakra. While this occurred, more and more genin of multiple villages joined together to form a united front against the snake Sannin."

"They did? Interesting…"

"Yes, it was quite unusual. Apparently Orochimaru has made quite some enemies as they all attacked him, believing they could take him with numbers. They kept him on his guard for a few minutes before he summoned his largest summon yet. The snake had the ability to rain acid upon its enemies, forcing the genin to retreat although most died in the attack. I personally saw a Kumo genin die protecting to others… it was quite heroic."

"I see… continue."

"Orochimaru attacked Uchiha Sasuke and, we believe he implanted one of his Cursed Seals although we had no time confirm. Orochimaru's familiar was killed by Uzumaki Naruto not long after it was summoned although we have no knowledge how he was able to use chakra. Orochimaru was enraged by this and attacked Uzumaki Naruto and…," the ANBU looked at the Hokage tentatively.

"And what?"

"Orochimaru ran his blade through Uzumaki at least three times. We did not stop to inspect but last we saw him we was not in good shape."

The Sandaime's demeanour turned cold. "I thought you said Uzumaki was not dead."

"As I said, we did not stop to inspect his wounds," the ANBU replied, willing himself not to flinch under Kage's gaze. "He may still be alive."

"And why is it," the Sandaime's tone turned colder than ice, "That you waited for this all to conspire? Why did you not attack immediately instead of wait for this all to happen? You had orders to kill on sight, I believe Inu made you well aware of this."

The ANBU looked up to the Hokage and said, "Well quite frankly, Hokage-sama, it was our duty to take out Orochimaru not to be protect Uzumaki or any other genin. Even if we jumped in the fight, we would have sacrificed the element of surprise, which we eventually did. Orochimaru is not someone to be trifled with and because we were forced to give up the element of surprise he was able to not only escape but kill three of my operatives in the meanwhile."

"Take off your mask."

"Ho- Hokage-sama?" the ANBU sounded shocked. There were only a few occasions when an Kage asked his ANBU to remove their masks; the boar-masked ANBU felt a shiver of dread run down his spine as he realized what was about to happen.

"Remove. Your. Mask." The Hokage's tone was brazen as a blizzard and his eyes were unrelentingly harsh as he looked down on the ANBU.

"As you wish," the ANBU finally complied, unclasping the mask and revealing his face.

The Sandaime looked down upon the ANBU operative with short spiky auburn hair, pale complexion and brown eyes in his early thirties. This particular operative had served for almost five years as his captain of squad one.

"Squad one, under your command, Uchizoku Najimura, after failing to intervene and save the lives of thirteen aspiring genin as Orochimaru slaughtered them despite having orders to kill on sight, did not only fail in neutralizing your target, but also failed coordinating your efforts along with squad two, as you were ordered, and allowed three ANBU operatives to die under your command?"

"Hokage-sama I-" the operative tried to argue.

"Tell me, Najimura, did the death of your family fourteen years ago affect your judgment when you realized Uzumaki Naruto was involved?"

"No."

Hiruzen sighed at first and his tone grew cold as the Saindaime spoke. "I don't believe you, Najimura." The Sandaime waved his hand and ANBU guards appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Najimura. "Uchizoku Najimura, you are hereby relieved from your duties as a captain and removed altogether from the ANBU program. You will be contacted shortly to determine your transfer to another department, however in the meanwhile you will be detained in order to protect the information you acquired in your years of service." The Sandaime then turned to his guards. "Take him away."

Three ANBU operatives surrounding Uchizoku Najimura nodded to the Hokage and grabbed onto the ex-ANBU captain's arms. The former ANBU did not resist and was dragged along, all the while looking unto the mixture of disappointment and anger on the Hokage's face, whom held the boar mask in his hand.

The Sandaime placed the boar mask on his desk and then pressed the button on his console and called to his secretary. "Suzume, be a dear and fetch me Hatake Kakashi."

"Certainly, Hokage-sama."

-ooo-

(Naruto's Mindscape)

It was hours later in Naruto's mindscape and the imaginary sun was going down, leaving the family under the hilltop sakura tree with an breathtaking scene as the petals fell down. Kushina sat next to Minato with the backs against the tree and Naruto nestled between them. It was the perfect scene of a loving family, snuggled close together as they continued to talk and talk for hours in order to catch up.

Minato had a lot of fatherly advice to give, some of which Kushina contested which in turn resulted in humours banter that rendered Naruto to a laughing and crying mess. Never in his entire life had he been this happy. A part of him wished he had died so he could move on with them, but this had upset his parents who continued to emphasize they wanted him to live, find a woman he loved, have children and die happily of old age. It wasn't the life for most shinobi but Naruto promised them he would at least try to settle down before the age of thirty like his parents had done.

His parents were very interesting people, not simply because of their power but because of their personalities and quirks. Kushina was surprisingly very creative and even suggested a few new pranks he could pull on those that annoyed him. Apparently she had pranked Minato quite a few times when they were younger (Minato called it a 'creative way of expressing the sexual attraction' she was feeling for him, earning a bonk on the head for trying to 'corrupt' their son). Most importantly, Kushina had a few tips for him on women problems, which Naruto took to heart despite Minato's disputing. Kushina had the tendency to shout 'dattebane' at the end of her sentences when she was embarrassed or annoyed, a trait she expressed happily did not pass down to Naruto. Although her fiery temper did as Naruto and Minato both came to feel her wrath when they exchanged knowing glances whenever she added 'dattebane' to her sentences.

Minato was also exceedingly interesting and had told Naruto quite a few stories, a lot on the war but more so on the people he had known in his lifetime including the legendary Toad Sage and Tsunade (whom Kushina referred to as her surrogate mother) and his genin team consisting of Hatake Kakashi, a talented medic kunoichi Rin and a surprisingly cheerful Uchiha Obito. Naruto was mesmerized and listened the entire time, occasionally interrupting with sheer surprise and asking questions. Minato was also very literate and played the shamisen, an instrument he encouraged Naruto to try.

After hours of talking and eating 'food' which Naruto's mind still processed as filling him up, it was time for them to leave. It was time to say goodbye and Naruto couldn't help but burst into tears, as much as he tried not to.

"It's okay, Naru-chan," Kushina said soothingly, running a hand through his hair as she held him in a tight embrace. "We love you, too, Naruto, more than anything in the world. We don't care whether you're protecting Konoha or Kumo, you're our son and we're proud of you. Thank you for letting us be your parents."

Minato embraced both of them lovingly. "We have to go now, Naruto, but we'll happily listen to you when you join us in, we hope, many years from now." Naruto nodded his head, too emotional to speak. "I have one last favour to ask you, Naruto."

Naruto looked up to his father with tearful eyes. What did his old man want him to do now? He had asked a few favours for him already, not that he would complain because he loved being of use to his father. "Sure, Dad."

"Never bottle up your feelings again, that is the last favour I ask of you son. I know this goes against what Kirabi told you, Naruto, but believe in me when I say that eventually the bottle gets full and its going to explode. You've met your dark-self already, Naruto, and one day you will have to face him before you can defeat the Kyūbi and take its power. You need to embrace everything within you, the good and the bad."

Naruto felt ashamed to ask but his curiosity got the better of him, no matter how weak he would sound. "But what if I fail? What if he's stronger than me?"

"He's not stronger than you, Naruto," Kushina answered. "He's just as much you as you are him. I never got along with the Kyūbi like Mito-baachan did, so I never became much of a jinchūriki, nor did I ever confront inner darkness… but you have to, Naruto. The world you live in is dangerous, so much more now that the nations have recovered from the war. You'll need to confront yourself before you can confront those that stand in your way and those that want mean to hurt those you love."

"I- I'm afraid I'll lose," Naruto persisted. "That guy… the other me, he's so much different! He's strong…"

"And you're just as strong as he is and even stronger in many other ways. You know what it is to love, something the other you can't even begin to understand," said Minato reassuringly. "You're our son, I'm convinced you can do it, Naruto. You're going to surpass us after all."

Naruto's heart did a series of back flips as his father ruffled his hair and his mother smiled and nodded.

"We believe in you," Kushina added with another warm hug and kiss on his forehead.

Minato cleared his throat and placed his hands on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, we spent a lot of energy here with you. Initially I intended on using that energy to fix the seal should you ever rip if off completely. Now that we've spent all our energy, it falls on you to master the Kyūbi's power, Naruto. Before we leave, we want to impart you with some of our own knowledge."

"You're going to give me your jutsu?"

Minato shook his head. "No, son, we're going to give you the theoretical knowledge to create your own. You said you wanted to become your own legend and I agree with you fully. I won't teach you the Hiraishin that earned me fame, but what I will give you is the theoretical knowledge behind it and my Rasengan. You should seek out my old sense and your godfather, Jiraiya. Even with his help it'll most likely take years for anything to come from it, but I'm confident you'll become a splendid shinobi, Naruto."

"Dad… I don't know what to say."

"'Thank you' should suffice, Naru-chan," Kushina said helpfully. She then cupped Naruto's face and kissed his cheeks, "Goodbye, Naruto, this is where we part. We'll see you on the other side, hopefully after many, many years." With a final kiss on his forehead, Kushina disappeared.

"Kaa-chan! I love you!" Naruto shouted, reaching out to her transparent form.

"I love you, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. You have made me so proud…"

Naruto dropped to his knees in tears, his brain searing with a sensation Kushina's final kiss had left him with. "Kaa-chan…" Naruto whispered tearfully. He then looked up to Minato who smiled kindly at him. "Dad, are you leaving too?"

Minato nodded, "I'm afraid so, son. Don't worry, we'll be waiting for you on the other side like your mother said. I'll be looking forward to hearing your stories, Naruto," Minato than sat on his knees, drawing Naruto in a crushing embrace. "I love you son. Goodbye." Minato kissed his son the forehead like Kushina had done before him and then he, too became transparent.

"I love you, Dad!"

Minato nodded with tears running down his cheeks. "I love you too, son."

And then there was one.

The beautiful landscape reverted to its usual grimy sewers and Naruto was left with a searing sensation in his mind.

"THERE YOU ARE… WHELP… WHERE DID YOU GO?"

Naruto tried to open his eyes, blinking uncomfortably as he looked into his reflection.

His blue eyes widened.

His eyes were now permanently slit.

"What the fuck-"

"KUKUKU… THE BLASTED YONDAIME COULD NOT REPAIR ALL THE DAMAGE. LOOK BOY…" the Kyūbi's voice boomed with laughter, making the water ripple.

Naruto, not entirely over his shock, looked up to the cage and his heart skipped series of beats.

Three-quarters of the seal tag holding the Kyūbi remained.

"Oh no…"

Author's Notes

The quickest update ever.

Y'all went crazy with the last cliff-hanger so I had to get my butt in gear and write this chapter ASAP. I'd like to thank all of you who review: in less than a day I got 33 views for chapter twenty-two, that is phenomenal by my standards. I'm getting exceedingly close to that dream of a 1000 reviews, so thank you and keep up the support. Helps me get my game on and write chapters quick. That, and they render me to farts-'n-giggles.

Quick question: to this day it absolutely baffles me nobody ever said anything about Naruto's surname. None of the older shinobi who MUST have known about their Hokage's relationship with Uzumaki Kushina who we are lead to believe was 'known for her beauty'. Fair enough, but nobody said shit about it the entire series. Not even Kakashi and he never gave a damn explanation why he kept quiet about Naruto's parentage. Not even Sakura who's incredibly book smart and knowledgeable on history picked up on it. Was there NOTHING in their books about what the spirals meant on the flak jackets worn by jōnin and chūnin? It simply baffles me. Let me know what you think.

Drop me a line or two, encourage me to spin out these bad boys quicker.

…

Jutsu Used:

(Jutsu: Shippū Shūren – Hurricane Drills!) – B rank, offensive, short range. The user summons a large amount of chakra and, if needed, coats his appendages with chakra. Then, the user simply spins wind chakra around his arms. The spinning of wind chakra is only necessary for a few seconds. Afterwards, the wind chakra will continue to swirl around the arms. At this point, the tendrils vibrant at an extreme high frequency and screech loudly. The technique can then easily pulverize trees and shatter boulders. The true potential of this technique has yet to be met. Derived jutsu: Shippū Shūren: Dai Giri (Great Slash).

(Jutsu: Shippū Shūren! Dai Giri – Hurricane Drill! Great Slash!) - B rank, offensive, short to mid range. This jutsu is derived from Naruto's Shippū Shūren and was made up on the spot. Naruto will channel additional chakra into his Shippū Shūren to temporarily increase its length and sharpness tremendously for a swift cut. Parent jutsu: Fūton: Shippū Shūren (Hurricane Drill).

(Jutsu: Fūton! Yagura! – Turret!) – B rank, offensive, mid to long range. A jutsu first theorized by Naruto after learning the Crushing Gravity Palm technique. This jutsu requires the user to take a wide stance and pump chakra into his or her arms and punch the air at blinding speed all the while expelling chakra. Unlike its parent jutsu, the Yagura does not use palm thrust but rather relies on punches. Parent jutsu: Fūton: Akkai Genshuku (Crushing Gravity).