Chapter Two
Minato and Naruto separated from their hug, both had tears in their eyes and they both didn't know what to say to the other, luckily they were spared from their silence by Sakura entering the tent.
"Naruto I saw you come in and was wondering what you wanted from the spy we cau-" Sakura didn't finish her sentence because she was too shocked from the fact that the prisoner was free and her friend was crying. "You! How did you get free and What did you do to my friend?" growled Sakura although she failed to notice that the prisoner was also crying, clenching her hands into fists, Sakura prepared to strike the enemy.
"Sakura wait!" Although Naruto tried, Sakura just didn't hear, bringing her fist back she struck towards Minato's stomach.
Sakura's punch impacted perfectly where she aimed, only problem was that it wasn't Minato she hit, it was Naruto.
"Naruto! Why did you defend this spy?"
"Because he's my father." Sakura's eyes widened at this new revelation, how was it possible that this spy was Naruto's father when Naruto's parents had been dead for sixteen years.
"What? How?"
"Pain. He brought my dad back from the grave because he wanted to give me some happiness in my life, he probably thought it would be easier in my quest."
"What quest is that?" asked Minato, he hoped his son hadn't got in over his head.
"The quest that both Pervy Sage and Nagato entrusted to me. To bring peace to this world of hatred and that's why I didn't want you beating up that guy before Sakura because if I'm to bring peace, I have to start somewhere, right?" Naruto finished with his signature grin, which caused Minato to smile, his son was trying to do what his teacher had tried to do.
"Your mother would be so proud of you." Both Naruto and Sakura looked to Minato, Sakura sighed, bowing and apologising for attacking Minato she left so that the father and son could have some time to themselves.
"What was my mother like?"
"She was exactly like you from what I hear, apart from your hair you look just like her. On her first day of the academy she exclaimed to the whole class that she would be the first female hokage!" Naruto laughed, he was picturing a cute smaller female version of himself shouting at the whole class.
"Because of her chubbiness when everyone first saw her and because some of the boys thought it would be good to pick on her. They called her Tomato because of her chubbiness and also because she had red hair."
"I bet you showed them, huh dad?"
"Actually I didn't get involved because as much as I respected your mother back then, she scared the hell out of me, but I didn't need to do anything, your mother took care of them herself, which earned her the new nickname The Bloody Habanero."
"She sounds scary, so how did you two get together?"
"She was kidnapped by an enemy village, the whole village was looking for her but couldn't find any clue as to where she was. We were about to give up that's when I noticed on the floor, your mother had been pulling strands of her beautiful hair out and leaving them behind for us to find and follow, so I started following them and eventually I caught up and saved your mother."
"I just realised that everyone in our family has a nickname, I need one too."
"Oh really and what do you want to be called?" Minato smiled, of course his son would be exactly like Kushina and he was glad.
"If you put the Konoha's Yellow Flash and the Bloody Habanero together you get Konoha's Orange Hokage!" Exclaimed Naruto happily causing Minato to laugh.
"Perfect, I love it!"
X.X.X.X.X.
A few days later...
Naruto walked alongside his father around the village, Shizune had called the whole village together and explained to the village that the Fourth Hokage had been revived and that he was treated with respect, at first people had been suspicious that this was a trick but eventually people began to realise that all that Shizune had been saying was true.
Now Minato occasionally received weird looks from passing villagers but otherwise he was left alone, Naruto also received the occasional odd look and Minato sure didn't like that, especially when the drunk from the day he was brought back to life came back to cause more trouble.
"Oh look it's the monster, Lord Fourth why don't you kill it now while you have the chance." Minato moved towards the man. When he was in front of the man he stared him in the eye, he could tell that this time the man was sober and that the man knew exactly what he was saying.
"Say that again and you won't live to see another day."
"But why would you defend him, he killed you and a lot of the villagers."
"I was the one that caused all the problems for him, so if you want to blame anyone, blame me for placing that thing inside him. Naruto is a hero, he is not the nine-tails, he is it's jailer! If it wasn't for Naruto then we wouldn't be here because the nine-tails would be running rampant."
"Minato, just leave it, I'm fine and he can say what he wants I don't care." Naruto was careful to call Minato by his name so as to keep him safe from Minato's enemies that would eventually find out that he was alive again.
"But I do! You should have been treated like a hero, instead you were isolated and made to bear the brunt of people's hatred and I will not tolerate it."
"I told you to leave it, it's my decision in the end and I say leave him alone!" growled Naruto pulling Minato away from the guy. "I'm used to this, please just leave him alone, I know that as my father, you feel the need to protect my feelings but don't forget that for sixteen years this has been what I have to put up with and I have had to fight these battles on my own so let me deal with it, please dad." Naruto was sure to whisper to make that people couldn't hear what he was saying and knew that by calling Minato "dad" it would calm him down.
"Alright Naruto, you win." They turned back to the man, Naruto started to walk away from the man making sure that Minato couldn't see his face, he may have told Minato that he was fine with it but really it still got to him whenever someone called him a monster.
Minato walked just a little behind Naruto, they were headed to the council meeting so that they could decide what to do about the Kage Summit. The council were still deciding whether or not to give Minato his place back as the Hokage or to pass the torch to someone else. Although Minato had yet to tell Naruto the reason for the council meeting, he thought it would be best to keep it a secret until they knew who was the new Hokage.
As they neared the the meeting, Naruto spotted Sakura and Kakashi walking a distance away from them, he looked to Minato to see if he didn't mind going to the meeting by himself, so that he could catch up with his team.
"Go right ahead and tell my student that he did a fine job in teaching you and that I hope he continues to train you to be a fine shinobi." Naruto smiled and walked away from Minato to his friend and teacher, while Minato continued on his way to the meeting.
X.X.X.X.X.
Minato sighed as he sat down the meeting was just about to start, all the elders were here and so were the other important people like the Feudal Lord, also the head of Root ANBU Danzo was there as well, looking smug about something, even though bandages covered a lot of his body, Minato knew that he was still a force that would be difficult to beat should they argue.
"Everyone, we are gathered here today to establish who is going to be the Hokage that will go to the Kage Summit and represent our village and the Land of Fire." explained the female elder
Minato just sighed, he knew this would take a while and what he really wanted to do was spend more time with his son rather than listen to this bunch bat suggestions around until they came up with something that they could all agree on.
"Minato should become Hokage, afterall he has experienced being Hokage before and not to mention that he sealed the nine-tails which he sacrificed his life in doing so." Explained one of the men, Minato kept his eyes on Danzo the entire time as he felt something was off about him.
"That may be true, but isn't it also true that he allowed the Nine-tails to escape in the first place!" Exclaimed Danzo pointing his finger towards Minato as he made the accusation which caused everyone to look at Minato for an explanation, when it seemed like Minato wasn't going to say anything, Danzo continued. "His wife, like the first Hokage's wife was a Jinchuriki and she was giving birth on the day that the Nine-tails attacked and isn't it true, Minato, that the seal significantly weakens during child birth. So what I'm trying to say is that the wife of the great Fourth Hokage was not strong-"
"THAT'S A LIE!" Roared Minato, everyone looked at him in shock, never in his life had he shown that much anger at once. Once he had his breathing under control and knew that he wasn't going to shout he opened his mouth to speak.
"Kushina had the seal under control, she was weak and so was the seal but there was no way the Nine-tails would have escaped."
"Then how do you explain the Nine-tails being released and nearly causing the destruction of our precious village." asked Danzo
"The minute Naruto was born, the elders were knocked unconscious and the masked man from the Akatsuki took my son hostage, I saved my son but at the price of my wife being taken hostage instead. I went to save her but it was already too late the masked man had ripped the Nine-tails from her and was controlling it somehow. I took my wife to see Naruto because she was already...dying and...I wanted her to see our son. She was so happy to see him...she offered to drag the Nine-tails to die with her but I knew that if she did that, it would one day resurrect and cause more destruction so I used the Reaper Death Seal and sealed it into Naruto." By the end Minato had tears in his eyes trying to explain what happened on the day of his son's birth as well as trying not to sound emotional over the death of his wife.
"Oh what a thrilling tale, I say that Minato should be reinstated as Hokage." replied the Feudal Lord
"I would like to state that I would like to spend more time with my son and therefore I would like a less active role in this village but I have a candidate for Hokage if you are willing to hear me out." stated Minato
"Very well, we will listen to what you have to say."
"My student Kakashi Hatake, I think he is more than suited for the role of Hokage and I think almost everyone in this village would agree with me."
"Yes, Kakashi would be a sound candidate for the role but we mustn't forget the teachings that these men have had." retorted Danzo
"And what is that supposed to imply, Danzo?" Minato asked, he could feel something wrong, he knew he had made the right choice in choosing Kakashi, but his mind was having a little doubt that Kakashi would be a suited Hokage.
"Well think about it like this, Kakashi was taught by you and you were taught by Jiraiya and it was Hiruzen Sarutobi who taught Jiraiya and his teachings failed the village especially during the chunin exams when Sound invaded us."
"I know all about what happened back then, even though I wasn't around, the Third made the right choice in doing what he did, he saved the village from not one invasion but two and you think his teachings failed the village. If that's the case, why is the Sand an ally? I'll tell you why because they were deceived into thinking that Orochimaru was their Kazekage and the same can be said for this village because should he have known the Third would have cancelled the chunin exams."
"But he didn't know and that caused devastation throughout the village and because he didn't know he was being deceived it cost Hiruzen his life. I think it would be best that you remain silent for the rest of this meeting Minato as you really don't know what is going on."
"I have read every report and people's accounts since I have been gone, I know exactly what has been happening in the village these past sixteen years and let me ask you one thing Danzo, where were you throughout the Sound and Sand invasion? Why did you allow...no sorry that's the wrong phrase, why did you order Itachi Uchiha to kill his own clan? And what did you do when Pain attacked our village because one thing I know for certain throughout almost all of these you weren't there and my student was in two of the three events risking his life for the village and you don't think he would make a suitable candidate for Hokage."
"There was unfortunate circumstances that prevented me from being at the events as you so put it, I was away from the village the entire chunin exams except for a few times where I was back in the village, as for the Uchiha massacre, there is no record of me ever giving the order for him to execute his clan and as for the Pain attack, I am a village elder and I am supposed to be protected for my own safety and therefore was made to evacuate to safety, but I assure everyone here that I would be more than happy to protect the village if I were to be chosen as Hokage." Minato knew instantly that Danzo was lying about what had happened during some of the events that had taken place but he still couldn't quite get why he was agreeing with what the man had said.
"I will do my best to ensure that this village's safety is secure and make sure that nothing bad ever happens again if I am Hokage."
"I say we vote for either Kakashi Hatake or Danzo, is that agreed?" the female elder asked, when everyone nodded, she continued. "All those for Kakashi raise your hand." Minato slowly raised his hand, there was something wrong with this, why was he having doubts about Kakashi when he knew Kakashi was perfect for the position. Minato was one of few people that raised their hands for Kakashi, but almost all the hands flew into the air when Danzo name was called.
"Then it's agreed, Danzo is Konoha's Sixth Hokage!" exclaimed the Feudal Lord
X.X.X.X.X.
Naruto was with Sakura and Kakashi when Kiba caught up to them, he was riding on his dog Akamaru so that they could catch up to them faster, he needed to tell them what had gone on during the meeting and he didn't know how they would take it.
"Hey guys!" shouted Kiba as he neared the team
"Kiba, what's wrong?"
"Stay calm and listen to me... Lady Tsunade has been relieved of her title as Hokage."
"What?" came Sakura's reply while Naruto just grunted
"It seems a man named Danzo has become the Sixth Hokage. I don't know much but apparently he's been active behind the scenes."
"Danzo! What about the Fourth Hokage? Surely with him back then there is no need for a new Hokage."
"Apparently the Fourth said that he didn't want to be Hokage but nominated Kakashi-sensei, Danzo objected and everyone thought it best that Danzo becomes Hokage."
Naruto felt bad he knew the reason that Minato didn't take the Hokage title back was because Minato wanted to spend more time with him, meanwhile Kakashi was looking from Naruto to Sakura, he had a bad feeling that they would try something that would anger Danzo and have them thrown in jail and he especially didn't want that happening to Naruto as this would allow Danzo to keep him confined for fear that someone would come after the nine-tails.
"There's more as well. The Sixth Hokage has declared Sasuke as a rogue ninja and given the Ok for him to be hunted down." Kakashi seeing this coming didn't react at all but Naruto and Sakura both looked shocked at this new revelation.
"What the hell's going on?" exclaimed Naruto
"Even I don't understand it!" replied Kiba
"They couldn't wait until Tsunade recovered, so in a way it makes sense because Sasuke is a rogue ninja." stated Kakashi bluntly, "Normally he would have been eliminated long ago but it's only because of Tsunade that he's been able to live." This didn't matter to Naruto and Sakura, they had been Sasuke's team-mate and his friend, so they weren't going to let anything happen to him, rogue ninja or not.
"I'm going to see Danzo." said Sakura as she started to walk off Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking away.
"Sakura, Wait! Storming into his office will solve nothing."
"But Lady Tsunade hasn't even recovered yet! How could they do this to her? And what about Sasuke? You can't expect me to keep quiet."
"I'm going with you." said Naruto walking away
"You two need to calm down. You need to stay calm or things will end badly."
"How can I stay calm? I won't let them hurt Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed while throwing his hand forward, Kakashi grabbed his wrist stopping him from doing anything.
"I said wait! This is Danzo's plan, he knows you will react this way, so you'll go see him and then what?"
"I'm not going to do anything violent if that's what you're thinking, I just want to talk to him and ask him to change his mind about Sasuke." explained Naruto
"Somehow, I don't think he'll listen to whatever you have to say. Danzo was appointed Hokage by the Feudal Lord meaning that while he hasn't won the vote of confidence from the jonin, he is still Hokage and if you make the slightest wrong move, you'll be thrown into jail."
"Fine with me! I'm still going!"
"Me too!"
Kiba looked shocked at the dedication that Naruto and Sakura had for their former team-mate. He wanted to say something to them for being so reckless and was also impressed at what they were doing for their team-mate.
"Naruto, you have the nine-tails sealed inside you."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Danzo wants nothing more than to confine you to the village. Do you want to be thrown in jail because that's exactly what he wants. And with you in jail, you won't be able to look for Sasuke so you shouldn't make a scene right now."
"Fine, I won't go near him." Naruto said allowing Kakashi to relax a small portion, he let go of Naruto's wrist and watched as Naruto and Sakura walked off.
X.X.X.X.X.
Naruto was frustrated, he had promised Kakashi that he wouldn't go see Danzo or at least he wouldn't unless he really needed to. Naruto turned to see Sakura was thinking deeply about this as well, when suddenly she snapped out of it.
"Lets go see Sai." Sakura said all of a sudden
"Why?"
"Don't you remember Sai's part of Root ANBU!"
"He can tell us about this Danzo person!" exclaimed Naruto catching on to what Sakura was thinking
"Exactly!" Without another word they set off to find Sai, they figured that he would be around where they were anyway but it would still be tricky to find him, especially if he didn't want to be found.
X.X.X.X.X.
Sai was walking near the river in the village, he had been ordered to keep an eye on Naruto by Danzo and he knew he couldn't disobey the order, especially as Danzo was Hokage now.
"Sai!" Sai looked up from where he was walking to see both Naruto and Sakura running towards him. "We were looking for you."
"We need to talk to you." said Naruto they had stopped a little in front of him, which had made him stop as well.
"What is it?"
"We need you to tell us what you know about Danzo." Sai remained silent after what Sakura had said until Naruto called his name.
"It's impossible for me to tell you anything."
"Why?" asked Naruto
"Don't tell me you're working for him again!"
"No it's not like that." He knew he was lying a little when he said that but Sai knew that telling them the truth would infuriate them more. "It's just possible for me to say a word about Lord Danzo. Due to this." with that he opened his mouth so that Sakura and Naruto could see the seal on his tongue. Naruto looked shocked at the seal.
"What the hell is that thing?"
"Is it a Curse Mark?"
"Yes, it's a Curse Mark place by Lord Danzo, should I start to talk about Lord Danzo my body will become numb and I won't be able to move or speak. It's the same for all members in Root ANBU." explained Sai
"He a cautious man." Stated Sakura
"Its because Lord Danzo and Root are used for espionage and they've done a lot of dirty work from behind the scenes built its all in order to protect the village and that cannot be revealed, so even if one of us is captured, we can't utter a single word."
"But what a thing to do...to put a Curse Mark on one's own subordinates? I can't accept that! "
"It's what has protected the Hidden Leaf Village from the bottom up. The method may be unscrupulous, but the love for the village is no different from yours."
"Then why did he overturn Lady Tsunade's decision about Sasuke? Isn't he planning to send Tracking Ninja after Sasuke?"
"Is that so? I haven't heard anything regarding Sasuke-" Sai never got to complete his sentence as the sound unsheathing brought everyone's attention to the two newcomers that they hadn't sensed coming.
"You can tell us about this Sasuke fellow!" It was a command and everyone knew it. "You seem to be his friends."
Naruto quickly moved making a grab for Sai's sword, he made a move against the female ninja, who moved back to allow the other ninja from her village to blow the blow but Naruto blocked it with his own move and created a shadow clone as well. The female ninja made to initiate a killing blow, but her team-mate stopped her.
"Don't kill him."
"I know that." with that she turned her blade to the flat side meaning that if it hit him it would hurt but not kill, however the shadow clone blocked her attack as well. Sakura and Sai decided it was their turn to join the fight, but the male ninja just merely kicked her away. Which caused Naruto to abandon his fight to catch Sakura who had gone skidding across the floor, it also allowed the female ninja to take out Naruto's shadow clone with an elbow to the neck.
"Are you okay, Sakura?"
"Judging from their headbands, I'd say they're from the Hidden Cloud Village." Sai moved back to where his comrades were, as the Cloud ninja's moved back as well.
"What the hell do you guys want."
"You were talking about Sasuke, tell us what you were saying!"
"It has nothing to do with a Cloud ninja."
"It's got everything to do with us! Sasuke Uchiha of the Hidden Leaf attacked our village!" Naruto and Sakura were shocked when they heard this but they could tell that there was more to come.
"Your rogue ninja abducted our master! And we don't even know if our master is alive or dead!"
"That's a lie!" Sakura said but in her heart she knew that what they were saying was true, she just didn't want to believe that Sasuke would do something like that. "Why would Sasuke do something like that?"
"Like we know what the motives of the Akatsuki are!" This struck with Naruto more than the rest as he knew what the Akatsuki were after but this was the first he had heard of Sasuke and the Akatsuki together.
"The Akatsuki! What do you mean?"
"Don't kid around! Sasuke is a member of the Akatsuki!" This development shocked Naruto and Sakura, why would Sasuke join the Akatsuki.
"You let your rogue ninja roam free so the Raikage ordered us to come here and now we've gotten your hokage's permission to get rid of him...we'll get our revenge!"
"The Uchiha is ours." This made Naruto worried, if these ninja continued like this they would end up exactly like Sasuke, revenge would be only thing that drove them and the hatred they felt would consume them until nothing of the former selves would remain.
The female Cloud ninja raised her sword some more until it was level with her hip. "You will tell us everything you know about Sasuke Uchiha. That means his ninjutsu style, his powers and any data you have on the Akatsuki and Sasuke's partners as well as their past actions."
"No Way! That's a lie! Sasuke would never join the Akatsuki!"
"Are you sure about this?" asked Naruto
"Yes, the Uchiha crest was verified and his facial composite matched the list."
Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing, the man she had loved from a young age was the enemy, this new information made her feel distraught, tears filled her eyes as she started to cry.
"Why are you crying? We're the ones who want to cry! Because your tears won't bring back Lord Killer Bee or Lady Yugito. So if you have time to cry start talking about Sasuke."
Sai decided that he should try and help his friends so he addressed the two cloud ninja. "Wait, you two, when was the order to terminate Sasuke given? All the information relating to him should have already been passed on to you, so it's not necessary to press these two further."
"That's true, our Captain is getting it now, we were just trying to get any other info that was available."
"You can't expect us to keep still, we don't even know how our master is doing! You're not involved in this, so you wouldn't know how we feel!"
"Is your master a jinchuriki?"
"How did you know?"
"I'm a jinchuriki too, the Akatsuki are after the jinchuriki. So I am involved. The Akatsuki always capture the jinchuriki alive so that means that your master may not be dead." apparently the Cloud ninja knew nothing of this as they were surprised when they heard this.
"Are you serious?"
"Never mind Sasuke, you need to save your master first."
"Are you really sure about this? Really, really sure?" the male asked
"Didn't I tell you, our master wouldn't die so easily!"
"I'll help you rescue your master and I'll give you whatever information we have on the Akatsuki."
"Blondie, you're quick to understand, come with us and tell us about Sasuke."
Sakura who had stopped crying looked to Naruto, he didn't look at her but she could see the look of determination on his face.
"Leave it to me, Sakura."
"What's your name?" asked the female ninja looking directly at Naruto
"Naruto Uzumaki."
With that they set off for a secluded place to talk, while Sakura and Sai went their different ways, Sakura to find Minato and Sai went to carry out his duty of keeping an eye on Naruto.
X.X.X.X.X.
Minato had been looking all over for Naruto and he still couldn't find him, Kakashi had told him what they were planning to do and made sure to stay near Danzo at all times, while making sure to look like he was inconspicuous at the same time.
Minato was just about to give up when Sakura came running towards him, she looked like she had been in a fight and also it looked like she had been crying.
"Minato sir, Cloud ninja have come to the village."
"Yes, I know they want information on Sasuke Uchiha."
"Yeah, but two of them are talking with Naruto and I don't think it's going to end well, please go find them, they were heading towards the small cabin by the river the last time I checked." Minato didn't need to be told twice as soon as Sakura had said were abouts they were headed, he ran.
It wasn't long before he reached the cabin and what he saw made his heart sink as well as swell with anger, Sai, Naruto's team-mate was holding a beaten looking Naruto with the two Cloud ninja looking angry, they would have continued but their Captain called them away.
When they were gone Minato was instantly at Naruto's side, but it looked like from all the information and the beating, Naruto's body just couldn't take the information and he collapsed into Minato's arms.
X.X.X.X.X.
Elsewhere...
A cloaked, hooded figure was waiting for someone who said they had some good information that he might like to hear. Hearing a twig snap, the figure turned. The man from the Hidden Leaf Village if he recalled, the one of few that still thought of Naruto as a monster.
"What is it, you wish to tell me?" The figure spoke, there was a smooth tone as well as something else in the voice but the villager didn't care, all he wanted was Naruto gone as well as the Fourth.
"The Fourth Hokage has been resurrected and is located within the Hidden Leaf Village."
"Very well, is that all or is there something else you wish to share?"
"Yes, The Fourth Hokage is the father to the monster of our village, "The hero who saved the village." he said with as much spite as he could muster.
"Do you mean to tell me that Naruto Uzumaki's father is the Fourth Hokage?"
"Yes sir, they thought I couldn't hear, but I did and the monster called the Fourth father and now that I think about it they look the same as well."
"You have done well, I will reward you handsomely for this." The figure said, secretly he pulled a small knife from the sleeve of his robe, getting closer to the villager who looked at him with glee, he plunged the knife into the heart of the villager. "I said I would reward you and I have, I have rewarded you with a quick death."
After making sure that no one would find the villager he quickly moved away smirking of all the plans he had now to make Naruto pay and now he knew the best way to do it, the plan the hooded figure was thinking was simple, he needed to capture Minato Namikaze.
X.X.X.X.X.
Hey guys, sorry it's taken so long to update but I've decided that I'm going to write each chapter one at a time, so my next chapter will probably be for Blood Sweeter than Honey.
I also want to say sorry that a lot of this chapter is from the manga/anime and therefore there wasn't a lot of what I write in there but I'm hoping the next chapter I write will.
Anyway tell me what you think. Oh and I also wanted to say thank you to the people who have PM'd me, I have taken what you said into consideration.