Moon Lit Past Written By: Matdeception
Disclaimer: Disclaimin is hard, foo!
Chapter 1: Living the shattered dream
Arc: Setting the Stage, Year 6
Waking up wasn't an easy task for Uzumaki Naruto. He did not mean the physical act, of drifting between unconsciousness and consciousness. Such a thing happened on it's own, and would continue happening so long as this body of flesh and blood remained as such. No, the waking up he was talking about was one of the soul. His chakra, locked so tight before now, had loosened when he had been flooded with the scattered memories of a being known as Shimura Danzo, and through that he had finally connected with her. Perhaps the event would have happened on it's own, years from now when, if he had chosen to become the heartless butchers known as Shinobi. Yet he was glad it hadn't, because now he remembered...
Kaguya, his wife, his princess, his Beloved.
Uzumaki Naruto didn't know everything about his past, but he remembered enough. And from that small remembrance and his own observations, he realized the ultimate ending Hagoromo and Hamura's betrayal had wrought upon this world. The Cycle of War and Death had begun anew, the humans forgetting the serene Law his beloved had set in place to stop the ceaseless fighting. For that alone he wanted the world to burn, to wither and die in the fires of Judgement. Yet it wasn't for him to decide, he knew, it was for his Beloved when and if she ever awoke from the dark betrayal of their children.
He was content with that.
'Why the hell do I have to do this?' Sarutobi Hiruzen grumped, gently opening the door to a certain someones room in the Hasegawa Orphanage. As expected, the room was tidy and neat, it's sole occupant staring out the window with a curious look on his cherub-like features. The aged Hokage spared a moment to inspect the boy, to see how he had been holding up all these years in his relative isolation.
His hair, it struck Sarutobi as odd. Memories of bright spiky blond hair danced in his mind, of the boy's father, of the child's hair when he had seen him all those years ago shortly after the Kyuubi attack. Yet Naruto's hair wasn't spiky or entirely blond anymore, those spikes drooping almost entirely flat as silvery hair intermingled with blond here and there, giving him an almost regal look despite knowing the boy hadn't ever bothered to so much as comb his hair, much less style it. 'So odd. Not like his fathers, and certainly not like his mothers.'
Thoughts of those two people gripped his heart, part of him furious, another terribly sad, and perhaps a small part absolutely fearful when, or if, that particular cluster fuck would come back and bite them in the ass. Sarutobi sighed, shaking that thought off. "Ah, Uzumaki Naruto?"
The boy didn't move as he spoke, his tone soft, almost musical in quality. "Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage... interesting."
"Oh?" the Old Man was impressed. Not many youngsters really knew about him, always so fascinated with the Fourth Hokage and his heroic achievements. "You know of me?"
"Know of you?" The Silvery-Blond turned slowly, and Sarutobi stood shocked at his eyes. Oceanic Blue, he remembered his eyes that brief time he saw him as a child, yet they were different now. Still blue, but like his hair, interwoven with the lightest hints of silver. "I... no." the boy shook his head, seeming confused, "Sorry, I'm kinda distracted."
The Third Hokage frowned, then shrugged it off. "No matter." he glanced around the sparse room, "I've been told you'll be receiving your own apartment today; since you turned six, the policy is so in order to make room for new arrivals, and get you use to caring for yourself."
"Okay." The Boy shrugged, gathering what little belongings he owned before following after the man.
Sarutobi was quite curious about the young Uzumaki boy. He moved calmly, serenely through the Village and didn't seem at all bothered by the quite contempt filled looks they were receiving. He was either very good at ignoring them, or at such peace nothing could pierce it to bother him. The Old Monkey was willing to put money on the former, the latter would be too preposterous.
"You don't want to be here." Naruto spoke as they entered his assigned apartment complex.
"Oh? What gave you that idea?" The Old Man gently prodded. He wouldn't deny it, he didn't want to be here, wasn't suppose to be his responsibility anymore.
"You breath your irritation with out restraint." The child shrugged. Frankly, Sarutobi was surprised the boy even knew what the word 'Irritation' meant. "Some one else should be doing this, you believe, but they won't." the boy frowned thoughtfully, "Why?"
"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, young man." Sarutobi returned neutrally, even if internally he was a little creeped out. "In either case, we're here, let me show you around and then I'll explain the monthly stipend you'll be receiving, as well as your responsibilities concerning your entry into the Shinobi Academy."
Naruto didn't much care what was bothering the old man, and was only all too happy when he left. His apartment was fine enough, he supposed. The Lights worked, the water ran hot and cold as needed, everything was in working order. Yet there was something else here, something... like a prying eye watching him from the corners. He could hear it faintly, the music that sang to him when chakra was present and free.
He followed the sound, eyes narrowing as he approached the wall next to his bed. Putting his ear against wood, the musical tone of Chakra became louder. 'Why would they scatter chakra behind a wall?' the question burned in his mind. 'Only one way to find out.'
He stepped back, lifted his hand with index finger extended. A sharp blaze of silvery white chakra erupted on his finger tip. 'So... difficult to control.' he frowned in realization, not at all use to not being one hundred percent in control of himself. To be expected, he guessed, this body was not his original, did not know the millions of myriad ways he had trained himself to make his chakra flow just the way he liked it. 'No matter, time is all I need.'
The Uzumaki focused mentally, bringing the burning fire of chakra down bit by bit, forming a razor sharp edge as he concentrated more and more on the Essence of all things. Satisfied it was sharp enough, he dug his finger into the wood and began to cut. Like a knife through butter his chakra point cut an oval shape through the wood, which he removed and carefully set on his bed before peering in.
'Fuinjutsu.' Danzo's voice rumbled in his head as he peered inside. Squiggly lines not unlike the ones on his stomach were pressed into the wall, expanding far beyond what he could actually see through the little portal. 'Chakra Suppression, triggered through the Ox Hand sign, designed to sap Chakra in the area and utilize a mid level Raiton Jutsu to incapacitate those within.' the Shimura's voice explained.
"Not a building to live in." Naruto grimaced, "But a gilded cage, a prison." Well, that wasn't something he was going to stand. Pressing his hand against the seal, he slowly, subtly began to draw the Chakra into himself. As with Danzo, he felt life flow into him, specifically the life of the person who drew and powered the seal to begin with. An older man, with blindingly white spiky hair and a penchant for perversion, and yet underneath it all... a sadness for everything he had done in his life.
Naruto didn't much care for that, frankly he didn't much care to have Danzo's voice in his head either. The seal drained, useless, the Blond haired boy sat down on his bed in a lotus position, allowing his eyes to close as he focused on his chakra, and more importantly, the chakra of Danzo and this Jirayia he had consumed. 'Time to strip the chafe.'
"Well? How'd it go?"
Sarutobi paused, hand on the door to his home. He glanced back, seeing the boy who had once been his pupil leaning against the post of his porch, face blank, posture stiff. He sighed, dropping his hand and turning around, "About as expected. The child did not resist, did not even seem to care he was being moved."
Jirayia grunted, looking away, "Sorry."
"You're damn right you should be sorry!" Sarutobi snapped, feeling a smidgen of anger over the entire debacle, "You trained that worthless fool, and for what? So he can become Hokage and throw away his own son because a few pissants threw a fit about Kyuubi?"
"I..." the White-head grimaced, "... never imagined it would come to this."
Hiruzen sighed, remaining quiet for a time. Perhaps he shouldn't be the one to harass his student about the mistakes they've made, after all he had allowed his own preference and feelings for Orochimaru stand in the way of ending the mad man before he could escape and do God knows what to more innocents. 'Ironic.' he suddenly realized. Like him, Jirayia had a student he could not bring himself to correct, too filled with love to see the damage they were doing. It was rather hypocritical of him, now that he thought about it.
"Hopefully he'll realize his mistake before it's too late." Jirayia looked at him hopefully, as if he was desperately searching for some one to confirm he was making the right choice.
"Orochimaru didn't." Hirzuen shrugged, turning around so he wouldn't see the horrified look on his students face. "And not a day goes by that I don't regret not stopping him."
"Minato isn't the..."
"Isn't what? The same? He sacrificed his own son to make things easier for himself!" Sarutobi spat, "Oh me, oh my, I'm so heart broken with Kushina hovering on deaths door I just can't find it in myself to love the child who by being born was behind all this heartache!" the Third seethed, "The fool forgets he and Kushina both came to me, begged me to remove the seals and let Kushina get pregnant."
Jirayia winced, but said nothing, eyeing the man that was once his sensei sadly.
"No, Minato has already done all he can to wreck this particular situation, and sees no fault in his actions." Sarutobi spat, "In the end, as it has always been, Naruto will bear the burdens forced upon him by people who should know better. And when the time comes..." he shrugged, "... men like me, like you, and like Minato... we'll answer for our crimes in the hottest pits of hell."
Late that night...
Naruto opened his eyes, gazing thoughtfully at his open door balcony. He had done it; Absorbed Danzo and Jirayia's chakra, their knowledge, while removing their pesky personalities and memories. He would not let that ever become one with him, never allow their memories to taint his chakra. To do so would be admitting they existed, would be admitting they were more then random bits of scattered chakra his fool son had created in his stupidity.
The knowledge though... he was some what impressed. The jutsu, the theory, the half formed ideas on how to utilize the Essence of All in new and varied ways. Whatever else he might think about these humans, he at least would recognize their ingenuity in handling Chakra. True, they were ignorant of the truth of it, but even an ignorant person could pick up a burning tree branch after lightning struck and set it on fire.
'Beloved.' the moon light entering his room shifted, like smoke coalescing and twisting on itself until his Ka-hime stood before him in her transparent glory.
Naruto hopped from the bed, joining her in the moonlight. He tried to touch her, saddened, though not surprised, as his fingers passed through her form. "I miss you."
Kaguya giggled, soft and musical as he remembered, 'You... always were so... needy.'
"Never stop missing them." the young boy shrugged, "The trick to staying happily in love."
His Wife smiled, her clear blank eyes staring into his silvery-blue. 'Zetsu.' she whispered within his mind. 'Sochi... his name is Zetsu.'
"Zetsu." Naruto frowned. "Isn't... that what we called the remains of those fully absorbed by the Shinjuu?"
Kaguya shrugged lightly, 'A name... is a name... he is our son.'
"Tch." The Uzumaki clicked his tongue, "Hopefully I can convince him to change his name, really don't want to call him something linked to those mindless dolls." he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly, "If I can't... well... I'll just call him Sochi."
The Bunny Goddess laughed, shaking her head at her Beloveds antics. 'I... reached him. So difficult... but he knows. Uzumaki Naruto... he will come... see his father.'
Naruto smiled brightly at that, "I can't wait."
The Konoha Shinobi Academy was filled with life, with Chakra's of all types humming and igniting with a fervor Naruto had never seen from the people who lived in these collections of buildings called Konoha. Truthfully, he had only gone through with the farce of attending a School for Butchers as a means to expand his observations of the people who had inherited his traitorous sons will, he needed something to amuse him while he worked his Chakra within, molding and constructing his coils just the way he liked it. Now though, now he was glad for it.
Children his physical age lined the class, most brimming with excitement at being there, while one - a young girl with eyes so like his Ka-hime - exuded nothing but nervous anxiety and dread. Naruto didn't pay them that much attention, their scattered chakra's mostly locked within their frames, not yet unleashed like those who belonged to Clans. He wasn't the least bit surprised at the fearful, or tough looks he was receiving from the children. As children are want, they were just mimicking their parents and would continue to do such until they were ready to leave their parents shadows and form opinions of their on.
"Settle down, settle down!" A young man with a pony-tail and a deep scar across the bridge of his nose calmly called the class to order. "Everyone have a seat? Good. Roll call."
Naruto sighed, turning his gaze to the window. He missed Kaguya something fierce, but his Beloved was a mere fragment of her true self. A reflection of the moon with limited chakra that had already over-taxed what little reserves she had by appearing before him as she did. He wouldn't be seeing her again, not for awhile, not until she recovered. Zetsu hadn't shown up yet, which saddened him, but he knew he would eventually.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Yes?" The Silvery-Blonde glanced towards the teacher.
"Say Present when I call you during roll call." The Chuunin returned neutrally, continuing down the list.
'Ah, yes. This is going to be a terribly enlightening experience.' he mentally snorted.
Hatake Kakashi understood many things. Regret, remorse, loss, fear, anxiety, and disappointment were rather big cornerstones. Hard not too when his Sensei, the man who was a father to him in all but blood, treated his actual blood son like an unsightly sin best kept as far away and out of his sight as humanly possible. He had never expected it from Minato, and no matter how the man may say differently, the silver-haired ANBU knew this was one mistake that would eventually bite the Hokage in the ass.
"Any change?" Karasu intoned over the radio, watching the scene from his perch high above and across the building. He'd never be able to see the target from there, everyone knew, but just in case Naruto decided to buck and run they wanted to have that side covered.
"None, target is sitting in class and shows no interest in leaving." Kakashi returned.
"Curious." Tenzo's flat, neutral voice came back, "Observations paint him as impatient, crass, and crude towards everyone."
"First day, he's probably too excited to be bored yet." Neko, a very recent addition to the Corp and a temporary addition to their Squad while Baku, the Squads resident Kenjutsu Master, visited a doctor concerning a cough that had been worsening over the last few months.
"Maybe." Inu returned, relaxing in his perch and ready to waste the day watching his sensei's son begin his shinobi career.
Two days later, and Naruto realized he was severely bored again. The Classes were designed for six year olds, after all. Focusing on simple things such as reading, writing, arithmetic, all things he either already knew or had learned from Danzo or Jirayia's chakra. His Chakra manipulation was going well, he could already feel the flow of his Essence becoming crisper, cleaner, more fluid in his body. Still had a long way to go, though.
He glanced around the room, allowing his eyes to delve into the scattered chakra of his classmates. Uchiha Sasuke had the greatest natural reserves next to him, a strong sensation of Lightning echoing across it with just the tiniest pinch of fire intermingled. 'Two elemental affinities?' Naruto frowned at that, examining closely. 'No, not two. His primary is lightning, he's developing his fire, probably due to the Uchiha Clans disposition to the element.' Interesting he supposed, but hardly note worthy in his opinion.
He glanced to the Hyuuga girl, Hinata he thought her name was. He didn't know her at all, she was far too shy and introverted to him, utterly uninteresting if not for her resemblance to his Beloved. Just for that reason alone he could stare at her all day, if not for the fact the girl possessed a rather irritating sixth sense, always meeping and flushing bright red whenever he looked at her for more then a handful of seconds.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka, their teacher, snapped angrily. "Stop bothering your classmates and focus on the assignment!"
Naruto frowned. "I'm done."
"What?" The man scowled, stomping up the aisle and ripping his paper from his desk. Eyes narrowing as he read over the information written down, he eventually grunted. "So you are. Well, since that's all I had planned for the day, you can leave."
"Oh?" The Silvery-Blond shrugged as he calmly moved to the door. "If I knew I could just leave after finishing I would have left hours ago." he tossed back carelessly as he left the room.
Iruka sighed, rechecking the assignment before returning to his desk. He had been hoping to grill some kind of discipline into the boy, anything to trick him out of his cold impassiveness with everything and everyone he met. It was so incredibly frustrating, the boy was intelligent - his assignment proved that, even the bits of information he was sure wasn't in the book proved he had been doing his reading of and outside the source material - but like most Intelligent people he was withdrawn, introverted, too easily able to see their own flaws and be embarrassed by them. Ah, well, he'd just hope for the best and keep trying.
Namikaze Minato hummed lightly, drumming his fingers along his desk as he listened to the latest report on the newest Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. It was just easier to label him that way, let him ignore that twinge of regret growing in his stomach as the days go by, let him ignore his greatest mistake just for a little bit longer. It's the kind of man he had become, burying himself in his work and responsibilities in order to hide from his failures, to forget as best he could.
"Ah, the young man performs adequately in all subjects." Iruka continued slowly, "His theory is impeccable, his arithmetic detailed and spot on, and what little of history we've gone over he could probably recite to me verbatim." the scarred nosed chuunin sighed, "Frankly, I'd call him a once in a generation genius."
Minato nodded, glancing at the Crow Masked ANBU. "Your report?"
"Subject has unlocked his chakra, how is unknown." Karasu reported neutrally, "He is constantly, even during his time at the academy, training to control his chakra by floating six leaves across his back, two on his chest, and four on his legs." the ANBU paused for a moment, adding, "His Chakra levels are easily Chuunin, and I only foresee this rising as he gets older."
"I see." Minato turned to Kakashi in his Inu mask.
"He spends all of his free time either in his apartment, at the library, or doing light exercises at the Academy training grounds." The Silver haired ANBU sighed, "He has little to no contact with the Civilians, little to no contact with Shinobi outside of the Academy, nor does he seem inclined to change that soon."
"I see. Inoichi?" The Fourth gave the man a tired look.
"As things stand..." Inoichi grimaced, "... and based entirely on these observations, and previous ones conducted, he is... unlikely to develop loyalty to this Village."
Kakashi snorted, "No surprise there, not with the way we've been treating him like a lep..."
"Enough." Minato interjected harshly. "What do you suggest?"
"A friend for starters." Inoichi shrugged, "If he feels no love for the village, having a friend here who he does care for will do much to disuade any future potential disloyalty." he sighed, "Not to mention help him psychologically; Can't even imagine the issues this kid is going to have when it's all said and done."
"I see." Minato leaned over his desk, fingers steepled as he frowned in thought. "Iruka..."
"Don't." The Chuunin shook his head, "I can try, and will if ordered, but the boy shows clear disinterest, if not outright disdain for authority figures." he frowned thoughtfully, "If I had to guess, constant negative reinforcement from adults have made him completely distrusting of us."
"Well what do you suggest?" The Hokage shot back, "None of the children in his class show any interest beyond the negative connotations their parents have taught them, anyone older is immediately ignored and avoided whenever possible. The boy can not remain like this, the village must have his, if not love, then loyalty."
"Uchiha Sasuke." Karasu intoned neutrally.
"Mikoto's boy?" Minato frowned thoughtfully. "Iruka?"
"Erm." the scar-faced Chuunin rubbed his chin, "I... don't think Sasuke and Naru... sorry, that boy have had much in the way of interaction. I guess... maybe a rivalry of sorts? Aside from him and a civilian girl, Sasuke is currently third in rankings, even if it's only based on class work and theory at this point."
"I see." Minato sighed, giving Karasu a nod, "See if you can arrange it then, and keep me updated." he glanced around, "Anything else? Dismissed." he waited for them all to leave, steeling himself for what he knew was coming next.
"Not so surprising, eh?"
"Sensei." the Hokage nodded curtly to the man. "Anything to add?"
"Well." Jirayia scratched his cheek, slumping into the chair opposite Minato, "Aside from the usual blame game, not really."
Minato grunted, glad they weren't about to start that particular argument again. "Any update on Kushina's Chakra Dissonance?"
"I've asked around, gotten secondary opinions and the like, but it still comes back around to the Kyuubi." Jirayia explained slowly, "Tsunade, as you know, believes the rapid expulsion of the Kyuubi during extraction is what created the dissonance. She thinks reintroducing some could, with proper guidance and oversight, counteract the effects and heal the damage."
"How much Kyuubi chakra are we talking about here?"
Jirayia shrugged uncomfortable, "Who knows? A drop, a bucket, a tail, all of it. Who can say exactly?"
"So... in order to heal Kushina I'd have to potentially extract, and sacrifice, that boy?" Minato frowned thoughtfully.
"You mean your son, don't you?" Jirayia snapped back angrily, "And don't tell me you're considering it?"
"I'm thinking about Konoha." the Hokage scowled, "I'm not saying we grab that boy, pin him down, and transfer the Kyuubi right this second. I am saying you should run some tests, see if what you're suggesting is even possible!"
"And if it is?" Jirayia shot back, "If the only way to heal Kushina was to kill the boy?"
"He might survive it." Minato retorted, but he couldn't have been anymore damning if he tried.
Jirayia gritted his teeth, standing up abruptly. "You're my greatest disappointment." he snapped as he vanished in a swirl of leaves.
Alone, left to his thoughts, Minato whispered softly to no one. "I know."
Naruto felt the river of chakra flowing over him, around him, into and out of him. A stretching exercise, so to speak, for the Chakra brimming within his body. Chakra control exercises were helping, of that he had no doubts, but at times we was just frustrated with the amount of time it was taking. Primarily because he did not like this collection of houses that made Konoha - He would never call it a home, he didn't even want to call it a village, as such a term spoke of unity that he knew only existed for the chosen few. Would he have ever called this place home if he hadn't awoken to the truth? He couldn't say, it was but an idle thought he quickly banished as pointless.
"Father." A voice, almost a dry rasp echoed from behind him. Naruto didn't turn to face it, staring blankly ahead into the forest as he contemplated what his senses were telling him. Zetsu wasn't technically his son, he knew that, but rather a creation of Kaguya's near the time of her sealing and comprised entirely of her Yin Chakra. Yet perhaps that was a good thing, even a drop of her chakra would do much to help his conditioning.
"Sochi." he said softly, "I... had never thought I'd get the chance to meet you."
His son did not respond to his words, hesitantly stating, "You've... been under surveillance, couldn't contact you before now."
Naruto frowned, hopping to his feet and turning to face his son. That black oily skin of his, hardened into that of a man with no hair anywhere on his body, framing a pair of oval yellow eyes. The silvery-blond moved up to him, smiling softly, "I'm sorry."
Black Zetsu blinked, tilting his head curiously, "For?"
"For never getting the chance to do this." Naruto wasted no time in hugging him, felt no disquiet with the oily texture of it's skin, or the subtle heat that radiated between them. "For not being there to tell you I loved you, for not being strong enough to survive my traitorous sons betrayal, for not being able to stop them from hurting your mother so."
Black Zetsu grumbled, hesitantly patting the little boy on the back, "Ah... I don't... know what to say."
Naruto pulled back, smiling brightly, "You don't need to say anything. I'm back, and though I couldn't be there for you growing up, I'll never leave you again."
The Plant like man smiled, actually forming lips with razor sharp teeth that anyone else would describe as monstrous, but Naruto would only ever see it as his Son's beautiful smile. "I... would like that. After I free mother..." he stopped smiling suddenly, a worried look coming over his features. "... oh no."
"What's wrong?" Naruto looked around guardedly, stretching his senses but feeling no scattered chakras near by.
"You're Uzumaki Naruto." Zetsu grimaced, "The Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi!"
"I'm the what for the what?" The boy blinked, "What's a Jinchuuriki? Or a Kyuubi?"
Zetsu paced a bit, eyes slanting in thought. "Jinchuuriki is the human term for Living Human Sacrifice, which is almost exclusively used for one of nine individuals who contain the Bijuu. Kyuubi is the Nine-tailed Fox, the strongest of the nine."
"I see." Naruto frowned, "And what, sochi, is a Bijuu?"
The Plant Man blinked, face palming. "Ah, you died long before... I'm sorry, father." he sighed tiredly, "The Sage of the Six Paths, Hagoromo, near the end of his life he split the Shinjuu into nine fragments he named Bijuu, the Tailed Beasts."
"That fool did what?!" Naruto was thunderstruck, pale at the mere thought of it.
Zetsu nodded sadly, "Yes. I've been working for nearly a thousand years to bring the Gedo Mazu, the husk of the Ten Tails from the moon. It took so much work, getting a Rinnegan to manifest in this cruel world, but it finally happened. With that I planned to collect and seal all the pieces of the Shinjuu, of mother, in order to free her."
"I see." Naruto frowned, rubbing his chin, "So what's the problem? I'd give Kyuubi up gladly to help you, Sochi."
Zetsu smiled lightly, before sighing regretfully. "Extraction will kill you. I could delay it, but it will happen eventually."
"Oh?" He didn't particularly want to die, but if it was for his Sochi and Beloved... "Why do Jinchuuriki die if their Bijuu is extracted?"
Zetsu shrugged, "Something to do with their chakra being intertwined, when you extract the Bijuu you extract the containers Chakra."
"You take their soul with the Bijuu." Naruto grunted, not really seeing the problem. "So no Jinchuuriki has ever survived extraction?"
"One but..." Zetsu grimaced, "... she has not so much survived, but rather has not yet died. The previous host for Kyuubi, your shells mother, Uzumaki Kushina."
The Silvery-Blond twitched at that. He had a mother? Okay, so she was probably dying, but to know his mother was still alive made him feel... strange. "So I'm not as much of an orphan as I thought." he chuckled ruefully at that.
"Orphan?" Zetsu blinked, "No, your mother is incapacitated, but your father is still very much alive."
"Alive?" Naruto scowled, "Who is he?"
"The Hokage, Namikaze Minato."
The Jinchuuriki couldn't believe this. All this time, all these years of being glared at and practically spat on and his freaking father was the Fourth Hokage himself! "The betrayal!" he snarled, fists clenched tightly, "To be alive and spit on your son?! To leave him wallowing in misery while you live the cherished life?!"
Zetsu simply stood there, letting him rant and rave and rage about it all. After a handful of minutes Naruto managed to calm down and speak. "Okay Sochi, first you should know you don't have to worry about me dying with an extraction." the child grinned, "The reason these Jinchuuriki die is simply because they do not understand their chakra, do not know how to untangle their souls for their Bijuu. When the time comes, I'll be fine."
"Are you certain?" His Son looked hopeful, but cautious just the same.
"Positive." Naruto grinned, "I'm not leaving you ever again Sochi. We'll see this plan through, we'll bring your mother back no matter what. This I swear to you."
Zetsu smiled again, actually grabbing the boy and hugging him tightly, "Thank you!"
"Heh." The boy couldn't help but feel the love his son held for him blossom in his chest. This was the way it was meant to be, this impure world meant nothing if his Sochi and Beloved weren't there. "Now Sochi, I'm going to be staying in Konoha for awhile, I'm curious about this so called father of mine."
"Just as well." Zetsu pulled back, nodding, "I'm very busy with the plan, I won't be able to stay here for long, nor visit often. I've had several White Zetsu's placed around this Village, what they find they'll report to you." he tilted his head then, "If I may ask, how long do you think you'll stay here?"
"Depends." Naruto grinned, "How long do you think I'll need to teach that traitorous father a harsh lesson in parentage?"
AN: And there we go. A bit more sensical, a bit more back drop as well as further revelation on 'Naruto' and what he has become since awakening The Beloved's personality and memories. He's not quite full blown heartless monster, but he certainly isn't the happy go lucky guy we all know him as.
As for Minato, well, things are going to get worse, a lot worse, a whole hell of a lot worse before there is ever a chance of it getting better. He's kind of a tough cookie, wracked by... well... let's call it a twisted form of survivor's guilt. Of course he is well aware that Kushina, should she ever wake up, is going to turn his ass into sliced ham - He knows, and is willing to accept it - He just can not face his son with out Kushina there.