DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or anything related to the franchise.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter was rather tedious to write; I wanted to postpone it or skipped altogether. However, it provides some of the necessary details for the later chapters of the story and to provide some kind character development. I wanted to get this scene out of the way so I could focus more on the action, though I'm sure there's still another chapter that's needed to lay the groundwork for all these to tie up.
Readers more familiar with the canon plot would probably spot the details that diverged from it. You can expect a smarter and more powerful Naruto, but not unreasonably so. And in case you're wondering, the story is all but finished in general terms; it's the details that needs to be fleshed out.
Lastly, for some reason the the FFN document editor somehow mixed up a few paragraphs in the last chapter. I've corrected it along with the typographical and grammatical errors, the obvious ones anyway.
PREVIOUSLY...
Naruto breathed deeply and squared his shoulders. You can do this, he said to himself. He slammed his palm into the center of the seal and shouted, "Kai!"
Instantly the seal glowed even stronger as Naruto crouched there frozen like a statue. His eyes were glazed, seemingly blank as a Hyuuga's, and oblivious to everything.
He did not see the apparition of Uzumaki Tomohisa starting to fade. "Good luck, Naruto-kun. The future of our clan now rests in your hands. One day you will bring back its glory. I know it." With a final smile, Tomo disappeared.
CHAPTER 2
"Urgh, not again." Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes once more with the godmother of all headaches throbbing in his head. The sensation he just experienced— as though someone had inserted a pair of hands inside his head, kneaded his brain into mush before puffing it back into shape, then prick every single neuron in there with needles repeatedly, and giving him one last smack to the skull —was not something he would forget anytime soon, if ever. He surmised that it must have been some sort of a feedback loop resulting from the integration of Tomo's memory into his own…
Wait. Surmised? Feedback loop? Where in the world did he came across such "big" words? The young boy was sure he's never heard of them before, hell, he swore he had not even knew such words existed just that morning! But it's all inside his head, and it came on their own volition as though he had known them all his life. Does that mean he's no longer Naruto but someone else? Was he possessed or something? But he still had all his memory of all the things he's done and done to him, much as he wanted to just forget all about them. Something definitely feels different with him, its like waking up one day discovering that the sun rises from the east and sets in the west, a incontrovertible fact that while obvious is simply taken for granted and never commented on. It really didn't make any sense to him.
Naruto tried to ignore the splitting headache and took stock of his surroundings, wondering where he is now and how weird the day was turning out to be. Granted, weird things do happen fairly often to him but today just took the cake. He was standing in the middle of another room, a large sitting room of a traditional Japanese mansion. It was grand in scale and well lit, the floors gleamed and the walls untouched by dirt. But it was austere in terms of furnishings with hardly a single furniture to be seen. Located on the furthest wall was a raised platform with bamboo screens, similar to that of which high-ranking aristocrats sat behind as they hold court. And unless he was mistaken, he just saw a shadow or shadows moving behind it.
"What is this place?" he thought aloud and almost immediately an answer came to him from the back of his head: Mindscape. A tangible representation of his subconscious. But before he could ponder further on it the bamboo screens were drawn back and revealed two people standing there. One he recognized immediately but the other was unknown to him.
"Hello there, son." Naruto couldn't helped but be wide-eyed as the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, the hero of of Konoha, the one he had always looked up to, was standing there in front of him with a smile on his face. He'd recognized that face anywhere! And he just called him "son." He was attired in the the standard Konoha jounin garb over which he wore his ubiquitous white trench coat. Crowning his head was a mane of golden hair, wild and spiky, even more so than in the few photographs Naruto had seen of the man.
But if that totally surprised him, the other person in the room who turned out to be a woman fairly flew into him and had him in a bone-crushing hug, which totally fried his thought processes. After a few moments, she kneeled in front of him and held him at arm's length as though examining every inch of him. She was of average height, slender body, and wore a plain green dress that reached well below her knees under which was a white blouse with high standing collars. But the most striking feature of the woman, and something that had drawn Naruto's attention at once, was her striking fiery red hair. It was was very long, reaching down below her hips, and styled in such a way that strands framed both sides of her face and a black clip parts her hair to the left.
"I guess introductions are in order," quipped the Yondaime, as he too took a crouching position by Naruto's side.
"You think?" was the sarcastic reply from the woman who never tore her gazed away from Naruto. "All this time he never knew who his parents were. If I get my hands on that old coot of a Hokage, I'll show him pain the likes of which would make him call for his mommy!"
Minato laughed rather nervously as he knew his wife's threats were very real. He looked into Naruto's eyes with a kind smile. "I'm your father, Naruto, and this is my wife Kushina, your mother." Said parents searched Naruto's face for his reaction.
As for their son, he just stood there rooted on the spot, gob-smacked as he listened to one revelation after another. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly but no sound came out. All his life he wanted to have parents, to have a family in which he belonged, protected and loved. He knew he was an orphaned yet he desired above all to at least know his parents, who they were, what they did, but whenever he asked he was invariably told nothing. Even the old man Hokage, for all his kindness and grandfatherly vibes, would turn evasive and in turn offer kind but meaningless platitudes that simply pushed his curiosity aside but never truly quited them. An now here are two people, right in front of him, claiming to be his parents. And not just anyone, but the Yondaime himself and this beautiful lady. Had this been told to him just the day before he would have been either cartwheeling across the whole village shouting at the top of his lungs or would have been crying his heart out with snot probably trailing him wherever he went. But it seems the changes in him had a bigger impact than he first realized.
"Hey, dad… mom…" The words came surprisingly naturally, even if it was bit strange on his lips. He was once again in Kushina's embrace as the words left him.
"My son, my dearest son." The red-headed woman couldn't help herself as she ran her fingers through Naruto's golden locks, staring at his face with a hungry look.
"I guess Sarutobi, the Sandaime that is, still hasn't told you yet," he let out a sigh as he scratched the back of his head. "Though I could understand part of the reason for it. As I have made a lot of enemies during my lifetime, especially Iwagakure shinobi, it was deemed a precautionary measure to keep my personal relations strictly confidential. Had it been made public that you were my son, they would put a bounty on your head and your life would be in constant danger."
With a speed and strength that surprised all them Naruto boinked his father on the head which sent Minato sprawling on his ass. "Why did you seal the Kyuubi into me, Dad?" The question was uttered devoid of any emotion. And while he seemed to have changed in just a few hours, he was still a child, deeply scarred by his experiences in a cruel and unforgiving world. This in turn open the flood gates of his emotions, all the pain, anguish, and loneliness of the past nine years trying to claw their way to the surface. "WHY? Why did you seal that monster inside me? In your own son! You don't know how tough having to live with that fact, which I wasn't even made aware of!" He paused his ranting as his indignation lost some of its steam then he grew quite for a moment. And awkward silence descended on the three but Naruto finally broke it.
"I'm happy I finally got to meet you, but I'm also angry. I don't know exactly what to feel." He added in a quite voice, and both of his parents saw the vulnerability in the sad blue eyes which almost broke their hearts.
Minato glanced at Kushina who had tears running down her cheeks and her eyes dimmed in shame and helplessness. His own face took a resolute look and nodded fractionally to her, as though confirming an unspoken query.
"I've caused you a lot of pain, Naruto," he began, a bit hesitantly. "You are my son and yet I've given you nothing but grief, some father I turned out to be. All I can ever do is apologize to you. I'm truly sorry. I understand you're angry, but please spare your mother. All of this was my fault—"
"No!" interrupted Kushina. She wiped her eyes on her sleeves and cleared her throat. "No, it wasn't your fault, Minato. If...if only I had been stronger none of this would have happened. The Kyuubi would not have been able to break from the seal, and, and—"
She was working up into a state and gesticulating wildly. Having somehow regained control of his emotions, Naruto decided to end their pity party. "Mom! Calm down will you?"
Kushina smiled sheepishly but before she could say anything Minato spoke with a sense of urgency. "Please listen to me, son, I don't have much time. I'm very happy we have the chance to meet like this but I'm not even supposed to be here at all, or at least not yet. We—I never expected to have to tell you not until you're a bit older. But it seems the hand of fate threw that option out of the window. The seal must have been altered somehow but it remains stable so no worries."
"What do you mean?" asked Naruto, confusion etched on his face.
"Let your father speak first, Naruto," Kushina admonished his son gently while squeezing his hand. Her other hand went to hold her husband's.
"I sealed the Kyuubi inside you knowing that one day you will learn to use its chakra. And inevitably you will have need of it because simply you're my son." Minato paused, and pensive looked cross his face. "I had a good reason for doing what I did. The very same day when the Kyuubi first attacked the village, I learned something extremely important. Someone was hiding in the shadows, controlling the Kyuubi's every move.
"You mom will tell you all the details but suffice it say that there was a shinobi of unfathomable power and skill. I truly doubt any one could ever face him without a very unique set of abilities. And it is very likely...no, I'm very certain he will attack again unless he is stopped.
"Have you any idea who it was?" asked Naruto. Kushina meanwhile kept quite and thoughtful, trying to recall everything that transpired that fateful day.
"It was a man who wore an orange mask and a black cloak with red clouds on them. On that night…he saw through every move I tried to make. I don't know who he is exactly, but he is no ordinary man that I could positively recognize."
Kushina finally broke her silence and looked at Minato. "The question is why would he want to destroy Konoha? An act revenge? Revenge for what?"
"You know as well as I do," Minato answered quietly "that for as long the current shinobi system remains in place, there will likely be no true peace, lasting peace in out world. The desire to protect those we hold dear— be they persons, objects, even ideals —breeds wars and conflicts. For as long as love exists so must hate; it is simply the nature of the universe. Hatred leads to pain and suffering, and the greater one's hatred the greater the pain we inflict to others and to ourselves. A true shinobi must be in constant battle with hate for it is very destructive and does not distinguish friend from foe. You must remember that, Naruto, if you intend to follow the shinobi path."
Naruto looked in awe at his father while his mother gave them a watery smile. Then without warning Minato began to faintly glow, a soft yellow light outlining his body. "Well, I guess my time is up. Listen, Naruto, I intended myself to become a fail-safe mechanism should the Kyuubi try to force his way out of the seal or somehow make you open it for him; but as I am here my chakra that I sealed in you is already spent, it wasn't much to begin with. Do not try to open the seal for any reason until you are trained and completely ready to face him, the Kyuubi is not something to be trifle with, do you understand me?" He looked into's Naruto's eyes who swallowed thickly but nodded his understanding. "Another thing, I haven't been much of a father to you but I hope I could help you become what you desire in the future. At the Hokage mountain, deep inside my face is a cavern accessible only through a sealed door. To enter it requires my blood. You'll find some of my stuff stashed there; I hope it can be of some use to you."
He hugged his wife and son close into his arms. "I'm so proud of you both." He kissed Kushina on her forehead and spoke softly. "I'll leave all the stuff I've missed to you. Don't leave out any thing. Naruto may be young but he is our son, and he needs to be prepared. I know you've noticed the changes he went through since earlier it would be best to explain it to him too. I love you, Kushina, and perhaps someday we will be together again, as family."
"Minato..." Kushina couldn't help but sob. "And I love you."
The boy who was a carbon copy of his father stood there with a dejected look but did not cry. Now knowing that he was the son of no less than the Yondaime Hokage, it wouldn't do to be a cry baby especially in front of the said man. Instead he gave him his patented pose with a thumbs up. "I'll make you proud, dad. I'll be even more famous than you and all the other Hokage, dattebayo!"
That got Kushina out of her funk and she stood up giggling. Minato smiled and ruffled his son's hair, something he had always wanted to do when he first learned that they were going to be parents. "I know you can do it. I maybe a lousy father but I've always believed in you. Goodbye, Kushina, Naruto." And with a final soft glow Minato vanished.
"Thanks...dad." A companionable silence descended between mother and son with each wrap around their own thoughts.
Naruto was startled when Kushina held his face between the palms of her hand, staring at him, drinking in his features. "You really look like Minato," she said softly almost to herself.
"Uhm...mom, why are you still here? Not that I'm complaining of course," he added hastily while feeling the tears forming at the corner of his eyes at the sight giving him a tender look as a mother would give. She sat down the gleaming floor of the mindscape room and pulled Naruto down beside her who was staring at her with rapt attention.
Kushina tilted her head, a tender smile still on her face. "Your father included my own chakra in the seal matrix. It was intended for the time when you would learn to control the Kyuubi. We wanted to help you accomplish that feat in whatever way we could but there are also things about the Kyuubi that only Minato and I was aware of and that you need to learn."
"Hey, are you listening?" She stopped when she noticed that her son was looking at her with glazed eyes.
"Heh," a chuckling Naruto just rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm just happy to have finally met you, to know what you look like. You're very beautiful and you've got really pretty hair!"
Kushina blushed at the child-like honesty of his son and smiled in return. "Thank you, you're only the second person to ever compliment my hair."
"What? Well I'm sure Dad was the first right?"
"Yes, he was."
Frowning a bit he finally asked, "So how did you and Dad meet?"
"Uhm, it's a bit embarrassing, -ttebane." That last part slipped from Kushina's lips without her meaning to. She quickly put her hand over her mouth and looked horrified as though she uttered a disgusting swear word. There was a moment of silence as Naruto's brain tried to process what he had just heard.
Then he was lying on his back laughing himself off. He went on for few minutes until he felt his mother's eyes boring a hole into his head. Somewhat chastised, he righted himself and scratched his head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. I never thought we would share something like a verbal tic."
His mother smiled once more. "Yes. You look like your father, but in many ways your mannerisms, well, you take after me. I have hoped that was something I didn't pass down on to you but I guess we don't have much choice in the matter.
"To start with I am Uzumaki Kushina—"
"Ah!" A look of dawning comprehension and wonder crossed Naruto's face. "You're the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi too, the one before me. Tomo-san said so!"
Kushina nodded. "I was the Nine-Tails' second jinchuriki. I need not ask you where you learned that fact as I saw everything that transpired earlier. I met Tomohisa-shishou when I first came here in Konoha many years ago. I was just about your age, and he was by then a very old man, older than even Mito-sama. When the time came for Mito-sama to die, it was he who helped facilitate the transfer of the Kyuubi into me. I think it was the strain the sealing placed on him that ended his own life. As I recall he died a few months later. Then I was the last Uzumaki in Konoha, until you were born."
Flashes of the memories, like pictures in an unorganized slide show, came into the fore of Naruto's mind. Her mother's words stirred recollections of years long gone that weren't his but is not part of him. He could identify a young red-head who looked like her mother in some of them, no doubt memories of Tomo's interaction with her. Kushina continued with her tale.
"We've never really talked. He had a reputation of being a recluse and nobody seems to have found out where he was staying. Tomo-shishou did occasionally taught me, being an Uzumaki, some of our clan techniques. Much of it in turn I taught to your father. So you now have some of his memories?"
"Yeah, but I'm still getting use to it though. It's really confusing." Naruto vigorously shook his head to emphasize his point.
"I for one am not surprise of the fact Tomo-shishou achieved a feat like this. He truly was gifted in the Uzumaki arts. But I'm sure you'll be able to understand it better than me. Let's continue with the Kyuubi and what it means to you, shall we?"
"OK."
Kushina then told her story of how she came to be in Konoha. How she lived most of her youth being caught-up in war, making her seek for a daily "peace". At a young age she was sent to Konoha and enrolled in the Academy. Kushina was eventually told why she had to leave Uzushio and go to Konoha; because of her special chakra, she was to be the next jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Kushina was terrified by the idea, but she was comforted by the Nine-Tails' then-current jinchūriki, Mito Uzumaki. Before the transfer was performed, Mito told Kushina that love was the only way to tame the Nine-Tails and overcome its hate. The love of Minato Namikaze helped her do so.
"I'm sure you were already told by Tomo-shishou's memory construct that to seal the Kyuubi requires a special chakra. No ordinary person could do it, being an Uzumaki is not a guarantee when it came to sealing the Demon Fox unlike any other bijuu. The nature of its chakra is simply that powerful and potent. The three of hosts of the beast share one important fact: we were all born with that special chakra. My Grand Aunt Mito-sama had a chakra that could suppress the Kyuubi. I have a chakra that is able to restrain it. While you have a chakra that is synergistic to that of the Nine-Tails. It is one of the reasons your father sealed the demon into you, because you and you alone had the chance of withstanding the corrosive power of the Kyuubi. It was also a custom as jinchuriki often are related to a village's Kage."
Naruto sat straighter at that. To be called special, especially by someone who is important and dear to him, gave him a sense of achievement and confidence like no other. To be in the same category as the bad-ass wife of the Shodaime and his powerful mom sent shivers of pleasure down his spine. The fact that the all three of them were related just simply took his happiness on another level.
Kushina continued through what transpired during her academy years. "I was brash, impulsive, and very stubborn. I had a quick temper and often prone to violence," she added somewhat embarrassingly and chuckled slightly, "and I love pranks. All in all not that different from you." Her son shared a smile with her.
She told him about her proclaiming to her class that she would be the first female Hokage. The other kids laughed at her statement and began calling her Tomato because of her then-round face and fiery red hair, something which she could not deny as even she could see the resemblance. This, however, did not prevent her in lashing out and pummeling the kids who teased her. With her red hair flying wildly around her as she did so, she earned her the fear-inducing (to her classmates at least) nickname of Red Hot-Blooded Habanero.
At some point in time, Kushina was kidnapped by Kumogakure who planned to make use of her special chakra. As she was led in binds to Kumo, she surreptitiously plucked and left behind strands of her red hair to mark her trail hoping someone would notice it. Her classmate, Minato Namikaze, whom Kushina dismissed as a sissy and a wimp, was the only one to pick up on this. He later informed her that he had always admired her red hair so immediately notice the strands that could only have come from her. Kushina fell in love with him, now considering her red hair that she previously detested as the "red thread of fate" that had brought them together.
"So that's how you came together with Dad. It's also what made you able to endure the influence of the Kyuubi, right, Mom?"
"You're right, my son. I was happy and I was filled with love. Mito-sama's words proved true." She paused as though reminiscing about some memories. After a moment look back up with a more serious countenance before carrying on. "Your father couldn't tell you all the details since by the time he sealed our respective chakra into you, he was nearly spent and he was focusing on me rather than himself. That is the reason why he stay was a lot shorter than mine.
"When the Kyuubi attacked the village, it was indeed under the control of the masked man your father spoke of. That masked man...I don't know how, but he knew that giving birth was the one moment when a bijuu seal is at its weakest, he planned the attack...and stole the Kyuubi that until then was sealed inside me.
"A pregnant female host must carry her child for ten months instead of the usual nine as she must direct the energy that had been used on the seal, towards the child in her belly. Naturally this weakens the seal considerably."
The she told the day of the attack. How the Sandaime and his wife, Biwako-sama, made all the necessary preparations and took all the precautions based on the experience of Mito-sama. The old Hokage had arranged for a whole platoon of ANBU loyal to him to guard the chamber located outside of the village while only Minato, Biwako, and an ANBU doctor named Taji were allowed inside the chamber itself for security reasons. Everything was kept top secret and none of Kushina's friends even knew she was about to give birth.
But all their secrecy and precautions were for naught. The masked intruder somehow learned of their location. He easily and quickly disposed of the ANBU contingent that stood guarding the chamber. He even caught Minato by surprise as he effortlessly killed Biwako and Taji with each a single kunai stab into their hearts and snatching the newborn Naruto. But when he threatened Naruto's life Minato Namikaze exploded into action.
Kushina spoke about how Minato whisked baby Naruto to safety using his Hiraishin [Flying Thunder God] jutsu. However, it left his severely weaken wife at the mercy of the masked man. The said man somehow gained entry into the seal and freed the Kyuubi from the chakra chains that were restraining it in place on a huge floating lump of rock. Kushina could very vividly remember the inhuman screams that escaped her throat feeling her whole body being burned alive as the Kyuubi was forcibly ripped from her. But she survived the extraction of the bijuu a feat that no one but an Uzumaki could have endured. Now under the control of the masked man, Kyuubi tried to finish her but once more Minato foiled it and took her to where Naruto was then prepared to battle both the Demon Fox and their mysterious assailant.
During that short interval the said man had unleashed the nine-tailed beast against the unsuspecting village. Its rampage caused damage to Konoha on a level unprecedented in its entire history. The loss of life was staggering considering it was only a few minutes since the beast launched its initial attack. A complete disaster was only averted by the timely reaction of Konoha's shinobi forces under the leadership of the Sandaime Hokage. It was a hard fight, possibly the hardest fight they have fought in their entire lives. No few had fallen, either renowned or nameless, shinobi or civilian; it was a battle on par with the greatest battles in history, a battle of desperation and unflinching sacrifice. A full account of it has yet to be told to this day.
"Is that the reason why they hate the fox?" Naruto asked quietly. "Why they hate me?"
"What the villagers have done to you is wrong, Naruto, whatever the reason maybe to treat you like that is inexcusable," said Kushina cupping her son's whiskered cheek. "But try not to judge them too harshly for they too have suffered. Many lost parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters— their loved ones taken away from them in the blink of an eye." She continued her story.
Minato proved once more that night why he was Hokage and successor to such figures as Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama. He was confronted by the masked man and they fought, trading blow after blow, jutsu after jutsu. Both of them were masters of space-time ninjutsu that seemed to interest Naruto greatly. His mother carried telling the story on how, despite the overhwhelming power of the mysterious man, his father managed to gain a small but decisive advantage and drove him away but not without leaving an ominous warning about the future.
The Yondaime afterwards battled the rampaging Kyuubi, trying all his might to bring it out of the village and spare it from total devastation. But he was mortal, powerful and skilled but lacking the abilities of legends like Uchiha Madara and the Shodaime Hokage possessed that seemed to transcend human limitations. As it was, he knew that the only chance to defeat the Kyuubi was to seal it once again.
Knowing that she was dying anyway, Kushina made one last attempt using the last ounce of her strength to restrain the Kyuubi with her chakra chains. She wanted to bring back the bijuu inside her and die; she knew very well that it will not kill the creature but only put off its re-embodiment for a few years at least. But after a brief but vigorous argument between her and her husband, she finally acquiesced to Minato's plan but not without conditions.
"I know full well the life we were about to subject you to," she said looking sadly at Naruto. "To carry a burden without having any say in it. Minato, bless him, can be hopelessly naive sometimes. But we were both out of time, we're out of options, the situation was dire and something has to give. And there was also the threat the masked man posed to Konoha. Your father decided to seal the Kyuubi into you. He knew as I did that your chakra is quintessentially Uzumaki and very special at that; the fact that you spent inside me bathed in the bijuu's chakra also made you very compatible with it in a way neither I nor Mito-sama couldn't be.
"Using Shiki Fuujin [Dead Demon Consuming Seal], your father wanted to seal only half the Kyuubi's chakra into you taking the other half with him. But the Kyuubi resisted and it proved quite a strain even for Minato. So instead he sealed a part of the beast's conciousness, specifically its baser instincts, to give you a chance to develop your natural defenses against its influence."
The said seal, his mother explained, was a highly modified, multi-layered version of the Hakke no Fuin Shiki [Eight Trigrams Seal Style]. In addition to having sealed the Kyuubi Minato also integrated what remain of their chakra into it before they drew their last breathe.
"I'm sorry, Naruto," Kushina apologized after finishing her tale, wiping her tears once more. "I'm sorry for making you the jinchuriki of the Demon fox, and for having you carry the burden no child should have had. I wasn't able to be with you and share my love for you."
Naruto now stood in front of her mother. He somehow sensed that their time together, so brief for both of them, is at an end, her chakra all but gone. His doubts, the nagging voice behind his head telling him that his parents neglected him, didn't love him at all, was finally dispelled. Now he knew the truth. Despite the hardships he had to endure and those that will come, he felt relieved in the knowledge in the fact the he had parents that loved him, loved him enough to give up their lives for him and ensure his future and the future of the world he will grow up in.
"Don't apologized, Mom. You did what you had to do, more than anybody ever had the right to ask. You and Dad saved the village and its people." He grinned, a proud and confident grin. "I am the son of the Yondaime Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina of the Uzumaki clan, I won't let something like being a jinchuriki get me down!" Then he gathered Kushina in a bone-crushing hug. "I happy and very proud you're my parents. I promise I'll make you and Dad proud of me."
Kushina smiled as tears ran down her face and sobs racked her body from simply being overjoyed at being accepted as his mother. The could sense each other feeling at peace with everything. "Thank you, Naruto, for being our son. I'm prouder of you than I can say and I'm you'll make us even prouder. Now I know I can't help you anymore with taming the Kyuubi's chakra but I'll leave you with one last gift. Remember, I love you with all my heart as do your father." She kissed his forehead and Naruto closed his eyes.
And with that Uzumaki Kushina was gone.
Naruto felt as though his whole body went through the grinder. He was sore all over and, judging by the way his stomach seems to be grumbling, seriously hungry. He opened his eyes and blink several times to focus the sleep-induced fog. But as his vision became clear, the first thing saw were a pair of eyes.
A pair of amber-colored eyes just staring unblinkingly mere inches from his own.
With a startled yell he scurried away from his position putting his back to the wall. He looked back where he was lying on the floor and saw something that made his eyes widened in recognition.
"You!"
-And that's it. Thanks for reading!-