'Ello! 'Ow are you? (Sorry, felt like doing that) Anyways, I 'ope you enjoyed the last chapter, and I 'ope that you like this one! P.S.: This chapter has my first fight scene. Please tell me what you think of it! Thanks!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! I OWN NOTHING RELATED TO NARUTO! EVERYTHING RELATED TO NARUTO BELONGS TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO! THE EVENTS IN THIS STORY ARE NOT WHAT HAPPENED IN NARUTO! THE EVENTS OF NARUTO, AS STATED ABOVE, ARE CREATED BY MASASHI KISHIMOTO! ANY JUTSU I USE ARE CREATED BY MASASHI KISHIMOTO, UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFICALLY STATED BY ME!
Nah, Couldn't Be. . . . . . .
As Naruto woke up, he anticipated the day with eagerness. He didn't quite know what a "bell test" was, but, he was sure that he could pass it with ease. He was the Rookie Of The Year, wasn't he? He got ready to go, and had a quick breakfast, rushing out the door about ten minutes after he ate. He was running blindly towards the training ground Kakashi had told them to be at, Training Ground 7. Suddenly, he ran headfirst into someone, and fell to the ground heavily. Brushing himself off, he got up, and extended a hand to the person. As the person got up, he was surprised to see that it was Hinata who he had bumped into. He blushed, and helped her up.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Hinata had stood up, and was brushing herself off, looking at the ground. "Oh, that's quite alright. I wasn't looking where I was going, either." She looked up, and when she saw that it was Naruto whom she had bumped into, her face turned red. "So, where are you headed now, Naruto?" Naruto said, "Well, our sensei, Kakashi-sensei, said that we were having something called a "bell test" today. He said that it would be very difficult. Heh. I don't think that it will be that difficult." Hinata smiled. "You're really so confident, Naruto?"
Mentally, she sighed. 'Naruto,', she thought. 'You're so confident about everything. Everything seems so. . . . . so. . . straightforward to you. I wish I could be more like you.' She was brought back to the real world when she heard Naruto's voice calling, "Well, see you later!" She looked around to see him running towards his training ground. She smiled, and started walking towards the place her sensei had told them to meet, Training Ground 8. 'But then. . . . . . that's what I'm striving for, isn't it?' She walked off, headed for her squad's training area.
At Training Ground 7. . . . . . . .
Naruto arrived just barely in time. However, he only saw Sasuke and Sakura there. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. He walked up to them, saying, "Hey! Where's Kakashi-sensei? He's late!" Sakura whirled around with an annoyed look on her face. "Well, obviously he's late, baka! You really are dumb, aren't you, Naruto?" Naruto, who looked hurt and indignant, said, "Well, excuse me! I was just asking, in case one of you guys knew!" Sasuke sighed. "Okay guys, stop bickering."
Just then, Kakashi arrived in a swirl of leaves, and they all turned to look at him, Naruto and Sakura with comically angry expressions, and Sasuke looking bored as ever. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!", shouted Sakura. "WHERE WERE YOU? YOU WERE LATE!" Kakashi smiled sheepishly, and it looked like he was squinting. He scratched his head, and said, "Sorry about that. You see, I had to help an old lady with her shopping on the way here, and I. . .uh . . . lost track of time." Sakura had tick marks on her face, and clenched her fist. She swung at Kakashi, and had a frighteningly angry expression, with her eyes wide. She punched hard, expecting to hit Kakashi, and was surprised when her punch kept on going. She opened her eyes, and saw that Kakashi had disappeared.
She blinked in surprise, and was startled when she heard Kakashi's voice behind them calmly saying, "Now, now, Sakura. Watch your temper." She turned around quickly, and was astonished to see Kakashi standing behind them, looking serious. Naruto had a flabbergasted expression on his face, and he couldn't believe what had just happened. Pointing a finger at Kakashi, he said, "Y-you j-just. . . . . .HOW THE HECK DID YOU SNEAK UP LIKE THAT?" Sakura and Sasuke, both of whom had covered their ears, saw Kakashi removing earplugs from his ears. He scathingly replied, "Well, I'm a ninja, you see. Unlike you, squirt." Naruto, who was shocked, recovered and angrily said, "What! Okay then, I'll fight you!"
He dived at Kakashi, who calmly stepped out of the path of Naruto's dive. Naruto hit the ground, hard, then rolled and charged at Kakashi at full speed. He was surprised when he saw Sasuke dart in front of him, grabbing his hand. "Oi, teme! What the heck are you doing!" Sasuke, who didn't respond, simply kicked Naruto in the stomach and aloofly stood, watching Naruto double over in pain. "Oi, dobe.", he said. "First rule: NEVER attack a teacher. There's a reason why they're Jonin, and we're just Genin, you know."
Kakashi watched the exchange with some asperity, eventually separating Naruto and Sasuke, "Alright, that's enough you two. Come on now." He glanced at Naruto. "But in future, you should be more careful. What Sasuke said was true, you know. Glancing at his watch, he said, "Well, I'm not getting a good impression from you guys. On the first day, you managed to waste 10 minutes of valuable time so quickly. In the field, that would kill you. My final analysis: I don't like you guys."
Sasuke and Sakura, who were angry because of this comment, glared at Naruto, who stuck his nose in the air and ignored them. Motioning to a grassy knoll ahead, he said, "Well, now that Naruto has botched my plans for my introduction, let's get straight down to business." They walked to the knoll, Naruto with a grumpy expression on his face. Once they got closer, they could see two wooden stumps. There were ropes encircling them. They wondered what these were for. They were to find out soon.
Leading them to the knoll, Kakashi told them to sit down. "Well now, what we're going to do today has been a tradition for a long time. We are going to evaluate you with the bell test." Dangling from his finger were two bells on a red string. "The objective of this test is to see who is the best ninja among you. Those who pass this test, will move on. Those who fail: will go back to the Academy and relearn everything!"
"WHAT!", shouted Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, "Would we really get sent back to the Academy? To relearn everything? Doesn't that seem a bit unfair?" Kakashi turned to face her, and said, "Well,Miss Haruno, (Sakura cringed when she heard the name) you should have learned by now: life is NOT fair." Sasuke looked bored, but his eyes told how he was really feeling. He was shocked by the news, too, but he didn't show it. He wasn't as emotionally outgoing as Naruto. "Well, lets get to it."
Kakashi stood up, and so did Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. "Here are the rules: You have to get these bells by the end of the day. As I said earlier, if you don't get these bells by then: you will all go back to the Academy!` Naruto He swallowed, but determined that he wouldn't go back to the Academy, he charged at Kakashi once more. Kakashi (of course) stepped out of his way, then tied him up. He had turned his back on Sakura and Sasuke while doing this, and when he turned around, he wasn't surprised to see that they had disappeared. He was surprised when he saw that Naruto had disappeared, and there was a cloud of smoke in his place.
`What!`, thought Kakashi. `Where did he learn that! That was a dangerous jutsu! Where the heck did he learn the Shadow Clone jutsu!` He looked around, and clearly saw Sakura, plotting something, obviously. However, Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere in sight. `Well, Naruto obviously has some hidden depths. I wonder what he and Sasuke are up to right now.` As if on cue, Kakashi heard sound behind him, and turned around to see a log swinging at him. He jumped out of the way, and the log disappeared, to be replaced with Naruto's form. Naruto was close to Kakashi, so he lunged, nearly managing to grab one of the bells. He just missed when Kakashi jumped out of the way. Kakashi punched Naruto, and was not surprised when he, too, disappeared in a puff of smoke.
`He's playing it safe,`, thought Kakashi. `He's smarter than I gave him credit for.` He was distracted by his thoughts, and didn't notice a fireball zooming at his head until he felt its heat. `Damn! I was so stupid! I forgot about Sasuke!` He narrowly escaped the fireball, and was breathing a sigh of relief, when he stepped into a simple rope trap, and was pulled into the air, dangling from a tree by his feet. `Aaargh! How come I'm being so stupid today? Sakura! She hid back and set this trap! Admittedly, its not hard to get out of,`, he thought, as he got out of the trap, `But the fact that she had the foresight to do this. . . . .They're definitely working as a team.` He smiled. `That's the whole point of this exercise, isn't it?`
He was perfectly right. Deep in the forest, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke met in a secluded corner of the forest. "Our plan worked!", whispered Naruto excitedly. "Of course it did, Naruto.", said Sakura condescendingly. "Sasuke and I planned the whole thing. You just had to help us execute the plan." Sasuke, surprisingly, came to Naruto`s defence "Well, he did come up with the idea of the shadow clones. Anyways, his jutsu were useful."
Sakura gazed at Sasuke in an adoring way, `Ah, Sasuke-kun. You're SO kind to others. Ah. . . .` Sasuke said, "Well, what now? We have to come up with another plan. We didn't get any of the bells that time. We need a different strategy." "I know!", whispered Naruto. "What if you guys transformed into me, then charged Kakashi sensei? He would probably think that it was me, so he would just try to dodge me, like before! Then, you guys could jump him and steal the bells!" Sasuke said, "Well, that's not such a bad idea." Sakura didn't like that it was Naruto`s idea, but, since it was the best one that they had had so far, she would have to go with it.
Suddenly, Sasuke thought of something. "Hey, guys!", he whispered. "What about this?" He whispered the plan to them, and as Naruto and Sakura heard more, they smiled, liking the plan. "So, is it settled then?", asked Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura nodded. "Alright, you know what to do.", murmured Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura disappeared with a shunshin, getting into position. Sasuke stared at the place where he thought Kakashi was, thinking, "I hope this plan will work. Maybe it will. But, after all, he's a Jonin. Well, we'll see . . . . . . . . "
Kakashi raised an eyebrow when they didn't appear for some time. "What could they be planning now?", he wondered. His thoughts were answered when he saw 3 Naruto's charging at him. 'Not again!', he thought. 'Even Naruto wouldn't be that stupid. He knows that it won't work! What's he planning? We'll see." He jumped over the clones, kicking 2 of them in the back. To his surprise, instead of disappearing entirely, he heard and saw the puff of white smoke, out of which Sasuke and Sakura appeared.
'Well, I see that they've gotten smarter!', he thought, To them, he said, "Well, you guys are getting smarter! Good teamwork! However, your plan is now obvious:" As he said that, he turned around, and punched the unaware Naruto, who was trying to sneak up on him. Feeling confident, he turned to face Naruto, saying, "Well, this is slightly better than before. But if this is the best you have." he said as he swung at Naruto, "Count yourselves out!" To his surprise, Naruto disappeared when he punched him. 'What the?', he thought. Just then, he heard a noise behind him, and saw several feet of ninja wire with kunais attached coming at him.
He was too surprised to react, so he dove out of the way, activating his Sharingan. 'Damn!', he thought. 'These kids are too good! I severely underestimated them! They even forced me to reveal my Sharingan!' Just then, he saw Sasuke run at him. He dodged, panting heavily, and saw Sasuke dash by him at speeds that he thought were impossible for a Genin. Not as fast as a regular Jonin, but definitely faster than the average Genin. He dodged, thinking that he had escaped. However, he turned his eyes to Naruto and Sakura, and was surprised to see Sasuke there, dangling the bells from his finger, with a smirk on his face. Startled, he blurted, "Okay, spill it. How did you get the bells? No, wait, let me guess."
He turned his gaze to Sakura. "Those kunais. . . . . . . those were a genjutsu, weren't they? Amazingly good, for a Genin." Sakura blushed at the praise. 'No Genin I have seen before could perform genjutsu to that level. I, a Jonin, one of the best ninja of this village, was fooled by a Genin's genjutsu!' Looking at Naruto, he said, "And you, Naruto. . . . I thought that you hadn't learned from your earlier mistakes. That was my mistake. You are shrewd to a degree as well. Those Shadow Clones fooled me: I thought that Sasuke and Sakura would cover so that you could perform Shadow Clones: that was stupid of me." Naruto smirked, glancing at Sasuke slightly, as if gloating. "And finally: Sasuke", said Kakashi. "You have great proficiency as a ninja. You were able to steal both bells from me without a hitch."
Looking at all three of them, he said, "However, all of you could improve." Looking at Sakura, he said, "Sakura, you have great proficiency with genjutsu and traps. However, your ninjutsu and taijutsu need work. Your fighting style currently incorporates neither of those. You need to assist your teammates, Naruto and Sasuke, more than you do now. Right now, you're just sitting back and letting them do all of the work."
Turning to Naruto, he said, "Naruto, your fighting style is good: unpredictability is your greatest weapon. However, you appear to be overusing your shadow clone jutsu. You shouldn't become dependent on that. You need to broaden your range of jutsu. Also, you usually blindly charge in. You are capable of highly developed planning, as you demonstrated with this attack. I overheard part of your strategy talk with your team and let me admit, I was impressed. However, don't let that go to your head. However, when you do blindly charge in, you almost always get stopped. You cannot, in fact, must not keep charging in like that. Your enemies will come to expect that, like your overuse of the Shadow Clone, which is your signature jutsu. They will use this overuse of your jutsu to plan accordingly, and you will be vulnerable."
Looking at Sasuke, he said, "Sasuke, you are quite good all-around. However, your greatest weakness is your lack of teamwork. You need to learn to trust in and depend upon your teammates, rather than shunning them and working on your own."
Facing them all once more, he said, "However, I was very impressed with your teamwork. You all worked together efficiently, aiming for a common goal. None of you "split off" from the team: you worked together to achieve your goal. That was the point of this exercise." Glancing at Sasuke, he said, "I can see that Sasuke already figured this out, judging by the smirk on his face. The aim of this lesson was to teach you teamwork. If you had failed, however, you really would have been sent back to the Academy."
Narutos' and Sakuras' jaws' both dropped, and Sasuke raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Anyways, the three of you passed, so congratulations! You may go home now. We will meet here tomorrow, and then, you will be starting your first D-Rank missions. You are all dismissed."
Kakashi disappeared with a Body Flicker, leaving Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto to their own devices. 'Funny', thought Kakashi. 'I don't know why, but. . . . . . .Naruto. . . . .looked an awful lot like Sensei. I wonder. . . . .is there some connection?' He shook his head, and thought, `Nah, couldn`t be. . . . . . . . . .` He shook his head to clear his mind, then headed for the bookstore, whistling. `Let`s see if a new Icha-Icha book is in!`, he thought, with a perverted grin on his face. He headed for the bookstore, leave Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke at the Training Ground.
Sasuke said, "Well, I'm going home. See you guys.", and started walking home. Sakura said, "Wait, Sasuke! I'm coming with you!", and dashed off to join him, clinging to his arm when she caught up to him, only to be pushed away by Sasuke. Naruto was left behind, and silently began walking away from Sakura and Sasuke, going to his home. On the way, he saw that Ichirakus' was still open, so he ducked in.
"Hello Teuchi-san, Ayame-san!", he said. They smiled, and Ayame said, "Good morning, Naruto. What can we do for you today? The usual?" Naruto, with a cheesy grin on his face, said, "Yup! 10 bowls of miso ramen please!"
Teuchi said, "Well, Naruto, how does it feel to be a ninja? Exciting, eh?" Teuchi reminisced, "I wanted to be a ninja. But, for one thing, I wasn't fit enough. For another, I skipped the ninja parts of school so many times, I didn't know the slightest thing about being a ninja. I learned later though, about the price ninja pay." Naruto gulped.
Teuchi hastily said, "But then, many ninja go on to become great people. Strong people. You want to become that, right?" Naruto nodded. "Well, then, keep working hard, and you'll get there." Naruto brightened, saying, "Thanks, jii-san!" (AN: Not exactly sure what Naruto calls Teuchi, the old man at the ramen shop). Naruto rushed out of the shop, running home. When he reached there, he changed, ate some miso ramen, and went to sleep.
The next day. . . . .
Naruto woke up, yawning, and went through the usual. When he had finished, he started walking to the Hokage's office, where Kakashi had told Team 7 to meet. They would be performing their first mission. He excitedly wondered what it could be. As he walked, he noticed that something odd was happening. A. . . . grey piece of concrete, it seemed was scurrying towards him. When he turned around, it would stop. He did this several times, and each time, the "concrete" would stop, then continue when he wasn't looking. After several minutes, he tired of it, and waited until the "block" got close to him. He jumped on the "concrete". which squirmed and wriggled, "fighting" him.
He eventually managed to pull the disguise off, and saw three children: a girl with orange hair, arranged in a sort of inverted triangle, a boy with glasses and a dripping nose, and another boy with a blue scarf, pointed black hair, a yellow shirt, and a grey pair of pants and a helmet. "Alright, you three," said Naruto in a loud voice. "First thing: it was so obvious you were following me. If you want to be ninja, you have to be a little more. . . . . subtle. Secondly, you were making so much noise. You should have at least tried to be quiet! Lastly, I was expecting you: you do this so often nowadays, it's become a habit for me to check for you. "Besides," he added, "shouldn't you be at school now? It's . . . . . . already . . . . . . 5 minutes past 8:30 A.M. Classes at the Academy start then, don't they?"
Konohamaru panicked, saying, "Dang! You're right, boss!" Udon whimpered, "We're going to be in SO much trouble! We're so late!" Moegi, in a huff, ran off to the Academy, while shouting, "C'mon, you idiots! Don't just stand there! We have to run, before Iruka-sensei notices we're missing!"
Naruto scratched his head as the trio dashed off, "Well, I hope they make it. That reminds me, what time were we supposed to meet at?", he said, looking at his watch. "DAAMMITT!", he started running, bringing his legs up, almost as if he was jogging on the spot, running at normally impossible speeds. "Kakashi-sensei told us to meet TWENTY MINUTES ago! I'm so late!" After running for what seemed to him to be several miles, he saw their meeting place in the distance, and stood up straight, trying to rid himself of his momentum. He skidded to a stop right in front of Sasuke and Sakura, who were both looking at him in an annoyed fashion.
Sakura looked at him expectantly, "Well, Naruto-baka, you FINALLY made it here! Did you see Kakashi-sensei on the way?|" Naruto, who noticed the menacing look on Sakura's face, said, "Uh-uh . . . well, I . . . . . uhm . . . . . didn't see him." He cringed as Sakura exploded as he had expected. "WHAT? KAKASHI-SENSEI! HE'S SO LATE! IF HE DOESN'T GET HERE IN 10 SECONDS. . . . . . . . . I'M GOING TO FIND HIM, AND PUNCH HIM SO HARD THAT HE'LL FLY INTO THE FOREST!"
She jumped, startled, when Kakashi's voice came from behind them, "Well, Sakura, first off, I doubt that even you could punch that hard. Second, I'm a Jonin. I don't think that I would let myself get hit that easily. Finally, if I did get hit (which is a less than 10% possibility), I would be able to recover. Also, do you really think that you would still be able to walk around freely doing whatever you want to do as a ninja after that?" Sakura looked down, "Well, it was just to express what I was feeling. I didn't really mean it." Kakashi replied, "Well, anyway, we have to perform our first mission today. I look forward to seeing how you work in the field."
Naruto pumped his fist in the air, and pranced around, chanting, "YES! We finally got a mission! We finally got a mission! We finally got a mission! We finally got a mission! We finally-OOMPH!" Naruto doubled over in pain, involuntary tears streaming from his eyes. He looked up to see Sasuke standing over him. He gritted out, "Oi, teme, what did you do that for?" Sasuke said in a bored manner, "Dobe, we don't need you prancing around. Besides, it's probably going to be some small mission, which won't be so exciting." Naruto shouted, "Bah! You always ruin the fun! Isn't that right, Sakura?" Sakura smiled in a mean manner, "Of course not, Naruto. Sasuke is always right, you know. Nothing you EVER do could match what HE does!" Naruto lowered his head in shame.
Kakashi watched the exchange with a little caution. "Alright, you two, break it up." He pushed Sasuke away from Naruto, and helped Naruto stand up. Turning to Sakura, he said, "And Sakura, you must learn to appreciate your team mates. When I say that, I mean both of them, not just Sasuke. Do you understand?" Lowering her head, Sakura muttered, "Yes, Kakashi-sensei." Broadly smiling his closed-eye smile, Kakashi said, "Good! Now then, let's head for the Hokage's office." And they walked off, all but Kakashi unaware that they were watched by a pair of ANBU ninja.
One of them, a woman with purple hair, stood up. "Well, that was interesting. This. . . . . Uzumaki . . . .boy could be interesting after all." Her partner, a man with black hair, said, "I agree. He doesn't look like it, but . . . . ." He broke off. "I don't know how to explain it," he started, "But. . . . .that boy . . . . just gives me this feeling . . . .of hope. It's like . . . . .he's going to be the one to change . . .well . . the world!" The woman looked at him sharply, "|What, you actually believe in that prediction made by the oldest toad on Mount Myokobokuzan? That one of Jiraiya's pupils will be the saviour of this world?"
The man turned serious, and said, "Yes. I do. I believe that he will be the one who will hold the power to either bring peace to the world, or destroy it utterly. Our fate will rest in his hands." The woman smiled. "Very trusting, aren't you?", she murmured. The noise of a shunshin came from behind them. Without turning around, the woman said, "What is it? Are we needed?"
Looking up at them, the messenger, a young male ANBU, said, "Yes, ma'am. The Hokage requests the presence of all ANBU and ROOT at a secret meeting, to be held at the Hokage's meeting room in a secure room." The man was surprised, "What? A secret meeting? Now? Why?" Shaking his head, he answered, "Alright. We'll be there." The messenger nodded, and disappeared, presumably looking for more ANBU and ROOT ninja to alert.
The woman turned to face the man, "A secret meeting? What do you think is going on?" The man shook his head. "I don't know. Anyways, we should go. Be on your guard. I don't trust Danzo and his ROOT at all." The woman nodded, and was about to leave, when she removed her mask, smiling. The man noticed this, and said, "What? Oh, no. No. You really want to. .. .. .? Right now?" The woman shook her head, and the man sighed with relief. He held out his hand to her, which she took gladly. Before they left, he said, "I swear, you're an addict. You're addicted to . . . . . natural pleasures. . . . .too much. I mean, really. Anyways, after the meeting, ok?" The woman nodded her head once more. "Sure, Hayate.". she said. They then disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
At the meeting . . . . . . .
The Hokage presided over the meeting. He addressed the congregation with a grave face. "Everyone, I have gathered you here today because of some new information that has come to light. Jiraiya has found a scroll which seems to prove something . . . . .extraordinary. He has shared the information with me already. I have decided to discuss the matter, as it concerns one of our up-and-coming young shinobi, as well as two of our oldest clans, which were some of the most famous clans in history.. Jiraiya, please tell them what you have found."
Jiraiya came to the front of the stage, and spoke, "This scroll, which I found in the Namikaze clan's compound, formerly belonging to the 4th Hokage, describes a thing which seems impossible. It apparently contains information about: the Fourth's heir." Gasps were heard all around the hall, as shinobi shook their heads in disbelief. "The Fourth's heir?", they wondered. Sarutobi saw a figure stand up at the back of the room, behind the Council's table. Grinding his teeth, Sarutobi said, "Yes, Danzo?"
Danzo, a man with a bandage around most of the right side of his face, and white robes, was impassive as he asked, "Sarutobi, are you sure about this? Where is your proof?" Inwardly, he thought, ' The fourth left an heir? This could be useful, or debilitating. I need to find out who it is, and if I can use them to accomplish my goal. If not, I could always take them into ROOT for . . . . . training. That is, if they can prove it. I doubt that they'll be able to. Jiraiya is a huge buffoon, and Sarutobi is too trusting of him.'
Sarutobi smiled, and turned to Jiraiya, who was also smiling. "You think that I wouldn't know what my own student's handwriting looked like?", he asked. Danzo was fuming inwardly, as he thought, ' They have proof! Well, let's see who it is. Wait a minute . . . . . . . . yes. I can do that . . . . . . .'
Danzo spoke, "Even so, Sarutobi, Jiraiya was the one who claims to have found the scroll. Therefore, we should not rely solely on his proof. We cannot rely on yours, either, as you are clearly are in favour of this motion, and so, I do not believe that you can be objective. So, unless you can provide someone who can give objective proof that it is the Fourth's handwriting, I am afraid. . . .. " "Just a minute!", came a shout.
Everyone was surprised to see the Sannin Tsunade standing in the doorway. Speaking to Sarutobi with a smirk on her face, she said, "What? You forgot to tell me that there was a council meeting? And a top-secret one at that?" Sarutobi was taken aback. "Tsunade!", he said, surprised. "I am sorry. I wasn't expecting you to come to this meeting. I was unaware that you were in the village. Please, accept my most humble apologies. Tsunade, when did you arrive in the village?"
"About five minutes ago," she replied. "I had just got back, and was going to your office to see you. I found that you weren't there, and when your secretary saw me, she said that you had called a top-secret meeting for the village council. Of course, I assumed that you would have asked me to attend if I had been in Konoha. So, I came here."
Sarutobi said, "Well take a seat." He graciously gave up his spot, insisting that Tsunade sit there. Once everyone had settled down, he said, "Well, before Tsunade's arrival interrupted us, we were debating about whether we had proof as to the legitimacy of this document." He held up the document which apparently contained the information about the Fourth's supposed heir. "I will ask Tsunade to verify its' legitimacy. After all, she knew the Fourth, did she not? She is an objective witness, not knowing anything about this scroll until now. So, if she confirms that it is indeed the Fourth's handwriting, we can proceed."
Tsunade was confused, and asked Sarutobi, "Wait! Minato's heir? You want me to verify it's legitimacy? I mean the documents'? Hmmm. Okay. Let's see."
She grabbed the document from Sarutobi, and after reading and rereading it for several minutes, she stood up. "Council," she said, addressing the members in the room. "In my opinion, this document is legitimate. I have read it over several times, confirming that it is indeed Minato's handwriting. I have proof of my acquaintance with Minato. Here."
She handed Danzo several photographs, who passed them among the council members. Those pictures were all taken by. . .. . Never mind." She took a breath, and continued, "Anyways, being an independent, objective witness, I confirm that the handwriting is consistent with the handwriting of the Fourth Hokage, otherwise known as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minato Namikaze."
People were stunned by this. There had been no doubt in their minds that it would prove to be false: the Fourth Hokage had not, could not have left an heir! Could he? Danzo said, "Alright, even if it is the Fourth's writing, what does it say? Tsunade stood up in response, took a breath, and started reading:
To: Jiraiya-sensei
Sensei,
As you know, the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the village the day of my son's birth. Unfortunately, I was forced to seal the demon into my son. (People's eyes widened, realizing that if the fourth had sealed the demon into his son, then his son must have been. . . . . ) I am sorry that I have had to do this. But, there was no other choice at the time. Anyways, I know that Naruto (People stood up in their chairs, stunned) will live a harsh life, being discriminated against by the villagers and ninja. However, I have provided him with a tool, which he may use, if he wishes to do so. He will gain access to this tool when he reaches the age of majority: I have incorporated this into his seal. This tool will enable him to control the Nine-Tailed Demon's power. . It should help him to, colloquially speaking, "rise to the top", and live a better life.
I have also included proof of his parentage. You will find enclosed in this envelope a birth certificate, the proof of his birth, which declares that I, Namikaze Minato, and my wife, Uzumaki Kushina, (gasps were heard at this name), were the parents of Uzumaki Naruto. This should be a suitable proof, which should resolve any conflicts about his parentage. I hope that this will enable Naruto to live a better life.
Minato Namikaze
Tsunade stopped, and looked at the Council. Some of them were half-standing with their mouths wide open. They were in disbelief. Eventually, Danzo sat down, composed himself, and said, "Huhhh. Well, you have irrefutable proof. I suppose. . . . . . .that means that it is true. But, what shall we do about it? Shall we tell Uzumaki Naruto about his true parentage?" Sarutobi shook his head. "No", he said simply. "We cannot tell him . . .. . .yet. However, we should tell him of his true parentage before the Chunin exams."
Kakashi spoke up, "Sir, I don't believe that Naruto will be ready to hear this by that time. I suggest announcing it at the Chunin Exams. If people hear about his true parentage, the village will benefit. However, what is most important here is Naruto's wishes. I believe that we should tell him about his parentage in private before the Chunin Exams. We can reveal his parentage to the general public and others at the Chunin Exams after we have told him. Of course, we will need his consent first."
Sarutobi agreed. "That sounds good. Yes. I think that is what we shall do. All in favour of telling Naruto about his parentage privately, and revealing it to the general public at the Chunin Exams?" Several hands were raised. Only a few members of the Council did not agree with the motion. Sarutobi smiled. "Then, it is agreed that we shall carry out this plan of action? Good."
Danzo was grinding his teeth. 'A Namikaze!', he thought. 'I need to get my hands on him! The last of the Namikazes died a long time ago. If it is true that his mother was Uzumaki Kushina, then he may also have the Uzumaki blood! A person with both Namikaze and Uzumaki blood is unheard of! Such a person would be incredibly powerful, perhaps even on par with a tailed beasts' power! The Uzumaki clan were also purported to have the Rinnegan. It can't be possible, though. The Rinnegan is just a myth. . . . . .but since he may have the blood of the Uzumaki clan, he could theoretically posess the Rinnegan! If such a thing exists. . . . . .imagine the power I would have if I could control it! And the Namikaze clan. . . . . . nobody knows much about them. If I could get Naruto. . . . . .I could find out their secrets, and see if I can use them to my advantage! It is settled. I know what I must do, and soon. I MUST GET MY HANDS ON UZUMAKI NARUTO!'
He came out of thought, and heard Sarutobi say, "Well, that's all. Remember, this meeting is to be considered an S-Rank secret. It never happened. If anyone asks you what happened, just tell them that we were discussing a new security plan for the village, and for security reasons, we cannot disclose any information. You are all dismissed." Ninjas began to talk among themselves about what they had discovered here today, and they gradually filtered out the door.
Danzo was thinking, 'The Chunin Exams. Yes. That's the perfect time. . . . . to try to bring Naruto to my side!'
Well, I'm sorry, but I felt like leaving it right there. I hope you liked this chapter! If you have any ideas about how they could reveal his name at the Exams, I've left it open. Please send me your ideas in a PM or review! I accept anonymous reviews, so you can review even if you don't have an account! Thank you, and see you next time!