A/N: Hi, everyone! Thanks for waiting~~

I'm finally through with the exams, so there'd be some summer for me at last)) - meaning- I'll be working extra hard to continue with fic))

For now, please, enjoy this chapter!

"So that's a promise. I'll try to find Jiraiya-sensei as soon as possible," Older Naruto stated. In the first place, it was in his best interest to get in touch with Jiraiya and not just because he felt like hugging the sennin to death on meeting him, but also because he might need his help. And Jiraiya was not just anyone, with his assistance Naruto could have his battle strength at least doubled. That thought was reassuring as, since travelling back in time, Naruto still hadn't fully regained his strength, and even the Kyuubi seemed dead to the world right now and would not interact with the boy. Itachi's jutsu appeared to have some nasty side effects, and Naruto sincerely hoped that temporal exhaustion was all that it was about.

"Un, can't wait to see him." Younger Naruto nodded. "And the jutsu he helped you to make, what's it like?"

"I guess I can-" Older Naruto looked around cautiously, but spotting no one around, continued. "Show it to you."

Older Naruto moved a bit away from his younger self, but remained sitting on the ground. He then first formed a seal to summon a shadow clone, and, with a cloud of smoke, the latter promptly appeared beside him. Older Naruto raised his right arm before him, and chakra began to concentrate in his opened palm. Even without an order the clone knew what he was needed for and so with the both of his hands he made a few quick motions. The clot of chakra under his arms became dense and turned into a sphere, which, rotating at a high speed, shone brightly. The younger Naruto lingered at the small blue swirling ball, not even daring to breath. The jutsu was mesmerizing. It was emitting pale blue light, and, although inside of it there was a whirl wind of chakra, the surface of the ball remained a perfect sphere.

"Wow!" Younger Naruto gasped, he stretched his arm to feel the glowing ball.

"Oi, oi, hands off, unless you don't need them anymore!" The older boy warned, quickly dissolving the jutsu.

"Sorry." Younger Naruto smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"That's an A-class jutsu, you know, so don't underestimate its destructive force," Older Naruto lectured. "I'd have shown you what it's capable of, but I'd really feel bad about damaging the Hokage monument." And particularly his dad's head under their feet, Naruto thought. This reminded him of something important.

"Never mind, I'll make sure to learn it, so I'll be able to test it myself in no time!" Younger Naruto jumped to his feet, excited. "It's decided, I'm starting my training right now. What was it you're supposed to do first? Just release your chakra from your palm or something, huh? I've only practiced how to do it with my feet for the tree climbing, but anyway."

Older Naruto smiled at his younger self, who was, as of yet, vainly trying to produce some chakra in his hand.

"Well, that's not exactly how the training goes, so you better wait for Jiraiya-sensei. Anyway, I'm glad you're so eager to learn it, because it's a very important jutsu. And not just because it's powerful or anything. It's our legacy."

"Legacy?" Younger Naruto echoed his older self, bringing his training to a halt for the moment.

"Yeah." Older Naruto nodded. "Excluding us, only two people were capable of using this jutsu. That is Jiraiya-sensei and our father. Actually, dad's the one who created the Rasengan."

"You... Did you meet him?" Younger Naruto's heart raced. He never so much as hoped to ever see his parents, much less to receive something from them.

"Yeah, kind of,." Older Naruto replied sulkily.

"Did it go well?" Younger Naruto asked, hoping to receive a positive answer as he sincerely wished their encounter was something special and warm.

The thought of meeting his father one day filled the boy with joy and expectation; however some negative thoughts also crawled in the back of his mind. What was it like to have a father? More importantly was his father actually glad to meet his son? A certain fear seized him. Naruto tried hard to suppress it, but the thought would not let him be. The truth was he was afraid of meeting his father. Every time he heard the word parents, it hurt. And not just because he didn't have any. More than anything he feared learning why they weren't around. Even though the Third Hokage would dismiss all the questions about his family with a reply that his parents had died to protect Konoha from the demon fox, sometimes he doubted that was the case. He knew that it was awful to even suppose that his parents might have abandoned him, but he just couldn't help it. Now that his father might turn out to be alive, what was he supposed to think? Was he really unneeded to that person? Just like the villagers told him, no one wants to have a demon kid around. That fear was an eventual conclusion to which a lonely child, constantly called a demon and treated as nothing but a nuisances, could come to. Even though he was fairly sure that he just should have ignored all those spiteful words the villagers threw at him, some of them still happened to sink in.

"Well it did and it didn't." Older Naruto wasn't sure how to put it. "It's just... I only saw him for a few minutes. And it was a total disaster around us. The village was under attack, so we couldn't even talk properly."

"Why didn't you meet afterwards?"

"We couldn't." Older Naruto clutched the fabric of his shirt over the seal on his stomach. "I know, I used to doubt whether my parents were no longer a part of this world or just abandoned me. But they really died the day Konoha was attacked by the demon fox."

Younger Naruto felt his heart sink.

"They... Even though mom and dad have died, they never left my side,." Older Naruto said in a soft voice.

"I don't really understand..."

"Sorry, it might sound weird, I guess, but I saw them in my mind."

Younger Naruto eyed his future self a bit suspiciously, feeling even more confused. "But I don't remember their faces, and although I've tried countless of times, I always fail. Was it hypnosis or something?"

"No, it wasn't. We're not ninja for nothing, you know. They placed a special seal on my stomach and fused their chakra in it," Older Naruto explained. "Now, don't make such face, I'm not lying."

"And I have a mirror in my apartment. I think I'd have spotted a seal on my stomach by now," Younger Naruto stated, crossing his arms.

"Wanna bet?" Older Naruto smirked.

"Two bowls of ramen."

"Nice." Older Naruto shook hands with his younger self. "Now let's prove you wrong and get me ramen."

"You wish," Younger Naruto replied, unzipping his orange jacket and proudly showing his tan stomach. "See."

"Not yet." Older Naruto refused to admit his defeat. "Now close your eyes and try to activate your chakra circuits. You have to concentrate, so do it patiently until I tell you to open your eyes."

"Alright." Younger Naruto sighed and followed his older self's instruction without much zeal.

Older Naruto watched the boy before him intently. The seal started to emerge on the boy's stomach, but Older Naruto decided to wait till it became denser. Meanwhile, he briefly wondered whether the other Kyuubi in his younger self's body was alert to his presence. Probably not, he was concealing his chakra after all. Still he was not hundred per cent sure the trick worked on the bijuu. In any case the fox was not trying to communicate, and Naruto was not eager to do so either, at least not until Kurama woke up.

"There, open your eyes!" Older Naruto commanded, poking the boy in his stomach.

"Hey!" Younger Naruto clutched at his stomach, ticklish. But seeing something unusual on his skin, he quickly removed his hand and gasped. "No way!"

"That's why gambling is bad, it's one of the three things a good ninja should know how to resist." Older Naruto smiled, enjoying his younger self's confusion and genuine surprise.

"Alright, you got me," Younger Naruto admitted, sighing in relief when the strange mark turned invisible again. "But what's that thing's purpose?"

Older Naruto didn't quite like the idea of telling his younger self all about the Kyuubi just yet . He was not sure he could explain it in a good way, and the boy having a grudge against Kurama or his parents was not in his plans. Besides, at this point of time, knowing what Mizuki had told his younger self about the demon fox, the boy already was, to say the least of it, disturbed by the notion of having the Kyuubi sealed inside him. That was not surprising, if older Naruto did not knew better, if he did not try to interact with Kurama and struggle to understand and consequently befriend the fox, he would have ended up hating the demon fox just like the rest of the village. Thus, he had a feeling that the boy could accept Kurama only after talking to him and understanding that he was not just a tool of destruction, but a being that deserved respect. However, for that to happen, the boy has to meet the demon in person, otherwise all the explanations are meaningless. Some things were better left alone for the time being, so Naruto tried to omit the essential part containing information about the demon fox.

"It was made to protect you. They really didn't have much choice, so they decided to use the seal on you, but that's all because they had faith in you." Older Naruto sighed. "You'll eventually learn how this seal works and what it's about. I'll make sure that Jiraiya-sensei helps you with it too. Now you just have to know one thing, our parents made this seal, because they believed in us. They had confidence that we would manage to make the best use of it. And I don't regret their decision."

"I never knew they did so much for me." Younger Naruto wasn't so much concerned with the contents of the jutsu anymore as he was moved to realize how strongly his parents actually felt for their son. "If they meant it for me, then I can't disappoint them! Whatever it is, I'm gonna accept it."

"It's really powerful and has a nasty character, so don't take your guard down with this seal," Older Naruto warned, a bit disappointed that the Kyuubi was asleep at the moment and couldn't hear his remark.

"I'll master it anyway, so they would be proud of me... Mom and dad would,." Younger Naruto replied with confidence, tasting the two new words that he felt he could use more freely now.

"They already are," Older Naruto whispered, pulling his younger self into a hug.

"I really want to see them," Younger Naruto mumbled against his older self's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," Older Naruto replied, ruffling the boy's blond hair. He knew well enough how important that meeting was and how much it meant for him. However, he didn't know how to trigger his parents' appearance in a harmless way, as trying to break into the fox's cage or attempting to tame him right now was out of the question. His younger self had to do it on his own when he was ready to. There was something else he could do for the boy, though. Deciding to try it out, he commanded, "Hey, close your eyes."

"Huh, ok." Younger Naruto complied, hoping that when he opened his eyes again there wouldn't be any more mysterious marks on his body.

Older Naruto exchanged a meaningful glance with his clone, who, having been completely forgotten all this time, was quietly sitting a few feet away from them. The clone nodded in return, and almost simultaneously they whispered, "Henge!"

"Did you just say…henge…" Younger Naruto asked and, as his curiosity got the better of him, opened his eyes. And gaped, staring at the unknown but strangely familiar-looking person. The man with long yellow bangs and kind blue eyes smiled at him gently. Naruto was too shocked to say anything. Someone touched his shoulder; he turned to look at that person. It was a young woman with long silky hair of a peculiar colour. She gave him a cheeky grin much like his own smile looked. Beautiful, was the only thing that ran through his mind. She also sat on the ground so Naruto was now placed between the two of them.

"Oh, God…" Naruto was trembling, as the realization hit him. His eyes watered, the tears threatened to pour, but the red headed woman gently wiped them away and caressed his cheek.

The next thing he knew was a feeling of warmness and safety as both of them hugged him tightly. He didn't care that it was an illusion. It was too real and he needed it too much to dare complain in any way. All he wanted was to preserve this feeling, to savour this emotion that made his heart beat so fast. He simply wished this moment would never end, so he completely submitted to it.

TBC

Thanks for the reviews, guys! I'm so happy that many of you like my work. Really, it's the greatest encouragement ever))