AN: Okay, I got this out sooner than expected. Now, I'm sure there's pretty much three camps of people out there. There's those that want Naruto to tell Hiruzen everything, there's those that want him to hide all he can, and then there's those who want him to share some things while keeping more important stuff closer to his chest. As it so happens, I agree with the third opinion. Obviously, he can't hide everything, but that doesn't mean he's going to spill the beans regarding the youkai and the like, and not even elaborate on exactly what he can do if he thinks creatively. I hope this works out well, but why don't you readers let me know how I did?
Beta'd by: The trolling SnarkLord
Chapter 23 – Some Discussion
Hiruzen wasn't surprised when the kyuubi didn't follow him and Naruto inside, the entrance simply wasn't large enough for the fox to fit. He was surprised when the eye he was keeping on it saw it vanish. A half-second later had Naruto tossing what looked to be an explosive note in front of himself, only for said tag to be consumed in red chakra which quickly took the form of a larger than normal fox. At least this one could be mistaken for a real fox, unlike it's larger form… and was that a blindfold on the fox's face?
"Naruto?" Hiruzen murmured, seeing the blonde also wrap a strip of cloth over his eyes.
The blonde glanced at the Hokage but didn't speak, he didn't need to. Hiruzen felt Naruto's chakra, as odd as it seemed to his senses, diffuse throughout the area, like a thin mist, the basis of a number of chakra detection techniques the old Hokage knew. To think that Naruto would be at the point where he could possibly fight without sight already…
Hiruzen almost followed Naruto as the boy didn't even think about which turn to take. If he felt for it himself, Hiruzen could also feel the suppressed chakra signature of Itachi, but it almost seemed like Naruto was tracking… something else entirely.
It only took a few moments for the two of them to break into the room to see Itachi stood over his parents' corpses, his sword impaled through his mother Mikoto and keeping her propped up. Crumpled on the floor in the doorway was Sasuke, Itachi's brother.
Immediately upon entering the room, Hiruzen stepped forward and covered Naruto, who took one knee to check Sasuke's vital signs. The blindfolded kyuubi also took up a position in front of Naruto and prepared to breathe a tornado of flames at the older Uchiha.
"This is too much Itachi." Hiruzen gritted his teeth. "I don't know what Danzo told you, but-"
"Danzo has nothing to do with this, Lord Hokage." Itachi interrupted him in a flat voice, though the tears streaming down his face fooled no one. "I did this to test myself. It seems I am truly the strongest Uchiha of the village, but I know that in my current state, I am no match for you, even if you are defending a child."
Itachi glanced at Naruto, before looking at Kurama's small form. "Surprising, I did not know the fourth's legacy had an affinity for foxes. I was not aware the previous one did."
"Itachi, stop this now!" Hiruzen ordered the teenager. "Put down your sword and come peacefully."
"I cannot do that, Lord Hokage, my future lies outside of this village." Itachi told him. "Even if I did stay, all I would be granted would be an execution for my actions, and I refuse to submit myself to that."
"Ita-" Hiruzen began, but the Uchiha body flickered out of the room, smashing through the window as he did so.
The Hokage didn't follow him, already knowing where he was off to. Danzo had already told him that Itachi, now a missing ninja, would be useful as a spy, both in general and, more specifically, in this fledgling 'Akatsuki' organisation he'd been hearing quiet rumours about.
"Naruto, what can you tell me about Sasuke?" The Hokage turned to the boy, who had now moved onto checking the bodies of Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha. The old man's tone was serious, and the only reason he wasn't demanding answers about the fox and his display of skill was because the current problem needed his attention right now.
"Sasuke is in a coma, and it seems to be caused by neither poison nor blunt impact. At a guess, I'd say it's a genjutsu of some sort that's keeping him under. There's nothing I can do about that myself, my chakra is mildly toxic to other people and I don't want to damage his brain." Naruto replied, equally as serious as Hiruzen.
"An entire clan..." The Hokage murmured. "All dead." A tear leaked from his eye as he thought of the price paid for the foolish ambitions of only a portion of the Uchiha clan.
"Not all of them." Naruto corrected the Hokage. "I managed to stabilise a few of them that were still alive on my way through."
"How many?" The Hokage demanded. "And where are they?"
"Not many, maybe a dozen, two dozen at most." Naruto told him. "They're off towards the edge of the district, under the guard of some of my shikigami."
"We'll be having words about what you've been hiding from me." Hiruzen sternly said. "But for now, take me there, I need to see these survivors myself."
xxxxx
A man in an orange mask, Tobi as he referred to himself, watched from the shadows as the kyuubi jinchuuriki led the Hokage to the few survivors that were left of the once great Uchiha clan. He considered revealing himself and fighting the old man, but thought better of it.
While he was powerful, and the mangekyou sharingan gave him strange abilities, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't known as the god of shinobi for no reason. If all else failed, Tobi was fairly certain that the Sandaime would resort to the shiki fuujin, and as he didn't really have much of an understanding of how the technique really worked, he didn't know if he could survive such a thing.
Besides, what did he care if a few Uchiha survived this massacre? It wasn't like he'd gone out of his way to kill them, it was Itachi who'd asked for his assistance, not the other way around. Losing almost an entire clan would strike a blow against Konoha's reputation at least, and Tobi despised Konoha. In his eyes, the village had failed her, and they would all suffer before the new, peaceful world was brought about, a world where he could see her again.
An itch developed at the base of Tobi's neck, letting him know that someone was watching him. Looking around, however, he failed to see anyone at all that was coming his way. Still, this itch persisted, and knowing it was unwise to linger here overly long, he quickly took his leave.
He had other things to do if he wished to see his perfect world become a reality.
xxxxx
Yugao Uzuki, kunoichi of Konoha and the one behind the cat Anbu mask, was one of those who had seen her kage racing through the village, and while she'd just returned from a mission and wanted to get some rest, she could tell something big was happening. With this in mind, she hurried after the elderly village leader and was one of the first to see the slaughtered Uchiha.
Obeying her superior's commands, she searched through the district for survivors, but found none. Some of them, she could tell, had been dead for minutes, if that, and some were suffering wounds too severe for anything but totally immediate medical care from an expert to survive.
Some she saw die mere moments before she got to them.
Once she had searched 'her' section of the Uchiha district, and seeing the ones around her already being searched, she took off looking for her Hokage to report. She found him, surprisingly, stood with the village's jinchuuriki, Naruto, along with several dozen strange creatures that looked like they were made out of oil, some of them equipped with a tower shield and spear with a short sword sheathed at their side, and others equipped with one of two types of crossbow. A dozen large wolves, seemingly composed of the same material, were amongst them as well.
"Cat." The Hokage called out upon seeing her. "Come here."
She did as instructed.
"I want you to escort Naruto here back to his home while I handle things here." He told her. "Stick close to him and wait for my arrival." He turned to Naruto. "I trust that I will be able to find you at home?" He asked.
"When you're close, I can come and take you through the barrier." Naruto replied.
"That will have to do for now." Hiruzen conceded. "Now go, off with you."
Yugao, not knowing where Naruto lived, just that it was somewhere in the forest surrounding the village, looked towards the boy. Seemingly aware of what she was asking, the blonde began to head off in the direction she assumed his home to be. She did think it strange that the cute fox went with them though, and even more so that it was keeping up with genin level speed.
She stuck quite close to the boy as he headed into the trees and began to hop through them like most ninja do when they have appropriate terrain, whether that be forests or roofs of buildings. However, as they got steadily farther away from the village, Yugao felt a shiver run down her spine.
She could feel many eyes on her, watching her from all directions. Leaves rustled like they were disturbed by something moving through them, and she could swear that she heard quiet whispers carried on the night breeze. Several times she could have sworn she saw a pair of eyes looking at her, and once even a set of three eyes.
She endured what felt like hours of this, but was in reality more likely less than ten minutes. At this point, Naruto caught her hand in his, and remembering what he'd said to the Hokage about a barrier, didn't pull away from the young boy and allowed herself to be pulled through whatever barrier was between them and Naruto's home.
When she saw where Naruto lived, she couldn't help but pause at the sight.
In short, it was beautiful.
Even under moonlight, everything was clearly visible. There was a rather nice looking wooden cabin with what looked like a fire pit in front of it. Beside and behind the cabin was a reasonable sized field, maybe half an acre in size, and she could see a number of vegetables, berry bushes, and so on growing there quite well. Off to one side, she could even see what looked to be a few beehives amongst a small gathering of fruit trees.
To the other side of the cabin, through the trees, she could see the moonlight glimmering off what seemed to be a lake of some description, and that wasn't all there was to see around there. On the other side of the fire pit across from the cabin was some sort of strange hybrid of beehive and doll house that was hidden just inside the tree line, and there were a couple of other small things here and there as well. There were several rudimentary carved chairs, a bench, and an outdoor table as well.
"You look quite self-sufficient." Yugao commented, earning her a surprised look from Naruto. "What, did you expect me to be some sort of silent sentinel?"
"I suppose not." Naruto replied, though he honestly was surprised that she chose to speak.
Yugao snorted. "We Anbu are people behind our masks too." She told him, before seeing the curious look on Naruto's face. "What?"
"You sounded like an old person just then, but you don't look like you're out of your teens yet, early twenties at the oldest." Naruto told her. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could see her body shape and height. Also, despite her voice being scrambled, it still sounded youthful.
"I appreciate the compliment." Yugao said. "I've worn this mask for years though, so I believe I've earned the right to speak like that."
"You must have joined young then." Naruto murmured. "Then again… you would be part of the generation rushed through the Ninja Academy to make up for those lost in the war."
"Enough about me, how about we talk about you?" Yugao turned the conversation around on the blonde. "What were you doing at the Uchiha district during tonight's incident? It seems a little odd for you to be wandering around that area by yourself."
"I make poultices, creams, and things like that out of herbs and stuff. I was out collecting fresh ingredients when I smelled blood and went to see what it was." Naruto explained "When I saw all of the dead bodies I sent a message to the old man and did what I could to stabilise the ones still alive."
"You make basic medicine, do you?" Yugao asked sceptically.
"Teas and tisanes too." Naruto nodded. "You can try some if you want."
"I believe I will." Yugao agreed. "It will likely be several hours before Lord Hokage is done with sorting this out, so we might as well get comfortable."
Naruto grinned at her, before disappearing inside the cabin. While he was gone, Yugao gave everything another quick look. She could swear that there were still things looking at her, evaluating her… and warning her. She got the feeling that if Naruto was safe anywhere, here is where the advantages would all be his. Even the fox that had come back with them seemed to be judging her.
"I've got the kettle here!" Naruto called as he came back outside with said copper kettle in one hand – already filled with water – and two cups in the other hand – each of which had a small gauze pouch of herbs in it. He quickly set the kettle up over the fire pit, conjuring up some sort of fist-sized, self sustaining fireball in one hand which he put underneath it.
Yugao looked curiously at the technique, and decided to ask Naruto about it, especially as she hadn't seen him use any hand signs before casting it.
"Hand signs feel weird to me." Naruto said. "We were shown them in the academy, and were told how they shape chakra, but it just feels really wrong when I try to use them and I can't get them to work. Instead, I do things my way. While it's really hard to do anything really big, I can pretty much do whatever I want with the elements I can control.
For a demonstration, Naruto created a snake of lightning that wound itself around his body. The snake was only about the size of a jo staff, a shade longer than four feet, but keeping it in shape and moving it was clearly taking quite a bit of concentration from Naruto. He was much better with arrows, as all he had to do was make a straight 'stick' of lightning and release it in a single direction. Fine control, especially of something as flexible and winding as a snake was far more difficult, as was making it actually look like a snake rather than just a stream of blue-white lightning.
"That's… surprising." Yugao commented. "I can sense your reserves from here, and while they feel weird, they also feel massive. Usually, having that much chakra means you have comparatively low control over it. It's usually only medics and the absolute best of genjutsu specialists that have control like that."
"My control's not that good." Naruto protested. "I've just practised with elemental stuff a lot."
"So, what else can you do?" Yugao catiously prodded.
"A few things really." Naruto told her. "But I'm not spilling all of my secrets to a stranger, Anbu or not."
"Really?" Yugao pushed. "What if I told you I am rather good with a sword? In fact, I'm learning under the best swordsman in Konoha."
"Huh, I've tried a sword, it just feels weird in my hands. I prefer a spear or claws for close up, but I'm much better at archery than close range." Naruto replied.
"Unusual weapons, all three of them." Yugao mused. "Most ninja rely on kunai and shuriken, with a few going for senbon. After that, most ninja go for swords, though there's a small number that like staffs. I know Lord Hokage is supposed to be very good with a staff."
Naruto shrugged, not at all sure what to say to the surprisingly chatty Anbu woman.
"How about a small spar after this, you with a spear versus me with a sword." She saw Naruto's eyes widen and smirked behind her mask. "Only as a spar of course, and after this tisane of yours."
Naruto, seeing the kettle had boiled, served the two of them some tea. Yugao, when she had a cup in her hands, surreptitiously cycled a small amount of medical chakra through the contents. Only when she saw there were no poisons or anything in there did she drink it, slipping her mask to the side just enough for the cup to reach her mouth. It wasn't that she thought Naruto would purposefully poison her, but there was no guarantee that what was fine for a jinchuuriki would be fine for a normal person, and there was also the chance that Naruto didn't actually know what he was doing when making these tisanes.
To her surprise, she found the tea to be rather good. There was a sharp, minty taste to it, and something else that she couldn't quite identify that made her feel wide awake and refreshed despite the late hour. She wondered if Naruto would mind giving her some to take with her, Hayate would probably like it, as would Kurenai, Anko, and the others.
"Naruto, how much of this tea do you make?" She asked as casually as she could.
"Loads." He replied. "I experiment with different mixes so I've got plenty in the cupboards, though some work better than others." He grimaced, remembering some of the nastier tisanes he'd made and promptly thrown out.
"Could I have a few samples, please?" She asked politely, and Naruto just knew that if her mask wasn't in the way she would be batting her eyelids at him in a caricature of a schoolgirl trying to get her own way.
"Sure. Like I said, I've got more than I can ever drink myself." He nodded, not mentioning that there were surprisingly few youkai that liked tea as much as he did, and most of them were content with plain water or sake from their springs.
"Right!" Yugao cheerily bounced to her feet, which was actually kind of creepy with that mask over her face. "Now, how about that spar?"
Naruto just sighed, placing his empty cup to the side and creating a yari spear and tower shield out of the earth once again.
xxxxx
Yugao watched as the compressed earth shield somehow formed itself over and around the bracer on Naruto's left forearm, the bracer itself acting like a strap for the shield. Once that was done, Naruto grabbed the spear with an underarm grip and turned sideways on to her, moving several yards away from anything that might end up damaged in this spar.
Intrigued, Yugao drew her sword and settled herself into a relaxed stance, not overly concerned about this spar. While she wouldn't call herself arrogant, she knew she was highly skilled, and Naruto was only an eight year old academy student. If this was a ninjutsu fight, she'd be worried, the blonde's chakra levels felt about as large as a damn biju's, even if it wasn't as potent. In a melee fight, however, there was only so much a child could do, even if they trained hard enough to stunt their growth.
Naruto, not letting the cat-masked Anbu set the pace of the spar, rapidly jabbed forward with his spear. Each strike was swatted aside with almost contemptuous ease. After one more failed strike, Naruto span the spear around and struck a blow with the butt of the spear… which was also parried with ease.
Naruto kept it up, striking towards her head, torso, and legs at random. Each time he did so, he took a small step forward, until he felt he was close enough, whereupon he tried to shove the Anbu with his shield.
Yugao simple stepped backwards and to the side, making Naruto stumble slightly when he encountered no resistance. This earned him a slight cut on his side courtesy of Yugao's sword.
"Don't commit yourself to an action like that, it'll only leave you open if it fails." She chided him.
Turning to face her once more, Naruto contemplated ways he could prove himself capable to this woman. He held no preconception regarding a victory over her, she was simply far too fast, strong, and skilled for him to really scratch her, and if he did then it was only because she either let him or she was being stupidly careless.
What could he do though? If he resorted to his spells, then Yugao would likely start using jutsu in return. Any visible change, either through using biju chakra to boost himself or joining with a youkai, would provoke a response as well. Right now he was fighting on her terms, and he wasn't good enough to force things to his own speciality.
For her part, Yugao was mildly impressed with the blonde boy. While it wasn't particularly complex tactically, and he wasn't fighting with any real skill, the blonde was fighting intelligently. With that large shield and his greaves, there wasn't much of him exposed for her to stab or slash at, and she didn't know just how durable his armour and shield were. With the spear in his other hand, he was making many fast jabs at her, and while it was nothing compared to her own, his striking speed was higher than she expected it to be.
Comparing Naruto to others his age she'd seen around the village, he was clearly in the upper end of the scale. In fact, he seemed more like one of her generation and the one before, when the academy graduation age average was ten rather than the twelve it was now.
Oh, he wasn't anything spectacular, not right now, but in time he could become something great… or terrible. He had the potential for both of these after all.
She saw him inch closer to her, his left arm tensing in preparation to bash her with his shield once more. Allowing him to get close, she once more sideste- she dodged out of the way of a swipe from his spear.
Oh, he was sneaky, and he was obviously learning from his past mistakes. This time, the shield bash had been powered from his legs and arms, but he'd had a wider stance, allowing him to avoid stumbling like he did before. She still gave him a long but shallow cut from her own blade in retaliation though.
She was amused by how he grit his teeth and twitched at her rather less than aggressive actions. She could tell he was refraining from using those elemental techniques of his, correctly guessing that she would also up the ante of their little spar if he did. There may also have been some consideration for not destroying his own home in there too considering how close they were to it.
Nevertheless, she was enjoying this mild work out.
Whoever said Anbu never had any fun was seriously wrong!
xxxxx
Rubbing tiredly at the bridge of his nose, Hiruzen started searching for the general area he knew Naruto's home to be in. He still didn't understand what sort of barrier technique kept it hidden, but he recognised at least that it was very effective against everyone the Hokage had sent up against it.
It was only a minute after he'd started stumbling around that Naruto had turned up himself to lead the older man towards his home, and like Yugao he also took a moment to drink in the beautiful scene that seemed like something straight out of a fantasy story.
He then took a look at the two occupants of the clearing that he could see.
Cat looked like she usually did, aside from the slight tells that he could recognise that told him she was slightly weary and could do with a good rest, if not a proper sleep. Naruto, on the other hand, looked somewhat sweaty and was covered in minor cuts and bruises which, if one looked at them long enough were obviously done with the thin edge of a blade.
"Cat?" The Hokage prompted her.
"A spar, Lord Hokage, nothing more." She replied professionally, none of her earlier more easy-going nature showing.
Hiruzen didn't say anything in reply to that. Instead, he looked around at Naruto's impressive little home – or hideaway a small part of his mind suggested – before taking a seat in one of the carved chairs next to the table. Instantly, Yugao stood at his shoulder.
"Come, Naruto, sit and talk with me." The old man said. "The Uchiha situation is as resolved as it's going to be any time soon, and there's time before I need to get to my office and the paperwork that awaits me."
Hiruzen watched as Naruto cautiously took a seat across the table from the Hokage, the fox silently accompanying him.
"Now, Naruto, as I'm fairly sure you are aware, even as the Hokage, I cannot demand the knowledge of anyone's personal techniques, clan or otherwise." He started, his mind flicking over several jutsu that he did not know himself, like Kakashi Hatake's chidori. "Still, perhaps you could give me an… overview of what you can do."
Naruto shuffled slightly, looking down. Hiruzen let him have a few moments to compose himself and patiently waited for the blonde to respond.
"I can do small scale elemental techniques." Naruto finally spoke, raising his hand as a fist sized ball of fire appeared hovering over his palm. "I can't do anything big, but I can do pretty much anything I can imagine with small amounts of each element."
"Impressive." The Hokage praised him. "It's not often that ninja consider practicality over power in their techniques, and I could name numerous ninja who have fallen prey to their own short-sightedness."
"I can also make several potions with several effects." Naruto then removed several vials from his belt. "I can make things like mild fortifying draughts and some basic healing concoctions, balms, ointment, creams, poultices and stuff. I've also been looking into poisons and antidotes."
"A very underrated set of skills." The Hokage commented. "Even I am not particularly well versed in healing techniques or poisons beyond the basics."
"The only other thing I can really do is fuinjutsu." Naruto shrugged. "My shikigami are preprepared talismans, and even my bow is a talisman too, though that's etched wood rather than paper."
"Fuinjutsu… perhaps the most mysterious of all known ninja skills." The Hokage told him. "It's said that if you can understand it then there is nothing you cannot do. It is the most flexible of all ninja skills, and the one which the least is understood."
Hiruzen sighed. "Is that everything you can do?" He asked.
Naruto nodded. "Everything I'm capable of stems from one of those three things." He confirmed.
"Now, let's move onto… that." The Hokage indicated the fox who was now sat on the table next to Naruto. Said fox glared at him for how the Hokage was referring to him, and Hiruzen wasn't particularly pleased to see Naruto's eyes narrow as well.
"Kur- Kyuubi has been with me since the day I was born, technically even before then, as I'm sure you're aware." Hiruzen immediately noticed the stumble over how he referred to the beast. Did the Kyuubi, perhaps, have a name? "He's not been released from the seal, if that's what you're worried about, he's possessing one of my shiki made specifically for him."
"Having the nine tails wander around so casually is dangerous, they were sealed up for a reason." Hiruzen warned Naruto, skipping over explanations completely as Naruto was obviously already aware of a number of things the Hokage hadn't been aware Naruto knew.
"Yeah, the first Hokage saw them as weapons or chakra batteries, not intelligent creatures." Naruto growled low in his throat. "He captured them and then gave them away like gifts, pets for the other villagers to use and abuse at their leisure."
"The biju are dangerous, the kyuubi in particular has a violent history with Konoha." Hiruzen's voice grew more stern as he spoke, but Naruto was ready to bite back, and this was something he wasn't going to back down about.
"He has a history of slavery with humans." Naruto harshly shot back. "He was mind-fucked by Madara Uchiha and used as a weapon against Hashirama Senju. He was then trapped by Mito Senju nee Uzumaki and treated like a caged wild beast. He was then taken from one cage and put in another inside of Kushina Uzumaki, who treated him no better than her predecessor. He was then violently torn out of her and mind-fucked again by another Uchiha to, once again, be used as a weapon against Konoha.
"If you ask me, it's a surprise he hasn't snapped under all of that and is as well adjusted as he is." Naruto finished, attempting to keep himself calm and failing at it.
"So the accusations have some merit to them after all." The Hokage mumbled, mulling over what Naruto had let slip there, that it'd been an Uchiha who had been behind the Kyuubi attack eight years previously, and the one who had probably killed his wife Biwako.
"That doesn't change the fact that we have a reservoir of nigh unlimited chakra wandering around without any sort of safety precautions in place." Hiruzen snapped back to the conversation as painful memories of his dead wife surfaced in his mind.
"What do you think his body is?" Naruto retorted. "It's my shikigami, I can cancel the technique whenever I so please. Ku- The Kyuubi is completely reliant on me to make him a body, and I am the one who allows him some freedom outside of the seal. Seeing as he has yet to even snarl at you, I think that shows remarkable restraint myself."
"And don't tempt me, monkey man, I remember you whacking me in the face with that staff of yours, and while it was only mildly painful, it was humiliating. If I'd been in my right mind at the time, you and this entire village wouldn't even be a smoking crater right now." The fox spoke up, making both Hiruzen and Yugao stiffen at its voice.
"Not helping." Naruto dryly stated, giving the fox a look.
"I'm just making a point." Kurama retorted. "The only reasons I was initially buggered by this village was because they had things that seemed specifically designed to fuck me over! The mangekyo sharingan is already bullshit by itself, but the fucking wood release cancels out biju chakra as well! That's not even going into the whole 'seal that summons a death god' crap as well. That is something no one should have access to."
"Without any of those, you would have rampaged across the world and killed every living thing that existed." Hiruzen directly addressed the fox for the first time. "You are hatred given form, it is your nature."
"Fuck you, asshole." Kurama growled at Hiruzen. "I am not hatred incarnate, that's something that humans have called me, and only in the last century. Before that I was living peacefully enough on my own, away from your abhorrent species."
"Enough!" Naruto yelled when he saw the Hokage getting ready to verbally retaliate. "Can you please not hurl insults at each other? The long and short of it is; I know I'm a jinchuuriki, and Ku- Kyuubi has a body that's completely dependant on my good will. You've heard what techniques I can use, and what skills I have. Can I please just go to sleep for the night, it's late and I'm worn out with all of this Uchiha 'thing' as well."
Hiruzen paused, considering things. Noticing that Naruto did indeed look in need of sleep, and knowing that he should also prepare for the long day ahead, he rose from his seat and bid Naruto farewell. He did tell the blonde that this wouldn't be their last conversation though, and that they'd continue this later.
Once the Hokage and Anbu were past the barrier, the seal beneath the ground reactivated, allowing regular humans to see youkai. This didn't affect Naruto though as he could see them anyway, and Kurama could too because of their link. Now that they were 'alone' though, they could relax, and Minako almost instantly appeared with a soothing cup of tea in her hands ready for Naruto.
"Thank you." He said, before drinking the hot tea.
"It's a relaxing blend, I'm hoping it'll help you sleep tonight." The zashiki-warashi replied.
"A bit late for that, isn't it? It must be about three or four in the morning by now." Naruto muttered.
"Sleep, Naruto." Tsurara said, hugging him from behind. "We'll make sure you're up early enough in the morning."
Naruto let his eyelids grow heavy, though restful sleep would not find him that night. Already he could see flashes of blonde hair and hear disturbing giggles. It seemed his personal demon had come to disturb him in his sleep tonight.
xxxxx
"What can you tell me, Cat?" Hiruzen asked as they wandered back towards the village proper.
She immediately replied. "His home has some… unusual additions to it. Aside from everything I expected, there was far too much cutlery, plates, and cups for one person to really require, even with guests. Also, there are what looks to be personal items meant for females to use, brushes, hand mirrors and the like, which have seen recent use by someone other than Naruto.
"His combat potential is also rather high. While not prodigal, he is smart enough to learn from his mistakes and carry out simple plans and strategies. His skill with the spear and shield is higher than an average ninja, but nothing particularly special. His maturity and observation skills are better than his age would suggest, likely a product of living like he does." She finished her report.
Hiruzen sighed at having to use such underhand tactics to learn about someone he thought trusted him implicitly, but he couldn't ignore the feeling that Naruto, while he had told him the extent of his skills, hadn't told him everything, and was purposefully vague on his specific limitations.
He would get to that later though, right now he had to work out how to handle the situation back in the village.