Chapter five

Naruto laid on his bed thinking over everything that had happened the last few hours, he had apprehended Orochimaru's inside man, learnt of the Kyuubi and how the beast related to him. Placing his hand over his abdomen he continued finally he had also learnt of his mother 'Uzumaki Kushina' Konoha's Red Hot-blooded Habanero, pulling out the photo he had of her he stared at it for a while. According to the old man Kushina had been the Kyuubi's container before him. Hiruzen had also decided to tell Naruto of the circumstances surrounding his birth, about how a masked man had managed to infiltrate the village and located Kushina who due to childbirth had been in a weakened state.

The masked man har proceeded to take the newly born Naruto as a hostage. Apparently the fourth had been around, 'convenient' Naruto had thought when he heard about the fourth being there. Long story short the fourth rescued baby Naruto but in the process Kushina had been taken instead, the masked man later proceeded to rip out the Kyuubi from the seal that was containing it leaving Kushina at death's doorstep.

Then the Kyuubi went on a rampage throughout the village. After a lot of destruction and loss of life the fourth had managed to corner the beast and weakened it. It was during its weakened state that the fourth decided to seal it back into another vessel, namely him. It made sense to Naruto that he would be chosen as the vessel, he was just born which you wanted when sealing a tailed beast, 'oh yeah that's another thing apparently their's nine of them' he thought somberly just the thought of there being others like him having to go through similar experiences or maybe even worse made his heart heavy with sympathy. Sealing the beast into Naruto had apparently taken the fourth's life and as if that wasn't enough his mother had given her life to save him from a desperate attack from the Kyuubi before he had been sealed completely. Thinking about that he gave a small sad smile while a tear ran down his cheek 'at least she had loved me' Naruto thought, he had often wondered how his parents had felt about him whether or not they had hated him and left him at the orphanage or if they had died shortly after he was born. Knowing his mother loved him enough to give her life for his he felt a mixed emotion of happiness and grief.

Still that didn't account for his father which Naruto still had no idea about, but for now knowing about his mother was enough and knowing that he could trust Hiruzen he figured there probably was a reason for the secrecy surrounding his father.

Still feeling his eyes being teary he wiped them 'I gotta stop being such a cry baby' he thought bitterly to himself, while there was nothing wrong with having emotions, he was still a ninja and he had to learn to control them, especially during missions.

Looking towards his desk he saw the three scrolls he had gotten from the Hokage as a reward for completing his A-ranked mission. He had gotten to choose from the regular monetary pay that ninjas usually got from A-ranked missions or three techniques of the Hokages choosing, naturally he chose the techniques. Having read through them he knew he would find use for them, that and he finally had a clone technique, according to the Hokage he should have no problems with this one.

He also recalled how he had once again worried Rea, having received his headband from the Hokage meaning that he was now a genin and being told that they were to return to the academy in a weeks time for team assignment. He had made his way towards the orphanage in excitement, he had finally become a ninja of Konoha, reaching the door and entering.

Flashback

He saw Rea sitting by the table in the kitchen, looking at the clock by the stairs that led towards the inhabitants rooms he saw it was 5.00 AM. Naruto had completely lost track of time not even noticing several hours had passed as he inquired information about his mother from the Hokage and listening to everything Hiruzen had said with rapt attention.

Rea pov

Rea had woken up early as usual to prepare breakfast for her children, in her mind they were her children until they got adopted. Even then she still somewhat considered them hers, she had raised them with love and care after all, even Lee who had moved out once he became a ninja came by regularly to check in on the other children and her. Having woken up she decided to check in on the children not seeing anything out of the ordinary she decided to check Naruto's room. She had been worried about him since he never came home last night but she had decided that he was a ninja now and could take care of himself, she still worried about him of course. Giving a light knock on his door, she had learned the hard way not to walk in unannounced to a young teenagers room, after a while and not hearing anything she decided to open the door 'he's usually up by now' she thought to herself. Naruto had taken to waking up early as "ninja training" in his mind a ninja had to be ready at all times, giving a small smile at his dedication towards his training she opened the door fully. Seeing the bed undisturbed and exactly like it was yesterday after Naruto had made it before going to the academy, she figured he hadn't come home yet.

Waiting by the dinner table she didn't have to wait long before she heard the door to the orphanage open, looking towards the hallway she saw an young teenager clad in all black except for his arms which were bare until his forearms. Growing slightly worried that someone was breaking and entering she was about to ask the person what he was doing here, until she saw the person's eyes, only Naruto had such deep blue eyes.

Present Naruto pov

Thinking about that he remembered the scolding he got from her for being out all night, after having explained the circumstances he had apologized for worrying her, she had reluctantly accepted his apology still somewhat irritated. Deciding that it was useless to try and sleep now he joined the others for breakfast, he was quite hungry.

After breakfast and getting congratulated on his graduation by the other children Naruto decided to head out and practice the new techniques he'd gotten, he had one week of free time after all.

Three days after after his A-rank mission, on his way to one of the countless training grounds that were spread across Konoha, he had decided to wear his orange clothes since he had sent his black ones to a tailor for some custom work and he had also ordered a few more sets of the black outfit. Before he arrived at the training ground he ran into Anko.

"Hey brat" the purple haired woman started the moment she noticed him and before she could continue Naruto started talking.

"Anko-chan you're back!" he exclaimed his eyes sparkling with joy. Seeing him that happy to see her she gave him a smile and ruffled his hair "yes I'm back Naruto, now come on the girls are waiting for us" she said as she started leading Naruto towards the dango place.

Naruto growing a bit irritated at having his hair ruffled like he was some sort of kid quickly forgot his irritation as he remembered Anko's promise. Noticing where they were headed Naruto decided to speak "we're going to the usual dango place?" he asked a little disappointed.

Anko hearing the disappointment in his voice gave a short chuckle and said "yes brat" and before he could interject she continued "why're you sounding so disappointed? you get three gorgeous woman all to yourself".

Naruto hearing Anko's words thinking she might have misunderstood the reason for his disappointment hastily replied "it's not that! it's just" he started then continued "couldn't we go for ramen instead of dango?" in his honest opinion ramen was a dish sent to the mere mortals of the world by the gods. However Rea wasn't a fan of Naruto eating ramen everyday so he didn't get to eat it as much as he would like to.

Anko deciding to have a little fun was going to continue the teasing but after hearing Naruto's last words got a serious look in her eye and asked "you're not saying ramen is better than dango are you brat?".

Naruto despite carrying a massive crush on the woman wasn't going to back down from this said "that's exactly what I'm saying" while giving her an look that dared her to continue this. Naruto seemed to have forgotten that Anko has a bit of an sadistic side to her, he got reminded when he saw her eyes get a sinister look in them and her smile turning sinister as well.

Anko gave a dark chuckle at Naruto's words and said darkly "we're going for danko and that's that ok? Naru-chan".

Too afraid to speak back, and a little aroused 'why does that turn me on?' he asked himself, Naruto gave a meek nod "good boy" she said while giving his head a pat. Seeing her eyes and smile go back to their usual look they continued towards the dango place.

"Ramen is still better" Naruto whispered quietly to himself wanting to get the last word. Anko pretended not to hear him, even though she may have threatened Naruto a little bit she wouldn't do anything to hurt him. She cared for the boy and she found his crush on her amusing and cute which was why she teased him about it. Her friends joining in because they found the sight of a blushing Naruto too adorable not to, at the same time she figured that Naruto's crush was just that, a crush which would come to pass someday when he found a nice girl closer to his own age.

While Anko was wrapped up in her own thoughts Naruto continuously stole glances at her out of the corner of his eye, he knew the chances of a relationship with her were slim at best there was after all quite a big age difference between them 'eleven years to be precise' he idly thought to himself. He also knew there was no way she would ever get involved with a thirteen year old, no self respecting adult would he figured, that and being labeled a pedophile isn't something anyone wanted.

But he didn't want to give up just yet so he was going to wait until he was older and then confess his love to her, he was certain it was more than just a crush. Although his current plan had some negative sides to it, for example she could get a boyfriend before he was old enough for her to see him in a romantic light. But he had decided that was a risk he had to take and if she got involved with someone else and that person made her happy, then he'd give up. What he wanted most was for her to be happy, preferably with him of course but whatever happens happens.

As they were both deep in thought they noticed they had arrived. Shaking themselves out of their thoughts they entered the building. Anko led Naruto to a table where there were already two women waiting. The first woman, Kurenai had long black hair that stuck out in small spikes in some places, she had red eyes with some purple eyeliner and she had a roundish face. The second woman, Hana had long brown hair set up in a ponytail with two strands of hair falling infront of her face close to her black eyes, she had a bit more angular face than the first woman with the typical red clan markings on her cheek which was in the form of two fangs pointing down, but was still just as beautiful as the first woman 'Anko's still the most attractive though' he thought to himself, maybe a bit mean to the other women but the truth was the truth Naruto justified to himself.

Taking a seat next to Anko and feeling his leg touch hers he gave a small blush, picking up the menu and starting to look through it hoping it would cover up his face and hide the blush. Though by the sound of the women's snickering it hadn't. Seeing that they served ramen Naruto knew what he was going to order.

After everyone ordered, the women rolling their eyes at Naruto's choice of meal. They started talking about what they been doing, how their training went and what sort of missions they been on lately. Naruto listened as Anko talked about her latest mission which was an assassination mission, which made sense for Anko. As they got their food and gave a cheer in celebration for Naruto's graduation, Hana decided to ask a question that had been on her mind for a while.

"Naruto-kun?" she started.

"Yes Hana-chan" Naruto replied. "I was just wondering didn't you fail the exams?" Hana asked.

Anko hearing the questions gave Hana a sharp glare thinking she was trying to make fun of Naruto's abilities as a ninja, Hana seeing the glare realised how the question might a come across hurriedly spoke again "what I mean is, you looked down that day so I thought you didn't pass" she clarified. Anko hearing Hana's clarification rose on of her eyebrows and looked at Naruto interested. Hana seeing Anko divert her attention from her gave a sigh of relief, an Angry Anko was a deadly Anko after all, though she thought Ankos protectiveness of Naruto was quite adorable and gave a quite snicker.

Naruto seeing Ankos look decided to answer her silent question "I did technically fail, I couldn't do the clone technique" then he looked at Kurenai and said "I'm sorry even after all the time you spent helping me with my chakra control I still failed".

Kurenai hearing his apology gave him a smile and decided to put his worries to rest "it's okay Naruto-kun I'm not angry or anything I know how much effort you put into the chakra control exercises I gave you".

Naruto hearing Kurenai's words gave a silent sigh of relief but before anyone could say anything Anko decided to ask "so what happened, you did pass right?".

Naruto remembering the Hokage telling him to keep the whole Mizuki affair under wraps decided to tell the women a half truth "yes I passed Anko-chan, the Hokage gave me a special test for people with large chakra reserves" he said hoping they would buy it, he hated lying to them but confidential information was confidential for a reason. He didn't think any of the three women at the table would ever go rogue on Konoha but he also didn't want to go against the Hokage's orders.

The women hearing his explanation looked a little sceptical but knew that he wouldn't lie to them for no reason, and since he had mentioned the Hokage they probably figured Naruto had been forbidden from talking about it, which was usual in the ninja world.

With the topic comic to a close they started eating while discussing different topics, one of them being Kurenai and her decision to become a jounin teacher and take on a group of genin. Hearing that Naruto sort of hoped he would end up in her team, he liked the woman and he could definitely use more help with his chakra control. Continuing the small talk they soon finished their meals. Naruto decided to excuse himself as he went to the restroom.

As Naruto left Hana and Kurenai both looked at Anko with slightly worried looks, Anko seeing their expression rose one of her eyebrows and asked "what?" while picking her teeth with a dango stick.

Hana was the one that spoke first "you seem awfully protective of Naruto-kun Anko-chan" she started "you sure there isn't anything going on between you two" she finished. Kurenai intended to ask a smiliair question but hearing Hana do it she decided to just listen to what Anko would say. No matter how close they were as friends, Kurenai wasn't sure how she would feel if Anko decided to date a thirteen year old.

Anko stared at Hana with a blank look and then looked at Kurenai briefly "are you seriously asking that question?" Anko started "I'm not going to take a thirteen year old boy to bed" she finished.

Before either Hana or Kurenai could say anything Anko continued "I admit I like him, he's adorable" she started with a slight smile playing on her lips "but he's thirteen so as of now" she said then stopped shortly " a relationship isn't even on the table but I can't say that nothing could happened once he's gotten older" she finished "if he's still interested" she added as an afterthought.

With Anko's words putting the topic to rest the two other women looked at her with small smiles they both knew Anko wasn't really interested in a relationship at the moment anyway, she'd rather spend time furthering her training as a kunoichi and doing missions while spending the little free time she has with her friends.

Hana and Kurenai both gave small sighs of relief, they both loved Anko but having your best friend date a child was a hard pill to swallow.

After Naruto came back they continued their small talk and spent the rest of the day talking about future plans and the like. When Naruto and Anko were about to split and head on home, Anko crouched down and gave Naruto a tight hug while saying "I'm proud of you Naruto" Naruto hugged her back and replied "I couldn't have done it without you and the others Anko-chan".

With that they separated and went their separate ways.

five days after his outing with Anko, on the day he would be getting assigned to a team and get a jounin teacher Naruto left the orphanage and made his way towards the academy, after giving Rea a strong hug, three days after having had his mother revealed to him he decided to talk to Rea about it since he felt conflicted. On one hand Kushina gave birth to him and gave her life to protect him and on the other hand Rea had raised him, given him love and attention when he needed it, he considered both women his mothers 'but is that really possible?', he had thought. So talking it over with Rea, who had been happy the boy considered her his mother even after finding out about his birth mother.

The whole conversation had taken quite a toll on Naruto's emotions and after hearing Rea tell him that she loved him as if he was her own child Naruto had almost started crying his eyes out, he did let a tear or two fall though. Giving the woman a tight hug he had whispered out "mother".

"Yes son?" he heard her ask "nothing I just wanted to say it" Naruto had replied to her.

Remembering the loving smile she had given him filled him with warmth, ever since that day he had started referring to Rea as his mother.

Walking towards the academy he started to think about his training the last week, not counting the day he went out with Anko, Hana and Kurenai. He had mainly dedicated his training towards learning the shadow clone technique he manage the technique after just a few hours but he wanted to master the technique and be able to use it without needing to use the hand seal. Alas he wasn't at that point yet, he had also gotten the kunai shadow technique and shuriken shadow technique down to a satisfactory level, but that didn't mean he would stop training in them. Besides training in the three techniques he had continued his studies in the art of sealing, after hearing about the Uzumaki and their mastery in the area he had gained renewed vigour and dove into all the books and scrolls he could get his hands on.

The rest of his training was devoted to furthering his stealth and increasing the effectiveness of his sensory ability, which if you asked him was a bit underdeveloped. If he somehow managed to make more time he trained in using his tanto and increasing his aim with kunai and shuriken.

Arriving at the academy he made his way towards his classroom where they were supposed to meet for the team assignments. Opening the door he noticed people were giving him weird looks thinking back he figured it was because they all thought he had failed the exam and would be in the academy for another year. Ino was the one that said what was on everyone's mind "what the hell Naruto what's with those clothes!".

Hearing Inos words he looked down on himself 'oh right, they've only ever seen me in my orange clothes' he thought while giving a chuckle. He decided to answer her question "well Ino you didn't seriously think I would be wearing my orange clothes while being a ninja did you?".

"Well you never know" Ino said back a bit taken aback by Naruto's black outfit, he looked like a serious ninja. With the tanto across his lower back and six kunai, three on each thigh.

"You're not surprised I'm here?" he asked them.

Shikamaru was the one that answered "nah if your here your probably meant to, its the only logical reason" he replied giving a yawn towards the end.

As Naruto walked past his classmates seeing the seat next to Sasuke being occupied he decided to sit next to Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji a "big boned" boy, whom was another of his friends. Some student he didn't know very well asked out loud "what's with the whirlpool on your back?".

Sure enough on Naruto's back was large whirlpool in matte silver, one of the customisations he had requested from the tailor with the other being the inclusion of a leaf imprint on the silver part of his headpiece signifying his allegiance to Konoha, having gotten the okay from the Hokage so he didn't have to use the headband as long as he used to headpiece with the leaf on it as an replacement.

"Oh that" Naruto started noticing more and more student's were starting to pay attention "it's the symbol of my clan" he stated. Causing the other student's to exclaim in surprise.

"You part of a clan?!".

After Naruto had taken a seat he decided to fill everyone in on the Uzumaki clan, well those that showed an interest anyway, the Hokage hadn't said anything about keeping it secret and there were books on different clans in the village library anyway. So if they really wanted to they could probably deduce he was of the Uzumaki clan.

After a while of most students listening in on Naruto while he talked about the Uzumaki clan. Iruka finally arrived seeing the students present, he had gotten a briefing from the Hokage on Naruto's situation so he wasn't surprised when he saw him there. He was a bit disappointed at himself though for not noticing Mizuki's odd behaviour earlier.

Clapping his hands to get the student's attention, after getting it he started speaking "Congratulation on your graduation" he started and since it was their last day at the academy no one decided to interrupt him, they wanted to get out of the academy as fast as possible.

"Now for your team assignments and your jounin teacher" Iruka continued, Naruto spaced out as Iruka went through the list, he started listening after finally hearing his name, "team seven, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, jounin teacher Hatake Kakashi" after hearing his team placement he absentmindedly noticed Iruka continue down the list.

Looking at Sasuke he gave him a grin noticing Sasuke do the same.