- Good morning… - Kese replied to Fukasaku's greeting, as he was looking up and around in the rainforest of Myoubokuzan.

- What's wrong? – the toad's wife asked.

- Nothing, just it was still a little dark back there, but here it seems like it's noon. Never mind. – he put Gamashiro down then turned to the green toad. – Did you want to see me?

- Actually, I wanted to know if you would like to come back. I am glad you had not lost your curiosity. – the blonde raised an eyebrow at this. Fukasaku turned to his right and started to walk with the help of a cane. – Come with me.

Kese did as he asked, and Gamashiro jumped to follow as well, but Fukasaku's wife called for him.

- Shiro-chan, come, I prepared some pupa soup for you!

The little albino toad was more than flattered; he blushed when he realized how Shima had just called him*. – My favourite? – he whispered. – I'm coming!

Kese watched as Gamashiro happily hopped to the other toad. 'They finally treat him better' he smiled. 'Wait, pupa soup?!'

- He is really fond of you. – Fukasaku spoke.

- Is he? – the blonde was surprised. 'Did she really say pupa soup?!'

- He told me how you treat him: kindly and equally, unlike most of us. – they left the clearing of the oilfall and entered the forest. - We never paid attention to him because of his strange white skin and weak body. Things got worse when we found out he cannot grow bigger. And we did not even care noticing his talent. I am really sorry about all of this.

- Talent? – 'Why can't I let this pupa soup go?'

- He can easily come home from anywhere, and go back to the exact spot even after several days. I do not know how he does it, but he can take "objects" with him as well, for example you. Not to mention he is very good at hiding; maybe because he had to hide from us so many times. – he sighed sadly and shook his head, then something came to his mind. He stopped and turned to Kese. – Did you notice him? - the blonde blinked questioningly. – He has been around you in the past week.

Kese stared at him, his eyes growing bigger and bigger with every second. He thought about what he had done that week. – No-WHAT?!

Fukasaku chuckled and started walking again. – I remember one occasion he returned paler than normal and could not speak for an hour. After that, we needed to have "the talk" with him, especially about human reproduction.

The blonde hissed, thinking about the night he had spent in the brothel. 'He followed me even there!?' – Fuck.

- I do not respect vulgarism, but yes, exactly. – they stepped out of the rainforest, and Kese found himself on a large field of tall grass and rocks. He spotted something and immediately froze, not hearing the toad's speech. – He discovered a few things about you which caught my attention. First, you tend to sneak and spy on your employer, and you seem to be in some kind of trouble. Second, you know how to... hey, where are you? – Fukasaku looked around, then hopped onto a larger rock. He spotted Kese about a few metres away: he was just standing in the grass stunned, staring at an enormous rusty red toad. This toad wore a blue vest, had a giant pipe, and a scar on his face. It was sleeping not far from the blonde. When Fukasaku got back to him, he heard Kese whispering.

- He's huge... – then his eyes went even wider and he gaped. His lips formed a word, or rather, a name. 'It... it can't be. He's one of the toads from my dreams!'

- That is Gamabunta, the chief of our kind. He is one of the largest and strongest of us. But we rather not disturb him; he can be really grumpy when someone wakes him. Come.

- Yeah. – he took a last glance at Gamabunta, then he followed Fukasaku. The huge red toad slightly opened his eye and watched as the two disappear amongst the many plants. He snored, turned to his other side and fell asleep again.

- When Gamashiro first brought me here he mentioned a few strange things. – Kese pushed away a large leaf as he entered the forest again.

- What did he say?

- You were looking for your summoner, whom you lost, and that's how and why he found me. Though I can't really agree or confirm I'm the person you seek. I might resemble and be really close, but-

- You did say this place was familiar...

- Yes, but-

- ...I saw you mutely saying Gamabunta's name right before I told it to you...

- But-

- ...and you tried to summon one of us.

Kese stopped and stared at the toad with widened eyes. – How do you know? – Fukasaku turned to him and smiled. – Gamashiro?! – the blonde blinked, and the toad elder nodded. - Sneaky little tadpole...

- Your employer could say the same thing about you, Kese. – Fukasaku chuckled and stepped closer to him. – Your name, your look and your chakra might be different from before, but our search finally ended when Shiro found you. Now I know you did not remember it, but once you were a shinobi of the Leaf, host of a tailed beast and our respectful summoner. And your name was: Uzumaki Naruto.

The blonde stared at him, trying to process the sudden information flow. 'I can finally learn about my past', his thoughts raced, his heart beat fast. 'I won't run away from it anymore!'

He inhaled deeply and pierced his eyes into the toad's pupils. – Go on, Fukasaku-san, tell me everything you know!

Gamashiro was full: he had eaten so much of his favourite meal he couldn't move by hopping and jumping, only walking on four. He wasn't used to this, so it was a little funny for him. He should have just stayed at Shima to take a nap, but he wanted to find his blonde friend. He followed Kese's footprints on the rainforest's rich ground, but he lost it in the grass. Suddenly, he bumped into something. He didn't see much of it, so he poked it a few times.

- How dare you tickle me?! – the thing growled loudly and moved; and Gamashiro realized he had just poked the foot of his biggest boss.

- I'm sorry, Gamabunta-dono, I didn't know it was you! – he hunched and tried to hid himself under his palm. He prepared himself for scolding.

- What are you doing here? – the enormous toad sat up and the little one looked up at him.

- I was looking for Kese. He should be with Kashira-dono.

- I don't remember a toad called Kese. – he kind of snarled.

- He's not a toad, Gamabunta-sama. He's human.

The large toad frowned and scratched his chin. – I thought I dreamed that.

- Have you seen them? – Gamashiro's red eyes sparkled. His boss moved his large arm and pointed into the forest.

- That way. – he spoke and laid back. – Now, leave me be.

- Thank you very much! – the little albino toad bowed, then carefully hopped towards the forest. Once there, he found then followed the human footprints, until he finally noticed him and the sage toad. They were sitting on a large rock, and Kese was deeply lost in his thoughts. His eyes were closed, his arms crossed and he didn't really move. Fukasaku was waiting patiently for him to answer, and when he saw the albino toad, he waved at him to get closer, but to do so quietly. So Gamashiro sat next to his superior and was about to ask what had been going on when Kese spoke, startling him a little.

- I don't know, Fukasaku-san. Not much feels familiar.

- Hmm, I see.

Gamashiro blinked at the two. – May I ask what is going on?

- As I suspected, Kese had some amnesia, so I have told him, well, about his past.

- You only told me who I might have been before. – he corrected. – But I don't feel myself one with it.

- How? What's wrong? – the little toad asked then turned to his superior, his voice trembled. - D-did I find the wrong person?

- No, Gamashiro. You have found the right person.

- Only in body. – the blonde added, rubbing his abdomen, then shook his head. - It's just odd… Many things seem to fit, but... I can't identify myself with the guy you once knew. – he shrugged and sighed. – And by the way I'm a completely different from the person you depicted. – he frowned, not noticing his hated word.

- You are not so different...

- How else could you know how to summon us if you weren't the right person? – Gamashiro's childish voice was heard after his long silence of contemplating.

- It's a long story. I know a few things I've never learnt. But I can confirm it's not because I might have been your summoner.

- You knew the procedure and the hand-seals well, the summoning should have been successful, unless... – Fukasaku hummed and eyed the blonde up and down.

- Unless? – Kese felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze.

The toad elder explained. - One has to sign a summoning contract with his own blood to make it valid, and it stays valid as long as the contract remains intact, even after the contractor's death. – he pointed at the blonde with his cane. – Kobachi Keshe: this is the name you consider yours, right?

- Actually, it's Kovács, but yes. – he corrected the toad's pronounciation.

- Do you think the change of his name caused the failure of the summoning? – Gamashiro asked his superior, who nodded. – I thought an alias doesn't affect the summoning.

- My name is real, not an alias!

- And that is it. He had identified with another name. – Fukasaku stated, turning to the albino toad. – If he called himself Uzumaki Naruto naturally and this name would mean his own essence to him, the summoning would work. But he is Kese, not Naruto.

- Could something simple like a name be so influential?

Fukasaku smiled at him. – Kese, a simple name can be powerful enough to start a war*.

The blonde hummed and stared at his feet while rubbing the scar on his belly. 'The other factor of the summoning contract is blood... Everyone's blood is unique and it carries information about its person. It's an identifier, so beside the name, it's perfect for this. And it can't change. Your blood stays yours for your entire life.' he thought about the Bleeding Effect. 'So my DNA getting ripped hasn't affected my blood's... Or… Could it be it had affected, but the linen cloth in the cave, The Shroud of Eden, had already cured it?' he shook his head. 'I'm giving myself a headache. I should think less.'

- You know what I don't understand? – Gamashiro interrupted his thoughts. – It's been years since you got lost, and we have searched Siplak several times. Why is it I have found you just right now?

- Have you searched the Silent Island?

The toads blinked at him. – Silent Island?

- Is there an island called that?

- Yeah. North-east from Siplak.

- Hm… I have never heard of it. – Fukasaku said. – Is it deserted?

- There's a whole village on it, with more than a hundred people.

- Really?! – the sage toad gaped. – It was me who had searched that area, even with Sage Senses, but never noticed a soul. I wonder why.

- Because of The Apple… - Kese whispered.

- What?

- Uhm, nothing. – he smiled awkwardly. 'It told me it was its doing. That Piece of Eden is the reason our island is silent. The Apple and its vault together generates a strange protecting field around the island. It doesn't allow anyone to sense anything but sea from there, it changes the attitude towards our island to unconcerned, and it even affects the weather. I don't know why it's this way, but this protection is the reason they didn't find me when I was at home. But after regaining my chakra using ability and moving to Siplak, they found me quickly.'

He watched Fukasaku slowly getting up to his feet. – I think it is time for us to send someone to Konoha to tell the Hokage about you. Gamashiro, go and find-

- What?! No! – Kese got slightly frustrated. – What for?

The sage toad spread his arms. – We have to inform them we-

- No. – the blonde interrupted him again. – Don't say a word about me to anyone!

- Why? – Gamashiro asked, and Kese froze. He had no clue why he wanted that, but he quickly came up with something.

- They would think you've found the exact same person… and they would expect him. But it's not true, I'm not him, and they'd be disappointed, both in you and me.

Fukasaku crossed his arms and nodded. – A good reasoning that makes sense. Something else?

- I just don't want them to know about me.

- But why? – Gamashiro asked again.

- Just because. – his voice was slightly hard and made the albino toad hunch a little.

He suddenly got an idea which he could quickly change the topic with. - Fukasaku-san, can I sign the summoning contract?

Said toad was truly surprised by this. – Why?

- Uhm, why not?

- Well... – he eyed him. – Before that you should prove you are worth it.

- How?

Fukasaku grinned. – First of all: tell me your story. Start with your very first memory.

Kese sighed heavily, but he told them everything that had happened to him since his arrival to the island. He spoke about his family, friends, his everyday life in the Magors' village, his occupation; everything except the pirates, his visions, the Bleeding Effect, and of course, the cave inside the mountain and what it hid. Oh, and he didn't mention his affair with Emese, too, because he didn't want to disturb Gamashiro with this topic. He also left out Emiko and his chakra training, but eventually, he had to speak about this too, because the toads asked him how he could use his chakra. In the end, it took him more time than he expected, and he saw Fukasaku wasn't completely satisfied.

- I feel like you have not told us everything.

Kese briefly glanced at the little albino toad, indicating it was because of him. – You better not know everything now. Believe it.

Fukasaku smiled, and the blonde realized he had just said the awkward word again. 'I'll cut my tongue in half, I swear!'

- Then there is only one thing left for you to do.

- What would it be?

The sage toad stood up and jumped off the rock. He turned towards the blonde after he landed and spread his arms. – Show me what you have got!

Kese's eyebrows darted. – A-are you sure? – he watched the toad elder nodding, then he jumped off the rock too. – Would you like me to use chakra?

- Of course. – he chuckled. – What do you think, what else do I want to see?

- I asked, because, in this case, I need to modify my seal a bit. – he began making hand-seals, while Fukasaku went on speaking.

- Did Emiko tell you by name which clan she belonged to?

- No. – he finished the hand-seals, concentrated for a second. He was so stunned by the answer he forgot to release the last hand-seal. He stared at the toad with widened eyes. – ...What?

- I said Uzumaki. The clan which was so notorious thanks to its powerful sealing techniques it got wiped out.

- So... that means she could be my relative?!

- I do not know. It was a large clan.

Kese was rooted to the spot. He suddenly chuckled. – You sly amphibian. Distracting me like that right before a fight... – he moved into an offensive stance. – Let's begin!

Fukasaku smirked, too, and after he put down his cane he immediately started making hand-seals. The blonde fortunately recognized them and began making others; so before the toad's Water Bullet could have hit him, he raised a Stone Wall to stop it. After this he made two shadow clones which jumped out from behind that wall and attacked the toad in close combat. Fukasaku was surprisingly fast and good at that. Meanwhile the original Kese prepared a seal, got away from the Stone Wall and slammed his palm down to the ground. The formula of a sealing technique appeared in the surface of the rich soil and ran quickly towards his opponent. But in the last minute, Fukasaku pulled one of the blonde's clones to himself and jumped away, resulting Kese sealing his own clone. Then without any preparation, the toad spit out some liquid, and it hit and covered both of his opponents from head to toe. The blonde was disgusted when he discovered what that was. 'Oil from the waterfall?', he thought then got frightened when he noticed what kind of jutsu Fukasaku had launched. A Fire-type one. – Oh, shit!

The flames reached him and his clone too, which immediately dissolved. Nothing remained where Kese stood before; nothing but a burning log. The toad elder chuckled. – Kawarimi*, eh? – he closed his eyes and smiled. He slowly walked to his cane and picked it up. – But not good enough. I can sense you. – and with this he threw his cane right towards the blonde who was hiding behind giant leaves. Kese dodged it in the last moment, and the cane pierced into the tree behind his head. He grabbed and pulled it out, and charged towards Fukasaku, while spitting his Wind chakra on it, creating a blade.

The toad launched another Water Bullet at him, which he didn't dodge, nor stopped. He concentrated some chakra into his feet to stand steady, and when it reached him, he cut it half and let the water hit his body. He prepared well, it didn't hurt him much. 'Great, as I thought, it washed off most of the oil!', he advanced, dodging another larger Water Bullets, getting closer and closer to his opponent. He was close enough to attack with his Wind Blade, but Fukasaku jumped away from his way and punched his right arm in which he held the cane. It wasn't a strong punch, but it was very strange and hurt like hell, Kese even dropped his weapon. The toad attacked him again, but the blonde turned and somehow sent him to the ground. A moment later, silent clang of metal was heard.

Fukasaku rolled away and the blonde's left palm hit the spot he had been. The sharp blade easily sank into the soft soil. Kese quickly swung his arm towards the toad who jumped away and sent another, but very large and powerful Water Bullet at him. It hit the blonde hard and knocked him down.

It took him some time to get up. Fukasaku didn't attack him again. - That was enough. – the toad sighed. – Let us stop.

- Why? – Kese shouted. – I can-

- You got too serious. – Fukasaku walked to his cane and picked it up. – You almost killed me.

- You almost fried me for lunch, so we can call that even. – he snapped.

The toad walked up to him. – You are quick and fierce like before. But your style has changed. You are more like a serious and experienced shinobi who is not playing around anymore. For a moment I thought I lost my... – he touched his chin. He needed a few seconds to realize what was wrong and got freaked out. – My goatee! Where is my goatee? – he looked around and noticed a grey stain on the ground that was the remnants of it. He jumped and hit Kese's head with his cane. – You evil-hearted cruel human! What did you do to my goatee?

- I'm sorry, Fukasaku-san! – he yelled, saying the cursed word again. He rubbed the top of his head with his right, and wanted to defend himself with his left, when the toad gasped.

- A-ha! So you cut off my goatee with this wicked blade! – he pointed at the blonde's left hand. Kese looked at it, too. It was still out; he forgot to pull it back to its place. He carefully wiped it into his trousers, then cleaned it with his shirt, before checking and retracting it.

- Where did you get that? – Fukasaku asked.

- I made it. I'm a blacksmith, remember?

- I have seen similar ideas about a blade under the sleeve, but this looks quite… impressive.

- Thanks.

- But there is a weakness.

- Eh?

- You cannot use it and ninjutsu at the same time.

- What?! – Kese made the blade slid out of his sleeve, then tried the twelve basic hand-seals. He could only perform the Ox, the Hare, and the hand-seal of the Shadow Clone jutsu without the slightest chance of cutting his fingers off. He pouted as he pulled back his blade, memorizing this little inconvenience. He suddenly noticed Fukasaku watching him with a strange gaze. – What's wrong?

- I cannot describe how I feel when I am looking at you. – he sighed and shook his head. – You are the same kid whom I trained, and yet you are still a complete stranger. - Kese awkwardly chuckled while pulling off his shirt and squeezing the water out of it. - You have grown a lot. – the toad stepped closer and poked the blonde's abdomen with his cane. – And you have gain weight as well.

- Hey, that's pure muscle, you know! Oh, no, no, stop it! Ahaha, don't tickle me! Stahp!

- This scar...

- Eh?

Fukasaku pointed at his belly. - This is where the Fourth's seal was long ago. – the blonde frowned at him. - I have seen it myself when I taught you how to use natural energy. But normally, breaking a seal would not affect the carrier tissues to such an extent.

- Then why is there a scar? - the toad shook his head, he didn't know it. – Well, another thing I shall find out myself... So, Fukasaku-san, may I, you know, sign the contract?

Said toad scratched his chin and went to stroke his goatee, but it weren't there. He furrowed his brows, looked up and down him, eyed the blonde, hummed a little, then spoke. - Well, I kinda took a liking to you, so I think we will keep you.

A vein appeared on Kese's forehead, and he had a really dumb expression. – Aha. – he breathed, blinking at the toad elder. 'So it's not about skill but liking? What the-?!' He suddenly smirked. – Fukasaku-san...

- Yes?

- After I sign the contract can I call you Grampa Sage?

- Hahaha, no. – Fukasaku performed a few hand-seals and a large scroll appeared, out of another cloud of smoke for no reason. Kese started to not understand the mysterious relationship of ninjutsu and random clouds of smoke, but he patiently watched the toad unrolling the scroll.

- Wait… - he said. – I know this scroll! I've seen it somewhere… - he ignored Fukasaku's explanation as he was thinking about it. – On the back of that white haired man…

- That was Jiraiya. – the elder toad pointed at a name on the scroll. – As I told you before, you were his pupil. As well the Fourth Hokage. – he pointed at the next name on the list.

- Namikaze Minato. My father. – the blonde gulped. – It seems I really was an important person. – Fukasaku chuckled at him. – What now?

- I expected "my father by blood" and "the person I was" or "might have been". But you said "my father" and "I was". It means you start to accept your past. – he saw Kese's confused expression. The toad just sighed and shook his head. –To sign the contract, you need to-

Before he could finish his sentence, the blonde cut into his right thumb with his hidden blade. He looked at the surprised toad and smirked. – Shall I write in Elemental or in Magor?

In the end, he signed it in Elemental as the toads asked him, so they could read it as well.

Kowachi Keshe.

It didn't matter in what language he wrote it, it would be his name, as long as he lived. It held everything he was, he had been: a blonde blacksmith with strange origins.

After finishing by leaving his fingerprints on the paper, he put his hand over the one next to it. That other collection of fingertips (probably made by him as well, but years before) was so small compared to his much bigger adult hand. Kese could almost see the tiny child fingers that left that there.

He read the poorly drawn hiraganas over it, and tried to suck in that name as well. – Uzumaki Naruto, eh? – he smiled and stood up. - Alright, Grampa Sage! – he grinned. - What's next?

– Senjutsu training, Kese-chan.

Thanks for reading!

* -chan: one of the many Japanese honorific, it is said after the name of children or little cute things. But in his last sentence, Fukasaku used it to mock Kese in return.

~For those who hasn't read or watched Naruto~

*A name powerful enough to start a war: I was referring to the Fourth Shinobi War.

*Kawarimi: Body Replacement Technique. "With this technique, users replace their own body with some other object, generally with a block of wood, the moment an attack lands. This creates an optical illusion, making the enemy think the attack was successful. From this, the user can use the lapse in the enemy's attention to attack or flee from the battlefield." (Source: Naruto wikia)

Senjutsu ("Sage Jutsu", Literally meaning "Sage Techniques") refers to a specialised field of techniques that allows the user to sense and then gather (and use) the natural energy around the person. (Source: Naruto wikia) More about senjutsu later.

Kese learnt some basic techniques from Emiko, that's why he could use an earth element wall. And being an old toad sage, I assume Fukasaku had a wide arsenal of different jutsus.

In the original series, Naruto does call Fukasaku "Grampa Sage".