Disclaimer: No documents of ownership have mysteriously turned up in my possession. Meaning I still don't own Naruto.
Chapter 17: Informative conversations
Homura sighed contentedly. Finally he was back in Konoha. At his age traveling was becoming very tiresome and stressful, but somebody had to head the negotiations about the mission quota and payment with the Fire daimyo's government each year. Half the time that somebody was him. For the last few years he had taken turns with Koharu, and this year it had been his turn again. The timing had been rather unfortunate; he had been forced to leave a day before Anko was meeting her team; but he hadn't wanted to ask Koharu to take over for him. One large favor owed was enough, after all. All in all, the result of the negotiations had been acceptable for all sides and after a good night's sleep in his own bed he was ready to catch up on the events that had happened in his absence.
"Here are the reports you requested, Mitokado-sama."
Nodding his thanks to his secretary he began reading the reports. Aside from a few interesting backroom deals it seemed everything was business as usual. It was already evening when he found the time to look through the mission reports of the new elite teams. The usual D-ranks weren't very interesting, although he raised his eyebrow when he read that Tora the cat now refused to leave Madame Shijimi's immediate vicinity after she had been recaptured by Team 8 a week ago. Normally the cat escaped every few days, but it had stayed put for almost two weeks after Team 11 took the mission on their second day and brought it back. Suddenly he choked on his tea. After clearing his throat he had to read the paragraph twice to make sure he had understood it correctly.
Anko had taken her team on a C-rank mission two and a half weeks after they had passed her test and had only returned three days ago. That was completely unprecedented.
'Either we have a team of prodigies on our hands or Anko grossly overestimated their skills and dragged unprepared genin into dangerous territory. I can't really imagine the latter possibility.'
He would have to talk with her at the next opportunity.
Naruto and Hinata were taking a day off in the world at the edge of dreams. For both of them this world was literally the only place in existence where they could be truly themselves without fear. That was especially important for Hinata; with her clan's bloodline it was extremely hard to be sure that she was truly unobserved. It wasn't like she was under constant surveillance, but the danger of some Hyuuga spying on her existed the entire time. During the past years her clan had mostly ignored her, and her choice of friends had been deemed acceptable. They were all clan heirs, after all, and she never mentioned Naruto. Still, that didn't rule out the occasional observer. The C-rank delivery mission had been outright relaxing for her. Currently they were lying in the grass of the meadows some kilometers from the cottage and simply watching the clouds.
"That cloud to the right looks like a rabbit." Hinata remarked.
Naruto squinted. "Really? I would have taken it for a chair."
"Don't be silly, that's clearly a rabbit."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yes dear."
"Don't roll your eyes and dear me. That makes you sound like you just humor me without actually agreeing." Thanks to her byakugan she could see him without actually looking in his direction. Normally she didn't keep it active here, but she had used it to take a closer look at the clouds.
The corners of his mouth twitching in a suppressed grin, Naruto answered. "Yes dear."
"Okay, that's it." Hinata said before she jumped at him and started tickling. Naruto weathered her first assault and gave back as good as he got. After a few minutes of playful wrestling both of them were out of breath from all the laughing. "Now, have you learned your lesson?"
Naruto barely suppressed another smirk and said "Yes dear." Before Hinata could react he kissed her and after a few seconds nothing besides the kiss mattered any longer. The following kissing session lasted quite a bit longer than the wrestling. When they finally finished the sun was already nearing the horizon.
Naruto sighed. "It seems our day off is coming to an end."
Hinata stood up. "Let's go back to the cottage."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, but finally Hinata couldn't keep her curiosity in check any longer. Yesterday she had seen some very peculiar weather patterns in the direction of the zone Naruto used as magical testing ground, but he had only returned when she was already asleep and today they hadn't talked about anything work- or real world-related due to their mutual agreement. But now that the day was practically over she could ask.
"How is your weather control spell coming along? I thought I saw some strange cloud formations yesterday." she asked.
"I'm making progress, but it is slow work. Dad and I are pretty much finished with hammering out the spell's structure after the original transcription. Now I'm mainly trying to figure out how to use it correctly. There are just so many factors to consider. Temperature, cloudiness, precipitation and wind are the main ones I have to pay attention to, but there are a lot of details. It's easily the most complex and most powerful spell we have ever worked on. When I finally get it to work I will be able to control the weather in a zone with a diameter of several dozen kilometers." Naruto answered.
"Why do you do it in the first place? I can only guess, but considering the area of effect the power requirements have to be massive. You will only be able to cast it by tapping directly into the spring of magic if even that." Hinata wondered.
Naruto shook his head. "Actually no, and that is what makes this spell such an interesting project. We've pretty much established that using spells in battle is unworkable for us two. Even in a magic-rich environment like this world or the inner sanctuary true battle magic like fireballs or your paralysis-spell is completely inefficient in terms of concentration and time requirement. Outside of these places the amount of magic power required makes it completely unfeasible. Chakra techniques of all kinds rule the battlefield; there is no way around that. We already knew that magic is very good at relatively subtle effects like the memorization spell or long-term things like enchanting my leather boots for increased durability. What this spell proves is that for really large-scale effects magic becomes efficient again. Outside of very specific circumstances I know of no techniques that can control the weather without bijuu-level chakra usage or massive seal use, and that isn't the only powerful effect I can think of. The power requirements aren't as high as one would suspect from our earlier experiments. Oh, I will need to be in the sanctuary to cast it and I need about half an hour casting time, but I will be able to arbitrarily manipulate the weather. It will even stay that way for up to two or three days depending on the normal weather conditions in the surrounding area. Dad even thinks that we might find the key to ritual magic with really long-term effects."
Hinata had listened attentively and nodded in understanding. "That would be a breakthrough. I don't like that we have to call upon your parent's power for the more ambitious tasks or leave it to them completely like the elemental goblets. If we can do it ourselves it would be much better."
Once again silence descended, but after five minutes Naruto voiced a question. "How are things going with your clan?"
Hinata sighed. She really didn't want to talk about it. She had made the mistake of telling Naruto about the eventual marriage prospects the clan elders were considering for her and he had made it abundantly clear that he wouldn't tolerate it if she sacrificed herself in such a manner. Unfortunately they needed the Hyuuga in fighting shape and couldn't risk antagonizing them in any fashion. That meant Hinata would have to stay with them for the foreseeable future without rousing suspicion. If she appeared genuinely threatened by either marriage or the caged bird seal Naruto wouldn't hesitate to use his mother's chakra and his parents' divine power to bail her out and annihilate the Hyuuga if need be or die trying. And his parents would back him up, consequences be damned. Hinata shuddered when she recalled the conversation with Youko about her 'unhealthy desire for suicidal and unnecessary self-sacrifice'. It reminded her that there was still work to do on her weaknesses.
"As well as expected. No concrete marriage proposals have materialized. Neither have any plans of sealing either me or Hanabi. I'm still working on the preliminary stages of several possible escape plans like faking my own death or going nuke-nin if they leave me enough time."
"When do you plan on giving up the fake stutter?" Naruto asked.
Hinata hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. If I reduce it deliberately when we are away on a mission and increase it as soon as I'm back with my clan it might cause Anko-sensei to take actions to further shield me from my clan. The chances that it will be successful are rather low, but even a low chance is better than zero. Besides, my stutter gives the lip-readers among my clansmen fits."
That earned her a chuckle from Naruto. "I think it is time we ask Anko for elemental training. We both are much further along than our friends and I would like to begin working on combat jutsu in earnest. With mom's secret help Mizuki and I have come up with a few new ideas for shape and elemental transformation I'd like to use in practice." he said.
"I would like that as well. Currently I can control small amounts of water with chakra alone, but it isn't really combat-applicable for the foreseeable future. If I had appropriate techniques things would go much smoother." Hinata agreed.
"It would be nice if I could do with air what you do with water, but the volume I would have to control to generate any noticeable effects is simply prohibitive." Naruto responded.
Hinata smirked in a playful manner. "Well, sucks to be you. Race you to the house!"
"Hey!"
Naruto caught up to her shortly before she reached the cottage, and after a short time to catch their breath they entered.
"Welcome back, you two. You're just on time." Youko greeted them.
The evening meal was pleasant and the conversation light. Strictly speaking Naruto's parents didn't actually need to eat and they could have made it so for Naruto and her, but all sides had agreed that it was better to retain a semblance of normal life. The transition between here and the waking world would have been even more jarring otherwise.
After they had finished eating the conversation turned serious. "There is something very important that we have to tell you, kit." Youko said.
Daiki nodded. "Son, we think we have isolated the specters your biological parents left in the seal in a sufficient manner to take the risk of waking them up. It will be a one-time occurrence, but we can let you speak with them whenever you are ready."
Hinata watched Naruto with worry. His entire body had gone very stiff after the announcement and his expression had become stony. Scooting out of her chair she went over to him and began to gently rub his back. He smiled in thanks before he turned back to his parents.
"Are there any things I should know about that beforehand?" Naruto asked.
"We can do it whenever you want. Think carefully what you want to say and ask; the time they can stay is very limited. We don't expect it to be more than a quarter of an hour, perhaps even less. Mind you, they aren't fully there, so they probably won't have their full abilities and skills. They might even lie to you, there is no way we can compel them to speak the truth. Oh, Hinata won't be able to accompany us. The place I have set up is somewhere between your mind, the seal and this world; she can't enter it without endangering a carefully maintained balance." Daiki explained.
Naruto nodded. "I'll think about it. There isn't any sort of rush, is there?"
Youko shook her head. "No, there isn't. You can take all the time you need. Last week during your C-rank we confirmed that your location in the waking world doesn't matter for your visits here, even if it makes accessing magic in general impossible and the possessions harder if you aren't near Konoha."
"I don't think I'm ready to face Minato and Kushina now; perhaps on the next visit." Naruto said after a few moments of thought.
"As you wish. If and when you want to go to see them is your decision and yours alone."
Much later that night Hinata lay awake with a sleeping Naruto in her arms. They had talked for quite a while after they had retired to their alcove, but there was no counsel she could give him. While her own father didn't care about her and most of her clan didn't like her it wasn't like they actively sought to harm her or take her free will away. The Yondaime was a monster in her opinion for using that seal on Naruto. Even the caged bird seal her clan used didn't actually take the freedom of choice away. If things grew unbearable there was always the option of either choosing death willingly or even striking directly at the main house, not that anyone in the last decades had done that to her knowledge. They already knew that there had been other options, invalidating the argument that the Yondaime had done it to save Konoha.
No, the problem was Kushina. Had she been a willing party to the demented plan of turning her son into some sort of savior or had she been deceived? Naruto feared the answer to that question. Deep down he apparently still hoped that at least his biological mother had cared more for him than his father. But was not knowing better than having a definite answer even if you didn't like the answer? Hinata honestly had no answer to that question. The only thing she could do was to support Naruto in whatever decision he made.
Having tea with Anko was always pleasant in Homura's opinion. After making light conversation for a while they finally got to the interesting part.
"So, how does being a sensei become you, Anko? You've had them for a month." Homura asked.
For a moment there was a faraway look in Anko's eyes. "Better than I ever imagined, Homura-sama." She shook herself out of her stupor and made some small movements with her fingers. It was a code just the two of them knew. While it was very limited in comparison to the different brands of sign languages that were in use it sufficed for conveying short messages.
Are we secure?
"We are. I specifically secured this room with seals of my own design and carefully checked again after I came back. Nobody can see or hear what happens here."
Anko nodded and seemed to collect her thoughts. Then she dropped the first bombshell. "Naruto already knows what he contains."
Homura froze. Dozens of different scenarios whirled in his mind before he forcefully calmed himself down. "How?"
"Apparently Naruto has been able to feel his own chakra very precisely for a long time and noticed the Kyuubi's chakra in his body. The seal becomes visible if he channels enough chakra; a fact he discovered when he tried to fake a tattoo with a henge and posed bare-chested before a mirror. Additionally, his mind enters the seal sometimes when he sleeps. According to him the Kyuubi is comatose or sleeping very deeply. He thinks he can draw on its power, but prefers to reserve that for emergencies or until he had time to train with it away from the village. I agree with him; it will probably be very noticeable."
The old man sat back in his cushioned chair. He hadn't expected that development, but it nicely circumvented the problem of the Hokage's order that no one was allowed to tell Naruto. Anko's next question surprised him.
"Do you know who Naruto's parents are?"
Shaking his head, he answered "No, I don't know, although I suspect. Why do you ask?"
"Because Naruto knows that it was his father, the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze, who sealed the Kyuubi into him. He also knows that his mother Kushina Uzumaki was the previous jinchuuriki. I don't know how he found out about that, but there is quite a similarity to both of them. Naruto showed me an old yearbook of the academy. I assume this information is correct?" Anko asked while watching him intently.
Homura sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. The revelations just kept coming. "Most likely, yes. I was one of the very few people who knew Kushina was a jinchuuriki and pregnant. She specifically went into hiding because her seal would destabilize temporarily while giving birth. The Yondaime was to accompany her to help keep it stable along with a heavy ANBU guard, Hiruzen's wife Biwako and another medic. I have no conclusive proof that Minato was the father of her child but I consider it very likely. Especially how young Naruto looks like a mix between him and Kushina. Anyway, absolutely no one has any clue what happened between her going into hiding and the Kyuubi appearing in the midst of the village. None of the accompanying persons were ever seen again alive. I don't even know where their hiding place was supposed to be. Judging from the location the Kyuubi appeared it was inside Konoha, but I'm not sure. How does Naruto deal with that knowledge?"
Anko chuckled darkly. "He resents his father, maybe even hates him. Who wouldn't? But as Minato is beyond his reach he has accepted the fact that he is a jinchuuriki and that he can't do anything about it." She clasped her hands. "One person he definitely hates is the Sandaime. Naruto deceived the whole village about his intelligence with his acting like a dumb, clueless kid. In truth he is exceptionally intelligent, and he has come to the conclusion that the Hokage is manipulating him and largely responsible for his less than stellar upbringing. From the available evidence it seems as if he was supposed to form an emotional dependency on the old man. As far as I can tell he is still loyal to the village as a whole."
After a moment of silence he barked out a short laugh. "It seems Hiruzen's scheme has backfired on him. I never understood what he was truly planning with his neglect of Naruto. Either you form him into a capable weapon or you give him a normal childhood by finding a foster family. There were enough shinobi families who would have accepted him for the power he has access to alone. In the worst case he could simply have ordered some ANBU to act as parents. They are picked primarily for their loyalty to the Hokage, after all. Considering that Minato had hardly the time in office to make any changes they were and are all loyal to Hiruzen. What are the boy's true skills?"
Anko's answer blew his expectations completely out of the water. "He is a prodigy. Some of his skills are already low chunin level. More importantly he has created a circle of friends who are all much more capable than should be possible. I recently discovered that there was an academy instructor who didn't think highly about the quality of the instruction and took matters into his own hands after Naruto sought him out." She continued by giving him a detailed description of her team's skills and some less detailed information on the other three friends of Naruto. Homura honestly hadn't expected such a thing. Granted, they were all clan heirs, but their skill level was simply unprecedented. It filled him with hope for Konoha's future. "There is more. The group of them is aware of many of Konoha's problems. They have far-reaching plans of their own. Luckily they are compatible with our designs, Homura-sama, and they have shown a willingness to work together with us in the future." She continued with giving him an overview what Naruto's group had found out about Konoha's true status.
'It gets better and better.' Homura thought. He had expected a long, arduous process of convincing the genin that something was wrong with the village. With six of this year's twelve elite genin already holding the same general opinion as him and Naruto free of the Hokage's influence their prospects of bringing about genuine change looked much better. It wasn't all sunshine, though. Homura felt like someone had punched him in the gut when Anko told him Hinata's opinion about her clan and her assessment of its future prospects. The Hyuuga had always been one of the primary pillars of Konoha and he had factored them into his plans of the future. Well, it seemed he had to adjust these plans once again.
They sat in silence for a while after Anko had finished her report. "The Hyuuga situation won't become really critical for around twenty or thirty years, and I don't think we can influence it one way or another." he mused. "Do you think your female pupil can do something about it?"
The purple-haired kunoichi shrugged. "I'm not sure. Hinata has hardly any influence in the clan. She is very talented in medical techniques and has no problems with elemental jutsu, but she doesn't excel in the Gentle Fist style. Unfortunately it seems that the Hyuuga value only the prowess in their clan's style; in fact Hinata has asked me to keep her other skills secret for the time being. She has the potential to become truly great, but I'm not optimistic that it will change much in regards to her political influence."
"This complicates matters. With so many clans either already destroyed or weakened it would perhaps be wise to look for free clans we can recruit."
Anko looked skeptical. "Will the other clans or the Hokage allow that? He has done all he could in the past to weaken the clans; I don't believe he would be willing to include a new one."
He shook his head. "No, Hiruzen won't allow it. But he won't live forever. I'm already old enough that I'm wondering every night if I will wake up on the next morning, and Hiruzen is the same age as me. Granted, he is in much better physical shape, but we have to prepare for the time after him. Another thing, I learned you took your pupils out on a C-rank mission."
"They were ready. I made them do a two-day journey into the Forest of Death before I decided and they passed with flying colors. Frankly, they were better than a lot of the people in the chunin exams two years ago. I'm currently focusing on giving them practical experience; they are already beyond what most genin know after several years of service. That means missions, both real and mock-up, as well as drilling of tactics. During our last mission I managed to arrange for them to kill for the first time. That's always a major problem." Anko answered.
"I see. It's certainly unusual, but after your report on their skills I agree with your reasoning." Homura hesitated a moment. "How did their first kills go?"
His protégé shrugged. "Good. Hinata and Naruto are natural cold-blooded killers. I watched carefully, but they didn't hide any problems. Nor do they show any kind of violent or psychopathic behavior when it is uncalled for. Choji was able to kill without hesitation but had some relatively mild problems afterwards. I picked some real scum as their first targets; they were even worse than expected. Hopefully the kids won't have to deal with killing hard targets like civilian children for several years, but the first hurdle is overcome."
Homura nodded thoughtfully. First kills were always difficult despite all the shinobi families and the academy did to ease the students into the mindset that killing wasn't wrong. In his opinion it was best to get it out of the way quickly with targets that deserved it. If a genin was unable to kill it was better to learn that as early as possible, both for the genin's sake and to prevent spending more valuable resources training someone who wouldn't be useful as an active shinobi. With two of the genin from great clans he hadn't expected any difficulties, but it was nice to have confirmation.
"Should I set up a meeting between my pupils and you?" Anko asked suddenly.
After a moment of thought Homura shook his head. "No, it's too early for that. Hiruzen's people are probably watching me. There is no harmless pretence I can think of. I have simply no reason to meet up with a group of fresh genin. Train them as good and as hard as you can for the next months. After about half a year a meeting should be acceptable. Perhaps I can act as a tutor for the sealing arts and determine if any of them have an aptitude for seals; I am a seal master after all and we desperately need more sealing specialists. Let them gain experience first. "
"When do you think will be the time to promote them? Their skills are already better than those of some chunin. I wonder if I should enlist them in a chunin exam or aim for a regular promotion."
"They should be genin for at least one and a half year; two would be better. Too many are promoted far too early, and it shows in the quality of the chunin. They need to learn coping with shinobi life on a genin level before they are saddled with the limited leadership responsibility chunin have." He pondered the problem for a moment. "I don't like the chunin exams. They are pretty much gladiatorial games that don't say much about the suitability for a higher rank. I'm still wondering what Hiruzen thought when he introduced them after the third shinobi war. It opens our village for all sorts of espionage without giving us much insight into the other more security-conscious villages. The new Fire daimyo doesn't bother to show up, and with travelling becoming difficult there aren't that many potential clients there. Still, it might be out of your hands if the Hokage demands for your team to participate. It's a shame the next exam held in Konoha is already coming up in a few months; it's far too early for your genin to participate in that. I would recommend you begin seriously considering ways to promotion in about a year."
They continued talking for a while about Anko's planned training regime and the sort of missions she should accept. In general Homura found that Anko's plans were well-conceived and she needed only a few insights his greater experience could provide. He had done well in taking her under his wings three years ago. After she had left him it was back to reading reports and doing some research about a puzzling seal that a member of the maintenance division had brought him. It was late in the evening when he finally figured out that it somehow created a field to prevent grime taking hold inside of stone water pipes.
It was really a pity so few shinobi showed a genuine interest in and aptitude for the sealing arts. Even most professionals' skills ended with different kinds of exploding tags and storage scrolls with some isolated advanced stuff thrown in. Many departments had their own sealing specialists, but aside from the basics they often specialized solely in that department's needs. Medical seal specialists or the Torture & Interrogation department with their need of chakra suppression seals and the like came to mind. Some of the clans had their own narrow field of seal knowledge, but genuine seal masters who actually had a fundamental understanding of the art instead of simply recreating well-known seals were very rare. It didn't help that they had been a prime target in the three shinobi wars, the hostilities that were not counted as wars and the clan wars before that. Additionally Konoha had outsourced most of its fuinjutsu needs to the Uzumaki since its foundation. After the clan's destruction they were very hard pressed to keep everything working let alone begin new large-scale projects. It was a losing battle. Due to Homura's age his ability to mould chakra had already declined a great deal. What he could spare was most often spend in creating spare parts for and doing mid- to high-level maintenance on Konoha's water infrastructure. He had neither the time nor the chakra to do much else. Considering they didn't have enough natural springs or rivers to support a city the size of Konoha at this location without the seal-powered deep water wells he had given it the highest priority. Generally the maintenance division only bothered him when they couldn't solve a problem themselves, but it still happened often enough that he could pay hardly any attention to other seal projects. Homura dreaded the day when a problem would crop up he wouldn't be able to solve. One seal master was simply not enough for a hidden village their size, but there wasn't anyone else left.
The Yondaime had been a true genius with seals while Kushina had been on the verge to becoming a seal mistress, but after their deaths almost no true seal masters remained in Konoha. Jiraiya was one, but because of his constant traveling he might not have existed for all the good his skills did for the village. The Hokage and his protégé Kakashi as well as a few dozen other people possessed mid-level skills. Unfortunately they were no seal masters by any stretch of the imagination. They had the ability to produce rather crude new seal designs with some effort though they used this skill rarely. That left only him and some of his pupils, none of whom had the necessary talent to understand the work of the Uzumaki seal masters or advance from reproducing old works to creating new ones. The only other remaining seal master in Konoha besides him had suffered a debilitating accident nine years ago during the great storm. A loose roofing tile had hit the man in the head and fractured his skull, and while he had lived most of his mind and his ability of speech were gone. He still created the most high-quality storage scrolls in all of Konoha, but he wasn't able to teach his skills or do anything besides sitting in his room and create new storage scrolls like an automaton whenever his addled mind told him to.
There were two unofficial criteria for being a seal master. The first one was the ability to develop genuinely new seal designs of a rather advanced complexity. The second and much more difficult one was completely understanding the inner workings of a complex seal design of another recognized seal master. For the most part you were a seal master if other seal masters recognized you as one. Unfortunately with the general rarity of seal masters many people without the necessary skill level got away with calling themselves seal masters because there was no one knowledgeable around to refute their claims.
Anko's report had brought the situation of the great outer wall back to the forefront of his mind. The thing had gone without maintenance by a seal master since several years before the third shinobi war when some Uzumaki seal masters had visited for the contractual maintenance and repair cycle. Homura was well aware that the lack of external seal-based defenses left the village wide open to attack, but luckily the idea of simply attacking a great village directly seemed too absurd to most people to even consider it seriously. Unfortunately 'most people' seemed to include all of Konoha's leadership besides him. They all thought the patrols and detection barrier team were enough and didn't want to assign funds to create new defenses. It would make him sleep far better if there were others who could shoulder the responsibility of creating new defenses for Konoha, even if it had to be unofficial.
'Perhaps some of the genin will have the necessary aptitude to become seal masters in a few years' time. I can only hope, after all.'
"I'm ready to face Minato and Kushina. I guess there is no way I can talk to them separately?" Naruto asked.
Youko shook her head. "Unfortunately there isn't. It would be preferable for us to be able to check if their stories are different, but as things are you will have to face them together."
Naruto sighed. "Okay. How do we get there?"
"Just walk between us. We will create a way." his father said.
"I hope it goes well, Naruto-kun." Hinata added. She would have to stay behind. He gave her a hug before he started walking with his parents.
They hadn't even taken five steps when the world directly ahead of them seemed to rip open. It looked like the very fabric of reality had come apart, revealing a completely featureless blackness. Naruto was tempted to stay a bit and observe the phenomenon, but his parents kept on walking with their hands on his shoulders, forcing him to keep their pace. When they entered the rift the feeling of air on his face ceased, but he still could continue breathing. Turning his head, he saw the opening behind them for a moment before it closed itself.
After a short time of walking through the blackness they appeared on the edge of a seemingly endless plain made of bluish glass that emitted a soft glow. Overhead and to all sided it was bordered by the same blackness they had just traversed. In the center of the plain two figures stood frozen in pillars of clear crystal. The blond man Naruto immediately recognized as the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze, his father. The red-headed woman was Kushina Uzumaki, his mother.
"These are the specters which your parents bound into the seal. They each hold a small part of the originals' souls and chakra. In fact, they are similar to shadow clones, but in this place they act like they were normal humans. Hopefully they will carry your conversation back to them wherever they are." Daiki explained. "We will be invisible to them at first, but if you want our support you just have to give us a sign. I'm sorry for the lack of privacy, but I have to consciously keep them separated from the rest of the seal, making me aware of all things that happen in this room."
"It's okay, dad, I want you here for this conversation anyway. I think I'm as ready as I'm going to get."
Naruto took up a position a short distance away from the crystal prison and braced himself. The conversation would be difficult and he didn't want to lose his self-control. He nodded to his parents. Their images seemed to waver for a moment before becoming completely invisible. With a slight popping sound the crystal prisons dispelled, depositing a disoriented couple on the ground.
The Yondaime was the first to regain his bearings. "Kushina? What happened? You aren't supposed to be here at the same time as me."
"Minato? I think I died… and now I am here. But where is here?"
"It was supposed to be the seal, but this looks different." the man answered.
Only now they began to look around and spotted Naruto. The blond boy noted the shock that showed for a moment on the Yondaime's face before it disappeared behind a friendly mask.
"Hello mother, father."
The red-haired woman stared at him for a moment before she ran towards him and engulfed him in a hug. It felt similar and different to Youko's hugs at the same time. "Naruto!"
"Naruto, how old are you now? And where is the seal?" Minato asked.
"I'm twelve. Don't worry about the fox, I have everything under control. I just need to talk with you; there's no need to involve the seal." Naruto answered.
Kushina loosened the hug to look at him. "What do you mean? Minato used my chakra to form the seal to help you take control of the Kyuubi's chakra someday. We wanted to aid you however we could."
Naruto shrugged. "Apparently things went a bit differently than expected. The thing inside the seal is pretty much mindless ever since I have laid eyes on it and I can draw on its chakra without it resisting. I have to talk with you about some things, though. It was quite difficult even learning you were my parents; the Sandaime didn't tell me anything about you or the Kyuubi. I had to find out everything on my own."
Was there a panicked expression at the back of the Yondaime's eyes? Naruto wasn't sure. While he was very good at reading people, Minato seemed to be an even greater expert at hiding his true thoughts. "Well, the Sandaime probably didn't tell you anything because he wanted to keep everything about the fox a secret. If people knew you were my son there might be trouble."
'What a load of bullshit. If I had been fostered by one of the great clans I wouldn't have been in much danger. That makes it very likely that the Sandaime is in on the plan.'
"I need answers to a few questions. Why did you seal the fox inside your own son?" Naruto asked calmly.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. The reason I sealed half the fox's chakra inside you is because I believed you could use it because you're my son. And there's another reason, too. When the fox attacked sixteen years ago I realized something. There was someone controlling the fox when it attacked the village, a very powerful ninja. Without some sort of special power there would be no way to fight him. I believe he'll attack the village again." Minato explained.
Naruto nodded. "Okay. Did you perchance tell anybody about that man?"
"There simply wasn't time, son. Everything went so quickly, we died before we could talk with anybody." the Yondaime answered.
'Liar. I know you didn't have to die; you could have made preparations if you hadn't involved the Shinigami.'
"I heard some things about a prophecy. Do you know anything about it? I would talk with Jiraiya about it, but I haven't seen him in several years." All of that was completely true. Naruto had seen Jiraiya spying on the hot springs a few years ago, but he hadn't approached the man.
Kushina laughed. "He didn't tell you about it? The great Toad Sage told your godfather that a student of his would bring a great revolution to the shinobi world. It would either bring the world's salvation or destruction. He already promised to take you as his student before your birth."
"Wait, he is my godfather?" Naruto asked. He hadn't known that fact. It was really disheartening to learn that his father was willing to sacrifice him and his future because of the vague words of a senile amphibian.
"Well, we named you after the main character of his first book, and he accepted the honor." his mother explained.
'Nice to know that there was somebody who was supposed to look after me. One more reason not to trust the man if I ever meet him.'
Minato seemed somehow distracted, but before Naruto could address him Kushina resumed speaking "If you don't need my help in subduing the Kyuubi there is one last thing I need to tell you. Naruto, I want you to know the truth behind the incident twelve years ago, the year you were born."
"I know what happened twelve years ago." Naruto interrupted her. A window opened in the air, showing the events of the night of Naruto's birth and the subsequent freeing and sealing of the Kyuubi. "Does that show the true facts?"
His father still seemed distracted and trying to concentrate, but a slightly bewildered Kushina answered for him. "Yes, that's all true. We made you into the Kyuubi's vessel and left you with such a heavy burden. I wasn't there to raise you; I wasn't there to love you. I'm deeply sorry."
"Why did you let father seal the Kyuubi into me when you could have taken it down with you? At first you objected, but then you went along with it. He could have raised me. Why?"
"In the end I trusted Minato. I never wanted to give you that burden, but after Minato began with his sealing I didn't want his sacrifice to be in vain. I'm sorry." Kushina answered sadly.
Naruto nodded in acknowledgement before posing the question most important to him. "What I would really like to know is why there are lots of mind-control functions integrated into the seal. Functions that would have made me into an emotional cripple who would take the abuse of the world and simply smile."
It was only a very brief flash, but for the tiniest moment the mask of the Yondaime slipped. Naruto recognized surprise, recognition and the onset of panic before Minato molded his facial expression into a mask of confusion. Kushina seemed genuinely confused.
"What are you talking about, Naruto?" he asked.
"Don't play the fool. I know what you tried to do to me. The seal was intended to suppress negative emotions and make me too stupid to recognize that there would have been something wrong with me. You wanted me to become some sort of saint." Naruto spat out while struggling with his temper.
"All I did was to protect you from the fox's hatred, nothing more. As long as the ninja system exists there can be no peace or order. Trying to save the things you love breeds war. As long as love exists there will be hatred, and ninja will be used by that hatred. As long as the ninja system exists the hatred will create another creature like the man who attacked Konoha. All ninja fight that hatred, and I entrusted you with the answer to end this hatred. I believe in you. You can find a way to give the world peace." Minato declared.
Naruto had listened quietly, but now it was time for an answer. "You are a fool. As long as there are humans there can never be lasting peace. Before the shinobi there were samurai, and when the shinobi system ends something else will take our place. Without hate there is no love and without love there is no hate, if you remove one of them you remove both; you would take away what makes us human. What makes you think I care about world peace in the first place?" Naruto turned towards Kushina. "Mother, who do you believe? I'm telling you that he tried to brainwash me into some savior. He deceived you."
"That is nonsense, son. You can't be a seal master at your age; somebody else must have lied to you. Let me have access to the seal, I'll show you proof." Minato interjected.
Naruto ignored the man. "Well, mother?"
Kushina was looking back and forth between Naruto and Minato, her indecision clearly visible on her face. It seemed to take an eternity, but finally she addressed Naruto. "I'm sorry, but I believe Minato. I don't know who told you such lies, but he would never do something like that to our child."
"You are sorry, but if you were in the same situation you would let him seal the Kyuubi into me again?"
The following silence was answer enough.
"I see." Naruto seemed to deflate for a moment. "So it was all true. You were and still are willing to throw your child away for some hare-brained scheme that would make me into some savior of the world." His eyes hardened and he looked at them with utter loathing. "I despise you both more than you can imagine. I am ashamed to have to call you my parents. Kushina, I may have been able to forgive you in time if you broke with Minato, but even now you trust him to know best. This is something I simply can't forgive. But let me tell you, you're cozy little plan has come somewhat off its tracks."
Both Minato and Kushina looked as if he had just slapped them in the face. Their expressions changed into terrified surprise as Youko and Daiki became visible to them, both with nine furry tails clearly in view.
"Hello my dears, surprised to see me?" Youko purred.
"K-K-Kyuubi?" Kushina stammered.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. I am so much more than the rage-filled thing that was helplessly imprisoned in your body."
"How is it possible for you to walk around? The seal can't have failed or Naruto would have died." Minato asked.
Youko put an arm around the man on her side. "You can thank my mate here for that. He disabled all your little fail-safes that were designed to keep Naruto on the path you chose for him. By the way, we have raised Naruto together for these past years. He is such a delightful child, ever eager to learn."
"They have been the parents to me that you never were." Naruto simply stated.
"Son, please believe us, we only wanted what is best for you. It is important for you to not to be influenced by the Kyuubi's hatred. Let me explain again…." Minato begged while Kushina seemed to be in shock.
"No, you had your chance." Naruto stood ramrod straight with an expression harder than stone and the words seemed simply to flow to him. An otherworldly timbre resonated in his voice as he began to speak.
"Before gods and men I declare the ties of fate that connected us dissolved. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki are no longer my parents, nor am I their son. Through their own actions they severed the bonds of trust and care between parent and child by willingly and needlessly sacrificing their child to be the host of a demon. The Lady of Light and the Lord of the Starry Night shall be henceforth known as my parents, though I may deceive others for my own advantage. So shall it be and hold true for all eternity."
After a short breather he continued in his normal voice. "You are no longer my parents. I don't ever want to see you again and hope you burn in hell." With these words spoken, he turned his back to his former parents and walked away, his true parents beside him. He didn't react when Kushina and Minato called after him. As soon as they couldn't see his face anymore the tears broke and started running in two silent streams. It wasn't until the blackness engulfed them that his resolve broke and he threw himself into Youko's arms, sobbing loudly. Daiki joined them in their embrace. Naruto didn't know how long it took him to regain his composure.
"That was harder than I thought. Kushina said she was sorry, but would do it again. Why would she be so cruel to her own child if there was another way to stave off the immediate danger?"
"I've seen such things happen more times than you can count. Everyone had their own reasons that often made no sense to people other than themselves. The Yondaime was so caught up in his vision for the world that he would have sacrificed nearly anything. Think of the seal. Even a genius like Minato would be unable to come up with it in the short time between the release of the Kyuubi and the sealing. He must have developed it beforehand. Now, don't misunderstand me, Madara's attack was completely unexpected for him, but he must have planned to use such a thing at some point in the future to make his vision a reality and fulfill that ludicrous prophecy. Perhaps he planned to use a future sibling of yours and was simply forced to act earlier than he was completely ready. I don't believe we will ever know. Kushina loved and trusted Minato to such a degree that she would simply go along with whatever he proposed after some arguing." Daiki explained.
Youko shrugged. "Who can say? They made their own fate. It should no longer bother you; you are free from them forever. Another thing, what was that with you transferring parenthood to us? Not that I mind, but what did you give the idea that it would work? To your information, it actually did. In the magical sense we are now your parents."
A small smile appeared on Naruto's face. "It just seemed the right thing to do and the words simply came to me. You have been there for me during all this time; I guess I wanted to make it official. What happens now with the two of them? They didn't dispel."
"Well, we plan on extracting every single bit of knowledge from them that we can get until they fade away. Is that a problem?" Daiki asked.
"You could torture them forever and I wouldn't care. They had their second chance and threw it away, that's everything I need to know. I don't give third chances." It was true. Now that the matter was decided he would be able to lay it to rest. The emotional pain about his mother trusting his father more than him would last for a while, but it was better than the uncertainty from before. He was finally rid of the shadow his former parents had cast on his life.
'Time to rub it in.' the entity known as the Lady of Light, Kyuubi, Youko or mom decided and manifested a new avatar while another part of her walked at her son's side. Minato and Kushina made to follow him, but were stopped by an invisible force her mate projected. It seemed he had likewise decided to be present with a corporeal representation as a second version of the black-haired man materialized.
'I will take care of Minato, get as many memories from Kushina as you can.' her mate sent silently over their connection.
"Naruto!" Kushina yelled in vain.
"My, my, that wasn't exactly a happy family reunion, was it?" Youko taunted when Naruto and her other avatar disappeared into the blackness.
"You! You have filled my son's head with these lies!" In the blink of an eye chains of solid chakra materialized and shot at Youko. Once upon a time they might have posed a temporary threat to the Kyuubi, but against what she was now and in their current location it was nothing. It was the easiest thing in the world to take control of the chains from the human, reverse their direction and bind Kushina with her own power. The woman let out a grunt of pain when the chains snapped taut, lifting her into the air. Youko used the distraction to send invisible tendrils into her erstwhile container's mind to grab as many memories as she could.
She stepped close to the bound woman and traced one of the chains with her finger. "Now, how does that feel, Kushina? Being helplessly bound, your own power turned against you? Twice you took my freedom from me; the first time when you let them willingly transfer me into you; the second time when you bound me and went along with your husband's scheme."
"I did… I did the right thing."
Youko chuckled darkly. "The right thing you say? The first time might be excused because of your youth, but not the second one. You knew that the Yondaime's new seal would allow the container to steal my power while the old one only contained, so don't give me any crap about having a grudging respect for me. No, the tailed beasts have been nothing to you but sources of power you can exploit. I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise, even the oh so noble Sage of the Six Paths tried to steal the power of the Juubi. But your greatest crime is what you did to my Naruto."
Kushina grew angry. "Naruto is my son. I love him."
"Not any longer." Youko disagreed. "He renounced you. I have to thank you for that; if you hadn't displayed such exquisite stubbornness and blind faith in your husband he might have forgiven you. My hate for you knows no bounds, and this is my revenge. In exchange for all that you did to me I have taken your most precious thing: the love of your only child."
Tears began spilling from Kushina's eyes. "You are a monster."
The goddess shrugged. "Perhaps. I'm certainly not human. But one thing I can say: I would never saddle my son with such a vile abomination of a seal like you and your brave husband did. Had we not interfered his mind would have been twisted and bent into a travesty. All in the name of creating a savior for a world that doesn't need saving. I ask you, who of us is the greater monster?"
"More lies, Minato would never do such a thing." the red-headed woman spat out defiantly, but Youko sensed the sliver of doubt that had crept into her voice.
Youko arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Is that so? Why don't we ask him again?"
Both their gazes turned to Minato who looked to be in a lot of pain. Her mate hadn't been gentle. Spikes of silvery crystal had been driven through his body and tentacles of shadow held him in place. Youko had been aware of it, but no sound of the torture had reached Kushina's ears.
"The child of prophecy… he must be… free of hatred. No choice… couldn't leave… the fate of the world… to chance."
Kushina's eyes widened. "No, it can't be. Please, Minato-kun, tell me you didn't do that."
"I did… what I had to… for the village… the country… the world."
Daiki's voice was deceptively soft. "You mortal fool, all you would have achieved is the world's destruction. Even now your enemy from twelve years ago, the enemy you told no one about, is gathering power and followers unchecked. Soon he will try to bring all the tailed beasts together in an attempt to reform the Juubi. Should he succeed it will spell destruction for all mankind. Thanks to you nobody knows about him and his schemes. You may have doomed the world."
The Yondaime had only time for his eyes to widen in horrible understanding before his form turned to nothingness. Youko could easily track the fragment of his soul as it was yanked towards its final destiny in the stomach of the being known as the shinigami. She considered getting his soul slowly dissolved for power by the being a fitting punishment for the Yondaime. Turning back towards Kushina she saw that the woman appeared to be in shock once again.
Snapping her fingers directly before her face brought Kushina back to reality. "Do you believe it now? Your precious husband sacrificed your beloved child needlessly in pursuit of an insane prophecy. I wonder what he would have done if I hadn't been conveniently freed? Would he have killed you to extract the Kyuubi? Would he have used Naruto or another child? What do you think, Kushina?"
Kushina shook her head violently. "No, it can't be. No, no, no, no."
Youko's voice was full of glee. "Oh yes, it not only can be, but it is. You threw your son away even when he told you the truth."
"No, I'm sorry. Please tell him I'm sorry, I beg you." Anguish and despair were now clearly written on Kushina's face.
She laughed. "And why should I do that, hm? I hate you, and this is my revenge. Naruto is mine forever. It's far too late for you now. As my son said, you had your chance." Youko pointed towards the struggling woman. "I fear your time is up. Rest well, Kushina."
"No, please." It was only then that Kushina noticed that her form was dissolving rapidly. "NOOOOOOO…."
Youko made sure her mocking laughter accompanied Kushina's soul fragment as long as possible during its journey into the regions she recognized as the general afterlife for unclaimed souls. A warm feeling spread through her and filled her with contentment. Her revenge was finally complete.
"Was that really necessary?" her mate asked.
"Yes. Yes, it was." Youko smiled. "That torture of Minato was really exquisite."
Daiki shrugged. "I had to do something. Minato tried the entire time very hard to mentally access the seal, and I didn't want to take the risk of him succeeding. Physical pain was the most efficient way of distracting him. Unfortunately I got only bits and pieces from his memories. There wasn't enough time and I couldn't properly mind-rape him in here. Did you have any more luck with Kushina?"
She quickly reviewed the memories she had gathered. "It doesn't seem so. I got a lot, but I'm not sure how helpful it will be." She transmitted her newly gained knowledge to her mate while receiving what he had learned.
Daiki's voice was thoughtful. "It is no immediate solution, but a few more pieces for the puzzle. Some of these hints will come in useful when our son learns more about the sealing arts and starts to study the seal. We are finished here."
With a last nod to each other the two dispelled their avatars before the entire plain dissolved into darkness.
Author's notes: It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the long time without updates, but writing this chapter was very hard. I think I completely rewrote the Minato/Kushina part six or seven times and I'm still not completely satisfied. I hope you like it.
Kushina didn't know, but she chose to believe her husband over her son. My apologies to all the people who hoped for a reconciliation. And yes, Youko isn't a very nice person.
Oh, and I'm ignoring parts of canon like the tailed beasts having names and the like. I really don't like were Kishi is taking the story, but for that we have fanfiction, right? Right.
Hopefully the next chapter will be easier to write.