DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Naruto", "Hunter X Hunter" or any other anime that may be read as the story goes further.
4. A Few More Truths Here And There
At four o'clock sharp, be the sun was even showing signs of rising, the Konoha nins were already up and ready for their trip home. It still unnerved the others at the sight of Naruto being cold and leader-like. Gone was the loud mouth 'dead last' of Konoha. Hinata, Lee, and Chouji weren't far from the blond when everyone was gathering to head back to Konoha.
"We'll try to get back to Konoha within the time span of three and a half days. If we rest for an hour every twelve hours of travel, we'll be able to get back half the time it took us to get here." Naruto told his team who nodded and prepared to set off.
The other jounins had nominated Kakashi to talk to Naruto. None of them really wanted to say anything in case the blond snapped at them and kill them for being annoying.
"Uhm… Naruto… Don't you think it's a bit too much?" Kakashi asked and all for turned to him at the same time.
"No, it is not too much as you put it, Hatake-san. If the rest can't keep up, all they have to do is say so. We can put them inside prisons scrolls to not have to worry about them being in danger." Naruto said then paused.
"On second thought, we'll all put you inside prison scrolls now. That way, we'll make it back to Konoha in two days tops instead of three and a half." Naruto said and the other three moved to box in the other Konoha nins and doing the hand seals their Captain had taught them. Four scrolls came out and all teams were sucked inside the respective scrolls of their co-members.
"Now that we've taken care of them, time to head back." Naruto ordered and the other three summoned their masks and followed their Captain back to Konoha.
Two days as agreed and Team Zoldyck was back in Konoha along with their teams. When they were in sight of the gates, they took off their masks and released the others.
"We're back." Naruto said calmly as he then turned to walk towards the gates.
The rest of the teams were in awe. It had been two days as Naruto said. They all followed and when they passed the gates, they all went directly to the Hokage Tower. Team Zoldyck was already walking together while the rest were still trying to process everything that they had heard and witnessed.
The Naruto before them all was frighteningly strong. His words alone could cause half the village's destruction if he wanted too. Sasuke and Sakura kept their mouths shut to avoid getting hit from the three members of Naruto's team. Sasuke still felt the pain when Hinata had punched him. It was so painful that Sasuke couldn't eat dinner the night of the incident.
When the secretary saw Naruto, she instantly bowed and moved out of his way. She was one of the few people who knew the truth and would rather serve him and be rewarded than oppose him and die painfully.
Lee opened the door for Naruto, who was followed by Hinata Chouji, then himself. The others followed them and Asuma closed the door behind him as he was the last one to enter.
Hiruzen raised a brow for a bit then sighed.
"Judging from the segregation, they know about Team Zoldyck I take it." Naruto nodded.
"It wouldn't have happened if Inuzuka had not been too arrogant in front of his opponent. I had my own to deal with during then and I was caught off guard. If Hinata had not stepped in, I would probably have been in more serious trouble than a broken rib and scratches." Naruto explained which made Kiba wince in embarrassment.
He had nearly caused Naruto's death because he was being stupid. Hinata had drilled that to his head after she had healed the blond. It only took her once to yell and Kiba knew that she would have killed him if Naruto didn't stop her. Heck, Lee and Chouji would have killed him too if Naruto had not ordered them to behave.
"Aside from the mission being a success, is there anything else?" Hiruzen asked and Naruto sighed.
"It would be best if the genins are not around for it? Call on the Civilian and Shinobi Councilmen as well. Gather the ANBU, jounins, and chuunins as well. It is about time they know a few more things that go about the confines of Konohagakure." Naruto said as he crossed his legs on the couch he was sitting on.
However, this time, Sasuke couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"Why can't we be here?! We have the right to know!" he demanded yet Naruto remained calm.
"Should you be kidnapped, for one reason or another, by enemy nins, your body and mind will not be strong enough to keep the information that will be spoken to the more experiences nins of this village. Five minutes under Morino Ibiki of the Torture and Interrogation department, you all will be sharing in vivid detail everything you hide in that mind of yours. The secret that the Hokage is about to share is ranked as an SSS secret. If this information falls to the wrong hands, Konoha will be at a major disadvantage and will be preparing for unseen attacks from all sides of the other countries already fearing the rising power of Konoha." Naruto explained to the genins who were now pale in the face.
"Now that it's been said, do you still think you have the right to know? If you fail to keep the secret, you will be tortured and beheaded for treason. And upon your death, any children bearing your name will be seen as traitors as well; family members and relatives too. One man's mistake causes the downfall of his entire clan." He added then turned to Hiruzen who felt a bit glad that the charade was going to end soon.
"Genins, you are dismissed. Take the rest of the week off to rest and recuperate. The rest of you, proceed to the meeting room immediately." He said as he stood up. He walked over to where he usually kept his crystals ball and opened the drawer next to it. With a few hand seals, he released the genjutsu that he had placed and took out a few folders and led the group towards the meeting room.
Hiruzen was walking beside Naruto with a smile of his face.
"I can't wait to relax after this. Good luck with the paperwork, Naruto-kun." He teased a bit but he lost his smile when Naruto smirked at him.
"You do know that I could just use my shadow clones to do them for me. More shadow clones, more work will be done faster." He teased back at the now gaping Hiruzen who looked like he was about to cry.
Lee and Chouji sighed.
"Don't worry, Sarutobi-sama. We know how you feel. Taicho had us training twice as hard as Lee before he told Chouji and I the secret in learning everything in half the time. Lee had already known about it since he had been the one taicho matched all our training lists too." Hinata tried to comfort the old man but he still cried which amused Naruto so much.
It took half an hour before the whole room was filled with the people who ought to have been there because of their position in the council and in the village. The room was then sealed shut and only Hiruzen could unseal it. The rest of the Zoldyck Squad bar Naruto were hidden behind their masks.
Though Kurenai, Gai, Kakashi, and Asuma knew who they were but the members of the Council didn't. And they would never know. Even if the official decree was not out yet, the four jounins already planned to never reveal what they know. And that meant having to lie to their genins to keep the secret as well.
"After two years of playing about, the time has come for all of you to know the truth about a contract created and then sealed for the good of Konoha. At first, the secret was kept because he was a bit too young for the position. However, as the time grew longer, he had kept the secret up so that he could freely move about and secure Konoha's protection from enemies and traitors himself." Hiruzen began and they all listened well.
"A binding contract had been written down that when a Konoha nin gives his life for the village and would do everything he could to protect it, that said nin would become the Hokage. As the leader, it is his task to keep everyone in the village safe and living. Following a set of rules and tasks to gain the position, the nin's name would then written on the contract. If the name has not completed the tasks set for him, then the name shall disappear from the contract and the living person who's name is still on the contract will remain as Hokage until another name passes the tests. Two years ago, a name had been written and he had passed the tasks set before him. And mission after mission, month after month, his name darkens even more so, signifying that the name would be Hokage for many years to come." He continued and turned to open the folder and unsealed it, showing the whole room whose name he was taking about.
"For the last two years, Konoha had already established its Godaime Hokage: Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Yondaime Namikaze Minato and his late wife and of the royal Uzumaki line from the Land of Whirlpool, Uzumaki Kushina. Aside from that, we also know him as the jailer of the Nine Tailed Kitsune no Kyuubi who had nearly destroyed our village." He said and the whole room went into an uproar which didn't last long.
Naruto's KI snapped and everyone froze in silence and fear.
"Another reason why Naruto was chosen as Godaime is because of his Will of Fire. If his will breaks and he dies, the bijuu locked inside him will come out and nothing would stop it from destroying Konoha and the rest of the Countries in its wake. Every waking day is another victory for Konoha and the Godaime as he keeps the village protected and the power of the Kyuubi is now at his disposal." He added, sweetening the deal as he went further on.
Everyone in the room was still trying their best to process the information given. And no one dared to break the silence. Well, no one but Kakashi.
"Hokage-sama…. When I explained to the other jounins about the Zoldyck Squad, you looked amused back then when I said that they were the Hokage's personal assassination squad. They aren't your squad, am I right?" Kakashi asked and got a nod from the man.
"Yes. The Zoldyck Assassination Squad belongs to the Godaime, who is also the Captain of that said Squad. In short, the safety and prosperity that all of people in this village is basking on comes from Naruto's efforts and accomplished missions." Hiruzen harshly reminded the members of the council who looked guilty and behaved instantly.
A long paused enveloped the whole room before Hiruzen spoke up again.
"Though this will be unusual… and since Naruto-kun finally decided to end this whole charade, I hereby declare Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, the Godaime of Konoha." He said as he relinquished the hat and the coat to the young blond who sighed and accepted it.
However, the Civilian Council thought that the boy would be smug about it. They were wrong. The members of the Zoldyck Squad appeared behind Danzo, Homura, and Koharu.
"As my first official judgment, I hear by sentence Shimura Danzo to be beheaded for treason. He had not disbanded ROOT as he was ordered and had even ordered the massacre of the Uchiha Clan, ordering one Uchiha Itachi to do so which would have instantly made him an S-rank criminal. Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane will be sentenced to twenty years in prison with no chance of early release or bail. They have been supporters of Danzo and were the two other culprits to the Uchiha massacre." Naruto ordered and without hesitation, Danzo was beheaded by Alluka where he sat.
The two others were trembling with fear.
"Did you honestly think that I would never find out? Due to your actions, your families will suffer the humiliation that was brought on by your deeds." Naruto said coldly as his stared at the trembling two with his cold blue eyes.
"Take them to Ibiki and have them interrogated down to the last drop of information. Take Danzo's body as well. I'm sure Ibiki and Anko will be able to find out more about Danzo's plan. Return immediately after depositing them. We have a ROOT army to destroy." He ordered once more and the three knelt down.
"Hai, Godaime-sama!" they answered and the three were gone with the two traitors and Danzo's body.
Everyone stared in shock. It had not even been ten minutes and Naruto had showed them all the decay in their system and strike to sever the cause of it. They wondered just what more their Godaime was able to do now that he was given the position officially and would be in the public's eye now.
The three members of the Zoldyck Squad returned shortly and knelt in front of their Captain and Hokage.
"Genins of Team Gai, Team 7, 8, and 10 will have their memories erased. The information they know from the recent mission to the Water Country will bring harm not only to their lives but also to Konoha. Jounins Hatake Kakashi, Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, and Mighty Gai, you have half an hour to gather your genins in my office. I will personally deal with the memory seals on them to make sure no one tries anything." He ordered.
The four jounins knew they were just dismissed and quickly left. They had only half an hour and Kakashi knew that his usual tardiness wasn't going to be permitted any longer.
When the jounins disappear, the Shinobi Clan Heads looked at each other.
"Hokage-sama, may we inquire as to why you will be erasing the memories of our children?" asked Inuzuka Tsume.
It was ironic that of all the people who would be breaking the silence, it was the mother of the genin who nearly got Naruto killed during the mission.
"You see, your children know a secret that they shouldn't. That being said, if I do not erase a part of their memories and modify them to hide the fact that their minds have been tampered with, their lives will only get more difficult if enemies of Konoha find out just what they all know. And just so you know, Inuzuka Tsume-san, your son's behavior nearly got me killed during our mission in the Water Country. His arrogance will be his downfall and his death should his ways not be mended. Discipline and help him mend his ways or I will do it myself." Naruto told her coldly and she swallowed.
Everyone turned to her and wondered how she had raised her son. They all had their own ways but for a genin to be arrogant enough to cause another one's brush with death was just something else.
A Turtle masked ANBU appeared behind Naruto.
"They are all in your office now, Hokage-sama." He whispered and got a nod.
The said ANBU then went back to the shadows and Naruto addressed the whole room.
"This session is adjourned. If there is anything any of you wish to clarify and complain about, my office door is open tomorrow starting at eight." He said and vanished in front of everyone who were in wide eye shock, bar the Sandaime who merely chuckled and stood up, leaving the room that he already had unsealed half an hour ago.
When Naruto entered the office, the genins were in shock when they saw their fellow 'genin' wearing the Hokage hat and coat. Without wasting another moment, Naruto quickly did the twenty seal memory modifying jutsu and all the genins were frozen on their places as Naruto did his work.
It had only lasted a minute and Naruto henge'd into the Sandaime, while one clone appeared as himself and Lee, Chouji, and Hinata's clones their normal appearances while the real ones were standing behind the Hokage. The jounins were stunned. The amount of power and the ease of their movements were so flawless that they wondered how long the four had been keeping the secret they had.
"Congratulations to all of your for completing your missions. However, I recommended that Team 8 be trained further. The actions stated by the jounins that nearly caused one of Team 7's genin member his death is a grave flaw to the system of teamwork. You may not be on the same team but when you are all on the same mission, you are in one team. Inuzuka Kiba, you will be monitored as to make sure that you learn from your mistake and not repeat it once more." Naruto addressed the now embarrassed boy and got a nod from him.
"Like I had ordered, take the week off and recuperate. When your week is over, you will be spending a week together and undergo a joint team training. It is also in preparation for the Chuunin Exams in Eight months. If you manage to increase your strength, your jounin senseis may nominate you for the exams. Dismissed." Naruto said and the genins nodded.
However, Sasuke turned to look at the Hokage for a bit.
"Hokage-sama, I would just like to ask, why is Naruto so special?" the others stopped and turned to him.
"What do you mean by 'special', Uchiha-san?" Naruto asked carefully, not revealing any emotion.
"When Kiba nearly got Naruto killed, a masked figure had appeared and saved him. I know it was a woman's voice and Kiba was berated for it." Sasuke asked and Naruto sighed.
"You see, Uchiha-san… Naruto is special as you put it because his affinity is rare in the Fire Country. He several affinities actually that would be a dire lose to Konoha should he have dead in the Water Country. But I assure you, Naruto-kun is not at any more special than the rest of you. You all are special. Naruto-kun is just a step different." Naruto downplayed himself and smiled at Sasuke who accepted the explanation.
The jounins looked at each other. They knew that the genins weren't ready to know the truth. Maybe someday. But as it seem that they are children, the Godaime's actions were justified. It was for the genins safety and that of the village and the Godaime's life as well. They just hoped that nothing comes up.
They could hope right?
Jason:Colleg had been a hassle... Sorry for taking so long... Hope ya'll like it.