Chapter 2
Summary: Kushina Uzumaki survived the fateful night of the Nine-Tails' attack, albeit barely. Fifteen years later she wakes up, is reunited with her now teenaged son, and develops feelings for him that a mother should not have. What happens when the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero accidentally gets her hands on The Mask and what will she have in store for Naruto and Konoha? Who knows, but whatever it is, one thing is for certain: she'll look damn good doing whatever it is!
As usual, credit to my helper/co-author, ncpfan, for helping me out with this story.
Start of Chapter
It had been a long seven years since Naruto had started attending the Shinobi Academy. His relationship with Iruka-sensei had dramatically improved during that time, to the point where the chunin teacher would even take his favorite student and treat him to Ichiraku ramen. The man was thankful that Naruto was their favorite customer, and his treating Naruto on such a regular basis scored him a permanent discount at the stand.
He had been hoping to be able to treat Naruto to ramen after he had passed the graduation exam today, but sadly the boy had failed again. Iruka addressed the issue with the Hokage, telling him what the problem was: Naruto's inability to perform the Clone Jutsu.
This was the third time Naruto had failed the exam, and this was the first time a teacher had told him why. Iruka was stunned to find out that Naruto would never be able to perform the Clone jutsu, not because of a lack of skill or proficient, but because he just had way too much damn chakra! Needless to say, Iruka was even angrier than the old man at his colleagues, who should have brought this before the Hokage immediately!
Hiruzen had spoken with Iruka and they were going to schedule a make-up exam for Naruto by teaching him the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a jutsu that, while dangerous for any other child Naruto's age, would be perfect for Naruto, as his chakra currently dwarfed that of anyone in Konoha…including the Hokage himself. The old man also made a mental note to himself to investigate his teaching staff and possibly send a few of those teachers Ibiki's way. It was so frustrating! When would the stupid idiots in his village ever learn?! Besides, his ninja needed to be professional enough to perform their duties regardless of their feelings about the Nine-Tails and Naruto. How was the village supposed to be able to rely on its ninja if they couldn't even do that?!
Iruka, on the other hand, had been on his way to tell Naruto the good news, only to be unable to find him, and then to learn later on that he had stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing! He immediately knew that something was very wrong, and he had to find Naruto before anyone else so that he could find out exactly what had happened. Naruto was a good kid, and he certainly wouldn't do something like stealing a classified village document. He wouldn't even have known about its existence unless someone of chunin rank or higher had told him! No, it was obvious what had happened, here: his student had been set up!
After finding Naruto, and learning what Mizuki had told him about the 'make-up exam'…Iruka couldn't help but grimace at the irony…Mizuki had attacked them both, and had tried to rattle Naruto by revealing the truth about the Nine-Tails being sealed inside him. Iruka immediately stood up for Naruto against Mizuki, only for both of them to become confused by mirthless laughter from Naruto. To both instructors' surprise, this was very old news to Naruto, who simply berated Mizuki for his idiocy in ignoring the most basic tenet of sealing, which is that no object used as a contained ever takes on any of the properties of the object that is sealed within it.
After a furious battle, which ended up with, Iruka injured, Naruto having demonstrated exceptional mastery of, ironically enough, the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Mizuki unconscious, beaten to a bloody pulp, Naruto and Iruka found themselves in their current situation.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Iruka encouraged him.
Doing as he was told, Naruto opened his eyes. Before him lay Iruka against a tree, sporting injuries from defending him against Mizuki. Besides his injuries and the glaring sunlight, Naruto saw Iruka wasn't wearing his forehead protector. In fact, he was wearing his teacher's forehead protector right now!
"Congratulations, you graduate!" a smiling Iruka said, having seen the jutsu that he and the Third Hokage were going to test him on anyway, "And to celebrate, I have a surprise. We're going out for ramen tonight!"
Naruto was at loss for words. After three failed attempts and being set up for stealing the Scroll of Seals, he had finally graduated and become a genin! A megawatt smile broke out on his face as his mind finally caught up with reality.
The moment was ruined as three members of the Hyuuga Police Force appeared on the scene. Two of them immediately grabbed Naruto, used their Gentle Fist taijutsu to incapacitate him, and pinned him down to the ground. The third one picked up the Scroll of Sealing.
"Naruto Uzumaki, you are under arrest for the theft of the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing!" one of the officers announced firmly and stoically, as one would expect from a Hyuuga.
"Hey! Let go of me, I did nothing wrong!" Naruto protested. Oh, how he hated these guys! After the Uchiha clan was massacred by Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, the Hyuuga clan took over as the Police Force. Unlike the Uchiha Police Force, they seemed to have it out for him and they were much rougher and colder in their treatment of him. He couldn't even get away with so much as a harmless prank or they would crack down on him – and not lightly either! And they nearly always managed to find him when he tried to hide!
"Hyuuga-san! Naruto was tricked by chunin Mizuki into stealing the Scroll of Seals under the pretense of the theft being a secret graduation exam, there's no need to arrest him like this!" Iruka objected to the rough treatment Naruto was subjected to.
"That's irrelevant Umino-san. Uzumaki's role in this ordeal still stands and he will be brought to Police HQ for interrogation," the officer who was carrying the scroll coldly rebuked. He motioned to the other two to follow him as they roughly pulled Naruto to his feet.
Before they could leave, however, three ANBU appeared on the scene, one of them of Captain rank.
"Unhand Naruto Uzumaki at once!" the ANBU Captain ordered the Hyuuga officers.
"What is the meaning of this?!" the Hyuuga who had declared Naruto's arrest demanded, "We are apprehending a criminal, here! Do not interfere with our duties!"
"Uzumaki-san is not a criminal, he's a SUSPECTED criminal. Aside from that, given that his alleged crime is not of a civilian nature, but a military matter, you are acting outside of your jurisdiction! Unhand him immediately!"
Bristling with anger and humiliation, the lead Hyuuga officer turned to the two holding Naruto and nodded, prompting them to comply with the ANBU Captain's order.
"Very well, ANBU. We've released him into your custody. We will now be on our way."
"I don't think so," the ANBU Captain retorted, "You see, not only were we ordered to relieve you of Uzumaki's person, we've also been ordered to bring Uzumaki-san, Umino-san and the three of you before the Hokage."
"Excuse me?!"
"Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be, Hyuuga-san. If you resist OUR arrest, we have been ordered to use force to bring you to compliance with the Hokage's summons."
Once more bristling with anger and humiliation, and also with some fear, the three Hyuuga agreed to follow the ANBU to the Hokage Building along with Iruka and Naruto.
They knew what this meant – the Hokage knew what took place here, and he likely wasn't too happy about it.
*********** Line Break ***********
The fears of the Hyuuga police officers had been confirmed: Hiruzen Sarutobi was not happy at all with the way they had handled Naruto, and after getting the full story from Naruto and Iruka, he was even less happy with the Hyuuga. He ordered them to be taken to Ibiki, and told that they were there for 'mistreatment of Naruto'. The ANBU, who had just offered condolences to the three Hyuuga in the form of, "You poor, poor unlucky bastards," immediately used Shunshin to remove them from his office.
Hiruzen apologized to Naruto for the way the police force handled him, and aside from giving him a field promotion to genin, had also given him pay equivalent to an A-Rank mission for subduing and apprehending a traitor and for keeping village secrets from being given to an enemy. It was just before two o'clock in the morning when he had dismissed the pair of them, allowing them to return to their homes and rest, and informing them of his plans to enjoy ramen with the two of them that night, and that he would pick up the tab.
His work, however, was not done. An ANBU he had sent out with a summons reappeared in his office with a rather surprised and frazzled-looking Hiashi Hyuuga.
"As ordered, sir, Hiashi Hyuuga," the ANBU saluted the Hokage.
"Excellent. Dismissed," Hiruzen responded, the ANBU vanishing at his dismissal.
"Lord Hokage, what is the meaning of summoning me at such an hour?" Hiashi asked with respectful annoyance.
"Hiashi, I have had enough of the way the Hyuuga Police Force manhandles and mistreats Naruto Uzumaki every single time they invent a reason to apprehend him, and you are here to discuss this with me. The inconvenience of the hour is of no consequence to me at all."
"Well, maybe if that little miscreant didn't cause so much trouble all the time, he wouldn't get manhandled!"
Hiashi's eyes went wide at the monstrous Killing Intent that was suddenly crashing down upon him. Hiruzen rose to his feet, looking quite imposing, despite being several inches shorter than the Hyuuga Clan head.
"I do not take kindly to police brutality and excessive force when making arrests, Hiashi. Your clansmen have a nasty habit of using both when dealing with Naruto in particular, and have for years, which means that either you are too incompetent to ensure your clansmen don't step out of line, or you've been turning a blind eye to their behavior. Or perhaps you've actually even permitted or encouraged them to act in such a manner. Given your clan's distaste of the boy, I'm inclined to believe the latter."
Hiashi's eyes went even wider at this! He was being accused of conspiracy to harm an important village citizen?! He had to clear the air and lay everything out on the table.
"No sir," Hiashi answered with his shoulders slightly slumped in a show of dignified submission, "I do not encourage my clansmen to use excessive force with any Konoha citizen. I will admit to not having bothered to call the conduct of my clansmen into question where the Uzumaki boy is concerned. I've operated with faith in my clan's professionalism and therefore did not see reason to doubt their conduct besides the fact that Uzumaki-san has a reputation as a trouble maker and that there seemed to be no real harm done to him."
"Well, because of your 'faith', as you put it, three of your officers are currently in Ibiki Morino's care."
"WHAT?! You arrested my clansmen while they were on duty?!"
"They stepped out of line on this one, Hiashi. They took it upon themselves to arrest Naruto over a matter that was outside of Police jurisdiction, once again using excessive force and brutality as their first course of action rather than the last resort. It would seem that the Hyuuga Police Force is getting a little too big for its britches, and an example must therefore be made to remind them that as Konoha's law enforcement personnel, they themselves are not above the law. They also need to be reminded that while they enforce the law…" Hiruzen leaned forward and proclaimed forcefully, "…as Hokage, I AM THE LAW! I will tell you this once, and once only: Rein your clansmen in, or it is they who will be charged and paraded around as criminals. And I assure you that I will prosecute them – AND YOU – to the fullest extent of the law if something like this happens again."
Hiashi tightened his lips together in a thin line before bowing and respectfully answering, "I understand, Lord Hokage. I will ensure that my clansmen will not overstep their boundaries and behave in a more professional manner with the boy from now on."
"See that they do," Hiruzen retorted before returning to his chair to finish further paperwork. Hiashi left his office with his usual dignified gait despite feeling quite miffed at being dismissed in such a condescending manner.
*********** Line Break ***********
Six months later…
With a sneak attack from below, he had taken his opponent by surprise, knocking her down to the ground, unable to continue fighting.
"Proctor…I can't move…" a grimacing Hinata Hyuuga conceded, pain coursing through her body at the slightest movement.
"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!" Genma Shiranui announced.
He did it! He had won his match and moved on to the next round, but even more so, he had kept his promise to win this fight!
Back during the preliminaries, Hinata was pitted against her cousin, Neji. They were quite evenly matched until Hinata finally began to gain ground. She showed no mercy and left Neji very injured and used the curse seal all Hyuuga branch house members were branded with after a brief exchange of arguments.
It disgusted him to no end. That wasn't what the Will of Fire was about and that was definitely not how you treated family! It angered him so much. He had no family, yet Hinata just took her family for granted and treated them like garbage. The fact the Hyuuga use a curse seal was icing on the cake for him, whose life was defined by the burden that his own seal, his own curse, brought upon him.
During the month between the preliminaries and the finals, he had spoken to Neji, who bitterly kept going on about fate, about how people couldn't change their lot in life and how he was fated to lose against Hinata in the finals. He blew up right there and there and swore he would win, that he would not lose against someone like Hinata and that he was in charge of his own fate.
Neji for his turn looked stunned. He had heard some things about Naruto like how he graduated despite failing, but he figured it was nothing but luck. After all, once the deadlast, always the deadlast, you can't change your lot in life. He had dismissed his promise to beat his cousin as foolish bravado, but the knucklehead actually did it! Maybe fate wasn't so absolute after all…
"How? How could you win? You're the deadlast…" Hinata asked with pure disbelief. She couldn't believe that she – the Hyuuga prodigy – had lost to the deadlast of all people!
Naruto was about to exit the arena, but stopped when he heard her question and frowned.
"Because I refuse to lose to someone like you."
"Huh? What do you mean by that…?" Hinata asked, confused by his answer.
"I mean that I refuse to lose to someone who is lower than trash," he harshly shot back, "You treat your family like dirt, no…lower than dirt, just like the rest of your clan's main house. It's barbaric and disgusting how you Main House Hyuuga use a curse seal to burden and enslave your branch house members."
"Why would you even care?"
"Because I've never had any family…and because I know what it's like to be burdened with a curse – something you with your spoiled, charmed little life will never understand," Naruto explained with cold anger before making his way out of the arena and leaving Hinata to her own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Hiashi Hyuuga frowned as he looked down at the entire spectacle. The outcome of the match was completely unexpected; if anything, it was preposterous. Nonetheless, it had happened, and it was plainly visible in front of them for all to see. And to top it off, he was barely even winded in terms of chakra reserves! Hinata was out of chakra, but Naruto, having used far more, still had most of his to spare!
Plans on how to deal with this situation already formed in his head as the Hyuuga Clan's renown aptitude for politics did its work. He had to speak with Hinata as soon as possible – a potential powerhouse like the Uzumaki boy could prove most beneficial to his clan…much more so than turning him against them.
*********** Line Break ***********
Naruto was dragging the newly-christened Fifth Hokage Tsunade Senju with him through the underground tunnels to the room in the facility where his mother was. Despite Grandpa Hiruzen's best efforts before he died by Orochimaru's hands in the invasion during the Chunin Exams, his mother was still comatose and hadn't shown much improvement. But now that he had the world's best medic with him, who he and Jiraiya had just recently brought back to the village, things were finally starting to look up in a way they never have before! If anyone could make his mother better, it would be Tsunade and it renewed his hopes of finally getting his mother back in his life.
"Here it is! This is where Mom is!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.
Tsunade walked into the room where his mother was lying and she released a loud gasp when she saw it who Naruto's mother was.
"K-Kushina?! Kushina's your mother?" Tsunade stammered out, looking at Naruto with shock – shock at finding out that Kushina was still alive and that Naruto was her child.
Naruto happily nodded his head several times, "Yup!"
"But how? I thought she died thirteen years ago?"
"Grandpa placed her here to prevent her from dying from her injuries," Naruto explained before his expression turned into one of sadness, "Mom's injuries were…really bad. Grandpa was able to keep her alive and did all he could, but she's still…like this."
Tsunade, who glanced over to Kushina's still form. Understanding dawned upon her: Naruto didn't bring her here just to show her his mother, he brought her here because he wanted her help.
"You brought me here because you want me to heal her, didn't you?"
When she looked back at Naruto, she saw a desperate child who wanted nothing more than to have his mother back.
"Yeah. It's just…and they say you're the best medic there is and Grandpa tried for so long without getting anywhere," Naruto sadly spoke as he wistfully looked at his mother.
"Please…please help her! I don't know who else can! I just want my mother…" he desperately begged until Tsunade shushed him by putting her finger against his lip before bringing a gentle hand to his face and kissing him on his forehead just like she used to with her late little brother, Nawaki. When she pulled away, she was smiling warmly at Naruto, who was now noticeably calmer.
She couldn't say no to the love-starved soul before her in good conscience. Besides, it would go against her principles as a medic to not help and she would be damned if she ran away when she had the chance to save someone important to her.
"Don't you worry, kiddo. I won't stop until she is awake and healthy again," she gently said, which prompted Naruto to latch on her. She let a soft smile come over her face and put her arms around Naruto's frame as he kept repeating words of thanks and for a minute, they stayed like that before letting go.
"Now, let me take a look at her," Tsunade said as she went over to Kushina to diagnose her condition.
*********** Line Break ***********
"Naruto Uzumaki, do you know why you are here?"
Naruto looked confused at the councilman who asked the question – an old man with a bandaged eye – and answered, "Uh, not really…"
"You are summoned here because of your…performance during the chunin exams, the subsequent invasion and-" the councilman stoically began to explain before he was interrupted by Naruto.
"Hah, you're going to promote me to chunin, right?!" Naruto excitedly exclaimed with his fox-like trademark grin. He, the dead last, had won his matches during the final stage – heck, he had even beaten Hinata, something nobody had expected as she was considered the Hyuuga prodigy. On top of that, he had stopped Gaara after he let the One-Tail loose on the village. He would finally be acknowledged as something more than just being the dead last of his generation!
He happy bubble was quickly burst as another councilman, this time from the civilian side of the council, almost shouted with indignation in response to his joyful outburst, "The impudence! You are not here for a promotion and do not interrupt the council when we are speaking to you, genin! Shimura-san, if you would continue…"
The old man he had interrupted continued in the same stoic tone of voice, "Yes, thank you. As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted…you have been summoned here in light of your performance during the chunin exams, the invasion that followed and the failed retrieval of Sasuke Uchiha."
A sense of dread began to fill Naruto; this was starting to look bad and the next words from another councilman from the civilian side confirmed what his gut was telling him.
"During each of these events you have been reported to have drawn upon the power of your…tenant."
"But-" Naruto tried to defend himself by asking what was wrong about using the Nine-Tails' chakra as it was just like any other ninja tool, but he was quickly cut off by another woman on the civilian side of the council who slammed her fist on the desk she was sitting at.
"No buts! Your reckless use of the monster fox's power risked setting that thing loose on our village and you even have the nerve to think you are entitled to a promotion for that?!" The councilwoman shrieked.
Another civilian council member quickly put his own two cents in, "Do you even realize what you have done, boy? Because of your careless and over-dependent use of the Nine-Tails' power, the mission failed!"
"But that is not fair! Sasuke would not come back without a fight!" Naruto shouted in protest.
"That does not excuse your excessive use of force!"
"Were you trying to kill him?! It certainly was the perfect excuse to do so!"
"Because of you our village lost its last Uchiha along with its Sharingan bloodline limit!"
"I had no choice! He tried to kill me and he would have if I hadn't used the fox' chakra! He was using that curse seal hickey Orochimaru gave him! Dammit! He impaled me through the chest, twice!" Naruto yelled. He was used to being treated unfairly, but he still never could wrap his head around the unfairness of it all. It didn't take long before his reasoning was met with another verbal lashing from the civilian side of the council.
"Enough of these excuses! You don't look like someone who has been impaled once, let alone twice!"
"Councilman," Tsunade interjected with an edge to her voice, "I treated Naruto Uzumaki's injuries myself, and what he claims is in fact the truth. Are you calling ME a liar?"
The civilian councilman, realizing that he had overstepped himself, apologized quietly and shrank back into his seat.
"And you also claim that he used Orochimaru's curse seal?" yet another civilian councilman barked, "It was sealed away by one of our top shinobi! You have a lot of nerve to try and cover up your own misconduct with false accusations!"
"You most likely goaded Uchiha-san into fighting. As a matter of fact, it is my understanding that you goaded him into a fight on top of the hospital roof shortly after the invasion with your insensitivity to his trauma with regard to the Uchiha Massacre and apparent need to one-up the poor boy!"
"He should be punished for endangering all of us by using that thing's power!"
Many council members on the civilian side were quick to join in as they too demanded punishment for Naruto's use of the Kyuubi's chakra under the pretense of endangering the village, intentionally attacking a fellow Konoha shinobi and being responsible for the loss of the Sharingan and its military potential. Tsunade's ire towards these corrupt ingrates was steadily rising with each passing moment.
The shouts, the demands for 'justice' slammed at Naruto's heart and mind like battering rams. He knew the villagers had never been fair to him, but he couldn't believe they would go this far! The bastard abandons the village, almost kills him and they want to punish him for it! It was emotionally too much for him and he looked like he was on the verge of having a panic attack.
Tsunade saw Naruto's state and decided that enough was enough. Her temper and Killing Intent flared, making the civilian side of the council sweat as she cracked down on them, "IDIOTS! He's the Nine-Tails' jinchuuriki! He's SUPPOSED to use its chakra! That's why he's GOT IT! Should I arrest all of you just because I think you're all idiots to the point where it's a crime?!"
Seeing her outburst achieved the desired effect of shutting the council up, she added in a threat with a dangerous edge to her voice that warned everyone not to cross her, "And I will in turn charge all of you with fraudulent indictment if you so much as attempt to pin these charges on Naruto Uzumaki."
"Lady Hokage, all reports thus far have stated that Uzumaki-san has always been in a state of anger when drawing upon the Nine-Tails' chakra, which magnifies that anger and makes him act like what can only be described as a loose cannon," the one-eyed old man who had addressed Naruto earlier spoke, causing the civilian side of the council to look smug while the ninja side of the council murmured amongst themselves as they took in this information.
"What are you implying, Danzo?" Tsunade growled out. Danzo was up to something and she didn't like it one bit.
The old man, now identified as Danzo Shimura, evenly responded, "I am merely pointing out the facts, Lady Hokage."
"Danzo, you're on very thin ice with me as it is," Tsunade warned him dangerously, "If I were you, I would be very, very careful about 'pointing out facts' as you put it, so carelessly. One might believe you were attempting to plant seeds of dissent and sedition against the legitimate ruling government of this village…"
Danzo gritted his teeth in rage, though he kept his lips pressed. He would have to watch himself very closely from now on, as he was beginning to realize that Tsunade Senju was not the woman of weak will and weak character that he had known her to be in her youth or expected her to be ever since she left Konoha. She would not play the games that he and Hiruzen used to play in these meetings, and she had no real reason to want him around. Yes, he would have to be very careful from now on.
"Shimura-san has a point. We cannot just turn a blind eye to this…delicate issue. Something has to be done," Hiashi Hyuuga added, thinking he could use this situation to steer the boy into his clan's reach.
Danzo shot a glance at Hiashi, slightly narrowing his sole visible eye as he did so. While it didn't hurt to have someone vocally agree with him, it would not do to have the jinchuuriki fall in the hands of the Hyuuga.
He was well aware through his ROOT spies that the Hyuuga clan intended to sink their claws into the jinchuuriki by having their clan heiress marry him since the jinchuuriki defeated the Hyuuga heiress in the Chunin Exams. Besides exercising control over the village's greatest weapon and if properly harnessed, they believed the 'union' would boost the Hyuuga clan's bloodline by combining the boy's potent and great amount of chakra and that of his tenant with the Byakugan. Of course, it was extremely unlikely that such a union would take place at this point. The jinchuuriki had made it no secret that he found the Hyuuga heir to be repulsive and disgusting as a person and therefore did not want anything to do with her and as far as he was concerned, it should stay that way. If such a union were to be successfully arranged, the Hyuuga clan would gain too much power and become a threat to the village, maybe even worse than the late Uchiha Clan, and that was something he could not allow to happen.
"Indeed Hyuuga-san. However, Lady Hokage is also right that the Kyuubi's power is meant to be harnessed," Danzo continued, making Tsunade narrow her eyes in suspicion, "I suggest we see to it that he will be taught how to use its power properly to prevent situations like this…or worse. To this end, I propose Uzumaki-san will be put under my tutelage."
'So that's how it is…' Tsunade thought. She knew better than to trust Danzo after having read everything Sarutobi-sensei had left behind for his successor. Her teacher had written down about his suspicions of Danzo never truly having disbanded ROOT after he had been ordered to do so after the Uchiha Massacre. She wouldn't let Danzo turn Naruto into another one of his emotionless drones, let alone his personal weapon. Fortunately, she could easily throw a monkey wrench into Danzo's plan and turned the attention back to her by clapping her hands together.
"I'm glad you mentioned this, Danzo. As a matter of fact, I have already arranged for this," Tsunade announced with a smug look on her face, much to the council's confusion, "You see, Naruto's training for the next two years will be overseen by none other than Jiraiya himself."
"Lady Hokage, you must reconsider! That would interfere with Jiraiya's information gathering duties. My duties on the other hand, would not conflict with Uzumaki-san's training and with my extensive experience I am more than qualified for the task," Danzo objected.
Once again, the council murmured again. If one listened well enough, one could hear one of the civilian council members say that "It would also interfere with Lord Jiraiya's upcoming book."
Tsunade dismissively shrugged Danzo's objections off, "First off, I'm Hokage, so I don't have to reconsider my decision at all and secondly, it won't interfere with Jiraiya's duties at all as Naruto will be traveling with Jiraiya during his training. Besides, I don't see anyone better equipped to oversee Naruto's training considering his expertise with seals. My decision is final."
Danzo was seething, that fool of a woman had ruined his opportunity to get his hands on the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. He was no fool and he knew he couldn't do anything but concede…for now.
"Of course, Lady Hokage…" Danzo said between clenched teeth.
"Now, this goes for all of you," Tsunade warned, "Since I've been back, I have been less vocal than I have wanted to be in these meetings up to now because I wanted to observe how this body operates, particularly with regards to Naruto, here. Well, I've observed enough, and this crap stops now! You are all way out of line in the way you've spoken to Naruto about anything related to his ninja career or his duties as a ninja. You are not ninja, nor have you ever been ninja, and therefore you have no right to criticize or make conjectures about what MY ninja did or did not do."
The room was quiet. The civilians were all stunned at Tsunade's rebuke, while the ninja clan heads were all patiently waiting, guessing that Tsunade had a few things to say to them as well.
Tsunade continued, "For your information, my orders to Naruto AND HIS ENTIRE SQUAD were that if they were unable to subdue Sasuke Uchiha and bring him back to Konoha, then they were to ELIMINATE HIM!"
This caused a wide array of gasps and loud vocal objections by the civilians, stating that she couldn't do that, or that it was wrong to place the demon brat's welfare over that of the last Uchiha. It was this last one that Tsunade thought was the last straw.
"ANBU!" she called.
Immediately, several ANBU in the room appeared behind all of the objecting civilians, and Danzo as well, and put blades to their necks, exuding their Killing Intent upon them to keep them silent and cowed. Danzo simply sat there with an unreadable expression, seemingly cool as ice.
"You may have rescinded the Third's Law before I was inaugurated, and obviously since his status is no longer an S-ranked secret, I can't make it illegal to talk about it, but there is something I can and will DO about it! I am now instituting the Fifth Hokage's Law: Any illegal, negative or malicious behavior towards Naruto that is even SUSPECTED to be driven by his connection to the Nine-Tails, will be met with swift and immediate execution WITHOUT EXCEPTION! This includes any and all of you! Are there any doubts in any of your minds now that I mean business?!"
Fearful shakes of their heads were the civilians' response, while everyone else simply acknowledged their understanding of the new law calmly.
"ANBU, you are hereby authorized to enforce this new law immediately. So council members, civilian and ninja alike – I suggest you start spreading the word, because my declaration of this law is the only warning this village is going to get."
"Now," Tsunade continued, "To clarify the matter of Sasuke's curse mark being sealed away: the seal used to restrain it is tied to the will and desire of the person on whom the seal is placed. Meaning that the only way the seal would have been able to be used is if Uchiha-san WANTED to use it of his own free will! Any more talk of this, and I will declare Sasuke Uchiha a traitor and have him entered into the bingo books as an A-rank rogue ninja with a kill on sight order! Do not test me!"
Once more, she was met with a quiet chamber.
"Good. I will take your silence as acknowledgment that you understand all I have told you. This council is hereby adjourned!"
Once everybody left, Tsunade went over to Naruto, who was sprawled in his chair with resigned and frustrated exhaustion. She took his hand with her own, causing him to look up at her.
"Come with me, Naruto," she invited with a look of sympathy.
Naruto simply followed her lead, rising from his chair and letting her lead him by the hand back to her office. Once they were inside, she let go of his hand and closed the door.
She walked back over to him and placed her hand on his arm, "Are you alright?"
"I-I think so…I just can't believe they would do something like this," Naruto responded under his breath, looking downcast, "When will I leave with Pervy Sage? I really need to be away from the village for a while."
"You and Mr. Super Pervert will be leaving tomorrow," she informed him in an encouraging tone, before pulling him into a gentle and warm hug. He didn't hesitate to return it, closing his eyes and allowing himself a smile as he took in the warmth that he and she both shared for each other.
"You know, Naruto," Tsunade began after pulling back, placing a gentle hand on his face as had become her usual behavior towards him, "I sometimes can't help but think of you as my little brother, maybe even a bit as my own son, too."
"Really?" he asked with a hopeful smile.
"Yeah, really," Tsunade answered, planting a kiss on the cheek opposite to where her hand was, "Now, go home and make sure you get some sleep, okay kiddo?"
"Alright…Auntie Tsunade…" Naruto sighed as he walked out of the room and headed to his apartment.
Her smile widened as he called her that, though as he left, she couldn't help but stare sadly at his retreating form. Not only was he given a very raw deal by the village, but she wouldn't be seeing his happy smile or hearing his loud, jovial voice for two years.
He was such a wonderful human being, and the village that they both called home refused to see that. This wasn't the village her grandfather and Madara Uchiha founded…not anymore. Naruto would have never been treated the way he was in hers or her grandfather's day. They praise the Fourth Hokage, as their hero, and yet they spit upon his dying wish. Whatever happened to the sense of honor that the village once possessed? Whatever happened to the Will of Fire and the creed that everyone in the village was family?
"I need a drink…" she mumbled to herself as she thought of her favorite blond being gone for two years, as well as the headaches that her council and this hypocritical village constantly caused her.
*********** Line Break ***********
Naruto was woken up when the beeping sound of his alarm clock resounded through the room. Groggily he stuck his hand out from underneath the covers, grabbing the annoying thing and hitting the off button. He sat up as he threw his covers off and rubbed his eyes.
'7:30 already? But the alarm was supposed to go off at 6:30…Crap! I'm supposed to be at the village gate in a half hour!'
Any hint of drowsiness instantly vanished as he noticed how much time he had left before he was supposed to leave for his training trip with Pervy Sage. Jumping out of bed, he ran towards the bathroom to make himself presentable before grabbing his backpack and rushing off towards the village gate.
*********** Line Break ***********
Meanwhile, Tsunade and Jiraiya were at the village gate, waiting for Naruto.
"It's almost 8:00…he should be here already," Tsunade mumbled.
"Meh, he's still got time," Jiraiya casually said before a goofy expression made way to his face, "If anything, he probably realized by himself that a perfect timing and entry is essential for a lady-killer!"
A tick mark formed on Tsunade's forehead before she shot Jiraiya an intimidating glare and growled dangerously, "Jiraiya…"
Jiraiya waved his hands in the face of his teammate's temper, stumbling back a step, "Wait, Tsunade! No need to get violent, now…". Before he could say anything else, they were interrupted by a loud shout.
"PERVY SAGE! AUNTIE TSUNADE!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards them. He skidded to a halt right in front of them, panting for breath after making his way here after oversleeping.
"You brat! What did I say about calling me that!" Jiraiya yelled, though he showed no surprise at all at how Naruto addressed Tsunade.
Tsunade's response was simply to grin happily at the new term of endearment.
"You know, you were almost late," Tsunade remarked with a smirk.
Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "Hehe, yeah, I kinda overslept. Must have forgotten to set the alarm clock an hour earlier."
The only thing his explanation earned him was a scrutinizing eyebrow from Tsunade, which lasted for a few moments, making him sweat a bit, before she sternly spoke up, "You better not start taking after Kakashi. I won't stand for you turning into a pervert who's three hours late to everything if I've got anything to say about it, you hear me?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am…" Naruto muttered, all the while nodding his head up and down.
Jiraiya just snorted at that, "Bah, Kakashi isn't that bad. If you forget about his tardiness, you could actually learn something from him, like his taste in literature."
A bonk on the head courtesy of Tsunade sent Jiraiya crashing face-first into the ground, leaving an imprint in the shape of his body.
"Oww, that hurt! That was uncalled for!" Jiraiya complained as he got up and dusted his clothes off, seemingly unharmed.
Tsunade just cracked her knuckles, "You want another one, Pervert?"
"I'm not a pervert, I'm a-" a seemingly offended Jiraiya began to correct her, only to be interrupted.
"A Super Pervert, we already know…" Naruto deadpanned, causing Jiraiya to shoot him an annoyed glance and mumble "brat" under his breath.
"You two had better get going now. The farther you're able to get today, the sooner you'll arrive at any destinations Jiraiya has in mind for this trip," Tsunade said.
"You heard the lady, Naruto. Time to go!" Jiraiya said before he walked out of the village gate. Naruto was about to follow after him, but Tsunade placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
"Naruto, try to learn as much as you can from Jiraiya, okay? He may be a Super Pervert, but he's also one of the greatest ninja I've ever met, and you couldn't ask for a better teacher. Trust in him, and you'll learn more from him than you ever thought possible," Tsunade said fondly. Her smile turned mischievous as she leaned over to his ear and added in a whisper, "But if you catch him doing 'research', then do alert the ladies he's peeping on. Hokage's orders."
"Of course!" Naruto cheerily exclaimed, chuckling at the thought of Pervy Sage being chased by a hoard of angry women. He then gave Tsunade a goodbye-hug, a gesture she returned. "See you in two years Auntie Tsunade. Who knows, I might even take the hat from you when I'm back, ya know?"
"You're more than welcome to it if you're able to – I could certainly do without all the paperwork!" she joked as she watched him leave after Jiraiya.
"Things won't be the same around here for the next two years…" Tsunade said to herself sadly, missing the blonde ball of sunshine already.
*********** Line Break ***********
They had made good time traveling that first day out. Nearing the border of the Land of Tea, they had stopped to make camp a couple of hours ago. The sun was setting, illuminating the clouds and the trees in its orange twilight glow. Naruto and Jiraiya were sitting around the campfire they had set up, eating the fish they had just caught and cooked. While Naruto was happily munching away, Jiraiya seemed to be in deep thought before steeling himself for a conversation that was long overdue.
With seriousness that he only showed when absolutely necessary, he said, "Naruto, we need to talk."
"Hmm? What's wrong, Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked, wondering why Jiraiya suddenly sounded so serious.
Jiraiya sighed. "How much has Sarutobi-sensei told you about your family?"
"Only about my parents, mostly about mother though. He wouldn't tell me about my father yet, not that he can do that, now…" Naruto trailed off before taking another bite of his fish.
"Don't worry about that, you'll be told about your father when the time's right," Jiraiya assured him before he dropped the bomb, "But that's not what I want to talk about. What Sarutobi-sensei apparently didn't mention, was that I'm your godfather."
Naruto almost choked on his food, "G-godfather?! YOU'RE my godfather?!"
Jiraiya confirmed his shocked question with just a slow nod of his head.
"Then…then where were you all this time?" Naruto pleaded, feeling hurt at learning he had a godfather, one who was out and about while he was left alone for so long.
"Before you do anything rash, please hear me out," Jiraiya said before Naruto's emotions could get the better of him. Although it didn't lessen the feeling of hurt, Naruto's attention was focused on him, wanting to know why he hadn't been there for him in the past thirteen years.
"Believe me, Naruto, I wanted to be there for you more than anything. You know I'm a spymaster, right? Much of my time is spent outside of the village, gathering intel on threats to Konoha. After the Kyuubi's rampage, the village was left vulnerable, a target for the other hidden villages who would want to take advantage of that by attacking Konoha…or by trying to get their hands on the Kyuubi by kidnapping you. I was forced to spend literally all of my time outside the village back in those days. I had to make sure that we were aware of any threats from the other villages and make sure no information about you leaked out of the village to keep you and the village safe," he began to explain.
Naruto frowned, "Uh-huh…surely that didn't take thirteen years, though, right?"
"I was getting to that and no, it didn't. But by the time Konoha got back on its feet, one mission after another kept coming at me and before I knew it, I was chasing one lead after another in my efforts to eliminate threats. Most of the time I did find things that were important for Sarutobi-sensei to know, or things that would keep Konoha and you safe if they were dealt with or monitored. Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are just two examples of such threats, both of which should ring a bell to you. Before I knew, thirteen years had passed already."
"But you could have least sent some kind of message every now and then?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya sighed, "I did. I knew I was going to be away for quite some time, so I sent you letters and gifts. I wanted you to at least know who I was, that I did think about you despite my absence, and that I intended to come meet you as soon as I could. From the letters I got back, I figured everything was alright, but in hindsight, it seems you didn't get anything I sent you, and you were kept in the dark about me."
Naruto for his part was relieved to know he wasn't just abandoned. He wasn't happy about it, but he understood his mentor…godfather's reasons and couldn't be angry at him, as it was apparently beyond his control.
Although, there was something that still confused him, "How come I never received anything you sent? I never sent anything back either. Not saying you're lying, but it does sounds a bit fishy, you know?"
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he recalled his suspicions on the matter, "The letters and gifts I sent you must have been intercepted while I received fake letters in reply. After thirteen years, shortly after you graduated, my mission load suddenly lessened a great deal, almost stopping altogether. Don't you think that's a little strange, Naruto?"
Naruto's eyes squinted as he adopted a thoughtful expression and brought his finger to his chin, "Hmm...that is strange. It's almost if someone was trying to keep you away from Konoha", he mused.
Jiraiya for his part looked surprised that his godson figured it out, "Got it in one, kiddo. That's exactly what has been going on. When the mission load dropped, I suspected something was wrong, but after speaking with Sarutobi-sensei, my suspicions were confirmed. I can't prove it, but most likely Danzo Shimura was pulling the strings and somehow getting leads to Sarutobi-sensei in an effort to keep me at a distance. I only know this because most of the leads I got either led me to discover things other than the leads I was investigating, or they just ended up being wild goose chases."
Now that name did ring a bell to Naruto. "The old one-eyed fossil from the council? That Danzo? The guy who tried to take over my training?"
Jiraiya grimaced at that. Tsunade had filled him in about Danzo's recent attempt to get Naruto under his thumb. His expression turned deadly serious as he told Naruto, "That's Danzo, alright. He's a shady man and a complete warmonger. Naruto, whatever you do, never, ever get involved with that man. He doesn't see you as a human being, but as a weapon for what you hold. If he could have his way, you would be turned into an emotionless weapon under his command, just like his ROOT ninjas."
Seeing the questioning look on Naruto's face, Jiraiya answered in advance, "And before you ask, ROOT is a secretive branch of ANBU under Danzo's command that was supposed to have been disbanded years ago, but they went underground. It's just that nobody has been able to prove it. These guys are conditioned to get rid of their emotions and they are fanatically loyal to Danzo – even more so than to the Hokage."
Naruto looked at Jiraiya with wide eyes. He knew people back in Konoha hated him, but he never dared to think people were out to use him like that! "I got it, I'll watch my back and stay away from people like Danzo."
Naruto paused for a moment before adding, "And thanks for explaining everything…it still sucks that you couldn't be there, but at least now I understand why."
Glad that Naruto understood and accepted the reasons behind his absence, Jiraiya spoke up again, this time sounding more like his jovial self, "Good, now that that's all sorted out, why don't I tell you some more about myself since you haven't gotten my letters in the past years?"
For the next hour they continued to talk, telling each other about themselves as they tried to make for lost time before they got back to training.
End of Chapter
A/N:
With this chapter, the major differences between Naruto's childhood in this story and in canon should be fairly clear. The next chapter will wrap the prologue up and start the main story. For those who are wondering, there's a reason the Hyuuga clan has taken over the Uchiha clan's position as the police force as well as why Hinata is unlike her canon counterpart as you will see during the course of the story and it's not just a whim or any anti-Hinata or anti-Hyuuga sentiments on my part.