A/N: Hello good people! Please enjoy the latest edition of Chōshinsei no Naruto!
Flash Almighty: Thanks for letting me know you liked it, I thought it would be fun to approach it in a slightly different way. It was!
theIrishWriter: Thanks again for reviewing, it's nice to see my story is enjoyed! As for Naruto's latent talent with seals, ******* - sorry, this site blocks spoilers :P.
karthik9: Thank you! Here is the latest update, so look forward to the next one please!
Mizuhara Setsuna-Chan: Thanks! I have!
HjLostDreams: Don't worry, the ramen was a joke. Gotta try to keep these things at least a little light! I can understand people wanting to be angry about it all, but fact of the matter is, Naruto doesn't do that. He's never once gotten angry about the information being kept from him, once he gets the information, he just redoubles his determination. It's one of the things I love about his character, and one I'm desperately trying to do justice to, the fact that his response to adversity isn't to bemoan it, or regret it, but just deal with it and move on. What happened to him sucks, but whining about it won't fix it, and he was hardly the only one suffering. I like that that is the way he instinctively sees it, makes him a very likeable character to me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters, plots, etc.
Act 1 – Chapter 4 – Revelations
"Clan lessons?" Ino sighed. "We already went through this as part of the history lessons last year."
The only students that didn't clearly agree with her were Shikamaru and Naruto. As soon as the lessons were announced, Shikamaru's face descended into a suspicious frown, whilst Naruto's lit up in a hopeful smile. How could he possibly forget: the clan lessons were when they said they'll tell him about the other Uzumaki!
"Your lessons missed out on several important clans, the foremost of which, and the topic of today's lesson, was the Uzumaki clan. We've mentioned them in passing before, but the Uzumaki clan were an important ally of the founding clans of Konoha, and the fact that their history is not taught alongside our own is frankly an oversight that we have been given permission to correct." Kurenai explained.
Almost each and every eye in the class was fixed firmly on Naruto at this point. Not only was he from a clan, but they sounded like they were quite an important clan as well. So why had no-one heard talk of them? Naruto on the other hand, was gazing firmly at his senseis, waiting for them to give him the information he craved. For so long he thought he was alone, but now he had a clan. A family.
Drawing a swirled symbol on the board behind him, he began to outline some background of the Uzumaki clan to his students. "The Uzumaki clan were the ruling clan of Uzushiogakure, the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides. Their island was located just off of the east coast of the Land of Fire, protected by huge whirlpools that protected it from attacking ships and shinobi alike."
Amongst slightly older shinobi like himself and his fellow senseis, knowledge of the Uzumaki clan was widespread. After all, they had been only a generation behind the last Uzumaki in Konoha, Kushina. She would never have allowed anyone to forget her clan.
For the younger generation, they had never seen an Uzumaki other than Naruto, and considering that most people seemed to want to forget the boy was there at all, they were hardly likely to explain to their children that he actually came from a noble clan as old as the Uchiha and Senju themselves.
"The Uzumaki were famed as great warriors. Their chakra was unique in that even the weakest Uzumaki genin had the chakra of a chūnin from any other village. Their control was understandably lacking as standard, but it was usually overlooked by shinobi of their village as they had the raw power to be able to compensate for it. But where the Uzumaki really excelled was in the art of fūinjutsu, of sealing."
Kakashi panned his single eye around the class, chuckling internally as he saw Tenten gazing starry-eyed at Naruto's back.
"In fact, many of the seal-based defenses of this village, found in the walls, the gates and several key structures were placed there by Uzumaki seal masters at the founding of the village. The relationship between Konoha and Uzushio was incredibly strong at the founding of the village, so much so that the wife of the First Hokage was the clan heir from the Uzumaki clan. Mito Uzumaki came from the Uzumaki clan soon after the founding of Konoha to be with her husband, and brought with her a great wealth of sealing knowledge and experience, which she then used to protect her new village to the best of her considerable abilities, and many of her original seals can still be found in the structure of the village today.
"The Uzumaki were also legendary for their stamina. It was not unusual for a healthy Uzumaki to live well into his nineties, and there were multiple credible records of several Uzumaki reaching over a hundred years old. The reason for this was never abundantly clear, but it was quite well held that the Uzumaki trait was quite heavily predisposed towards Yang chakra, leaving them with a great deal of chakra and physical life force, but often leaving them lacking in the finesse and control departments. Whether or not this was the reason for Uzumakis not training much in control, or if it simply a consequence, is a question that is likely to go unanswered, at least unless our resident Uzumaki reaches the point where he can delve into such questions himself." Kakashi eye-smiled at Naruto during his last sentence, making it incredibly obvious that there was no mistaking it: Naruto was an Uzumaki, through and through.
"Kakashi-sensei" Naruto spoke up, his voice being clearly heard though it was no more than a whisper. "What happened to the Uzumaki?"
It was only then that the ryo dropped for the remainder of the class. Naruto being all alone. The rest of them never having heard of the Uzumaki. Referring to them constantly in the past tense. Casting their eyes across to Naruto, their worries were confirmed.
With a sigh, Kakashi began to break his blonde student's heart. "The Uzumaki were destroyed between the Second and Third Great Shinobi World Wars by an unknown enemy." A sharp intake of breath was heard, but Kakashi drove on.
"Kushina Uzumaki was brought to Konoha by an escort of twenty Uzushio warriors. However, upon her and her honour guard departing the village, it was besieged. Uzushio sent a carrier bird to request emergency aid for Konoha, and naturally, Konoha responded to the call of its fiercest ally. A batallion of two hundred shinobi made up Konoha chūnin and Jōnin met the escort at the coastline, whereby they informed the guards of the events in their hometowns, and volunteered to investigate and assist whilst the Uzushio shinobi completed their escort mission. Naturally, the Uzushio shinobi refused and it was decided that a small squad of five Konoha chūnin would accompany Kushina to Konoha, whilst the remainder of the group would proceed to assist Uzushio repel their invaders.
"However, upon arrival, Uzushio had already been completely destroyed."
Kakashi found himself unable to draw his eye away from his most enraptured student, watching as the tears silently fell from his face.
"It appeared that an enemy force that outnumbered the Uzushio shinobi at least ten-to-one had ambushed the village, and though the village fought back valiantly, there was very little they could do. The ground where the Konoha and Uzushio teams alighted was pockmarked with the evidence of devastating ninjutsu of all elements. As they neared the centre of the village, it became more and more of an intense battle ground, or at least the remains of one. Once they reached the centre of the village, they found where the Uzumaki had gathered for a last stand, but none remained.
"The Uzumaki that accompanied the Konoha shinobi buried their dead as a last act of respect, before leaving to wander the Elemental Nations. Of course, they were offered sanctuary and refuge in Konoha, and a place to rebuild their clan in safety, but they declined. That task was left to Kushina, and they left to go their own way. Unfortunately, Kushina Uzumaki was killed twelve years ago in the Kyūbi attack, and with her died what was left of the great Uzumaki clan."
There was a clatter as Naruto's chair crashed against the floor, but the boy was already gone when the class turned to look, as were Kakashi and Gai.
"Alright, take an early day today class, tomorrow we'll deal with fūinjutsu, among other things." Kurenai dismissed the class before she and Asuma shunshinned away, leaving a class in stunned silence.
"That Uzumaki clan sounded pretty awesome!" Kiba declared. He and the rest of the rookies were sat gathered around the large, round table discussing the day's revelations. The room had been given to them by the academy, they'd referred to it as the "Rookie Common Room" since. It had been essential in discussing the training of the day, any ideas of the academy so far, and most recently, Naruto and all the odd things going on with him. The only people that didn't turn up to the gatherings after class were Naruto and Lee, both because they preferred to spend the afternoons training than reflecting. This was actually quite helpful to the rest of the class, as it meant that both the subject of their discussions and said subject's training partner were always out of the room for these discussions.
"Yosh! It does appear that Naruto-kun's family were quite formidable shinobi! It is a shame we will never have the opportunity to test our flames against the powerful fury of their youth!" Lee was never present, apart from this one time of course. Without his usual training partners in Gai and Naruto, the group convinced him to come along and discuss the Uzumaki clan and Naruto in general. Unfortunately, they had never held a lengthy conversation with Lee. The boy spoke so strangely. No contractions, and intermittent mentions of youth and passion.
"So you really think Naruto is a member of this clan then Lee?" Sakura asked.
Before Lee could rant on about who knows what, Shikamaru interrupted. "It looks to be pretty clear. He has the right chakra amounts and he has the physical endurance; that's two of the things that the Uzumaki were famous for he has in great amounts."
"Indeed. And it is logical that he may be a member of that clan. Why? Because, while other orphans are occasionally given fictitious surnames, a clan name would never been given out to one outside of the clan, whether the clan was alive or dead. Also, that Naruto has the surname but is alone is congruent with the fact that the clan has been wiped out." Shino's monotonous voice continued from where Shikamaru left off. "In addition, the reactions of the senseis to this information and Naruto's reaction to it leads me to believe that they have always known of his heritage."
At this, Ino spoke up. "But, if they knew that Naruto had all of this history, why would they leave Naruto to think he had no family? There must have been opportunities for this to come up: I know that if I didn't know anything about my family, I'd kill for that information!"
Tenten smiled ruefully. "It's not like that Ino. You've got a family, it's different for you. For Naruto, he's never had a family, but it's every orphan's dream to one day have one. He's not upset that people have kept this information from him, he's upset because this information is confirmation of what we-he's always feared. He did have a family, but they're all gone now. There's never going to be anyone to discover or find, he will always be alone, at least until he can make a family of his own."
Sakura frowned sadly at this. "That's...horrible."
The silence from the rest of the group seemed to be a wordless agreement with Sakura.
"I still don't get it." Chōji commented, munching away on his barbecue chips. "If Naruto is a member of a clan, and one that prestigious to boot, why is he treated that way?"
Shikamaru shot a sharp look at Chōji, but the boy had once again buried his face in his pack of chips.
"What way?" Kiba answered, confused by the question.
"P-people don't like him" Hinata's meek voice piped up. "When he g-goes out after s-school, people avoid him."
"Well, maybe they just don't know about his clan!" Kiba barked. "If they did, I bet they'd show him a lot more respect."
"I find that unlikely. That is because the symbol Kakashi drew on the board when announcing the Uzumaki clan was undoubtedly their clan symbol, or the symbol of their village. That same symbol can be found on every flak jacket which a chūnin level or above shinobi is given as attire. It is improbable that a clan which warrants such honour would be so quickly forgotten." Shino shot down Kiba's suggestion with that unerring vocal accuracy that seemed inherent to all Aburames.
"So they know of his heritage, but still treat him poorly. There must be something else that bothers them about him, maybe it's his history with pranks and bad behaviour. He has been a nuisance until this last year of the academy, and even then he attempted to prank Kakashi." Sakura paused and thought about this for a moment. "Odd. He only tried the once, then he didn't bother anymore. That was around the time he began really trying in class as well." Sakura looked around the group, noticing that they'd all been listening to her rambling, out-loud thoughts. Blushing, she withdrew slightly in her chair and waved them off.
"I hardly think that a couple of pranks are worth the looks that he gets, or the treatment he gets. He's troublesome at times, but he doesn't cause any harm" Shikamaru mused. "What do you think Sasuke?"
All eyes turned to the most reticent and quiet member of the group, and considering that group included Shino, that was not a statement to be taken lightly.
"He has the chakra for it, it would explain how someone like him could have such massive chakra stores. I think it's highly likely he is a member of the clan." Sasuke intoned, voicing his opinion as if passing some great judgement.
"Not just a member" Shikamaru pointed out. "Naruto is most likely the heir to the clan, considering that he's the only member left who isn't a roaming shinobi. If the Uzumaki clan were to be re-established in Konoha, as per Konoha's offer at the destruction of Uzushio, then Naruto would be the clan head."
"More than that though. Do you remember Kakashi telling us that Kushina died in the Kyūbi attack? That would explain why Naruto was alone, if she was the last Uzumaki in Konoha. More than that though, if she was the last Uzumaki in Konoha, and now he is, she must be his mother!" Sakura realised out loud, surprising all but a few of the group.
"You're right about that" Shikamaru agreed. "I wonder if Naruto figured that out?"
"She was my mother, wasn't she?" Naruto sniffed, rubbing his red, raw eyes.
After fleeing from the classroom, Naruto had been chased down by his silver-haired sensei. He attempted to turn away, but Kakashi's grip was iron. Before he could react, he felt a strange pulling sensation in his chakra, which ended with his sudden arrival in the Hokage's office. Waiting for him was the Sandaime Hokage himself, along with his other three senseis.
"Yes Naruto-kun, Kushina Uzumaki was your mother." The Hokage replied gently, watching his surrogate grandson closely. Deciding against pressing forwards, Sarutobi kept quiet, waiting for the blonde boy in front of him to make the first move.
"What...what happened to her?" Naruto asked hesitantly, not entirely convinced he wanted to hear the answer, whatever it may be.
"She was killed in the Kyūbi attack along with so many others, including your father." The Hokage held up a hand wearily as Naruto's head shot up, his mouth already forming the question that Hiruzen had been desperately hoping he would not ask. "I cannot tell you who your father was, for your own protection. Kushina was a powerful kunoichi in her own right: her ninjutsu and fūinjutsu were quite famous in her time, but your father's name being passed to you would bring far, far more attention than you or the village could handle at the moment."
He gazed sadly at the usually exuberant boy in front of him, now so oddly quiet. "I truly wish it were not the case, but until I am assured you are powerful enough to defend yourself from most threats, your father's identity must remain a secret. I will however, tell you anything you wish to know about your mother."
Naruto nodded slowly, trusting the wizened old shinobi in front of him to be telling him the truth. That trust however, had been strained by recent revelations. He considered asking why the information had been held back from him about his mother in the first place, but compared to being able to finally get some of the answers he'd longed for for so long, it was a simple decision.
"What did...kaa-chan...look like?" Kaa-chan. Naruto rolled the phrase around in his head. Kushina Uzumaki, kaa-chan. It just seemed to fit.
"Actually, I have a photo of her right here, I thought you might like to see it." The Hokage smiled at Naruto as he passed the image over the desk. "This photograph was taken on the day she was promoted to Jōnin. The celebration she held… I think half of my ninja were laid up the next day. Kushina had a real knack of getting people to come together, she was incredibly well-liked around the village."
Sarutobi leaned forward and beckoned Naruto to do the same, cupping a hand around his mouth as though imparting a great secret. "However, she was teased at school because of her hair and her face resembling a tomato, which she was then nicknamed for. Of course, being the fiery Uzumaki that she was, she promptly beat anyone who teased her half-to-death. Her nickname was changed to the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero."
Naruto snorted as he leant back from the Old Man, gazing happily back at the photo of his mother. So enraptured with her image, he missed the meaningful glances between the Hokage and his senseis behind him.
"Naruto" Hiruzen recaptured Naruto's attention, thoroughly hoping that the next revelation would be taken as well as the first. "There is another piece of history you should be aware of, a family birthright if you will."
The Hokage took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what was to come far too soon.
"There are nine beings that exist across the world, known as the bijū. These creatures are constructs of chakra, incredible amounts of chakra condensed into a physical form, able to perform feats of power far beyond any ordinary, and indeed the majority of extraordinary ninja." Hiruzen looked Naruto dead in the eye, assuring himself that the boy was paying attention to this most important lecture.
"You would have heard of one of these beasts: the Kyūbi." Seeing Naruto nod, he continued. "The Kyūbi is just one of the nine, albeit the most powerful. In fact, the Kyūbi's might was so fearsome, it was compared to a walking natural disaster, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake.
"fūinjutsu, the art of sealing, is a far more dangerous, powerful and complex art than most people ever realise. It is more than just objects and explosions that can be sealed, the most common thing to be sealed is chakra itself. In creating an exploding tag, or a resistance seal, chakra has to be stored in an object, to be retrieved or activated at a later date. Are you following?"
Naruto nodded, wondering where the Hokage was going with this. "I understand. So basically, fūinjutsu is just storing chakra to be used for different purposes and in different ways."
The Hokage smiled proudly, happy to know that it was more than just the vitality that the Uzumaki had handed down to Naruto. "Exactly. Now, if chakra can be sealed, what are the limits? What else can be sealed? What about a living creature, entirely composed of chakra?"
His rhetorical question echoed around the room, his four Jōnin knowing better than to speak when the Professor was discussing the shinobi arts, and the young blonde in front of him to busy thinking about the implications to even remember they were there.
"The bijū, or tailed beasts, can in fact be sealed, though the difficulty in sealing them is directly proportionate to their power. The Ichibi for example was sealed in a tea-urn for many years, though the Hachibi cannot be kept sealed in any object for long, even one created by the Sage of the Six Paths himself. The Kyūbi's power cannot be accurately compared to any of the others; it is far beyond even the Hachibi's might. No physical object could hold such raw power. In fact, the only vessel powerful and malleable enough to contain the Kyūbi no Kitsune is a human body."
A horrible feeling of dread began to descend upon Naruto. "Old Man…"
"Please, let me finish Naruto" the aged shinobi almost begged, looking even older than his considerable years. "I have kept this information hidden from you for far too long: I would have you know the full extent of it now, before anyone could tell you and before you could get any of the wrong ideas."
Waiting for Naruto's acknowledgement, the Hokage persevered. "The Kyūbi has had three hosts since the founding of Konoha. The first Uzumaki to come to Konoha and the wife of the First Hokage, Mito Uzumaki. When Mito-sama was old and close to death, she called for the best candidate from Uzushio to become the next host of the Kyūbi."
"Why from Uzushio? Why couldn't a Konoha shinobi become the host?" Naruto asked.
"It was believed, and still is, that to be able to withstand the incredible effects a potent chakra like the Kyūbi's, the host must have their own incredibly strong life force and chakra. Traits which no clan in the world could claim to be even half as potent as those found in the Uzumaki. Even more so for your mother, the second host of the Kyūbi. Kushina's chakra was extraordinarily strong, even considering Uzumaki standards. Thanks to this, she was able to hold the Kyūbi perfectly at bay up until that fateful night.
"Then, on October 10th, something happened. It has never been clear exactly what, but during childbirth with you, Kushina's seal ruptured, allowing the Kyūbi to rampage unchecked across Konoha. Tragically, it is almost always fatal for a bijū to be released from its host, the only record of anyone surviving more than an hour after the procedure was Mito-sama, and that was only because she was a seal-master beyond all others, and had designed her seal herself. This meant she knew the innermost workings of the seal, and was able to release it and transfer the Kyūbi with minimal harm to herself."
Naruto's wide eyes were glistening with unshed tears, mourning for the mother he never had. Steeling himself once more, the Hokage pushed on. "This brings us to the crux of the matter, which no doubt you've already gathered."
Gathering himself one last time, which was progressing getting more and more difficult as he met the tortured gaze of one of his favourite young charges. "The only Uzumaki present at the time of the Kyūbi attack, and thus the only person that was physically compatible with being the host of the nine-tailed fox, was you."
"Today, we're going to be studying some rudimentary fūinjutsu" Kurenai began, as she always did, with an introduction to the upcoming topic. In many ways, it was helpful to have such an eclectic group of teachers. For academic subjects such as fūinjutsu, Gai's teaching method (force people to run around reciting the lesson, only being allowed to stop once it was word-for-word perfect) would probably result in several fatalities. Kurenai's much calmer approach helped preserve what little of their sanity was remaining.
Panning her eyes around the room, Kurenai allowed her gaze to linger on the blonde boy at the front of the class. After the discussion last night, Naruto had become very withdrawn, hardly speaking to the Hokage or his senseis except to ask the odd question. One question that had clearly been preying on his mind was the fact that this information had remained a secret for so long. It was understandable that he would be angry at having the reason for his mistreatment around the village hidden from all but him, but oddly, Naruto didn't seem angry. He seemed...even sadder somehow.
"fūinjutsu is, at its most basic, the art of sealing something into something else. Occasionally it is objects, most often, it is chakra in various forms." Kurenai forced herself to stop thinking about the events of yesterday evening, and focus back on her students. "Exploding tags are simply a small trigger burst of chakra used to prime fire-natured chakra, which then combusts the area around it. Likewise, resistance seals expel chakra into a current of air around themselves or the object they're drawn on to, creating a much heavier drag effect. The most complicated of seals can even seal living beings, whether they be humans or something more powerful like a bijū."
There, the key word that she needed to drop. All it would take now was…
"What's a bijū?" Ino asked, slightly confused by the name. A tailed beast?
"A bijū is a being made entirely of chakra. There are nine dotted around the world, their relative power demonstrated by the number of their tails. You have actually already heard of one, though I suppose you've never heard it referred to as a bijū before" Kurenai explained.
There was a pause as the class considered this, before Sakura's voice cut across the class. "Kurenai-sensei… are you talking about the Kyūbi?"
Comprehension and apprehension dawned in equal amounts on the faces of the class. Though they were too young to remember the attack themselves, many of them having not even been born for its occurrence, they were all too familiar with the aftermath. Even now, the attack was spoken about in hushed tones; the only day that people relaxed about the attack was the 10th of October, the day where everyone came together to celebrate the Yondaime's victory over the Kyūbi and mourn those that they'd lost.
"Yes Sakura, I mean the Kyūbi" Kurenai confirmed, silently praising the girl for being so predictably quick off the mark. "The Kyūbi is only one of nine such creatures, albeit being by far the most powerful. But we're getting sidetracked, we were talking about sealing, not the bijū."
"How could anyone seal something that powerful?" Tenten asked, slightly in awe of the idea that one of her favourite ninja arts could achieve something so ludicrously difficult.
Kurenai sighed externally, but internally patted herself for a job well done. These kids might have shown promise, but they were still so easy to herd.
"A bijū is a collected entity of pure chakra. As such, it technically cannot be killed. It can only be sealed away, or temporarily dispersed, though sealing is preferable, as there are several accounts of bijū being dispersed and then simply re-assembling in the same area several years later." Kurenai smiled as she waited for the next set of questions, not even bothering to try to get the class back on track.
"If that's true, then why did Yondaime-sama kill the Kyūbi, instead of sealing it?" Chōji asked, wondering why a hero who was so legendarily powerful chose to take the easy way out.
"Well, he actually didn't" Kakashi answered simply, stepping forward to stand with Kurenai at the front of the class. "Though the information that was widely available to the public and internationally was that the Kyūbi was killed, it is impossible to do so."
Shikamaru's brow furrowed as he considered this information. Kakashi almost laughed out loud, seeing an almost frightening resemblance between the lazy boy and his lazy father.
"Why would people be told that?" Ino asked, slightly affronted by the misinformation. In her world, that is, the world of gossip, misinformation was deadly to your professional credibility. If she'd bandied about information that was incorrect to that degree, she'd be finished!
"Mainly, for the safety of the village" Kakashi responded simply. "The Kyūbi attack caused crippling damage both to our infrastructure and to our shinobi forces, leaving us severely weakened. If the other countries knew that we had in our possession the mightiest bijū, and that we were no longer in the best condition to defend it, it would have attracted a lot more attention from outside influences than konoha was in a state to handle. The information was released externally through Lord Jiraiya's spy network in order to deter any potential attacks."
"Why would false information be accessible internally?" Shikamaru mused. "It makes sense to deceive your allies, but we've been raised with incorrect information." It was uncommonly known, but Shikamaru probably hated false information more than anyone else in the room. His father often spoke to him about his duties as Jōnin commander, duties he had made it abundantly clear he wished his son to follow him in, and he knew that misinformation could destroy a mission's chances faster than almost any other eventuality. That such falsehoods would be knowingly spread within the village walls set a chorus of alarm bells ringing inside his mind.
"That was actually for a different reason" Kakashi explained, cautiously approaching the most sensitive matter. Naruto's head raised imperceptibly as he detected the shift in Kakashi's voice.
"When the Yondaime sacrificed his life to seal the Kyūbi, his dying wish was that the vessel be respected. As Tenten can no doubt confirm, budding fūinjutsu mistress that she is, the more powerful the chakra being sealed is, the more powerful the medium that is required." Kakashi looked to Tenten for confirmation, as did the rest of the class.
"That's right: depending on the amount of chakra, more and more powerful sealing items must be used. For low level seals like an exploding tag, just a small piece of paper is sufficient. For something larger like a summoning seal, a full scroll of chakra-imbued paper is most commonly used" Tenten hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. "For sealing something as powerful as a bijū… I don't know what would be needed."
Kakashi eye-smiled at Tenten, quietly proud of how much work she'd done in her spare time to pursue such an obscure art; she really was an excellent student. "Regardless-"
Kakashi was interrupted by Naruto raising his head and clearing his throat. "A human" he announced, drawing the attention of the entire class onto himself, even making a few of them jump. The boy had barely said a word today, hardly even acknowledging their congratulations on his birthday. "It requires a human vessel to be used."
The class sat in stunned silence, considering the enormity of this statement. "Kakashi-sensei… is that true?" Kiba asked.
Kakashi paused, a solemn look in his one visible eye. "It is. No object could hope to hold the Kyūbi for longer than a few moments, in fact, it's rare for any bijū to be contained in anything other than a person. With the internal strength people possess, their willpower to defend the people they are keeping the beast from, and naturally powerful chakra coil for the bijū's chakra to be restrained by, nothing but a human container, called a jinchūriki, is sufficient."
Sensing no other questions were forthcoming as his students digested this quite shocking piece of information, Kakashi pushed on. "The Yondaime's dying wish was for the jinchūriki to be respected, and honoured for the great service they had made to this village in giving up so much in order to keep the village safe from the Kyūbi. However, it was not to be. The jinchūriki was neglected, berated, kept at arms length by all but a handful of the villagers and generally made to feel as though their very presence was a blemish on the village's image. If not for the jinchūriki's incredible will and determination, I have no doubt that the village would have faced the wrath of the Kyūbi no Kitsune once more."
The class frowned at this. It was considered incredibly dishonourable to ignore anyone's dying wish, especially someone as well-respected as the Fourth Hokage. Considering that he had just sacrificed his life for the sake of the village, to ignore his last request was almost inconceivable.
"After seeing how the jinchūriki was treated, even as a baby" - at this, the eyes of almost each and every member of the class widened in surprise - "the Sandaime Hokage was forced to put into place an S-rank secret. It was decreed that no-one should speak about the sealing, especially the sealing into a person or who that person was, on pain of death. The hope was that the Sandaime could ensure that the Yondaime's wish was honoured by the following generation by ensuring the very idea of a jinchūriki was never presented to them." Kakashi continued, holding up a hand to forestall any questions before he finished.
"Though in the end, he was unsuccessful, as the older generations simply passed on their hatred and ill-will whilst avoiding the whole topic. By telling their children to avoid or shun the jinchūriki, they ensured that his treatment by their children was as bad as their own treatment of him." Kakashi panned his eye around the room, meeting many of their gazes, be they confused, upset or, in one case, resigned. "It truly is a black-mark on the history of this village, that a baby could be blamed for such a horrendous incident, especially considering that the jinchūriki has been holding back the Kyūbi for twelve years already. In fact" Kakashi glanced at the sun outside, as if checking the time, "for twelve years today."
This statement made many brows crease in thought before, one by one, heads swiveled to look at Naruto in shock.
"A bijū cannot be sealed in any human, least of all the nine-tails. To hold the Kyūbi effectively, only an Uzumaki can be used for the seal, as only their chakra is potent enough to suppress the Kyūbi's. Add to that that it is incredibly difficult to seal any bijū, least of all one that is not already sealed or restrained somehow, so the jinchūriki needed to be the absolute most powerful it could be to hold it at bay.
"The reason a baby was used was that the chakra coils were undeveloped. By using a baby, there is far more time for the coils to grow and to become accustomed to the corrosive chakra of a bijū, and so an Uzumaki baby was used. The only Uzumaki baby in fact."
Kakashi gazed sadly at his blonde student, noting with some satisfaction that many of his classmates were doing the same. "As of last night, the S-rank secret concerning this issue has been repealed."
At this cue, Naruto looked up and gazed straight into his sensei's eye. "The jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Kitsune is me."
Well hello again! Well done for getting to the end of that, don't think I've ever written so much dialogue in one place, but the chapter called for it. Gotten the revelations out of the way, now just to deal with a teensy-weensy bit of reaction in the next chapter and the story can proceed!
As for my manga rant… I don't have one. There hasn't been a chapter since my last update see, so I'll just bemoan that. PLEASE DRAW FASTER KISHIMOTO.
Please leave a review, let me know what you liked, what you think could be improved, it's always nice and helpful to hear. Thanks for reading!
Toodle-pip.