You guys are awesome!

So the voting was slightly fierce, but in the end Direct Question edged out No Response. And since Direct Question won, I'll be posting the answers to direct questions only at the bottom. If I miss your question, please feel free to fire a PM over and I'll answer it as soon as I am able.

AU changes: There isn't much AU content besides filling in a bit more information about Minato and Kushina. Given that it's not technically cannon, I'm marking them as an AU change.

And without more delay, here's the next chapter. Chapter Twenty: The Cleansing Storm

Naruto gazed at the surrounding area with undisguised curiosity. While he had seen different terrain on the missions he went on, he was much more interested in finishing the mission and protecting his precious people then taking in the area around him. Jiraiya and Naruto had traveled quickly throughout the day, moving eastward to towards the more grassy lands of the east. When the trees had thinned, the white-haired ninja deliberately slowed his pace, allowing his godson to take in the peaceful environment.

"This is how it should have been." Jiraiya cast a sidelong glance at the blonde who was currently investigating a rather large white flower. "He should have grown up like this, gazing about in wonder at the world, not fearing every hidden shadow." Jiraiya's expression fluctuated between shame and resolve. Shame at never taking care of Naruto; Resolve to never let it happen again. A small spike of chakra drew the Toad Sannin out of his ruminations, causing him to refocus on Naruto.

Naruto carefully picked up the white lily, making sure not to damage the flower or the stem. It reminded him of Haku, it's white petals reminding him of her beautiful chakra when she used her bloodline. The blonde brushed his sleeve up, exposing his sealing tattoo. He placed two fingers on the center of the intricate symbol and dragged his fingers towards himself, activating the status portion of the seal. A small -small for him at any rate - application of chakra allowed Naruto to place Haku's flower into the status seal, insuring it would be as fresh when he removed it as when he first picked it. Something tickled at the edge of his mind, reminding him that he was here for another reason besides looking at all of the peaceful surroundings.

Naruto shrugged. Ah well, he would think of it later. For now, he really should get back to training for the Chunin exams...The blonde froze. What was he doing? He didn't have time to gaze at the peaceful area! He had to train, to become strong enough to face any enemy; to protect his precious people from all threats.

Jiraiya sighed to himself. "And now Naruto of Team Eight is back." Jiraiya smiled grimly at his godson. "Ready to start training?"

"What are we training first?"

The Toad Sannin leaned the large scroll he normally carried against a tree. "Well, first we are going to figure out the weaknesses of the other people you will be fighting against in the Chunin exams. Secondly, I'll show you the advantages of having a summoning contract and give you a chance to sign the Toad Contract."

"So," The white-haired spy master flicked out a notebook from a small sealing scroll he kept on his belt, "First you are going to be facing is Temari Sabaku." Jiraiya's face grew serious as he read over his notes. "According to my findings, she is a Wind-natured kunoichi. She utilizes a battle fan to channel her wind jutsus to incredible levels for some her age." A rather perverted grin swam onto the legendary super-pervert's face. "And she's not bad looking for her age either..."

The spy master shook his head, clearing it for the moment of those types of thoughts. "However," He shifted to the third page of the notebook, "She tends to rely heavily on her battle fan. I can give you the specifics of the fan's design later if you would like." The Toad Sannin flipped two more pages. "Her style of combat mainly consists of wide area attacks as well as wind blades of various sizes." Five more pages were flipped. "In addition, she is found of using the wind cyclone technique, despite that she doesn't have full control over the technique."

Two more pages. "She also has a personal summon with the weasel Kamatari, although I can't imagine her using it during the Chunin exam." Jiraiya glanced up from his notebook to Naruto. "What questions do you have?"

Naruto carefully considered what questions to ask. "First, her battle fan. What is it made out of?"

"Chakra conductive hardened steel with strength enhanced bamboo paper. It's strong enough to easily hold Temari's weight. "

"Seals?"

"Only a few. There is one large sealing array in the center for her summon, and then there's the standard ones to keep the blood and water off as well. It also has an interesting array that keeps the paper from drying out in really arid areas. Still," Jiraiya scratched his head, "Being the daughter of the current Kage of the Sand village would mean that she could get a much better fan. One that actually enhanced the wind chakra put though it rather than simply acting as a conductor..." The spy master shrugged. "The only thing that makes it remotely special is the fact that it belonged to her mother once."

Naruto blinked. "Well then. Can't break the only thing she's got from her mother." The Last Uzumaki's eyes grew contemplative. "How tough would you say the fan is while closed?"

It was Jiraiya's turn to blink. "You're not going to break it? It would greatly decrease her threat level if her fan was destroyed."

The Last Uzumaki gave a sad smile. "That it would." He acknowledged. "But," His hand drifted back to unconsciously to touch one of the hilts of his newest swords, "If all I had left of my mother was a single weapon, it would utterly devastate me to have it destroyed." Naruto shook his head, his face unreadable. "I won't make her feel that. I know what it's like to have something from your parents' destroyed."

Before Jiraiya could comment on that startling revelation, Naruto continued, "But there are other ways to neutralize her fan without destroying it." A strangely cunning look appeared on the blonde's face, looking almost alien on Naruto's normally straightforward continence. "Do you have a picture of the seals on the fan?"

The spy master was intrigued. Jiraiya wondered what his godson had in mind as he handed the several pictures he was able to secure over.

Naruto studied the pictures closely, noting the various seals in each picture. He wondered exactly how Jiraiya had gotten close-ups of each seal, but perhaps it would be better not to ask. A few minutes later he leaned back and handed the photos back to the spy master. "Given the information you gave me, I'm fairly certain that they didn't incorporate any anti-sealing seals in the fan. Especially given that they are using a Tier Two Summoning Array. Those don't seem to work well with sealing scrolls."

Jiraiya smiled proudly at his godson. "That's right." The seal master tilted his head to the side. "But how are you going to seal her battle fan without damaging it since it uses a Tier Two?"

Naruto ducked his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well...when I ran into this issue myself, I had to design a special sealing scroll just for things with a Tier Two."

Jiraiya, the seal master couldn't help but feel in awe. "Was this what it was like to be in the presence of an Uzumaki who was also naturally talented with seals?" Jiraiya refocused on his godson. "That's amazing!" He praised his godson, practically brimming with pride, "How did you ever think to even do that?" Naruto flushed at the praise, looking more than slightly uncomfortable.

"I attempted to incorporate my clones into my kunai as an attack." Naruto shrugged. "But as it turns out people tend to go insane when kept in a sealing scroll for too long. Something about an endless black or something." The blonde grinned sheepishly. "So given that it didn't seem to be a terrible idea still, I tried Tier Two Summoning Arrays." Naruto's sheepish grin increased. "But it turns out I have too much chakra to use a Tier Two. Whatever I pull though it gets supercharged on its speed and explodes when it hits something." Naruto rubbed his neck. "Man am I glad that Clone Twenty-Eight and Thirty-Seven talked me out of testing it myself. I don't think Kyubi could have put me back together after that."

Jiraiya saved his questions about how mere clones could develop any personality differences from the original for later. "I still find it amazing that you figured out a way to seal things with an active Tier Two Summoning Array." Taking pity on his obviously embarrassed godson, Jiraiya spoke briskly. "But we are getting off topic." Jiraiya grew serious once more. "How do you plan on getting the battle fan away from her to seal it?"

"Well," Naruto's eyes began to dance, "I figured I'd fight her a bit with just wind chakra. And once she's confused as to why I'm meeting her wind blast for wind blast, one of my clones with snag the fan. From there it should be not hard to outlast her." Naruto then answered Jiraiya's unasked question. "I'm going to try to avoid hurting her because she's Gaara's sister." Naruto glanced directly at Jiraiya. "Gaara is like me isn't he?" The blonde blinked, breaking eye contact with the Toad Sannin.

"He's a Jinchuriki like me, isn't he?"

Jiraiya nodded gravely. "Yes he is. He will be your most dangerous opponent." The white-haired super pervert then giggled, unable to help himself. "You know...there's another way you can get the fan away from Temari..." Jiraiya's voice lowered into a conspiratorial whisper. "First what you have to do is..."

Hinata's hands flashed forward, intercepting her father's attack. Three more lightning-fast attacks came her way, and each was blocked with unerring precision. Abruptly Hiashi drew back, the slightest of proud smiles touching his lips. "Good job Daughter." His slight praise, no matter how small, was simply amazing for Hinata to hear. "You were able to block all of my attacks without over balancing yourself. However," Hiashi's face grew slightly grave, with just the barest touches of anger, "That is not why I am ending the lesson early today."

"Walk with me." Hiashi requested of his eldest daughter. "I have received the blood work back from the various sources. It is official. Naruto Uzumaki is the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." Hiashi felt his heart grow from warm at the sight of Hinata's happy smile. It gave him hope, hope that he could someday make up for all of the mistakes he had made.

"Who knows of this Father?" Hinata questioned, knowing that if the knowledge of Naruto's heritage was brought to light too early, it would be potentially disastrous for Naruto-Kun.

"Only you and I know of the blood work. Each medical ninja was far from here, and none knew who any of the blood belonged to. They all came to the same conclusion."

Hinata nodded, her mind furiously working through the reason for her father to spend all that money. It was hard, attempting to come to terms with the fact that her father, the one that belittled her and thought her weak, was now wanting to help. "Why did you do this Father?"

Hiashi sighed, for once his expression showing exactly what he was feeling. Sadness warred with shame as the man who viewed himself as a failure replied to his eldest daughter, the one he had failed the most. "For so many years I failed you. I belittled you, calling you weak. I tried to force you to be something you were not. And when you could not become that what I wanted you to be, I told you that you shamed me." Hiashi shook his head, regret emanating from him in almost visible waves. "When none of that was true. I simply couldn't see you for who you were."

Hinata felt tears prickling at her eye lids as her father continued, a strange, almost painful feeling knotting up inside her. "I never took the time to really look at you, to see what you were capable of." Hiashi looked down, shame written across his face. "I shamed myself."

Hinata could only stare in shock as her father, the Head of the Hyuga Clan, bowed low before her, his posture one of submission. "I, from the bottom of my heart, apologize for failing you. For every time I hurt you. For every time I dismissed you. For every time I called you weak."

It was strange, some distant part of Hinata noted, that she had always dreamed of her father apologizing to her. But now, in this moment, it clashed so strongly with her image of her stern, powerful father. It looked wrong, to see him like this. Looking back, Hinata realized that while what was done to her wasn't right, she couldn't let it chain her; keep her down; hinder her growth. And not only that, had she been more confident; more like the rest of her clan; would she be the same person she was today?

Suddenly, blissful understanding bloomed in Hinata Hyuga of Team Eight's mind. Hiashi didn't look up from his position, keeping his face pressed to the ground as she knelt beside him. "Father, what you did was wrong." Hiashi flinched. "But without those events, I might have never met Naruto-Kun. Never had learned who he really was deep down inside. Never discovered what lay buried deep within me." Hinata swallowed as the knot within her tightened, not wanting to be loosened. "A-And we can't change the past. It is what made me who I am today. So," The Hyuga kunoichi made no attempt to stifle the tears that began to course down her cheeks, "I forgive you."

A burden she wasn't even aware that she was carrying loosened, the painful knot inside her slowly starting to unravel. Tears flowed down her face in earnest as the lightest of sobs began to echo from her frame. Her father's warm embrace held her as she sobbed, slowly purging herself of all of the hurt of the past.

It was some time later when Hinata finally drew back, sniffling as she rubbed her reddened eyes. Her eyes shot open a moment later as she realized what she had just done. Before she could open her mouth to apologize, Hiashi, her father cut her off. "Hinata, never feel bad for what just happened. I was happy to be able to comfort you." He firmly stated. "I should have been there years ago for you, Hinata, my Daughter." He acknowledged internally.

Hinata slowly got to her feet, the events of the last hour having drained her. Still, despite her weariness, she felt lighter then she had in a long time. "Father, could we perhaps continue this conversation another time?" Hinata kept her fatigue out of her tone with admirable skill.

"Of course, Dau...Hinata". Hiashi corrected himself, grateful beyond belief that his daughter wanted to talk to him another time. The Hyuga Clan head and his daughter headed back towards the main clan area, their perfect masks not betraying any hint to the momentous event that had just happened between the two of them.

Sakura let out a grunt as she blocked another lightning quick strike from Anko, allowing her trained reflexes to block the next series of strikes. The pink-haired girl was slightly too slow to block the kick that slammed into her shoulder, knocking Sakura to the side. She willingly fell, using the added momentum of the kick to turn the stumble into a distance clearing handspring. As soon as her feet touched the ground, her left hand snapped forward, sending three senbon coated with a strong sedative racing towards her teacher.

Anko wove through the three senbon with serpentine grace, only for the purple haired woman's eyes to widen at the sight of a large wall of water boring down in her direction. She back peddled, her brown eyes scanning the area for an opening. Spotting a slight dip in the one side of the water wall boring down on her, Anko smirked.

Sakura had to refrain from pumping her fist in victory at the sight of her water wall boring down on her teacher. She would win against her this time! The pink-haired kunoichi's smile faded as she watched Anko somehow slide around the edge of the wall mere seconds before it hit her. Sakura's face set in a determined expression. Sparks flickered as she wove though an new set of hand seals, aiming to cause Anko to break off her close-range assault.

Haku let a satisfied smile cross her face as she gazed at the three frozen orbs of water impaled on to the ice wall. She had frozen the wall of water, then the orbs, and nailed the orbs to the wall with conjured ice spikes before the newly frozen orbs hit the ground. The ice-user ignored the slight trembling in her fingers that came with channeling and releasing large amounts of chakra rapidly. Haku turned to her right and prepared to start again. Something was brewing beneath the surface of the village and she would be ready for it.

Sakura allowed herself to huff in exhaustion as Anko called a halt to the sparring match that had lasted over two hours. "Still need to work on my stamina and chakra levels." Sakura noted, aware that until she could take on multiple Jonins at once and come out without a scratch, she wasn't strong enough.

"All right girly," Anko grinned at her student, "It's lesson time!" The purple-haired Tokubetsu Jonin watched as Sakura pulled out the poison scroll she was currently learning from. Anko pulled out another copy of the scroll and skipped over to her student, plopping herself down beside Sakura. "So! Let's continue where we left off yesterday. Paralytic poisons are useful, but very problematic if you overdose the person..."

It evening had already set in before Naruto and Jiraiya decided to call it a day for their planning sessions. The white-haired Sannin winced as he stood up, his back clearly protesting the long time he had been sitting on the ground. "Kemi," He grumbled to himself, "Getting old sucks." Glancing at his blonde student who was now sparring with a clone of himself, Jiraiya once again bemoaned the fact that he wasn't as young as he once was. Granted, he wasn't going to kick the bucket any time soon, but moving after sitting in one place wasn't as comfortable as it was ten years ago.

"Oi! Naruto!" Jiraiya called, "It's time to start dinner." Noticing Naruto immediately end his dual with his clone, the white-haired Sannin chuckled to himself. "Yep. He is Kushina's kid alright." Jiraiya's face crinkled up into a warm, faraway smile as he remembered all of the times a young Kushina would drag a clueless Minato to the Ramen stand for dinner. His happy remembrance was abruptly and irrevocably shattered when his slightly unfocused eyes spotted Naruto unseal a live campfire.

The seal master didn't know if he was more flabbergasted by the fact that Naruto had somehow succeeded in trapping a live, burning campfire within a sealing scroll or by the fact that it was apparently an everyday occurrence to his godson. "Naruto..." Jiraiya cautiously began, "...How exactly did you seal raw fire?"

"Huh?" Naruto glanced over at Jiraiya from his current position next to the fire, "I just sealed in my stasis seal." The Uzumaki shrugged. "As long as you keep enough space in the seal not to crowd the flames, you can seal it just fine."

"And what," The Seal Master asked, "exactly happens when there isn't enough space?"

Naruto grimaced at the memory. "The seal bursts into flames then explodes."

"Oh." Jiraiya paused, considering. "That happens sometimes when you are making new seals." Jiraiya chuckled fondly. "I remember this one time when Minato was attempting to create a seal that would speed up the time it took to cook ramen." Jiraiya chuckled at the memory. The sound of Naruto shuffling closer caused the white-haired ninja to glance to the right.

"Tell me about the story." Naruto requested, his voice betraying his eagerness to learn more of his parents.

Jiraiya could not deny his godson's request. "Well...," Jiraiya lowered himself next to the warm fire, "I suppose I should start at the beginning. It all started one bright spring day. The birds were singing and the air was fresh..."

"Wow." Naruto breathed out, awed at the genius of his father. To think he created a special seal to speed up the process of cooking ramen without damaging the flavor! "Dad was..." Naruto grappled for a adequate word, "...awesome!"

For the briefest of instants, Jiraiya glimpsed something, something that gave him hope. For a split moment, Naruto had not viewed him with cool professionalism. For just one timeless moment, Naruto had looked at him with warmth, as if Jiraiya was his godfather. And as he watched his godson's eyes light up as Naruto imagined the conversations between Minato and Kushina, the white-haired Sannin made a promise to himself: That he would always be willing to tell Naruto stories of his parents, not matter the time or place.

It had been just over six days since Neji had last spoken Hinata about her offer. The Hyuga prodigy couldn't sleep, his mind constantly warring with itself. And then...suddenly a thought occurred to him, a thought so startling that he could scarcely fathom it. "Do I trust Hinata-Sama?" The answer was shocking as it was instantaneous. "Yes. Despite everything that has happened, I do trust Hinata-Sama." On the heels of that revelation, came still another. "If I trust Hinata-Sama, then was she right about being able to defy Fate?"

Neji glared up at the ceiling in determination. "I will ask Hinata-Sama tomorrow if I can defy Fate like she did." Sleep came easily for the Hyuga for the first time in days.

Morning came swifter then Hinata would have liked. The blue-haired Hyuga had stayed up late into the night, along with Sakura-Chan and Haku-Chan, reading the records of the Uzumaki. It was strange, but all of the records were out of order, almost as if someone had deliberately tried to make reading a comprehensive record impossible. However, who ever had done this had clearly never met Sakura Haruno. The pinkette had launched into a lecture about the "Predictability of Human-Engineered Random Sorting." Sakura had then created a rather complex formula on how to find the next page in the record. And it worked for the most part, with only an occasional page out of the formula's prediction. But even with Sakura's formula vastly speeding up the process, it still was taking time to look though each record.

The girls could only read so many pages before the words and numbers started to blur together in an incomprehensible mess. It was at that point the three would stop each night, only to wake early in the morning to train. It was strange, but ever since Naruto had started replenishing their chakra with his own, they had more energy than other kunoichi their age. It was subtle at first, but now it had gotten to the point that they could comfortably work and train with only six hours of sleep. It had baffled them at first, but then, in a flash of Naruto-like insight, the girls realized that this extra energy would allow them to train longer to become stronger.

Hinata closed her eyes and savored the extra half-hour of sleep she was going to get, given that it was her turn to be last one to take a shower. Faintly hearing the sound of the water stop, the Hyuga girl pushed down the lavender covers of her bed and stretched, feeling the wonderful release as her spine gave a rather loud pop. "Sometimes," Hinata thought wryly, "I think it would be better to be smaller like Sakura-Chan or Haku-Chan. They don't nearly have as many problems with their back as I do in the morning." The Hyuga shrugged. "But I don't know what Naruto-Kun likes." A slight crimson flush tinted her face as she imagined Naruto-Kun's reaction to her rather voluptuous form. The thought kept her mind and face warm long after she finished getting ready.

Neji couldn't fully identify the emotions that were brewing within him as he waited for Hinata-Sama to arrive at the Hyuga compound to train with her father. The sound of graceful footsteps roused him from the strange sort of trance he allowed himself to fall into.

Spotting the person he was waiting for, Neji called out to her, making sure to project his voice only in the direction he intended. "Hinata-Sama! May I speak with you a moment?"

Hinata glanced over at Neji, sensing that he had more on his mind then idle words. "Follow me." She beckoned, leading him to the same quiet koi pond she had originally posed the question at. Gracefully sitting down, Hinata waited patiently for Neji to gather his thoughts.

"Hinata-Sama..." Neji's courage failed him. Closing his eyes he tried again. "Hinata-Sama, do you believe..." The words failed him, the great unknown that was defining his own Fate was too terrible to consider. Hope deserted him, despair began to creep in. What was he doing here? How could he ever think that he could defy fate? He wasn't one of the main branch members, he wasn't anyone special.

"But..." A small, almost forgotten voice whispered within him, "What of what Hinata-Sama said? About Naruto?"

"...If Naruto-Kun believed Fate could not be changed, he would have died in his cradle. If Fate could not be changed, he would have died from the mobs. If Fate could not be changed, he would have died on a mission..."

Perhaps that was it? It was not a matter of knowing if Fate could be changed. There was no certainty. Fate was not set in stone. Fate...no...not Fate, Life was what you made of it; what you chose to make it; what you believed in.

Hope is was enables us to move mountains; to forge our own paths.

"Hinata-Sama." Neji's voice was resolute; sure; the voice of someone who finally understood. "I accept your offer."

It had been exactly a week since Naruto had left Konoha to train with Jiraiya. During that time the day was spent in intensive training, while the evenings were filled with talks of Naruto's parents. Jiraiya utilized his every single ounce of his ability as a story teller to bring each story to life, filling it color and detail. It was worth more than all of the Ryo in the world to see his godson's eyes light up, dancing with the simple joy of hearing about his parents.

But today was different. Today Naruto was going to learn how to summon. More specifically, how to summon one of the Toads, in hopes to begin the process of becoming a Toad Summoner. The white-haired ninja hoped that his godson would want to sign the Toad contract, just like Jiraiya himself did all those years ago.

"Now," Jiraiya began, as they entered a large clearing, "You already know the seals for a summoning technique." The Toad Sannin slipped into a more lecturing tone. "However, unlike summoning something that already exists on our plane, most - if not all - summoned creatures exist outside our normal plane. The Toads, for example, live on Mount Myoboku, a sacred mountain that is permanently out of phase of our own. The Snakes live in Ryuchi Cave. Each summoning area exists just of out sync of our own."

Jiraiya let a momentary grin flash by as he remembered his own journey though Mount Myoboku. "It is possible to physically reach the areas that summons reside in from our plane, but each entrance is hidden far away from any normal path." The Toad Sage chuckled to himself in remembrance. "Normally it takes many years for a new ninja to find a summoning plane, but occasionally accidents happen." Jiraiya beamed proudly. "Shortly after I became a Chunin, I accidently reversed summoned myself to Mount Myoboku. I was able to become the first Toad Summoner in a very long time once I proved myself."

Jiraiya set the hook. "Years later, when he was my student, Minato signed the Toad contract as well."

Naruto willing took the bait. "So how are we going to summon the Head Toad?" Naruto's eager tone brought a laugh from Jiraiya.

"Settle down there!" Jiraiya chuckled, "While you most likely have enough chakra to summon a high-ranking Toad, there's no need to try to go all the way on your first try." Jiraiya pulled out a small knife and made a slight cut on his thumb. He allowed the few drops of blood to bubble on to his finger before flipping his hand over to create the summoning array, but not applying enough chakra to summon anything. "Here, see what you can summon."

Naruto crouched down and placed his hand on the array as Jiraiya backed up. The blonde's eyes slowly closed, his heartbeat growing louder. He reached deep within himself, pulling and gathering his chakra; envisioning it as a ever-growing pool, filling faster and faster with chakra. Outside, in the real world, Jiraiya couldn't help but widen his eyes and Naruto's growing chakra signature, and it didn't look like it was stopping any time soon. Then Naruto snapped open to reveal his slightly glowing blue eyes. He slammed his hand into the direct center of the sealing array, shoving all of his accumulated chakra into it; willing his chakra to pull a Toad directly to his location.

"Summon."

Dust blasted outwards as the extra chakra escaped in one massive rush. Suddenly Naruto began aware of the fact that he was no longer standing on the firm dirt. The ground was much rougher, almost as if toughened leather. It wasn't quite like leather though. It had a much more smooth, bumpy texture. A moment later the powerful smell of tobacco wafted though the air.

A moment later a deep, loud voice rumbled out, as if created from lungs many times the size of a human's. "Jiraiya?" It grumbled, sounding confused and slightly threatening, "Where are you? Why did you summon me?"

The smoke cleared, revealing a massive toad dominating the clearing. The five-story tall amphibian's equally large eyes narrowed as at it continued to look around for it's summoner. "Jiraiya!" Gamabunta boomed, finally fed up with the white-haired ninja's perceived antics , "Come out right now! I demand to know why you summoned me!"

Suddenly it felt something small - small relative to his massive size at any rate - shift on top of his head, moving down towards his face. "Jiraiya didn't summon you!" A voice that decidedly wasn't Jiraiya called from somewhere above his brow. Before Gamabunta could open his mouth to "question" the person who had supposedly summoned him when he felt the pressure on the top of his head increase for a moment before disappearing. Two feet slammed onto the bridge of his nose. "I summoned you!"

The little human had blonde hair, was the first thing that Gamabunta saw. For the briefest of seconds the massive toad wondered if he was going crazy, for the little human looked almost just like Minato. He squinted, scrunching his large eyes to get a better look at the blonde-haired human standing on his face. When his eyes adjusted, Gamabunta could easily see that it wasn't his old friend, long since gone from this world. Now that he peered closer, it was obvious why he had thought it was Minato at first glance. They both had the untamable blond hair, and blue eyes. But right now the differences couldn't be more obvious.

Where Minato had viewed the world at some strange, new puzzle that he could unravel; the blonde standing in front of him exemplified defiance. It oozed from every pore on his body, the will to defy; to overcome; to defeat whatever was in front of him. And quite frankly, Gamabunta wasn't someone that wanted to defeated. "What the hell do you want, kid?"

"I want to see the contract for the Toads." Naruto explained, not even slightly intimidated by the large Toad. Stunned silence filled the clearing. For Jiraiya is was sheer stunned shock. The white-haired ninja's mouth had dropped open as he heard his godson's bold declaration. And it wasn't to just any Toad either! It was to Gamabunta, the Chief Toad himself. Jiraiya shook his head and moved forward, intent on stopping Gamabunta from making Uzumaki paste. However, before the Toad Sannin could make more than two steps, the Toad Chief spoke.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Indignation bled from every word coming from Gamabunta's mouth. "Who are you do order me?" Gamabunta demanded. A moment later the large Toad shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The contract scroll is only shown to those we Toads deem worthy. And you, little kid," Gamabunta seemed to lean close to Naruto, "Are just that, a little kid."

If Gamabunta expected Naruto to be demoralized or taken aback by his claims, he was sorely disappointed. "So all I have to do is have you acknowledged me as worthy, huh?" Naruto grinned, not intimidated in the slightest. "What is your test?"

The Toad Chief was astounded by the sheer balls of the kid. "Well, if you so eagerly want to see contract, then all you'll have to do...is..." The blue-coat wearing Toad paused for dramatic effect, clearly enjoying himself, "...stay on my head all day."

"Oh." Naruto blinked. He had expected it to be a much harder request. "Ok." One smooth jump had him back the large red Toad's head. "I am ready." Gamabunta didn't even acknowledge Naruto's statement. Less than a second after Naruto spoke, the massive Toad sprang into the air, only to smash into the ground with all of his tremendous bulk. A loud, resounding crash echoed across the landscape.

In another life Naruto would have nearly fallen off, unprepared for such an action. However, this wasn't that Naruto. This Naruto had figured out what was going to happen as soon as the sprang off the ground. This wasn't to say that holding on using his chakra was easy, but Naruto had a goal, and he would see it though. Failure simply wasn't an option. Naruto bent his legs slightly as Gamabunta sprang off the ground again, anchoring himself to the large head of the Toad with both his legs and left hand. As they crashed down again, Naruto noted that he had bent his legs too much and readjusted.

If you had told Jiraiya that he would watch a large toad jump around an area for over twelve hours with rapt attention, the white-haired man would have simply leered and made a rather sexual joke. But, here he was, watching a large red toad spring and smash around the now destroyed clearing. And it was amazing to watch. Well, more specifically, it was amazing to watch his godson. Naruto had spent the first hour holding onto Gamabunta with chakra channeled though both his legs and left hand. By the second hour the blonde had shakily stood. By the third hour he was standing as firmly as if it was the unmoving ground. Naruto had started to move around the head by the fourth hour.

And now? Jiraiya shook his head in sheer amazement as he watched Naruto spar with one of his clones at full-speed as Gamabunta continued to crash into the ground. It was nothing short of jaw-dropping to watch Naruto and his clone crouch slightly as a reflex as they continued to spar. And then there was only one on top the Toad Chief's head as a lightning fast blow destroyed the clone. A moment later two puffs of smoke heralded the sparring match's continuation, only with two clones this time. Jiraiya stood and dusted himself off. If Naruto, his godson deemed it time to train, how could he, Naruto's godfather, not do the same?

Gamabunta couldn't help but feel tired consternation at this point. He had tried everything, pulled every trick to unseat the boy. But the boy had stuck on him like a tick. Well, at least at first. Soon the boy - what was his name?- had stood on his head. By the third hour the boy - It started with an N perhaps? - was standing as firm as a rock on his head. And in the fourth hour the boy - Naruto maybe? - was moving around his head with ease. And now, nearly ten hours in, Naruto Uzumaki was sparring with his clones on his head. It was...simply amazing.

It was shortly after the thirteenth hour had passed, that Gamabunta staggered slightly as he landed, his great lungs bellowing as they desperately tried to supply him with much needed air. To his utter simultaneous amazement and disgruntlement, Naruto Uzumaki was still sparring with now three clones of himself. "All right!" Gamabunta didn't try to hide the respect in his tone, "I acknowledge you, Naruto Uzumaki. You are a worthy summoner." Gamabunta heaved another deep breath, "Tomorrow summon me and I'll let you sign the Toad Contract if you so wish."

Gamabunta words took one of Naruto's clones by surprise for the briefest of seconds, only to be tackled off of the Toad Chief's head as by the original. A rather savage neck snap dispelled the clone on the way down and the blonde Uzumaki shoved enough wind chakra into his hands to make hearing nearly impossible. Dust kicked up in a large cloud as Naruto touched the ground, his legs bending reflexively. The sweat soaked ninja walked around the stories-tall summon to look the Toad Chief in the eye. "I'll hold you to that." Dark blue eyes, so dark they were almost purple, pinned Gamabunta to his promise.

The proud Toad Chief inclined his head and vanished in a large puff of smoke. It was only after the Toad had fully faded that Naruto allowed himself to stumble in complete exhaustion. Jiraiya was there almost instantly to catch his godson. "S-Sorry." Naruto's apology was slurred from his tiredness. "I'll continue t-training after I take a short nap..." The blonde's head lulled to the side in sleep.

Jiraiya carefully carried his godson to the bedroll one of the white-haired clone's had spread out. With gentleness he didn't know he had, the Toad Sannin laid Naruto onto the downy bedroll. A fond, unnoticed smile creased his lips as he watched his godson rest peacefully. The godfather settled down by the fire, content to wait for Naruto to awaken.

Sakura flexed her aching hand as she frowned at the stubborn lump of rock sitting obstinately in front of her. While she could destroy the rock easily enough with a jutsu or repeated strikes, that wasn't the purpose of the training. The goal was to destroy the rock with a single quick blow, teaching the pink-haired ninja to harness her chakra enhanced strength with speed. After all, Anko had pointed out, if everyone could dodge her attacks, what was the point?

"Hand hurting yet?" Speaking of Anko... "'Cause you can always call it quits..." Sakura stubbornly shook her head, her left hand already glowing green in healing chakra. Anko grinned. "Yeah! No giving up!" The purple haired Tokubetsu Jonin fist pumped in the air, congratulating her student. She waited until Sakura was about to strike at the large rock to pipe up again, a mischievous grin on her face. "You know, I think you would be good with Naruto." Sakura froze, her intense focus irrevocably shattered. Anko made no attempt to hide her satisfaction at Sakura's reaction. "I mean, there can be only one in the end..."

"B-But, Naruto's my best friend!" Sakura protested weakly, her face rapidly flushing. "H-He doesn't even think about me that way."

Anko snorted, waving a dismissive hand. "Girl, that's just because Naru-Kun is as dense as a rock." "And he's not the only one." She added mentally, thinking of a certain grey haired ninja. "But think of it like training in a way." The purple haired kunoichi mimed chipping away at a wall. "You just gotta chip away at his denseness until he can't deny it anymore!" Anko pointed at Sakura, her pointer finger unmoving. "New assignment for you my student!" Sakura cautiously listened. The last 'assignment' from Anko involved several dozen chickens, a snake, and exploding chakra tags. It had not ended well.

"You are going to sleep in Naruto's bed when he gets back!" Anko charged her student.

"W-What?" Sakura was aghast at the shamelessly bold order from her teacher. "I-I can't do that! It wouldn't be proper."

Anko's grin was like a shark who had scented blood. "You know, I'd bet you've already figured out how many steps it takes to his room..." Sakura's flushed guilty look betrayed her. "Think about it..." Anko's voice dropped into a soft almost purr. "It's late at night on a summer day. It's so hot that you haven't been wearing much to bed. You approach his bed. Moonlight spills from the window, highlighting his naked chest." The purple-haired woman's voice dropped even lower. "All you have to do is reach out and...touch." Anko hid her grin. Who knew reading Icha Icha could provide so many scenarios to tease her student with?

"Now punch that rock!" Sakura's teacher abruptly snapped out. Sakura, her mind occupied with the heated image that Anko had given her, snapped her hand into the rock by reflex. The rock promptly exploded. Sakura starred in shock at her handiwork.

"Now we know what your trigger is," Anko smiled happily, "Let's see if we can speed up the process." She waited until Sakura's blush had all but calmed down before adding one final comment. "I wonder if Naru-Kun wears anything to bed..." She cackled loudly at the heavily flush that instantly sprang onto Sakura's face.

Naruto winced as he awoke slowly, a pounding headache slamming into him with brutal force. He massaged his temples harshly, and almost sighed in relief as he felt the Kyubi's chakra sooth away the pain. A quick glance over to his right informed him that Jiraiya was sitting comfortably several feet away, relaxing as he leaned back against the tree.

"Up and awake I see." Jiraiya grinned, having to only squint slightly to see in the late evening light. "Ramen is cooking on the fire and should be done in a few minutes. Why don't you wash up quick?" Jiraiya watched his godson take stock of himself and realize that he was covered in dried sweat. Naruto nodded and headed off, moving towards the stream that was a relatively short distance away. Only when he was certain Naruto was out of visual range did Jiraiya allow his emotions to spill onto his face. He had listened to his godson's nightmares, the young blonde alternately quietly whimpering and softly crying out. The worst moments was when Naruto had quietly begged someone to rescue him; for someone; anyone to care. And listening to those heartbreaking sounds, knowing he was helpless to help, rage began to smolder in Jiraiya heart. There would be a reckoning.

The Toad Sannin stirred only from his dark thoughts when he spied Naruto walking back into the clearing. Jiraiya shook his head, clearing it. There would be time for that later. For now, he had something more important to worry about: His godson.

"Ah..." Naruto leaned back, feeling satisfyingly full after the meal of delicious Ramen. An almost companionable silence fell over the camp, only disturbed by the crackling fire. After ten long moments Naruto spoke, his words coming out slow and soft at first. "You know, for so long I wished to hold something of my parents', to keep some part of them with me." He slowly pulled one of the two still-sheathed swords off of his back, bringing it around to rest in his hand. "But it's funny, now that I'm holding one of my mother's swords in my hand, I don't know what to feel."

The Last Uzumaki gave a empty, almost bitter laugh; the laugh sounding harsh in the stillness of the camp. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. All those times I was attacked by the villagers and I still can't bring myself to feel angry at them for what they did." A heart-breaking empty look passed across the young ninja's face. "Even after all they did to me, I can't bring myself to feel that what they did was wrong." Another bitter laugh. "I mean, I know in my head that what they did was wrong. But in my heart?" A shrug. "It still doesn't know."

Naruto sighed, sounding far older then he had any business sounding. "But you know what?" He glanced at a quietly listening Jiraiya, "I'm ok with that. Because if all those things hadn't happened to me, I may have never met Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, and Haku-Chan." A warm smile graced his face. "I'm still not exactly sure what they see in me, but as long as they believe I'm worth something..." A confident look flashed across Naruto's face, "...Then I'll believe it too..."

Jiraiya sat back, feeling overwhelmed by Naruto's words. Not only were his words heartbreaking, but it was a elating to know that Naruto trusted him enough to share them. So caught up in those conflicting emotions that the white-haired ninja almost missed Naruto's words when the blonde spoke up again, his tone unreadable.

"I would give anything to protect them. My life; my wealth, my skills." A bitter, almost scornful laugh. "Did you know," Naruto's almost glowing eyes caught Jiraiya's as the blonde Uzumaki glanced in his direction, "That the missing nin who had that contract out on my team were all Jonin level?" Jiraiya shook his head, swallowing as he listened. "The ronin I was fighting was stronger than I was; more skilled then I was." An almost dark smirk flitted across his face. "But his skill or strength didn't matter in the slightest when I drew on the Kyubi's chakra." The smirk was undeniably dark now. "Do you know how long it took for me to kill him?" Naruto stared into the crackling flames. "Just an instant."

"But that wasn't the first time." Naruto focused down on his hands in front of him, as if seeing something that only he could see, "On our mission to Wave Gato brought a small army of men to stop us." Naruto slowly examined his right hand, inspecting it. "It was a dangerous situation. Most of us were either wounded or low on chakra. But," Jiraiya felt the air grow heavier, "Then Gato spoke those words. And I hated him." The fire began to flicker wildly. "I stopped caring about protecting. All I wanted was to die, him and all of his little army." A ghost of a terrible chuckle rang out over the camp. "And so I did. I slaughtered them all! They never even stood a chance."

"You see," Naruto's voice was unreadable, his tone caught somewhere between remembered rage and uncertainty, "As long as my precious people are around, I can believe that I'm a person; a good person. But..." A laugh, so terribly empty, escaped from the Last Uzumaki's mouth, "If something were to happen to one of them..." The campfire suddenly flared, casting a harsh light on Jinchuriki, "I would burn the entire world to get to their killer."

The air was still as the silence that hung in the clearing. Jiraiya, for one of the first times in his life, didn't know how to respond; what to say. And what could he say?

"And when I remember that," Naruto's voice dropped into a vulnerable whisper, "I start to realize that they were right: I am a monster."

"No!" Jiraiya's fierce voice startled Naruto. "You aren't a monster! No more than anyone else." Jiraiya's eyes blazed. "In fact, I would say they are more of a monster then you are." Jiraiya snorted, his breath coming out in an angry rush. "So what if you slaughtered those thugs like animals. So what if you crushed the people that were attacking you in a second. So what if you would set the world on fire to save those you cared about." The Toad Sannin met his godson's eyes. "The fact that you are worried about being a monster shows that you aren't. You are a ninja. And if I was asked, I would tell everyone that you are a hero."

"So don't ever, ever say that you are a monster again!" Jiraiya huffed, feeling strangely alive at the moment. His voice softened. "You are my godson. I haven't known you for long, and I will carry that shame to my grave. However, I have trained with you for these last three weeks. And do you know what I see?" Naruto leaned forward, desperate for the truth. "I see a powerful ninja who is going to shake the world. I see a person who grows stronger every day to protect the ones he cares about. And do you know what else I see?" Naruto shook his head, powerful emotions threatening to burst free.

"I see someone who's parents would be so proud of him." The dam broke. Tears of sorrow poured out from Naruto's eyes. Jiraiya gathered his godson, who seemed so achingly young in that moment, and held him tight. Tears of rage and sobs of sorrow escaped from Naruto's mouth as he sobbed out the bottled up emotions. Years of pain, loneness, and sadness bled like an open wound. Time ceased to exist.

Jiraiya heaved a sigh as he looked down at his sleeping godson who had cried himself to sleep. Even now, the white-haired man could feel the blonde shifting in his embrace, seeking comfort. Jiraiya pushed past the shame that he wasn't there for his godson before now to focus on the present. It didn't matter what he had failed to do in the past. Now he was here for Naruto; and here he would stay. Jiraiya wasn't so foolish to think that Naruto would be magically better after crying all those years of bottled up pain, but it was a start. And the Sannin knew that Naruto's three girls would help the blonde Uzumaki grow; help him heal. Jiraiya was far too emotionally drained to do more than manage a watery giggle at the thought of the three girls healing Naruto...

There was shift in atmosphere between the two during the final week. Neither brought up the emotion-filled night nor acknowledged that something had changed. But there was an comfortable ease between the two that wasn't there before, a certain familiarity that would have seemed foreign and forced not even a week prior. Conversation flowed easily as did the comfortable silence. For the first time in his life, Naruto felt as if he could learn without having to worry about how to apply it, Jiraiya somehow knowing exactly how to explain it so he could understand it. For Jiraiya, each day was a blessing, being able to teach and interact with his godson without the cold professional mask that Naruto previously wore. In the evenings they often talked, swapping stories and ideas of seals in equal measure.

As they prepared to lay down for the final evening before the Chunin exams, Jiraiya lay on his back, not attempting to suppress the relieved sigh as he relaxed. He listened to his godson's even breaths, knowing that inevitably the nightmares would return to haunt Naruto once again. Over these last few nights Jiraiya had come to a rather startling and troubling realization. When he had asked Hiruzen about Naruto's upbringing, Hiruzen never answered his very important question. "Why didn't you tell me about how bad Naruto's life was, Sensei?" The Toad Sannin was determined to have his answers, one way or another. But those troubles were for another day.

Jiraiya couldn't help but glance once again at the two swords propped against the tree next to Naruto's bedroll. The older ninja almost hadn't believed his eyes when he saw then on his godson's back for the first time. Kushina's swords were almost unmistakably unique, both in their craftsmanship and the seals on them. The swords had earned Kushina a different nickname, one spoken with fear and respect. Shinku no Hi, The Crimson Fire. She was known to be as beautiful as she was deadly. And now those feared weapons were in the hands of her son.

Jiraiya hadn't ever seen Naruto draw or even practice with the swords. When asked, Naruto had simply told Jiraiya that he hadn't found a reason to draw them yet. But even as odd as Naruto's explanation was, his story of how he had gotten the blades stretched believability. If he had not seen the truth in his godson's eyes Jiraiya would have thought him to be lying. The Seal-Master had promised to look at the barrier when they got back. The seal master portion of Jiraiya was stunned by the sheer ingenuity of Minato's barrier while the teacher in him was so proud of his old student. To think that Minato had surpassed him to such an extent made Jiraiya all the sadder that he was gone. Minato had died too early, his bright mind extinguished far before it's time. Jiraiya swore that he would find out how the Kyubi had been released that day, given that there was no way Minato or Kushina would have willingly freed the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. But for now, Jiraiya shifted into a sitting position, he had something more important to work on.

Naruto had expressed interest in finding a flower for Sakura and Hinata, given that he had found one for Haku. Given that Naruto had about the same skill with vegetation as his mother - who had the ability to horrify any competent botanist - Jiraiya knew that alone Naruto would be doomed to failure. But just because Naruto didn't have the skills to find flowers doesn't mean Jiraiya couldn't help his godson. The white-haired spy master had made notes years ago on all of the species of plant life in the area, and had sent his clones out to see what was close by. A small fire jutsu of his own making lit area just enough to light the pages of the binder filled with the pictures of the plants in the area. "Now which ones would remind Naruto of Sakura Haruno?"

So what did you think? Drop a review and let me know!

Answers to the direct questions:

LordTicky: Not necessarily. Air dispersion has always been an effective way of releasing poison. That being said, I'm not going to say that Shizune isn't going to show up at some point...

MEleeSmasher: Sadly Jiraiya doesn't know much Uzumaki specific techniques or seals. However, Naruto will learn Uzumaki techniques in the future. Hopefully.

Animaman: I kinda forgot about him initially when I was writing the scene, but then I realized that Choza wouldn't have participated in politics to the same level as Shikaku and Inoichi. He, or at least how I interpret him, seems like a gentle giant; until you rouse his anger that is. So now there's the question of what will happen when his old teammates tell him what they figured out.

TenTailedAnarkyBeast: Tsunade was named Naruto's godmother all those years ago. As for your second question...you'll just have to wait and see.

Zecht: Almost all of the Konoha population believes that Naruto is the Kyubi itself, rather then it's jailor as in cannon. And when a lie is repeated often enough, most people tend to believe it eventually. Given that the Hyuga can't just walk around with their eyes activated, it's not hard to believe that they simply went along with the crowd.