You guys are awesome as always!
I want to apologize for the lateness of the chapter. My new job tired me out much more than I thought. I've somewhat adjusted to the schedule, so I'm hoping to put out chapter 29 in less time than it took for this chapter to come out.
As far a Tsunade's reaction and scene went last chapter, it seems that I wrote it decently, if judging by the reviews is any indication. Tsunade couldn't have known that Naruto was alive, but at the same time, how do you tell that to a young boy who suffered for years because you forgot to check that he was dead? I tried to convey that in last chapter and this one as well. Let me know if I succeeded.
And without any more delay, Here's the next chapter. Chapter 28: The Start of a New Era
Tsunade felt old, perhaps far more than her real age actually was, as she headed back to her and Shizune's room. Regret weighed heavily on her soul. While it was true that she truly didn't know that Naruto survived, and if she had, she would have never left; such words would undoubtedly ring hollow in light of all of the pain and suffering that her godson had gone though.
"But it is as Jiraiya said. We can't change the past. But we can ensure that Naruto never has to go through anything like that again." Determination burned in Tsunade's brown eyes. "I will become Hokage. And I will ensure that Naruto archives his goals, whatever they are." Strangely, despite all that had happened, the buxom blonde felt more alive than ever; almost as if all the last thirteen years had her merely going through the motions, mindlessly pursuing distractions from her pain. Simply covering the hurt, rather than dealing with it. Running from the pain rather than confronting it.
But never again would she compromise. She would confront the past, not matter how much it hurt. She would take a stand, no matter how easy it would be to run. Tomorrow, she would meet her godson.
Naruto grunted as he drew quickly, his ink brush dancing across the paper, twisting seals of the green chakra ink on the paperin front of him. There was a strange sort of concentrated mindlessness to deciphering seals, pulling it apart on mental prowess alone not leaving room for other thoughts. Naruto knew he hadn't been in the right state of mind several hours ago, not able to confront Tsunade without lashing out . After a rather intense spar with Jiraiya, he had started working on the Caged Bird Seal. There was just one last piece, one final symbol, that he was deciphering now.
"What if..." Naruto tilted his head, as he considered the symbol, "Wait. What's that?" Naruto leaned closer to the paper, his head still tilted. "The symbol lines up with..." His eyes traced the nearly invisible line, pushing down his excitement until after he finished the final symbol. "...there! It connects with the second outer ring. So that means..." The Last Uzumaki's mind raced, putting the pieces together like a giant puzzle. Each symbol linked with another, slowly creating the entire Caged Bird Seal in his mind's eye. It...all made sense. Naruto couldn't help the shout of triumph that emerged. He had done it!
"Now then." Naruto grinned, concentrating as he did so, "Let's see how we can disarm it without removing the seal itself." A large cloud of white smoke blanketed the area. The hundred clones that emerged wore the same grin their creator had.
"Right boss." They saluted before splitting off in pairs. Soon ideas and concepts flew back and forth, each one claiming one of the different ideas that had been born in their creator's head. Moments later brush was dipped into ink, and the testing phase began.
Shizune made her way slowly through the woods, the young woman attempting to clear her spinning head. It spun with all of the revelations she had experienced with the last two and a half hours. Minato Namikaze, the legendary Fourth Hokage; the fabled Yellow Flash, had a son. And not just any son. A son with Kushina Uzumaki, who had been one of the last Uzumaki in the land. She had been deadly as she had been beautiful. And there was few that could hope to match her. But they had both died on that terrible night thirteen years ago. But...even then they lived on in the form of their son.
However, Naruto didn't have anyone to care for him, no one to raise him. Despite what Tsunade said, or perhaps it was better to say what she didn't say, Shizune got the feeling that Naruto's life had been much worse than her mentor portrayed. But then on the heels of that revelation, still another rose. Tsunade had been named Naruto's guardian long before he was ever born. And Tsunade had no idea that he survived that night, all those years ago. Hadn't known until just a short time ago. And now the Slug Sannin was going to go to Konoha, to become Hokage. Shizune sensed there was more to the story of why Tsunade was willing to take the job that she had declared a death sentence, but the walls could have ears.
The black-haired woman had left her emotionally exhausted mentor sleeping, the blonde-haired woman getting to sleep without a single drop of sake for the first time years. Shizune had quietly slipped out of the room soon after, to both clear her head and possibly meet up with Naruto Uzumaki to explain why he should give her mentor a chance. She wondered what kind of person he was, given that he grew up on his own, without any proper guidance.
A sudden green flash that illuminated the trees off to her left, the light source still farther in the woods. Curiosity getting the better of her, the medical-ninja in training moved towards the area that had lit up just a few moments ago.
"Well then." Naruto stated blankly, still staring at the small crater that one of the clone pairs had left, "Unless Neji wants to blow himself up, I'd call that a failure." The clone gathered around the clearing nodded, their expressions equally blank. Shaking himself loose from the stunned stupor that he was in, the Last Uzumaki waved the next group forward. "Ok. Group Forty-three, let's see how your solution works." Clone group Forty-three stepped into the now grass-less clearing.
"So we wondered if we flipped the complete third ring and then swapped it with the fourth." One clone presented, holding up a diagram of their version of the seal, "Visually, the change is nearly unnoticeable, unless you know what you are looking for or compare two Caged Bird Seals side by side." Pulling a ink brush from it's seal, the clone quickly went to work on it's partner's Caged Seal. After it made the necessary alterations, it spiked it's chakra, activating the change.
The clone dropped like a stone, it's eyes blank for the briefest of instants before it dispelled. "Well." Naruto spoke to no one in particular, "That didn't work. Brain damage again. Looked really bad this time." The remaining clone from Group Forty-three nodded, heading to the group that held the other members of the past groups. "Group Forty-Four, you are up."
Shizune carefully slipped around the tree, almost to the clearing when the periodic strange sounds and flashes of light was originating from. Finally ghosting to another tree, the black-haired kunoichi peered around from around the tree to behold one of the strangest sights of her life. Naruto Uzumaki stood at the edge of a clearing - that looked like it was a shallow blast zone -. Around him was two dozen clones of himself, all equally staring at a pair of two more clones who stood in the center of the clearing. Squinting her eyes to better utilize what light the mostly full moon shed, Shizune could make out one clone was drawing some green symbol on the forehead of the other.
A few moments later it looked like it had finished, judging from the way it put away the sealing brush. A moment later it took a step back and held up it's hand, spiking it's chakra. The green seal on it's partner's forehead glowed for a moment before flashing. The clone with the seal blinked rapidly several times.
"Whelp." The clone's voice was calm, almost as it had been expecting it, "I'm blind." Shizune's eyes widened at how accepting the shadow clone sounded, given that it's mentality was taken directly from Naruto himself.
"Hmmm..." Naruto nodded as he rubbed his chin in thought, "Like the other clones described it? Or different?"
"Hmmm..." The clone unconsciously copied his stance, "Nah." It decided after a moment, "It's more like that time when they got our eyes with the rounded kunai." It paused, considering. "But without the pain."
This time Shizune couldn't hide the slight gasp that escaped from her mouth. What had happened to him to make him - given that the shadow had the same memories and reactions to the memories as Naruto himself - react calmly to such a memory? She stiffened as all of the clones froze, their hands twitching towards combat stances.
"It's all good." A voice that sounded exactly like Naruto's startled the emotionally fraught woman, the voice coming from above her, "It's just Tsunade's apprentice."
"Are you sure it's her?" Naruto's voice was cold and wary.
"It is." The clone confirmed. "She lacks the chakra necessary to hold a high-level Transformation Technique, given that she walked over several displacement seals I placed earlier."
"Ok." Naruto nodded, accepting his clone's explanation, the coldness evaporating. "Take a break everyone." The clone relaxed, moving to gather in groups to work on the seals more. It was, after all, the reason they were created.
Naruto made his way to a quiet clearing a short distance away, Shizune following him. To the young woman's surprise, she saw a campsite already set-up. A decently sized tent was set-up only a short distance away from a log, age having stripped most of its bark away. The young woman nearly tripped over a small rock that she hadn't seen, given that the moonlight didn't fully reach the ground in all areas. Naruto blinked, belatedly realizing that it was, in fact, far darker he had realized. Moving over to the center of his campsite, the Last Uzumaki pulled out a specific sealing scroll, it's edges marked with red and orange.
Shizune would have openly confessed that she didn't know much about sealing beyond what was standard ninja knowledge. But watching Naruto unseal a lit fire without any real fanfare or chakra spikes was beyond anything she had ever seen. "Just who are you Naruto Uzumaki?"
Naruto settled back on the log with a nearly inaudible grunt. Today had been…long. Perhaps not physically so, but emotionally it had been a long, long day. Casting a sidelong glance at the quiet kunoichi sitting on the opposite end of the log, the blonde attempted to decipher the emotions that flashed across her face. Stunned surprise was one that was easily identifiable. The others were more difficult, but he spied her open her mouth several times to speak, only to close it yet again, unsure how to breach the silence between them.
Most people would have thought of punishing Shizune because of her association with Tsunade. However, such an idea was foreign to Naruto, almost abhorrent even. And so the blonde Uzumaki shifted on the log in Shizune's direction and extended his hand. "Naruto Uzumaki." His tone was cordial. Shizune had never done anything to him or those he cared about, so he saw no reason to not be nice.
Shizune blinked before shaking the offered hand, inwardly marveling at Naruto's easy acceptance of who she was despite her close association with Tsunade. "Shizune." Her tone was pleasant. The pair shook hands for a moment before releasing the greeting. "Naruto-San," Shizune smiled, "It's nice to meet you."
Naruto smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too." Naruto shifted to get a bit more comfortable on the log, "So tell me: Why were you watching me?"
Shizune's eyes widened. He was nothing if direct. "I was..." Shizune's thoughts raced frantically, wondering if she should tell him about her motive to have him look at Tsunade in a better light, "...just..." But then again, did he not deserve the truth after all he had gone through? "...Looking for you."
"Why?" Naruto didn't honestly see any reason for her to be looking for him. He didn't even know her until a minute ago. "Why were you looking for me?"
Shizune took a deep breath and decided to push forward. "Lady Tsunade isn't a bad person." Her face softened, fondness coating every word. "Has Lady Tsunade made mistakes? Yes." Shizune nodded, acknowledging that her mentor wasn't perfect, "But most of them were either the heat of the moment or made unknowingly." Feeling bolstered by Naruto's lack of angry response, the black haired woman pushed onwards. "I know Lady Tsunade wouldn't have abandoned you had she known that you had survived."
Naruto couldn't help but smile, her dedication to Tsunade reminding him slightly of Haku. "Had she known I survived, what do you think would she have done?" He turned his bright blue eyes in Shizune's direction, interested to see what Tsunade would have done, had circumstances been different.
"She would have taken you away from Konoha and raised you herself." Shizune's reply was instant, as she knew her master well enough to answer the question.
Naruto nodded as he looked away. It was as he suspected, now that he had a few hours to cool off and gain perspective. "Then perhaps it is better this way." Noticing Shizune's shocked and confused expression, he elaborated. "While a lot of bad things happened to me in Konoha," His voice dipped in tone before surging back in genuinely happy fondness, "If all those things wouldn't have happened, I might not have met Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, or Haku-Chan." Naruto felt a small smile creep across his face.
"Without them life wouldn't have meaning." Shizune's eyes narrowed at his response. That was a red flag to anyone trained in basic psychology. Unaware of her thoughts, the blonde ninja continued. "They were the first to acknowledge me, first to be my friends. They gave my life meaning beyond just surviving each day." Naruto shrugged. "And thus I wouldn't change anything." Naruto glanced at Shizune, his mind attempting to figure out what her real question was, attempting to find 'the underneath of the underneath' as Kakashi put it.
"But that's not what you were really asking was it?" It was more of a statement then a question. "You are really asking if I hate Tsunade, aren't you?"
Shizune couldn't help but feel slightly lost. All of her preconceptions and ideas about Naruto Uzumaki were systematically being destroyed. "Yes." She was honest and direct, a trait unconsciously learned from years of traveling with Tsunade. "I'm not trying to excuse her behavior, but she doesn't deserve to be hated."
Naruto was quiet for a moment as he searched his feelings. "You know," He finally said, "I don't hate her." He shrugged. "I really don't hate much of anyone." What went unsaid, of course, was that those he did hate ended up being very dead. "So you don't have to worry."
Shizune let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thank-you." Gratitude was etched in every word she spoke. "Lady Tsunade will be grateful to hear that. I know she feared that above all else." Silence fell between them once again. "So Naruto-San," Shizune turned to face him, wanting to know more about the person who was important to Lady Tsunade - and by proxy, herself - "Tell me about yourself."
Shizune stretched and yawned as she made her way up the hotel stairs towards her and Tsunade's room. "Naruto really is an amazing and talented person." She marveled at all she had learned from him. While she had noticed that he never gave any specific details, given that they had just met, she had been able to discern some of the things that were alluded to. "You have given me hope for Lady Tsunade and myself. That she could begin to make up for what she unknowingly did. And that she could use her talents for something other than drinking and gambling." With those comforting thoughts in mind, she headed to bed, easily falling asleep.
Naruto idly drew a seal in the dirt as he thought about Shizune's words. It spoke well of the Slug Sannin that she had someone as nice as Shizune as her apprentice. Naruto sighed. Why was all this emotional stuff so hard? Shaking his head, Naruto shoved the thoughts aside, knowing that he would have to come back to them later. Glancing down at the seal he had made, Naruto noted it was basic enhancement seal. While Naruto personally never used enhancement seals, given that most of the strength gained never translated correctly in training, it was still useful to learn. Swiping a dirty finger through the center of the seal, Naruto suddenly halted, an idea forming. It was so completely absurd and opposite of the original intent of the Caged Bird seal, that he couldn't help but want to try it. Naruto couldn't help the gleeful grin that bled onto his face. "No one will expect this!"
Morning came quickly for Tsunade, but the night had been just long enough to give her a nightmare of what might have happened to Naruto during the years that he was alone, unable to defend himself. Her medical knowledge had only fueled the crowd's methods of torture. Despite this, Tsunade never mentioned a word of her dreams to Shizune, who had once again risen before her. This was her penance, not Shizune's. "Do you know where Naruto is?" Tsunade felt courage flowing through her veins and wanted to reach her godson before it faded.
Shizune nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. "He is training due east of the city, about a quarter of a mile away." Shizune hesitated for a moment, attempting to feel out her mentor's mood. "I spoke to Naruto-Kun last night." Shizune carefully watched the blonde woman for a reaction. "He doesn't hate you." Something close to relief loosened the tightness in Tsunade's chest slightly.
"Thank-you." The whispered words were heartfelt as the Slug Sannin headed past her apprentice. Closing the door behind her, Tsunade swiftly headed towards the area that Shizune had given, bolstered the black haired woman's words. Upon reaching the area, Tsunade began to hear the sounds of various elemental jutsus being activated in the distance. Remembering Jiraiya's words about Naruto's unstoppable desire to train, the Slug Sannin headed in the direction of the noise.
Arriving in a wide open clearing, Tsunade was almost shocked. While Jiraiya had described Naruto's method of training, it was quite another thing to see it for herself. Dozens of shadow clones were practicing everything from elemental techniques to basic taijutsu. As far as the elemental jutsus go, once she got closer, she recognized that it was less training and more experimentation. And the taijutsu seemed to be equal parts experimentation and refinement.
"Tsunade." One of the clones broke off from a taijutsu experiment with a series of punches combined with an concussive palm -It seemed to be going well despite the issues with the blowback of the final strike, But Five Thirty Six was sure it could solve that in time - , "I'm guessing you want to talk to Boss. Follow me." Tsunade followed the clone as they weaved between groups of clones, only having to stop twice to allow an errant technique to pass by in front of them.
Upon reaching another group of clones all practicing the Rasengan, the clone stopped and called out to Naruto, "Boss. Tsunade is here to talk to you." One of the identical Narutos nodded and stood up, his back popping as he stretched. "Thanks. You can head back now." The clone known as Five Thirty Six saluted and headed back, intent on working out the issues so he could show it to his creator.
Naruto walked towards Tsunade motioning for her to follow him to several logs at the edge of the clearing. "So," Naruto's voice was flat, neither happy nor angry, "What do you want Tsunade?" He settled on the log, expecting it to be a talk much like he once had with Jiraiya.
Tsunade flinched at his tone. While she had been expecting it, it didn't lessen the hurt of hearing him address her with such a tone. "First, I'm sorry." Naruto's expression didn't change. "I'm so sorry for not making sure that you were dead before I left the village." Remorse brought tears to her eyes. "I'm so sorry for not being there for you; for forcing you to live alone." She made no attempt to stop the tears that fell from her eyes. "I'm so sorry for not stopping those who hurt you." She didn't dare look at his expression, not daring to hope. "I'm so sorry for recognizing you when I saw you." Naruto still didn't respond.
Falling to her knees, the godmother who failed her godson bowed low before him, pressing her forehead to the ground as she felt her throat choke up. "I'm so sorry I failed you." She felt, rather than heard, Naruto kneel down in front of her bowed form. She didn't brace herself for the blow that she was certain she deserved.
Instead, she felt his hand rest on her shoulder, gently attempting to pull her up from her bowed position. "Never bow." Naruto's voice was calm, caring a undercurrent of something she couldn't identify. "Stand up and face everything head on." He paused before trying again. "I don't hate you."
Tsunade lifted her head, her beautiful tear-stained face staring at him uncomprehendingly. "How can you say that?" Her whisper conveyed her lack of understanding. "Don't you hate me for not saving you?"
"No." Naruto shook his head, "How can you hate someone you never met for something that you never experienced?" Naruto slowly stood, prompting her to follow him as he sat on the log. "Hate is something I have seldom experienced." Tsunade couldn't help but stare at him in surprise. "And those I did hate are dead now."
"What about the village? Do you hate them for what they did?"
"I don't." Naruto shrugged, remembering when he talked to Jiraiya about the same thing. "Perhaps there's something wrong with me, but I can't feel that what they did to me was wrong enough to hate them for it." Another shrug. "I simply don't care about them."
"A-And what about me?" Tsunade was afraid of his response, but she had promised herself that she would never run away again. Sadness threatened to choke her.
Naruto sighed deeply, looking out at all of his clone who were training. "I don't exactly know how I feel about you." Naruto admitted honestly, having mostly sorted out his feelings the night before, "But I don't hate you." Tsunade's head began to lift. "But at the same time, you weren't there for me." He chuckled humorlessly. "It's funny. I know in my head that you didn't mean to leave me behind, but..." He tilted his head at her, his eyes reflecting the complex emotions he felt, "...It rings hollow when compared what happened." He heaved another sigh. "I thought a lot about it last night. And in the end, I decided what I am going to do."
Tsunade wasn't sure what to feel, given the rolling waves of emotions that spun within her. But she wouldn't run from whatever he said. She would do whatever it took to make up for what he had done; to make up for her failure as a godmother.
"You are not my godmother." Naruto's words were not spoken harshly but they still drove a knife into Tsunade's heart. "Godmothers do not leave their godsons behind." Naruto's voice wasn't condemning. "People make mistakes. And judging them for something that they already have been punished for isn't something I like to do." Naruto turned to the almost devastated Slug Sannin. "And so let's do this properly." Tsunade couldn't help but brace herself, waiting for the moment when he cursed her; told her that he never wanted to see her again - it was, after all, what she would do if she was in his shoes -.
"Hello. My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Tsunade stared at his offered hand uncomprehendingly. "I'm part of Team Eight."
It took the blonde Slug Sannin just over two minutes as she stared at the offered hand before she moved, barely daring to hope that he was serious about this chance. Slowly she raised her hand and shook his. "Tsunade Senju." She couldn't help but smile as she felt him shake her hand, even as her voice was watery, "Slug Sannin and Medical Ninja."
"Well well," Jiraiya stepped out from behind a tree, knowing that his former teammate needed time to process all of the emotions she had just went through, "What have we here?"
"Jiraiya." Naruto nodded, "Are we heading out?"
The white haired spy master nodded. "Yes. While I would love to let you stay and train, we need to get back to Konoha." He looked directly at Naruto. "Tsunade agreed to become Hokage."
"Ah." Naruto nodded. "Message received." Out loud, Naruto continued, "I'll go check on my clones. I should be ready to head out in about ten minutes." The two Sannin watched the blonde Uzumaki head out.
"It's not a perfect solution." Jiraiya's voice was quiet, but filled with understanding. "But it's more than you ever hoped for." Tsunade nodded, not being trusting her voice at the moment. "He's truly Minato's and Kushina's son." The Toad Sannin smiled fondly as he watched one of the clones demonstrate a hand-to-hand combat technique to Naruto. "He amazes me every day." Glancing at Tsunade, the white haired Sannin couldn't help but try to lighten the mood. "I took the liberty of sealing your belongings that you had in your hotel room, and I gotta say," The Super Pervert's eyebrows wiggled, "Some of your...garments were very interesting."
Tsunade blinked. And then blinked again as her conflicted mood vanished. "Y-You..." Her body almost shook with anger, "PERVERT!" Her fist glowed with ominous chakra as she swung, her haymaker threatening to quite literally knock Jiraiya's head off if it connected. "DIE!"
"That's a lovely shade of red." Jiraiya chuckled as he leapt back, "It complements your pretty..." He giggled pevertedly, "...Assets."
"Why you..."
It wasn't until several hours later, and quite a few miles down the road that Jiraiya had a thought so profound that he didn't know how he had not thought of it before. "Naruto," Jiraiya turned to his godson as they quickly moved down the road, "I just had a thought." Naruto turned to his teacher. Jiraiya grinned. "Since your acceptance as Head of the Uzumaki House is pretty much guaranteed, we need to think of important things you need as a Head of House." Jiraiya paused, now having Naruto's full attention. "Namely picking a Matriarch of the Clan."
Naruto blinked. He knew what that words meant. But who could he choose? He thought of Sakura. Her fire, her intelligence, her athletic beauty. He thought of Hinata. Her wisdom, her uncompromising will, her grace. He thought of Haku. Her kindness, her talent, that feeling of home she invoked. Naruto sighed. He liked them all. Each was different, but equally precious to him. How could he choose between them?
"Can't choose?" Jiraiya questioned his now slightly miserable godson. Naruto nodded. The blonde didn't want to hurt any of them by choosing - and that wasn't counting how he equally liked each of them -. "Well," Above all else the white haired man wanted to help his godson, "Let's see if we can't narrow it down."
Jiraiya cleared his throat. "First: Do you love them?"
Naruto shrugged helplessly, "I don't know." He sighed again. "I'm not sure what love is exactly." It went unsaid that his childhood hadn't helped.
"Hmmm…" The white haired Sannin tapped his chin in thought, even as he rapidly moved down the road beside Naruto, "Let's try...Do you like any of them more than the other?"
Naruto sighed. "I like all of them equally."
"Welp." Jiraiya nodded, attempting to keep the perverted smile off of his face, "In that case, you have only one option…" Naruto eagerly nodded, moving a bit closer to hear Jiraiya's words of wisdom, "You have to have a harem." Taking Naruto's stunned and confused silence as approval, the super pervert continued. "I can't believe that my student could have a harem." A lone proud tear leaked down his face. "I'm beyond proud of you." Inwardly he was all but dancing. "My student will have a harem! He will never sleep alone or go to bed tense!"
Tsunade suddenly stiffened. Jiraiya was doing something perverted. Turning around, even as she continued moving forward at speeds that would have been a blur to the untrained eye, she spied the white haired pervert explaining something to her godson. She just knew he had that perverted half-smile on his face, the smile that would be almost charming if there wasn't the unhidden leer buried within the expression. Her brown eyes narrowed. Naruto, as her godson, would not become a pervert if she had anything to say about it!
Slowing her pace by tapping her heel into the ground for the briefest of seconds, the Slug Sannin ignored the sudden shift of her momentum as she slowed, only to speed up again as she arrived on the side opposite Naruto on Jiraiya. "Hello Jiraiya." There was an ominous quality to her tone that caused the white haired pervert to pale.
Jiraiya fought down his instinctive reaction. Tsunade would be civil in front of Naruto after all. "Hello Tsunade-Hime." He paused, weighing how exactly he could go before Tsunade really tried to hurt him. "We were just talking about an important decision Naruto has to make once he becomes Head of the Uzumaki clan." Tsunade arched an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. Jiraiya nodded. "It is perhaps the most important decision he could make post-headship."
Despite herself, Tsunade wanted to know what this decision was, and how she could help her godson. "What is it?" "And how can I help Naruto make the choice that helps him the most?"
Jiraiya grinned. "Who will be Matriarch of the Uzumaki Clan." Were it not so serious, Jiraiya would have chuckled openly at the shock at Tsunade's face. "After all, he will be prime real estate if he is not spoken for in some fashion." Seeing the hesitation on her face, the pervert helpfully added "Given his unique situation, a harem is his only real option." He nodded seriously, as if speaking an immutable law of universe.
"Come with me." Tsunade's voice was flat and emotionless. Her right hand snapped out and grabbed the surprised Toad Sannin by his shoulder. A moment later she employed her legendary strength, bodily lifting the white haired man with ease. "We'll be back." Tsunade smiled at Naruto, doing her best to reassure her confused godson that she wasn't about to murder Jiraiya. After making about four steps away from Naruto, still holding Jiraiya aloft, the buxom blonde called out to her apprentice, "Shizune! Come over her and talk to Naruto while I have a chat with my old teammate."
Baffled, Naruto twisted his torso slightly to watch Tsunade, still holding Jiraiya, moving towards the trees that lined the section of road they were traveling. Jiraiya, seeing the look on his godson's face motioned his head towards Tsunade's front, more specifically indicating the slightly low cut shirt she wore. From his airborne angle - completely not his fault - he had a perfect view on his former teammate's...frontal assists. A large grin swam onto his face. Throwing two thumbs-up in Naruto's direction, the super pervert assured his godson that everything would be very fine...just like his current view...
"People are very strange." Naruto concluded after a moment of confused thought. He knew that Jiraiya could have easily escaped Tsunade's grip, but for some unknown reason had allowed himself to be, quite literally, carried off. Sensing Shizune's arrival, Naruto shrugged. Whatever Jiraiya's reason, he could handle himself.
Glancing at Shizune who looked at a loss on how to start a conversation with a person she only met a few short days ago, Naruto decided to ask a question that he had been wondering ever since he remembered that Tsunade and Shizune were medical ninja. "Shizune-San," The Last Uzumaki added the respectful honorific, hoping that it would help convince her to answer his question, "You are a medical kunoichi right?"
"I am. Naruto-Kun." Shizune nodded as she smiled warmly at the young blonde who was already well on his way to becoming someone important to both her and Lady Tsunade.
"Can I ask you a medical question?" At Shizune's nod, Naruto launched into his tale, figuring that since they had met only a short time ago, she wouldn't worry. "About two weeks ago Jiraiya showed me the first step on how to create the Rasengan..."
"Now spill." Tsunade glared at the pervert. "What the hell did you think you are doing? Naruto doesn't need your perverted ideas in his head." Her expression didn't relent as Jiraiya wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. She then cut him off just as he opened his mouth "And if you say anything perverted, I'm going to break your arm." The fact that her threat was said without anger, trading the emotion for simple fact, convinced Jiraiya that when Naruto was concerned, Tsunade was very much a very scary mother bear.
The Toad Sannin's expression grew serious. "He likes all three of them equally." He sighed softly. "Heck, he might even love them, or as much as he knows how to love." A slight frown set into his features. "And given that choosing one would break the other two's hearts, he's not going to choose." Silence fell between the two, both knowing that there could only be one Matriarch of a Clan to avoid clan-infighting and power grabs. It was how it always had been.
Tsunade fought the urge to punch something. "Damn." She glanced over at Jiraiya. "He's never had normal problem has he?" The question was mostly rhetorical. After a few minutes of travel, Tsunade broke the quiet yet again. "What's your plan to help him?" Spotting Jiraiya's leer as soon as it started to move onto his face, she quickly added, "And perverted ones are off the table."
Jiraiya heaved heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "I can't think of any other way that won't involve someone getting their heart broken." He admitted, his shoulders slumping slightly. For the first time, Jiraiya wondered if perhaps it would have been better for only one girl to have caught Naruto's eye.
"Well," Tsunade encouraged her white-haired former teammate, - a defeated look seemed wrong on his face - "We still have time to figure it out."
Jiraiya nodded and shot a soft, thankful smile at in the beautiful blonde's direction. A moment later he seemed to perk up, a rather large grin swimming onto his face. "You do realize that you never said no to a Harem Plan specifically, right?"
Tsunade twitched. "You have ten seconds to run."
Jiraiya began giggling, even as he raced off at top speed. Spinning in mid-air, he pointed both of his hands at Tsunade. "Before I forget, please carry me in the air more often." His grin grew even larger. "I got quite the view." Flexing his hands, another disturbing giggle escaped him.
Tsunade felt any sort of connection she had with Jiraiya dissipate in an instant once she realized what her perverted former teammate was implying. "Jiraiya..." Anger colored her face, "Run."
Shizune was once again completely and utterly shocked by the nonchalant attitude Naruto had about having what was presumably a brain hemorrhage. "Naruto-Kun," Shizune attempted to explain, "You need to go to the hospital to have your brain and body checked for any lingering effects."
Naruto blinked at her intense demeanor. Was she...worried about him? But they had just met only a short time ago...regardless of the black-haired woman's real feelings towards him, the blonde ninja felt that he had to reassure her that he was fine. "I'm fine. I haven't noticed any issues." Naruto waved a dismissive hand, attempting to get the topic back to what he originally had planned on asking. "This isn't the first time this has happened. And nothing bad ever happened because of those times." Naruto's logic, while theoretically sound, was the opposite of what the medic nin wanted to hear.
Spotting Jiraiya burst out of the tree line closely followed by a rather angry Tsunade, Shizune quickly enlisted her mentor's help. "Lady Tsunade! I need to tell you something important."
Tsunade, hearing the distress in her student's voice, quickly abandoned her prey, moving to Shizune's side. "Shizune, " Tsunade's brown eyes assessed both Shizune and Naruto, visually checking for any injuries, "What's wrong?"
"Naruto-Kun had what sounds like a brain hemorrhage just under two weeks ago." Shizune attempted to keep her voice calm and her explanation succinct.
"What?" Tsunade blinked in shock for the briefest moments before recovering. Her hand instantly glowed bright green as she halted the group, waving her diagnostic jutsu over her godson's head. Rapidly absorbing the information she was getting from the technique, the Slug Sannin's eyes widened at the alarming information she had just gotten. "You have almost completely new tissue in the limbic system." Her medical training kept her voice even, despite the stunned shock she was feeling internally. "Despite the impossibility to grow new brain tissue rapidly, that is exactly what it looks like." A small part of the legendary medical ninja marveled at the medical miracle, what the rest of her was concerned that the hemorrhage happened in the first place. "It seems that while you are not suffering any ill effects...no, wait."
The medical ninja analyzed the medical information closer, and then re analyzed it again. And then again. Each time coming to the same terrifying conclusion. She could see the layers of brain...regrowth - for lack of a better term - and it had been increasing in size. It looked almost like..."Naruto," Tsunade's medical voice was unconsciously soothing, designed to put a patient at ease, "Have you ever had these brain hemorrhage before this last episode two weeks ago?"
Naruto nodded, Tsunade's voice vaguely reminding him of the voice Mebuki, Sakura's mother, had taken when she was questioning him about his injuries all those years ago. "A few other times, yeah." He felt compelled to add, "But I'm fine though." Tsunade, after all, wasn't Sakura-Chan.
"It's just like I thought." Tsunade mused, her mind mostly on how to cure, or lacking that, prevent any future episodes. "Naruto." She turned to the blonde, some feeling she couldn't quite describe welling up within her, "Please tell me everything you can about each of the episodes as we continue traveling." She blinked back tears, not wanting her godson to see them. Jiraiya had warned her about the times that Naruto had misinterpreted tears from others. "It could help us understand why they are happening and how we can prevent them." Feeling her heart twitch in pain - the blonde had rapidly wormed his way into her heart - at the words she was about to speak, the legendary medical ninja took a deep breath before continuing, "It could be a matter of eventual life or death."
Clang!
Sasuke panted as he snapped the final kunai at the target. Ever since he had awoken from the stupor that he had fallen into after seeing the hallucination of Itachi, he had been pushing himself, training to forget; training to become strong enough to kill his brother; strong enough that he could defeat Naruto. He had hated Naruto, feeling that the blonde had simply bumbled his way into greatness, becoming stronger than Sasuke on by mere chance. But...ever since the invasion by Sound and Sand, he had been over hearing whispered conversations - not that he ever hid to hear more conversations like it, such sneaking was beneath an Uchiha - of how the village hated Naruto.
From what the Last Uchiha could piece together from the conversations and his own knowledge of Naruto, apparently the village thought Naruto Uzumaki was the Kyubi itself. Normally the black haired Uchiha wouldn't have cared about the villagers opinions - they were beneath him after all - but a stray comment about how they 'used to deal with the demon years ago' had caught his interest. And so Sasuke found himself, without really knowing why, skulking around crowds of villagers late in the evening between training sessions. He learned to hide himself and his chakra from Kakashi, although he would never openly thank his grey haired sensei.
And given that Kakashi had abruptly started to act like a proper teacher, and thus had started teaching Team Seven early in the morning rather than late in the day, the Last Uchiha was able to finish training earlier than he had in the past, giving him time to move about the village. It was, of course, a complete coincidence that he often ended up, hidden beneath a hooded cloak, in one of the civilian bars known for its more vocal patrons.
Later that evening found the Last Uchiha standing in the back of a dirty bar, where drinks and vulgar tales were being shared in equal measure. Such frivolities of lesser men was not what Sasuke was after. No, he had taken up a table near a very specific group of men. The civilians were more cautious than most, always checking their surroundings before speaking in low tones. They were the same ones that had tensed the most when Naruto's name was mentioned - it wasn't like Sasuke conducted small tests or anything like that, clearly - However, they had finally settled into their drinks and had begun to relax. And like most relaxed men, they had begun to talk about the one thing that held their ire. And so Sasuke listened.
"You know we got to do something about it." One of the men rumbled, earning nods from the other men at the table. "Eventually the demon will try to take it's revenge if we don't do something."
"Yeah." Another agreed, "But what can we do? Not only is he being protected by those three bitches, if we touch them it'll destroy us all for sure." He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Things aren't like in the old days."
The first man spoke again, his voice reminiscent. "Those were the days. The Fox was weak and we were strong. We could keep it down for days at a time after we beat it." He ran a dirty hand through his thinning hair, having not bothered to wash after working all day repairing a house. Pausing to let some stranger in a hooded cloak pass, he continued, "But that's really not an option any more. It's strong enough now to take on another demon and win." Chugging back another big drink of the rice alcohol, he met each person's eyes at the table. "We have to do what it takes, whatever it takes, to make sure that the Fox never destroys the village in revenge for what we did to it."
Sasuke wondered slowly towards the Uchiha Compound as his mind turned over what he had learned, the final piece to the puzzle that was Naruto Uzumaki's past. But instead of losing questions, the Last Uchiha only gained more. "Why don't you hate them for what they did? How did you become so strong without hate?" He just didn't understand! "Why haven't you tried to kill them all, just like I'm going to kill Itachi?" Sasuke shook his head, feeling for the first time, ever so slightly conflicted about his lifetime philosophy. "No. Naruto must hate them." It was the only thing that made sense. "He must." Any other reason that Naruto had become powerful was almost unthinkable.
It was near dark three days later that Tsunade finally came up with a tentative reason as to why Naruto was getting the hallucinations when he was having the brain hemorrhages. The key was that he hallucinated first, and thus the visions not caused by the swelling of the brain, rather than after. It wasn't much, and more of an educated guess at that, but it was a start.
"Jiraiya," Tsunade glanced at the white-haired Sannin as he started cooking a mixture of rice and newly caught fish. "In any of the hallucinations that Naruto described, did any of them sound familiar?"
Jiraiya glanced up at her before looking back down at the cooking food. "Yeah." His voice was quiet. "The first one he said he had. The Chunin exam one." Carefully mixing the spices into the food, he continued. "They reminded me of Minato's test. More specifically his answers on the test."
"How is that even possible?" Tsunade wasn't a mind healer, but she was fairly certain that what they were considering was impossible. Then again...this was Naruto…
"Beats me." Jiraiya shrugged. "I'm less interested in how it's possible and more of how we can stop it from happening."
"Hmmm…" The legendary medical ninja tapped a painted nail as she considered how to help their godson. "What about a Yamanaka? They specialize in mind healing." She blinked, a thought occurring to her. "Can we trust any of them?"
"I'll find out." The Spymaster promised, his tone resolute. Hearing Naruto and Shizune coming back from the woods, the Sannin glanced at each other. A silent communication passed between them. Once they had an answer for their godson, then they would tell him their suspicions. There was no use in worrying him, nor those he cared about if they didn't have any way to fix it at the moment.
Still...Tsunade decided, she would see if Naruto would go to the hospital to get scanned. It was natural, after all, to go to the hospital to get scanned after any sort of head injury...
"I still think you need to go to the hospital to get properly scanned." Tsunade grumbled to herself, her voice not truly serious, "Brain damage is a very serious thing." She glanced at Naruto who was walking beside her, but seemingly not even really paying attention to her words, his attention clearly elsewhere. It had been just over a week and a half since they had left the city behind, and Naruto's attention had been clearly elsewhere for the last day as they drew closer to Konoha. The Slug Sannin grinned, only now realizing what, or precisely who, had captured her godson's attention. "Eager to see your girl friends?" Naruto nodded, a large grin showing on his face at the thought of seeing them again.
Behind Tsunade, Jiraiya couldn't help but silently giggle, mouthing 'Girl space friends' to himself as he imagined how their reunion could go. Sadly he was unable to get Naruto alone to explain the joys of a harem, but the white haired ninja wasn't concerned. After Tsunade got appointed, which would be more of a formality than anything else, she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Naruto all the time. And that's when he would strike, showing Naruto the ways of perversion! "Hmmm..." Jiraiya considered, stroking his chin, "That sounded a little bit over the top. Eh, oh well." He shrugged. Even if it had come out badly, his godson deserved the most amount of happiness he could get. And if Jiraiya got several Icha Icha novels out of it, all the better...
Naruto was but a blur as he moved towards his house, his home. Letting out a pulse of chakra, he felt three return pulses as he moved closer. Feeling their chakra signatures getting closer, Naruto quickly opened the door and moved to the living room, knowing that each of them would want a hug. The blonde ninja felt his face flush as he remembered Jiraiya's words.
"...Do you love them?"
Naruto blinked before shoving the redness from his face. "But I would rather say nothing and remain friends then say something and ruin my friendship with Sakura-Chan, Haku-Chan, or Hinata-Chan." Naruto sighed, an understanding look flashing across his face. "Besides, even if they somehow did like me as more than friends, how could I choose between them? And I can't ask them to share. I know I wouldn't want to share if I was in their position."
Feeling Sakura's chakra signature homing in on his location, Naruto shook his head, dispelling his thoughts. He would cross that bridge later. For now, he had missed his most precious people.
Sakura couldn't help the happy smile on her face as she threw open the door to her house, their home. Naruto was back. Her best friend/not-so-secret crush/most important person was back. "Naruto-Kun." There was a joyful lilt in her tone as she smiled. "You're back." Rounding the corner, she spied Naruto standing there, waiting for her. Spotting her, a warm smile spread across his face. "Naruto-Kun!" Sakura hurled herself into his arms with a happy sound escaping her lips. Hearing him warmly chuckle as he hugged her back, Sakura couldn't help but hold him tighter as she remembered long ago when he didn't even know what a hug was...
Tsunade grunted as she stared at the empty Hokage office. It was cold. Not in the temperature sense, but cold in the sense that it seemed lifeless. There was a desk and two chairs in the room. It was cleaned to the point that the old wooden floor almost shined. But there was no life to it, no happiness. "Doesn't matter." Her voice was loud in the room. "I'm here to be the Hokage for one reason." An image of Naruto's smiling face flashed across her mind, his smile had been radiant when he was talking about one of the girls - Sakura, Hinata, or Haku; it didn't matter. His smile was bright each time -. And she would do everything in her power to keep seeing those smiles, even if they were never directed at her.
"Lady Tsunade." One of the ANBU appeared in the doorway, "The council is ready for you."
The Slug Sannin glanced back at the room one more time as she followed the elite guard. With the memory of Naruto's smile, it didn't seem so dark and empty.
Haku smiled softly to herself as she listened to Naruto's tale of how he found Tsunade. Watching his exaggerated hand gestures as he described the village in the story was both amusing and endearing. Obviously, there was several things they, Hinata, Sakura, and herself, needed clarification on, but that could come later. For now, she listened to the sunny blonde's retelling of his adventure.
"Lady Tsunade," Shizune prompted gently, "Now that you are Hokage, you need to meet with the civilian council." The black haired woman had been surprised as the council had been when she had been named by Tsunade as the Hokage's Aide. The council had attempted to protest, but Tsunade had informed them, in a rather calm and flat tone, that she and Shizune came as a packaged deal. They had instantly stopped questioning her choice and moved on to the next part of the Hokage appointment process.
Tsunade couldn't help but smirk behind the shadow of her newly given Hokage hat as she thought about the upcoming meeting with the civilian council. "Oh...I've been looking forward to this part..."
"Naruto-Kun," Hinata smiled brightly at Naruto, "Could you tell us again exactly what Tsunade," Hinata did an admirable job on keeping her personal feeling about her Naruto-Kun's absentee godmother out of her tone, "Said about your brain?" She pulled out a small scroll to take notes. "Exactly what she said if you remember."
The blue haired kunoichi needed all the information she could gather on Naruto condition. She, Sakura, and Haku had been investigating what laws were broken by the council and the village when it came to their dealings with Naruto. They would be taking the village and the council for everything that they had done to the Last Uzumaki. Naruto may not understand, given that he was still too emotionally damaged to feel anger from their treatment, but she, Sakura, and Haku would not stand for it. Their Naruto-Kun would receive full compensation, one way or another.
"Now then." The leader of the Civilian council, Rido, began, "Since you are now Hokage, we will inform you of the decisions we make as a council once a week." He took a deep breath as the newly appointed Hokage didn't react. Why had he felt worried again? "Secondly, we as the council-"
"Sit down." Tsunade didn't raise her voice. But there was an undercurrent of something that made him pale and hurriedly sit down. The sound of his chair's legs scraping the wooden floor echoed in the room. "Now then." The wide brimmed hat shadowed her gaze, but all of the council members sitting along the long wooden table felt something close to fear run up their spine. "I'm going to tell you exactly how this is going to go from now on."
Her manicured hand rested on the table. "I know that in the past, during Sarutobi's reign, you all basically did what you pleased." Her pointer finger raised off two inches off of the table. "But that time has ended." Her painted nail tapped against the table. From the point of impact a crack splintered lengthwise down the entire table. "From now on, you will be exactly what you were appointed to be: A council of civilian advisors." Her finger rose again.
"You will gather data and issues from your perspective areas. Once you have narrowed it down to the essential things, you will then present it to me or my aide, Shizune." Tsunade paused, waiting for it to sink in. Just before one particularly bold member spoke up, the Fifth Hokage spoke again. "If you do not like my policies, you can issue a complaint to the nearest ANBU member. I have given them the power to decide if a complaint is valid, and if so, they will present it to me." She smiled. "I have a village to run after all."
The smile vanished as quickly as it came. "Now that the official Hokage business is over," An oppressive air settled over the council members. "It's time for me to talk about something different." Her eyes seemed to flash beneath the shadow of the Hokage's hat. "I am sure that all of you know of Naruto Uzumaki." Unable to say anything, all the council could do was nod in confirmation. "But what you don't know is that he is my godson." Stunned silence choked the room. "I don't care if you believe me or not." Tsunade's tone was calm, almost eerily so. "However, I learned that many terrible things happened to my godson when he was small." Her finger raised up another inch off on the table. "And I'm certain that at least some of you in the room know exactly what I'm talking about."
Her finger tapped the table yet again. The crack that ran the length of the table instantly expanded. "And while I do not have any proof," Killing intent instantly slammed into their shoulders, shoving them into their seats, "I can promise you this: Naruto Uzumaki and anyone he deems important are now under my protection." Her hand flexed. "I will punish anyone who even thinks about harming him or those he cares about with the full extent of the Hokage's power." Her finger rose again. "And if that proves unsatisfactory, I will take matters into my own hands as is my right as his godmother." Her finger snapped downwards.
With a loud, almost earsplitting crack, the table split into two pieces, each half of the table falling onto one side of the council's lap, pinning them in place. None of them even dared to breathe. "So consider this your one and only warning: Touch Naruto and I will end you." Tsunade pushed her chair back and stood, the killing intent lifting as she rose. "I'll expect your first report tomorrow afternoon." The ANBU opened the door as the Fifth Hokage walked towards the door. The door clicked shut behind them as they followed their leader.
In the council room, the members traded worried glances as they strained to push the shattered table pieces off of themselves. What were they going to do now?
"Here's what I found." A shadowed figure handed Jiraiya a filled notebook. "It was a bit touch and go, but I got some stuff. It will take a while to go through though." The hooded figure shook it's head. "They didn't keep any records, so it's mostly second hand stuff." A shrug. "Nothing enough to convict with."
Jiraiya nodded. "I'll see what I can do with it." He pocketed the notebook and headed out of the alley. Behind him, the shadowed figure vanished in a cloud of white smoke. "You hurt my godson." Something dark flashed across the Spymaster's face, "And you aren't going to get away with it."
So what did you think? Drop a review and let me know.
To my reviewers' direct questions:
Animaman: Jiraiya has a plan B (and plan C), but I won't spoil it. That being said, I gave a hint to what it may be at the end of this chapter. And as far a Konoha goes, it's going to be a big scandal, but how big depends on how far Naruto wants to push it.
SETHRX7: I don't think Naruto is going to wield Samehada. He loves his mother's swords a bit too much to use anything else.
bankai777: I don't really know. In canon, they were upgraded versions of the Rasengan (which is basically all canon Naruto had). However, HotE Naruto has access to a wider range of techniques, so I don't know if he will develop them given that other techniques can do almost the same thing in a way.
Vaknuva: Well, books are a good way to pass the time…
Guest: I'm not exactly sure why Itachi has so many fans myself. Perhaps it's because he is a tragic figure, but then at the same time, Naruto is full of those. HotE Itachi will be played straight, but I'm not going to excuse his actions.