CHAPTER 2: OF CLANS AND SECRETS
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office, overlooking his village bustling with activity, puffing on his pipe deeply. He could see more than a few pink heads today among his people. More in his ANBU. Hyuga police appeared to be more agitated today, and he could only guess why.
Even though it would be pretty spot on guess.
A nagging voice in the back of his mind was consistently reminding him of all the paperwork waiting for his judgement behind his chair – major reason he had a high back chair. And he was consistently ignoring that voice in favour of the free entertainment that was generously being provided by Hyuga police. He could swear they react more intensely every time he plays another large-scale prank.
After a few minutes they quieted down and Sarutobi wondered where they finally found him. Because they always do. Even if it takes them days. The current record is for three days – 74 hours to be exact. And he isn't even 8 yet.
He is so proud.
He dragged on his pipe until it needed a refill and then turned back to complete at least two piles of the paperwork before lunch time, which was in little more than one hour.
...
He managed to disintegrate four piles of paperwork – after two more smoke breaks not including the lunch time in which he found out the day's prank in the reports (it was hilarious on his opinion) – by the time he felt him coming towards his office. He looked at his clock; fifteen minutes till Academy is over for the day. Though he doubted the kid even bothered to go to school today.
He took out his tobacco pipe, refilled it and lit it as he pondered the reason behind his visit. He usually stayed away from the Hokage Tower during the days of his large-scale pranks. But not before long, the boy was standing outside his door.
He took a drag and raised his eyebrows as the door did not suddenly burst open as it usually did. Naruto was hesitating.
That's a first.
Though it only lasted for two seconds. The door opened (slowly – that's another first) and in came Naruto with a conflicted look. The door closed but he didn't say anything.
"Hello, Naruto-kun," Third Hokage greeted the boy politely and smiled before puffing his pipe again.
"Hey, Jiji," Naruto nodded absentmindedly but genuinely anyway. He looked as if he was debating something with himself.
Hiruzen gave him some time to settle and decide what to say, but when he didn't, Hiruzen asked, "How are you doing, Naruto-kun?"
"Fine. Uh… I wanted to ask you something, y'know, Jiji," he said nervously, fidgeting with his hands.
"Sure. What do you want to know?" Hiruzen encouraged him.
"Is there an Uzumaki clan, Jiji?" he asked directly – he never did like beating around the bush.
Hiruzen stiffened a bit but didn't let his unease show on his face. He just took another drag of his pipe, "How did you know about the Uzumaki clan, Naruto-kun?"
"So, there is an Uzumaki clan," Naruto asked with wide, curious eyes.
"Not anymore, Naruto-kun. There used to be an Uzumaki clan. But it was slaughtered during the Second Shinobi World War. Now there are just some survivors scattered in the winds," the Third told him gently.
Naruto's eyes went to the floor and he muttered a small, "Oh…"
"Who told you about it, Naruto-kun?" he asked the boy again.
"Oh, it was just a friend, Jiji. Asked me if I really do belong to it," Naruto explained airily. "Do I?" Though he asked that in the same tone, they both knew he was very much serious.
Sarutobi contemplated for a few moments if it would be safe to tell him about his parents or not. But he decided it lying would be worse, "Yes, you do." He did wonder who this 'friend' was though.
"So, my parents were Uzumaki, too?" his wide eyes only held curiosity and a little bit sadness, but not betrayal or anything like that that the Third feared. He expected Naruto to lash out in (rightful) anger at keeping his parents' identity from him (which he still doesn't know) since he had frequently asked him about them in the past.
"Well, one of them was," Hiruzen answered vaguely.
Naruto's eyes dimmed a little but his enthusiasm was blinding nonetheless, "Oh… so, what's special about Uzumakis anyway, y'know? Are they strong? Do they have magic eyes like the Uchiha or freaky eyes like the Hyuga? I hope they were not as stuck up as them though. Or do they eat like Akimichi? Or maybe they are pranksters like me –"
"Wait, wait Naruto-kun slow down. You are comparing them with other clans of our village. They were a different clan, with different abilities. No 'magic eyes' or anything. And no, they were not known for being pranksters," Sarutobi cringed. God knows he does not need any motivation for pranks. "Though I do believe a majority of them were proficient in seals. They were also known for having exceptionally large and strong chakra reserves and longevity."
"Awesome! So, my parents were seal masters? Or parent, or whatever," Naruto asked and shrugged a bit forcibly at the end.
"They were pretty good in sealing arts," Sarutobi told him.
"I am so becoming the next best seal master," Naruto claimed dreamily but determinedly.
Hiruzen let out a breathy laugh and chastised him playfully, "I thought you wanted to become the next best Hokage, Naruto-kun. Now you hear about some seals and I am forgotten already? I am hurt."
"No, no, Jiji," Naruto waved his hands reassuringly in the air, still jumping in excitement, "I am still gonna become a Hokage. I will become a seal master as well as the Hokage. I will be so great, y'know. Can you imagine it Jiji? I will be the greatest shinobi there is. Everyone will love me so much," and Naruto went into his own world of greatness.
Hiruzen just sat there with an affectionate smile and occasionally chuckling at his student's godson's proclamations.
Soon he came back to Earth and remembered he doesn't know a thing about seals, "Oh, I almost forgot. How will I learn about seals, Jiji? We were not told about anything like that in the Academy," he scratched his head sheepishly, not sure if he was correct. Should've listened to Iruka-sensei in the class.
"Hmm. I do believe seals are not in the Academy curriculum. And there are not many seal masters, too. Not even in Konoha," Hiruzen thought out loud.
The only seal master he knew about was Jiraiya. And he was still on a long-term mission. Others like himself and Kakashi only knew enough about it.
But then he saw Naruto's expression drop and his eyes went to his shuffling shoes. He retracked his words a bit, "But there are some books on Uzumaki clan and seals in the library, if I am right. Maybe they can help you until our residential seal user is back in the village."
And just like that Naruto was back to all rainbows and sunshine smiles and laughs, "Alright!" He fisted a hand in the air and, "Library, here I come."
Just as he turned around, Hiruzen panicked and stopped him, "Wait, Naruto-kun."
He turned around with a large grin, "Yeah, Jiji?"
"You can't just go and start learning or practicing seals, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen told him and Naruto frowned, confused. "It requires a very good chakra control. How much have you learned in Academy?"
"Um, we are at the leaf exercise, I think. Why? Is it not good enough?" Naruto said, squinty-eyed.
"No, it's not. You have barely started it yet. When you are good enough at Transformation Jutsu, come to me and I will give you some chakra control exercises. Only when and I repeat only when you perfect them will you try out any seals. Understood, Naruto-kun?"
"But, but Jiji," Naruto whined, "we will start learning Transformation Jutsu after four months. Four! It will take me so much time to perfect it, y'know. I can't wait for so long. What will I do till then?"
"Till then you can read about the Uzumaki clan and learn the theory part – only theory part – of the seals. There's plenty of that there. Did I mention you must learn calligraphy before even thinking about seals?" Hiruzen asked in a much-too-innocent voice.
"Calligraphy? Isn't that writing or something?" Naruto asked and the whined again seeing Sarutobi's nod, "Ah! You didn't tell me seals were all about reading and writing."
"Oh, so I guess you wouldn't want to become a seal master if there's so much study to do," Hiruzen cocked an eyebrow.
"No, no, no, no. No way. I'm still gonna become the become the best Hokage and seal master. You just wait and see, you geezer," Naruto stated loudly and pointed a finger at the Third.
"Alright, then, Naruto-kun. How about this – come here in a few weeks and I'll have a scroll with chakra control exercises for you that will help you in seals. Until then, you can go to library and read about the Uzumaki clan and its techniques," Third Hokage offered.
"Yeah, I can do that, Jiji. Two weeks, then?" Naruto asked to confirm.
"Two weeks, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen reassured the boy with a smile and a nod.
"Alright!" Naruto jumped up with a fist in the air, "I'm off to the library." And he went to the door.
Naruto looked back at Hiruzen, to say, "see you soon," as he always did but was interrupted by Hiruzen before he even opened his mouth.
"Naruto-kun, are you not… upset that I did not tell you about it sooner? You did used to ask about them frequently."
Naruto stopped and turned fully toward the Hokage. He stood quietly for a second or two and answered honestly, "Well, no not much." He dropped his head and started kicking the back of his feet on the ground softly, "I had known you knew their identities for years. I figured you must have had a pretty good reason for that, y'know."
Naruto looked up straight into the eyes of the Hokage and Sarutobi saw the unconcealed request to confirm his assumptions there.
"Yes, Naruto-kun, I do have a good reason for that. And I apologize for hiding it from you. I'm sure you will know when the time comes. But what do you mean 'you had known'?"
Naruto hesitated but answered in a small voice, "You used to say that they were good people and shinobi when I used to ask you about them. I liked to believe they weren't just… empty words."
Sarutobi smiled lovingly at the child before him, "They weren't, Naruto-kun."
Naruto grinned like his usual way and gave a thumbs up, "Thanks, Jiji."
And with that he bolted out of the room shouting a, "See you next time, old man." Just like he always did.
Good to know some things never change.
Sarutobi smiled happily at the open door and made a mental note to make a scroll for chakra control exercises as soon as he could.
...
Naruto knew what was going to happen before he even entered the building. He had visited the Konoha Library twice before and he didn't expect a welcome any different now than before.
But it couldn't hurt to try again, right?
So, he sucked it up and entered the open doors and walked inside, mentally preparing himself for the words he knew would come the moment he would enter the vision of the Librarian.
"And what do you want in here, brat? Planning another prank so soon?" the Librarian's voice stopped him just as he expected.
"Uh, no. I just wanted to read a few books, y'know," Naruto answered timidly, hoping she would let him go this time, now that he actually has a good reason. Even he could admit 'exploring the playground' and 'chasing a cat that entered this building' were some lousy excuses.
Now that he thought about it, wasn't this the actual reason to come to the library? He should have used it before when he wanted to set up his prank in here.
"Yeah, right. So, you finally realized this is a place to study?" the Librarian sneered at him.
"Yes. So, if I could just…" Naruto said and started to walk inside from his place beside the desk. But a long steel scale right in front of his face stopped him.
"You are not allowed here," she had leaned over the table and was now scowling disgustedly at him. "Go, scram," she said with a wave of her free hand.
Naruto made a face at that, "And why am I not? Old Man Third have given me permission to come here."
"Hokage-sama has given everyone permission to come here. It is up to me to decide who is actually allowed to enter. You are not," she told him peskily.
"And why not?" he asked in the same tone.
"Because I don't want my library to be another one of your Ground Zero," she piped.
"I am not planning a prank, y'know. I promise! I really just wanted some books," Naruto pressed desperately.
"Oh, yeah? I am not giving you any books just so you can play with them, or ruin them, or tear them, or whatever it is you wanted to do with them," she snapped sharply.
"I am just going to read them, nothing else," Naruto insisted.
He just received a disgusting glare in return.
"I said no," she said in a steely voice, ending the squabble. "Now, shoo."
Naruto stood there firmly for a few seconds, before fisting his hands and darting out of the open doors into the streets of village.
He walked aimlessly in the streets, fuming and thinking about any other way to enter the library – or break into it if there's no other way. Ignoring all the looks being sent toward him from the villagers was almost second nature to him, now. He could almost pretend there weren't any when he was lost in his thoughts like this. It helped a lot.
He stopped abruptly when suddenly a detail from his previous talk with the Hokage popped into his mind.
He grinned widely and a couple of villagers that were going to pass by him shivered and decided to wait ahead of him in a stall for a few seconds. His eyes refocused and he saw that he was in the clothing lane of the Shopping District. He looked at the general direction in front of him and flew right out of the district. He knew what he was going to do.
The people waiting because of him released a smug and relieved sigh and went on their merry way, ignoring those few who were sprawled on the floor due to the little demon's flight. They should have known better.
In a few minutes Naruto was standing outside the Academy gates. He entered the building and saw it was half an hour past the time when classes are supposed to be over. By now there would only be a few teachers in the staff room and the kids for detention – which meant none since it would be a fitful day when anyone other than himself would be in detention. Well, sometimes there are Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji with me, too.
Anyways, that meant the person he came here for should be here, too.
He made his way to his class and grinned when he saw the open door. He ran inside and saw Iruka-sensei look up from his desk.
"Naruto?" he asked, a bit surprised to see the blond at Academy at this hour.
Naruto clapped his hands in front of him, and made the most innocent puppy face he could manage, "Hey, Iruka-sensei, can you teach me the Transformation Jutsu a bit early?"