xxx Namikaze Compound xxx
Naruto, his team, Himari, and Sora entered the house after registering the two as citizens of Konoha, Naruto showed the two around, introducing them to the others while Mito, Akari, and Akira sat on the couch discussing how well their first C-rank went.
"Well, that's everything, and all I ask you to do is clean a little when you can, however, the house doesn't get that dirty, it's mostly dust that forms in the sections we rarely use." he was interrupted when a slug appeared on his shoulder.
"Lady Tsunade wishes to speak with you." it said before disappearing.
"Hmm, I wonder what she wants?" he mused out loud "Well, might as well go see." he gave the two across from him a two-finger salute "See ya later!" then he was gone.
Tsunade was annoyed, she has to deal with the perverted Toad Sannin, who was attempting to seduce her, very poorly might she add. She was saved from the man's insufferable rambling when there was a flash of yellow hair in front of her desk and Naruto stood grinning at her.
"What do you need, Tsunade?" he asked.
"Hey, brat! Show her some respect, it's Lord Tsunade to you!" An annoying voice said to his left, causing him to turn towards it, completely missing the tickmark that appeared on Tsunade's head, before he could speak she beat him to it.
"My godson shows me plenty of respect, Jiraiya, I told him from day one of me taking this job to call me whatever he liked." she said annoyed.
"Well, anything but old" Naruto joked, before putting his hands in a placating manner "I'm joking, I don't know why it bothers you so much, you're not even that old." he said, with a genuine smile.
Tsunade didn't respond, since he's said the same thing multiple times before, but she wouldn't deny that she felt good whenever he said she wasn't old, even if he joked about her age every so often, she knew he didn't mean it one bit.
Jiraiya was doing a very good impression of a fish out of water, before finally finding his voice and turning to him "N-Naruto?" he asked shocked "I thought you left twelve years ago." This sentence made the air in the room go cold, and Jiraiya knew he just fucked up.
Naruto was the first to speak "What do you mean, left the village? Did you know I was alive this whole time?" he asked, his voice icy and his blue eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Uh… Yeah?" was Jiraiya's brilliant response, before he felt killing intent directed at his back, he turned slowly, his face going pale when he saw Tsunade's face.
"You told me he was dead." she hissed, barely able to control her anger.
"I did, but you have to understan-" he was cut off by a fist to the face, courtesy of a pissed-off, busty blonde Hokage. He flew out of the office, crashing through multiple buildings, before coming to a stop.
"He's supposed to be my godfather?" Naruto asked, visibly angry.
"No, I think he just lost that right?" Tsunade said, her voice deadly.
"I think I agree, I originally wanted his help teaching Mito some seals that he knows, but I think we can live without those." he hissed the last part.
"Well, I sent for you to meet him, and now that you have, I guess you're dismissed." Naruto nodded, and was about the flash away before she stopped him "Oh, don't forget, the Chunin exams start again in three months, I assume that you want to enter your team into it."
Naruto nodded, asking "Which village is hosting it this time."
"Suna, apparently that kid Gaara became the Kazekage after they learned his father was murdered by Orochimaru."
He smiled "It's nice to see that kid is making full use of the second chance he was given."
Tsunade agreed "Well, I'll get the paperwork done when the time comes, I assume you'd be their Jonin sensei?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes." was all he said, before flashing to his house.
xxx Two Months Later Takigakure Border xxx
Naruto was surprised when Tsunade gave him this C-rank solo mission to Taki to discuss trade relations between them and Konoha, he complained about not being able to take his team, but Tsunade's decision on the matter was final, apparently, Taki was very wary of outsider's and didn't let more than one shinobi from another village in at a time.
He didn't like that fact, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was jumping across tree branches when he noticed something white lying on the ground, curious, he dropped down near the object, only to realize that it wasn't an object, but a young girl, she appeared to be roughly the same age as Mito and was visibly malnourished, he guessed she hadn't eaten in a few days.
Noticing that it was getting late and he'd have to stop for the night anyway, he picked the unconscious girl up and set up camp in a nearby cave, he laid the girl in his only sleeping bag and sat by the campfire, he then realized that he didn't have any more rations, sighing he summoned a shadow clone to watch the girl while he went hunting for some food.
Thirty minutes later he was cooking some of the deer he had killed when the girl began to stir. She shot up, looking around in panic before her eyes landed on Naruto "Yo!" he said with a wave.
"Who are you?" the girl asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Ah, where are my manners, my name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, what's yours?" he asked with a smile.
The girl still seemed suspicious of him, but answered anyway "Fu" She then looked at the deer meat that was skewered over the fire.
Naruto, noticing this, picked up one of them and offered it to her "Want some? I fixed plenty so you can eat your fill."
Fu's orange eyes widened in surprise, no one had ever offered her food willingly, and that fact made her suspicious of the food "It's not poisoned, right?" she asked, feeling the need to make sure.
The blonde across from her looked genuinely hurt by her question, which made her feel a little guilty, after all, he had spent the time to cook it only for her to ask if it was poisoned.
"I swear on my life that it's not." he said, the hurt evident in his voice and his expression.
Fu nodded, taking the skewer and apologizing "Sorry, I… I have trust issues."
The blonde's eyes softened upon hearing that "I see, may I ask why?" he saw a look of pain flash across her eyes and decided to give the girl an out "You don't have to if it's too painful." the girl only nodded before her eyes glazed over.
Naruto recognized that look as the same one Mito got when she was talking with Kurama, it dawned on him that he was probably talking to a Jinchuriki (Power of the Human Sacrifice), he was curious, and without thinking it through he blurted out "You're a Jinchuriki?"
This seemed to break the girl from her thoughts, and when his question seemed to sink in, she froze, Naruto waved his hand in front of her face "Are you alright?"
Fu blinked and looked at him with trepidation "H-How did you know?" she asked fearful that he would attack her.
"Ah, sorry" he rubbed the back of his head "My sister's eyes also glaze over when she talks to her Bijuu." he said sheepishly.
"Your sister is like me?" she asked, shocked
"Yeah, I've been raising her since she was born, so I know a lot about it." he flashed her a smile.
Fu nodded, still a little stunned and she felt she had to ask him "Y-You don't hate people like me?"
It was Naruto's turn to be shocked "No, why would I? It's not like you asked to be one."
Fu couldn't believe it, she was told that everyone hated people like her and that the only safe place was the outskirts of the village.
"Hey, Fu?" Naruto's voice hit her ears causing her to look up at him "Why were you unconscious in the forest?" she froze up once again, but after a moment she calmed down, and for some reason felt that she could trust him with her story.
"The village I come from tells me to stay on the outskirts because I'm safer there, but it's so hard to find food and I don't know how to hunt." Naruto cut her off.
"Wait, you live alone, in the woods? Does someone take care of you? How long has it been this way?" he rapidly asked.
Fu blinked, she didn't know why he cared so much, but she gave him what he wanted "I live alone, and no, no one takes care of me. It's been this way since I was five." tears had formed in the corner of her eyes.
"What?" the blonde yelled before lowering his voice when he saw the girl flinch "How old are you now?" he asked in a quieter tone, which was much scarier than his yell.
"Eleven." she answered him and watched as his face became enraged.
"Your village forced you to live alone for six years? With no one around you?" he asked, his tone dangerous, but it was clear it wasn't directed at her.
Fu only nodded before asking "Why do you care?"
Naruto stared into the girl's eyes for a long moment, he knew that the question was genuine but that made the question even worse "I don't need a reason to care, I just simply do." he said after a pause.
"Huh?" was all she could say
"I care because I want to." Naruto reaffirmed his previous statement. "One more question, what village are you from?" he knew there was a few minor villages around the border.
"Takigakure." she said.
"What? Taki?" Naruto asked, before getting lost in thought for a moment "This changes my mission, I refuse to willingly discuss trade with a village that kicks a five-year-old out to fend for herself." he then went through hand seals and summoned a small, black, 3-tailed fox, much to Fu's amazement.
"Hey Yorumi, Tell Tsunade that I'm second-guessing our trade deal with Taki" he then explained the full situation to her and asked her to return to tell him what Tsunade said.
Fu and Naruto talked while they waited for Yorumi, Fu had begun to enjoy the time she spent with Naruto and didn't want it to end but she knew he'd leave her sooner or later. Just as she finished that thought there was a poof and Yorumi was sitting in Naruto's lap.
"Lady Tsunade told me to tell you that she agrees with you about canceling the trade deal with Taki, and she left the decision of what to do about Fu to you." Yorumi informed Naruto, before going poof back to the realm of the foxes.
Naruto hummed in thought, before looking at Fu "So, what do you want to do?"
"What?" she inquired.
"Well, I personally don't want to leave you living in the forest alone, so I'm asking you what you want to do, whether it's staying here or coming with me. However, if you decide to stay here I'm building you a house with my mark on it so I can visit you to bring you supplies." he stated.
Fu didn't know how to respond, so she sat back against the wall of the cave and looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. After a long moment of silence, she looked at Naruto "What if I went with you?" she wasn't expecting much, she thought he'd say that he'd get her a house in his village or something along those lines.
"Hmm, I don't mind in the least, you could live with my family and me, or you could get your own place." he mused.
She expected the last part, not the first "Live with your family?" she asked to clarify what she heard.
"Yeah. My home's always open to those who need it, plus I'm sure you, Mito, and Hanabi would get along well." Hinata was unfortunately still living with Hiashi but it looked like any moment he'd disown her.
"I- I don't know, I've never lived with anyone before." she said
"Well, whatever you chose, I'll do what I can to make sure you're not lonely anymore." he smiled at her.
Fu once again fell into deep thought, and decided to ask her tenant about it 'Hey, Chomei, what do you think?'
'I think you should go with him, I can tell that he's strong and I bet he'd protect those he deems worthy with his life.' Chomei said in Fu's head
'Okay, I also want to go with him, mainly because what he described sounds like a family to me and I've always wanted a family' Fu thought to her tenant.
Naruto noticed the glazed look return to Fu's eyes and realized she was discussing this with the Bijuu, he decided to wait patiently for them to decide.
After a moment Fu looked at Naruto "I'll go and live with you."
Naruto nodded before putting his hand on his chin "Hey, you mind if speak with your Bijuu?" he asked
Fu blinked, as did the Bijuu inside her "Huh?" she asked.
"I've had plenty of experience with seals and I managed to develop a seal-based jutsu that allows me to enter a Jinchuriki's mindscape and talk with the Bijuu." he answered the stunned Fu.
"I guess" was as all she could say.
"Awesome!" Naruto cheered, went through hand seals, and placed his hand on Fu's seal, and before Fu could react she felt the familiar pull of entering her mindscape she stood across from Chomei with Naruto on her right.
"It worked!" Chomei said in shock, she couldn't believe the blonde pulled it off.
"It's nice to meet you, the names Naruto, what's yours?" he asked with the causality of someone who was talking to an old friend.
Chomei didn't answer for a moment, wondering what this mortal was thinking "I don't tell everyone I meet my name." she said with a huff.
Naruto's face dropped to a sad one "Oh, sorry, Kurama did say you all were particular about your names."
Chomei's eye's widened, she never expected Kurama to tell a mortal his name and she was even more shocked when she realized that meant his sister had him sealed inside of her "Wait, Kurama told you his name, and he's sealed into your sister?"
The blonde nodded "Yeah, he and I are practically friends, though I doubt he'd admit it."
This shocked Chomei further, Kurama? Friends with a mortal? It seemed impossible, but she sensed no deception from the man "You two are friends?" she asked to confirm.
"Yeah, we've known each other for six years and even though we only talk when I do this Jutsu with my sister we've become good friends, I've actually been trying to find a way to link my mind with my sister's mindscape so we can talk whenever, but it's proven to be difficult." he said, a hint of frustration about not being able to accomplish that.
"Amazing!" Fu said "You're awesome!"
"Not really, I've had help from my sister with the seal, she's a true genius when it comes to them." he said, pride in his sister evident in his voice.
"You taught her right?" Chomei asked
He nodded "I taught her all I knew, but she recently surpassed me, creating seals that I never thought possible and I'd like to keep them a secret since I don't want any unsavory people learning about it."
"I understand, those people would attempt to use her knowledge to further their own ends." Chomei agreed.
"Well, It's been an honor talking with you, Chomei but we need to get out of here before people from Taki show up looking for Fu." he then looked at Fu "How attached to your hair color are you?"
She tilted her head to the side in confusion "Why?"
"Well, legally this is called kidnapping, and It would be better for both of us if we claimed I found you alone with no parents and no attachments to any village, changing your hair color with permanent chakra dye would make the lie more believable." he informed her.
"Most of what you said was the truth." Chomei pointed out
"True, however, it would keep Taki from learning of Fu's identity and she'd literally disappear," he stated.
"Does this imply you also wish to change her name?" Chomei inquired.
"That's entirely up to her, though if she is okay with it, I've already thought of a name that will allow her to use her real name as a nickname of sorts." he answered.
"What's the name?" Fu asked, wanting to hear the name before deciding.
"Fumiko, and we'd call you "Fu" for short." he said.
"Wouldn't that be suspicious? She disappeared and not even a day later a girl shows up in Konoha named Fumiko and everybody calls her Fu?" Chomei asked, confused.
"It would, if everyone called her Fu right away, but if we only call her that in private and slowly start calling her that in public it would be more believable as a nickname that slowly emerged." he said with a nod.
"True, however, I'm curious, what hair color would you give her, and what about her eyes?" Chomei asked.
"That's up to her, however as it stands I only have temporary chakra dye and there are only a few colors white, black, auburn, and blue. I use these when I need a disguise on the go and they don't take long to apply and can be removed manually later, but they do fade away after a day." he said.
Fu thought about it for a second, she really loved her mint-colored hair, but she couldn't deny that Naruto made sense, and the last thing she wanted was to be forced to come back to this village "Let's do it!" she said with a determined nod.
"Even the name change?" Naruto asked to clarify, she nodded in response "Okay, the only people who know about your true identity are me, and my godmother. You have full control over who else knows, though I'd like for my family to know I won't force you to tell them." he smiled.
"You said your godmother knows, who's she?" Fu asked, curious.
"Ah, she's the Hokage of the village we're going to." he grinned.
Fu and even Chomei's eyes widened at that "Your godmother is the leader of a village?" she said, her eyes wide.
He nodded "Yep, my father was the fourth Hokage while she's the fifth."
If possible Fu's eyes widened further "Your dad was a Hokage as well?"
"Yeah, he was known as the Yellow Flash around the Elemental Nations." he said, a hint of sadness in his voice, Fu missed it but Chomei didn't, she decided to file it away for later.
"Well!" Naruto said clapping his hand together "Shall we go?" he asked them.
Fu nodded "Yes, I want to meet your family." they left the mindscape and Fu underwent the hair and eye color change, choosing auburn, with sea green eyes, she then climbed onto Naruto's back when he offered, and then they set off for Konoha.
A/N Sorry for the wait, and not giving the jutsu that allows Naruto to enter a Jinhuriki's mindscape a name, I searched through multiple options, and nothing really fit. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them, anyway, until next time. Love ya!
