It was finally time. Naruto was released from the hospital a while ago. There was much rebuilding and missions to be done, and Danzo didn't have any missions for Naruto, so he was left alone except for last night when Danzo informed him that he would meet the Yondaime that night.
It was weird to have Danzo explain his parenthood to him and remind him of things he was allowed and not allowed to say. After ensuring everything was perfect, Danzo told him to be at the hospital around noon.
From what Naruto was told, it took them a while to confirm Minato's identity and explain everything to him. Of course, it was hard to explain to him that he missed a decade of time. Although, due to preservation seals, he hadn't aged, but everyone around him did.
There were many meetings with the clan heads, who all wanted to see their friend. Naruto spent the last few days trying to get himself ready, but he really wasn't. Itachi and Shisui weren't back in the village yet, and he was alone.
Naruto wanted to talk to someone, but he couldn't really talk about the situation to anyone. His friends in the academy didn't have clearance to know most of it, and the ones who had clearance to the part were not in reach.
Naruto retreated to his mind to talk to Kurama for a bit. Naruto felt Kakashi approaching. He felt his chakra. Sadness, confusion, regret, and anger. But the anger wasn't directed at him. Naruto knew why. He was probably told about his identity.
Kakashi was in his ANBU uniform and asked Naruto to follow him. Naruto could hear the sound of his own heartbeat. He was doing his best not to show any outward reactions since he was sure the ROOT was watching.
They finally reached a door. Kakashi opened it and motioned for him to go inside. Naruto forced himself to take those steps that felt infinite. It was just a few meters, but to him, it was stretching into kilometers. He felt as if the time was moving in slow motion.
He was finally inside. It was a medical room, and Minato… NO. His father was standing next to his hospital bed. He was wearing a hospital shirt and pants, and he looked… alive. He was looking at Naruto with so many emotions.
Naruto could feel pain and sadness from him. His eyes were shining with unshed tears. Naruto walked closer, but he didn't know what to do. They both kept looking at each other as if they were memorizing every detail.
Finally, the silence became too much, and Naruto decided to say something. "Hi." He managed to say. Voice small and hesitant.
"Hello, Naruto-kun," Minato said, trying to keep his voice soft and even. Naruto was reminded of how people talked to scared animals. His father was worried to scare him. "Do you… know who I am?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Naruto shifted from one foot to the other. He finally nodded slightly. "You are Minato Namikaze. You are the fourth Hokage… and… and my father." Naruto dropped his gaze to the ground after he said the last word.
Minato moved his hand to reach for him, but Naruto flinched a little and he drew back. "That's right. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for not being there for you. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'm so sorry you grew up without a family. I'm…." at this point, he was starting to hyperventilate. Voice shaking as he was sobbing.
Something in Naruto just reacted, and in a split second, he reached for his father. Holding him. hugging him, and burying his face in his stomach. His father stopped. "It's ok. I forgive you. It wasn't your fault." Naruto said. Voice muffled with his head buried into his fathers' clothes.
Minato sank into his knees. Dragging Naruto down with him. Bringing his arms in Naruto in a desperate manner. Trying to bring him closer. The hug was tight, and they were both crying, but it didn't matter. Naruto was holding his alive father, and that meant everything to him.
They just held on and cried for what seemed like forever. Finally, they were calm enough to speak again. "There is so much I want to tell you," Naruto said. Voice is still a bit shaky from all the crying. He picked his head from where it was, buried into his father's shoulder, to look at him.
His father looked at him with such a gentle and kind smile. He reached with a hand to wipe the tear tracks on Naruto's cheeks. a"Well, it's a good thing that we have some time to ourselves then." He then pulled Naruto towards himself again. Putting his chin on top of Naruto's head. Breathing deeply, trying to memorize his scent.
So Naruto started talking. There was so much he couldn't tell. Things about the details of his training or missions. But there was also so much else to tell. His friends. Itachi, Shisui, and also the other shinobi he knew.
About himself and his hobbies, likes, and dislikes. There was so much to talk about, so he talked for hours. At some point, a nurse brought them some food, but that didn't stop Naruto from talking. He talked as much as he could.
His father listened. He laughed at his funny moments and got sad over his struggles. Naruto had never experienced something like this. For this one night, he felt like himself. Yes, there were secrets, but there were no lies.
He told him everything he could, and at some point, he didn't remember he fell asleep. He woke up in bed. Feeling well rested and comfortable. He was snuggled to his father's side. Head resting on his father's chest and arms around him.
His father's arms were also around him. Naruto didn't want to move. So instead, he decided to listen to his heartbeat. His father was alive and well. Naruto wanted nothing more than to stay with his father. To live and learn from him. to be loved by him.
But he had a duty, and he had to go. he tried to wiggle out from his father's embrace, but the commotion woke him up. They stared at each other for a second, wondering what to say. "Good morning." Naruto finally said.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun," Minato said as he finally let go of Naruto to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"I'm sorry to have woken you up. I have a few things to take care of today." Naruto said, getting up to go.
"Ok. I will be discharged from the hospital soon. They are going to announce my return in 2 days." Minato said as he sat up in bed.
"Oh, that is great to hear. I can show you around when it is done?" Naruto asked.
"Of course. That would be amazing." His father reached a hand and ruffled his hair. Naruto pouted a little but then gave a bright smile before leaving.
It's been a week, and the village was on high alert. While most of the damage was contained outside the village, there was still enough to cause short-term problems. They had to clean up the battle sights. It was a tedious task but a necessary one.
In a shinobi fight, there was a lot of damage to the surrounding. There would be weapons around and signs of the ninjutsu used. If enemy ninjas came to the scene, they could use many of these as a form of information.
What kinds of ninjutsu did the village specialize in. what were some of the tactics used? How did they use their surroundings? How did they combine their powers? How many people were involved in each fight? How much damage could they use? And even how is the quality of their weapons and equipment.
The body of a ninja was full of secrets as well. So it was standard protocol to send clean-up teams to the sights needed in case of reports. The shinobi in these clean-up groups were usually chunin, and in case it was a dangerous sight, they would be accompanied by hunter-nin. All hunter nin were specialized in these kinds of tasks since it was a required skill for their job.
Since they were still on high alert, there were teams of chunin and hunter-nin taking care of the sights. Naruto was currently with one of these teams heading for the border. He was on an official mission to visit all of the fire countries' outposts and resupply all their seals and, in case of need, apply barriers and other kinds of seals.
It was a tedious task, but Naruto was one of the only frontline seal masters. If there was a confrontation, he would be able to defend himself. Not that he thought he would come across anyone. The ROOT and ANBU have swiped the whole country to ensure there were no more threats.
The ROOT was still actively on duty to search for any place enemy might have hidden. Even a lot of their spies were called back to be located in smaller villages of fire country where enemies can hide. So far, there was nothing suspicious.
They couldn't afford to let their guard down yet. Their major spies were keeping their eyes and ears open in the major villages in case any of them wanted to make a move. The news of Yandaime's return was kept to the village.
There was a lot of commotion at first, but no one wanted enemies at their doorstep, so they kept their mouths shut. Naruto saw his father once more before being sent on this mission. His father was going to stay temporarily in the Uzumaki temple since it had the best security.
His house was destroyed during the Kyubi attack, so they were looking into finding him a suitable place. Kakashi offered his father to stay with him, but his house only had one bedroom, so it wasn't possible. Instead, he decided to also move to the temple to act as his bodyguard.
His father insisted that he was fine, but it had been a decade, and they were all worried about him. Naruto, of course, was happy to provide them with a place and showed them around the temple. His father was excited to get his hand on more sealing material. Naruto also warned them that his friends liked to visit the shrine often, so they wouldn't get surprised.
This brought Naruto to another problem at hand. The night before his departure, all the clan heads decided to host a party together, to welcome Minato back officially and catch up with him. Minato insisted that Naruto should also come.
Naruto relented, and he got mixed reactions from the clan heads. He looked very similar to both of his parents. It wasn't a shock in the sense of possibility, more along the lines of not knowing the truth. Of course, Minato explained what he knew to them so they weren't hard on Naruto.
But it also brought up the fact that Naruto was the Jinchuuriki, even if it wasn't explicitly mentioned. All they needed to do was to put the facts together. Son of the Yondaime, who was a half Uzumaki. Trained by Danzo.
Naruto wasn't really bothered by it. Instead, he spent most of that night chatting with his friends. They had a bigger reaction than their parents. Most importantly, they were all so happy for Naruto to find his family.
Naruto felt a bit down since Itachi and Shisui weren't there, but he got to hang out with his friends. At the end of the night, his father announced that over the next few months, he would take back his role as the Hokage, and he would officially name Itachi as his successor, and once Itachi was deemed ready by a test that would be designed for him, he can become the Hokage.
Everyone congratulated Fugaku, who had a small and proud smile. It was a memorable night, and Naruto got to learn that Yoshino, Mikoto, and Tsume had made a chaotic trio. They had a drinking competition. And Naruto doesn't want to think about the events that happened after it.
Just that they roped all the other women to also enter their contest, and drunk women can be scary. And they can magically break through any fuinjutsu barrier and beat their husbands if they even attempt to stop them.
Naruto had to get his drunk emotional father back to the temple that night, and it took his combined efforts with Kakashi to make him let go of Naruto.
