Author Notes- Hello fellow readers! So, I had gotten kind of busy during the entire weekend and I didn't get much time to finish the chapter earlier. Well, its done now.
Now, in this chapter, Naruto finally asks his father to join the ANBU and the seal holding Kurama is also undone. And no, Kurama is not out of Naruto, he's just outside the seal now. The scene I have shown between Naruto and Sasuke, is just the start of their relationship. And, Sasuke won't change just after that talk. He will change through the experiences he will go through. He will think hard on what Naruto told him and then decide for himself. Now, I do believe Kurama knows a bit about the mangekyo sharingan, due to Madara putting him under a genjutsu and controlling him. In overall, this chapter just leads to Naruto joining the ANBU.
[Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.]
Anyway let's continue with the story
Chapter 9: Moving Ahead
"Okasan…" Naruto greeted her with a little smile.
Glancing back towards the blond, Tsunade was taken aback to see the warmth and understanding his eyes held. She would have said something about his right eye, having never seen a doujutsu like that, but she held that thought away. She moved closer and stood right in front of him. She noticed he was about four feet and eleven inches, being only a few inches shorter than her.
Without saying anything further, she hugged him tightly as a few tears dropped from her eyes. Jiraiya and Shizune smiled, seeing her this way. They both knew how tough the past had been for her in Konoha and for her to come back to the village was a big step. But if one were to notice the Toad Sannin carefully, he had a thoughtful look on his face. The moment he had seen Naruto's right eye, he knew what it was. Having taught a child earlier at the end of Second Shinobi War, Jiraiya knew quite a bit about the rinnegan.
"I'm so sorry. I should have come sooner…" whispered Tsunade softly in his ear. Wrapping his arms around his godmother, Naruto hugged her back. A few seconds later, she let go of Naruto and cupped his cheeks gently. She noticed how eerily similar Naruto looked to his grandfather, Madara. She had met the man only on a couple of occasions when she was just a child. Despite that similarity, she observed how much he resembled his parents.
"You look so much like your parents, Naruto." Tsunade said with a smile, as she stood up. Having heard that on many occasions, Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a slight chuckle.
"We should get going inside. Tou-chan must be waiting Jiraiya oji-chan, Okasan…" Naruto looked at the brunette woman awkwardly, not knowing who she was. Shizune saw the confusion on his face and realized she hadn't introduced herself yet.
"I'm Shizune Kato. I have been travelling with Tsunade-sama since I was young." Shizune introduced herself gently. She had always been interested in meeting with young Naruto. She had known his mother Kushina from her academy and genin days in Konoha.
"It is nice to meet you, Shizune-chan." Naruto replied with a small smile.
"Alright, let's get inside and talk, shall we? We need to meet Minato anyway." Jiraiya stated. Naruto, Tsunade and Shizune picked up the seriousness in his voice and nodded their heads. Without another thought, all four of them walked into the house.
The Library Room, Namikaze Compound
Minato sat on his desk going through the paperwork for the reconstruction of some of the buildings that were damaged during last night's attack. Even though precautions were taken against them in the given amount of time, not all the locations were covered in time, mainly the ones hit due to the explosive tags. As he flipped through the pages, he clicked his tongue in irritation as he found several complaints from the former civilian council members about their sudden discharge. Taking those out of the pile of papers, Minato kept them in a separate folder which normally contained documents which were irrelevant to the functioning of the village.
Going back to the previous papers, Minato sighed, looking at large pile that was still left. Yesterday's attack, which was led by Danzo, had taken a larger toll on the village than he had thought. The Uchiha Clan had provided quality shinobi since the founding of the village to serve as village protection as well as to fight on the front lines during times of attack. With majority of them gone now, the number of shinobi in the regular shinobi forces had reduced drastically. He was aware that in the last decade or so, due to the temporary peace, several of the villages' shinobi system had become lax. Due to that, most of the students graduating from the academy were not well versed with the shinobi lifestyle. Many took solace in the temporary peace that has reigned over the five great nations, and most shinobi did not train themselves further to advance their skills.
'Maybe I should increase the graduating age of the current academy student. That way, they will have more time to learn about the practicalities of shinobi life and possess more advanced skills to better help them survive outside the village.' Minato thought. He was so busy in his thoughts that he did not hear the approaching footsteps or the sound of the room's door opening.
"Tou-chan?" Naruto called out as he saw his father spacing out in his thoughts. Minato came out of his inner musings when he heard his son's voice. Looking towards the door, he was relieved to see Naruto along with Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune. He smiled a little on seeing a Slug Sannin. It had been a long time since he had last seen her.
"Jiraiya-sensei, Tsunade-sama, Shizune. You guys came earlier than I expected." Minato said as he got up from his seat to greet them. Getting inside the room, Jiraiya and Tsunade took the seats in front of Minato's table, while Naruto stood beside is father's desk and Shizune stood beside her master.
"I suppose it was about time I got back to Konoha. It's been many years since I was gone." Tsunade said, albeit a bit somberly.
"It is good to see you again, Tsunade-sama. I wish it were under better circumstances however." Minato replied. Tsunade bitterly nodded. Despite not having much contact with the Uchiha Clan, she knew they were an important part of Konoha and their loss was a tragic event.
"How are you doing, Shizune?" Minato asked.
"I… uh… have been well Hokage-sama." Shizune said. It was her first time standing before the Yondaime Hokage. She had heard great tales about the man, who single handedly won Konoha the Third Shinobi War. In a way, she admired him for his duties to Konoha.
"So, what did you need me for?" Tsunade questioned bluntly.
"Well, I have given much thought to it. With the loss of the Uchiha Clan, the number of shinobi in our regular ninja forces have reduced greatly. The Uchiha Clan provided shinobi proficient in all arts, varying from taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu and even medical ninjutsu. So, I would like you to look you to take control of the hospital, look over the shinobi who want to pursue medical ninjutsu and the medical advancement in Konoha. With the way things are moving forward in the Elemental Nations right now, I don't want to take any chances." Minato said seriously.
Tsunade seemed to be in deep thought, going over her options about whether to stay in the village. Everyone she cared for in this village had died due to the constant war that plagued the Great Five nations. Looking at the uncertainty that came over her face, Jiraiya understood what she was thinking about.
"He's right Tsunade. You should stay in the village. There's no one better than you in the medical field currently. I know you have lost almost everyone you cared for in this village, but it doesn't have be that way anymore. With your help, we can prevent the losses we may have. More people can be taught the value of medical ninjutsu. It won't be like the past… You don't have to hide anymore. If you look around, you still have family left in this place." Jiraiya said comfortingly. Minato understood it was a hard decision for her to make. But he hoped she would make the right decision.
Tsunade's eyes moved to Naruto briefly, who was standing quietly beside the desk with his eyes closed. The way he was standing, it seemed to her that he has experienced his own share of sorrow and grief. She was aware there was nothing stopping her to leave the village right now but she still couldn't get the feeling out of her when he called her Okasan.
'I could get used to that…' she thought as she smiled a little.
"I suppose I could stay…" Tsunade said softly. Minato and Jiraiya both sighed in relief hearing that answer. None of them were willing to force her stay. Shizune was especially glad that Tsunade chose to stay in the village, since she always wanted to stay too.
"But I will build the medical staff according to my own rules and I get to pick who will be working in the hospital. I will be evaluating everyone's skills to make sure whether they are qualified enough or not." Tsunade said firmly.
"That is alright, Tsunade-sama. The medical department of Konoha will fall completely under your authority." Minato said with a chuckle.
"It better be." Tsunade murmured quietly. Minato gave an awkward chuckle upon hearing that.
"For the time being, you and Shizune can stay in the Namikaze Compound, if you'd like. The Senju compound was not rebuilt after the Kyubi attack ten years ago but it should be done shortly. You should get some rest now. You probably travelled a long way to get here. You and Shizune may start working tomorrow morning." Minato offered. Tsunade nodded and a few seconds later, both Tsunade and Shizune left the room to their bedrooms to get some rest.
Once Tsunade and Shizune had left the room, Minato made a hand seal to activate the privacy seals within the room.
"What took you so long to get here, Jiraiya-sensei?" Minato asked gravely.
"When you contacted me, I was outside the Kumogakure border. Their quietness and neutrality in the past few years seemed suspicious to me. You do realize, A, the Yondaime Raikage is the son of Sandaime Raikage and that man was as vicious and hot headed as they come. However, I did gather a bit of information." Jiraiya stated.
Minato was well aware of A. They both had met each other on a few occasions during the Third Shinobi War. Despite not being as strong as his father, A was a formidable opponent who excelled in taijutsu due to his immense physical strength and raiton ninjutsu.
"Continue…" Minato said.
"They have been increasing their military strength over the past few years. If I were to estimate, their overall military strength might be greater than ours. However, I wouldn't be sure how good each of them are individually. Also, they have been training the jinchuriki who holds the Two Tails and it's the Hachibi jinchuriki who's been training her." Jiraiya briefed.
Keeping his elbows on the table, Minato rested his chin on his hands. Despite being on neutral terms with each other, Konoha and Kumo have never been on good terms so to speak. He knew as an enemy, Kumogakure would be a dangerous pick, but as an ally, it could turn out to be beneficial for both nations.
"I will see what I can do about Kumogakure later. I don't think making an enemy out of them would be wise. We have already cut off all ties with Iwagakure. Kumogakure would be risky as it is. Our relationship with Sunagakure is on thin ice right now anyway. The Land of Wind's Daimyo has been giving us a lot of missions in the past few years which should have been given to Sunagakure in the first place. So, I have been giving off some of the excess missions to the Kazekage." Minato said with a sigh after a few seconds of silence. He saw his sensei staring at Naruto thoughtfully and wondered what he was thinking.
Jiraiya looked at Naruto and had this feeling that something about him changed. Not physically, but his mindset. He remembered how Nagato had changed slightly when he awakened the rinnegan. To this day, a day hadn't passed when Jiraiya did not think of the three children he had taught so they could fend for themselves amid war.
"How did you awaken that eye, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked somberly. The Sannin knew that however he may have gained that eye, the reason must have been something tragic to the blond, something that caused him a lot pain.
"Maybe someday, I will tell you… Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto replied frankly. There were not many times when Naruto called Jiraiya as sensei. Jiraiya understood not to push him too much.
"How many casualties were there last night? On the way, I heard Mikoto and her two children were still alive." Jiraiya questioned as he looked towards Minato.
"Hai. You heard right. I haven't gotten time to speak to Mikoto yet about how she is though. I have been busy the entire day. Mikoto, Itachi, Sasuke and Shisui are the only ones alive from the Uchiha Clan. The rest of Danzo's men were killed last night who took part in the attack. However, I believe he only sent his men to kill me near the compound." Minato replied.
"So, you took care of all of them, right? Danzo and his men need to be put down at any cost. I had warned Sarutobi-sensei about him earlier and now look how it turned out." Jiraiya said a bit sadly.
"Yes, they are all dead. But it wasn't me. Naruto killed them all." Minato said as he pointed at his son and was not surprised to see his sensei's shocked face. Jiraiya was only under the impression that Minato, Itachi, Shisui and the ANBU took part in last night's assault. Minato turned towards Naruto as he noticed he had been standing there quietly for a long time.
"Did you need anything Naru?" Minato asked tiredly with a yawn. He had been working the whole day and his body was starting to feel slightly tired. Naruto didn't know why, but he felt a little hesitant in asking his father about his request.
"It can wait till tomorrow, tou-chan. You should sleep too, you know. You must be exhausted." Naruto replied truthfully. One look in his son's eye and Minato knew there was something Naruto was hiding or not willing to tell right now. He was about to say something further, but was stopped by Naruto.
"I should go talk to Sasuke. I haven't spoken to him after last night." Naruto said as he turned around and began to walk out of the room.
"I will see you tomorrow, Jiraiya oji-chan." Naruto said as he walked out.
Jiraiya and Minato both stayed silent for a few more minutes after Naruto left. The Toad Sannin looked at his student a bit sadly, knowing well that Naruto had a habit of often keeping things to himself rather than talking about it.
"How has he been after last night?"
"I… don't know Jiraiya-sensei. I'm a bit worried."
With Naruto
"What happened, Naruto?" Kurama asked. He had never seen the blond hesitant about anything in front of Minato and it concerned him.
"I don't know, Kurama. It's fine. I will talk to him tomorrow morning. He looked tired now anyway." Naruto replied to his friend.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not now…" Naruto said in a whisper. Kurama understood what Naruto was feeling and just kept quiet for now.
Naruto really was worried about Sasuke. While he loved the Uchiha Clan and grieved their loss, he knew the attachment Sasuke had to the clan was much greater than his own. Even though he did not like him much, they both belonged to the same clan and as such, Naruto felt he should get to understand him better. So, after leaving the library, Naruto made his way to Mikoto's room so he could talk to Sasuke and see how he was doing.
After a few minutes, Naruto came in front of the room Mikoto was staying and knocked on it. After not getting any reply for a while, Naruto knocked again, getting a bit worried. When the blond didn't get any reply again, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside. A small smile came upon his face when he found her to be sleeping, tucked under a blanket. The moonlight falling on her face through the window indeed made her look beautiful and he wished she would always look so peaceful. But he knew it wouldn't be possible. Not when she knew her family was dead, that the reason for her family's death was out there somewhere, roaming free. Again, Naruto felt the same sensation of anger rising within him, but calmed himself down.
'I can't blame her for sleeping this early. Last night's events must have taken a heavy burden on her mind. I shouldn't disturb her right now.' Naruto thought as he quietly shut the door. Closing his eyes, Naruto tried to sense Sasuke's chakra and was surprised not to find him, Itachi, Shisui or Sai anywhere in the house. Expanding his sensing range, Naruto opened his eyes a few seconds later when he found Itachi and Sasuke at the Naka Shrine, while Shisui and Sai were together in another building to the west of Namikaze Compound.
At the Naka Shrine
It was a particularly chilly night and the full moon in the sky illuminated the area, showing the blood that was spilled not even a day ago. The wind flowing in the area made it clearer to both about the emptiness that had surrounded the compound. It had been a few hours since the two were standing here. While the younger one simply stared at the place which was abuzz with life a day ago, the elder one gazed at his brother's back in sadness and contemplation.
Sasuke had woken up around one in the afternoon and ever since hadn't spoken much to anyone, apart from his mother and brother. Even when he was told about his father's death, he gave no reaction. His black eyes showed the emptiness he felt inside himself and the hatred that was storming in his mind. Hatred for the one man who was responsible for the death of his father and his members of the clan. He clenched his fists tightly as he remembered of how pitiful and useless he was in being able to protect his mother and clan members when those shinobi showed up last night unexpectedly.
'Why… Why am I so… weak?'
'Why couldn't I… protect them?' Sasuke thought furiously.
Itachi stood a few distances behind his brother and had a very conflicted look on his face. On one hand, he knew he shouldn't tell Sasuke about the truth about the Uchiha Clan because there was a good chance Sasuke would start resenting the village for that, but on the other hand, he felt obliged to tell him because of the guilt he felt. He understood what he did was right. But there have been times when he wondered, did it have to go down the way it went? Did people have to die so others could live in peace? He was brought out of his musings when he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. Looking to his side, he wasn't surprised to see that it was Naruto.
"You should get some rest Itachi nii-san. I will talk to Sasuke…" Naruto said in a low voice. Itachi felt a little hesitant at first, but one look in the blonde's eyes showed him the concern and understanding it held. Simply nodding his head, the ANBU Captain shunshined out of the area. Turning his head towards the raven haired boy, Naruto stared at him firmly. Sometimes, he wished that he did not have the ability to sense what people were feeling. There were so many different emotions he felt from people that he often lost track of what he himself felt. Ever since he gained access to his chakra, he could sense what other people were feeling- their love, their sadness, their anger and their hate. Naruto felt it all and right now he was sensing all those emotions from Sasuke.
Walking towards him, Naruto stood beside Sasuke. Both merely stood and looked at the Naka Shrine. The place was yet to be cleaned and most of the shrine's walls was covered in blood of the fallen Uchihas. Now that Naruto thought about it, even though he had come to this place several times, not once had he stepped foot inside the shrine. Glancing towards Sasuke, he saw his face was deprived of any emotion.
"You hate it, don't you?" Naruto asked solemnly. Sasuke merely stood there and stared at the Naka shrine while ignoring Naruto's question. Images of his family kept flashing in front of his eyes and of all the time he had spent with everyone.
"Why did it have to be the Uchiha clan? What did they do to deserve this fate? Is that what you're wondering Sasuke?" Naruto asked again. Naruto frowned when all he got was silence from Sasuke.
"It's because they were weak. They thought they were above everyone else and they paid the price by being killed mercilessly." Naruto stated coldly. The very next moment, the blond found himself pinned down to the ground by Sasuke who was glaring at him with murderously with his sharingan. Even though Naruto could swat him away easily, he made no effort to do so. He knew there was only way to reach out to Sasuke and make him understand the importance of the village.
"SHUT UP! You don't know anything about the Uchiha Clan!" Yelled Sasuke.
"Is that the extent of your hate, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Wh…what?" Sasuke asked as his eyes widened a little.
"I asked, is that all the hate you have SASUKE!?" Naruto said as chakra rushed out of his body, pushing the raven haired Uchiha away from him. Standing up, Naruto dusted his t-shirt to remove the dirt that had stuck to it. Looking straight ahead of him, he saw Sasuke weakly standing up and glaring at him.
"Danzo killed your father and most of your family and that is the extent of your hate? Pathetic…" Naruto said flatly. Sasuke rushed towards Naruto and tried to punch him in the jaw, but was pushed to the ground harshly when Naruto ducked under his punch and swept his legs. Sasuke fell on the ground with a loud thud as Naruto elbowed him with his left hand.
"Wh… why are you doing this?" Sasuke asked a bit of blood began to flow out of his mouth.
"Do you want to kill Danzo and his men? Do you want to avenge your father's and family's death?" Naruto asked as he stared right into Sasuke's blood red eyes. Sasuke shuddered a bit when he saw Naruto's right eye as the wind blew over his hair to the side.
"I… I want to kill him one day. I want to make him pay for laying his hands on the Uchiha Clan." Sasuke said murderously. Naruto smiled darkly on seeing the hatred in his eyes. It was so… so pure and filled full of rage.
"Then, use that hatred against him. Hate him… Curse him, and when the time comes, kill him for his crimes against the Uchiha." Naruto said coldly. He knew what he was doing probably wasn't the best way morally. But, with the right motive, even hatred could be used for good. Sasuke averted his eyes when he heard those words.
"You are not weak, Sasuke." Naruto said, this time his voice much softer than before. He understood what Sasuke was feeling. The doubt whether he would be strong enough to kill him or not. It was understandable.
"Fight for the reasons I've said and you will find strength that is immeasurable. Save your hatred for the enemies. Hatred can be a powerful tool Sasuke. Use it wisely." Naruto said. Giving his hand to Sasuke, he helped him get up and once again, the two stood facing the Naka shrine.
"How can I get strong, Naruto?" Sasuke asked after a few moments of silence.
"You still have your brother, mother and Shisui alive with you. Fight for them. Fight to protect them. Fight to protect this village. When Danzo decided to attack the Uchiha Clan, he did not only wage war against them, but the entirety of Konoha. The whole village grieves the loss of Uchiha Clan. Fight to protect the village, fight to protect those you love and use your hatred to kill any enemies of Konoha." Naruto stated as his lone rinnegan stared at the moon in the night sky. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, simply staring at the moon.
Sasuke stared at Naruto's face and wondered what he went through to have him think like this. He was aware that Naruto was stronger than most of the people in Konoha and even stronger than his brother or Shisui, who were exceptionally strong too. Turning his attention back to the Naka shrine, Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to calm his nerves. He knew he was lucky to still have his mother and brother alive and there wasn't anything wouldn't do to make sure they stayed safe. Unknown to him, Naruto had a small smile on his face who had already sensed Sasuke's feelings.
Sasuke was startled when he felt a hand on his face and but stopped from reacting when he felt a soothing sensation course through his body. Looking down, he saw Naruto's hand covered in green chakra and realized the blond was healing him using medical ninjutsu. Once Naruto was done, he turned around and began to walk away.
"Wait… Naruto?" Sasuke called hesitantly.
"Hai?" Naruto asked with his back still turned to Sasuke.
"Why would you help… someone like me?" Sasuke asked as he lowered his head. He couldn't understand the one person whom he tried to belittle every time would come to help him. Sasuke wasn't even sure if he ever disliked him. He just felt jealous that his brother and sometimes even his own father paid more attention to the blond rather than him. He wasn't even sure if the blond considered him a friend or not.
"You are forgetting something Sasuke. The Uchiha Clan… is my family too. We both are Uchiha and in a sense, we both could be called brothers. I will always be there to help you." Naruto whispered slowly, but he knew Sasuke heard each word clearly. A few tears dropped from Sasuke's eyes as he heard those words. But before he could say anything further to the blond, he saw Naruto disappear in a shunshin.
Sasuke stood in the clearing near the Naka Shrine for a few minutes as he stared up at the sky.
"Fight for those you love? Fight for the village… huh?" Sasuke thought out loud.
Four Hours Later, with Naruto
The pitch-black curtain draped over the night sky, and the twisted, warped shapes that the stars made against the eerie darkness of the sky made it difficult for Naruto to not take his eyes off the moon. It was hard for him to shove aside the worries corrupting his mind- worries that should not be troubling him. He didn't know what made him hesitant in asking his father about his decision to join the ANBU, but he couldn't keep that strange feeling out of his mind. And frankly, it was starting to annoy him a little. For the past few hours, Naruto sat on the terrace of his house, simply meditating. Since he was a child, his father and Jiraiya had taught him the value of meditating. Along with helping to clear one's mind, it helped one increase their focus as well as self-awareness.
Lying down flat on ground, Naruto's eye fell on the trillions of stars that twirled and danced along the sky in various patterns. Moving his hand on top of his right eye, the blond gained a look of curiosity.
'I wonder what this rinnegan can do?' Naruto thought. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know the capabilities of either his rinnegan or mangekyō sharingan. Apart from what he concluded that the rinnegan gave him absolute control over his chakra, he couldn't figure out anything else.
'Hey Kurama? Do you know anything about the two doujutsu? You have been around for so many millennia.' Naruto asked with a childlike curiosity.
"Hmm… I can't tell you much about the rinnegan. The only other person in whom I have seen that doujutsu is the Rikudo Sennin. However, I do know two techniques of the mangekyō sharingan." Kurama stated rather bitterly at the end.
'Huh? What is it Kurama?' Naruto asked.
"It's called Susanoo. Each mangekyō sharingan user manifests a gigantic humanoid being, made entirely out of the user's chakra that surrounds them and fights on their behalf. I have only seen Indra Ōtsutsuki and Madara Uchiha use those techniques." Kurama replied rather grumpily. He still couldn't forget how that damned Madara controlled him by using his mangekyō sharingan and made him fight against the tree hugger, Hashirama Senju.
'Really? Madara-sofu could use it too? And why do you sound so angry, huh?' Naruto asked he heard the fox mumble some angry incoherent words.
"Another ability which the mangekyō sharingan grants the user is to put the bijuu in a genjutsu and control them. That damned Madara controlled me using his mangekyō when he fought against Hashirama." Kurama voiced seriously. Naruto remained quiet for a few minutes as he heard that piece of information. He knew about Shodai Hokage's and Madara Uchiha's last battle. But this was the first time he ever came across this fact and he knew Kurama would never lie to him about something like that. He also knew that his grandfather never viewed Konoha as his home due to the strained relationship between the Senju and the Uchiha Clan. At the same time, he was surprised that a mere doujutsu could control someone as powerful as the bijuu. He personally knew how strong Kurama was and he only contained half of the fox's chakra. He wondered how strong his friend would be if he had his Yin chakra too.
The blond was brought out of his musings when he felt his father walk up to the terrace. He wondered what he was doing up so late at night considering that he worked the whole day yesterday without much rest.
"Naru? How come you're still awake?" Minato asked as he walked towards Naruto.
"I wasn't really feeling sleepy. So, I thought I could get sit outside for a while." Naruto replied as he continued laying down on the ground. Minato sat down beside his son and looked all around himself. To this day, he was mesmerized by the view of the village he got from here. Tall trees acting as a shade over the entirety of Konoha, the Hokage Mountain on the left and the sound of the flowing river that could be heard in the stillness of the night. He saw Naruto sit up and shiver a bit in the cold and chuckled a bit at his expression. Taking his white haori off, he put it over Naruto to make him feel less cold.
"Thank you, tou-chan." Naruto whispered as he rubbed the palms of hands together. Naruto looked at his father from the corner of his eyes and saw how peaceful he looked. Just seeing his father smile made him feel as if all his problems were irrelevant. But he was also perplexed as to how his father always managed remain so calm, even in the toughest of situations.
"How do you do it, tou-chan?" Naruto asked in a low voice.
"Huh?" Minato asked as he looked at the little blond.
"How are you always so calm? Not even a day ago, our family was…" Naruto trailed off. Minato started laughing slowly, but soon enough he laughed a little louder when he understood what Naruto meant. Naruto stared at his father a little peevishly, thinking that his father was laughing at him. A few seconds later Minato stopped laughing and looked at Naruto with a smile.
"What?" Naruto asked as he folded his arms over his chest and looked the other way. However, his frown faded when he felt his father's hand on his hair.
"I wasn't always calm. I didn't even know if I could be a good Hokage…" Minato started saying. Naruto looked back at his father with curiosity.
"But you are the strongest and the bravest person I know, tou-chan!" Naruto said innocently.
"You know, your mother wanted to be Hokage too. She was the most hyper-active girl I had ever known. She always competed with me when we were in the academy and in our genin days. Yet, she always supported and helped me when I was chosen as the Hokage. She was always there to calm me down. Back then, it was Kushina who was always there for me… and now it's you, Naruto." Minato said softly. Minato patted his son's head gently when he saw Naruto stare at him with wide eyes.
"…I want to join the ANBU!" Naruto blurted out without thinking. Even Kurama smacked his paw on his face and laughed, seeing Naruto's stupid face at this moment.
"Wha… what?" Minato asked again. Naruto took a deep breath and calmed his nerves and looked straight into his father's eyes.
"I want to join the ANBU, tou-chan. I know you may think otherwise, but my skills will only be wasted in the regular shinobi forces. Also, I want to travel around the Elemental Nations. I want to know how people live in different villages, how the different villages work… I want to understand the people." Naruto said slowly. Minato stared at Naruto with a serious expression. To this point, Naruto had never asked for much and Minato knew Naruto wouldn't ask anything unless he had a good reason to.
"Why do you really want to join the ANBU, Naruto? It's a very rough world to survive in. There are many people who don't make it out of ANBU with a sane mind and there is a lot of death you will see in there, Naruto." Minato asked gravely. Naruto merely stared at his father for a few seconds before he released a tired sigh.
"I want to get stronger, tou-chan. I'm not strong enough. I want to protect those who are close to me. I want to protect you, Jiraiya oji-chan, Mikoto oba-chan, Itachi, Shisui, Sasuke, my friends from the academy and everyone who are dear to me… I… I want to protect Hinata-chan. Whenever she is close to me, she always gets hurt." Naruto replied as he lowered his head. He was expecting his father to say something against his reasoning, but was surprised when he felt a hand ruffle his hair playfully. Looking up, he found his father looking at him with a smile.
"I am not going to make any decisions for you Naru. I believe you are strong enough to be allowed to make your decision. I am only here to guide you along the right path. If you want to join ANBU, I won't stop you. I will ask Kakashi to give you a test, to see if you are fit to be an ANBU agent." Minato said. Internally, Minato was proud of his son's reason in joining the ANBU. He knew how hard a place the ANBU world could be, since he too was once an ANBU agent. Once you are an ANBU, you are recognized among the elite shinobis of the village, expected to complete the most difficult of missions and are sworn to sacrifice your life for the welfare of the village. He knew, his son would one day become a shinobi who would be looked up to by everyone.
"Really, tou-chan?" Naruto whispered with wide eyes. He felt so relieved that his father understood him and supported him right now. Moving closer to his tou-chan, Naruto held him tightly, pouring all his emotions into that one hug. Minato had a small smile on his face, but at the same time, he was wondering what Kushina would do if she was here right now.
'She certainly would have killed me for sending him into the ANBU at such a young age.' Minato chuckled awkwardly in his mind.
"Eh, tou-chan? I wanted to ask something else too…" Naruto said after a few seconds.
"You certainly have a lot requests today." Minato replied. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head upon hearing that.
"Alright, tell me. What is it?" Minato asked.
"Well… I was wondering if… Kurama could come out of that cage. He is my friend and I don't like seeing him behind the bars anymore." Naruto said softly. Slightly surprised by that request, Minato stared at Naruto for a good few minutes before saying,
"Let me talk to him." Understanding his request, Naruto gazed into his father's eye with his rinnegan and the next moment, both were in Naruto's mindscape before Kurama's cage.
"Minato." Kurama said as he got up to his full height, towering a good height above Minato and Naruto. Even though Minato trusted Kurama, he did not have as much a good bond with the fox as his son did. So, he needed to know for himself if he could trust Kurama entirely and he knew that the fox probably felt the same thing about him.
"Can I trust you with Naruto's safety? I won't always be around with him, but I know you will be there for him always. So, tell me. I know you can tell that I already trust you enough, but as a father I need to be sure." Minato said firmly, getting straight to the point. There was no need to beat around the bush.
Kurama growled a bit at being questioned about his loyalty. Even though he was only a being a made of chakra given a conscience, he knew the value of family.
"I will protect him with my life, when the time comes." Kurama said sincerely. When Naruto saw his friend looking at him, he was surprised to see the pure respect in his eyes. He had never seen such a look in Kurama's eyes. To Kurama, it was indeed a big thing. He had lived around humans for so long that all he could sense from them was hatred and the human's behavior towards the bijuu did not do anything less to decrease the hatred he felt towards the humans. So seeing Naruto fulfill a promise to him had further increased his respect towards the young Namikaze.
"I will hold you to your word, Kurama." Minato replied softly. Kurama merely nodded his head slightly and sat back down and rested his head on his paws as his large nine tails swished behind him. Minato then turned back to look at Naruto and saw the bond which Kurama and his son shared in his eyes. It warmed his heart to know that Naruto could change the heart of someone as misunderstood as the bijuu. A few seconds later, both father and son left the mindscape to get back to the real world.
"I will give you the key to open the seal Naruto…" Minato stated seriously, but held his hand up to stop Naruto from interrupting him.
"But you must be careful when to use your full strength. You are strong Naruto, exceptionally strong, if I must say. There will come a time when you will surpass even me and your grandfather. Being strong alone is not enough to survive. You must be smart. Power alone does not win wars. There is a lot of evil and lies and pain and death in this world, and you can't hide from it- you can only face it. But the question is that when you do, how do you respond?" Minato stated wisely. Naruto looked at his father with a look of contemplation. If not for the situation, Minato was sure he would have chuckled, looking at how hard his son was thinking
"You don't have to answer now, Naruto. All I'm saying is that, learn from the experiences you go through. Everything that you will go through will teach you something. Not all of them may be important, but they all are necessary. To be a shinobi means to endure the pain that you go through and to make sacrifices." Minato said as he bent down to Naruto's eye level.
"I promise I will one day make a world where you or anyone I love won't have to worry about anything and can live peacefully." Naruto said with determination. For a second, Minato was taken aback by those words, as he remembered his own father saying the very same words to him before he left.
"I know Naru… I know." Minato whispered. Getting up again, Minato clasped his hands together and suddenly a long toad came out of his mouth. It was a black and orange toad with dark markings around his eyes, mouth and circular mark just below his mouth. Naruto stared weirdly as well as in amazement at the toad who had a strange looking abdomen.
"What's the reason for calling me out, Minato?" asked the toad rather grumpily.
"Gerotora, I would like to sign the release form and hand over the seal's key to Naruto here." Minato said as he pointed towards Naruto standing beside him. Gerotora scrunched his eyes and seemed to be glaring at Naruto, but shook his head showing his dissatisfaction.
"Are you sure, Minato? Handing the young kid, the Kyubi's power? You don't even know if he could handle Kyubi's chakra!" Gerotora replied with narrowed eyes. Naruto's eyebrow started to twitch upon hearing that and mildly glared at the toad who was speaking.
"I was the one who made the decision to seal Kyubi's chakra into Naruto and I know what I am doing. I wanted him to master the Kyubi's chakra. I'm sure he will able to do it eventually." Minato said with a smile.
"Fine. If you say so, Minato." Gerotora said with a scoff. Minato sweat dropped a bit at the toad's rather indignant attitude. Gerotora then unfolded himself to show a sealing formula that encoded into his abdomen. Minato placed his right hand inside a square shaped marking. The tips of his fingers became covered with chakra and a second later when he removed his finger, Naruto saw his father's fingerprints imprinted onto that space. Minato turned towards Naruto and motioned for him to come forward.
"Now, Naru press your hand on that space…" Minato stated as he pointed towards another square space on the far left. Mimicking his father, Naruto covered the tips of his fingers with chakra and pressed his hand on the square box. Once it was done, Gerotora folded himself back shrunk down to the size of a small toad, who reached just up to Naruto's knee.
"Now Naru, this is going to be slightly uncomfortable okay?" Minato asked with an awkward chuckle. Naruto looked at him suspiciously, but when he opened his mouth to speak something, Gerotora immediately jumped into his mouth, trying to stuff himself inside. Caught off guard, Naruto tried to get the toad out of his mouth, however, ended up choking on the toad. Minato who was about to burst out laughing, gave a hard push to Gerotora, who then managed to fit inside Naruto's mouth and went inside his body.
After the ordeal, Naruto plumped down on the ground, taking deep breaths and spitting on the ground.
"What the hell tou-chan!?" Naruto asked with a glare.
"Gerotora is a scroll toad and he resides within the person who holds the contract with the scroll." Minato said as he tried not to laugh at the situation a few seconds ago. After Naruto wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his t-shirt, he got up from the ground and looked at his father with a somewhat confused expression.
"Now what do I do, tou-chan?" Naruto asked.
"All you have to do is go to your mindscape, touch the seal on your stomach with your hand and twist it to unlock the cage." Minato advised. Listening to his father, Naruto closed his eyes and entered his mindscape.
Once in his mindscape, Naruto again found himself standing before Kurama's cage. He looked towards his old friend and found him looking back at him with the same smile he had on his face.
"It's time, Kurama…" Naruto said calmly.
"I know…" Kurama replied with anticipation. It was still hard for him to believe that he would be free after spending so many years behind the cage stuck in Mito, Kushina as well as Naruto. Even though he liked Naruto, the feeling of being stuck behind bars never fit well with him. Naruto lifted his shirt and saw the seal holding Kurama appear on his stomach. Putting his hand on the seal, Naruto twisted it slowly to the right fully.
The very next second, Naruto jumped back when he heard the cage opening. A gust of wind blew past him and when he looked in front of him, his eyes landed on Kurama walking towards him, out of the cage. Naruto felt a surge of extremely potent chakra flow through his chakra coils at the same time. He flinched a bit due to the amount of chakra that was flowing through him so suddenly. Holding his hand in the ram seal, he tried soothing the flow of chakra and a few minutes later he smiled when he felt the chakra calming down. However, immediately after, his eyes started to close and he started to feel extremely tired.
Out in the real world, Minato saw Naruto's eyes droop a little and knew he was mostly tired due to the large amount of chakra suddenly rushing through his chakra coils. He caught Naruto just as he was about to fall and held him close. Carrying the little blond in his arms, Minato walked back to Naruto's room and laid him on his bed. Putting the blanket gently over him, he moved his hand through Naruto's hair tenderly.
Looking at the clock, Minato was surprised that it was past three in the morning already.
'I should get to sleep too… Damn work in the morning.' Minato moaned internally. Switching off the lights in the room, Minato walked towards the door.
"You did well Naru… sleep well." Whispered Minato as he glanced at him once, before closing the door of the room quietly.
Next Morning
Naruto slowly opened his eyes as the light from the window shone upon his face. Moving in his bed for a few more minutes, he slowly sat upright and rubbed his eyes to remove the sleepiness from them. His long blond and brown hair fell midway to his back and on the front a few locks of his hair fell over his right eye, covering his rinnegan. Opening his eyes and looking around himself, he released a sigh of relief. Last night when he suddenly started to feel drowsy, he thought something must have gone wrong while undoing the seal.
'Kurama?' Naruto thought.
"Thank you, Naruto." Kurama said honestly.
'Baka! Stop thanking me! We have known each other for so many years. I know what you're feeling.' Naruto replied mirthlessly. Kurama growled a little at spoiling his appreciation of what Naruto had done but understood what the blond was trying to say. Between the two, no words had to be spoken. Just one look in each other's eye and they could tell what the other was thinking of.
"Even though I only have the Yang half of my chakra, my chakra reserves feel much larger than I had anticipated." Kurama said in a surprised tone. Naruto lazily looked at the clock on the wall beside him and his eyes widened when he saw it was almost eleven in the morning now.
'Damnit! Why do I keep oversleeping?' Naruto thought irritatingly as he hurriedly got out of bed. He heard Kurama snicker in his mind and groaned. Quickly going to the washroom, Naruto brushed his teeth and took a quick shower. Coming out of the washroom, he changed into his clothes. A dark grey colored t-shirt, black pants and dark maroon colored kimono on top. Putting on his black sandals, Naruto left his room to go downstairs.
By the time he reached downstairs, it was already half hour past eleven. He went straight to the kitchen and found Mikoto to be preparing something to eat.
"Oba-chan? Why are you cooking?" Naruto asked surprised. It was usually his father cooking at home whenever he was free or just ordered it from outside.
"Who made the food that was in the fridge Naru-chan?" Mikoto asked sweetly. In Naruto's opinion, it was way too sweet to be honest.
"Uhm… uhm… It was tou-chan…" Naruto said uneasily.
"Well, that food tasted worse than anything I have eaten. How could you even that? Since I will be staying here, I will cook the food from now on. No wonder you are so thin. Eating food like that will not get you any healthier, Naru-chan." Naruto snickered at the frank answer he got from her. He walked to the fridge, hoping to eat some of the ramen which his father had hopefully made last night. But when he opened it, all his eyes saw were empty trays. With crossed fingers, he slowly walked over to the dustbin and peeked into it and felt as if his whole world shattered.
'MY RAMEN!' Naruto cried internally. Turning around he took a step back when he saw Mikoto give him a very suspiciously dangerous look.
"Looking for the ramen… Naru-chan?" Mikoto asked with a smile.
"H… Hai." Naruto answered meekly.
"Well, you're not getting any. You are still a child and you should eat more vegetables and milk instead of ramen all the time. Let your father come home and I will talk to him about both of yours eating habits. I put up breakfast for you on the dining table. Now, finish it okay?" Mikoto said in a motherly tone.
Naruto sadly walked over to the dining table and wondered if this is what it felt like to have a mother like figure. Sitting down on the table, Naruto reluctantly finished the bowl of oatmeal that was given to him along with the glass of apple juice. After putting the bowl and the glass back in the sink in the kitchen, he quickly made his way out of the house. However, as he walked out of the compound, he had a small smile on his face. No one other than her had ever spoken to him in such a motherly way and that made her very special to him. But it also made him slightly sad because once he joined the ANBU, he knew he wouldn't get much time to spend at home.
As Naruto made his way towards the Hokage's office through the market street of the village, he wondered how his friends at the academy were doing. It had been a few days since he had seen anyone. For a few seconds, he wondered if he should meet them, but thought against of it. He knew it would only hurt him more if he went to meet his friends right now. Naruto suddenly halted in his steps when he saw Sakura turn right from a lane to his right, just a few meters ahead. He sighed in relief when he saw that she hadn't noticed him. However, he frowned a little when he saw the sadness on her face. He pondered what had happened to make her feel sad and felt a bit melancholy because he hadn't spent much time with her in the past few months. He mentally cursed himself as he realized just how many people he must be hurting by not telling them anything. Deciding not to walk to avoid being seen by any of his friends, Naruto shunshined to the Hokage's office.
Hokage's Office
As soon as he appeared in the office, the first thing Naruto saw were the serious faces of Jiraiya and Kakashi and his father sitting on his desk with a tired look on his face. Judging from the mood in the room, Naruto guessed his father must have told Jiraiya and Kakashi about his request to join the ANBU and that the seal holding Kurama was undone now.
Naruto wasn't surprised when he saw it was Kakashi who was the first one to approach him. He always did care a lot about the blonde.
"Naruto, are you sure you want to join the ANBU?" Kakashi asked flatly. Naruto was a little surprised at his brother like figure's tone, but knew he took his duty as the ANBU Commander seriously.
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei. I want to join the ANBU so I could better help protect the village as a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato." Naruto replied professionally.
"Minato-sensei already spoke to me about your request. I was against it at first, even Jiraiya-sama was. But after a bit of… discussion, we agreed to give you a chance. We have never had anyone join the ANBU at such a young age. But then your skills could be extremely valuable in the ANBU and in the protection of the village." Kakashi said, now with a much softer tone. Naruto understood the worry that Kakashi was feeling, but joining the ANBU was his own decision and he would stick to it.
"Don't worry Kakashi-sensei. I know you are worried about me. But I can handle it. I may be strong, but I'm not arrogant enough to believe that no one can beat me. I still have a lot to learn in terms of strategic planning and to work in a team to become a better shinobi." Naruto replied sincerely. Kakashi gave his traditional eye smile upon hearing Naruto's reply.
'Guess, I was worrying over nothing. Even though he's young, he has shown great maturity.' Kakashi thought proudly.
Minato cleared his throat once to gain everyone's attention. He sat straight on his chair and asked Naruto to come closer.
"Well Naruto, if you pass the test which Kakashi will select for you before joining the ANBU, Jiraiya-sensei will be travelling with your team, okay? He will help you in controlling the Kyubi's chakra as well as helping with understanding the rinnegan better. I have seen many jinchuriki lose control over their bijuu when they try to control its power. Even though you and the Kyubi are on friendly terms with each other, it's just a precaution. I don't want to take any chances." Minato stated firmly.
Naruto looked at the Toad Sannin and felt happy that the man would be there to watch his back all the time. Jiraiya walked closer to young Namikaze and kept his hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"I was worried when Minato told me that you unlocked the cage holding the Kyubi. But you look relatively fine. How are your chakra coils?" Jiraiya asked. He had met a few jinchuriki in his life, but had never heard of any jinchuriki who was on good terms with his bijuu and had the bijuu outside the seal. So it was certainly a new experience for him too. He knew Naruto was already at a level, higher than him, in terms of chakra as well as strength. He could only imagine how strong Naruto would become once he gained experience along with mastering the rinnegan and the Kyubi's chakra.
"I feel fine oji-chan. Don't worry so much." Naruto assured him. Turning towards Kakashi, he asked,
"So, what is the test Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked curiously. Kakashi folded his arms over his chest and seemed to be in deep thought for a few minutes before his eyes widened ever so slightly. Naruto shuddered a bit, seeing the look in Kakashi's eyes.
"Seeing as how you are now, most of the shinobi would most probably lose. So. I would like to test your strength against Minato-sensei." Kakashi said lazily. Everyone in the room remained quiet for some minutes, until Jiraiya started chuckling.
"Now, this… should be an interesting spar…" Jiraiya said in a giddy voice.
So, that's a wrap for this chapter. I got exams till the May 12, 2017. So, the next update would mostly be on May 19 or May 23, 2017.
Naruto will not be able to use the Kurama Chakra Mode instantly. He will take some time to get used to Kurama's chakra as well maintaining it for longer time.
I wanted to show Minato's and Naruto's fight in this chapter, but I felt it better to end the chapter on that note. I hoped to build the excitement for the next chapter. Also, don't be under the assumption that Naruto would simply win that fight. Now, I know I didn't show anything about Hinata's too. Naruto may or may not meet with Hinata or Sakura, depending on how he is feeling after his spar with Minato. He will be starting with the ANBU the very same day as his spar with Minato. Now, for his teams, I have got the team, which I know most people would like to see. Next, chapter will have a time skip of at least two or three months. And that is the time, Naruto and his team will mostly get their first mission. Next chapter onwards, I will start showing some of Naruto's mangekyo and rinnegan abilities. Since, naruto awakened the rinnegan naturally, he will be able to use the rinnegan to it's full extent, unlike Nagato who merely used Six Path's Technique. There's so much more to that doujutsu than that jutsu alone. I thought I would show something about Danzo or some of the other antagonists in this story in this chapter at the end, but it didn't happen. So, Naruto will meet most of the antagonists in this story, during his ANBU days.
I'm really glad that most of the people think that the story is following a good path and I'm happy see a lot of the positive reviews. Now, if someone doesn't like the story, you could just not read, you know?
Again, do follow and favorite the story if you do come to like it. And do kindly review if you like what I'm writing. As any writer, the reviews help me understand the reader's point of view and what I could incorporate into the story.
Until next time!