Chapter 4

Our mother was the former Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, aka Kurama. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki, also know as the 'Red-Hot Habenero' for her terrifyingly strong abilities. While she was not know for being powerful, she was secretly one of the best seal makers and users of Konoha, and the one who gave the Flying Raijin Seal to the Fourth Hokage for his special kunai. Apparently, she was one of the last of the Uzumaki Clan who was once a clan of great power, even ancient rivals to the Uchiha and Hyugas. The scrolls, which were about half a dozen in number and each were more weathered than the last, were apparently both records of the Ancient Clan's history as well as a select few of their exclusive jutsu.

"So what's this mean? I don't resemble her at all!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at a picture of a redheaded lady in Kunoichi gear.

I crossed my arms, "Didn't you say she was really stubborn?" Lord third nodded and I continued, "So yes, you are almost the spitting image of her."

"Says you! You literally have the same hair, eyes, and face." Naruto pointed at my face and said.

Lord Third cocked his head to the side then shrugged, "You two take after both your parents. Naruto, you have your father's physical features with your mother's immovable will." He turn to look at me, "As fo you, I've watched you long enough to know you have your father's sense of duty and your mother's threatening aura. After all, Kyuubi has been silent for eight years because it thought you were Kushina."

I frowned, "Then you're saying what exactly? Are Naruto and I stepbrothers?"

Naruto looked struck dumb by that sentence, but he eventually caught on. "Yeah old man, what are you saying?"

Lord Hiruzen chuckled, "Correction, brothers. Both of your fathers are the same person, but I can't clarify who that is due to class-"

"The Fourth." I blurted, commecting the dots from when Lord Third commented that Naruto looked like his father and I had the same sense of duty as the man. "I've only ever seen one other blonde in the entire village, and she dyed her hair that color."

The Hokage looked at me in surprise, "If it wasn't for that mop of crimson on your head, I'd assume you were a Nara with that statement. Very well then, the 'cat's out of the scroll' or however the saying goes."

Naruto all but teleported to the window and plastered it to the glass, staring at the spikey-haured monument high above us. "You're joking right? There's no way we're related to the Fourth Hokage!!"

That reminded me of a thought I had when I was initially putting all the pieces together. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, "Lord Third, why was this kept secret? I can imagine why it would be classified to the normal population, but why lie to the few people who deserve at least the knowledge of who their parents were?"

The old man sighed, stroking his short whispy beard. "I regret it, actually. Now I realize that you've lived your lives so far in complete shadow without a single hint at the honor and dignity your family holds. Asking for forgiveness after this horrible misjudgment is dishonorable, but I hope you will one day see my side of the issue, being the Hokage having to put the village back together and keep the two jinchuriki of the village as safe as possible from outside forces and rouge organizations." The old man dropped his hand, sighing in exhaustion, "You two had best get back to your homes, tomorrow is a testing day. Dismissed."

We agreed to go grab a bite to eat at Ichiraku Ramen just down the street, but we had to make it through the festivities going on in the streets.

Shortly after the Kyuubi attack all those years ago, the civilans of the village banded together and created a holiday commemorating the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage in saving the village. However, many ill-minded folks decided that instead of celebrating the scarifice of both the Fourth and the Jinchuriki who has to now host the Kyuubi, they instead abuse the poor boy and treat him as the problem, not the solution.

And that leads us to this moment, where a man is holding Naruto's limp body by his ankle and tying him to a tree to use as a pinàta.

I balled my fists, still unseen in the large crowd that had gathered to wait for their turn. Images of the scrolls Lord Third had presented to us flashed through my mind, particularly one that created some sort of chain. I channeled chakra into my hands, imagining the chakra taking a physical form into a pair of chain whips as a golden light began to shine from my balled fists. I channeled some chakra into my voice, amplifying it by ten-fold, "PUT HIM THE HELL DOWN YOU BASTARDS!!"

The man looked at me as the crowd dispersed in a panic and reformed behind him to gawk at the weapons now in my hands. "This ain't got nothin' to do with you, brat. Unless you wanna end up right beside him, get lost and never come back." He didn't taise his voice as I expected he would, but instead he calmly continued his tying while occasionally kneeing Naruto in the stomach.

"I said.. put him down." My voice began to come out as more of a growl as a red glow began to radiate from my body.

Somewhere in the crowd I heard a trembling voice mumble, "The Red Hot Habanero..." But the man tying Naruto up quickly shot a glare into the crowd in a general direction and the voice silenced. He turned back to me and chuckled, "So you're the Jinchuriki's brat? Should've recognized that hair and the chains. I have a question for you, if you answer, I'll let you take the Kyuubi bastard and run along. Do we have a deal, boy?"

I didn't make a move to get closer, but I made a slight nod.

The man clapped his muscled hands together after stopping his tying and laying Naruto on the dirt. "So, you know the Kyuubi Attack, I assume?" I nodded and he continued, "Then do you happen to know who caused the attack? Why any of this happened? And why the Uchiha Compound is so far away from the center of the village?"

I shook my head, "I assumed it was because they didn't get recognized for so many dying to defend the villa-"

"NO YOU BASTARD CHILD! THE KYUUBI WAS TORE OUT OF YOUR MOTHER BY AN UCHIHA!!" Tha man yelled, his voice cracking a bit. "I- Forgive me, my daughter was killed in that attack." He cleared his throat and picked Naruto up by the shoulders, "Scram before I come to my senses."

I nodded, allowing my chains to dissolve and my nerves to cool. I quickly laid Naruto over my shoulders and sprinted away, the sound of silence deafening the entire street.