Wow! Your reviews and opinions are so amazing. Keep them coming if you all don't mind. Goodness! I feel great right now! I'll try not to let it get to my head guys XD

I couldn't find the time to send individual responses to all your wicked cool reviews but I'm going to answer them here, if you all don't mind:

Shout out to 'ShinigamiNoKitsune209': thank you bud, I really appreciate your review. AND THANKS FOR YOUR RATING! I'll try and keep it consistent.

To 'Guest': he has to get his affairs in order before he moves out and he also has to make sure Wave's defences aren't too stressed out from keeping Konoha ninja out. Plus, there are still some characters that are blocking (unknowingly) Naruto from leaving. Try and figure out who they are.

To 'DALucifer13': it's sad to say Naruto's leg would always be like that. Remember in the first chapter I said that he had what medical chakra couldn't fix a leg destroyed by demonic chakra even if it had been sucked out by Kyuubi. But that is the main point of this story; Naruto is using his supposed handicap to do things people with full functionality cannot do. Don't you agree? Hope you're still reading bud.

To 'TigrezzTail': Daku is pretty much the fastest in the story, a bit under Madara, Obito and maybe Minato, that's a little of how Daku beats his opponents. His strength also plays a part, and his intelligence is another part. And that's what I was hoping for in the fights. Thanks for your review bud.

To 'DragonPony022': ah man…you've got a long one there…hmmm… OK! From the top…Ok, dude, I'm sorry but I can't read through that whole thing AND answer it. I'm lazy like that but let me just say he held Orochimaru back, just barely, but he needed Tsunade and Jiraiya's help to chase him off. Read it again to confirm if you want *shrug* oh and his defence isn't exactly what you'd call 'Unbreakable'; it's HARD to break, as seen when it almost caved under Orochimaru's attacks. Again, you can go back and confirm if you want. OH, and a little tidbit of info about Naruto's blue iron bubble; it can keep things back, but he feels the 'push' of the attack on his defences, that's why he has his tree root seals. So, if he is attacked from all sides he'll feel the 'push' from all sides, putting pressure on his arms.

I think that's about it.

Last though, SHOUT OUT TO 'Ezeakel' This guy is helping out with this story more than you all think. Thank you.

This story has a new character inside. Drop a review concerning it, if you will. Your feedback would speed up the next chapter coming out.

Let's get this thing started. Don't forget to drop a review.

CHAPTER 10

Purple-ringed eyes snapped open from a dark patch at the head of a room.

The person sat laxly on his throne in front of his red cloud-wearing followers. He was squinting his eyes at something only he could see and the members of the Akatsuki waited patiently for what he had to say.

His thin, reedy breaths were the only sound that somewhat filled the room. The man that held so much power as to be able to make the maniacal Jashin worshipper, Hidan, silently screw his lips.

"Tell us all your report, Itachi." His voice was deep and menacing, making the mad bomber, Deidara, instinctively lower his head and the mentioned Uchiha clenched his hand at the invisible force that weighed down on him. "Because I do not understand how a twelve-year-old fuinjutsu user could take on an Uchiha of your calibre and a seal master's natural enemy!"

His voice rose and shook the ground they stood on, this time Deidara clenched his eyes shut with a wince before he opened them and looked around to see if anyone caught him. Luckily for him, all attention was on their leader.

A purple-haired, expressionless woman looked at the man and the man waved for her to stay where she was. "Well? Tell us all how you couldn't match up to the Kyuubi jinchuriki." He settled back into his throne.

Kisame, who was miraculously fully healed, clenched his teeth in frustration and couldn't meet his leader's eyes, knowing exactly when not to talk back.

His partner, Itachi Uchiha, was the more defiant of the duo and opted to look Nagato in the eyes with his sharingan lazily spinning. "Jiraiya and Tsunade were with him—"

"You caught the boy in his hotel room before that. Much longer before that," Nagato said, visibly having to restrain himself from crushing Itachi with one of his control over gravity. "What stopped you from taking him out there?"

The others in the meeting, namely Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Sasori, Konan Zetsu and even Tobi didn't envy the position the duo was in.

There was another person in the gathering, a new inductee into the Akatsuki named Rai.

She was a lithe woman with lean muscles and frizzy white hair cascading down to the small of her back. She had mocha-coloured skin and alluring brown eyes that looked pointedly at Kisame, then to Itachi, and then, surprisingly enough, at Tobi. She wore shin-high silver steel boots on her feet and equally thick metal gauntlets on her hands, with her whole body dotted with restraint seals, chakra limiting seals and weight seals.

Tobi/Madara had found her fending off a whole platoon of Kumo hunter ninjas, and doing so with ease that astounded even Tobi. Rai had attempted a coup but was greatly unsuccessful, not counting that Killer Bee would return from his mission earlier than usual to face off against her with the Raikage, Ay. The white-haired and heavily muscled Kage would admit without shame that if Bee wasn't with him to perform combination jutsu he would have died at her hands.

Rai, from the moment she had formed an awareness of the world and was conscious of her environment, had noticed that she had a lot of energy, too much energy. So much so that when her parents had called her down from her room to the living room the staircase was set on fire in her wake courtesy of lightning surges coming off her body.

Her civilian parents, with teary eyes, handed her to the Kage at the time, E, to be studied. Under the knife, the surgeons and doctors discovered that her lightning affinity was so thick and palpable that she was able to light a bulb after running her fingers on a wall, sustaining it for a long time until it exploded. She was forced to go through gruelling and painful training at the age of 4 till E's death and Ay's ascension to Raikage.

To keep her speed in check she had to wear custom-made chakra gauntlets, as well as have weight seals dotted all over her body.

She was the person sent out on double S-rank missions.

Rai had a grudge against the village leaders of Kumo, seeing as she had been dragged away from her parents, who later died of heartbreak after hearing that she had attempted a coup, all because she had a rare bloodline.

A short wave of electricity passed through her eyes as she remembered Tobi taking her down, making full use of his intangibility and his Kamui, along with his chained sickles and raw taijutsu experience. Despite being lightning incarnate, she couldn't keep up with the man.

The idea of being surrounded by those similar to her might and being able to take hard missions was too tantalising to decline.

Nagato had told her she was a free partner, meaning she usually took missions alone but if her abilities were needed, she was paired with someone. Like Tobi and Zetsu, who best worked alone.

Back to the current situation Itachi and Nagato were in, the clan killer said, "He sealed us out of the room and escaped through the window."

"You two can run at remarkable speeds. Why didn't you run at full speed?" Here, Nagato didn't get an answer. "I see…you, Kisame, why were you so easily defeated?"

"A…mysterious ninja came out of nowhere. He was much faster than me, Lord Pein."

Rai cocked her head to the side curiously. 'Much faster than Kisame? Kisame has a quarter of my speed. If he had to be able to go faster than him, he would be able to create electricity with his body.' She furrowed her eyes and looked down slightly. 'Just like me…'

"That cannot be possible." Nagato spat. "You weren't going all out."

"I was." Kisame refrained from snapping out. Just barely.

"Then why didn't you make use of your shark form, or turn the terrain in your favour?" Nagato's voice felt like an overbearing weight as Kisame kept silent, "I see…you underestimated the child and your opponent…" he leaned back on his throne. "I see you two are not capable of completing this little mission." Both kept silent, but Zetsu shuffled a little bit away from Kisame when the shark man clenched his fist so tightly they cracked loudly. Not in the least bit intimidated Nagato continued. "I will give you two one more chance to redeem yourselves." The duo bowed slightly. Kisame's shoulders even slumped in relief. "But you will be going with Rai in case this 'mysterious ninja' shows up again." Both nodded in acceptance. "I will summon you when you are to collect the Kyuubi holder. Dismissed."

The holograms in the meeting blinked out of life, and Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, and Sasori were gone, leaving the rest to stare at each other.

Rai turned on her heels and began walking to her room in the Amekage's tower.

"Where are you going, Rai?" Itachi asked and stepped beside her. Kisame walked by her other side. Despite this, she wasn't intimidated. Not one bit.

"I'm going to my room to get my bag; I hear there's a beast in the mountains near Hidden Chill and I want its head. How about you guys?" her steel feet clinked quietly against the stone floor as her eyes followed the electricity coursing through the dim light bulbs above her. "Lord Pein needs to change these." She raised a silver gauntlet and tapped a bub. Immediately the bulb and the bulbs connected to it brightened up exponentially until the whole tower was well-lit. She sighed. "Much better."

Kisame shrugged. "The dim lights add an ominous effect, don't you think?" Rai scoffed. "Where are we going, Itachi?"

"We are going to spar. Care to join us before you leave?"

"Yeah. I've got some time for a spar." She had been in the Akatsuki for a year now and she still hadn't sparred against anyone; this was the second time she was in Hidden Rain. She had been spending the majority of her time burning her energy by taking impossible missions from Iwagakure and other villages.

Yes, she had a very good grasp on her adrenaline and her lightning but she still liked the rush of a good mission.

"All out spar."

Rai raised an amused eyebrow at Itachi, the person who spoke. "Are you sure? I mean, I hit hard."

"Trust me, Rai. You need your all to go against us."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Konoha

A week after their arrival

Naruto was sitting in his wheelchair in his apartment, looking out of his apartment window at the village reflecting on all that had happened in Wave after his absence.

Daku had given him the weekly report from Wave and he was glad to hear that a mall was being built and that Hidden Darkness had their eyes on his country as a potential trade alliance.

Hidden Darkness was a shinobi village that had been built underground with interconnecting tunnels. This meant that that village had a natural defence. The village preferred making trade agreements and allowing their civilians to set up shops in different villages and nations, seeing as they were a peacekeeping village. There was currently a stone masonry being set up close to the new mall site in Wave by Hidden Shadow.

The boy was trying his hand at different taijutsu fighting styles, as he may have a marginally larger chance of surviving if he at least had some coordination in his fighting.

He had been personally going to the library to look for a style that would suit his body type; slow, defence-oriented and weapons-wielding.

He hadn't found one yet. So, he had Daku go to other places to find styles for him, whether in other villages or even in remote underground caves elsewhere.

The boy scoffed when his mind briefly flicked to using Daku's fighting style; the dark shadow made use of a style abandoned by most shinobi called The Fourth Fist.

It was not a popular taijutsu style because the style made use of suicidal strikes and made the opponent see multiple openings in his counterattacks. For instance, if Daku was to punch a person across the face and the person leaned back, it would expose the side of his abdomen and his chest for a strike but if he brought his elbow back to strike the opponent's cheek with blinding speed, the opponent would be too dazed to counter the rising knee strike or the heel kick. Other instances were the cannonballs from high buildings with his weight seals at full blast or horizontal cannonballs.

Naruto didn't have the speed or confidence in his hand-to-hand abilities to be able to do that. The closest thing to a cannonball for Naruto was when he leapt off buildings and wrapped himself with his iron blue bubble, like what he had done to Orochimaru.

He would have to make do with shielding himself against attacks and throwing his snake rope and his sleeping chain at his opponent.

The seal he had used to briefly give Jiraiya control over his chakra was simply called his Perfect control seal. It gave the person being administered perfect control of their chakra, no matter how large or small the chakra capacity of the person.

The problem lay in the fact that he could only raise the duration of a single seal to ten seconds. What he did to solve this was to stack thirty of the seals on top of each other and place them on his biceps, one as a spare. That extended perfect control of his chakra to five whole minutes, irrespective of the Kyuubi chakra in his system.

Think of chakra like water in a stream. Naruto's control could only slow it down to a rapid flow but the seal could stop the water entirely. The seals were deactivated until he ever fell under a genjutsu or had to perform a jutsu that required great control.

The seal master had already created a seal to control the demon in Yakumo. The custom seal he made put the demon in a seal-induced illusion, which in itself was very hard because the demon was made up of negative chakra, which was unlike tailed beast chakra.

Naruto used an hours-worth of perfect control seals to draw a seal directly on the place the demon usually first comes out from, her neck. The seal constantly reversed the demon's chakra flow, confusing it and putting it in a permanent state of bliss and mind-numbing peace. That was the illusion put on it and that turned the demon into a catatonic vegetable, put into suspended animation.

The next thing the seal did was to have Yakumo's chakra flow through the demon as it reversed, meaning the demon's chakra and Yakumo's mixed slightly. The only consequence was that any control Yakumo had over her chakra was shot to hell.

This procedure was very dangerous.

His chakra control had to be perfect enough to put a seal on a demon. To be 100% safe, he drew containment seals around his special place in case the demon escaped. Hinata was of great help; diligently putting perfect control seals on his arm just before the last one expired.

The boy had drawn three more containment seals onto his chakra beam seal to contain the heat even more and transfer it into the attack, minimising the after-effects to a barely perceived heat on his fingers.

He tattooed the complex seal onto his left palm seeing as his right palm already had his detection seal.

Naruto had been training with the chakra beam for a week and had been seeing if he could use specific chakra natures in the attacks. He discovered that he could make use of individual chakra natures, but he couldn't combine affinities that could negate themselves like fire and water, or lightning and wind.

The attacks were very impressive and the fact that he didn't need to make use of his perfect control seal was a great plus. Another plus side was that he had upgraded his seal, making good use of the limited time to relax and think clearly. He was glad that Jiraiya backed off; admitting that the attack was equal to the Rasengan,

He was broken out of his thoughts by a quiet knock on his door. His custom alarm had already warned him of the person's presence but he had ignored it. He tapped the right arm of his wheelchair and the door snapped open to reveal a mantis mask-wearing ANBU ninja. "Been a while, kid."

Naruto smiled slightly and waved at the man. "I could say the same thing, Mantis." The ninja marched into his room and looked around, smirking under his mask when he didn't see any mess around his apartment.

"You've definitely cleaned up, that's for sure."

"I grew up." Naruto shrugged. "Do you want some tea? I have this new brew—" He stopped when the ninja waved his decline.

"I'm fine. I'm here to tell you that Lord Hokage has summoned you." The man was referring to the Tsunade Senju, the Hokage of one week. The woman had begrudgingly taken up the mantle saying something about doing it for Dan and Nawaki.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "Why does she want to see me?"

Mantis shrugged. "I honestly don't know, but the council elders are there with her. It must be important." He walked behind the boy and was about to grab hold of his wheelchair to push it out of the apartment until Naruto stood up. "Oh yeah…you can walk now…"

"Not for too long though. I'm still working on the bugs." The boy ran his detection seal over his body and nodded when he felt all his seals at their appropriate places. "Let's get going; I don't want to keep Tsunade waiting." He grabbed hold of his window sill and vaulted himself out of the window expertly like he had been doing numerous times.

Mantis wanted to reprimand Naruto for not referring to the Hokage as Lord or Lady, but he didn't do that. He was made to understand that through guarding the Hokage and overseeing Naruto, the Hokage and Naruto had a special connection.

Besides, he didn't want to ruin this little reunion with the kid by bothering him about fleeting titles and respecting elders, so he complimented the boy on leaping from the window by saying, "Nicely done, kid."

Mantis flickered beside him and ran with him on the roof. Naruto's defences do not jump up around him because Naruto recognised the ANBU ninja as not a threat. Both silently kept roof-hopping till they landed in front of the Kage's tower. Mantis personally escorted the blonde boy to the front of the Hokage's office door before he ruffled the boy's hair and went back to his post. Naruto walked up to the secretary and smiled lightly.

"Nice desk, Shizune." The desk was currently swamped with documents and the woman looked like she would pass out from exhaustion any second now. "Is it oak or mahogany?"

The young woman laughed jokily and spared the boy a short smile. "Good to see you're well, Naruto. Lady Tsunade would see you now." She motioned to the door and the boy took a deep breath, preparing himself for anything that was to come at him from the other side of the door. He pushed open the door.

Inside the room was the slug Sannin behind the Hokage's desk. She was leaning forward with her elbows on the desk and her Kage's hat not too far from her. To her right were three elders, Koharu, Homura and Danzo. All three stared blankly at the boy, who bowed politely to them.

"Do you know why you are here, Naruto?" Tsunade said after a brief silence.

"No, Lord Hokage."

'At least he can read the room,' Mantis thought, observing from his hidden corner of the room.

The woman smirked minutely before she smoothed over her expression. "I'll go straight to the point; your performance in my retrieval was stellar and Jiraiya recommended the idea of making you a ninja, maybe even evaluating you so you would be given a proper rank." Naruto kept his face in check and willed his heart to slow down. "And after personally reporting to the council on your performance, the decision was unanimous." Now she smirked. "We have agreed to make you a ninja." She pulled out a deep blue forehead protector and tossed it to the boy. "Congratulations, brat."

Naruto's eyes bugged out as he caught the hitaite. Perspiration built on his head as he clenched the cloth and metal in his grasp.

"Aren't you going to thank us?" Koharu said with barely perceived venom in her voice. The other councillors seemed to agree with what she had said. All the occupants of the room, the hidden ANBU included, watched as Naruto slowly walked up to the desk and gently dropped the hitaite onto the table, politely sliding it back to the Hokage.

"I…I can't accept this…" he started hesitantly, and the woman sat back in shock at the frown the boy had on his face.

"What do you mean you 'can't accept this'? The council has agreed to make you a ninja. You should be more appreciative," Koharu said, her venom bubbling out.

Tsunade, instead of getting angry, looked at Naruto with eyebrows furrowed in worry; since knowing the boy she had come to realise that it took a lot to get him to lose his cool and a lot more to make him openly express his sadness. "Why don't you want to be a ninja anymore, Naruto? Jiraiya said it's been your dream." She too frowned when the boy clenched his fists but hid it behind his back.

"I… don't want to be a ninja anymore. That dream has passed." Tsunade noted that the boy was incredibly talented in lying; Naruto looked her in the eyes, his voice didn't strain, his nose didn't twitch and his posture didn't slack. What gave him away were the barely perceived short breaths he was taking. "Thank you for the offer, Lord Hokage, honourable elders, but I must decline—"

"Outrageous!" Koharu couldn't hold her anger in anymore. "You dare decline an offer from the honourable council?"

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes before he opened them and looked her dead in the eyes. "Yes. I dare."

The older woman scowled and leaned forward. "You are going to accept our offer," she said quietly and in a deceptively sweet voice. "Your talents in fuinjutsu would greatly benefit your home."

"That's enough, Koharu," Tsunade said and glared at the woman when she wanted to snap at her, daring her to say whatever barb she wanted to say. "You are all dismissed. Except you, Naruto." the ANBU left but the councillors were more reluctant.

"He does not see the opportunity for growth we have set in front of him, Lady Tsunade." Danzo droned. "Give him to me—"

"Not gonna happen." She propped her head under her chin and looked at the elders.

"You are too young and inexperienced as a Hokage to know what exactly is good for Konoha," the war hawk said.

The slug Sannin stood up sharply and glared at the old councillors. "I was chosen by all of the council to lead Konoha; they saw something in me that even I didn't see and that you," she pointed at Danzo, "definitely do not have. Now, leave before you three are carted out of here on one stretcher." her nostrils flared and an enraged blast of air came out.

"Well, I never—" Koharu trilled.

Tsunade cocked her fist back and hovered intimidatingly over her desk, looking at the three menacingly. "Did you just dare defy a direct order from your superior?" Before Koharu could make their graves any deeper, Homura silently pulled the back of her sleeve.

"We'll be going now." She spared Naruto a frosty stare and stood up with a flourish. The other elders stood as well and followed the quiet man out of the door.

"I hate those sour prunes so damn much," Tsunade seethed and rubbed her forehead to calm herself down. She looked up at Naruto and expected at least a small jab at her age but didn't get any. She lightly kicked a small hole under the desk and an assortment of sake and wine slid out. "Glad to see sensei still have these here," she murmured to herself as she took a cup from the rack and poured a glass into it, she chugged the sake down and sighed. "The older the better, I always say."

She expected Naruto to take a jab at her age, but again he said nothing.

She refrained from diving into the fine wine rack as she remembered the boy who was still in her office. "Why don't you want to be a ninja Naruto?" She dropped her cup and pushed the wine rack back into its hidden compartment under the desk.

"I guess I lost interest." He shrugged.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Fine. Seeing as you're a civilian, I can't force you to be a ninja." She carefully studied his face and sighed when he didn't cave. "You know you can talk to me, Naruto."

Naruto scoffed at what she said. "Just because we've travelled together doesn't mean I can confide anything to you, Tsunade."

"I guess you're right." Her shoulders sagged. "But nothing says we can't at least be friends."

The blonde boy raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Where is this coming from?"

This time her eyes drooped and her shoulders sagged even more, as if she was carrying a heavier weight than the Hokage's title. "I knew your parents…" The solemn atmosphere was broken by Naruto snorting.

"Of course, you knew them. Lord Third knew them. Jiraiya knew them. I think Orochimaru knows them. Every one of the Hokage's guards knew them."

"How did you know?"

Naruto crossed his arms. "I have eyes. I see how uncomfortable everyone is around me."

"…Do you know who they were?"

"I have a hunch on who my parents are. Yes."

"Tell me who you think they are. I'll confirm if you're right."

"Kushina Uzumaki was my mother." The Hokage motioned for him to continue. "I checked the migration log in the library—which is a public record as of ten years ago—and the only Uzumaki that were in Konoha were Mito Uzumaki, the Lord First's wife, and Kushina Uzumaki. Mito is too old to be my mother and a little snooping around later I found out that both were jinchuriki." Tsunade didn't want to ask him just who he had to interrogate; maybe it was an older civilian or shinobi. "And seeing as I'm the current jinchuriki, I guessed that I'm her son, correct?"

"…Yes. You're correct." She coughed into her hand and wondered how deep the boy could go if he wanted to find out something. "And your father?"

"The Fourth, Namikaze Minato. It can't be a coincidence that the Hokage's guard dances around the topic when I bring it up. That and, I couldn't have been randomly picked from the orphanage. Plus, I have blonde hair and a flair for seals, and I'm definitely not a Yamanaka."

"You're very thorough."

"I don't like being left in the dark."

"Sensei wanted to tell you when you were much older but I think you're ready to see what they left you." She stood up and walked to the Fourth Hokage's picture and unsealed a fairly large scroll from behind it. "They didn't know that they would be dying the same day they would give birth to you but they already willed all they owned to you, just in case. Here's a letter."

The boy gingerly took it from her and read:

Dear son,

Hey there, it's your dad! I'm not sure why I'm doing this but your mother and I agreed that we should follow our gut feeling and write something down for you. Our gut feelings are what keep us alive in the trenches you know.

If you're reading this letter, we're probably dead—

Here the line broke up as if the writer had been hit with something seeing as the 'd' was stretched almost halfway through the scroll, the next words had different, curlier handwriting.

-Kushina here, son.

Don't listen to that idiot; Minato has never been smooth with words.

What he MEANT to say was that we not be present to take care of you. We're both Ninjas of Konoha. Her lines wavered a bit; I just want you to know that if we aren't there to raise you, we love you with everything in our entire beings.

The blonde boy could only imagine the red-haired woman laughing nervously and her husband patting her shoulders. Naruto's legs felt weak.

We're leaving this letter with old man Sarutobi to give you whenever you ask about us if we aren't there ourselves. I hope to the heavens Jiraiya won't fuc—mess up as a godfather. I know Mikoto wouldn't leave you to the dust; she's your godmother, by the way. She may be quiet at first but if you get to know her, she's a real sweetheart. Say 'hi' to her if she's there!

A slow tear crawled down the boy's face as he continued reading.

We've left you with absolutely everything we own, even Minato boxers!

He chuckled under his breath and sniffed, imagining his mother giggling.

The estate and all our investments are willed to you and only to you, but I trust Mikoto to look after everything until you're given.

Anyways, how are you? I'm not sure how old you are now but despite that, I know you inherited my genius in seals! Oh…and Minato's too…but mostly mine. A mother knows. Know that whatever you choose to be in the future, a ninja or a civilian or even a tyrant, we will always be proud of you. That's how much we love you. Don't ever doubt that. But we hope you will do something worthwhile with your life. If you have Kyuubi in you, tell him I said 'hi' too. Kurama is really, really smart, listen to him if you have him.

Well, we have to go…

A large red lipstick kiss came after this and a heart beside it.

We love you!

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the Princess of Whirlpool, Kushina Uzumaki.

Naruto took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes after reading it.

He had told himself that confirming his parents' identities wouldn't get to him.

Right now, though, he felt like a 500-pound weight on his chest had been lifted and he could finally breathe.

He opened his eyes and hastily rubbed his tears out with his sleeve, taking a few breaths to control his breathing, before his eyes caught a small storage seal at the bottom. He unsealed whatever was inside, not wanting to think his parents left a trap there.

What he saw had more drops of tears come out of his eyes; Minato and a heavily pregnant Kushina were smiling into a camera as they were having an impromptu date in Ichiraku Ramen. Kushina was waving her hand and smiling into the camera, defying all assumptions that she would be weak during pregnancy and Minato was laughing quietly to himself as he pulled her into a side hug, about to feed her some ramen noodles.

His parents were adorable.

'They didn't abandon me…. They loved me…'

He blindly unsealed a seat and sat down beside the window. His eyes were still glued onto his parents' letter, memorising each stroke and trying to feel the emotion they were feeling as they wrote it. From his mother's curly handwriting, he knew that she was a very emotional woman, finding it very hard to hide her feelings for anything. She was probably stubborn too, if the fact that she was Uzumaki hinted at it.

His father's calligraphy was…lighter like he was instinctively preparing to drop the pen and take up his weapons; this meant that he was very protective, probably for what or who he loved.

"When I sometimes sleep over at their place, I'd hear Kushina singing to you before she goes to sleep," Tsunade said softly as she pulled up a seat beside her fellow blonde. "And she would talk about how 'cool' you were going to be when you were born. 'You were their son,' she would say." Naruto chuckled again, nodding his head at her words. "Minato would always boast about the things he was going to teach you. They loved you much more than anything they could put on paper." Naruto nodded again with his head lowered slightly. Tsunade patted the boy's shoulder gently. "They left more letters at their estate; they're all over the place. Do you want to go there now?"

Naruto nodded his head slowly. "Yes. If you don't mind."

Tsunade quickly organised her desk and told Shizune, her assistant, that she was heading out and that she wouldn't be back for a while. She again patted Naruto's shoulder and led him to the Namikaze-Uzumaki estate.

Authors note

So? How did I do? Did I do well?

An emotional chapter, this one was.

Tell me what you all think; I'd really like to know.

See you later.

Please review.

Foy.