I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.
I OWN ALL THE OCs in this story.
This work is my own work and cannot be published by someone else without my consent.
Chapter 12
The Revelations
He opened his eyes.
Momentarily blinded by the bright light shining through the window of his room, he quickly moved in to draw the curtains.
Wait! What the hell was he doing in his room in the afternoon?
It was then that the memories hit him. Memories of how their team went to their very first C-rank mission, the bandit camp, his use of Chiton, and how he collapsed for the very first time in his life.
Being an Uzumaki, he never had any issues with the lack of chakra, well except when using Amenotejikara, given his massive reserves. He had apparently miscalculated his limits in Chiton and burnt out all his chakra. The last Amenotejikara was the final straw in the hat as his body finally gave out and sent him to blissful sleep.
'I have to admit though, waking up after completely exhausting myself feels oddly refreshing.'
He did remember seeing Jiraiya at the end, and judging by the fact that he could feel Kushina's chakra from her room, he concluded that she was safe as well.
Well, at least the mission was a success…
Sighing, he got up from his bed and did a few stretches, taking his time to wake up his body and put his racing thoughts to rest. He then took a light shower, getting ready for the day.
Soon, the redhead emerged from his room, entering the hall, only to be tackled in a hug by another redhead, which he concluded was Kushina.
"Nii-san! You are awake!" Kushina exclaimed, making no effort to hide her happiness and joy, which instantly lightened Naruto's day up.
"Kushina, how are you? Are you alright? You weren't injured, were you?" Naruto asked worriedly. Even though Jiraiya was present during the mission, he couldn't help but worry for his sister.
"ME? You literally had chakra exhaustion that Jiraiya-sensei exclaimed was the worst one he had seen since the war, and you are asking about me? You have been asleep for two and a half days, 'ttebane!" the redhead exclaimed, her voice bordering between worry and annoyance.
"WAIT WHAT!? Two and a half days! Are you kidding me?!"
"Nope, my clones had to literally carry you all the way to Konoha." Kushina replied, her bright expression slowly making its way back onto her face.
Naruto chose not to reply as he got his mind around the fact that he had been asleep for more than two days. His Chiton must be so incredibly chakra taxing that he had burned through all of his massive reserves only by using Chiton and an Amenotejikara.
"Yeah, and also, the mission was then upgraded to B-rank. Don't worry though, I have already collected our pay…"
—X—X—X—
"Ano… nii-san?"
"Hmmm… What is it, Kushina?"
"During our return journey, ya know, when my clones were carrying you back to the village, Jiraiya sensei kept giving you a weird look. Did something happen between the two of you?" Kushina asked, recalling their return journey.
This caught the redhead's interest as he began pondering on the situation.
'Why would Jiraiya look at me weirdly? I don't think I did something wrong. Maybe it was the dry corpses and the large amount of blood where I used my Chiton, or maybe…'
His mind flashed back to the moment just before he fainted, as he remembered the last thing that went through his mind at that time.
Naruto's expression quickly turned serious as he asked Kushina, "Are you sure he was looking at me and not something else?"
Kushina, not understanding why Naruto got serious all of a sudden, had a worried expression on her face, "Yeah, I confirmed it with Minato. Is there a problem?"
"Kushina, it could be a problem, or maybe it's just paranoia from my side, I will see to some things and tell you later."
—X—X—X—
It was evening time now. Naruto had not left his room since then. In light of the recent information, he suspected that Jiraiya must know about his Rinnegan. If his speculation is correct, then this could possibly throw a wrench in his plans. So, he spent all afternoon recalculating and going through different scenarios, in order to proceed smoothly with all his plans for the future.
He was certain that if Jiraiya was aware of the situation, then the Sandaime Hokage must know about it too. He understood that he could not deceive the Hokage, nor could he fabricate a lie. What he needed to do was to slightly manipulate the truth and present it in his favor."
After hours of brainstorming and banging his head on his desk, Naruto was finally ready to face the Hokage. He put on appropriate clothing and took his katana, which he sealed into his wrist just in case things went wrong. After physically and mentally preparing himself for the worst and hoping for the best, the red-headed ninja headed towards the door, intent on facing the Sandaime.
—X—X—X—
"Hey, Ni-san!"
Naruto turned around, only to be greeted by Kushina, who was dressed up, probably for an outing.
"Hm… What is it?"
"Y-you see, me and Minato were going to the movies tonight, and since you are up and healthy, we were wondering if you would like to tag along…"
"I appreciate the gesture Kushina, but I have some things to take care of." The redhead replied, inwardly surprised that Kushina would like him to tag along.
Kushina never did like any disturbance during her alone time with Minato…
"And besides, you think I don't know how much you want your alone time with your Mina-kun…" added Naruto, this time with a teasing smirk on his face.
Soon, Naruto had to quickly dodge a kunai, followed by a couple of shuriken, and a frying pan? thrown at his face, courtesy of Kushina. After dodging the potentially dangerous projectiles, Naruto looked up to see the cherry-red face of Kushina, which was a mix of anger, embarrassment, and even more embarrassment.
"H-how do you know about THAT? It was supposed to be my and his secret!" Kushina asked, visibly fuming.
Naruto's smirk grew even wider as he replied, "Oh-ho, so the little sister thinks she can HIDE things from her brother, hm?"
Kushina grew even more red, if possible, to the point that she was not able to speak anymore. Taking this as his cue to leave, Naruto unlocked the door and stepped out of their apartment. Just before leaving, he turned around and leveled a stern look at Kushina.
"I hope you guys have a great time, but remember, NO FUNNY BUSINESS."
He barely had the time to use the Shurado to create a metal shield to block the flurry of projectiles, ranging wide from kunai and shuriken to frying pans and their fridge?
Wait, What?
—X—X—X—
The Uzumaki enigma was taking a walk around the village. He had his hands in his pockets and was lazily looking around, appearing bored and disinterested.
To the common eye, it would look like he is a civilian who is totally off guard.
But in reality, he had his hands ready to unseal his Katana, his chakra infused to use Suiton, and his mind ready for a battle.
He knew that he could not take the issue directly to the Sandaime, for there was still a little chance that he did not know at all.
But if he did know, then there were only two possibilities.
One, he would be summoned by the hokage and they would have a formal and civilized meeting, possibly in the presence of Jiraiya. There, Naruto could present his case, and since he technically didn't break any laws, he could get off scot-free.
Two, there would be a sudden attack on him by the Hokage's ANBU, who would try capture him and detain him. There, he would be interrogated. The worst case would be him becoming a weapon for the leaf, only to be brought out during wars. Or his body would be used and studied to replicate his prowess.
If things go the first way, then Naruto would preferably end things on a peaceful note. While it could possibly strain his relations with the Hokage, it was still the best that could happen. And if by any twist of fate, things go the second way, then there was no way in hell, that HE, THE WILL OF THE UZUMAKI, would be captured like a dog, and be used as a lab rat. In that case, he would probably use force, and escape the village.
After all, the soul of the Uzumaki loves its freedom…
Breaking out of his thoughts, Naruto realized that he had reached the park.
What he saw in the park immediately brightened his mood,
There, Kimiko, his surrogate little sister, was playing with her friends, looking completely carefree and happy. The once little girl was still a little girl, only four years older. She was now nine, having joined the academy last year. Apparently, she chose Naruto as her role model, and like him, was determined to be the best in her age group. According to Haru-san, she had cemented her place in the top three of the class, much to Naruto's delight.
On the other side of the park, he noticed Sakumo-san, who was spending some time with his three year old son, Kakashi.
Kakashi was a sweet and adorable child, who would always get fascinated by the shinobi arts and try his best to act like his father. In his attempt to look as cool and stoic as a ninja, little Kakashi began sporting a mask on his face, hiding the lower part of his face up to his nose, leaving only his eyes and spiked up hair in view. From what he had observed, Sakumo's kid was a truly gifted boy, as he could mold his chakra at such a young age. AT THREE!
Sakumo explained to him that the Hatake shinobi family had a special trait where they would unlock their chakra very early, as such, they would be trained at an early age, and would be comparatively better than other ninjas their age. He was even planning on sending Kakashi to the academy when he turned five!
He could see it all from where he stood at the edge of the park. His little sister enjoying her life to the fullest, Sakumo-san looking all the more delighted at having his mini-me.
It was all starting to overwhelm him.
'I can't believe I was thinking about leaving this place… I cannot, I have people I love here, and I have people who love me. If not for them, where would I be?… Granted, I would choose Uzu over Konoha in a heartbeat, but… I can't let it all go away so easily, can I?
No, I will fight for this place. I will do my best to conserve my relationship with the Hokage…'
With new determination burning like a blazing fire in his golden orbs of eyes, Naruto started making his way over to the park, maybe for some wise words from Sakumo…
However, he was suddenly stopped from his track as his way was blocked by an ANBU, sporting a black cloak covering his body, and a bear mask.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you are hereby summoned by the Hokage. Your presence is required immediately."
Before Naruto could even reply, the ANBU put a hand on his shoulder and they vanished in a quick shunshin.
—X—X—X—
knock knock knock
"Come in!"
The Uzumaki entered the Hokage's office with a confident, yet emotionless expression.
Sitting in front of him was the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing his Hokage cloak and hat. He had a blank expression on his face and was smoking a pipe. Standing beside him was Jiraiya of the Sannin, with his arms folded and a stern look on his face.
Now, this scene would have scared the crap out of him if he was younger. But, he had gotten used to the Professor's and Jiraiya's presence over time.
Though he would still pass out if they started unleashing their KI.
Hiruzen quickly weaved a sign with his left hand, and Naruto could feel the ANBU disappearing from the office.
"Have a seat, Naruto-kun."
Naruto immediately followed the order and sat down, feeling more confident. He had also latched his chakra onto the table, ready for a kawarimi at a moment's notice.
"Now, I am sure that you know what this meeting is about…"
Naruto nodded, flashing his three-tomoed Rinnegan eyes, staring straight into the eyes of the Sandaime and the Jiraiya, as both of them instantly stiffened up, getting ready for combat.
"You were right, Jiraiya, these truly are the eyes of the sage of six paths. Hashirama-sensei once shared a Senju scroll with me that mentioned the existence and design of these eyes." the Professor commented, once more returning to the blank look on his face.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, did not say anything as he continued looking into the eyes of the legend. He was momentarily lost in memory as he recalled the three kids he used to mentor in Ame, and Nagato, the most promising one, who shared the same eyes as Naruto.
"Now, I can presume you already knew about your eyes. And don't even think about lying, I have suspected you possessing some otherworldly power ever since the incident four years ago."
Naruto maintained his steely demeanor and looked straight into the professor's eyes, "Hai. I have known about my Rinnegan for a long time."
"Hmm… So tell me this, Naruto, do you even realize how big of an information that is? Do you realize that such a piece of information could lead to a war? Do you realize the POWER THAT YOUR EYES HOLD?" Hiruzen roared at the end, leaking out a bit of his KI.
Naruto did not even flinch. No doubt, he would have already passed out under normal conditions, but with the Rinnegan active, there was no such fear in Naruto's eyes. Though he could see Jiraiya looking at him with a concerned look.
"Hai. I do."
"And you purposefully withheld this information from your Hokage. As a fellow ninja of leaf, do you realize the extent of treason you have committed?"
"I do, and I realize that I committed absolutely no treachery. As per the law, a Konoha shinobi is required to give a report on all of his skills and abilities once they turn Jonin. Prior to attaining Jonin rank, there are no requirements for a ninja to share his skills with the village, and as such, holding back such information is not considered treachery under any circumstance, as per the word of the Nidaime Hokage." Naruto replied confidently.
Hiruzen looked impressed, but broke into another question, "That is true, but the law also states that the clan head or her relatives of all clans of Konoha are required to give a report on their kekkei genkai and skill sets regularly. That is one law that you did break…"
"While that may be true, Sandaime-sama, but the law is only applicable for clans of Konoha. The Uzumaki clan, while being a recognized clan in Konoha, courtesy of Mito-sama, is not an official clan of Konoha, giving my clan a unique and special status, and as such, this law does not apply to me or Kushina. The Uzumaki clan will never belong to Konohagakure, it belongs to the land of the whirling tides, and IT WILL ALWAYS BELONG TO THE LAND OF WHIRLING TIDES!" Naruto replied, this time glaring at the Hokage. Naruto was generally emotionally stable and calm, but he, under no circumstance, would let someone claim the Uzumaki as theirs.
Hiruzen was almost appalled at the tone in which Naruto spoke to him with. The key word being almost, as he knew that he should not have implied that Uzumaki belonged to Konoha. He knew that the redheads were insanely loyal and fiercely protective of their clan, recalling the time when Mito-sama used him as a fuinjutsu test subject, when he once cracked a joke about the Uzumaki clan, back when he was a genin.
A cold shiver ran down The Professor's eyes when he thought of that.
"Alright, considering that you did not commit any crime, it still leaves the fact that the Rinnegan is not a small matter. It is a massive asset to you and to Konoha. So, why did you not tell me or Jiraiya about it, on a personal basis? Do you not trust us enough? Or are you even keeping your teammates in the dark about this?"
"No, Minato and Kushina know about my eyes. But my reason for not telling you is quite simple. What stops you from taking advantage of me? What stops you from using me for your own purposes? I know that no matter how much you might care for me, you will always prioritize the village." Naruto stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
Jiraiya and Hiruzen were taken aback by Naruto's response. Although they couldn't deny the truth behind his statement, they were surprised that a genin like Naruto could know such things. They were also shocked by the way Naruto conveyed his message, as if he had already come to terms with it.
Throughout the conversation, Hiruzen was highly impressed by Naruto's skill in politics and negotiation. He knew that Naruto was fiercely loyal to his friends and family, but he needed to know if he would show the same loyalty to the village too.
"Alright, I will admit it. Throughout the conversation, you have outplayed me very effectively. But there is one thing you forgot. I AM THE HOKAGE! This is not a democracy, it's a dictatorship. I make the laws here. I AM THE LAW. So, what will you do if I declare you an enemy or a traitor, huh? Are you going to run away?" Hiruzen asked, intent on getting to know Naruto's true intentions.
Naruto couldn't help but feel intimidated by the professor now. He knew that the Hokage's word was law, and if it came to be, then he would have to flee.
But, Naruto's convictions and thoughts of when he went to the park were still fresh in his mind. He would not run away! He would fight for this!
"NO! I will not run away. After the fall of Uzu, this village has become my home now. I have people I love here, who love me in return. I will never run away from my problems if it means I can get the closure I need from those people. I still plead my cause that even though all my actions were to my benefit, I never did and never will endanger this village. I have already lost one home, no way in hell am I losing another!"
Naruto visibly panted after his monologue. This was very emotionally straining on him and he would soon reach his limit if this continued.
However, his despair died down when for the first time since he entered the office, he saw Hiruzen and Jiraiya break out into a smile.
"Didn't I tell you sensei, he is a feisty one."
Hiruzen chuckled and replied, "You are right, he is. And now I know for sure that he can be trusted with the information."
—X—X—X—
"So, this was all a test, I presume? May I know what information will be revealed to me?" His eyes returned to their natural golden color.
"Yes, we needed to make sure that you show the same love to the village as you show to your family. And for the information we are to be revealing…." Hiruzen paused, signaling for Jiraiya to continue.
"Yeah, so in simple words gaki, this is not my first encounter with the Rinnegan…"
—X—X—X—
Naruto returned home late at midnight, with his thoughts in a deep spiral of sadness and anxiety.
A lot had been revealed during his meeting with the Sandaime and Jiraiya.
He discovered that the reason behind Jiraiya's staying back in Ame after the war was that he found three war orphans that he decided to take under his wing. They were Yahiko, Konan, and…
…Uzumaki Nagato.
After Nagato's parents passed away during the war, he became an orphan. Jiraiya later took him in along with two of his friends. Nagato's family had left Uzushio many years before the invasion, which helped to explain why there was another Uzumaki who had survived.
Naruto was extremely delighted to hear that there was another Uzumaki alive and was very ecstatic at the prospect of meeting more of his clan members. However, all his hopes were dashed when he learned that Nagato, along with his team-mates, were killed in the war.
And then there was the fact of Nagato's Rinnegan.
Even thinking about it gave Naruto a massive headache.
He knew for sure that the Rinnegan was not a kekkei genkai of the Uzumaki clan, nor was it something Uzumakis could naturally manifest.
Then how come there were two sets of the Rinnegan eyes, and coincidentally, both of them were Uzumaki?
There was only one thing that Naruto knew for sure…
…there were a lot of things unknown about the origins of the Rinnegan.
-X-X-X-
Yo guys! Hope you liked this chapter. As for the story, the plot will keep getting thicker from now on. The main arcs will begin soon.
And for the Rinnegan, its true origin will be explained later on in the story.