I don't own Naruto.
A tall man with a long ponytail could be seen walking through the streets of Konoha, white hair swaying as he walked.
This man was Jiraiya, one of the Densetsu No Sannin. His destination? The Hokage Tower.
The old Hokage had summoned him for a special meeting regarding his 'Neglected Responsibility'.
What that meant was everyone's guess.
Hiruzen was very fond of his more reliable and trusted student, ever since Orochimaru's deflection the student and teacher duo has grown closer, even if the student was rarely in the village, but still.
The sentiment was there.
What Hiruzen meant by 'Neglected responsibility' was of course one Uzumaki Naruto, he was the godfather of the boy after all.
While the title didn't carry much weight or obligation other than being the one to name the child, Jiraiya was very close to the boy's father and saw him as the son he never had. That should've counted for something.
Hiruzen was very aware of Jiraiya's service for the village as their spymaster and as such, would've never forced him to stay to raise a single child, that didn't mean he couldn't stop by sometime and spend some time with the kid, Kami knows the boy grew up lonely enough.
'He did send that Frog wallet Naruto loves carrying around.' He thought.
Maybe he was being a little harsh on the man, he just couldn't fathom the logic behind his actions after the death of Minato. Either way, the man was damn good at his job and the Hokage wouldn't argue with results.
No use crying over spilled milk.
Hiruzen took the place that he felt should've been Jiraiya's and he doesn't regret it one bit. As far as he knew Naruto was his grandchild, family means more than merely blood to him and nothing could change that.
The reason for the meeting was however more important than just Naruto.
Very few people were aware of the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre and Jiraiya -being the Hokage's most trusted advisor- was one of them.
Uchiha Itachi needed to be informed of his brother's demise and Hiruzen needed Jiraiya to get in contact with him, it would do the village good to actually learn something of the organization he infiltrated so long ago.
The old Hokage was busy doing his paperwork like he always was, paperwork was truly the bane of his existence.
He just couldn't figure out how Minato managed to always have a clean and free desk, on his right waiting for the meeting to start were two of his old teammates and advisors, the famous Konoha elders Homura and Koharu.
There used to be three of them but after one diminished his authority and went behind his back to order the extermination of the Uchiha by one of their own he completely lost his trust.
Trust that should've never been placed on him.
Shimura Danzo committed countless crimes on what he believed to be the greater good of Konoha, Hiruzen thought he was a petulant child obsessed with power he could not possess.
Everything's a matter of perception.
A knock on the door stopped the Hokage's musing.
"Come in." Ordered the man with his usual calm and collected voice.
Not long after the white haired Sannin stepped in the office he took a look at his surroundings, Jiraiya immediately realized whatever this meeting was about had to be serious upon noticing the presence of both elders at his sensei's side.
"Jiraiya-kun, nice seeing you use the door." Joked the old Hokage. It was true he always opted to use the window as his preferred method of entering the man's office, but he was so focused on thinking about the meeting's possible topic of discussion he didn't notice what he was doing until he was in front of the man.
"Well sensei you know me, always one for the unpredictable." The Hokage chuckled at the man's response and smiled warmly at him. It was truly good to see him again.
"We'll begin shortly, we're still waiting on someone else to sh-"
A poof of smoke suddenly revealed a silver haired man standing in the middle of the office.
"Yo!"
The Hokage chuckled again, this time at the elite Jounin and his carefree attitude.
"Oh Kakashi, it's nice to see you show up on time." The Hokage knew very well the reason behind the man showing up on time but still couldn't pass up the opportunity to jab at him.
"I decided to change things up a little as per your… suggestion, Hokage-sama." Explained the Jounin while giving the Hokage and everyone present in the room one of his eye smiles.
Jiraiya would've usually greeted the man and talked with him about the incredible work of art that is his Icha Icha book series, but his sudden appearance and the fact the Hokage was waiting on him was making the perverted sannin question the nature of this meeting.
Hiruzen seemed to have caught up on this because he immediately cleared his throat and started.
"The reason for this meeting is to discuss the recent death of Konoha's 'Last Loyal Uchiha' and the whereabouts of one Uchiha Itachi." Proclaimed the Hokage much to the Jounin's confusion.
Kakashi perked up at the name of his old colleague turned traitor. "Itachi?"
"What you're about to learn Kakashi is an S-class secret and arguably Konoha's darkest secret, the only people aware of this with the exception of two are all present in this room." Explained the Hokage, the gentleness in his voice now gone, in his place was the voice of a leader and a seasoned commander that led this village to a victory in two wars.
"Is there a reason we're telling the gaki about this, sensei?" Jiraiya understood why the boy's death was important to the village and by extension Itachi, but he failed to understand why or how Kakashi was involved in all this, he was also pretty sure Itachi was very much aware of his brother's death by now.
"Naturally, Kakashi is not only the shinobi in this village I trust the most but is also the Jounin sensei in charge of Sasuke's team."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at that.
He - of course - knew Sarutobi had tried to make Kakashi a sensei more than once; he also knew Kakashi failed every single team he ever got. Jiraiya knew his sensei wouldn't have forced Kakashi to train Sasuke just because of his sharingan which meant the Jounin willingly passed a team.
Was involving Kakashi merely a formality?
"Who are the other members of his team?"
For some reason he couldn't quite understand, the self proclaimed super-pervert was dreading asking that question.
Kakashi answered before the Hokage could, giving Jiariya a side glance.
"A civilian born girl by the name of Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto."
The Copycat ninja was aware of the man's relationship to the boy's father so he knew he would instantly recognize that name.
"Oh." Was all the response he could give.
"Back to the matter at hand, Kakashi, I will now explain to you the truth behind the Uchiha massacre and why we need to find Itachi…
"After the Kyuubi incident, rumor spread that it was an Uchiha after the attack."
"It was made stronger because the Uchiha didn't aid in battle against it. However, the truth is that they weren't allowed to because of their duty as the Military Police force required them to aid in evacuating the villagers and little more."
"Shouldn't they have been allowed to aid after they were done? It was a massive attack." Said Kakashi.
"That it was…" Answered Hiruzen with a Grim look. "Evacuating the civilians took a lot of time and effort, by the time they were done Minato had already teleported the Kyuubi out of the village."
Kakashi and his generation were forbidden to aid in the battle against the Kyuubi, the older shinobi knew it was going to be the end for the lot of them.
They wouldn't have risked the future of the village.
"What about the civilians they helped evacuate?" He asked.
"The civilian population wouldn't have been able to fully understand what was going on at the time…" Answered Koharu. "Even if they knew they were being saved by the Uchiha, that's what made it easy for the rumor to grow."
"At the time I didn't know it but I was later informed that it was orchestrated by Danzo, my former teammate." Interrupted Hiruzen.
"I allowed the trust of the village for the Uchiha to fall to the point of almost disappearing. Danzo pushed for the amount of Uchiha performing as active duty shinobi of the village to be lowered to levels around the dozens while every other was bound to the village as a member of the police and it all happened because I let it."
"They were stripped from every position of power they held and I allowed everything to happen because I was too blind to the truth lying in front of me. Nothing pains me more than knowing everything that followed was primarily my fault."
"Years of mistrust and abuse led the Uchiha to a stalemate and the only solution they could find was revolution, the Uchiha started planning a Coup d'etat and assigned Itachi to spy on us, they counted on the advantages being an ANBU captain granted him to their favor."
"Itachi however was a shinobi loyal to the bone, he along with Shisui informed us of their plans and we started working on a peaceful solution for it, they both started to work as double spies for us."
"Shisui told us of a special Jutsu he called Kotoamatsukami. It was apparently the special trait of his Mangekyou Sharingan, an incredibly powerful genjutsu he assured was both undetectable by anything other than a Dojutsu and unbreakable. He planned to use it on Fugaku to stop the insurrection from happening."
"Sadly, not long after that Shisui comitted suicide."
"I of course don't believe such a thing and I know Danzo was involved in it but have no way to prove otherwise."
"Why would he even do such a thing?" Asked a troubled Kakashi.
"That is the question, isn't it? I can't claim to understand his motives or what he wished to gain from it." Answered Hiruzen.
"Days after Shisui's demise, Danzo approached Itachi behind my back and convinced him that wiping out the Uchiha was the only way to stop a civil war from happening, I'm sure you can figure out the rest yourself."
"And Itachi…" Started Kakashi.
"Itachi was branded an S-class missing nin and was ordered to infiltrate an organization Orochimaru was a part of. The only thing he asked from us after everything he had been put through was that we took care of his brother." Said Hiruzen, answering Kakashi's question before he even had the time to ask.
"Hokage-sama I-"
"Don't Kakashi, Itachi knew very well the risks of being a Shinobi, he wanted to protect Sasuke from the dangers that reside within this village and I made sure that… danger never even got close to him."
Kakashi's shoulder tensed up, although his expression remained looking stoic.
"Don't blame yourself for this too."
"I understand." Replied the Jounin, his head bowing slightly. "But…" Kakashi looked outside the office's window, a conversation with his student fresh on his memory.
-
"Can I ask you something, sensei?" Asked Naruto seriously. Kakashi looked confused by the boy's sudden mood change but complied nonetheless, whatever it was Naruto needed to ask was clearly important to him.
"Sasuke, he- he asked me to 'avenge them..." Trailed off the boy, not sure of how he was going to ask the question or what the question he needed to ask really was.
"He meant the man who massacred the Uchiha, right? He wants me to k-kill his brother, right?"
Kakashi was completely taken aback by this, why is Naruto even asking him this? Shouldn't the Hokage be the better candidate to ask these questions?
Kakashi nodded his head slowly, stealing a glance to the fidgeting boy, "That does seem to be the case."
"Do you think I- Should I do it sensei?"
Kakashi flinched unnoticeably, he didn't want his late student's last wish to be ignored but he knew better, he knew what revenge could do to a person.
He decided he was going to be honest with Naruto.
"Revenge… interesting concept wouldn't you agree?" Naruto wasn't expecting that answer from his sensei, his head tilted to the side slightly and narrowed his eyes as if it would help to better understand Kakashi's words.
Seeing his student's struggle, Kakashi decided to explain things differently.
"I spent some time with Sasuke talking about the same thing, to him it wasn't a matter of if he should do it but rather when." Kakashi looked at Naruto and eye-smiled.
"I never managed to convince him not to."
"Why would you try to convince him not to avenge his clan?" Asked Naruto.
"Jiraiya-sama used to say hatred only brings more hatred, I always knew I wouldn't be able to convince him not to but… I had hope that I would convince him to do it differently." Explained Kakashi.
"What do you mean, sensei?"
"Sasuke only had one friend, he only had one person he was close to and that person was you." Kakashi explained further.
"Do you know why, Naruto?"
The boy shook his head.
"Sasuke's only goal was to avenge his clan, he let himself be blinded by hatred and chose to live a life of solitude for his self imposed mission." Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "For you he made an exception."
"So you're saying I shouldn't continue Sasuke's mission?"
"Whether you continue with his mission is completely up to you but…." Kakashi eye-smiled at him again.
"What good is the mission if we lose ourselves in it?"
-
"Sasuke asked Naruto to carry on his revenge, I believe Naruto intends to honor his wishes." Said Kakashi without looking away from the sky.
"That is… interesting." Trailed off Hiruzen. "Not much we can do about it I'm afraid, I will honor my agreement with Itachi, we owe him that much."
"Shouldn't we tell Naruto then? I'm sure he won't say anything if we explain why it's important." Asked Kakashi.
"Itachi wished to be the one to carry the Uchiha's burden, he intended for Sasuke to be the one to redeem the clan, he never said it but I believe Itachi wished to be killed by him." Said Hiruzen.
"So you want Naruto to take his place?" Asked the Jonin.
"What I want isn't important, what Naruto-kun ends up doing about it will be completely up to him, it is your job as his sensei to guide him in the right path, Kakashi." Said Hiruzen in a stern voice.
Kakashi realized what the Hokage said was true, he thought Naruto should be aware at least that Itachi wasn't an evil killer; he would respect the last Uchiha's wishes though, the Hokage was right, they all owed him at least that much.
Seeing as that topic was over, the tallest man in the room decided to keep moving the conversation forward.
"So you want me to locate Itachi and inform him of his brother's demise, sensei?" Jiraiya couldn't see why such a meeting was necessary for this task, especially because he had no doubt Itachi already knew about it. Why was he called here just to discuss that?
"Yes and no, I also want you to get every bit of information he has on this Akatsuki. Itachi hasn't informed us of anything useful about them." Explained Hokage.
So it's more than just a formality
"I understand Jiraiya-sama's place in all this but I don't really get why I am even being told about this." Kakashi was very confused, he was honored to be the Hokage's most trusted Shinobi but he just couldn't understand why he needed to be there, surely just being Sasuke's sensei didn't mean he had to know about Itachi.
"I was getting there. Kakashi, I want you to assist Jiraiya. I plan on establishing a safe way of communication between Itachi and the village; Jiraiya can't focus solely on that while there's other pressing matters he needs to investigate, you'll become Itachi's handler of sorts." Explained the Hokage.
That made a lot of sense to both Jiraiya and Kakashi, Itachi's information has been very limited so far but Hiruzen knew he would have to find a way to convey that information without much trouble, there was no one in else in the village that could take the perverted Sannin's place for this.
"There's also-"
The door of the office suddenly burst open and in walked a heavily bandaged man with a cane.
"Hokage-sama, what is this troubling news about the Uzumaki boy stealing a Sharingan?"
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes for a moment before regaining his composure, he could use this to his favor, it wasn't like Danzo to slip up like this and it was important he took this opportunity.
"Pray tell just how exactly you know about this Danzo? I seem to remember that information being a very guarded secret known to just 5 people, all sworn to secrecy, are you perhaps… spying on me?" Inquired Hiruzen.
He of course knew he was being spied on, but there was no way for him to prove Root's existence after he ordered the Warhawk to disband it years ago.
"I don't know what you're talking about, old friend, I am an esteemed member of this village, is it too hard to believe that I just happened to hear about it?" Danzo knew Hiruzen couldn't prove his accusations, funnily enough, he did just happen to hear about it when he was visiting a family member in the hospital.
It would surprise many people how much you can find out if you disguise one of your agents as a nurse.
"The boy didn't steal anything, young Sasuke was his friend and willingly chose to give up his eye before dying to replace the one Naruto lost in battle." Explained Hiruzen, he knew Danzo was playing him and decided to move the conversation forward instead of falling into provocation.
"Feelings such as friendship are a hindrance to the shinobi way-"
"I don't remember asking for your opinion, Danzo." Interrupted Hiruzen, his voice dripping venom when speaking the man's name.
The tension in the room was palpable for everyone but no one dared speak a word, they all knew Hiruzen was more than capable of handling the other without much trouble.
Homura and Koharu were… conflicted.
Before the Kyuubi incident they both were supporters of Danzo's ideals but started to turn to a more neutral ground after they saw the man for what he really was.
Koharu however completely turned over to Hiruzen and Jiraiya after Kushina's death, while they were never really close she was very fond of the red head and wanted to help her son as much as possible.
Which she did, while she never made herself present in the boy's life she made a point to make it a bit easier, that's why when Hiruzen mentioned Naruto wanted to live on his own - she provided a decent sized apartment for a single person in a shinobi building where he would always be guarded.
"I'm going to tell you this just once, if something happens to Naruto or his eye I will hold you accountable, don't try to play games with me; I would recognize your handiwork anywhere. Now leave my office, you interrupted a meeting you were not invited to."
"How rude of me, I didn't realize I was interrupting." Said the man in a voice so stoic it came off as mocking. "I'll be on my way now."
Danzo didn't lose anything in this encounter, he wasn't interested in the boy's eye. He already had more than enough Sharingan.
It would've been nice to get his hands on him, he showed much promise as an asset for the village.
The boy was out of his reach though and it would cause him more trouble than it was worth to make an attempt on him now.
He was only there because he wanted to know if what he heard was true, to think Konoha's so called 'Last loyal Uchiha' is now dead, what would Itachi think if he found out his dear brother had an eye stolen? He wonders.
It truly is a pity that Itachi wouldn't believe a word he says.
What truly is a concern for Danzo is what the Uchiha would do now that his brother is dead, it would seem like preparations for a possible conflict are in order.
In any way, now that he revealed his card he would've to pull out his agent from the hospital, there's no way Hiruzen wouldn't run a thorough background check on everyone there now.
After the warhawk left, the old Hokage turned to address his student and teammates.
"That was what I was going to talk to the both of you about. Don't worry about it, Kakashi and I are aware it won't remain a secret forever but for now the less people that know about it the better." He then analized everyone in the room for a while and nodded to himself, some things needed to be taken care of.
"The meeting is over. Kakashi, Koharu and Jiraiya stay with me for a little while, there's something concerning Naruto I need to talk to you about."
Homura took that as his cue and swiftly left the office.
"Kakashi, I've been thinking a lot lately and I have decided I will allow you to inform Naruto of his father and your relationship to him if you wish." Declared the Hokage much to the surprise of the men present in the room.
"But sensei I-"
"I've made my decision Jiraiya, Naruto is more than ready to keep the secret and the boy deserves to know the truth, if anyone here has a right to tell him it's Kakashi."
Jiraiya didn't reply to that.
He was supposed to be the one to tell him but he didn't plan on it anytime soon, Jiraiya might've died without ever telling the boy.
"You're welcome to approach the boy before you leave the village if you wish, Kakashi has a meeting with them after this is all over and I'm sure he'll get to it sometime today, right Kakashi?" Asked Hiruzen but Kakashi knew it was an order.
"Yes Hokage-sama." Answered the Jounin.
Even if he didn't show it Kakashi was internally dodging bullets, he was told Jiraiya was the one who would tell Naruto when he felt the time was right and never gave the notion much thought.
What was bothering him was what Naruto would think of him, Kakashi was never told he couldn't approach Naruto when he was younger and he was recently told Naruto was placed on his team for the sole purpose of them getting to know each other.
Kakashi pushed Naruto away and he was now painfully aware of that fact, will Naruto hate him after he finds out?
There was however a light of hope in Kakashi's lone visible eye, to be able to tell the boy about his father felt… right, Kakashi considered this an honor so he would do it no questions asked.
"There's other things we need to discuss…"
Said the Hokage interrupting his and everyone's thoughts.
"I'm growing suspicious of Danzo every passing day, he… he truly cares about Konoha, but his methods are very questionable."
Hiruzen knew the two most loyal Shinobi this village ever produced very well, one of those two is Danzo.
"We need evidence, solid evidence of his wrongdoings…" Hiruzen sighed looking at the people gathered around him. "It pains me dearly to say this but…
We need to get rid of him.
Naruto and Sakura could be seen walking out of the pink haired girl's favorite tailor shop.
This morning after their last shared meeting with Tsutsuji for the foreseeable future, Naruto told her he felt like his new outfit didn't feel his yet. He liked it very much but it was still lacking something, after sometime he figured out his new clothes didn't have the Uzumaki crest anywhere.
Sakura of course accompanied the blond home to get all his newly bought jackets so he could get them done. It was then she had a really good idea. They had been looking for some time for a way to always carry Sasuke with them and Naruto just gave her a great idea.
That was why Naruto now had a big Uzumaki swirl on the back of his jacket and both him and Sakura now sported an Uchiha fan on top of their left chests right above their hearts. It wasn't much but they both thought it was fitting, Sasuke wouldn't have wanted something big anyway.
He was a rather simple guy.
"Oi! Forehead!" Called out a blonde girl that was now rushing towards the both of them accompanied by a chubby boy and a boy with black hair tied in a high messy ponytail.
Sakura immediately recognized them as Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji and Nara Shikamaru, the current Team 10 and the newest InoShikaCho formation.
"Hey guys!" Greeted Naruto before both girls started bantering with each other.
Naruto was fond of the boys in team 10, they were never really friends in the academy days but they had always been nice to each other.
He had no real relationship with Ino but they were civil.
"Naruto! You got new clothes, I'm glad you got rid of that hideous jumpsuit." Said Ino
"Hehe, was it really that bad?" Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly
"Yes, yes it was."
"Sakura helped me pick the new look, after what happened we both felt like we needed to change some stuff y'know?" Naruto said as Ino analized his new outfit from every position.
"And why are you wearing your headband that way, trying to look like that Kakashi guy?" Questioned Ino, regretting instantly having opened her mouth.
"Uhmm no, I lost an eye in the mission…"
Naruto was looking a bit gloomy after that but he couldn't exactly explain why to them so he quickly dismissed the thought.
Ino flinched instantly when she noticed Naruto's reaction, she didn't wish to hurt him or Sakura.
"But I'll let my hair grow to cover it and look super awesome 'ttebayo!" Proclaimed Naruto making sure to get the conversation away from the gloomy topic.
Shikamaru was honestly surprised, everyone had heard about what happened in Nami by now, he had honestly been expecting Naruto and Sakura to be broken and sad, he hadn't really been expecting to see them at all any time soon.
"You look well, Naruto." Said Shikamaru.
The whiskered boy didn't really expect a compliment to come from Shikamaru of all people and got a bit flustered because of it.
"Uh… thanks." Said Naruto, cheeks a hint of red.
That of course wasn't what Shikamaru meant and it was now obvious to him by the looks everyone was giving him and the blushing Naruto that maybe he could have worded it better but it was too troublesome to clarify what he really meant so he just kept on going.
"I'm not trying to be rude but I expected you both to look more sad." Said Shikamaru.
"We are, but we've both realized Sasuke wouldn't have wanted us to be crying over him. Tsutsuji-san has also helped us both a lot to better come to terms with what happened." Explained Sakura
"Your mom's really nice Ino!" Proclaimed Naruto.
Ino knew both of his parents were giving her old friend and fellow blonde counseling sessions and she was honestly glad they were getting help, she also couldn't help but agree with Naruto, her mom had also helped her get over Sasuke's death after all.
"Well, I'm glad that's the case, Sakura…" Said Ino in a caring voice that hadn't been directed at the other girl in a long time.
"Kakashi-sensei and us have a meeting soon so we should be leaving, it was nice seeing you guys!"
Before they left, Ino approached Sakura by herself while the boys did the same with Naruto.
~
"We should hang out sometime Sakura, you know, for old times sake…" Said a smiling Ino.
"Yes, I would like that." Replied Sakura with a gentle smile of her own.
~
"NeNaruto, Choji and I often hang out at my house, you should join us sometime" Said Shikamaru.
He was honestly surprised with the boy, whatever Tsutsuji had talked to him about clearly helped him a lot. His kind and bubbly personality was clearly still there but he now looked more focused and calm.
"I would like that, thanks Shikamaru" Replied Naruto with a warm and sincere smile for both boys.
An old friendship had just now started to reignite while a true and new one started to surface.
"I made mistakes…"
That wasn't what both genin thought their sensei was going to say when he summoned them for a meeting but they still went along with it, this looked important.
"We already talked about this so there's no point in going much further into this but…
We lost a teammate, it was avoidable, it shouldn't have happened, but it did.
I can understand the Hokage's words, I understand it wasn't my fault, Sasuke knew the risk, Sasuke wanted to continue, Sasuke was a Shinobi." Explained Kakashi while looking at his genin with a solemn expression.
It was all true, the Hokage explained it wasn't Kakashi's fault entirely multiple times and he still felt like he was just trying to make him feel better, ultimately he realized Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't one to sugarcoat the truth, if the Hokage allowed the mission to happen even if he felt like he shouldn't have then he was guilty too, and the same could be said for every person who had a voice in the matter.
"It may not have been my fault entirely, but it was my responsibility, he was my responsibility… you both are my responsibility, which is why I'm going to make this right"
Kakashi grabbed a scroll from his vest and unsealed it, out of it came two little slips of paper, some other scrolls, a few books and a crimson scroll with the Uzumaki crest in it that immediately caught Naruto's attention.
"I was very lacking in your training, I honestly can't remember why, if I had a reason it was a stupid one and I see no point in thinking much about that anymore"
Kakashi took both slips of paper and gave it to them.
"I'll be working you in the ground. I'll make you both learn a proper Taijutsu style, I'll teach you both Ninjutsu and train your affinities. I'll teach you the basics of Genjutsu and I will also let the both of you specialize in a field of your choosing;
I will make sure to get you proper instruction; sadly for you Naruto, because of your newest tool you'll be stuck with me for a while" Finished Kakashi with an eye smile for the blonde.
Much of what Kakashi just said caught the attention of the young genin, one of them in particular was now lodged on the blonde shinobi's brain.
"What are affinities Sensei?" Questioned Naruto with the backing of his pink-haired teammate.
"Elemental affinities, we all have an affinity we're aligned to, that means Jutsu from a certain element will come easier than others, it doesn't mean you can't use other elemental jutsu but it is smart to start with your own." He said, somewhat relieved that both of his students seemed to be interested in the current topic.
"First things first, the slips of paper I gave you are Chakra paper, they're used to learn your affinities. You channel chakra into them and the reaction will show you what elemental nature you have. If it burns it's fire, if it splits in two it's wind, if it crumbles it's lightning, if it turns to dust it's earth and if it soaks it's water."
Both genin did as instructed and the results were a little shocking for Kakashi.
Sakura's paper split in two and then both halves turned into dust.
Naruto's also split in two but his both halves of paper crumpled.
It wasn't weird for people to have two affinities but most often than not it implied some sort of elemental Kekkei Genkai, Kakashi however couldn't think of any that used these specific elements combined.
He was also very intrigued by Naruto's lightning affinity, Kakashi and him were becoming more and more similar everyday, he couldn't decide if that was a good thing.
"That's impressing my cute genin, you both have two affinities and you both share one, I'm well versed in Doton manipulation so I'll have no problem teaching you Sakura."
"Is earth a good element, sensei?" She asked.
"There is no good or bad element, Sakura, each have their use and their own uniqueness." Kakashi also liked Doton manipulation a lot, he used it quite frequently.
"As for you Naruto, my affinity is also Lightning, I'm the best sensei you could've gotten." He explained with a smirk, not that his Genin could see it but a smirk nonetheless.
"Really?" Asked Naruto, voice full of excitement at the prospect of sharing something like that with his cool sensei.
Kakashi nodded and ruffled the boy's hair much to his annoyance before continuing.
"Wind however is the rarest affinity in Hi no Kuni, an acquaintance of mine uses Futon jutsu, I'll arrange a meeting"
Both genin nodded and expressed their thanks to Kakashi for making sure they got the training they needed.
Kakashi was honestly quite happy, he had two potential power houses in his team and he was going to make sure they were ready for everything.
"From now on you both will get individual Taijutsu training in the mornings and," Kakashi began listing their schedule, "Ninjutsu and Genjutsu training together with me after lunch as well as constant chakra control exercises and maybe picking up a weapon sometime down the line."
"Sakura, I'm going to teach you the Senju fighting style, it's not common these days but I really think it fits you." He did believe that to be the case, Sakura's temperament reminded him a lot of a Senju he met years ago.
He got an excited nod as an answer. 'It seems like Sakura is in high spirits today.'
"Naruto, you will be learning the Uzumaki style of Taijutsu." Kakashi saw how Naruto perked up at the name Uzumaki, "I'm not going to teach you but a friend of mine knows the style better than anyone else in Konoha."
Naruto's hands twitched in anticipation, "Who is it, Kakashi-sensei?"
"You'll be training under Konoha's top Taijutsu specialist, his name is Maito Gai. He has already agreed to teach you in the mornings." Naruto burned in determination and smiled widely, nodding his head excitedly.
Maito Gai was possibly Kakashi's best and only friend, he was grateful for everything he had done for him and was grateful for him agreeing to teach Naruto.
"Sakura," The pink haired genin, who was focusing her attention on Naruto's excitement, quickly looked at her sensei. "Come meet me here again at eight,"
Sakura fake saluted with a small smile, "Yes sir!" Kakashi could only laugh at his cute genin's action.
"And Naruto," Kakashi looked at Naruto who already had his attention focused on the silver haired sensei. "Gai should be at the training ground 9, go meet him there by tomorrow."
"Here." Said Kakashi, giving Sakura a scroll and a book. "This is an anatomy book and the introduction to the art of healing."
Kakashi then continued after seeing Sakura's curious gaze. "The scroll has the most basic of Iryo Ninjutsu. I don't want to push you into the role of a medic but your great chakra control means you'd be good at it."
"You don't have to learn any of this but at least give it a thought, alright?" Sakura hummed and nodded in understanding.
"Naruto, you are smart, very smart; but your focus isn't on the academic side of things. One of these books is the geography of the great nations, as a Shinobi it's important for you to know as much as you can about it, the other is a guide in strategy and deception, the ability you showed when you used to go on pranking sprees was incredible, good enough to fool even the ANBU. "
The blonde wanted to protest but he knew his sensei wouldn't take no for an answer, what was some reading going to do to him anyway? He had already started reading the basic guide of fuinjutsu he was given.
"This…" Said Kakashi holding the scroll with the Uzumaki crest that had caught Naruto's attention earlier.
"is from Hokage-sama, it belongs to you, this is locked with a blood seal which means only you will be able to open it, Sarutobi-sama said he gave stuff from the Uzumaki to you some time ago and was hoping you'd ask if there was something more but apparently you didn't"
Naruto was ashamed, before he had thought fuinjutsu was boring and uncool, he had just started reading about it recently and discovered he liked it. He wouldn't say it was easy but it felt like it was meant for him. What he had, barely covered the basics of the art and Naruto couldn't do more than a storage scroll as of now.
"He said you can go to him for help in fuinjutsu when you need to. I believe there's more on the scroll than just that but I advise you read it when you're alone." He was feeling really good about this whole 'being a good sensei' thing.
"Do any of you have any doubts?" Both genins shook their hands as an answer to his sensei.
"Well, that's it for today, the training starts tomorrow, dismissed."
After those words the genin started to leave to their respective homes, they had a big day tomorrow
"There's something I need to talk to you about Naruto." Called out Kakashi.
Both teeangers shared a look, they had no idea what this was about. Naruto shrugged and walked towards his sensei.
Sakura wasn't worried, she knew Naruto would tell her whatever this was about if she was meant to know so there was no point in giving it much thought. Sakura left his teammate and sensei together.
"Come with me."
Kakashi could've Shunshin'ed both him and his student to their destination if he wanted to, but he needed the walk to sort his thoughts and think about what he wanted to say. He didn't realize when they both got to the top of the Hokage monument and stood in the head of the Yondaime Hokage until Naruto spoke for the first time since the meeting.
"This is my favorite place in the village y'know?" Said Naruto. "I used to come here to stare at the sunset when I was little."
When Naruto was younger this was his thinking spot, his place away from everything. For some reason, the monument made him feel less lonely.
"Is this about the Sharingan sensei?" A good question.
"No, there's no need to talk about that just yet, I'll start training you soon enough."
"There's something important I need to tell you, you probably will have questions and I will answer them as much as I can alright?" Asked Kakashi.
You could hear the worry in the man's voice, he didn't know what his student would think of him.
"The Hokage told me you're aware of the reason why the identity of your father was kept a secret. It was important to keep this from you until the time came when you would be able to handle the truth, remember I had a meeting with him today?" Asked Kakashi and Naruto nodded.
Naruto could now see what this was about and his heart started beating very fast.
"Today it was decided that you not only are ready to know; you deserve to." Said Kakashi
"The Hokage asked me to tell you because your father and I were… close"
This was it, the moment Kakashi has been waiting for.
"You're the son of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and my sensei…"
"The Y-Yondaime? B-But… H-How? Why?" Naruto was shocked, to learn the person you admired so much was secretly your father was a lot to take in.
Kakashi took a deep breath in order to better prepare to explain this to the blonde boy.
"Your father had many enemies. Konoha's Yellow Flash, the man responsible for single handedly ending the Third Shinobi war, he annihilated a battalion of over 1000 Iwa shinobi by himself."
Naruto listened to his sensei's explanation with the utmost attention.
"The Tsuchikage wouldn't have come after you, at least we don't think he would, it was war and we did what we had to do to survive. It is the shinobi we were worried about, bitter people who would go rogue if presented with the opportunity to get back at the Yondaime by killing his only child. It wasn't just that however."
"What do you mean?"
"What you know about the Kyuubi attack is not the whole truth. The Bijuu are sentient forms of chakra, they can't be killed. The only way to beat them is to seal them in a container; a person. These people are called Jinchuriki, the power of human sacrifice." Explained Kakashi.
Things started to make sense for Naruto now, he knew his father defeated the Kyuubi the day he was born but he didn't know how, all he knew was that the Hokage sacrificed himself with some special jutsu to defeat the fox.
"A-Am I one?" Asked a worried Naruto.
"No, that's not what I meant. In most villages Jinchuriki are ostracized and hated by the people they protect by simply existing, that was why the identity of our Jinchuriki was kept a secret, only the higher ups knew we had one."
"Why?"
"Most hidden villages use the Bijuu as weapons, we don't, the only reason we had one was to keep a balance of power among the great nations."
Naruto didn't understand exactly why this was related to him other than the fact that his father died fighting the Bijuu.
"Did our Jinchuriki turn on us?"
"No, there was a mastermind behind the attack. A Jinchuriki's seal weakens when giving birth, Naruto, your mother was the Jinchuriki, she was attacked while giving birth and the attacker broke the seal to destroy the village. According to the Hokage it was a man wearing a mask, he used a sharingan to control the Kyuubi."
"How did my father stop him?"
"We don't know… " He sighed. "We just know he tried to seal the Kyuubi inside you to protect the village, but he failed and the Kyuubi was set free. It was apparently the Kyuubi who told the Hokage about that man before disappearing; it was never seen again after that."
"The Kyuubi talked to Jiji?" Asked Naruto, he wasn't sure if he was surprised, amazed or worried.
Kakashi nodded. "I personally would take anything that comes from it with a grain of salt, still Sandaime-sama believes it to be true and I've never been one to question his judgement."
Naruto was in turmoil, one question refusing to leave his brain.
"I-I was going to be a Jinchuriki?" Asked Naruto.
This was a lot to take in, it was overwhelming and Naruto was already in tears.
"Yes… Don't think too much about it Naruto, Sensei was an amazing man, he loved you dearly and would've never done anything to harm you. The only reason I'm telling you this is because we don't really know what that man really wanted and could be one of the enemies you have to watch out for." Kakashi was surprised, he was honestly expecting Naruto to blow up. Tsutsuji was amazing at her job.
"Minato-sensei was like a father to me… both of your parents took me in when I had no one…"
Naruto was surprised about that, he now understood what Kakashi meant when he said they were close
"My mother died when I was but a toddler and my father… he killed himself when I was young. I used to be a lot like Sasuke back then, he at least had you as a friend… I made sure to push everyone away."
"My teammate and your father were the ones who saved me from myself back then… when they died I was lost."
Kakashi suddenly became the one in need of comfort, he didn't even notice when Naruto put his hand on his shoulder but he appreciated the gesture.
"Hokage-sama never told me not to approach you, I just didn't… When you were placed on my team I pushed you away instead of actually bonding with you."
"I'm truly sorry Naruto, and I really hope you can forgive me."
Kakashi greatly benefited from Inoichi's counseling sessions, he wouldn't have been able to express himself this way before.
Naruto shook his head, "It's okay, you don't need to apologize 'ttebayo." His reassurance made Kakashi chuckle.
"Do you think we could have dinner together sometime? I would like to know more about them." Asked Naruto, he was hoping Kakashi would say yes, he really wanted this to happen.
"Yes Naruto, I think I would like that…" Answered Kakashi giving Naruto an eye smile
Naruto stood up and started to walk towards the village.
"I'll see you tomorrow Nii-san." Said Naruto and quickly left afterwards, he didn't stay long enough to see a tear roll out of Kakashi's only visible eye.
'Nii-san… I like the sound of that'
It was late at night already.
Naruto had been crying a lot on his way to the Hokage tower after his conversation with Kakashi. He was glad it happened but couldn't help but cry like he hadn't ever. It was good there was someone he could always go to even if it meant just having a shoulder to cry on.
"Jiji?" Said Naruto after opening the window in the Hokage's office and stepping in.
The Hokage in question had seen the whole thing through his crystal ball so he knew the boy was coming, he was worried the boy would be mad at him when he saw him coming to his office but he was ready for it.
"Yes Naru-" The Hokage never got to finish his question because of the blonde boy launching himself at him and hugging him tightly. Hiruzen's eyes widened, Naruto's sudden hug surprised him but he hugged the young boy back either way.
Hiruzen could feel how Naruto's shoulder began to shake, he could hear the faint sniffles. Naruto had begun to cry on his Jiji's shoulders. The old man knew today had been eventful and tiring for this young child.
"It's alright Naruto-kun, I'm here for you."
Naruto cried himself to sleep in the arms of his grandfather that night. The Hokage had one of his ANBU guards take Naruto to his apartment so he could sleep on his own bed, he had a busy day coming.
AN: Hello everyone!
This chapter and the following might nor be exactly action packed, however I do think they're important to have.
Usually people completely bash the elders and while I do agree that they aren't specially likeable in Canon, they're not as bad as people make them out to be.
Koharu is usually the one of the two people bash the most so I decided to make her a lovely old lady while Homura is more on neutral ground, hence why he's excluded.
Danzo, making that man good is an arduous job and pretty hard, I won't bash him, he is one sick bastard and all that but that man truly believes what he does is for the greater good of Konoha, no other Shinobi is as loyal as he is and I will respect that. I want to write him to be a somewhat smart cunning antagonist without making him the main problem. I initially didn't intend to write about him here but I feel like it is important in this context. Keep in mind that at this point in the story Sasuke's death is not public knowledge and in my mind truly important for the elders, him, the Hokage and most importantly.
Itachi.
I won't talk about him just yet though, his time will come.
The next chapter won't be action packed either, it will be mostly an explanation of sorts about the things Naruto and Sakura will do in their training as well as establishing some other aspects about their personalities. I am changing a lot about both him and Sakura, I feel like it's important to give it some development, they will continue to grow . Chapter 5 will mark the beginning of the Chunin Exams and this fics first real arc.
That would be all for now, I hope everyone's doing great.
Be safe!