Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (either manga or anime!); the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns all rights. However, the plot and Namiko Uzumaki are mine!

Chapter 48: Know Pain, Part 2

The ground began to tremble and Konohamaru rushed to the window of the large waiting room to see a wall of rubble and debris rushing toward them from the center of the village. "There's a large explosion headed our way!"

"For the love of God, please work…" Namiko muttered to herself as her hands went through the familiar signs as chains burst from her back and she crumbled to her knees on the ground. The chains formed a domed shield, surrounding everyone in the room and bracing the walls. "Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

The impact rocked the building, shattering the windows, but it remained standing. Dust, glass, and chunks of rubble entered the room, bouncing off the shield. Once the shaking stopped, Konohamaru looked back out the glassless window. "It's all…gone."

Everything around them went eerily silent.

Namiko tried to steady her breath and slowly retracted the chains. 'That took more out of me than I expected.'

Sasuke helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly and reactivated her chakra sensing, spreading it as far as she could. She breathed a sigh of relief. Naruto was still alive…but so was Pain.

The Deva Path rose high into the air, far above the village, until he appeared no larger than a bird to Naruto.

"Almighty Push."

Naruto's eyes widened in horror as he saw the wave of destruction approaching. The entire landscape was being torn apart—buildings crumbled into dust before being pushed toward the walls of the village, the earth ripped apart, and the sky itself seemed to bend under the sheer pressure of Pain's attack.

Naruto braced himself, digging his feet into the ground using chakra, desperately trying to anchor himself, but it was no use. The force of the Almighty Push was too great. He was hurled back, his body slamming into the village wall near the Hokage Monument. He squeezed his eyes shut and everything went silent.

When he opened them again, all that remained was the aftermath of the devastating technique—a massive crater, a third the size of the village, where the center of the village once stood. A solid ring of destruction surrounded the edge of the village as the buildings of houses and businesses had been shoved together.

Naruto took a deep breath and paused. 'Pain won't be able to attack again for a while after that. I need to gather more nature energy and get back my Sage jutsu.' He stayed completely still on the rubble, allowing the nature energy to fill his body.

He stood strong atop the rubble, moving forward toward Pain as he began to come back down to the center of the crater. Once Naruto had reentered his Sage state, he realized hundreds of chakra signatures that had been active before Pain's attack had stagnated.

Death. So many lives suddenly gone. Lives snuffed out in an instant like candles.

Namiko closed her eyes as she tried to scan through all the chakra signatures in her range. She filtered through them as quickly as she could, praying no familiar ones had stalled.

While Katsuyu had been able to cover most of the population, she couldn't reach everyone, and lives had been lost. Namiko knew Kurenai had made it to the escape tunnels and felt that Hinata seemed to be okay as well. Tsunade's chakra was low, probably from helping Katsuyu, but otherwise normal.

She drew in a sharp breath and held it as a tear ran down her cheek, quickly followed by a second.

Sasuke could read her like a book and asked in a quiet voice only she could hear, "Who is it?"

Namiko wiped away her tears. "Kiba."

Sasuke pulled her into his chest to let her tears fall freely, away from prying eyes. "Maybe you should turn off your sensing for a while," he suggested quietly, and she nodded in response before doing so.

A cracking noise resounded through the room and Sakura called out, "The walls aren't going to hold for long. We need to move everyone out of here." Nurses, medical shinobi, and anyone able-bodied went into action, helping get the injured out of the building. No sooner did the last person exited, than the hospital crumbled into a heap of bricks and medical equipment.

Namiko walked to the crater's edge to get a better view of Naruto and Pain's battle and prayed that Naruto won.

Once Pain was on the ground, Naruto blitzed forward. The two engaged in a heated taijutsu fight, that was pushing Naruto to his limits even with Sage jutsu. 'Good thing Sasuke and I have been training with taijutsu so much lately.'

Naruto made three clones and attempted to distance himself. Leaving one clone to fight Pain while the other two helped him make a Rasenshuriken to launch. The compressed chakra left his hand, swirling violently, but Pain was able to dodge it with ease. Naruto growled in frustration as his five-minute timer of Sage jutsu was already beginning to come to a close yet again. He began to form another Rasenshuriken and was almost ready to launch it when Pain raised his hand again.

"Universal Pull."

The Rasenshuriken in his hand dissipated and he was abruptly pulled toward Pain just as his sage jutsu wore off. In the blink of an eye, Pain grabbed him by the throat, slammed him backward into the ground, and rolled him onto his stomach. Pain then maneuvered Naruto's hands in front of him and stabbed through them with a black chakra rod.

"Tell me," said Pain coldly, "has this tamed you at least a little, kyuubi?"

Naruto tried to not show the pain on his face. "What are you? What do you want? Why are you doing all of this?"

"You ask why? Sometimes things just happen randomly, and the reason only becomes apparent afterward." Pain knelt in front of Naruto. "These circumstances, well, perhaps I can try and explain it to you."

"You ask me why I'm doing all this. But even if I told you why, I doubt very strongly that the knowledge would change anything at all. But let's say I do take the time to explain it to you." Pain stood to tower over Naruto. "What do you think would happen then?"

"I have nothing to say to you," bit out Naruto.

"My goal is to fulfill the dream even Jiraiya-sensei was unable to achieve. As I said earlier, what I want is to create peace and bring about justice."

"Create peace? Justice? Are you kidding?! Give me a break!" Naruto glared, still unable to move his body. "You killed my master, hurt my friends, killed hundreds, and destroyed my village!"

Naruto clawed at the dirt in anger. "After all the horrible things you've done, don't you dare talk about peace and justice!"

"Then tell me, what is your goal?"

"First, I'm gonna kill you, and then I'm gonna bring peace to the shinobi world!"

"Oh, I see. That is noble of you. That would be justice. However, what about my family? My friends? My village? They suffered the same fate as this village at the hands of you Konoha shinobi. How is it fair to let only you people preach about peace and justice?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Once, the Land of Fire and Konoha had grown too big. To protect their national interest, they forced feudal clans to wage war against each other and profited from it. Otherwise, the villagers would've starved. My little nation became a battlefield where the great nations waged their war, and it was ravaged and laid to waste. After the wars, the great nations stabilized but our smaller nation suffered and barely recovered. You and I are both seeking the same thing; we want to achieve the peace that Jiraiya-sensei envisioned."

Naruto's anger began to fade slightly. 'I understand why he's angry, but this isn't the way to achieve peace.'

Pain continued, "The justice I have collected here today against Konoha is no different from what you are trying to do to me. Everyone feels pain when missing something dear. You and I have both experienced that pain and seek vengeance in the name of justice. If one calls vengeance justice, such justice will only breed further vengeance and trigger a vicious cycle of hatred."

Pain paused for a moment. "Right now we're stuck in that cycle. I know the past and I can foretell our future. It is the same as our history. The shinobi world of ours is ruled by hatred and hatred alone. So, Naruto, how would you remove hatred and restore peace?"

Naruto let his mind wander to Jiraiya and how he wanted peace. The silence was nearly deafening as he lay pinned to the ground, thinking long and hard about how to respond. "I…don't know. I don't have an answer."

"The Akatsuki will break the cycle of hatred. I can do it, but I need the power of the kyuubi to reach that goal. With all nine bijuu, I will create a bijuu weapon powerful enough to destroy nations."

Naruto's eyes widened. "A bijuu weapon?"

"I'm going to show the world what true pain is and stop all the wars with terror that pain will inspire and lead the world to stability and peace."

"But if you achieve peace like that, then the whole thing is nothing but a lie!" yelled Naruto.

"Humans are not the most intelligent creatures. This is the only way that peace can be achieved. The cycle of hatred and pain will give way to momentary peace. That is my dream and my goal. You argue that my vision of peace is a lie, but in this cursed world, a peace where people truly understand each other is nothing but fiction."

"But Ero-sennin believed that one day people would understand each other and live in harmony. You're the one who's wrong!"

"Empty words. Your only choice now is to give me the kyuubi for me to use." A black chakra receiver emerged from Pain's sleeve. "Your death will lead to peace."

Pain stabbed the black rod into Naruto's shoulder and broke it off. He repeated the procedure in both shoulders, hips, and knees until there was no way possible for Naruto to move.

Suddenly, Hinata came from behind Pain, poised to strike, but Pain leaped out of reach. Hinata's strike impacted against the ground, cracks spidering out from where her hit landed. "I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun anymore!" shouted Hinata, a fierce determination on her face that caught Naruto by surprise.

"Why did you come out here?! Just run! You can't win," pleaded Naruto, his voice panicked and strained.

"No. I'm being selfish right now. I'm here because I want to be. This time I'm going to save you, Naruto-kun. You've always been the one I've chased after, wanting to catch up, wanting to walk together with you forever." Unshed tears encroached in her voice. "I care about you more than my own life and that's why I'm not afraid to die. I will protect you with my last breath…because I love you."

Naruto's eyes widened at her confession and her voice dropped to a whisper, "I've loved you from the moment you saved me when I was six, and I'll love you long after I've saved you." A boldness Naruto had never seen before was in her eyes as she stared down Pain and dropped into her Gentle Fist stance.

Namiko had been watching nervously from the crater's edge. She had faith in Naruto without question, but she couldn't help the fear that crept in when she saw Pain begin to stab the chakra receivers into Naruto's body.

But true panic flooded her whole body when she saw Hinata run full speed toward Naruto. "Oh God…no, no, no! What is she thinking?! She'll get herself killed!"

Sakura walked up next to Namiko as Hinata punched the ground where Pain had stood. "She'd do anything to protect him because she's in love with him, you know that."

"I know, but," Namiko drew in a sharp breath, "he can't lose her… I can't lose her. I want to go help her but…"

Sakura nodded slowly. "I know, but you need to keep you, and them, safe and healthy first."

Namiko traded looks with Sasuke who was nearby, also watching the fight below. She turned her attention to Hinata who stepped into her Gentle Fist stance before swiftly sweeping her leg and breaking one of the chakra receivers. However, when she attempted to strike a second one, Pain flicked her away with a simple wave of his hand, as if she were nothing more than a bug.

Hinata got back on her feet and charged toward Naruto, determined to destroy more of the chakra receivers. Just as she got within range, Pain flung her body away, hitting the ground hard. She got up again, blood dripping from her head, charging forward with her Gentle Style Twin Lion Fists ready to strike. He dodged every jab she threw, moving so fast that Namiko had trouble following their movements.

Hinata surged forward, causing Pain to retreat momentarily, and she took the opening to rush over to Naruto. She struck another receiver in his leg and it burst into pieces on contact. She reached for another rod, but Pain flung her high into the air before releasing her body to drop to the ground.

Hinata fell to the earth and Namiko watched her brother scream in horror. Namiko couldn't stop the scream that ripped from her own throat. "Hinata!"

Hinata didn't move for several moments before finally crawling onto her hands and knees, her body shaking from the pain. She stood up, hunching over and limping as she walked toward Naruto. She collapsed a meter shy of Naruto and crawled on her stomach to reach him.

"Why?" asked Pain. "Why would someone as weak as you try to resist? Why would you fight me when you know you'll only die?"

Hinata laid her hands on the chakra receiver going through Naruto's hands. She looked into Naruto's baby blue eyes with a smile filled with love. "Because I'll never go back on my word. That's my nindo."

Her hands shook and just as she tried to break the rod, Pain lifted her body high into the air, tossing her like a ragdoll before slamming her body into the ground with tremendous force. She lay unmoving, her limbs broken at odd angles. Pain produced another chakra receiver and speared Hinata through the chest.

"It was just like this when my parents were killed by Konoha shinobi," said Pain as he stared coldly at Naruto. "Because of the existence of love, sacrifice is born as well as hate…"

Naruto watched in terror as he watched blood pool under Hinata's body. There was far too much blood on the ground. He felt like his heart stopped, and then anger—pure rage—flooded his body. He saw red as he watched her blood seep into the ground around her.

A pulse went through his body and a rush of power rippled through the air around him as the kyuubi began to surface. Naruto felt like his body was on fire as the kyuubi took over, instantly manifesting four tails whipping behind him.

"Ah, the magnificent power of the kyuubi. Rage summons him forth," said Pain, almost reverently. "Do you hate me?"

Bones formed over the kyuubi's cloak as another two tails were added, for a total of six. Naruto was running on animalistic instincts, growling ferociously but not yet attacking Pain.

"Do you still think people can ever truly understand each other?" When Naruto did nothing but give a screaming growl in response, Pain continued, "As you wish…but in the end, you will find my pain is greater than yours."

Namiko felt the burning of the kyuubi's chakra begin to flow through her body. As the red chakra began to surround her, she quickly threw a kunai down to the floor of the crater before using Flying Raijin to move to her mark in the blink of an eye. 'I have to get away…Naruto is losing control…if I do too…'

Despite Sasuke's earlier warning, she activated her chakra sensing just in time to feel Hinata's chakra stall. The warm, bubbly, bright chakra that Namiko knew almost as well as her own was suddenly still, its warmth fading to lukewarm.

Her eyes widened and immediately the kyuubi's chakra flared around her. Two tails whipped behind her threateningly, but she didn't move closer. She watched Naruto go from four tails to six and she doubled over as a third tail emerged. Her mind went blank as rage from grief was fueled by the kyuubi's malicious chakra.

Sasuke's thoughts were racing so fast he couldn't process them and froze in place as he watched Namiko lose control. His Sharingan was active, following her every movement, thankful that while Naruto and Pain began fighting, she seemed to be aware enough to stay clear of the action.

"Sasuke," Sakura's concerned voice broke him out of his reverie, "we need to find a way to stop her from getting to four tails. When Naruto goes past that, the kyuubi's chakra begins to do rapid damage to his body. I don't know what four tails could do to her or the—"

Before she finished, Sasuke was already heading down into the crater below. She turned to the others nearby. "We need to get as far from here as possible."

A large explosion sounded as Naruto blew up a large chunk of the wall surrounding Konoha using a bomb-like attack from his mouth. It was clear that Naruto was more kyuubi than human at this point.

"It seems like Naruto and Pain are moving out of the village," announced a Hyuuga jounin. "It seems Pain is fleeing Naruto's kyuubi form."

"Once they're out of reach and Sasuke can get Namiko calmed down, we'll secure Hinata's body," declared Sakura as she tried to take control of the situation.

Sasuke approached Namiko with caution. He trusted she never hurt him, but she also was not in her right mind. She was hovering over Hinata's body but appeared to be careful not to touch her.

He held his hands up in surrender before her. "Namiko, I know you're upset about Hinata, but you can't let the kyuubi win. You're giving him control. You need to take control, if not for your sake, then for the babies."

Namiko barely appeared human; flaming red chakra encompassed her body and her blue-violet eyes were now just a white light against the red chakra. Her hair had come free of the high bun she normally wore, whipping around her, mimicking the tails behind her.

She paused, letting out a horrific scream as she clutched the sides of her head as a fourth tail began to emerge. Sasuke changed to his Mangekyo Sharingan in case he needed a heavier genjutsu to calm her in some way.

Suddenly, Namiko stopped, still standing over Hinata as the fourth tail halted its emergence. She wasn't moving or thrashing like she had moments before, just growling threateningly as the poisonous chakra continued to consume her body.

The last thing Naruto remembered was watching Pain stab Hinata with one of those black rods and blood pouring onto the ground around her. Everything else was a blur. He knew the kyuubi took over and he had at least four tails; he never lost his memory unless it was four tails. 'Or more…' he mused.

He laid in a pool of water, the musty smell unsettlingly familiar. 'I hate him! I don't know what to do anymore if Hinata is…'

A deep voice cut through his thoughts, "Destroy everything. Erase anything that causes you pain. Give me your soul, your spirit, your vital essence…give it to me! And in exchange, I will rescue you from your pain."

He swallowed hard as he realized he was sitting in front of the kyuubi. A penetrating pain shot through his stomach, his jacket and shirt ripping open as the seal on his stomach came to the surface. Black fluid seeped out of the seal and into the water around him.

"Now come here, come closer, and rip this cursed seal off."

Naruto stood, his feet moving on their own toward the seal. His hand reached for the edge of the paper seal, beginning to loosen the paper.

"Nii-chan!"

Out of nowhere, a hand gripped his and tackled him away from the kyuubi, sending Naruto tumbling into the water. Two thin arms wrapped around his neck as a head pressed atop his.

"Namiko?" he asked, still trying to collect his thoughts. "What are you—?"

The sound of feet sloshing through water and a pair of masculine legs stopping in front of Naruto caused both siblings to look up. Naruto took the hand offered to him by the figure, unable to see the face in the darkness, and stood before turning and offering his hand to help Namiko stand.

Namiko's mouth parted in surprise as Naruto's eyes went wide as he finally recognized the person in front of them. "Tou-chan? How are you here?" asked Naruto, a sense of awe in his voice.

"I worked it into the seal spell that I'd appear in your psyche if the seal ever unraveled to the point where either of you sprouted the eighth tail," said Minato matter-of-factly. His voice grew serious as he glanced at the beast behind him, "Though truth be told, I hoped that it would never get this far since I never wanted to see you again, Kyuubi." The beast growled menacingly in response.

Minato turned back to look at the pair. "But I have to say, I was looking forward to meeting my children all grown up, so I guess it evens out."

"Yondaime, come here! I'll rip you to shreds!" bellowed the kyuubi.

"Well, if that's the case, then I think we'll stay over here," quipped Minato. "He's a loudmouth, why don't we go somewhere quieter?"

With a snap of his fingers, the dingy, dreary cell of the kyuubi disappeared and bright yellow light surrounded the three. Tears shone in both siblings' eyes but had yet to fall.

The next thing Namiko knew, Naruto punched Minato straight in the gut. She smacked his arm hard. "Naruto, why would you do that?!"

"Because I don't know whether to be happy or mad!" He rubbed his arm across the blue eyes so much like Minato's to wipe away his tears.

Namiko took the chance to throw her arms around her father, clinging to him as her tears spilled over as well. "…otou-san…"

Minato embraced her tightly. "You're so beautiful, just like your mother." He stroked her hair affectionately and she pulled back with a smile on her face, delicately wiping her own tears away.

"Why would you put the kyuubi in your own kids?!" shouted Naruto. He paused, dropping his voice to barely a whisper, "How could you curse us like that?"

"I know it's been hard on you both, and for that reason, I want to say I'm sorry." Minato looked at both his children with a sad smile. "Though I suppose it's little consolation that I try to be all fatherly and apologize after sixteen years…"

Naruto grumbled, "We'll deal. We're the Yondaime's kids, right?"

"Since you asked, I sealed half the kyuubi's chakra in each of you because I knew you could master it," explained Minato. "I did it because you're my children. Your mother was the previous jinchuriki and I knew her strength would help carry you both through it."

Minato's face became serious. "But there's a reason I went to the trouble to do this. A big one. Sixteen years ago when the kyuubi attacked, I learned something…a mastermind orchestrated the whole attack. Quite a formidable shinobi, someone you'd need extraordinary strength to stand against and hope to defeat. I believe he'll attack the village again."

"But the entire village has already been destroyed…" said Naruto somberly.

"Yeah, I saw that, from inside your mind," said Minato.

"You watched?!" shouted Naruto as Namiko's eyes widened.

Minato nodded, his tone becoming somber, "I know about Jiraiya-sensei too."

All three were quiet for a moment before Namiko finally broke the silence, "Was Pain the one who orchestrated the attack with the kyuubi?"

Minato shook his head. "No, it wasn't him. It was a different member of the Akatsuki…the masked one. When we fought, he saw right through every single one of my moves. He was extraordinary. In fact, I think he's the one using Pain."

"No way! You're wrong!" exclaimed Naruto. "Pain has a grudge against Konoha! He said Konoha ruined his village a long time ago!"

"That's right," explained Minato calmly. "He's exploiting Pain's hatred and using him for his own agenda."

"His own agenda?" asked Namiko.

"And why is Konoha always a target?" added Naruto.

"As long as shinobi culture exists, there may never be true peace and order. Pain queried you about peace, but finding the solution is difficult. In order to try and protect something precious, wars are waged. As long as there is love in this world, there will also be hate. And some will take advantage of that hatred. As long as we have the ninja system, this monster known as hate will live."

"But hate can be overcome and give way to love, right? We've seen that with Sasuke," suggested Namiko.

Minato's expression softened at Namiko's words, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Yes, love can overcome hate," he said. "But it's not always that simple. Sasuke has been fighting his own battle with hate, just like so many others. His path isn't an easy one, and neither is yours."

Naruto clenched his fists, frustration bubbling to the surface. "So we're stuck in this cycle, huh? Fighting just because there's always someone out there filled with hate?"

"No," Minato said firmly, his gaze locking with Naruto's. "You can choose how to fight. To be a shinobi means that you must confront hatred, in your enemies and in yourselves. The ninja world has been built on conflict for generations, but you—both of you—can be the ones to change it."

Namiko looked at her father with wide eyes. "How do we change it?" she asked softly, almost as if afraid of the answer.

"Jiraiya-sensei bequeathed you to find the solution to send this hatred, but you'll have to find that answer for yourselves because even I don't know it," said Minato with a small sigh.

"If you and Ero-sennin don't have the answer, how am I supposed to figure this out?! I'm not smart, I'm not a great ninja…I-I mean, come on, how's a guy like me supposed to—"

Minato cut off Naruto's rant by placing his hand on Naruto's head. "I'm certain you'll find the answer. I believe in you completely." He removed his hand and stepped back to look at both teens. "I believe in both of you."

Naruto looked at his father in awe. "You really believe in me? In us?"

Minato broke out into a full grin. "Well, it is the duty of a parent to believe in their children unconditionally." She noticed Minato's gaze drift to her stomach and she quickly looked away when his eyes met hers.

Namiko's thoughts immediately went to her unborn twins, and a surge of worry coursed through her. Could she really bring them into a world where love and hatred were locked in an endless cycle? She placed a hand on her stomach, a feeling of protectiveness washing over her.

She hadn't told Naruto yet, hadn't even hinted at her pregnancy. But with everything happening—the looming threats, the responsibility placed upon them—it felt overwhelming to keep it in any longer.

Namiko pressed her lips together nervously and began to play with a strand of her hair. She swallowed anxiously before meeting her father's gaze again. "You know…don't you?" Minato smiled softly at her but didn't say anything. 'That's exactly what I thought…'

"Know what?" Naruto glanced between his father and sister. "What's going on?"

Namiko took in a slow breath in an attempt to calm her racing heart. She swallowed hard before confessing, "I'm…pregnant." She had whispered it, but in the stillness of their surroundings, she felt like she screamed it.

The silence hit them like a brick. Naruto stood frozen, his expression slowly morphing from shock to wide-eyed disbelief.

"Wait…what?" Naruto's voice broke the stillness, his mouth hanging open as if his brain had short-circuited. "You're—did you just say pregnant? Like, with a baby?"

Namiko nodded sheepishly, feeling her cheeks burn. "With twins…"

Naruto's eyes darted wildly, and for a moment, he looked like he was about to pass out. He raised a hand, trying to form words. "Okay, okay, hold on! Back up! Twins?! When did this happen?! How did this—no wait, I know how that happened—but still—"

Namiko winced, throwing him a glare. "Naruto, stop yelling!"

"Yelling?! I'm not yelling, I'm just—" Naruto paused mid-rant, his face scrunching in a mixture of panic and realization. "Wait a minute…Sasuke's the father, isn't he?!" he nearly shouted.

Namiko felt the heat of embarrassment give way to anger as she snapped at him, "Of course it's Sasuke! Do you think I'd just sleep around?!"

"No! Of course not! Sorry, this is just a lot to process…" Naruto slapped both hands to his face, dragging them down in disbelief. "Oh man, oh man…Sasuke's gonna be a dad?! I gotta sit down. Nope, there's no sitting in this weird void—wait! Does he know?!"

"Of course Sasuke knows," Namiko said, exasperated. "I didn't plan to tell you like this, but with everything going on, I knew I couldn't keep it a secret anymore." Namiko shifted awkwardly under her brother's intense stare, her hands instinctively moving to her stomach again.

Naruto spun toward Minato, his hands flailing. "Tou-chan, this is crazy, right?! She's only sixteen! I'm only sixteen! And she's not married! Sasuke can barely handle emotions, let alone babies!"

Namiko shot Naruto a glare. "Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly planned, but Sasuke has been nothing short of supportive since we found out."

He narrowed his eyes at her as well. "How long have you known? I mean, you kept your relationship with him a secret from me for seven months!"

"Calm down, we just found out on New Year's Day, so a little over a week. It's not like I was going to keep it from you for long, I was trying to figure out the best way to tell you to avoid this," she said as she gestured between the two of them.

Minato crossed his arms, his Hokage demeanor slipping into place. "Having a baby is a big responsibility. But having twins at sixteen is going to be the hardest thing you'll ever do, Namiko. You and Sasuke are going to have to lean on each other a lot. And Naruto…well," he gave his son a fond smile, "he'll make a great uncle."

Naruto, still half-dazed by the whole situation, suddenly perked up. "Wait…this means I'm gonna be an uncle?!" His eyes went wide, and a grin broke out on his face. "Oh man, I'm gonna be the coolest uncle ever! Naru-ji-chan! I'll teach the kids all kinds of stuff! Rasengan, ramen eating contests—oh, and pranks, definitely pranks—"

"Naruto!" Namiko groaned, exasperated yet relieved to see her brother snapping out of his panic. She furiously wiped away the tears that had begun to fall as she looked at her father. "I know it's going to be hard…Sasuke and I… we didn't plan this, but we're both determined to protect them. I'm still scared though."

Minato's expression softened as he looked at her affectionately, seeing the determination and strength she carried despite her fear. "It's okay to be scared; your mother was a mess when she found out she was having twins. But you're stronger than you think," he said, pride and sadness intermingling in his voice. "Strong, smart, and beautiful, just like your mother."

"Really?" She gave a weak smile. "Because I feel like I've screwed up and let everyone down."

Minato shook his head, stepping closer and placing his hand gently on Namiko's shoulder. "You haven't let anyone down. Life is unpredictable, and this is a difficult path, but you've always faced your challenges head-on. You're not alone in this. Naruto will be there for you. And from what I've seen of Sasuke, despite his struggles, he will be there by your side. Though a word of warning: talk to Kakashi about this. He'll be invaluable to help you as well." Namiko nodded in response.

Naruto, still reeling, clenched his fists and spoke up again, this time calmer as he looked directly into her eyes, his usual goofy demeanor replaced with a serious resolve. "You're my sister, and I won't let anything happen to you or those babies."

Namiko's heart swelled, overwhelmed by the love and support from both her father and brother. "Thank you," she whispered, her tears falling freely now.

Minato's gaze lingered on her, his expression bittersweet. "I wish I could be there with you, to help guide you through this…but I know you're strong. You both have the Will of Fire. And you have Naruto and Sasuke… they won't let you face this alone. Family is the most important thing, and as long as you stand by each other, you'll find a way."

Minato sighed heavily. "My chakra is fading…it's time for me to go. This is the last time I can rebuild the seal." He waved his hand over Naruto's stomach, where the damaged seal was still in full view, mending it until it disappeared.

Minato pulled both of them in for a hug before taking a large step back. His form began to fade, signaling that his time was running out. Namiko stepped forward, reaching out as if to hold onto him just a little longer. "Otou-san…"

Minato smiled, the warmth in his eyes never fading. "I love you both. Be strong for each other. And Naruto? Tell Sasuke to make things right."

Namiko suddenly found herself on her hands and knees staring at the dirt ground beneath her. Her head jerked up to find Sasuke rushing toward her, relief written all over his face as he knelt in front of her. "You're okay."

Namiko wasn't sure if that was a statement or a question. "I saw Naruto…and my father. They were in the kyuubi mindscape with me." She looked at the damage in front of her. "Did I hurt anyone?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, you just lost control when…" he trailed off as Namiko looked behind her.

"Hinata…" Grief punched her in the chest and she let out a heart-wrenching sob. She crawled over to Hinata's body, touching her face gently. "…she's so pale…so cold…"

Sakura walked up and knelt on the other side of Hinata, her green medical ninjutsu scanning for any sign of life and repositioning her body. After a few moments, Sakura's shoulders slumped in defeat. "She lost too much blood and the damage to her body is extensive. She's gone."

Another sob wracked Namiko's body, tears streamed down her face. "First Kiba, now Hinata…I can't—" She turned to Sasuke, burying her face in his dark shirt as tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. They stayed like that for a long time, Sasuke holding her and gently stroking her hair.

Sakura's gentle voice cut in, "Namiko, I need to check you to make sure you and the babies are okay."

Namiko nodded wordlessly, sitting cross-legged next to Sasuke. Sakura's warm chakra flowed into her body, hovering over her stomach. Namiko held her breath as she waited for Sakura to give her findings.

Sakura laid her hands back in her lap with a smile on her face. "You're fine and they're fine," she whispered. "Still growing and heartbeats are strong. I don't think the kyuubi's chakra did any damage."

Namiko let out the breath she'd been holding as more tears flowed down her face, this time in relief.

A chill ran down her spine as a bolt of green chakra shot out of the sky and struck Hinata square in the chest, shattering the black rod. Everyone looked up, noticing the swirling chakra over the entire village, randomly raining down as it had on Hinata.

Hinata took an audible breath and Namiko felt her heart leap. Hinata laid still for a moment, staring at the blue sky above her, the same shade as Naruto's eyes. "What happened?" she asked as she slowly sat up.

Sasuke was the one to answer, "My guess is Naruto defeated Pain."

Sakura was frantically scanning Hinata. "I don't know how or why, but there's nothing wrong with you at all." She stared at the Hyuuga in complete shock, her mouth agape.

"Her chakra is back to normal too," choked out Namiko as joyful tears seemed to block her throat. "Oh Hinata!" She threw her arms around her best friend, giving her a tight squeeze and Hinata hugged back.

Namiko stretched out her chakra sensing, letting out a small gasp. "Kiba is okay as well!" She tried to control her breathing and slow her tears. "Everyone…and I mean everyone, who was dead is fine. One hundred percent fine. I don't know what Naruto did, but…wow."

The group collected themselves and walked out of the village to a safe zone where everyone else in the village was. People everywhere were confused as to what happened until Katsuyu relayed the information about everything Naruto did, how he was able to defeat Pain, and how everyone came back to life who died in the attack.

Namiko had to turn off her chakra sensing due to so many people in one space, but when she heard cheers near the edge of the forest, she took off running. "Nii-chan!" she screamed happily, launching into her brother's arms. "You did it! I'm so proud of you!"

Naruto beamed at her but was still confused as to why everyone was rushing and cheering for him, giving him the recognition he'd longed for his whole life. The small voice of Katsuyu came from under his jacket collar, "I explained everything to the whole village. They all know your heroic deeds. Everyone is alive because of you."

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw familiar lavender eyes in the crowd lock with his. He pushed through the crowd, ignoring everyone's congratulations until he reached her. "Hinata…" he breathed.

He took a brief moment to look her over and make sure she was really there. He reached forward, grabbing her waist and pulling her to him, smiling at the blush that crept up her cheeks. He placed his right hand on her cheek, relishing in the warmth beneath his fingertips.

"I love you too." With those words, his lips crashed down on hers. He poured himself into the kiss, threading his fingers through her hair as she gripped his jacket tightly. He pulled back and smiled brightly at her flushed and dazed expression.

He walked through the crowd, unsure of how to react to people's praise other than smile back. But his smile was short-lived when he saw Sasuke. He walked up to his best friend and rival, glaring at him before delivering a right hook squarely to Sasuke's jaw, causing his head to turn to the side. "That's for knocking up my sister," he hissed in his ear before turning back to the crowd like nothing had happened.

A/N: Well, for all of you who had been dying to know how Naruto would react to the news, now he knows! We'll get Tsunade's reaction (and possibly others) next chapter. Now onto rebuilding Konoha!
Admittedly my favorite part to write was Minato's interaction with Naruto and Namiko and I bawled like a baby while writing Namiko's reaction to Hinata's death and resurrection. As a side note, anything not "shown" is exactly as in canon, like Naruto's conversation with Nagato.
I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported this story; I reached over 10,000 hits on AO3 and just under 24,000 hits on FFN! Thank you all for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts! See you next week!
Love, Eriisu

PS: Comments are my tip jar!