Forest for the Leaves
I'm sorry it's been so long. I got a lot of negativity for the first chapter, and I still wasn't a confident enough a writer to carry on at the time, but the story never left my head, so here's chapter 2 with more to come soon, please enjoy.
Chapter 2 – Beautiful Loser
From his place on his swing set in his backyard, Naruto could tell the Anbu guarding the Senju compound were suddenly anxious, on their guard so to speak.
People were approaching the estate – strangers.
Two of the three were holding back a bit as if they were escorting the third. Both young men, Naruto was familiar enough with Konoha's Clans to recognize their kinship with two of the village's most prestigious ones. The teeming mass of thousands of little chakra systems in a body hollowed out to host a colony of insects unique to the Aburame, the tingle of a top-heavy chakra network resulting from the brain barrier jutsu the Yamanaka employed.
That didn't make much sense to him as to why they'd both be guarding someone at the same time without an additional team member. Konoha never left missions up to duos in his limited experience.
The third wasn't from any of the clans Naruto knew of, but there was something familiar yet bizarre about his chakra, he had by far and away the largest amount out of the three, more so than even the Hokage albeit less than Naruto himself.
Perhaps the most unsettling thing about the three of them, he could sense no negative emotions from any of them and happy people never seemed to visit Naruto.
As they approached the estate, the Anbu guarding Naruto's house let them enter without so much as a by your leave, so Naruto could breathe a sigh of relief. They must be expected, though no one had sent word to him about it. Then again, the Anbu seldom spoke to him about anything. One of the Anbu did disappear in the direction of the center of the village though.
Naruto made his way to the door, when he felt the older man about to knock, he opened the door.
"Ah, Prince Naruto," greeted the man and took Naruto aback. Nobody had ever called him a prince before, though he supposed it made sense what with his mother often being referred to as Princess Tsunade.
The man had bandages over one half of his face, a distinctive scar on his chin and he walked with a cane. "I am Danzō Shimura, a student of Lord Tobirama. I was wondering if I could come in? To check up on my old teacher's legacy."
Naruto didn't debate it long, he sensed no ill will from the man, or anything bad really and though Naruto didn't like to think about it much, he was starved for company. So, he bowed his head to the old man, opened the door wide, and ushered him into the house.
Danzō sighed as he entered, and laid his cane next to the door frame, "It has been many years since last I entered the Senju compound, it does an old man's heart good to know it's being put to use still after all this time."
Naruto didn't know what to say to that. He wasn't exactly filling the place up. 'It's pretty lonely to me,' he wanted to say, but that seemed rude so he just asked what he figured the polite thing would be to ask a guest.
"Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, please."
He set about preparing some green tea, all the while Danzō kept his singular gaze fixed on him, sizing him up like he was a piece of meat. Naruto didn't begrudge that much, since he couldn't feel any disappointment come from the man.
"I am told you have the ability to sense negative emotions."
Naruto stiffened but nodded.
"Would you care to demonstrate?"
Naruto shook his head. "I'd rather not, it's uncomfortable."
Then came the disappointment, and Naruto told him about it since it was already done. Anger and inadequacy came next. The man was quite adept at controlling his emotions since they disappeared just as soon as Naruto named them.
"How extraordinary," the old man remarked, "though it must be quite the burden in a village such as this one, especially for one so young."
He was again left without much to say, Naruto wasn't really accustomed to social situations, so he just nodded.
"If you require any assistance, with anything, I would prefer if you did not hesitate to ask me for help. I trust your sensory abilities will allow you to find me whenever you wish."
Not sensing any pity or guilt, Naruto was quick to nod in agreement. "Thank you, sir."
"Please, call me Danzō."
"Could I ask you a question, Danzō?"
The man nodded, so Naruto asked. "Why do you have an Aburame and a Yamanaka guarding you?"
Danzō did not balk or show any outward sign of shock at his guards' identity being discovered but voiced his impression all the same. "Extraordinary indeed, I will tell you the truth, Prince Naruto, I am the leader of Root, you could think of it as a subdivision of the village's Anbu, like the ones who guard you, and that status along with being a Village Elder, entails an escort of the village's finest ninja. I am an old man after all."
That made sense, except for the part about him being in need of protection. He was strong. Any ninja who'd lived that long and had that much chakra was bound to be really, really strong. He didn't bother to argue with the man about it though. That would be rude.
Besides, Naruto had a more pressing question on his mind to ask the man, "Do you know why everyone in the village hates me? Why my parents left me?"
Naruto, of course, lacked the social graces required that would suggest why the question might be considered impertinent. But even if he did, he still probably would have asked. Conversations were very rare for him, and it was the most interesting subject he could think of.
He'd asked the Hokage before, and been stonewalled. Maybe Danzō would be more forthcoming.
The elder took a deep breath, breathed a long sigh, and did something no one had ever done for Naruto before. He told him the truth.
"I would not take the absence of your parents too harshly, Prince Naruto. Princess Tsunade is a drunken shell of her former self with a legendary gambling addiction and Jiraiya is hardly better with his perversions and penchant for writing filth. Both of which are hardly fit parents for a young boy. My only regret is that more suitable alternatives were not found for you."
Naruto had never heard anyone speak of his parents like that, but he could tell Danzō was telling the truth and it explained a lot.
"That still didn't answer my question..."
"Are you familiar with the concept of Jinchūriki?"
Naruto was. He'd read about Granny Mito's status as the Village's Jinchūriki in her diaries and how Grandfather had distributed the Tailed Beasts across the Elemental Nations. He knew about the Nine-Tails attack on the Village when he was a baby.
With that, Naruto finally understood. Why everyone avoided him like a plague, why everyone hated him like he had killed their family members, why his parents had left him all alone.
He was the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Naruto let loose a sob.
Why hadn't he been told before? How could Lord Third lie to him about that? What was he supposed to do about it?
It was as if his whole world was going black. Suddenly, a hand reached out and caught him before he could faceplant. It was Lord Shimura's hand.
Naruto couldn't meet his eyes. He just wanted to crawl up in a ball and die.
"I do not hate you, Prince Naruto."
Naruto sniffled, "You don't?"
"Quite the opposite, it is a tremendous burden you carry. I believe you are an extraordinary child, whose unwavering spirit protects the village with each passing day from the most powerful being in existence. I consider you a hero on par with those of your mighty forebearers."
Naruto searched for the lie in his words. He found none.
Still, Naruto ran away. Into the forest. Where he felt safe.
Sadness. It oozed out of Naruto something awful. It was only his focusing on his bare feet in the grass that kept him from collapsing from another panic attack.
He was a human sacrifice and unlike Granny Mito, an unwilling one. And everyone had lied about it. Everyone hated him for it. Part of him wanted to just flee the village then and there. But he knew he'd never be allowed to leave. He was too important to the village's security. He'd known that every one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages was supposed to have at least one, and he had been curious as to who Konoha's was supposed to be, but he'd thought it had just been a secret.
And it was a secret, just a secret he wasn't let in on despite being the secret.
Naruto wondered if his parents hated him for it too, or if they were just deadbeats like Lord Shimura said and didn't want to put up with the grief of raising the village monster themselves.
He had loved his mother, and had secretly hoped his father loved him. But they had sacrificed him. The feelings that Naruto felt had names, he was sure, but none of them felt sufficient for how intense they were.
Everyone hated him. He tried not to hate them, he really did. But he couldn't help himself. How dare they sacrifice him and then blame him for it?
He didn't want to live in this village anymore, he didn't want to be a sacrifice, he wanted to be free. But those were just lies too.
Really, Naruto knew he just wanted someone to love him.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Naruto reaffirmed his ambition. He would become a ninja, the strongest ninja in the world, that way he could do what he wanted, that way he could be what he wanted. That way, people would love him.
As he was stewing in his grief, Danzō found him.
"I see the truth of your situation has upset you, Naruto," stated the man, still, somewhat miraculously in Naruto's estimation, free of pity.
"I am sorry if you were not ready for it." That was a lie.
"You're not sorry," accused Naruto.
"No, I suppose I am not, a shinobi like myself believes it is better to suffer from a harsh truth than live with pretty lies," he said, "Do you agree?"
Naruto begrudgingly nodded. He would rather live with pretty truths, but he knew what it was like to live a lie now.
At least Danzō didn't hate him. That might be enough. Uncle Tobirama had been his teacher once, maybe the old man would be his.
"Could you teach me, how to become a ninja?" he asked tentatively.
Danzō looked at him with something resembling a smirk and nodded his head.
"I am certain you have the makings of a splendid ninja, Prince Naruto. With my guidance, you will surely become the strongest ninja since the First Hokage."
Naruto smiled. Someone believed in him. That would be enough, it had to be.
"Now, let's go drink our tea."
"You know Prince Naruto, I came with the intention of helping you on your road to becoming a ninja" he reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of paper, "this is a piece of Chakra Induction Paper, with it we can determine your nature transformation affinity."
He handed it to Naruto, "Do you know how to channel chakra?"
Naruto did, of course, having used it regularly to perform the Summoning Jutsu. He took the paper with some trepidation – he didn't want to let Danzō down.
Danzō gestured for him to begin, and Naruto tried channelling chakra into the paper. Spectacularly, the paper twisted in his hand and began to thicken, it suddenly turned into bark and began to sprout leaves, causing Naruto to drop it in shock.
"Yes, excellent," praised Danzō and Naruto felt a surge of pride in his chest, Danzō pulled out a scroll and passed it to him. "Here is the Wood Style ninjutsu scroll that was left by the First Hokage. You have inherited his kekkai genkai, with it you could easily do what few Jinchūriki before you have managed to accomplish, complete control over their Tailed Beast. And with that, you could harness the power to surpass even the Hokage."
If Naruto was stronger than the Hokage... then everyone would have to respect him! Just like Lord Shimura! He could show up the Old Hokage and show his parents what they had missed out on.
"Have you decided on your ninja way?"
"My what?"
"Yes, I expected as much from a child still so young."
"It is the set of rules a ninja agrees to live by, their beliefs, their 'dream' if you will."
"Oh, you mean like the Will of Fire?!" Naruto asked.
There was a gleam in the man's eye, "Exactly like the Will of Fire."
Naruto shuffled his feet, "I don't know if I can treat the village like my family, sir, I've never really had anyone like that."
"Self-sacrifice is what epitomizes a shinobi, Naruto, one who has endured such a burden as yours should be able to empathize with the Will of Fire. With your sacrifice, you protect the entire village from the wrath of the Nine-Tails."
Naruto knew a lot about empathy.
"Just imagine the pain and suffering you spare the villagers, spare the world, that is why you are truly strong."
He was strong! Naruto doubted anyone else had the willpower to survive like he did.
"With the Will of Fire burning in your heart, you could bask in the sun like the leaves on the tree. Loved by all."
'Loved by all', that sure sounded nice.
"What say you, Naruto? Will you pick up the mantle of your forebearers and strive to fulfill their Will of Fire?"
Naruto beamed. Yes, he would! He'd become the strongest ninja in the whole world and then everyone would have to love him! One day, everyone would call him Prince Naruto!
"I can see the resolve in your eyes, Prince Naruto, I believe you will truly become a great ninja."
He thanked the old man profusely for his belief in him, and they spoke at length, well into the night about anything and everything. History, the academy, what Uncle Tobirama was like, that Naruto's favourite tea was green tea but Danzō liked brown rice tea the best, the plants in Naruto's garden, the famous pictures Danzō had collected.
After a while, he sensed the Hokage barrelling towards them with some speed. Worry. It was emanating from him like a lighthouse.
Naruto shrank in on himself. He didn't want to see the Hokage, ever again really.
He told Danzō, who quickly got up and told Naruto to go to his room. Naruto left but kept his keen ears open to hear what was transpiring in the next room.
The Hokage entered the house in a huff.
"Welcome, Sarutobi, what an unexpected surprise." Disdain. It was the first real negative emotion Naruto had felt from Danzō and it was targeted towards the Hokage, who returned the same emotion back at his former teammate.
"Where is Naruto, Danzō?" demanded the Hokage in a stern voice that made Naruto shiver.
"In his room. He sensed you coming and did not want to see you, so I took the liberty of greeting my old comrade in arms myself."
"What have you done?!" barked the old man.
"Calm yourself, Sarutobi, I only spoke to the boy."
Naruto could practically hear the old man gnash his teeth. "What did you tell him?"
"Only the truth."
"What truths?" gritted out the Hokage.
"The young Senju asked me why everyone in this village hated him. I asked him a question. He put two and two together."
The Hokage flared his chakra, probably cracking Naruto's floor. Rage.
"You violated the law!"
"I merely mentioned a concept, that the boy realized its implications is no fault of my own."
Pain. From Danzō.
Naruto jumped out of his room, only to find the Hokage's hand wrapped around Danzō's throat.
"Lord Third!" Naruto screamed, "Stop!"
The Hokage let Danzō down.
"Naruto, my boy, whatever Danzō has told you, you have to realize who he is."
"He's not a liar like you!" Naruto shouted, and the guilt he felt from the Hokage was more than enough proof. "How could you do that to me?"
"Naruto, I didn't believe you were old enough for the truth."
"Well, I was!" Naruto barked, feeling the rage swell inside him. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes had turned red and had started to leak the killing intent of the Nine-Tails.
"Naruto, you must calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down! You've known this whole time and never told me! That I have a monster sealed inside me! How dare you!"
"I am sorry, Naruto, I wanted you to have a normal childhood."
"A normal childhood? Everybody hates me and I can feel it all, how is that normal?!" raged Naruto.
"I had hoped you would make friends with those your own age, and thrive despite your ability. It was my desire for you to be viewed as a hero, as was Lord Fourth's, but sadly we were naive. I made it against the law to tell anyone about your status."
"How is it that everyone knows then, huh?"
The guilt was practically enough to drown Naruto, but he was too angry to care, too close to exploding.
"Someone broke it."
"And that's it?! When were you planning on telling me, huh?"
"Please, Naruto, we should have this conversation alone."
"No, I don't trust you, I used to, but now I know you're a liar. At least Danzō was honest with me!"
"He must have ulterior motives in informing you Naruto, he is known as the Shinobi of Darkness for a reason."
"And you're known as the God of Shinobi yet you let everyone hate me, you let my parents leave me alone!"
"Your parents love you, Naruto..."
"Then where are they?!" he screamed again.
Seeing the smirk on Danzō's face, Hiruzen relented and sighed. "I don't know, Naruto. It was not easy for them to be around you. You would ever revolt in their presence, such was your ability active even at an early age, they both thought it best that separation from you would do you good."
"Leave," commanded Naruto, "and don't come back."
"Naruto..."
"Leave!" Naruto barked, "And don't even think of punishing Danzō for telling me the truth, or else punish the rest of the village for doing the same thing to each other."
Stewing in his own guilt, the Hokage made for the door. "I am sorry, Naruto."
Naruto didn't care about his apology. One day, he'd show everyone what a fool the Third Hokage was. He'd show everyone that he was someone worth loving!
Naruto was worrying if he had what it took to be a ninja.
He knew he possessed the essential components, he was athletic and hard-working, he could be stealthy and clever, and he had inherited incredible genes from his family members.
It wasn't boasting, but Naruto knew he was stronger than other children his age, children much older than him, and even most adults. His mother's legendary strength might well be the result of perfect chakra control, but the Hokage himself said that she had always possessed ridiculous strength. Lord First was known to be able to fight a battle for over a day and still be able to go on, no worse for wear. The vitality of the Uzumaki clan was so renowned that it bordered on fantasy. These were the gifts his ancestors had passed down to him.
Naruto still took the concept of tiredness on hearsay. The only reason he slept was because it got dark at night, and since his decision to start training seriously, he'd forgone that mostly in place of lighting candles to read.
And then there was his chakra. As a sensor, Naruto truly understood the depth of his reserves. It dwarfed even the Hokage's, it surpassed the entire village's reserves combined.
Picking up a kunai from his side, Naruto cut the back of his other hand and watched with fascination as it healed before it could even begin to bleed. The fabled healing ability of the First and the vitality of Uzumaki Clan. Naruto often wondered what exactly it would take to kill him...
Yet despite all these traits, the wealth of knowledge at his disposal, and a desire to become a great ninja, he still wondered.
Could he hurt someone? Could he kill someone? For money? Ninjas are meant to endure, but could he endure that? How could he possibly experience the emotions of someone hurting, dying and know he was responsible?
If he was going to become a ninja, he was going to have to do those things. One didn't become the strongest shinobi ever by sitting around.
He was taken out his musings by a knock at the door, and he rose to answer, even as he dreaded who was on the other side of it.
"Ah, good morning, Young Naruto." greeted the celebrated Third Hokage, in his ceremonial robes. Naruto noticed he seemed to be worse for wear, having aged years in a matter of days and the guilt that had been there when last he'd left had subsided little. To the Hokage's right stood an Anbu operative with a white mask in the shape of a beak.
It had been months since he'd last seen him, and though Naruto didn't want him around, though he regrettably still needed to obey. Naruto wanted to tell the Hokage to go kick rocks, but he was still the Hokage, so he had to let him in. Didn't mean he had to speak to him though.
"No time for that today, I'm afraid," he explained with a wave of his hand, "I've brought your tutor to instruct you in the ninja arts." Lord Third gestured to the Anbu beside him.
Naruto scowled, the Hokage had sent a letter to him the other day to explain to him that though he was indeed going to be taught how to become a ninja, it would not be by Danzō, due to his "reputation", but by the Hokage's chosen tutor. Naruto had sent back a message cursing him out, but that was all he could do. The Hokage told him Danzō was lucky to still be breathing after breaking the law, he would not be rewarded with a star pupil and since there was no one else in the village who knew Wood Style, one teacher would be as good as any.
But Naruto was scowling at the choice of instructor. He was an Uchiha.
Naruto didn't like holding grudges, but he didn't like the Uchiha. Out of everyone in the village, no one hated like them. And they hated him most of all. Either because he was a Senju or the Jinchūriki. Probably both.
"Now, now, don't be like that Naruto-kun, I'm sure Crow here will be an excellent instructor," the Hokage claimed, apparently his reservations faded with his choice. "I'll leave you two to it." He bid his leave and waved goodbye to them over his shoulder as he walked away, leaving a trail of smoke in his path.
The Hokage hadn't lost his sense of guilt, but was acting more reserved with him, and felt all the more ashamed of it. Naruto thought he should be acting guilty.
'Crow' walked past Naruto, and entered his house uninvited, "So, where's the training ground?" the Anbu asked non-nonchalantly, in a deep voice. Not that Naruto hadn't known that he was a man already, that was something he could sense.
Naruto told him where it was, and they headed there. On the way, Naruto sized him up, he had short, black hair that hadn't been tended to for a while. He was taller than the admittedly short Hokage who had hunched in his old age. He had an average build for a ninja, and there was a tanto on his back common for the Anbu of the village. All in all, Crow was unassuming, like an Anbu ought to be.
Naruto respected the Anbu, how could he not? They were the creation of his great-uncle, and they didn't seem to hate being around him like most people in the village did. So, while Naruto did not have anything against Crow personally, he was still an Uchiha.
He had been doing quite well with his training on his own. He studied the scrolls of his Clan diligently and had learned a great deal from them. He made sure to exercise regularly and eat nutritious meals. Nor was he foolish to think that training alone did not cement mistakes, which is why he had learned to summon experts from the Land of Toads to teach him how to really fight. The great toad sages were regular visitors to his house now, and they were quite pleased to help him with anything he wanted to know. Naruto also deeply appreciated their company, even if they mentioned his father far too much for his tastes.
However, that was all inconsequential, and Naruto could even see the benefits of having an experienced teacher. The deal breaker was the fact the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu was technically forbidden because it evenly divided one's chakra among each clone, which to the ordinary ninja would result in instant death, even if the jutsu was actually quite simple to learn. One had to be a jōnin for their reserves to be even considered large enough to use it. For a child, not even in the academy, it would be mad to think they could do it safely. But Naruto was not an ordinary case, he could split his chakra a thousand ways and still have plenty. Still, Naruto wasn't going to risk anyone finding out he'd been doing it a lot lately.
So, while Crow may well be an upstanding ninja from the village's most prestigious unit and most powerful clan, Naruto didn't see how having him around was going to be to his benefit.
Once they reached the grounds, Crow took a place a few feet away from Naruto. "Okay, so first things first, let's see what you got, come at me," commanded the Anbu.
"What do you mean 'what I got', 'come at you'?" queried Naruto, confused at those combinations of words, and wondering how they might be instructions of some sort.
Crow stood there silent for a moment and tilted his head, and while Naruto expected to sense something negative from the Anbu, he felt nothing, "You know... try to attack me, so I can figure out what we should work on," explained Crow in a tone of voice Naruto considered strange for an Anbu, but understood nonetheless.
Naruto did as Pa had taught him, it would be a far cry from Frog Kumite as he had no idea how to control Natural Energy, but he was close enough to Crow, and strong enough that it would serve this purpose. Naruto assumed his stance, even though Crow made no move to do so either, and then kicked his back foot off the ground in a leap that sent him hurdling for the nearby Crow, and landed a clean right cross on Crow's masked face.
Crow, did not seem as prepared as Naruto had previously thought him to be. As evident by the fact that Crow was knocked clear off his feet, and sent tumbling a few yards away, landing with a groan.
"Ughhhhh, that really hurt," moaned the fallen Anbu. Naruto was beginning to re-evaluate his assessment of the Anbu, even as he stood up and brushed himself off.
"Boy, you got one scary right hand there, kid, complimented the Anbu after turning to face him again, but it was not his words that made Naruto freeze in fear, but the fact that Naruto had knocked his mask off to reveal Crow's face.
As Naruto had suspected, he was indeed an Uchiha with those black eyes of theirs.
Naruto had just knocked off an Anbu's mask, he was pretty sure that meant he had compromised the identity of a ninja on a black op, and that one or both of them would have to be eliminated.
Seeing Naruto's pale face, Crow asked "Hey kid, you okay? Looks like you've seen a ghost."
"There's a ghost!" Naruto fainted, overloaded with fear.
Moments later, Naruto was revived by a curious Crow and left to look into the terrifying dark eyes of his killer.
Naruto screamed.
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, kid," Crow tried to calm him down.
Naruto stopped for a second, before realizing that telling people to stop screaming was a thing people did before they killed them. So, he screamed again with purpose, "Help! Help! He's going to kill me!" Later, Naruto would be embarrassed by this whole encounter, not least of which was that Naruto had only just dispatched Crow easily.
"What're you talking about? Be quiet. Someone might hear you," Crow covered his mouth with his hand, and sent Naruto into a terrified panic, soon biting the wannabe murderer with all his might. "Ouch!" Crow shouted in pain, and on instinct walloped Naruto on the head like he would anything that had just bit him.
Naruto too acted on instinct, albeit one that was angered by having just been hit in the head by his killer, and lashed out with a kick from his position on his back with all his might, amplified amateurishly by his chakra, which translated into Crow being sent flying into the tree line, resulting in several loud cracks of hopefully bones.
Rushing to his feet, Naruto considered his escape routes, he could run inside his house and lock all the doors and hope he'd go away, or go find Danzō and seek his protection, or create hundreds of clones to use as decoys, or he could summon Ma & Pa and have them destroy Crow, or he could improvise a seal that would teleport Crow away into an alternate dimension were Naruto was older and more experienced and capable of making decisions on short notice, or he could-
Naruto was taken out of his musings by the sound of laughter coming from the tree line, and he soon took notice of Crow running toward him with a big, dopey smile on his face. Naruto returned to his fighting stance immediately, preparing to defend himself against the crazed lunatic assaulting him, but before that happened, Crow exclaimed jovially "You're pretty fun to hang out with, kid!"
Naruto sweat-dropped, sensing no deceit from the ninja, but still thoroughly weirded out by him.
"So, you must have already had some training then, I'm guessing that the Hokage didn't know about. You're really strong already," Crow spoke excitedly, "Or did the Hokage trick me, and he's been secretly training you since birth, and chose me to test out your abilities?"
Naruto really wanted the earth to swallow him whole, or even better swallow Crow, and digest him somewhere else.
Soon, Crow was prodding Naruto's face with his fingers, "Huh? Huh? How'd you get so good for your age, huh?"
"My Toad summons taught me, okay!" Naruto snapped.
Crow whistled, "Wow, that's pretty cool. So, you can summon toads just like Lord Jiraiya can, huh? Are you guys related?" before Naruto could answer, Crow continued as if he hadn't asked a question, "Can you summon slugs like your mom?"
"Ye-" Naruto began... then was interrupted.
"You know, I can summon crows," Crow claimed, then performed plenty of hand signs in a flash that Naruto couldn't begin to keep up with, bit his thumb, and then slammed his hand on the ground.
There was a burst of smoke, followed by a swarm of black birds screaming into existence, cawing and flapping their wings, terrorizing him. Naruto stumbled back to the ground in fright.
Soon, all the crows were perched on Crow, who stood in front of Naruto chucking softly at the feel of their little talons grasping to his arms and head before he had a revelation and turned to him, "Naruto, look! I'm a murder-er!" and broke into a fit of giggles.
This was quickly becoming Naruto's oddest interaction of his young life, and one of his longest in general.
"Show me one of yours!" Crow pleaded.
Having had an idea, Naruto acquiesced and began the hand signs himself, as quickly as he could in an attempt to not be outdone by Crow, and soon summoned his own ninja beast, "Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Jutsu!" he roared.
Suddenly, an enormous toad, the size of a stall landed where Crow was standing, crushing whatever was beneath him. Sighing in relief, Naruto again stood up and began to walk back to his house, though still not having become 'tired', was mentally exhausted from the day's events and longed to lie back and relax while reading a nice scroll on the even-odd discrepancy inherent in fuinjutsu.
Naruto was going to do this, except not a moment later, a murder of crows flickered in front of him and joined themselves back together as Crow, staring at him with activated Sharingan, crimson eyes baring into his soul.
"Wow, now that was impressive, I've never summoned a crow any bigger than usual," Crow complimented.
"What's wrong with you, huh?" Naruto demanded of the strange man.
Crow tilted his head again, and seemed to ponder Naruto's question for a while, "Oh, you mean the eyes?" Crow asked, and before Naruto could correct him, Crow continued and dropped to one knee, and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Listen kid, I don't care about that Clan rivalry stuff."
"That's not what I was tal-" Naruto stopped once he had realized that Crow's touch did not bring any sensations of negative emotions, not even the slight malaise feeling practically everyone felt all the time. This caused Naruto to change tactics, and investigate, "You don't?"
He did shrug his hands off though. Naruto didn't like to be touched.
Crow nodded, "Not at all. In fact, my grandfather was Kagami Uchiha, he was on Lord Second's squad during the war, he spoke really highly of him, and everyone knows Lord First was a Senju and he built the village, so I've got nothing but respect for the Senju. And anyway, I consider everyone in the village to be my family."
Crow smiled at him, it was not a sight Naruto often saw directed at him.
It was difficult for Naruto to remain upset in the face of such earnestness, especially as he so rarely experienced it, "Well, I guess the Uchiha aren't all bad then."
Crow laughed much louder than Naruto would have thought polite, "Some of us are alright, I'm the easiest to get along with though, my cousins aren't too bad either."
"Aren't you supposed to hide your identity?" Naruto asked of the Anbu.
"What? Why would I do that?" Crow answered, badly.
Holding down a sigh, Naruto answered, "Because the Anbu are supposed to remain anonymous in order to prevent their identities from being used against them."
Crow nodded, "That's true. The Anbu gotta stay secret and stuff."
"So, why aren't you?"
"Because I'm not in the Anbu, duh." Crow said like it was obvious, and that Naruto was a little slow.
Naruto wondered if Crow would go away if he tried to drop Gamabunta on him and if the Boss Toad would mind doing him that favour.
"So, why are you pretending to be an Anbu?!" Naruto barked.
Crow looked scandalized, "I've done no such thing, that'd be a serious crime. What made you think that?"
An indignant Naruto answered "The mask only Anbu of our village wear, or the fact you showed up with the Hokage at my doorstep without me having issued a mission, or that your 'name' is 'Crow'. I thought it was pretty obvious."
"Oh that, that was just something the Hokage gave me to make you feel more comfortable, and Crow is just a nickname I took from my cousin, he doesn't get to use it all that much, so I thought I'd borrow it for a while," 'Crow' 'explained', "My name's Shisui by the way, Shisui Uchiha." the bizarre man introduced himself with an outstretched hand.
Naruto wanted to tell the crazy person to get out of the house and he didn't want to be touched, but he didn't want to be rude so he shook hands.
"Naruto Senju." he introduced himself.
When Shisui started to squeeze his hand as is standard for a handshake, the young boy with little social experience quickly reached the conclusion, that you were supposed to squeeze someone's hand as hard as you can as some sort of friendly test of strength, might have went a tad overboard.
Thankfully for the bones in Shisui's hands, Naruto immediately stopped squeezing once he sensed the tremendous deal of pain the older boy was feeling.
"Sorry!" Naruto apologized sincerely.
Shisui waved him off magnanimously, 'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! My hand! Someone's been eating their vegetables.'
"Nice to meet you, Naruto," gritted Shisui with a pained smile.
Naruto gave a small smile of his own, "Likewise, Shisui."
Shisui clapped his sore hand together against the one he could still close, and began walking back to the training ground, "Let's try that again, shall we? Now that I know that I'm not dealing with some snot-nosed kid, I'll be ready."
The two of them returned to the field and began sparring in earnest. With Shisui's Sharingan activated, and taking things a tad seriously, Naruto never managed to get even remotely close to touching Shisui again. Turns out, fighting people is pretty different compared to fighting toads. It was only due to Naruto's insane stamina and recovery time that he managed to keep up, and by the end of the day, it was not the younger of the boys who was willing to keep going.
It was the most fun Naruto had ever had. He was so preoccupied with enjoying their sparring that he never even noticed when Shisui's Sharingan shifted into a shuriken-shaped pinwheel. All that Naruto was concerned with was that he had finally made a friend.
Also, that he should still hold off writing his parents about what he'd learned. Better to cut off contact altogether.
Luckily for Shisui, Naruto was unaware that his sensing abilities dulled, the better the mood he was in.
Regret. Resignation. Sorrow. Remorse. Shame.
Naruto was in a very good mood indeed.
Kushina watched Uzume play in their garden.
Their huge garden, of their huge mansion on the outskirts of the village, in the good part of town. It would've seemed amazing to the lonely girl who came to Konoha all those years ago.
But now, she would give it all up just to live in a hut if it meant living with Minato and Uzume again.
Yet, in truth, it was more than she deserved.
"Look, Mom! A squirrel!" yelled Uzume from her place in the dirt, busy exploring their yard.
"Wow, honey! See if it has any friends nearby," she humored her daughter.
Finally, Kakashi showed up, an hour after she told him to be there, but around exactly when she expected him to show up.
Her heart went out to Kakashi, he was still spending so much time at the Memorial Stone, grieving little Obito, Rin, and Minato. She grieved them too, but she had Uzume to take care of, and Kakashi, well, he had them at least.
"Yo!" Kakashi flashed her a peace sign, and she had to act annoyed or else he'd start showing up later. "You're late."
Kakashi rubbed his neck, "Sorry about that, Lady Kushina, a milk cart crashed in the road on the way here and I had to look out for the stray cats sipping at the puddles."
A tick mark appeared on Kushina's forehead, and she walloped Kakashi, "That's such a stupid lie, y'know!"
Remembering that he called her 'Lady Kushina', she walloped him again.
"Uncle Kakashi!" bawled Uzume.
"Uh oh," mumbled Kakashi. Soon he was wrapped in a dozen golden chakra chains, hauled to the ground, and forcibly dragged towards her daughter. "Come see this caterpillar I found!"
Kushina laughed heartily and called out "Be good for your old uncle, Uzume, I've got some errands to run, okay."
"Okay, Mom!" called out Uzume as she dangled Kakashi in the air, flashing a bright smile.
Kushina made her way through the village and was greeted fondly by everyone she passed.
Much to her chagrin.
She remembered how they used to look at the foreigner with obnoxious hair who dared to hope to be Hokage. And now they worshipped the ground she walked on because her husband was dead.
If it wouldn't make things harder for Uzume, she'd tell them all to go to hell! Believe it!
Kushina made her way to the Hokage's residence and reminisced about how she'd once wanted to become Hokage. She'd just been a lost girl in a strange place and wanted to fit in. Besides, she never really had the chance to break the glass ceiling, she was a foreigner even if she had grown up in the village and an Uzumaki to boot. Minato was better suited to it anyway, he had the reputation and an unwavering love of the village. Besides, she hated paperwork, and being older she realized that was mostly what the job entailed.
And ever since the incident, she hadn't been able to return to active duty let alone take the hat, both as a single parent and because she was no longer fit to be a ninja. Having the Nine-Tails removed from her body had left her chakra network a husk of its former self, she could barely even use jutsu anymore. It was only because of Tsunade being around that she'd managed to survive the ordeal of the beast being extracted anyways, that and the longer pregnancy that had expanded her chakra network even further. Uzume had saved her too after all.
She could still mold chakra, but it was clunky and messy. Her taijutsu was still in good shape, but she wasn't going to be the strongest ninja in the village. She'd even tried to get Guy to teach her the Eight Gates, but it was no use.
So what? She had Uzume now to take care of and her family had given more than enough to the village already.
"I'm here to see the Hokage," she told the receptionist, who seemed lost in space herself.
Hearing her voice, she snapped to it, and seeing her, she scrambled. "Of course, Lady Kushina, he's expecting you, go right on in."
Kushina tsk'd at 'Lady Kushina', but nodded and opened the door.
"Ah, Kushina, so good to see you," Hiruzen beckoned her in.
He greeted her kindly, she greeted him respectfully.
"Please, sit down." She does.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" The Hokage was a busy enough man that even if he'd enjoy exchanging pleasantries he still needed to cut to the chase if he wanted to be home at a decent hour.
Kushina was fine with being blunt. "Naruto."
"Kakashi told me what happened, what that bastard did, and that does it, it's beyond time he come live with me," she stated resolutely. This time, she wouldn't take no for an answer.
Hiruzen sighed, "We've had this conversation this before, Kushina and-"
"And I'm tired of asking!" Kushina shouted, making Hiruzen flinch, "This is bullshit! He's my family, he's a hero! I know what it's like to live with that burden and I can only imagine what it'd be like if I could sense people's dark thoughts on top of it, so I'll be damned if I don't look after him! He's only a kid and he's got nobody!"
Now it was time for Hiruzen to get upset, "You need to stop asking, Kushina. I did not tell you 'no' because I thought it was a bad idea. You know full well why I can't do what you're asking."
"Who's going to stop me, huh? Tell me so I can go shove my foot up their ass, y'know!"
The Hokage sighed, "It is everyone. The civilians would be terrified of having Naruto so close to you and Uzume, the ninja would worry you would teach him sealing and Naruto would meddle with his seal, the Elders believe he's best left in the care of the village, the Hyuga would worry you meant to establish your own clan and upset the balance of power, and the Uchiha would-"
Kushina, who'd been shaking her head at each of the points Hiruzen had made finally interrupted at that last mention.
"To hell with the Uchiha! It's their fault we're in this mess in the first place." She was sure of that. The Masked Man had been an Uchiha, and he had known she was pregnant, only those closest to her had known. Kushina had trusted them all, and all but one of them had died or had their lives destroyed by the attack. Hiruzen had lost a wife, Kakashi had lost a teacher, and Jiraiya and Tsunade had lost their son.
But Mikoto, well, the Uchiha lost absolutely nothing.
They'd sat the whole thing out. Letting others die in their place, becoming the strongest clan in the village by far, and they had gall to act as if they were being persecuted!
"I cannot go against the will of the entire village, Kushina."
"Why not?! You're the Hokage."
"Indeed I am," he replied, "I am the leader of the village, not its ruler."
"Then lead! Let me take Naruto in."
"My hands are tied in this matter. If it eases your mind to know, I have already assigned Naruto an instructor."
Kushina growled, "To make him a better weapon for the village! That's not good enough!"
"It is all that I can do," Hiruzen told her, with all the authority he could muster in his voice.
They stared at each other for a while after that. When Hiruzen believed he'd actually managed the last word, Kushina broke her silence.
"I'll tell," she said in a whisper, and Hiruzen froze at the implication.
"I'll tell them, somehow, someway, I'll find out how to tell Jiraiya and Tsunade what has happened to Naruto! I'll shout it from the rooftops if I have to. I don't believe for a second they know he's being treated like dirt here," she mused as she threatened. "How mighty a Hokage will you be when they both show up on your doorstep looking for answers?"
Kushina knew she'd struck a nerve from the look on the Hokage's face. Good. She might want to give Naruto's parents a good shin-kicking for leaving him alone, but she was a mother herself, if she thought for a second Uzume was being mistreated, she'd break into hell itself to get her out. And those two, Kage-level shinobi who knew everything there was to know about Konoha's defences, who had built some of them. If they knew the hell Naruto was going through, that Danzō Shimura of all people had gotten to him, well... there was no telling what they might do.
She looked at Hiruzen expecting him to concede, instead, he looked her dead in the eye and said, "I don't think that would be in Uzume's best interests."
Kushina was ready to impale him. "What are you talking about, Old Man?!"
She charged forward, but Anbu filled the room. As if she could take the Hokage in a one-on-one fight now anyway.
"If Naruto's parents are made aware that he is being mistreated by the village for his status as a Jinchūriki, then the person who revealed that half-truth about that night is likely to reveal the rest."
Kushina trembled in rage, "Nobody was supposed to know about Naruto either!"
"Be that as it may, the villagers know. If you through with your plan, you risk Uzume's secret being revealed."
Not that Hiruzen would simply allow her to go through with it, but hopefully, the threat would dissuade her.
She scoffed. "You bastard! You know I won't." She couldn't. Uzume needed the protection of the village, and needed to be a part of it. If the villagers knew that she was the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tail's Yang half, then she would be ostracized, just like Naruto, and she wouldn't wish that on her worst enemy, she couldn't inflict it on her daughter.
But still, Kushina was not someone who backed down easily. "Do something, Sarutobi, or I will!"
With that, she readied to storm out, not before burying her fist into Minato's portrait on the wall, shattering the glass and cutting her hand. She turned to the Hokage, and with the blood dripping to the floor, she told him, "I'd better never find out it was you who told about Naruto, Old Man, or I'll put you in the dirt!"
And then she was gone. Hiruzen dismissed the Anbu and leaned back in his chair, Kushina must have truly been weakened by the extraction of the Nine-Tails if she let the matter rest without more fuss.
In a rage, he threw his crystal ball at the wall, at his own portrait.
He slumped in his chair and glared at the portraits on the wall looking down on him.
He glared at the Fourth for dying and leaving him with this mess, for turning Naruto into a Jinchūriki.
He glared at the First for creating the Jinchūriki in the first place.
He glared at his teacher whose paranoia had made it so Hiruzen did not have the ability to sort this out the way he wanted.
And he glared at the place where his portrait had laid just moments ago before he'd smashed it to pieces.
Sarutobi could not let his students know about Danzō, for the same reason he could not tell them that their son was treated as a pariah for the burden he carried, for the same reason he had made them believe that the Fourth's wishes were being carried out and Naruto was revered as a hero, and if albeit missing his parents, was still well looked after and taken care of.
Because he had no other choice.
Despite what the children of the village might believe, what his own son had believed once, the Hokage was no king.
Konoha had not been founded by a conquering warlord after all. It was Lord Hashirama's dream of uniting the warring clans into a peaceful community.
In ninja matters, he was the sole authority, but he was a far cry from a military dictator. In domestic affairs, those that concerned the village as a whole, he answered to many.
Hiruzen had been the youngest Hokage, chosen at a moment's notice by his teacher not long before his death. He'd spent decades just trying to retain the power the Senju brothers once held, only for two great ninja wars and the traitorous student he'd failed to stop, to see much of it vanish.
There were those in the village, such as his old teammates, who looked to Minato's single-handed victory over a battalion of Iwa shinobi at Kannabi Bridge and thought Hiruzen to be a coward for coming to terms with the Tsuchikage. Never mind that there were those who thought the same of Onoki in his village, or that with Kiri's plot to have the Three-Tails rampage in the village foiled and the Third Raikage dead, it was the perfect time to make peace before their enemies had a chance to regroup their strength.
He had never meant to keep the hat forever, and Minato was a worthy successor, but he had been forced to give it up. He only wore it now because Minato had died, and the village needed a familiar face after that crisis to bring them together.
Even now, he only kept hold of it due to the village's resentment of the Uchiha clan, otherwise, Fugaku would have laid claim to it and more likely than not garnered the support of the village elders, the Jounin council, and the Daimyo himself.
Only the Anbu would have remained at his side, and even then only out of loyalty to the office, and as ever, the clans would have given it little thought as long as their interests were assured.
It was only their absence during the Kyuubi invasion that had kept Fugaku from being the Fifth Hokage, which had led to its own disaster that threatened to plunge the village into civil war.
No, on top of all that, with half the village vying for Naruto's death and the other for him to be turned into a weapon, he could not allow the other nations to believe that their Jinchūriki, the force who had staved off every assault during the last war, and the war before that, was gone.
As Hiruzen had no doubt he would be if his students knew how he was treated.
They'd never meant to leave Naruto to a Jinchūriki's fate. They had only agreed to make him one in the first place as doing so would save his life from the Demon Fox as well. His status as one was never supposed to be revealed, Minato's wish for him to be seen as a hero did not outweigh his parent's desire to avoid the risk of him not.
It had stayed a secret. Long enough for Jiraiya to leave, as he'd always meant to leave, and for Tsunade to finally give up in her attempts to raise Naruto as a normal boy, who'd been cursed with the ability to sense negative emotions, and could no longer bear the thought she was doing him harm by staying.
Before even their absence was widely noticed, word got out that Naruto was the Jinchūriki. Ninjas were gossips, but they knew better than to leak S-class secrets. Someone had spread the information around the village like a plague, and soon, the village came to blame Naruto for the attack itself.
Perhaps if they had stayed, Hiruzen might have been able to secure Naruto at least a proper home, to have accepted Kushina's pleas to take him in. But in their absence at least, he'd not been able to convince the rest of the village to do so.
It had taken all he had to keep Naruto alive and out of Danzō's sinister hands, and even then Danzō had struck when he'd been busy and shattered the boy's trust in him.
That would not be enough for Tsunade and Jiraiya, but their son was a Jinchūriki now. Konoha's Jinchūriki. If they knew how Naruto was treated, they would try to take him. His absence would mean war, one way or the other, be it his students tearing the village apart for their son, Konoha's factions plunging it into civil war, or the other villages ganging up on them in their weakened state.
As Hokage, he had to do anything, everything in his power, to prevent that from happening. If that meant lying to his students, that was his duty as Hokage. And if it meant he had to order Shisui to use his genjutsu to prevent Naruto from personally informing his parents about his situation, then that too was his duty.
He had put so much on Naruto's small shoulders that words could not express the guilt it made him feel. If only he could take on that burden himself, he would, but alas fate is rarely so kind. The boy was all the more a hero for putting up for as long as he had.
But Kushina was right, Hiruzen had to do something. Naruto had suffered too much already, it was far past time that Hiruzen stopped putting all the burdens of the world on him.
He grabbed a scroll from his desk, picked up his ink brush, and began to write a message – an order.
Naruto could not be alone anymore. For the first time in his life, Hiruzen hoped that Tsunade maintained that rebellious streak of hers.
He couldn't command her to come home, nor did he truly want her to. But this time, he ordered her apprentice to return.
If Tsunade did come back, the streets would run with blood, war would follow, and the Sage himself would guess at would happen to Naruto. But Hiruzen knew she would not come, not when she still hated the village and thought Naruto was better off without her.
But maybe, there was hope. Her apprentice, Shizune, was a fine girl. Perhaps she had it in her to leave her master and return to the home that had claimed her parents and uncle as well, maybe she could reach Naruto.
It felt pathetic that this was all he could do for the boy, but it was something.
At least this time, he had done something.
No doubt, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew his soul was bound to hell for what he'd done, but perhaps, one day he'd be able to look Konohamaru in the eye again and not see Naruto staring back at him.
He stares at the broken portrait of Minato on the wall, the picturesque smile now wiped from his place by a shard of bloody glass cutting his face in two.
Hiruzen thinks to himself that Kushina is angrier at him than the Third Hokage. After all, it was Minato that really put her in this situation, not him.
A newborn could not withstand the full might of the Kyuubi. So, it had been split into halves. One had gone to Naruto, the boy who'd they never need fear the seal weakening.
The other, which they'd believed Minato would seal in himself and take with him into the Shinagami's belly, had been sealed inside his daughter.
Minato who had lived through the war outlived most of his students and many of his friends, chose to sacrifice his own daughter for Konoha to have two Jinchūriki, which he hoped would finally upset the balance of power enough in Konoha's favour to avoid future wars.
Such was the action of a Hokage.
Shizune was staring at a drunk Tsunade sprawled out on the floor, trembling in her sleep.
She thought to herself that she'd wait until she's sobered up to tell her the news.
Konoha shinobi had tracked her down, wanting to see Shizune in particular. Shizune had needed to go outside to greet them, lest they see her mistress in such a sorry state.
"Orders from the Hokage," the Anbu had told her.
For her. She'd been commanded to return to the village. Only her.
Shizune has to admit that she never particularly cared for the Hokage's orders. The old man who had told her of her parents' deaths, of Dan's, who'd she reported the loss of her teammates and sensei too.
Konohagakure might be full of people, but to her, it was a ghost town. She barely considered it her home at all.
Maybe that's why she never wore the forehead protector anymore, she'd barely thought about it for years until the Konoha shinobi had searched her up and down for it, scowling in disapproval.
But that didn't mean she didn't want to go back.
She had travelled for years and enjoyed indulging in her hobby of visiting cultural heritage sites. She'd basically seen all the important ones in the Elemental Nations by now.
But more and more, it felt like she'd been running away. Before it had been simple, Lady Tsuande needed someone to look after her, after all that happened.
Yet, things were different now, the two of them weren't on the best of terms at the moment.
The letter that Tsunade had sent to Naruto promising their return had been a point of contention between the two of them. It had taken weeks for her mistress to confess that she'd even written it.
Shizune wanted to go back to the village if only for a short time, to assure Naruto that they had not forgotten about him. To make it clear that despite not being able to stay, they were still thinking about him.
If it was just Naruto, Shizune believed they might have done it, but he was in Konoha, and no matter what excuse Tsunade thought up to justify it, she'd never step foot back in it.
Tsunade groaned, "Shizune!"
She attended her mistress.
"Ugh, what time is it?"
With a frown, she told Tsunade that it was well past noon, and there was another groan.
Reaching over to her side, Tsunade grabbed a bottle of sake, uncorked it, and hauled back a hearty swig.
Shizune sighed, Tsunade had had a drinking problem before, that's how Naruto had been born after all, but being separated from her son had been the hardest thing of all for her to bear so the problem had been even worse. If not for Lady Tsunade's Uzumaki longevity, Shizune figured her liver would be cirrhotic.
"Lady Tsunade, we need to speak about something."
Another groan, "Later..."
As much as she wanted to put it off to get her thoughts in order, it was best to pull the bandage off now.
She tried to get Tsunade's attention, nudging her a couple of times, to no avail.
"Now, Lady Tsunade!" she squeaked.
Tsunade rose with a huff and rubbed her temples, "What is it?"
Shizune handed her the scroll. Tsunade read it, scoffed, and expertly, nonchalantly threw it in the trash and cursed. "That old fool, who does he think he is?"
She carefully picked it out of the trash, hoping no booze had gotten on it, she'd need it for later.
Trying to muster the courage, she had to blurt it out, "I'm going back, Lady Tsunade!"
Tsunade went stiff. "I can't do this anymore, My Lady, I'm tired of living on the road, of being on the run all the time, of always having to-"
"You should go," said Tsunade and startled her. She'd expected a fight.
"Please come with me, Lady Tsunade!" she pleaded.
Tsunade simply shook her head with a grimace on her face. "Please, My Lady, it's time for you to come home, you've been gone so long, and Naruto must miss you awfully, I'm sure he'd want you back in the village with him."
"Shizune!" admonished Tsunade, who had begun to cry. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't wish I was strong enough to be there for Naruto, but I just can't keep myself together and he'd know. I'm better off well away from him."
"Lady Tsunade, that's not true! I'm sure-"
Tsunade threw the sake bottle at the wall, full blast, and it shattered into a million pieces staining the wall, waking Tonton, "Oink, oink!"
Shizune doesn't know what to say. There's nothing she can think of that she hasn't said before, that her teacher hasn't heard a million times.
Tonton nestled into Tsunade's arms and oinked. "Look after Naruto, Shizune."
"I will, My Lady, with all my heart," she declared.
"It's not your place, and I know it's unfair to ask, but if you could try to explain to Naruto that I'm sorry, that I miss him and I love him."
Shizune cracked and began to cry herself, but agreed with a nod.
In a blink of an eye, Tsunade grabbed her in an embrace. "You've been the best student anyone could have asked for. I'm sorry to have been such a burden to you for so long..."
"No, Lady Tsunade, you haven't-"
Tsunade gave a dark chuckle, "No, I know I've been a mess, listen I never should have treated you like a nanny all these years, making you take care of me-"
"You've always looked out for me, My Lady!" Shizune cried.
"Hardly," Tsunade retorted, "I've been a fool for so long. It took me having to son to realize that I consider you a daughter."
Shizune sobbed into her mentor's shoulder, "I-I'll stay with you."
Tsunade rubbed her back, "There'll be none of that. It's time you went home, time for you to start living your life. You've still got a ways to go before you catch up to me as a kunoichi, which is my own damn fault for being a lousy teacher," Shizune shook her head, "but you've long since been the better woman."
Pulling away, Tsunade wiped the tears from her eyes, "I should have done this a long time ago, it's time for you to find your own path, I'm certain you'll find the right one." With that, she took the necklace from around her neck and placed it in Shizune's hands.
"Lady Tsunade, I can't take this," she protested.
"You can and you will. It's not the necklace that's cursed, it's me. And you're better off with it than with me."
"That's not true, Lady Tsunade!"
Tsunade snorted, and pointed her thumb at Tonton, "Take the pork chop with you."
There was an indignant oink, and Tsunade said "Yeah, I'll miss you too, girl."
Shizune could scarcely look at her teacher's face as she gathered the last of her things.
"We'll see each other again, Lady Tsunade."
"I wouldn't bet on it," laughed her lady, and Shizune could only give her a sad smile.
"Goodbye, My Lady."
"Goodbye, Shizune."
She disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Tsunade alone by herself.
Tsunade made it to the washroom dunked her head in the basin of water, and held her face under water for as long as she could hold her breath. Emerging from the water she took a deep gasp of air, and tried to stop herself from marching out of the building to get some more sake.
She couldn't return to the village. She was bad for Naruto. Ever since they'd sealed the Nine-Tails Fox inside him, they had cursed him with the ability to sense negative emotions and she had little else but negative emotions. He'd gone from being a relaxed baby to being practically colic. It was quite literally bad for his health. He was better off in the care of cooing nurses in a village that treated him like the prince he was.
With her, there was only grief and guilt.
She would survive off his letters and Sensei's assurances that he was living his best life in the village, away from her.
Tsunade dunked her head back in the water in a bid to stop the tears.
But she swore there'd be no more sake in her future, or gambling. She couldn't go back to Konoha, but she wasn't going to wallow in her grief any longer. It's time she started living up to her responsibilities, time she started to heal the sick again, it was time she started training again.
Tsunade would do better. For Shizune, for Naruto, for Dan & Nawaki too. She would do better.
Author's Note: There you have it, I hope you enjoyed it.
REVIEW if you have the time, I try to respond to all of them, either in the Reviews to Guests or in PMs to users.
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So, we got to see why Kushina's been absent and partly why Tsunade and Jiraiya are absent. Hiruzen's got blood on his hands, but they're tied. The source material doesn't seem to suggest the Hokage's a totalitarian dictator, certainly not based on Tsunade's interactions with the Elders, so I think it makes sense. I also think Minato making his daughter a jinchuriki also makes sense considering his canon motivation to make Naruto one instead of sealing the Nine-Tails inside himself.
Danzo isn't nice, he just doesn't feel bad about manipulating Naruto. He also isn't trying to recruit Naruto as an Anbu, but instill loyalty in the village's jinchuriki and influence a ninja with a lot of potential.
I hope you liked the interactions of the characters in this chapter.
I'm considering doing away with accents as they take up a surprising amount of time to include for very little upside, also I'm keeping the use of Japanese to a desired minimum. I like my readers to actually understand what's being said in the story. Honorifics will be used as I so please, and not when there are appropriate English alternatives.