Reborn!

22: A Baffling Situation

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked, trying to stay calm despite the worry plaguing him.

If Naruto had figured out that his father was the Yondaime and blamed Hiruzen for having never told him, the old man honestly would not know what to do. Besides praying that the blond was not upset enough to defect from Konoha, there would be nothing that he could do. One did not need to be omniscient to know that the council would pounce on such an opportunity.

If it was not the civilian council rearing at the chance to banish and/or persecute Naruto, it would be Danzō who had eagerly awaited an opportunity to obtain the Kyūbi jinchūriki for the longest time. The old war hawk had been dreaming of such an occurrence since Naruto had first become the container of a bijū often known as the mightiest of them all. He would not miss the chance to take Naruto in once he showed the telltale signs of rebellion against the Hokage.

"You... haven't been telling me something, have you?" Naruto questioned expectantly.

Hiruzen felt dread pool in his gut.

Naruto knew about it.

He knew this was his only chance.

If Hiruzen lied now, Naruto would never be able to trust him again.

As such, he cracked.

He told the boy everything.

About his parents, past, inheritances, enemies and so much more.

Naruto was honestly surprised by the number of secrets the elderly Hokage kept close. Even in the past timeline, he never knew about the inheritances his parents had left. He never did know of the house they passed down to him in their wills. Neither did he know that his father hailed from a wealthy civilian family that held a total monopoly over trade throughout the Five Great Shinobi Countries. He never expected Hiruzen to come clean to him so forthrightly, although he had hoped to be able to trust the man.

Had Hiruzen simply told Naruto that the Kyūbi was sealed in his gut, he would have relented. He would have been satisfied with just that. If the Hokage could trust him enough to tell him that personally, Naruto had thought, he might just trust the elder enough to tell him the truth as well. He had received too much. Naruto did not know what he should do with all this new information.

Many of these were details that he never had a chance to discover before, things that he could not glean from looking at past records. He was not just being told stories about his parents, as Jiraiya had been so prone to doing. Hiruzen did not skimp on the specifics, not just omitting the things he thought Naruto was not ready for. He would never know how glad Naruto was for this consideration.

Though he had enjoyed the novelty of acting like a child, Naruto did not enjoy being talked down to because of his physical age.

Chronologically, he was twenty-six! Mentally, Naruto was probably centuries old by now. If anything, their treatment was boring at best. Usually, it was frustrating - even if they were not trying to act condescending.

At the end of it all, Naruto beamed at Hiruzen.

"Thank you, Jiji, for telling me this before I even asked. I am glad that you could be honest with me," he said radiantly.

The aged Hokage smiled tiredly back.

"Anytime, Naruto-kun. If I couldn't trust you, I will never be able to trust anyone in the world," the Sandaime half-joked.

Naruto felt a twinge of guilt.

It was like he was lying to his Jiji.

He mustered his courage, making eye contact with Sarutobi Hiruzen.