"So Orochimaru was killed."
"No shit! That fight was the most wicked thing ever! That humongous snake, that huge Buddha statue, and everything went 'whoosh!' Fire everywhere! Wicked!"
That voice came from the white half of a... well... person wearing a black cloak with red cloud symbol sewn onto it.
The room they were standing in was dark, as if it were a cave. Torches lit up the walls, reflecting the shadows of the nine people in the room, projecting them in a way that made them look like they were doing a strange dance.
"Good riddance, anyway," The man with the blue shark-like skin, Kisame Hoshigaki, laughed with a sneer. "I've never liked that creepy bastard."
"Is it really?" Another person, a hulky figure crawling on the ground in four legs with a scorpion tail on its back, scoffed. "I've worked with him for a while; that sneaky snake won't succumb to death that easily."
"Well, at least this time he will not be able to go after our cute Uchiha's beautiful body, won't he?" The one with the big three-bladed scythe on his back laughed jeeringly, followed by an eruption of laughter coming from the other members of the Akatsuki. Itachi just raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.
"Enough," Pain raised his hand. "Enough."
The laughter died at once.
"We will worry about Orochimaru later," the Rinnegan wielder continued. "Zetsu, did you find anything else about the Nine-Tails jinchuriki?"
"He fought, and subdued the One-Tail jinchuriki, with the help of Sasuke Uchiha," This time, the black half of Zetsu answered.
"And how is his ability?"
"He is indeed strong," Black Zetsu replied. "His power is enough to hold back the One-Tail long enough until Sasuke arrived to assist him. He is very adept at the Shadow Clone Jutsu. His speed and power increased considerably when he was using the Beast's chakra."
Pain looked at Itachi. "It's different from what you have reported to me, Itachi."
"Oh?" the Uchiha asked back impassively. "And how is that?"
"You reported that the jinchuriki's power was nothing impressive," Pain said, his Rinnegan drilled straight into Itachi's Sharingan. "And yet, he was able to subdue the One-Tail, and has proven himself to be way more formidable than what you have described. What do you have to say about this?"
Itachi calmly received the gaze of the Akatsuki leader without even a blink.
"Indeed, it is different from what I told you," he answered. "However, that report was of two months ago, before the Chuunin Exam even started. He must have trained a lot during those two monthsin preparation for the exam, so his improvement is understandable. If you still doubt me, you can ask Kisame; he was with me at that time."
"Well, it was kinda true, but..." Kisame scratched his head.
"Furthermore," Itachi continued smoothly, "he didn't do it alone. He got the help of my brother, and he was an Uchiha just like me. You all know what Uchihas can do, right?"
"When you put it that way, it might be true," Pain admitted. "However, the fact that the jinchuriki is growing in such an incredible rate cannot be ignored. Konoha is at the weakest now, having suffered from Orochimaru's invasion. I will go there and take both the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails and One-Tail before they can recover from the battle. And then we can restrict them until we can start gathering the other beasts. That will make our job much easier in the future."
Killing intent suddenly spiked from where Itachi was standing. Pain just looked at the man, unimpressed.
"What now, Itachi? Are you defying my decision?"
"No, but..." the voice coming from Itachi was calm and small. "Are you implying that I will fail?"
"Excuse me?" Pain raised an eyebrow.
"You have given me the mission to take care of the Nine-Tails, and that mission is of none but me," Itachi growled. "Now you go around and say that. Are you doubting my ability? I am an Uchiha, and Uchihas don't fail," he pressed on the word 'fail' with a threatening tone.
"Ooh, touchy," White Zetsu whistled.
The two pairs of mystic eyes stared into each other for a while. Then...
"Three months."
Itachi blinked. "Hmm?"
"You have three months to capture the Nine-Tails. If within three months, you cannot subdue it and bring it here, you will lose your life. Swear the Blood Oath, right here, right now."
"The Blood Oath?" Itachi's expression was blank, unreadable. Pain nodded, his Rinnegan gleamed in the darkness.
"Yes, the Blood Oath. Do you agree to make it? Or are all those words you have just said meaningless promises you can throw away anytime you want?"
The Akatsuki members roared in laughter again. But Itachi's face was still as calm and impassive as ever.
"Certainly, Pain, I will make a Blood Oath," he said, pulling out a kunai and cutting his hand open. "Will you be the Oathkeeper yourself?"
Pain's bodies cannot show emotions. But if they could, the expression on their faces right now must be surprise and shock.
But the moment passed as fast as it came. Pain also pulled out a kunai and stabbed his own hand. Somehow, even though he was just a dead body, blood still dripped out of the wound.
He raised his bloody hand, and Itachi grasped it, without any hesitation. Sharingan met the gaze of Rinnegan confidently without any fear.
"Shall we begin?"
"Ah, mou, Saikyo-chan! Today is my turn to make breakfast!"
It's another peaceful day in the Uzumaki household.
Since after the invasion, Karin had moved in together with Naruto in the Namikaze house. And Naruto hadn't hesitated in telling her everything about him, from the fact that he was a person from a bad future, to the nine Tailed Beasts accidentally sealed inside his body. Surprisingly, the girl took them very well without a question, and hadn't even hesitated when asked to sign the Blood Oath. And now, she was living together with Naruto and the Tailed Beasts, who accepted her as a family member.
And since she moved into the Uzumaki household, there had been constant bickering between her and Saikyo on who would cook the next day. Just like today.
"Come on, you two," Isobu said with a yawn, having just walked out of his shared bedroom with the other males. "Can't you just share the kitchen for a day? Everyone knew how good a cook you both are already."
"Yeah," Gyuuki added drowsily. "Even if you two really have to bicker, why don't you just lower your voice a bit? It's just 5:30!"
"Oh, cut it out you two," Matatabi, who had just emerged from inside the kitchen, bopped the two males on the head with a ladle. "Naruto-kun, Goku-kun and Chomei-chan had woken up for an hour you know."
"Well, sorry for not being hyperactive balls of energy like them," Isobu retorted grumpily. Being a turtle, he had the sturdiest body of all the Tailed Beasts, but being spirited and full of energy was just not his forte.
"Besides, what are you even in the kitchen for?" Gyuuki raised an eyebrow. "You can't even cook for your life!"
"Well, it won't hurt trying to learn from the two supreme chefs, will it?" Matatabi smirked. Isobu snorted.
"Yeah right. The last time you tried to cook, you nearly burned down the house. With water. Seriously, how did you even do that after all?"
"Why you..."
A pillow hit Matatabi's face.
"Shut uuuuuuuup..." The sleepy voice of Shukaku rose from the bedroom for the girls. "So annoying..."
The pillow slipped off and fell to the ground, revealing an extremely pissed off Matatabi. Isobu and Gyuuki let out a horrified squeak and backed away from her as far as possible.
"Oh now you've done it little brat..."
She took a water bucket at the corner and stalked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her while laughing creepily not unlike another certain blue cat.
Three seconds later, a terrified scream echoed around the house. And everyone was treated to a scene of a soaking wet Shukaku blasting the door off its hinge with a hammer from the middle of nowhere, chasing after Matatabi who was now laughing like a deranged woman.
Unfortunately, the poor catgirl didn't look where she was running to. Therefore, there was no way she could see Karin walking out of the kitchen with a big pot full of soup on her hands.
CRASH!
The pot flew across the air, and dumped all of its content on Kurama, who had just walked out of the bathroom after her morning bath. Wearing only a towel.
"GYAAAAAAAAAA! HOT HOT HOT!"
"What the heck is going on heeeeeeraaaaaagggh!" Goku poked his head into the room from the back door, and was immediately knocked out by a nosebleed seeing a stark naked Kurama rolling on the ground in pain next to a damp steaming towel and a pot whose content was spilling on the ground, and Matatabi and Shukaku tearing each other's clothes apart, knocking Naruto and Chomei who were right behind him down with his falling body.
Suddenly massive killing intent filled the house. The eerie shadows of Saikyo and Karin were looming over them, whose eyes were gleaming with a strange menacing light.
"No. One. Ruins. Our. COOKING!"
The following terrified screams woke the whole Konohagakure up.
"Ahh, such a peaceful day..." Kokuoh, who was sitting at the table sipping on his tea, remarked.
Yep, another peaceful day in the Uzumaki household, indeed.
"What happened to you?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow seeing his teammate's face. "Your face looks like the Kyuubi had just stepped on it and left you to die."
"...it's even worse," Naruto replied sullenly, and shuddered. Nothing in the world was scarier than a pissed off Saikyo and Karin being together.
Had it not been for some kind of freaky jutsu his dad had installed into the house which could automatically repair any damage, the Uzumaki house would have been in ruins by now.
The two were on their way to the Hokage tower. Yesterday, an ANBU had come to his house to send him a letter with the official seal of the Hokage, requiring him to come to the Hokage tower at 9 the next morning for the result of the Chuunin Exam. On his way there, he had met Sasuke, who was also on his way to the tower for the same reason.
"Wonder what they want to meet us for," said the Uchiha.
"Must be for our promotion," Naruto said smugly. "After all, I'm the most powerful genin in the whole village."
"Only in terms of firepower," Sasuke snorted. "When it comes to skill, you still suck as ever."
"Oh fuck you teme."
They had arrived at the tower while talking. Upon reaching the Hokage's office, they saw Shikamaru, who was sitting outside the room with a grumpy expression on his face.
"Shikamaru!" Naruto waved at him. "You're called too?"
"Duh," the Nara answered in annoyance. "And thanks to that, my mom decided to kick me out of the bed at 5. What a drag..."
Naruto snickered. "That's our Shikamaru, all right."
"What do you think they're going to do with us?" asked Sasuke. Shikamaru just shrugged.
The door next to them opened, and from inside the room, a voice rose.
"Genin Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki, come in."
"The reason we call you here is to announce your official promotion from genin to chuunin. Congratulation, Genin Nara, Uchiha, and Uzumaki."
Naruto nudged Sasuke. "I told you."
"Hn."
"First, Shikamaru Nara," Hiruzen nodded towards the pineapplehead. "You demonstrated a great strategic mind during your battle with Temari of the Sand. You have shown a great mastery over the Nara clan's special brand of ninjutsu, the Shadow Possession Jutsu, and together with your incredibly sharp thinking, it has proven to be a great weapon in your hand. And lastly, during the battle with Juugo of the Scales, despite being completely overpowered, you managed to devise a strategy which, while not being able to help you defeat him, was still enough to hold him back from dealing any considerable damage to the village, and for jonin-level shinobi to come to assist you. You have shown great capability as a strategist, and that is one of the most important qualities a chuunin must have. Therefore, I hereby promote you to the rank of Chuunin, Shikamaru Nara."
Shikamaru grunted and took the chuunin vest from the Hokage's hand, after muttering an unhappy "thanks".
Next, Hiruzen turned to Sasuke.
"Sasuke Uchiha. During your battle with Haku Momochi of Kirigakure, you demonstrated good power and mastery over your elemental techniques, which not many genin not only in Konoha, but also all over the Elemental Continent, can even hope to reach, especially for someone of your age. Plus, even after being put into a clear disadvantage, you still managed to find out the weakness of a jutsu that didn't seem to have a weakness at first and countered it quite effectively. Furthermore, according to what Genin Naruto Uzumaki had reported, you faced the traitor Kabuto Yakushi in the forest during the assault, and didn't submit to the temptation to join Orochimaru. That was the proof of your loyalty to Konohagakure."
Sasuke winced. The truth is, he was a little bit swayed by the temptation when Kabuto mentioned of a way to surpass the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan. And he knew Naruto also understood that. But still, he...
"Because of that, I hereby promote you to the rank of Chuunin. I hope your loyalty to Konoha will never waver, Chuunin Sasuke Uchiha."
Sasuke received the chuunin vest from the Hokage, but his mind wasn't paying much attention to it. His eyes wandered across Naruto's face, and the blonde winked.
"Finally, Naruto Uzumaki," said Hiruzen, turning to Naruto at last. "During the final round, due to the invasion, your match was postponed. However, Jiraiya and Kakashi had already supplied me with enough information to assess your skills. You have mastered the Fourth Hokage's signature jutsu, the Rasengan, and have even managed to develop an even more powerful version of it by yourself. During the first part of the second task, you proved your skill in microstrategy and guerilla tactics by booby trapping the whole Forest of Death, ones that managed to cause even Orochimaru of the Sannin great difficulties. And you, together with Genin, now Chuunin Sasuke Uchiha, managed to subdue a jinchuriki. Those were impressive feats which prove your abilities better than anything else. Furthermore, thanks to you, Konoha has gained not one, but two, very powerful and reliable allies. Yes, fighting abilities and strategy are important, but a political, diplomatic mind is also one of the core elements of a good leader, which a chuunin is. Therefore, I hereby promote you to the rank of Chuunin, Naruto Uzumaki."
"Yoohoo! Finally!" Naruto cheered loudly, taking the vest from the Hokage's hands. "I've been waiting for this all the time! Chuunin, chuunin, chuunin..."
"Ugh, so troublesome..." Shikamaru groaned.
"Still an idiot as ever..." Sasuke shook his head.
"That's all for the meeting today," Sarutobi said, closing his note. "Starting from today, you three are chuunin of Konohagakure. From now on, each of you might be selected to become captains and lead your own teams during missions, or even to take missions alone, but that doesn't mean you can forget the basic principle every Konoha shinobi must remember: teamwork. Remember, your team is the reason you could become what you are today. I expect you to not ever forget about what your sensei and teammates have done for you. From now on, you must remember your duty with Konohagakure, and protect her and her citizens with all your strength. Now, dismiss!"
"Sir!"
The three genin saluted, and started retreating from the office.
"Naruto, can you stay for a while? There is something I need to talk to you about."
Naruto turned and blinked at his grandfather figure. What did jiji want with him?
"We'll wait for you at the hospital then, Naruto," Sasuke said, and walked out of the office, followed by Shikamaru, who was still muttering something sounded suspiciously like "troublesome blondes" in his mouth.
"So what do you want to tell me jiji?" Naruto asked when the room was empty again. The Third Hokage just smiled.
"Sit down first, Naruto."
Naruto blinked, and complied quietly with a nod.
Right then, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Sarutobi said calmly. Answering the call, Jiraiya and Kakashi pushed the door in.
"What's wrong, Hokage-sama? Why did you summon both of us here?"
"Finally, you two are here," smiled the Hokage. "All right, now that you are all here, I will go straight into what I've summoned you all here today. It is about the will of Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze."
Everyone was taken aback. "My dad's... will?" Naruto muttered in shock.
"Yes Naruto," Hiruzen nodded. "As the person with the highest authority in the village after Minato died, I was entrusted this with the promise of giving it to you when you finally become a ninja. And because you are a chuunin now, I think it's time for me to give it back to you."
He stood up and walked towards Minato's portrait on the wall. The picture was pulled aside, revealing a hidden safe behind it. Hiruzen opened the safe, pulled out an envelope sealed with the official seal of the Hokage and gave it to Naruto. The blonde took it with trembling fingers, and broke the seal, opening it.
Inside the envelope, there were two sheets of paper. Naruto grabbed the rougher looking one, opened it and started reading. It was a letter.
Dear Naruto,
If you are reading this, then I would have been died long before. I don't have much time; the Kyuubi is in the village right now, and I must stop her before things get worse.
There are many things I want to say to you, and I guess a letter is just not enough.
The biggest regret of my life is not being able to see my son grow up and become a great ninja. But it is my task to protect the village with all my life, as the Hokage of Konohagakure. But I guess when you receive this letter, you should have already become a ninja, and a fine young man by yourself. I'm proud of you, son.
Also, please don't hate me for sealing the Kyuubi inside you. I know it will make your life a living hell, and it also pains me that I have to do this, but I have no choice. The one who is controlling the Kyuubi right now is none other than the legendary Madara Uchiha, and if I just break the control over her she will sooner or later be claimed again by that wicked man. You are the only one I trust can keep her at bay and protect her, as well as the whole world, from Madara.
The Kyuubi is not the one at fault here. Sure, she is the one who does most of the destruction, but the man behind everything is Madara. So Naruto, if in the future you have to meet her some time, please don't be too harsh on her. I know it must be hard for you, but letting yourself be blinded in the shadow of hatred is not a good way to live. I hope you can find a way to open up her heart, to understand her, what all of her jinchuriki before, even your mother, couldn't do.
The dream of my life is to see a world with no war, where everyone can live together in peace. Seems kinda hypocritic, considering I was the ninja who slayed hundreds of Iwa shinobi during the war, right? But I still hope someday, my own son can turn it into reality. No, not "hope", I believe you can, Naruto. After all, you are my son.
It's time for me to go now. Our force holding the Kyuubi back is failing. Hiruzen-sama won't be able to hold her back much longer. But remember Naruto: no matter when and where we are, in the living world or in the Pure Land, your mother and I always love you with all our hearts.
Your father,
Minato Namikaze.
Naruto didn't even realize the tears rolling down his cheeks, and dropping on the letter, leaving wet spots on the sheet of paper. But why should we, anyway? He just sat there in silence, let the tears fall freely; his hand gripped the paper so hard it was crumpling inside his palm.
Jiraiya's hand gripped Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, I know it will be very hard for you, but please understand Minato..."
"It's okay, Pervy Sage," Naruto shook his head. "At first, I was angry and sad too, but... yeah, I realized. Being Hokage means putting the sake of the village above everything else. Dad didn't have a choice back then. Besides..." Naruto took a deep breath and smiled, "... probably if Dad hadn't done that, I might not be able to have all the friends I'm having now. So why should I hate him for that?"
A warmth spread across his body when Naruto thought about his friends. "Yeah, my dream is to follow the footstep of my Dad and the other Hokage, to protect my precious people. But I will do better than that. I will protect all my precious people, which is everyone, not only my friends, my senseis, jiji... but also anyone I can, and I will also create a world of peace, what my Dad dreamt on but could never finish. Believe it!"
The three men looked at the boy with a shared enormous affection and admiration.
"You really are a son of your father, Naruto," Kakashi rubbed the boy's spiky hair with an eyesmile. "I'm proud to be your sensei."
"Hehe," Naruto grinned back. "I've been hearing that a lot these days."
"So, I think it's time for the content of the will, isn't it?" Hiruzen said, and Naruto nodded. He pulled the second sheet of paper – a white, fine one with the stamp of Hokage on it – out of the envelope and opened it. Inside was the same narrow writing they had seen before.
The Last Will and Testament of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage
To my wife, Kushina Namikaze-nee-Uzumaki, I leave the Namikaze estate and all of its belonging. In the case she dies together with me during the Kyuubi's attack, the house will be put under the care of Hiruzen Sarutobi until my son Naruto reaches 16, or is promoted to chuunin, when it will be returned to him.
"So that's how you could give back the house to me that easily huh jiji," Naruto looked at the Hokage, who smiled.
"Well, yeah. In here it notes that I can only return it to you when you reach 16, but technically, you are already, so yeah, it's kinda easy. Good for you."
To Konoha orphanage, I leave ten million ryo of my bank account, in the hope they will use it to take good care of the children there, give them better living condition and education, and give them a happy life.
"Yeah right," Jiraiya snorted disdainfully. "Should we really do this part of the will? As if they could give children there a good life when the only thing they could do was kicking Naruto out of there, not once or twice, but many times whenever the ANBU found him and delivered him back there!"
Sarutobi shook his head sadly. "We have to. After all, Minato was also an orphan; he has the right to do that to show his gratitude to the ones who took care of him when he was a child. This is his wish, and we have the obligation to do it."
"It's okay Pervy Sage," Naruto chuckled. "It's not like I hate them much for it you know. Well, looking back at it, maybe their decision was a good thing for me too, because I don't think I could have gotten the skills I managed to learn during my childhood if I had just stayed there and been a good kid."
The bitterness in Naruto's voice made the three adults wince. They looked at each other awkwardly, then urged Naruto to continue.
To my sensei, Jiraiya, I leave all my researches about fuinjutsu and the Rasengan, in hope you will continue developing them and teach them to Naruto when he grows up and becomes a ninja.
"Why didn't Dad just give me all the researches directly?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. Kakashi laughed, and rubbed the spiky hair again.
"Because he knew you would never be able to learn them properly. Someone as hyperactive as you can never be able to sit in one place to read a book for more than ten minutes."
"Hey, I can totally read a book you know!" Naruto scowled unhappily. Everyone just chuckled.
To my last student, Kakashi Hatake, I leave my collection of romance novels, including my original, unabridged first edition of Icha Icha Emotion, in the hope he will use it as a source of knowledge to find a girlfriend soon, who can help him forget about the horrible things that happened during his life.
The three adults in the room shared the same gasp.
"Hmm?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you all?"
"This... this is the ultra rare book every fan of Icha Icha dreams of!" Kakashi exclaimed in awe, still staring at the paper with his visible eye widened. "This is Icha Icha Emotion, the first book of the Icha Icha series, now has been discontinued publishing! The only book I don't have! And the very first edition, second only to Jiraiya-sama's draft, to boot! Sensei, I love you!"
Naruto looked back at Sarutobi, and was disgusted to see the man drooling on his desk. "Perverts, all of you..." he muttered. He returned back to the paper, and turned to the last paragraph of the will.
He choked back a gasp. This is it; the part dedicated to Naruto himself.
To my son, Naruto Namikaze, I leave the remaining of my assets, including fifty million ryo in my bank account, which will be trickled into a trust vault for him to access until he reaches 18, when the account will be transferred to his name completely. Furthermore, in the case his mother Kushina Uzumaki is gone during the Kyuubi attack, her shares of the will shall be under the care of Hiruzen Sarutobi until they are claimed by Naruto as noted in the second part of this testament.
I also leave Naruto my first ever Flying Thunder God kunai, in the hope my son will figure out the secret behind the jutsu himself, and use it to its fullest potential.
When Naruto saw the rusty, dull knife Sarutobi had just pulled out and set on the table, he couldn't help feeling a definite sense of anticlimax.
"That's it? No awesome jutsu, no cool weapon, no badass personal summon or kekkei genkai? All I got was a house, some money and an old knife?"
Jiraiya bopped Naruto on the head. "That was already too much to ask, brat."
"Naruto," Hiruzen asked, looking straight into Naruto's eyes. "Do you know why the Flying Thunder God jutsu, the one Tobirama-sensei created and perfected by Minato, which caused havoc all over the battlefield during the Third Shinobi World War, was not available for all Konoha shinobi to use?"
"How should I know?" Naruto shrugged. "Is it because it is a forbidden jutsu or something?"
"Wrong, Naruto," the Hokage shook his head. "Back when Tobirama-sensei invented the jutsu, he was the only person who knew it. No one in the world knew how to use the jutsu, and maybe because of paranoia, Tobirama-sensei personally destroyed every record about the jutsu, including the description, the instruction, the drawbacks, everything, after he had mastered it. In a way, he had a point, because that jutsu, in the hand of the right person, might be more dangerous than even the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu. Just look at Minato to see. This jutsu is also the only jutsu in Konohagakure outside of kekkei genkais which I cannot use."
Naruto was dumbfounded hearing this piece of information.
"Wait wait wait. That doesn't make sense at all. If that's the case, how did my dad even know..."
Then an idea hit him. "No way. Are you saying that my dad literally reinvented that jutsu from scratch?"
"Bingo!" Jiraiya answered him instead with a grin. "And just like the Second, Minato understood immediately the risk of leaving such a jutsu freely behind. That's why after teaching the jutsu to his Elite Guards, he also destroyed all of the documentation, and the Guards also had to sign a Blood Oath not to ever reveal the secret of the jutsu to anyone else. So yeah, you can never find a piece of paper with anything about the jutsu in Konoha, hell, in the whole world, Naruto."
"Great," Naruto muttered. "Just great. So you leave your own son, who sucks ass at anything related to book studying, to freaking reinvent the jutsu which took two biggest geniuses in the world to figure it out... Very sweet, Dad, very sweet..."
"Oh, come on now, Naruto," Kakashi slapped Naruto on his shoulder. "You perfected the Rasengan in a week, and even managed to add elemental chakra into it, a feat deemed impossible even for Minato-sensei. Why shouldn't you be able to work the Flying Thunder God out? You have already surpassed your father!"
"Naruto, Minato entrusting this to you means he believed that you can do it," Jiraiya nodded. "By giving you the way to the jutsu which brought him to power, he also gave you his dream. That's the kind of person Minato was. He was hoping with the help of the jutsu, you could achieve the dream he couldn't ever achieve, even with the power the jutsu gave him."
"His dream, huh..."
Naruto reached out his hand, and lifted the special kunai up. The knife was very old; the steel blade was dull and covered in rust already, but somehow, when Naruto's fingers touched it, for a moment he felt like his father was standing beside him, rubbing his hair and smiling at him in encouragement and pride.
Just like that time in his mindscape...
"Heh," he suddenly chuckled. "I keep insisting that there is no such thing as fate, and yet... it's just like Fate favors me way more than anyone else. Being the son of a Hokage, inheriting the blood of one of the most powerful clan, blessed with the power of friendly Tailed Beasts... And beyond that, I was also allowed to work everything out again... I really don't want to, but it seems Fate forced me to be a hypocrite."
"The world is full of hypocrisy, Naruto," Hiruzen shook his head. "But that doesn't mean anything. Do you remember what Neji Hyuuga said during his battle with Sakura Haruno? Trying to change yourself through hard work is just an illusion. And still, someone like him, who was definitely favored by Fate by being blessed with a powerful kekkei genkai, and being a genius of the Hyuuga clan, was defeated under the hand of a normal kunoichi. Fate can only decide that much of your destiny. The remaining is of yours to create by yourself. And considering what you have been through, you must have understood it.
"Who was the one who helped you mastering the Shadow Clone Jutsu? No one. You stole the Forbidden Scroll, and learned the jutsu by yourself. Who was the one who helped you perfect the Rasengan? No one. Kakashi taught you the wind element, but that's all he did. No one else can work your life out for you. Everything you do in your life is a stone you set to build your own way of life. So there, take the kunai, figure out the secret by yourself and make your father proud."
Unconsciously, Naruto squeezed the handle of the kunai on his hand. The wood handle, while old, still didn't bear any sign of weathering through time. When he held it in his hand, he could feel some kind of heat warming up his heart.
He finally understood. It was the "love" his father had wanted to give him. And he would not disappoint him.
"There is another thing we need to discuss about," Sarutobi continued. "Now that the identity of your parents is revealed, you can finally take the name of your father as your family name. Which means, your name is legally Naruto Namikaze now, and thus..."
"No."
The Hokage blinked upon the very confident, decisive answer of Naruto.
"No," Naruto repeated as firmly as before. "I appreciate that, and having my dad's name is a great honor, but I will keep my name as it is right now. I don't want to depend on my dad's name to gain people's attention. I want to prove that I can become stronger and achieve everyone's recognition as Naruto Uzumaki, ninja of Konohagakure, not as Naruto Namikaze, son of the Fourth Hokage."
The three men stared at the blonde boy in front of them in awe and admiration. This is no way the mindless babbling of a kid; no kid can say things like that. It's definitely the speech of a grown up, experienced adult who has been through many battles, who understands the true meaning of life...
Although, there was still some problem...
"Kakashi-sensei, when you said you would take money from the Namikaze account to treat Anko-sensei... where exactly did you get them from?"
Kakashi was suddenly very interested in a bird flying outside the windows.
"Ahh... it feels great to finally be able to get out of the bed..."
Sakura stood up from her hospital bed, stretching her arms and legs. Staying in the hospital for half a month was boring and annoying even for her.
Especially when her two teammates had already been promoted to chuunin, and she wasn't.
"Don't force yourself, Sakura," Sasuke's voice rose. "You have just recovered; moving around too much is not very good for you."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Okay, who the heck are you? Sasuke-kun would never speak anything as sweet as that. Quick, Naruto, call the ANBU! There is an imposter over here!"
Next to her, Naruto rolled on the floor roaring in laughter while Sasuke sputtered indignantly; a tint of pink could be seen clearly on his cheeks.
"Sorry, sorry," Sakura laughed, wiping a drop of tears from her eye. "But it's so funny seeing you like that, Sasuke-kun. At least you were able to open yourself up a bit."
Sasuke just turned away, grumbling unhappily. Naruto was still giggling like crazy.
"Besides, it's not like I can afford to stay here any longer," Sakura added. "You two are both Chuunin now; I need to start training again as soon as possible if I want to keep up with you."
"Uhm, Sakura, you don't have to do that," said Naruto worriedly. He had stopped laughing. "The next chuunin exam is in a year, there is still plenty of time..."
"No Naruto," Sakura shook his head. "Chuunin or not, it's not important. It's just... Both of you are incredibly strong with Sharingan, the Kyuubi... everything, and I'm just a normal girl, without any special power. I will just be everyone's burden; that's why I must train whenever I can so that I can someday catch up with you! I want someday to be able to stand together with you two, not as a girl who you have to protect every time, but as your teammate, someone worth being in the same team as you."
The two boys stared at her for a few seconds. Then Sasuke smirked.
"You know what? Being able to say things like that makes you more than worth being in the same team as us. I really didn't expect to hear that from you of all people."
Naruto winced. "Oi, that's a bit harsh of you, isn't it?"
But contrary to what Naruto had thought, Sakura immediately perked up.
"Yes! And that's why I must start now! Sticking here longer will not help; let's go and start training!"
"But you should still find something to eat first," Sasuke pointed out. "You look too thin for it to be healthy. It's not wise training under this condition."
Then he was startled when the girl suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Yep! And you will be the one who treats me!" she said happily, pulling the stoic Uchiha out of the room. Sasuke squirmed uncomfortably.
"Naruto, a little help here?!"
"Nah, I still need to visit someone else," Naruto grinned, waving back at him. "Enjoy your date, you two!"
"Naruto your traitoooooooooor!"
The hysteric voice of poor Sasuke echoed around the hospital.
Naruto knocked on the door of Hinata's room. A weary voice rose from inside the room.
"Come in."
He pushed the door open, and saw Hiashi Hyuuga sitting on a chair next to his daughter's bed.
The Hyuuga patriarch looked terrible. His face was pale; well, much paler than a normal Hyuuga could be. His long, black hair, which every Hyuuga is proud of, was now disheveled badly, as if he hadn't combed it for days, and was starting to lose its color; right now Naruto could see clearly the white strings between strands of black. Dark shadows were visible under his eyes, and the Byakugan themselves had horrible bloodshots. It was clear that the man hadn't slept for days.
Seeing Naruto, the man's eyes hardened, and his shoulders stiffed up.
"Uzumaki-san. What brings you here?" he asked with a rather harsh voice, and veins bulged up at the corners of his Byakugan. Naruto didn't blame him; after all, Karin was the one who had tried to sell Hinata to Orochimaru.
"I'm here to visit Hinata-chan," he answered, looking straight into the Hyuuga patriarch's Byakugan without any fear. "And please, Hiashi-san, don't look at me as if I was going to kidnap Hinata-chan, okay? The last time I look, I was still a very loyal Konoha shinobi!"
The two males continued to glare at each other for a while. Then Hiashi's shoulders slumped back down, and the man looked as weary and sad as Naruto had seen him before.
Realizing that it was safe to speak again now, Naruto took a step closer to Hinata's bed.
"How is she?"
"Nothing we can do," the Hyuuga man shook his head. "No medical ninja here could find a way to wake her up. Only someone with the skill of Tsunade-sama might have a chance to do that... but it's impossible. But maybe this would be better for her."
"What did you say?" Naruto screamed in rage hearing what the man had said. Then, remembering that he's still in the hospital, he gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, but the rage was still clear in his tone. "How dare you saying that! Your own daughter is lying here in a coma, and you dare say that it would be better for her? What kind of father are you?"
Hiashi didn't even budge. "Hinata is not born to be a ninja. A ninja has to be ruthless against her enemies. Hinata is too kind and soft; that's the reason why she can never be a good kunoichi. With her staying in a coma like this, she will not have to mind the business of fighting, hurting or killing people anymore. That's the best I can do for a person like her."
Then he saw Naruto's fist launching at his face. But, with the reflex of a veteran shinobi, and a Hyuuga no less, he easily caught the punch of the boy. He growled menacingly.
"What is the meaning of this, Uzumaki?"
"You bastard," Naruto growled back. "What makes you say that? What gives you the right to say something like that?"
"I am her father, brat," Hiashi snarled. "I know what is good for her and what is not."
"Even if you are her father, you still don't have the right to say that she is not worth becoming a ninja," Naruto also snarled, even more menacing than Hiashi. "Hinata-chan was not weak. She never is. She has been trying to improve herself, to prove that she's not weak to you! She did everything to gain your approval; if you say it like that it will be nothing more than spitting on her existence!"
Suddenly Naruto felt the knuckle of a hand bashing at his face. He stumbled back painfully; his eyes felt like hundreds of glittering stars had just exploded in front of him.
"You little brat," the Hyuuga patriarch barked at his face. "What do you think you know about my family? What can you know? You never have any family to begin with! So don't speak to me as if you understand the way I treat members of my family!"
Then he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him shut on his way. But before the man disappeared behind the door, Naruto could clearly see him muttering something, but the distance between them was too far for him to hear. Alone in the room with an unconscious Hinata again, Naruto slumped down on the floor, his head spinning.
"I can't believe the father of such a sweet girl as that Hinata girl can be such a jerk," Shukaku complained.
"You know what a sweet girl is like?" Chomei stared at Shukaku incredulously.
"What is that supposed to mean, bug?"
"Come on, you two..." Matatabi sighed, walking over to pry the two girls off each other.
"Um... Even though Hyuuga-san said that, I don't think he had any bad intention..." Saikyo said meekly. Everyone turned back and stared at her.
"How could you say that, Saikyo-chan?" Naruto said, a little bit harsher than usual. "He just denounced every effort of Hinata-chan right before her eyes! Well, not quite so, but it was still right in front of her! What kind of father would do that to his own child?"
"I agree with Saikyo, Naruto," Kurama shook her head. "Before, when he said that, I felt a tremendous amount of negative emotion. Most of it was sadness and despair. Why did someone who meant to say things like that about his child feel such emotions? There is a huge contradiction between his emotion and what he said!"
"You sound too much like a lawyer specializing in analytical psychology," Gyuuki smirked at Kurama. The kitsune glared at him, annoyed.
"That man has a twisted sense of love," Matatabi said sadly. "Maybe he felt that if Hinata-chan was kept in here, she would be protected from what were waiting for her in the outside world..."
"But that is just hypocrisy!" Isobu protested. "Everyone knows how the shinobi world is; it's full of danger! How can he keep her inside everytime? It will just turn her life into a prison!"
"Sadly, that's what an overprotective father in despair tends to do," Kokuoh shook his head. "Usually, when something bad happening to people close to someone, the impressions from the event will be imprinted into his brain, making them more and more paranoid about the safety of his acquaintances. There must have been some kind of trauma during his past which happened to Hinata-san or someone else very close to him; maybe it has haunted him since that day..."
Matatabi and Gyuuki looked at each other guiltily.
Naruto suddenly bolted up from where he was sitting.
"What are you doing, Naru-kun?" Chomei asked.
"I cannot let this continue anymore," Naruto answered her with a determined voice. "How much he actually cares about Hinata-chan, I don't know, but he did that without even considering what Hinata-chan herself would think. That, I cannot allow continuing. I will wake Hinata-chan up, and let her ask him by herself."
"What happened to you, Naruto?" Sakura raised an eyebrow when she and Sasuke saw Naruto running toward them, breathing heavily. The boy just answered her with a grin.
"No time to explain. There is something I want to ask both of you..."
"Jiji! Team 7 requests a mission!"