-LEARN-
Origins
3 years later...
For three years Naruto has been in a secret training with both the Twelve Wings and Itachi, if you can call getting his ass handed to him both physically and mentally by them 'training' that is.
But there's no doubt that he has improved greatly. He was now 8 years old and in terms of speed, strength and jutsus, he was easily nearing high-chūnin level. When it comes to taijutsu and power, he was without doubt a low-jōnin level. But his genjutsu while not abysmal, wasn't good at all, due to his giant chakra reserves he could never achieve the control necessary to cast them, but he was able to dispel them up to a high level C-rank, the ones above were dispelled by the dragon itself. The only reason he wasn't higher level was because he was still a child, so even if he did has a big ass dragon inside him and Kage chakra capacity levels, his body could only take so much, but according to his teachers, he had the potential to be the fastest man that has ever lived.
He has also changed physically, while not buffed, he was fit, gaining a lot popularity among the female population, which freaked him out because he knew that the dragon had something to do with it, but it always said that it will tell him when the time comes, much to Naruto's ire. He stopped wearing his signature orange jumpsuit in exchange for a black jacket with neon orange ornaments, a grey shirt with a red dragon face tribal design on the front, black ANBU pants with orange stripes on the sides and dark blue ninja sandals. His hair and eyes never lost the glow so Itachi taught him a basic genjutsu to hide the glow on both his eyes and hair, but he only used the one on his hair since to cover his eyes, he got himself some red shades in honor to his new idol.
Itachi is a man that rarely shows emotion, especially regret, there have been less than a few times when he showed such emotion, two of those times had to do with Naruto. The first, when he arrived too late three years ago and failed to save his life, after Naruto told him about what truly transpired between him and the Twelve-Wings, the regret grew more because Naruto had indeed died, but he turned that regret into determination to make his adoptive little brother a badass shinobi, so he won't ever be pushed around anymore. The other was the one that he regretted the most, on Naruto's seventh birthday, Itachi bought him a music player along with a forgotten record on the corner of the store, never in his right mind would've he thought that an album called 'Bit Mah Tongue' by 'The Mighty Killer Bee ft. B.I.G Cloud' would have such an impact on Naruto, an embarrassing one at that.
As soon as he finished listening the record, Naruto took on preaching about Killer Bee's abilities to rap, which to everyone but him were awful, the blonde Uzumaki also adopted a bit of his eccentric persona, thank God he hadn't started rapping around, or so Itachi hoped. After being revealed to him that Killer Bee was Cloud's jinchūriki, his admiration for the dark skinned rapper blew through the roofs, to the point where Naruto proclaimed that one day, he would become Bee's spiritual successor, much to the dread of those around him.
But the cheerful and kind knucklehead never changed, he only matured. His pranks where bigger in scale and not even Anko with the help of Ibiki had managed to trace a prank back to Naruto, lately, not even Anko was enough to give chase, so a new 'Handler' was added to help Anko, a kunoichi specialized in tracking, Hana Inuzuka.
The Inuzuka felt insulted at first for being put on 'babysitting' duty, but quickly grew fond of the blonde after one big chase where she almost caught him but lost track of him eventually. Hana felt really frustrated for losing him after chasing for a good part of the night, she hungrily got back home but was surprised when she found a note praising her for being the closest ever to caught up with him along with an 'All you can eat' coupon for her favorite BBQ restaurant, a gesture that greatly touched her.
Said Inuzuka was currently running through the trees in the Forest of Death on search for the blonde, who, for some reason, spend most of his time training inside the forest. She was looking for him to finish his training with his smell and hearing. After gaining his trust, Naruto explained what the Twelve-Wings had done to his body and how it had upgraded all of his senses, so he asked her if she could help him sharp his senses of smell and hearing, since those were the biggest advantages the Inuzuka had, she was stunned by the revelation but agreed none the less, so for the past months she has been helping him getting used to the smells and sounds around him, since the academy was due to start in a few days, she wanted to finish his training before he entered.
"Damn it Naruto, where are you!? I've been running around this fricking forest for over half an hour!" She angrily said to the winds.
Getting frustrated, she went deeper into the forest, to where a big lake was. It was one of the most dangerous places in the forest since giant grumpy crabs live there, but knowing Naruto and his ability to get into dangerous situations, she wouldn't be surprised to find him there, which the sounds of grunts and crab pincers closing proved her right. She then head closer to the river but she had to suddenly stop to avoid being hit by a black projectile that crashed on a near tree followed by a grunt.
"Oh shit that hurt! When did these shelled bastards learned how to use teamwork!? Yo, don't tell me that I made 'em fools evolve for fucks sake!" Naruto screamed while getting on his feet to prepare a counterattack against the crabs, that is, until he noticed Hana looking at him with a confused expression, "Yo Hani, what'cha doing here?" Naruto asked while squinting his eyes and tilting his head to the side.
"Umm… I-I've been looking for y-you dummy! I wanted to finish your training before the Academy's start but here I find you decimating the crabs!" Hana said after regaining her composure from the cute look that Naruto sent her way.
"Hey! Dem fools started it! Plus our feud is two years long and growing, I vowed that I will decimate these assholes and I will keep that vow! Leroy Jenkins!" Naruto said before giving a war-cry and jumping to engage the crabs once again.
Though he found himself being grabbed on the back of his jacket by an angry looking Hana who began to drag the boy out of the forest while screaming obscenities to the crabs.
"Jeez Naruto, can't you keep yourself out of trouble for at least a day!?" Hana retorted while shamelessly dragging the blond through the dirt.
"Hey! It's all just like what The Mighty says 'Don't fear the trouble, don't fear the dream! Make no grumble and make it legit!' Yeah!" Naruto said while crossing his arms in extravagant ways to make his point clearer.
"Grr, Just what the hell does that even means!? It doesn't even make sense! Seriously stop listening to that guy's rap, it's just filling your head with nonsense!" Hana angrily replied while dragging Naruto through the village, now by the wrist at least.
"Huff, Shame! There's just no love for true art! Hey, where are we going thou?" He said. He really felt sad to see such heresy from his precious people, he wanted them to understand the message The Mighty was giving, but they stubbornly continued to deny such enlightenment, poor fools.
She just sighed tiredly, she really liked the boy a lot but she will never understand his love for such nonsense, "To my clan's training grounds, I want to see how you use the knowledge I gave you in a spar against one of us." Hana responded.
"Umm, but wouldn't your clan be angry if they knew that you taught me some of your techniques?" The Uzumaki said while scratching his cheek.
"Yeah, they would, but before I started training you, I asked my mother if it was alright, she was hesitant at first until I told her that it was for you so she agreed, she's the head of the clan so nobody can go against her. Plus, we'll be in my family's private grounds, so nobody will be the wiser." Hana said when they reached the front doors of the Inuzuka compound.
As they walked towards the clan's head residence, Hana noticed that the dogs around the compound felt intimidated by Naruto's presence, some of the smaller dogs where even whimpering hiding behind their masters. They weren't the only ones affected though, the male Inuzuka members seem to be aggressive towards the boy, as if they felt their claimed territory was being threatened by the blond, while the females seem to be flustered as he walked past them, some of the younger ones were even blushing like mad which agitated the males even more.
They weren't the only females affected though, as Hana felt the same way when she met the boy for the first time, she might not be as feral as her clansmen since for some reason, she didn't inherited most of the traits and bloodlines of her clan, which bothered her greatly because of that, most of her clan tends to look down on her, she knows that if she weren't the clan's head daughter they would've likely kicked her out of the clan already. But she did possesses the basics of her clan, her smell, ability to understand dogs and their combination jutsus and their animalistic instincts, those same instincts are the ones that drives her mad with arousal whenever she is in the presence of Naruto, she had asked the Haimaru brothers if they've felt something special coming from Naruto once before, they answered that Naruto had a strange smell of an Alpha, but it was abnormally strong, they even said that if he got stronger through the years, they might even feel compelled to do as he bid, which was very strange to hear from such prideful dogs, the boy was a huge mystery indeed. Suddenly, the sound of her name being called broke her out of her thoughts.
"I'm sorry Naruto… what did you said?" Hana asked with a faint blush on her cheeks.
"I asked if I was going to fight you." He repeated, smirking internally after seeing the cute blush adorning the Inuzuka heiress' gorgeous face.
"Nope, you're strong, but I'm still better using my senses than you, so I really wouldn't be able to see how far you have come unless you fight someone at your level." Hana responded before arriving at the training ground.
"Then against who?" Naruto asked as he walked right behind her through the gates of the grounds. When they arrived, he noticed two boys sitting on a tree branch at the other side of the ground, one was a boy with a green coat covering almost all of his body, stopping just below the nose, he was wearing dark circular shades and had brown wild hair. The other one looked a lot like Hana, he had brown spiky hair, triangular red marks like the ones that Hana has just below his eyes, a grey sweatshirt with fur at the end of the sleeves and hoodie, and a white puppy on top of his head.
"Why, my little brother of course. Hey, come on!" Hana said with a smile as she urged the boys to come close.
As the boys approached, Hana said, "Naruto, this is my brother Kiba and his friend Shino. Kiba will be your opponent for this spar."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto." Shino said politely.
"Pft, you want me to spar with this whelp!?" Kiba scoffed while looking at the Uzumaki as if he was nothing but a mere pest.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Kiba, my bugs feel agitated in his presence and as you can see, so does Akamaru." Shino stated while pointing towards the white pup.
"What!? Come on boy, he doesn't even look strong! We're going to end this quick!" Kiba stated with arrogance while petting the dog's head, who was hiding inside Kiba's sweatshirt.
"That arrogance of yours might get you killed someday Kiba! Stop barking and put some strength behind those words!" An equally gorgeous and more feral older version of Hana said behind the group, accompanied by a scary wolfish looking dog with black fur with a white underside and a patch on its right eye.
"Listen to your mother pup, this boy is no joke." The dog said, surprising the Inuzuka trio, including Tsume.
"Well, if Kuromaru says that, then I guess I have to be serious with you." Kiba said while getting ready for the spar.
"So this is the infamous Naruto Uzumaki, huh? I've heard a lot about you boy, the name's Tsume, I am both Hana and Kiba's mother." Tsume said approaching the group. She froze though, as the moment she got close to Naruto, she felt a strong pull towards him and even felt slightly excited. Shocked, she glimpsed towards Hana who gave her a look as if saying I feel the same, she then looked at Kuromaru who had eyes of respect towards the boy, confusing her even more.
"Alright enough chit-chat, let's begin this match..." Getting out of the shock for seeing her fierce mother in a similar situation as her and the Inuzuka females, Hana said while pulling out two bandannas from her pouch. She tied them around both boys' heads to block their eyes and after placing them on different spots, she added, "The rules of this spar are simple, you can only use taijutsu and you can only use your nose and ears to track your opponent, knock your opponent out or make him submit to win the spar."
"Roger." Both boys said, preparing their stances while the rest of the observers went to the sidelines.
Hana stepped forward and screamed, "Begin!"
Both combatants stood their ground without moving a muscle, trying to listen to the other's movements or locating the other's scent, that all changed when suddenly, Naruto jumped straight at Kiba with his fist at the front.
Kiba felt the hit coming at the very last moment, barely avoiding the fist directed to his jaw, however, he couldn't avoid Naruto's knee aimed at his stomach, sending him skidding backwards a little. The Inuzuka boy then clutched his stomach while giving a pained grunt, 'What the hell!? How did he found me so damn fast!?... I couldn't smell him or even hear his breath and it took him seconds to connect with me! This guy is definitely no joke...' Kiba thought while crouching and trying to find Naruto's presence.
On the sidelines, watching the spar on the side across from Shino, the Inuzuka mother and daughter watched as Naruto was easily fighting Kiba using only two senses. Hana then turned towards her mother and asked, "Mom, you felt it too right? When you got close to Naruto, his presence it's like, suffocating…"
Tsume then replied without losing her attention at the one sided spar, "I hate to admit it pup, but yes, the boy's presence it's indeed… arousing..." Hana was greatly surprised at her mother's admission. The Inuzuka clan head then added, "He's status as an Alpha it's already established, I cannot imagine how overwhelming his presence will be when he reaches maturity." It shocked Hana to hear a little bit of lust slipping into her mother's words as she said that.
"Yeah… do you think it's because of the dragon?" Hana asked, while bringing her brown eyes back to the spar.
"No, what you feel right now is entirely the boy's presence and it has huge potential, maybe in the future it could even compare to the dragon's. The Twelve-Wings' presence is something I've never felt in my life, not even my ancestor Fenrir has such commanding and frightening aura. If you want to feel what the dragon's feel, just focus deeper within the boy's aura and you'll feel a glimpse of the Twelve-Wing's presence." Kuromaru said, shocking both Inuzuka after hearing the proudest of the Inuzuka clan's dogs admitting a bigger Alpha.
Looking at the boy, both women did as Kuromaru said and started to focus on the presence within Naruto's aura, which was proving difficult due to the blond's powerful and thick aura. After a few moments of concentration, they felt an incredible amount of power course through their bodies, the presence was such that it even draw a bit of their animalistic instincts out, arousing both women to the point that they even felt their undergarments getting a little wet. Granted, Tsume had faced the mighty dragon on the day of its fierce attack, but back then, she only felt malice and foul presence, but now focusing on its aura, for the first time in her life she felt both aroused and frightened at the immense presence of the mighty beast.
"U-Unbelievable… I he-heard about how magnificent dragons were… b-but… this amount of authority it's j-just… unbelievable..." Tsume said shocked at the feeling, her body still shivering slightly after such intense presence.
"T-Tell me a-about it..." Hana weakly responded, doing a little worse than her mother since she was blushing and panting a little.
"You should dry yourselves, the spar has ended and they will notice your… excitement…" Kuromaru said amused and gave them a low growl-like chuckle after seeing the Inuzuka women's red cheeks.
Back on the grounds, Kiba was getting on his feet slowly after yielding his defeat. He took the bandanna off and said heatedly, "Dammit! How the hell did you do that!? I couldn't land a single shot and you hit me five times!"
"Your breath, it wasn't easy to locate it, but you didn't concealed it very well, once I found that, I focused on your breath and as the spar went on, you got frustrated and started showing your presence, that's why I was able to make you submit." Naruto gave a calm reply while shrugging, angering the Inuzuka boy even more.
"Why you…" Kiba angrily said while approaching Naruto in a threating manner.
"Kiba that's enough! Accept your defeat and turn that embarrassment into motivation to get better! He beat you fair so own it!…" The Inuzuka Matriarch chided her son before she looked back at the boy that has peaked her curiosity, "And good match Naruto, your skills are quickly growing sharp." Tsume said while getting close to the boys, using a seductive tone when she praised the blond's growth, earning a small spark of jealousy from her daughter.
"Umm… th-thank you L-Lady Tsume… it w-wasn't easy but… I ap-appreciate the remark... hehe…" Naruto said while blushing at both the praise and the tone of her voice.
"Just Tsume, brat." Tsume said with a feral smile while waving her hand in dismissal.
"Arg, Whatever…" Kiba said angrily before walking away, dragging Shino with him after the latter bid goodbye to those present.
"Sigh, Prideful as ever, he definitely needs a humbling…" Hana said, disappointed of her little brother's arrogance. She then brought her gaze back to Naruto and added "Anyway, great match Naruto, seeing now, I can say, I have nothing more that I can teach you, as you grow up your senses will only get sharper so keep on training and don't hesitate on asking for my help." Hana showed a little glimpse of sadness and disappointment at the idea of not training the boy anymore.
Sensing her sadness, the blond said, "Thank you Hana! You helped me so much already! And don't feel sad, you're still one of my dreaded 'Handlers' along with Ko." Naruto gave a small laugh, trying to cheer the brunette a little.
"Haha, you're right, it won't take long for your next prank to come, I'm sure." Hana said with a brighter tone now.
"Well, thank you for your hospitality Hana and Tsume, I gotta go meet the Old Man though, so I gotta run, but I'll see ya both around, aight? Night!" He gave them a warm smile that made them both blush and then began to walk away.
Nodding and bidding him a good night, they stared at the retreating form of the boy, smiling while feeling their bodies still affected by his incredible aura.
"He's an interesting one…" Hana said to her mother, wearing a content smile.
"Indeed…" Tsume replied, still feeling a little flustered.
It was a cool night in the Village Hidden in the Leaves and Naruto was lazily walking through the streets with his hands behind his head, he was currently grumbling about the way the people in the Inuzuka compound were behaving around him.
"Damn it! Just what the hell did you do Ryū!? It's been three years and you haven't told me why people become either aggressive or aroused at my presence! And stop saying that is because I look better with the changes you made to my body! Even Hana's mother, who I know has a reputation of being one the toughest kunoichi around, had her heart beating erratically, so I know there's more to it!" Naruto heatedly asked the dragon through his mind.
'When he finds out why, he's either going to kiss my claws or lose his shit… hehe...' The dragon mischievously thought before answering, "Shut it brat! I already told you, when you are ready, you'll know everything that's changed and the why, so stop bothering me with your damn questions until then! Why is that so upsetting to you, anyways!? Don't you like the way you make females excite in your presence? Is it because you don't swing that way, perhaps?"It replied with an amused smirk after Naruto's ire aroused for questioning his sexuality.
"Oi! I'm not gay ya oversized lizard! I like'em girls! It wouldn't be a problem if only the women around me were affected, the males are the problem, ya fool! Most of 'em tend to be aggressive towards me, ya know!? And I can feel it's not because they have a grudge against you!" Naruto retorted back, remembering two certain Inuzuka's derrières.
"Firm, weren't they?... The struggle you had against your nosebleed was certainly entertaining..." Twelve-Wings said amused at Naruto's angry grunt, "Now enough with your complaints! You'll know when I see fit, no sooner, no later!" The mighty beast finished the discussion right there, making its annoyance clear.
Sighing in resignation, knowing that the beast will not say a thing about it anymore, he decided to let it go for now while he found himself on the corner of the roof of an opposite building from the Hokage Tower.
"So, you're really going through with this, huh?" The dragon asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, it's been eating me ever since I found out, I really need confirmation thou..." He replied the dragon. Naruto then took a deep breath and jumped through the Hokage's office's window, sweatdropping after seeing his leader giggling perversely while reading a small orange book.
"Huhuhu… Yuna… you naughty girl..." The pervert known as the Third Hokage said, a mad blush on his wrinkled cheeks and a small drop of blood running down his nose all the while.
"Oi! Ya old pervert!" Naruto screamed, startling the perverted Hokage in the process, 'Seriously, he's always reading that smut...' He thought with annoyance at always seeing his adoptive grandfather reading that perverted book.
"Wha!?… oh… ahem… N-Naruto, my boy… how are you doing?" The Third said after frantically hiding his book on a keyed drawer.
Naruto just walked to the couch that was below the Hokage pictures before answering, "Nothing special really, chillin, just wanted to chat."
"Oh, that's sounds good my boy. How's been your training with the Twelve-Wings, Itachi and Hana?" Hiruzen asked the blonde while signing some of the paperwork on his desk, he had already sent his ANBU guards a silent signal for them to leave Hiruzen alone with the blond, the old man had the feeling that his surrogate grandson wanted to discuss something private, so he allowed them complete privacy.
"Mmm, painful..." Naruto complained, earning a chuckle from the Third, "But I can't deny it has worked! Ryū has been teaching me how to fortify my mind to counter its power's ill will so I can begin to summon it without too much fear of losing mah mind…" He then added, "Big bro Itachi has been giving me hell with weights all over my body to improve mah physique and my speed while he kicks my ass…" He massaged his butt as if trying to get rid of some ghostly pain, "And my training of smell and hearing with Hana just ended today, she said that she had nothing more that she could teach me at the moment, so I guess that's it." Naruto finished while looking at his father's portrait.
"Mm that's sounds impressive Naruto, never thought the dragon would be so eager to help..." Hiruzen said, not missing the direction Naruto's eyes were looking at, "What about your jutsus?" He then asked, trying to avert the boy's attention from the pictures.
"Mm, well, I know some basic fire and earth jutsus, I've perfected the substitution and the henge, the clone jutsu I just can't seem to do it though, Itachi said that I just had too much chakra for that and genjutsu, but I cover it with the shadow clones you taught me Old Man… and Ryū has been teaching me how to blow true dragon's fire!" Naruto replied while puffing his chest with pride over his skills.
"True dragon's fire?" The Third asked in confusion.
"Yup, apparently, the fire that a true dragon blows is as hot as magma, so it has been teaching me how to do it." Naruto explained before getting back on his feet.
"Mm, that sounds impressive..." The Third said with a strange nervousness starting to creep up on his gut after seeing the serious look that Naruto was showing.
"Yeah..." Naruto said while giving his back to the Hokage. He then took a deep breath and asked, "Old Man? Did... did he hesitated that day?" His gaze was directed at the picture of Minato Namikaze.
"Who and what day?" The Third responded while dreading the answer he already knew.
Keeping his gaze at the picture of the Fourth Hokage, he said with more volume, "My father, the day Ryū attacked… did he hesitated when he sealed it in me?" He then looked at the Third straight in the eyes with a stern look not fit for an 8 year old.
"What!? Naruto, how did you knew that the Fourth…" Hiruzen exclaimed with his jaw on the floor.
"You just confirmed it, Old Man..." Naruto responded with a devilish smirk, "I had my suspicions since I was 5, it's not really hard to see my resemblance with my father, as long as you really look into it that is… plus, I found it hard to believe that the beloved Fourth would just take an orphaned child and seal a big ass dragon inside him, not if he wasn't willing to do the same with his own son…" He looked back at the Hokage and continued. "Kushina Uzumaki, the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, she was my mother right?... don't lie to me Hiruzen, not anymore." He said with a harsh tone that demanded authority.
Wincing at the venom used on Minato's title and the harshness on his tone at the question relating Kushina, Hiruzen took a deep breath and answered resigned, "Yes Naruto… Minato and Kushina were your parents. The reason you weren't told was because of their enemies, especially your father's, if Rock were to know that the 'Yellow Flash' had a son, I don't doubt they would go as far as to wage war just to have payback on Minato for decimating their army in the Third Great War…" He said sadly and tiredly, he dreaded this conversation for so long now, but there was nothing to do now but to answer truthfully, "Your heritage was to be revealed to you when you either achieved the rank of jōnin or reached the age of 18… I… I'm so sorry Naruto… for lying to you..." The Hokage said apologetically while a lone tear traveled down his cheek.
With a heavy sigh, Naruto stared at the floor for a couple of seconds, processing all of the information he just received, 'Even having my suspicions for some years now… it's still not easy to hear the truth, damn...' He thought solemnly. He then looked back at the Hokage and said, "Aight, I understand... but, you didn't answered my question though… did they hesitated or not?" He said with a stern look and a harsher tone.
Giving a defeated look, the Third said, "I... I honestly don't know Naruto, that is something that only they could answer, but I'm sure that it was the most painful decision of their lives, I'm sure they didn't wan..." He couldn't finish though, because Naruto cut him off when he interjected bitterly.
"Yeah, yeah, that's sad and all… but it really doesn't matter anyway now does it…" Naruto's bitter voice could be heard saying while leaning on the window frame, looking at the village.
"Sigh, I guess not... ho... how do you feel about them, Naruto?" Hiruzen asked with a painful sigh and a sorrowful look.
Naruto remained with his left shoulder leaned on the window and his eyes closed, he let some minutes go to recollect his thoughts and search for an answer. He then opened his eyes and while keeping his gaze on the distance, he said, "I don't know… sigh… it's not hate, but it's not love either… I guess one day… maybe I'll know..." His voice was sour and distant.
'I feared as much, I knew one way or another he would resent you Minato, Kushina, I just hope that resentment does not turn into hatred or it could lead him to a very dark path...' The Third thought with a sad look, feeling his real age for the first time in years, "I see…" He replied after some seconds of uncomfortable silence.
After some minutes of more silence, Naruto walked in front of the Hokage's desk and with arms crossed, asked, "Did they left anything for me? Something that could help me with my career?"
Nodding, the Third replied after a sigh, "Actually yes, they did..." The old timer then walked towards the previous Hokage pictures, he took the Fourth's picture and removed a hidden lock on the back, revealing a scroll, he took it and gave it to Naruto then while explaining, "They left this for you, I don't know all the contents, but Minato instructed to give it to you after you were told of your heritage."
"Hm, I see... is it all?" The blond took it and said after looking at it.
"No, your parents' fortune is yours, I believe the instructions to claim it are in the scroll. Your parents' house is yours as well, there might be some scrolls and books that'll help you on their library, but I'm afraid you won't be able to live there until you reach the chūnin rank, I could try and force th..." He was saying until Naruto cut him off again.
"Don't worry 'bout it, I'll just pick the stuff that can help me, I have no interest on that house or anything but the knowledge." Naruto said with a considerable amount of bitterness in his voice.
"Sigh, I see… well, it's yours anyway so you can do with it whatever you want." Hiruzen replied with a sad smile when seeing Naruto's conflicted feelings for his parents.
"Aight, well, thanks Old Man, I better get going so I can go through the stuff in here, Itachi gave me the week to rest before the start of the Academy, so there might be something to do in here..." Naruto said while walking to the office's window, "Well, see you around Old Man!..." He said while getting ready to leave.
"Alright Naruto have a good night, I'll be here if you need me." The Third said with a grandfatherly smile.
With a slight nod, Naruto left for the roofs and headed to his apartment, leaving a Third Hokage to melt on his chair while looking at the ceiling, with a defeated feeling flooding his heart.
While the conversation between Naruto and the Hokage was taking place, a beautiful raven-haired woman was walking through the Uchiha compound towards the Council room, she could feel the tension brewing inside the clan and knew that whatever her husband and the rest of the clan's leadership were planning, could have dire consequences for the clan.
'I just hope whatever it is, does not involves any of my boys...' She nervously thought.
The blackette arrived soon after at the Council room and could see that she was the last one to get there. She greeted those present and took her place next to her husband who was seated in the clan's head place. She was the original heiress to the clan but after an arranged marriage, Fugaku took Mikoto's place as clan head so she could take care of their children, or so they say, she knew that the rest of the Uchiha Elders didn't want someone as kind and warm as Mikoto to lead, since the Uchiha wanted to keep the appearance of a powerful and superior clan. Mikoto never saw herself or the other Uchiha as better than the rest of the village, ultimately, that cost her the head's seat, not that she minded at all anyway, as long as she had her sons, she didn't care for anything else, not even her husband.
"Very well, now that everyone is here, allow me to get to the reason why I called you all tonight..." Fugaku stated after seeing his wife on her place. He then crossed his fingers in front of his face while his elbows rested on the table and continued, "It is no secret that the Hokage and their advisors have been pushing us further and further from the village's matters, trying to isolate us on the corner of the village, forgetting the fact that we are also founders of this village!..." He said sternly but loud before continuing, "It was Madara who alongside Hashirama Senju made truce and together, founded this great village. But it was the same Madara that saw that the Senju were making sure that no Uchiha would take place as ruler of the Leaf, it went as far as even having the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, moving our compound to the corner of the village and giving us the task to form the Police Force, with the excuse that he could not trust anybody else with the protection of the village, and as the fools he believed us, we fell for those deceiving words, but not Madara, he saw through such lies of the Senju, he warned us, but we didn't listened, he warned that another Senju would take the place of Hashirama once he retired and we blindly trusted the Senju, we followed our rival clan's leader instead of our own! And even after Madara's death at the hands of the very one that we trusted, we kept our words to ourselves once Tobirama was chosen as the Second, we trusted him and he ended up pushing us to the corner, treating us like a second rate clan! He even made sure no Uchiha would ever be chosen to lead the village, even a clanless fool was chosen as the Fourth!" Fugaku heatedly stated.
Kano, one of the three Elders of the clan, stood and asked what was on everyone's mind, "We are very aware of our past mistakes and everything you're saying Fugaku, but what are you getting at here? I doubt you called us just to reminisce."
Fugaku stood and walked to the center of the room. Looking at those present, he replied, "Yes, I didn't called you to remember our misfortunes, I called you so we can take action! The Senju are gone, only one is left and she has no interest in the village! And now, even second rate clans like the Sarutobi and the Hyūga are taking the power that WE created, that is unacceptable!"
"What are you suggesting Fugaku?" Umi Uchiha, another Elder, asked.
Fugaku looked around the room and with a stern face and a serious tone, he replied, "That we claim our right, if they don't accede to it, then we take it by force if we must."
The room was deadly quiet, everyone was pondering on the Uchiha clan head's words. Seeing the dangers that such action could bring, Mikoto decided to be the voice of reason before her clan's own arrogance drives them to their own doom, "Fugaku! Think about what you're saying, this could lead the village to a civil war! We would be damaging our own home!" She countered frantically, hoping that her clansmen could see what such action would entail.
"The clan is our home Mikoto, don't forget that, there will be no need for a civil war if the village recognizes our claim, we are Uchiha first." Fugaku exclaimed coldly.
"Fugaku is right, we cannot tolerate this treatment anymore, the village is mainly feared because of us, it is only fair that one of us leads." An Uchiha councilor said.
"But how are you planning to go about this, Fugaku?" Eko Uchiha, the last of the Elders, questioned.
"Hiruzen is a wise man, he prefers peaceful action than one that will harm others, I will speak to him, I'll make sure he promises to choose his successor in one of us, if he refuses, we'll use Itachi's new spot as an ANBU Captain to spy on the Hokage so we can find a time to strike, either quietly or loud." Fugaku said, making Mikoto's heart break after hearing her husband's plan with their son, but before she could state her refusal, an Elder interrupted her.
"Will Itachi agree to this?" Umi questioned.
"He will, he's an Uchiha and my son, he won't refuse." Fugaku coldly stated before receiving the ok from the Council. He adjourned the meeting and proceeded to leave, leaving a shattered Mikoto alone in the room, confused at what to do next.
'Damn it Fugaku! What am I supposed to do now!?...' Mikoto thought while grabbing her head to try and ease her migraine.
Naruto arrived to his apartment feeling anxious and still a bit troubled for the conversation he just had with the Third, seeing the front of the building and seeing the graffiti with insults towards him just made him bitterer at the thought of his parents' decision.
'Seriously, just why would they even think that people will respect me?...' Naruto thought while opening his door. He got to the kitchen and cooked a cup of instant ramen while mentally preparing to open the scroll.
'Aight, here goes nothing I guess...' He grabbed the scroll and sat on the floor. Grabbing a kunai, he cut his thumb and let a drop of his blood drop on the scroll, the scroll opened and it reveal three drawn squares with words written on them. The first one said 'Letters', the second one said 'Scrolls' while the last one said 'Inheritance'.
Focusing on the one that says 'Letters', he poured some chakra into it. It then revealed two scrolls, one was red while the other one was yellow. Grabbing the red one, Naruto saw that on the side had the name 'Kushina' written on it and after opening it, it revealed a letter which he began to read.
Dear Naruto
Hello my beautiful baby, I am your mother, I don't know if I'm going to be able to be with you and watch you grow up, so in case I don't, let me tell you something about me so you can know me a bit. My name is Kushina Uzumaki and I was born in The Eddy Village in Whirlpool Country, but when I was 7, I was chosen to be the next jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, since Granny Mito was getting too old to hold it. Sadly, a few years after I got to Konoha, my home village was destroyed along with the rest of my clan, this was one of the reasons that set off the Third Great War, I would guess that by the time you read this, you'll be the last of the Uzumaki, but I know you won't be alone. You'll probably have my bloodlines as well, this are Lava and Boil Release, I left you some scrolls with all the knowledge I have about them, I'm sure you can find somebody to help you with them. I also leave you my katana, it's a special blade made by an expert of the Uzumaki clan. You don't know how much it pains me to leave you, when I found out that I was pregnant with you, me and your father where so happy, I was already imagining all the things that we would live as a family, but sadly, it appears that life had another plan for us, just know that I love you with all my heart and that you will always carry a peace of my soul with you my baby, remember that me and your father will always be watching you and we'll be waiting for you when your time comes. Live at the fullest and without regrets my boy, pay attention in school, don't stay up late and eat healthy, I love you so, so much Naruto, never doubt that...
P.S.: Stay away from Ramen, your father was an addict to it but it's not good for your health, and also, when you find Kurama, take care of her, she might be a bitch at first but she's just lonely.
Love, your mommy, Kushina Uzumaki.
'Hn, lava and boil release? That sounds cool… I wonder if I do have them?... and who the hell is Kurama!?...' Naruto thought, apparently not fazed by the dark spots on the letter that signaled that his mother was crying or even the letter at all. Grabbing the yellow scroll then, he saw that it also had a name on the side, although this one said 'Minato', so doing the same with it, he opened it and began to read it.
Yo Naruto
Hey boy how is it going? I'm your old man! I know that there must be a lot of things going through your mind once you hear the truth of your heritage, whatever you feel right now my boy, know that leaving you is the hardest thing I can have ever go through, but I hope that in time, you come to understand our reasons, I know it won't be enough, but your mother and I will always be in your heart. Let me tell you a little bit about myself, my name is Minato Namikaze and I was an orphan, I never knew my parents or anybody who shared my last name, but Hiruzen took care of me when I left the Orphanage and went to the Academy, where I met you mother. I had the dream to become Hokage to protect everyone, especially you and your mother, a dream which I achieved when I was named the Fourth after the Third Great War, the reason that the knowledge of your heritage was kept hidden from you was because of the enemies I made in the war, especially Rock, the whole village loathes me, so I trust that now that you are strong, you can take on anything that is thrown at you. There's something about me that nobody else but your mother knows, I recently discovered that I have a bloodline, is called Magnetic Release, it's a rare bloodline possessed by a very few, mainly in the Land of Wind, along with my Wind affinity probably means that I hail from there, so I believe that you may inherit that along with your mother's bloodlines. I also left you my most precious jutsus, especially the Rasengan, which I believe you can finish it since I never got to do it, and the Flying Thunder God, which earned me the nickname of 'The Yellow Flash', I know you can take it even further that I could. Whatever you choose to become, know that I'll always be proud of you my boy and that I love you without measure, I'll be waiting with your mom when your time comes, be safe and live your life at the fullest.
With love, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage and your father.
'Another bloodline and those two jutsus!? Well now that'll certainly come in handy...' Naruto thought after finishing reading. He stored the letters in the scroll again and poured some of his chakra on the next square in the scroll, where after a poof of smoke, a medium sized wooden box appeared. Opening it, he found 8 green scrolls with the word 'Wind' on the sides, 8 white scrolls with the word 'Lightning' written on the sides, 4 creamed colored scrolls with the word 'Boil', 5 bright red scrolls with the word 'Lava', one dark grey with the word 'Magnetic' and 2 yellow scrolls, one with the word 'Rasengan' and the other 'Thunder'.
'Oh this is cool! But I probably shouldn't try them until I show them to Big Bro...' Naruto thought. Storing them again, he then focused on the last square with the word 'Inheritance', pouring some chakra into it, it revealed a scroll with instructions on how to gain access to his parents' state and how to open the safe with all of their money and most precious possessions, and his mother's katana with its sheath.
Storing everything on the scroll and sealing it again, he went to his wardrobe where he moved his shoes out of the way and removed a piece of wood to hide the scroll in the hole below it. Moving back to his bed, he took his shoes and jacket off, laid on his bed and just stared at the moon trying to understand just what the hell were his feelings towards his parents until sleep eventually caught up with him and dozed off.
Inside his mindscape, the Twelve-Wings was silently watching everything through its container's eyes, deciding not to interfere and just let him figure everything out by himself. The dragon then closed its eyes and before sleep claimed it as well, it thought, 'Mm, if he doesn't figures out what are his feelings for them, I'll need to step in before our curse seizes the confusion to claim him...'
Mikoto Uchiha was pacing around her home like crazy, she was going mad on her head trying to find a way out of this mess and she knew that she had to choose between her family and her village. On one hand, she didn't really care much for her clan, she has grown bitter towards them since she was a child, she hated to see how her clansmen treated others and hated how she got a reprimand every time she hung out with people outside her clan. But even so, her two sons were also part of the clan and they were her life, but the thought of sacrificing innocent people in a civil war just to show that they were the strongest clan, was unbearable.
'Damn it! What do I do? What do I do!?...' Mikoto thought while trying to calm herself. Going to her backyard, she sat on the steps that led to the grass and stared at her younger son training with shuriken, 'Fugaku is even trying to turn Sasuke like him, an arrogant little prick, doesn't matter how much I try to make Sasuke understand that he can be his own person, he only cares for Fugaku's acknowledgement...' She thought bitterly, she hated to see her younger son like this.
"Mikoto..." Breaking out of her troubled thoughts, she turned around and saw her husband walking towards her. With a small frown on her face, she bid a good morning to him before he said, "Come, Itachi is waiting."
Getting up, she followed Fugaku to a room where Itachi was waiting for them. Kneeling in front of him, he took on a kneeling position as well and said, "Good morning father and mother, what is it that you wish to discuss with me?"
'Itachi loves the village more than he loves the clan, I know that he won't go along with this, not willingly...' Mikoto thought with worry at the idea of her son being forced into this madness. She then looked at her husband with a hint of hate before he explained.
"Itachi, your clan needs you, you've seen how the Hokage and his Elders treat us, putting other clans ahead of us, cofounders of this village, denying our right at the Hokage seat. The clan, your family, cannot take this anymore, so we are going to act." Fugaku, strangely, was showing a little bit of eagerness.
'Sigh, I knew this would happen...' Itachi kept his gaze to the ground as if processing the information he just received. Looking up at his father's eyes again, he replied with an expressionless look, "I understand father, what is it you wish me to do?"
'What!? T-This can't be h-happening… n-not him too… p-please...' Mikoto was shocked at hearing her eldest son seemingly agreeing with the plot.
With a small smirk on his face, Fugaku said to his son, "Now that you've reached the ANBU Captain rank, you only answer to the ANBU Commander and the Hokage, so for the time being, just inform us of everything you see around, especially when you guard Hiruzen. When the time comes to make our move, I'll tell you what's next." Getting back on his feet, he looked down at Itachi, waiting for his answer.
Itachi stood up and turned to leave but before he did, he looked back over his shoulder and with a small nod, he said, "I understand." He then left the room with those words, followed shortly by Fugaku.
Mikoto felt despaired now, she could only look at the ground and with a small tear on her cheek, she thought, 'No… no… no… t-this can't be ha-happening… dammit!… What do I do now!?...' She desperately grabbed her hair trying to stop the headache. Thinking of a solution, she was able to come up with an idea, 'I... I c-can't betray my children… no matter what… t-they're my family and I cannot let them fall through this path, but...'
Heading to her kitchen, she sat on a chair and looked at the sky through the window, thinking, 'But, I can at least warn Hiruzen, even if it is my family, the village does not deserve this… but how do I do that? I'm sure Fugaku knows I'm not ok with this so he'll be keeping an eye on me…' She dug her brain hard trying to come up with a way to warn the Third until it finally hit her, 'Naruto!...' She then quickly made her way to the bedroom and wrote on a small paper sheet and after finishing, she folded it and applied a seal. She then got back to her kitchen and prepared two small lunches.
Mikoto knew who the boy was of course, he looked exactly like his father at his age. She was best friends with Kushina and had a crush on Minato when they were young, but was a good friend to him as well. She could not take care of the boy because it would raise suspicion, so she put Itachi on the task, she felt relieved when Itachi began proclaiming that Naruto was his little brother, just like Sasuke, only she knew that of course. Once in a while, she would go and visit the blond and spend some time with him, the boy even developed a crush on her which she found cute, though, being around the boy made her strangely excited. But, since Fugaku knew of her visits to the jinchūriki, he says nothing about it since he knows of the boy's parents and Mikoto's friendship with them, so he has no reason to suspect.
'He's close to Hiruzen and usually spends time with him in private, so he can deliver my message and Fugaku would not suspect anything… I'll have to leave Itachi's involvement out... I... I c-can't let anything happen to him… I'll just warn Hiruzen of the turmoil in the clan...' Packing everything she needed, she went and gave Sasuke a small kiss on his forehead and soon later, took off to the find the blond, 'I just hope everything works out in the end...'
Naruto was laying on the ground, panting hard, he just finished training some taijutsu moves that he's been doing since the morning. Since the academy was just 2 days to start, he wanted to get sharper at everything he learnt in the three years he's been training with Itachi and the Twelve-Wings so that he can have a head start.
'Oh shit, maybe if I show that I'm better than the Academy's students, the Old Man will let me graduate earlier, or even skip the academy altogether...' Standing up, he grabbed some water from the river and refreshed his hair and face.
"Hello Naruto…" He suddenly heard his name being called by an angelical voice. Turning around, he felt his heart skip a beat at seeing his crush, Mikoto Uchiha. Oh yeah, he had a big ass crush on the Uchiha matriarch, don't get him wrong though, he liked Cat, Anko and Hana as well, but Mikoto's lovely attitude and cooking just made him develop a crush on Itachi's mother, even more so when she once in a while came to spend some time with him.
'What? Is... is his hair and eyes glowing!?...' She thought while looking at his hair and eyes. She then asked, "Naruto, sweetie, why is you hair and eyes glowing? Are you alright?" She kneeled down to comb his hair with her fingers and looked directly at his beautiful glowing blue eyes, feeling strangely swayed by them.
"Umm… gulp… i-it was o-one of the ch-changes the Twelve-Wings did t-to me… M-Miko… I'm aight, don't worry… I j-just have to hide the changes to other people though, I guess I was so caught up wi-with mah training that I didn't realize you were here… hehe..." Naruto said with a mad blush and a heavy stutter due to seeing her so close to him, as well as the feel of her soft hands brushing his hair so delicately.
Standing up and fighting her blush down, Mikoto looked at the side while taking her hand to her chest and said, "Oh… r-right… we-well… it does look s-striking… 'and amazingly beautiful'… but if you say that is alright… t-then I'll believe you..." She said, giving him a gorgeous smile while having a battle within herself, 'Jeez Mikoto, what the hell is wrong with you!? He's a kid!… although… he'll grow up like his father...dammit, shut it!...'
"R-Right… so what'cha doing here M-Miko? Not that I'm complaining though… hehe..." Naruto said with a nervous laugh.
Regaining her composure, Mikoto remembered the reason of her visit and responded, "What? I can't come to visit you any longer!?..." She said with a playful hurt tone on her voice, smiling at the boy's quick refusal waving his hand furiously to the sides. She then continued, "I'm kidding sweetie, don't worry, I came to bring you this..." She pointed to the lunches she brought, "So come on, let's go and eat them." She grabbed him by the wrist and took him to the side of the river, where they sat down resting below the shadow of a tree and started eating peacefully.
"Mmm… that was great Miko! I love your food! It's the best!" Naruto said while giving her a wide smile and a thumbs up.
Giggling at his enthusiasm and his ever present praise to her food, she said, "Well, I'm glad you liked it Naruto…" She then fidgeted a little and added, "Now, before I go, I... I w-wanted to ask you f-for a favor… i-if it's possible..." She said while giving him a cute look to convince him.
Which it worked immediately because the blond was giving her a smile and a blazing fire in his eyes while he quickly replied, "What!? Of course Miko! Whatever it is! You know that I will gladly walk through a river of lava while carrying a goat on fire if it makes you happy!" He exclaimed with a macho voice while flexing his muscles to impress her, not lying about what he would do for his love in the slightest.
Which it also worked since he wasn't wearing a shirt and along with his glowing eyes and hair, he definitely looked damn good, 'Dammit Mikoto, for God's sake, he's your late best friend's son, control yourself!...' Fighting down her blush again, she giggled at his words and replied, "Now, now, there's no need to go that far sweetie, I just need you to deliver this to the Hokage next time you see him, just make sure that you are alone ok? It's very important that not even the ANBU are present, ok?" She handed him the folded sheet.
"You can count on me Miko! I'll make sure to deliver this to the Old Man when we're alone, but, it's everything alright?" Naruto grabbed the envelope and kept it on his backpack before asking with worry evident in his voice.
"Oh yes, everything it's alright sweetie, it's just something I need to discuss with him, that's all..." Getting on her feet, she dusted her dress from the dirt on the ground and gave him a loving kiss on his cheek, which lasted longer than she intended to, leaving an incredibly red Naruto in the way. Smiling after breaking the kiss, she said lovingly, "Well Naruto, I got to go now, don't overdo the training, alright? And good luck at the Academy, you know that whatever you need help with, you can just ask Itachi for me and I'll come right away…" She then flashed him a dazzling smile and added, "Well, I'll see you next week, bye sweetie!" She waved at him and left with a blush on her cheeks while thinking, 'I just hope that Hiruzen will be able to ease the clan...'
'Damn… she's soooo beautiful yo...' Naruto thought while touching the cheek that Mikoto kissed. Deciding to call it a night, he picked up his stuff and walked home, thinking about a dark haired beauty on the way back home.
Three figures walked towards the Hokage Tower, they were on a meeting with the civilian head councilor when an ANBU interrupted the meeting saying that they have been summoned by the Hokage to discuss an urgent matter.
"What could be so important to call us at this hour? Do you have any idea Danzō, Koharu?" Homura asked to his fellow Elders who were walking beside him.
"No idea, let's just hurry up and see what it is." Danzō replied dryly, keeping his cold demeanor.
Arriving at the tower, they headed to the Hokage's office and once outside of it, they knocked on the door. They heard the voice of the Hokage saying come in and proceeded to open the door, after the three walked into the room, they noticed that the Third was there with Weasel at his side.
"We are here Lord Hokage, what is it that you wish to discuss so urgently with us?" Koharu asked after the three Elders stepped into the room.
Urging them to take a seat, Hiruzen motioned Weasel to come close and said, "Yes, Weasel, please inform them of everything you just told me."
"Very well..." Itachi removed his ANBU mask and began, "As you might know, my clan is currently in a turmoil, my father and the rest of the Council feel that we are not given the respect that we deserve, so they are planning to force Lord Third to choose his successor from the Uchiha clan, and if the Hokage is to refuse, they are planning to stage a coup to take control of the village by force. Also, they've asked me to spy on everything I see at ANBU HQ and whenever I guard Lord Hokage." He explained with a stern look.
"I knew that something was brewing inside the Uchiha clan, but to think they would go so far as to risk a civil war just to take the power of the village." Koharu said worriedly, she was a pacifist and she really didn't like where this was going.
"This is indeed very troubling Lord Hokage, what is that you intend to do?" Homura asked after fully registering Weasel's troubling words in his mind.
"I'm going to let Itachi report to his father and his clan, let them think we are oblivious to everything. Itachi said that Fugaku will come to try and convince me to oblige to their claims, I'll try to ease them then, I do not want things to spiral out of control." The Hokage said while massaging his temples, trying to ease his raging headache.
"We cannot let this go out of control, we need to assure that they pose no threat to our village, does everyone in the Uchiha clan feel the same as the Council?" Danzō said, on the outside he seemed calm and calculative as ever, but on the inside he was greatly interested in this development that could present great advantages for the old war hawk.
"I'm afraid so, everyone in my clan is taught to think as an Uchiha first, the village always comes second." Itachi said with a stoic face, not revealing the disappointment he feels towards his clan.
"And what about you? Why betray your clan and your father?" Homura asked the Uchiha.
"Because I love the village, I serve the Leaf first, it has always been that way." Itachi answered without a drop of doubt in his voice.
"Yes, thank you for your loyalty Itachi." The Third exclaimed with pride in his voice.
"But what do we do if the tension continues to rise? I don't believe they will easily accept to back down." Danzō said, with interest hidden in his words, an interest that both Hiruzen and Itachi managed to catch.
"I'll take care of it." Itachi responded without hesitation.
"What do you mean Itachi?" Hiruzen asked, not liking the sound of the Uchiha heir's ominous words.
"The problem is rooted deeply within the Uchiha's teachings, even if we were to assassinate the Uchiha Council, the idea to revolt will continue, the only way to avoid it, will be if there's no one left to revolt." Itachi replied coldly, as if what he was hinting at was not disturbing him one bit.
"You're surely not suggesting…" Koharu said with shock on her face, dreading the answer to come.
"Yes Elder Koharu, if push comes to shove, I will decimate my clan, but it will be me who does it, no one else." Itachi said without hesitation or remorse in his words.
"Are we crazy!? We are talking about slaughter here! An entire clan! Hiruzen you can't possibly support this!" Koharu exclaimed heatedly, this was madness, there was no excuse for slaughter.
With a heavy sigh and a giant headache, he thought, 'I'm definitely getting too old for this shit...' With closed eyes he then responded, "Itachi is right Koharu, as much as it pains me, if I have to choose between a civil war or the Uchiha clan, then I see no other way, they've been thinking this way since Tobirama-sensei took the position, they've always thought the Uchiha comes before the village." His voice was tired and the remorse was palpable.
"Sigh, This is madness…" Koharu muttered dejectedly.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you take the right choice Hiruzen, although, I believe we shouldn't give them time to plan." Danzō said, urging for immediate action.
"No, the elimination is a last resort plan, I'm not going to go through with it if I can help it, I know that just like Itachi, there are Uchiha who are loyal to the village first..." The Third said while thinking, 'The message that Naruto gave me from Mikoto supports that, she's just a desperate mother protecting her children, I cannot deny them the chance to straighten their path...' Standing from his chair, Hiruzen looked at the village through his windows and said, "Then it's settled, we will continue normally, when the time comes, we'll proceed accordingly."
"Understood, Lord Hokage." The three Elders said in unison before stepping out of the office, leaving the Hokage alone with Itachi.
"I'm sorry about this Itachi, I cannot even fathom how hard it must be for you to do this…" The Third said to Itachi with an apologetic smile.
"It is not Lord Hokage, I love my village and I will do everything in my power to protect it, even if it pits me against my own blood, but, I only have one request…" Itachi said with stern eyes.
The old Hokage nodded and took a seat to listen to the Uchiha teenager's request, praying to God that things don't unnecessarily escalate.
"Oh man, what time is it..." Naruto muttered as he woke up at the morning light. Looking at his clock beside his bed, he freaked out saying, "Oh shit! I overslept, damn Big Bro's gon be mad!" Heading to his bathroom, he quickly brushed his teeth, grabbed an energy bar after, and ate it on his way towards the Forest of Death.
Running as fast as he could, he arrived at the clearing and looked around searching for Itachi. Not seeing him anywhere, he let out a breath of relief before going stiff at the sound of a voice that said, "You're 30 minutes late, little brother, you didn't get sloppy on me this week now did you?" Itachi said, coming out from behind a tree.
Scratching the back of his head, he said nervously, "What!? No, no, no! I just overslept, thinking about stuff, ya know!?… hehe..."
"Haha, ok, I'll give you a pass for today..." Itachi said while approaching him. He then sat down on the grass and asked Naruto, "So, did you spoke to the Hokage about your parents?"
Sitting down on the grass as well, Naruto replied, "Yeah, I spoke with him and yes, the Fourth and the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails were my parents..." Looking down at the ground, he grabbed a scroll from his backpack and the channeled some chakra into it, making the scroll open. Naruto then began to get all the contents out of it while saying, "This is what they left me, they also left me their house but I really have no interest in living there, I'll just go and take the stuff I need from the library and the vault."
"Mm, I see..." Itachi muttered before seeing the square with the word 'Letters' written on it, he figured that both Minato and Kushina left him some letters. Knowing his inner turmoil regarding his parents, he asked, "Did they wrote you some letters?..." Receiving a nod in confirmation he continued, "And how do you feel about it?"
Looking at the sky while taking a deep breath, Naruto answered, "I… I honestly don't now Big Bro, it's confusing really…"
Sighing heavily, Itachi said, "I see, well, you'll need to figure it out soon little brother, conflicting feelings can have a negative impact on one's path, especially yours, whether is love or hate doesn't matter, as long as you know ok?"
"Yeah, I understand, I'll figure it out, one way or another…" Naruto conceded. He then remembered something that was written on his mother's letter and looking back at Itachi, he asked, "Itachi, there was something weird on Kushina's letter, she said that I gotta find and take care of some girl named 'Kurama', do you know who that is?"
Confused, Itachi started to think if he knew anyone with that name but not finding anyone in his mind, he shook his head in the negative, he said, "Mm, there is a clan here in the Leaf with that name, they have a seat in the Council as well but I don't think she was talking about them… but a girl named 'Kurama'? I have no idea little brother, perhaps you should ask my mother, I believe she was close friends with Kushina and Minato, so maybe she knows who that is."
Surprised at the revelation of his crush's friendship with his parents, he nodded and took the scrolls and lay them on the ground as he said, "Well, they left me these scrolls as well, apparently I may have three bloodlines, Kushina had the Lava and Boil Release and Minato had the Magnetic Release, so they left me some scrolls for those in case I manage to activate them. Minato also left me these Wind and Lightning scrolls and the scrolls for the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God!" Naruto said, excited at the last two legendary jutsus.
"Well now, that is impressive, the Magnetic Release is one of the rarest bloodlines there is, but we won't know if you have them until the next few years, bloodlines like those usually activate on the user's teenage years, so we'll focus on the wind jutsus for now. The Rasengan and the Thunder God will have to wait. The Rasengan is an A-rank jutsu so when you manage to perfect everything I've taught you, we'll work on that one. The Thunder God though, that's an S-class, so until you've perfected the Rasengan and everything else, you can focus on that, alright?" Itachi said while reading some of the scrolls.
"Ok, so what we'll be doing today!? I want to be the sharpest of my class so that maybe the Old Man would let me skip the academy and make me a shinobi already!" Naruto said while pumping his fist at the air with an ass kicking look.
Standing up, Itachi let a small chuckle at the blond's excitement and replied, "Now, one step at a time Naruto, I was actually going to tell you that you're gonna have to lay low, don't get too much attention to yourself little brother, you're already a chūnin-level ninja so you'll have no trouble with school, but keep it low, ok?" He ordered while ruffling his hair.
Looking at him, Naruto whined loudly, "What!? But why!? I don't wanna waste 5 years learning stuff I already know! I wanna go on mission and kick some ass, ya know!?"
Looking at him dead on the eyes, Itachi hit Naruto's forehead with two fingers and said with a voice that left no debate, "Now little brother, take this as an order from me, deception is a shinobi's biggest weapon, there is no need for you to show everything you know so early in the game, so keep a low profile, ok?"
"Huff, Aight, I'll do as you say then." Naruto said with a pout while massaging the spot that Itachi hit. They then proceeded to train on Naruto's jutsus and one of the Wind jutsus that his father left him, the training went on for almost 5 hours and now both of them were eating lunch.
Getting ready to begin his shift, Itachi ruffled Naruto's hair and said, "Well I gotta go now, little brother, so rest for the remaining of the day so you can be fresh for tomorrow, ok?" Receiving a nod from the blond, he began to walk away but before he was gone, he looked back and said, "I believe my other little brother, Sasuke, will be in your class too, so do me a favor and try to befriend him, ok? He's a lone wolf like you so I believe you two would make good friends and who knows, if you two become best friends, you might be able to see my mother more often." Itachi then left with a chuckle at Naruto's red face.
Turning around, Naruto picked his stuff up and headed home while thinking dreamily, 'Can't deny that would be cool though...'
The Academy's grounds were filled with children waiting for the beginning of the semester while the parents were glaring hard at the blonde jinchūriki who was sitting on a swing hanging from a tree, not that he was giving them a damn though.
'Man 5 years in this place, what a drag...' Naruto thought while a pineapple head boy sneezed, mumbling something about somebody stealing his catchphrase. He then heard his name being called by a familiar loving voice and after turning around, he saw his crush, looking as beautiful as ever, "Miko! You're here to see Sasuke off?" Naruto said, excited as always to see the most beautiful woman in the world for him.
"Well, and to see you off as well sweetie, this is the beginning for my two boys to become men…" She said while giving him a hug. She then rested her hands on his shoulders and said, "I hope that you learn a lot and that you become the fine shinobi I know you'll be sweetie, and I also hope that you and my Sasuke become friends, that way you can have an excuse to come visit more often!" She then gave him a kiss on the forehead and said goodbye, leaving a dopey blond behind.
Getting out of his stupor, Naruto heard the bell ring and immediately headed towards his classroom. Once there, he headed to an empty seat near the window and after he sat on his spot, a raven-haired boy with a familiar face sat next to him soon after he claimed his seat, 'Hm, this must be Sasuke… he looks like a dick...' Naruto thought. He then surveyed his surroundings and saw Kiba who was looking at him with a challenging look, he was sitting next to the boy called Shino who gave him a nod and a cute blue haired girl with a cream-coloured hooded jacket who was looking at him through the corner of her lavender-coloured eyes with a mad blush all over her face. He saw that even on their first day, there were already girls looking at both him and Sasuke with dreamy eyes, a pink haired girl was looking hard at Sasuke while a blond haired girl was looking hard at him, 'Great, fangirls...' His thoughts were cut short though, when the door of the room was opened.
"Hello everyone, my name is Iruka Umino and I'll be your sensei for the next 5 years…" The teacher now identified as Iruka said before trailing off on all the things that they were to learn for the remaining of their stay in the Academy.
With a heavy sigh, Naruto looked through the classroom in boredom when he suddenly locked eyes with Sasuke, the two narrowed their eyes at each other and entered into a small staring contest before both boys looked the other way with angry grunts. Looking back at the window, Naruto thought annoyed, '5 years here, yeah, this fucking sucks...'