"Hanabi," Iruka called out. Hanabi snapped out of her trance and looked back at Iruka, "Yes, Iruka-sensei?"
"While I'm aware that today's lecture isn't the most exciting it's still part of the curriculum. Please stay focus," Iruka requested.
"Sorry," Hanabi mumbled before Iruka turned back to the chalkboard and resume the lecture. Meanwhile Konohamaru, sitting next to Moegi with Udon sitting in front of them, was suggesting to his two friends to go search for Naruto and have him play ninja with them. He also said that he wanted to talk to him about what his grandfather explained to him and to the rest of his clan. Moegi and Udon agreed as they too had things they wanted to talk over with Naruto concerning what they found out from their elderly relatives. Hanabi overheard their conversation and saw that she was going to have some competition for Naruto's time and attention.
(Two Hours Later; In Another Part of Konoha)
Sakura was sitting in the park bench alone watching the children playing and laughing together as they were enjoying themselves as though they didn't have a care in the world. One of the boys was sitting by himself looking like no one wanted to play with him. Sakura noticed one of the children's parents coaching them to head to where the lone boy was and ask if he wanted to come and play with them. She watched as the whole scene played out in front of her. Before long the once lone boy was now playing and laughing with the rest of the children.
When Sakura thought back to Naruto's life and everything Kakashi told them about Naruto's life and his entire family and clan history, she couldn't help but feel awful that she was a contributing factor to Naruto's hardships in life. As a child, her mother and father never allowed her to play with Naruto and would pull her away from him like how the other children's parents have. As a child, she never knew why but she just went along with what her parents told her and when she ended up in the same class with him when they started attending the ninja academy, because of her parents' influence and that of her other peers, Sakura's treatment of Naruto was just as bad if not worse.
Yesterday after confronting her parents about Naruto and everything she found about him and the Uzumaki Clan from Kakashi, both her mother and father were in shock and in denial. They tried to justify their actions in explaining how she, Sakura, wasn't there when Kyuubi was slaughtering all those around him with no discrimination and that among the casualties were some of their relatives and dear friends. Sakura argued that Naruto wasn't Kyuubi the monster that did those things and she added that the fact that the older generation and her own parents used Naruto as a scapegoat and did nothing to help him shamed and sickened her.
"Yo Forehead!" Ino called out as she approached the lone Genin. Sakura turned to her friend and rival and snorted, "What do you want Ino-pig?"
Ignoring the name she was called, Ino replied, "Nothing from you of course. But I couldn't help but take notice of that face you were making while looking at those children playing in the park. I think you're too young to be considering having children and you certainly won't be having any of Sasuke-kun's."
"Shut up! I wasn't thinking about getting pregnant." Sakura shot back.
"Having Sasuke-kun's children would be a dream come true, shanaroo!" inner-Sakura yelled.
"I was thinking about Naruto and everything I found out about him," Sakura corrected.
Ino replied, "You too, huh? My father called me and the rest of our clan together and told us a whole world of things that had our heads spinning. We were left in a state of total disarray, confusion and anger after being told the truth regarding Naruto's life and his familial history with Konoha and Uzu no Kuni. I still can't believe Naruto's father is the famed Yondaime! I mean, who'd have thought that Naruto was the son of the Yellow Flash and is the heir of the Uzumaki Clan!?"
"I didn't even know that there even is an Uzumaki Clan, a clan of feared seal masters. But after hearing Kakashi-sensei's entire explanation everything made sense," Sakura said, "My parents had a hard time believing my explanation of Naruto even though I told them it came from Kakashi-sensei himself who was Naruto's father's student. I even went as far as to tell them that Kakashi-sensei showed Sasuke-kun and I a copy of the marriage certificate of Naruto's parents kept at the Hokage Tower."
Ino told her story, "My dad had me and everyone else look at pictures of Naruto, Yondaime and Naruto's mother which he somehow acquired. I never knew Naruto's mother was that beautiful and like Honoka-san, she had very long gorgeous red hair. After all of us examined the pictures, there was no denying the resemblance Naruto had with both Yondaime and Uzumaki Kushina. Dad told us that he, Chouji's dad and Shikamaru's dad tried to adopt and get Naruto to be part of one of their clans after Shikaku-san uncovered the truth on his own. But the village hierarchy overruled them and forbade them from speaking the truth. All of us felt awful that we shamed Yondaime's sacrifice but we were angry at how we were lied to about what really happened the night Kyuubi attacked along with lies and half-truths we were taught in the academy and how Naruto suffered because of this village's dark cover up.
"But I'm surprised that as great of geniuses Yondaime and Naruto's mother were, Naruto isn't like how his parents were."
"You're wrong Ino," Sakura corrected, "Naruto is naturally strong and gifted, he always has been, more so than he let others believe. I saw firsthand what Naruto is capable of when he's angry as he singlehandedly slaughtered and butchered over a hundred bandit samurai and mercenaries within a span of a few seconds using and combining Zabuza's sword with a powerful wind jutsu he created through wind manipulation. And all that was done without relying on Kyuubi's power. I didn't want to say it at the time, but the look he had in his eyes and face terrified me, especially when he revealed that he even had their leader fed to sharks!"
Ino looked at Sakura in disbelief and replied, "You're joking right? Naruto actually did all that?"
"If you don't believe me then feel free to read our mission report about the events in Nami no Kuni we gave to Sandaime-sama. I'm not making any of this up," Sakura retorted, before her tone become more uncertain, "I always thought we knew everything about Naruto as being just a troublemaking pervert and dead last that failed everything at the academy, peeks in women's bathhouses and openly read adult-rated smut books. But our first real mission in Nami no Kuni made Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei and me realized that we don't know Naruto at all. Nobody does."
"What are you talking about?" Ino asked curiously.
"Beside jailing the Kyuubi, Naruto hide other secrets about himself which he won't reveal to any of us. During our mission we saw unfamiliar seal writings appear and glow around Naruto's body for a very short moment but we were unable to make them out. They weren't the seals used to hold Kyuubi but they were something else. Kakashi-sensei don't know what they are or what they do and he said that there's no known record of those seals in any of Konoha's archives. What he did tell us is that judging from the intricate designs of those seals that it would take a veteran seal master to make and apply those seals," Sakura said.
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