After bidding farewell to Teuchi and Ayame for the morning, he set off towards the agreed meeting spot.
Sakura was already waiting just as he was running, trying to catch his breath. When she spotted him, she grinned and waved him over.
"You're late," she teased, shaking her head in amusement.
Naruto chuckled, feeling a bit sheepish. "Sorry, sorry! I got caught up at Ichiriku's."
Sakura laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "That's right. I forgot you work there now. Well, I'm glad you're having fun there. But enough talking about restaurants; I'm starving already."
Naruto was more than happy to make up for lost time. "Don't have to tell me twice!"
Inside the café, she sat across from him. He was oddly quiet. When her drink came, she absently stirred it, sensing that he was about to share something significant—something that she hadn't heard from him yet.
Why else would he be so quiet?
Naruto finally met her eyes to whisper, "Hey, Sakura, what do you know about a Jinchūriki?"
"Huh?" Sakura asked as she sipped her tea. Her eyes darted around as she wondered why he brought his voice so low. The place was filled with civilians and shinobi alike, and while she doubted anyone could hear them over the chatter, she decided to play it cool. "What do you mean exactly?"
"I mean," Naruto said, staring down at his cup. "What do you know about Tailed Beasts and their hosts? Ya know, like Gaara."
Sakura had honestly only interacted with Gaara once, and that was during the Chūnin Exams. He didn't quite give her a good impression, and ever since then, she never heard from him again—all thanks to William, Margaret, Jada, Alex, and Jasper stopping the Sand from invading the Leaf.
"Sorry, Naruto," she answered, "but I don't really know anything about Gaara or what a Jinchūriki is."
He took a sip of his tea, wondering how to explain things. "Well, you see, Tailed Beasts are special, and there are nine of them. I'm the host for Kurama."
"Who's that?"
"He's the Nine-Tailed Fox living inside of me."
This was actually her first time hearing this. While yes, she witnessed Naruto use the Nine-Tails' chakra twice, but she never actually knew what it was. All she understood was that Naruto had a special type of chakra that no one bothered to explain to her. Not even Kakashi.
"You're not joking, right?" she asked. "Where is he then? In your jacket pocket? Under your shoe? Or maybe in that head of yours?"
"He's actually inside this seal," Naruto revealed. "Do you at least know what happened on October tenth, the day I was born?"
Sakura's composure faltered as she let out a shaky breath. "That was when the Nine-Tails attacked the village, right?"
"Yeah," Naruto nodded, still unable to meet her eyes. "Something like that. I can't explain it as well as Will, but that was actually the same day I was born. So when my dad couldn't kill Kurama, he had to figure out another way to save everyone—"
"…So he sealed it inside of someone," she finished.
Then she looked at him with fresh understanding, feeling empathetic.
"It's okay," he flatly said, gazing up at her. "That's why nobody liked me and why shopkeepers always kicked me out."
Sakura's heart pained at the memory of their childhood. "And why we were always told to stay away from you…"
"Yeah… It was pretty hard on me. I couldn't even do certain jutsu while we were at the academy. Ha-ha."
"You know, Naruto, I don't think it's that funny."
"It's okay to laugh. It's all in the past now, right?"
"I guess you're right... But why are you telling me this now?"
It's then Naruto reached into his jacket and pulled out a small book. "This belonged to my mom. She was Kurama's host before me."
Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment. "You mean your mom was like you?"
"Yeah, you could say it all runs in the family," he replied with a bitter smile.
Sakura couldn't help but admire him; he had matured in ways she hadn't noticed before. As such, he opened the book to show her its contents. Each page was filled with handwritten notes, drawings, and various stains from years of use.
"Will, Pervy Sage, and I were in search of this book," he explained. "I think Will mentioned something about how my clan had a hidden village, too, so he wanted to check it out. That's how we found this book."
"Naruto!" she paused to take a breather. "This is all really a lot to take in. Why don't you explain things a little slower so I can better understand?"
Naruto took a moment to ponder how to go about this. The only other person who could help him here was William, but he wasn't here at the moment.
After a quick moment, Naruto found the right words to say, using the book as a reference.
"I guess I should start off where I came from," he began.
"Where you came from?" Sakura asked, tilting her head. "You mean the Hidden Leaf?"
"No, I mean the Uzumaki Clan," Naruto said. "We actually had our own hidden village once. It was called the Village Hidden in the Eddies."
Sakura blinked, searching her memories for any recollection of such a place. But nothing came to mind. "What happened to it?"
"It was destroyed because the other nations were terrified of my clan. We didn't have the biggest armies, but our sealing jutsus were the best in the world. My mom wrote in her book how some of us had a Kekkei Genkai to make these strong sealing chains."
"Sealing chains?"
"Yeah. Chains made of pure chakra that could bind anything, even a Tailed Beast," Naruto explained, looking down at his hands. "Because we were so strong, the other nations ganged up on the village and wiped it off the map so that our skills died with us."
Sakura stared in shock. She couldn't fathom that an entire village was eradicated simply out of fear of their potential. "That's horrible... I had no idea your family had a tragic end."
"It's not the end, though," Naruto continued, pointing to the red spiral symbol on the shoulder of his jacket. "You know this spiral? All Leaf shinobi wear it. It's the Uzumaki crest. The Leaf wears it to honour the friendship between our villages."
"Wait, really? I see that symbol every day," she said, stunned.
"It started way back. The first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, wanted to secure that alliance," Naruto said with a small smile returning to his face. "So, he married a kunoichi from my clan. Her name was… I think it was Mito or something."
Sakura's eyes widened. "The first Hokage's wife was an Uzumaki like you?!"
"Exactly! And she was strong, Sakura. Really strong. At least that's what Will told me."
"Gee, Will sure does know a lot. What else did he tell you?"
"A lot, actually. But this part I'm about to reveal was written in my mom's book," Naruto said, closing the pages. "See, Mito was actually the first Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. She held Kurama inside her for a long time to keep the village safe. When she was getting too old, she passed him on to my mom. And then... well, then my mom gave him to me."
Sakura forced herself to process this. While she had often heard people call Naruto a devil, the truth was far more complex. He wasn't a monster; he was the heir to a destroyed nation and the latest guardian in a lineage that stretched back to their very first Hokage.
"Naruto, I want you to know something," she said in a soft voice, seeing him in a completely new light. "I don't think you're a demon like they said." Then she slammed her palms on the table, practically knocking it over. "Anyone who disrespects your clan or calls you a monster will have to answer to me, got it?!"
Naruto couldn't tell if he should be either nervous or joyful. "Gee, thanks, Sakura."
"Which reminds me," she said, sitting down, "if your clan was famous for those seals... do you think you can use them, too?"
Naruto scratched his head, trying to remember what Will had said about their bloodline.
"Maybe. I haven't unlocked them yet, but knowing that the first Hokage's wife and my mom both had that power... it gives me something to aim for, I guess."
The two then sat there, talking more about their lineage. Sakura even shared what little she knew about the Haruno clan. Yet it didn't remotely compare to the Uzumaki clan. Perhaps her biggest interest was in the techniques the Nine-Tails granted Naruto for gaining its chakra.
"Oh!" Naruto said, remembering one of those techniques. "Apart from amplifying the Rasengan, Kurama gave me this neat healing jutsu—or, I really don't know what to call it. I just know I can instantly heal from almost any injury."
"Naruto, you're really something!"
Sakura was truly impressed. All in all, she was content that he was strong.
A moment of reflection passed between them. The two finally hit a touchy subject.
"I still miss him, you know," she suddenly admitted, referring to Sasuke.
"Me too," Naruto somberly replied. "But I haven't given up on him. He's still our teammate."
"You're right," she said. "I didn't forget that promise you made me."
Naruto nodded.
It was clear that despite their teammate abandoning the village, they very much still had hopes that he would one day return. That's just how strong their bonds were.
The rest of the moment was spent eating their brunch. The topic of Sasuke was drowned out by their long-awaited meal. Once they finished, Naruto looked at the sun from inside and remembered that he had another plan for the day.
"Hey, Sakura, can I pay you later? I really gotta go!"
"What?!" she said, unsure if she had even brought her purse.
"I promise, I'll pay you back!"
With that, he scurried out of the restaurant, leaving the pink-haired girl to handle the bill.
Today, several Jōnin were available and had agreed to help him train. And who was going to help him? None other than the big three—Asuma, Kakashi, and Might Guy.
This opportunity was a gift from Margaret, who'd encouraged him to harness his potential ever since he'd come to terms with his past as a reincarnation of one of Hagoromo's sons.
Margaret and the others believed that taming the Nine-Tails would be crucial for him, but Naruto knew that was easier said than done.
The Nine-Tails was still skeptical about Naruto. Despite all his progress, the fox remained unconvinced, viewing Naruto as weak and overly reliant on its Tailed Beast chakra. And although Naruto learned its name, it would take a little more than that to really earn its trust.
He couldn't tell what the fox's problem was; he was, after all, a reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki. William had even gone as far as to speak to the fox, explaining to it that Naruto was also the boy Hagoromo spoke of that would unite the Tailed Beast.
That revelation only made the Nine-Tails more skeptical, unwilling to believe unless Naruto truly showed it something meaningful.
While Naruto didn't understand what that meant, the other players came to terms that it was because Naruto hadn't been in enough battles to prove to the Nine-Tails that he was worth trusting.
For instance, Naruto had gone through countless fights throughout his career. Perhaps the biggest one that really opened the Nine-Tails' eyes was when he fought seven other reanimated Jinchūriki.
An equivalent event like that hasn't happened yet, so they all decided to leave things like that for now, content that Naruto at least knew his own background. In time, the Nine-Tails would surely trust Naruto and allow him to use its full power.
With this in mind, Naruto had committed himself to training hard. He wanted to prove himself, not just to the Nine-Tails, but to everyone who believed in him.
When he finally arrived at the training grounds, he scanned the area, only to find Kakashi, Asuma, and Might Guy were nowhere to be seen. He sighed, tapping his foot impatiently since he just blew a date with Sakura way too early.
Naruto stood there for about half an hour, looking at the sky, then the ground, wondering when they'd arrive.
"Kakashi-sensei, can't you at least show up on time for once?" he grumbled under his breath.
Just as he was getting lost in his irritation, he heard footsteps approaching. When he turned to look, it was Jada who walked into the clearing.
"Hey, Jada! I didn't expect to see you here! What's up?"
Jada smiled back at him and said, "I heard Marge set this training up for you, so I wanted to see how it goes."
Naruto wondered, crossing his arms over his head. "Why isn't she here then?"
Jada sighed, rolling her eyes playfully. "She can be a little complicated sometimes."
What Jada really wanted to tell Naruto was that Margaret thought training with those three special Jōnin was beneath her level—they would waste her time. That included Might Guy.
Still, Naruto wished she would have come to at least support him. The last they spoke was at Iruka's funeral.