Still inside the girls' apartment, William sat on the edge of his seat while the others continued to talk.
Among all of them, he was the biggest fanboy of the Narutoverse. If it involved Japanese comic books, he's read them; if it involved a movie, he's watched them; and if it involved attending press conferences or interviews, he's attended them in person.
"Guys, I just thought of something interesting." They all looked at him. "I think we should go search for Tsunade early."
Alex disagreed. "It's too soon… The village needs time to recover first."
Now William felt disappointed because he had wanted to help and make a difference. But he understood their concerns.
"I'll help train Naruto then, I guess…" he said, trying to salvage the situation. "He needs to get stronger anyways, right?"
Jasper used this opportunity to spite him, saying, "Naruto doesn't need more training. He already knows the Rasengan."
"It might break his character," Alice added.
William was starting to get frustrated. He wanted to do something, anything, to be considered helpful. So he looked at the others to search for a solution. But all they were doing was discussing the battle that took place between Hiruzen and Orochimaru.
"Ya heard me," Margaret addressed, "the Hokage tried to summon Enma, but nothing happened."
"What do you think caused that?" Alex wondered.
"I dunno, but it was the fakest thing I'd ever seen in the village."
Suddenly, an idea came to William. When Margaret had said 'fake,' he wanted to reveal the truth to Naruto and to tell the main character about his Uzumaki heritage. It was a risky move, but it was also the key to unlocking Naruto's full potential.
So William stood up and said, "I'll tell Naruto the truth about his parents then!"
"Eh?!" Jada said in shock.
"The heck are ya on about now?" Jasper asked.
"I mean, I'm his cousin, and he trusts me a lot. I think it'd be a good idea if we just told him about his past."
The others looked at him with staggering expressions. They knew that revealing the truth to Naruto was a delicate matter, but they also knew that William was indeed the right person for the job if the time ever called for it.
Perhaps advancing the main character's morale wouldn't be such a bad thing since Arthur went rogue.
"Be careful with that," Margaret said. "Telling him the truth might have some serious repercussions."
"I know, but he's not like Sasuke, and we can't hide the facts for the next three years."
No one could refute this.
The meeting eventually concluded with everyone given their respective tasks.
Jada exclaimed that she needed to grow stronger, so she was planning to learn some techniques from the Scroll of Seals. No one objected.
Jasper desired to head out of the village to find some artifacts to boost his arsenal. While it was no one's business to know what he wanted, Alice felt the need to tag along.
William couldn't remember what Alex and Margaret's tasks were. All he knew was that he had been given approval by the others to reveal certain truths to Naruto.
✟
As William was walking home to where Naruto also resided, he considered the main character's story.
Naruto Uzumaki's path was marked by adversity from the start. Sealed within him was the Nine-Tailed fox who had attacked the village, resulting in the death of his parents. This tragic fate led to a childhood filled with isolation and prejudice.
As a kid, he struggled academically, failing to graduate from the academy on multiple attempts. However, his persistence eventually led to him becoming a Genin.
At least that was the original tale.
In this new world, Naruto was given a cousin, whose name was William Uzumaki. William's background was that he moved to the Leaf Village after his own village was destroyed. Upon arrival to the Leaf, it was Iruka who introduced him to everyone in the academy as Naruto's lost cousin.
All this transpired only a few weeks before Mizuki's betrayal.
Naruto, excited to have someone by his side, learned a lot from William. And because William had foreknowledge, Naruto became cherished by the rest of his classmates early on. That alone allowed the main character to mature quickly.
After Mizuki's downfall, Naruto was eventually assigned to Team 7 exactly as it was intended.
Throughout the original series, he faced numerous obstacles and adversaries, such as what was supposed to happen between Zabuza and Gaara.
This time, his bravery as a ninja against Haku and his defining battle against Gaara never happened.
Zabuza and Haku were warned about Gato early, preventing a big fight without the bridge being named after Naruto. Gaara was also rehabilitated without the need for violence, allowing the Chūnin Exams to continue regularly. At least until Orochimaru's surprise invasion.
That's currently where everyone was at within the lore.
Now William was considering how much he should reveal to his cousin.
Years of binge-watching the show and being a die-hard fan of the series finally came into account and was actually useful for once.
Three vital things happened to help Naruto become who he was: searching for Tsunade, departing the village with Jiraiya, Pain's assault on the village, and his Jinchūriki training.
As William continued to trudge down the familiar trail leading to his apartment, his every step felt heavy. The idea of how to convey the truth gnawed at him and twisted his insides. He'd rehearsed it dozens of times in his head, but he never actually thought he'd need to tell Naruto so soon.
"What if he doesn't take it well?" he muttered to himself, raking a hand through his hair. "What if he thinks I'm crazy? No, I have to tell him as his best family member. He deserves to know everything!"
By the time William reached the door to their shared apartment, he fumbled with the keys and they dropped to the floor.
"The others are gonna think I'm crazy," he said to himself, picking the keys back up. "Why the heck did I have to suggest that?" When he finally opened the door and stepped inside, he kept on talking to himself. "Just how am I gonna tell Naruto?"
"Tell me what?" came the cheerful voice of the boy sitting cross-legged on the living room floor.
William's heart leapt into his throat. "What are you doing here, Naruto?!"
"Umm… I live here?"
For a brief moment, William felt like a complete fool; he'd forgotten they were roommates. "Right. Of course. I just… got caught up in my own thoughts, is all!"
"Okay… But what were you gonna tell me?"
William took a deep breath. "It's something important." Then he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Like really important.
"I was just about to head out and train a little. Can it wait?"
"Yes, it can actually. Wait—no! It can't!"
"Why not?"
"Because it's about the Nine-Tails!"
William quickly covered his mouth as Naruto's brows knitted together.
This was too sensitive of a topic, especially since Arthur's betrayal had left them all shaken up. Naruto had taken it particularly hard since Arthur had also put Sasuke in the hospital, crippled Lee, and killed Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba.
"What about the Nine-Tails?" Naruto asked.
Taking a deep breath, William pressed on: "Remember that time you fought Mizuki? How he talked about the Nine-Tailed fox inside of you?"
"Yeah, I sure beat the crap outta him for what he did to Iruka-sensei."
"Well, ya see, that wasn't just a random coincidence."
"What are you saying?" Naruto frowned.
William closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts. Blurting out the truth, he quickly spoke, "Naruto… you're the reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki, whose father is Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, and there's a group known as the Akatsu—!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Naruto interrupted with disbelief clear on his face. "Hang on a minute. You're speaking way too fast, and this all sounds way too confusing!"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to throw that on you all at once. Let me back up a bit. Okay… Look, let's start with your parents."
"My parents?"
"Yes, your father's the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and your mother was the previous Jinchūriki for the Nine-Tails, Kushina Uzumaki."
"What the heck is a Jinchūrimi, and what the heck kind of joke is this?"
"I'm not joking," William explained in an earnest tone. "And it's Jinchūriki. Just listen, alright. The third Hokage had to keep this all a secret to ensure your safety. Minato, your dad, had a lot of enemies, and he wanted to protect you."
Naruto blinked rapidly while processing the influx of information. "You're serious…?"
"Yes.."
"You really think the third Hokage would keep something like that from me?"
"I'd never lie to you, cuz. Just look back on everything we've been through together."
Naruto's demeanour went from skepticism to hope. It was like a burning desire to uncover everything he could about himself.
So he asked, "But why would he keep it a secret? And what does the Nine-Tails have to do with this Asura Oatmeal guy?"
William pinched the bridge of his nose. Naruto couldn't be that stupid, could he?
After taking a relaxed breath, William found the right words to gauge Naruto's shifting emotions.
"Your past is complicated, okay? But hear me out. The Nine-Tails is a manifestation of your chakra that's tied to your lineage. Asura Ōtsutsuki was known for his strong will and the ability to balance chakra, which you inherited. All that fighting you did? That was the essence of Asura within you surfacing since you're his reincarnation."
"Okay, so if I'm this guy's reincarnation, could I use any of his cool jutsus?"
"Sort of. I mean, I think so." William honestly couldn't tell if Naruto was taking this seriously or not. "What it really means is you've got the potential to tap into it, but I think you have to come close to death or something."
"Eh! What the heck?!"
William's eyes widened in regret after saying that. "Ugh! It's not what you think!"
"Yeah right! I knew it! You're just pulling some messed-up prank on me!"
"What? No, I'm being serious!"
"Fat chance! Even if you were telling the truth, that's way too much. What if I can't handle it, or worse, what if my cousin's secretly trying to stop my dreams of becoming the Hokage because he's jealous?!"
When William heard that, he finally calmed himself down. How could he have forgotten? This wasn't fifteen-year-old Naruto; this was still part one Naruto, the same twelve-year-old boy that still had hopes and dreams like any other kid.
So William came closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulders.
"Hey, it's like you said: we're cousins, and I'd never steal your dreams. It's what you do with the truth that matters. And I promise, no matter what happens, you're not alone in this. But first, you need to understand where you came from."
Naruto gave a thoughtful expression. "Wow…" Then there was a shared moment to help him absorb everything. "Ya really mean everything?"
"Yeah…"
"Sure is a lot to take in then."
"I know. Use as much time as you need. I just wanted you to know the truth because you deserved that much after everything that's happened."