Chapter 219: Chapter Nineteen: Fears in Reality
"So tell me Sarutobi, how does it feel to stare at the jinchuriki you threw away and be unable to take him back?" Onoki grinned as the man kept his face blank. Oh how it must've been burning the Hokage to look at Naruto yet be unable to do anything with or against him. Naruto's grinning face as he stood behind Onoki with his arms clasped behind his back was only adding fuel to the fire. "Regardless, you know what I want. Naruto is to claim his inheritance. Unless you can show me a legal reason why he shouldn't, you are going to hand it over today." The diminutive man ordered as Hiruzen finally frowned.
"And if there is no inheritance outside of a mansion?" He asked as Onoki shrugged.
"Then the boy can do what he wishes with his new vacation home. But I'm sure the home of the Kiroii Senko (Yellow Flash) must have something the boy will find of value. Like perhaps a hidden room or compartment only available to people who shared the mans' blood." Sarutobi kept up his simple frown but knew Onoki had a point. While the Hokage himself had the mans' will, and the one belonging to his wife, as well as a few scrolls it was obvious that wouldn't be everything. The Namikaze and Uzumaki accounts were locked up tight and had only grown via interest over the years. Plus knowing how good both Minato and Kushina were with seals, Onoki's suggestion was quite viable. "But you can drop the act, I happen to have first hand knowledge that you are holding onto the inheritance from a very honest source."
"And what source might this be?"
"Oh come on Hokage-sama, I already gave you the warning back in Nami didn't I?" Naruto cut in as the man remembered the words he had given to Kakashi a few weeks ago.
"The snake… Orochimaru then." Both Onoki and Naruto nodded as the man tried to think of why the snake would go to Iwa in the first place and failed to come up with anything. "Alright, I have it. However I'd like a few things first."
"You're not in a position to demand such things Sarutobi." Onoki warned as the man sighed.
"Humor me then. I want a blood test done to see if this really is Naruto or an imposter. I also would like to speak with the boy alone for a few minutes." Hiruzen told them as Onoki looked back to Naruto and he shrugged.
"A blood test is fine. We expected that much at the very least. As for your discussion request, I promise I'll stay silent. Talk now or not at all." Onoki replied as Sarutobi sighed again, guessing this was likely the best he was going to get. The man looked up as Naruto had apparently dropped his grin and donned a stoic mask that hid everything though the Kage was experienced enough to see a bit of nervousness and anger behind it.
"Naruto, what do you actually know of your parents? Whatever Iwa has told you is likely a biased lie. I know they-"
"Iwa hasn't told me anything about them other than the skill they were feared for and the love they held for this village." Naruto interrupted. "Everything I know about my parents comes from Kyuubi, so I'll admit, I know more about my mother than my father." Sarutobi was both relieved and worried at that answer and tried again.
"Then it's still a lie as the demon-"
"Has said nothing but the truth." Naruto interrupted once more. "Kyuubi freely admits he hates both my parents and for obvious reasons. However he also respected them enough that when I asked him about them he gave me the truth. How my mother loved ramen and was a pretty big tomboy in her youth before mellowing out after meeting my father. How he was nothing but an intelligent and loyal man that was completely devoted to his wife. How they both were so happy to learn she was pregnant with me. He even shared his memory of that night with me so I know their first, last and only words to me. My mother wanted me to find a girl kind of like her and to stay away from Jiraiya's perverted habits and to eat my veggies and do my best in school. My father just said to listen to my mother. I know a lot about my parents Hokage-sama, you don't need to tell me what they wanted or felt or were like." Naruto explained as Sarutobi hid the scowl at how he seemed to have such a decent relationship with his tenant. He was hoping to be able to sugar-coat his parents and then use them as an argument to make the boy defect to his birth village but apparently that plan was almost ruined already.
"Then you must know they would've wanted you to be a Shinobi of Konoha. To love and protect this village." The man stated as Naruto snorted and shook his head as his grin finally came back.
"And whose fault is it that I didn't grow up here to do so?" He pointed out as Sarutobi stayed silent. "I wasn't forced to be a Shinobi of Iwa. I chose this of my own free will. Tsuchikage-oji-sama and Kaa-chan merely raised me, they taught me how to act and then how to fight. But they never gave me any ideas about Konoha other than the truth; you beat them in the last two wars and most of Iwa hates this place. However they never told me to hate it. I was given facts about Konoha, not feelings. It was actually you that gave me those."
"What are you talking about?" Sarutobi asked as this was news to him and yet said nothing about what the boy felt about the village. Naruto shook his head with a chuckle.
"The letter that you wrote to the man that was supposed to receive me. They kept it and showed it to me when I was five, which is when they also explained my heritage and my status as a jinchuriki. I read that letter myself. The letter that said how the village save for a few wanted me dead because of Kyuubi. The letter that said I was never to be brought to Konoha. How I was to never learn about chakra or my heritage. The letter you wrote telling them all of it." Naruto explained as Sarutobi went wide eyed as he knew he couldn't even deny that as it was exactly what he remembered writing. "You are a Kage, you're word is law within your village and must be followed by all its inhabitants. And yet instead of doing the smart thing and telling the civilians off and raising me as the hero and weapon I am to Konoha, you send me away to never know who or what I was. You exiled me and tried to hide my birthright from me. You tell me Hokage-sama, what am I supposed to think about a village that hates babies, that hates their own heroes and that is perfectly fine with punishing a victim for a crime they never committed?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi sighed.
"You will never join Konoha of your own free will, and your hatred of it is already well founded." The man spoke wearily, as if feeling his age for the first time. Naruto shook his head.
"Now I never said that. I'll offer you a deal. You want me in Konoha as your Shinobi then fine. I'll ditch Iwa and join."
"Now listen here Naruto! I'm not about to let that happen!" Onoki roared as he spun around and glared at the boy. Naruto just shook his head.
"I wasn't finished oji-sama. I've got a couple conditions that need to be fulfilled and I doubt he'd ever do them."
"What are they?" Sarutobi asked, hiding the eagerness in his voice. If he could get Naruto willingly back then everything would be set and Konoha would be safer and stronger for it. Naruto grinned as he looked back to the Hokage while the Tsuchikage fumed in his seat but was letting the boy speak first.
"Well first off my heritage must be made public and I get my inheritance no questions asked."
"Simple enough." Sarutobi nodded.
"Second is that I be made an instant jonin. I'll do a test or two if you really want me to but I want to come in as a jonin. I'm way better than a genin and I'd rather skip the chunin crap if I can." Sarutobi paused to think it over before slowly nodding his head. That one was a little tougher but could be accomplished with a bit of work. As long as Naruto could back up the skill requirement then there'd actually be no problem at all. "Alright then, my last request." Here the boy paused and grinned. "You and every person that called for my death that day are to line up and be killed by my hand." Sarutobi's eyes went wide as Onoki gaped at the boy before laughing hysterically. "I don't hate the village, just some of the people in it. I'll willingly join and defend it like my parents wanted so long as I get to kill everyone in it who wronged me that day, meaning everyone that wanted me dead and you for exiling me instead of controlling your village like a real Kage would. I'll even sweeten the deal. I know that if I asked Hikari-chan she would ditch the village and her clan since she hates most of her family. You can get the Hanamaru heiress in addition to the Kyuubi jinchuriki. How about that?" Naruto taunted as Onoki was still laughing in his seat.
Everyone who called for his death that day? That was eighty percent of the village! And then him as well. Sarutobi couldn't do that. Despite his power and potential, one boy wasn't worth all of that. Even the full power of the Kyuubi itself wasn't worth that. If he did that then Konoha would get their great weapon back but would be forever crippled and demoted to minor village status because of it. Even throwing in the heiress of one of Iwa's stronger clans wasn't enough to justify his last condition.
"I… I can't Naruto."
"So you don't want both the Kyuubi jinchuriki and the Hanamaru heiress in your forces? Alright then. I'll just take my inheritance and go back to Iwa in that case." The boy mused as he shrugged his shoulders and Onoki brought his laughter under control.
"Oh Naruto… I almost thought I'd have to kill you." He mused before glancing at Sarutobi. "Tell you what Sarutobi, I'll fully allow that to happen if you really want the boy. Just fulfill his demands and Iwa will even sign an alliance treaty with Konoha so that we'll never fight again." He taunted as Sarutobi slumped in his seat.
"Naruto… don't you care… about following your parents wishes at all?" He asked as the boy shrugged.
"I get a good diet, I did great back at the Academy, I've found a really nice girl, but I'll admit while I never met Jiraiya I am somewhat perverted. I blame Hikari-chan for that though." The boy shot out before shaking his head. "For the most part I have followed my mother's wishes and my father just said listen to my mother." He pointed out before grinning. "Or are you talking about the unsaid wish that I become a strong protector of the village?" He asked before scowling. "I respect my parents, even love them for what they sacrificed for me. But I am not them. I am me, nobody else. I'll follow my own path with my own choices. I have no love or respect for this village after what you did to me on their behalf and I never will either. If you wanted to try using my parents against me Hokage-sama then you should've made sure I was raised here in the first place." He growled as Sarutobi sighed and spun around before moving the picture of Minato off the back wall and placing his hand where it was. With a small application of chakra a seal appeared and the man ran through some hand-signs before biting his thumb and swiping some blood over the seal and running through more. Once he finished he pushed more chakra into the seal and it vanished as there was a puff of smoke and two scrolls appeared in the mans' hand along with a key. Sarutobi spun back around and looked down at them items before reluctantly setting them on the desk as Naruto picked them up.
"There's nothing that will change your mind is there Naruto?" He asked as the boy pocketed the items.
"Not that comes to mind but if I think of something while I'm here I'll let you know." The boy quipped as he got back into position behind Onoki and the man sneered down at Sarutobi.
"I think that's everything we needed to deal with." Sarutobi sadly nodded so Onoki got out of his seat and started to leave as Naruto followed. "A pleasure talking with you Hokage-dono." The short man remarked as the two from Iwa left and Sarutobi completely collapsed in his seat, lost in his regret at ever wronging Naruto.
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"Of course the gaki would find a ramen shop." Deidara mused as he stood against a wall in the hotel room that had been rented for the Tsuchikage and his guards. Currently Akatsuchi was sitting on one bed while Kurotsuchi was sitting in a chair across from them explaining everything that happened so far. Kurai and Hikari were sitting on the second bed of the room adding things where they needed. The girl had just informed them about their encounter in the ramen stand with the genin where they learned that Naruto hadn't just been exiled but hidden from Konoha's history.
"Yeah, it's better than the one back home too and he's been trying to convince the owners to move to Iwa so he could get more." Hikari added with a slight grin as Deidara snorted.
"Yeah that sounds like the noodle addict un." He mused before looking at Kurotsuchi. "So Kuro-chan, how do you think the meeting with the Hokage is gonna go un? Do you think the man will just hand over the kids' inheritance or are we gonna have to force it?" He asked as the woman shrugged.
"Not sure. It could go either way right now. But I know the Hokage is going to try some ploy to get Naruto back."
"Not like Naru-kun would ever leave Iwa." Hikari adamantly declared as she nodded her head and Deidara shrugged his shoulders with a grin.
"Yeah, he'll be too busy fucking you to leave won't he un?" The man teased as she turned red but grinned.
"Maybe…" Deidara laughed as Kurotsuchi groaned. Unlike the woman who found their active relationship annoying the older blond found it hilarious. Akatsuchi just didn't seem to care and Onoki had yet to comment on it so nobody knew his opinion on the matter. "Anyways, when are they coming back?"
"Right now." Naruto chirped as he opened the door and Onoki walked in with him following. The waiting group turned to the man as Naruto grinned. "Oh man the Hokage's face was hilarious in there."
"Heh, Naruto made him an offer he had to refuse. It was rather entertaining." Onoki added before standing in front of his genin as Naruto took a seat next to Hikari. "Now in just a few minutes, Naruto will be taking us all to his new home where we will be staying for the rest of or time here." Onoki started as the boy grinned and pulled out a key to show them while the rest of the group nodded, most with grins of their own. "While we are there we shall all be scouring the place for anything of use or value. And then tomorrow we shall work on your training. I shall take Naruto and aid him in his wind element since I finally have the time to do so. Kurotsuchi, you will work with Hikari on whatever the two of you feel necessary and Kurai shall work with Deidara and Akatsuchi. Any questions?"
"My opponent in the finals is the Ichibi jinchuriki of Suna. Should I attempt to win or not as you informed us that he is a vital part of the plan Oto and Suna are attempting?" Kurai asked as Onoki blinked for a moment.
"Good question." He muttered before shaking his head. "Give it a shot but leave the container alive and functioning so that Orochimaru and Suna do not seek retribution. I haven't decided if we're taking part in that plan yet but either way it would be more beneficial if you leave him be. On a side note, who are the two of you facing?" He asked of the other genin.
"Some Aburame kid and Naru-kun is facing a wind user that happens to be the Kazekage's daughter and jinchuriki's older sister." Hikari answered. "If I win then I face the winner of Kurai's match and if Naru-kun wins then he'll face either a Hyuuga or some Oto guy that manipulates sound. Then the winners of those matches will go onto a final round three-way with the winner of this other match between the Uchiha kid and the winner of the last of the first round fights." The girl added so Onoki thought for a moment.
"Hikari, you are to win you're match in any way you wish. So long as you win I don't care if you kill or maim your opponent or allow him to walk away unharmed. However no matter if you face Kurai or the jinchuriki I want you to forfeit. You already know how you stack up against your teammate and all of your techniques will have to be on a fatal level to defeat a jinchuriki, which we don't want. Kurai, give it you're best but don't kill or cripple the jinchuriki in any way. Naruto, don't kill the Suna girl but go wild on everyone else. If everything goes well then Iwa will sweep the entire event, although I'll admit that I doubt Orochimaru would let it go on that long before starting his invasion plan." The man shook his head as he extremely doubted that the finals would be allowed to actually complete. The genin nodded at their orders as Onoki spoke back up. "So long as the three of you perform well in your matches you can all expect promotions upon our return home." Naruto and Hikari grinned as Kurai nodded.
"So now why don't we go check out my parent's old home?" Naruto offered as Onoki nodded since he wanted to go find the secret jutsus of both the Yondaime and the Uzumaki and Naruto wanted to see where he could have grown up.
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'Why is he accepted by her? Is he not like me, a monster despised by all?' Gaara thought as he sat on a rooftop looking over the village as people walked by down below and the occasional ninja leapt by him. Gaara ignored them all. The civilians were nothing more than ants for him to toy with should the feeling take hold while the ninja could not hurt him. His mother's sand defense would ensure that. And if he was attacked by anyone then he would merely kill them and move on. It was just how things worked. The second anything threatened his existence he would end it. All threats were to be destroyed, it's how his mother taught him.
But Gaara was hardly concerned with his mother's teachings or other humans right now. No, his thoughts were wrapped around one Namikaze Naruto. The blond that called him brother due to their shared jinchuriki status. Gaara couldn't get the images of him interacting with the Kunoichi on his team out of his head. It wasn't a perverted interest. Gaara had no care for either male or female, had no desires for the pleasures of the flesh. No, it was how she wasn't afraid of him. The boy's older teammate treated both his younger partners with indifference that Gaara had seen a couple times before and knew he had eliminated all emotional ties to the world in order to become a silent and stoic killing machine. But the girl on the other hand, she obviously had emotions. However she didn't act as if she was afraid of Naruto because of the monster within him. Rather she would frequently laugh and joke with him and otherwise show her affections for him, affections he would reciprocate with ease.
How? How was it that Gaara was hated and feared for his demon and yet Naruto could still find companionship and even what he could see to be love? Love from another? The very idea was alien to Gaara. He loved only himself and his mother within him. To love another was to invite pain and sorrow. He had learned that from loving his uncle only to be betrayed, to be attacked. So why? Why and how? How was Naruto accepted by her? Why was Naruto accepted by her?
"…Maybe you should ask him after the Exams are over." Temari's words rang out in his head as Gaara frowned. After the Exams was much too long a wait. He wanted his answers now. The boy looked down as he heard Naruto's voice and saw him walking with the Iwa contingent with his arm wrapped around Hikari. Gaara only thought about his options for a second before standing. Fuck waiting until after the Exams. The boy was going to get his answers now.
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"I'm telling you nii-san, this place has the best damn ramen I've ever tasted. Once you try it, you'll agree with me when I say we need to get the guy and his daughter in Iwa." Naruto told the blond as he shrugged with a grin.
"Whatever gaki, I don't really care about ramen too much and you know that un." Deidara retorted as Kurotsuchi and Onoki rolled their eyes, getting annoyed by the blonds' constant talk about ramen and nothing else. Akatsuchi just chuckled as Naruto huffed at how his 'brother' wasn't going to help him try to convince the stand owners to set up shop back in Iwa. However a swirl of sand made the group stop as Gaara appeared staring directly at Naruto. "Uh, who're you?" Deidara asked as Naruto grinned and stepped forward.
"What's up brother?" Naruto asked before spinning around to the rest of the group. "This guy's the jinchuriki from Suna that Kurai's gonna fight." He introduced for the three that didn't know before turning back to him. "You need something?" Gaara glanced at the group before looking to Hikari and then back at Naruto.
"I wish to speak with you about something that confuses me." Naruto blinked but then shrugged.
"Well alright, just come along with us, we can talk on the way." Naruto offered as Gaara tentatively nodded his agreement. "Great! We were just goin' to go get some stuff of mine here in Konoha." That puzzled Gaara slightly but wasn't what he really cared about so he ignored it and instead focused on what he came for while Hikari came back up to Naruto's side as he wrapped his arm around her again. "So what do ya need brother?"
"I wish to know why she accepts you."
"Huh?" Both Hikari and Naruto parroted as Gaara noticed that while the others weren't taking part in the conversation they were listening.
"Why does she accept you? Why are you not like me?"
"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific there brother." Naruto told him so Gaara went over his thoughts before speaking.
"You are a jinchuriki like me yet instead of fear, she treats you with affection. Your other teammate is indifferent and your sensei and the jonin with you are not afraid of you. In Suna only the Kazekage does not fear me. However every man, woman and child, both civilian and Shinobi of any rank all fear me for my demon. Why is it that they do not? Why is it that the girl even seems to love you?" Gaara explained and asked as Naruto glanced at Hikari before looking back to Gaara.
"You… you have a rough life back in Suna don't you?" Gaara was silent but he didn't need to answer for Naruto to know. "Back in Iwa, around half the population hates me because of my heritage and looks. The other half seems to accept me because of what I plan on doing. Very few people back home actually hate me. I'll admit, jinchuriki aren't very well liked back in Iwa but they aren't openly hated either. As for why Hikari-chan accepts me and loves me, well that's for her to answer and not me." The blond told him as Gaara turned his gaze to the girl so she shrugged.
"He's handsome, he's kind, he's funny, and he's loyal to the people that accept him. He's also very strong and the sadistic attitude towards his enemies is sexy in my opinion. Plus he saved my life twice even at the risk of his own so I couldn't help but fall for him." The girl admitted as Gaara stared at her in confusion.
"Why were you never afraid of him?"
"Because there wasn't anything to really be afraid of. Before I met him I just heard a few stories about him from my clan that said he was vile and evil and needed to die, but they're all assholes that live in the past so I ignored that and decided I'd make my own opinion about Naruto if I ever met him. We ended up being placed in the same class in the Academy so I watched him a little in class but I never saw anything to hate or fear. His seal was made by one of the very best so we never had to worry about his demon taking over to attack us all, plus if you listen to Naruto then it likely wouldn't bother to anyways as long as Iwa didn't try to lock it right back up. He never really seemed like any kind of monster or anything so I just never saw a reason to hate or fear him. And once I got to know him I started falling for him and things just went from there." She explained as Gaara turned away and looked at the ground as they walked and Naruto chimed back in.
"What did you do back in Suna with all the people that would make them hate or fear you?" He asked as Gaara shook his head.
"Nothing. At first." He admitted. "The people have always hated and feared me for the Shukaku. And then when my training was not progressing to a level my father approved of he deemed me a failure as a weapon and sent assassins to kill me. I fought back, making the people fear me even more as I began to kill every threat to my existence. They first feared me for my demon, then they feared me for my power. Only one person ever showed me kindness and was not afraid. However it was later revealed to be a ruse in the hopes of killing me. It was after his betrayal that I came to the belief that I am to love only myself. To fight for only myself. It's only this way that someone can be truly strong." Gaara told them before facing Naruto. "When you introduced yourself as a jinchuriki I was expecting someone like me. You are anything but."
"Hehe, yeah I'm one of a kind aren't I?" Naruto mused with a chuckle as he thought over what Gaara had just said. "Well why not try finding someone that doesn't fear you and getting close to them? There's nothing wrong with being on your own if that's what you want, but why not give it a shot? I mean, what've you got to lose?" Naruto offered as Gaara looked ahead.
"There is nobody in Suna that is unafraid of me." He stated as Naruto shrugged.
"Then try someone outside of Suna. As long as you don't try killing them or anything then I'm sure you can find someone who could come to like you for who you are. And then you go from there. If you find you don't like having someone, then get rid of them and go back to being alone. If on the other hand you find that you do like having someone, then go and find some more friends. Whether they're just guys to go do stuff with or a girl to have fun and spend your life with, go do whatever makes you happy brother." Naruto offered before looking up and grinning. "Anyways, we're here, so we'll have to talk more later if you still want to brother. Later." Naruto offered with a wave as Hikari gave the boy a small grin. The blond then thought of something and looked back. "And look me up if you ever go to Iwa alright?" He called out as Gaara paused for a second before nodding and walking away.
He had gotten his answers and more. While it was foreign to him, he'd give his… brother's… idea a try. After all, like he pointed out; what did he have to lose?
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"So this was where my parents lived…" Naruto mused as he entered the house, the rest of the Iwa group behind him. Onoki took a look around before grunting and walking off as Akatsuchi followed him silently. Kurai was silent before he walked off himself as Hikari wrapped Naruto in her arms from the side and rest her head against his shoulder.
"You alright?" She asked. Kurotsuchi and Deidara were looking at the young blond as well as he shook his head and gave a slight smile.
"I'm cool… it's just a lot to take in. If things were different, I would've grown up here." He mused before looking around. "I could've grown up here, never met any of you or anything. Who knows, I might've fallen for some Konoha girl and then if I ever met any of you, we would've tried killing each other since we'd have been enemies." He thought out loud before closing his eyes. "It's just all those what ifs, ya know? I never really thought about them before since I grew up in Iwa and all but being here, for the first time… It really drives home the point how different everything may have been if I had been kept here instead of being shipped off for Dei-nii-san to pass by me by luck." Naruto stopped to think before Hikari leaned up and kissed him making him open his eyes to look at her.
"Well all those what ifs don't matter. You're a part of Iwa, the adopted member of the Tsuchikage's family even and you're a Shinobi for the village your parents fought against." She told him before smiling and kissing him again. "And your with me and I'll never let you go." The blond smiled as he twisted in her grip to wrap his own arms around her and rested his head on her own as he was still slightly taller than her by a couple inches. "We're the ones that love you now Naru-kun, and that's all that matters." The blond hugged her tighter before freeing himself from her grasp and looking around.
"Well I guess I better take a look around huh?"
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Onoki grinned as he walked into the study. In front of him was a large room with a desk towards the back and a large chair. Behind them was a bookshelf that took up the whole wall and was filled with various scrolls and books. The short Kage walked up and reached for the bookshelf but suddenly leapt back as his hand was shocked. "Ow!"
"Tsuchikage-sama, are you okay?" Akatsuchi asked as he came into the room behind him. Onoki shook his hand a few times before rubbing his back as the short jump had irritated it and that was irritating him more than the shock to his hand had.
"I'll be fine. Just a small barrier." The man told his guard before walking forward again, this time slower so he could get a closer look. He stopped when he felt his hair begin to stand on end and took a step back. "Right there…" He muttered before looking around. There had to be seals of some kind set up somewhere to make the barrier, it was the standard rule. If someone wasn't on hand to hold the jutsu then it would fade automatically given enough time. For a barrier to still be standing without one meant that there were powerful seals nearby feeding it the chakra it needed to stay active. Onoki grimaced when he failed to find anything. "Feh… looks like the bastard placed the seals in someplace out of sight."
"Does that mean we can't get the Senko's jutsu?" Akatsuchi asked as Onoki hopped into the chair at the desk.
"Not entirely. Naruto should be allowed past the barrier and if not then we'll break the place apart to get at those scrolls and books. And anything else of value here. This place and all it's contents now belong to Iwa."
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"Hey Naruto-kun, over here!" Kurotsuchi called out as the boy exited a guest room. The blond looked over to see her and Deidara standing by another door down the hall as he glanced at his lover next to him before walking towards his mother and brother figures. "We found the master bedroom." She told him before stepping aside so that he could see. The boy walked in to see that it was a large room with a king sized bed against the center of the wall furthest from the door. To his right was a large dresser and a door that was slightly open to reveal it led to a private bathroom while to his left was a closet that was slightly open and showed a few hanging clothes, a couple being the white cloak his father was known to have started wearing after being named Yondaime Hokage.
"This is where they slept…" He muttered as he walked over to the dresser and looked at the pictures on top of it. All of them were of Minato or Kushina in some way. One was of the man as a genin with his teammates and sensei before another was in the future with him as the sensei behind his three students. One of his mother spending time with a woman with long dark hair and eyes wearing the Uchiha crest and another had her grinning as she held up a bowl of ramen as Minato was next to her looking sheepish as he ate his own bowl. However the one picture that got his attention was of his mother sitting down rubbing her growing stomach as his father was standing behind her with one arm wrapped around her as the other was placed over hers on her stomach. The blond picked it up and slipped it out of the frame to turn it over and see a note reading 'Six months in! Naruto's almost here!'. The blond smiled as he turned the picture back over and stared at it while Hikari came and stood beside him.
"They look happy…" He muttered as she nodded. "You know, the only pictures I've ever seen are the ones Iwa has in their Bingo Books so they just look like serious profile pictures. You don't get much from those but this? You can just feel the love they had for each other from it."
"And for you." Hikari added as she looked over the other pictures. "You know, your mom was really beautiful. And your dad was a handsome man himself."
"Yeah…" The blond mused as he set the picture down and took a seat on the bed. Hikari smiled as she took a seat next to him.
"You know, they made a pretty good looking kid if I do say so myself." Naruto grinned as she pushed him back on the bed. "And to think, you're all mine." She grinned as she hopped on top of him and leaned down over him to kiss the blond.
"Really Hikari-chan? In the master bedroom? Right now?" He teased as she kept he grin up.
"Just think, the last time this bed was used, you were made." The boy paused before actually shivering.
"Ya know, that's kind of a mood killer actually. Sex in the same bed I was likely conceived on? No thanks." The boy mused as Hikari laughed and got off him. However when he tried to get up she grabbed him and pulled him down on top of her and then wrapped her legs around him to lock him in place.
"Aw come on Naruto…" She whined playfully. "Just think of how much of a waste it would be to ignore the bed. It's very comfy." She teased him as he grinned and kissed her. "You know, most people think it's kind of a turn on to have sex in their parents room." She whispered in his ear as he tilted his head and licked her earlobe.
"Yeah but like I said to my brother on the way here, I'm one of a kind." The girl shivered against him before he stood up, bringing her with since she had her legs wrapped around him. She laughed and giggled before she wrapped her arms around his neck as well. "If you really have to have your way then maybe later. But right now, I have more to see." The blond told her as he wrapped his arms around her to hold her up. She just giggled before lowering her head onto his shoulder while he walked out. Kurotsuchi muttering under her breath as they walked past while Deidara was grinning.
"Ya know, Hikari is really insatiable isn't she un?"
"Not now Deidara…"
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Kurai exited the house out the back door to come out to a large flat area with a few training dummies set up all over. In addition to the dummies were a few of the famed Hirashin kunai stabbed into various points on the ground. The teen was silent as he walked over to one of the kunai and pulled it out of the ground and held it up. Like the pictures in Iwa's history books, the kunai was three-pronged and the handle was longer with an indecipherable seal formula engraved onto it. The boy flipped it in his hands a couple times before taking a few experimental swings with the special knife. 'So this is the weapon that allowed Naruto's father to become the feared god he was.' He thought before stabbing the blade back into the ground where he grabbed it and walking over to one of the dummies. While it was worn the wooden dummy was still in usable condition. Kurai flexed his hand before punching it and cracking the wood. There was a small glow before the cracks repaired themselves. 'Self-repairing seals…' He mused before spinning around as Naruto walked out with Hikari holding onto him.
"Okay, down girl." He joked before dropping her on the dirt. She grunted from landing on her butt and pouted at him but he just grinned and stuck his tongue out before walking around. "So they had a good training ground for a backyard. Nice." He mused before stopping to pick up a kunai like Kurai had. "Ya know, if everything goes well I'm gonna be learning this jutsu." He thought out loud before flipping the kunai and tossing it at Hikari's feet. "And if you can, the two of you will too."
"You're willing to share your father's prized jutsu with us?" Hikari asked and Naruto shrugged.
"Oji-sama was planning on trying to make an entire force of 'flash ninja' so why wouldn't I offer it to my teammates first? Then, all three of us can just warp through missions and be feared as the greatest Shinobi team in history." The boy explained as Hikari grinned and Kurai nodded.
"I thank you Naruto. If I am able I will use the technique proudly." Naruto just shrugged with a grin as it didn't really matter to him. The blond then looked to one of the training dummies before whipping out his blade and dashing at it, chopping the dummy in half as he passed it by.
"Don't worry about it Kurai." He replied as he turned around and saw the dummy glowing and being remade in front of him. The blond whistled before walking back towards the house. "Sweet! My new toys can fix themselves." He chirped as Hikari had stood up by this point and as looking over the Hirashin kunai Naruto had tossed at her. "You two coming?" He called back as Kurai shook his head and Hikari shrugged but started to follow while still looking over the weapon.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
"You what?!" Danzo shouted as Sarutobi shared the meeting results with the three he called his advisors. "You gave them over without any sort of struggle?!" He roared as Sarutobi sighed.
"If you had been in this chair you would've been forced to do the same thing!" Sarutobi shouted back. "I spoke with Naruto himself and tried to reason with him but he shot down and countered every attempt I made with my own actions against him. And then when he offered to join, he made demands Konoha could not give."
"What did the boy want in return for willingly joining the village?" Homura asked as Hiruzen calmed down.
"To have his heritage revealed, be made an instant jonin and-"
"Those are well within our ability, why didn't you take the offer Saru?" Koharu asked as Sarutobi shook his head.
"I wasn't finished." She apologized as he sighed. "His last condition was that I and every single person who called for his death that day were to gather together so that he could kill us by his own hands for wronging him."
"Preposterous, that's most of Konoha!" Homura shouted as Danzo narrowed his eye. "If you were to give into that not only would we lose you Sarutobi but at least eighty percent of the village. The boy is needed yes, but not to that extreme!"
"He even offered to convince the Hanamaru heiress to defect with him and Onoki was willing to sign a peace treaty with Konoha if I agreed with his demands." Sarutobi added as Koharu shook her head.
"Those wouldn't make up for the losses we would take for submitting to his demands. And there was nothing else that could be done?" The man shook his head as Danzo growled.
"You have ruined us Sarutobi! We may have never seen eye-to-eye on many subjects but even you must see how much you have cost this great village today.." The man shot out as Sarutobi said nothing. What could he say? I'm sorry? Well it was too late for that. He couldn't change his old decision of sending the boy out or none of this would've happened in the first place. And he couldn't stop Onoki and Naruto from claiming the boy's inheritance because legally there was nothing to stop them from doing so. If he tried then he would've been making Konoha out to be a greedy and back stabbing village in the eyes of the public. One may wonder how the public would get wind of it but Sarutobi was no fool and knew that Onoki and Naruto themselves would've spread the story while going to the daimyo to force it.
"I know Danzo and you're right…" The man quietly admitted getting the old war hawk to go silent. "After the Exams I plan on going through the potential candidates and stepping down. I will remain as an advisor to the next Hokage but I can see now that I haven't been able to make the right decisions for Konoha since Minato died and this incident is simply the last of them." He admitted leaving the other three in silent shock. He was going to step down? "However that is not the issue right now. Instead, the issue is Naruto and what Onoki will do now that he has access to his inheritance. They've yet to touch the actual monetary accounts but I suspect that it's only a matter of time before they empty them. Danzo, your original plan was to assassinate Onoki and his group to kidnap Naruto and bring him back correct?" The man asked as Danzo shook himself from his shock and nodded.
"That's correct Sarutobi, however we lack the manpower to do so." The old Kage looked at his advisors, the closest people he could call friends after these long years as a Shinobi. They've drifted apart over time and lost the friendship they had shared in their youth but had remained in contact through these meetings for the good of Konoha. It was times like this that Sarutobi would wonder what had broken them apart in the first place.
"Then I will go on the mission personally." He announced as Koharu gasped.
"But Saru-"
"No Koharu, you will not stop me from doing so. I am sorry for what I have done and am even more remorseful for what I am about to order but it must be done for the good of Konoha. After the Chunin Exams are over and I choose a successor, I will lead a team to assault the Tsuchikage and his entourage with a secondary order to capture Naruto Namikaze alive. From there the boy will be forced to conceive a child with one of our own and the Kyuubi is to be torn from him and placed into the newborn the day it is born. All of the Uzumaki and Namikaze assets will be handed to the child under the next Hokage's protection" Sarutobi ordered as a single tear ran down his face. 'Minato, Kushina… Naruto… I'm sorry.'
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone