CHAPTER 13: Bulletin Doubts

When they finally arrived at their home, they went straight to bed. They were too exhausted to deal with anything at the moment and just wanted to escape from reality. Even if it was just for a little bit. Meanwhile, at the Hokage's office, Minato and Fugaku were summoned by the Hokage.

"Lord 3rd." Fugaku greeted monotonously while Minato went barging to the door afraid that he was late.

"You asked for me, Lord 3rd?" Minato said with a big smile.

"No need to be so respectful, Minato. You are going to be the next Hokage anyway. I have high hopes for you. Don't let me down."

"Yes. Lord 3rd." He then looked to his left to find Fugaku standing next to him.

"Oh! Hello Fugaku. Long time no see." he greeted. Fugaku simply responded with a 'Hn'. Minato was already used to it, so he just smiled at him. He then turned to Hiruzen and asked why they were called, and wondered if it was because they were needed in an important mission.

"No. Nothing like that."

"Oh," Minato responded as he sighed in relief. He wanted to spend some more time with Kushina and he didn't want to leave for another mission. He just came back last week, leaving again would make Kushina sad.

"However, I didn't call both of you over here just to have a chat," Hiruzen said with a serious look on his face.

Minato couldn't read it. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes, this old geezer could be very unpredictable.

"Three teens, two of the same age, one two years older came knocking on our doorstep wearing clothes from the Waning era, claiming that they were sent to bring a letter addressed to me," he said as he paused a bit. He was worried about the damage Sasuke's arrival might have brought to the Uchiha clan.

"Waning era?" Minato asked.

"Yes. Anyways, one of the teens' names was Naruto. He claimed to be an Uzumaki. The other's name was Sasuke." Fugaku was wondering why he had to listen to this, he could use this time to finish up his paperwork or train Itachi, but he soon changed his mind when he heard of the information regarding Sasuke.

"I suspect, Sasuke is an Uchiha."

"What makes you say that, 3rd?" Fugaku voiced with slight anger in his tone. He was angry about the accusation of some stranger being an Uchiha, but this made Minato curious about the arrivals of said teens. 'A stray Uchiha, Uzumaki, and someone else.' Minato thought. The appearance of these teens was indeed intriguing and questionable.

"Did you summon us to ask about our opinions?" Minato asked.

"Yes and no." Hiruzen said.

"Minato, the Uzumaki boy gave me this letter. The contents of it are shocking." He said with a firm voice. Minato took the letter and read it with widened eyes. He was stunned, shocked. The boy was his half-brother and distant cousin of Kushina.

He couldn't be happier to find out that he had a close relative. He didn't care if he was just a half-brother. He was just happy to find out that he was a big brother to someone! [A/N: To clear things up for you, Minato and Naruto according to the letter have the same mother but different fathers. Naruto's father according to the letter, is part of the Uzumaki clan which makes him a distant relative of Kushina. Minato and Kushina aren't related but since Naruto is a child of an Uzumaki they are somewhat related but only by law, not by blood.]

"I have a brother! Hiruzen! This, this is, this is amazing!" His voice was filled with joy, excitement, happiness. This was one of the best news that he has ever received in his life. "Yes, yes you do. I'm happy for you Minato, but right now we have more pressing matters...Sasuke." Hiruzen announced as he looked at Fugaku. Although angry, he calmed himself down because he was making a fool of himself.

He is the clan leader for Christ's sake, not some hotshot rookie who has never experienced war before.

"Yes."

"According to his story, his mother left him but made sure he had a note that had a word written in it, which is Uchiha. He also said that he took care of himself, no one took him in." Fugaku and Minato both listened attentively and there were lots of holes in the story.

One, how did he know it was his mother if he was never taken care of by any close relatives or been in an orphanage.

Two, how does he know how to read when he only took care of himself and only himself. Did he go to school? Doesn't sound like it, or was it self-taught? A prodigy? Scratch that.

"All three of the boys were orphans, abandoned by their families but took care of each other and bonded. They are brothers." Hiruzen continued. Hearing this, Minato felt a sting in his chest.

His half-brother had brothers he loved and cared about. He would never feel the same way he does for him as he does with his brothers.

Although not blood-related but their bond is what conquers it. Fugaku on the other hand saw another hole in the story. Uzushiogakure has also fallen, so for a letter to be directly sent from that place is also odd. Not only that, they were all abandoned.

It could have been a ploy that each of them planned to fool the Hokage into thinking it was true.

"How do you know if this is true?" Fugaku asked. "How do you know that Uzumaki boy is an Uzumaki, let alone his brother?"

"The letter and the orientation looked a lot like the lower branch Uzumaki families. No one can replicate that, because there is also a specific sealing technique for it."

"Does this letter look old to you?"

"No. It's not supposed to. It's only 12 years of age." Fugaku couldn't deny that, so he moved on to the suspected Uchiha.

"Ok, so did that Sasuke brat, show you the note? If he did, did it look old, wrinkled, dirty, smudged? If not, then it's fake. Did he show you his eyes? Did he possess the Sharingan?" He pestered and made all sorts of possibilities of him being an Uchiha a farce, which also brought to the possibility of Naruto being an Uzumaki and Minato's half-brother fake too.

"3rd, I have a suggestion. Naruto and I should do a blood test, to see if we are blood-related or not. If it's negative then Sasuke being an Uchiha is also fake." Minato said. Hiruzen laid back on his chair, smoking his pipe, and breathed it out.

He was already thinking of this, he already thought about all the possibilities, but he just wanted to let them know in the most dramatic way possible. The Hokage was bored and he wanted entertainment.

However, the reason for calling Fugaku was because he knew Fugaku was a bit more sympathetic and lenient on some things relating to his clan issues.

"Sure," Hiruzen said with a small smirk.