69 Finale: Speaking the Truth

It was a perfect day.

There was not a cloud in the sky. Sunbeams shined through the forest canopy above and a cool breeze brought in the pleasing scent of flowers. Beneath one of the towering trees in the shade was laid one brightly colored blanket. On this blanket a spread of dishes that was adequately prepared; rice balls, sushi, dumplings, and more.

"Wow, Naruto," Sakura said, eyeing the spread appreciatively. "You really went all out!"

"Yeah," Naruto said with a grin. "I mean, thanks. Putting it together was kind of hard, but I had clones."

Sakura laughed. "I think my parents would kill for shadow clones. Did you taste any of it?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered. "At first I wanted to just bring everything because I followed directions and so it should've been good, but I wanted to be extra sure."

"So you ended up bringing everything then?" Sakura asked, beaming.

Naruto laughed sheepishly for a moment before answering. "No. There were a couple of things I just couldn't get right so I had to leave 'em at home. The dumplings took me four tries."

"Four tries? Really?" Sakura blinked with a curious frown. "What kind of dumplings are they?"

"Bean paste," Naruto grinned.

Sakura gasped in delight and grabbed one. "My favorite!"

She bit into one and hummed happily. Naruto grabbed a bowl of ramen cooked and heated and started slurping down noodles.

"You knew that bean paste was my favorite, huh?" Sakura asked with a coy smile as she looked at him from the side of her eyes.

"Yup," Naruto replied, gorging another mouthful.

"How?" Sakura asked, reaching for another.

"I heard you mention it to some of the other girls at the Akimichi's second party," Naruto explained, stirring his ramen as Sakura bit happily into her dumpling. "You know, I didn't realize that making noodles was so hard."

"Did you get Ichiraku's the help you make it?" Sakura asked

"Yeah, I've worked there after hours sometimes to pay when I accidentally went over my ramen funds," Naruto replied, slurping another mouthful of noodles. When he swallowed, he continued. "It got way, way easier to keep up when Daisuke taught me shadow clones."

"How did he know you could handle spending that much chakra?" Sakura asked with curious look.

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged. "But since my chakra's limitless, I use them a lot."

"I wish I had limitless chakra," Sakura said.

"It's awesome," Naruto nodded. "So graduation's in a week. You nervous?"

"Yes," Sakura breathed out. "Really, really nervous. You?"

"Eh, no," Naruto shook his head. "The exams not really that bad, the only reason I didn't pass was because I couldn't do clones and Iruka-sensei helped me patch that hole up a long time ago."

"You know, I always wondered," Sakura began, finishing the dumpling in her hand and grabbing a bowl for rice. "Why did you take the exam early? Twice?"

"Oh, uh," Naruto gave a half-hearted laugh. "I hated the Academy and wanted to get out."

"Was it really that bad?" Sakura said.

"I just…I don't know," Naruto shrugged. "I was just mad that no matter how hard I tried, nothing I did was ever good enough, you know? I always got the sense that the instructors didn't like me and were trying to keep me down. You know, there was the one time when my textbook got stolen and none of them wanted to find who did it."

"Oh wow," Sakura said, utterly floored. "I'm…really sorry. Did you ever ask Daisuke for help?"

"Not until the fish," Naruto answered.

"Why not?" Sakura said.

"Well," Naruto sighed. "I was too proud. I mean, he was amazing at everything he tried, except talking to people and I…struggled. With a lot. I didn't want him to think less of me. Then the fish thing happened and I learned that an ego could get you killed and we started training together. The rest is history."

"Yeah," Sakura shook her head at the memory. "That almost feels like a lifetime ago when my biggest worry was being prettier than Ino, getting Sasuke's attention and making sure my grades were high."

"So, what's making you nervous about the exam?" Naruto asked, grabbing a bowl of rice for himself.

"I just don't know what to expect," Sakura replied with a shrug. "It's just the unknown."

"Eh, it's pretty simple," Naruto started. "First you take a written exam, which I usually passed so you'll have no problem."

"Wait, you did pass the written exam?" Sakura asked with a surprised look.

Naruto held two of his fingers really close together. "Barely. I don't think I'll have trouble with it now, though."

"Well, obviously. Sorry, I didn't mean to say you were dumb," Sakura explained quickly with a light blush. "You're not and you've gotten way smarter since we started training together."

"Don't worry about it," Naruto brushed it off with a grin. "You're smarts rubbed off on me."

"Thanks," Sakura said.

"As I was saying, after that is the practical exam," Naruto explained. "You just need to be able to hit the proctor to pass the Taijutsu and do the Academy Three. The reason I always failed was, again, because I couldn't do Bunshin. That was it."

"And now that's not a problem," Sakura said with a nod, scooping a little bit of rice into her mouth.

"Yup!" Naruto grinned.

"That's awesome," Sakura said with a bright expression. "Do you think we'll be a team together?"

"I hope so," Naruto said. "Being on a team with you would be awesome."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you, I'd say the same about you. Who'd our third member be?"

"Ideally?" Naruto asked. "Sasuke."

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, really," Naruto nodded. "I used to hate him for how good he is, but at the end of the day, he is good. You want someone like that watching your back."

"That's…very mature of you, Naruto," Sakura said. "I'd like that too, if only because he's our friend and most constant training partner. We already know how to work together."

"Bingo," Naruto nodded.

Then they were both treated to the odd sight of a paper airplane flying through the air and landing right in front of them. On the wing was written 'Naruto'.

He picked it up and unfolded it. "It's from Daisuke!"

"What does it say?" Sakura asked.

"He…wants me to meet him the night of graduation," Naruto said, blinking owlishly. "At that old gardening shed? Huh."

"What old gardening shed?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Oh, it's a place just outside the main walls that I'd hide out after I pranked someone," Naruto replied with a shrug. "Said he had something important to tell me and that I should come alone."

"…are you sure that's Daisuke?" Sakura asked with a concerned frown.

"It's his handwriting," Naruto replied. "But yeah, it is kind of weird he'd ask for a secret meeting. That's…not something he usually does."

"I wonder what he's got to tell you," Sakura said.

"Me too," Naruto explained. "I guess I'll find out later. Now where'd I put that elixir?"

"Hello Naruto," Hinata said, walking under the flaps that divided Ichiraku Ramen from the rest of the village.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto replied with a happy smile.

The sun was starting to set over the horizon.

"Hinata-chan," Ayami said with a small bow. "What can I get you?"

"Oh, I'm still deciding," Hinata said, taking a seat beside Naruto. "So, Naruto. How was your…"

She stopped for a second to take a breath, trying to hold her smile. "H-how was your date?"

"It was great," Naruto beamed. "Thanks for asking. By they way, do you know if Daisuke's come in the village at all today?"

"I haven't seen him," Hinata replied with a small frown. "I thought he was still on his vacation?"

"He sent me a letter earlier is all," Naruto replied with a shrug. "He wanted me to meet him graduation night, said he had something important to tell me."

Ayame blinked. "Are you sure it came from Daisuke?"

"It's his handwriting. Came by paper airplane," Naruto replied with a shrug. "You think maybe I should bring someone in case it's not him?"

"I think that would be wise," Hinata said with a nod. "Tell the Hokage, let him know and see what he says."

"Yeah," Ayame nodded rapidly. "Because, while I could be wrong, Daisuke sending a letter to tell you to meet him in a secret place to tell you 'something important' doesn't sound like Daisuke. He'd just come to you and tell you in front of anyone."

"Maybe it's just him understanding secrets now?" Naruto asked, shrugging and finishing bowl. "But I think you're right. I'll tell the old man, see what he thinks."

A week later, Naruto stood in the forest. He let out a nervous breath, again adjusting his new headband. The sun had long since set and the cool breeze turned into a chilling one.

"Now remember," The Hokage began. "If it's Daisuke, just talk to him like normal. If it's not, we'll get you to a safe spot. Alright?"

"Right, okay," Naruto nodded quickly.

Behind the Hokage were several members of ANBU, Kakashi-sensei and Anko, all geared up and ready for a fight. Naruto was more or less sure that it was actually Daisuke, but there was that underlying tension that if it wasn't…what happened?

"Hokage-sama," One of the patrolling ANBU appeared beside them. "We caught several non-combatants entering the mission area."

"Who?" The Hokage asked with squinting eyes. Then the group walked up and he massaged his eyes with his fingers. "Of course."

Then walking up to the two was Sakura, Hinata and Sasuke who looked unconcerned but active Sharingan told everyone he was on high alert, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji who were all looking like they were questioning whether coming here was a good idea and Hisako and Nichiren who both looked ready for anything.

"What are you all doing here?" Naruto asked, his eyes bugging out.

"We wanted to make sure you were okay," Sakura said quickly. "We didn't know that this got turned into a mission, though."

"And if Daisuke's involved, we need to make sure he's okay," Hisako added as well, brushing her ponytail off her shoulder. "Who knows what kind of trouble he's gotten into while he's been away."

"Hokage-sama," Another Anbu showed up. "Shimoda-Daisuke's been spotted walking toward the shed."

The Hokage sighed. "Alright, you can stay. Just stay out of sight and don't make a peep. You understand?"

The group gave their quiet assent.

"Positions," The Hokage ordered. "Naruto, you know what to do."

"Thanks, old man," Naruto replied, letting out a breath and nodding rapidly.

With that, everyone hid. The Hokage and Anbu simply vanished from sight while the Chunin and Rookies made a mad dash for the bushes.

Naruto walked around the shed and waited.

Then, coming out from the woods, was Daisuke. He wasn't wearing his usual blue armor, instead opting for a black trench coat, the gloves and boots plated with some kind of…bone? His eyes quickly scanned the tree-line, then he let out a sigh. Slowly, he looked up with a smile. "Naruto…it's so good to see you."

"Daisuke," Naruto said, before charging in for a hug.

They embraced and parted and Daisuke looked up at the headband now adorning his forehead. "You graduated. That's awesome, I knew you could do it."

"Thanks," Naruto said with a smile. "So…what's up? You said you had something to tell me."

"Yeah," Daisuke replied, stomping one foot on the ground. Naruto felt a wave of chakra pass his feet like he just stepped into a shallow river. It subsided just as quickly. Then he started making hand seals, fast enough that Naruto didn't even see them before they were done. Then he felt another wave of chakra explode out of him, feeling like a gentle breeze across his face. "There. Alright, maybe you'd like to sit down, it might be a doozy."

"I don't know," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. "I think I'd like to stand."

"Well, I'm going to sit down," Daisuke said, sitting down with his legs crossed. "Standings not uncomfortable, but I like sitting down when I'm doing things. You understand, right?"

"I guess?" Naruto replied with a frown. "Seriously, what's this about?"

"Well, a…long, long while ago, I came across some information. Important information. About you," Daisuke started to explain, before taking in a deep breath. "I didn't tell you beforehand because, honestly, I didn't want too. Call it laziness, call it being unsure if it was my place, whatever it was. But I realize now that that was a grave mistake and that I should've told you because of our friendship. I'm very sorry. I didn't tell you before, so let me tell you now."

"Okay," Naruto said with a concerned frown, slowly sitting down.

"You know what happened on the day of your birth," Daisuke began. "How the Kyuubi attacked the village and the Fourth Hokage defeated it."

"Yeah, who doesn't know that?" Naruto asked with a frown. "What does this have to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that," Daisuke explained. "The Fourth Hokage defeated the Kyuubi by creating a Jinchūriki. Are you familiar with that term?"

"A…demon container?" Naruto asked, blinking in confusion.

"That's right," Daisuke said with a kind smile. "The tailed beasts, all Nine of them, are currently sealed in people. These people, as a result of having these beasts sealed inside them have incredible power. The Fourth, needing to pick someone for this incredible responsibility, turned to the one person he could trust."

"And who was that?" Naruto asked, for once in his life completely and totally still.

"See, the previous person to be the Jinchūriki for the Kyuubi was his wife," Daisuke explained. "I don't know how it got free, but it got free on the night that she gave birth to the Hokage's only son."

"Okay," Naruto breathed.

"So, when the fox got free and he was pressed for time, the Fourth Hokage picked his only son to bear the responsibility of being the container for it. Him, her, if the Fox has a gender," Daisuke continued, taking a breath. "The name of his wife, who he married in secret, was Uzumaki Kushina. You see where I'm going with this?"

Naruto stopped for a second. The he busted out laughing. "Come on, Daisuke. Be serious. There's no way any of this can be true. You can't seriously believe this!"

"Oh, it can," Daisuke replied with a disappointed sigh. "And I can prove it."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto said with a raised eyebrow and a frown. "Prove it."

"Alright. On your stomach is a seal that your father drew on your stomach to hold the beast," Daisuke explained. "It's only visible when you're focusing chakra, in case you were wondering why you haven't seen it before."

"That's a load of crap," Naruto replied with a nervous tone on his voice. "Come on."

"Hey, they proof is right there," Daisuke explained with a gesture. "You don't have anything to lose by checking, do you?"

Where's the old man? Naruto thought to himself, not chancing a look behind him. He'd be able to tell if this is true, right? Has Daisuke just gone crazy?

Daisuke fell quiet, resting his hands in his lap and waiting.

There's no way, Naruto continued to think. But…he's right. I don't have anything to lose by checking. Maybe if I show him there's nothing there, he'll drop it and he can get to the real reason he's here.

With that thought in his mind, Naruto slowly stood up and lifted his shirt. Daisuke's face remained impassive as Naruto hooked the bunched-up cloth in his chin and struck a hand sealm funneling chakra through his body. Not one second after doing this, tattoo that Naruto had never seen before, a large, black swirl appeared on his stomach.

"Huh, that's…interesting," Daisuke said with a surprised look, examining the seal before Naruto shoved his shirt down to cover his stomach. "Anyway, that was the best put together, elegantly written seal that I've ever seen. Your father was a genius at seal craft."

"I don't believe it," Naruto breathed out.

"Believe it," Daisuke affirmed. "Why do you think that the matron never let you out during the festival celebrating the defeat of the Kyuubi? Why do you think the teachers at the Academy always gave you such a hard time for no reason? How do you explain that rampage you went on in the sewers after I got impaled with a trident where the Angler's knew well enough to run away from you?"

"Why didn't the Old Man tell me?" Naruto said quietly. "Why?"

"I presume that he didn't want to make you a target because you blabbed to the wrong person," Daisuke shrugged. "I can see his point, but here you're perfectly capable of keeping a secret and so you should know. Especially since there's a cabal of S-rank missing nin out for your blood."

"Wh-what?" Naruto balked. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a group of S-rank missing nin called the Akatsuki," Daisuke replied with a frown. "They're scouring the land, looking for all the Jinchuriki. For what, I don't know. But given their membership includes Uchiha Itachi, the one responsible for the Uchiha clan massacre if you didn't already know, it can't be good."

"Sasuke's brother," Naruto said.

"So, he told you," Daisuke stated with a nod. "Good. I was wondering if it would ever come out."

"Yeah, he…told me," Naruto replied. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you need to know," Daisuke replied with a shrug. "You need to understand what's waiting for you, personally, as you stand to enter the world of Shinobi. You need information to make informed decisions, if not intelligent ones."

Naruto fell quiet. "The Fourth Hokage is my Dad."

"He needed the one person he could trust for the job of being both the Kyuubi's prison and his warden," Daisuke explained with a nod. "As far as I'm concerned, he picked the right person for the job. If the village knew what was good for it, it'd treat you like a hero and a prince instead of shunning you. Alas, people are stupid. But we've both known that for a while."

Naruto nodded with a frown then gestured out to the woods. "So why drag me out of the village to tell me? Why here? Why not back in the village?"

"Because both of these secrets, the identity of your parents and your status as Jinchūriki, are S class secrets," Daisuke responded, causing Naruto to blanch. Dispassionately, he continued. "In telling you these things, I've been marked for death."

"Are you crazy?" Naruto shouted, his voice having gone up an octave.

"Probably," Daisuke nodded, looking completely unconcerned.

"Why tell me?" Naruto asked, still shouting. "Why put yourself in this position?"

"Because it was the right thing to do," Daisuke responded. "And because…how do I put this? I needed to draw a line in the sand."

"Draw a line in the sand?" Naruto asked incredulously. "What does that mean?"

"That is something you'll find out later," Daisuke responded. "Anyway, I suppose I should unfreeze our eavesdroppers."

"Unfreeze?" Naruto asked, turning around at sound of several people hitting the ground.

"Unfreeze," Daisuke replied with a nod. "So, why bring the entourage? Did you not trust me or did the Hokage get paranoid?"

"I wasn't really sure it was you who sent the letter," Naruto admitted. "We wanted to make sure it was actually you and that something didn't happen."

"Ah, I got you," Daisuke replied with a smile. "That makes sense. Thanks for being worried."

The Hokage immediately appeared in the clearing, carefully concealing rage and disbelief under a mask of cool indifference. "Shimoda."

"Sarutobi," Daisuke replied cooling, causing the Hokage's rage to be further kindled by being disrespected. "Before I leave today, I'll do you this last kindness, if only for the village that I'm leaving. On my vacation, I've been to every single Hidden Village. All of them. You know what I found?"

"What did you find, Shimoda?" The Hokage asked as both Anko and Kakashi arrived to flank him.

Daisuke opened his mouth to respond, only for an Anbu to appear at Sarutobi's side to whisper something to him. The Hokage's gaze briefly and frantically analyzed the canopy behind Daisuke, causing him to smirk. "So I went ahead and looked into the histories of the Great Shinobi wars. All of them. Everywhere. And what I found is that these conflicts were being engineered."

"They were being engineered," The Hokage repeated. "How?"

"Oh, it's a few small things," Daisuke shrugged. "Records of battles Konoha had with Iwa that Iwa had no knowledge of, and vice versa. You know the Broken Steel defensive operation? Iwa has no clue that ever happened."

Sarutobi blinked as the Chunin and Academy students came out from behind the shed. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Daisuke replied with a nod. "But I think the most interesting thing I've ever seen was the Mizukage being Genjutsu'd by an Akatsuki to keep the civil war going and tear down his own country. I was really, really surprised."

"You killed the Akatsuki member, I presume," Sarutobi replied with a raised eyebrow.

"See, that's the thing. I killed him, but then he came back," Daisuke replied with a worried chuckle. "Scariest thing I've ever seen. Can't wait to fight him again. But anyway, take that knowledge and do whatever you want with it. I'm done. I'm leaving. Goodbye."

"Daisuke," Hisako piped up, tears running down her cheeks. "Please don't do that."

"Oh, it's done," Daisuke replied neutrally. "I knowingly and willingly, shared two S-class secrets with not one, but eight unauthorized persons. If Sarutobi has any respect for the law, I'm now a dead man in the eyes of the village. If he doesn't, then that confirms that the laws of the village are only selectively enforced."

"How do you mean?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, let's go back to a few years in the past, shall we?" Daisuke started with a glare. "Our esteemed Hokage here, infiltrates the sewers and finds Orochimaru's lab. He finds that psychopath right in the middle of dissecting some poor abductee for his bloodline."

"Shimoda don't you dare," The Hokage snapped.

"You know what he does?" Daisuke continued, heedless of the objection.

"Shimoda!"

"Guess what he does."

"Daisuke!"

Daisuke opened his mouth once again, only for the Hokage to surge forward, palm forward. In response, Daisuke grabbed him by the forearm, and twisted, his feet sliding on the ground. He brought the Hokage down onto the ground, his boot resting on his back. "He lets him go."

With a grunt, Daisuke kicked the Hokage away, sending him sliding away on the grass. "Compared with that rather large breech of ethics in the name of Nepotism, you'd think my minor transgressions would be forgiven, right?"

Anko's face had started to go red, her fists shaking with rage.

"I couldn't do it," The Hokage said, starting to sound pleading. "I was frozen. I couldn't move my legs. He was my student."

"Since when did being mentally or emotionally or even physically be unable to do something stop you from punishing someone you thought was out of line, right?" Daisuke asked with venom in his voice. "I mean, I saved all the major clans heirs for the small price of being completely separated from everyone with no hope of ever getting back to them. I didn't know where they were and I didn't have a map. But it was apparently still my fault for getting separated with no hope of rescue, so I get pulled from the one thing that brought me closer to fixing my issues."

"You were reckless and near suicidal," Sarutobi spat, standing up.

"True, but it's not like I had much choice in that scenario, huh?" Daisuke responded with a glare. "But I guess the only crime I was being sentenced for was not curling into a ball and dying."

"Daisuke stop," Naruto shouted, but was gone unheeded by the two.

"You're nothing but a child," Sarutobi barked back harshly. "An idiotic, undisciplined child who got far too much power far too quickly."

Daisuke had no response for this, settling only for a dead gaze at the Hokage.

"That all this is, isn't it?" The Hokage continued, still glaring. "Telling Naruto thing's he was not ready to hear, dragging my greatest shame out into the open for scorn, abandoning the village that made you what you are. It's just a temper tantrum. A tantrum being thrown by a child because he can't accept the consequences of his actions."

Daisuke's fists clenched and were shaking.

"What else can we expect from someone that can't learn from their actions," The Hokage continued. "Because he is a child with no knowledge of the consequence for any of his actions, because they never truly affect him."

Daisuke had no response but to dig into his coat and withdraw two things. The first was what looked like Daisuke's custom-made weapon, capable of dispensing instant death at range; the top of it glowed a soft, blue light. In Daisuke's other hand was a helmet which he slid on. Then it became clear that this helmet was made from some kind of skull. Out of the helmet, came a harsh, venomous whisper. "I am not a child."

Then he raised the weapon, and chaos broke loose.

"Darkness."

Naruto only had time to look up briefly to see that the canopy above was lined with clones of Daisuke before the entire forest was plunged into darkness. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face. But he could see Daisuke's weapon glowing blue with each burst of chakra it sent out.

All around him, he heard the sound of bodies dropping to the ground just over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

This was all wrong.

His world has been upside down. Was Daisuke telling the truth? Hiruzen sure acted like he was. Gone was the calm, happy grandfather that he had grown up knowing, stripped away by the sheer force of Daisuke's personality as he accused him of negligence and nepotism.

Naruto hit the ground, shielding his head with his hands as he desperately looked around.

Then, as suddenly as the fighting started, it stopped. The darkness lifted and the clearing was filled with the bodies of ANBU.

"They're still alive," Daisuke replied, still standing with his helmet on. "Just knocked them out. It's more than they deserve. I'm sorry Naruto."

"Don't go, Daisuke," Naruto pleaded, slowly standing up, noting at Hisako and Nichiren were both among the unconscious ANBU. "Please…we can work this out."

"I just attacked the Hokage, ANBU and my own teammates," He said, sounding just a little sad. "No. We're not making this work for a very, very long time."

Then he slumped forward. At the sound, Naruto turned and saw that Ino had collapsed.

"Okay!" Ino said in Daisuke's body. "I've got control. Now we can hold him until things settle down and we can talk this through."

"Good thinking, Ino," Shikamaru said with a relieved smile. "Now we just need to wake up the Hokage."

"Uh…wait, something's fighting me," Ino replied, looking down at Daisuke's hands.

Perception Check Success: 7/2.

"It's a seal," Ino said, surprised. "He's built a seal specifically to fight my clan's technique. That is scary."

"Can you hold him?" Sasuke asked immediately.

"I-" Ino began.

Chakra Control Check Failed: 35/90.

"No."

Then Ino woke up with a gasp for air and Daisuke was standing up straight. "Alright, I'm impressed. That was good. Really, really good. But don't do that again."

"You're a traitor, Daisuke," Sasuke said with a cool glare. "The Hokage might've made some bad decisions, but this is the village you're leaving."

"I am," Daisuke nodded. "But I'm a traitor with a clean conscience."

He leaped up to the trees above in the blink of an eye. "Good bye everyone. I hope we can meet again in better circumstances."

Then he was gone.

Naruto couldn't move his legs. He couldn't stand, he could barely breathe.

His oldest and best friend, his brother in all but blood, had left the village. Turned traitor. Turned nuke-nin. Naruto honestly felt like some large part of him had just suddenly died because for some reason he now felt hollow. Gone was his trademark energy

"Naruto," Sakura came up beside him. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Then she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'll get him back," Naruto swore quietly. "I will get him back. I promise."