Chapter 11: The Secret Gets Out

Naruto woke up in his new king-sized bed and stretched out, trying to wake up. His body was sore and tired from the journey back home but he couldn't deny it felt good to be home again. He had slept in until lunch and was starving but he didn't care, it was more room for ramen anyway. He left the compound or well, home, and made his way to meet with his team.

They would be going over the mission today and more importantly having lunch. Asuma sensei mentioned he wanted to review their performance which was never good. Hopefully he didn't do the worst out of the three and wouldn't get chewed out. Seeing his teammates he greeted them. "Hey Shikamaru, Ino, do you know how long this is gonna to take? I haven't eaten in 2 days getting ready for the feast." His stomach growled like a wild animal to prove his point.

Asuma sighed "It shouldn't be long but it will take as long as it takes. It's important that you three understand what you did well on and what you need to improve on. I'm not trying to pick on any of you, but it will make you better to hear it." His three genin took their seats as he got started. "First off good work all three of you. You three survived a Jonin level fight, maybe not all unscathed but nevertheless I couldn't be prouder." They all beamed at the praise, well Shikamaru didn't but he was smirking. "Ino, while you didn't fight much you did exactly what we needed you to. Your warning gave us the heads up we needed. Try to be a little more aware of danger when possessing someone or something." Ino's face got red from being singled out.

"Shikamaru, throughout the mission you did very well, all I would say is have options when shadows aren't available to be used. Don't become dependent on them." Shikamaru nodded along, his mom had already given him that speech when he told her what happened, but at a much louder volume. His ears were still ringing.

"Naruto, you shocked me to say the least. It's obvious you have taken your training seriously even when you're not with me. You have amazing Chakra control for being so young and I can't wait to see how you progress. But you need more options, Ino and Shikamaru are specialists with their jutsu. Right now you aren't. If you can I would recommend learning either earth or water based jutsu so just like the others you aren't fully dependent on one style. But that is something I plan to work you three on when we get training again. Now let's eat."

Break

The team walked through town until Naruto saw a familiar face. "Hey guys look its Tenten." He waved at her. "Hey Tenten, is this your team?"

Tenten looked over at who called her name and saw Naruto waving at her. She hadn't seen him in weeks and rumor was they had been given a C rank mission. "Hey Naruto, this is my team. Meet Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga, and this is our sensei Might Gai."

Naruto looked at her teammates and was confused and annoyed. The guy named Neji was a Hyuga and possessed the Byakugan. The Hyuga were considered the second strongest in the village and they sure as hell acted like it. Bunch of pompous pricks if you asked him. The other two was what confused him. They both wore bright green spandex and if closer in age would pass as twins.

"Nice to meet you all, this is Ino and Shikamaru and our sensei Asuma."

Lee moved forward quickly. "HELLO, I am Rock Lee it is good to meet you." He Bowed deep and robotic like. "So you are the Wood style user Tenten has talked about, please fight me." Tenten's face blushed crimson as he straight up outer her like that.

"That's a great idea Lee, there is nothing light a fight between friends to spur on the flames of youth. Nice to see you again Asuma, would you also like to spur on the flames with me?" Gai asked.

"Maybe some other time Gai, we were just about to have a team lunch after our successful mission." Hopefully he could scare him away. One Gai was enough, but a second smaller and more energetic one was a nightmare.

"Ah a team meal, there is nothing that gets a team closer and more in sync with each other. We ourselves are about to eat as these three have completed their 50th D rank mission without fail. They have the flames of youth guiding them."

"That's good, have a great time." Asuma began trying to lead his three away, they were still a little green around the ears to be meeting the blue beast.

Naruto had a light bulb showing above his head. "Why don't we all eat together? Tenten still owes me a team lunch for helping her train." Tenten and Asuma cringed, he didn't know what he had just done. She had grown somewhat immune to their sensei's antics, but he didn't know the monster he unleashed. Mentioning her only put her in the firing line as well.

Gai's face lit up and Naruto could have sword he had a fire in his eyes. "Such a passionate request Naruto, we will gladly accompany you. Since you have already assisted Tenten with her training I insist we all train together as soon as possible." Gai was proud, perhaps there was another he could inspire and show the way of being a ninja.

A short walk to Ichiraku's, well a walk for most of them. Gai and his clone Lee had done it on their hands drawing a lot of attention. Thankfully they calmed down a bit after they sat down and weren't going to eat with their feet or something like that. Ino sat next to Tenten, as far away as she could from the two spandex wearing weirdos.

Asuma and Gai sat aside deciding to let their student meet each other and to catch up themselves. The six genin sat at a newly placed table. Ino sat with Tenten, the only other girl among them while Naruto was placed near Lee and across from Neji who still hadn't said a word. He reminded him of Sasuke but with a much greater air of smugness about him.

Ino and Tenten chatted away while Naruto dug into his mean with gusto until he realized he should probably interact with them rather than just stuff his face, no matter how good it was. "So Lee, what kind of jutsu do you use?"

Lee was about to answer but Neji decided to answer for him. "None. He can't use jutsu." He said methodically eating. Lee didn't seem the tiniest bit annoyed or put off.

"Like Neji says is true, I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu but I have trained hard with only taijutsu under Gai sensei." Passion in his eyes.

Naruto was dumbstruck, that didn't make any sense. "But how were you able to pass the academy then? You have to perform the clones jutsu in order to graduate right?"

Tenten chimed in. "Normally yes but Lee is a little abnormal. Gai sensei has trained him specially and with permission from the Hokage Lee was able to become a genin."

"Yes without Gai sensei I wouldn't be able to reach my dream, becoming a great ninja without ninjutsu." Flames seemingly dancing in his eyes.

"That's great Lee, I had to retake the exam 4 times until I passed. And even then, it was kinda like you. Since my clones are made from the Mokuton I was passed, barely." It seemed that like him Lee was another screw up.

"Then you are alike in that way, you are both failures and destined to be second place at best." Neji joined in again saying just the right words to royally piss Naruto off.

"What the hell do you mean?"

Neji sighed and put down his chopsticks obviously having lost his appetite. "You are both failures in some way. Fate determined Lee wouldn't be able to use any real jutsu and you are the real failure. Its an insult that the one to inherit the First's style would be you. Someone who would fail something as simple as a clone." He got up and left money for his meal on the table. "Destiny cannot be changed Naruto, Lee will always be held behind because of his inability. You will be held back because of how you act. Don't think I don't remember you. Skipping class and playing pranks like a child, you will drag the Senju reputation through the mud." With that, he left the table.

"Sorry about Neji, he can be kind of intense but he doesn't mean it, at least not all of it." Tenten tried to do some damage control, Neji's attitude meant that almost everyone disliked him.

"Why is he like that?" Ino was attracted to the bad boy aloof attitude but compared to Neji, Sasuke was like a ray of sunshine. There was mean and secretive and there was MEAN and being an asshole.

was like Naruto. There was mean and secretive and there was MEAN and being an asshole.

"We shouldn't really say." His team uncomfortably shifting in their seats. Gai saw the confrontation and decided to step in.

"I'm sorry for my students' words. He has seen how unfair the world can be and it has corrupted his passion. I would ask that you don't hold it against him for now. One day I'm sure he will change. Come Lee, we must raise our spirits, it's time to train."

"Hai Guy sensei" he jumped up "It was wonderful meeting you all." Bowing low again. He and Gai rushed out of the restaurant blowing up a cloud of dust as they raced through the streets.

"That was weird." Shikamaru said yawning and stretching.

"You get used to it after a while." Just another day for Tenten with two Tasmanian devils as a teammate and sensei. "But anyway, how was your mission? You all were gone for a really long time."

Ino started "It was hard but thanks to me we managed to get through it. After all they are just boys." She and Tenten laughed.

"If I remember Ino, Naruto had to carry you back bridal style, right?" Shikamaru teased. Ino and Naruto fought the blush that crept up their cheeks. It seemed they had forgotten about that. Although Naruto himself didn't do it he might've well have seeing at it was a literal clone of himself.

"Ooooo do tell." Tenten egged on.

"It-it was just a clone." Ino recovered flushing her face back to normal.

Break

After a filling mean Tenten left to go find the rest of her team saying "They cant be left alone for too long."

Asuma got his attention. "Naruto come with me, we need to talk with the Hokage." He said paying for his own meal.

"Did you get in trouble already? It hasn't even been a full day yet." Ino teased.

Naruto ignored her. "Whatever it was I didn't do it sensei." He held his hands up.

Asuma laughed. "It isn't that kind of talk Naruto, besides claiming innocence wouldn't work anyway. Lets head out. Ino, Shikamaru, don't plan anything tomorrow just in case." Things might be changing depending on how this talk went. He knew he couldn't force them to be team if it came to that. Hopefully it wouldn't though, he rather liked his team.

"Ah Naruto, Asuma, please take a seat. We have much to talk about today as well as some decisions to make."

"Sounds good Jiji, lay it on me."

"Naruto tell me, what do you know of the Uzumaki clan?"

Naruto sat for a second and thought, the Uzumaki weren't part of the founding clans of the Leaf neither did they settle like many others did after its founding. "Not much, I don't remember it being taught in school. I know my mother was a member but that's about it."

"Like you just said your mother was a member but there is much more that has been largely forgotten." Hiruzen stood up and looked out over the village. "The first Hokage's wife was a Uzumaki as well, the Senju and Uzumaki have a long history of cooperation dating back before the first great Ninja War. They were close allies before the Uzumaki clan was scattered.

"The Uzumaki were exceptionally skilled at sealing jutsu as it was their main selling point for the feudal lord. The greatest feat is considered to be the sealing of all the 9 tailed beasts. But it was because of those abilities that they were betrayed and now are reduced to only a few unknown surviving members."

Naruto sat on the edge of his seat, why hadn't he been taught this before?

"The children born from the Uzumaki clan are born with abnormally large Chakra pools, much like yourself, and the women are born with a rather unique bloodline ability. These trains make the women of the Uzumaki clan predisposed for a unique position. Mito and your mother were the previous Jinchuriki of the Kyubbi. They were the previous jailers of the 9 tails like you are now."

Naruto couldn't explain how he felt about knowing his mother carried the same burden he carried now. He felt closer to her even though he had never met her. He hoped she didn't have to go through the same things he did but he was proof she found someone who loved her and didn't care about the thing living inside him. "Why are you telling me this now? Why wasn't I told this years ago?"

"Shame for one reason. It was partly my fault they died and I will never forget that. The other reason was an attempt to keep you safe. Emotions for Jinchuriki are a fragile thing, they play a key part in containing the tailed beast and if I told you too young there was a chance the Kyubbi would be released. I wanted to wait until you were old enough to take the information but I was once again wrong on that part and for that I am sorry."

Hiruzen looked at his son and decided to pull the band aid off. "But the main reason I am bringing this up Naruto is what happened during your mission. Somehow you managed to tap into the 9 tails' Chakra and used it. We thought the seal was meant to contain the beast until you reached adulthood but it could be failing. I need to bring this to you so you know how important it is to attempt to control yourself. I know the reason you lost control is because you saw what looked like a fallen teammate but you must try. That Chakra, while powerful, is dangerous around others."

Naruto's face lost some of its color, did that really happen. Looking back now it was a blur due to the anger he felt. He remembered how strong he felt in that moment but he also remembered how bad it felt when he realized who he was hurting. If he did that to Ino or Shikamaru could he forgive himself? Then it hit him, his teammates. He never did tell them what he was holding prisoner inside him. Was that wrong of him, should he had told them so they could have backed out and kept a safe distance from him. No, he had to tell them so they could make that choice, taking that away from them wouldn't be fair.

"How am I supposed to tell Shikamaru and Ino? How do I casually mention, 'Oh by the way you know the massive monster that almost destroyed the village? Hess chilling right here by my belly button and I could accidentally kill you at any time'." Shikamaru had been one of his only friends and Ino had finally warmed up to him by not looking disgusted at the presence of him.

Asuma decided to help his student out. "Naruto, I know this isn't easy but you have a choice to make. You could keep this form them but trust me, they will eventually find out, or you could tell them yourself. It can wait but don't wait too long. I think you'll be surprised with how they react if you trust them with this."

He spent the rest of the day struggling with the information swimming in his head. Should he tell them or not? He got back home and fell down on his bed but sleep didn't come that night. His mind racing and not letting him get any rest. At 5AM he finally couldn't stand it and tried to train to take his mind off it. After an hour he couldn't take it anymore and decided he needed to talk with someone smart. So he headed to Shikamaru's house to talk to the smartest person he knew.

Break

Shikamaru was ballistic even if he wasn't showing it. His mom had barged into his room at this ungodly hour saying he had a guest. Who the hell in their right mind would come this early? He didn't bother changing into something nice and trudged his way to the door, wiping the crust that had formed on his eyes while asleep. "What?" he opened the door to see his teammate Naruto looking even more tired than he felt.

"Naruto, what are you doing here this early?" Naruto didn't wake up early unless he had to, and even then he was late.

"Hey Shikamaru, I need your help. Can we talk?" Naruto was acting odd, not like his normal cheery self so something was definitely wrong.

"Sure, but lets make it fast. Theres still some time to get some sleep. Come on follow me." Shikamaru led him out of his family compound to an old swing set they used to play at, both were silent during the walk.

They sat on the rusty swing for a few minutes, Shikamaru sat patiently waiting for his teammate to explain why he was here.

"Shikamaru, we're friends, right?" Naruto asked kicking his feet and looking down at them.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, he had a good idea what this was about and was happy that Naruto was finally opening up. "Yes Naruto, we're friends, does this have anything to do with a curtained tailed beast?"

Naruto choked "Wh-what are you talking about? Of course, not I mean I have no idea what your talking about." It was like he was reading his mind. Shikamaru's face sealed his defeat. He sighed in defeat "How did you know?"

Shikamaru leaned back. "I'm smart Naruto. You're acting odd and the event on the bridge just confirmed what I had thought. I've known for a while to be honest. My dad always hinted that something about you was off, like he knew something I didn't. I did some research and low and behold your birthday is the day of the attack. Combined with the fact no one wanted to be near you and even teachers told us to be careful around you it was easy to pick up the clues."

Naruto smiled, he should have known Shikamaru would have figured it out, hell he probably knew before he did. "So, what happens now? Will you request a transfer?" He asked.

Shikamaru opened an eye and sighed, kicking his feet to start swinging. "Na, it would be too much of a bother to do all that. Though if you keel waking me up this early I might." He said with a smile tugging at his lips. Getting a laugh from Naruto, it was odd to see him acting so out of character. Who cares if he was on a team with the 9 tails jailer. Worrying about it would only cause him more stress than it was worth.

"How am I going to tell Ino?" Naruto asked, Ino was the next step and the biggest problem now.

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his chin. "If I'm being honest, I have no clue. I've been around Ino all my life and I still can't figure her out. The academy brought out the worst in her and since then she has been an enigma. But she's changed, at least a little since we became a team. The only advice I have is good luck and be honest. With girls that's the best you can hope for."

Naruto started swinging with his friend in silence, everything that needed to be said had been. And so they swung for a few minutes until going their separate ways.

Sasuke had been on his morning run when he heard something that stopped him in his tracks. Naruto had the 9 tails in him. He could remember the stories his father and brother used to tell him about the night that nearly destroyed the leaf. He needed to get home, there was something he needed to read.