Chapter Seventy-Three: Dimensional Impact

Anko shifted slightly from side to side. Her eyes gradually opened as they slowly adjusted to the dim light in room. Her eyes hurt slightly from the feeling of the mixed low lighting and darkness making contact with her eyes. Her whole body ached temporarily before the pain died out as she moved to sit herself up. She looked around and found that she was no longer in that underground facility. Rather, she was laying on a comfortable bed in what she thought looked like a well-decorated bedroom. Though the lights were dimmed, she was still able to see well enough to know the furniture and rugs that were in the room.

She moved her right hand toward her head to massage the soreness she felt there. Soon she looked around and found that her clothes, trench coat and gear were lying on top of a chair nearby the small table in the room. Anko looked and found that she was dressed in a purple nightgown and that an IV needle was inserted into her left arm. It was more than obvious to her that she wasn't at the hospital; especially since the hospital staff didn't dress their patients in nightgowns.

"You're finally awake," a voice spoke from the side of the room. Anko turned to see Naruto, wearing his dark blue ninja pants, ankle bandage wrappings and white tank top, standing by the doorway looking at her. Anko looked at the younger male.

"…Where am I," Anko asked tiredly.

"My house," Naruto answered, "I brought you back here after the sealing procedure. You have a lovely body and figure Anko-chan but damn you're not light."

"…Ugh…Up yours," Anko shot back.

"How do you feel," Naruto asked. In reply, she said, "…Like hammered shit."

"Colorful words," Naruto remarked cynically.

"Ugh…," Anko groaned, "How long was I knocked out?"

"A couple of hours," Naruto said.

"A couple of hours," Anko asked incredulously.

"That's right," Naruto confirmed, "It's nighttime now. During the sealing process, you started screaming loudly as you went into a violent spasm forcing me to hold you down before you lost complete consciousness. All in all, the sealing process was a complete success though the experience was rather taxing on your body."

"Any side effects I should know of," Anko asked.

"Do you remember anything about yourself and who I am," Naruto asked.

"Don't ask me stupid questions Yondaime-gaki," Anko replied, "Or I'll use my snakes to violate you in the worst way."

"Yep," Naruto remarked dryly, "You're definitely the same psycho snake lady Anko-chan. But you're in no condition to have your twisted way to me; not like I'd actually let you use your snakes on me in that manner anyway."

"Says you Yondaime-gaki," Anko shot back, "You know I always have a way of catching you off your guard."

"…," Naruto remarked, "Whatever. In any case, while you were knocked out, I ran medical check ups on you and made sure that the sealing procedure didn't result in your suffering any physical injury or damage to your chakra coils."

"And how did that go?"

"Your chakra coils sustained minimum levels of strain but nothing serious," Naruto elaborated, "You'll be out of commission until-"

"Out of commission!?," Anko interjected.

"Doctor's order Anko-chan," Naruto said playfully wagging his finger at her like an adult scolding a child, "Like I said your chakra coils sustained some temporary levels of strain but nothing critical. And as a certified medic-nin I find you unfit to return to duty because of that handicap. The best thing for you to do now is rest and allow yourself to heal and gain your strength back."

Naruto would resort to using his rank to sway her if she wouldn't listen to reason. Thankfully, that never happened as Anko sighed, "…Fine. I'll comply Yondaime-gaki."

"That's what I like to hear," Naruto smiled. Anko stuck her tongue out at him.

"Since you're awake," Naruto suggested, "Let me run some examinations on you and determine when you can return to duty again."

It wasn't that Anko didn't like vacations, but the last two of days after Naruto vanished were rather slow and dull with nothing for Anko to do. She wanted some action and fun; hell even the one-sided spar with Hanabi provided Anko with some measures of entertainment.

Going to the bed, Naruto focused green chakra into his hands as Anko removed the bed sheet off her body. The blonde passed his glowing hands above and over her whole body. After fifteen minutes, Naruto was finally done. He removed the IV needle out of her arm and healed up the needle insertion that had been made in her arm.

"You'll be all better and back to full strength within another two days," Naruto assured.

"That's good to hear," Anko smiled in relief while sitting back up against the headrest of the bed. Turning to look at Naruto, the older woman asked, "So why did you bring me here and not the hospital?"

"To be honest," Naruto explained as he scratched the side of his head, "I didn't think you needed to go to the hospital. Plus I didn't want to fill out the paperwork for it. I knew where you live but I couldn't leave you unattended either. So I shunshin'd with your unconscious form back to my place where I cleaned and dressed you up before bringing you into this room to rest and recuperate."

"So you've been looking after me the whole time," Anko acknowledged.

"Only for a couple of hours," Naruto added and grinned, "As a medic-nin, I know how to personally care for my patient's…physical needs."

Anko couldn't help but laugh at that. She felt happier than she could ever remember. After over ten years, she was freed from the abomination her former sensei marked her with. She just felt like celebrating and go out screaming happily that she no longer had the cursed seal. In her excitement, she jumped onto Naruto, wrapping her arms around his neck. He was surprised as he managed to grab her thighs to prevent her from falling.

"Naruto-kun you have no idea how happy you made me," Anko smiled at him with a few tears coming down her face, "Thank you!"

Naruto couldn't help but smile back with Anko in his embrace. She really did look happy and the smile she gave him wasn't one of her typical twisted types nor was it the kind she used to intimidate others. This one showed genuine happiness and appreciation and in Naruto's opinion, it made Anko look beautiful, along with the fact that she was wearing only her nightgown and panties.

Anko knew she owed Naruto for this. From now on she didn't have to worry when or if her cursed seal would act up and give her trouble. When she went on missions now she could do so without the worry of the mark getting in the way. With the seal gone, she saw that she could start training harder now and without the cursed seal interfering. In time she could finally get to full Jounin rank she realized. After all Orochimaru's mark had a way of slowing her training down. Anko always had to be cautious because if she pushed herself too hard, the cursed seal would flare whenever she was weak and vulnerable and then it would try to push for more. Now she saw that could finally see what she was truly capable of without the seal interfering.

"I'm happy that I was able to help you Anko-chan," Naruto said, "It took quite a while but I'm happy that all of my hard work paid off in the end."

Anko moved her head off his shoulder as she grabbed his head and kissed him hotly. Naruto felt her tongue dancing with his as he felt heat rising in his body. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders again and pulled him closer to her, pressing her breasts into his chest. He knew he had to maintain control of himself while reminding himself what he had to care of later. To her disappointment, Naruto slowly pulled his lips away from hers as he partly pulled away from her.

"As much as I hate interrupting our little fun," Naruto said, "But I still have some things I have to take care of."

"…Fine," Anko pouted, "I take it that you'll be busy for the rest of the evening."

"Not exactly," Naruto admitted, "Kaa-chan and the others will be coming by in another hour. The girls and I will explain everything about our time in the other dimension in more details then."

"I'm sure it'll be an interesting story to hear."

"Much of it distasteful," Naruto replied, "But I'll be happy to get it off my chest."

"And then what," Anko asked.

"I'll make a request to kaa-chan," Naruto said, "There's something very important that I want her to do."

"And what would that be?"

"You'll find that out later."

"Leaving me in suspense," Anko snorted, "You're mean."

"It's something that I've been giving a lot of thought to, especially after my time in that other universe," Naruto explained, "It's something I strongly feel that must be done, regardless of the outcome."

"Quite a gamble you're taking," Anko remarked.

"Many things in life require taking chances while not being totally sure of the results," Naruto replied, "And I'm not afraid of taking chances."

"Speaking of chances," Anko said, "Any chance of having an opening in your schedule tomorrow?"

"I haven't planned anything yet for tomorrow," Naruto admitted, "So it's still open for now."

"That's great!," Anko cheered, "Because we have to celebrate my removal of the cursed seal!"

"You want to throw a party," Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I said nothing about throwing a party," Anko clarified, "But I like for us to celebrate this, just the two of us."

"Say what?"

"Back in that dark room you said you'd make it up to me and you said that it could be whatever I desired," Anko reminded the Elite Jounin. Naruto was now in deep thought as he now remembered what he said to her before he wrote the seal writings about her whole body.

"Yeah," Naruto recalled, "I did say that. And I'll have to keep my word and not go back on it."

"Like I'd let you," Anko grinned, "Don't worry. I'll have something specially planned for us tomorrow night."

"I'm sure," Naruto remarked, while wondering what she could be contemplating for tomorrow night. Anko smacked him across his shoulder.

"So did anything interesting happen while I was knocked out," Anko asked.

"Shizune-neechan, Ino-chan and Hina-chan went and examined that girl Tayuya," Naruto explained, "From what they explained to kaa-chan and I, that former Oto kunoichi lost most of her memories of her previously life though she surprisingly knows how to use vulgarity in the most colorful manner. Ino-chan after doing a mental evaluation found that Tayuya still has memories of her skills as a ninja, especially in genjutsu, but sad to say they were unsuccessful in retrieving any information leading to the possible location of Otogakure."

"That blows," Anko remarked, "Anything else?"

"Ryo-chan and Tema-chan will leave for Suna in a couple of days. Tema-chan is really looking forward to seeing her younger brothers and her former sensei again, along with the rest of Suna. That would just leave you alone with Hina-chan and Ino-chan to keep you company after the next couple of days."

"What do you mean," Anko asked, wondering where he was getting at.

"I'll be leaving Konoha for Iwa in a few days," Naruto said, "I have some business to settle with them."

"You got balls to be doing that," Anko replied, "You know how much they hate your father and you're going there personally."

"Me and a few others."

"Who are accompanying you as your entourage," Anko asked.

"Team 9, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba and Shino," Naruto said.

"Members from teams eight, nine and ten," Anko replied, "You don't plan on taking Jounins with you?"

"I know the inner workings of Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage Tower and Tsuchi No Kuni inside-out," Naruto said.

"You had Ryota explain them to you," Anko assumed.

"No," Naruto corrected, "Ino-chan and I did some mind probing on two Iwa Jounins while in that other world. I'm sure that there will some differences but nothing drastically major."

"And you believe your intended entourage is ready for this," Anko remarked.

"I'm confident that the ninjas I personally selected will make a good entourage for me," Narurto remarked, "Besides I never really got to work with them on any missions before so this should serve as a good experience for us."

"How long will you guys be gone?"

"For about a week or two depending on how things work out," Naruto shrugged.

"So you're expecting trouble," Anko figured.

"I'm not expecting I'm counting on it," Naruto made clear, "In any case, I'm sure you'd like to have something to eat, yes?"

"Food would be nice," Anko said, "So long it's not that hospital food garbage."

"Whatever," Naruto shrugged before he turned to make his way to the door.

"Naruto-kun," Anko called out to him with a softer tone, causing the Elite Jounin to turn to look back at her.

"Yes?"

Anko, while rubbing the spot on her left shoulder where the cursed seal used to be, replied, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Naruto smiled.

(An Hour Later)

It was now late at night and many couples in Konoha were out in the town either on dates or enjoying the nighttime walk around the village. Meanwhile, Hiruzen, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, Kakashi, and the girls were all assembled together in the living room in Naruto's mansion. Anko was dressed back in her clothes and sitting in the living room with the others.

After everyone was assembled, Naruto, Hinata, Temari and Ino went into great details explaining everything that happened to them while in U. Naruto's universe. The four of them were careful to leave out the parts of them sleeping together and doing other intimate activities. Despite this however, the others in the room sensed that there were parts of the story that was left out but they didn't bother to ask about it. Naruto was a bit emotional about what life for him had to be like as he explained in lengthy details everything that happened to his "little brother" while living in U. Konoha. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Hiruzen and the other older ninjas present were supportive and encouraged Naruto to continue.

It was a long while before the four of them were done. The group was left with mixed emotional feelings of amazement, happiness, shock, anger, sadness, and disappointment. They couldn't believe how one "mistake" Minato made in performing the Shiki Fuujin altered their time line to such an extreme level. And that was in complete contrast with U. Minato who executed the Shiki Fuujin properly.

The two Sannins felt disappointment and anger in their counterparts' failures in being there for U. Naruto all his life. Hiruzen was sadden and disappointed in his counterpart's failure in protecting U. Naruto the way he should have. He was surprised in how his counterpart died battling U. Orochimaru during the invasion of U. Konoha.

Anko was already aware of some of the things U. Naruto went through after N. Naruto told her about it back in the underground facility. But after hearing the entire story, she found that her experience with Orochimaru paled in comparison. Plus it gave her a better understand of how he and Ino knew what they knew about Iwa, the Tsuchikage Tower and Tsuchi No Kuni all together. Kakashi found it hard to believe that his tight brotherly bond with N. Naruto wouldn't have happened had it not been for his sensei's botch up of the sealing jutsu. Shizune didn't really know how to feel. It was clear that her alter ego was still an older sister figure to U. Naruto but they didn't have the same brother-sister relationship as she and Naruto had. Ryota was most surprised about how things for her in U. Naruto's were so different. She hoped the best for her counterpart after all the time she spent watching and protecting U. Naruto though she was originally sent to spy on him.

One of the hugest factors that surprised the group was when they explained how Naruto killed the Tsuchikage and with the girls' help, made it look like the work of the Akatsuki. The ingenuity of their plan was flawless and the group applauded its success.

Naruto then explained that he copied years' worth of essential segments of his knowledge, experience and wisdom as an S-class Elite Jounin and permanently infused it into U. Naruto's consciousness.

"That was a dangerous gamble you took Naruto," Hiruzen said, "There's no telling what side effects that stunt will trigger on the boy's mental development."

"I'm sure it can't be any worse than my little brother's mistreatment by the villagers and how the teachers at the academy did everything in their power to sabotage his development," Naruto retorted. Hiruzen gave no reply to Naruto's retort. It didn't go unnoticed how Naruto kept referring to U. Naruto as his little brother. It was very clear to everyone how much Naruto cared for his counterpart and how much he wanted to help him.

"I didn't want to leave that universe with nothing to give to my little brother," Naruto said, "And I was not going to let kaa-chan and ero-jisan's counterparts slide easily for their failures. I made sure to set in motion that they and the rest of the villagers would rue the day they failed and shamed my father and abused my little brother. We won't be there to see it happen, but it will soon, I'm sure of it."

"How do you know this," Jiraiya asked.

"I made your counterpart have an epiphany with a ghost from his past, someone who was like a son to him," Naruto said. Jiraiya didn't need to guess whom Naruto was referring to as he could only wonder how he pulled it off with Minato sealed inside him.

"And knowing Shikamaru," Naruto continued, "He's going to investigate my little brother's history and exposed the truth in one way or another, no matter how troublesome."

"That world was really messed up on so many levels," Ino added, "Seeing the way I turned out as a Sasuke fangirl in the universe made me nauseous. Ugh, I nearly barfed. I'm going to have to work on Sakura ridding herself of that."

"We practically had to give our respective counterparts some major pointers in developing and refining themselves to become more competent kunoichis," Hinata spoke up, "My other self had major issues with self-confidences and self-esteem. I'm happy she had been working on improving herself before our arrival to their world though."

"It's still amazing that my grandson from that dimension managed to pull off such an amazing feat in executing a jutsu of that nature and caliber," Hiruzen marveled, "I always believed that it would take an experienced seal master to pulled off such a jutsu. He would make quite the seal master with proper training."

"What that gaki did show that the newer and younger generation ninjas will accomplish feats beyond that of the older generation," Temari said, "But for his own good, Naruto-kun wiped out his memories of the seals used to summon us to his world."

"Among everything we heard," Ryota said, "I almost can't believe that in that world I was given the secret mission to spy and impregnate myself with Naruto-kun's baby."

"Almost," Anko teased, "So in other words, you would have gone through with screwing Yondaime-gaki for all he was worth if your former Kage had assigned you the mission to do so."

"Ah, he'd have loved it," Ryota remarked. Tsunade cleared her throat as she looked at the two females with a frown to get their attention back on focus. Hiruzen, Jiraiya and Kakashi were giggling at the perverted talk between the two females while Shizune looked the men and snorted. Hinata, Ino and Temari had to fight back a blush that appeared on their faces, but for their own reasons. Shizune and Tsunade assumed that it was because of Anko and Ryota's remarks to each other.

"Besides not wanting to leave my little brother with nothing," Naruto explained, "My infusing my knowledge into my little brother was the only key to returning us back home. Otherwise we'd have been stuck there for years perhaps. What Konohamaru summoned me for was no small favor as I already explained earlier. It'll take him time to train himself in the use of the gifts I gave him."

"Gifts," Shizune asked.

"I gave him some now sets of clothes and training gear," Naruto said, "That previous outfit of his had to go."

"How did you he look like in that world," Shizune asked. Naruto stood up from his recliner and formed a hand seal and performed a henge. When the smoke cleared, he was the exact replica of U. Naruto in his orange jump suit. Anko doubled over and cracked up. Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune sweat dropped at the sight.

"You can't be serious," Kakashi remarked in disbelief.

"You look at a little pip squeak," Ryota laughed.

"Your counterpart actually wears that atrocious bright orange jump suit," Jiraiya said incredulously.

"It was his means of getting attention," Naruto said as he returned back to normal and sat back down, "Like we explained, he was a kid starving for any attention he could get, even if it meant being chased after by angry villagers and shinobis for his pranks so long he was acknowledged."

"He had it really hard," Tsunade said with a maternal tone, "It's sad that my other self was never there for him all those years."

"Nothing personal Tsunade-sama," Ino explained, "From what I saw from Ryota's counterpart's memories, your counterpart was an unstable drunk and gambler with major emotional issues. What from I saw, she would have made a terrible mother to the other Naruto-kun."

"…I was no different back then years ago," Tsunade recalled.

"You're wrong," Hiruzen countered, "You were completely different Tsunade."

"How so," Tsunade asked, "You know how bitter I was after everything I've been through and lost after the Third Shinobi War."

"You were willing to return to Konoha while putting aside your personal problems and bitterness toward the village to care and raise Naruto as your own son," Hiruzen pointed out, "Even at the risk of your own life. You had a genuine maternal spirit and I knew I could entrust Naruto's upbringing and protection to you.

"Believe me I wouldn't have considered requesting your return for a moment if you were anything like your counterpart. But that wasn't the case, therefore there's no point in dwelling on that."

There was a short moment of silence amongst the group. That silence was soon broken.

"I won't lie to any of you," Naruto said somberly, "My little brother is among the major reasons why I didn't go and slaughter half of the village in retaliation the same night the girls and I were summoned to that world."

"Naruto you can't mean that," Hiruzen remarked.

"I do," Naruto replied, "But I realized that though I had my rights to be angry and disgusted with that version of Konoha, mass genocide of that magnitude wouldn't have made matters for my little brother any better, especially since he himself didn't do the job of killing them in becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy of becoming the Kyuubi they all said he was. He'd have despised me for it and I didn't want that."

"Hina-chan, Ino-chan and Tema-chan were very supportive in helping me through my ordeals. There's no telling what would have happened if they weren't there when they were."

"We're happy that they were there for you Naruto," Tsunade said, "Whatever it was they said to you I'm sure did the job in mending your pain."

The three girls lowered their heads slightly as a small smile appeared on their faces.

"It was nothing really," Temari said, "We did what we could to help and console him."

"Naruto-kun would have done the same for us," Ino added.

"We did what we could to heal him," Hinata said, "We love him and we didn't want to see him change for the worst."

"He's very lucky to have girls like you in his life," Kakashi said.

"I'm lucky to have all of you guys in this room in my life," Naruto remarked, "You all are my family and closest friends and I never want to take that for granted. I love you all with everything I am."

Jiraiya was about to say something but before he could utter a word…

"But during my time in that other reality Kyuubi was no help as he kept mocking me about how awful my life could have turned out in this world," Naruto added, "…I'm sorry to say this but…even now, a part of me still questions the integrity of the people of Konoha."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata started but was cut short when Naruto raised his hand to allow him to continued, "Don't get me wrong please. I do have a great love for the villagers and I would readily give my life to protect all those precious to me.

"As I grew and lived in Konoha, the people have come to love and accept me as the son of Yondaime and Godaime. They acknowledged me as Konoha's Second Flash and the Namikaze clan leader.

"However, having to live behind the walls of secrecy with the villagers being ignorant to the truth about Kyuubi's imprisonment within my being and seeing what life for my little brother had to be with the villagers knowing his secret from the beginning have thus caused my questioning of our people's integrity to form and remain, even now."

Tsunade and the rest in the living room didn't like where the conversation was going.

"What are you saying," Tsunade asked carefully, sensing where her son was getting at. Looking directly at Tsunade, Naruto said, "As your son and Namikaze clan leader, I request that you make a public announcement to the villagers of my status as the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi No Yoko!"

The room was now in an uproar.

"That's out of the question!," Tsunade yelled at Naruto as she stood up from the sofa with Jiraiya standing besides her trying to calm her down, "I will not grant that request!"

"You can and you will!," Naruto argued as he stood up to face her and Jiraiya.

"Do you have any idea what that could trigger from the populous?!," Jiraiya replied.

"We won't know until we see it for ourselves," Naruto countered, "I want to see their truth faces toward me and see where their integrity with me stands!"

"You'll be putting yourself in more danger than you're already accustomed to," Tsunade shot back, "Not to mention that the Akatsuki would put more of an effort to acquire you once it's confirmed that you are indeed a Jinchuuriki!"

"They will seek to acquire me regardless," Naruto argued, "The fact that I can summon foxes assures that! And if they come in full force and attack Konoha, killing many in the process, the villagers will definitely demand an explanation as to why they attacked the village! One way or another, the villagers will discover that I'm the carrier of Kyuubi and if they found out by another source other than from you both or myself, they would lose a great deal of trust and faith in your leadership and integrity!"

"We've been through this before Naruto," Jiraiya stated sternly, "I believe I told you before about the kind of life Jinchuurikis live."

"I know," Naruto said, "And I saw it through the eyes of my little brother, who lived the horrific life I was spared from. He's the mirror reflection of what my life could have been if my father didn't blunder the Shiki Fuujin. That one mistake, if I can even call it that, is the reason why my life didn't turn out the way it did like how it was for my counterpart.

"I want to see if they'll accept or reject me and see me as the Kyuubi itself and wish for my death!"

"Naruto," Tsunade argued but was cut off.

"Years ago jiisan while he was Hokage made a law decreeing that I'm within my rights to reveal my secret to whomever I choose and trust," Naruto interjected, "As I choose to have it declared to the entire village, explaining why my father chose me to be the vessel to imprison the Kyuubi."

"And if they don't accept you and see you as the latter," Kakashi asked, "Then what?"

"Then I'll have to prove to everyone who I am and what I'm not," Naruto said, "My little brother spend his entire life doing so despite the years of mistreatment he was forced to endure. Through that, not only did he begin to gain and receive true acknowledgment from the villagers but he also acquired an amazing strength from that experience, a strength that I found that I'm lacking completely."

"And what kind of strength could that be," Tsunade asked. Naruto took a moment to calm down and think clearly. After a minute he broke the silence.

"The mental and emotional strength gained when you have the support of the villagers who acknowledge and accept you not only as the Jinchuuriki," Naruto calmly explained, "But also as the human being that you are. That's the strength that I'm lacking and it's the same strength that Gaara too is working so hard to acquire from his people back in Suna. Gaara and I both want that same strength to make us stronger for our people."

Temari felt moved and touched by his words. She knew the kind of life her youngest brother was forced to live and how he had been making continuous effort to improve his image and relationship with his people and with Kankuro, Baki and her. Seeing Naruto seeking to empathize with Gaara on such a level while at the same time trying to improve himself touched her heart and only served to make her love Naruto even more. Hinata, Ino and Temari moved from the sofa and gathered around Naruto. Ryota and Anko soon followed in suit and stood with him.

"Naruto-kun," Temari said, "No matter what the outcome might turn out to be, we'll stick with you to the bitter end."

"And if the villagers have a problem with that," Anko added, "Then they'll be in for a rude awakening, Namikaze's Five's style!"

"Hopefully it won't come to that," Shizune spoke up, "But no matter what, we'll be there for you Naruto-kun. We would never abandon you, you know that."

"You have quite the heart wanting to go through with this," Jiraiya said, "I still say that this idea sounds downright ludicrous. Are you certain you want to go through with this?"

"More than anything," Naruto replied, "I won't back down from this."

"It's clear that this other Naruto has made a huge impact on you," Hiruzen stated, "In some ways you're trying to be like him and follow his example."

Naruto looked at the former Hokage and nodded in agreement.

"You're as stubborn as Minato," Tsunade said, "And just as hardheaded."

It was clear that Tsunade was being protective of her son and his well being. After all, no caring parent would want their child or children to be hated by the very people they dedicated their lives to protect and serve.

"I'm sure my father would have agreed with me," Naruto replied, "Yondaime saved Konoha from Kyuubi once. I've been doing it everyday since my birth and it's high time the people face the facts and accept it. Besides it's not like they can give me the same ill treatment like the people back in that other dimension gave my little brother. And I won't hesitate to put them in their places if whatever bitter feelings toward me develop and move them to step out of line with me.

"And should they have any fear of Kyuubi resurfacing, their fears could be put to rest since I possess the expertise of a true seal master. Therefore Kyuubi won't be freed from his prison."

Remembering that Minato was sealed into Naruto served to make the blond Sannin calm down. If there were a chance of the seal weakening, Minato would be right there to help fix the problem at a moment's notice. Tsunade saw the look in Naruto's eyes. She wanted to persuade him into reconsidering what he wanted her to do but she knew that if she were to use her authority as Hokage to overrule him he would resent her with a large strain on their relationship formed. Plus it was clear to the Slug Princess that Anko and the other girls were backing Naruto up.

Sighing, Tsunade consented with some reluctance, "…Very well. I'll grant your request and make the announcement in three days' time."

"Thank you kaa-chan," Naruto thanked.

"Making that speech won't be easy to say the least," Tsunade said, "…I need a drink and lots of it."

"I'm sure we can come up with an explanation to give to the populous," Hiruzen said, "Despite your worries, it would have a huge impact on the people if they were to hear from your own mouth how your son was made into a living sacrificed for their sakes by his own father. Whatever the reaction, we'll be there for Naruto. I'm sure there will be those that will continue to acknowledge him as Naruto and not the Kyuubi.

"What I'm concerned about also is Orochimaru's possible survival based on Naruto's explanation."

"Somehow I believe we'll find the answers in Orochimaru's book," Naruto said.

"His book," Hiruzen asked with a confused look.

"He had a book called "Blood Double" that was locked away in ANBU archives," Naruto explained, "I've been working on deciphering the coded writings for some time but I should be able to make a break through in time."

"Perhaps that young girl in the cryptography unit can be a real help to you," Tsunade suggested, "Shiho is her name. She's thirteen years old and has been training in that unit for some time."

"Shiho is it," Naruto contemplated, "I'll seek her out tomorrow then."

"What became of Leviathan," Kakashi asked.

"I was planning on disposing of him seeing that there wasn't anything further to find about Otogakure, Orochimaru and his possible hide outs," Naruto said.

"Orochimaru had a skill for deception and covering his tracks," Jiraiya spoke up.

"Which leads me to question what really happened when I last fought him," Naruto remarked.

"Where are you getting at," Ryota asked.

"Hear me out," Naruto theorized, "It's only a theory, but we were all there when I took out and killed Orochimaru. Though Ryo-chan and I were unconscious but all of you were there when jii-san personally decapitated Orochimaru's corpse before having that Sannin's body destroyed by the ANBU that were present there."

"What's this all leading to," Anko asked.

"What better way to make everyone believe you're dead than by having them witness what was believed to be your ultimate demise," Naruto stated, "Especially with a body to find that would promptly be destroyed rather than examined."

"It was Orochimaru we saw," Anko said.

"After he transformed into that white snake monster before turning into a pool of mud and sinking into the ground," Naruto said, "Orochimaru was back to his normal form rather quickly before returning back to the surface. That's the part that bothers me."

"I see where you're getting at with this," Hiruzen said, "I don't like it and in fact, I don't think any of us in this room does. But there are some measures of logic in your explanation."

"It's only a theory," Naruto replied, "But nothing can be proven until his book is deciphered and interpreted."

Turning to Hinata, Naruto requested, "Hina-chan, can you get your teammates Shino and Kiba to go with you and investigate the terrain where Orochimaru and I last fought? There may be some clues and remains that we and the ANBU might have overlooked."

"I'll do what I can," Hinata agreed. Looking at the former Hokage, Naruto asked, "Jii-san, what became of the scroll that possessed the secrets to the Hoka Sekai Kuchiyose?"

"I sealed it away," Hiruzen answered.

"Where," Naruto asked.

"You don't need to know," Hiruzen replied, "But trust that when I die, its secrets will die with me."

Looking underneath the underneath, Naruto read between the lines of Hiruzen's word to him. He had a good idea where Hiruzen sealed the scroll of the Hoka Sekai Kuchiyose.

Tsunade and the others stayed and talked for another hour and a half before they decided to retire for the night and return home. After all of his guests left for home, the girls showered and cleaned themselves up before turning in. Anko decided to stay over for the night in the same room Naruto placed her in earlier for her recuperation while Ryota retired to her own room for the night. Naruto, being the last to head to bed after getting cleaned up himself, returned to his master bedroom in his boxers with his towel around his shoulders. Entering his room, he found Hinata, Temari and Ino waiting for him on his king-sized bed. And as before, since their first night with him, they were wearing nothing but their panties.

"Ready for bed Naruto-kun," Hinata asked.

"Just about," Naruto said as he closed the door behind him.

(The Following Day)

Naruto made his way through the village and over to the cryptography unit as suggested by Tsunade. Entering the facility, he looked around and asked one of the workers for a young girl named Shiho. He was directed to the study room where she was currently doing some work in. He arrived at the study room and found a girl with light brown hair tied in a ponytail that reached down her back and wearing round glasses sitting at a desk reading a dark brown colored thick book from the unit's archive and taking notes from it. Clearing his throat, Naruto caught the girl's attention as she turned and looked into his direction.

"Shiho I presume," Naruto introduced. The girl looked at the older teen standing by the door and immediately recognized him. She nodded, "Yes, Namikaze Naruto-san."

"I was referred to you personally by my kaa-chan herself," Naruto explained, "The Hokage has faith in your ability to help me with a problem that I've been working on for some time."

"I'm happy she believes that," Shiho smiled as she stood from her seat to face him, "I'm still in training but I'll help in whatever way I can. So how can I be of service to you?"

Anko is finally freed from the cursed seal. Naruto is getting down to having Orochimaru's Blood Double book decoded and the public announcement of Naruto's status as the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi No Yoko is to take place in two days. What will Naruto and Shiho discover from the book once it's decrypted? Will Hinata and her team discover anything in the area Orochimaru and Naruto last fought? How will the villagers react to Tsunade's speech about what really happened to Kyuubi? Will the villagers accept Naruto or shun him? Find out next time.