Chapter Twenty-Five: Reminisce

(Three Days Later)

Naruto (age 13) was presently by himself at one of the training grounds away from the village. He was practicing all of the snake fighting styles and jutsus Anko taught to him along with his own fighting styles. Later he summoned thirty clones and started fighting with them fiercely as though he was in actual combat. His clones being as versed in his fighting styles made them more of a challenge.

After a long and rather brute sparing battle with the clones and puffing all of them out of existence, Naruto decided to take a break and catch his breath. While sitting down at one of the trees for shade, Naruto thought back to what happened after the sealing repair was completed…

(Three Days Ago; At The Hokage Tower)

Naruto, Sandaime, and the three Suna Siblings were on their way back upstairs to the Hokage office. While walking there silently, Naruto converse with Yondaime.

'The sealing was a great success Naruto,' Yondaime said, 'I'm proud and impressed by your accomplishments.'

Thanks, Naruto replied, But I couldn't have accomplished the entire process through if it weren't for both yours and jiisan's help. Doing the actual work of applying that new seal on top of Gaara's defected one was more of a challenge than I gave it credit for. I knew it would be long and complicated, but I didn't expect for it be longer than I counted on.

'Not everything in life is as we expect them to be,' Yondaime replied, 'Just like your use with Shunshin. The way you use that jutsu, one would assume that it was my Hiraishin.'

I know, Naruto agreed, But it's not. When I use that jutsu to teleport with Gaara to that location far and deep in the forest last night, I was able to do so because I was teleporting from one jutsu marker I placed in that forest to another and to another and to another. Months earlier, I placed those jutsu markers in a path form some distances from each other through the forest which allowed me to speedily teleport from marker to marker until I reached my destination.

'A clever substitute for the Hiraishin,' Yondaime noted.

But still not as powerful or as fast, Naruto replied, As you already know, Shunshin is only a D-rank jutsu that only allows me to travel at shorter distances than the Hiraishin, which is an S-rank jutsu that would allow me to move over far larger distances with ultra-super speed, far faster than Shunshin.

'Well Hiraishin is a jutsu of my creation which I will teach you in due time,' Yondaime said, 'And speaking of jutsus, how are those two new prototype fuuton and medic jutsus you've been working on in secret for the past year coming along?'

I'm still working on perfecting them, Naruto replied, Months earlier, all of my previous tests and experimentations on that new medic jutsu have failed and I haven't gotten the new seals I'm creating quite right yet.

'…,' Yondaime continued to listen.

However, Naruto continued, After mastering that learning and experience absorption jutsu jiisan taught me few months ago with kage bushin, combining that with healing chakra will make a breakthrough in the medic field for sure! As for my new fuuton jutsu, it's nearly perfected but I still have to practice it with my wind affinity.

'You remind me of myself back in my days when I spent all that time trying to create and master the Rasengan,' Yondaime said, 'After much hard work I finally did it and I'm sure you will as well with that new medic and fuuton jutsus you're creating.'

Thanks, Naruto replied before ending his conversation with his father as he and the others with him entered the Hokage office, Tsunade and Shizune already inside awaiting their arrival.

"I trust that the process was a success, yes," Tsunade greeted as everyone entered and closed the door behind them. Gaara nodded and confirm, "Yes. Naruto has lived up to his promise to me. My seal has been completely repaired."

"Excellent," Tsunade nodded.

"We dispatched a few ANBU to retrieve their Jounin sensei Baki," Sandaime spoke up, "Gaara requested this before we discuss the matter of the SunaOto invasion any further."

Tsunade nodded again in understanding. It was long when Baki was led to the Hokage office where everyone else awaited him. The Suna Jounin entered the office without meeting any hostility from either the ANBU, or the two Hokages were looking straight at him with Naruto standing next to the desk from the right and Shizune was standing next to Tsunade from her left and Sandaime to Tsunade's right. The Suna siblings were standing together to the left opposite of Naruto. Tsunade dismissed the ANBU, leaving them alone in the office.

"I'm assuming you know why you were brought here Baki-san," Tsunade spoke. Baki nodded, "It's in regard to the repair of Gaara's seal and the invasion my village has planned with Otogakure."

She nodded, "My son has successfully repaired Gaara's seal. From what I was told Gaara promised to tell Naruto everything about the invasion should the seal repair prove to be a success. But my son learned of the invasion before Gaara verbally told him anything."

"Yes I know," Baki confirmed, "There's no point in lying or attempting to escape the truth."

"Your Kazekage is planning on invading our village and is using the Chuunin exam as cover for his operations," Tsunade stated

"Yondaime Kazekage-sama," Baki began explaining, "Joined forces with Shodaime Otokage in his future attack on Konoha in hopes to teach Kaze No Kuni No Daimyo (The Land of Wind's Lord) a lesson and to re-establish the Sunagakure's military force."

Tsunade, Sandaime and Naruto remained quiet as Baki continued, "With our military forces being scaled down by Kaze No Kuni No Daimyo, Yondaime Kazekage-sama realized that we had to increase the quality of each shinobi to maintain a military force. As more time passed, the Daimyo started commissioning your village with requests he should have been making to Sunagakure. On top of that, he had begun cutting back on Sunagakure's military budget. Kazekage-sama was infuriated and sought to find other means to strengthening our military might."

"So he believed that a major attack on our village would leave us spending more time on rebuilding our village than doing missions," Sandaime interpreted, "And that Suna would be taking jobs that Konoha would normally have been taking from you. In hopes that many of our shinobis would be injured or killed in the invasion, a lot of people would be looking elsewhere for shinobis to do missions; places like Sunagakure."

Baki nodded wordlessly.

"Shukaku was sealed into Gaara in hopes of turning his own son into your village's ultimate weapon," Naruto spoke up after a long period of silence, "But things didn't work out as planned, did they?"

"The Shukaku was sealed within Gaara during his birth on the order of his own father," Baki explained, "This was done with a possession jutsu by one of Sunagakure's elders, a woman named Chiyo. Because a human sacrifice was required, Gaara's mother, Karura, was used. Before her death, Karura cursed Sunagakure, hoping Gaara would avenge her death."

"We're already aware of that Baki-san," Naruto remarked.

"The reason why Gaara's own father had inflicted such a fate of having Shukaku sealed within Gaara," Baki continued, "Was due to our country's Daiymo slowly declining Sunagakure, minimizing our ability to defend ourselves. The daimyo even started offering jobs to other hidden villages instead of his own. Realizing what was happening to his village, Yondaime Kazekage-sama saw that our shinobis would have to be of much higher quality than ordinary shinobis to challenge, and Gaara was to be our ultimate weapon."

"So he sacrificed his own son and wife for military gain," Naruto summarized with strong disgust, "Your Yondaime is the complete opposite ours who has long passed. Regardless of the reasons or the intentions, what your Kazekage has done to both his wife and Gaara was despicable. And this planned duo-village invasion makes it worse."

"We were heavily burdened," Baki admitted, "Our village was weakening and our defense forces were in desperate need of financial support. Sunagakure would have been left opened to attacks by stronger villages were they to have known of our situation. Kazekage-sama did everything in his power to strength our defense forces and almost all of his efforts ended in failure. The alliance with Otogakure for the invasion was a last resort and he's completely bent on carrying out this invasion against your village."

There was a moment of silence among everyone in the office. The two Hokages, Naruto and Shizune processed everything they were informed about in detail from Baki.

"Do you suppose there's a way to stop this invasion without bloodshed," Sandaime asked after a long period of silence.

"Not likely," Baki answered, "Kazekage-sama is completely resolved in seeing this invasion through with the Otokage and re-establishing Suna's military might."

"Speaking of Shodaime Otokage," Tsunade asked, "Would you happen to know who he is."

"…," Baki was quietly momentarily when he finally answered, "Orochimaru."

All but the Suna nins' eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing that revelation.

"Are you serious," Sandaime asked. Baki was about to say something when…

"I can believe that," said a new voice. Everything turned to see Jiraiya crouching on the opened window before entering the office.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade said, "Don't you ever use the door like everyone else?"

"Some of the time," Jiraiya said as he stepped over to where Naruto was.

"Ero-jisan," Naruto greeted, "It's been a while. Much has happened while you were away."

"Like your fight with this Jinchuuriki over there last night," Jiraiya said while pointing to Gaara, shocking everyone in the room.

"You know about that," asked a shocked Naruto, "But how did you-"

"I was in the area that night, while making my return back here when I caught sight of that battle," Jiraiya explained.

"And you didn't think of stepping in to stop it," Tsunade asked while holding onto her anger. Jiraiya replied, "Tsunade-hime, we didn't train this kid not to be able to take care of himself and he had the situation under control."

"Maybe from the binoculars you saw it from," Naruto remarked, "Gaara while under Shukaku's total influence was really giving me a hard time, and Shukaku really had it in for me. Thankfully I managed to end the battle before things got any worse than they already were."

"And the new fūin kinjutsu ougi you created and used on Gaara's old seal was a success, correct," Jiraiya asked. Naruto nodded to him.

"Just how much do you know Jiraiya," Tsunade asked suspiciously. Jiraiya shrugged, "Information travels to me here and there, plus you ought to leave that window closed sometimes Tsunade-hime as I was able to overhear your conversation with Shizune about the seal repair earlier."

Tsunade snorted with annoyance while wondering for how long Jiraiya was by the window listening in on everything being said.

"And speaking of information traveling to me," Jiraiya continued, "Many of the things I heard from Baki about Sunagakure is also what I heard through my spy network. I was actually on my way back here to inform both you and Sarutobi-sensei about it."

The Suna nins were surprised by this. They saw that even if Gaara didn't tell Naruto about the invasion or if Naruto and Gaara's minds didn't link, Konoha was going to learn about the invasion regardless in advance.

"I suspected that Orochimaru was the Otokage of Oto," Jiraiya said, "Though I was unsuccessful in locating exactly where Otogakure is even through my spy network. It's been difficult keeping an eye on Orochimaru's activities seeing that he knows ways of covering his tracks, and he often relocates from one base to another.

"I'm sure that during the attack some time around the concluding two or three matches of the Chuunin Exams, Orochimaru intends to kill both Sarutobi-sensei and you too Tsunade. That way if his invasion doesn't turn out the way he anticipates it to it'll be difficult to find both of your replacements taking your places as Hokages."

"Beside the Daimyos," Tsunade spoke, "Gaara's father the Kazekage along with his Suna bodyguards will be seated next to me during the final Chuunin Exam. He'll be disguised as somebody important in order to get close to us undoubtedly."

"Whatever the case," Sarutobi stepped in, "We'll have to be on guard when he decides to make his presence known to us."

"Until then," Tsunade said, "We have two months to prepare and that's what we're going to do."

(End Flashback)

The following day, Naruto recalled, Tsunade held a meeting with the village advisors, all of the clan leaders and village elders. Sandaime and Tsunade explained in detailed everything that happened with regards to Naruto and Gaara and the upcoming invasion from Suna and Oto.

Danzo suggested an immediate and full military strike against Sunagakure before they could initiate the invasion. Sandaime and Tsunade however dismissed that suggestion, making it very clear that resorting to that course of action would result in needless innocent civilian casualties of Suna who have nothing to do with the invasion. They also made clear that going through with that course of action would alert Orochimaru that his plan has been compromised, and that in effect would make matters worst since Orochimaru would seek a more aggressive and deadlier method of attack Konoha.

Sandaime suggested that it would be best to deal with the Oto ninjas, and the Suna ninjas and not senselessly slaughter defenseless civilians who neutral to the invasion. Danzo wasn't at all pleased with that suggestion however there wasn't really much he was able to do with both Hokages agreeing to follow another course of action instead of his suggestion.

Tsunade and Sarutobi discussed the civilian evacuation procedures they were going to plan with the Chuunins and Jounins, and the counterattack against the Suna and Oto ninjas. Baki said that he was going to do everything in his power and persuade as many of his fellow Suna nins not to take part of the invasion in hopes of decreasing the loss of lives of his fellow Suna nins.

While still sitting under the tree, the blond-haired shinobi bit his thumb and performed a series of hand seals before slamming his bleeding thumb down to the ground.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu," Naruto said before a cloud of white smoke appeared. Moments later, the smoke clear to reveal a small half kid/half fox creature standing in front of him with a widen grin on his face. (A/N: I Don't Own Inuyasha; I'm just borrowing this character from that anime.)

"Shippo," Naruto greeted.

"Naruto-sama," Shippo exclaimed with a toothy smile, "What's up? It's been a long while since you last summoned me."

"Yes I know and it left with me quite a memory," Naruto said as he thought back to a mean-spirited prank that was pulled in class as an evil grin formed on his face…

(Flashback; A Year and Four Months Ago)

Naruto was in class with his friends, completely bored out of his mind like so many others in the class. Hinata and Ino were sitting next to him as usual while listening to what Iruka was saying. Both Naruto and Sasuke eyed each other as if they were having a stand off. This ended when…

"Naruto, please pay attention," Iruka said, "This is important information we're reviewing for tomorrow's exam."

"Whatever," Naruto retorted, "You ought to rebuke Sasuke as well since his attention was gazed straight at me. I think he still has it in for me for how I effortlessly knocked him out in front of everyone after he learned of Itachi's defeat to me."

Iruka found some truth in Naruto's words when he felt a killer intent aimed at Naruto from Sasuke.

"That's enough, both of you," Iruka stated firmly.

"Hn," was all Sasuke said before turning his hard stare away from Naruto as the blonde Yondaime and Kyuubi container rested his head down on the table. Sighing, Iruka continued on with the lesson, unaware that a particular creature stealthily made its way into the classroom and over to his desk before making a fast exit without alerting anyone to its presence. After eleven minutes, Iruka said, "Sasuke, would you please go over to my desk and read aloud the information in front of the class?"

"Hn," Sasuke snorted before getting up off his seat and over to the front of the class. Reaching Iruka's desk, Sasuke took the documents from the desk and scanned over it. A moment later, a confused and troubled Sasuke looked at Iruka and asked, "Are you serious about me reading this to the class?"

"Yes Sasuke," Iruka confirmed, "Read the notes written on the paper please."

Turning to the front of the class, Sasuke read aloud, "To ensure maximum success of what was going to be a climatic event, I guided my mouth over to her soft ample breast and lashed my tongue over her hardened nipple as my free right hand reached down her smooth skin and went into her silk pan-"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU READING?," a red- faced Iruka yelled while the entire class burst into a fit of laughter. Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Naruto and the other boys were in tears as their laughter continued while the stoic Shino had a raised eyebrow. The girls however, minus Ino and Hinata, were looking at Sasuke with passion and lust in their eyes, Sakura especially.

"I was only reading what was written here on this paper as you told me to," Sasuke replied with a deadpan expression, although his eyes showed that he was furious at the situation he found himself in. Iruka ran over and took the papers from him and scanned it for himself.

"Who the hell switched my notes with these perverted writings from Icha Icha Paradise," Iruka yelled indignantly.

"I don't know Iruka-sensei…," Naruto laughed, "…But at least it's safe to say that ero-Sasuke isn't gay!"

The boys laughed louder.

"Sasuke is not and was never gay," Sakura yelled back angrily in Sasuke's defense.

"And how would you know," Naruto shot back, "All these girls and you included chasing after him and yet he's never given any one of you a look; us guys were beginning to worry that we had to start watching our backsides."

Chouji and Kiba at this point fell off their seats and onto the floor while holding onto their sides as their laughter grew louder along with Naruto's and the others in the class. Sasuke was seething at Naruto, wishing to inflict some serious injuries on the Godaime's prized prodigy.

"That's quite enough Naruto," Iruka loudly cut in before he tore the papers to pieces before throwing them in the trash, only to find that his actual documents were thrown in the trash by an unknown culprit. At first, he thought it was Naruto, but realized that Naruto was at his seat the entire time and never went into his carrying case since he entered the class. He retrieved his actually documents from the trashcan after throwing the torn pieces of paper into the trash.

"Sorry Sasuke," Iruka apologized, "I'll have to find the one responsible for this twisted idea for joke later. Please take your seat."

Sasuke did as he was told while feeling the eyes of most of the girls staring lustfully at him much to his annoyance.

(Later That Day)

Naruto was back at the training ground after the school day was over. He was doing his training drills when…

"That was one of my best works if I do say so," said a childish voice, "Thanks for summoning me for it Naruto-sama."

Naruto turned and looked down to see a small half kid/half fox creature standing in front of him with a widen grin on his face.

"My pleasure Shippo," Naruto said, "Your prank was really a good one."

"I'm not a trickster for nothing," the summoned fox boasted, "And thanks for drawing your sensei and everyone else's attention away from me right before I sneaked in. It made my job easier."

"Ah think nothing of it."

"You know," Shippo pointed out, "That could have been you reading those writings in front of the class if Iruka-san had called on you."

"Perhaps," Naruto remarked before he joked, "The only difference is that unlike Sasuke I would have read those writings with feelings."

"…And have all the girls in the classroom suffer from blood loss and arousal…," Shippo laughed, "…That's priceless."

Both Naruto and Shippo shared a laugh at the thought before calming down.

"…Unlike me," Shippo snorted, "My older brother Tails is too into gadgets and inventions to appreciate making some good jokes and pranks."

"What can I say," Naruto shrugged, "We all have our purposes in this life."

"…I suppose. See'ya," Shippo said before bursting into white smoke and leaving Naruto alone once again.

(End Flashback)

Naruto was snapped back into reality when he suddenly sensed several kunais flying at him and Shippo. The duo jumped out of the way as the kunais embedded into the spot where both Naruto and Shippo previously were.

"What the hell," Naruto yelled as he turned toward the direction where the kunai was thrown in time to see a fist connect with his face. The blonde was sent rolling to the ground as the woman advanced on him not giving him a second to make a counterattack. She placed her left foot on his chest the moment he stopped rolling. Naruto looked up to see from whom the ambush came.

"What's this," the woman said, "All that training you came here to do only to be caught off your guard? You got a lot of explaining to do Yondaime-gaki."

"Nice to see you too Anko-chan," Naruto said with his face to the side.

"Hey," Anko ordered, "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Naruto turned to face the older woman as his eyes gradually made their way toward her face, starting with the leg that was holding him down. His eyes made their way from her ankle and up her leg while trying his hardest not to look under her skirt; a feat that's easier said than done seeing that he caught a glimpse of what looked like black silk.

Damn it, Naruto mentally yelled, I feel like freaking ero-jisan! Knowing him, he'd have die happily from massive blood loss if he was in the situation I'm in now!

"If that's the case kit," Kyuubi mocked, "Don't take it lying down! Why don't you just do what comes instinctive and prove who gets to be on top. You know as well as I do that her place is beneath you."

Shut up you stupid perverted fox, Naruto yelled while fighting back a blush trying to make its way to his cheeks while doing what he could not to have a nosebleed. Kyuubi snickered at the blonde's plight.

"No need to fight it kit," Kyuubi taunted, "You know she enjoys the sweet taste of you so just let the blood rush flow."

You're disgusting you that Kyuubi-teme, Naruto retorted sourly. Naruto's eyes soon reached Anko's face and saw that she was grinning menacingly at him.

"Something the matter," Anko teased.

"Nothing really Anko-chan," Naruto replied.

"Yeah right," Anko remarked as she placed more pressure on his chest. The blonde shinobi felt the weight of her body being focused on his chest and he sensed that she was using chakra to add to the pressure.

While standing over him, many questions occupied Anko's mind about Naruto. She knew there were many factors about Naruto that made him stand out in the crowd, but there were other factors about him that made him more unique than he was letting on, especially after being briefed by Tsunade and Sandaime about the issues regarding Gaara and how Naruto brought about his defeat before helping him. Anko knew that Tsunade didn't tell her everything about the battle between Naruto and Gaara and frankly it started to bug her. And seeing how he summoned a creature she's never seen before only added to her suspicions that there was a lot more to Naruto than she was being told.

"Like I said Yondaime-gaki," Anko said, "You have some explaining to do."

"You mean as in how you caught me off guard," Naruto answered.

"No," she retorted, "As in what that summoned creature that was talking to you was."

"You mean me," Shippo yelled as he jumped over to her. Anko speedily turned and grabbed the small humanoid fox boy with her left hand. Seeing the momentarily distraction, Naruto hurriedly ran through a serious of hand seals and shot snakes from out of his right arm and onto Anko's leg. Before she could react, Naruto effective threw her off him before he got up from off the ground. Losing her hold on Shippo as a result from the impact, Shippo took the opportunity to run over and stand next to Naruto seconds before Anko stood back up off the ground.

The Special Jounin looked at the blonde who standing in front of her.

"Naruto," Anko interrogated, "What really happened between you and Gaara?"

"What do you mean Anko-chan," Naruto asked quizzically.

"Don't play dumb with me," Anko shot back, "I know there are pieces of that story that your mother purposely failed to mention to me and I want a thorough explanation."

Naruto thought about it for a moment before looking at her serious, "I'll explain everything that happened between me and Gaara, and everything that happened long before that to you in full details when drop that mask that you're always wearing."

"M-mask," Anko replied quizzically, "I don't wear masks. That's something Kakashi does."

"You know what I mean Anko," Naruto stated with the same serious demeanor. Anko saw that Naruto didn't use the "-chan" honorific with her name but she didn't let her facial expression show it. Naruto continued, "You may fool the villagers and everyone else, but you not fooling me. You hide a lot of anger, sorrow and hurt within you and I'm sure Orochimaru is the center of it. I want to know when you are going to fully open up to me like you said you would someday."

Anko unconsciously placed her right hand over the left side of her neck before she whispered, "I-its not as easy as you make it sound Naruto."

"I know but I'm not asking you to drop it for everyone though I would like you to. I'm not asking you to drop it all at once-"

"It's not that easy!," she shouted. Naruto saw that she really wanted to change the subject but he wasn't about to go for that this time like all the other times she refused to tell him about her past with Orochimaru.

"I know it's not Anko-chan but it's something you're going to have to get off your chest and tell somebody. I've been trying to get you into opening up to me but you keep pushing it to the side without giving it a second thought. I really want to help you through this; all you have to do is trust me. Just tell me how it started and I promise once you're finished, you'll feel a whole lot better."

Naruto saw that she was struggling and debating with herself as to whether or not to believe and trust him.

"Anko-chan," Naruto said, "Tell it to me as your close friend, not as your Genin student."

She sighed as she searched for the right words to start with. She wondered when the blonde reached this level of maturity that was far beyond his age.

"I don't know why I'm going to tell you this," Anko started, "But for some reason I believe I can trust you. This has never been the easiest thing for me to do, so please bear with me."

Naruto just nodded signaling her that it was all right, so she continued, "It started when I was nine, I had just graduated from the academy. At the time I was regarded to be some kind of prodigy, I had the highest grades and graduated as the number one rookie of the year like you. I was the first kunoichi to get that since your mother Tsunade-sama graduated a few decade's prior. It was decided that I would become the apprentice of the Snake-Sannin Orochimaru. It's not often that you get to be personally taught by a Sannin, so I was overjoyed, I couldn't have been any happier…"

She stopped to gather her thoughts before she wiped her eyes of the tears that had started to build up.

"During those days Orochimaru was a pretty good guy, though a little creepy, at least that's what I thought at the time. He taught me many things as though I was his own daughter. Some of his lessons though were a bit aggressive or brutal but he told me that the enemy wouldn't give a second thought if they could do it to me so I never thought about it. When I saw the people that Orochimaru started to experiment on, he told me that they were all missing-nins or enemies of our village and not to be worried because they were the bad guys. Once more I by no means questioned him or his methods, but now that I think about it I probably wouldn't have cared regardless. I admired and looked up to him, and as time went on I even started to love him as though he was my own father.

"It went on like that for quite a while, and when the Yondaime was chosen and Orochimaru wasn't picked, he took me and left Konoha and went to one of his bases on an island where he continued his experiments, and again I didn't think much of it; he was a Sannin and he had free travel rights and me being his apprentice allowed me to journey with him wherever he went. Therefore no one even gave a second glance after we left. I had no idea that he chose to become a missing-nin and by me going with him would in effect make me one also. It was a couple weeks later when I found out where his 'missing-nins' for his experiments were coming from; that fucking Bastard was kidnapping people from Konoha and other villages, even innocent children. He was doing detestable experiments that mutated them; a majority of them never even survived the excruciating pain.

"I didn't know what to think when I found out about it; I loved him as father, I just couldn't grasp why he would do something so wicked. Later I learned about Kyuubi's attack and Yondaime's sacrifice and the lost of his wife and unborn son during the attack. Orochimaru actually laughed and said that it served Yondaime and Konoha right and that he was going complete what he started and destroy Konoha. I was in denial and I didn't want to believe all that was happening and that was also when I learned that we had become missing-nins. That was when I had finally managed to ask him why he did it, why did he left. But he wouldn't answer my questions and he'd just go about with what he was doing. I didn't understand it, I struggled and struggled to get him to stop and return with me to Konoha. I actually begged the bastard to return back and that they would forgive him, I…I told him that I loved him as though he was my father and that I wanted him to come back with me…"

At this point Naruto saw that Anko was already crying from all the painful memories she was remembering in detail. The blonde remained quiet as he allowed her to continue uninterrupted. He saw that it was a very painful story for her to recall and tell to him.

"I thought that he could be persuaded and that I could actually change his mind. But he just looked me in the eye and called me a foolish apprentice. He asked me if I would come with him and leave. I couldn't believe what the person I respected and admired so much was doing. He asked me one more time if I wanted to come with him or not, but I remained silent. Part of me wanted to go with him…but I knew that what he was doing was wrong. He called me a foolish apprentice again and left me there in the lab. I just brought my hangs to my face and cried for what felt like hours, then Orochimaru returned and stood in front of me and said that if I won't come with him, then he'll leave me a going away present, and that I may come of use to him in the future should I require it, if I survive. At that he stretched his neck out and bit me on the left side of my neck and the curse seal appeared. It was the most excruciating experience of my life. I lost consciousness after that and when I regained consciousness, I found myself back in Konoha being interrogated for treason in connection with Orochimaru…"

Naruto saw how Anko was releasing all of her pent up emotions that she buried so deeply within her being. It saddened Naruto to see how people are treated and thrown away like trash; the one that she loved and admired, betrayed and abandoned her. He knew that what Anko suffered was a very painful experience, but he sensed that there was much more to her story and so he asked softly, "So what happened after that?"

"…They would question me but, I would just remained silent and never spoke or lifted my head up to look at anyone. I felt empty and numb. I just kept replaying what happened to me repeatedly that I was completely oblivious of my surroundings. Several days passed like that I suppose before Sandaime decided to talk to me. He saw my situation and didn't hate me for it; he knew that I didn't understand what happened until it was too late. He helped me get everything cleared up and allowed me to become a kunoichi of Konoha again though I was still under probation for some time but Sandaime trusted me and even placed a seal over the one Orochimaru gave me to keep it from acting up.

"The villagers however were another story entirely. Everywhere I went I was called 'Snake-whore,' 'Serpent' or 'Traitor'; they figured that since I was Orochimaru's apprentice that I would become just like him. No ninja would work with me, and I didn't have any friends. Parents pulled their children away from me as though I was a venomous viper seeking to poison and kill them. Every night I would just cry myself to sleep and when I did fall asleep I would have nightmares of all of Orochimaru's experiments I witnessed. I couldn't rest not even when sleeping for fear of either Orochimaru or the villagers attacking my house. So I resorted to drinking in hopes to just drink away my pain and sorrow. The whole flirty blood thirsty persona kept people from getting too close, just how I wanted it. It worked well for a while, I didn't have nightmares anymore and I didn't have to worry about anyone getting too close.

"I would do solo missions whenever possible and when not on missions I was drinking myself into a drunken stupor. Eventually though the curse seal started acting up, and the pain from the seal became continuous until Sandaime used another seal that depended on my will power to work. I started having nightmares again and I was always trying to resist the mental attack by Orochimaru trying to get me to surrender to the seal. I abhorred it. I even contemplated suicide but I was never able to bring myself to do it. So I resorted to dangerous missions that had low survival rates, and even that didn't work. I was at the end of my mind and was being driven to madness.

"That's when I met Kurenai, she was didn't treat me like the others. We hung out and talked about trivial subjects and went out to drink. By that time my mask was already up and fooling everyone, no one had any idea what I went through behind closed doors. Later she introduced me to Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, and Genma. I had what I could call friends, though I never allowed anyone in to know of my true sufferings or true feelings other than the smiles and flirting but it was better than nothing. I didn't want to scare away the few friends I had by showing them what I was really going through ands so I kept the mask up.

"Deep down however I knew that it wasn't enough, I was lonely and I felt like there was no one to understand my pain and if there was I was too afraid to open up for fear of being betrayed again. Plus most guys just avoided me entirely out of fear. It continued like that for years until you approached me at the dango shop. In spite of how harsh I was to you, you saw through it. You really wanted to try and get to know the real me and become my friend. So that's my story in a nutshell," she tried to laugh as she continually wiped her eyes of the tears that continued to flow.

It amazed Naruto that he kept finding ninjas who lived harsh, cruel and very lonely lives; there were Haku, Gaara and now Anko. What they all had in common was that their pain was caused by those they once considered family. It saddened Naruto that those who people looked at as family could be so vicious to those that at one time loved them and desired their attention and affection.

"I'm not going to lie or bullshit you and say look at the brighter side, because I know for a fact that's not something you want to hear. However I will say that as long as you're willing you don't have to carry that burden alone. I know I can never say I understand your pain, but I know that it hurts so much. Back then when we first met I really wanted you to believe me when I say that I wanted to be your friend. I've seen first hand how the saw the villagers have treated you in contrast with how I'm treated and I always felt bad about it."

"It's not your fault so you don't have anything to apologize to me for," Anko reassured while trying to regain her composer. The older woman knew that her being with Naruto since she was assigned as his Jounin instructor helped to improve her image among the villagers. The thought that Tsunade placed her son into Anko's hands was considered madness by the villagers at first. However that was proven false when Naruto would stand up for Anko in her defense much to the surprise of many of the villagers. These were among the reasons why Anko grew fond of the boy though her way to showing it was most unorthodox.

"Still," Naruto relied, "Thank you for sharing this with me though it wasn't easy for you to do."

"Don't think for a minute that this means I'm going soft," Anko replied after regaining her composer, "But thanks for hearing me out."

"My pleasure," Naruto said in return, "That's what friends for each other. And to tell you know the truth, I think if the villagers knew the truth about what really happened to Kyuubi, I'd be the most despised person in all of Konoha with few if any friends."

Anko looked at the blonde questionably on hearing that.

"What do you mean," Anko asked, "Kyuubi was defeated and killed by Yondaime thirteen years ago and his wife and unborn child died that same night."

There was a brief moment of silence before Naruto spoke again.

"Anko-chan," Naruto started, "Kyuubi was indeed defeated but far from killed and the same goes likewise for Yondaime's surviving child."

"What are you talking about," Anko questioned, "We all know that-"

"Anko-chan," Naruto asked seriously, "Haven't you ever wondered why Yondaime and I look alike?"

Anko stopped to take a really good look at the young shinobi and when she thought about it, she couldn't deny what she was seeing. She's seen many pictures and portraits of the Yondaime in Konoha's historical archives and the picture of his wife, and when Anko mentally compared Naruto's features to theirs…

"I-I…It can't be…," Anko said in absolute shock with widened eyes, "You can't be-"

"I am," Naruto replied, "I'm Yondaime's surviving son and legacy; my birth name is Namikaze Naruto and my birth mother was Namikaze Kushina whose maiden name was Uzumaki Kushina."

The older woman gasped in utter disbelief. Standing in front of her was the child of the greatest Hokage who ever lived.

"Ho…How can this be," Anko asked with a lowered and shocked voice. Naruto told her to sit down as he was going to explain to her everything in details.

"This is a double S-class secret and can never be told to anyone without my say under the law of Sandaime and Godaime Hokage with death being the penalty for disobedience," Naruto said, "I trust I can share this story with you, yes?"

Anko simply nodded as she allowed Naruto to speak. She listened to every word Naruto was telling her about Yondaime before Kyuubi's attack on the village. He explained to her everything that happened days before Kyuubi's attack and what happened during the bijuu's attack. Naruto explained how his birth mother died giving birth to him and though he was premature, he survived. He then told her how Yondaime, with a heavy and broken heart, had to use an ancient kinjutsu ougi he found to seal away the Kyuubi since no living mortal could actually kill a bijuu.

Anko didn't interrupt Naruto as he told her everything in details; he explained it in the same way Sandaime explained it to Hinata and Ino after they were rescued by Naruto from Itachi and Kisame. Naruto was careful not to reveal that Yondaime himself was sealed into him but only his chakra, along with the Kyuubi.

Naruto explained the entire adoption matter with Tsunade and how he's been her only prized son ever since, blood-related or not. He also explained why very few know who his real father is and what would have happened if his father's enemies were to have found out years earlier whose son he was. He later explained the whole matter regarding Gaara and his life in Suna, and what happened between him and Gaara the night before he repaired Gaara's seal that contained Shukaku the one-tailed Tanuki.

"And that's everything in a nutshell," Naruto said, "Quite an interesting life I live, yes?"

Anko said nothing as she processed everything that Naruto told her. What she heard was a lot more than what she was counting on finding out. Here it was that Naruto, the boy she ironically nicknamed "Yondaime-gaki" for the way he dresses is in fact the flesh and blood son of Yondaime Hokage, the Hokage that's been greatly revered as the greatest of the Hokages. And on top of this, he's now the adopted son and prodigy of Godaime Hokage and trained also by Jiraiya, the very Sannin who taught and trained Yondaime. Alongside this, he was also trained by Kakashi and Shizune while growing up.

Sandaime was right about this kid, Anko thought after a moment of silence, That explains why he's so advanced for his age and why even Itachi had problems subduing him. This kid is practically Kage level!

The Special Jounin then thought about what Yondaime did to Naruto in sealing the Kyuubi into him. This was a revelation that she found very hard to believe. For years she's been lead to believe that Kyuubi was in fact killed by Yondaime; and now here it was that she was hearing from Yondaime's own son that his father in actuality couldn't kill the bijuu so he sealed it away into his own newborn son at the cost of his life. The older woman wondered what life for Naruto would have been like should the villagers were to have learned that Kyuubi was in fact sealed into the son of whom they regard as the strongest Hokage.

To add to this, he has a fox summoning contract that was made right after Kyuubi was sealed awayinto him. She realized that there was so much more to what really happened the night of Kyuubi's attack than she was told by the Sandaime. Looking at the blonde, Anko said, "Well kid, looks like today has been a most interesting day for the both of us. I always thought that Yondaime succeeded in killing that damn monster."

"Kyuubi can't be kill by mortals Anko-chan, nor can any other bijuu be killed by mortals for that matter," Naruto explained, "They can only be sealed away with the use of kinjutsu ougis, which was what my father did with me during his battle with Kyuubi."

"Do you hate your father for what did," Anko asked curiously with no sense of malicious in her voice.

"Though I didn't have a say in the matter when he sealed Kyuubi into me however," Naruto answered, "I don't hate him. My father did everything in his power to protect this village and everyone who he looked at as precious people. He held back nothing to ensure my and everyone else's survival. He couldn't ask another parent to do something that he himself wasn't willing to do with his own child. I know that was very hard for my father to do what he did, but he was certain that I was capable of containing the Kyuubi. He wanted me to be the hero who saves Konoha everyday by jailing the Kyuubi and denying him its freedom to do as it wishes. This was a responsibility he entrusted me with as his surviving heir and legacy.

"My father loved this village and did what he had to as a father and Hokage to protect all of us with his life. Besides reviving my clan and becoming a great medic nin like kaa-chan; I intend on following my father's example and surpass my father. These are among the reasons why I want became Hokage."

Anko couldn't help but look at Naruto in amazement. In spite of the many troubles and dangers that his life came with, he still had strong positive outlooks for his future.

"You're truly unique," Anko admitted, "But I must admit that I would have never in my all life have thought that I'd being training and be friends with the sole son of Yondaime."

"…Especially after how you tried to kill me for kissing you by accident," Naruto mumbled lowly under his breath, "…Though I did enjoy some of it."

"What was that," Anko eyed suspiciously.

"Oh nothing…," Naruto chuckled nervously while scratching the back of his head.

"You know," Anko remarked with a menacing smile, "I should still kill you for kissing me Yondaime-gaki."

"And which female in all of Konoha wouldn't want to be kissed by the Yondaime's only son," Naruto asked jokingly.

"Oh shut up," Anko shot back with annoyance as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. Shippo, seeing this, grinned as something came to mind, "Hey, snake lady!"

Anko turned and looked down at Shippo who was still standing next to Naruto.

"What do you want hairball," Anko said.

"From what Naruto-sama described about you to me and my kitsune kins, and seeing that look on your face," Shippo said, "I'd have assumed that you have a crush on him."

"WHAAAAAATT!," Anko yelled at the small humanoid fox who suddenly transformed into a replica of Anko.

"Yondaime-gaki," 'Anko' said with the exact likeness of the actual Anko, except with a more caring and concerned demeanor. The only thing to distinguish the real Anko from the fake was that Shippo's small fox tail was still sticking out from behind. 'Anko' went over to Naruto and started examining him, "Are you hurt? I can help you feel better if you want."

Naruto was already felt bloodlust building up from the real Anko and it was directed at the small trouble-making kitsune.

"I'm fine really," Naruto said trying to get the fox to knock it off.

"Do you want me to sleep with you and help revive your clan," 'Anko' said with a lustful tone.

"YOU'RE DEAD!," the now enraged Anko yelled as she ran after 'Anko' who was now screaming before puffing back into Shippo.

"Damn it!," Shippo yelled, "Can't you take a joke!?"

"I'LL HAVE SOME GOOD LAUGHS WHILE WATCHING YOU BEING SWALLOWED ALIVE BY ONE OF MY SNAKES!," Anko yelled back louder.

"Naruto-sama, please help me," Shippo cried as Anko was shot vipers from out of her sleeves at the fox.

"You're on your own…," Naruto laughed, "…You got yourself into that mess so get yourself out of it!"

"That's not fair," Shippo cried as he continued running from the angry Anko who hot on his tail with poisonous vipers just a few inches from reaching and biting him. After having his laugh, Naruto dismissed Shippo, causing him to puff and disappear from the area, leaving him and Anko alone in the training ground.

"That Shippo is always the troublemaker," Naruto said.

"It's a shame he left," Anko said menacingly, "He'd have made a nice accessory as a fur scarf around my neck."

"Yes I'm sure," Naruto remarked in sarcasm, "Anyway, it's been a really long day for the both of us. How about we head back and get some dangos, my treat."

Being treated to dangos was all Anko needed to hear before her demeanor did a 180 as she ran and retrieved all of her kunais.

"Yondaime-gaki," Anko grinned happily at Naruto, "You really know how to treat a lady."

Going over to the blonde, Anko placed her right arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to her, "I hope you have deep pockets because I'm having sake with extra dangos and bean soup with that order."

The pair started walking off back to the village while part of Naruto was worrying about how much Anko will eat him out financially since she eats as much dangos and bean soup as he does ramen.

What the hell did I just get myself into, Naruto mentally whined as he continued on his way with Anko. What they pair didn't know was that a good distance away from them from a figure who was listening on the conversation between the pair. What the interloper heard from Naruto was most shocking and intriguing.

"So he's both the son of Yondaime Hokage and a Jinchuuriki," said the interloper with a serious demeanor before retracting a particular sword from out of the ground, "This changes everything. I'll have to be ready for him if I'm to take him out. I'll have the son of Yondaime as my greatest prized trophy for sure."

With that said, the interloper took off from the scene to go about planning an ambush for Naruto…

This doesn't look good for Naruto was an unknown ninja was in the area seeking to take Naruto out. Who was that ninja and will Naruto be able to hold his grounds against his soon to be attacker? And will Konoha be prepared for the upcoming invasion? And what two new fuuton and medic jutsus is Naruto creating in secret? Find out next time.