chapter 4 chunin exams part 3

Here it is sis. The hokage's room is at the very top." Naruto explained to his sister as they arrived at the hokage's tower right as the sun began descending into the horizon. They walked in and were welcomed by a lady sitting at the front desk. She was expecting them and told them that the hokage was waiting in his office. As they made their way to the top Yugito took the opportunity to talk to Naruto about what she wanted to do.

"Naruto, I'll go in first so I can tell this old bastard what I think about him. You wait outside and when I'm done I'll let you in. He may ask to talk to you alone. I'll let you decide if you want me to leave the room or not."

"Yeah, I expected that." Naruto most certainly did not want to be in the same room with his sister while she was telling off the hokage. Naruto had seen Yugito truly enraged only once in his life when he was caught peeping on some girls in a hot spring. He never wanted to relive that experience again. They finally arrived at the hokages office and Yugito knocked on the door.

"Come in" Said an elderly voice from the other side. Yugito opened the door and walked in. Naruto sat on a couch just outside the door and waited for Yugito to come get him. He knew that if the hokage didn't activate a privacy seal then Yugito would, so trying to eavesdrop would be pointless. He sat for a good 5 minutes until the door finally opened and Yugito walked out.

"Okay Naruto. You can come in now." Naruto got off of the couch and walked into the room only to be stunned at what he saw inside. The hokage was sitting in a comfy chair and laying in front of him was a mass of splintered wood and broken table limbs.

"Sis did you?"

"I got a little excited."

"Don't worry about the table. I know a ninja who is exceptionally skilled at making wooden furniture." The old man said without a hint of fear or anger in his voice. Naruto was shocked at the hokage's calm demeanor but quickly composed himself.

"It's good to see you again old man. How have things been in the village without me?" The hokage cracked a small smile.

"Things have been quiet without you to say the least. I no longer have Iruka coming into my office every week complaining about you pulling some crazy prank."

"Teehee, those were good times. For the most part anyway."

"Naruto... If it's okay with you and your guardian I would like to speak with you in private."

"Yeah I thought so." Naruto turned to his sister and told her to wait outside. She paused for a brief second to ruffle his hair before leaving the room.

"You've found someone very special to look after you Naruto. I am very happy for you." The old man said with a smile.

"Yeah... I don't know what I would do without big sis. She's the best, even if she is a little overprotective." Naruto looked down at the splintered mass of wood in between him and the hokage but the old man merely laughed.

"In truth when she came in here with such anger I was beyond happy. It reminded me a bit of how Iruka used to storm in here whenever you got in trouble for something."

"Haha... So you noticed it too huh? I was planning on hooking those two up while we're here. Most guys back home are giant wusses who get intimidated by sis real easily."

"Oh, my lips are sealed. Don't tell Iruka I said this, but that man desperately needs to be intimate with someone. I've been kind of worried about him lately. He's been helping get the exams ready on top of his usual workload as an instructor. He's been very stressed out, though he is an expert at hiding it."

"Don't worry about it. I've already set them up for a date tomorrow. If all goes well then... Well, you know."

"Excellent. I hope those two hit it off. How is your training going?"

"Well that's part of the reason I agreed to come talk to you. I hit a wall with my training and I need your help to get over it."

"Let me guess. You need the key to the seal?"

"You already knew?"

"I am well aware of the process you must go through to become a true jinchuriki like master Bee. I helped the Jinchuriki before you achieve that level."

"You mean my mom?" The third dropped his pipe in shock.

"How did you know?"

"Oh boy, do I have a story to tell you."

Naruto began recounting the events of a training exercise that Bee and Yugito made him go through a few years after he came to the cloud village.

"Uh... How is this supposed to help me control Kurama's chakra? Naruto asked as he watched Bee meditating in his personal training grounds.

"It's important for a jinchuriki to always be in control of their emotions. The best ways to do that are either meditation, or grabbing the lotion."

"BEE!" Yugito yelled at him from beside Naruto.

"I don't get it sis? What about lotion can help you get your emotions in control?"

"You don't need to worry about that right now Naruto. Bee, don't tell him stuff like that."

"I'm only telling him the truth. Eventually he'll learn lotions true use."

A few minutes later as Bee laid a few feet away unconscious, Yugito began instructing Naruto on the art of meditation.

"It sounds boring. Can you teach me how to turn into a giant like you can sis?"

"You're a couple of years too early to even be thinking about that technique kiddo. If you ever want to use all of the cool jinchuriki abilities that I know then the first step is mastering this." Naruto pouted but he listened to his sister and sat down with his legs crossed.

"Take deep breaths and try to empty your mind. It may take awhile but... Naruto?" Something was strange. She expected Naruto to have a lot more trouble than this with meditation. She poked his shoulder but received no response. She knew he wasn't asleep because he had a habit of snoring so he must have been drawn inside of his own mindscape somehow.

"Is it Kurama? No it can't be. Kurama and Naruto can communicate without Naruto needing to be drawn into his mind. Then what is it?"

"What are you doing here Naruto? I'm trying to get some sleep."

"I thought you called me. Sis was teaching me how to meditate when I just sort of got sucked in here."

"That doesn't make any sense. If I didn't call you here then... I thought I sensed something strange about the seal. I should have expected something like this from you... Kushina."

"Kushina?" Naruto repeated as he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with a beautiful red haired woman in a green dress.

"You would know her as... Mother." Kurama explained as he turned his back to the loving scene unfolding outside his cage.

"My baby..." Kushina whispered as she hugged Naruto gently. Naruto returned the embrace with tears in his eyes.

"I don't understand... How?"

"I poured some of my spirit into your seal so that I could meet you. I intended it as a fail-safe in case Kurama went mad again but it seems that he's returned to his original state of mind."

"How could you speak about it so plainly? What I did to you was unforgivable."

"What are you talking about mommy?"

"Naruto... It all started the night you were born. That was the night that the masked man appeared."

"Masked man?" The third asked back in the present day. "I never knew about any masked man. I was under the impression that your mothers seal broke under the stress of childbirth."

"I know. Apparently this guy showed up right after I was born and used me as a hostage. My dad fought him off but he managed to release Kurama and hypnotize him with a genjutsu. That's why he attacked the village."

"... I had my suspicions of the attack but this... This is troubling. What kind of genjutsu was it? It would need to be one of incredible power to hypnotize a tailed beast."

"..."

"Naruto?"

"Sharingan... It was a sharingan that hypnotized Kurama."

"... I see. Please go on with your story."

"Okay, after she explained everything about the night that I was born I was really mad about a couple of things."

"You killed my parents..." Naruto stared at Kurama's back, speechless.

"Baby, you shouldn't blame him for that. He wasn't himself."

"Stop, just... Stop! Stop making excuses for me! It wasn't the genjutsu! I was freed from the genjutsu during my fight with Minato and Gamabunta. When I killed you two I... I knew what I was doing. I finally had a chance at freedom after all the years of imprisonment... I could go home to my valley and... and... HOW COULD YOU FORGIVE ME! AS I RIPPED MY CLAW FREE FROM YOUR FLESH YOU LOOKED STRAIGHT INTO MY EYES AND FORGAVE ME! HOW!?" Kurama's chakra started swirling around him violently. Naruto could barely keep his footing as the waves of energy washed over him but Kushina stood in front of him and blocked Kurama's raging chakra with her own.

"You... YA GOD DAMN DRAMA QUEEN!" Kushina roared as countless golden chains erupted from her back. They flew toward Kurama and tied him up. As they pinned him to the ground some of them formed up and took the shape of a giant paddle.

"NO!" Kurama screamed in fear as he realized what was happening. The golden paddle descended on Kurama's rear end no differently than it would have a misbehaving child.

"YA GONNA CRY ABOUT IT!? YA GONNA CRY, BABY FOX?!" Kushina raised the golden paddle extra high for the final smack. The sound of the paddle making contact with Kurama was so deafening that Naruto had to cover his ears.

"... Did that really happen or are you exaggerating?" The third hokage asked unsurprisingly suspect of the story at this point."

"If I'm lying I'm dying. I was just as surprised as you are."

"So what happened after your mother... Disciplined Kurama?"

"She convinced me and Kurama to put our past behind us and focus on becoming strong enough to fight the masked man when he comes for us. I still had one thing I needed to ask her before she left though."

"So my dad was really the fourth hokage?"

"Yes. His name was Minato Namikaze and he was a wonderful man. You look so much like him. I bet the girls will be all over you when you get older."

"... Did the third hokage know I was his son?"

"Naruto..." The third bowed his head, expecting Naruto to yell at him for lying to him in his youth. He was surprised when no such outburst came.

"She explained it all to me. I understand why you never told me and I forgive you for it. Dad had his enemies and if they knew about me... I mean, the stone village calls him the yellow devil for crying out loud. I never would have been safe if they caught wind of me. Anyway, me and mom had a heart to heart right before her chakra ran out and her spirit faded. She told me a lot like how to make chakra chains like she can. It's really not that hard if you have the right kind of chakra like we do."

The hokage sat back in his chair and took a nice long hit of his pipe, taking in all of this new information.

"I'm glad that you understand the situation I was in. It pained me every time I had to lie to you about your parents. Now about the key, I'm sorry to say that I do not have it. The key was inscribed on the belly of one of your fathers toad summons and given to his master Jiraiya."

"You mean my worthless bum of a godfather? Mom told me about him too. You I can forgive for lying to me but what he did was unacceptable. He left me to fend for myself in a world that hated me. I don't want to see that man if I can help it."

"I understand your anger Naruto but if you wish to be a true Jinchuriki you must find him and convince him to unseal the fox's full power. Until then you can only use as much chakra as the fox can safely pump through the seal without breaking it."

Naruto sighed defeated. "Where is that old bum anyway?"

"He's off searching for Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru... There's something you should know about Orochimaru."

"If it's about his immortality jutsu I already know."

"So the old pervert figured that much out? Orochimaru was planning on jumping into my body but Kurama put an end to that pretty quickly."

"We have reason to believe the next target for his jutsu is a boy in this village named Sasuke Uchiha. We suspect Orochimaru wants him for his eyes."

"That's not all he wants. Orochimaru loves rare bloodlines and goes out of his way to keep dying ones around. I saw a ton of people from dying clans when I was there. A crystal style user, a bone style user, and even a couple more Uzumaki. He made it perfectly clear to all of them that he was expecting them to breed for him eventually."

"More Uzumaki? How many?"

"Three. Two of them were just as screwed up in the head as Orochimaru was. The other one... The other one wasn't like that. She was good to me and wanted to escape together. Orochimaru sent her away from me when he found out though."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you want me to inform Jiraiya to keep an eye out for her?"

"Yeah. Her name was Karin and she's pretty easy to spot. She's got the Uzumaki's red hair and wears glasses. She focuses more on science and stuff so her ninja training isn't that intense. She's pretty skinny."

"I'll do everything I can to find her. Thank you for bringing this information to me Naruto."

"Don't mention it old man. Just promise to get that bastard for me. "

"I promise Naruto. I will not allow this monster to roam free any longer."

"Ya know for a second there you actually sounded intimidating." Naruto said with a big foxy grin.

"I was once known as the god of shinobi. You'd do well to remember that boy. Even in my old age I could decimate you with my little pinky."

"I don't doubt it. The raikage once beat me up with his big toe."

The third imagined what that must have looked like and started to crack up laughing. Naruto soon joined in.

"Hahahaha! Naruto if you ever feel the need to return to your homeland we will welcome you with open arms."

"Yeah I know. I'm not leaving my big sis though so don't count on that happening."

"I assumed you were gonna say that. I had to ask because of my advisers though."

"I bet those old fogeys are gonna yell at you for not trying to bribe me with money and women or some other nonsense."

"Most likely. Your just like your father so doing that would be pointless. He was not one to accept bribes. I remember he once tossed a man off the roof for attempting to bribe him."

"Really?! He didn't kill him did he?"

"No, I was there to catch him. Your father did it as a way to send a message to anyone who thought his integrity was questionable."

"I'll have to remember that when I become the raikage someday."

"Oh you wish to become the raikage? I remember the days you used to spend running around the village claiming to be the hokage when you grew up."

"If it was up to me I'd be the kage of all five villages! If I could do that then I could stop everyone from fighting and make the world a much more peaceful place."

"Hahahaha! You never cease to amaze me Naruto. If anyone can unite the five villages I believe it would be you. That reminds me. A few years ago one of my sons started his own family. My grandson reminds me a lot of you. He claims that he will be the hokage one day and runs around the village pulling pranks like you did. I would like you to meet him. He should be arriving any seco"

"OLD MAN!" A small child dove through the door holding a shuriken in his hand. "I'M GONNA DEFEAT YOU AND BECOME THE FIFTH HOKAGE!"

The small child ran forward only to trip and fall flat on his face.

"That hurt."

The hokage face palmed and Naruto was holding back a huge laugh.

"Konohamaru... It's not a sneak attack if I told you to come here at this time."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto couldn't hold back his laughter any longer.

"WHO IS THIS BLOND JERK WHO DARES TO LAUGH AT THE NEXT HOKAGE!"

"Who am I? I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to be the raikage one day!"

"The raikage! That makes you my rival! I challenge you to a duel"

"Aren't you a little young to be challenging awesome ninja like me to a duel?"

"The only awesome ninja here is me! You're just a big blond idiot with a stupid face!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME PUNK!"

"YOU HEARD ME SHORTY!"

"I'M TALLER THAN YOU SHRIMP!"

"I'M JUST A LITTLE BOY! WHATS YOUR EXCUSE!?"

"ENOUGH!" The third hokage finally yelled out.

Both boys were shocked and started bowing down apologizing to the hokage.

"You two are so alike in many ways. I would go as far as to say you two deserve each other. The reason I called you two here is that in the time Naruto is here in the village I wouldn't mind the two of you spending some time together. I believe you two could learn a lot from each other. Konohamaru, if you do intend to be the hokage one day you need to learn how to make friendships with foreigners. The same goes for you in your quest to be the raikage Naruto. I believe it could be a mutually beneficial friendship."

Both boys looked at each other and shook hands.

"If that's what you want grandpa I guess I can spend some time with this guy."

"You were right when you said this kid was like me. I wouldn't mind pulling a prank or two with him."

"You like to pull pranks too?"

"Of course! didn't you hear stories about me? I'm the guy who painted the hokage monument with graffiti.

"THAT WAS YOU!? YOU'RE MY PRANKSTER IDOL!"

"What have I done?" Sarutobi said aloud as the two pranksters walked out of his office.

Naruto introduced Konohamaru to Yugito and after making plans to meet each other after his morning training session the two parted ways and Naruto and his sister made their way back toward the hotel.

Later at the hidden base of the ROOT foundation the same anbu who watched Naruto and his team walk into the ice cream shop with Hinata and friends following close behind was giving his report to his boss. The boss was an older man with bandages covering large portions of his body.

"I thank you for bringing me this information. You may go now."

The anbu disappeared from sight instantly leaving Danzo to ponder this new information by himself.

"So not only has the fourths legacy returned but there exists in this village a girl with interest in him. I could use this to my advantage but I must be careful. The girl is the very same hyuga that was almost kidnapped by the cloud all those years ago. I must find a way to push the two together without the rest of her clan getting in the way. I must also find a way to distance the boy from the cloud village. I wonder if he knows about what the cloud tried to do to his mother."

Danzo was snapped out of his thoughts when yet another of his anbu subordinates appeared.

"Sir, we have found the resting place of the three tails like you requested. He is hibernating in a lake one weeks journey from the village."

"Excellent. Mobilize the sealing team. I want that demon in our hands as soon as possible. Also bring me the files I requested on possible Jinchuriki candidates."

"Yes sir."

Danzo was once again left alone with his thoughts.

"Yet another demon shows itself to me. If I play my cards right we could have two of the tailed beasts under the control of the leaf."