Chapter 03

She made her way through the forest at a clipped pace, being late was not an option; it was never an option. Also, the sooner she got there the sooner she got this over. She doesn't know how to feel about her "Master" as gratitude often wars with low level terror. No time to think about it now, she reassures herself. All she has to do is give her report and continue on with her day. Even if the guilt becomes suffocating, she chose her path. She arrived at the designated meet and waited, there was no point in trying to find her, she'd reveal herself when she was ready. And she appeared, right behind her. She was impressed she managed not to jump in fright. Immediately she began kneeling, as is expected of her, causing the woman to laugh before speaking.

"So prompt, as usual."

"Hai."

"Well, what do you have to share with me?"

"He is being trained, poorly by Jiraiya and gives appears to be unhappy with the arrangement. Jiraiya seems more like his watcher than his sensei."

The woman nodded at those words, "What else?"

"Every morning before his workout he sends a shadow clone with approximately half his chakra somewhere with a panther summons."

"Their realm. He must have his shadow clone training in secret so not even Sarutobi can spy on him. Clever boy. Is there anything else?"

"Once he's done training with Jiraiya he practices his kenjutsu, does a light workout and then heads home. There he does research until several of his summons meet with him. I'm assuming they are performing surveillance of his competition. I scouted the other finalists, all but Shino-kun and Shikamaru-kun have subtle but unnatural shadows following them and none have appeared to notice."

"Kukuku, you've done well. I want you to cease your surveillance, it won't be necessary any longer."

"But-"

"But what? I thought you'd be relieved to no longer have to spy on him. Don't tell me your nursing that silly little crush." she asked but her subordinate didn't answer. "You are? Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know that can never go anywhere, yes? Even if you were to turn his head that wouldn't end well for you, yes?"

"Hai." she said through gritted teeth.

"Don't be glum, you'll get what you truly want. Just forget about Naruto-kun."

"Hai."

"Good, you are dismissed, Hinata-chan."

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"Jiraiya, how is he doing?"

"He's getting it faster than I did. Why isn't he a Chunin yet? He has the mission record for it."

"We've been over this, I won't always be here to protect him. He needs allies and ties to the village. He has startling little and I've long since alienated him."

"No one who has graduate early has ever been sent to the reserves, so I can't imagine why he took that as an insult."

"He wasn't supposed to be allowed to take the exam if there was a reasonable expectation he could pass. Iruka and Mizuki assured me he couldn't do the clone jutsu."

"With his chakra levels he'd never be able to with what they teach in the academy. Tell me, Sensei, why I should be happy with you setting my godson up to fail?"

"I would have taught him another clone jutsu at some point but him failing the exams outright would have made it possible to put him on Kakashi's team."

"You were going to make him the deadlast to satisfy Minato's brat? You manipulative bastard. Is this why you've had me stay away for so long? So, I couldn't see the strings you were pulling?"

"Enough, Jiraiya. You were needed out there. As of now, Naruto has very few connections to the village. He seems to like his teammates and his sensei but they've only been together for six months, that's hardly enough time to sway him should he decide to leave."

"He wouldn't leave, he's no traitor."

"I hope you're right, Jiraiya."

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It was three days before the finals and Naruto had finally done it. It'd take some time to perfect it, even more time to develop his Yin release but as of right now, he could perform purely yang jutsu and it was time to attempt the Impure World Reincarnation. He got time off from Jiraiya once he demonstrated you could perform a completed rasengan, which he has to admit is a damn fine jutsu. He was in an isolated clearing in the panther realm and had a barrier erected just in case things went poorly. He had contract seals at the ready but didn't want to put the control seals mentioned in the scroll. He took some deep breaths, calming his nerves.

"[Yang Release: Shadow Clone Jutsu]" Naruto said then started the ritual for the Impure World Reincarnation. Once he was sure he had it complete, he performed the hand signs and whispered, "[Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation]" Naruto didn't have to wait long for the jutsu to take effect as each of his Yang clones were encased in an ethereal glow. Soon, both started to change their shape, taking on the forms of those called back. Naruto was shocked to see two women with hair similar to his, though neither had his blue eyes. Both women looked confused as if a haze had yet to be lifted. They noticed each other first, both shocked,

"Mito-sama?/Kushina-chan?" both questioned before they looked at the boy before them. Mito was silent and confused, she had no clue who this whiskered cheek boy could be but in her peripheral vision she could see Kushina trembling, as if trying to to not cry.

"Sochi? Is that you, Naruto? Where are we, this doesn't look like Konoha"

"I'm Naruto and this is the realm of the Panthers, my summons but what do you mean, Sochi?" Naruto wasn't dumb but after being denied information about his parents his entire life the idea that he'd just brought his mother back was unbelievable though the woman hugging him fiercely was quickly putting his disbelief to rest. It was sad but Naruto couldn't ever remember being hugged before. The feeling was indescribable."

"I'm your mother, Naruto. Didn't Hiruzen tell you about Minato and I? How has your life been?" she blurted out, finally releasing him.

"Um, the Old Man said he didn't know who my parents were. My life… I was a pariah growing up, not even my Academy Instructors liked me so I graduated early, at the age of 9. The Old Man didn't put me on a genin squad for three years." Naruto explained before something clicked, "Wait, Minato? You don't mean?"

"Yes, sochi, the Yondaime was your father. I-I hope you don't hate us for what we did. I argued against it but Minato was convinced you'd need the Kyuubi to defeat the man that attack us the night you were born."

"I don't hate you. I… I guess I just wish things had been different. Almost everyone treated me like I didn't exist."

"Naruto-kun?" Mito spoke. She hated to interrupt this moment between mother and son, especially since Kushina must have died almost immediately after giving birth, given how weak a jinchuuriki's seal becomes during childbirth but she needed to know how he brought them back. She was familiar with Tobirama's abomination and lonely childhood or not, she couldn't accepted someone being sacrificed to return them.

"Hai?"

"Did you perform the Edo Tensei?"

"Hai."

"Sochi, no! You can't just sacrifice people."

"I didn't. I used a shadow clone made with yang release." he quickly explained.

"Oh, that was very creative."

"My sochi is a genius, Mito-sama!"

"Actually, I'm not. I just work really hard at and don't give up. Nothing genius about that."

"I don't know about that, Naruto-kun, Tobirama never came up with this and he invented both jutsu. Seems obvious in retrospect but the best insights do." Mito said.

"Ara, you knew the Nidaime?"

"Yes, I did. He was my brother in law. I'm Mito Senju nee Uzumaki and your predecessor."

"How so?"

"I was the first jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, Kushina here was the second."

"Were you both hated, too?"

"No, sochi, no one knew we contained it."

"And I don't understand why Saru-chan would tell others." Mito said before a realization hit her, "Naruto-kun, if you didn't know who either of us were why did you summon us?"

"Orochimaru gave me the jutsu to figure out and said if I did I'd have answers about my history."

"You're Orochimaru's student? See, you are a genius. She wouldn't bother with someone untalented."

"No, she's a missing nin and considered Konoha's greatest traitor for illegal experimentation on villagers." he said, to receive a fist to his skull.

"Why would you trust the word of a missing nin?"

"Because I was desperate. The Old Man keeps me in the dark about everything concerning my past, he's manipulating me and I don't know why. I need all the information I can get in case-"

"In case what, sochi?"

"In case I need to abandon the village. He's already denied me a Chunin field promotion three times and never once explained why. I don't trust him and I don't like the villagers so I need to make arrangements."

"Is it really that bad?" Kushina asked, shame filling her for what she allowed to happen to her son.

"The villagers deny my existence. They've never hit me or anything but I know I'm not wanted and being stuck as a genin isn't raising my profile."

"I don't get it, why wouldn't Hiruzen want you to be a Chunin. Yes, you get more authority and can take on dangerous missions but rookie Chunin are hardly exposed to top secret documents or state secrets." Kushina said.

Mito sat quietly, piecing together everything she knew about Konoha law and what Naruto told her and came to a conclusion. "I think I may know why but it doesn't make sense for it to be the reason." she started. And proceeded to explain her theory.

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Hiruzen never much cared for the Daimyo's satellite residence, the place he stayed when visiting Konoha. It was too ornate for his tastes and gave the feeling of being both too open and claustrophobic. He was curious why the Daimyo had summoned him, the two usually speak after the exams are finished. They had a good working relationship but weren't close; not like Hiruzen was with the man's father or how he was close to Minato. He arrived in his sitting room and was surprised with Danzo was there as well. Hiruzen bowed to the Daimyo and took his seat. Immediately he felt off as someone, Hiruzen reasoned one of the Guardian Ninja, activated a seal and Hiruzen felt his chakra become suppressed and out of his control. He saw Danzo came to the same realization. This was a trap, they had both been restrained and while strong, given their advance age they were weak without their chakra to buttress the ravages of time.

"Thank you both for arriving so promptly. There is a matter we need to address and I didn't want either of you to do something foolish, like try to manipulate me with a stolen sharingan" the Daimyo said while staring at Danzo. The man couldn't hide his shock and cursed he couldn't summon his Root to extract him. "Your shadows are already dead, Danzo. How dare you come to my residence with armed guards and try to hide their presence from me? Foolish old man. Hiruzen you've allowed this relic to become arrogant, among other things."

"What do you mean, Daimyo-sama."

"Oh, all will be explained but first I need to tell you a story. A little over a year ago, Tsunade paid me a visit. She actually requested an off the books meeting as she needed what was discussed to remain a secret between her and I. I, of course, was surprised. Tsunade hadn't been involved in shinobi affairs in decades but never acted contrary to my interests so it was neither here nor there. When she arrived she relayed to me a story of her own. How she'd met a young Uzumaki boy. Said he was dragged to her by a large, talking panther that requested her help. She was able to save him but not his Chunin leader. She spoke to the boy, asking subtle questions and, coupled with what the Chunin said before he succumbed to his injuries, she concluded the boy knew nothing of his clan or parentage. Apparently, he was a pariah due to his status as a jinchuuriki and his ostracization was near universal. She said he claimed he had existed on his orphan's stipend until he graduated. Now, that confused me. Because he would be a clan heir and in Fire Country when one is the last of their clan they are provided housing and are given a generous allowance from their clan funds while said funds are managed by the financial advisors I select to make sure they are not cheated.

Tsunade had no reason to lie to me but I couldn't just act on her word. She understood and only requested I perform an audit into Kushina and Minato's finances and anything else I could find out about Naruto. She gave me a blood sample and said if I should get any genetic material for either Minato or Kushina she'd happily run the tests to prove he was indeed their son. It didn't take long for the auditor to find the accounts had been tampered with, funds extracted illegally. It did take the auditor awhile to trace where the money went for each large withdrawal but he did it. Imagine my shock when the two who'd stolen from Minato and Kushina were you and Danzo. Those assets were primarily Uzumaki assets and that account should have been frozen until a verifiable Uzumaki came to claim them since Minato and Kushina had no living heir. Next was getting the samples need for the DNA test but I did and immediately summoned Tsunade back to run the tests. Imagine my shock when she confirmed her suspicion. I, of course, then ordered a quiet investigation to Naruto's life. And shocked I was again. His status as a jinchuuriki announced by you but some flimsy law telling no one to talk about it. Him receiving almost nothing but scorn and having to live in near poverty conditions when he should have had a comfortable existence. And then to see you deny him a promotion in order to avoid being discovered. You thought if he never made Chunin you'd never have to give him his full inheritance and it wouldn't trigger the automatic review I've instilled?

Why, Hiruzen? Why all of it? Why did you lie to me? Why did you ignore my laws? Why did and do you allow this demon in human flesh to run circles around you? Have you grown so weak you simply cannot perform the tasks required of an Hokage?"

"I lied about Naruto's heritage to protect him. The village was weak, weaker than it had ever been after the Kyuubi's rampage."

"Then why not send him to the capital? I could have protected him and made sure he'd be healthy and happy."

"I, initially, believed the villagers would get over their pain and see Naruto for who he is."

"And the money, why did you steal from Naruto but deny him what he was entitled to?"

"Same reason. We were in a terrible financial situation, especially so soon after a war. The civilians were demanding a say in governmental affairs since they were going to be providing a bulk of the money required to keep us solvent and functioning. My old teammates were pushing me to accept, no doubt for their own reasons. I need a quick infusion to take their leverage away. I'm not proud but if I had allowed some sort of civilian council, imagine how worse things would have been for Naruto?"

"You could have come to me, Hiruzen."

"I didn't really know you then, Daimyo-sama. I couldn't assume you wouldn't diminish my authority as well."

"So great is your concern about your authority you do nothing to curb Danzo's excesses?"

"I-I can't justify that. I used to say he was doing what he thought was right for the village but I was just too soft and he only cared about his own power."

"That's a lie, Hiruzen. Everything I do, I do for a more powerful Konoha."

"Sure, sure. Even pilfering the corpses of dead Konoha ninja. Understand this, Danzo, you won't be leaving this office alive. I won't allow a monster to exist in my country. As for you, Hiruzen, after the Chunin exams you are to vacate your office immediately. Have Jiraiya or Tsunade replace you. Even get that Kakashi brat to do it, I don't care but you are not fit to be Hokage any longer. You will, however, confess everything to Naruto and then I will try to salvage what I can. God help us if the boy hates you and all of Konoha enough to turn traitor."

"Daimyo-sama, I'll step down. You're right, I'm not fit to lead the village but don't tell Naruto. Orochimaru has taken an interest in him and this may push him into her clutches. We don't want that."

"No, no more delays. It's bad enough you ignored my law and I know this isn't the only instance as I only have to go to the Hyuuga compound to see an example of forced servitude but I'll be clearing that up after the exams as well. No, Naruto will be told everything and given the promotion he so richly deserves. I am so ashamed of you Hiruzen and I imagine Minato and Kushina are as well."