"Hokage-sama, I must protest, you need more rest," said an irritable iryonin.
"And I'll tell you again, I'll rest when I'm dead," argued Sarutobi.
"Which will be sooner than any of us want if you don't get more rest."
"If I promise that this will be the last meeting for at least a week will you stop with your incessant nitpicking and let me go lead my people," asked Sarutobi, exasperated.
The iryonin crossed her arms and leveled a stern and judging glare at the man. "This had better be the last or I will have you sealed in a private room at the hospital only to be let out when I deem you fit to return to active duty."
Sarutobi blanched slightly at the threat. "Reluctantly, I agree to your terms."
"So be it," said the iryonin turning and leaving the antechamber.
Sarutobi sighed both in relief and in fear. If things went south for any reason he was doomed.
So it was Sarutobi entered the assembly room with a great deal of hope that everything would go smoothly and fear that one of his three favorite troublemakers would dash those hopes to pieces.
After the brief formalities to call the meeting to order Sarutobi gave Shikaku the go ahead to begin his report.
"Reconstruction is proceeding as planned. The civilian council is sour that we were able to claim so many bounties during the invasion and we now have less than a year of their 'approval' to deal with. So in short, all within the village is well all things considered."
"Very good news. So what else is on today's agenda?"
"Chuunin promotions and Sunagakure," answered Shikaku.
"Promotions sound like fun, let's get started," said Sarutobi, allowing Shikaku to begin the process.
"Outside of the finals, none of the genin really stood out despite not making the finals," said Shikaku which received no disagreement.
"Of those that made the finals I would immediately recommend the disqualification for promotion of Hyuuga Neji, he is skilled but he does not posses the mindset to lead. He was easily taunted and enraged with very little effort and he did nothing to regain that control over himself."
"Any opposed?" asked Sarutobi, fully expecting Hiashi to protest but the man did not.
Seeing no opposition, Sarutobi stamped the decision in the file which he handed off to a special clerk that would fill in the details for the rejection. The file would then be sent to his sensei and also to SIPA so they could make recommendations to encourage passing the next time around.
"Per previous agreement Uchiha Sasuke has met the requirements we set for him to be promoted to chuunin. He has already been masked by ANBU and begun his training there."
"Do we have a time table yet for a breeding program?" asked Homura.
"It will be a few years at least," said Danzo answering the question. "He'll be in training for at least two years and then he'll have two to three more years of closely supervised assassination missions. If he has reached jounin by that point we will initiate a short term re-integration to the village to give the proper image during which time we will begin with impregnating four preselected woman to bear children. Once we have confirmed pregnancies he will go back into ANBU until the women give birth at which time he will properly claim them as Uchiha for the village only to repeat the process, possibly with the same women if they agree and we repeat the process until we have the number of males upon which we previously decided."
The room was quiet as he finished. None of them liked the necessity of this but they all understood only too well how valuable the Uchiha bloodline was to them.
"Next up is Nara Shikamaru," said Shikaku handing the file over to Inoichi. He couldn't give voice on his son because it would be a conflict of interest.
"Nara-san has a very keen mind, he's a brilliant strategist and his time with SIPA seems to have sparked something in his development. His use of chakra flowing with a shadow chakra nature was shocking and terrifying as it had never been done or never recorded being done. It shows he's combat-capable as well as a natural leader that will more often than not ensure his team survives to make it home. He is still very lazy and does not have a very... command-oriented attitude, however it is believed this can be trained into him. It is recommended he be promoted to chuunin."
"Any opposed?" offered Sarutobi.
Once again seeing no opposition he stamped approved onto the file and handed it to the clerk.
Next is Tenten, no last name," said Shikaku opening the file in front of him. "She showed a strong strategic mind during the preliminaries in defeating Sabaku Temari, someone our scouts tell us was a superior kunoichi, her plan was fast, efficient, surprising, and nothing short of brilliant. However, her performance in the finals was quite lackluster. She tried to use a similar strategy as in the preliminaries but was easily countered by her opponent. And worse, once her opponent pulled out a weapon for hand to hand combat she gave up on strategy and just wanted to see who was the better weapon user. Still, her weapon of choice was a sword she crafted and placed seals on that were again nothing short of brilliant. Promotion recommendation is questionable and as such turned over to the council and hokage to decide."
"I worry that she may not be the strongest strategist, it would probably be best if she were to wait another six months and use that time to improve her ability to develop strategies," offered Hiashi.
"It's a fair point, however, those weapons of hers are profound. It would be foolish to not capitalize on that," said Danzo. "I would recommend removing her from the shinobi program all together and contract her to make weapons day and night to outfit our shinobi."
It was slightly worrisome that there were a few agreements to that sentiment in the crowd and fervent agreement from Homura and Koharu both.
"I would not want to waste a kunoichi with that much potential in a forge for the rest of her days. Not only that but you know how finicky seals can be, even if she made an entire armory of weapons for us there is no guarantee that even half the shinobi that want them would be able to use them. At least we know she can use them, let's not waste that fact," argued Tsume. "As for promotion, I'm all for giving her a chance to see what she can really do with a squad of her own. I say pass her."
That earned a lot more agreements from the assembled council.
"All in favor of her promotion?" asked Sarutobi. Counting the hands he wrote down the number on a small pad of paper.
"All opposed?" he asked, once again counting hands and writing down the numbers.
"Abstain?"
Sarutobi took a minute to review. It was a very close vote by the council, split almost even. "We will promote her but it will be probationary while we see what kind of strategist the girl can become." He stamped the file then added a note before passing it to the clerk.
"Aburame Shino," said Shikaku opening the next file. "Aburame-san didn't get much of a fair chance during the exams. His opponent during the preliminaries was sub par at best and then his opponent in the finals surrendered without a fight. As such we have included his action report and parts of Uchiha-san and Uzumaki-san's reports during the invasion to be used instead. His decision making is sound and his abilities are well-developed. His earth affinity is strong and he used it extremely well in conjunction with his kikaichu such that he has trained them to burrow into the earth and drain an opponents chakra when they are in close proximity through the earth itself. The way he and Uzumaki-san combined a mud clone of his plus an explosive clone from Uzumaki-san probably kept Uchiha-san alive and gave him the edge to win in a bad situation. It shows he is very capable of working in a team and most likely leading a team successfully. He is strongly recommended for promotion."
"Any opposed?" asked Sarutobi, knowing no one would oppose this promotion. He once again stamped an approved to the file and handed it to the clerk.
Shikaku sighed heavily as he pulled the last file. "Uzumaki Naruto. He has shown exceptional growth since becoming a genin a little more than six months ago. His taijutsu is solid, nothing extreme or overly specialized, strongly remnant of ANBU taijutsu combinations, probably taught exactly that way by Hatake-san which it seems has also taught him to seamlessly integrate ninjutsu to that taijutsu. His ninjutsu repertoire is solid with a good foundation in fuuton and doton as well as a number of shoheki jutsu. He's begun showing signs of promise within his fuuinjutsu. Most importantly, his mastery of the kyuubi's chakra is... stunning. We know for a fact that he used the kyuubi's chakra no less than eighty times during his fight with Hyuuga Neji and not once did it register with the civilians or assembled shinobi in the crowd, our best sensors barely tracked it. This was how he completely defeated the Hyuuga jyuuken. We're also including his after-action report from the invasion in this. The fact that he fully manifested and controlled the kyuubi was well beyond any projections posited by SIPA. It should also be mentioned that in addition to managing an attack by Shukaku he used dozens of clones to assist his temporary teammates in their fights. He is not the best of long-term planners but his in the moment planning is beyond anything even a Nara could come up with. He is recommended for promotion."
Sarutobi had his own sigh when that was done because he knew he would here a number of protests from the council just because of who he was.
"Before I ask for any opposition, there is knowledge about Uzumaki-san's past that must be revealed to all of you and later today to the rest of the village. Uzumaki Naruto is the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, our beloved yondaime hokage. It should be noted that he will remain an Uzumaki so that he can continue to rebuild his family's clan." He couldn't help but smirk as a several of those assembled lost all thought of arguing.
"Is it wise to let this information become public knowledge?" asked Hiashi. It was clear to those present he had an axe to grind, but whether it was with the hokage, the village, Uzumaki, or all of the above, no one was certain.
"Hatake Kakashi, Jiraiya, and myself all feel his is capable enough to stand on his own two feet at this point regardless of who his parents are. Consider this too, he is keeping his mother's family name so despite the similar appearance he shares with his father, there will still be those who doubt. Those who will say this is a trick by Konohagakure."
"Why won't he take his father's name? Does the gaki think he's too good for Yondaime-sama's name?" demanded Homura. It was clear he was trying to stir the pot.
"Uzumaki is a name with a history much more feared in history, there is a reason why their bloodline was nearly exterminated," said Danzo coldly. "We have learned a great deal as a result of SIPA, the Uzumaki bloodline... I would take one true Uzumaki in the village over a thousand Uchiha. Let that be enough said."
"Granted, their seals were amazing but that knowledge is lost and I very much doubt Uzumaki-san will ever be able to recreate their sealing methods. Living a long life and slightly accelerated healing is good too I suppose. But to elevate the Uzumaki bloodline above that of an Uchiha... You're becoming senile in that one eye you have left," responded Homura dismissively.
"Now Homura, there is no need for that," said Sarutobi sternly. The last thing he needed was a bloodbath in the council room.
Danzo gave Sarutobi a sharp look. "May we seal the room and inform them just what we have learned about the Uzumaki clan's bloodline?"
Sarutobi frowned. "It is not for me or you or anyone privy to that classified information to reveal. Let us just say that it is the Uzumaki bloodline that allowed Naruto-kun to control the kyuubi as he did during the invasion and leave it at that."
Danzo frowned equal to Sarutobi but relented with a nod.
"Any opposed to the promotion of Uzumaki Naruto?" asked Sarutobi calling for a vote before anyone else could raise his blood pressure. There was no further objection. "Then I approve his promotion to chuunin."
"Troublesome," said Shikaku as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now, on to the Sunagakure issue," said Sarutobi moving the proceedings ahead.
"The daimyo of Kaze no Kuni and Hi no Kuni have finally come to terms for peace. Our western border has been expanded six miles directly along the border bringing our border right to the start of the great desert. Beyond that, the daimyo of Kaze no Kuni has promised a further reduction in his shinobi forces such that he will not replace those shinobi killed in this 'unauthorized' attack."
"We'll have to build new border stations to account for the additional territory," said Koharu. "We'll also need to increase our forces by roughly five percent once our numbers are fully restored to account for the additional coverage. We'll also need to increase mission intake to pay for all of it if we want to keep the civilians out of this mess."
"We'll still have to get their approval to spend the funds necessary," said Tsume with a growl.
"We can deal with that in a few weeks, it won't transfer to us officially until we have accepted terms between us and Sunagakure," said Shikaku. "Of which I have their latest offer. First is obviously prisoner transfer going both ways, they give us back ours and we give them theirs. They have agree to pay an additional five thousand ryo for every prisoner returned in which they do not have one to exchange."
"Pretty standard," said Sarutobi.
"They have agree to pay for all the damages to our village during the invasion."
"Show me the money!" shouted Tsume. "More money to pay off those assholes the better."
"Several technique scrolls for Futon techniques and of course finally a sum of ryo for each citizen that died during the invasion."
"Reasonable terms," said Sarutobi. "We do not need to cripple our allies for making an error in judgment but this should serve to punish them sufficiently. Any objections?"
"We should not be giving back their jinchuuriki," said Danzo firmly.
"That unstable shit, get him out of here. The soon the better," said Tsume, a snarl from Kuromaru followed her statement.
"We've discussed this Danzo," said Sarutobi. "If there are no other objections let us send this to the lawyers for a final once over and then we can sign and put this whole affair behind us."
BREAK
Naruto, Jiraiya, Karin, Tora, and Shiokarai stood on the deck of their ship, which was a few miles away from the outermost whirlpool that surrounded Uzu no Shima. They watched in awed silence as the island cracked and fractured and then was sucked into the various whirlpools that once surrounded it. When the destruction had ended the whirlpools too faded from existence as though they had never been.
"It's... I don't know how to say it," said Naruto softly. "All that they were and it is just gone. And entire hidden village sunk beneath the seas never to be seen again. It sounds like a fairytale or a myth."
"Generations from now Uzushiogakure will become a legend. The once great nation that sunk to the bottom of the sea in a single day and night," said Tora. She wasn't as bothered by the loss of the island but she did appreciate the difficulty of the situation.
"It's just sad," said Karin. "We'll never be able to take future generations of Uzumaki to see it. To see what our clan accomplished."
"It is sad, don't any of you ever forget it," said Jiraiya. "And don't ever let what happened here happen again."
"Shiokarai," said the salty sailor. "I seen many things in my time but this... Shiokarai."
The next few days passed mostly in silence as they returned to port. Turning in the pirates and handing over the stolen property to the Umino guild went mostly smoothly except getting them to turn over Tora to Konohagakure.
Jiraiya's arm snapped out and grabbed Tora's arm. She was trying to pick-pocket the scroll her sword had been sealed away in. In the past week and a few days, Tora had made no less than a hundred attempts to pick-pocket him. At first she was after her treasure and the sword. Once the treasure had been turned over to the proper authorities her goal was to at least get back her sword. Thus far she had not been successful.
"Where are we going again?" asked Naruto.
"We're looking for someone for the hokage. It's our other mission. The good news is that during this particular mission we'll have lots of down time which means training for everyone... Erm, training for Naruto and Karin. You're not a Konohagakure shinobi yet so I can't really train you."
Sensing an incoming explosion Karin interceded. "How about I help her start on her chains? I need to work more on mine anyway."
Jiraiya frowned slightly. "I suppose if your clan head approves of a non-affiliated shinobi learning clan techniques I can't really interfere."
Naruto sensed that Jiraiya was giving some kind of warning but his gut told him this was the right thing to do. "Go ahead Karin-chan. Tora-chan will be a Konohagakure shinobi in no time at all."
"I'll get your training started when we get to the next town," said Jiraiya moving ahead of the group.
"Why is he in a bad mood?" asked Naruto annoyed by the man's mood.
"He doesn't trust me yet and he doesn't think you should trust me either," answered Tora.
"But we can trust you, right?" asked Naruto.
"I won't betray you, I promise that much," said Tora. "For now, I think I'll go with you to Konohagakure and see how I like it. Maybe I'll stay once I'm there, maybe I won't. As for becoming a Konohagakure shinobi... I just don't know right now. Don't really have a good reason to yet and besides, I like my freedom and more important, I don't like being ordered around."
Naruto frowned. "But... I..." Naruto didn't know how to respond.
"Relax kid, even if I do leave it doesn't change the fact that we're family, right?"
Naruto had a small smile at that. "I'll see what I can do about getting Ero-sennin to give you back your sword. And just so you know, if you do leave and decide you want to come back you'll always have a place to call home. Just make me one promise."
"What exactly do want from me?"
"Whatever happens, where ever you go, don't hurt Konohagakure. It's your clan's home now."
Tora snorted a small laugh. "I promise I won't ever do anything to hurt my clan's home."
Tora was suddenly knocked to the ground as a scroll impacted with her face.
Naruto looked to the source and saw a smug looking Jiraiya. "You'd better keep that promise or I'll keep my promise."
"What promise?" asked Tora as she climbed to her feet.
"The promise that I'll kill you myself if you ever break that promise," said Jiraiya with a grin. Even though he was grinning they all knew exactly how serious he was being.
With a heavy swallow Tora nodded her acceptance. She then tucked the scroll into her bag.
BREAK
The group entered a small town late in the afternoon about two weeks after the sinking of Uzu no Shima.
"Okay, let's get checked into a hotel then, I'm going to take the gaki and get him started training. You two are good on your own right?"
Karin and Tora nodded.
"What are you going to teach me?" asked Naruto expectantly.
"You'll see," said Jiraiya guiding them to a hotel.
Naruto couldn't help noticing the casinos they walked past on their way through town. "What's with all the casinos?" he asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him.
"It's a gambling town," said Jiraiya. "The person we were sent to find likes to gamble. Therefore?"
"We look in gambling towns," answered Naruto. "Who are we looking for anyway?"
"My old teammate, Tsunade."
"The Densetsu no Kamo?" asked Tora with barely restrained laughter.
"That would be her," said Jiraiya.
"There is a gambling tournament in Tanzaku-gai in a little more than a week. She'll be there," said Tora.
Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow, "Well shit, I wish I'd said something sooner. So I guess we'll stay here tonight and set out tomorrow morning."
A trio of shrugs were all the response he got. Shaking his head once, he lead them to the hotel where they were staying.
After they checked in Karin and Tora went to find a restaurant and start working on their chakra chains.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya led Naruto around town buying balloons and rubber balls. Naturally Jiraiya wouldn't tell Naruto why he was carrying all this stuff, only that he'd need it.
Finally the pair found themselves in a clearing with a few trees and some scattered boulders.
Jiraiya sat on one of the boulders and motioned for Naruto to sit on another.
"So what am I learning? Will you finally tell me?"
"First, we need to have a small conversation," said Jiraiya.
Naruto could sense something wasn't quite right with the way he said that. "You're lying, this is a big conversation isn't it?"
"You're getting good gaki," said Jiraiya with a small grin of appreciation.
"So what's up?"
"Okay, so when we left Konohagakure I was given instructions to do several things. First, we were to go to Uzushiogakure and clean it out then make it disappear. Second, we're to search for Tsunade for Sarutobi-sensei. Third... Third is a bit more complicated and some of it might be hard for you to understand and you may end up angry with me and Sarutobi-sensei as a result."
"Jiji? Why would I be mad at you or jiji?"
"Sarutobi-sensei has told me that you have asked him many times about your parents. Every time he has told you that your parents had enemies that might come after you if they found out you were their kid. It's part of the reason why you were given your mother's family name and not your father's, that's not to say your mother didn't have her share of enemies but it was safer than the alternative. Now, what Sarutobi-sensei didn't know is that it was your father and mother's wish for you to take on the Uzumaki name anyway and help them work towards rebuilding your clan. With me so far?"
"I've heard most of that before except that my parents wanted me to keep the Uzumaki name."
"And I know you've been very patient about wanting answers. Sarutobi-sensei feels you're ready for those answers. I also feel you're now ready for those answers as well, especially as well as you did holding off Itachi."
"I kicked his ass," said Naruto proudly.
"No you didn't," said Jiraiya. "He was toying with you. If I hadn't hurt Kisame when I did you'd probably have been captured and then killed when they tore Kurama from your gut."
"They want Kurama?" asked Naruto. Then he caught up with the whole statement. "Bullshit! I had him on the ropes the whole time. I even cut him pretty good."
"Yes they do and no you didn't."
"Who is 'they'?"
"'They' are Akatsuki, a criminal organization made up of around a dozen S-class criminals including those two," explained Jiraiya. "But we're getting off-topic here. Do you want the answers to your questions about your parents?"
Naruto was quiet for a while as he thought about it. In the past, he probably wouldn't have wanted to know, not really despite his verbal claims otherwise. He was so angry with the idea of his parents for so long because they'd abandoned him to become a jinchuuriki. At the same time, like any child he wanted parents, he wanted to know them. "Okay, I'm ready for the answers, good or bad."
"First, you heard me mention your mother's name. Uzumaki Kushina was your mother. She died within an hour of your birth along side your father while protecting you during Kurama's little romp. Your mother was also the previous jinchuuriki of Kurama."
"My mom was... The man that took Kurama, he's responsible for my mom's death?"
"Yes, he is," said Jiraiya. "He's also responsible for your father's death and the death of hundreds of Konohagakure citizens and shinobi."
Naruto frowned and gave himself one quick slap. "Stop thinking about revenge."
"Justice gaki, justice," said Jiraiya. "Don't get me wrong if the man responsible was here right now... I'd kill him myself and it may well cross the line of revenge. I would prefer to think of it as justice for all those that died. Don't seek to kill him for yourself, to make yourself feel better. If you kill him, do it to protect future generations."
"I can do that. I can definitely do that," said Naruto. "Would it be wrong though if I felt the slightest bit of satisfaction after doing it?"
"Nothing wrong at all. But don't let that become your driving force."
"Okay, so what about my dad?"
Jiraiya chuckled to himself. "So, the SIPA report on you had a funny quote. I guess Saiga-sensei had asked you about your feeling towards the yondaime to which you replied you'd sock him one then guilt him into teaching you all his techniques."
"Yeah, what's that got to..." Naruto turned quiet halfway through his sentence.
"I don't know all your father's techniques but I'll teach you as many as I can," said Jiraiya, noticing that the expression on Naruto's face looked like he was miles away in a whole other world.
"It wasn't bad luck," whispered Naruto.
"What's that gaki?"
"It wasn't bad luck," said Naruto. "His choosing me, it wasn't bad luck. I always thought that I just had bad luck to be chosen. That because my parents were dead they wouldn't mind. But now I know, it wasn't about luck at all. It was about doing the right thing. He chose me because he would never ask someone else to do what he had to. He chose me to protect the village. He chose me because he was my dad, he didn't hate me or want me to suffer. He chose me because he trusted what he and mom loved and believed in."
"I'm proud of you gaki, you have no idea how much so. And I know with absolute certainty that your parents would be proud of you too."
Naruto smiled, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Okay, one last detail. I am your godfather," said Jiraiya. "Now before you make a big fuss about me not being around I had a great many duties to village that had to be fulfilled. I did what I could for you from a distance but there was only so much that I could do. The building that the village bought for you came from my money as did the cost of renovating it. All the SIPA costs have come out of my pockets including those meals they've been providing you. It's not much but it was the best I could do at the time. Now that you're older I can train you like I did your father. I hope you can forgive me for not being there before and I hope you'll let me be there for you now."
Naruto went with his gut and punched the unsuspecting Jiraiya in the nose breaking it with a satisfying pop. "Okay, you're forgiven. Let's get to work."
Jiraiya was cradling his nose and trying to wipe the tears from his eyes that naturally occurred as a result of the break. That didn't stop the grin on his face as Naruto's response.
"Okay," Jiraiya said nasally. "Let's start with one of your father's best techniques. Rasengan!"