Chapter 30
A few days later- Beginning of April.
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"You can’t avoid me forever." He spoke to her as he ordered the rest to go home.
She shrugged her shoulders but said nothing in reply causing him to sigh. "I understand why you kept it a secret Naruto and I don’t hold anything against you. I can’t help but feel slightly upset over you not trusting me with this information."
Naruto glared at her father/brother, she wasn’t too sure who he was today, and replied in a dry tone, "Well excuse me for not seeking out the man who sealed a demon inside of me and left me an orphan" Sure she didn’t hate what her father had done to her as it had essentially given her a permanent friend who couldn't get away-
'Hold it thoughts. No going yandere today 'tebayo.'
'I should hope not. I recall when you’d go yandere during the war whenever someone touched your sensei or the Uchiha. Not pretty for the enemy.'
Naruto had to agree. Maybe she should get a psych evaluation done to check if she was alright in the head. But then again, she mused, she already knew she wasn’t okay in the head so there was no reason to waste the Yamanakas time with petty things.
"I do not condone the actions of my other self and from here I'll drop the topic since its entering unchartered territory." He noted as he looked into her darkened blue eyes. The same shape as Kushinas but the same shade as his own.
"On another note you might be pleased to hear Danzo is currently in ti for theft. So he won’t be able to stir up trouble for a while."
At that she furrowed her brows, “What did he steal?"
Minato worked a brow and looked at her as if he finally realised she didnt know something important, "Naruto. I never stole the scroll from the sandaime. Danzo stole it and I intercepted him on my way home. When I saw it had a hokage only mark and seal on, I ordered him to be taken and I read it assuming it was for me to read."
Naruto felt both on edge and on high alert at the news. Danzo had gotten hold of the scroll and Minato hadn't stolen it. She wasn’t sure what she should feel at the moment.
"So what now?" She asked, looking tired in his direction. She was so tired of everything the she didn’t know what to do in this situation.
"Now? We can either carry on as we always have, pretending that I dont know about your real past or..." she felt dread pool in her stomach.
"Or?" Even to her, her voice sounded coarse and foreign, a feeling the loudmouthed ex-hokage wasn’t used to.
"Or we can tell Kushina and let the people know who you really are. Through rumours of course."
Naruto nor Kurama could tell if the yondaime was being serious or pulling an impractical joke on them, because he couldn't be seriously trying to say to her he wished people to know she was his daughter.
'You’d be his bastard daughter technically since Kushina and Minato got married only a few years ago.' Murmured Kurama as she tried to do the math.
"You want to tell people... Konoha... that you and Kushina... had a child at 14?" She asked unsure if she had actually done the math correct.
The yondaime shrugged, "Kushina and I had been taken captive by enemy ninja at that age from a no named village. It wouldn't be hard to believe that during that time they may have... forced us to do certain things." He looked pointedly at her and she flinched, wrapping her arms around herself in self comfort.
"And how would you explain her pregnancy? Nine months is a long time."
She didn’t recall ever reading about the yondaime being kidnapped when he was younger and assumed they must have buried the archives so no one could tarnish Konoha no Kiiro Senko’s name.
"It isn't uncommon for women to give birth prematurely especially kunoichi. We were held captive for a month and when we came back she had been off the roster for some time due to psychological trauma. This was for six months. We can say she gave birth to you five months in."
As she listened to his reasoning she saw for the first time the student of Jiraiya. Jiraiya could make an interesting porn and romance novel from spying on women and Minato just created a new story plot as well.
To be honest she’d buy a novel like that to read in her spare time, not that she’d ever tell him.
“That makes for an interesting read but not much for real life.” She pointed out, cursing for telling him it was interesting.
Minato gave her a knowing smile, “Jiraiya sensei and I have told more unbelievable stories than that. Uzushio had only been destroyed a few years before this incident, we can say the reason we gave you up was so the enemy wouldn’t get wind of you. And we can say we gave you to my father and the Uzumaki woman sensei had said had birthed you. And because my father is… was unreliable, he gave you up to sensei whilst in Ame. Perfect cover story.”
Naruto needed a few moments to take in the story. It made sense. Sort of. She just didn’t get why he wanted people to know. They’d worked hard for her original cover-story and now he wanted a new story.
“You don’t have to make up your mind just yet. Simply give it some thought and tell me what your think. Okay?” she nodded slowly and made her way to her apartment, wondering if Gamakichi had any advice for her.
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“Wait, what? You guys… returned Sasori of the Red Sand to Sunagakure?” asked Kakashi and Naruto doesn’t recall a time he had looked so invested in partaking in their conversations.
Naruto, Iruka, Shisui, Rin, Kakashi, Genma, Raido, Iwashi and Anko had all got together to try and get Naruto drunk and to let loose. Of course, that was never going to happen for reasons they weren’t all aware of, but it was entertaining to watch their attempts continuously fail.
They had gotten on the topic of what she had been doing during her time away and she had mentioned this incident. The last time they had tried to get her drunk she had mentioned the incident when she met the new swordsmen; Kisame and Zabuza.
She had also run into Suigetsu and his older brother Mangetsu, but she wasn’t going to mention that encounter- she’d never hear the end of it.
She shrugged and downed her entire bottle of sake, wincing at the feeling it left in her throat, “We bumped into him whilst in Taki and decided to hand him over to the Kazekage. I won’t be forgetting Lady Chiyo’s face when she saw Sasori as a puppet anytime soon.” She shivered at the memory. Sasori had given her a trauma which left her frightened of all puppets.
Poor Kankuro had such a hard time calming her down when she had seen him use Sasori and his mother and father puppets. She’d nearly burnt them and fire wasn’t even her element.
Iruka hummed as he took a shot, his other hand wondering somewhere behind Anko and she didn’t want to know where, “Didn’t you make a friend in Suna? Baka or something?”
Everyone laughed at Iruka’s comment, “Baki. He’s the carer to the Kazekage’s children and when they’re older he’ll be their jonin instructor. Private of course, since they won’t be joining the academy.” Naruto’s smile dimmed slightly when she recalled the Sand siblings but put her smile back on her face.
She was here in an attempt to let loose, not to get depressed.
She chugged down the cup Shisui had been about to drink and the Uchiha attempted to glare at her, “That was miiiine Naruto.”
She chuckled at his display and said, “You’ve had enough to drink, mister.”
Shisui shook his head and took her hand, dragging her to the food part of the bar they were at and asked her to read the menu.
She had only read a few items when he reached in front of it, making her look up in confusion, “Are you okay?”
She was mildly surprised at the serious tone in his voice and noted he didn’t smell like strongly of sake and assumed he hadn’t drank as much as she had assumed.
She gave him a confused smile and nodded, “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m the most sober person in the room and I’m getting at least a year’s worth of blackmail.” There was a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looked back at the table.
"You know that's not what I mean." He gave a quick and subtle glance around to make sure no one was listening before continuing, "You didn’t tell me about Minato-sama knowing."
Her eyes widened, "He told you?"
Shisui shook his head no, "He approached me earlier saying he wanted to discuss something and asked if I knew about your life before arrived with Jiraiya-sama. Naturally I said what you told all of us and he looked pretty let down. I left one of my snake summons outside to eavesdrop and he was talking to lord third about your past." He said past in a way that emphasised which past he was referring to.
Naruto let out a sigh, she was really tired of all this, "I'll have to speak with him about being careful... also I didn’t get a chance to tell you about him. He found out whilst you were away on mission and I didn’t know how to bring it up in conversation especially given that we're usually surrounded by friends."
She dragged her hands over her face, feeling a lot older than she was but then she had to remind herself she was technically 32 years old and had taken part in two wars as well as having to face the drama that came with the aftermath of war.
She finally understood why the sandaime always complained about being too old for something, although Naruto was still in her prime both mentally and physically.
A hand rubbing her shoulder brought her out of her musings, "Well sort everything out later. I just wanted to make sure you're alright after all but I think I made it worse."
She gave him a small smile and got up, leaning upwards to give him a hug. She didn’t like that Shisui had grown like a weed during their years of travelling was a few inches taller. Although, she was a lot taller now than she had been originally.
The perks of a nutritious diet.
"Thankyou. I don’t know what I'd do without your help Shisui."
She could feel him stiffen before relaxing in her warm embrace, hugging her back till they heard a throat being cleared behind them.
Genma and Iruka looked positively gleeful at them and they mentally groaned.
"What would you two like us to order for you? Today's special, chicken Teriyaki or the key to the backroom and a contraceptive pill?"
The barrage of weapons that came Genma’s way didn’t faze him not did it come as a surprise but he still wore a cheeky grin the rest of the evening, enjoying himself a bit too much in Naruto’s opinion.
They all made their way back to the table after ordering their food and Naruto looked beseechingly at Raido, “Is there no way to control him, Raido?” she groaned as she pointed to Genma who was saying something to Anko.
Raido gave her a sympathetic smile, “Afraid not, Naruto. We could always try to get lord fourth to order him to behave?”
Everyone snorted at that, even if they managed to get him to give the order, Genma would never follow it.
Before anyone could retort, Anko began talking, “So, Naruto, Shisui. You’re both virgins, right?”
There was spluttering, red faces and wide eyes all around the table minus Naruto, Genma and Anko. Naruto gave her a quizzical look, “You know I go into heat every year since I turned ten. How do you think I deal with it?” she raised a brow causing Shisui and Rin to turn a brighter shade of red resembling Kushina’s hair.
Anko, Genma and Iruka took interest in the conversation and all leaned forward. “It’s January. Shouldn’t you be in heat right now?” asked Kakashi as he finished his cup of sake.
“I’m taking this pill as a part of this test but I’ve also got this seal on which prevent you from catching any scent off me.”
Kakashi took a deep breath from his nose and nodded, “I can’t smell a thing from you. Not even the sake you’ve been drinking.”
She gave him a smug smile however Anko who carried on the conversation they had been having previously, “Oh, pray tell, who was it that got the honour of deflowering Konoha’s heartbreaker and at what age?”
Naruto took Anko’sa sake bottle and downed it before answering, “13. And I don’t recall to be honest. Either Kakashi over there or Kirigakure’s Second coming of the Demon.”
If they knew, they knew and if they didn’t it made her life easier. And that was something most kunoichi lost in training anyway, their training regime was usually quite strenuous for the body.
Kakashi of course knew everyone, “Mangetsu Hozuki. I’d have to assume this was when you took your jonin exam in Kiri, right?”
Really, she hadn’t expected anyone to know the guy considering he only recently got his title. This was a conversation she didn’t want Shisui hearing. Sure, he knew about Kakashi but not Mangetsu.
Shit, Kakashi- Rin.
Naruto looked over to the girl who hastily excused herself, not that anyone else paid any attention to that little detail of their evening.
“Is that the same guy who had some choice words to say about Konoha ninja- particularly those with kekkei-genkai and was continuously flirting with you back in Kiri?”
‘Shit.’
She looked over to Shisui and saw his sharingan active, “Calm down. I was in heat at the time and no one was around to stop us.”
Her words seemed to just make him angrier and everyone shifted uneasily at the animosity coming from him. Naruto got up from her seat and took a hold of his wrist, bidding everyone goodbye as she teleported them back to her apartment.
She forced him to take a seat and looked flabbergasted at him, “What is wrong with you? You’ve never had a problem with who I take to bed tebayo!”
He stood up and his eyes turned to the mangekyou but neither of them looked away from the others eyes, “I don’t like him. I don’t like how he objectified you, treated you as a prize to be won which you let him win!” Shisui had never raised his voice in anger towards her and it gave her a momentary pause to appreciate the sight of an anger, messy haired Uchiha.
She shook her head
"I'd hardly call it letting him win me considering I was in heat and he has no memory of it! At that point I honestly don’t think I would have refused anyone who approached me dattebayo!"
She didn’t get where his anger was coming from nor did she understand where hers came from. She was never this defensive when it came to her sex life and he was never this irritated.
And she doubted it had to do with her honour either because that was just stupid.
"And I still don’t get why you're so angry! Minus the fact that he's a total tool you two got along!"
Shisui practically growled as he leaked his chakra around the room, altering the ANBU outside her apartment but a simple hand-sign to them had them going back to their posts.
Shisui tugged roughly at his hair as he looked accusingly at her, "You don’t get it!" He said through clenched teeth as he clenched his eyes shut as if in pain.
"Okay. So explain it to me. I don’t like this. I don’t like us arguing especially over something as stupid as a guy I met years ago."
He looked at her and if possible the pain in his eyes intensified and she didn’t like it. She never wanted to cause her comrades pain like this, especially Shisui or Iruka.
They were practically family to her.
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Minato looked over the documents on his desk and once he had made sure he knew what it was saying, he looked up at the Uchiha head.
“Fugaku. It’s been a while.” He gave the man his usual charming smile as he reached his hand out to shake, the patriarch shook his hand and took a seat across the hokage.
“Indeed it has, Minato. To what do I owe your summons to your office?” he asked, folding his hands into the sleeves of his haori.
Minato folded his hands under his chin, “I wanted to discuss matters of your clan. I know my sister helps out at the UPF and I’ve discussed a few things with her which we came to an agreement on. Things we hope you can agree to as well.”
Fugaku straightened his back as he listened to what he had to say. “We agree that the clan has too much burden on their shoulders and we want to ease it. We want you to integrate back into this village. I know your clan had nothing to do with the attack the night of Tatsumaki’s birth and I want the people to acknowledge that.
“As such, I suggest we change it from the Uchiha Military Police force to the Konoha Military Police Force and allow others qualified to join. This will also allow your clansmen to branch out into other departments outside of the police force- as long as they qualify. How does that sound to you?”
Minato waited for a reply from Fugaku who looked carefully blank, his expression giving nothing away. “Any division?” he finally asked and Minato nodded.
“Any. Be it T&I, infiltration, ANBU, Hunters or medics even. As long as they fill in the criteria that is required to be filled in, they will be granted access to any division they wish.”
Fugaku nodded his head slowly, “I assume you have this proposition written?” Minato reached to give the scroll he had been previously reading. Fugaku took it and stood, “I will talk to the elders about his proposition, but they should agree. Naruto’s help with the force has been of much help to us and this should make it easier on the newer generation.”
He bowed then left the office and Minato let out a sigh. He and Naruto had manage to come up with this agreement earlier today and he had finished writing it up just as Fugaku arrived in the office.
Minato would do whatever he could to make sure the massacre didn’t happen.
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