He looked at them. Just… for a while. Though most of his face was covered his one visible eye conveyed such a tumultuous frenzy of emotion behind his faux lazy expression that they were unsure if he'd eventually speak or simply cry. He-"The fate of this team hinges on a few things," suddenly said in clipped tones. "Mostly on what happens here today," he forced himself to drawl as he continued to lean against the opposite rail of the little red bridge that their team had always gathered at.

A week ago Sakura would not hear this, she'd listen certainly but she wouldn't really accept anything that upset her little routine that she had muddled her way to playing ninja. She thought Wave had proved that, as she stood there shaking and people died around her she almost couldn't believe herself (I'm weak so why should I try). Sasuke didn't want to hear this, but he would. If nothing else it would make him better for hearing, it would make him stronger/closer/bet-no it wouldn't. It might, could-? He hadn't been so unsure in his memory, not since that night-*breathe*. Naruto thought for a second that he would kill Kakashi for threatening his team but, for once stopped and thought before acting. He then realized that trying would just get them all killed as there was no threat to his words (yet).

"First, Naruto." He looked up at his sensei. "Will you tell Sakura what happened three days prior, instead of what the public will know?" "Hai, sensei." he said with a constipated look. The jonin nodded, then seemed to take pity on the blond, "We'll save that for last, she'll only have clearance for the finer details if the team isn't dissolved." He turned to Sakura. "Whatever happens from here you will not speak to anyone what you hear today outside of emergency, even to those who already know. Clear?" She nodded sharply, face set with a look of determination she promised her other-self would never be unfamiliar again. Sasuke fidgeted, Naruto was stone, Sakura was grim and angry.

"Right then, first and foremost, Sakura, I'm going to ask you a question." He blinked. "Know that if you chose not to answer it leave your Hitai-ate here. If you answer unsatisfactorily you will be removed from the shinobi courts and be placed with a restraint seal that will prevent you from speaking of or to Sasuke or Naruto ever again. Clear?" "Crystal." He stared at her, took a breath, and said. "Why did you become a shinobi?" Sakura drew herself up to look him square in the eye. "To be strong and be a credit to kunoichi, like the one with red hair that saved me and my mother." For a moment all was still, then Kakashi sags with relief and croaks out, "You pass." Sakura's smile was small and bright. "Naruto is the living container and prison of the Kyuubi no Yoko."

"Naruto skip to the end of your fight with Sasuke during the retrieval mission." The blond swallowed but started talking, "I and Sasuke had clashed our justu, and didn't that feel strange, like we were connected, when something about the fox changed. I suddenly felt possessive, and angrier than I'd ever been at the snake." He heaved a breath as she remembered the hospital roof. "The fox said "I won't kill the pup, not because he's one of your precious people but because I want those eyes under me!"'Sakura kept breathing, stressed but not panicking. Sasuke looked like he'd eaten a lemon. "He said, "You want to keep him safe, make him yours!" And I could feel him reach out, through my chakra into his, that's when Sasuke's eyes started spinning real fast and the fox laughed…. I don't know what exactly happened next, or, I don't know how it happened but next I knew we were kneeling before each other and had each others' lives in our heads and we both knew that and!" *Crikt!* Everyone looked at Sasuke to see he'd broken the rail behind him in his fist and was shaking badly. Kakashi turned to Naurto and jerked his head at Sasuke.

Sakura watched as her reckless, brash, loud and clumsy teammate walked over to gently pluck twice red painted splinters out of the hand of a boy who'd never let anyone into his personal space before. Watched Naruto wrap it in a bandage, then kiss it. Sasuke nodded and held it close to his chest like a treasure. Sakura… should have known she never had a chance. She realized everyone was looking at her now, so she tried for a smile. "I'll be happy for you after we're done here." And she meant it, really. Kakashi nodded and looked to Naruto. "From the top." The blonde gulped.

"Okay, so me and Sasuke were fighting, and we clashed with our Rasengan and Chidori. While that was happening the fox did something and it did something weird to Sasuke's sharingan. Whatever it was it caused us to see each other's memories, when we woke up from it we both felt this urge, to um… fuck. So we did." Here he took a deep breath, "So now Sasuke and I are bound together in a way Tsunade-baba is struggling to understand." Sakura stared for a second, then she face-palmed. Kakashi seemed to have gained some humor back as he said, "Then how about you explain it, beyond 'something'?"

Naruto fidgeted and looked to Sasuke who nodded. "The fox explained it to me like this, either by their own will or otherwise demons can bind mortals to them, as well as making them stronger it changes the person's mind around to love and serve the demon. Sasuke can't hurt me or go against my orders, and right now can't stand to be away from me." Sakura was- huh, just, "What!?" She shrieked. Naruto was already cringing in on himself, but Sasuke spoke up before anything else happened, "It's not his fault Sakura!" She just stared at him, thought for a second, then gulped and said, "Can you be sure you wanted it?" Sasuke didn't hesitate, "Yes. Like he said, we saw each other's lives and I, well, fell for him you know? His strength, his compassion and drive, I-I felt no shame or fear in giving myself to him."

Sasuke's cheeks were burning bright red, something not at all helped by the look of pure happiness Naruto was sending his way. It was hard reconciling his pride with his new position already, but under the weight of the jinchūriki's affection it's going to be exhausting. *clap* The jonin got their attention. "Your concern is appreciated Sakura but ultimately pointless. We've already had them both examined by seal masters and mindwalkers. Whatever the fox did, we have no way of detecting or undoing!" He injected just enough cheer into voice to get them to deadpan at him, as he intended. Sakura felt the need to clarify, "So what's this mean for them in the long-term?"

"I'm glad you asked Sakura, as that relates to the nature of Naruto's seal. You see he is not the first container of the Nine-tails, but the Fourth intended for him to be the last." All of them looked attentive at this news. "You see where as the other containers had the fox sealed into them some time into their life Naruto was sealed the day he was born, as such his seal was designed to rather than completely contain the beast lets a small amount of its power into his system as he grew. This better served the seals' ultimate purpose, to have Naruto absorb the fox and become the new Nine-tails." There was silence for a moment, and then a high-pitched kneeing noise let out as Naruto crumpled.

Kakashi gave the children several moments to help Naruto calm down and at his thumbs up started again. "We still don't fully understand how this process will work, but what we do know is that this bonding seems to have sped it up, according to Jiraiya, the Fourth left extensive notes on the stages of the process and the symptoms in the Hokage Vault, the fox appears to have forced Naurto into what he calls the nesting stage. From here on he'll gradually be more and more consu-concerned with getting stronger and expanding his pack for the course of two years." Sakura raised her hand, "Pack?" Kakashi nodded and said "Demons are not monogamous, and neither is Naruto."

His students blanched at this, and Sasuke and Sakura said at the same time, "Naruto gets a harem?!" and "I have to share him!" Kakashi laughed. Then he smoothed his face so they know he's serious again. "For right now what's going to happen is this. The Uchiha clan is dissolved, and in its place the Uzumaki clan is reinstated as a clan of Konoha. Sasuke, Naruto the two of you are hereby field promoted to chunin and Sakura you are to be apprenticed under The Fifth Hokage and all three of you are off of the active duty roster effective immediately. Hold your questions!" He said in his best drill instructor voice. "Now to combat the obvious problem of the public opinion towards Naruto as well as the official story his heritage will be reveled publicly, HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS. As far as the government is concerned Sasuke was kidnapped and upon being rescued fell in love with his teammate. Understood?" A chorus of "Crystal." met his ears.

Kakashi relaxed a bit here "Naruto, it is my great pleasure to finally tell you that you are the son of Uzumaki Kushina the Second Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails and Namikaze Minato the Fourth-Hokage of Konoha, and that they loved you more than life itself." The silence was deafening, and would've been dangerous if not for a tiny but true smile.