A few sentences of what you can expect from this story:
* This is AU, not a canon retelling. Don't be surprised in changes in certain events, character roles, different characters' choices, characterization, etc. that will eventually create a different future. Also, no Kaguya, no Asura/Indra reincarnation BS, and no prophecy. Free will ftw!
* Naruto might be a bit dense sometimes, but he's not an idiot.
* This is Team 7 friendship story, and it's team 7-centric. Eventually BAMF Team 7.
* No bashing.
* Eventually Naruto/Karin. But keep in mind that this is not a romance oriented story, it's just a side thing.
* Ninjas kill. They also don't shout their attack names. The Bijuu are the true forces of nature as they were supposed to be. Jincuurikis are no pushovers either.
* Updates will be slow, painfully so. Please, be patient.

This story was inspired by May Wren's 'Naruto: Myoushuu no Fuuin'.

English is not my first language, betareading done by Beige Eclipse and The Patient One.

When Fate Takes a Turn

Chapter 1

Birth of the Seal Master

Naruto sat on the couch in the Hokage's office, staring blankly at the wall. The truth that Mizuki had blurted just an hour or so before was truly sinking in for him. Even if Iruka-sensei had acknowledged his existence as Uzumaki Naruto, it didn't change the facts.

He was the Kyuubi.

And suddenly, everything became so much clearer. The scornful glares, angry shoves, spiteful spits, and hateful whispers behind his back; the hurtful words like 'demon', 'monster', 'that' and simply 'it' made sense. Being treated like he wasn't even human, like his whole existence was a sin, like he didn't deserve to be alive. Mind-numbing understanding of why he'd been scorned and shunned all his life rushed through Naruto's veins like poison. Yet, somehow, this knowledge was liberating, allowing a strange calmness to envelope his soul. He could finally put a reason behind all the suffocating hatred.

He was the Kyuubi.

The demon who'd attacked Konoha and destroyed parts of the village; who'd killed so many people and forced so many families to mourn over their dead.

Naruto didn't know how to feel about any of this.

"Ne, Jiji," Naruto murmured, finally pulling his gaze from the wall to stare at the elderly Hokage.

The Sandaime shifted his gaze down to the boy. Naruto peered at him with those familiar cerulean orbs, but instead of the usual fire, they were filled with intense sadness, seeming so lost and resigned that it made his heart ache. He nodded to the ninja he'd been silently conversing with, a mute order to leave.

The man gave a quick bow. "Hokage-sama," he intoned dryly, shooting a quick glare to the Kyuubi container before disappearing in a shunshin. Naruto curled into himself, lowering his eyes to the floor.

The Hokage pinched the bridge of his nose. Seeing the young blond so subdued and not in his usual exuberant mood, made him want to personally strangle the traitorous teacher for blabbing out the secret. On the other hand, Hiruzen felt a pang of guilt for not telling the boy the truth himself, sparing him from hearing it in such an unfortunate circumstance.

"Ne, Jiji," Naruto spoke again, "am I really the Kyuubi?"

The Sandaime frowned. "No, Naruto, you are not."

"But… Mizuki-sen– Mizuki said that I was the demon fox. And Iruka-sensei didn't really deny it."

"Naruto," the Hokage slowly walked to the boy, "let me show you something."

The blond's head snapped up and he blinked at the old man, his curiosity piqued. "What is it?"

The Sandaime smiled kindly at the boy. "Unzip your jacket, lift up your shirt up and show me your stomach." Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but did as he was told. "Now," Hiruzen continued, "try to accumulate some chakra. It does not matter how much." After a moment, a black spiral enclosed with eight spirals appeared on the boy's exposed skin. The Hokage motioned to that. "That is the seal."

Naruto peeked over his lifted shirt. "A seal?" he echoed, poking at the mark. "I never noticed it before…" The strange symbol slowly vanished when his concentration faded and the gathered chakra returned to his system. "Ah. It disappeared."

"The Yondaime Hokage sealed the Kyuubi within a newborn baby, within you, Naruto. So you are not the demon fox," the Sandaime assured, putting a warm hand on the boy's head, "but you do contain it within your body."

Naruto lowered his shirt again and frowned. "If I'm not the Kyuubi, then… Why does everyone hate me?" he demanded. Tears suddenly pricked the corners of his eyes, but he wiped them away angrily. "Why do they all look at me with those… those cold, hateful glares?"

"People are emotional creatures. They lost their homes, friends, and family members on that night. Their grief blinds them to the fact that you and Kyuubi are two completely different entities," the man softly explained. "They do not know you well enough, and their prejudice drives them. They blame you for something that you had no control over, and treat you as something that you are not. With time, they will come to see you for who you are, just as Iruka did. Give them that time, and they will come around."

Naruto grit his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. It was so much worse to know that in the end, despite not being the Kyuubi himself, his very existence was a cause for the people's malice. "They're stupid," he angrily spat.

Hiruzen heaved a deep sigh, removing his hand from the boy's head. "Yes," he admitted with a heavy heart. "Yes, they are."

Silence filled the room until Naruto broke it with a voice so hushed that the Sandaime had to enhance his hearing in order to make out his words.

"You said that… The Yondaime sealed Kyuubi into me when I was just a newborn. Did… my parents gave me away knowingly? Willingly? Did they abandon me to my life alone? A life as a monster, hated by everyone?" His curled frame shook with a short bitter chuckle. "I can't really imagine the Yondaime going around and stealing babies to perform demon sealing jutsus like that."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. "No! You must listen to me, Naruto!" Grabbing him by the shoulders, Sarutobi asserted, "Your parents loved you very much! Your father's dying wish was for this village to see you as a hero, that's why he sealed the Kyuubi–" The Sandaime suddenly cut himself off, fully aware of what he'd just revealed in a heat of his emotions. Those familiar sky blue eyes stared at him, and he could see when the gears began to whirr under that sunshine yellow mop. He knew that the boy was able to click all the puzzle pieces together.

Naruto's gaze flickered to the previous Hokages' portraits on the wall, zeroing in on the last one, taking in the near-identically colored hair and eyes. His mouth parted in shock as he connected all the dots, realization crashing onto him like an avalanche, making his head spin. "I'm… The Y-Yondaime was my father?" he whispered, looking back at the old man, unconsciously holding his breath as he waited for a reply.

Hiruzen stifled another sigh. He was getting way too old for this, especially if he couldn't even prevent a simple slip-up like this. He couldn't take back the words if he'd wanted to now. The boy was becoming more like his father's dopplegänger with each passing year, and even if he acted like a loudmouthed idiot most of the time, he was far from actually being one. "Yes. Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, was your father."

Naruto gawked at the man; emotions flashing through his eyes so quickly that even Hiruzen couldn't identify each one as it passed. Disbelief, surprise, anger, and awe were among them. After a moment, a huge grin spread across the boy's face. "I have such an awesome dad!" he shouted in delight.

The Sandaime felt a headache building up. "Naruto, you can't go around telling everyone who your father was," he chided softly. "Minato made many enemies during the war. You use your mother's last name for a reason. It's for your own protection."

The boy blinked at him. "My mother's last name?" Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell me, Jiji? I asked you a few years back, and you said…" he trailed off, his eyes widening in realization. He jumped to his feet, stepping away from the man's reach, glaring defiantly. "You lied to me! You said you didn't know who my parents were! And… Everyone kept calling me 'demon brat' and 'monster' over and over, so I-I thought–" He bit his lip, before taking a shaky breath. "I thought I didn't have parents at all. That I really was–" He jerked his hand in a helpless motion. "No one's ever told me otherwise…"

Sarutobi felt his heart plummeting to his stomach. He knew that the boy had it rough, but to actually believe that he really was nothing but a demon? Unbelievable. "Naruto–"

"No, Jiji!" The blond shook his head in disbelief. "I wanted… I wished– No, I needed to know at least something about myself! This is my parents we're talking about!" he yelled. "I had the right to know 'ttebayo!" He didn't wait for a reply, he merely spun on his heel, storming out of the office.

Sarutobi rubbed his forehead tiredly, glancing at his chosen successor's photo. Those unnerving cerulean orbs stared back at him in a silent accusation, and the old man heaved a hearty sigh, forcing all air out of his lungs. "Minato, Kushina, it appears that I have once again failed your son…"

Naruto slowly made his way through Konoha's streets with a thoughtful expression plastered on his usually joyful face. His hands were buried in his pockets as he trained his eyes on the ground.

The blond completely brushed off the glare shot at him by the various Chunin rushing past him. They were on high alert tonight due to what had happened with Mizuki. The whole village was buzzing with ninja like a disturbed beehive, and none were happy with the Academy's newest graduate due to his unprecedented stealing act. Not that it mattered much to him, he was used to this after all.

Night walks through the village were rather relaxing and enjoyable. Naruto actually loved them. There weren't many civilians out after the sun set, and the rest were few and far between. He learned early on in his crappy life to spot drunks and avoid them at all costs. They were the worst kind.

When the four-year-old Jinchuuriki was allowed to leave the orphanage and enter the village for the first time, he wandered the streets and marveled at everything and everyone. Being but just a child, starved of attention and human interactions, he didn't realize the hostility his mere presence raised from Konoha's general population. A rough wake-up call came after several weeks when a group of angry civilians suddenly cornered him, yelling questions and spitting out death threats that his young mind couldn't even begin to comprehend. Then, the first rock was thrown…

Naruto had no idea how the incident would've ended had ANBU operatives not interfered. They made a quick job of subduing the riotous crowd, and one of them ushered him to go back to the orphanage.

That evening was burned into his mind as the most terrifying memory he had, but at the same time, he regarded it as one of his most precious memories. Naruto's lips curled into a small, gentle smile as he recalled that moment.

Naruto was scared and confused. He didn't know why all those people hated him or what they'd even been talking about. The child finally entered his small room in the orphanage and scanned it with a sad gaze.

Alone again. He was always alone. As long as Naruto could remember, he was always alone.

The four-year-old sighed before turning around to close the door, but was startled by the masked ninja silently standing behind him. Naruto stared at him with wide, curious eyes, countless thoughts chasing each other around in his head. "Um…" the boy started uncertainly, fidgeting under the pressure of the stranger's eyes on his person. It didn't matter that they were hidden behind a white mask. "Will I be punished?"

There was a pregnant pause before the man replied, "No." Naruto visibly relaxed, his tiny frame sagging with relief. "I wanted to be sure that you reached your home safely," the man said. After a soft sigh which probably hadn't been meant to be heard, he quietly added, "I was worried."

The small blond's jaw dropped and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. That was the first time he'd ever heard of someone actually being worried about his safety. This kind of feeling was alien to the young orphan, and his brain went into overload trying, and failing, to figure out how to respond. Naruto was all of a sudden extremely self-conscious and at a complete loss for what to say or do.

Movement in his peripheral vision suddenly drew the boy's attention. He glanced to the side and grinned brightly, quickly bouncing to the corner of his small room to scoop something from the floor. Naruto turned back to look at the man, and, upon seeing him still there, smiled even wider.

"This is Fuwa!" the child exclaimed with delight as he extended his hand, revealing a big brown tarantula with naturally painted red ornaments on his body. The arachnid rested calmly on his wrist. "He's my roommate 'ttebayo!" Naruto felt giddy with excitement. He'd never had an opportunity to introduce someone to a friend. The fact that he was introducing a spider of all things completely flew over the boy's head. Fuwa was his only friend after all.

"Naruto," the careful undertone in the masked stranger's voice wiped the boy's smile clear off his face, "Where did you find this spider?"

The blond knitted his brows in confusion. "I found him on my bed a few months ago," he explained. Suddenly, he paled, his big frightened eyes snapping up to stare at the masked ninja as he brought his hand with the tarantula close to his chest, quickly covering it from view with his other hand. "I-I know that I'm not supposed to make friends, b-but other kids share their rooms with each other, a-and I'm staying here alone, so I th-thought…" Naruto mumbled with one breath, stuttering occasionally until his ramble trailed off as he noticed the adult stiffened.

"Who told you that you weren't supposed to make friends?" the ninja urgently questioned.

"Shizuka-san, Aimi-san, Makoto-san, and Kotone-san…" he named all four of the caretakers of the orphanage. Naruto shrunk into himself when the man let out an angry growl. "I-I'm sorry… I won't try to make friends anymore," he promised, tears stinging the corners of his bright, cerulean eyes. "So please, don't hurt Fuwa! You can punish me! I'm–" His voice hitched in his throat as he saw the ninja lifting his hand.

Naruto screwed his eyes shut, waiting for the usual shove, slap, or smack. The caretakers always told him he deserved it, even if he hadn't done anything. Though, they never really hurt him badly, the negative actions caused him to shun any kind of touch or physical interaction. So, when the big warm hand landed on his head, he flinched. He was completely frozen, holding in a breath he'd taken while awaiting his punishment.

But the stranger only ruffled his hair gently.

Naruto basked in the pleasant sensation of the man's fingers slowly combing through his hair. It was the first time he'd experienced anything like this. He'd often observed adults ruffling and stroking the other kids' heads and wondered how it would feel. It was like a dream come true, the feeling so much better than he'd imagined!

The man crouched down to Naruto's level. "Naruto, you should definitely make friends. I will… speak with your caretakers. They shouldn't spout such nonsense." He grumbled something more under his breath, but Naruto wasn't really listening, choosing instead to stare at the masked stranger with an expression of pure awe. "Now, about that little guy." The man motioned at the tarantula that was apparently content with just resting gently on the kid's arm. "This spider is very dangerous, Naruto. its poison is very lethal and can badly hurt you, even by accident. So, may I take it away?"

The blond's face fell. "But… I don't have anyone else!"

The man seemed to think for a bit. "I'll come to see you whenever I can. Alright?"

Naruto perked up at that, however, he still hesitated. "Promise me you won't hurt him?"

"I promise. Fuwa will be safe with me."

The boy couldn't see the adult's face, but he heard the distinctive hint of a smile in his voice. He sighed, reluctantly placing the tarantula onto the stranger's open palm. "Bye, Fuwa. You were the best roommate I ever had!" He looked up at the masked ninja again. "Take care of him, mister."

"Maa, you can call me Dog."

Naruto beamed at this.

Dog-nii, as the small boy had dubbed the ANBU operative, much to the latter's chagrin, was Naruto's first precious person, the first one to show him kindness, and that bond helped the boy hold onto the belief that the world wasn't a completely dark, hateful, and miserable place. Unfortunately, due to his own reckless actions, he hadn't seen Dog-nii in over four years now. If he hadn't been so naïve and trustful of strangers back then, that incident would never have happened, and their bond wouldn't have suffered. Despite it all, Naruto refused to forget him, even if the man didn't want to have anything to do with him ever again.

Ichiraku's Teuchi and Ayame were soon added to the growing list of the young Jinchuuriki's most important people. Their ramen was the best, and they always greeted him with warm smiles!

Weasel-nii, another ANBU ninja who guarded him when he was younger, entered that list when he assisted the blond with his reading and writing issues. The man disappeared soon after Dog did, and Naruto started to think that that was his fault too, even if the Sandaime said otherwise. Nevertheless, Weasel-nii was in and nothing would change that.

Finally, the newest addition – Iruka-sensei!

Naruto frowned.

The Sandaime-jiji was also on his list of precious people. They didn't socialize often, and their meetings were usually kept extremely short, but the old Hokage always smiled so warmly at the boy, and there weren't many people who were willing to show such fondness in his presence. He couldn't just dismiss it, so the Sandaime held his position on that list. Even if Naruto was currently feeling so pissed off at the man!

The Jinchuuriki gritted his teeth, kicking a random small pebble out of his way and grimly observing as it rolled across the street, crashing against a wall. He sighed, turning his head up to looked at the night sky, trying to veer his mind towards more pleasant thoughts.

He was the son of the Yondaime!

A small smile crept back onto his face, but faltered again as he realized that it was his own father who forced the fate of being a demon container upon him. A spark of an anger and bitterness tugged at his heart. The Yondaime had sealed the Kyuubi inside his own son on the very day of his birth!

Naruto paused, creasing his brow in a scowl. Something didn't add up here, but he couldn't quite put a finger on what seemed to be amiss. Was the Kyuubi's attack on his birthday simply a coincidence?

He shook his head, trying to clear it a bit before walking at a slightly quicker pace. He was exhausted both physically and mentally, and all this thinking, speculating, and accusing wasn't gonna help put his mind at ease.

Still…

The boy's mouth stretched into a fox-like grin.

He was the son of the Yondaime, the most kickass ninja in the world!

Pushing all negative thoughts aside, Naruto basked in the warmth that the knowledge brought as he rushed along bare Konoha's streets.

The blond stopped right before his front door when he reached his shabby apartment, hovering uncertainly. His brows were knitted in doubt, his lips thinning as his eyes darkened. He didn't want to go inside. None of what he'd learned changed the fact that his home was still painfully empty. There would be no one waiting for him on the other side of that door to welcome him back. On the contrary, the knowledge only made him feel worse.

An interesting idea came to the young ninja's mind. He lifted his hands into the cross seal, feeling his chakra bending to his will. He grinned slightly and moulded it. A distinctive pop could be heard from the other side of the door.

Naruto waited for a few moments, then unlocked the door and stepped inside. His clone immediately appeared in the narrow hallway with a wide, but strained, smile and exclaimed, "Welcome home!"

The original stared at him.

…It didn't make him happy at all. It backfired remarkably as the loneliness swelled into an aching bottomless void.

Naruto closed the door with a sigh. "I'm so stupid…" he muttered, waving his hand in dismissal.

The grin on the clone's face fell. "Cheer up, boss," he said before promptly vanishing.

The orange-clad ninja snorted. "Yeah, thanks." As he padded into the kitchen to get a glass of water, he pondered if this kind of behavior could be considered one of the first signs of insanity.

Naruto was staring through the window deep in thought, his eyes not really seeing anything in front of him. He wasn't bouncing around in joy like usual, his eyes were narrowed and his lips were pursed into a thin line. Today the blond wanted to remain unseen and alone, so he didn't wear his usual neon orange clothes, choosing instead to wear simple blue pants, a black t-shirt with a red spiral in front, and his new headband, firmly wrapped around his forehead.

"Naruto."

The boy looked to the old Hokage without a word.

The Sandaime smiled. "Your registration form is acceptable," he informed the boy kindly, glancing at the sheet of paper in his hand. "But you could have at least smiled for the photo."

A small frown appeared on Naruto's face. "I'm not really in the mood. May I go? I have things to do."

"Oh? And where are you going in such a rush?"

"Library," the Jinchuuriki replied simply, his gaze shifting to look through the window yet again. "There are things I need to know about. Things I'd been denied to till now."

Hiruzen sighed. "Naruto–"

"I need to know who I am, Jiji," the blond interrupted, more bitter and tired than angry or spiteful. "I can't go on like this anymore."

They both stared each other down for a moment. Surprisingly, it was the Hokage who looked away first. With a heavy sigh, he stood. "Walk with me, Naruto," he said while shifting out of the room.

Curiosity piqued, the young ninja trailed after him. They silently passed several corridors, then descended the stairs, finally stopping in front of an unremarkable wooden door.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the old man, but the latter suddenly ran his fingers through several hand seals so fast that the blond was unable to identify them all. A strange diagram glowed on the wooden before vanishing.

Hiruzen opened the now unsealed door and motioned for the boy to enter first. Naruto stepped inside and looked around. The entirety of the room, as far as he could see, had rows upon rows of shelves filled to the brims with books and scrolls.

"What is this place?" Naruto asked, respectfully keeping his voice at a low volume.

The Sandaime smiled. "This is the place where the history of Konohagakure, and its people, are preserved for future generations." He took a deep breath and glanced down at the blond. "Naruto, tell me. Do you hate the villagers for treating you like they do?"

The Jinchuuriki's head snapped towards him, confusion crossing his features. "Huh?"

"Or me for not telling you anything till now?" The Hokage scrutinized the boy's expression, noting a pinch between his eyebrows as he was contemplating his answer. Hiruzen didn't push him to reply immediately. His own heart was beating faster and faster as he waited, dreading the answer.

Naruto closed his eyes. The hateful glares and nasty whispers suddenly emerged from his memories, and he snorted. "No, I don't think I hate the villagers. They are so full of that themselves, I'm not gonna stoop to their level," he scoffed and then pinned the old man with eyes that gleamed with such strength and tenacity that the elderly Hokage had to suppress a shudder from unmistakable familiarity. "I don't hate you either, Jiji, but I am very angry."

The Sandaime let the shoulders sag in relief. It could have been much worse than just anger which was reasonable and expected. Although, now he could see that his little Naruto had more of his father's traits in him than he'd initially assumed.

It was not easy to truly anger Minato Namikaze, but when someone managed that, his ire blazed like cold flames, ruthless and unrelenting, hidden under a calm smile and an indifferent gaze. It took a very long time for those flames to fade, if at all possible, and it would be an endless struggle to gain his forgiveness once again. Dealing with Kushina Uzumaki in this regard was much easier. She was quick to anger and, in most cases, quick to forgive and forget.

"Do you hate your father for sealing the Kyuubi within you?"

Naruto blinked. "What? Why would I hate him?" he asked incredulously. "I could never hate my dad. I'm sure he had his reasons." He frowned slightly. "But I was wondering… Was it a coincidence that the Kyuubi attacked Konoha the day I was born? It just seems strange, no matter how I think about it."

Hiruzen's eyebrows shot upwards. He was shocked of such an accurate deduction, especially whilst knowing close to nothing about the subject! He'd clearly underestimated the boy's intellect.

"Maybe it was just coincidence…" Naruto said with a shrug, not noticing the Hokage's eyes suddenly sharpening.

"No," the Sandaime denied, and at that moment he knew that he would tell him everything, put his trust into this child and bet everything on the decision Minato's legacy would reach after being exposed to the truth. "Before I say anything more, I need you to promise me that no word will leave this room. Can you do that for me, Naruto?"

The blond was startled from a sudden tone change, but quickly composed himself and gave one firm nod, "Yes."

Hiruzen started walking with Naruto trailing close after him. "Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina. She was also known as Red, Hot-Blooded Habañero," he started. "When she was young, she came to Konoha from her home village, Uzushiogakure no Sato, for a purpose." The Hokage paused at one of the shelves, scanned the labels, then faced his companion and continued, "She came here to become the second Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

"Jinchuuriki?"

"That is the name given to those who have Bijuu sealed inside their person."

Naruto scrunched his face like he'd tasted something very sour, and then suddenly froze. All blood drained from his face as he stared at the Sandaime in absolute horror. "If she had Kyuubi inside her, and…" He gulped. "And it attacked the day I was born… Am I– Does that mean it was m-my fault they'd died?"

Again, Sarutobi was taken aback of how fast the boy's mind worked through information and drew conclusions. He absentmindedly wondered what he'd been doing in the Academy to receive such poor grades. "No, Naruto," he assured, putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort the young blond, but the latter shrugged it off immediately.

Naruto grew up greatly disliking other people intruding his personal space. He was completely comfortable and allowed his walls to drop only around a select few, and the elderly Hokage surmised that currently he was not on that list.

"It is true that the seal holding the fox weakens during childbirth, and though I can only speculate at what really occurred during that time, I am certain that there was a third party involved that night. My own wife died by their hands…" he continued, feeling the pain of that loss jabbing at his heart, even after all these years, but he pushed it aside and continued, "I don't know what their purpose was or any further details on their attack as your parents left this world before they could reveal anything, but I am certain that the Kyuubi's attack was a deliberate work of sabotage."

Naruto was looking at him with wide eyes. "By whom?" he whispered out.

"That is currently unknown."

The young ninja's hand unconsciously drifted to rest over his stomach, his features set into a deep scowl.

Hiruzen lifted his hand and pulled out the thick scroll he'd been searching for. "Naruto," he called, drawing the boy's attention. "There are things sealed inside this storage scroll that I believe your parents would like you to inherit. They are mostly books, scrolls, and journals, but there are also some personal items inside."

The blond's eyes widened at the implication of those words. Gingerly, he reached out and brushed his finger along the edge of the scroll with 'The Yondaime' neatly written on the side. All of his longing and wistfulness could be seen in the brief motion.

"The information contained in here could be very dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands," the Sandaime said, watching in amusement at how Naruto snatched his hand away as if it had been burned, then threw an accusing glare his way. Before he could open his mouth to complain, Sarutobi spoke again, "So, you'll have to be extremely vigilant in its protection. I collected these things after the Yondaime and Kushina perished, using his blood to seal it as a security measure. It can be opened only by Minato and his blood kin. This is the key." He pulled out a small piece of paper and gave it to still-stunned Naruto. "Paint this with your blood, inject a bit of chakra, and the seal will unlock. The seal will reactivate itself if you roll the scroll back up. Do you understand me?"

The Jinchuuriki was stuck, frowning at the diagram on the paper. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good," he said, offering the precious item to the boy, who took it with a strange expression of reverence on his whiskered face. Hiruzen smiled. "I'm sure you're more than eager to check the contents of that scroll."

A small upward curve finally graced Naruto's lips as he nodded at the old man's utterance.

Naruto was sitting with his legs folded beneath him on the floor of his bedroom. He was staring at all of the things perched on his bed with wide eyes, afraid to touch anything, afraid they might puff out of existence upon physical contact. These were the things he'd unsealed from the scroll the old man gave to him. The things that had once belonged to his parents.

With trembling hands, the boy picked up the photo frame he'd been gawking at for the last half hour. As he stared at the photo, realization slowly unfurled in his mind and warmth spread throughout his frame.

Sometimes, on the better days, Naruto had dreamed about having a loving family, about having both a mother and a father who actually cared about him, but he couldn't recall if he'd ever tried to imagine their appearance. Now, he had faces to put on the imaginary figures of his parents. The faces were full of so much love and fondness that it made the young ninja rub his eyes to make sure that he was seeing it right.

His cheeks were wet, and Naruto wondered distractedly when he'd started crying.

The pregnant woman with long, red hair – his beautiful mother – sat on the couch with a gentle smile on her serene face, one of her hands buried in the sunshine yellow mop of the Yondaime – his amazing father – who was kneeling beside her with his ear pressed to her belly, as if listening to something incredible, gazing sideways at it with the most loving expression.

All of that love was directed towards her belly, towards their still unborn baby, towards him.

It hurt. It hurt so much to know that he could have been loved so dearly, but the ability to experience any of it had been cruelly ripped away from him.

Naruto hugged the photo frame tightly to his chest, a choked sob tearing from his throat.

When Naruto finally calmed down, he created a clone to keep an eye on the items, dragging himself to the bathroom to wash his face. He'd long ago closed the curtains to hide away from prying eyes, well before unsealing his dad's scroll, but it still didn't feel safe to leave it unsupervised.

Naruto returned to his bedroom and blinked at the sight of his clone reading something. "What are you looking at?" he inquired.

"The title caught my eye," the clone replied. "It's about the history of Uzushiogakure no Sato."

"Uzushiogakure?" The original scratched his chin in thought. "I think I heard that name in the history class. Something about being Konoha's ally. It was destroyed if I'm remembering correctly."

"That's right, but that's not what's important about it. Jiji said that mom was from there."

"Oh, right, I remember that." The Jinchuuriki nodded. "Okay. If you find anything interesting, tell me."

"Yes, boss!"

Naruto glanced at his parents' photo once again and put it to the side with a small smile. There weren't many personal items: two items of clothing and a strangely shaped kunai with a pendant tied around it. He picked up the weapon to examine it.

The kunai had three prongs and a thick, long handle. It was slightly larger and much heavier than a standard kunai, and there was some sort of paper seal wrapped around the handle.

The pendant was a spiral in shape, carved from some sort of translucent gemstone*. It gleamed yellow at the center, gradually shifting to orange, and then red, with a bright blue rim surrounding it along the outermost edge. It was a fascinating piece of jewelry indeed!

Naruto admired it for a few more minutes, flipping the pendant over in a narrow ray of sunshine.

The first article of clothing was a small blanket. A baby blanket, the blond recognized. It was orange, his favorite color, with a red spiral in the center. He frowned at it, wondering what significance it held. His parents seemed to use the symbol often.

Suddenly, his fingers brushed over embroidery in the corner. He scrutinized it a bit more closely and couldn't fight a grin at the words he read. Naruto Uzumaki. It was supposed to be his blanket. Naruto marveled at the scrupulous embroidery, speculating that it was probably his mom's own handiwork.

"Wow."

The clone's voice brought the young Jinchuuriki out of his daze. He glanced at the second him and questioned, "What is it?"

"We had a clan, boss," replied his copy, its nose still buried in the book.

Naruto blinked. "…What?"

"The Uzumaki was a founder clan of Uzushio. It was destroyed together with the village more than twenty years ago. The Uzumaki were both respected and feared throughout the ninja world due to their unmatched prowess in the sealing arts." He paused, extending the book to the original. "You should definitely read it."

Knitting his eyebrows together, Naruto carefully folded the blanket and gently took the book, dispelling the clone and sitting down on the wooden floorboards to read. As he finished the page and flipped it, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd already perused it, though, he was sure he hadn't. His clone had though.

Naruto quickly skimmed through the text, and the further he went, the more surprised he was. Could he actually remember what his clone had read? Did this ability only work on reading? Perhaps he could recall their actions as well.

The young ninja created another clone and sent it to the kitchen to test out this theory. After a moment, he perked up with knowledge that his chair was pushed from one corner to the other and he hummed to himself in contemplation.

"Well, that could come in handy," Naruto murmured, setting the information aside to ponder on a later date. He had a lot of reading to catch up on as it was.

When Naruto finished the book, to say that he was stunned would have been a severe understatement. It had totally blown his mind.

He actually belonged to a clan on his mother's side. Not just some random unknown clan, but one of the oldest and most powerful clans in ninja history. They were renowned for their Sealing Techniques, which were an esoteric specialty and also very difficult to master. Most ordinary ninja and civilians wouldn't concern themselves with such things, and thus wouldn't recognize the Uzumaki name.

Still, Uzumaki blood was coursing through his veins. This was his heritage. Just yesterday, he didn't have anything, and now, he had not only parents, but a clan too!

Naruto paused. His clan was destroyed. He might be the only Uzumaki left.

The blond boy grimaced at the thought. It reminded him of a certain annoying bastard.

But maybe, just maybe, not all of his clansmen died in the assault of Uzushio. Maybe he had some family members scattered around in other nations. If his mother had managed to survive the purge, who was to say others didn't?

That theory made Naruto grin.

Naruto spent the rest of the day rapt in checking all the other things in the pile.

First, he examined the second article of clothing, which turned out to be the coat of the Yondaime. The boy's heart almost leaped out of his chest as he unfolded the white coat decorated with red flames and proudly written 'The Yondaime Hokage' on the back for everyone to see.

Naruto immediately decided that it was beyond cool and that he definitely should get something similar once he'd become a great ninja.

After an hour of trying out his dad's coat, parading around his apartment in it, and imitating the Hokage, the young Uzumaki-Namikaze was in a much better mood, and he delved into the pile of books, scrolls, and journals with great gusto.

Most of them were about seals. It didn't surprise Naruto, seeing that his mother came from the long line of Seal Masters, and his father had become the Seal Master himself.

Naruto had a lot of fun going through their personal journals of seal studies. Though they both had their own separate journals, soon it was clear that they often helped each other by scribbling tips, corrections or comments in between the original notes. He could easily distinguish the writings of his parents: Minato's writing was neat and meticulous whereas Kushina usually scrawled untidily with lots of loops and spirals in her penmanship. She also liked to doodle a lot. There were so many sketches in her journal! The drawing of what seemed to be the Yondaime in a frilly dress sent Naruto into mad laughing for a few minutes before he had run out of the air and had to stop to take a breather.

There were a few scrolls on chakra theory: its control, manipulation, shape and nature transformations, together with a methodology of ninjutsu creation. That all sounded so difficult, it made his head spin. The scrolls depicting the Yondaime's personally created ninjutsu took Naruto's breath away. It was way too advanced for him right now, but one day he could learn it and continue his father's legacy!

Giddy with excitement, the blond grabbed another scroll, unfurled it and peeked inside. Another seal. Slightly disappointed, he rolled the scroll up and got ready to put it aside, then suddenly he froze. Quickly spreading the scroll on his floor again, Naruto gazed at the seal with great interest. Although some parts seemed a bit different, it was definitely the same one that was placed on his stomach to keep the Kyuubi imprisoned.

Naruto skimmed through the text, stopping to read more attentively only when something caught his eye.

After the sealing is performed, the Shinigami will consume the summoner's soul and the soul of their target(s), ending their life. The souls of those trapped within the Shinigami's stomach cannot enter the Pure Land and are destined to fight with their victims for all eternity.

Naruto stared at that particular paragraph for a while, reading it over and over. Slowly, a horror gripped his mind, making his guts churn.

His father not only sacrificed his life, but his soul too, and now was trapped, unable to move on, and on top of that, he seemingly had been tortured!

Suddenly the air in the room became suffocating and the walls pressed on Naruto, so he stumbled to his feet and ran. He barely had the presence of mind to create a clone to keep everything safe as he rushed out of his apartment into the chilly night.

Sakura was striding along an empty Konoha's street with a particular spring in her steps. It was getting really late, but she didn't care. Seeing Sasuke training till the sun disappeared over the forest line was worth to get yelled at by her parents. Besides, she was a kunoichi now, dammit!

Her eyes landed on another lone person walking right in front of her, and the pinkette blinked in surprise, instantly recognizing that bright sunshine yellow mop. "Naruto?" the name was out of her mouth before Sakura's mind caught up and she instantly wanted to facepalm. She was not in a mood to deal with this loudmouth idiot right now!

Naruto halted in his stroll and turned around with a furrowed brow. Upon seeing her, he pursed his lips even more. "Sakura," he said after a moment.

Sakura did a double take to make sure it really was her knucklehead ex-classmate.

First, he seemed genuinely annoyed by her presence. Naruto simply didn't do 'annoyed' while interacting with other people. They might be on a mutual silent agreement to ignore each other most of the time after she violently refused his date invitation a year or so ago, but the blond was always happy with anyone who spared a moment to converse with him. And that happened quite rarely, because apparently, no one wanted to interact with the biggest idiot in the class, especially after their parents warned them to stay away from the boy.

Second, Naruto wasn't wearing his neon orange jumpsuit. Sakura couldn't even remember a day when he had put on different clothes, and she saw him almost every day in the Academy for the past four years. It was… strange to see him without that eyesore. He looked like a completely different person, especially with that kind of expression on his usually bright features.

And third, her blond peer had a ninja headband tied around his head. Sakura witnessed him failing the exam just yesterday with her own eyes and even heard some of the adults belittling him for that. Not like his failure came as a surprise, Naruto graded as one of the lowest students in their class. So, was he pretending to be a ninja when he clearly didn't have the right to be one?

"Why do you have a ninja headband, Naruto?" Sakura demanded. "Did you steal it from someone?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you know the rules and what the consequences are for impersonating Konoha's ninja better than anyone," he retorted. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to do that?" As the pinkette opened her mouth to respond, Naruto quickly added, "Don't answer that. I know what you all think about me… No, I didn't steal it."

Sakura was once again taken aback by an unusually snarky attitude of her ex-classmate. She absentmindedly wondered what happened that he was in such a bitter mood. "So, how did you get it?" she inquired, honestly curious now.

"One thing led to another." Naruto shrugged like it wasn't worth mentioning. "I guess you could call it a field promotion."

The girl waited for further explanation or loud bragging about his amazing achievements, but none had come. She stared at Naruto as though seeing him for the first time.

Now that she thought about it, the hyperactive blond always boasted about silly things, like a grand prank he'd managed to pull or amount of ramen he'd eaten in one sitting, but never about important stuff. Such as that one time in shuriken practice lesson: Naruto managed to get the second best score, beaten only by Sasuke. He merely grinned proudly at his class, but it was met with jealous glares and angry whispers of 'show-off' while teachers simply ignored his accomplishment. Next time, his accuracy was back to near non-existence, he was whining about it louder than usual and made his classmates laugh at his misery.

"What are you doing here so late, Sakura?"

Naruto's question jolted the pinkette out of her musings and she reacted to it with a confused, "Eh?" As the blond raised an eyebrow at that, Sakura gathered her scattered thoughts and smiled wistfully. "I was observing Sasu–" She was interrupted by a furious voice, coming from the nearby alley.

"You demon!"

Both kids turned to look at the elderly man, stumbling out into the street with a hate filled glare leveled on Naruto. He clenched a bottle of alcohol in one of his hands and used the other to lean on the corner of the house.

"Y-You murderer…! You killed her!" he hissed viciously, causing the small blond to flinch at his groundless accusation. The man took a swig from his bottle. "My Haruko… My beautiful child…" he wailed silently. He tried to wipe the tears with his free hand and almost fell down as he lost his support. "Why are you alive, demon?! How dare you be alive while my Haruko lay dead?! I hate you, murderer! You don't deserve to live, while my beautiful, innocent daughter lost her life because of you! Just die already!"

Sakura stared at the drunk with wide eyes, frozen in her spot. She was so shocked of this sudden barrage of malicious accusation directed to her idiotic ex-classmate that she didn't notice the man abruptly flinging the bottle at them before collapsing in a sobbing heap, still blabbering something unintelligible under his breath.

Naruto grabbed the dazed girl by her arm and tugged her to the side. The sloppily thrown bottle flew past the spot she'd been standing and smashed onto the ground behind them, the sound of breaking glass echoing sharply in the stillness of the night.

"Come on, Sakura-chan." Naruto tugged the pinkette gently one more time and then let his hand drop. "I'll walk you home."

Sakura trailed after him more as an automatic response than a deliberate one. An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two young ninja as they made their way through Konoha.

The girl peeked at the blond. She'd never seen him looking so sad. "Did you…?" she tried to ask, but couldn't finish the question, dreading the answer.

Naruto lifted his eyes from the ground to look at her, squinting in suspicion. "I what? Did I kill her? As if 'ttebayo!" he scoffed angrily. "Don't you think that if I did such a thing, I would have already been caught and punished?"

"But… then... that man…?"

The boy closed his eyes as he turned away from her, a deep frown crossing his face. "His daughter died twelve years ago in the Kyuubi's attack," he explained after a moment.

Sakura lowered her head, embarrassed that she took the drunk's words at its face value. "So, why–?"

"I was born that day," Naruto cut off her question, his voice strangely void of any emotion. "Some people think that it's enough to put blame on me."

The kunoichi couldn't wrap her mind around that piece of information, because it didn't make any sense, but she didn't really know what to say either, and so decided to stay silent. When they finally reached her house, Sakura heaved a sigh in relief. The palpable tension in the air was starting to get on her nerves. She would have never thought that Naruto, the idiotic loudmouth knucklehead, could make her nervous, but this unexpected change in his attitude really made her feel uneasy.

"Why did you become a kunoichi?"

Again, Naruto's unexpected inquiry startled Sakura, but as a subject of her affection popped in her head she smiled. "It's because of Sasuke-kun, of course," she replied proudly, and instantly her mind screeched to a halt, surprising even her. Was he really the only reason?

Apparently, Naruto came up with the same conclusion. "Really?" he asked, trying and failing not to sound disappointed. "Only for that bastard?"

Sakura's inner fangirl almost exploded in fury. "Don't call Sasuke-kun that!" she exclaimed. "As if a weakling like you can even compare with a great genius like Sasuke-kun!"

The blond boy opened his mouth to object, but promptly shut it again. "You're right. I am weak," he agreed wholeheartedly after a moment to Sakura's absolute bewilderment. He turned to the side, so that he could stare at the Hokage Mountain, his eyes immediately fixing on the Yondaime's stone head. "If I want to protect my few precious people, if I want to make them proud, if I want to reach him," Naruto lifted his hand towards the distant face of his father as he spoke, "and save him..." he curled his fingers into a tight fist, "I need to step up my game."

The sky blue eyes flashed with steely determination, his lips twisted into a fierce grin, and Naruto's whole demeanor suddenly changed, his decision resounding within his whole being.

"To continue their legacy, I'll become the ninja and the Seal Master this world has never seen before 'ttebayo!"

* – pendant is made from Fire Opal. It's a real, existing gemstone. My chosen color scheme is one of many possibilities.

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