Happy Early Birthday to Naruto Uzumaki!

Disclaimer: I do not own Medaka Box or Naruto. Those rights belong to Nisio Isin Akira Akatsuki and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. I also don't own any other anime or its characters that might appear in this story. There will be some differences from the original materials of both Anime/Manga. So without any delay. Sit back, relax and enjoy the story.

People Speaking: "You don't become Hokage to be acknowledged by everyone."

People Thinking: 'It's the people acknowledged by everyone that become Hokage.'

Monster/Demon Speaking: "People don't exist to follow rules."

Monster/Demon Thinking: 'Rules exist to protect the people.'

Techniques or Abnormality Names: "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"

Chapter 3

Reaching Adulthood's Epilogue

"I can't believe Medaka-chan kicked us out of my own house." Naruto grumbled as he and Zenkichi walked down the road leading to his new home, which was the one that his parents had own before he was born. Apparently, it had been left to him for when he became Jōnin, to which he had been recently promoted as of a few days ago. The residence had to go through a major remodel since it was one of the buildings destroyed from Pein's attack on the village, but luckily a lot of the possessions Minato and Kushina had were moved to a secret location thanks to Kakashi and a few old friends of Minato's.

It wasn't even half a month ago when Naruto and Sasuke saved the world from Madara, and the true masterminds behind the war, Black Zetsu and Kaguya, both male members of Team 7 having their final confrontation at the Valley of the End where Naruto lost his right arm and Sasuke, his left. Word soon spread across the entire world on the war that had broken out in the Elemental Nations and how Naruto and Sasuke had saved everyone from being absorbed, which was something that occurred around the world as the Tree Branches from the Infinite Tsukyomi had targeted anyone that had any amounts of Chakra, not matter how small the amount.

Many repaired were being made to the continents that had been targeted, where dozens of countries and hundreds of cities were in ruins. Of course, upon hearing what had happened to their childhood friend, both Medaka and Zenkichi took the first available transportation available to the Elemental Nations, and were surprised to see that the usually opened gates leading into Konoha were sealed shut with a massive crowd being held back by a barricade in front of it. It was only thanks to a few of the Shinobi guarding the gates recognizing the two that both Medaka and Zenkichi were allowed entry, much to the complaints from the crowds.

From there, the two were directed to the area that Naruto was staying in time to see him sitting on a bench outside the hospital, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and pants with the right sleeve of his shirt dangling at his side. There were a few other people standing around him, including Gaara the Yondaime Kazekage, A the Yondaime Raikage and Killer B, the Hachibi Jinchūriki, though that didn't matter to the two as they rushed to his side, surprising Naruto at their sudden appearance though this was quickly replaced with joy as he gave each of them a one-arm hug before introducing his best friends to everyone there. As he was introducing Medaka, the women in the group, Shizune, Karui and Temari, couldn't help but feel a blow to their pride at seeing a recently-turned 17 possessing a body that easily put theirs to shame, while Killer B made his usual raps about the beautiful Kurokami. To his surprise, the dismay of those from Kumo and Gyūki, and the amusement of Naruto and Zenkichi, Medaka was able to perfectly reply to the older man with raps of her own.

Truly, Medaka's The End was something to be feared.

"Well, there was not much you could do with Iruka-san and Kakashi-sama assigning you private lessons for your promotion. You know how Medaka-chan is when it comes to education." Zenkichi stated as he recalled the girl delivering a German Suplex to Naruto as he tried to escape through the door after hearing that he was going to have to study more in exchange for his Jōnin promotion. It had been quite the hilarious sight for the three, Shikamaru and Team Ebisu to see the Savior of the World get manhandled by the Abnormal into getting started with his studies.

She had always been adamant about his studying and making sure that the Uzumaki didn't neglect the academic side of being a Shinobi, especially with his dream of being Hokage. Leaving Naruto under Iruka's tutor, Medaka had somehow managed to steal Naruto's keys to his new house before telling him he was not allowed to come back until he finished for the day. It was also under her orders that Zenkichi stay behind to help their friend out, though it was mostly to make sure he didn't try and escape.

"I know. Even after becoming a normal student, she hasn't changed a bit."

"Would you expect her to be any different?"

The best friends shared a similar smirk on both their faces at Zenkichi's rhetorical question. "Nah. She wouldn't be the Medaka-chan we know and love if she changed so completely after losing the election to you. I'm glad she's got this chance to experience a life that not even she knows what she wants to do."

Naruto had been shocked to find out that Zenkichi had beaten Medaka in the election to become 100th Student Council President. In the secret phone calls that the two had been sharing, Naruto knew of Zenkichi's intentions and reasons as to why he was doing it in the first place, and stayed true to their agreement on allowing one another the chance to win Medaka's affections… Though to be honest, he still couldn't believe it when he heard that the girl had received only 2 percent approval. With their new roles, the Shinobi saw the changes in appearances that his childhood friends had undergone. Medaka had shortened her hair to shoulder-length while the rest was put in to a small ponytail, while her outfit switched from her customized uniform to an open, light yellow jacket, a dark red shirt that showed her stomach, blue jeans and detached sleeves that match her shirt. Zenkichi had customized his own uniform slightly to match his role as a Student Council President and started wearing half-rim rectangle glasses.

"That's almost exactly what she said after I gave her that haircut… Though she did comment on how living unpredictably like a certain blonde knucklehead we knew sounded very exciting."

A deadpanned expression formed on Naruto's face as he turned to look at Zenkichi, "You say that like I never go through life without some kind of plan. I've got goals too, ya know."

"Maybe, but we both know that a large percent of the time you follow your gut and act without really thinking about your next move. Though the times that you do come up with plans in the middle of battle is terrifyingly scary, especially when not even someone like Maguro-san can't keep up." Zenkichi pointed out with a shrug of his shoulders, which was a little difficult with all of the different-sized gifts that many of the villagers and visitors, and several fangirls, had given to Naruto, who had become a celebrity after saving the world. Naruto was holding a few gifts himself that were handing off his arm, but thanks to only having one arm available it was extremely difficult for him so Zenkichi offered to carry most of the load, dismissing his fellow blonde offer to create Shadow Clones. All those assignments for the Student Council request box was really paying off. "Not that it's a bad thing. There have been plenty of times when I envied how you resolve situations that way, just like during that time when Medaka-chan and I faced off against Miyakonojou and his Weighted Words."

"… That guy was an asshole back then. I still can't believe it when you guys told me about how much he's changed since then." Naruto muttered before looking up at the sky with a melancholy expression, "Following my gut has always helped me out in the past, though I guess learning so much under Ero-Sennin played a large role in that too."

Zenkichi's gaze drifted to the road beneath them at the mention of the perverted hermit, "It's hard to believe that it's almost been a year already since he was killed by Nagato. I find it even crazier to hear that you actually had to fight the guy again during the Fourth Great Shinobi War along with all those other Shinobi that had been resurrected. You and the Shinobi Alliance literally had to fight reanimated corpses."

"It was a crazy experience, that's for sure… But it wasn't all bad…" Memories of fighting alongside Itachi, the Hokages, and especially his father, Minato, flashed through his mind. A large grin formed on his face as he recalled another memory, one that he would treasure for the rest of his life.

~(Flashback)~

"So let me get this straight… The Elemental Nations are about to go to war against this Madara Uchiha guy that was leading the Akatsuki from the shadows, and they sent you off to 'study the ecology of Kumogakura's hidden island' while the other villages are getting ready?"

Letting out a sigh as he turned his body to face the Waterfalls of Truth, Naruto could hear the familiar tone in Zenkichi's voice through his cellphone's speaker. "Yeah. Apparently they think that I'd actually buy that cover-story mission and not realize that they're just hiding the remaining Jinchūriki away so the Akatsuki doesn't find us."

The blonde could hear the sounds of the phone on the other side of the line moving before Medaka's voice spoke up, "It is a smart plan, especially if this island can't be found by any other person besides those from Kumo. I'm surprised they allowed you to have access to your cellphone while you are there."

"Well, it is still a new piece of technology. So given how much Shinobis need to remain undetected, I doubt that there are ways track down the signal of the call… But it is still risky with how much the Akatsuki want to capture you and that other guy."

"I know, I just… wanted to talk with you guys one more time before Octopops and I continue my training…" Naruto replied as his gazed shifted from the water crashing down into the pond to Killer B and Yamato, who was silent as they waited for Naruto to finish his conversation. On the waterfall was a hidden cave where the Tailed Beast Temple was located, and where he would be sealed away while coming face to face with Kyuubi in battle. "Heh… It's too bad that Hitomi-obachan isn't with you guys. She always did have a way of easing the situation whenever we had challenges to face and supporting us."

"Naruto… Why-"

"Why are you talking like you might not make it through it alive?" Zenkichi was interrupted by Medaka, the concern evident in their voices after hearing Naruto's words. "You're sounding just like Zenkichi did during his battle with Kumagawa right before he destroyed the flooring."

A small smirk formed on Naruto's face before speaking, "Really? Damn, hate to make it sound like I was being a copycat." His bad attempt at humor was met with a silent response as neither of his childhood friends had found the terrible joke amusing. His expression turned serious as his free hand clenched into a tight fist, "Don't worry, you two… I have no plans on dying. The next phase involves me harnessing Kyuubi's power, so it'll be risky if we don't do this right."

"You said the next phase. What exactly did you have to do before?"

Naruto went silent at Zenkichi's question, memories of confronting his true self, Dark Naruto, when he meditated in front of the waterfall earlier. The other version of his spouting out all of Naruto's doubts, his anger towards the Konoha villagers on how they used to treat him and how they suddenly changed their opinions of him, and even his secret frustrations towards his friends from the Six Continents.

"Heh! You always talk about how you treasure our friendship with Zenkichi, but we've always been jealous of the fact he still has a mother that cherishes him and has Medaka-chan beside him while you lived in that crappy apartment by yourself. And let's not forget about Medaka-chan, going on and on about how she loves everybody. We confessed our feelings to her and she still divides her love between us and Zenkichi with a smile on her face. That's always what made her so… infuriating!"

'Maybe I do have some envy that Zenkichi could experience the love of a parent every day. I was so happy when I was able to meet my dad, who encouraged and believes in me to find a way to break the cycle of hatred. While I don't know who my real mom is, or what she thought about me becoming the Kyuubi's Jinchūriki, having someone like Hitomi-obachan there for me whenever she could is enough to know what having a parent feels like.' Naruto thought to himself, closing his eyes as memories of times when Hitomi comforted him when he was sad or scolded him when he did something bad/stupid. 'I knew from the beginning that forming a romantic relationship between just the two of us was going to be a challenge, and while it may be frustrating at time, it's because of her abnormal personality that I fell for Medaka-chan in the first place…'

"Naruto… Naruto!"

The blonde Shinobi snapped out of his thoughts at Zenkichi's shout, "Let's just say… I had to get a good look at myself and accepted who I was, both the good and the bad."

Medaka could be heard humming to herself as she processed Naruto's words. "So… it was a matter of finding inner peace?"

"Yeah. It hard to put into words, but… I feel like my soul is lighter now. Kind of like how I felt back then when I used that strange form I used back then."

"Wait, are you talking about that golden form when you and I fought against Medaka II?"

"I still find it odd that you both talk about my brainwashing like I was a different person."

"Well, that's what the brainwashed you called herself. And weren't you the one who said that she was someone that you would never be?"

"True. So what is the next phase to using that Yellow Fox mode?"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched at the Abnormal's title for harnessing the Kyuub's power, "There is no way in hell I'm calling it that."

"Flaming Chakra Beast?"

"Don't think so."

"Golden Naruto!"

"Hmmm…"

This time it was Zenkichi who turned it down, "Nope. Sounds way to arrogant and egotistical. Something that a villain with an inferiority complex would give themselves so they can sound more important than the main character in a manga."

"I guess I'll just have to think of something later." Seeing the truth behind his childhood friend's words, the smile on the whiskered blonde's face faded as he turned to see B crossing his arms with a serious look on his face. Looks like he could postpone it any longer. "I've got to get going now. Time to face the Kyuubi."

"Are… Are you really going to fight that thing just to harness its power?" Zenkichi asked in worry in his voice, especially since it was dangerous to go head-to-head with the strongest of the nine Tailed Beasts. He still remembered the condition Naruto had been after his battle with Gaara and Shukaku during the Sand/Sound Invasion. The power of the Ichibi alone had be devastating enough and nearly killed everyone in the area and probably the village if it hadn't been for Gamabunta, and disrupting Gaara's Play Possum Jutsu.

"While part of me hopes that that won't happen, I know it is something that can't be avoided." Naruto admitted as he recalled B's explanation on what would happen once he sealed up the room inside the temple. "A part of me is a little nervous about something going wrong… There's still so much I want to do."

"YOU CAN DO IT! I HAVE FAITH IN YOU!"

Naruto couldn't help but move his phone away from his ear as he heard Medaka's shout of encouragement loudly coming from the speaker. Before the blonde could reply, his other childhood friend spoke up as well.

"As soon as the Elemental Nations gives the all-clear on the war being over and that it's safe to travel, you can bet the two of us will be the first ones coming to see you! We'll go out and celebrate with some Ichiraku Ramen! So you better not be in the hospital when we get there!"

There was no 'what ifs' to their words. No what could happen. They had complete faith in him coming out of this alive. Plans were already being made for after the war. That's how it has always been for the three of them.

"… Guys… Thanks… I can't wait to see you!"

And frankly, that was all Naruto needed at that moment.

(Inside of Naruto's Seal)

"… So… You've finally arrived…"

"Hey." Naruto greeted as he opened his eyes to see the nine-tailed fox staring back at him with the usual heated stare. "Giving me quite the evil glare. As usual."

"I don't sense the real you. Where did he go?"

Feeling his body lift itself into the air, Naruto started to reach out his right hand as he got closer to the paper tag over the seal's gate. "I'm right in front of you… Kurama."

Kurama's eyes narrowed as he watched Naruto reached the center of the gate, "That bastard Hachibi. He and his Jinchūriki told you my name, did they?"

"Only because I heard him call his tailed beast by his true name, Gyūki." Naruto explained, a small smile forming on the blonde's face as he grabbed the corner of the paper seal. "While I am happy to find out you've got a name, I feel a little guilty too. You should've been the one to tell me when you were ready… Sorry."

"Hmph! As if I care about some human's apology. Such weakness is unbecoming of someone who is MY Jinchūriki! That's pitiful!"

The blonde gritted his teeth as he shook his head, pulling off the paper with ease. "I'm not trying to pity you or anything, ya know! You've been inside me long enough to see I'm not like that." Bringing up his other hand to the bottom of his Chūnin vest and jacket, Naruto lifted them both up to reveal the Tetragram Seal on his stomach as the key to the seal left to him by Jiraiya and his father. "You know why I'm here, right?"

"You intend to control my power, but can you withstand my hatred?!" Kurama shouted as it rose off the floor as Naruto moved the glowing hand-key over his seal. "Do you really believe I'll surrender to you so easily?"

"Honestly… not even close. But I'd rather the two of us work together against that Madara asshole. As for that hatred of yours… I'll do something about that as well! I'll prove myself to be a worth Jinchūriki and partner! Just like Octopops and Gyūki!" With a jerk of Naruto's hand, the seal undid itself and in turn unlocked the gate separating him and the Tailed Beast.

Once the final mechanism on the lock coming undone, Kurama reared a claw back before striking the gate that had imprisoned him for so long. With the iron bars slamming open, Naruto retreated back quickly as the giant fox let out a roar that was filled with the beast's chakra. "Very well! Show me your resolve, Naruto! Give this battle everything you've got or else I will rip you to shreds!"

"Now that the Kyuubi is outta the seal, this Chakra Tug-of-War is all about how much of it you can steal!" B's voice echoed throughout the underground complex that made up Naruto's mindscape, one of the Hachibi's tentacles emerging from one of the nearby walls and latching onto Kurama's body, causing a transparent version of the Kyuubi to form. Meanwhile, the same was happening with Naruto as a ghost-like, eyeless copy appeared behind him. "Once you've connected your chakra to it's chakra, keep pulling at it until you've got your fill and then take even more, son."

"TCH! Don't even think about interfering with our battle, Hachibi!" Kurama roared as he destroyed the octopus tentacles wrapped around him with a jerk of his body. Posing his nine tails near his mouth, Kurama stood on its hind legs as it channeled positive and negative balls of chakra into a single point. "You and your Jinchūriki have no business with coming between us! I'd rather destroy the brat here and now then see something as pitiful as him accepting assistance from a creature weaker than myself!"

"Looks like that arrogant fox hasn't changed one bit." Gyūki's voice spoke up as Naruto watched the tiny balls come together to form a dark, almost-black, ball of concentrated chakra before it compressed even further and shrank to the size of the Shinobi's body. "I'm gonna give you one piece of advice Naruto, don't let yourself get caught in the Kyuubi's hatred. Maintain an unbendable resolve to fight it off. Out of all of us Tail Beasts, he's got the most tainted amount of hatred and other negative emotions, even more than Shukaku's instability."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I've experienced that too." Naruto replied with a weak smirk as he watched Kurama chomp down on the black sphere, before spinning around and trying to escape the giant blast he was sure to be coming any second.

The blonde wasn't disappointed as Kurama's mouth snapped open and all of the condensed Chakra was released, destroying the remains of the gate and cracking the nearby wall as the attack rushed towards Naruto. But luck was on Naruto's side as the remains of B and Gyūki's Chakra take form in the shape of the Hachibi's hand, which intercept the Chakra bomb and clench tightly onto it.

"This is all we can do for ya, kid." B's voice rang out as the hand morphed into a smaller version Hachibi head with the Tailed Beast Bomb detonating in its mouth, "Hope you're great at gambling because this will be an all or nothing bid!"

"I'll be fine! Thanks for the help, ya know!" Naruto replied as he brought his hands together to form a Hand Seal, while at the same time, orange pigments formed on his eyelids and his eye changed into ones similar to a toad's. 'My real body is sitting completely still back in the room. Which means I have access to Senjutsu as much as I want.'

"And with that, this battle narrows down to the two of us." Kurama stated with narrow eyes as the miniature Hachibi head that had intercepted his Tailed Beast Bomb exploded from the inside before crumbling away. Hearing a familiar sound that he knew all too well coming from above him, the Kyuubi looked up to see a Sage Mode Naruto hovering above his head with a massive Rasengan in hand.

"Take this! Sage Art: Massive Rasengan!" With a swing of his arm, Naruto dove down at the Kyuubi with the chakra sphere swung in front of him.

Three of Kurama's tails suddenly positioned themselves above the Tailed Beast and blocked the massive Rasengan before it could connect, surprising Naruto as he saw the amused look on Kurama's face as its tails easily held the powerful Jutsu back. With a jerk of the multiple appendages, the Rasengan was destroyed and sent Naruto flying back. Luckily the blonde quickly regained his balance just in time as more of Kurama's tails came flying at him to strike him down, but thanks to the enhanced reflexes he received thanks to Sage Mode, Naruto was able to evade each one of the tails as he rose higher into the air and supposedly out of Kurama's reach.

"Not bad. But your reflexes alone won't be enough!" Kurama shouted as his speed increased as he temporarily vanished from Naruto's sight, though the Shinobi's sensory ability picked up the Kyuubi's presence coming behind him in time to spin around as one of Kurama's claws came swinging down and colliding with his torso before smashing him into the floor, pinning him down. "You're not even close to my level!"

"Tch! You might be a being made up of chakra, but your body is still based off any living creature… Which means…!" Unclenching his fists to open his palms with his fingers lightly curled as he ignored the pain of being crushed against the ground, Naruto delivered two powerful strikes to two specific spots of Kurama's claw, sending ripples of Natural Energy throughout the giant fox's body that pushed the claw off of him. "Double Frog Slap!"

"GRRAAAAAAH!?" Kurama roared as the ripples became painful, giving his Jinchūriki plenty of time to use the retracting claw as a springboard to leap away from the threatening limb several times his size. Staring down at his steaming claw, Kurama snapped his gaze towards Naruto as he landed several yards away. "You aimed for one of the pressure points in my claw… Hmph, it seems you did learn something from those other brats."

"Heh. My whole life has been like that. Ever since I met Medaka-chan and Zenkichi, I've grown, learned and did everything I could to make sure I wasn't left behind."

Lowering his healed claw to the ground, Kurama shifted his stance as he prepared for a lunge, "Do you honestly think that you can defeat me and take control of my power? Don't forget that I've been inside you for your entire life. I know all of your tricks."

"I wouldn't have broken the seal if I didn't think so… And if you really do know my abilities," A confident smirk formed on Naruto's face midsentence as he kept his gaze locked with Kurama's… until the giant fox felt something grab onto two of his tails behind him and snapped his head back to see two more Sage Mode Narutos grabbing onto their respective tails.

""You should've remembered my original signature Jutsu, ya know!"" Both Naruto's shouted as they their enhanced strength to lift Kurama into the air by his tails before throwing him into the ground with a loud crashing sound echoing as soon as his back made contact.

'He must've created Shadow Clones during the Hachibi and his Jinchūriki's intervention! Then that means he switched with a clone as well, which means…' As if on cue, the Naruto standing in the distance dispersed in a puff of smoke, though Kurama's attention was focused on the air above him where the original Naruto and a Shadow Clone had a large, Senjutsu-enhanced, Rasenshuriken spinning above his head. "Just as I thought!"

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto called out as he threw the S-Rank Jutsu at the Kyuubi, who reared its head back slightly, "What the-?!"

A loud roar erupted from Kurama's mouth and created a shockwave that collided with Naruto's Rasenshuriken, pushing back against the Wind Release Jutsu long enough for it to detonate before it could make contact with his body. The wind vortex created from the detonation, however, still reached the Kyuubi and still dealt damage to its torso and arms. Kurama felt the pain created by the only for a few moments before the Rasenshuriken's vortex begin to dissipate and tilted his head towards the two Narutos were while raising his body up, only for his eyes to widen in shock as he caught sight of a second shuriken-like Jutsu to be seen coming towards him. "He used the Shadow Shurken Jutsu to hide a second one?!"

Charging up another massive Rasengan, Naruto slammed it into the center of the Rasenshuriken just as it slammed into Kurama's body and caused both Jutsus to explode in a gigantic sphere of wind blades and Natural Energy. The shockwave from the combined blasts sent the blonde flying back with several spins before crashing to the floor, though this didn't fold Naruto down for too long as he rose back to his feet with his chakra double appearing behind him. Seeing the nine-tailed fox's body be almost completely covered in a gigantic vortex except for its tails, the Jinchūriki saw his chance and sped towards one of the tails before allowing his double to get a solid grip on Kurama's chakra. The tug-of-war between the two began.

Taking a few steps back to get some distance from the Kyuubi as the vortex faded away, Naruto took immediate notice to struggling and failing to get back up, using its paws to keep itself from falling back. 'It might not be much, but I've definitely weakened him. Now's the best chance to pull out the chakra…?!' Naruto's eyes widened as he felt something change within the chakra he was taking from Kurama, the blue energy changing to a corrupted reddish-black color that quickly incased Naruto's chakra double.

"Did you really think you could withstand my hatred just because you've accepted your own?" Kurama questioned with a sneer.

'I hate them...'

'I want to kill em all!'

'Why am I the one who suffers?'

'Loneliness.'

'I'll get my revenge!'

Falling to his knees as he felt Kurama's hatred and the dark voices echo through his head, not even noticing as his Sage Mode fade away and his double start to be pulled towards Kurama. "I don't… get it… I was able to… handle it back… then…!"

"You can't control my power, especially if you have no idea how you did it the first time. My hatred will not be snuffed out by a puny human like you." Kurama stated as he continued to pull Naruto's chakra towards him, slowly, inch by inch.

"He's the one, right?"

"The freak!"

'… ru…'

"Get away!"

"No one wants you around!"

'… on't… gi… up…'

"Go away!"

"Go the hell away!"

Tears built up in Naruto's eyes as the angry voices continue to shout through his head, feeling the negativity building up inside of him, one of his eyes becoming corrupt like his darker half. "I… don't… want to go…"

"It's all right, Naruto. You can stay right here… you don't have to go anywhere." The blonde's eye reopened at the new voice, this one gentle and reassuring, and saw that he was in the same area that he had been in when he had talked with his father. But instead of the Yondaime, standing in front of him was a beautiful woman with long red hair and amethyst eyes, and a warm, familiar smile on her face as she stared back at him.

"Who are...you...?" Naruto questioned as took in the woman's appearance and the area surrounding them. "How do you know my name? Where did you come from anyways? I was in the middle of fighting Kurama."

"I suppose it makes sense that you don't…" With the smile still on her face, the woman tilted her head a little, "Well then… Why don't you try guessing who I am, Naruto?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes a little bit as he leaned in a little closer to get a good look at the woman, surprising her a little bit as he started circling around her with crossed arms before coming to a stop in front of her. "… Could you...be...?"

"So, have you finally figured it out?" The redhead asked with a soft giggle.

"Why the hell did you take a female human form, Kurama? Did you really think I would let my guard down for a pretty lady?! I'm not Ero-Sennin!" The only response Naruto received was laughter as the woman held her sides at Naruto's assumption. "I knew it! That's no human laugh! Don't think that-"

"THAT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE, YA KNOW?!" The woman shouted as she bonked the top of Naruto's head with an angry look.

"Gah!" Holding his throbbing head, a thought occurred to Naruto as he repeated what she had just said. "Hold on… ya know?"

He watched as the woman rub the back of her head with a sheepish look on her face… a very familiar action he knew all too well. "Sorry about that. Got a little carried away there…" A weak smile formed on her face as she opened one of her eyes to look at him, "It's been like that ever since I was a little. I've always been impatient and tend to talk a little fast, and sometime weird things tends to come out when I get excited or angry. Growing up, it's been easier for me to control, but sometimes my mouth moves faster than my thoughts." Shaking her head with a small bit of redness on her cheeks, the woman motioned a hands towards Naruto. "But let's talk about you, huh? I always hoped you wouldn't inherit my weird verbal quirks and get your father's cool, collected head."

"… Then… you're…" Naruto's eyes widened as he began to piece together what the woman was saying.

"Minato really didn't tell you anything? Shame on that man." The redhead continued to smile at him as she introduced herself, "That's right. I'm your-?!"

With a trembling lips, Naruto rushed in and brought the woman into a tight hug before she could finish her sentence. Now he knew why her smile was so familiar. It was the same kind of look that Hitomi would give him and Zenkichi… The kind of smile that was filled with endless love and support. "You have no idea… how long… I've wanted to meet you… Mom… ya know?"

"You said "ya know"… You really are my son." Kushina could feel her smile grow as she wrapped her arms around her son's back, "The last time I saw you, you were only an hour old… Now look at you, almost as tall as your father… How old are you now?"

"I'm gonna turn seventeen… in a few months."

"Almost seventeen years, huh?" This time the smile on her face lessened, until she felt her son release her from the hug and pulled back with a large smile on his face.

"There is so much that I wanted to ask you if I ever got the chance, ya know!"

Kushina couldn't help but giggle at the excited look on Naruto's face, "Sure, you can ask me anything you want… But first, we need to calm the Kyuubi down enough for us to talk."

Watching as his mother turned her head a little to stare off in a certain direction, a worried look formed on Naruto's face. "Hey, you're not gonna injure Kurama too badly or anything, right?"

"You really seem to care about him. Don't worry," The redheaded Uzumaki replied as a small smirk formed on her face. "What I'm about to do won't even hurt him, just hold him down for a bit. I know all too well how powerful he truly is."

(Meanwhile)

Back in the area where Naruto's other 'body' was still locked in a Chakra tug-of-war with Kurama, the blonde Shinobi's face scrunched up as his upper body lifted up before bending backwards a bit. Kurama was caught by surprise as several golden chains shot from his Jinchūriki's body, flying towards him and wrapping his arms and legs, as well as his tails, pinning the massive fox to the watery surface under him. "I recognize this chakra… Is that you, Kushina?"

(Back with Naruto and Kushina)

Now free to talk, both Naruto and his mother sat down next to each other, the former continuing to smile brightly as his mother spoke. "Minato imbedded my chakra into the formula of your seal, so I could help you when you tried to harness the Kyuubi's power one day. Though I honestly never expected you to try and form a bond with it."

"Heh heh heh..."

Seeing the look on her son's face, Kushina leaned in a little closer with a raised eyebrow, "Are you even listening?"

"Sorry, it's just… I'm really lucky that my mom is so beautiful!" Naruto apologized while rubbing under his nose.

"Oh…! Well, thank you!" Kushina said happily at the compliment, also remembering how her son had said something earlier that was similar when he thought she was a human form of the Kyuubi. "You got your hair from your father, but I'm sorry you ended up with my face, Naruto."

"Why? If my mom's good looking, and I got your looks, then that makes me handsome, right?" Naruto pointed out as he looked up at the 'sky' with a thinking pose and a hand under his chin. "I just wish I got your awesome straight, red hair!"

Naruto saw the nostalgic look on her face as she looked upwards as well, "You're the second person to ever compliment me on my hair."

"Huh? Who was the first?"

"Your father... Who else?" Kushina answered almost immediately before seeing the slightly surprised look on Naruto's face, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just…" A grin formed on Naruto's face as he rubbed the back of his head, "I guess that is something I inherited from him, cause I said something similar when I was younger."

"Oh really? Does that mean you have a girlfriend?"

"It's a complicated situation, but I do have feelings for her. Her name is Medaka-chan, she's from the Six Continents. She and my other best friend, Zenkichi, are from a country from one of the Continents known as Asia." Naruto clarified to the older Uzumaki.

Kushina blinked in recognition at his words, "The Six Continents? Oh, I remember there were some peace talks between us and people outside of the Elemental Nations before you were born. I'm guessing they were successful then. I'm glad, I had made some interesting friends from my visit there."

"You've been to the Six Continents?" Naruto asked with a stunned expression, "I thought that there hadn't been any contacts between the two until the World Peace Treaty was in the works."

"Don't forget that your father was the Hokage, so he was one of the influential figures when everything was taking place. As his wife and a powerful S-Rank Kunoichi assigned as one of his Shinobi Guards, I traveled with him to Japan when the initial meetings were taking place." Kushina explained with a proud look before watching as her son reached into his back ninja pouch and pulled out a photograph, which he was glad to see materialized in this weird area as well, and held it out to Kushina. Taking the photograph from her son, Kushina took a look at the image and saw that it had her son and two other teenagers with him. "I'm guessing these are the friends you were talking about?"

"That's right!" Naruto replied as he pointed down at the photograph, which had been taken back when Medaka and her group had visited Konoha after the attack on the village. He had taken it with him as a memento to remember that he wasn't just fighting for the future of the Elemental Nations, but for his friends in the Six Continents.

The photograph had been taken during a break between one of Naruto and Zenkichi's sparring sessions, with the two resting against a large tree with equal exhausted looks on their faces. Naruto was wearing his usual ninja gear without his orange and black jacket, while Zenkichi was wearing white loose training pants, a blue jersey and blue sneakers. Standing over the two of them with a smile on her face and two water canteens in each hand, was Medaka, who was dressed in a hot-red, low-cut sleeveless kimono-style blouse that displayed her sizeable cleavage, mess armor, and matching apron skirt over tight black shorts and open-toed, strappy black sandals with high heels. The Abnormal hair tied her hair with two orange strings at two points of her hair and a white scarf tied around her neck. It had been another one of Medaka's ingenious ideas to dress the part of a Kunoichi while she was using the Training Grounds. Luckily, Naruto and Zenkichi managed to keep her from going with the more daring outfit she had seen in the window, which was extremely revealing and mostly used by Kunoichi specialized in… special missions.

Kushina couldn't help but notice the large smiles on each of the teenagers' faces as they conversed, not even realizing that the photo had been taken. "They look like wonderful friends, and Medaka is very beautiful. Although…"

"If it's about the outfit, don't let it fool you. Medaka is just proud of her body and simply wanted to dress like a ninja while we trained a bit. She's actually very kind, powerful, and REALLY smart!" Naruto said as he knew that people who didn't know Medaka personally could be thrown off by the Abnormal.

"Oh, it's not that… Her face just looks like an old friend of mine. A nurse that I had met when your father and I had traveled to the Six Continents. Her husband was actually one of the people that Minato had met with while they were getting all of the other countries in Asia to agree to the treaty." Kushina couldn't help but giggle as she handed the photograph back to Naruto, "It was a little hard to get along with her at first, but eventually we managed to become friends. She was actually the one who noticed the signs that I was in my early stages of pregnancy with you, though I went to our village's hospital to double check. I always wondered what happened to her since she was actually pregnant as well."

"What was her name?"

"Well, her original surname was Tsurubami, but she had changed it to Hato Kurokami after getting married."

"Hato… Kurokami?!" Naruto had a shocked look on his face, "T-That's the name of Medaka-chan's mom, ya know!?"

"Huh? Seriously?! What an amazing twist of fate!" Kushina said with an amazed look, "So does that mean you've met her? How's she doing after all this time? I bet she's still the extreme workaholic even after all of these years, ya know!"

"… She died… a long time ago… According to Medaka-chan, it happened just after the delivery happened and she had a heart attack after hearing Medaka-chan's first cries…"

A somber expression appeared on Kushina's face at that, turning her head away to look at the ground. "I see… That's a shame. I never got to thank her for all the pregnancy advice she had given me. But at least you and her daughter got to meet, and you both are close friends to boot!"

"… Oh! That's right! I can't believe I forgot!" Bopping a fist into his open palm, Naruto turned to his mother with an excited look. "There's been one question I've always wanted to ask you if I got the chance, Mom!"

Blinking in confusion at the change in topic, Kushina replied with a tilted head. "Oh, and what's that?"

"How did you and Dad fall in love?"

"Ah~! That's an embarrassing thing to ask, ya know!" The older Uzumaki replied as a flush formed over her cheeks, turning her head away with a smile.

"Hey, you just said 'ya know'! You're excited!" Naruto pointed out with a knowing look.

Kushina turned to her son with a small pout, "More like getting flustered instead of excited, ya know!"

"You said it again! Hahaha~!" Both mother and son shared a laugh at his words, before a silence fell upon them. Naruto remained that way as he listened to his mom's story, about how she came from a different village, how she was treated because of her looks and how she fought back, the day she was captured by enemy ninjas from Kumogakure, and how his father saved her.

"Minato didn't just save me, he was the man who made me realize my red hair was my red thread of fate that connected the two of us. He became the one that I knew would make me the happiest woman in the world. The man I fell in love with." Kushina concluded her story with a warm smile on her face, one that grew as she turned to see her smiling son enjoying her tale. "Naruto. There are only a two men who get to hear these precious words from me, especially after complimenting my hair… Will you accept them?"

"Precious words? Sure. What are they?" A smiling Naruto asked.

"I love you."

It took Naruto a few seconds to realize what the woman had just said, but he suddenly felt a strong warmth overtake him as his gaze went to the ground. 'This feeling… I've never felt so… happy!'

"That is the true secret to overcoming the Kyuubi's hatred." Kushina explained as she reached a hand out and placed it on the back of Naruto's head, undoing his headband while bringing his head closer to her while tilting her head up. The warmth and peaceful feelings going throughout Naruto's body only grew as he felt Kushina's lips gently press against his forehead. Pulling away from her son, Kushina continued to smile brightly. "It might be difficult, but if a Jinchūriki if filled with love, then you will have nothing to fear."

"Love? Is that really all it takes…? I'm not sure if I…"

"Don't ever think you are unlovable. Even if we aren't with you physically, both Minato and I love you with everything we are and will ever be. But we aren't the only ones," Kushina once again brought Naruto close and held him in a motherly embrace, "You've felt it before, haven't you?"

"I've acknowledged him as… one of my excellent students. He may not be the hardest worker… and he is clumsy and no one accepts him… but he already knows the pain inside peoples' hearts. He isn't the demon fox. He is a citizen of Konohagakure. He's Naruto Uzumaki!" … Iruka-sensei

"Even if we can't make it official, you are my son as well, Naruto. I love you as much as I do Zenkichi." …Hitomi-obachan.

"We're more than best friends, we're brothers! I will always be there for you!" …Zenkichi.

"I love you Naruto! You are one of the two most precious people in my life!" …Medaka-chan.

"I have faith in you. To be a parent is to have undying faith in one's child. I'm counting on you… Naruto!" …Dad.

"I love you." …Mom.

(Back in the Seal)

"I love you."

Kurama watched with a narrowed gaze as Naruto suddenly started to rise to his feet, a smile forming on the blonde's face as he seemed to be thinking about something. Naruto could hear Kushina's words repeating over and over in his head. A sudden rush of energy surged through Naruto as he let out a shout, the corrupted chakra connecting him and Kurama turning back to the pure blue color it was previously, before the connection snapped and turned yellow as it was absorbed into the Shinobi's body.

'You did something, didn't you? Damn you, Kushina!' Kurama thought to himself as he felt the chains around him loosen and allowed the giant fox to return to a seated position.

Taking a deep breath, a confident look returned on Naruto's face as he shifted his stance, "Time for round 2, Kurama!"

"The chakra I'm using to suppress the Kyuubi won't last that much longer!" Kushina's voice was heard in Naruto's head as he started running towards Kurama, the image of her pumping her fist flashing through his mind. "This is your best chance! Take him down!"

"Yes, ma'am! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Crossing his fingers in his signature hand seal, Naruto channeled as much chakra as he could as dozens of clones formed around him, all of them joining their original in his charge. "Here we go!"

Reaching towards the main Chakra Chains wrapped against his chest, Kurama got a solid grip on them before yanking hard on them, causing them to break off. "You brat!"

"Just as strong as I thought it'd be!"

"Rasengan Super Barrage!"

The massive fox let out a roar as the swarm of Narutos leapt into the air, all of them creating Rasengans in their hands while they drew nearer. Lashing out with his massive claw, Kurama destroying several clones easily just as they as got within range, the remaining chains loosening greatly and let him return to his full height. Naruto and the bunch of clones that remained slammed their Rasengans into Kurama's arm and exposed torso, causing the fox to let out another roar from the pain before bringing back his other arm to strike.

"Don't underestimate me!"

"Forgetting about me? You should know that I'm not letting you go that easily, ya know!"

With her words ringing out, Kurama felt the chains snagged around one of his hind legs pull hard on him, causing him to stumble backwards. Doing his best to regain his balance, Kurama let out a growl, "Even after all these years, you continue to shackle me down, blasted woman!"

"Don't go insulting my Mom!" One of the Naruto's shouted as he and two others were seen diving towards Kurama, dodging his incoming claw before all three of them flipping forward just as they were about to land. Getting a good look at the trio, Kurama instantly took notice to the fact that Naruto's eyes had changed, signaling his successful activation of his Sage Mode. "Sorry, but I'm gonna be borrowing one of your moves, Zenkichi! Quaking Stomp: Toad Sage Style!"

As all three Narutos slammed their feet into the floor, ripples of Natural Energy spreading from all three blondes and caused the entire area to shake as if an earthquake were occurring. Kurama could feel the ground beneath him move about erratically and finish what the chains started, throwing the giant fox of balance and make him fall backwards. Crashing into the wet surface, the Kyuubi barely had time to lift himself up with his long arms before catching sight of Naruto and even more of his Sage Mode Shadow Clones hovering above him with each one wielding a Senjutsu-powered Rasengan in their hands. But the Narutos weren't finished as they poured even more of the Natural Chakra they had collected into the spinning orbs of Chakra, making them increase dramatically in size until the collection of gigantic spheres practically blocked any signs of the piped ceiling above their heads.

Meeting Kurama's gaze, Naruto's toad-like eyes flashed with determination as he and his clones flew towards their Tailed Beast. "Try it blocking this one! Sage Art: Massive Rasengan Barrage!"

All of the Naruto's Massive Rasengans slammed their gigantic Rasengans into the downed beast one after the other and sent the howling fox sailing backwards with each painful impact. Feeling the attack soon come to an end, Kurama managed to regain his sense of balance and landed on all fours even as his body continued to slide backwards, only for his eyes to widen as he saw at least six large ropes of his chakra had been grabbed by many of Naruto's Shadow Clones and were being pulled out of his body. "While you little… Damn it! I won't lose, Naruto!"

With a fully formedRasenshuriken in hand, Naruto look two powerful leaps forward as Kurama struggled to keep his chakra from being stolen. The Kyuubi saw this, however, and quickly channeled another Tailed Beast Bomb, this one much smaller than his earlier one, and chomped down on the concentrated chakra. But just before he could release the blast, Kurama suddenly felt a powerful impact against his throat and cause his head to tilt upward, sending the Tailed Beast Bomb's attack towards the ceiling above. Glancing downwards despite the pain, Kurama caught sight of a grinning Shadow Clone striking at his neck with an outstretched arm, "Borrowing one of Medaka-chan's moves now! Sage Art: Uzumaki Lariat!"

The force of the Senjutsu-filled attack had stunned Kurama and gave the original Naruto plenty of time to close in and make contact with his Rasenshuriken, which detonated upon impact. Feeling the grip he had on his vines of chakra slipping as Naruto pushed the massive wind vortex against him, Kurama couldn't believe the sudden burst in strength that his Jinchūriki had acquired out of nowhere. 'Ju…!? Just what kind of power is this?!'

"I'M FINISHING THIS NOW!" With a powerful roar, Naruto used the last of his enhanced strength to send Kurama flying back, leaving a perfect chakra replica of it behind thanks to all of the Shadow Clones keeping a tight hold on it.

"Alright, you managed to get the Kyuubi's Chakra!" Kushina cheered as Naruto's clones dispelled and her son pulled the large mass of chakra into himself.

Almost immediately, Naruto felt a familiar sensation coursing through his body as soon as the rest of Kurama's chakra was finished being absorbed. It was just like back when he went back to help Medaka and Zenkichi, only much stronger. Looking down at himself in awe, he saw a yellow-orange flame-like energy covering his entire body instead of flickering like before. The seal on his stomach was now visible with what look like extensions of it spreading all the way down his arms and legs, having two more whirlpool markings on his shoulders and full set of the magatamas around his neck. Feeling the top of his head, he could feel some of his hair had grown out longer and grouped together to look like horns.

"… This is it… This is definitely the form from before…" Naruto muttered to himself as he continued to take in his new look.

"Naruto…" Lifting up his head at the sound of Kurama's voice, the blonde's eyes widened slightly at how emaciated the Kyuubi looked. His body had lost a large amount of its muscle mass and its bones were clearly visible through its skin, not to mention how his eyes seemed to bulge and how roughed up Kurama's fur had become.

'Did… Did me taking all that chakra really hurt him this badly?'

"So you've managed to take some of my power… But even so!" Kurama roared while he reared his head back and started channeling chakra to create another Tailed Beast Bomb, the withered fox's body shriveling up even more as his eyes vanished and his lips disappeared around his mouth. "Don't be so arrogant to think that I'll submit to the like of you!"

"…You really are incredible. To still have so much power left." Naruto stated as he stared back at Kurama, whose attack was several times bigger than the beast itself, before reaching to his stomach where the seal was located… only to pause as he was about to reseal the Kyuubi away, and lowered his hand to his side. "… No, I won't send you back into the darkness…"

"…?!" Kurama said nothing as his eyes disappeared and reappeared as it halted in releasing the giant Tailed Beast Bomb.

Letting the energy covering his body fade, Naruto returned to normal as he looked down as his hand where the seal's key was located. To the shock of Kurama and Kushina, the blonde suddenly held out his hand above his head and a gigantic sphere of chakra formed above it… it was all the power that he had taken from Kurama. With a push of his hand the chakra floated closer to the frozen Kurama, who let his Tailed Beast Bomb slowly fade away as the sphere reached him. Reaching out one of his nine tails, the Kyuubi's appearance was restored as the mass of chakra was absorbed back into his body.

"Naruto! What are you doing?! Giving back all that chakra after all that work to get it."

Closing his eyes as he heard his mother question his actions, Naruto took in a deep breath. "Kurama… Have I proven myself to you, yet?"

"… I suppose you did do well against me, even if you did get help from Kushina at the end. As much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn't expect anything less from my Jinchūriki-"

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Naruto interrupted with a shout, catching Kurama by surprise as he watched the blonde clench his fists tightly while staring down at the floor between them. "I'm not trying to force you to do anything just because you're inside me! You have as much right to live and do what you want as much as I do, ya know!"

"…!?" Kurama said nothing in response as the heated stare in his eyes softened slightly.

"You Tailed Beasts only exist to serve those of us with ocular power." Madara Uchiha stated as he stared up at Kurama, who was glaring back at the Uchiha. "Otherwise you're simply a mindless beast with unstable power."

"Forgive me, but I cannot leave you to your own devices." The Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju, said as he walked towards the defeated Kyuubi, who was being pinned down by his Wood Jutsu.

Mito Uzumaki was looking up at Kurama, who was being restrained by the seal keeping him inside of her. "If your power is allow to roam free, you will bring hatred to the world."

"You and I both have terrible luck, that's for sure." Kushina let out a heavy sigh as she looked up from the ground towards Kurama, who was once again being chained up to a large boulder with spikes piercing various points of his body. "You exist to restrain the world from war, and I exist to restrain you from violence."

"… I always thought you'd end up just like the others…" Kurama suddenly said, his tails lowering themselves to the floor as he watched Naruto lift his head with a confused expression. "We Tailed Beast have been around before the people of this world even discovered chakra, and it was always the same… Different people, different words, but their intentions and what they thought of us never changed."

Naruto couldn't help but think back to when he was younger, when villagers and Shinobi would talk bad about him or ignore his presence completely. "… Whether it is as a Jinchūriki or a Tailed Beast, people never saw us as ourselves… only what we were and how dangerous we could be." The hurtful memories didn't last long though as they were replaced with fun times that he was with Medaka and Zenkichi, being comforted by Hitomi when he was hurting or properly taught how to do something by Iruka, "All it takes is at least one person to see us, to know our name and show us how irreplaceable we really are. And that's why I was glad to find out your name, Kurama, because its means that I am one step closer to helping you. To becoming friends with you."

'Naruto… To think that all that fear I had about you becoming a Jinchūriki and enduring the hardships that came with it, and it's helped you understand the Kyuubi on a level that I couldn't even acknowledge…' Kushina thought to herself as she stared at the Naruto standing with her as they watched the interaction between him and Kurama.

Making his way over to Kurama one step at a time, the blonde Shinobi soon reached the giant fox and came to a stop a few feet away. "I'm not asking you as just your Jinchūriki or someone that wants to use you… You aren't the demon fox any more… Kurama, please…" Naruto had a smile on his face as he continued, "Fight by my side as my partner! The partner of a Shinobi from Konohagakure and a citizen of the Elemental Nations!"

"Hmph. I suppose you are more tolerable than Madara or whatever that Akatsuki member calls himself." Kurama admitted as he closed his eyes in thought, "Then again, you are a little too mushy and annoying at times."

A twitch mark formed on Naruto's forehead at that, "HEY! I'M TRYING TO CONNECT WITH YA HERE! AND IF WE'RE GONNA MAKE COMMENTS ON EACH OTHER'S FAULTS, YOU CAN STAND TO SMILE MORE, YA KNOW… Huh?" The young Uzumaki didn't finish as he was suddenly face to face with Kurama's fist.

"Hit your chakra against mine." Kurama said as he looked down at Naruto, who had an uneasy smile on his face.

"Oh man, don't tell me we haveta do this all over again? We just went through all that crap."

A small smirk formed on Kurama's face at that, "Don't be stupid. There's no reason for us to go through that again… Although, it's not like I have anything else going on and it could be a way to pass the time."

"Nah, I think once was enough." Naruto replied as he slowly lifted up his fist before bumping it against Kurama's enormous claw. It only took a few seconds before a familiar sensation washed over Naruto, causing a smile to form on his face. "Hehehe!"

"Heh!" The blonde wasn't the only one smiling as Kurama's smirk shifted into a large, fanged smile. A bright yellow flash covered Naruto's body for a few seconds before taking shape into the form he had earlier… only this one had what resembled a full-length haori over his body and a few additional features. "Now that is a form worthy of being my Jinchūriki."

Staring down at his body and taking in the new changes, Naruto looked back up at Kurama with a slitted orange-red eyes. "We've got a lot of work to do and plenty of asses to kick! I'm glad to be workin' with you Kurama!"

"Of course we do… But first, go back to Kushina. I am sure she has much more to tell you before her time is up."

"… What did you just say?"

"Yes, thank you… Kurama." Kushina's voice could be heard coming from all around them.

The giant fox only scoffed before plopping himself down before closing his eyes as his head rested on his paws, "The sooner you are out of here, the more room I'll get with that cage no longer holding me in place."

"You could be a little nicer to my mom, ya know." Naruto retorted as the chakra mode covering him dispersed and he felt his mind sync up with the body back where his mother was waiting for him to return. Reopening his eyes to Kushina's smiling face, Naruto couldn't find the strength to return it. "So… you really have to go?"

Reaching out a hand and resting it on Naruto's cheek, his mother nodded her head with the weak smile still on her face. "It's time that I followed your father to the afterlife. But before I do that, there is still a few things that I need to tell you… The truth about my past and what really happened the day you were born."

~(Flashback End)~

"… Hey Zenkichi?" Naruto suddenly spoke up.

"What's up?" Turning to his best male friend with a raised eyebrow, Zenkichi blinked in confusion at the smile on the whiskered-blonde's face. "What with that smile?"

"Moms are pretty awesome, aren't they?"

"Huh, yeah. I suppose so." The strawberry blonde had been a little thrown off by Naruto's statement, mentally confused about the out-of-nowhere comment. "It's too bad that Okaa-san couldn't come with us. Although I think Medaka-chan and I were lucky enough to get by with that giant crowd coming to see you."

"Ugh! Don't remind me! I like the praises and stuff, but now I understand why Sasuke did his best to avoid his fangirls. They're a stalking nightmare, ya know!" Naruto complained as a shiver went up his spin as he recalled the group of girls that tried to visit him in the hospital… and they were only the ones that lived in the village.

"That's pretty much true no matter where you live in the world. One time a few years back, Medaka-chan's shoe locker had been filled with letters from fanboys and fangirls, and actually piled up to her knees. I thought that kind of thing only happened in romantic comedies or anime." The worst part about that week was that Medaka had sent back replies to every single letter, even the ones that said they were secret admirers. So many hearts had been broken, while some actually got angry and tried to go after Zenkichi since they thought he had stolen Medaka away from them. Like he said, it wasn't a fun week. "But hey, at least all the gifts you got from everybody have been useful. We needed to get some supplies for your new place since most of the stuff your parents had were outdated. Getting all of the new gadgets, furniture and beds are a major improvement over the default equipment that was left there."

"… Yeah…" Naruto went silent as he remembered exploring the house and seeing some of the old photos of his parents that had been saved. It was a sad reminder of what could've been if Obito hadn't attack his parents after his mother had finished delivering him, but at least he got the chance to meet them. Twice in his father's case. "I was surprised that the builders had remade my dad's office in orange too! That was pretty cool, ya know!"

Zenkichi had a sly smirk on his face at that comment, "Knowing you. You'll probably keep that room intact even if you become Hokage, just because a lot of stuff in there is orange."

"Eh, probably. And it's not if, its when!" Mirroring the smirk on his best friend's face, the two shared a laugh as they continued down the street until they caught sight of the Uzumaki-Namikaze House, which was a two-story with round, red-tiled roofs, and had a big yard surrounding it with a Engawa porch and a stairway entrance in the front. Moving in front of Zenkichi since he was carrying the least amount of bag on his arm, Naruto went up the stairs and grabbed onto the doorknob, which, luckily for the two blondes, was unlocked.

"Medaka-chan! We're back!" Naruto called out as he opened the door and allowed Zenkichi to walk in first before following after him and closed the door.

Placing most of the bag on the porch of the genkan, Zenkichi sat down and began to remove his shoes before speaking up, "And don't worry! I made sure Naruto stayed for his lessons!"

"Come on Zenkichi! Did you really have to mention that?" Naruto whined as he plopped himself next to his male best friend and started to take his sandals off as well, having some difficulty with only one hand but still managed to accomplish the task.

"Of course I do." The strawberry blonde replied as he stood up straight while grabbing some of the gifts he had placed down, "Getting you to stay put and study is one of the most difficult challenges I've had to endure ever since we were younger."

"Well, I ain't that bad now! You know tha-"

"Naruto~! Zenkichi~! Welcome home~!" Medaka greeted the two from behind with a melodic tone, making both men turn to face her before freezing as they finally got a good look at the inside of the house and the girl who cleaned 17 years of dirt and grime in mere hours.

As expected of Medaka, the whole interior was so clean that everything was sparkling and reflecting off the floor. There was even a full feast of different culinary foods that could be seen on the dinner table that was visible through the opening in the wall with some of the dishes containing recipes that neither had seen before. But the thing that caught them by surprise the most wasn't the fact that Medaka was greeting them at the doorway similar to a wife welcoming her husband home, no, it was that fact that she was greeting them with only a blue apron and her white, lingerie panties.

"M-M-Medaka-chan…!?" Naruto let out a stutter as both blondes' faces turned red at the erotic and overwhelming sight in front of them.

"W-Why are you dressed like that?!" Zenkichi was in a similar condition as he did his best not to drop the few bag of gifts that he was holding in his arm. The sight in front of him and Naruto was something that hundreds of people would literally kill for such an opportunity, especially a certain Minus.

"Oh, this? What do you think?" Medaka asked with a smile as she lifted her hands up to the edges of the apron near her chest area, "It's a little plain except for the spiral, but your mother has some pretty decent aprons. It's very easy to work in."

"Even so… Why are you wearing a nude apron?!"

"Well, I couldn't get the dust and grim on my clothes, could I? I left my maid outfit back at the Academy since we rushed here. There was a lot of cleaning that needed to be done, not to mention cooking grease and oil are hard to get out." Medaka replied with a tone as if she was stating an obvious fact, something that made both boy nearly faceplant.

"That doesn't mean get naked!" Zenkichi shouted with a twitching eyebrow and a red face. Despite all the stunts and outfits that Medaka wore in the past, this was a new level even for the Kurokami girl. "I've already told you not to undress whenever you feel like it!"

"But I'm not naked. See?" Without any shame, Medaka lifted the lower half of the apron to put her panties on full display, this action made blood spill out of both Naruto and Zenkichi's noses as the sight in front of them turned even more erotic as Medaka's arms also put pressure on her braless breast under the apron. "Besides, when it comes to my body there is nothing to feel shame or hesitation about. I am quite proud of my figure!"

"Not the issue here, ya know!" Naruto shouted as he could practically hear Jiraiya's ghost whispering in his ear to take advantage of the situation and just enjoy the show. "Don't forget that there are two hot-blooded male teenagers staying here as well! You do know that any other guys wouldn't-"

"But you two aren't just any other men." Medaka interrupted as she let go of the apron with a warm smile on her face, "You two are the ones I cherish and trust the most in this world, so why should I be afraid of having my body exposed to the ones that will always be by my side?"

That threw both men for a loop as their blushes vanished and looked at Medaka with surprised looks. It was like the Abnormal to say something so simple and factually and yet held such passion that could leave others speechless. Glancing briefly at one another, the two let out a simultaneous sigh… before letting out low chuckles at the same time, confusing the girl as she tilted her head lightly while raising an eyebrow.

"Let's just get cleaned up and eat some dinner. After all that studying earlier, Medaka's home-cooked food sounds delicious right now." Naruto said with a grin as he used his only hand to rub the back of his head.

"Sounds good to me." Zenkichi replied with a small smile on his face as he placed all the gifts that they had gotten from the villagers and fans of Naruto's, onto the living room table. After that, it took them some effort but the two managed to convince Medaka to change back into actual clothes before they all gathered in the dining room to eat the delicious food that Medaka had made. This made a large smile appear on Naruto as he conversed with the two… in his mind, it was truly the perfect family dinner.

After staying with Naruto a few more weeks to help him to continue his studies after being promoted to Jōnin and help him with his new arm that was made from the cell of Hashirama Senju, the actual word being forced thanks to Medaka handcuff Naruto to her and a desk inside a classroom with Iruka, to which he cried out for Zenkichi for help only for his fellow blonde to end up chained to Medaka as well… The girl had a strange way of thinking. By the end of the third week, both Medaka and Zenkichi knew that they need to return home, although they were a little reluctant. It was only after Naruto assuring them that he would be fine, as well as reminding them of their own enemies they needed to defeat, that the two departed with the promise between them to keep in touch, though it would be difficult until they managed to settle everything.

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Almost two years had passed since Naruto and his team saved the world from Madara, Kaguya and Black Zetsu. Many things have happened since then, in both the Elemental Nations and the rest of the world, for both Naruto and Medaka's group as they had to deal with more adversaries and the restoration of the destruction caused by the Shinju. Thankfully the branches that had spread throughout the world quickly withered away with no more Human sacrifices being used to supply them, allowing civilizations to reconstruct and repair all the damages in no time at all. The Elemental Nations had gone through the worst of it due to them being ground zero of the calamity, but thanks to the newly acquired peace that was formed, there was a lot of trade and progress in advancing forward.

It wasn't long after that that Naruto had visited them to see how they were doing, and was amazed at how Zenkichi was adjusting to his role with his Student Council, but also Medaka's living her life as a normal student to find a new purpose in life. They weren't the only ones to change in appearance as he had also shortened his hair and dressed in a new attire that had a lot less orange than before, much to the shock of his childhood friends.

Another event to play a key role in their lives was something called Jet Black Wedding Feast, involving Medaka choosing a future suitor to marry in the future, though this didn't end exactly as planned as Naruto and Zenkichi arrived and proposed to the girl at the exact same time, leading to even more confusion as Medaka said yes to both blondes… Yeah, that was a confusing time for the two boys as they tried to have the girl chose one of them, only for Medaka to reply that she proposed to the two of them first and didn't see anything wrong with marrying both Naruto and Zenkichi. Apparently, all of members of the Kurokami bloodline had way too much love in their hearts to believe in the limitations of monotonous relationships.

Not long after, chaos occurred in space at involving the two moons that hovered above the planet. Both were falling towards the Earth for unique reasons, Medaka and Naruto had made it their personal missions to stopping both of them, especially when Hinata and her sister, Hanabi, had been taken by the inhabitant of one of the moons, Toneri. It had been with a heavy heart when Naruto joined up with Medaka after receiving a phone call about her preparing a rocket to fly into space, the two of them leaving their unconscious friends behind as they and members of Naruto's team went to the moons. It got worse for them while in space when Sakura, Sai and Shikamaru left the two alone to their private conversation, where Naruto realized that Medaka was not only scared, but doubted that she would be able return to Earth and did the only thing he could think of.

Placing his hands on her cheeks, Naruto turned her to face him… and kissed her with as much passion as he could. The blue-haired girl was stunned as Naruto's sudden actions before slowly returning his kiss. The two parted with the blonde practically ordering Medaka to survive and come back with him after he defeated Toneri and rescued the Hyuuga sisters. Naruto continued to speak as she silently listened to him tell her that all the things she still needed to do in her life, such as finding a pet that wouldn't be afraid of her… or to make her decision of whether she would marry Naruto or Zenkichi. His words made a large smile form on Medaka's face as she thought back to everything in her life and realized that there was still more that she wanted to do in her life, and made a promise to join up with him after taking out the second moon once she stopped it from falling. Naruto was the first to arrive on the moon where Toneri was located and fought him off thanks to the combined power of his Complete Kurama Mode and Hinata being blessed with the deceased Hamura Ōtsutsuki's power, both Ninjas managing to stop the first moon from continuing its destructive path and convert Toneri, who restored the moon to its previous state… but the same couldn't be said for Medaka and the moon she was on, both disappearing before Naruto had a chance to get to her.

Returning to Earth had been one of the hardest things for Naruto as Toneri opened a path that allowed him, as well as both Hinata and Hanabi, to land in a location not too far away from Konoha where Sakura and other members of their squad had already taken the path home. Naruto didn't join the group as they made their way back to the village, dismissing the sad glances he was getting from his friends as they looked back to see him staring up at the night sky where only one remaining moon could be seen. A clear sign that while Medaka had succeeded in her mission to stop the second moon's descent, the promise she made to Naruto was left unfulfilled. Not even Kurama's healing power could sooth the pain in Naruto's heart as the blonde fell to his knees and cried. Journeying to Hakoniwa Academy and informing Zenkichi and the others about what had happened left the entire school silent as they too mourned the loss of the most incredible woman to grace their lives… Only for the familiar voice of Medaka to call out to them as she greeted them with her incredibly injured, yet smirking face. Medaka's injuries only increased when she was tackled by her crying, relieved friends and family members, though the smile on her face shined on through the pain.

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"Hahaha~! Damn that Zenkichi! Planning something like that without even telling me!" Naruto said with a laugh as he leaned over the railings of the Hokage Building, "For you to fight one hundred of Hakoniwa's strongest, that's definitely something he would come up with as a farewell to you."

"Yes, it was. I suppose he's finally surpass me after all this time… Though I suppose the same could be said for you as well." Medaka replied from her seat on the bench as she looked over at Naruto, who blinked in confusion at her words. "Look at you, the Hero of the Elemental Nations and one of the Strongest Ninjas to ever live. Both you and Zenkichi have changed a lot from the two boys that could barely keep up with me when we were children."

Closing his eyes briefly as he removed his right arm off the railing before bringing it closer to his face, glancing down at his bandaged arms and hand as he thought back to his decisive battle with Sasuke. "Of course. With everything we've endured, all of us had to grow up eventually."

"Pfft. As if you've grown up that much. You may be stronger and have a higher rank, but you are still the Baka who used to pull pranks and try ditching his lessons when I wasn't around to stop you, your personality hasn't changed that much."

"Like your one to talk, Medaka-chan! All the stuff you put Zenkichi and me through even when we wanted nothing to do with your plans! It's a miracle that neither of us died with how much you dragged us around even when you didn't even need us." Naruto retorted as he lowered his arm before childishly turning his head away with a pout.

"… I always needed the both of you." The blonde was surprised at Medaka's words as he turned to see that she was now looking down at her hands with a melancholy smile, "If it hadn't been for the two of you, I can easily imagine how awful my life would've turned out… the kind of person I was after losing my memories…"

"But even when you lost your memories, the connection between you and Zenkichi and I never went away. It's like I told Sasuke all those years ago, the bonds we make with people can't be torn apart so easily. Even with the crazy abilities of you Abnormals," Moving closer to Medaka, Naruto took a seat next to her on the bench before placing a hand on top of her head and gently rubbed it. "I know it might sound crazy, but it feels like it was because the three of us met in that hospital that we all set down these paths that we've chosen."

Raising her hand to push her second childhood friend's hand off her head while she shook it in a negative manner, "Your dream of becoming the next Hokage is something you've talked about ever since were children. It was your own drive that pushed you to become something more, the same with Zenkichi. All I did was prove that it was a goal that you could easily reach. In fact, there were times that I was sure that you were the one that pushed the two of us to improve ourselves."

"Maybe so, but you were the goal that both of us strived so hard for. Seeing you walking ahead made us work hard so we could stand by your side," The blonde Jōnin had a large grin on his face as he recalled all of the times that he and Zenkichi would compete against each other or the times when they would try and work together to defeat Medaka at something… those few victories may have been small, but it showed that they were getting closer.

"That's why I believed you two were both real geniuses of hard work." Medaka stated as she recalled saying something similar to Nekomi Nabeshima years ago when she had issued the challenge between Akune and Zenkichi to try and get the latter to join her Judo Club, not that Medaka had any doubt that Zenkichi would lose.

"Heh, says one of the biggest geniuses of them all." Naruto comment made both laugh for a few moments as the "Besides, I'd rather be the fool and the idiot. It's a lot less troublesome when you don't have to worry about all that stuff."

"True, back then, you were one to always avoid the academics unless I forced you. A true idiot to the end."

"Hey! That's just rude!" Naruto exclaimed with twitching eyebrow while Medaka looked back at him with a large grin on her face, one very similar to a certain blue-haired loli friend of theirs.

The air around the two got quiet as the two looked away from each other, the smile on Medaka's face vanishing as she looked down at her hands once again. "I told you before, right? About what I plan on going with the Kurokami Group as soon as I take control of it. I am taking over the group before I turn 20, so that means I have less than a year left."

"Yeah." Naruto replied as he thought back to earlier that day when she suddenly appeared at his front door, telling him about her withdrawal from Hakoniwa Academy and her plans with the Kurokami Group. It had been a conversation that they had held off from continuing as she changed the topic to seeing everyone in Konoha after so long, but now…

"…"

"…"

"… You're not going to go with me either, are you," It wasn't a question as Medaka already knew that Naruto was going to decline her offer, just as Zenkichi did.

"Unfortunately, I can't right now. Believe me, part of me really wants to… but… Right now, my place is in the Elemental Nations and help with maintaining the peace between the villages. Not to mention, Kakashi-sensei is talking about starting my training to be Nanadaime." Glancing to the side, Naruto could see that despite the calm look on Medaka's face, his answer hurt deeply. Reaching a hand out, Naruto took one of her hands into his and wrapped his fingers around hers. It always amazed the Uzumaki to see that regardless of all the fighting and power at her deposal, the dark blue-haired girl's hands were always so soft. "… But that doesn't mean that we can't stay in contact, right?"

His words seem to help her a little as Medaka looked up at him with a smile, "Of course! Don't think you could escape me that easily! One of my plans is to maintain the relations between the Elemental Nations and the Kurokami Group, even make it better for the world itself! With you as the future Hokage, that makes things even easier."

"So, you want to make use of me, huh?" Naruto had a small grin at the familiar tone in her voice, raising one of his arms up to his childhood friend.

"Take advantage of everything available to you and be unpredictable while doing it! That leads to guaranteed victory! That something that I learned from you after all these years!" Medaka as she mirrored his movements and interlocked her arms with his, similar to their actions all those years ago after he and Zenkichi freed her from her brainwashing. The two silently stared into each other's eyes with matching smiles on their faces.

"Hey. Stop struggling, I can't see!"

"They're so cute together!"

"Shh! They'll hear us!"

"Don't push! I said no pushing! A-AAAAAAh!?"

The sounds voices whispering louder than usual could be heard coming from the rooftop doorway, followed by the noise of them swinging open and bodies crashing to the floor. Both Medaka and Naruto whipped around to see a crowd standing on the other side consisting of the Konoha Eleven, as well as Sai, Konohamaru, Iruka, Kakashi, Tsunade and Shizune all. Well, most of them anyways. Lee, Kiba and surprisingly Sakura turned out to be the ones that had fallen into a tumbled mess.

"Damn it, Lee! That's why I told you to stop pushing!" Kiba growled out as he tried to get back onto his feet.

"My apologies! I was just so captivated by their Youthful Flames! It reminds me of Nekomi-san and myself!"

"Don't rub it in!"

"Ow. My head hurts." A closed-eyed Sakura winced as she rubbed the side of her head before coming to a stop lifted her head up to see the two that they were spying on where staring back at the crowd of people. "Heh heh… We got caught."

"W-Why the hell are you guys here?!" Naruto demanded with an anime-style annoyed expression while Medaka had a small smile on her face.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I tried to stop them but…" Shizune tried to apologize only for Tsunade to let out a snort.

The buxom Sannin crossed her arms over her large chest, "Don't even start Shizune. You and Sakura were the ones who told us that they were heading to the roof."

"Tsunade-sama!" The Hokage assistant called out in shocked while the Sixth Hokage placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look back at the silver-haired man.

"Well, it's not like we wouldn't have come up here anyways." Kakashi admitted with others shamelessly nodding their heads in agreement while the more sensible ones kept quiet. "I was curious on if Medaka was going to take our favorite knucklehead away from us."

"So, you guys were spying on us!" Naruto roared as he moved in front of Medaka with an irritated look on his face, the girl saying nothing as a small grin formed on her face at the amusing sight of Naruto moving closer to his friends. It was even more hilarious as he shifted into his Complete Kurama Mode with a miniature version of the Bijuu's head taking shape over his shoulders, the pressure around him growing as he made it a few feet away from their audience.

Standing up from her seat, the Abnormal walked closer to the group with a smile on her face as she watched Naruto suddenly take after the fleeing Konoha Eleven, Sai and Konohamaru. The only ones that somehow managed to avoid Naruto were the adults were standing off to the side, a small bead of sweat forming on Kakashi and Tsunade's brows. "You both look relieved that Naruto is going after his friends instead of you guys."

"Of course not, it's just a little hot outside. Summer is just around the corner." Tsunade replied with a nervous smirk on her face.

"I'll admit I'm glad he's not focused on me." Kakashi admitted with a weak laugh. He had seen Naruto deflect five full-power Tailed Beast Bombs just by rushing passed them while in his Kurama Mode, and that was after training with it for a month as well as Kurama only having half of its true power. Two years later to grow stronger both physically and mentally, possessing a fully restored Kyuubi, as well as the Six Paths Sage Mode as his secret weapon… Yeah, if he didn't make Naruto his successor as the next Hokage, than he'd probably be known as the biggest idiot in the history of Konohagakure… probably among the other villages too.

"Are you doing alright, Medaka?" Iruka asked as he looked at the visitor from the Six Continents, it was hard to believe that this was the same young girl that he had met all those years ago, and the one who stopped the second moon from plummeting into the Earth while Naruto was fighting Toneri on the first. He could still remember the broken expression on the blonde's face when he had returned without her. "I was so relieved to hear that you came back alive."

"Thank you for your concern. Luckily, none of the injuries I had sustained were fatal or left any permanent scars." Medaka answered with her usual bright smile, crossing her arms under her chest. "I had heard from Naruto that you were being considered for the position of vice-principal at the Ninja Academy."

Rubbing the back of his head, the scar-faced man look away with a sigh. "Oh, you heard about that? Geez, I told him that it was still up in the air and to keep quiet about it."

"Can't be helped." Kakashi spoke up with his eyes closing as a smile formed under his mask, "That knucklehead sees you as family after all. Just like how it's normal for a parent to be proud of their child when they're doing well, the same can happen in reverse, right?"

"Eh?"

"You are the closest thing to family that he's got in Konohagakure, even more than the rest of us." Tsunade added as she noticed the surprised look on Iruka's face at the Godaime and Rokudaime's words. "The only ones that are just as important to him are the young lady next to you and Zenkichi Hitoyoshi and his mother back in the Six Continents."

Iruka couldn't find the right words to say after hearing that. But after a few moments of silence, a large warm smile formed on the man's face as he looked back to see a normal Naruto was yelling at his friends with a anime-pissed off expression while the recipients of his anger had smoking lumps on a few of their heads and apologetic expressions as they let the blonde continue. "… Medaka…"

"Hmmm?" The blunette Abnormal turned her head to look at the Chūnin after hearing say her name, blinking a few times at the sight of him facing her with his upper body bowing.

"You know more than anyone how reckless and absent-minded he can be. So, all I can ask is that you take care of him for me. Even if you two don't end up together."

"What are you talking about? I already said yes to both his and Zenkichi's wedding proposals," A confused look replaced the smile Medaka had as she looked away from the older Shinobi, not noticing the uneasy glances they were sending each other. "Although, the two didn't seem to like my answer for some reason. Both have been adamant on me only choosing one of them… But anyways, it's getting late. Naruto! We should head back home to get dinner ready before its too late."

Sweatdrops formed on the back of all four of the grown-ups' heads as they watched the Abnormal walked up to Naruto, who turned his head to look back at her before nodding in agreement and picked her up bridal-style. After saying their farewells, the two departed via Naruto's leaping across the rooftops.

"I suppose that is to be expected from a girl that Naruto fell in love with."

"How can she talk about being in a love triangle as if it was normal? Is it like that back in the Six Continents?!"

"I doubt it. Let's just hope that everything turns out alright for the three of them."

"Only time will tell, I guess… Hopefully they don't wait too long."

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"Wow, you two really got a beating, huh?" A smirking, twenty-three year old Naruto stated and Zenkichi, twenty-two year old, were heading down the hallway leading to the Hakoniwa Academy's Chairman's office where Medaka was currently waiting for them.

"Oh, shut it. After so many years away, how was I supposed to know that the women were going to be changing in there? It's the meeting place for a Shinto Funeral."

Almost four years had passed, going by quickly for everyone as they worked hard on their paths towards the future. Zenkichi had met up with his former classmates only a few minutes before Naruto had shown up. Originally it had been a request from Medaka for everyone to meet up for a reunion of Ajimu's disappearance, but the invitations that Naruto and Zenkichi had come with a p.s. at the end that only had two words.

Our Future.

Neither of them needed to think much to know what she was talking about, though it was weird to bring up the topic now after so long.

It had been great for Zenkichi to see everyone after he decided to focus on working with the Kurokami group, though there had been some surprises at finding out that Akune was engaged to Shori Wanizuka and was the founder of a very successful toy company, while Kikaijima was already married and a few months pregnant. To Naruto's shock, it turned out that the father was Inari, who had grown almost as tall as Naruto, and was the boss of Tazuna Intercontinental Carpenter Company, or TICC, which was at the forefront of many Elemental Nations/Six Continent construction collaborations. They weren't the only intercontinental married couple as Nekomi, who, after being forced to retire after snapping her knee ligament while taking the Olympic gold medal, had decided to tie the knot with Rock Lee and moved to Konoha permanently. When he had last seen the newly named Nekomi Lee, she was putting in paperwork to try and open up a small Judo studio for children, both civilians and those with futures as Shinobis.

"I guess you have been working hard, working with that company that is affiliated with Kurokami group." Naruto replied as he placed his hands behind his head, a frown forming on his face with his eyes scrunched closed. "Both you and Medaka-chan almost became ghosts during all that time with how busy you've been."

"It's not like you've had that much free time either almost-Nanadaime-sama." Zenkichi smirked as he nudged his childhood friend's side, "I heard through the grapevine about how Kakashi-san is getting things ready for your Hokage Inauguration."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, forming an eye smile as he lowered his arms. "It's still a year or two away from being official. But still, I hope you guys will be able to make it to the Elemental Nations when it finally happens."

"Heh! I don't think that will be a problem for me."

"Huh?" The Shinobi blinked in confusion at Zenkichi's words, watching as the strawberry blonde reached into his suit's inner pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. Taking the offered paper from his friend, Naruto unfolded the paper and saw a large filled with different sorts of information about the Kurokami Group and Elemental Nations. "What is this?"

"My transfer papers." Zenkichi answered while placing his hands into his pockets with a grin, "The Kurokami Group is planning on a special project involving the creation of multiple branch companies in a few villages within the Elemental Nations, with Konohagakure being one of them. Thanks to all the hard work that I had put into getting high up in the ranks, as well as the knowledge and experience that I've gained from all the time I've spent there, I was one of the first employees to get approved for the transfer."

"W-Wait… So that means…"

"Yup! I'll be moving to Konoha!" Zenkichi replied as he took the paper back from Naruto before placing back into his pocket, "Once Okaa-san heard about it, she put in the paperwork to move as well. So the two of us will be official citizens before the year is over."

"That's awesome! I can't believe it you guys are moving to the village!" A large grin formed on Naruto's face as he and Zenkichi fist bumped, "Ah! Is the Kurokami Group gonna give you a place to live? If they aren't, you both are staying with me until you find a place! This is so awesome, ya know!" The grin on Naruto's face dimmed a little as a thought came to mind, "Wait, what about Medaka-chan?"

"Idiot, who do you think came up with the project in the first place? As the head of the Kurokami Group, she is gonna be heading the transfer and managing everything from the main office in Konohagakure. Apparently she's already made steps to make sure everything goes smoothly even though she will be relocating."

"I'm not surprised. That woman thinks of everything."

It didn't take the two long to reach the chairman's office with Zenkichi remembering its location, both blondes reaching a surprisingly normal white door at the end of the hallway. But the sight Naruto and Zenkichi saw as soon as they opened the door blew their minds. There, in the middle of the room, was a snoozing Medaka on the floor with at least thirteen different breeds of dogs surrounding her… all of them were shockingly calm and seemed to enjoy the woman's presence.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing!"

"Just look at all them!"

The surprised shouts roused the sleeping Abnormal from her sleep as her eyelid slowly opened and her gaze lazily shifted to the entrance where her childhood friends were standing. Letting out a soft yawn, Medaka lifted herself off of the floor with the dogs backing up a little to give her some room. "Long time no see, Naruto, Zenkichi. You both look so grown up now."

"I could say the same for you, Medaka-chan… Or rather, I'd say you really are an adult now." Zenkichi spoke up as he and Naruto took in the Abnormal's mature body. Just like the two of them, she had changed from how she looked when she was in her teens, and had regrown her hair to reach her lower back. "Y… You've become even more beautiful…"

"Um… Should we be worried about the dogs?" Naruto asked as he noticed that there were even more dogs in the room than originally thought, as several more rushed in close to Medaka and literally created a dogpile on top of the blue-haired woman. It didn't seem to bother her as she enjoyed the loving attention she was getting from all the dogs. "I guess she's finally found out how to attract animals to her."

Though he didn't say anything, Zenkichi couldn't help but feel amazed that the girl had found a new ability to use even with the overwhelming presence she still possessed from The End. It was actually a surprise that she still have it, since most of the people who had "skill" and "abilities" were starting to lose them as they were getting older. Besides a small handful of people who still had them, such as Naze and Shiranui, the only other two from their age group that still had their abilities were Medaka and himself, the only Zero… But something in Zenkichi's gut told him that it wasn't just a coincident.

Snapping out of this thoughts, Zenkichi decided to speak up with a frown. "Hey! Why the heck were you sleeping? Today is the fourth anniversary, so seeing you slacking off on your job is…"

"Well, I was doing my job. I simply dozed off after pulling multiple all-nighters on something important I've been working on. It is still a work in progress, but that's to be expected with all of the other side-projects I've been leading at the same time." Medaka explained after pushing off the dogs and making her way to her desk with Zenkichi and Naruto taking a few steps closer. The large group of dogs seemed to sense something was going on and left through the large doggy door in the wall… smart animals.

"Yeah, Zenkichi was telling me about the Kurokami Group setting up a second location in the Elemental Nations." Naruto asked while crossing his arms, "Does it also have to do with this other special project of yours?"

"Heh, I see all those lessons for being the next Hokage have been paying off for you. That's right. It is something that I believe will truly display the human potential at its finest when we have the best from the Kurokami Group, the Six Continents, and the Elemental Nations working together!" Lifting up one of the small stacks of paperwork from her desk, Medaka turned it around for the blondes to see, "Take a good look you two! I am calling it The Moon-sault Plan!"

"So you were serious about following through with your plans on restoring the second moon?!" Zenkichi questioned as he studied the paper in Medaka's hand.

"Of course. I did break it, so it's my responsibility to see it's fixed, right?"

"It might sound like an outrageous plan, but if Sasuke and I could replicate the Super Grandpa Sage's jutsu to seal away Kagura in a large satellite, then it should be possible. You've got my support!"

Time seemed to pass by as the three continued to converse about Medaka's plans to restore the second moon, and everything that had happened to the three in the time that they had to go their separate way. Medaka even showed Naruto some of the messages that had been from her One Hundred Flowers Run event that Zenkichi had set up for her all those years ago. The strawberry blonde had been both shocked and annoyed that they had been kept in the old Medaka Suggestion Box, calling her out on it while Naruto laughed as Medaka answered with her usual matter-of-fact tone. It was comforting in a strange sense. All of them had grown up into respectable adults, each with their own paths and plans for the future, and yet… Through all of the pain, loss, happiness, tears, determination, fear, and emotions they endured, no matter where their journeys had took them. It always returned to the three of them. Smiling happily from just being together. Ever since they met in that nursery two decades ago.

Deciding it was time to shift the conversation to a more important topic, Naruto reached into his back pouch and pulled out the invitation that Medaka had sent him. "… Medaka-chan… about the message you sent…"

Seeing Zenkichi do the same thing, Medaka closed her eyes briefly with the smile still on her face. "Yes… I thought it would be best for us to meet up now before it was too late."

"Too late?"

"Before I lose The End forever and Zenkichi loses his abilities as well. After looking at all of the people who have lost their skills, I can conclude that it will happen to us before the year is over… Tell me, you two… Are you still against the thought of me marrying the both of you?" Medaka asked as she looked between the two with a raised eyebrow, only to receive annoyed looks before they answered her question.

"Of course we are!"

"As if that would change!"

Letting out a sigh, Medaka placed a hand on her hip with a disappointed look on her face. "I had a feeling that would be the case… Very well, then I suppose we will need to settle this before the day is done."

"My thoughts exactly." Zenkichi said while he undid his tie and removed his jacket, activating his Altered God Mode as his hair turned black and a familiar red cloak of energy formed around his form. Apparently there had been some remnants of Kurama's chakra that remained in his body from the amount that Naruto had given him all those years ago, and reactivated within him during Naruto's fight with the Juubi thanks to the later doing the same with the Shinobi Alliance. "Medaka-chan! Naruto! I challenge the both of you to a duel!"

A smirk formed on Naruto's face as he punched his fist into his bandage palm, shifting into his Complete Kurama Mode at the same time with his eyes changing into Sage Mode. "Heh, perfect! I was just planning on doing the same thing, ya know!"

"… Well, this office was in need of a remodel anyways." Despite the way her words sounded, Medaka's face showed only excitement and a competitive grin as she stared at the two powered-up forms that her childhood friends possessed. Leaning forward as her hair turned pitch-black and moved about erratically, Medaka finished transforming into her End God Mode. "So we are all in agreement? If I win, both of you must marry me!"

"And if either of us wins, you've got to marry the winner!" Zenkichi countered as he raised his arms in front of his torso, "No matter who wins, we'll accept the results and the bonds between the three of us won't break!"

"As if I'd let either of you try!" Spreading his legs apart with a large grin on his face, Naruto readied himself for one of his biggest fights yet.

"Just don't try to lose an arm this time." Kurama's voice called out in his head.

"I already had to say goodbye to the both of you once. I have no intention of ever repeat that ever again!" Placing her hands on the ground, Medaka tensed her legs as the excitement within her grew. "So then, shall we begin on three?"

Both Naruto and Zenkichi nodded their heads without saying a word. The tension in the air grew as the energy coming off of the three spread across the room and caused the building to quake under the pressure.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"""THREE!"""

NUMKNUMNUMKNUMNUMKNUMNUMKNUMNUMKNUMNUMKNUMNUMKNUMNUMKNUM

(Epilogue – Ten Years Later)

"Nanadaime-sama!"

A thirty-three year old Naruto lifted his head up from the documents on his laptop, one of the many technological improvements that the Elemental Nations benefited from thanks to the Six Continents. Spread across the room were his clones, who were looking at paperwork in their hands, copied his actions to see two familiar face entering the room with a panicked expression. "Moegi, Udon, is something wrong?"

"It seems Boruto and Aki are at it again!"

"Seriously?!" The original Naruto exclaimed with an uneasy expression while his clones let out groans as he rose from his seat, slamming the palms of his hands against his desk. "What happened? What did they do?"

"They…"

"It appears they've taken a page from you and your wife's book." Udon finished for Moegi as he adjusted his glasses.

The blonde Hokage was silent for a few moments before letting out a sigh as he face-palmed with his bandaged hand, "Where are they… Wait! Which page?"

"Does it really matter?" Shikamaru, who had become the left-hand man of Naruto's ever since he had become Hokage, crossed his arms as he stared down at his friend/boss. "Anything you did as a kid wasn't exactly simple or tame. It's probably just as troublesome."

Beads of sweat fell down Udon's face, "In any case, we can't let the other villages see it!"

"I guess I better go deal with it…" Naruto said as he rose from his seat, dismissing his clones at the same time. "When the other Kages show up for the Five Kage Summit, apologize for my tardiness for me, Shikamaru."

"What should I tell them? They won't be happy if you take too long." The goatee shadow-user replied while he watched Naruto don a short-sleeved long black haori with orange flame-like motifs decorating on the edges, with the kanji for "Seventh Hokage" running down vertically on the back.

Apparently, the blonde had always imagined having a haori just like the Yondaime when he became Hokage, only with his own colors. Under it was a black sweatshirt with orange and blue stripe designs going up the arms and an Uzumaki Clan spiral emblem on the back, and black pants that tucked into metal-toed boots. His right arm was still wrapped in bandages, only these were red in color and left the fingertips bare, and was mostly covered by the sleeve of his sweatshirt except for his hand.

A small smirk formed on Naruto's face as he turned to look at Shikamaru, "Tell them that I'm just going to meet up with my children after asking them to test our village's security and review the openings they found. It's important for Konohagakure as a whole to remain vigilant to any kind of threats, even children setting up their pranks."

"Got it. Take care of it quickly."

With a nod of his head, the three watched as Naruto disappeared in yellow blur. Readjusting his glasses, Udon looked over at Shikamaru with a raised eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that the Nanadaime-sama was investigating such a thing."

"That's because he wasn't." Shikamaru said with a shrug of his shoulders, "It's the same excuse he and his friends gave to the Sandaime when they were younger and it ended up improving the Shinobi forces' security and detection. He just said that because he doesn't want his children to get in too much trouble nor make the village look bad."

"Seriously?"

"It must be difficult. Having to juggle between being a father, a husband and being the Hokage."

'If this were under different circumstances, I'd agree with her. He could've been someone overwhelmed with work and unable to spend time with his family.' Shikamaru thought to himself as he looked over at Naruto's desk, where three different photo frames could be seen. The first was an old photo of the blonde's parents just after Minato had become the Yondaime, the second was of Naruto, Medaka and Zenkichi when the three were in their teens and the latter two had visited Naruto after Pein's attack on the village, and the final was a more recent picture of Naruto and his family smiling at the camera. 'That idiot still has some issues, but he doesn't let it get the better of him… Not that his those two would actually let him slip up that badly… what a drag…' The Nara let out a heavy sigh at that before making his way out of the office with Moegi and Udon following after him, 'Speaking of which, I wonder where that other troublesome guy disappeared to.'

(On Hokage Rock)

"Hehehe! We're almost fininsh." A young female voice called out as the villagers below caught sight of the paint and graffiti being done to the six Hokage faces on the mountain. "How long until Papa shows up?"

"Probably a few minutes, give or take. We'll need to move quick or he'll get the drop on us, ya know!" This time it was a male voice around the same age that replied back. "Get ready, Aki!"

"Hai, Onii-chan!"

Hanging from two separate ropes, dangling in front of the faces of Hokage Rock, were two eight year old children that were each holding paintbrushes and a bucket. One was a boy with a mostly smooth blonde hair with spiky tips at the side and an ahoge that resembling the stem of a leaf. He was wearing a black jacket with red accents that was left open to reveal a white undershirt and black shinobi pants accompanied by black ninja sandals. The other was a girl with shoulder-length blue hair that had a similar ahoge coming off the top of her head except it was a few inches longer. She was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt that had two yellow lines going vertically down her shirt, a short pink scarf around her neck and a light-blue short skirt with mesh armor on her thighs, elbows and knees, and purple ninja sandals. Unlike the boy, whose eyes were the same color as their father, the girl had heterochromia eyes where one was blue and the other was red, and they have two whisker marks similar to Naruto's three. These two were Boruto and Aki Uzumaki, twin children of Naruto and Medaka Uzumaki, born to the two almost a year after they had gotten married. It had been a long, difficult and very destructive battle between the three, but Naruto had managed to come out the victor and became the one that Medaka would marry.

"And just what are you both getting ready for?" Naruto's voice called out from above their heads, making them look up to see the Nanadaime was standing sideways on the rocky surface above them using his chakra. Upon seeing his father, Boruto tossed away the paint can and started to pull out a shuriken from his pocket, only for Naruto to reappear next to him while grabbing that very same hand. "You don't know when to quit, do ya, Boruto?"

"Using the Teleportation Jutsu is cheating!" Boruto struggled to get his arm out of his father's grip, only for Naruto to use his free hand and bonk his son across the head.

"Oh, shut it!" The older blonde retorted before glancing over at Aki, who gained an uneasy look on her face at her father's stare. Glancing down at the crowd below them, Naruto moved quickly and grabbed both children by their waists before running up the mountain. "Good. Now we've got no one to bother us… You two just had to make a mess of things on such an important day, didn't you?"

"…"

"…"

"Heh," Naruto let out a sigh as he stared down at the twins, reaching out and rubbed the top of their heads. "Nice try. But next time, try not to get caught before you finish."

"Huh?" Boruto blinked a few times as he felt his father's hand remove itself from his head. "You're… not angry?"

"Of course I am!" The Nanadaime replied with a stern look, making his children freeze up at his sudden change in tone. "You both are gonna clean up your mess right now, and then I'm taking you home!"

"But what about the meeting with other Kages?" Aki asked before a thought occurred to her with a frown quickly forming, "You a clone, aren't you?"

"Of course he is, as if the Hokage has time to come here personally-AH!?" Boruto's sarcasm was halted as Naruto's bandaged fist bonked him across the head once again.

Naruto placed his hands on his hips, "I am not a Shadow Clone. So drop the attitudes, ya know!"

"Can you really blame them?" A familiar voice spoke up, making the twins' father turn to see a thirty-two year old Zenkichi walking up to them with an amused grin on his face. "You have been really busy lately, especially with all the meetings and works you both've been doing."

"With almost no help from you. Isn't that why you and Shikamaru became my left and right hand men?" Naruto replied with a deadpanned expression as he watched his childhood friend/Hokage Assistant walk up to the three. Not much had changed physically for Zenkichi in the ten years after that three-way battle between them and Medaka, except for the pair of glasses that he now wore almost all the time now. Getting rid the jacket of his black suit, Zenkichi now kept a black vest over his dress shirt and a red tie that had Konoha's symbol on it. A worn out leather bracelet was wrapped around his wrist with a metal plate on it that had two kanjis, one saying Kurokami while the other was Shinobi.

"Zenkichi-ojisan!?" Boruto exclaimed in surprise at the man's arrival.

"Hey, the first thing I told you was that I had no intention of doing your job for you. I've still got a crap load of stuff that I have to take care of for you." Zenkichi stated while placing a hand in one of his pockets.

Upon his transfer to Konoha, the strawberry blonde had worked hard with his job for the Kurokami Group and the village, being at the center of the intercontinental projects that were taking place in the Elemental Nations. He even worked hard to help with Medaka's Moonsault Plan and rose even higher up the ranks, before deciding to become one of Naruto's assistants once the later became Hokage. Some had called Zenkichi crazy for pulling a joint career of the two, but after working with Medaka and the Kurokami group for so long he had gotten quite the handle on it.

"So what brings you up here? I didn't see you in the office earlier?

"I was taking care of a few things. Shikamaru gave me a call on my cellphone and informed me that you were going after the twins before leaving me a message to tell you. The other Kages have all arrive and are waiting for you." Zenkichi informed as he brought up his hand to push up his glasses, "We can't really push back the meeting time since Kirigakure and Iwagakure are currently facing some issues back in their villages."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he turned his head towards the Hokage Building, "Yeah, it wouldn't be fair to them, huh?" Closing his eyes in thought, Naruto let out a soft hum for a few seconds before reopening his eyes. Turning back to look at his children, Boruto avoiding his gaze while Aki had a sad expression on her face, Naruto smiled softly at them. His time of when he was isolated as a child when Medaka and Zenkichi weren't there and the pranks he pulled flashed through his mind, with a child silhouette of him appearing behind the twins. "… Painting the Hokage Rock to get my attention… You both really are my kids, even with those brilliant minds you inherited from your mother."

"…"

"…"

"… Boruto… Aki…" Kneeling down to their levels, Naruto placed his hands on each twins' shoulder before bringing them into a hug. "I know that you aren't happy with me being Hokage and your mother running the Kurokami Group, especially since it can take our attention away from you both at times… But no matter what you both might think, the two of you are the most important treasures that Medaka-chan and I have."

"Then stay here and clean the mess up with us, ya know!" Boruto demanded as he rested his chin on Naruto's left shoulder. The older Uzumaki could feel Aki nodding in agreement against his right shoulder.

"Unfortunately I can't stay. The meeting is really important, and the last thing I want is for there to be issues between the villages… However," A small smirk formed on Naruto's face as he pulled back to look at his son and daughter, "If you don't mind waiting a bit, I'll come back and help you get rid of whatever paint is left. Sound good?"

Aki's eyes widened at her father's offer before large smile formed on her face. "Of course it does! Right, Onii-chan?"

The two watched as the older twin was about to say something with a smile before pausing, and replaced it with an indifferent as he turned his head away while crossing his arms. "Whatever. If you want to help us so bad, I won't stop you."

'Tsundere?' Zenkichi thought to himself with a shocked expression, having a strong sense of déjà vu.

"But if you go back on your word, I swear I'll do everything I can to make you pay with the worst pranks I can think of! And they'll be painful too!" Boruto threatened with a dark aura around him.

Zenkichi gawked at his godson's words, 'Yandere?!"

"Onii-chan!" Aki frowned with a cute pout on her face.

Hearing his sister call out to him, the aura around Boruto disappeared as he looked up at his dad with a small smile. "So don't take too long with your meeting. It'd be nice for all of us to have dinner together again, ya know."

'Now he's turned Kuudere?!' It took him a few seconds, Zenkichi could only shake his head and laugh at the trio in front of him, '… You're just like your mother, Boruto.'

"It's a promise then." Naruto stated as he rose to his feet, placing his hands on his hips. "Looking forward to a home-cooked meal after being so busy recently."

"Boruto! Aki! I can help out if you want?" A young, female voice called out, catching the twins' attention to see a girl their age with dark-blue straight bangs and a hime-cut, and blue eyes. She was wearing a purple jersey under a mostly zipped up yellow jacket with a white hoodie, a pink skirt over black spats and the traditional ninja sandals.

"Himawari!" Aki called out with a smile at seeing her best friend walking up to them. This girl was Himawari Hitoyoshi, the daughter of Zenkichi and Hinata.

A relationship had formed between the two a little after the Kurokami Group and its employees had moved to Konoha, which continued to grow as they started dating and attended Medaka and Naruto's wedding as a couple. Not many had seen it coming, but that didn't mean they weren't happy for the two, Zenkichi's childhood friends were especially happy for them and actually nudged the strawberry blonde to finally pop the question. The trio had been happy to see that their friendship had continued onto the next generation, with how much the three got along. Though Boruto refused to admit to it at first… until Himawari looked at him with the Puppy-Eyes Jutsu and he cracked under the pressure.

"You can help if you want, Himawari, just make sure they don't wander off." Zenkichi ordered to his daughter, who saluted to the man with a large smile on her face.

"Aye, aye!"

"Don't you worry about that Nanadaime-sama! I'll be keeping a good eye on him!" The group of five turned to see an adult brunette landing in a crouched position near them. He was wearing black shirt with dark blue pants, black sandals and an open green jacket, with a long blue scarf draped over his shoulders. "Don't think I didn't see that shuriken in your hand earlier, Boruto!"

"Why are you here, Konohamaru-sensei…?" Boruto asked with a confused look on his face, one that was mirrored on his sister's face.

A twitch mark formed on the back of Konohamaru's head, "What do you mean?! Of course I'd be here if my students are doing something reckless and intending to harm the Hokage!"

'… Didn't you do the same thing to your grandfather…?' Naruto thought to himself with a sweatdrop as he clearly remembered a much younger Konohamaru barging into the room where he and the Sandaime were talking with a kunai in hand, only to trip on his own scarf as soon as he took his first step. '… Oh well… Probably be better not to mention it now.'

"Boruto, Aki, do your best until I get back. The Hitoyoshi are going to be joining us for dinner tonight, so this graffiti needs to be cleaned up before it gets too late." Naruto revealed with a smile on his face, "Hitomi-obasan is joining us too."

"Hitomi-obaachan! Awesome!"

"She's been in the Six Continents for a while."

"I wonder if she's got any presents for us!"

(Back in to Hokage Building)

"So, how did you know I'd be there?"

A small chuckle escaped Zenkichi's lips as he and Naruto were walking down the hallway leading to the Five Kage Summit meeting room, "Himawari mentioned that Boruto was bragging about a 'killer prank' and how Aki had gotten all of the tools they needed for it. After hearing about it mostly being paint supplies, it didn't take long to figure out where they were going. I also figured that you would go there personally since you've been working so much lately and pulling all-nighters the past few weeks."

"Well I can't help it if I miss spending time with my children. I'm usually too exhausted to even keep my eyes open, let alone talk to them if they're still awake. There only time I get to have any kind of conversation with them is in the morning during breakfast, and it's been difficult lately." Naruto admitted with a frown, "Boruto's been avoiding me lately, while Aki mostly goes to Medaka about things."

"So, I take it that the twins have no idea about what you guys are planning?"

Shrugging his shoulders with an amused smirk, Naruto unsealed his Hokage Hat from the seal on his weapons pouch. "Nah, we decided that it be great to surprise them. The only thing they know about later is that your family and Hitomi-obasan are joining us for dinner."

"Well, Okaa-san basically took the little ones from Hinata before she could say anything. I swear, I don't know which is the more doting grandparent, her or Hinata's dad." Zenkichi let out an awkward chuckle as they turned the corner, where they were greeted by Shikamaru, who was standing several feet away from the Kage Meeting room.

"You're late."

"I know. But I'm here now." Naruto answered as the doors opened to reveal the other Kages already seated at the table with their bodyguards standing behind them, "Sorry for being late! I had some last minute security checks to take care of."

The Fifth Raikage, Darui, nodded his head as he leaned back in his chair. "Yes. Shikamaru-san already informed us. We all have busy schedules after all, so it is understandable."

"Would've been nice for you to take of that prior to our meeting. You actually live in this village and you're the last one to show up." Kurotsuchi, the Fourth Tsuchikage, pointed out with a small frown. "Especially when you wanted us to meet on an earlier date than originally planned."

"He wasn't too late, and the village security affects us as well. Besides, if they actually had a schedule for such a thing, then there would be no point to a security check." Chōjūrō the Fourth Mizukage defended as he crossed his arms, "But now that he is here, we can begin, right?"

Gaara nodded in agreement before speaking up. "I agree. The personal chats can wait until after the meeting. You had something important to tell us in regards to Sasuke Uchiha investigation, right?"

"That's right." Naruto replied as he watched up to the remaining chair located at the table before taking a seat with Shikamaru and Zenkichi standing behind him, "But that is only one topic of discussion. As you know, my wife Medaka and her Kurokami Group have been working on several intercontinental projects after completing her Moonsault Plan last year…"

(Uzumaki Residence After Sundown)

"We're home!" Naruto called out as he, Zenkichi and their children made their way into the Uzumaki Household.

Thankfully, the Five Kage Summit hadn't run as long as Naruto had originally thought it was going to take, and allowed the man to follow through on his promise to his children. He actually took it a step further and taught them a Water Release Jutsu that actually made the cleaning go a lot smoother, as well as get his children excited at the new technique they learned from their father.

"Welcome home, you lot!" A smiling Hitomi greeted the five as they removed their footwear, walking up to them with an infant in her arms. Besides a few streaks of grey in her hair and nearly unnoticeable wrinkles, not much had change to the fifty-six year old's youthful appearance.

"Granny Hitomi!"

"It's great to see you, Hitomi-obaachan! How was your trip?"

"Did ya bring us anything from the Six Continents?"

Hitomi only laughed at the greetings she was getting from her granddaughter and honorary grandchildren, "I brought you back plenty of gifts! But you won't get any until after dinner, so get washed up before we sit down."

"""Yes Ma'am!"""

Zenkichi let out a heavy, amused sigh as he watched his daughter and her friends rushed passed him to get themselves cleaned up for dinner. "Seems like nothing changes, huh, Naruto?"

"Maybe, but that really isn't a bad thing… Just as long as Aki doesn't go on a kissing spree like Medaka did at her age." Naruto replied with an uneasy grin while Hitomi simply laughed at her son and his best friend's conversation.

"I wouldn't doubt it. She does seem like the one who inherited more of the Kurokami genes," Hitomi stated before feeling the baby in her arms pat her cheek and saw the familiar red eyes of her youngest honorary grandchild looking back at her, "Well, besides you, Yumi-chan~!"

"Mnyah!" The infant exclaimed as she started to fidget as she caught sight of her father, reaching out her hands to the whiskered man.

"Hey there, Yumi-chan~!" Naruto cooed as he took his one year old from the short woman, raising his excited daughter into the air with a smile. "Were you a good girl for Grandma Hitomi?"

"Aaah-haha~!" Yumi squealed as she enjoyed being high up, a small yet noticeable ahoge swaying back and forth to match her mood.

"Papa!" Zenkichi looked down to see a strawberry-blonde toddler looking up at him with a bright smile on her face, the lavender eyes of the Byakugan staring up at him with her arms raised. "Up, pwease!"

"Hi there, Natsumi-chan!" A smiling Zenkichi greeted as he picked the girl up and brought her in close so she could hug him, rubbing his cheek against hers. "Aah~! Your hugs always give me so much energy after a long day!"

"Well, well, haven't you two become quite the doting fathers. Should we be jealous?"

"Oh stop it, Medaka. I think it's sweet to see them with the girls."

The two men turned their heads to see their wives staring back at them from the kitchen door, Medaka crossing her arms under her chest with a teasing grin on her face while Hinata was giggling into her hand. The years had only seemed to enhance the beauty of the two women as they married and became mothers, while maintaining their attractive figures. Medaka was wearing a broken suit with a white top that had a dark section at the center with six buttons and light-blue pants that reached her open-toed, strappy black sandals with high heels. The suit had an Uzumaki emblem on the back. Hinata had recently decided to cut her hair into bob-style reaching her shoulders, and wearing a light purple short-sleeved jacket, a long-sleeved white shirt with a two pink colored strips underneath it, light brown shorts and purple open-toed boots.

"Welcome home, Naruto! Good to see you, Zenkichi!" Medaka greeted with a warm smile on her face.

Hinata bowed her head lightly before raising it to smile at Zenkichi, "Thank you for all your hard work."

Both Naruto and Zenkichi couldn't help but smile at their wives' greetings before making their way further into the house, Medaka snatching Yumi out of Naruto's hands to his disappointment. The Hokage pouted a little before sniffing the air as a delicious aroma filling the air. "Something smells great!"

"You like it? It's actually a new recipe that Hinata was teaching me how to make." Medaka explained as she rocked Yumi back and forth with a satisfied look on her face, "I've been wanting her to show me how to do it for a while, but work has been so busy that I never got the chance until now."

"So that's why you were do persistent on all of us getting together." Zenkichi deduced as he held Natsumi with one arm while placing his free hand on his hip, "Don't go using my wife like some on-call service."

Raising her hands up in a calming manner as she walked up to her husband from behind, Hinata had a reassuring smile on her face. "It's not like it's an inconvenience, dear. Besides, it brings the whole family together, so I don't mind it if we can all have fun and be happy together."

"You're way too kind, Hinata." Zenkichi weakly complained to his wife, even though he was happy to hear her words.

'Things turned out even better between them than we could have ever thought.' Medaka and Naruto thought to themselves as they watched the married couple converse, before hearing the sounds of footsteps making their way into the kitchen as well as the sounds of whining.

"Ah! Come back, Midori! Yuuto!"

"Stop, Aki! You know that they can't handle being around you yet!"

Naruto and the other adults turned their attention to the direction of the shouting as two dogs, a Chocolate Labrador with green eyes and a Chow Sheperd, ran into the hallway from the room that the kids were originally located. Aki emerged from the room after the dogs with a dejected expression with a panicking Boruto and Himawari following the heterochromia girl. Both Naruto and Zenkichi had amused smirks on their faces at the nostalgic scene while Medaka had a pout on her face as both dogs rushed behind her legs with a scared looks. Unfortunately for Aki, out of all the things she had inherited from her mother, the girl's luck with animals was not that great thanks to her overwhelming presence, which while not as bad as her mother when she was her age, it still meant that animals tended to keep their distance away from her. Boruto had lucked out since he got more of his father's traits with his mother's intellect, which meant animals preferred him over his sister.

"B-But I just wanted to play~!" Aki had anime waterfall tears falling down her face as she huddled in the corner with a depressing aura coming off her body. "I have to be the worst human in existence!"

The Hokage tried his best to suppress his laughter as he walked up to his daughter's side and rubbed the top of her head, "Don't worry about it too much, Aki. Your mother had the same problem when she was around your age, you just have to work on your approach, ya know?"

"D-Did that work for Mama?"

"… Eventually." Naruto replied while averting his gaze as to not meet the teary look on his daughter's face, not having the heart to tell her how it took Medaka reaching adulthood for her presence to become one that attracted animals rather than repel. At the same time, it was also because of Medaka's abnormality mostly fading away, something that neither of his children had, which made it almost uncharted territory on how to help Aki. "B-But I'm sure you'll figure it out even faster than she did!"

"Really?"

This time is was Medaka who answered, "Of course! You're a very smart young girl, and let's not forget that you've got your father, Boruto and I to help you out. But that's tomorrow's problem! It's time for dinner!"

(Later That Evening)

"That was really delicious Medaka-san." Hitomi smiled as she held a sleeping Yumi in her arms, watching as Medaka was pouring a pot of fresh tea into the several cups on the table where all of the adults were situated while the kids were watching an old Princess Gale movie on the television. Well, to be more exact, Himawari and Aki were watching the movie while Boruto was playing a new video game that Hitomi had brought back from the Six Continents. "It's nice to be back in the Elemental Nations after visiting the Hakoniwa Hospital after it was rebuilt. Everybody there has been working hard to improve all of the medical practices over there. Aka-san has even mention their new regenerative medicine has been making steady progress from all the research notes I read while I was there."

"Regenerative medicine, huh? Lee had mentioned it to me the other day that the Hakoniwa Hospital had been in contact with Nekomi about healing up those injuries that she sustained from the Olympic. I'm sure those two are really hoping for positive results," The blonde Shinobi recalled his Taijutsu-only friend talking about how his wife really wanted to be more involved in their son's, Metal Lee's, training.

Upon hearing that, Medaka and Zenkichi were certain that what Nekomi really wanted was to pass down everything she knew so that Metal could become the next Foul King.

"If I remember correctly, weren't they going to combine the Regeneration Ability with the Hashirama Senju's cells that Tsunade-sam, Sakura-san and her Medical-nin had managed to acquire after the Fourth Shinobi War…? It's what they used to give Naruto his prosthetic arm." The former Abnormal mentioned while taking a seat next to her husband, "Last I heard from her, Onee-sama was using those cells as well to assist with the Sanitized Flask Plan's research. They've been making great strides over the fifteen years since taking the reins."

"As expected from Naze-sensei," Zenkichi muttered with a shaky smile, Natsumi sitting on his knee and playing with a stuffed panda bear that her grandmother had given her, "If anyone can make all the progress the Flask Plan has achieved from their research beneficial to society in impactful ways, it's her and the others from the original Class 13."

Wrapping her fingers around the teacup in front of her, Hinata stared at the green liquid inside of it. "It certainly sounds like our generation are making the biggest changes in the world, both here in the Elemental Nations and in the Six Continents. All of us are working to making things better for our children and the generations that will follow us, while inspiring them to maintain the peace that we've done everything we can to achieve. Hopefully they won't have to go through the pain of loss that we had to go through…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Soon, the four heard Medaka let out a soft laughter and turned to look at her. "I'm positive that we won't have to worry about that. Even if there are people who will try and create conflict, as long as we continue to lead the next generation down the right path, everything will be fine… That's why I love humanity so much."

"Hmph, as expected of Medaka-chan." Zenkichi replied with a smirk, before shifting his gaze to where the kids were sitting, "But anyways, don't you have something that you wanted to focus on instead."

"I guess you're right about that… Boruto, Aki! Your mother and I have something we want to show you." Naruto called out to the two. Upon hearing their father call out to them, the twins made their way up to the man and saw him holding out a pamphlet of some kind to the two.

"What's this?" Boruto asked as he took the pamphlet from his father to see that it was for a cruise ship, one of the new forms of travel entertainment that was being made for travel between the Elemental Nations and the Six Continents. "A ship?"

"That's not just any ship! You're looking at the Shippuden, a cruise ship that has a full three-week travel period that starts from Wave Country and takes its passengers to various places located in the Europe and Asia continents!" Medaka explained with a look of triumph on her face, placing her hands on her hips as a large smile formed. "It is a side project that I've been working on for the Elemental Nations, one that is guaranteed to make it to the most exhilarating experience with all of the activities and destinations that the passengers can experience!"

"Okaaaaaaay? But what's that got to do with us? It's not like we can g… No way!" Aki's eyes widened in shock as she realized what her parents were driving at, something that occurred to Boruto as well after a few seconds. "B-But what about your workloads and responsibilities? You always talk about how important they are!"

"Heh! That's exactly why we've been working so hard these past few months. We've been taking care of all the important stuff and getting it outta the way so we could surprise you with a family vacation. Kakashi-sensei has agreed to handle all of the Hokage work while your Uncle Maguro watches over the Kurokami Group for your Mom."

"After a lot of reluctance and swallowing my pride…" Medaka muttered to herself with a deadpanned expression as she remembered called her brother with the request, having to ask in such a cutesy voice left her a little dead inside… But it was worth it so she could see the smiles on her family's faces. "It won't just be us, Himawari and her family are coming as well!"

"Really?!" The young Hitoyoshi's eyes sparkled as she looked up at her parents, who nodded their heads in agreement. "YATTA!"

"… So the whole time that you guys have been working so late and being busy all the time… was so that we can all go on a family vacation?" Boruto questioned as the hand holding onto the pamphlet trembled a little. He could remember the exhausted looks on his parents' faces and how much angry he had gotten because they were barely spending time with him or his sisters… but now, he only felt bad. The young blonde felt a familiar hand place itself on top of his head and rubbed it, making him look up to see his father's smiling face. "… Tou-chan…"

A smile on Naruto's face grew as he felt Medaka walk up behind him and place a hand on his shoulder, "So what do you guys say? Think it be cool enough for you guys to go on vacation with your parents?"

"…"

"…"

"But… as soon as we come back… you guy will haveta go back to work, ya know?" Boruto finally said as he averted his gazes to the ground, his sister mimicking her twin's actions and looked down as well.

"… It's to be expected with our jobs, Boruto." Naruto replied as he and Medaka exchange a look, signaling for the later to say something as well.

"That's why it's even more important to treasure the moments we do have together. There were plenty of times that your father and I couldn't be together because we lived in two different parts of the world." Behind the two, Hitomi and Zenkichi went silent at her words, that it was the same for them when they had to leave Naruto behind or see him off when it was time for him to return home, knowing full well that he would be alone the almost entire time. Hinata's gaze drifted to the teacup in her hand as she remembered multiple times when she had seen Naruto been isolated by most of the village except for a small group that included her, Iruka, and the other members of the Konoha Rookie 9. "Going through that kind of separation is the last thing that either of us could want for you both, or your baby sister."

"I know that things might be difficult for you guys right now, but all we can ask is that you guys try and endure it. If there are anyone in your generation that can handle it, the two of you would be right there at the top!" The twins stared up at Naruto and saw the large, comforting grin on his face, as well as the smiling Medaka just behind him. "You are the children of two of the most badass parents on the planet, ya know!"

(A Few Hours Later)

"Hm hmm hmm-hmm~" Letting out a gentle hum, Medaka was sitting on the couch as she was reading a book with one leg crossed over the other and her head resting on her propped up arm. Midori and Yuuto were resting at her feet with content looks since they were no longer exposed to Aki's presence and could enjoy Medaka's calming aura. The humming came to a halt as she felt a hard, rectangular object tap against the back of her head, though Medaka didn't bother turning her head. "I take it Aki and Boruto had finally fell asleep. You certainly took your time, huh?"

"Aki was still excited that we get to go on a family vacation, and I had to take Boruto's game console away. That kid was trying to sneak it under his blankets and planned on playing it after I left the room." Naruto replied as he walked around the couch and sat himself next to his wife before placing Boruto's game console on the table in front of them, glancing over at her to see she was still reading her book. "How do you always manage to put Yumi down so fast?

"That's my secret~!" Medaka replied with a sly smirk, which grew a little as Naruto snatched the book out of her hand. "I was still reading that."

Taking a good look at the title of the book, Naruto blinked in surprise. "I thought this looked familiar. It's Ero-Sennin's Tales of a Gutsy Ninja! I haven't seen this in years!"

"I found it when the kids and I were cleaning up on my day off." The bluenette explained as she took the book back from her husband, finding the last page she was reading within seconds. "This is the third time I've read it, and yet it is still an enjoyable read."

"I'm sure Ero-Sennin would've been happy to hear that," A soft chuckle escaped Naruto's lips as he looked up at the ceiling. "Wish he could've been there to see me become Hokage, or even how my life has turned out."

Finally lifting her head up from the book, Medaka looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Do you have any regrets?"

"Of course not. I achieved my dream, married the woman I love and share three awesome kids with her. I even managed to bring peace to the Elemental Nations like he wanted, while working towards spreading that peace to the rest of the world. I'm sure if he was still alive, that Super Pervert would be seething in jealousy… or maybe he'd be proud…" Naruto mused, the image of Jiraiya smirking and laughing flashing through his mind. "… Oh, I just remembered!"

"Hm? What are you yelling about all of a sudden? You keep doing that and you wake everybody up." Medaka questioned, the dogs perking up quickly at Naruto's raised voice to prove her point. But the woman's attention focused on one of Naruto's hands that reached into his pocket before pulling out something that surprised her. "Is that…?"

A grinning Naruto stated as he held up a piece of paper with the number 101 with his name on it and a corsage of flowers that had seven different colors, ""Yup! It's your final Flower Message! I never got to take part in Zenkichi's event back then since I wasn't part of Hakoniwa Academy, so I thought about making one myself, ya know!"

Marveling at the beautiful corsage at the top of Naruto's Flower Message, Medaka looked up at her husband with a confused look. "I've never seen a flower like those before… But why make a Flower Message now?"

"What you're looking at is a Jofuku Flower, one of the rarest flowers in the world since it can only grow in a specific forest here in the Land of Fire!" Lifting up the flower in front of him, Naruto had a sheepish grin as he scratched the side of his cheek with his free hand finger. "To be honest, I first thought about doing this years ago when we were about to get married. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the right thing to say… But now I finally managed to think of the perfect words. So what do ya say? Up for a quick match to take this from me?"

"Hehehe, even after all these years you still find ways to surprise me." Placing a bookmarker between the pages, a competitive grin formed on Medaka's face as she closing the book and placing it on the sofa next to her. Rising to her feet, the bluenette met with Naruto's gaze while clenching her hands into tight fists. "Very well. I accept your challenge!"

Making their way outside, the two came to a stop several feet away from the house on the front lawn. Doing several stretches and loosening up his body, Naruto was the first one to speak as he got into a fighting pose. "This'll be a straight fight like usual. No gimmicks, no set-ups or Jutsu. Just the two of us having a normal sparring match."

"Alright then! I hope you don't try and play the "I'm exhausted" card when I win!" Medaka replied with her fists at her sides, "I'm gonna take that Flower Message from you!"

A gentle breeze brushed passed the two as they stared at each other with large grins on their faces, waiting for any kind of signal to begin their battle. Their silent request was answered by a single falling leaf that fell off a nearby tree and was slowly gliding down to the ground, taking its time with its descent until it finally reached between the two and hit the grassy floor. Not even a second later, both husband and wife charged forward and met with a collision of their fists. Their match continued on for a good portion of the night, but eventually Medaka managed to get her hands on the Flower Message and the two would bring the day to an end by retreating to their bedroom with a happy Medaka tackling Naruto to the bed as soon as she finished reading Naruto's message.

*No. 101 Naruto – You gave an abnormal friendship, showed me an abnormal life, and gave me an abnormal family. I enjoy spending every second I can with the family you gave me!*

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And with this, An Abnormal Friendship has reached its epilogue! That actually took longer than I thought, nevertheless I'm happy that I wrote this three-shot. I'm sure some of you were either against some of the ways I handled things at various points in each chapter, but I don't regret my choices. ALSO, if there are any questions you have about parts of the story that weren't included, feel free to ask me. So, like always be sure to leave some nice reviews, but remember that all flames and insults will be IGNORED, so don't bother writing them. I hope you enjoyed reading this story and I look forward to seeing you again in one of my other works.

A/N: I am working on Dhampir of Yokai Academy, which will be the next update.

Thanks for reading!