Kishimoto owns Naruto(Which has gotten a little better, I think..Sennin Mode Naruto rocks!)
Theme song: Tsumo Te no Naka Ni (Opening theme for Dokkoida!?)
Chapter 8: Naruto's Lullaby
"So you're leaving too?" Kushina said. It wasn't a question.
She was sitting on a couch, overlooking a playpen where a year-old baby Naruto was in. the baby was staring at a little fox plushy with unnatural fascination.
Jiraiya, clad in his shinobi, nodded. "Yeah, I'd thought I should say goodbye, first. I don't want to leave, but I have to find Orochimaru. No one else in the village stands a chance against him."
Orochimaru, considered by as one of the most powerful ninja in the world, had gone rogue, after being caught performing illegal experiments on members of the village, civilian and ninja alike. He fled, following a brief fight with the 3rd Hokage, and no one knew where to look.
"Tsunade could beat him," Kushina pointed out, "You Sannin are all at the same level, after all."
Jiraiya smirked. "True, but she's not here." The Princess had left the village a year ago, and hadn't been seen since. "I'm sure she'll hear about it, wherever she is, but I doubt she'll go out of her way to look for him. Anyway…" He looked away, "She doesn't have the stake in this that I do."
"And what's that?" Kushina asked, intrigued.
Jiraiya took a deep breath. "I didn't know what Orochimaru was doing until it was too late. I should've been more attentive," he looked down ashamed, "Maybe all those people he butchered would still be alive…"
"You can't blame yourself for what he did," Kushina put in, "From what I hear, taking the blame is what old Sarutobi's doing, for letting him go."
Jiraiya smiled grimly. The 3rd Lord was certainly taking a lot of heat from Danzo's faction. "That's why I need to go. The sooner I take down Orochimaru, the sooner they'll stop complaining."
Kushina folder her arms, giving him an appraising look. "And how long is that going to take?"
"Oh, about a year," Jiraiya bragged, in an off-hand sort of way. Getting serious, he said, "I really have no idea. Orochimaru's a master of stealth. And there's no telling where he might go. He left no indication of his future plans in his lab."
"Which means you might never be back," Kushina sighed, falling back onto the couch. "So that's two good men of the Leaf gone forever."
"I'll be back!" Jiraiya insisted, "So don't worry." He looked down at Naruto, who, having lost interest in merely staring at the fox plushy, began to poke, prod, and squeeze it in several places. "Naruto won't go his life without knowing his Grampa Jiraiya," He bent down and leaned into Naruto's space. "Wontcha, Naruto?"
The baby looked up at Jiraiya and blinked, squinting like a cartoon fox. Then he went back to his fox flailing.
"Don't you think he's showing too much interest in that toy?" Jiraiya asked, looking up at Kushina, "Most kids that age aren't that attached to toys like that."
"That just shows how smart he is," Kushina smiled, "He knows what a fox means."
'That's what worries me!' Jiraiya thought.
"That was the last time I saw you." Kushina sighed.
Jiraiya nodded. Off to the side, Naruto carried the 'Box of Doom' while Kakashi and Iruka, in a display of professionalism not seen lately, ruffled through it. Kakashi pulled out a fox plushy that made Naruto stare. It looked familiar…but where did those scorch marks come from?
"Twelve years I spent, collecting data on Orochimaru, and then Akatsuki," Jiraiya said, "And when I came back, I couldn't find you, or Naruto. No one would say if they knew where you had gone. I thought you had left, taking Naruto with you. When I went to the hot springs for some relaxation, I found Naruto."
"Naruto told me about that," Kushina laughed. "He had you pegged the minute he saw you."
"Yeah, yeah." Jiraiya grumbled. He saw the time on a clock in a shop window. "It's been great to see you again, but there's a pressing situation I need to check into right now. Farewell!" And with a that, Jiraiya was gone.
Kushina blinked. "What's going on now?" She asked, looking at the three by the box.
Naruto grimaced. "Now's when the Leaf Young Women's Club has their meeting at the hot springs."
"Pervert." Kushina muttered.
"Actually, I should be going too," Iruka said, "My class is starting."
As they watched Iruka run off, Kakashi gave a yell.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed.
"I just remembered, I was due for a mission briefing!" Kakashi cried in alarm, "Gotta go! Later!"
Kakashi was gone in a flash.
"The Doc was right." Kushina commented.
"Huh? What?" Naruto asked, only half-listening.
"Nothin'." Kushina said, with a dismissive wave. Pointing onward and upward, she declared, "Now, let's go home!"
She took a step forward…before looking back at Naruto. "Um, where is home?"
---
In the underground area used as meeting areas for the illegal ANBU division known as Root, Danzo stood in front four Root agents. Beside him was a poster of Kushina, taken some sixteen years ago. She was making funny faces at the camera. This area was the center of all of Danzo's dreams and schemes. And these four were the most powerful stealth assassins in the entire village. At least, they better be.
"This mission is to be your most important." He began, not bothering to bid the four hello, or even show he was glad to see them. Such displays of familiarity were for weaklings. The next day could be the day they die, so why bother?
"Your mission is to kill this woman the minute she is alone," Danzo said, tapping the poster with his cane. "You four are the most effective agents Root has to offer," He continued, "I see no reason why you should fail."
"Lord Danzo?" One of the Root four asked, "Didn't that woman die fifteen years ago?"
"She was presumed dead," Danzo answered, "But no one found her body."
Root number 2 raised his hand. "Is it true that this woman is the Fourth Hokage's equal?"
Was that fear in the agent's voice? Danzo decided that he must have imagined it. the first and foremost step to becoming a Root agent was the elimination of all emotions. Those who let their emotions were those who were weak.
"While some might consider Uzumaki Kushina to be the Forth Lord's equal," He answered testily, "Those are the ones who do not realize that to be a shinobi requires more than just brute strength. You need intelligence, speed, stealth, and above all, self control."
For some reason, despite wearing masks, Danzo thought they looked nervous. "You'll be fine if you don't fight her directly. Now go!"
As the Root Four vanished, Danzo allowed himself a dark smile. Finally, after sixteen years, his arm, along with his array of ninjutsu, would finally be avenged!
And maybe the stump would stop hurting.
---
"We're home!" Naruto yelled, kicking the door to his apartment open. As he and his mother entered, Kushina took in her surroundings. It didn't look too bad…for a bachelor pad.
"Where should I put this stuff?" Naruto asked. He was still holding the Box of Doom.
"Oh, just put it by the bed," Kushina said, not really paying attention. She was currently looking through the kitchen area. So far, all she could find were packets of instant ramen…
Then it occurred to her. "Hey, where is my bed?" She asked.
That little detail had also escaped Naruto until now.
"Uh, I dunno…" Frowning, Naruto tried to think of a solution. "I might have some futons in the closet…they've never been used, so they might work…"
Kushina nodded. "Okay, set it up. I'll be right back."
"Huh?" Naruto asked, "Where are you going?"
"Just to buy some groceries," Kushina replied, heading for the door. "We don't have nearly enough food for dinner, especially for what I'm gonna make!"
Naruto stopped right there. "Wh-what?"
"Bye!" Kushina yelled over her shoulder, slamming the door behind her.
Naruto stood where he was, shell-shocked. Mama's…gonna make dinner?
---
"The target is leaving the building alone. Repeat, the target is alone!"
"Roger. Prepare to intercept."
---
After Naruto had set up the futon and blankets up in the corner, he lay down on his own bed. In his hand was the fox plushy.
Mom's gonna make me dinner… He thought, tossing the somewhat well-done plushy in the air.
He remembered seeing happy families, as a child and hearing how parents would make their children's 'favorite dinner' if they were good.
Is it my turn…? Naruto caught the fox plushy, and stared at it. Will this be my favorite dinner…?
---
The somewhat reformed Root agent dubbed Sai walked down the dark streets of the Leaf Village, a paper bag full of groceries. He had been doing some late-night shopping when he passed by a woman with red hair.
Red hair? That woman matched the description of Naruto's mother. Sai wasn't all that sure if that woman really was Uzumaki Kushina...he had returned to the village after a mission(Which, compared to the ones he performed with Naruto, was very dull…a sense of which he never had before) to find the village gates in shambles and the village itself in a flurry of rumors. After trying and failing to locate Naruto, Sai decided to just wait until fate allowed him to meet Kushina. Was this that time?
Also, he realized in an afterthought, she was being followed.
Quickly sealing his groceries in a scroll, Sai moved to tail her, and her tailers. As he moved about the shadows, he just barely heard her mutter, "When did they jack up the prices so much?"
Sai was certain that her followers were skilled ninja, but who could infiltrate the Leaf Village at night- when security was at its highest? And who would? Sai dimly recalled a rumor that several of the veterans held a grudge against Kushina- if that's who she was.
I hope she doesn't she doesn't do anything stupid like walk into a dark alleyway… Sai thought…just as the woman entered a dark alleyway.
Resisting the urge to slap his forehead(A mannerism he witness Captain Yamato do whenever Naruto or Sakura did something outlandish) Sai moved to follow her.
---
Naruto was busy going through Kushina's box when he heard the door slam.
"I'm home!" Kushina's voice rang out.
Naruto quickly something that looked like a dried-up snail with a rotary dial and speaker back in the box and went out to meet her.
"Sorry it took me so long," Kushina said, putting the bags on the kitchen counter. "Some guys held me up while I was out."
"What happened?" Naruto asked.
"Don't worry about it," Kushina replied, "I took care of them."
---
Sai stared. Whatever he was expecting, the scene before him was not it.
The four attackers were definitely ANBU, (Root? Most likely) but you couldn't tell that from the state of their uniforms, or their bodies.
Their clothes had been blasted(?) into tatters, only their boxer shorts showed any signs of undamaged. Their masks were shattered, their limbs mangled, and one ANBU had been pinned to one of the alley walls by several shuriken. One had the misfortune of being tied up by his arms and legs, like a circus contortionist in a stunt gone wrong. Horribly wrong.
I think I'll meet her tomorrow. Sai decided.
---
Back at Uzumaki central, Kushina stared at the kitchen.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"…It's been fifteen years since I used a stove."
Naruto facefaulted.
After getting re-acquainted with the basics of kitchen use, Kushina got right to it. Naruto watched from the table.
"Hm-hm hmhmmm…" She hummed, making what she hoped was dinner, "Hmm hmmhmm…"
"Ready for dinner, Naruto?" Kawazaki asked.
"Yeah, I've never felt so hungry…" Naruto did a double-take. "Kawazaki! Where did you come from?! And where have you been!"
"I was at Chez Arubume for a snack," Kawazaki explained, "The food was exquisite, but the service was very poor."
I'll bet it was. Naruto thought, having a pretty good idea on how a clan of bug-users would react to a frog in their home.
Looking back at Kushina, Kawazaki commented, "Ahh, I haven't heard this song in decades, not since my last trip to the Land of Whirpools."
"Huh? You've heard this before?" Naruto asked. Come to think of it, it sounded very familiar to him as well…
"Oh, yes," Kawazaki said, "Back then, there was a gang of pirates who used that country as their base, and they sang this song every time they partied themselves drunk."
"When you were born, I started using it as a lullaby to put you to sleep," Kushina went on, placing different dishes on the table. "To me, this song represents the call of adventure, and the joy of new experiences." Sitting down across from Naruto, she said, "Well! Dig in! Tell me what you think!"
Naruto looked at the spread before him. In the middle of the table was large bowl of ramen. To the left side was a plate of grilled salmon, chopped for convenience. To the right was salad, made from an assortment of different vegetables. Pulling some ramen onto his plate, along with a piece of salmon(the salad was untouched). After a moment of anticipation, Naruto swallowed it all in a single gulp!
"Hey!" Kushina cried, "Slow down!" After a moment, she asked, "Well? How is it?"
Tears were streaming down his face. "It's good…" Naruto whispered, before helping himself to seconds.
Kawazaki had a feeling it wouldn't have mattered how the food actually tasted. Naruto seemed so excited to eat his mother's cooking that he probably would have said it was good regardless.
Satisfied with her son's satisfaction, Kushina began to eat.
After about five minutes of silence, Naruto asked, "Hey, mama?"
"Hmm?" Kushina had a mouthful of ramen.
"That song you were singing…" Naruto said, "Can I hear the lyrics? Please?"
Kushina swallowed her ramen. "Sure." She smiled.
Sixteen years ago, October 10.
"So there's no other way?" Kushina asked. She had just been through the 'miracle' of childbirth, and now held a newborn Naruto in her arms. The infant was without whiskers.
"I wish there was," Namikaze Minato, 4th Hokage of the Leaf, said. "Or we wouldn't be having this conversation." He looked down sadly, before asking, in a small, pleading, pitiful voice, "Can I hold him?"
"What?"
"You'll have your whole life with him," Minato explained, "I've only got a few hours."
Smiling sadly, Kushina handed the bundle of joy to her boyfriend.
As Minato stared at Naruto, he couldn't help but notice how blue the baby's eyes were. His eyes, on the other hand, were beginning to tear up.
"Before you go…how about a song?"
Minato and Kushina looked up from where they were- Minato standing and Kushina lying- to a tall man over by the doorway of the room they were in. His face was partially obscured by the shadow cast by the wide-brimmed hat he was wearing. Only his mouth was visible.
"Doc?" Kushina asked, blinking, "What do you mean?"
The Doc snapped his fingers and a piano wheeled in. Sitting down on the seat, the Doc said, "A very old man once said that death is the next great adventure. This song, commonly used by the sailors of the skull and crossbones, is the perfect send-off for a man about to take that adventure head-on. How about it?"
The couple exchanged looks.
"Why not," Minato grinned, a bit mournfully, "I've got nothing better do after today. The Fox can wait a few more minutes."
The Doc, unseen by all, pushed a button on a small device on the piano. He then began to play.
"Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Going to deliver Binks' Sake
Following the sea breeze!
Riding on the waves
Far across the salty depths!
The merry evening sun
Painting circles in the sky
As the birds sing!
Farewell to the harbor
To my old hometown
Lets all sing out with a Don!
As the ship sets sail
Waves of gold and silver
Dissolve to salty spray
As we all set sail to
The ends of the sea!"
Naruto soon found himself singing along, repeating lyrics he didn't know he knew, while Kawazaki conducted with his pipe, merrily ribbit-ing along.
"Going to deliver Bink's Sake!
We are pirates
Sailing through the Sea!
The waves are our pillows
The ship our roost
Flying the proud Skull
On our flags and our sails!"
Fifteen years ago, Kushina sang to her baby while Uchiha Itachi practiced his katas.
"Now comes a storm
Through the far-off sky
Now the waves are dancing
Beat upon the drums
If you loose your nerve
This breath could be your last
But if you just hold on,
The morning sun will rise!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!"
Elsewhere, in some foreign country outside of the Land of Fire, Uchiha Itach took a walk away from where he and Kisame were camping. Looking up at the starry sky, he began to sing.
"Going to deliver Bink's Sake
Today, and tomorrow,
Our dreams through the night
Waving our goodbyes,
We'll never meet again!
But don't look so down;
For at night the moon will rise."
In the apartment, the singing was now at full power. People in the nearby rooms and buildings were wondering what party was happening. Outside, Jiraiya smiled.
"Going to deliver Bink's Sake!
Let's all sing it with a Don!
A song of the waves
Doesn't matter who you are,
Someday you'll just be bones
Never-Ending, Ever-wandering,
Our funny Traveling tale!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!
Yohohoho, yohohoho!"
The Doc felt a strong wind, and knew at once that the Uzumaki family was gone, through the use of Minato's Hiraishin no Jutsu.
"There they go, the conquering heroes," the Doc sighed, still playing the melody. After a minute, he rubbed his eyes, feeling tears running down his face. "Damn it… This is what I hate about shinobi…always leaving too quickly, without a decent goodbye!"
With that, he stopped playing and began to sob.
Naruto was crying too, but not from any sadness. His smile had never been so wide, his heart never felt so light.
Things just keep getting better and better! He thought, smiling as bright as the sun.
---
The end! For real, this time!
With this chapter, I official place Naruto realm inside the One Piece world! Maybe!
To be honest, I originally came up with the concept of Kushina having a popular song as a lullaby for Naruto months before the One Piece episode with Binks' Sake, but when I heard the full song, I thought, 'Wow! I'm including that!' or something to that effect. Originally, I was gonna use Ai no Uta from Pikmin in a much different flashback. Oh, and the song and series Binks' Sake comes from belongs to Eiichiro Oda. Yeah, I know, I'm copying the concept, but since the song is for pirates, and Naruto's most popular characters are copy-ninjas, I figure I'm okay. (I'm probably not, though. Sorry.) And just so you know, the Doc mentioned is not just some stand-in or shout out to Dead Bones Brook. He's veeery different from that skeleton…you'll see later on, in another story I'm planning. Heheh… Oh yeah, before I forget…
Hiraishin no Jutsu – Flying Thunder God Technique.