Naruto stood in the temporary office within the tower, his posture straight yet casual. In front of him sat the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—pipe in hand, smoke curling lazily through the air as he studied this new Naruto with a mix of curiosity and unease. Behind Hiruzen stood Kakashi, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed, his one visible eye half-closed in its usual display of indifference.
Releasing a slow puff of smoke, Hiruzen finally spoke.
"First of all, congratulations on advancing to the third round of the Chunin Exams, Naruto. Many older and more experienced shinobi struggle to clear the second round on their first attempt—let alone accomplish it in under two days."
He paused, perhaps expecting a spark of pride or enthusiasm. Instead, Naruto simply tilted his head, his expression unreadable.
"Is that supposed to be some sort of compliment, Lord Hokage?" he asked flatly, his tone devoid of warmth.
The calm, emotionless cadence of his voice was so unlike the cheerful, boisterous boy everyone knew that it made Hiruzen frown.
A heavy silence followed. No one in the room had expected such a reply.
When Naruto made no move to continue, Hiruzen leaned forward slightly, the glint of his eyes sharpening.
"Yes, it was meant as a compliment," he said slowly. "But it seems you don't see it that way. I wonder why?"
He leaned back in his chair, pipe resting between his fingers as his tone hardened. "But that's not why we're here, is it? What I called you here for, Naruto, is your recent performance—and the changes you've shown. Your change in hair color, your sudden increase in height, and the cold detachment you've displayed toward your comrades—these things make this old man wonder. What exactly happened during the second round of the Chunin Exams, Naruto? What happened in that forest?"
At his words, the air in the room grew heavier, the tension almost palpable. Everyone except Naruto could feel it. Even Kakashi, who had seemed half-asleep moments ago, straightened subtly. The lazy slouch vanished, replaced by the razor-edged focus that had once defined him as an ANBU—the Copy Ninja, feared across nations.
Narutos' POV
Listening to the so-called ruler of this village speak, I nearly laughed aloud.
He wants to know what happened to me, huh? Even if I told him the truth—if I revealed who now stands before him—his fragile mortal mind wouldn't comprehend the magnitude of the being he's addressing. No, I won't give him the truth. But I can give him something believable—something that will keep their little government from poking too deeply into matters they can't hope to understand.
Finally, I broke my silence.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen's frown deepened, the faintest note of impatience creeping into his voice.
"Oh? And what could have happened that I wouldn't believe? Try me, Naruto."
My tone was cool, precise, unhurried.
"I met my parents."
Third Person POV
Silence.
As those words left Naruto's mouth, the entire room seemed to freeze. Hiruzen's pipe stopped halfway to his lips. Kakashi stood still as a statue—but the subtle flicker in his chakra betrayed his shock. Even the hidden ANBU stationed in the shadows faltered, their controlled breathing stuttering for the briefest second.
Kakashi stared at Naruto as if he were looking at a ghost. His hand trembled slightly, memories surfacing from the depths of his mind—of a golden-haired man with a gentle smile, and a red-haired woman whose fiery spirit could make even the Nine-Tails hesitate.
At last, Hiruzen broke the silence. His voice was quieter now, uncertain.
"Can you tell me about them, then, Naruto?"
Naruto met his gaze evenly, eyes unwavering.
"My father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. My mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was the previous jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."
The moment those names were spoken, the weight of realization crashed upon the room. The secret that Konoha's leadership had so carefully guarded for years—one they'd buried under silence and guilt—was no longer hidden. Naruto knew.
A faint smile touched his lips, but there was no warmth in it—only the ghost of something sharp and cruel.
"You know, Lord Hokage," he began, voice deceptively calm, "my mother was quite angry when she found out about you. She kept calling you 'that abusive, useless old monkey,' and swore she'd make sure to treat you just as kindly as you treated me when I was a child."
Hiruzen's face twisted—a tangled mask of guilt, shame, and the faint dread of what awaited him when he eventually joined the dead. Naruto's expression didn't change, but the glint in his eyes told another story. He was enjoying this. Watching them squirm was its own form of justice.
"My father, on the other hand," Naruto continued, "tried to convince my mother and me that what you did was necessary. They both had countless enemies, after all. By keeping my identity secret, you ensured those enemies remained ignorant of my existence."
He paused deliberately, his gaze cutting to Hiruzen. The old man's expression flickered with a hope he tried to conceal—the hope that Minato had persuaded both mother and son to forgive him.
"Both of them had a very heated argument about how my childhood could have been different while still keeping my identity hidden. Later, I had a… heartfelt talk with both of them. They told me they had sealed a portion of their chakra and souls within the seal, and that they had been watching me my entire life."
He took a measured breath before continuing, his tone steady.
"At the end of our conversation, my mother did something to my seal. My father was alarmed—he said she was tampering with something too dangerous. But she only smiled and said, 'The Dead Demon Consuming Seal was my clan's creation, Minato. I know what it can do and the dangers it holds. And besides, it's finally time for our chakra imprints to be useful to Naruto for once in his life.'"
Naruto paused again, letting the tension simmer before finishing.
"Well, Lord Hokage, those changes to the seal merged my parents' chakra with my own and granted me their knowledge, fighting techniques, and every jutsu they possessed.
Since my father worried about untested side effects, my mother used his chakra as a catalyst to give me an artificial growth spurt and to remove the majority of the nutritional deficiencies my body had suffered. After all, no matter how good it tastes, eating only ramen leaves some requirements unfulfilled."