MistNovel - Read Web Novel Stories & Fiction Online

If there were any flies in the vicinity, the toad sage of Konoha would surely have caught them with his gaping mouth. He stared at the strange man who just alleged that he was his godson. You know-- his blond hyperactive numbskull godson, who was most definitely not a sage and probably choking on ramen somewhere in Konoha.

'That can 't '. ' Jiraiya stuttered and shook his head before he became deadly serious. 'Uzumaki Naruto is 12-years-old. You 're lying! It's not even a good lie! '

Naruto pursed his lips and glared up at his godfather with annoyance. He knew the old pervert was going to be stubborn about it, seal or no seal.

'The whole point of this seal is so I can 't be lying, old man! ' Naruto exploded before he forced himself to keep from provoking Jiraiya into an actual fight. He didn 't want to fight his godfather if he could help it. 'The Uzumaki Naruto from

this time

is twelve; I'll grant you that. However, does anyone but you, Tsunade-baa-chan, Jiji, and Kakashi-sensei, know who my father is? My dad is the Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato, who died sealing the Kyuubi in me, his newborn child! '

Jiraiya 's face blanched. All they had done after Minato died to protect his legacy evaporated within seconds. It was all meaningless, from obfuscating about Naruto 's parentage to keeping him as far away from Danzo and the council as possible. Not to mention forcing himself, Tsunade, and Kakashi to wait in the background until it was safe to attach themselves to the boy on his own merits, rather than being the Fourth 's son. Was all that in vain? Had some strange nin found out one of Konoha 's best-guarded secrets? Or, was this man telling the truth? But how could it be possible?

'You can 't know that, ' Jiraiya growled, though he could see the certainty in the Uzumaki 's expression. 'You

shouldn 't

know that! '

'Oi, old man, ' Naruto jeered. He crossed his arms over his chest as he glared up at his fellow toad sage. 'You sure are caught up on all the things that I clearly know. '

'Ho ' 'Jiraiya started to ask, but he was stopped by Naruto throwing up his hands in protest.

'That isn 't one of the five questions, Ero-Sennin! ' Naruto complained. 'Ask those first, and then you can grill me about things I shouldn 't know later! '

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes as he focused on the man 's hair. It was Uzumaki red. It was not the vibrant yellow he saw streaking down the street, followed by the cackles of the madman prankster and the ANBU who chased the orange terror.

'Your hair is red, ' Jiraiya pointed out stiffly, 'my godson is blond. '

'Like dad, yeah, I know, ' Naruto rolled his eyes. He took a piece of hair and scrutinized it with thinly veiled annoyance. 'I uh '. I 'm not sure what happened to my hair. Kurama said it happened when he was being torn away from me or something. Something about my Uzumaki genes activating to keep me alive. Ugh ' I don 't know. Now, ask the next question! You can ask about my sexy hair later. ' Naruto tacked on the joke at the last moment. He seemed to wilt when Jiraiya continued to squint down at him suspiciously. Naruto had known this would happen, but he had hoped otherwise.

'Kurama, who in the ' 'Jiraiya started to ask, only to once again be cut off again before he could finish the question.

'Ero-Sennin, seriously! ' Naruto groaned as he tugged on his hair in frustration. 'You can ask that after! This is a basic request here! '

Jiraiya watched the young man, as he took in the annoyance and the apprehension. There was no harm in asking the five basic interrogation questions first. It had already turned out far more interesting than expected. For now, he could play along.

'Fine, brat, ' Jiraiya relented. 'What village are you from? '

'Konoha, ' Naruto announced, and as before, the wind chakra stayed placid.

'How old are you? '

'24. '

'What is your rank? '

The seal flashed once again, but where Naruto had previously answered promptly without hesitating, Jiraiya watched with interest as his cheeks colored. What could be so embarrassing about a rank? The man was s-classed in the bingo books and clearly powerful. He was still in sage mode!

'Um, technically ' ' Naruto hedged before he visibly gulped and answered the question. 'I 'm a genin, but I 've been at Kage level since I was 16! '

Jiraiya was flabbergasted yet again. A genin? This man was a genin?

'You 're a genin? ' Jiraiya laughed harshly.

It wasn 't even a good lie. Who would believe it?

'Now, I know you 're lying. No genin can go around challenging Kages and get away with it alive 'much less unscathed. '

'Oi, why would I lie about something embarrassing like that? Sheesh! ' Naruto yelled. He sounded genuinely offended by the suggestion as he scratched at his whiskered cheeks. 'It 's not my fault the Chuunin exams exploded in everyone 's face! And it 's Tsunade-baa-chan 's fault because she wouldn 't give me a field promotion. Then Kakashi-sensei was just being sadistic ' the bastard wouldn 't let me take them the old-fashioned way after the war and refused to promote me himself either! The lazy bastard just wanted to be able to tell people he passed the hat onto a genin because he thinks it 's hilarious! Ero-Sennin, people were already calling me the genin Hokage, and I didn 't even have the title yet! '

Jiraiya sat back and watched the genuine indignation on the man 's face. He listened to the details that made no sense out of context, but which poured out in a flood with no artifice to blend them together. He also noted to himself that the man spoke of Tsunade and Kakashi with fond exasperation and with an innate knowledge of their personality 'quirks. However, the idea that those two out of everyone supposedly took the hat was ludicrous.

'I didn 't understand half of that, kid, ' Jiraiya admitted.

Naruto groaned and stared petulantly up at him like he was the one spouting nonsense. 'Well, neither did I, and I lived it, dattebayo! ' Naruto brushed past any further explanation. 'Next question! '

'What are your intentions toward Konoha and its people? ' Jiraiya asked the final question. His eyes zeroed in on the man 's face to look for any hint of his true intentions. This was the most important question of the five.

'I want to become its Hokage someday, dattebayo! Despite the circumstances, it is still my dream! ' Naruto announced, and a light began to grow in his eyes. There was an earnestness in his expression. 'I want to protect my precious people! I want to make sure the village is never destroyed again! I will bring peace to the shinobi world, but this time, I won 't let my precious people suffer while I watch on helplessly! '

The speech would be meaningless without the Will of Fire that Jiraiya could see burning in the man 's chest. He had a fight and desire to protect and to serve that Jiraiya had seldom had the privilege of seeing. He was forcefully reminded of the character Naruto was named after. That forgotten book of his, which carried his hopes for the future as well as a prophecy he had tried to forget, those memories sparked back to life in his mind.

'I think you mean that kid, ' Jiraiya admitted as he rubbed at his chin. He watched the hope spring up and almost felt bad to crush it so soon. 'But you gotta understand what this looks like. None of this makes sense. '

Naruto sighed. His shoulders drooped like he was weighed down by the situation.

'Yeah, yeah, I know I spent forever thinking of how to prove it, ' Naruto admitted. 'The best Kurama and I could come up with was either to let Inoichi-san see our memories, but well 'that might get into the wrong hands, and you might still not believe me! Or, use this seal here. ' Naruto indicated the seal. It still glowed with a golden light as his wind chakra swirled lazily around him.

'How do I know it 's working? ' Jiraiya pointed out. 'You could have rigged it to glow, and you said it yourself the wind is from your own chakra. '

Naruto 's face suddenly brightened as an idea occurred to him. Jiraiya didn 't know why that gave him a rush of dread.

'Oh, I understand, ' Naruto announced, 'Okay, here, I 'll lie, and you can see it is working, hmm! '

Jiraiya was alarmed at the nonchalant way he considered a plan that would include his own chakra punishing him. Jiraiya raised his hand to calm him down, but Naruto was single-minded when it came to anything and everything.

'Kid, wait ' 'Jiraiya tried to stop him.

'I haven 't missed you at all ' '

The seal flashed a crimson red before a whining sound echoed through the building. Literal blades of wind chakra slashed at Naruto 's face and hands, leaving bleeding cuts in their wake as Jiraiya looked on in fascinated horror.

'Fuck, that hurt! ' Naruto complained over the whirring sound before it went back to a placid breeze. It went around lazily, stirring up dust motes as though it had not caused Naruto to bleed.

Jiraiya watched as the cuts began to close immediately. In fact, the cuts on his palms were no longer bleeding either, and for no discernable reason. Either the man had a bloodline limit, which enhanced his healing 'or he was telling the truth, and his demon tenant healed his foolhardy decisions.

'You didn 't have to do that, Kid, ' Jiraiya grumbled. He looked at the man with new eyes. Could it be true?

'Yeah, I did, ' Naruto disagreed before he put his hands on his hips and squinted up at the toad sage. 'So, will you hear me out, at least? '

Jiraiya couldn 't believe it yet, but he could listen. He figured anyone willing to mutilate themselves to prove they were telling the truth 'well, they at least deserved to tell their story.

'Yeah, I can do that. '

Naruto smiled, and a look of relief clung to the edges of his mouth and in his golden eyes. Jiraiya wondered why he maintained sage mode even now. He couldn 't help but feel the man did it to remain in charge of the situation. Perhaps it made it safer for him to put himself in a vulnerable position with sage mode 's extended senses and increased power. Jiraiya could tell just from the set in the man 's jaw he did not like to be vulnerable. It was a war-weary look 'one he had seen in his comrades since his first war and the generations afterward.

'Okay, do you want to ask questions, or can I just tell you? ' Naruto offered. 'The seal doesn 't allow me to lie, but it won 't force compliance unless a question is asked first. '

'Let 's start with some questions first, ' Jiraiya decided. He felt more comfortable being able to steer the conversation. Naruto nodded in agreement.

'Okay, shoot Ero-Sennin! ' Naruto grinned as the toad sage 's face fell into that same expression he had so missed on his godfather 's face. A face that was full of rage and mischief and a tinge of appreciation.

'Why do you call me Ero-Sennin? ' Jiraiya growled. He was going to get to the bottom of this one way or another.

'Bahaha, what? Do you deny you 're a pervert? ' Naruto teased, he grinned unrepentantly. 'Really, Raiya, you happily proclaim yourself a super pervert to anyone who will listen! I started calling you that after the first time we met. You were doing 'research ' and wouldn 't teach me until I found you a certain fruit with the right curves. You should have seen your face when I brought that melon bahahaha! Of course, you only caved because of Sexy-no-jutsu. '

At the mention of such a jutsu, Jiraiya 's eyebrows twitched with interest. Still, there were more serious matters to discuss. Naruto watched him wage a battle between his duty to Konoha and his internal perverted self. He was somewhat disappointed when he chose duty.

'How is this even possible? What are you? ' Jiraiya asked, clearly at the end of his rope.

He became exasperated when Naruto shrugged with a thoughtful expression.

'I don 't how ' not exactly, ' Naruto quantified before the seal could react to the half-truth. 'I 'm from the future. About eleven years in the future, though I got here roughly a year ago. I got hit by a jutsu instead of Kakashi-sensei. It was supposed to remove the soul from his body forcefully. Since I intercepted it and I 've got Kurama 'that 's the Kyuubi, by the way, it started an extraction first. Ku managed to get us enough time to talk, and we used this seal I was studying. I 've had a hell of a time trying to crack Dad's advanced Hiriashin, but I had already found the seal it was based on. We used that. '

Jiraiya jumped at the mention of his student 's technique. He knew the seal Naruto mentioned, but that it had never worked when Minato tried to implement it before he adjusted the seal.

As he talked, Naruto didn 't even seem to see him anymore. It was as if he had turned internally while he recounted his story. 'The seal is supposed to be used to send someone back a few minutes at most. I figured if I threw everything I had left at it, I would get at least a day or two! That 's what probably would have happened if Kurama hadn 't accidentally sent his chakra into the seal too. I woke up in the middle of the field where the attack would happen twelve years in the future, ' Naruto paused and ran his hand through the back of his ponytail in frustration.

'At first, I didn 't know how far back we had gone 'or why the hell my hair was red, so that was 'surprising. Kurama passed out for like three months, so he was no help. He's still sleeping all the time, even after a year's recovery! I went back to Konoha, but I could tell that I had gone back too far. The village hadn 't been that populated for years, and there was no Tsunade or Kakashi on the monument. I snuck in, but the moment I saw my chibi self with Iruka-sensei, I bolted. I couldn 't think of what else to do, so I went to Uzushio to see if there was something that could get me back home. '

Jiraiya jolted forward at that. Pieces clicked into place in his mind as he began to fit the puzzle of the Uzumaki together.

'Is that why you 've been stealing scrolls from across the Elemental Nations? ' Jiraiya asked. He didn 't expect the frown to appear on the man 's face nor the indignant reaction.

'Stealing implies I 'm taking something that doesn 't belong to me, ' Naruto groused. 'Besides chibi Naruto and two other Uzumaki 's still alive, those scrolls belong to me ' but yeah, I went to liberate them to see if there was some way back home. '

Jiraiya could understand the urge. Even if he could change everything in the past, Jiraiya still didn 't think he could give up the memories of the people he had left. The chance for change in his own timeline wasn 't worth losing all that had been. Not if he still had something to live for, and though he might deny it, he still did. He couldn 't imagine having that choice taken from him.

'Is there a way back? ' Jiraiya asked, but he had a feeling he knew the answer.

Naruto 's entire body drooped, and it looked like tears welled up in his eyes before the man forced a false smile on his face. It seemed it was more natural for him to smile in the face of devastation than to cry.

'No, ' Naruto confirmed, a crack in his voice despite the grin. 'The moment I entered the timeline, my future ceased to exist. Even if I tried, I would probably pop into a void, or end up further stranded. '

A bit of warmth built up in his chest despite his best efforts to remain emotionally detached. Jiraiya felt a wave of compassion for the man.

'I 'm sorry, kid, ' Jiraiya apologized and winced at the grimace on the strange man 's face.

'It 's o ' ' Naruto stopped before he lied. It was annoying that even lying about his mental state would result in being punished by the seal. '--Yeah, it sucks, but now that I 'm back, I can prevent so many things! I can also give my chibi self a family if he 'll let me. It 's a little narcissistic, but I 'd like to think that anyone would want to take care of their younger self if they had a chance. Especially with 'everything. I know I would have liked that when I was him. '

'You want to come back to Konoha? ' Jiraiya confirmed, but he knew from the speech about protecting his precious people that Konoha was where he would be required to go.

'More than anything, ' Naruto said, and there was deep emotion in his voice. "The second I realized I couldn 't go back, I started planning to stay. '

Jiraiya knew the entire interrogation had to be part of his plans.

'How did you know I would come at all? ' Jiraiya asked. He was miffed that he and Hiruzen could be predicted by a genin no matter how strong. 'What if it was someone you didn 't know? '

Naruto shrugged and smiled up at him as his eyes gleamed with mischief.

'Well, I figured Jiji would only send you or Kakashi-sensei, ' Naruto explained. 'He trusts your instincts more than anyone else 's, even his current ANBU. If someone else had come, I would have sensed it and then left to find you directly. I figured either one of you would help me if I could convince you, but I admit I hoped it was you. I dropped my hint at Saiyu 's Inn because I knew you trusted her intel the most. '

Jiraiya 's eyebrows shot up. 'You know about my informant network? ' he demanded.

His informants were some of his closest guarded secrets. If the word got out about them, they would be in danger, as would Konoha. Not even Hiruzen knew his complete network. It was why he was out of the village so often. He was the only one who knew where to look.

'Of course, Ero-Sennin! ' Naruto admitted easily as though it were no big deal. 'I traveled with you for two years. I met almost all of them when we were training. '

Naruto paused, and Jiraiya saw the weight of grief press down on the young man 's shoulders again. He felt the desire to make him smile again, or at least to know what had upset him so he could fix it. 'Why does that make you sad? '

Naruto 's smile faltered further as he placed a hand on the back of his neck and looked down.

'You uh ' ' Naruto stuttered, clearly pained by the information. 'You died in my timeline, Raiya-- about three years from now. '

Jiraiya flinched at the news. He had made peace with his eventual death long ago. Still, to hear it admitted so bluntly took him off guard. Naruto looked heartbroken as he watched Jiraiya react to the news.

'I 'm sorry, I 'm not good at this, ' Naruto apologized. 'I guess that is 'hard to hear. It still 'it still hurts you know? I mean, you 're standing right there, and that 's great, dattebayo! But you 're not

my Jiraiya

. You don 't have the memories I do. You haven 't shared ice pops with me, poured water on me for snoring too loud, or bought me a new jumpsuit because the old one got worn out. But you could be him. Hopefully, you will be him for the other Naruto if I haven 't screwed everything up. '

Though Jiraiya was still striving for an emotional distance, he couldn 't help the pain that came from the hollowed-out look in Naruto 's eyes. It was a true agony; something haunted like that could not be faked. It was an entire lifetime lost and far out of reach.

'You 've lost everyone you 've ever known, ' Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded as he ruffled his ponytail again. 'Yeah, except for Kurama, ' Naruto admitted.

Jiraiya squinted down at Naruto, still not quite understanding the fondness in the man 's voice for the creature. 'You speak very fondly of a demon who killed your parents, ' Jiraiya pointed out.

Naruto grimaced at him as though he said something insensitive.

'He 's my partner, dattebayo! ' Naruto announced indignantly before he sobered again. 'I mean ' yeah, he was a bastard for most of my life and everything, but that wasn 't his fault. I saw what happened the night he was sealed, and I know the bastard who is really responsible. Kurama and I had a common goal, and we banded together. He 's sort of my best friend these days. '

There was a genuinely happy smile on the man 's face again. Jiraiya felt curiosity explode in his chest. Naruto knew who had attacked the night he had lost Minato. He had the answers. Jiraiya had been searching fruitlessly for twelve years and this boy had the information he needed!

'You are a strange person, Namikazi-Uzumaki Naruto, ' Jiraiya laughed and shook his head down at the man who didn 't appear even a bit insulted.

'Believe it! ' Naruto announced with a little fist bump and a laugh. There was a tinge of desperation in his laughter as though he were still unsure of where Jiraiya stood.

'Tell me, ' Jiraiya said before taking a seat on the balcony and pillowing his head on his fist.

His past/future student copied his pose and then did what he did best. He started talking.

Jiraiya listened to it all quietly. For the most part, he only listened and watched; he only occasionally asked a clarifying question. He laughed or rolled his eyes, and sometimes he fought back his tears. He was amazed and terrified at the burning bright will in front of him and the things he had done. His godson would be forced to do those things if they weren 't changed. He heard the emotion that could not be faked and the pain that hung around his godson 's neck like a noose. He heard it all and was humbled that out of everyone Naruto had known and loved in his life, he would choose to come to him first. It was a gift to trust him with the future and ask for help rather than jealously guard the information.

' 'I believe you, ' Jiraiya said finally as Naruto fell silent. They had been talking for hours. The building was lit only by the golden glow of the active seal and the stars that peaked in from the crumbling ceiling above.

Naruto snorted and lay on his back as he exhaled loudly. He liked to talk, but there were limits. Relieving over a decade within a few hours was emotionally exhausting.

'Good, ' Naruto grumbled, 'because I was going to throw a Kurama-sized tantrum if you didn 't! '

Jiraiya shifted to see Naruto flopped on the ground. He gave out a loud, dramatic groan, which had Naruto peeking out at him with one blue eye. Naruto had run out of sage mode over two hours ago.

'We have a lot to do, ' Jiraiya mourned his relatively easy life of spying, 'researching,' and writing his masterpieces. His peace went out with a puff of smoke. Now, he would have to take an active role in the world's fate again. He wasn 't going to let Naruto go at it alone.

'Yeah, ' Naruto exhaled before fully meeting Jiraiya 's gaze. He moved to stand and vacate the seal. 'But we 'll do it together? '

'Yeah, kid, yeah, ' Jiraiya groused before a leering grin spread across his face, '--oh, before you move, Naru-chan? '

Naruto blanched; he froze in place as he observed his teacher 's face. It was never good for him when Jiraiya called him 'Naru-chan. '

'You 're giving me creepy vibes, Ero-sennin, ' Naruto said warily. The hair stood on the back of his neck, and he could hear Kurama laughing maniacally in his head.

'What is your type Naru-chan? Do you like ' ' Jiraiya began to describe things Naruto did not want to discuss with anyone, much less with his father figure. His face went on fire because the seal had flashed, and it was going to force him to answer unless Jiraiya negated the question.

'Ero-Sennin!!! ' Naruto cried, his face hot enough to fry an egg on.

'Now, now, Naru-chan, ' Jiraiya cooed sweetly as he shook his finger back and forth. He took his sweet revenge with relish. ' We wouldn 't want to be forced to comply, now would we? '

'Raiya, ' Naruto whined like he was four instead of twenty-four. Jiraiya chortled before he leered harder down at the younger toad sage.

'You were going to pay for that nickname sooner or later! No one gets away with disrespecting the Legendary Toad Sage Jiraiya of Konoha, ' Jiraiya taunted. 'How about you take this way out before I think of something worse! I 'm being merciful. '

Naruto 's face fell as he considered some of the harsher teasings he had endured during the two years of training with the Sannin before he decided this was the safer option.

'Stupid Sannin fine! ' Naruto growled.

'Ooh, ooh. '

Jiraiya wiggled before cupping his hand around his ear and leaning in closer. He listened as his godson humiliated himself by describing his meager dating history and what he liked. His only joy came from the horrified reaction Jiraiya gave when Naruto gave a full list of the things he would never do. The things pulled directly from the pages of the Icha Icha series with a smirk and blushing cheeks. If he couldn 't get out of it, he would at least horrify his godfather because he had spent years learning from the man and came out the other end even less perverted than he went in. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.