10A/N: Hello everyone, Helios here. Sorry for not updating in so long.
Wow, this story has gotten a lot of follows and favs (at least for me it has). I wrote the first chapter on a whim of an idea. At the time, I'd just finished re-reading "Seals Are Easy, People Are Hard" by Slythefoxx2 (great story, if you haven't already read it- which I doubt for many of you- you should really check it out) and was inspired to write something similar, but with my own spin on it. I had the idea of the story all laid out, I had the motivation, hell I even had most of this chapter laid out at the time I released the first one.
And then life happened. School got even more hectic for me. Some family members got hit by Covid and life got pretty stressful. And I lost the motivation to write. I have some bad news for those of you who enjoyed this- I've lost motivation for this story. I don't know what direction I want to take it in. I've lost all my ideas I've had and it's like trying to find a treasure without a map. I don't even know where to start anymore.
I wrote this second chapter to give you guys a feeling of where the story was going to go and introduce the main cast. If anyone wants to take it and make it their own, feel free to do so. Just PM me first please. And again, I apologize for not continuing this story, but I simply can't.
With that bad news, I do have some good news. I have another story in the making which is taking up a lot of headspace for me and I just NEED to write it out. It won't have super quick updates- I'm still in school and that's my first priority- but I can promise that I WILL finish that one. I have the origin of it laid out, and I'm just working on the basic plot on it so I don't get lost as I did on this one. It will be a little bit AU with an older cast (and by this I mean they will graduate at an older age) so if that's not your thing, I'm sorry. But if it is your thing, and you like a slightly more serious take on the Naruto world (it won't be grim-dark I can promise that. Just less anime comedy and more realistic interactions) then please tune in to it. The first chapter should be out within a couple of weeks. Bye, and I hope to see y'all tune in to that one.
"Where is he Hiruzen?", the fiery woman growled. "Where is my son?"
"Now Kushina, you know I can't tell you that."
The Old Man's face was stone cold. No emotions or thoughts being let through- a testament to his many many years of experience.
"I've had it with your games Old Man! You've hidden him from me for far too long already." Her silky fiery mane flew around her face as she shook her head in derision.
"And to think I trusted you! I never expected for you to stab me in the back like this. You were like a father to me."
A flash of emotion, too quick to identify, flew through Hiruzen's eyes, and his lips trembled as if he was trying to hold in his emotions.
"My hands are tied, Kushina. There is not much I can do. For the safety of the village, I made a deal- a foolish one now that I look back at it- but a deal nonetheless."
Hiruzen let out a sigh, as if in deep pain.
"If I had known I would have to face the infamous Uzumaki wrath, I would have never accepted it."
Kushina let out a snort entirely unbefitting of the tense atmosphere.
"A deal now is it? And what did you get from this deal that managed to save Konoha old man? What made you hide my baby boy from me?"
A glint of amusement shined in Hiruzen's eyes, and his stern visage faded away into that of the kindly old grandfather. He let out a short bark of laughter, finally letting loose the amusement he was trying to hold back.
"Well, I couldn't very well let young Naruto run rampant among the village now could I? Especially considering his condition."
Kushina let out a wistful sigh, "He is so much like his father that it almost hurts. I couldn't be prouder of him. I just wish Minato was here to see that too."
Hiruzen went over to the woman who he saw as a daughter and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He makes us all proud. But be content knowing that Minato will be watching over him, even if he has to beat the Shinigami himself to do so."
Hiruzen's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Little brat would probably be able to do it too", he muttered under his breath.
Kushina let out a loud bark of laughter. It was infectious and soon the pair were both laughing uproariously, leaning on each other to hold themselves up.
"Ahh, I needed that. But seriously old man, where is my baby boy?"
Hiruzen let out a chuckle, opening his mouth to respond.
"Am I going to get a baby brother?" an adorable little voice questioned.
Kushina turned around towards the source of the voice to see a young boy around the age of 5.
Golden blonde hair with the quality of silk sat upon his head, a mixture of his father's coloring and his mother's style. Impossibly blue eyes (though if you looked closely enough, there were tiny purple and gold flecks splashed throughout) peered from boyishly long lashes.
Kushina collided with the tiny body and hoisted him up by his armpits, crushing him to her.
"There's my little munchkin! Mommy was worried about you!" Kushina said as she continued to smother the boy.
She abruptly dropped him and boinked him on the head. "How dare you bribe your gullible ojii-san into hiding you from me? You're in big trouble young man! Explain yourself."
"I was working on my explosive paint seals kaa-san. And Ojiisan said if I promised not to use the seals on the people who badmouth you that he would hide me. But you didn't answer my question, am I getting a baby brother?"
There was a hint of excitement in the little chibi's voice, something that made Kushina incredibly happy. Her little boy barely expressed emotions other than curiosity. It broke her heart to let him down.
"No sweetie, what gave you that idea?" The excitement visibly died down, and his nigh permanent curious gaze was back in place.
"You asked the old man where your baby boy was. Who were you talking about?"
Kushina let out a peal of laughter. "Oh Honey, you're my baby boy! Don't you know that already?"
Naruto tilted his head in confusion, his face scrunched up as he tried to process that statement. "But...I'm not a baby Kaa-san, I'm 5."
A hint of childish worry and panic began to show on the boys face "Do you need glasses? Oji-san, can we call a doctor? Something's wrong with Kaa-san. She thinks I'm a baby."
The adults chuckled in amusement, and partly sadness. Due to his condition, young Naruto always took things literally. The boy hadn't had enough experience with social interactions to decipher the differences between literal statements and metaphors and other common phrases.
"Oh sweetie, It's just a saying. I know you're not a baby anymore, you're growing up so fast." She looked at him with the gentlest smile. Suddenly he was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug. She knew what would happen when he grew up. Naruto was much too smart and skilled to not be expedited through the ranks. She didn't want that for her sweet innocent baby boy, but it was inevitable.
Konoha was weakened and they needed Shinobi with reputation to scare off the other villages. What better Shinobi than one with the talent of the Yellow Flash himself backed up by the sheer power that came with being a Jinchuriki?
As she held her sweet little boy in her arms, Kushina wept silently at the future that would befall her little angel.
Hiruzen stood there and watched with a sad frown as he saw his surrogate daughter weep while holding her child- one he viewed as a grandson in all but blood. It was all he could do after all. For fate had plans for the boy, and no matter how powerful Hiruzen himself was, even he could not defy fate. Not like the boy's father could have. And not as the boy himself would.