Chapter One

Naruto was in the Hokage's office. A week ago, he had dealt with Nagato and turned him to their side. In exchange, Nagato had brought back the dead within Konoha. Two days ago, Tsunade had woken from a short coma. Naruto would never know that his decision to watch over her had prevented ROOT from keeping her in a jutsu induced coma. Earlier that day, he had finally visited the World's Finest Medic in her new office where she was recovering from her exhaustion. An hour ago, he had finally brought up the subject of his parents. Ten minutes ago, it had dissolved into a shouting match. Two minutes ago, it had cooled down to a heated talk.

"I should have been told a while ago! I'm not the smartest person, but I'm no idiot either! I don't go around yelling about Kyuubi when Akatsuki comes around or use it to scare people. Why did you think I couldn't keep my mouth shut about the Fourth?"

"Mostly gaki? It was just Jiraiya's decision. I don't think he wanted to tell you about it because he didn't want to have to think about the Fourth. If you'd known about the Fourth being your dad, you'd have asked Jiraiya to tell you stories. He didn't want to have to face that, so he didn't tell you. It was a dick move, but it was one of many. There was more than one reason I refused the pervert's advances. He was all dick in more ways than one. The man had no sense of responsibility at all."

Naruto could actually believe that. Jiraiya had been the closest thing Naruto had to a father, but he was only the closest thing. Even Naruto knew he wasn't father material. As bad as Naruto was on his own all those years, he wondered how much worse he might have been under the pervert's influence from day one like he'd sometimes wondered.

He shuddered before shrugging off the anger. He still loved his Ero-sennin, but the bastard had two punches in the gut coming the next time they met, just like Jiji had a few for all the stupid shit he pulled as a Kage. They were called the Kage for a reason. When Jiji put his foot down, even Naruto had known he was out of line and apologized. Jiji scared the shit out of the world's boogeymen even when he was old, so he had no business getting pushed over like that. Even Itachi and Kisame hadn't bothered coming around until after he was gone.

"Okay, I get that much, but I want my inheritance… now. There's no way the only key to it was in a building that stands out like a target in the middle of the village. Too much could be lost forever doing stupid shit like that. Sure the person that blew it up wouldn't get away, but it would still be gone."

Tsunade sighed. "We'll need to go to the Deep Archives. Follow me, gaki."

With that, they began making their way towards the Hokage Mountain. Naruto took the time to take in the state of the village and its inhabitants, many of which waved at him. Naruto smiled and waved back, happy to see so many people taking the time to enjoy his company. He had finally achieved half of his dream; everyone acknowledged him. Now he just needed to get that hat! Naruto shook himself out of his daydream as they reached the base of the Mountain.

With a nod, Tsunade moved past an ANBU that Naruto had only just now noticed. Despite their efforts to save the village, those masks still creeped Naruto out. Still, he gave a nod of respect to the ninja that dedicated their life solely to the defense of the village. They sacrificed a lot more than even he ever did in their duties, and they had never failed to protect him from the few mobs that had the nerve to oppose his Jiji.

Passing through a hidden entrance, the duo went deep into the mountain. The Hokage Deep Archives was the name that Tsunade used for it, but the ANBU called it by another name – Kagegakure no Toshokan, "The Library Hidden in the Shadows". It was a clever name, as this one was, in fact, hidden within the Fire Shadows. It was also a doubly secret Library, as there was another, less top secret library within the mountain, the Konoha Library Archive. This Kage library was also hidden in the 'shadow' of its sister – like hiding a shuriken within the shadow of another – disguising the intentions of those who visited it and confusing those who sought this 'secret' of Konoha. The entrance Tsunade used was simply shorter than using the various tunnels that led from the Archive Library to the Deep Archives through the various checkpoints by which it was secured.

As they were walking, the duo passed several doors that Naruto figured were exits and entrances to other parts of the village and surroundings. Naruto also wondered if the Mountain might be the true home of the ANBU squads when they weren't on duty, living under the previous Kage as the served the current one. There wasn't an actual building in the village to house even the face of the ANBU. When they went on missions, it was by delegation from the Hokage. No client could visit them in person, and it served as a further hindrance to long-term infiltration. They were the Hokage's personal squad, and answered only to him. Naruto had searched for a building high and low, but he never found it.

Naruto had never managed to prank them, making them the elite among the ninja ranks and the only group never to be pranked. Not that he would have done anything more than draw silly pictures. Naruto respected them far too much to do anything more than have fun with them when he could, and he had instinctively known that their attitudes while on the job wouldn't have suffered his brand of anarchy. He also could have compromised them, and Naruto counted his childhood protectors as precious people. Only with their consent would a prank war begin… and Naruto very much looked forward to the day he earned that. It would probably be the day he became Hokage.

Finally they came to a door marked with the kanji for Hokage. Tsunade bit her thumb and ran it along a seal on the inside of the hat. Out popped a ring, which Tsunade placed on her finger before using it to open the door. Inside lay several chests, shelves and other items. Just inside and to the right, however, was a chest with 'Ecchi' inscribed into it. Just above it, 'Yondaime' was inscribed in kanji on the wall, with a whirlpool symbol below it. Tsunade gestured Naruto forward.

"Naruto, this swirl is a seal made by your father and mother. It was created so that he could, in the unlikely event of his death, leave you everything that belonged to him and your mother. They built an estate that held everything of value which wasn't already in the small apartment they used. No one, not even the Third or Jiraiya, knew where it was. I think your dad anticipated that they would be pressured into revealing it if they knew the location."

"He was probably right. Jiji and Ero-sennin barely stuck up for me as it was. I never worried about mobs, but fair prices weren't possible until after the Suna invasion."

Tsunade shook her head, still a little angry at the village for its treatment of Naruto. "You will need to put your blood on the seal and channel your chakra into it. I don't know what you will find, but it is yours now. The pervert and Kakashi also left you some stuff. I know Kakashi is still alive, but he told me that you should take it when he found out you knew about your inheritance. They're in that chest."

"When did you have time to talk to Kakashi?" Naruto was more than a little confused. He'd been with Tsunade the entire time, and Kakashi definitely hadn't come around during the walk.

Tsunade smirked. "You're not the only one that uses Kage Bunshin, gaki. I'm just more subtle about it."

Naruto laughed at that. "You're still pretty sneaky, baa-chan!"

Tsunade smacked him into the ground before turning to leave. "I'll see you in about a week."

"Hey not so fast, baa-chan!" Naruto interrupted. When she turned to look at him, Naruto got surprisingly sheepish. Looking at the ground while scuffing his feet, Naruto continued, "I'm going to my dad's place, but I'd like some company, ya know? I mean if you're busy that's okay-"

"I'd love to go, Naruto-kun," Tsunade interrupted, pulling Naruto into a hug with a soft smile. It had gotten to her surprisingly fast to see Naruto get meek so quickly, awakening motherly instincts she usually forgot about. The blonde haired knucklehead had really grown on her.

Naruto melted into the hug. It was soft, and not in the pervy way. It had so much warmth that it just made him want to stand there all day and get hugged like that. It had never happened before, but Naruto desperately hoped it would happen again. "Thanks baa-chan. I love you."

"I love you, too, Naruto-kun." Tsunade had to stifle a tear. Really warm moments were rare for both of them. Sunny moments were the bread and butter of Naruto's interactions, but mellow warmth like this was a lot better. "You know, you're a lot more fun to be around when you aren't as loud. I'd probably spend more time if you could be… soft like this more often."

"Really?" Naruto had never had anyone compliment him like this before. It was really nice to have someone say that they would like to spend time with him. He usually had to demand that sort of attention from the people he cared about. "…I'd like that. So, want to walk with me to my dad's house?"

Tsunade chuckled a little. "First you have to open the seal, Naruto."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, right, yeah that. Well, here goes nothing."

There was a yellow flash as Naruto activated the seal, and a scroll appeared in midair. Naruto grabbed it before it could fall, noting a silvery talisman hanging from the end. With shaky hands, Naruto opened the letter his mom and dad had left. Inside, he recognized two swirls, knowing exactly what they would be. With a trembling arm, Naruto pushed chakra into each of the swirls. Out popped a clone of each of his parents.

"Hello sochi," said the beautiful redhead standing next to Naruto's dad.

Naruto's lip trembled before he leapt into the arms of his parents and cried. Tsunade cried in her corner, honored to be witness to such a touching moment. As they all pulled away, Naruto had the first genuine smile Tsunade could ever recall seeing on him. Somehow, instinctively, she knew this one was more real than all the rest put together.

The Fourth looked around, noted where they were, then looked at the chest nearby. "Hey Naruto, you might want to open the chest. I figured Jiraiya might have something like this inside. I'm sure he updated it before he died, and I'd like a word with him about a few things. I know exactly how your life has been up 'til now, and he has some explaining to do."

Naruto nodded before opening the chest. Inside, on top of the pile, Naruto found a scroll like the one he had just opened. Pushing chakra into the seal, Naruto had to resist the urge to punch the pervert for leaving him like that, without even saying goodbye. "Ero-sennin, the only reason I'm not punching you is because I really want some answers before you're gone. Why'd you leave me like that?"

The man turned, saw Naruto and paled. Then he saw Tsunade and paled further. Coming face to face with Minato and Kushina, his face lost all color. "Well, damn."

Tsunade smiled a cruel smile and punched her fist into her hand. "You are very lucky I don't want to ruin this for the gaki, Jiraiya, or I might punch you hard enough for the real you to feel it in the afterlife."

Minato took a step forward, a frown upon his face. "Ero-sennin, why didn't you raise Naruto? I know you aren't the best candidate, but as even a stop-gap measure it would have been better than Konoha. Kakashi could have taken over after a few years. He may be a teenager, but he's also responsible."

Naruto couldn't prevent his snickers any longer. They quickly turned into a full-bellied laugh. It took him nearly ten minutes to calm down. "Oh man, that was hilarious; I can't believe he just said that! The pervert is absolutely no example of a father – even if he is the closest thing I have to one – and I can be more responsible than Kakashi at times. Surely you saw that in my memories, right dad?"

Minato smiled sheepishly. "I forgot."

Kushina face-palmed as Naruto chuckled some more. "Seriously Ero-sennin, how could you leave me and Minato's son like that? You better not have been using the time to peep on women!"

Jiraiya sighed. "Yeah I peeked some, but most of those early years were spent feeding misinformation to the others in the Big Five. My network in Kumo slipped – that nearly started a war when they found out how weakened we were – and I was keeping an eye out for that bastard of a teammate afterwards. It might have gotten Naruto killed, taking him with me. Not doing what I was doing was equally out of the question, for the same reason."

Kushina huffed. "Well I still don't like it."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Alright Jiraiya, I've got three more questions for you. Why didn't you ever tell me I was Dad's kid. Why didn't you tell me you were my godfather. Finally, why the HELL didn't you say goodbye before heading off on a possible suicide mission! You could have at least sent a clone!"

Jiraiya sighed some more. "The first two have no explanation. I was just being a coward. I didn't want to face the questions about Minato because it hurt. Really, I ran from my problems worse than you did Tsu-hime. At least you were honest about what you were doing. As for the third? I knew exactly what kind of knucklehead you were, Naruto. If you'd known I was heading off to danger, would you have let me go alone?"

"Hell, no! I'd have been right beside you!" Then Naruto thought about what he said, sighed and nodded in defeat. "Okay, I get it Ero-Sennin. Without my Sage training I would have been done for."

Jiraiya ruffled his hair. "Glad you understand Naruto. I am sorry about the rest, but that's one decision I'll never apologize for. No matter how much of an ass I was at times, I always cared about you. I'm just utter shit at showing it."

Tsunade laughed. "He really is. I remember this one time he tried to ask me on a date! He perved on me in the middle of asking me out! His exact words were 'Tsunade, will you go boobs with me?' I know what he meant to say, but it was obvious what he had on the brain."

They all laughed as storm clouds rained over Jiraiya. "I thought we agreed to never mention that again."

"That was before you pulled all this shit and told the gaki about my early life," she replied. "Consider us even on the private things front."

Minato decided it was time to move on to more important things. "Naruto, we've got a lot of chakra, but if we want to get through everything before nightfall, we'll want to head out now."

Tsunade nodded. "Everyone, throw on one of the spare ANBU cloaks and generic masks over there in the corner. We keep them around for when we don't want people to panic at dangerous or scary personas showing up in the village for diplomatic reasons."

Jiraiya interrupted them. "Naruto, there is one more from the Old Man in there. You'll want to get him out and send for Kakashi. Seal the chest in your jacket."

"Have him meet us at the top of the Mountain, Naruto. We'll head out from there."

Naruto grabbed the scroll and tucked it into his belt before sending out a clone to get Kakashi.

Once everyone bar Tsunade and Naruto was dressed up, they headed out. Naruto's clone for Kakashi dispelled, sending the message that he knew it was an emergency and to come with all haste to the top of the Mountain. Naruto had decided to not tell Kakashi what was going on as paybacks for all the times the one-eyed pervert had blown him off.

BreakBreakBreakBreakBreak

When Kakashi arrived at the top Naruto nodded to him before turning to Minato, who had the hood up to fully disguise himself. With a nod, the Fourth led them toward's the Namikaze Estate. Kakashi, noticing where they were heading, caught up with Minato and matched him the entire way there. When they arrived at the gate, Kakashi immediately placed himself in front of it, only to find that the mystery guest was no longer there. That's when he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder, jumping away instinctivey, the Copy-nin went into a defensive stance, only to be surprised by Naruto's laughter.

"Naruto what the hell is going on? I know for a fact that no one but you and Tsunade should be here, so who are the other three." Then he turned white as a ghost as Minato pulled out the scroll he had been stored in and pulled back his hood.

"Why Kakashi, don't you recognize my handiwork?"

"S-sensei? Is this another of the Bunshin Scrolls?"

Minato nodded. "Hai. You should know that I would leave one for Naruto. There's no way I would let him face the world without giving one last goodbye."

"It's so good to see you, sensei!" Kakashi lunged forward and gave the man that had been like a father to him a hug. "I missed you so much Minato-oji."

When the two were done, they both wiped their eyes and Kakashi pulled down his mask. Naruto's jaw dropped. It wasn't that Kakashi was gorgeous or anything, he had just never expected to have the pervert pull off his mask. It was always there, like the Hokage Mountain or ramen. 'I guess everyone has to drop their masks some time. Besides, I don't swing that way, no matter what rumors say. Seriously,one accidental kiss and everyone starts putting sexual tension where it doesn't belong.'

The other two pulled off their hoods and they all joined Kakashi and Minato at the gate. Minato leaned over to Naruto. "Sochi, I need you to put your blood on this medallion, place it in the middle of the gate and channel your chakra. It will open only for that combination."

Naruto did as he was instructed and suddenly realized that there was a huge fence and a gate in front of him, with a quite luxurious house behind it. "Where did that come from."

"It's been there the whole time, Naruto, it's just that people which aren't keyed into it can't see it. I've been here several times. The seal barrier Minato-sensei put up let me in and kept others from following me, but you are the only one with master access. Until you did that, only you and I could get in. No offense Jiraiya-sama, but you and the Third didn't have much back bone back then, and there was no point in me telling you until Naruto knew about the house. It was your own fault you never got in."

The man hung his head and sighed. "Yeah, yeah, rub that one in, why don't ya?"

Minato spoke up. "Speaking of the Third, Naruto, you should probably open up that scroll. It should have another copy of the Third so we can all speak together. He, too, has some answers to give."

Naruto looked at him, thought for a second, then looked at Tsunade with an expression of severe confusion. "Ummm… Tsunade-baachan, why didn't you have me use Jiraiya's scroll to find out what happened in Ame?"

Tsunade sighed. "The thing is, gaki, I didn't know the sealed clones could receive knowledge like that. It would take a genius-level work of fuinjutsu to allow chakra to work on a one-way channel like that to transfer knowledge without interfering with the clone stored inside. Obviously, I forgot who the Fourth was. He would have taught this to Jiraiya, who would have taught the Third. I imagine the Third probably left a similar technique for his family, but I can't be sure. Also, I'm not sure Jiraiya ever used shadow clones in Ame. He always preferred the Mud Bunshin or Iwa Bunshin over Kage Bunshin."

Naruto nodded. "Alright, that does make sense. I also probably wouldn't have done very well if I had met Jiraiya back then. I'm still fighting the urge to plant my fist in his face."

Jiraiya smirked. "I'd like to see you try, gaki."

Minato smirked proudly at Jiraiya. "I'd like to see you stop him, Jiraiya. You didn't see him take out Nagato like a punk. This kid really has what it takes to put you down if he wants to. He may not be as fast as me, but neither are you."

Naruto decided to interrupt this by summoning the Third. As soon as the smoke from the unsealing cleared, Naruto lunged to hug his jiji. "!"

For a moment, the two of them just hugged like that. It had been three years since the Third had faced off against Orochimaru, and he was a little unprepared for the powerful young man the blonde had become since then. Thus he was knocked on his rear.

The others looking on chuckled a bit, but Naruto ignored them. All was now right in the world. He had his family together, or as many of them as could be expected to be there, and they were about to spend some serious quality time together.