Author's Notes I: Yes, yes, I know. All of you must've gotten excited at seeing this getting updated, right? Yeah, sorry. This isn't an update, rather a rewrite that has finally gotten off the mark. I know a lot of you will say there was no need to do it, but honestly the rewrite was a long thing coming. As most of you know, I took an incentive to rewrite nearly all of my stuff and HNS did not fall out of that category. The former six chapters which were published will be broken into twelve to thirteen, if there are scene additions and extensions (like with this chapter) I will notify about these later in the ANs and summary. If you're someone new reading this, this story was originally made as an homage of sorts to NeonZangetsu's "Die Another Day" and jCOOLn's "Second Chances". I don't think this will be as good as theirs, simply because: I suck. Though, I am trying to improve and hence, the rewrite. Enjoy…or hate.

I'd like to think that I own Naruto, sadly Kishimoto smiles every time I do.

xXxXx-HNSWH-xXxXx

Fūinjutsu, the Art of Sealing, was esoteric in nature.

It could store a person's memories, vast amounts of knowledge, instinctual habits at doing something, a phantom consciousness and even leave a portion of themselves in an object as a countermeasure. Though such feats of fūinjutsu could only be done by those who spent years after years of their lives to understand the Art of Sealing.

Two months ago, a feat of this scale occurred when the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi went rampart.

Pein, or Nagato, a shinobi of Amegakure along with his Six Paths led an attack on the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Their purpose: to take the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi and drag him to their base. Prior to this, Pein had been responsible for killing Jiraiya the Toad Sage, his own former teacher, who managed to pass down information regarding the Rinnegan user's abilities. The Six Paths of Pein lead the assault and after turning the village into a giant crater, his target Uzumaki Naruto appeared.

Losing Jiraiya was a big blow to him and later, he agreed to go to Mt. Myoboku to master Senjutsu. He had attained Sage Mode perfectly. The young sage fought against the Six Paths of Pein, taking down five of the Paths before finally the Tendo Path's power become too overwhelming for him. Naruto was later stabbed with those accursed black rods as he laid on the ground waiting for defeat.

Help came in the most unexpected manner when Tsunade reappeared to help the Jinchūriki, who reminded her of both the brother and lover she had lost. The Godaime was not losing another person close to her heart. While her strength of display was impressive, her stamina nearly drained while protecting the villagers and then, she was stabbed with the black rods of Pein, sending her into a comatose state. This made Naruto enter the Tailed Beast Berserker State, wherein the Kyūbi's chakra formed a layer of red, venomous cloak covered his body with an exoskeleton and eight tails.

Nagato, through his last remaining Path formed a small planetoid to contain it. However, Kyūbi's will of carnage overpowered it. Inside the mindscape, the image of Tsunade getting stabbed replayed constantly. He had already lost Jiraiya, the prospect of losing someone like Tsunade who tried protecting him had taken a mental toll on him. Kyūbi grinned with joy, Naruto arrived at the gate that held back the beast, to tear off the seal and let loose hell on Pein for committing such an atrocity. However, he had been stopped by another person in his mind.

Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage, stopped him. He revealed he was Naruto's father. That particular revelation had made Naruto react in the most natural way he could, by punching his father in the gut. Later on, after Naruto calmed down - a bit - Minato relayed that the Masked Man from the Akatsuki was responsible for the Kyuubi attack nearly seventeen years ago.

The Fourth Hokage had mere moments before his chakra faded, but he proved why he was a seal master as he ingrained knowledge of all his abilities, specific memories along with other necessary information in his son's mind along with tightening the Hakke Fūin. That small shift in destiny caused a ripple. Naruto emerged from the small planetoid, in Sage Mode and wielding a kunai from his pouch. The blond fought the Tendo Path once more, and this time the Rinnegan user wasn't taking any chances as he too was tired. When the Rinnegan user unleashed another overwhelming, gravitational blast to increase their gap, Pein believed he had won.

Pein ignored how the kunai Naruto threw missed him by inches going past his face, and the shock he felt when the boy disappeared in a yellow flash. Naruto appeared beside him and ended the Tendo Path with a destructive Rasengan. Naruto would go on to confront the real Pein, Nagato —who like him was another student of Jiraiya. While Naruto wanted to kill him initially, it would've made no significant progress towards the dream his master wanted to achieve.

Moved by the Jinchūriki's words and how their master dedicated their first book to Nagato's beliefs, the Rinnegan user brought back all the people he killed with a jutsu, it ultimately cost his own life. Nagato died believing that perhaps this teen would succeed where he failed.

Uzumaki Naruto was welcomed back to the Hidden Leaf as a hero, finally earning that recognition he had been striving for. This however, was merely an overture to a larger chain of events.

||xXxXx—HNSWH—xXxXx||

The Jinchūriki's hand wielded a simple brush as he constructed several arrays with chakra infused ink. Each line of text written carefully as his blue eyes scanned the matrix formula for the umpteenth time.

Placing an empty ramen cup in the center of the scroll, he began to make hand seals at a rapid pace.

He had to hand it to Namikaze Minato, his father was worthy of the SS Rank. To have a perception like that in his dying moments, such a thought process was terrifying. The memories he received also enhanced his knowledge on seals, tactics, jutsu, and overall bumped his mind to a higher level. Of course there were some unique drawbacks, but he overcame them with some professional help.

Finishing the chain of hand seals, he made the sign for the ram and a small, circular void manifested above the ramen cup. The apparent hole in the air was making winds rise in the room, everything inside the barrier — which Naruto had set up beforehand — was slowly drawing towards the swirling aberration inside the room.

Naruto observed the four Hiraishin kunai and noted the added layer of seals on the other side of the hilt glowing. The blond kept another kunai, outside the barrier for an experiment. He noted how everything outside the bluish barrier wasn't affected. As Naruto channeled chakra to escape from the four walled barrier he set up, he failed utterly.

"Yatta," Naruto exclaimed at his apparent failure.

Happiness reverberated within him and he would've done a victory dance like his former master, if there wasn't a knock at the door. Urging the temptation to sigh and rip whoever the hell dared to disturb him in the middle of his mad scientist routine, he walked forward to answer.

"Yo," said the guest. Book in hand, nose in between pages thirty-two and thirty-three, Hatake Kakashi waved his hand, lazily as ever.

"Sensei," Naruto said, his former twitchy frustration gone at the sight of his teacher. Kakashi did die, not for a very long time but he did. Naruto would cut him some slack.

"Hokage-sama called you at her office," the lanky man said. "She said it's urgent."

"Umm," Naruto dragged the word, a peevish expression. "How urgent, sensei? I'm sort of in the middle of making something…tricky." A nasty grin had formed on his face after uttering the last word.

Kakashi shivered at the look, the man remembered how his sensei and his wife would often have bouts of madness when it came to seals. He never questioned it because he had his own set of issues to deal with –by reading porn. Moving his mind away from the past, he spoke, "I'd hurry if I were you. I saw her sitting with no paperwork."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad-"

"-and three empty bottles of saké."

'Oh shit…' the blond thought, a cold sweat ran down his spine. Tsunade with three bottles down indicated frustration. Frustration leads to anger, which lead to her socking him in the jaw, which he didn't complain much about. Perhaps he was a masochist like Jiraiya.

"Let's go then," Naruto stepped outside, thankfully he was still wearing sandals and somewhat appropriate attire. As he closed the door behind him, ink appeared around the knob before spreading all over the wooden frame and disappearing.

"You know," Kakashi said as both started to walk away from the Namikaze residence, a house that the Yondaime was shrewd enough to build behind the Hokage Monument. "I never really pictured you becoming proficient at seals."

"Well, I never imagined you being Inu-san," Naruto replied, both of them starting run at a good pace. There was some distance to cover and reconstruction for the village was yet to start in full bloom.

"Well, ANBU aren't supposed to reveal their secrets," Kakashi said, indicating a smile with his enclosed, visible eye. Finally, both of them decreased their speed to a normal walking one.

"You just did."

"Touché," Kakashi muttered as they walked along. The Copy Ninja would've said more, had he not been distracted by the people flocking towards them. Each of them greeting Naruto, shaking his hand, gracious for getting the chance to speak with him.

For Kakashi this was an uneasy experience. While he may not have interacted with Naruto when he was a child, he did keep an eye on him whenever the former ANBU was in the village. Kakashi remembered the glares, the sneers, the curses, and the neglect. How they ignored his very existence, of their 'Hero'. How they glared at him for speaking to them, and finally, for even having the gall to live among them.

Human behavior was a paradox at best. If these people were to learn of Itachi's true reason for massacring the clan, Log knows what they would do. The Copy Ninja could tell that Naruto was a bit peeved, even uncomfortable at times, with the amount of attention and praise he received. He couldn't blame the teen. This was the first time a large number of people began to see for what Naruto was really worth.

Thankfully, their stride didn't last too long, as they reached a very ordinary looking two-story building. Made with Tenzo patented wood, as Kakashi pointed out, this was the new Hokage Tower, or Hokage Office. The 'Respectable' Elders called it a pig-sty, before they were arrested of course. That came as no surprise to anyone. It was just a matter of when and not if.

Knocking at the door, Kakashi heard a feminine voice muttering 'Come in', and the white haired man simply opened the door for his student to enter.

"You're not coming in, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Well," Kakashi said, shrugging his shoulders, "I sort of know what this is about, but if there's anything out of the blue let me know."

"Right," Naruto said and was going to walk in, but Kakashi's next words halted him.

"Also," the Sharingan wielder spoke with a low tone, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Naruto turned around in confusion. "Sorry…for what?"

"For everything," Kakashi said. Shame and regret present in his voice, as he continued, "I really should've been there for you. I looked up to sensei, a lot. I didn't realize how much I did until I lost him. And for that, I'm truly-"

"-Apology accepted," Naruto said, as he closed the door with solemn expression on his face, "This might sound weird, but I kinda understand. I mean some of Dad's memories showed just how down and out were after you lost your teammates. On top of that you were in ANBU, so you were messed up in the head, even if a little bit. That said I'm still a bit pissed at you, Jiji, and Ero-Sennin. I was a goddamn orphan, and… I really did consider suicide one or two times when I was a kid. I didn't have anyone and having some company wouldn't have hurt that much."

Kakashi winced at the words. Not only because he ignored Naruto as a child, but also as a student. Sharingan no Kakashi wasn't perfect, he could admit that fact freely. Teaching and doting on Sasuke to a certain extent more than his other students did prove that. All Kakashi ever taught Naruto was teamwork, surface clinging and helped him finish the Rasenshuriken. Yet, the teen didn't hold an ounce of prejudice against him.

That made it all the more worse.

"But," Naruto paused and the Copy Ninja met his eyes. The blond instead of scowling, smiled. "I also know that, you changed. It took some time, but you did stand up for me. You even died, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. I should be apologizing, sensei."

"You don't need to apologize for anything, Naruto," Kakashi said. "It all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did. We were lucky, dattebayo," Naruto said with an awkward chuckle. "I've gotta admit though, you suddenly catching me in the outskirts nearly made me scream like a girl. I mean, people die when they are killed."

"Uh," Kakashi sweat dropped at his word. Leave it to Naruto to say something awkward like that, "You probably shouldn't say that phrase…ever…again."

"Why not? I mean people die if they are killed, right?" Naruto repeated, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, just don't. Sounds…cheesy," Kakashi replied. Dear Log that sounded so wrong.

"Give it a few years, sensei. Then you'll see how it becomes a thing."

"I don't see that happening."

"GET YOUR ASS IN HERE, BRAT!" a yell of terror shook the entire area around them, and both sighed.

"Well, you better get going. Hell hath no fury and all," Kakashi said. "By the way, meet me afterwards. There's something I want to show you."

"Is it a cool jutsu? Because I am craving," Naruto said with stars in his eyes.

Kakashi was glad this was still Naruto. At least Minato-sensei didn't leave mold his persona into the boy. That would've been terrifying. "Something like that. Ja ne," Kakashi said before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

He reappeared some distance away, as momentarily closed the famed orange book of lewdness and debauchery. He looked at his right hand and even today, Kakashi could still see Rin's blood on it. It was something he would regret for the rest of his life, taking the life of a comrade.

But Rin chose her fate. She whispered the truth about what happened to her and why it had to be done. It didn't make it easier though.

It took Kakashi nearly seventeen years, but he was finally able to move on. The Sandaime was right, Team Seven healed him. They closed that scar, filling that gap that was left from so long ago. All he could do from now was protect the younger generation and if Sasuke didn't reform, his patience and mercy only went so far.

A new war was coming; bloody days and even bloodier nights would follow. Of that he had no doubt.

'Perhaps,' Kakashi thought, a dark aura emitting from him as his eye darkened. 'Cold-Blooded Kakashi needs to return.'

||xXxXx—HNSWH—xXxXx||

Patience was not her strongest suit.

Unless, it involved gambling or surgery. Her mind worked in a different way under those circumstances. The world itself became limited to the room she would be in. Other than that, Senju Tsunade's temperament went so far.

Being kept waiting was something she didn't tolerate either.

Not. One. Bit.

'If he doesn't get his ass in here, in less than thirty seconds I will-' Tsunade's thoughts ended there as the door opened and in walked the Hero of the Leaf.

He had gotten strong, perhaps stronger than her. She wasn't sure about that, but with the Hiraishin it made him broken to an extent. Add that in with three elemental affinities, a shitload of chakra and his mastery over natural energy, Uzumaki Naruto was a force to be reckoned with. Yet he had so much more potential. Over the years he'd become special to her. There were a few people she would willing risk her life for, and Naruto would always be one of them.

"Yo," he greeted.

She sighed. Getting him to have some form of etiquette was still a laborious task. Maybe it was impossible. But something was off, and she realized exactly what it was.

"That's it?" she asked, curiously.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Naruto he replied in confusion.

"No, 'Baa-chan!' or anything like that?" Tsunade inquired. It was something she was used to by now. Granted she was old, something she didn't appreciate one bit and being reminded of it didn't help. But Naruto not saying it felt weird.

"I figured I'd give you a break from that," he replied cheekily. "I mean you just got out from a coma, so…"

"Didn't know you were this considerate, brat," she said haughtily.

Miracles did happen now and then.

"I try, dattebayo. I'm not as bad as everyone makes it out to be," Naruto mumbled, childishly. "So what'd you call me for? I'm working on this sweet new seal, and then I'll finally get to work on my other affinities."

"That reminds me, why didn't you focus on those two elements before?" Tsunade asked. It was something that had been bugging her for some time, "Kakashi is a good Raiton user and Yamato knew Suiton. Why go for Fūton?"

"They did, but I wanted something that would make me stand out," he spoke, and in that moment Tsunade saw a true shinobi standing there. His voice filled with conviction, "Plus, I've never been one for shortcuts. Except now, but even Dad's jutsu came at a price. I swear I had really awkward dreams, some of them were his memories. I have been officially scarred."

"Geez, kid what did you see to-" she stopped herself as it proverbially dawned inside her mind. "Oh."

"Thankfully I don't have those…dreams anymore. Ino and her mind jutsu thingy is awesome," Naruto said.

"Huh," Tsunade shrugged. "So any reason why she's still visiting your house?"

"Oh, you know," Naruto chuckled, nervously. "So that the memories don't mess with me again. Training leaves me tired, dattebayo."

"I see. So, why do you put up privacy and silencing seals, blocking out the sounds and obscuring the windows of your house?" she asked, a mild glare on her face.

"W-Well, you see," Naruto spoke, his mind obviously cooking up some excuses.

Tsunade wasn't naïve, she knew the two were sleeping together if Sakura's rants were anything to be believed. While it was none of her business, Tsunade couldn't afford to have a super pervert on her hands, no matter how much she would miss her former teammate.

"Look, brat," Tsunade spoke as he finally stopped counting the number of excuses, "I'm not one to say about what you do and who you do it with. But keep it in your head, she's a clan heiress. Not to mention I may have to put a restraining order on you seeing how girls seem to be throwing themselves at you."

"Oi, Ino isn't like that!" he exclaimed, defending his fellow blonde. "It wouldn't have happened if we didn't spend so much time together, and locking away…intimate memories like that has its side-effects. Besides, it's not like we're seeing each other or something."

"Watch yourself, gaki. I don't want another Jiraiya here," Tsunade said. "Don't want you walking around and breaking girls' hearts left and right."

"That's not happening anytime soon. Besides, I don't think I'll date anyone from Konoha," Naruto replied, pouting. He then whispered something. Tsunade heard it and her breath almost hitched.

"What did you say?" Tsunade asked.

"U-Uhm, nothing," Naruto said defensively and was going to bring up another topic, before Tsunade's fist banged against her desk.

"What. Did. You. Say?" she asked, her fist gathering more strength with each passing second. She heard him sigh, before he put his hands in his pockets.

"I said," he paused, "If you were younger, I'd probably date you."

…

"Is this another one of your pranks?" Tsunade asked, her best poker face on. "Because if you are-"

"It's not, honestly," Naruto said not really meeting her gaze as he continued.

"I mean being with Ero-Sennin, you pick up some of his habits, if not all of them. And uhh, I sort of started liking older women more. At first I thought it was just that, but it wasn't. I sorta realized that most of the girls in my class were either fan girls or not serious. This is confusing! What I'm trying to say is, I like women that have their priorities straight. I mean, look at me. I'd probably need someone strong willed, kind, loving, and bossy enough to keep me in line considering how much trouble I cause."

He finished with an awkward chuckle, and closing his eyes. He didn't notice how Tsunade's eyes widened, how her cheeks had become pink before she cleverly hid it.

"You've become a smooth talker," Tsunade said not meeting his gaze. Instead she opted to open a drawer and picked out a scroll. Unsealing the contents, it revealed a chūnin flak jacket. She then threw it at the unsuspecting blond, with a considerable amount of force as he keeled over.

"Damn it, what was that for?" he grumbled in annoyance.

Stupid blond men and their stupid honey-coated words making her see him in a different light. Must be the saké messing with her. There was no way in hell that he looked like a man with a charming look on his face when he spoke.

"That's your jacket. Congrats, you're a chūnin now," she said and thankfully, he became distracted by it. That was good.

"Awesome," he said as took off his jacket and once more, Tsunade cursed her mind.

The blamed saké in her system made her notice how muscular his arms became. Hell, he shouldn't look that good with his hair flowing like that and… he had grown his hair too.

'Don't do something stupid, Tsunade,' she told herself. 'This is Naruto. A brat. Minato and Kushina's brat. He's far too young.'

She fought those budding feelings back. While she was wholly abusing her intentions, the woman part of her refused the statements. It'd been years since Tsunade had been remotely intimate with someone. While she was indeed old, her body wasn't and she did crave something. Something she hadn't had in a while, and this idiot was sparking those flames again.

"Oh yeah, I'm going back to Mt. Myoboku in two weeks," Naruto added all of a sudden, effectively derailing her thoughts. Much to her relief.

"What? Why?" Tsunade asked, she couldn't let him find out about the declared war under any circumstance. She knew exactly how he would rush to the frontlines if he found out.

"Well, my Senjutsu training is finished, but there are a few more things I want to work on. I think I know why Kakashi sensei called me today," Naruto said. "Plus, time flows slowly there for some reason. At least I think so, anyway."

Tsunade spoke. "There's something else you should know."

"What?"

"The Raikage's brother, Killer Bee, is the Jinchūriki of the Hachibi. He's mastered the full power of his Bijū," she continued.

"Octopus!" Naruto exclaimed and snapped his fingers. "So he's the guy Sleepy Toad Geezer Sage was talking about."

"…I'm going to ignore that, mostly because it doesn't make any Log-damned sense," she said. "Anyways, you're going meet up with him and the trip will take a little over a month."

"But how? I need to go back to the Toads' place. There's something I want to try-"

"If you let me finish-"

"Plus going back and forth will waste so much time. Sure I have to meet this octopus guy, he's going to help me and all-"

"You're not listening, are you?"

"But there's so much more I can do in between, and OH MY LOG DON'T HIT ME WITH THAT TABLE!" Naruto squeaked. He wasn't ashamed; manlier men had squirmed before Tsunade's monstrous strength.

It was not every day one could claim they were threatened by the Legendary Sucker promising to give a concussion. Seeing the desk drop with a thud, the room shook with a violent aftershock.

"As I was saying," Tsunade said, her eyes closed with anger. "The trip will take over a month, and you have your own plans, but thankfully there is a solution."

"What? Teleportation?" Naruto quipped.

…

"Please hit me," he requested.

"With pleasure," Tsunade said, closing the distance between them and bopping him on the head, which was enough to make him hit the ground. "I'm going to be honest. I enjoyed that far more than I should've."

"Yeah, no doubt about that," Naruto got up, nose bleeding and his jacket went from pure green to sporting spots of red. "Oh great, now my chūnin jacket of authority is tainted."

"Do you live in your own world?"

"Well, the seas aren't made of broth and it doesn't rain ramen from the sky. So…no," he said and felt Tsunade's palm settle over his nose. A green glow emitting from it, and a small warmth encompassed him. "Wow."

"Yeah, my Mystic Palm is a bit different from Sakura's and Shizune's," she replied. "It's because of the chakra nature difference."

"Not that," he said the moment she stopped healing him. It didn't take that long regarding his freakish healing rate. "I meant your hand. It was uh, really soft."

…

"Did you really mean it?" she asked, her gaze moving away from him.

"Yup, soft as silk."

"No that, you stupid idiot," she paused for a moment, her voice low, "the other thing, about… Me being younger and you…"

"Well, yeah," Naruto said, "you're probably one of the few I'd ever want to date. That or someone like Mom. I mean she seems like someone who could keep someone like me in line."

"Developing a crush on your mother, huh?" Tsunade smirked.

"NO!" he denied, the pink on his cheeks said otherwise. "Okay maybe I did. But can you blame, she's gorgeous with that red hairs of her. Dad was lucky. I mean she's probably the most beautiful woman I saw, just like you and your amazing hazel eyes."

"Charmer, now get," she said and motioned for him to leave. Before he could, she spoke again, "Almost forgot. Naruto."

"Yeah?" he stood up and faced her, almost as tall as her now. Three years with Jiraiya had been good for him, in addition to the added growth the Kyūbi's chakra had on him.

"You know what? Fuck it," she said.

"I don't foll-MMPH," Naruto couldn't finish as he felt a pair of soft lips over his own.

The Naruto of old would've frozen. Taught by Jiraiya, he could only follow his master's advice and go with the flow. As their lips caressed each other's, Naruto opened his mouth and soon enough his tongue met with Tsunade's as they fought for dominance, before finally separating for some time.

"Uh," he incoherently said, breathing a bit raggedly.

"Flash to your place, now," Tsunade said.

"But what about the office," he asked, only getting another passionate kiss that ensnared him further.

"I finished the work for the day. Besides, Shizune can cover for me," she said, her voice dangerously sultry now.

"What does this mean?" he had to ask. This was Tsunade, and he wasn't sure how to feel about this. Granted she was old, but she didn't look old. She didn't feel old. Hell, he had some thoughts about her every now and then, he wouldn't deny that. Still…

"I don't know," she replied. "But whatever it is, I'm going to enjoy this for one day. I…haven't really been with anyone since Dan. I need something to calm me down. Can you do that for me, Naruto?"

That was all he needed to know. Her saying his name. Sure, things wouldn't work out between them. Time had made sure of that, but for today and some other nights - if he was lucky enough - he would oblige.

"Sure," he said, sure that the perverted sage in heaven would be proud. And with that Naruto and Tsunade disappeared in a yellow flash, appearing in his house. In the bedroom, conveniently enough. It didn't take long for them to heatedly take each other again, but once Tsunade's kimono-styled blouse came off… he thanked the Gods of all that was ecchi and hentai, as Jiraiya taught him. And the Log, always the Log.

'I see it, Ero-Sennin,' Naruto said as he looked at a topless, blushing Tsunade. Her magnificent chest waiting to be ravaged, 'That near-death beating of yours did not go down in vain.'

"Hey," she said, in an almost shy voice yet having some sass in it. "What the hell are you looking at?"

"The most beautiful woman in the world and-" was all he could say before Tsunade pulled him by his shirt, he only noticed now how his parents picture frame was facing them. 'I'm sorry, but this is worth it.'

||xXxXx—HNSWH—xXxXx||

"Pain…everywhere," Naruto groaned out, with all the strength he could muster.

"Oh that's just weakness leaving the body and karma working its charm," said a beautiful red haired woman. Her violet eyes twinkled with mirth upon seeing the teen sit up, cracks resounding with his movements.

"Karma has nothing to do with it, Kaa-chan," Naruto muttered as he held his ribcage. Sure the whole thing was in his mind, but being slammed around with Kushina's chains was not nice. Now he knew how the Kyūbi felt during their fight when the beast was held down. The poor, big incarnate of destruction.

"Well, I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't slept with Tsunade…in my room!" she yelled, her hair flickering wildly. It was eerily reminiscent to how the Kyūbi's tails would menacingly float. "Do you have any idea how much awkward it was watching my little baby plunge himself into a woman decades older than him?"

"Technically speaking, her body doesn't age as long as the seal is in effect."

"That's not the point, dattebane," Kushina said, her fist manifested chains to emphasize the yet to be said point. "You turned out a lot like Jiraiya. Honestly having sex with someone even before you're married."

"Really?" Naruto questioned.

"What do you mean 'really'?" Kushina replied.

"I know," Naruto simply said looking away, his own cheeks red. The image was vividly clear in his mind.

"Know what?" Kushina asked, not liking how Naruto was dodging her questions. She wanted to give out a beating, dattebane! In her opinion it was wrong.

"…about the Hiraishin mark on your left ass-cheek," he replied and instantly received a jackhammer like blow to his face. Kushina's face and hair shared the exact same color.

"T-That's not something you say to your mother, dattebane," she said and wildly flailed her arms around.

"Gonna be honest here," Naruto said clutching his head in pain, "At this point I'm sure I have brain damage."

"With that filthy mind, I'm not surprised. Jiraiya corrupted you way too much," Kushina said with an angry glare.

"That's rich, considering what you and Tou-chan used to do when you were sixteen," Naruto replied.

Okay, maybe he was bit of a pervert - all men were - but people really ought to cut his former master some slack. Jiraiya was lust incarnate to a certain degree, which he proudly admitted, but the man had admirable traits too. He passed on his dream of bringing peace to the shinobi world and the Toad Sage firmly believed in Naruto too; not to mention Minato and Nagato backed that statement. On a side note, and a very wrong one that, Kushina looked cuter with the blush.

'Naruto you piece of shit,' he told himself. 'That's your mom. Think about Ino and Tsunade naked….goddamn red hair!'

"That was different," Kushina tried to defend her actions.

"Oh yes, having sex in the Uzumaki Mask Temple was different alright," he said and this time dodged the blow. "Kaa-chan, stop it. I'm pretty sure I'm beyond the whole sex lecture thing, dattebayo."

"Maybe, but it's my job to keep you in line," she said with a depressing aura while sitting down. "I don't want my only son to turn into a lech."

"Don't worry about that, Kaa-chan," Naruto said as he sat near her. "The thing with Tsunade was unexpected. As for Ino, well that just sorta happened. I mean I know Tou-chan didn't want to give me those memories seeing how he had a human sized claw through his stomach at the time. But watching him and you going at it like rabbits in three out five times when I slept, outright scarred me. I didn't ask to see how I was born."

"Well," Kushina said trying to make up an excuse about her and Minato's active lifestyle to keep things kinky.

She failed.

"On top of that, it was you," Naruto continued, not really caring to sugarcoat his words. "I mean look at you. You're a freaking goddess with those violet eyes, red hair and face that'll make any man's breathe hitch. You can't really blame for not having a crush on you at one point."

…

"Really?" Kushina asked curiously. Then it morphed into a teasing smile, "Naru-chan had a crush on his Kaa-chan?"

"Stop it," Naruto grumbled, her poking his cheeks didn't help. "It took a lot of time, mind tampering, sex with Ino and Tsunade to temporarily forget about you."

"Perv," she said, rubbing more salt into his wound.

"Deal with it. I could say the same about you two," Naruto said and for a moment nothing was said between the two. Kushina started giggling which morphed into a full-blown laughter. It was infectious and Naruto soon joined her.

"So," she spoke again, "were you serious about the crush part?"

"As wrong as it sounds, yes. You can't blame me though," Naruto said, not looking at the redhead who ruffled his hair. He felt like a child, which he wasn't, but he'd let her have this. She was his mom after all.

"Don't worry Naru-chan," Kushina said. "My boy is already this handsome and strong. You'll find someone like your Kaa-chan. Who knows she might be even more beautiful than me, dattebane?"

"I doubt that," Naruto said. "Seriously, I'd have to find your doppelganger." Then a gloomy expression took over his face as he could feel her chakra signature slowly fading away.

It wasn't fair…he had just met his mother for the first time in his life. True, he had seen memories of her from his father's projection of transferred memories. But that didn't changed the fact he was seeing his mother for the last time.

"How much longer can you stay Kaa-chan?" Naruto said with a downed expression.

"Not much." Kushina replied sadly. She then looked at her son knowing that she only had a few select words left to say.

"I know I don't have much time, son. So listen closely."

Naruto merely listened to the words his mother said. This was possibly the last time he would ever speak to her. He deserved more time with her. He deserved more time with his father. He had just known them for a few minutes and they were leaving him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry we couldn't be there for you when you grew up. Because of us you had to live a life scorned and hated. You never knew what it was like to have parents," Kushina choked out, tears fell freely. It was still a miracle, how her son hadn't outright hated his parents for doing this to him.

He had a strong heart, her son. Like a true Uzumaki.

"Oi, don't worry about that Kaa-chan," Naruto said with a grin.

He slowly put his hand over his chest as he spoke, "I never hated you guys for that. In fact, deep down I knew that you guys loved me. And besides, having fuzzy isn't such a burden. Well it wasn't, and I guess it was because I always sort of knew that my parents were looking out for me even if they weren't here. Looks like I was right, dattebayo!"

The moment he finished he felt a familiar sense of warmth around him. His mother was hugging him. He too hugged back and gripped her as tightly as he could. He could see the lower portions of her body fading into golden dust, disappearing into nothing.

"Don't give up until the very end, Naruto. But something tells me you won't. You're my son after all," She said as she laughed and cried at the same time.

"Damn right I am!" he replied with a tone of confidence. Her form was fading even further. Only her upper body portion remained as she said her last words to her son in this world.

"Thank you for letting me be your mother and for letting Minato be your father. Thank you for being our son. Thank you, Naruto."

. . .

"Damn it, you made me tear up Kaa-chan," he said to no one as he stood alone in the inner shell of his mindscape.

Even beyond death, his parents had helped him. He closed his eyes as the last few drops of tear fell and vanished. He opened his eyes as the blue orbs shined with determination. Whatever doubts had previously plagued his mind had disappeared, as he channeled the Kyūbi's chakra to gain a golden cloak of chakra covering his body. With this power, he would stop the Akatsuki.

Madara, Tobi, whatever he called himself… he was the last hurdle.

'This should be enough to take him down,' Naruto thought to himself. 'From Tou-chan's memories, Madara's biggest weapon is his intangibility. If I can just time my attacks right, I should be able to defeat him.'

Deactivating the form inside his mindscape, his thoughts went to back to everything that transpired after he was recognized as a hero those three historic months ago. Sasuke joining the Akatsuki. Danzo's attempt in becoming the Godaime and being killed by the Avenger. The truth behind the Uchiha Massacre being revealed to all.

Naruto clenched his fist and cleared his mind. He would keep his promise and break this cycle of violence. This was something he owed to not only his master, his parents, Nagato, but to every single shinobi who had to die because of flames war and hatred brought forth.

Or Uzumaki Naruto would die trying.

||xXxXx—HNSWH—xXxXx||

Author's Notes II: I'm going to end the chapter here; four scenes are enough. Anymore and it would've felt a bit campy to read, regardless of the word count. Now, there will be some changes in the story from last time around. I know a lot of you might be a tad bit pissed about the rewrite, but I had to fix a lot of things with pacing and characterization being the largest problems. So, no need to drop this story from your favs or follows just yet, cause if you thought the first version was good, then you're going to like the new version even better. Make sure to review and if you can't PM me about it. Take care, guys. Goodbye.