Chapter 8: Letters

After gramps left, Naruto reached for the first letter that came into his hand. He read the kanji on the envelope with wide eyes; 'Mother', it said. Hands shaking because of nerves, he opened the letter.

Naruto was a pretty fast reader. Not because he was eager to finish the books early; more like he was forced to become a fast reader. The matron at the orphanage would give him books but would take them away very quickly. As a reason, he forced himself to become a fast reader. But this letter was read very slowly, wanting to taste each word of his mother.

Dear Naruto,

Oh, my sweet little child, how I wish that I were alive to see you grow into a fine young man like your father. I'm writing this letter in case something happens to us and you are left alone. If you are reading this, it means that we are dead. We are so sorry for leaving you, baby.

First things first, I love you with all my heart, Naruto. A mother never stops loving her child, even in death. Know that I am still watching over you, and another thing; don't you dare visit me unless you are a hundred and ten years old! I want you to live a full and happy life and only die of old age.

Second, if you decide to become a shinobi, remember the three vices of shinobi life. First is alcohol, be responsible about it and don't become a drunk. The second is money, use it responsibly and try not to waste it. If you DO want to waste it, better do it for your wife. The third are women, and as your mother, I absolutely, forbid you to become a pervert and a womanizer. Respect women and also, find a woman you love and want to spend your life with. Don't settle for anything less!

At the bottom of this letter, you will see two kanji. The first one contains my sword if you ever decide to take up kenjutsu. The second contains the ring with which your father proposed to me; give it to the girl you believe will love you for the rest of your life.

Once again, your father and I love you, no matter what. Remember that Naruto.

With love,

Mom

P.S: Learn fuinjutsu. The Uzumaki's were known for it and your father mastered it as well. I have left ten volumes of fuinjutsu that I got from the Uzumaki archives, everything you need to become a master. Best of luck, Naruto!

Naruto was numb after reading the letter from his mother. He could not find the words to express how fulfilling, satisfying, and amazing it was to hear words from his mother, even if it was in a letter. He saw the kanji that his mother mentioned and smiled. His mother was awesome!

He was so hyped up from reading his mother's letter that he almost forgot about his father's. He put the letter down gently as if it were made of glass and picked up his father's letter.

Dear Naruto,

If you are reading this letter, then it means that I'm no longer among the living. I desperately hope that your mother is with you, but if that is not the case, allow me to explain a few things to you.

My name is Minato Namikaze, and as you probably have guessed, the Fourth Hokage. If you already know this, then you are probably in the academy. If not, it is good to read. Keep it up! If you did not know about my identity as your father before this letter, please don't be upset at Third. I left him specific instructions that you were to be told about my identity only if you were a chunin, or married. I made many enemies during the Third Great Shinobi War, especially from Iwa. If people were to know about it, you would be a prime target for all my enemies.

I just want you to know that even If you are yet to be born, I love you with all my heart. It was the happiest day of my life when your mother announced that she was pregnant with you. Since I was an orphan, I don't have any special jutsu to give you. But what I have left, I hope you master them. The improved notes I made from scratch in my quest to learn and master Second's "Flying Thunder God jutsu" are in the first kanji at the bottom of this letter. Also, I leave the Rasengan to you, in hopes that you can complete it, something that I never could. It is in the second kanji.

Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki and she was the loveliest and one of the most compassionate women I've ever met in my life. She is perhaps the only one who loves you more than I do. I have left you another surprise in the basement of this house. Something of my design and perhaps my greatest fuinjutsu achievement yet, other than mastering the Eight trigrams sealing style. Details are in the basement. Enjoy!

With all the love in the world,

Dad

Naruto did not know when he had started crying, nor did he care. He could feel his parents' love from the letter; he could almost see them smiling down on him from above. He wiped his tears off, a determined glint in his eyes. He would make his parents proud!

He looked up and noticed that only a little over five minutes had passed. 'Good, a lot of time to explore!' He nudged his partner mentally, 'Hey, Kurama, you awake? We can finally explore the house!'

All he heard was a deep snore reverberating in his mindscape that caused Naruto to sweatdrop. How the hell was Kurama asleep?! He was awake just ten minutes ago! It's impossible to fall asleep that quickly when all you do is laze around and not even get tired. He decided to leave the snoring fox alone and explore by himself.

He found out that the room he slept the previous night in was his parents' room. Surprisingly, he found out that it was a little easier to not cry now. He found out that there were four bedrooms in total; his parents' and his on the first floor, the guest bedrooms on the second floor. One good thing about his and his parents' bedrooms was that they had balconies attached to them.

He got out of the house and was stupefied at the space at the back of the house. It was almost one-fourth the size of a training ground, and Konoha's training grounds are very large. He then finally decided to explore the basement, curious about the gift his father had left for him. Climbing down the stairs, he saw the basement and whistled lowly, impressed with his father even more. He connected the dots and had to chuckle at how clever his father was. The basement was almost the size of their backyard if only a bit smaller. But what was interesting that there was a glass screen separating a large part of the basement from him. Just below the screen, there was a panel with seven kanjis, each representing the number one to seven. He was a bit confused at that and further when he saw a large seal array on the ceiling of the basement on the other side of the glass. He turned around, hoping to find something that would explain what the hell he was looking at. He spotted a notebook labeled 'Training manual' and picked it up. He opened it and found another note from his father.

Dear Naruto,

This is a training manual for what you are currently looking at. My greatest achievement to date. This is a training room I have designed to improve my Taijutsu. While not weak at it, I was not exactly strong either. I designed it and incorporated several Taijutsu styles into this room, courtesy of Gai and Kakashi. If you ever meet Gai, just be a little cautious. He's always a bit too much.

You must have noticed the seven kanjis on the panel. They are the seven levels of training, each more difficult than the rest. I must advise you not to immediately go in there, even if you have learned a Taijutsu style already. I have designed this training room in synchronization with resistance seals. You must only start if you have mastered the sixth level of resistance seals. If you can move comfortably at that level, you may begin from the first level. As you move onto a higher resistance, you can move onto the next level. For example, if you have mastered the seventh level of resistance, you can safely try the second level of the training room.

I have left a scroll of the Taijutsu style I created for myself. If you want, you can learn it. It's up to you. OR, you can create a style for yourself. Remember, whatever fighting style you learn. It should have the symbolization of the five main elements of nature. It should be as aggressive as fire, as sharp as the wind, as fast as lightning, as strong as the earth, and as fluid as water.

Good luck!

Dad

Naruto was amazed at the end of the letter. His dad created a whole training room with simulations with Fuinjutsu! From what he read until now, Fuinjutsu was perhaps the most versatile art among all ninja arts. Anything is possible with Fuinjutsu! He started making plans on how he was going to proceed when his keen ears picked up a voice calling his name.

'Jiji must be back', he thought as he raced back upwards, closing the door of the basement behind him. He took the letters with him, stuffing them in his pocket, and walked to the gate, opening it to talk to gramps.