Chapter 57: Chaotic Homecoming: Part Two!

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Kushina's POV (Nearby Alleyway - Hidden leaf)

Kushina should've known this day would come. As hard as they tried to hide the truth it had merely been a matter of time before it came to the surface. She had discovered it while she was out shopping once. Several whispered about him. Rumors flying, even though they didn't expect she was one as well yet. Merely being the mother of one seemed to be worthy of ostracizing. Oh, it was subtle at first. People left restaurants on her arrival. Some crossed the street to avoid her path. The quiet whispering that surrounded her. But in truth, she cared little. All she had needed at one time had been Minato. Now all she needed was to take care of their child. She knew she would have to be diligent to guide Naruto through this. It was unfortunate that he had experienced it so openly and violently. She would ensure any repeat attempt was met with the response it warranted.

Naruto was obviously overwhelmed as he was unusually silent, merely sighed and sitting back on the ground in the alley. Holding his head in his hands. "What the hell…" He remarked to himself.

"Naruto I gotta be honest with you son. That's gonna be normal for a while… I'm… I'm sorry son." Kushina said morosely.

"But why?" Naruto asked simply.

"It's something that has always been. The Tailed Beast were powerful immortal creatures. Usually able to smash mountains in their wake. Eventually, the First Hokage had formed the idea of harnessing it. He was uniquely able to suppress them using his famed Wood Style he captured them and in collaboration with our founder… Ashira Uzumaki created jinchuriki." Kushina explained.

"Why did he even need them?" Naruto asked.

"Before him there had been decades of bloodshed between clans throughout the lands. Hashirama was the next in line for the Senju, a powerful clan known as the one of the strongest. Their position led them into battle often. He grew remorseful over the bloodshed as did his fellow friend and bitter rival Madara Uchiha. The two clans formed together and used their united influence to unite the clans of the old elemental nations. This group eventually formed the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Soon the new powerful village gained support from the Lord of the Land of Fire. This new powerful organization inspired those who wished to be free of their influence to form their villages throughout the lands. Leading to the current configuration of the Five Great Hidden Villages." Kushina continued. "But even with this new peace, the villages were quick to scrap amongst one another. Hashirama, while happy with his home, still ached for peace. As such he quickly gathered the Nine-Tailed Beasts as well as found willing sacrifices to contain the jinchuriki. Each village now holding a beast had a powerful asset to use carefully. He figured with them it would encourage peace."

"He failed." Naruto said sourly.

"He did indeed… the beasts before that were considered monsters from another realm with no sane minds. There isn't another being like them in the entire world. Often causing chaos wherever they went. As such the people learned to hate them, and shockingly enough they couldn't accept such powerful creatures could be sealed into a human. They considered them puppets of the beast and treated them as such. To this day it continues, it's… a lot to deal with I know. But we gotta keep our heads up and avoid them. Doesn't matter what people think." Kushina finished with an uneasy smile.

"But… I want to make more friends. Maybe a family one day…" Naruto countered uneasily.

"You still can!" Kushina assured.

"Is that why I don't get to know how my father is?" Naruto asked coldly.

"Naruto…" Kushina whispered.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean it like that… I just don't know what to think right now." Naruto said as he stood and marched out into the alley wanting some time to think things through. As he did Kushina ran forward to ensure he was safe. Her fears were established further once she heard screams of terror. She ran into the street seeing a small crowd form around Naruto. Kushina forcibly shoved her way through the crowd to get to her son. Gasping, she saw a man race forward towards him.

Naruto, so distracted by the upset public, was caught off guard as a random Chunin punched him in the back of the head. The sneak attack knocked him off his feet. Naruto raised himself angrily, ticked off by the sneak attack, he lurched forward attempting to punch the man. He froze though as screams of terror sounded off at his response. He looked around confused, he had been attacked. Why were they fearful of him?

The Chunin had no such problem and raced forward with a kunai intent to attack Naruto further. Understanding dawned on him. He didn't retaliate as scraps of food and rocks were thrown at him while an enraged mother beat the Chunin to a pulp. People did call him thickheaded or not rational enough to solve problems, but he knew retaliating was not a solution. Liberty. One word that once seemed so disposable was not available to him now. He had to grow up. He could not be brash. He had to resolve this situation, he understood that. He could not rush it. He had to somehow show them the difference. He could not claim to understand the pain of loss they faced that day, the fear or the battle that undertook them.

The strings of fate tightened its grip.

The fourth hokage passed a responsibility to him in the twilight of his life. He could not understand that pain, but as a human he could empathize, empathize with the village. He could understand why they were upset. He understood it was not purely a curse he had been given but a duty.

It was slowly draining him, taking something out of himself.

His mother crashed in the crowd circling around him finally getting through the crowd crouched protectively around him …..with a red cloak gathering around her looking furiously at the crowd after seeing the injuries his blank form had sustained while she was trying to break through them as they backed off seeing the foreign chakra enveloping her. The warnings by Fuu, threats and offers by Gaara. The situation was getting worse and he was at the center of it all.

He was not whole anymore, the atmosphere was suffocating. He couldn't accept to be like that.

He understood what Gaara meant whilst seeing his mom. They were predators. He hugged his mom before she pounced on them crying silently, "Please ...stop. You don't have to do this". The chakra receded and they were transported into a secluded place. She fell down on her knees….. But he caught her frame, still hugging her in the process.

One broke down, or maybe two, one was still too young to fully understand what had happened to him.

"You can't do this every time something like this happens. I'm big enough to handle myself ya know!" He said with a smile and she understood the meaning of it. She would back down for now. But was unsure she could let it go permanently.

Foxes are experts at hiding, he was good at it from birth, he understood that now.

"I'm sorry son, you know I can be a bit bullheaded, ya know?" Kushina said rubbing the back of her head similar to the way Naruto often did.

He supposed he understood it better than most. But as his clone walked off with his mother Naruto stalked off resolutely deciding to spend some time considering things.

Things had just taken a turn for the worst.

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Naruto's POV (Forest of Death)

He panted as he continued to run. Eyes darted from side to side, panting heavily even as he ran on his top speed. He had run until he encountered a huge fenced-off forest. Normally he was fearful of places like this, but he was in no mood to be disturbed and figured at worst he could deal with some animals. With this declaration in mind, he raced through the forest.

Naruto quickly discovered it was no ordinary forest. Even in his disturbed state, he considered turning back as he dodged a lunge from a comically large ant. Kicking over a large plant that attempted to wrap him up in vines. He landed on the water with a panicked gaze and jumped up as a large fish attempted to swallow him whole.

"GOD DAMMIT I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK!" Naruto roared into the forest. He landed on a tree and with a growl drew his blade. "Piss Off! Uzumaki Style: Seafoam Slices!" He sliced through the air sending small bundles of chakra blades through the air. Cutting through the large ant. The vines of the plant. And the large fish who had attempted one last dive to eat him. He watched as they fell before body flickering away to leave the corpses to whatever would eat them. He assumed the plant-based on its odd hiss and the rustling of more approaching vines.

He arrived at a small clearing. He landed into it, shrugging off his jacket and leaving him in his orange shirt he often wore beneath. The back was marked with the kanji Uzumaki in red. He sighed as he raced forward and struck with his fist. "SHIT!" He roared as his fist lodged itself into the tree, the entire thing shaking as he struck it. He growled as he ripped it out causing the tree to collapse. He fell to the ground.

"It's just not fair!" Naruto roared.

"Life rarely is kid." A deep voice countered.

Naruto sighed heavily in disbelief. "I don't have the energy for any more fighting. If you're just here to beat get it over with, just know I won't let myself die here." Naruto said coldly.

"Jeez, a real sad sap." The voice countered. "Can you at least turn and face me while we talk?"

"I'm not in the damn mood to talk. So screw off." Naruto declared. His patience now thinned as the odd man pushed him further.

"Well, you said I could hit you." The voice countered before Naruto felt a body-shaking blow hit him, sending him skidding across the clearing. "Kind of pathetic but I can sadly relate."

Naruto raised with a growl facing a long white-haired, tall, old man. Unknowing faced off against Jiraiya of the Sannin. He body flickered forward in an attempt to blitz him and punch him. But the man merely caught his punch and hauled him upwards. "Thought you were too tired to fight? By the way, while the body flicker allows you to move much faster than even Jounin, it is limited by your ability to react. So it won't allow you to blatantly land a blow on someone as great as me." He slammed him into the ground with one hand. "Let's not fight, kid. Talk to me."

Naruto to his credit was relatively unharmed showing off his durability. He casually asked "Why should I?"

"Seems you could use it. Looking pretty torn up and pathetic right now." Jiraiya replied with a smile.

Naruto growled but soldiered through the insult. Knowing responding would only make him look childish. "Maybe I do. How would you know anything useful? You are Leaf right?"

"Well, you have nothing to lose, right? And of course." Jiraiya countered as he sat on the ground across from the blonde. Flashing his headband at the blonde who noticed it was marked with "oil" though he was unsure how he knew the man was no threat. Naruto rearranged himself to sit across from the man.

"Fair enough. You're a bastard, ya know?" Naruto replied annoyed.

"Takes one to know one. Now go ahead and tell me your tale." Jiraiya asked merrily.

Naruto pondered leaving but the man seemed the type to follow. Naruto could somehow tell he did not follow social norms. "I've known I was a jinchuriki for a long time. I can feel Kyuubi all the time. A dark presence at the back of my mind. Powerful darkness somewhere deep inside my body. I knew it made me different, and made it hard to befriend people. After all, it's hard to make friends when you can't trust them. I'd always worry once the few friends I had found out I'd be left alone. But I managed to find people who accepted it. Hell even found others like me. I almost felt okay about what I am. Then that weird Ikam bastard exposed it to everyone. He seems to want to kill my mom and me simply for being Uzumaki. When the weird bastard is one himself! Some of them stood with me even with the knowledge in mind. Yet others that didn't give a shit about me before suddenly seemed alerted by me. The samurai showed detest towards me, the villagers more of the same. For choices I never would've made I've become a pariah. Worse yet my moms going full defensive mode. She just plans to kick their ass, and don't get me wrong I love her for it. But I'd like to one day earn their trust and respect. Figure if I become Hokage that'll do it. Can't do that if they hate me… but it might be too late. Oh, not to mention my mom who's willing to bleed for me and won't tell me who my father is. Or why I became a jinchuriki when she was already one. Instead, she'll only tell me if I pass the exams. How is it fucking fair? Oh, and there is a group of S-rank shinobi interested in capturing me." Naruto asked angrily.

"That is quite a bit for a guy to have on your mind. Would you like the advice sequentially and if so how blunt do you want me to be?" Jiraiya replied casually.

"That means… in a logical order or something?" Naruto wondered out loud. "And I prefer blunt things… I guess. No need to sugarcoat it at the end of the day."

"Mostly, and alrighty then." Jiraiya started while pulling out a pipe and lighting it in a way similar to the Third Hokage. "Don't tell the old Kage I smoke, would you? Wouldn't due for him to know he rubbed off on me." He inhaled smoothly before exhaling with a sigh.

"I can't say I can fully relate to your burden being a jinchuriki. I've met some throughout the years and many were miserable. Powerful without a doubt but usually miserable. But I've lived a long life full of failures so I can relate to the feeling of self resentment. I've found it does little to worry too much about winning people over." Jiraiya continued.

"So I should just accept being hated? How can I achieve my dream like that? The Hokage is beloved by everyone." Naruto countered.

"No of course not, but you realize the Hokage becomes the Hokage, because of the fact they are beloved. You don't earn it after the fact." Jiraiya chided. "Instead you should merely aim to be the best man you can be. Once you've grown enough you'll find achieving your dreams to be a natural thing."

"So how do I become a better man then?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

"Not for me to decide. People have to decide who they are for themselves. It's only right to do so." Jiraiya replied with ease.

"Cop out answer." Naruto said sourly.

"Seems so I know. But you must experience the world for yourself. Form values off of what you've learned to treasure, form morality off of what you've learned to be wrong. And if you plan to lead the village, what will you lead it? Will you conquer the world?" Jiraiya questioned.

"What? No just maintain peace!" Naruto protested.

"What about growth?" Jiraiya continued questioning.

"Growth? You mean like economically?"

"Well, I suppose that's one aspect. Large villages like that are expected to grow at a certain rate that coincides with population growth. As well as social growth. Like I said, becoming knowledgeable, wise, tempered, a man people simply cannot deny is worthy of praise. Luckily it seems you have a few in your corner more than some are given. For now, you'll have to shoulder it, I assure you if you move with guts you'll make it through."

Naruto was silent at this. Seeing some logic in his words but not quite feeling it fully yet. He still had more problems.

"Now about the groups following you, I happen to know two guys hunting Ikam as we speak. He'll be lucky to survive if they catch them. Nothing escapes their eyes." Jiraiya responded merrily. Thinking of a certain Uchiha duo. "As for those other guys, I know a few guys keeping an eye on them. It's easy to be overwhelmed but if you remember that you can deal with these things with time. Break them down, form a plan and enjoy the little things in the meantime. Life is rarely fair but we have no choice but to live it. We should strive to make it better for ourselves and those we care about."

"What about other people?" Naruto posed earnestly.

"Well, we can only do so much." Jiraiya said with a nervous chuckle. "But I support attempting anyway. See I hope to one day find peace. Once I do find it I'll try to give it to someone else."

"I guess that sounds nice, what led you to pursue that?" Naruto asked somewhat interested.

"A story I was told and a prophecy, one I intend to uphold." Jiraiya counters simply. Naruto rolled his eyes at the odd man.

"Perhaps some details? I also don't believe in prophecy, or fate, or whatever. We can always change the way things are." Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Ah, I do as well. I simply use it as a frame to achieve my dream. If it happens to be true it would be nice."

Naruto was silent, pondering upon the conversation unable to think of a response. He looked up to see the strange man gone. He wondered where he went. Or why had he even offered him the advice?

Jiraiya watched on sadly as Naruto seemed to silently contemplate things. From what Kushina had told him he was a spunky boy with a heart of gold and strong will. He could see it even in this stressed state. Not many would have a conversation like that while so emotionally exhausted. He would have the chance to aid him further soon enough. It was soon time to earn his title of Godfather.

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"Daddy it was terrible. They were trying to hurt him just because he's a jinchuriki!" Ino complained. "I was shocked too but he's been a nice guy. How could they treat him like that?" Ino had quickly stormed home and cornered her father in the store room of their flower shop. Her mother had heard her side and offered her support. It may aid her in her bid to gain her fathers aid.

"It's complicated dear. I don't mind him but even I feel tension around him." Inochi explained with a nervous smile. He raised his hands in surrender upon Ino's eyes whipping to him in accusation. "Now sweety I don't mean it like that. Merely Kyuubi has caused a lot of pain over the years. Civilians simply don't understand how a human can contain it without it somehow taking over. They don't think of it in a logical way, unable to accept the perceived "threat" he may be. Shinobi on the other hand likely were involved with the Kyuubi attack or lost someone in the process. Especially as trained killers, they tend to be more upfront about a threat. Get a group like that together and they start to whip themselves into a frenzy. Slowly growing more outlandish as people outdo each other to rally more support. It's not pretty baby but it's the way it is." Inochi offered.

"Can't we offer our support as a clan?" Ino asked incredulously.

"I understand why you ask, dear. But as much as I would love to help him, we can't afford to." Inochi said sadly.

"Can't afford to!" Ino screamed back at the man. She didn't mean to be so angry but she was desperate to help her friend. He didn't deserve the treatment he was receiving!

"You have to try to understand sweetie. Jinchuriki may be hated but they have always been political tools. If someone were to influence Naruto they could wield a power that could overpower Kage. As such there is firm rules against any group making moves towards them. If our clan suddenly offered backing it would be seen as a power play by our clan. The other clans would likely revolt against us and we could even face banishment." Inochi explained.

"So we just let him suffer?!"

"Of course not dear, we merely must convince a significant amount of the clans to support him. Then it will be seen as a group work of sorts. As opposed to use merely aiding him to benefit ourselves." Inoichi explains as he rose and gently moved past his daughter. "It's unlikely though, and I can't help you do so. If you truly want to help, the burden will be on you dear. Please pick your battles wisely."