Disclaimer: I most certainly do NOT own Naruto or any of its characters.

Blah – Thoughts

‘Blah’ – Kyuubi’s Speech

Epilogue:

Excerpt from the libraries of the Hokage in Konohagakure:

‘And Wramaku Uzu called upon his people and spoke thus: “Our family carries a sacred duty that at the behest of all Shinobi, we must complete!” But his words were not heeded. Driven by a lust that the leader of the Wraiths had not known his people had possessed, they attacked the great Wramaku and he fled from his family, taking with him his only son. But to his woe, his son had not inherited the technique that had made his line so known yet so infamous – for not only were the Wramakus known for the power that came with the fickle technique of blood chakra, but for it’s misuse. It is said by many, including the great Wramaku Uzu himself that power corrupts. However, blood chakra is unique to all other forms of jutsu related abilities, for it is infused with the soul of the person who uses it. The ability to commune with and pass into the world of demons, if taken lightly or selfishly; if used for gain rather than good, will serve only to aid in the loss of humanity itself. Wramaku Uzu knew that if he could not train a successor to defend the crossing of the two parallel worlds, that others with the abilities that he shared who were not as honorable as he would use it to control those whose powers could never match up to the chakra levels of the demons – and even with training, the demons are nefariously hard to control – any who summoned them could just as easily lose control, resulting in the deaths of countless innocents. Thus, it was with a heavy heart that he turned to the son of one outside his line, for there were none in his alive; they had destroyed each other in their desperate bid for power.

‘But the boy he chose had a wicked heart, and did not hear the wise teachings of the last true Wraith, turning on his master in the end in a brutal act of savagery. But before his master died, he managed to use a jutsu that he had saved for that very opportunity, to seal the very compelling to do the forsworn work of the Wraith clan with all of its duties. This seal was in the image of a spiral – the sign of one who was prophesized to return the position of Wraith into what it was originally intended. It has often been called the sign of the whirlwind. Though many aspects of this seal are unknown – for the only people who carry them are the Wraiths themselves, who have retreated into a hidden fortress in the mountains, the original home of Wramaku Uzu, it is known some of the aspects that the great Wramaku Uzu infused in his famous seal. Chakra is stored up within it from the host – just enough to keep them alive when the natural order of things would have them perish. During this time, the seal controls them and they are compelled to pass the seal onto the student that they have selected – one who can also use blood chakra. This student, now having the seal, will be fated to pass it on to the one that they choose. It is theorized by those who have studied blood chakra and its users, that the seal also helps the Wraith choose the student – it will ‘guide’ the Wraith to the next most powerful blood chakra user, and should this person be deemed trainable, they will be chosen. It also, supposedly, alerts the Wraith when others try to trespass into the dream paths.

‘Because of his last breath, the Wraiths are forced to uphold their sacred duty of protecting both the Shinobi and the innocents of this world. The seal would ensure this. In a way, the last act of Wramaku Uzu was a blessing – but others see it as a curse. The seal does not prevent the Wraiths from summoning demons themselves, and as such, they will often lay siege to a town if they believe that they are insulted or slighted – those with blood chakra usually have short tempers and it is a common sentiment that one’s ‘inner demons’ are associated with long held rage or bitterness. Still, the students of the Wraiths, as they grew in power, grew in ambition as well, and their teachers would often come to fear them, for blood chakra is strongest in those who have a thirst or ambition for knowledge. They would either run out of things to teach or withhold learning from their students in hopes of maintaining an upper hand. The student of Wramaku Uzu for example, felt as if he was stronger than his teacher and when chastised for his impatience, attacked his master, and, catching him off guard, slew him. He sealed his student – he had anticipated this and would not allow his life’s work to fail – he would not allow demons to be used to control the masses. His last words were: “do not see this seal as a burden, or as something that takes your free will – instead, see it as a blessing, for you have the power to aid those who need you and to protect those who cannot defend themselves. Though we are the ones gifted with this power, we have a duty to uphold as well. We are powerful beyond all others, but it is the meek who will inherit the world.”

‘However, since then, the only way for a new Wraith to come into the complete power of his position is to kill his previous master – not because of any part of the seal, but for the reason that Wraiths since have still not heeded the words of the last true Wraith, Wramaku Uzu, named for his relationship with both the Wraith clan, and a new clan that he was establishing in order to create a balance with the Wraiths. While he trained his son, who he named ‘Uzumaki’, he taught him techniques that could be used against Wraiths, should they ever see fit to misuse their power. Among the things he taught his son was the Shiki Fuujin skill, that though perilous to ones life, could seal a demon within the body of another. However, it was his hope that the Uzumaki clan that he and his son formed would never have to use their prowess at being able to face those gifted with blood chakra. Since the death of Wramaku Uzu, the Wraiths disappeared except to reappear at odd intervals to find students, defeat those misusing power, or to misuse the power themselves. And the Uzumaki line disappeared for a time until the founding of Konoha, which occurred only three years ago. They entrusted to me some of their lore, to be written down, for they have a prophecy among them that they refuse to reveal – only that the one to restore the true workings of the Wraith will be marked with the whirlwind – which is the sign of the Uzumaki clan. This account is for that descendent, and for all future Hokages. I can only pray that Konohagakure will never fall victim to the madness of those corrupted by power – whether they use blood chakra or not.

‘As written by the First Hokage’

Tsunade’s POV:

“Sit down, Naruto, Tenkuu. I believe that we have a great deal to discuss.” Tsunade looked carefully over Naruto, starting when she saw the black spiral under the locks of his long blonde hair. So that’s it – the seal of the great Wramaku Uzu…and that of the Uzumaki clan as well, though I doubt that Naruto realizes it.

Naruto had seemed to stiffen at first, as if afraid of her anger. Personally, she couldn’t blame him. I hadn’t read that passage before Nanashi came to take him away – all I knew about the Wraiths were of the horror stories – the ones who abused their power. The fact that Naruto was even thinking of accepting the offer of one to be trained was despicable to me.

She smiled, and Naruto seemed to relax a little, though she noticed that he never fully relaxed – gone was the perpetually cheerful little boy with a devilish sense of humor and an angelic face. Could I have prevented it? But hindsight is 20/20. I had no possible way of knowing – I was up to my eyeballs in paperwork in that first year or so of being Hokage – I hadn’t even gotten to looking at the manuscripts of the former Hokages.

“Well, Naruto. I’m not going to ask where you’ve been. You said you would try to redeem the position of Wraith. Undoubtedly, you were a witness to the devastation at Hidden Cloud – it’s no secret that Nanashi was behind that, though I shudder to think that one would take such drastic steps against their former village. I’m sure you’ve seen and helped in things that would shock even me. And yet you came back to right the wrongs that have been done. For this, for true repentance, I could do no less than to accept you.”

Tenkuu smirked at Naruto, a sort of ‘I told you so’ look on his face, but Tsunade could not help but notice that Naruto was confused.

“Hokage-“

“Call me Tsunade, Naruto.”

“Tsunade then. I must ask you – you told me that as long as I held the title ‘Wraith’ that I would be unwelcome in Konoha. I refuse to give that name up. In fact, I don’t believe I could, even if I wanted to.” Tsunade sighed at Naruto’s sudden formality. She wished with all she had that things would be mended between her and Naruto. I can tell – he’s become a man. One with a past that he dislikes – but a good man, a good Shinobi nevertheless. His father would have been proud.

“Naruto, when you were younger, I doubt you ever paid attention to Iruka’s lessons,” Tsunade was interrupted by a snort of suppressed laughter coming from Naruto, and she grinned. “It appears I was right. And you had no one to tell you the old fables like other young genin do. That of course, is the fault of the village and the Kyuubi. However, if you had listened to your lessons when you learned about strange types of chakra, then you would have heard about blood chakra. There are many tales about the Wraiths – tales used to scare children into being good. Parents will often chastise their children, telling them that if they don’t do this or that, that the ‘Wraith’ will get them. I suppose you could say that Wraiths are portrayed as monsters to children – and you can’t blame people for doing so, considering what Wraiths have done. I grew up in a time when the title Wraith was synonymous with devil. My grandfather, the First, told me when I was young about how power can twist the souls of men and change them into things like demons themselves. For me, anyone who would accept to being trained by a Wraith would be someone who was highly susceptible to being altered by this power. It was only after you left that I found one of my grandfathers manuscripts that he had written – one about the Wraiths in particular, that I realized my mistake. For this, you must forgive me, for I realized that a Wraith does not necessarily have to be evil, and I could only hope that you would not allow yourself to be compelled to misuse the power you were born with while under the tutelage of Nanashi. It didn’t help of course, that his teacher had been the one to summon the Kyuubi that your father sealed within you. Forgive me my prejudices, and my rash assumption.”

Naruto didn’t know what to say to this – he had never heard of Wraiths before Nanashi had come to him. Of course, he had been ignorant in a lot of ways – always having to ask the meanings of things he didn’t understand from Sakura, Kakashi, and Jiraiya. He had stopped asking things from Sasuke – usually he was just called a baka or dobe and otherwise ignored. His mouth went dry as he thought of the scroll that Tsunade had mentioned – the manuscript that the First Hokage had left behind pertaining to the Wraiths. And the fact that Tsunade was apologizing to him instead of he to her.

“Hokage-“

“What did I say about calling me Tsunade?” Tsunade interrupted. Tenkuu chuckled at Naruto’s discomfiture.

“Sorry. Tsunade. You needn’t apologize to me – in many ways you were right. I did things I’m not proud of, and once I was sealed and Nanashi was dead…I tried to escape my duty.”

“But you’re here now.” It was a statement – not a question.

“To right the wrongs that should have never been committed in the first place.”

“Naruto, what Nanashi did in Hidden Cloud was not your fault.” Tenkuu interrupted Naruto and Tsunade’s conversation. Naruto grimaced.

“Perhaps not, but I was there – I know the consequences of what happens when someone misuses such power. I knew that, and yet, when it was my turn to become Wraith, I ran from it. But I’m done wallowing in self-pity now – I’m not going to let myself do that. It achieves nothing. I need a starting point, but I’m going to accomplish what I may in order to do what is right.” Naruto’s words were spoken with the utmost conviction.

“Naruto..” Tsunade began… “You’re just like your father.”

Naruto looked, startled, over at Tsunade, puzzled.

“No. My father was brave for the cause to protect people without doing wrong. He had no blood chakra, yet he faced down a demon and gave his life. How am I like that? More like my mother…” Tsunade was surprised that Naruto knew of his heritage. I wonder what else Nanashi told him about his father…

“Yes Naruto. Your father felt responsible for your mother’s summoning of the demon. Through the battle, he tried to fulfill the duty of Hokage, leading the Shinobi, but never actually going to face the demon himself. For every death that occurred, your father felt responsible. So in the end, even though Jiraiya discouraged him from doing so, he placed himself in the path of the demon and sealed it in the one who could handle the burden – there were none he would trust more than his own son, especially since you were to grow up in Konoha away from the influence of your mother. He did what needed to be done, what he felt he should have done earlier. You are like him, in more than just appearance, although his eyes only shared the haunted look that yours have after the demon started killing. Naruto – your eyes may be haunted, but I see a determination in them that is unrivaled by even his.” Naruto met her gaze squarely.

“You mentioned something about manuscripts that the First Hokage left behind. May I see them?” Tsunade’s brown eyes seemed to twinkle.

“Of course.”

--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--

Naruto’s POV:

It wasn’t really what he had expected. Instead of a stack of papers, there was only one decrepit scroll. Tsunade grinned apologetically at him.

“Sorry it’s in such rough shape. There’s another copy, but it was written in the language of the country that my grandfather was originally from, and it was stolen over four decades ago. Pity too – mean’s I’m going to have to make a copy of this one so that we don’t lose the information in it when it falls apart. More paperwork – you know how much I love that.” Naruto couldn’t help but grin at Tsunade’s complaint – some things never change. Now to see what’s in this scroll…

Opening it slowly so as not to rip the aged parchment, Naruto was shocked to realize that this was the same scroll he had read that one time in Nanashi’s library. One of the former Wraiths must have stolen it…probably my mother – she was close to the Hokages…Still, he set himself to reading the scroll, shocked as he realized that this was completely legible – not garbled like it had been in the library of the Wraith and not in another language. And there was no damage from the fire that had burned most of the other one to the point where it could not be read.

When he got to the part about the prophecy, Naruto became excited. It was about the one who would return a good reputation to the title ‘Wraith’ – someone who would be marked by the whirlwind, the sign of the Uzumaki family. Then, he came to the part that explained the origins of his clan – ones trained to subdue the Wraiths if things got out of hand. They didn’t do their job. They should have hunted down the Wraith and made sure that his student was trained properly. They probably knew enough about blood chakra to teach it themselves – they just couldn’t use it. But they believed that the true Wraith would come from their family, even if they didn’t reveal the prophecy. And now it’s lost forever. Still, the information here is invaluable – I was wondering how I would be able to track down a student, and here’s a theory that probably explains how Nanashi found me.

“Tsunade…do you think…?” Tsunade smiled warmly.

“I have no doubt that the prophecy is about you, Naruto. All the signs fit. You have a destiny to fulfill, but as the great Wramaku Uzu said, ‘Do not see this seal as a burden, or as something that takes your free will – instead, see it as a blessing, for you have the power to aid those who need you and to protect those who cannot defend themselves’” Then Tsunade gave Naruto a wide grin. “I always knew that you would be destined for great things.”

“I can never become Hokage, I hope you realize. I don’t think I even want it anymore – from hearing you complain, it sounds like way too much work. A Wraith just needs to go around and kick some serious butt when he needs to. Personally, it sounds like a lot of fun to me.” He grinned impishly at her.

“Of course you can’t be Hokage – a true Wraith must be impartial where the Hidden villages are concerned – though some loyalty to your home village is seen as prudent in that if they need help that is unrelated to blood chakra, you may do so. But anyways…” She gave him her own little grin. “Konohamaru is seeming like an excellent candidate for the next Hokage.”

“Oh really? I saw him when I was in the Wave Country. He has his own team of three now.”

“Actually, they will be participating in the Chuunin exams later this month. Your presence as a judge in the first test would be welcome if you would care to do so – even though you never really passed them yourself.” Naruto scowled.

“Just rub it in, will you?” But then he smiled to show he was kidding. “Sure, I would love that. I remember the examiner for that test…I think I’m going to have a lot of fun scaring the little kids who think they’ll be Hokages.” He gave her a wide grin, which she returned.

“So, would you like to see Konohamaru again? And the others?” For the first time since encountering Tsunade that morning, Naruto stiffened. However, Tenkuu answered for him.

“He would love to.”

--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--

After that, the day went by way too fast for Naruto to keep track of. He encountered Konohamaru and his team again, Neji, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Jiraiya (who kept trying to get Naruto to purchase his series of books now that Naruto was old enough to read them – Naruto refused, but Jiraiya slipped one in Naruto’s bag anyways. Naruto didn’t notice), and last, but certainly not least, Hinata. He gave a rough outline of his training years, gave some references to doing things that he wasn’t too proud of, but otherwise, kept mostly quiet about his past. It was all proverbial water under the bridge. Hinata stayed behind after all the others had left, and Tenkuu had gone off with Jiraiya to spy in the local hot baths (Tenkuu had paid for the first three of the books in Jiraiya’s series, excited to meet the sennin/famous author). So Hinata and Naruto were alone.

“Did you miss any of it? Your team, Jiraiya, Tsunade, or any of the other rookies?” Hinata softly enquired – not because she was timid, but because she didn’t want to scare Naruto away – she hadn’t missed the look in his eyes when he had skirted around the issue of his past.

“No. I hate myself for it, but I convinced myself that I was the victim. I even told myself that Sasuke was the cause of all my troubles.” He laughed. “Sasuke is powerful now – much more that he ever could have been as a boy. He’s definitely changed.”

“So have you.”

“Yes. I did a stupid thing, leaving. But then, I did a lot of stupid things back then. But I’m going to be the Wraith now as it was meant to be, not the thing that it was twisted into.”

“Naruto, it wasn’t stupid. You were just misguided.”

“You and Tenkuu would get along on that point.”

“The first time we met, I called him an ungrateful ass.”

“That seems kind of harsh.” Amusement colored Naruto’s voice. “What brought that on?”

“I had just found out that he had a psychotic obsession with killing someone that I knew.”

“Oh.”

“Naruto?”

“What?”

“You killed Orochimaru, right?” Naruto’s blood seemed to freeze.

“In cold blood. I still stand by the fact that the bastard deserved it, though my reason for doing so at the time was less than honorable.”

“Naruto, I agree. He killed the Third. Someone had to stop him.”

“Don’t think I’m a hero for doing it.”

“I don’t. But you need to acknowledge that you’re not a devil for doing it either.”

Naruto looked at the ground.

“I have been doing that a lot lately, the whole self-pity thing. Slap me if you think I’m being too melodramatic.”

“Don’t think I won’t” They both started laughing. After a bit, Naruto ventured forth another comment.

“What do you think the future will bring?” Hinata looked at him, as though evaluating the statement. She felt completely comfortable around him, and already could feel the stirrings of her old crush.

“I don’t know. The future is what we make of it.”

They spent the rest of their time together in silence, both contemplating what the future would bring. After awhile, Hinata got up and left, but Naruto stayed, watching the stars. Slowly he drifted off to sleep.

In his dreams, he saw sand billowing in great storms over buildings without regard to the souls who lived within them. He seemed to float along as well until he reached a window. Through it, he saw a young boy with blood red hair and pale green eyes, but it wasn’t Gaara. For some reason, this felt like the future, and he suddenly realized it as he saw another flash. The boy was only a toddler as of yet, but already, Naruto could sense the building of a chakra within the boy…blood chakra. My future student.He knew he needed to wait a few years before seeking out the boy, but already, he could begin to prepare for a student. The future holds many things for me: my new home, a student, and perhaps even…love? He thought, as Hinata’s face invaded his dreams, smiling at him. Naruto smiled back, and then left this world of dreams for a deeper sleep, knowing that the future was only a day away.

THE END

A/N: REVIEW!!! I LOVE REVIEWS!!!

Oh, and by the way, SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!!! I feel I owe you all some excuses. Lets see…there are so many…

1. My mom didn’t like me spending so much time on the computer, so she had my dad take out my Ethernet cord.

2. I went on a week long trip to West Virginia

3. When I got back, my dad’s uncle died, so we went to Wisconsin for the funeral

4. I had three summer projects for AP classes, and I had to finish them before I got internet back

5. It was my birthday yesterday. I had planned to write this chappie then, but I took a break from work, cuz I finished all my summer project.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS AND READERS, AS WELL AS MY BETA, PYR00TJE!!!!

There may be a sequel, but first, my beta and I have another story in the works, the first chappie of which should be up shortly. Maybe after that, there will be a sequel.

PLEASE REVIEW!!! THANK YOU!!!