ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

Truth p.6

"Naruto!" the Hokage said sternly, making Naruto flinch slightly, and Hiruzen sighed. "If you keep on doubting yourself again, you'll never be able to move on with your life ever again." A brief memory of a blonde woman with brown eyes and wearing a green jacket suddenly flashed across his eyes, and Hiruzen let out a sad sigh, "Ask yourself not 'what ifs', ask yourself 'what is'. What is going to happen if you back down? What is going to happen if you don't move on and be stronger than you were yesterday? How can you protect those close to you if you can't save you... from yourself?"

The Hokage's words struck a chord deep within Naruto's consciousness, and he mentally berated himself for forsaking his own nindō, his shinobi way. 'Never give up, never back down, keep striving and enduring.' That's the basis for his very way of life. Shaking his head to clear them of negative thoughts, Naruto took a deep breath and sighed.

He looked up at the Hokage who was looking at him in concern, "Thank you Jiji. You really are the wisest Kage in the Elemental Nations."

Hiruzen chuckled as he knelt in front of him. "You're wiser than you think Naruto, so don't worry about it too much." The old man stated, and he smiled as he stood up, "I expect you to be well-behaved when she becomes your sister." Naruto nodded seriously as he held the quill, ready to sign his name onto the contract, "I don't want to be a great-grandfather so soon, so take it slow."

Naruto immediately spluttered as his face became tomato red as he glared at the old man. "W-What the hell Sarutobi, how can you even suggest that?!"

"Well, I maybe old but I'm certainly not senile," Hiruzen replied with a grin, "I've seen how you two act — don't tell me a growing boy like you hadn't even taken a slight interest with such a beautiful girl like Naruko-chan?"

"W-Well, m-maybe a little..." Naruto stammered with a mock glare, inside his mind a certain fox was laughing up a storm, much to his chagrin. "But that's not the point here. Don't push it or I'll burn your Icha Icha Collection!"

Hiruzen paled slightly, before a grin replaced it.

"As Hokage, I can ban the sale of ramen in and out of the village for the rest of the year."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Only if you stay away from my collection."

The two of them stared intently into each other's eyes, neither of them flinching as they held their gaze. The staring contest continued, and one could see sparks flying between them. A tense silence followed, before both of them suddenly broke out in laughter.

Naruto laughed as he wiped the tears from his eyes, "Alright, alright you win Jiji."

The wizened Kage chuckled as he smiled. "I always to do that with Naruko-chan, and she always gives in just as easily as you did when I threatened to take away her ramen."

Naruto just grinned. "I was going easy on you old man, wouldn't want you bursting a vein or something." He said with a chuckle. Naruto signed the contract and handed it back to Hiruzen, who scanned it over one final time before nodding.

"Okay. We're done. Naruko-chan is now officially your sister... if I can break it to her that is." He stated with a small smile, "I trust you tell her about her own heritage?"

"Hai Jiji," Naruto said seriously, "I'll tell her when she's ready."

"I'm sure she'll surprise you Naruto-kun, she's not unpredictable for nothing you know. And judging by the way she looked at you when she walked out the door..." the powerful man chuckled at the blonde male's blush, "I think she'll accept the arrangement just fine."

The Sandaime then did a few hand signs and the privacy seal was dropped. "Only a few minutes has passed in the real world, so Naruko-chan should be back right about... now."

And sure enough the burgundy doors burst open to reveal the young girl with a happy smile on her face. "Hey Jiji, I'm back!" Naruko shouted before she noticed her friend in the room. "Hey Naruto-kun! So how did your talk with Jiji go?"

Naruto nodded with a kind smile. "It's all good. Hokage-sama allowed me to join the shinobi corps if I pass a certain test."

The excited girl was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet at the news, "That's great! That means you get to come with us on missions!" she said excitedly, causing the two other occupants of the room to chuckle at her exuberance.

Unbeknown to Naruto, this was the side which the girl only displayed to her closest people.

She then noticed a paper in Naruto's hands, and she decided to ask, "What's that you're holding Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked down at the object in question and grinned as he handed it to her, which she took and started to read. "Why don't you take a look for yourself?" he offered as he waited for the girl to finish.

Naruko started to read out loud as she scanned the paper. "I, as Hokage of Konoha, declare that one Uzumaki Naruko would officially be... a-adopted," she stumbled over the words, not believing what she was reading, and she continued despite the growing feeling of hope in her heart, "And be put under the care of one... U-U-Uzumaki N-Naruto?!"

Her eyes widened exponentially as she looked up at her friend-turned-family member, tears slowly welling in her eyes as she dropped the paper she was reading in shock. Her hands slowly came up to cover her mouth as she couldn't believe what was happening to her right now. Her silent plea for Naruto to miraculously be her family member had finally come true, and she was overwhelmed with emotion.

Naruto stepped forward and placed a hand on one of her shoulders, making her watery eyes look up at him and into his beautiful azure orbs. There she saw compassion, understanding and... love, unconditional love for her and the silent message that he would never leave her alone again, no matter how impossible it may seem. She thanked whoever that was above for letting her stumble upon Naruto in the first place, and for that she was forever grateful.

She sniffed as she looked up at Naruto, eyes watery and puffy. "O-Onii-chan..."

The blonde boy just smiled even wider when he heard the words he wanted to hear ever since he had found out Naruko shared his blood. "Yes Naruko-chan, I am your onii-chan. From now on and forever." He said, grinning as he did. "So, you better get used to me around here!"

Naruko just cried even harder.

"O-Onii-chan..." She couldn't take it any longer as she tackled her new brother in a bone-crushing hug, making both of them fall unceremoniously to the floor. "Onii-chan!" she cried out in happiness, and Naruto just hugged her back tighter as he laughed while she cried into his chest.

Hiruzen just looked on with a warm smile on his face. He knew that the appearance of Naruto would forever change Naruko's, and quite possibly the entire world as they knew it. The old man couldn't help but look forward to the future.

'This is the start of something ... truly beautiful.'