ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

Revelation p.7

"W-What?" Naruko gasped out in complete shock as her body trembled like a leaf in the wind, eyes disbelieving as she stared at the man in front of her. "B-But that's impossible!"

Naruto sadly nodded, sensing his sister's inner distress and turmoil. "I know Naruko-chan ... but it's true, and he knows it."

He emphasized the word 'he' while glancing at the blonde man in front of him, arms still holding Naruko in a warm embrace, supporting her as she was clinging desperately onto his jacket.

It was at that moment the blonde man — Minato — stepped forward as he kneeled in front of the two younger blondes, eyes brimming with suspicion as the man's cold and calculating azure orbs stared unflinchingly into Naruto's own. Naruto returned the stare calmly, his own azure eyes flashing in determination and his protective instincts to shield Naruko from even more hurt.

Minato seemed to sense the younger blonde boy's intentions as Naruto saw the man's eyes widen ever so slightly — not much, but barely noticeable to the naked eye — but Naruto caught it all the same. Naruto chuckled to himself. He wasn't hailed as one of the strongest shinobi to ever live back in his own time for naught.

Deciding to ignore the boy who looked so much like himself for now, Minato turned his gaze on Naruko — his daughter — who was still sobbing her heart out as she clung onto Naruto's grey jacket in a death grip, noticing the boy out of the corner of his eyes wince as Naruko had dug her fingers through the fabric, painfully gripping the boy's flesh.

Minato's eyes softened, heart breaking little by little at seeing his little angel crying. He had promised himself years ago to always be there for his baby girl, to give her a father that he himself didn't have. But now, seeing his little girl crying in pain and sorrow of loneliness and grief...

Reaching a tentative hand out to the girl, the boy surprisingly didn't stop him or do anything to hinder his advance, Minato laid a gentle hand on Naruko's head, patting it gently as the girl flinched at his touch. Trying not to let her reaction to his touch faze him, Minato sighed as he spoke.

"Naruko-chan," he said, closing his eyes as a familiar stinging sensation assaulted them, "I am so sorry."

Taking a deep breath to calm his raging emotions, he continued. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you all these years. I'm sorry your mother couldn't be there too. It's all my fault," Naruko quieted down and her sobs became sniffles, her form no longer trembling as she slowly listened to the Yondaime — no, her father. "But, please understand that we both love you very much. We were both so ecstatic when we learned your mother was pregnant with you. I literally ran all around the village yelling about how I am going to be a father..."

Minato chuckled tearfully as his voice cracked with every word, glancing at Naruto every now and then to gauge the boy's reaction. But so far, he had seen only understanding and compassion in the boy's own familiar cerulean eyes which were so much like his own. This confused the older blonde greatly as it left him with more questions than answers.

Naruko pulled away slightly from Naruto's jacket, still in his embrace as she turned to face her father, violet eyes red and puffy from the constant crying as her mind tried to digest the information given to her in the short time span. It was a wonder she hadn't passed out already. It broke Minato's heart even more when he saw the unshed tears glistening around the edges of her eyes, and he hated himself even more for his foolish act all those years ago.

Unknown to the Yondaime, the blonde boy seemed to frown slightly at him as he had sensed the raging negative emotions in the powerful man. Naruto had felt the man's inner turmoil at seeing his daughter in such a state after all these years, and honestly, he couldn't blame the man. After all, Naruto had punched his own father when he had first met him, and Naruko was just sobbing her heart out — the clear difference in reactions had caused Naruto to refrain from any comments, lest he make the situation worse than it already was.

Minato closed his eyes sadly. "Naruko-chan, my baby girl ... I know my words alone can't make you forgive my actions," he was speaking on autopilot now, letting his emotions guide him, "My precious little girl ... again, I'm so sorry — for everything that I've put you through. All I wanted was to protect you and your mother, that's all I've asked for when I found out that your mother was pregnant with you."

Images of that dreadful night flashed through his mind, and Minato violently shook his head to clear them. "I'm—We're both sorry for not being there for you when you grew, to watch you grow up, to watch you say your first words, to help you take your first steps ..."

Tears slid down Minato's cheeks as he spoke, but he quickly wiped them dry with his sleeves. "Naruko-chan," he said, voice cracked and grief-stricken. "Please, forgive me — forgive this foolish excuse of a father for everything he had put you through. I love you and your mother very much, but I love the village as well. That was the only thing that I could think of doing during that time ..."

By that point, the blonde man had already fallen on his knees in grief, his emotional wall as a Hokage overridden by his paternal instincts as a wave of guilt washed over him. Minato had watched how his daughter had suffered at the hands of the villagers through her memories, and had known the villagers hadn't respected his last wish to view Naruko as a hero — rather they spat on his memory and abused his only daughter. It made him angry at both himself and the village — the village Civilian Council to be precise, and a certain trio of elders by the names of Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura.

Naruko remained silent as she watched her father break down in front of her, a part of her wanted to be angry with him for sealing the Kyūbi within her; another part wanted to forgive him and accept him as her father. Looking to Naruto for guidance, she saw him smile warmly at her and inclined his head towards Minato with a nod and Naruko nodded with a smile of her own as she wiped away her tear streaks.

She had made her choice.