Back to the Beginning (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 43

"It's been a year since Naruto left the village. I don't even know if he's okay. When I sent people out to check where Madara's hideout was, nothing was left of the place. I know something must have happened, but I don't know if Naruto came out unscathed." Minato was talking to himself as he sat pondering. He had gotten sick of his office and was currently enjoying the view from on top of the Hokage Faces.

"You know, you worry way too much, Minato."

Surprised by the voice behind, Minato spun around, only to come face to face with a familiar face. "Jiraiya-sensei, what are you doing back here? You said you would be gone for quite some time."

"Well, you know I can never turn down a request from a pretty woman." Jiraiya bashfully scratched his cheek as he spoke, his skin turning a slight shade of pink. "When a pretty face asks me something so nicely I just have to say yes."

Minato looked at Jiraiya in confusion, not fully understanding what he was talking about. "What woman? What request did she make to have you come all the way back here?"

"Haha! Well that's a funny story actually! For you see, it wasn't actually a woman. In fact it was actually the person you were just worrying about."

"Huh?"

"It was Naruto. I ended up running into him while I was traveling and he asked me to do a favor for him. The only problem was that when he was asking me, I was a little bit distracted by other things; that is of course, until Naruto showed me a jutsu of his own. It was marvelous! Such a beauty to look at!" Jiraiya started blushing again as he spoke, his eyes sparkling as he recalled the memory.

Minato stared blankly at Jiraiya, not really wanting to picture Naruto as a girl, and more importantly, wanting to find out what the request was. "Master Jiraiya, what did Naruto say?"

Snapping back to reality, Jiraiya faced Minato again, this time with a more serious but also calm demeanor. "He wanted me to let you know that he was alright, so you don't need to worry about him, and that he should be returning soon."

Minato let out a breath before a small smile appeared on his face. "Well that's a relief to hear. Did he tell you what he has been doing this whole time?"

"He did. But it's a little much for me to try and explain. You'll just have to wait for Naruto to come back and ask him yourself. It's just about time for me to head out again for more research."

"You are hopeless. But thank you for coming all this way to give me Naruto's message personally."

"Don't mention it. Well I'm off! Say hi to Kushina for me!"

Minato watched as Jiraiya walked off, not moving until he vanished from sight. At least that's one problem out of the way. Now I just wish that everything else was that easy. Minato thought this to himself as he made his way back down to his office ready to get back to work.

It was late when Minato finally sat back down at his desk, so when he heard a knock at the door he was really surprised. "Come in."

"Lord Fourth Hokage, can I talk to you for a minute?"

I'm just getting one surprising guest after another tonight. Minato thought this as he looked at the young Uchiha in front of him. He had come to expect visits from him this past year, and had even come to enjoy the company of the young genin. "Of course Itachi. What did you want to talk about?"

"It's been a year since big brother Naruto left, and whenever I ask if he is coming back, you always say soon or it's gotten complicated. And things have been getting weird in the village too. The Uchiha's are starting to act real weird sometimes too. What's going on, Lord Hokage? Is Naruto dead?"