Uzumaki Naruto: Birth of the New Demon King by The Engulfing Silence

Chapter 22: Mission to a Land Filled with Snow

"So...what's up with the big ass TV?"

Minato gave his son a very familiar smirk, one that Naruto had seen numerous times...in the mirror. It was the exact same "I know something you don't know" grin that Naruto himself got sometimes when he wanted to be infuriating. The younger of the two blonds had to admit, being on the receiving end of that smirk was annoying. Very annoying.

He really should apologize to Anko for having that look on his face near the beginning of their first real date.

"This isn't just a normal TV," Minato gestured to the large television that was taking up nearly the entire left wall in the Hokage's office. Bigger than he was tall and at least one and a half times as wide, the flat screen looked like something you'd expect to see in a rich nobles personal theater, not the office to the leader of a military village. "This TV is special."

"How so?"

"Because it's set up to allow us to contact the spirit world."

Naruto perked up. He had been told a bit about the spirit world from Kyuubi and his dad. It was not the equivalent of heaven or hell, but more like a station between worlds where a soul's fate is decided. In other words, it's a junction in which numerous planes connect, though it connected far more closely to the human world than the demon world.

"It took me a long time to set this thing up," Minato frowned as he looked at television. "Or, to be more precise, it took me a long time to get the damn thing connected to the Spirit World. The chakra of the Elemental Nations makes getting a signal from the spirit world nearly impossible. I had to create an entirely new seal just to receive good reception."

That had been a bitch and a half. Even though Minato was easily the world's premiere seal master (his wife was better, but she wasn't around anymore), it took him nearly a month of having shadow clones working on it nonstop to create. The headache he'd received via information feedback had nearly killed him...again.

Which would not have been cool; he had no desire to die for a second time.

"So it works?" asked Naruto, intrigued. "You can get a connection to the spirit world from here?"

"Yes," Minato turned the TV on by pressing a small red button on his desk. The once dark screen became white and gray with static. "I tested it last night."

"I see," Naruto paused, "I take it this is the reason you called me in?"

"Yes, there is someone who wants to meet you."

The two stared at the screen as the image began to clear. The static soon disappeared, several waves of lines ran up and down the surface, then it began to sharpen and form a cohesive image. This image, which appeared to feature a large wooden desk had a person in it.

"Ah, Minato-san," the person on the other end said, unsurprised. He had apparently been expecting this call. "I am glad you called me so soon." He turned his head slightly to look at Naruto. "And this must be your son. I can see the resemblance, though he reminds me a lot of Raizen as well thanks to that hair."

Silence. Several crows cawed in the distance, the annoying sound somehow managing to reach those in the Hokage office despite the windows being closed. Naruto stared at the person on the screen, blinking, not quite sure how to respond yet. His brain had temporarily left him.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the person in the television set said. He didn't seem to even notice the awkward silence, and if he did, he was keeping his awareness masterfully concealed. "I am Koenma, current ruler of the Spirit World."

Several seconds of more silence ensued. Then...

"Pfffft! HehehehahahahahahaHAHAHAHA!" Naruto began to laugh uproariously. The young man with long, spiky blond hair fell down on his rear, his hands wrapped around his stomach as tears of mirth began streaming from his eyes. Soon enough, he was on his back, his feet kicking up in the air as he continued to laugh like a madman who'd just been given a handful of plastic explosives and told to go wild.