Sequel to Rogue

Face

Hokage Tower - Parlour 

Everyone sat in the Parlour in the Hokage tower. It was usually used to host foreign dignitaries of kages visiting for the summit, but this time it became the venue for discussing a domestic issue. The ideal place for the discussion would have been the Office, but it wasn't large enough to fit all of them. The meeting room was the other choice, but going there would have drawn the attention of the civilian council. And this was one issue that Naruto didn't want them to poke their noses in, AT ALL. Hinata had woken up on their way, and everyone had filled him in with their observations as soon as they arrived in the room. He had since sat down on the sofa and hadn't spoken a word. In all truth, he didn't know what else to say. As time passed, he had all but forgotten about Shikamaru's theory and had subconsciously rejected it as well, since at that time it was merely speculation without evidence. However, that was no longer the case; evidence had presented itself today. The Gentle Fist was a closely guarded property of the Hyuga clan. For centuries, none of its secrets had ever been revealed; the Hyuga clan made sure of it. Even when the times of peace arrived, they refused to budge on their stance to disclose the technique. Only those with the Hyuga blood cold learn, that was their iron-clad rule. So that gives birth to the question,

How does Bolt know Gentle Fist?

There are only 2 explanations: first, the eye, if it has Rinnegan's swapping ability, then having Sharingan's copying ability shouldn't be out of the equation either. Naruto wanted to believe this part, but fate wasn't on his side. Everyone confirmed that the boy's eye wasn't activated. That left the second explanation: the boy was a Hyuga descendant, and the only Hyuga descendant missing in the last decade or so was his son. It didn't help that Baa-chan spotted whisker marks on his cheeks hidden by makeup, which served as the final nail in the coffin. Bolt was his son. The conclusion of that made Naruto feel like the weight of the sky had been placed on his shoulders. 

If Bolt was his son, then why was he pretending to be a stranger? If he was alright, then why didn't he come home all these years? Why did he run away in the first place? Had it been his fault? Did he do something that pushed his son to such a decision? He was fearful about the answer to these questions; he wanted to deny everything. Wanted to say that they were all just tricked by the light or something. Naruto was spiralling, drowning deeper in the whys. Hinata wasn't doing much better than him, undoubtedly having the same turmoil as him. He wanted to comfort her, to make her snap out of the self-doubt, but he was trapped in it.

Kakashi could see that Naruto wasn't in a state where he could think straight right now, so he stepped in,  "While what we observed today does point strongly towards a certain direction, it would be best if we didn't jump to conclusions without evidence."

"What more evidence do we need?" Shikamaru, ever the voice of reason, chimed in, "Knowing something that is only taught to those in the clan, disguising himself. Not to forget the track record of his actions as a rogue ninja, as well as the lack of info about him. All of this combined is more than enough reason for us to bring in the boy for questioning." Naruto closed his eyes with a pained expression, not wanting to hear anymore but having no choice but to hear further. He had a responsibility as the Hokage that he could not turn his back on, irrespective of whether the issue involved his personal life. He opened his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to say anything. What should he say? Order the interrogation? Deny the glaring evidence? Lucky for him, Kakashi sensei took the reins and saved him from his turmoil.

"We can't ignore the 1% possibility of us being wrong, and besides, don't forget that he is also on the suspect list for being the culprit behind our memory wipeout 3 years back. If he happened to be the culprit and we brought him in for questioning, he could very well erase our memories and flee. Again." Kakashi's reasoning managed to convince them from bringing in the boy for questioning. A minute of silence passed when Tsunade spoke, "So what do you suggest we do then? For we clearly can't leave this matter unattended." Shikamaru chimed in at this juncture, " I have a plan."