A Flash to The Future - Naruto FanFic

Chapter 34 - The Hard Road to Reconciliation

Everyone was silent. No one moved muscle as they felt tension rise in the atmosphere. The Hokage closed his eyes and rubbed his chin, his traditional way of thinking. He exhaled deeply before he opened his eyes and re-lit his pipe. He took a drag from his pipe before speaking again.

"Whatever has been said, done, or discovered this evening must remain a secret." Hiruzen said calmly. "It would seem that without a doubt, the scenes from certain viewings have shed light upon subjects I would have hoped to have remained a secret until much later into the future." he said as he glanced at Naruto who was staring back at him.

'You aren't the only one, Old Man.' Naruto thought to himself.

The Third then rose from his seat with his signature robes draped over the back. Clad only in his battle armor, he no longer looked like the most powerful leader in the Elemental Nations. But like a weary war veteran, he tired of seeing the bloodshed of his enemies and comrades. It was seen in his eyes.

"And I have no doubt it has placed a lot of confusion in the minds of the genin." he said before turning the older generation as well. "As well as in the minds of the older generation."

Before the Hokage could continue with his speech, Naruto interrupted him, not really wanting the dramatics of it all. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama?" Naruto said.

"Yes, Naruto?" Hiruzen replied to the unemotional blonde.

"I believe it is my right to address this." Naruto said. The Hokage nodded as he took his seat, wanting to know what the blonde had to say.

Naruto stood from his seat and walked to the front of the room. He did a one-handed hand-sign before slamming his hand into the floor, causing the room to glow before returning to its original state.

"What did you do?" Hokage asked, a little shocked at the blonde.

"Just extra precautions, Hokage-sama." Naruto said respectfully before turning back to the group of genin and jonin.

They hated to admit it but the short blonde looked intimidating. His face was stoic and he head no emotion as his eyes analyzed and scanned over his audience. He saw some of the genin shift a little, feeling uneasy by his blank stare. After a couple of minutes of looking around the room, the blonde finally spoke.

"My identity is a S-class rank secret. If spoken or revealed to the public by anyone of you standing in front of me, you will be executed by law." Naruto stated.

"What about your other identity?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm getting to that, Hatake-san." Naruto said sharply, silencing the jonin. The room was quiet. The tension in the atmosphere was thick and it made the Hokage a little nervous about the upcoming conversation.

"Let me make one thing clear today about my identity." Naruto started. "I am not Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. I am not the son of the Honorable Fourth. I am not an Uchiha nor am I a part of a clan. I am not a jinchuriki nor am I related to any Hokage by that matter or anyone of importance." he said. Some people were about to protest, however, they were silenced by Naruto cold glare.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki. A clan-less orphan who was the academy deadlast. I am a nobody and no one of major importance. I am just the idiot with a dream of being the Hokage." he declared.

Hiruzen literally had to stop the pipe that was threatening to fall out of his mouth. He definitely wasn't expecting that from the blonde. Not only had he denied his heritage, but he denied his status and was fine with being looked down upon. Everyone was silent at what he said. Kiba was the first brave soul to speak up.

"What are you talking about, Naruto? We saw everything that happened on the projection." Kiba said a little annoyed.

"Yeah dobe. Why are you denying everything?" Sasuke commented.