What Once Was Will Never Be

Chapter Three

If there were any flies in the vicinity, the Toad Sage of Konoha would surely have caught them with his wide-open mouth. He stared at the strange man who just alleged that he was his godson. His blond hyperactive numbskull godson.

"That can't...." Jiraiya stuttered and shook his head before he became deadly serious, "Uzumaki Naruto is 12-years-old. You're lying!"

Naruto pursed his lips and glared up at his godfather with annoyance. He knew the old pervert was going to be stubborn about it; seal or no seal.

"The whole point of this seal is so I can't be lying old man!" Naruto exploded before he forced himself to keep from provoking Jiraiya into an actual fight.

He didn't want to fight his godfather if he could help it. "The Uzumaki Naruto from this time is twelve, but does anyone but you Tsunade-baa-chan, Jiji, and Kakashi-sensei know who my father is? The Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato, who died sealing the Kyuubi in me, his newborn child."

Jiraiya's face blanched. All they had done after Minato died to protect his legacy evaporated within seconds. Obfuscating about Naruto's parentage, keeping him as far away from Danzou and the council as possible, forcing himself, Tsunade, and Kakashi to wait in the background until it was safe to attach themselves to the boy on his own merits, rather than being the Fourth's son, it was all worthless. Was it truly all in vain? Had some strange nin found out one of Konoha's best-guarded secrets? Or, was this man telling the truth? But how could it be possible?

"You can't know that," Jiraiya growled, but he could see the certainty in the Uzumaki's expression, "You shouldn't know that"

"Oi, old man," Naruto jeered. He crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at his fellow Toad Sage. "You sure are caught up on things that I clearly know."

"Ho— "Jiraiya started to ask, but he was stopped by Naruto throwing up his hands in protest,

"That isn't one of the five questions, Ero-Sennin!" Naruto complained. "Ask those first and then you can grill me about things I shouldn't know later!"

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes as he focused on the man's hair. It was Uzumaki red, not the vibrant yellow he saw streaking down the street followed by the cackles of the madman prankster and the Anbu who chased the orange terror around.

"Your hair is red," Jiraiya pointed out stiffly, "my godson is blond."

"Like dad, yeah, I know," Naruto rolled his eyes before he took a piece of hair and scrutinized it with thinly veiled annoyance. "I uh.... I'm not sure what happened to my hair. Kurama said it happened when he was being torn away from me? Something about my Uzumaki genes activating to keep me alive. Ugh— I don't know. Now, ask the next question! You can ask about my sexy hair later." Naruto tacked on the joke at the last moment.

He seemed to wilt when Jiraiya continued to squint down at him suspiciously. Naruto had known this would happen, but he had hoped otherwise.

"Kurama who the—"Jiraiya started to ask only to once again be cut off again before he could finish the question.

"Ero-Sennin, seriously!" Naruto groaned as he tugged on his hair in frustration. "You can ask that after! This is a basic request here!"

Jiraiya watched the young man silently, as he took in the annoyance and the apprehension. There was no harm in asking the five basic interrogation questions first. It had already turned far more interesting than expected. For now, he could play along.

"Fine, Gaki," Jiraiya relented. "What village are you from?"

"Konoha," Naruto announced, the wind chakra stayed placid.