Back to the Beginning (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 8

Minato was getting more and more anxious the longer he had to wait. "This shouldn't be taking this long. Inoichi is always so quick." Minato was worried something had happened. He remembered how much pain Naruto seemed to be in the first time they tried to read his mind. What if something happened? Maybe his subconscious is fighting against them? Minato was pulled from his own thoughts when Inoichi and the Hokage finally stirred and removed their hands from Naruto's forehead. Everyone was silent. Inoichi let his eyes drop to the floor, and the Hokage's eyes were a little wet. Minato sent a questioning glance towards Naruto, only to find him looking out the window with lines of tears falling silently.

"Hey, Gramps Hokage! You think maybe I could get unsealed from the bed now? It's a little boring not being able to move, ya know!" Naruto turned to face the Hokage, plastering a huge smile on his face. He didn't want to bring the mood down anymore. He liked it better when people were happy.

"HAHA! Yes, Naruto. We can take the seals off so you can sit up." The Hokage was amused that Naruto would call him Gramps. "Though you will have to stay in the hospital until you are completely healed."

"Yeah, yeah...I got it."

Minato couldn't believe his eyes. Did Naruto just call him gramps?! Did I miss something important? I'm seriously losing it...Minato tried to get Naruto's attention, but again, the boy turned away from him. Weird... he thought to himself.

"Minato, could I talk to you outside for a moment." The Hokage spoke to Minato, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Oh, yes, Lord Hokage. Of course." Minato was wondering what he would want to talk about. Maybe he will tell me what he saw. Since he unsealed Naruto, I'm guessing he trusts him. Minato left with Inoichi and the Hokage. Inoichi excused himself fully after they got into the hallway and so Minato was left alone to get his questions answered by the Hokage. "So what happened? Is he who he says he is? Where did he come from? Can we trust him?" He was cut off from his many questions by the Hokage.

"Relax, Minato. Yes he can be trusted completely." He said. "I know you have questions, but for now, all you need to know is that his name is indeed Naruto, and he is from this village. The rest you will have to find out from him personally." He left Minato to reflect on those words for a moment before he continued to speak. "Minato, after the boy gets released from the hospital I am assigning him to your team indefinitely."

"What?! But sir, I already have a full team! And he looks like he is a jonin himself, why not assign him his own team?!" Minato was surprised at what was just said. He was confused as to why he needed another team member. He knew that his team was capable enough on their own, and Kakashi was almost a jonin himself. Why did he need another jonin level ninja? "Sir..."

"Enough, Minato." The Hokage didn't speak loudly, but the order in the words was enough to shut him up. "I don't want any questions about it. This boy has been through a lot, and I believe that being on your team will do him a lot of good."

Minato knew that the Hokage had good reasons for everything he did, so he knew that he couldn't argue with that reasoning. "Alright. Does he already know this information?"

"Yes, I let him know about it before we left his mind."

"Then I will let him know about our training times and locations, as well as let Kakashi, Rin and Obito know of our new addition."

"Thank you, Minato. I know this will be good for everyone involved. Please look after Naruto. Now if you would excuse me, I have a lot of work to finish so I will be going now." With this said the Hokage walked down the hallway and soon disappeared, leaving Minato alone to ponder on his last words.