The Hyuga Clan's Lost Bloodline

"What? I thought you were going to take me to your world, big brother. How'd we end up in the Forest of Death?" Naruto scratched his head and said helplessly.

"Minato in our world doesn't know you. I meant I'd take you to meet your real parents."

Jiraiya suddenly leaned close to Genichi and whispered, "Kid, you're planning to use genjutsu, aren't you? Be careful. Don't forget Naruto's in a special situation."

The Eight-Trigrams Seal inside Naruto was very stable, and the key was kept at Mount Myoboku, so Jiraiya wasn't too worried.

"How could I? Genjutsu is just an illusion, after all." Genichi shrugged.

"What! Are you planning to use a forbidden jutsu?" Jiraiya thought of Impure World Reincarnation in the Scroll of Seals and hurriedly tried to stop him. "Forbidden jutsu shouldn't be used recklessly. We shouldn't disturb the souls of the dead, either. Listen, I'm just as sorry I never got to see Minato one last time, but we can't..."

"Enough." Genichi cut him off. "Just watch. This place will do. We're already a fair distance from the village."

After carving an intricate sealing array into the ground, Genichi beckoned Naruto over.

"What are we doing now?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Without answering, Genichi placed one hand against Naruto's stomach and opened the Eight-Trigrams Seal in an instant. Then he used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the spot and activated the sealing array on the ground.

In almost no time at all, the immense, sinister Nine-Tails Chakra surged out of Naruto. Eight dark red tails formed behind him, and his pupils turned into narrow fox slits. He had completely lost control.

"What did you do?!" Jiraiya roared.

Watching Naruto struggle in vain against the sealing barrier that had trapped him, Genichi smiled and explained at an unhurried pace:

"Don't panic, Jiraiya. Nobody understands the Eight-Trigrams Seal better than I do. When Minato sealed the Nine-Tails, he also sealed some of his own chakra inside Naruto. Right now, they're having a touching reunion between father and son."

"Dad!"

After their long separation, Naruto went straight for a punch to Minato's stomach.

"Why did you seal the Nine-Tails inside me, your son?! Thanks to you, I've been through so much!"

The scene had just shifted, and Naruto had appeared in the sealing space inside himself. Under the Nine-Tails' influence, he was about to undo the seal when the Fourth Hokage appeared and stopped him. As they reconnected, the two shared information.

At last, the Nine-Tails' power gradually faded, and Naruto woke up on the ground.

"There's nothing to be afraid of anymore! I'll definitely master the Nine-Tails' power. Because I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage," Naruto said confidently.

"Pervy Sage, Dad asked me to tell you that during the Nine-Tails Incident fifteen years ago, there was a dangerous mastermind behind it all. He wore a distinctive Single-Hole Tiger Mask and wielded a special space-time technique."

At the sight of Naruto back to normal, Jiraiya was startled all over again. He quickly reviewed what he knew: shinobi from the major villages, powerful bounty hunters, and missing-nin from every village.

In the end, he shook his head. There still wasn't enough information.

Naruto walked up to Genichi and thanked him sincerely. "And thank you too, big brother Genichi, for letting me see my father."

"Heh, it was nothing." Genichi smiled. "I heard Sasuke Uchiha is your teammate. Do you know where he is now? I have some questions for him about the Uchiha Clan's massacre."

In the original story, Sasuke spent the early part of his life determined to do anything for revenge. If not for a twist of fate, he would have killed even Karin and Sakura.

Then, after killing Danzo, he just let go of his hatred for the entire clan. In the end, he even willingly took on the village's dark side and spent his time gathering intelligence abroad.

He really did go from hating Danzo to understanding Danzo to becoming Danzo.

This time, Genichi planned to tell him the truth outright and see what he chose to do. Helping Naruto make contact with the Nine-Tails' power early was a way of keeping things balanced, too.

As for what would happen if Naruto was knocked out of his Eight-Tails state later, without Minato there to help—Genichi wasn't worried. Hamura was doing so well, and who knew where the Sage of Six Paths was watching from.

"Sasuke." At the mention of his best friend, Naruto was filled with regret all over again. If only he'd been stronger back then—could he have stopped Sasuke from leaving?

"Sasuke defected, but I'll bring him back for sure. We're friends!"

Jiraiya asked, "Why are you looking for Sasuke? You don't even know him, do you?"

"To keep a tragedy from happening, that's all." Genichi explained, "I never expected that not only the Uzumaki Clan, but also the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan, would be wiped out during the Third Hokage's tenure. I wonder what he was doing all that time."

At that, Jiraiya gave an awkward laugh. He couldn't very well criticize his own teacher, so he said, "Sasuke defected to Orochimaru back then. The village hasn't had the resources to deal with them over the years, but we've kept tabs on them. If you need to, we can ask Tsunade."

"Then let's go. There isn't much space-time energy left in our bodies, so we probably can't stay for more than a few days," Genichi said casually.

Hana and Mikoto sensed what was happening inside the seal and exchanged a knowing glance.

"I'm going too." Naruto thought of Sasuke as he remembered him and spoke with determination.

Seeing Naruto's progress and resolve, Jiraiya didn't object. If they were dealing with his old rival Orochimaru, he was confident he could get Naruto out safely.

"No problem. Leave everything to the Toad Sage. Come on, let's go tell Tsunade."

The Hokage's office

"What! You're going to find Orochimaru?" Tsunade stared at Jiraiya in shock. Hadn't they said they were going to look into information about traveling between worlds? How had Orochimaru gotten involved, and why were they bringing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki along?

"Heh." Jiraiya wilted under Tsunade's gaze, looking a little guilty.

"Hokage, we're only trying to learn more so we can prevent a tragedy." Genichi looked at Jiraiya, who had just been so sure of himself, and shook his head.

Ever since taking on the role of Fifth Hokage, Tsunade had looked into the events surrounding the night of the massacre. The village had probably permitted the whole thing, and Uchiha Itachi likely hadn't been the only one involved.

As a member of the Senju Clan, Tsunade didn't particularly like the Uchiha Clan, but she still acknowledged that they were all comrades from the same village.

Something like this should never have happened in Konoha, even if it was only in another world.

"This is Orochimaru's intelligence. He and Sasuke should be at a base near Tenchi Bridge these days." Tsunade handed over a stack of reports, then added, "By the way, there are only three of you, right? Who's this kid?"

Genichi accepted the reports with one hand and said offhandedly, "We just happened to run into him. Seems he might be a lost member of the Hyuga Clan. I'll take him to meet Hiashi and see if they're related."

"The Hyuga Clan has a lost member, despite that ridiculous system of theirs?" Tsunade and Jiraiya stared in stunned disbelief.