The List Kushina Left Behind

Yamanaka Fūma was brought into the temporary camp before dawn.

Kakashi was binding Naruto's left shoulder. He had barely wrapped the bandage around it twice when Naruto raised his hand and pushed him away.

"Open the box first."

Kakashi held him still.

"Your shoulder might be fractured."

"It's not broken."

"You don't get to decide that."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya beside them.

Jiraiya was crouched in front of the iron box, studying the snake fang marks. He sensed Naruto's gaze but did not look up.

"No use looking at me. If your mother were alive, she'd break your other arm first, then treat you."

The Nine-Tails snorted in the Sealing Space.

"That woman would do it, too."

Kakashi tightened the bandage again.

The iron box had three layers of seals.

The first was an ordinary anti-theft jutsu. The second incorporated Uzumaki Clan bloodline recognition. A corner of the third had already been damaged by a snake fang.

Naruto pressed his palm against it.

The seal sensed his Chakra and slowly opened, like a frozen pond beginning to thaw.

There was no gold or silver inside the iron box.

Only a yellowed notebook, several unfinished letters, and a neatly folded list.

His name was at the top of the list.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Post-birth guardianship arrangements:

Hiruzen Sarutobi: responsible for political protection, keeping his identity confidential, and providing for his daily needs.

Jiraiya: responsible for inspecting the seal, teaching him the basics of ninjutsu, and handling any abnormalities involving the Nine-Tails.

ANBU Deer Antler: responsible for handing over Kushina's personal effects.

Konoha Hospital: responsible for standard infant and child healthcare. No additional blood draws or experiments were to be conducted on the grounds that he was a Jinchūriki.

At the bottom of the list were Minato's and Kushina's signatures.

Jiraiya stared at his name. For a long time, his fingers did not move.

Naruto turned the page.

Kushina's handwriting filled it.

"If we don't come back, don't raise Naruto as a hero, and don't raise him as a weapon."

"He can be mischievous. He can get into trouble. He can even dislike Konoha."

"But he must have food, someone to teach him, and a name of his own."

The last few words were blurred, as if a drop of water had fallen on them.

Kakashi turned his head away.

Yamanaka Fūma lay against the stretcher. His voice was faint.

"I saw a copy of this list. On the third day after the Nine-Tails' Attack, the Advisors' Office took it."

Naruto asked, "Who signed for it?"

"Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura."

"What about Hiruzen Sarutobi?"

Yamanaka Fūma was silent for a moment.

"He signed the cancellation order: 'Agree to defer.'"

Jiraiya suddenly stood and walked out of the camp.

He kept his back to them, his shoulders drawn tight.

Naruto continued turning the pages of the notebook.

Most of what followed was about everyday things during Kushina's pregnancy.

Minato forgot to buy salt.

The fish Kakashi brought over were too small.

Jiraiya was terrible at naming children.

In an entry from a few days before her due date, Kushina mentioned something.

"Minato sealed the final guardianship documents in the basement of the old house. The key was made with my Chakra. It's a red sealing tablet."

"If the Advisors dare touch Naruto's things, throw those documents in their faces."

Naruto closed the notebook.

Orochimaru's "red key" was not bait.

At least, not entirely.

Kakashi examined the edge of the iron box and found a recess where something had once been stored.

It was shaped like a narrow diamond, just large enough to hold a sealing tablet.

It was empty.

Jiraiya came back.

"The key was originally kept with the notebook."

Naruto studied the marks left by the snake fang.

"Orochimaru took it?"

"Not necessarily," Kakashi said. "The fang marks are fresh, but there are no fresh scrapes inside the recess. The key was gone long before this."

Yamanaka Fūma suddenly coughed twice.

"Deer Antler."

Everyone looked at him.

The old man closed his eyes, as though searching for a path through broken memories.

"ANBU Deer Antler, the one responsible for handing over her personal effects, was later transferred to Root."

"The key was last registered in his possession."

Naruto folded the list and tucked it into his clothes.

"Where is Deer Antler?"

Kakashi lowered his voice.

"According to the records, he died on a mission three years ago."

Naruto stood.

"Where's the body?"

No one answered.

There was no body.

Only a death record written by Root.