Chapter Text
“What's that?” Naruto was cooking, Shikamaru had gone to check the mail and found they had a summons, an official one, to see the Hokage.
“Were expected at the Hokage tower by noon.”
“Ugh... we have to go back to the front in less than a week, can't they just let us relax for a bit.” Shikamaru rolled his eyes, letting Naruto tug him onto his lap when he reached the small breakfast table.
“It's probably to yell at you about building our house by dragging it out of the ground.” He hummed, not sorry at all, his hand went up to stroke the dark mark on Shikamaru's ribs.
“Let's just get this over with, do what we can to end the war early, and come home.”
As it would turn out, the summons to the tower had nothing to do with the unconventional house.
Inside the office they were greeted by Sarutobi, Danzo, Jiraiya, and a very pale Minato. He didn’t need Naruto to tell him that the room was surrounded by ANBU, likely all with orders to kill at the word. The Hokage had on a very grim expression, and Danzo seemed too pleased with himself. Minato wouldn’t meet his eyes so he wasn’t sure what the guy was thinking, and Jiraiya looked vaguely guilty.
He knew why.
Sat on the desk was the false journal they had made. It was time to act like their lives depended on it, because they just might.
Even if this was planned, he had expected Jiraiya to have taken longer, followed up more sources, they’d left additional breadcrumbs after all, but no. He had come running back to report his findings to his master.
“I believe you may have left something out on your application to join the village.” If need be, they could run. Escaping the village wouldn’t be too difficult. It was the rest of their miserable lives that would follow. This was a gamble, and a steep one. They were being extended some small amount of courtesy, but it didn’t need to be so pleasant, a one way trip to T&I would await them if they allowed themselves to be brought in, and there was no return from there in one piece. Not without significant collateral damage to the village.
“May I ask what you mean by that, lord third?” He looked vaguely sickened, and it filled Shikamaru with rage.
“He’s talking about the fox, Namikaze.” Danzo clearly took a great amount of pleasure in saying it. The last thing he wanted was for Minato to win the succession race, and one of the important pieces to that victory was now a public threat. “How strange you didn’t think to tell the village, or even your own brother.”
“...” he took Naruto’s hand tightly in his own, counting as the number of ANBU seemed to grow. Were they treating them as a threat already? Nothing had happened yet, after all.
“What purpose do you have for deceiving this village?” Shikamaru felt his skin prickle. Sarutobi was one to talk, he lied to the village too, and his lies actually got people hurt or killed. Protecting the slimy leech standing at his side, he allowed unspeakable acts against humanity under the guise of protecting the village. Even at this point... he was a bigger monster than they were.
“I never lied to you.” His voice was strained, and Shikamaru squeezed his hand. “It isn't my fault you didn't think to ask.”
“You're a jinchuriki! Your very existence is a threat!” Sarutobi may have said it, but it was clear that Danzo shared the opinion. “You should have told me outright.”
“Why? So you could put me in a cage?” From the corner of his eye he could see both Minato and Jiraiya flinch. The older man was trying to comfort Minato, but the blonde was clearly trying to keep distance. He couldn't even imagine what foul nonsense Minato'd had to listen to. “You stopped seeing me as human the moment you knew. You think you're the first man with power who reacted the same way? You were so happy to have us before, I don't see why anything needs to change.”
“You're asking that we simply... forget this?” Danzo's incredulous voice grated on Shikamaru. His nails began to bite Naruto's skin.
“No. Not forget. Just... let it go. Inei and I like the village, we've already sworn to protect it, why should anything have to change.”
“That isn't possible.” Sarutobi's voice was rising, self righteous to a fault. “Measures have to be taken. You cannot be permitted to leave-!”
“It's cute you think you can stop us from leaving.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
“Are you threatening me?”
“Sarutobi Hiruzen, you will know if and when I threaten you.”
“Haruki...” Minato's voice sounded a bit raw- he must have been crying. Shikamaru couldn't fault him for it. “Please don't do this...”
“I don't want to do anything.” The ANBU seemed to be getting restless beyond the door. “I'm tired of running. I want to live here . I like this village. I'm happy to give everything I have to protect it and it's people. But the moment you try and put a collar on me, I'm leaving.”
“The demon fox belongs to the village.” Danzo was clearly thinking of studying Naruto, to find out how to splinter the fox, to make more, the warmonger. But Shikamaru could taste it in the air the moment Kurama snapped.
“ I belong to no man. ” He didn't need to look, Naruto's eyes were no doubt red, hair on end, teeth more sharp than humanly possible, his nails were like claws where his hand held Shikamaru's, digging lightly into his skin. There was hostility in the air, bloodlust- he couldn't pinpointit's source, aside from Naruto and Kurama, who were seething.
“Kurama, he doesn't know what he's saying.” Shikamaru found himself speaking, this was getting tenuous. “Just stay calm, alright? Let Haruki and I handle this.” It took a moment, one where he knew the others likely could hardly breathe, but Kurama loosened his grip on their body and let Naruto surface again.
Even still he wasn't in a position to continue. Bad memories were already surfacing in his head. So Shikamaru would simply have to deal with this.
“Sarutobi-san, I understand you want to do what's best for this village... so you should be aware that if you burn this bridge you will regret it for the rest of your life.” It was broad daylight outside. The whole village would see it if they ran now. “You made it quite clear how valuable we were when we joined the village, and we've made a name for ourselves since coming here. It wouldn't be out of the question to leave for another village.” His hand was primed to grab his senbon, to force an exit. If they had to, nothing would stop him from getting them out. He'd kill Danzo on his way out, too, do something he should have done much sooner. “But it would be better for everyone if it didn't come to that, wouldn't you agree?”
“Such insolence-!”
“Can the village afford to lose either of us right now?” He had struck a nerve.
He knew for a fact they couldn't . Because if they left, another village would snap them up. It was war, after all, and they'd shown what they could do. There was a demand for more bodies on the front, it didn't matter how they were sourced. Sarutobi should know just how bad it would be to lose them given Shikaku's recently turned in report on them. Making an enemy out of them, especially with the news about the fox, and the secrets of the village Sarutobi had no idea they knew.
“Yeah. Thought so.”
“We could remove the kyuubi fragment, that would eliminate any threat to the village and Namikaze could live as a free man.” Danzo suggested it as if it were perfectly reasonable. As if he was unaware that that process usually killed the jinchuriki.
“Kurama can't be removed.” Naruto finally felt well enough to speak again, having taken a few deep breaths. “You'll kill me trying, and he dies with me.”
“Kurama?”
“Did you think that the kyuubi didn't have a name?” Naruto scoffed slightly, but it was without a doubt from Kurama. “He's a part of me now. I fused my soul with his. I'm not even technically a jinchuriki anymore. There's no chance of us separating. We're in agreement to stay in the village.” Naruto looked at Shikamaru smiling tiredly, one eye going red once more, reassuring him that both were calm again. “The only reason we'd have to do anyone in this village harm is if the act first.” That was a warning to Danzo, and the man must feel it as he took half a step back.
The air had a metallic tang without smelling of blood, tension strung, each side waiting for the other to jump.
“For your peace of mind, I'm willing to submit for some amount of testing, but I will draw the line myself.”
Keep things quiet. Avoid panic. The village can study him within reason. To Sarutobi it must seem like an insult, but it was more than he deserved after Danzo practically declared for both of them that Naruto should be counted as property.
“I will have Orochimaru do so once you return from your next assignment.”
With Orochimaru working under ROOT it was almost guaranteed that Danzo would be the one actually controlling the study. But it was better than the alternative. They didn't have much choice, after all. If they left the village now they'd be on the run, and it would be even more tenuous to finish the deal under those circumstances. He just hoped Tsunade could get through to Orochimaru before Danzo had him do something they couldn't walk back from.
“You'll also be under stricter surveillance, I suggest you make peace with that.”
They knew they already had a tail the last few months, Hawk had practically been glued to them since even before their arrival. The only time they hadn't was when Kakashi had actually been assigned to watch them, but that was because he was already a prospective recruit for the ANBU.
If they could get away with only a stronger surveillance detail and the imminent threat of Danzo running the tests on Naruto, they were very, very lucky.
Danzo himself didn't look at all pleased by the events, clearly he had wanted Naruto in a cage of some sort be it physical or otherwise, and Shikamaru knew to expect ROOT operatives to start snooping around the house.
Even still most of the tension went out of the room. Leaving felt... like something had changed. The Hokage had been happy to take them before, but now he was suspicious.
Shikamaru had thought Sarutobi was a great man growing up. He saw more of him than most kids their age because of his father's work- excluding Naruto and Konohamaru, he could safely say no other child save interacted with the old man as frequently. Sarutobi had come off as a kind and gentle leader, one with inhuman levels of patience and understanding. Shikamaru had believed that he was a just and righteous shinobi who honestly put the village above all else.
He knew better now. He was no longer one of the flock, but an outsider, and the new perspective had been jarring since their arrival in the village. Even if he gave everything he had, down to his blood and bones, for this village... it wouldn't be enough. As they were now, Sarutobi didn't see them as village shinobi, and he likely never would. This was the man who chased out Orochimaru long before he committed a crime, who allowed Danzo to do as he pleased so long as it could be justified.
The kind grandfatherly figure of his childhood had never been the real Sarutobi. This one, prepared to stand on a mountain or children's corpses to maintain order... this was the real Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Shikamaru would not forget that ever again.
“We'll take our leave then.”
Minato followed them out, and in the hallway Naruto hugged him while he started to sob. Apologizing.
Shikamaru felt bad for him. Minato didn't actually have many people he was close with, and now another one had been revealed to be a jinchuriki. Minato had been dealing with the village for years to protect Kushina, she was probably a factor in why he was trying to become Hokage. Now his brother was going to receive the same unfair treatment that she had from the elders.
He couldn't begin to imagine how much it must frighten Minato to know that when push came to shove the village would use two of his loved ones as weapons without any regard for their well being.
“Come on, it's not all bad.” Naruto was rubbing his back, by then Minato was hiccuping and trying to pull himself together. “Just wish I could have told you some other way...”
“It's okay...” He wiped his nose with the handkerchief Shikamaru handed him, trying to put himself quickly back together so when they left maybe no one would notice the breakdown he'd had.
“Why don't you and Kushina come over tonight, we should probably tell her about this too.” Minato nodded, taking one last deep breath they made their way out of the tower.
After her initial shock, Kushina had a lot of questions. Most were about how Naruto had fused his soul with Kurama- it had been difficult and the biggest factor for how it had even worked was that Kurama wasn't a fully powered Biju at the time. Though his chakra levels had slowly been rising further and further over the years. It wouldn't be incorrect to assume having a physical body was allowing him to gather as much chakra as he'd had prior to being paired down. Humans naturally regained chakra over time, and given their combined chakra reserves... It was a bit much even for a biju.
There were some questions they couldn't answer, however. Did this affect lifespan? Genetics? Did it render him subfertile? How much better than a human was his sense of smell? Did he have any unusual fox mannerisms or traits, or was Kurama only a fox in appearance and act differently?
Shikamaru wanted to tell them that yes there were fox behaviors, and some physical aspects were... able to change. But he really didn't want to get into what parts of Naruto were definitely less human. He had night vision too, which he did mention but that lead to them seeing if Naruto's eyes did the reflective animal thing even though Shikamaru tried to explain over and over that human eyes didn't do that. It did throw him through a loop when Naruto's eyes flashed gold of all colors in their dark living room. Kushina was altogether too smug.
“How did you not notice they did that?”
“I don't know?!”
“Bad boyfriend, if you ask me.” Kushina mumbled to Minato, and Shikamaru stood and went to grab the Go bored.
“You are going to eat those words.”
“Wait! No, I suck at those dumb games! Minato, defend my honor-!”
“So is that why your teeth are so long?”
“My canines? Yeah, I think so, hard to say for sure since they were already pretty big when I was a kid.”
“Stop ignoring me, save me-!”
Kushina didn't tell them that she was a jinchuriki, but they didn't ask. Technically that was a village secret, so they' didn't push her to out herself. It would be better covered up for now anyway. He put those thoughts out of his mind for now.
They would be okay.