Grace: A Naruto Fanfiction (Book 1)

Chapter 56: Hesitation

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Naruto looked up to the sky, his gaze focused on the endless blue sky. A year ago, Naruto had made a theory that clashed with Madara's words from when he was just a little boy.

"Your father's Uchiha blood was defective. How? Who knows. All I know was that his Uchiha blood is inferior to yours."

Naruto didn't really think about that when he was younger, but now that he had time to think about it, there was no way Minato's Uchiha blood was defective as he said it was.

If that was the case, Naruto himself would carry on that defective blood. But that's not the case. His Uchiha blood was in full effect; working perfectly fine without a problem.

So, it made sense to Naruto.

Madara had lied. Those words that kept on telling him that his father had defective Uchiha blood was nothing but a simple lie that Madara had made to perhaps manipulate him.

One might say was so Naruto could directly inherit Madara's eyes, but that's the problem — the eyes that he had during his time parenting Naruto were simply eyes that weren't even his.

Eyes that he gotten from a disposable Uchiha.

It took me awhile, I managed to get my hands on father's eyes. Naruto thought, thinking back on his adventure on finding these eyes of his. His first thought was to go and dig up his body and see if his eyes were inside his sockets.

It was too risky and he could've left evidence of potential tampering with the grave of the Fourth. Then he resorted to something that got him his answer almost immediately.

Hiruzen was an old man with numerous amounts of secrets. He had not only become the Hokage, but resumed the position after Minato had died. And, well, Naruto had decided to snoop around and see if he could find anything.

You took care of these eyes very well. Naruto thought, thinking back when he found a small box hidden away in a very inconspicuous spot. It was so well hidden that the only reason Naruto had found it was because of him being extra careful not to miss anything important.

And in the end, father not only protected the village, but made extra precautions. Naruto thought, impressed with how articulate and calculative this all turned out to be. Naruto saw what was inside the box — a scroll and note right beside it.

When he unsealed the scroll, it revealed a jar of floating eyes. That moment confirmed his theory of Madara's lie that he had been so thoughtful about. Naruto read the note that was inside the box also, making him even more impressed than before.

It was obvious to Naruto that from the very beginning, Hiruzen knew about Minato being an Uchiha. He didn't tell anyone, not even Jiraiya. Absolutely nobody. The note was specifically written for Hiruzen with instructions if Minato did die.

That he would ensure the safety of his eyes. His body didn't matter; what mattered was his eyes. Minato with the assumption that Naruto was being raised in the village of Konoha. And his eyes were intended for Naruto.

And even though his assumption was incorrect, the eyes still managed to make it back to Naruto in the end. This wasn't an accidental plan that got through with sheer luck.