Blonding

Chapter 22 : Confrontation

The first thing Naruto noticed when he woke up was that he had a screaming headache.

The next thing he noticed was that his son had gone missing.

Oh, and he was tied to a chair.

"Well this is humiliating," he muttered to himself hoarsely, shaking his head in an effort to relieve the throbbing behind his eyeballs, waiting for his vision to readjust to his surroundings. "That's what I get for trying out a technique I'd only seen once, I guess."

After the dull throb of his head died down slightly, he was relieved to realize that he was still in the hospital room from before, the pearl-white walls nearly suffocating him with their sterility.

And Boruto was still nowhere in sight.

"Alright," he mumbled quietly, "What did you do with him?"

"Who are you?" Minato asked emotionlessly from across the room, arms crossed before him, eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

"Where is my son?"

"Answer my question first."

"Where. Is. My. Son."

Naruto's father sighed and shook his head. "You really don't understand your predicament, do you? You've been detained. You have half a dozen chakra suppression seals on you right now, and you're currently sitting in a room with four of the most powerful shinobi on the face of the planet. You may as well give it up."

Naruto's mouth twitched in amusement as he watched the Fourth posture. "Is that so?"

Minato took a step forward and frowned at him. "You do know who I am, do you not? Or do I need to spell it out for you?" He looked over his shoulder back at the other two men in the room, who were watching the pseudo-interrogation beside Kushina's bed with a hint of amusement. "Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin? Or maybe his sensei, the longest-serving Hokage to date?" His eyes flickered for the briefest moment, almost in pride. "And you're already familiar with the Nine-Tails' Jinchuuriki. Who just so happens to be my wife."

"No, no, I understand who you are," Naruto shrugged casually, blue eyes bristling with mirth. "I just think you have the numbers wrong." He narrowed his own eyes for a moment in sincerity, leaning forward slightly in his chair. "Five."

Minato blinked and raised an eyebrow. "…Five?"

"You said that four of the strongest shinobi on the planet are in this room right now. But you forgot me. I may not be the best at math, but I know that's five."

This time it was Minato's turn to smile humorlessly. "Oh, I'm sure."

But Naruto could tell from the look in his father's eyes that he wasn't as certain of himself as he was letting on. "Regardless of who we all are," The one-armed man cast a pointed glance at his audience, "You still have yet to answer my question. Where is he?"

His eyes flickered in rage for the briefest moment of time. "And I'd be more than willing to give you all a demonstration of why I'm on the list if you don't bring my boy back to me."

Minato sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, turning and pacing back towards the opposite wall of the hospital room in thought. "I promise you he is okay. But that is all I will divulge until you give me more to work with."