"After." Naruto said, "Otherwise the council will bitch and claim the old man set it up to give Ero-sennin more power and influence. Best to keep it as a coincidence. If possible it would be best to say that I've been residing in Uzu for most of my childhood and only stayed with him when he traveled. The more ingrained in this village I can appear then the better it is and the fewer questions will be asked. I'd also like one of the Uzushio Shinobi to become my 'teacher' since I'm far from the level of a mere Genin. It will give me an alibi for my skills."
"Very well."
With those two words, the group parted for the day. There was much to be done, and all three was determined to complete it with nothing short of perfection.
"Nervous?" Jiraiya teased.
Naruto snorted, "Hardly. Hopefully, the old fuzzball will wake up with the second half of his chakra."
"Won't he be much bigger than normal? You'll have one and a half Kyuubi inside of you."
"Nah." Naruto shook his head, "But I'll have to go out and blow something up with a couple of bijudama's to get rid of the excess chakra. I'll get a chakra overload otherwise. It shouldn't regenerate because Kurama's reserves don't expand and can't store more than his reserves allow- not that he actually needs to"
"I see. Well, that's a relief."
"Agreed."
The door opened to the large chamber. Inside of the dimly lit room was four elders, Mito-sama and the Uzukage. At the center was a large alter fit for two people and spreading several yards in all directions was a massive seal.
Naruto moved forward and without question laid down on the altar next to Mito while Jiraiya moved to the side of the room. He wouldn't interfere in such a delicate sealing ritual even if you paid him.
"Are you ready Naruto-kun?" Mito asked softly, her voice weak but kind as her eyes locked with his
"I'm ready, Mito-sama. Thank you for entrusting me with Kurama. I'll keep him safe, I promise."
A soft smile spread itself over her lips while her eyes turned wistful, "It would seem that you've already done a much better job than myself. I harbor nothing but fear for the creature but I can see now that my treatment of Kurama-sama as been unjust and unfortunate. Perhaps one day he will forgive me for my naivety."
She watched how his eyes suddenly became unfocused as if though listening to something in the distance. "He wants to say something to you." He then said.
Mito failed to hide her surprise but nodded with hesitance.
His sapphire eyes turn the color of rubies and his pupil slit. The whisker like scars on his cheeks widened and his teeth sharpened. Mito had to suppress a chill from running down her spine at the fearful sight of the previously kind-looking boy.
Naruto's voice came out dark and profound. Far too dark to be human, "Mito." Kurama spoke as Mito swallowed audibly. "I won't forgive you for treating me as a prisoner and condemning me for existing." The old woman flinched, "But I will forgive you for sealing me." Her eyes widened, "If you did not then Madara would have never released me and I would never have met the kit." Tears began to burn behind her eyes, "May you fare well and travel safely past the Veil."
"T-thank you Kurama-sama."
It was in the moment that Kurama nodded and allowed Naruto to regain control that the elders and the Uzukage in the chamber finally understood that sealing the Kyuubi within Naruto was the best choice for everyone. While it was true that they were hesitant despite the Uzukage's urging- seeing the actual nature of the Kyuubi with their own eyes and the apparent friendship the boy and the bijuu shared- they couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude and fortune that Naruto was willing to carry the burden for them.
"We're ready." The Uzukage said, and the two of them nodded, hands moving to interlock before they closed their eyes, one of them for the last time.
The sound of crashing waves and crying seagulls raged outside of the ship as Naruto, Jiraiya, and Uzumaki Arashi, the Uzukage to be and the only other person in the know of the young men's real identities, sat under the deck to avoid the terrible storm outside. Naruto was pale as death, sweaty and groaning from pain.
Arashi was concerned for the boy(or man) and gnawed the inside of his cheek. His eyes flickered over to Jiraiya who flipped to the next page of his page, a lecherous grin on his face and twinkling eyes. He was also completely ignoring his student who was in obvious pain.
"Should you..?" Arashi cleared his throat and gestured to Naruto, "Is he okay?"
Jiraiya peeked over his book and followed the man's pointed finger. He rolled his eyes and threw one of his books at the boy, "Oi, you dying kid?"
Naruto groaned and rolled over, "Are we there yet?" His stomach then rumbled, "I'm dyiiiing!"
"Don't be so dramatic brat."
"Dyiiiiiiiiing!!"
"Well, you sure talk a lot for a dying man." He then smirked, "Or kid."
Naruto scowled despite the pain and cold sweat he'd received from the chakra overloading his system, "Fuck off Ero-sennin, or I'll use you as the target for my bijudama."
Jiraiya snorted loudly, "You ain't got shit on me brat. You're my son now, so you better watch it or I'll ground your ass for a month."
A loud groan and an angry hiss escaped the boy as a shelf of books tumbled over from the violent rocking of the ship, "You can't ground me! I'm the Hokage!"
"Not anymore~."
"Bastard!"
Meanwhile, Arashi's eyebrows were touching his hairline and he couldn't quite suppress the twitching from the corner of his lips. The two of them was a riot together and all they ever seemed to do was bicker and argue with one another. But it was pretty funny considering they were both much older in mind than body and also how Jiraiya would completely disregard the fact that Naruto was actually a real Kage and pull the 'I'm your parent now!' while reading porn. Not to mention he did it with a straight face. Arashi had a sneaking suspicion that Naruto cared as much about Jiraiya's parenting rules as the Sannin did about the male gender. Not a whole lot in other words. Needless to say, they weren't exactly all that compatible as parent and child. He was eternally thankful that he didn't have to tell people about them or be the one to tell others how Jiraiya came to adopt Naruto. That'd be an awkward conversation.