Strongest Shinobi

(A/N: Please point out any plotholes in the explanation and I will look it over again to see if it is 'fixable'. Enjoy the chapter.)

Seeing Minato, Naruto didn't really know what to do. The man was a stranger to him and he didn't even know who he was.

"Who are you?"

Naruto said, not sounding too interested.

"Ah, I guess we should give the two of them some time."

Kakashi said, the Third nodding in agreement as they all left the room.

"Izana, can you come back a little afterwards? I don't think I can explain the whole situation that well."

Minato said, not taking his eyes from Naruto, who was a bit freaked out by the whole situation.

"Sure. Just call when you want. I'll wait outside."

Standing outside the door with Kakashi, the Third and Sasuke, Izana didn't really know if he should give his report on the mission now or if he should wait till Minato was done.

"Why don't we take a seat in the conference room next door?"

The Third helpfully said, as the others nodded and soon followed after him.

Taking a seat, Izana glanced at Kakashi and Sasuke, not knowing if they should be present for this report.

"Kakashi, Sasuke. Please wait outside. Once Izana has given his report you can come back in."

Hearing the Third say that, Sasuke wanted to speak up but was stopped by Kakashi.

"Then we will return at a later moment."

Leaving the room, only the Third and Izana were left in the room.

"Then begin your report."

"The organisation, better known as Akatsuki, has been spotted all around the lands, being mostly seen in those who have a Hidden Village of their own. The most well known ones, like Iwagakure or Sunagakure, more than the less known ones. Though I say mostly seen, there have been only a few occasions that the witnesses have seen them, so it is mostly hearsay and rumors.

Akatsuki has shown a clear interest in the Hidden Villages. So far a few individuals have been identified as being part of their group. Their abillities however are still a mystery.

Besides these particular individuals, Orochimaru had been part of this group as well, but he hasn't been seen that often lately, so they might have had a fall out. His former companion seems to have joined up with another one of their group."

Adding to his report, Izana took out a few scroll with the facial image of some of their members.

The Third seemed deep in thought. He glanced over the scroll and put them away after he had seen them all.

After a long silence, the Third finally spoke up.

"You are relieved of your mission. Consider it completed. As for the information you have gathered over the years, it will be discussed with the council on how to proceed further."

Complying with the Thirds decision, Kakashi and Sasuke were called back into the room, closely followed by a red eyed Naruto and a Minato who seemed a bit awkward and in pain.

"Are you alright Minato?"

"I'm fine. Completely fine. I deserved it, so don't mention it."

Hearing Minato speak like that, Naruto huffed angrily, but seemed a bit brighter than before.

"I see. Then shall I explain how you are currenlty here?"

Izana asked, which was met with the excited eyes of the people around him.

"I take that as a yes. Then, how to begin..."

Izana thought a bit and decided to start from the beginning.

"It was the night of the attack by the Kyuubi, otherwise known as Kurama. Minato and Kushina had both perished, leaving Naruto behind without any parent. As a solution to a possible future, I decided to seal Kushina's sould in a charm with the intent to ressurect her in the future. With the charm, Naruto and me would be able to communicate with her once a month for a short while.

A few years passed after that. I am sure you won't like the next part I am about to speak about, but keep your opinions for now."

Contemplating on how to say it, Izana was silent for a bit before he continued.

"In those years that passed, I had met up a few times with Orochimaru. He was researching ways to live longer, by any means possible. So I showed him a possible direction which would curb the sacrifices he would make.

He started to create clones. With the tissue samples of both Minato and Kushina's bodies, Orochimaru created funcioning clones. Naturally he made ones for himself as well. When I last visited him, they didn't seem that compatible with him though, but he was still working on it.

Anyhow, I now had funtioning clones, but the souls were still missing. Kushina's was in the hands of Naruto, which I could retrieve at a later date, while Minato's soul was trapped in the Death gods mask from the Uzumaki clan.

With the help of Kushina and a few secret scroll found here and there, I managed to find the mask and retrieve Minato's soul from the reaper. Though it wasn't without concequences."

No sharing what those consequences were, Izana took a short look at each of the individuals in the room to gauge their stance on the subject.

The Third seemed to be contemplating, Kakashi was still waiting for the rest and Naruto was having a mental overload. Steam was literally coming out of his ears. He really should work on his comprehension ability. Though it seemed like in this case the conversation was just going to fast for him.

And lastly, Sasuke seemed to be accepting it completely without any hesitation. What a great little cousin he had.

Seeing all of them waiting patiently, sans Naruto, Izana continued.

"After retrieving Minato's soul, I used a certain technique that would allow me to grasp the soul, making it pliable in my hands and making it possible to merge it into the cloned body.

As Minato had been sealed for a while and his former body destroyed, he needed to adjust to his new body, learning everything from walking to creating jutsus all over again.

A few weeks ago, Minato had returned to his former level, maybe a bit above it and we both decided it would be best to return."

Having finished with his explanation, Izana waited for the others to speak. The first one being Naruto, who seemed to pick out the most important part.

"So you can bring back mom as well?"

Naruto said hopefully, his eyes sparkling in longing.

"Sure can. We can do it as soon as we are done here."

Izana replied, ruffling Naruto's hair, making it even messier than before.

"Yata! I can see mom again-Dattebayo!"

Naruto yelled in excitement, his eyes lingering on Minato, becoming even more excited than before.

"How difficult is it to execute this technique?"

The Third asked, looking intently at Izana.

Feeling there was more to this than at first glance, Izana decided to play it safe.

"Extremely difficult. The samples of the bodies need to be kept fresh, possibly with a sealing jutsu. Then you need the knowledge on how to clone someone, which can take years if not longer. Then the body needs to be a perfect replica, to avoid any rejection of the soul towards the body. Then the soul needs to acclimate to it. When all that is successful, the person in question needs to relearn everything from the time of a baby to the time of death, sans the mind."

Hearing what needed to be achieved, the Third visible seemed relieved, as well as a bit dejected?

"I see. Then it can be said to be impossible to replicate."

Frowning a bit, Izana still nodded.

It would be impossible. For others that is. They needed him to merge the body and soul to become whole. So it would be as good as impossible to achieve.

"Then I've been enlightened enough about this matter. I will contact Jiraiya as well. He would like to hear of this as soon as possible. For now, it would be best for Minato to stay hidden from the village. We wouldn't want a sudden uproar. When preparation have been made to explain this, you will need to stay low, Minato."

The Third said, earning a reassured nod from Minato, who seemed more invested to spend time with Naruto than listen to his former mentor.

They all left the office soon after, Izana following Minato and Naruto, while Sasuke left to notify his home of his return.

Kakashi had left at some point, but he would certainly come back to catch up with he former teacher.