Grocery shopping has always been one of his worst chores. The fact that he has to do it by himself doesn't bring him any comfort, either. The orphanage gives him the money to keep his apartment and buy a few extras, but that's all they give him. He has lived off of ramen for the past six years because it's the cheapest food and the one that fills him up the most, plus the owners have always been nice to him.

But he still has to shop for groceries.

The blond nine-year-old entered the market, completely aware of all the eyes that zeroed on him the moment he entered the dirt street. Merchants eyed him distrustfully and those that brought foreign goods also copied the natives' demeanor towards the boy, even if they themselves did not fully understand the reasoning behind such hate.

I only need apples and milk. That's all I need and want.

Naruto reached the apple stall first. Though the vendor did not like him at all, he kept a reasonable price for his goods, though he still charged him more than other customers. "I have to make up for the clients I lose because of you," he once had told him coldly after a more naive Naruto had asked him why he asked for six coins when the lady before him paid only three for the same quantity.

By now he had learned to not ask or complain, because that only brought more attention and animosity to himself. He had the apples already, and now he just needed the milk, so that he could grow into a great and awesome shinobi, because that was one of the prerequisites to being a Hokage.

He kept walking and accidentally slammed against another child of around his age. The girl looked familiar to him, though he was sure he would be able to recognize those pale eyes anywhere. The person who was with her, a tall woman in her thirties, glared at him and gently tugged the girl forward, muttering something under her breath that made the girl nod hesitantly.

She looked back at him and sneaked in a small wave, which made his heart clench in his chest. Was that how it felt to be treated normally? He envied the people who laughed and enjoyed their lives. He needed to be mischievous so that people would look at him with something other than hate, though exasperation was not so much better than hate.

Maybe what he needed was to meet more people like the pale-eyed girl, but who would treat him with kindness in Konoha?

His eyes widened and a grin split his face. He ran out of the market, the apples he carried carelessly falling to the ground.

There were many things the Nidaime had taught him about the Hokage position, but he had slyly left out the part of paperwork. Even if he had clones helping him, paperwork bogged down and accumulated in his office. It was a good sign, though; that meant the village was receiving many missions from civilians and merchants and this kept the economy going. He would take paperwork over a recession any day.

But still, why did he need to sign every single mission that came their way?

A flash of yellow barged into the room yelling. His secretary standing in the doorway looked at him with sheepish acceptance and closed the door behind the young Naruto. She already knew that the young boy was always welcome in his office.

It was the least he could do for all his troubles.

"Ojii-san! I just had the greatest idea!"

Hiruzen raised a weary eyebrow. "And what is this great idea?"

"I want to travel!"

The Sandaime coughed into his pipe, though me managed to hold it in and not show his surprise too much. How to tell him without hurting his feelings that we was too dangerous to let him out of Konoha? If another village got their hands on the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, or even found out Naruto was the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, then both Konoha and Naruto would be in grave danger. "I don't think that's a good idea, Naruto. You belong here, in this village; this is your home."

A strange look overtook the nine-year-old. There was something bitter and dejected about it, feelings no child his age should be feeling to his intensity. "I want it to be my home, but nobody will let me. Everyone hates me and it's hard making better pranks each time, because people have gotten used to it."

The Hokage frowned, processing the words that had just left his young charge's mouth. It made sense in every way and he felt ashamed he was trying to convince an unhappy boy to continue being unhappy. He didn't choose to be jinchuuriki, the situation did, but he needed to accept that fact and move on with his life. Except that he was unaware he housed the Kyuubi, so he couldn't easily make such sacrifice for a village that hated him. "What about your dream to become a shinobi? Or do you no longer want to become a Hokage?"

Naruto was quiet, pensive, and Hiruzen inwardly cheered. "I should meet other people so that I can make good friendships with them and they're gonna like Konoha better, right?"

The fanfare died down immediately. "You're very determined about this, aren't you?"

The blond nodded enthusiastically with his trademark grin and squinted eyes.

Hiruzen sighed and acquiesced with a small nod. "I'll think about it, but don't get your hopes up. Now, do you want Ichiraku or something other than ramen for lunch?"

His plastered grin was all he needed for an answer.

There were many things the Sandaime had taught him about spying on women, but he had slyly left out the part where they chase you without relent for being found out. But it was all worth it, as his studying sessions were very needed for his part of being a successful author. Men loved his work and he was sure women secretly adored it as well. After all, if it made him blush and giddy, who knew what his words caused to other, less powerful men?

He was doing mankind a favor.

One of his secretly favorite spots was Konoha, though it shouldn't come as a surprise. He enjoyed seeing the bustling city that he had gone to war to protect. All the chatter, the laughter, the banter, the yelling, the restaurants, the entertainment, the bath houses… They all brought joy to his heart. But the best part was his customary meeting with his sensei, because he had massive reserves of sake and an even bigger desire to know how his Icha Icha series was coming along.

Everyone recognized him as Hiruzen's student and let him pass to the Hokage's mansion without fuss and with utmost secrecy. Becoming a Sannin had skyrocketed his popularity (both good and bad) amongst the shinobi populace, and that was something he was invested in keeping a secret.

His sensei was busy working on the paperwork, admittedly one of the reasons he would refuse the Hokage position if it was ever offered to him, but he looked more absentminded than usual. "Is it really all that time-consuming?"

"Not exactly," the Sandaime replied without missing a beat. So the old man knew he was here then. Oh, well, who in their right mind would expect to surprise the God of the Shinobi by just coming inside the room. "But how are you, Jiraiya?"

"Everything is alright. I just finished the draft of the new installment of Icha Icha." He grinned widely when Hiruzen's head snapped up and stared at him with excitement. "It's even better than the last one."

"You can't leave me hanging like that."

"Then bring the sake."

This was definitely the best part of coming to Konoha. It made him forget for just a moment that he wasn't tracking down Orochimaru or trying to forget Tsunade's continuous refusal of coming back to Konoha with him. Jiraiya also knew that his sensei greatly appreciated these surprise visits, since the old man had gone through more than most shinobi in his rather long lifetime.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

He finished drinking his shot and looked at Hiruzen suspiciously. "You never ask me any favors. You know, as my sensei and Hokage, you can do as you wish."

"I know, but this is something personal and doesn't relate to village business."

"Alright, you got me; I'm interested. What is it?"

The Hokage let out a weary sigh, as if even thinking about the subject left him tired. "Naruto came in today and asked me the last thing I ever thought he could: to leave Konoha."

He didn't have to keep the surprise under control in front of his sensei. "What? The kid loves this place."

"Something changed, or it's always been like this and until now he just decided to say something about it."

"And you're going to allow this?"

The Hokage's eyes narrowed, as if he was thinking about something distasteful. "I can't force everyone in this village to like him just as I can't force him to love Konoha. I owe both Minato and Naruto a debt that cannot be easily repaid, and granting him this wish could be the only way I can even hope to pay Naruto back for everything he has done."

Jiraiya was quiet, processing the reasons behind Hiruzen's approval and finding them completely logical, though a bit sentimental from the old man's part. "And just how do I fit in this? You want me to find him someone to travel with him?"

The Sandaime shook his head and drawled, "I was actually hoping you would travel with him?"

He glared at his master. "I'm not some glorified babysitter. I travel the world doing things no ten-year-old kid––"

"Nine," he interrupted. "Naruto is nine."

"Fine, I'm doing things no nine-year-old kid should even know about. I'm busy, sensei; admiring women isn't the only thing I do. Or have you completely forgotten about Orochimaru?"

Now he felt Hiruzen getting angry. "You know I won't forget about Orochimaru. I don't forget things, Jiraiya. But you owe Naruto something as well. He's your favorite student's son, he's your godson, not some street rat without a family."

"I know he's my godson, sensei, but I can't take responsibility for him, not now. He's still too young."

He looked awfully disappointed, and dammit did he hate when people looked at him like that. "Minato probably thought his sensei would take care of his son, his legacy. He would be heartbroken to find out that you made up excuses just so that you can't take care of him."

"Minato knew that I wouldn't always be available. I wasn't even in the village when the kid was born!"

"Loving is all about sacrifices, something your student knew well. If you truly loved Minato, and Naruto, you would make this one sacrifice for him."

Jiraiya stood up and glared unabashedly at his sensei. "Don't give my love conditions, Hokage-sama. If you have nothing further to say, I think this sake is too soft and studying will take my mind off of it."

"The door is that way, Jiraiya."

One of the things Naruto hated the most about his apartment was that he had to go through the hot springs. They were full of noisy people who noisily complained about their lives and even more noisily berated him for existing. Going through the hot springs was a must to reach his home, but he had found a way to avoid most of the people that wanted to bath themselves, though it required going through the back way.

Interestingly enough, there was something in the bushes tonight. Once he got closer, he found out that it was a person using the foliage to hide, and it looked as if he was peeking at the women who were bathing. He was even giggling! But why would anyone want to do that? Girls were gross, and women were nastier, especially when they scolded him for things he never did.

"Wow! I never thought perverts were real!" he exclaimed, hoping to draw attention to them.

The white-haired man whirled his head toward him, looking angry. "Shh! Don't you know they flee if you draw attention to yourself?"

Naruto grinned and put his fingers in the Ram seal. "Oiroke no Jutsu!" he exclaimed, transforming himself into a rather weird nude woman. Her breasts were too large and the ass too flat and there was a distinctive lack of a vagina. But the perverted man didn't seem to care about these inconsistencies, because his nose started bleeding profusely. "I don't know what you're talking about! I like perverts," he said with the voice that was a bit deeper than his female classmates', but not too much. That sent the man falling to his knees.

"How… How did you do that?"

He shrugged and reverted back to his original self. "I don't know. It just came up to me one day."

"Have you showed anyone? Can you teach me?"

Naruto scrunched up his nose. "No, you're the first one, ero-sennin."

"Ah? Who are you calling a perverted hermit?"

"Because you are one!"

"Why, you gaki!"

"I'm not a brat! My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be the greatest shinobi in the world, so treat me with some respect!"

That silenced the white-haired man, who now looked at him curiously. "You say you're gonna be the greatest shinobi in the world? How are you gonna do that?"

"By meeting everyone in the world and proving them I'm better," he said as if the answer was obvious.

"And just how are you going to do that?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly and scratched a spot behind his ear. "Eh, I'm still trying to figure that part out. I'll do it, though, even if I have to do it alone!"

Jiraiya frowned and stood up, folding his arms across his chest. "You know, the world out there is big and dangerous. They won't care if you're a kid. They might kill you."

His blue eyes widened momentarily but then he smiled, though it had a tinge of sadness. "I don't think anybody would miss me besides Teuchi-san and Ayame-san and Ojii-san. That's why I want to meet more people! I want them to miss me."

"That's not something you should wish for, gaki. If you cared about them, you wouldn't want them to miss you, and you would try to keep yourself alive for them."

His eyes hardened. "Still! Sacrifices must be made! I'll become the greatest shinobi in the world." Naruto then looked up at the setting sun and the moon that was starting to appear in the east. "It's time I go home, ero-sennin."

Though Jiraiya's forehead visibly twitched at his nonchalant way of addressing him, a sannin, he really couldn't tell Naruto why he should respect him without blowing his cover. "Do you live far away?"

"Nah, just a couple more minutes."

Jiraiya looked at the hot springs forlornly but shook those thoughts away; he had a mission. "I'm done here. Do you want me to come with you?"

Naruto looked very astonished, but the surprise quickly melted away for excitement. "Yeah!"

It was ten-thirty when Hiruzen finally finished his paperwork. This left him some time to go drink some tea, read some old scrolls, maybe even go out for a night walk, and then have the best sleep he's had in maybe five months.

Overall, this night might turn out to be good.

He felt his student a second later when he finally opened the door, looking irked and excited at the same time. Hiruzen was about to ask him why he still was in Konoha when he blurted, "But I'm not responsible for the things he learns, alright? And tell him to stop calling me ero-sennin. I'm a sannin!"

The Sandaime gave a wry smile but offered no reply. Naruto would keep his quirks and he wasn't about to go telling him how to call his admittedly perverted student. Besides, he could use some humbling from a younger person.

Yes, this night had started to be good.

Completely AU, though it will share some similarities with the manga.

Review any comments, criticisms, or concerns; they are much appreciated. More information about this story in my profile.