AN: Here is a short little one shot. I hope you all enjoy. I wrote it in a very short time after I was struck with inspiration. As for Divergence I am making steady progress on it and hope to have the next chapter up by the end of the week. I'll also start replying to the reviews from the last chapter soon so if you have a burning question that you want answered you better ask soon or be ready to wait a little while.

Also I want to offer my thoughts and prayers to all those who have been affected by the major earthquake in Japan, and I hope that they can recover as quickly as possible and morn for all those lost in peace.


A small boy of five years stood atop the fire red Hokage Tower observation deck. The sun had begun to set and the sky was lit in a bright orange and the clouds looked as if they were painted a deep imperial purple. The boy wore black shorts and a white tea shirt with a Konoha symbol in front and their traditional red swirl on the back.

The boy's blond hair whipped back and forth in the wind and his blues eyes sparkled with awe at the giant stone heads that stood as silent guardians over the village. The boy was so entranced with the view he didn't notice the robed figure of the Hokage step onto the deck behind him.

"Enjoying the view?" The Hokage said in a soft happy tone.

The boy jerked slightly in surprise but he turned and gave the man a big grin. His face was still a little chubby from baby fat but he was quickly slimming up. He spoke happily, "It's great."

The Hokage nodded, "I've always enjoyed the monument. Some time I'll take you to the top. You can see the whole village from there."

The boy smiled, "That sounds so cool." The boy fell silent for a moment but the look on his face said he had much more to say as the Hokage walked to and stood beside the boy.

After a few moments of comfortable silence the boy spoke, "I've decided. I want to become a ninja."

The Hokage smiled, "I figured you would want to. Can I ask why?"

The boy was silent, "There are lots of reasons, but the main reason is because I want to watch over the village like they do… the way you do."

The Hokage was silent for a moment but then continued, "That's a very good reason."

The boy looked up at the man, "Do you think I could? Be a great ninja… be Hokage?"

The man nodded, "If you work hard I know you can be. If fact I think if you put all of your heart and soul into it I think you could be an even greater ninja than the Yondaime Hokage."

The boy smiled and shook his head, "That would be cool but I don't want to stop there I want to be better than the best ninja ever!"

The Hokage was confused, "But I thought that the Yondaime was the best ninja ever?"

The boy giggled and replied like the man was teasing him, "No. he's the second best. You're the best ninja ever."

The Hokage was stunned at the boy's pronouncement but after a moment the man's eyes filled with tears as he knelt down and embraced the boy in a huge hug.

The boy worriedly questioned, "Are you alright? Why are you crying Otousan?

The man pulled away blinking back his tears, "I'm great. I'm just happy."

The Hokage stood and lifted the boy onto his shoulders, "Come on Minato. Let's go home and get your mother and than we can all go get some ramen."

The boy cheered, "YEAH!"

The Hokage, Namikaze Naruto, cast a glance at the six huge faces looking down on the village. Despite the fact that he had always wanted his head on the mountain it was still odd to see it. However his gaze lingered longest on that of his father the Yondaime. Despite the fact that almost everyone in the village thought that Naruto was the greatest of all the Hokages he didn't know that was how they felt, and he still thought of his idol and father as the best there ever was. As he finally faced forward and began to leave he smiled and thought silently.

'Senpu… I know that you're the best right now but I believe in Minato the way you believed in me. He'll do us all proud and be better than the both of us.'


AN: There we go I hope you all liked it. Please read and review. It makes me happy.

Translation notes:

Otousan-Father

Senpu-Deceased Father