Inspired by Never More Than Eternal Rivals by KakashiKrazed and Nakama by LinSetsu.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

The Three Sannin made their way through the Konoha streets. They had just returned from reporting to the Hokage, and Jiraiya was bored. He tried talking to his teammates about his latest Icha Icha novel, but after Orochimaru threatened to kill him and Tsunade punched him through a wall, he decided that it would be best for his health if he stopped talking.

Jiraiya yawned and looked around casually, as usual the Konoha streets were crowded with people...and beautiful women. He was just checking out this beautiful brown hair women when he spotted a child with silver hair next to her, a huge greyhound at his side. The child looked...familiar.

"Hey, does that child over there look familiar? I feel like I've seen him before…" Jiraiya said. Orochimaru and Tsunade looked at the child curiously.

"Huh. He does look familiar." Tsunade frowned and she studied the child closely.

"Well, only one way to find out." Jiraiya started to follow the child as he thanked the cashier politely and started walking away. Tsunade and Orochimaru followed him, though Orochimaru clearly didn't want to. The child carried the bag of groceries while the greyhound trotted beside him. They followed a path out of the center of the village, and soon they were the only ones around. Suddenly, the child dropped his bag of groceries, turned, and threw a kunai at them as the dog started barking. To their surprise, the kunai flew straight towards Jiraiya and would have hit him if he had not dodged in time.

"Why are you following me?" The child said to them angrily. Now that Jiraiya could see him more clearly, he could see that the child was wearing a mask. He looked about four years old, and had grey eyes and messy silver hair. He reminded Jiraiya of someone...someone he knew…

"You should show some respect to your elders, kid. Let me teach you why." Orochimaru licked his lips and stepped forward a step. The greyhound growled and bared his teeth at him, causing Jiraiya to hurriedly put his hand on Orochimaru's shoulder to prevent him from killing the dog.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" Tsunade asked the child.

"Kakashi Hatake." Realization struck Jiraiya. This was his friend Sakumo Hatake's son. The last time he had seen him was when he was a baby, no wonder he didn't recognize him.

"Kakashi! I almost didn't recognize you, you've grown so much. Don't you remember me? I'm Jiraiya, the Toad Sage! Wooer of women, defender of Konoha, and-" Tsunade smacked him on the head, none too gently. Jiraiya saw stars as Tsunade spoke.

"Sorry about that. What this idiot meant to say is that we know you're father, and we're friends. Well, at least me and Jiraiya are, but I'm sure he won't mind if Orochimaru comes along too. Can you lead us to your father's house?" Tsunade asked Kakashi kindly.

"Wait, I know who you three are. You're the Legendary Three Sannin! Father talks about you guys all the time! I show you to our house!" Kakashi ran over to take Tsunade's hand and started pulling her forward. Jiraiya smiled slightly to himself as he followed them. Seeing Kakashi so happy and innocent, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a rush of affection towards the boy. Looking at Tsunade's expression, she clearly felt the same. Jiraiya glanced sideways at Orochimaru. Perhaps there was a chance that Orochimaru would too...nope, emotionless as always.

Soon, Jiraiya saw the Hatake Compound. Kakashi led them inside and took off his shoes.

"Father! We have guests!" Sakumo poked his head out of a room, and smiled when he saw them. He walked towards them and picked up Kakashi.

"Hello Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru. I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, we just came back from a mission and saw Kakashi. So we decided to visit." Jiraiya laughed sheepishly. Sakumo looked at Kakashi and set him down gently.

"Why don't you go out and play with Keiko? I have to talk with my friends." Kakashi nodded and ran to the back yard, the greyhound following him. As they followed Sakumo into a room, Jiraiya noticed that he couldn't see any signs of a four year old living in the house. There weren't any toys or drawings, there wasn't even a mess. Sakumo led them to a table which had a window overlooking the backyard. Outside, Kakashi and Keiko played tag with each other.

"Kakashi's grown a lot." Jiraiya commented. The last time he had seen Kakashi, he had been a baby, barely a week old. However, the mood had been somber, because Kakashi's mother, Asuka Hatake, had died giving birth.

"Have you been training him? He threw a kunai that would have hit Jiraiya had he not dodged away." Tsunade asked Sakumo curiously.

"Kakashi's actually in the Academy right now. The teacher says that he's the top of the class, and he can already do a Clone Jutsu." Sakumo proudly told them. However, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.

"Don't you think he's a little...young?" Jiraiya asked Sakumo. He knew that Sakumo knew Kakashi better than him, and he no doubt loved Kakashi. But Jiraiya didn't want Kakashi growing up too fast. While other four year olds would be playing ninja outside, Kakashi would be learning how to be a real ninja, and eventually, how to kill.

"This is a age of war. Prodigies like Kakashi needed." said Orochimaru, watching Kakashi play outside. Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru. He knew that what Orochimaru said was right, but it felt wrong training young children in order to win the war. Sakumo frowned and looked at Kakashi.

"Believe me when I say this, Jiraiya, I want Kakashi to have a normal childhood too. However, if Kakashi does not learn to defend himself, he could get hurt. Still, I'll make sure that he gets to be a child for as long as possible. He won't get sent on dangerous missions until he's a chunin, and I won't let him become one until he's at least 12." Sakumo sighed and turned to face the Three Sannin.

"There's something that has been worrying me. Last week, while I was waiting for Kakashi…"

Sakumo waited outside of the Academy. Today was one of the rare days when he didn't have a mission, and he wanted to spend the day with Kakashi. As he was waiting, Sakumo felt Danzo's chakra coming his way. 'What does he want.' Whenever Danzo was involved, it never went well. Even though Danzo was one of the Village Elders, Sakumo didn't trust him one bit.

"Sakumo." Danzo stopped in front of him, his voice was cold and expressionless.

"Danzo. What do you want?"

"I came here to make a deal. A deal that involves...your son." Sakumo looked at Danzo in shock.

"What do you want with Kakashi?"

"I want to recruit him for Root."

"No way! I refuse. Kakashi isn't going to Root, he's only four years old." Sakumo wasn't about to let Danzo have Kakashi. He knew that Danzo couldn't take Kakashi without him agreeing first, and if he tried...he'll have the White Fang to deal with.

"Kakashi has shown exceptional talent and intelligence for his age. Also, the younger he is, the more results he will show after he goes through our training. You will be wasting his talent if you do not agree."

"I don't care what you say, Danzo. Kakashi isn't going to Root, not now, not ever."

"Shouldn't a ninja of Konoha sacrifice everything for their village?" Danzo said to him, disapproval in his voice.

"Since when did Konoha need child sacrifices?" Sakumo snarled back. Just then, the bell of the Academy rang and children started to come out.

"You'll regret this, Sakumo." Danzo turned and walked away just as Kakashi reached him. Kakashi started telling him about all the things he learned today in the Academy, but Sakumo was only half-listening. Instead he was trying to predict what Danzo might do next, because a father is never going to put his child in danger.

Jiraiya clenched his fist. He had heard all about Danzo and his so called Root. Jiraiya had met a few ninjas from Root after their "training", they had no emotion, no feelings, nothing. They were basically tools. No, he would not let that happen to Kakashi.

"Don't worry Sakumo. If Danzo dares, they'll have the Three Sannin to deal with," Jiraiya glanced at Orochimaru, "well, at least two Sannins. Just leave Kakashi with us when you have to go on missions and we'll take care of him." Tsunade nodded in agreement. They all turned when they heard Kakashi squeal, and Jiraiya couldn't help but smile as Keiko pushed Kakashi gently to the ground and started licking his face. Looking at Kakashi's smiling face, Jiraiya swore to do everything in his power to keep his friend's son safe.