Untitled #1
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage, patron of the Sarutobi clan, sat with his favorite pipe in his favorite chair, the office in the Tower abandoned at this time of night, but even though he was enjoying the quiet of his private study, he still had one more report to read. It lay in his hand, a single page that would very soon join the many others just like it.
The paper he held concerned one Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and subject of a permanent surveillance/protection detail, which he had been assigned since the day he could walk. Sarutobi had picked only the very best and most trustworthy of ninja to perform the duty, a task which was rotated through a group of eight shinobi on a monthly basis, two watchers sharing the assignment per month. The only time he was without watchers was when he left the village, but then again he had never done so before and wouldn't be likely to for a good long time yet.
Sometimes the reports were rather light on the information, other times the daily missives covered several pages. They were always structured the same, though. Twelve hours on, twelve hours off, one handling the daytime observations, the other taking over and keeping vigil over Naruto at night. Needless to say it wasn't the most exciting job, but Hiruzen needed to keep a close eye on the boy due to his status. There were those in the village that wanted him gone. Even worse, there were those that wanted to sharpen him into a sword to use against Konoha's enemies.
Neither thing could be allowed, naturally. It was important that Naruto develop as normally as possible so that his loyalty to the village was assured by virtue of it being something that the last Uzumaki wanted, not as something that was coerced from him by threats or promises of reward. The former would just lead him to abandon Konoha at his earliest convenience, and the latter would spoil him beyond usefulness, especially if the expectations started to outstrip the offerings. Unfortunately for Sarutobi, the citizenry of Konoha was making life rather difficult for the young jinchuuriki, and each new report of some action taken against Naruto, or more importantly not taken, weighed heavily on Hiruzen's soul. If it continued he thought he might order Naruto's exile, send him somewhere distant where the Kyuubi was just a myth, where nobody knew of his burden and would treat him like an ordinary child…the Jounin Council would never allow it, though, and placing his successor's son in harm's way like that could not be countenanced. So the suffering would have to continue, much as he wished it would end.
Breaking the genjutsu seal on the document, Sarutobi skimmed over the usual repeat of Naruto's daily routine, looking for something, anything out of the ordinary, good or bad. He noticed the little notes in the margins written by the observers questioning the boy's mental and emotional state, having come to expect them, but unless there were clear signs that Naruto was becoming unstable he would not, could not, order action taken, no matter what little quirks he might be displaying. One little tidbit interested him more than the typical drudgery present in the report:
4:42 P.M.: Whiskers deviated from typical path around perimeter of southern merchant quarter and passed by canal 42 (AKA Water Street). Whiskers then noticed Pyroduck sitting on the boat launch near Long Road. Their interaction was brief but there was a definite exchange between them. No words were spoken; however, a communication of sorts did occur. Whiskers sat with Pyroduck until approximately 5:30, after which both went their separate ways for their typical evening meals.
Recommendation: move both into joint housing. Leaving either of them alone at this stage would be highly detrimental. Pyroduck's daytime watcher shares opinion.
He'd already read a similar version of the incident in the other daily report he'd gotten; Sasuke's watchers were still new to their job and were a bit more verbose, but the message was the same. Neither group thought that the boys should be left alone if it could be helped, and though the counselor offered a favorable prognosis regarding Sasuke's mental state (and to a lesser extent, Naruto's), the general consensus between the two surveillance teams was that both posed a flight risk.
And yet Hiruzen's hands were tied. Even as Hokage there was only so much he could get away with before people started raising eyebrows, asking questions, and doubting his ability to lead them. He held power at the suffrage of the Daimyo and the Jounin Council, the fifteen elite soldiers who had lived through war and hardship to earn their place at the top of the pecking order. It would only take ten of them agreeing with each other to see Sarutobi deposed and someone younger instated in his place, though he hoped to carry the hat to his grave, which he felt was looming ever closer.
His autonomy as the supreme dictator of the city-state had always been an illusion. True, he had a measure of freedom in how he handled the affairs of military and state, but unlike ninja villages like Iwa or Suna, Konoha was authoritarian in name only. It was lucky for him, then, that the Council had good heads on their shoulders. More than once some lesser ninja had tried to buy the office of Hokage only to be thrown in a cell—if they were fortunate, they simply disappeared entirely. More often than not, though, the offender was given an official reprimand and a mark on their record, and then released back into service after a short stay in the 'drunk tank'; Konoha's ninja corps still hadn't fully recovered from the Kyuubi's attack and the recent Massacre had decimated the ranks even further.
He'd told those damned fools to be a little more patient; there was no need to set Itachi on the entire clan when he could have simply eliminated the Uchiha's ruling body. The young ANBU captain had sat in on the secret meetings, and thus knew who the main conspirators were. No, it was a power play, just like Hizashi had been five years before. Only this time the cost was higher than just one man.
Hiruzen sighed as he finished reading the report. He'd made so many mistakes since that night, so many concessions, overlooked and ignored so much… Perhaps his physician was right. It could be, indeed, that it was time to retire and let someone else take the reins. He had groundwork to place first, however, things yet to do.
If he had turned the emissaries away for the sake of one life, one child's happiness, would it have made a difference? Maybe the Raikage would accept the dismissal…or they would be at war, and at a huge disadvantage. He could have called out the Uchiha leadership, delivered an ultimatum. Perhaps they would have capitulated, but they could just as easily have plunged Konoha into civil war. ROOT was a persistent thorn in his side, yet he couldn't spare the manpower to clear them out, thus leaving Danzo to think he was getting away with all his little projects and black missions…
The biggest mistake, of course, had been Naruto. More than once Sarutobi wished he could go back, stop the self of ten years ago from making that announcement, kept him from revealing Naruto's status to the village. In retrospect the only people that should have known the infant's status were himself, the Daimyo and the Council, and nobody else. Perhaps Naruto as well, of course, once he was old enough, say eight or so.
It was too late for hindsight, though, so the only thing he could do was go forward, try to make it so that his errors in judgment would not have dangerous and far-reaching consequences for Konoha, or indeed the Land of Fire in its entirety.
His mind set, Sarutobi took the report to file it with the others in a very well-protected vault, sliding it into a folder marked with the month, which he then placed in a drawer marked with the current year. One day, maybe, his son or grandson would open the vault and see what it contained, and maybe they'd choose to show it to Naruto, should he still be alive then. Would they praise him, he wondered, or would they revile his name forever afterward? For his part, Sarutobi prayed that he could order a halt to the surveillance in the near future, though he knew it was not to be. Even should Naruto graduate the Academy tomorrow and earn placement on a genin team, the reports would never end. The only breaks would come when Naruto left the village; the file was only to close with Naruto's death. His watchers, attached as they might be to him, knew that if he were to go running off on his own short of official business, personal leave or expatriation, they were to subjugate him immediately, and if it were not possible to subdue him, termination was authorized—as an extreme last resort, but authorized all the same.
It was Sarutobi's sincere hope that it would never come to that. It was Hiruzen's fervent prayer that Naruto would grow into the defender that Konoha needed. He would do everything in his power to make sure that boy had a reason to stay.
A/N: of course Sarutobi had Naruto under surveillance. Or he would, in my interpretation of things. As fond as Hiruzen might be of him, the fact remains that like any of his ninja, Naruto is an exploitable asset, one to be kept at all costs. Even though it would pain him to do so, he would rather have Uzumaki assassinated than lose him to the wilderness, or worse, another village. Whether Tsunade would keep up the surveillance or have it called off is another matter entirely; what is for certain, though, is that she is far too attached to be able to order Naruto's death, save sending him out on a mission, which is a risk he himself is willing to take.