Twas midday, and the sun shone down on a village hidden by the leaves like it did at midday every other summer's day.
Except today, an extra shadow fell on the citizens of the Hidden Leaf. The shadow originated from the village's tallest building, the one closest to the sun. The shadow was cast by a man in a hooded red and white robe. The ceremonial robe of the Hokage. Under the hood, the last Uzumaki's eyes surveyed the streets of his home.
True, the title of Kage had changed a lot since he was a child, in fact it bore little resemblance to the almost completely political position of his youth.
Few people knew the Kage even existed anymore. Most thought the well being of the kingdom was guaranteed by a well-maintained militia, and a council of elders.
That couldn't have been farther from the truth.
As a man, Uzumaki no longer had use for jutsu, he could will chakra into being with thought alone, crafting weapons, shields, explosions, even creatures. All with the malevolent energy that swirled inside his body.
That was the main thing that separated the Kage of today from the Kage of yesterday, they were all Jinchuriki, and the Hokage was the strongest.
More than anything, the perception the village had of Junchuriki had changed since the last war. They had gone from destructive burdens to silent protectors, and it was there, that the once haunted souls of the vessels of the tailed beasts found their true calling.
Now, Uzumaki shared his mind almost exclusively with the now docile tailed-beast inside him. Sometimes he couldn't distinguish the demon's thoughts from his own.
Which was both good and bad. Good, because it offered him a second opinion and second set of eyes when he needed it. Bad, because he often found cynical and misanthropic judgments seeping into his conversations.
There, his target; tall man, long hair, dark clothes, and a hand-woven straw hat. A flash of light reflected from what could only be a weapon emerging from his long sleeve. Uzumaki had to move now.
A hawk cawed as the Hokage sprinted off the building, his foot kicked the edge and he rolled as he hit the building below it. Running and jumping at full speed, he covered several blocks in a matter of minutes. Without hesitation he threw himself into the crowd, tackling his target's intended victim, and shielding her from view.
"What the hell-"
"Shh... You're being followed."
"You have two seconds to get off of me or-"
"Please, trust me on this."
"I-"
Uzumaki clamped his hand around the woman's mouth, muffling her. Several people tripped past them, cursing as they did so, but not stopping their routine to wonder why a grown man in a thick cloak was lying on the ground.
"An Assassin is trying to kill you, I don't know why... but I promise that if you follow my instruction... I know you think you can handle yourself... this isn't your typical shinobi. Just do what I say, and you'll be-"
She threw Uzumaki off with a force unrivaled by most living ninja, but he was prepared for this. Landing on his feet, he took off after the fleeing woman.
"Wait! Please! It's not safe!"
The sea of people quickly hid the less than tall woman, but her would be assassin was more than visible, he was staring right at the Hokage.
They stared at each other for several seconds, then a bob of pink hair rose up above the waves for a moment. They both sped after her.
A protector and a murderer. The only thing keeping each from doing their job was how much faster the other one was than them.
Meanwhile their target had tripped and fallen to the ground, looking up just in time to see the assassin thrust a menacing blade toward her from above.
In half a second, Sakura Haruno's life flashed before her eyes. In 12 hundred milliseconds, Uzumaki's kunai had found its mark, and the would be killer lay dead on the streets of the hidden leaf. In a few seconds more the Hokage had dropped a smoke bomb and thrown the dead assassin over his shoulder.
"Follow me."
This time, Sakura listened to him.
"In here," It had taken mere moments for Uzumaki to lead Sakura to a seemingly abandoned warehouse. Sakura had followed him silently until now, but having the privacy of the indoors, she spoke.
"Who are you?"
The warehouse had a door at the far end, and the Hokage led Sakura through.
"As far as you know, Konoha stopped having a hokage years ago."
On the other side of the door was a small room with tables and shelves littered with weapons and scrolls.
"Yeah I know, a friend of mine didn't take too kindly to that."
"Well, what you know isn't true. The village still maintains a hokage, all the villages do."
Uzumaki dropped the dead body on a table, then stared at Sakura from under his hood.
"What you're about to here is of the utmost secrecy. You cannot tell anyone about this... do you understand?"
Sakura nodded at him, her eyes held both innocence and the hardened look of a warrior. From past experience, he knew he could trust her... but now he could tell she trusted him as well.
He explained the present role of the kages in society, leaving out a few facts that would reveal to her his identity.
"I am the Hokage... It is my job to protect this village, and all who inhabit it."
Sakura looked at him, disbelief in her eyes... but she nodded nonetheless.
"Now," the Hokage spake, "Let's get you home."