The Hokage Initiative

Disclaimer : I do not in any form own Naruto.

'Thoughts/Noises/ Battle sound effects.'

"Reading."

"Jutsu."

"Very loud talking."

"Normal dialogue."


"...Begin!"

The crowd stood silent yet their excitement for the exhibition hummed through the air. This was the battle everyone had dreamed of. Standing upon a raised platform that stretched into a ring-less square, a young man stood a good distance away from two boys. The dark-haired boy, known as Sasuke Uchiha, smirked at his slightly shorter opponent. Sasuke of the Uchiha clan wore a black one-piece outfit with his clan's insignia proudly displayed on his back, white bandages wrapped around his left thigh, kunai holsters on each thigh, weapons pouch, blue sandals, and his well-earned forehead protector strapped to his head.

His eyes were an absolute onyx hue that matched his unruly hair, which spiked in every direction with bangs that framed the sides of his face, and a tan that made him look to be of exotic descent. Many would argue that the boy looked like he was from Kumogakure, The Village Hidden in the Clouds, with such tan skin. If it were not for the three tomas that danced about in his blood-red eyes, one would not believe he was a true Uchiha.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Naruto-chan?" Sasuke's Sharingan glowed mischievously. In response the boy known as Naruto, grinned foxily, showcasing his sharp canines. Doing so scrunched up the whisker-like marks that marred his sun-kissed cheeks.

"Only if you don't mind looking like a chump, Sasgay." Naruto's cobalt blue eyes glinted with a similar vibe of mischief, while a passing breeze played with his long spiky crimson hair. Naruto Uzumaki of the once great Uzumaki clan wore a white sweatshirt, underneath a multi-pocketed blue vest stamped with the Uzumaki swirl on the back, black pants tucked into his blue sandals, a kunai holster on his thigh, and weapons pouch on his backside. He also sported the forehead protector of a Konohagakure shinobi, tied proudly to his forehead.

His crimson hair spiked as shocks in every direction and flowed into a smooth ponytail that reached his mid-back. Their graduating class had even already split up and formed factions for the two boys. This battle would be the accumulation of four years worth of blood, sweat, and tears. Each fighter had a bit of a rep for being the best of their generation, this would be the end of the debate and put someone in the forefront of this generation of genin. Rallied up and ready for the Rookie of the Year to be crowned, the crowd of first years through graduates cheered for their chosen champion.

...

"I don't see what the big deal is anyway!" A feral-looking boy with a white pup huffed aloud to his female companion , "I'm easily just as strong as those two idiots. Don't you think so Hinata?"

Hinata gave a small smile and patted her friend on the back, "I am sure you've made plenty of progress as well Kiba-san." Kiba nodded his head in agreement of the girl's statement. "You're damn right I have!- Wait a second you didn't say if you thought I was just as strong-"

"Shaddup Kiba!"the Inzuka was blinsided by a punch to the back of the head. "You're too damn loud in the morning," An attractive blonde girl stood over him. "Sheesh you're worse than Sakura even," the blonde female known as the Yamanaka heiress waved her fist at the boy. Sakura, a pretty civilian-born student with pink hair, punched Ino's arm.

"Hey, I'm not that loud Ino-pig."Ino mumbled a quick apology while she rubbed her arm, "But seriously pipe down fido or it's going to be you and me going at it in that ring. Got me?"

Growling in response, the boy's nails shot out and formed into claws while he bared elongated canines. "Is that a promise? 'Cause I've been waiting for an excuse to mess up that pretty little face of yours." An audible yawn drowned out all sound around them, and drew their attention. "Kami, it's the last day of class and you two are still can't get along. "

The newcomer joined the group was followed a rather plump boy, the occasional crunch of potato chips could be heard. "Oh shut up Shikamaru shouldn't you be napping somewhere?," Ino crossed her arms under her chest and glared at the boy. Shikamaru yawned silently while stretching his arms out, "I actually already did that. And it still wasn't enough to allow me deal with you two today. So please for pete's sake cool your jets you two."

"Mhmm...whatever." Kiba and Ino glared at each other one last time before backing off. Sakura released a sigh of relief, "Thank you for that Shikamaru." He nodded in response, "It's what I'm here for."

"So you guys excited for the fight today?" Hinata took the chance to break the silence, as the Hyuuga clan heiress she had no qualms toward steering the group of her peers. The assembly of academy graduates all nodded simply, while one just had to be different.

"Well I'm not too fond of it," Shikamaru scowled lightly. "This is hardly necessary to see who the better one is, I thought it would have been obvious too."

"What do you mean Shikamaru? I'm kinda lost here to be very honest." Sakura's forehead scrunched upwards in thought.

"He means this fight has no other outcome but to end as a draw." The assembly of children looked around confused, the voice seemingly boomed from nowhere yet reverberated all around them.

"Shino?" Hinata called out to the shadows of the foilage.

A boy stepped from the shadows of a tree and the cover of shrubbery. "Yes." The high-collared grey shirt he wore moved slightly where what the others could only assume was his mouth.

Although focused on his snack and not conversing the entire time, Choji was keenly aware of his peers and the conversation at hand. Choji rummaged through his bag of chips while raising a quizzical eyebrow. "Why a draw Shino?.."*munch munch munch*

Adjusting his dark spectacles with his pointer finger, Shino turned his attention to the hefty lad. "Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san are too stubborn to allow one another to be better than the other. Those two are likely to drag each other through hell and back before this is over."

The Aburame's prediction left the group of children either pondering his large words in confusion, in consideration, or in total shock for that was the longest sentence the mysterious clan heir had ever spoke to anyone at the Academy.

"Couldn't have said it better myself.. now shut up. The match is about to start." A small smirk tugged at the Nara's stoic face as he settled against a tree, his eyes gleamed with excitement. He considered the odds and determined that the numbers with those two were just too complex to accurately make a ca.

'It's best to simply sit back and allow the scenario unveil itself.'

...

Iruka Umino, instructor of the most promising graduating class of the year, switched his gaze between the two proponents for the 'Rookie of the Year' award. Based on the attentive crowd of students that awaited the contest with impressive patience, and the considerable focus the the Uchiha and Uzumaki showed, told Iruka one thing. This was about so much more than a simple title, this was about superiority, bragging rights, the end to a debated question. Who is the strongest, and who will go on to be the declared the strongest rookie genin: The last son of the Uchiha or the prince of the lost Uzumaki?

"Okay boys, I am going to make this short and sweet. This is an exhibition style sparring match, meaning that for this contest the use of jutsu is permitted as such is the use of weapons." Iruka paused for a moment to see if his statement evoked a reaction in the two, none was detected, they had a hell of a poker face.

"Victory will be declared under the conditions of undisputed KO, submission, or my judgement. Is that understood, Naruto? Sasuke?" Iruka eyed them sternly, his brown irises reflected a no-nonsense tolerance and left no room for rebellion.

"Hai!"

Naruto and Sasuke nodded rigidly, Iruka nodded grimly and almost considered calling off the match. Instead he raised his right arm up and brought it down in a quick chop, jumping back at the same time, he made the call.

"...Begin!"

Immediately, Sasuke rushed with a kunai drawn and closed the distance between them in blink of an eye. Naruto parried the blow with the sheath of a tanto. "Where the hell did you pull that from?" Enjoying the perplexed look that scribbled across the Uchiha's face for a moment, Naruto pushed forward with a prodding elbow. "My ass of course." Naruto laughed at the disgusted look that flashed across Sasuke's face. In a split second Sasuke promptly vanished, and reappeared in Naruto's left peripheral with a roundhouse kick aimed for the Uzumaki. Shifting his body as smoothly as he could, the crimson haired shinobi threw up his forearms to intercept the kick, absorbing the impact with a silent grunt, he slid across the stone tiles of the ring.

"Stings doesn't it?" Sasuke arched an eyebrow with an all-knowing smirk plastered on his face. The recipient simply ignored the attempt at goading him, while he shook his arms to rid himself of the numbness before it could settle in. Naruto rammed through a short series of hand seals, and formed a circle around his mouth, "Nah, but this will- Suiton: Mizurappa!" A high-pressured jet of condensed water shot from Naruto's mouth and smacked Sasuke right in the chest, the Uchiha was flung head over heels. Naruto followed up on his momentum and formed a cross composed of his index and middle fingers, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Six doppelgangers identical in every way to Naruto popped into existence and rushed the recovering Uchiha, with hoarse battle cries. "Ahhh, here we come Sasuke!"

Sasuke set his dark gaze upon the rushing assembly of Uzumaki, and settled into a fighting stance with his kunai at hand. Closing his eyes to dull his immediate senses and concentration, he released a steady breath and welcomed his senses to tunnel vision. The dark tomas of the Sharingan spun hypnotically, a scare tactic. It caused a moment's hesitation in the clone, Sasuke jerked his head under the delayed left hook. And struck out merciless with a palm strike to the throat of said clone. Sasuke allowed his body and mind to react as one, he spun around the jab of another clone and chopped at the base of it's neck with full force, an audibly crack was heard before the poof. Right out of his spinning momentum he threw a leaping knee that clipped another's chin harshly.

Three down and three more upon him, Sasuke found himself assaulted with a barrage of coordinated but otherwise inferior strikes. Shoving his kunai brandishing hand into one clone's chest, kicked another one in the knee forcing the bone to collapse in on itself, and spun evasively out of a sweep kick to deliver a shattering backhand to the last clone. Sasuke leaped ahead and run through a string of hand seals, and smirked at the real Naruto.

"Enough games Naruto, spare me the decoys. Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" Fireballs the size of humming birds spewed from Sasuke's mouth rained down upon the arena in a wide stream that battered the field, kicking up dust from the constant impact.

Upon landing in the screen of smoke the Uchiha graduate settled into a predatory crouch, his enhanced eyes scanned for movement. A slight whistle in the undisturbed air alerted his ears, eyes widening in realization, Sasuke leaped to the left in time to see a fuma shuriken whiz by and imbued itself into the stone tiles where he previously stood. Gradually the light began to reveal the battlefield once more, and Sasuke was welcomed to the sight of a casually relaxed Naruto.

"Hey there you are teme, almost thought you lost your nerve and ran off on me." Sasuke sneered in response, the tomas of his Sharingan twirled menacingly. "Please," Naruto blinked for just a moment, and found Sasuke's fist stretching forward to punch his face in in the next moment. "You don't stand a chance dobe." Sasuke's fist sunk into the redhead's jaw, knocking Naruto's head back with little resistance.

"What the-" Sasuke instinctively tried to pull back his fist to follow up with a combination, but his fist wouldn't budge for the life of him. His fist was stuck in Naruto's jaw. Noticing his strain the shorter boy chuckled aloud, "Confused teme, you should be I introduce to you my newest technique... Sutikki Bushin no Jutsu."

"Sticky clones?" Sasuke questioned the ingenuity of Naruto, the redhead managed to smirked despite having a fist implanted firmly in it. "Cool huh? Oh teme I guess that all-seeing Sharingan of yours, isn't really so all-seeing." Sasuke's followed the subtle hint and noticed the fast approaching shadow of another figure, without much thought, Sasuke clamped an iron grip over the clone's mouth and grunted due to the effort this would take.

"Maybe not but I can improvise, thanks for the tip!" Sasuke twirled on his heels and yanked the sticky clone from his place and slammed the creation into the real Naruto, sending the two crimson haired boys bounding across the stone tiles until they came to a painful rest. Sasuke tried to rid his hands of the remaining green residue that stuck to his hands, infuriated with the strength of the gross substance. 'How the did he come up with that?' The head on collision t with his sticky clone led to the Uzumaki being covered with multiple spots of the green substance.

"Ah now look at what you made me do, bastard." Naruto removed his blue vest, neatly folded it then tossed it outside the ring. "I really liked that one." Naruto pouted childishly. Sasuke sighed and shook his head in annoyance, he mumbled to himself. "Baka."

In only his white sweatshirt, Naruto planted his fist into his hand and cracked the knuckles loudly. "Time to kick things up a notch, hnh?" Naruto stated casually and threw his arms out to his sides with the palms facing out, instantly streams of brilliant blue chakra flowed from his arms and whipped around wildly until they took the form of thick chains with spikes adorning them. Naruto grinned when the crowd's cheers damn near tripled in volume at the sudden appearance of the chakra constructs, the look of hesitation that reflected across Sasuke's face was pure gold.

"Pretty cool huh teme?" Caught off guard the Uchiha's response was late and lacking in the usual bite, he was impressed but wouldn't admit it to that fool. Suddenly the chains began to whirl around the Naruto in a protective manner that created a harsh whistle and a slight breeze, Sasuke braced himself and stood ready.

Without warning the chains shot forth at break neck speeds toward Sasuke, thanking his lineage silently, Sasuke dived to the right and took off in a full sprint to avoid the second chain that easily shattered the stone tiles of the ring. The three tomas of Sasuke's Sharingan spun continuously as they analyzed the chakra constructs. 'Dammit, seems like those chains are made of pure chakra. Meaning that they have no physical composition for me to track. And since Naruto isn't moving his body at all, I can't determine their trajectory. ' Sasuke threw his body into a quick one handed cart wheel and slipped past the chains before they could skewer him with their spikes.

'That was too close. I better find a way to get in close, or he might just finish me off.' Laying his eyes on the forgotten fuma shurikenNaruto threw earlier, Sasuke mentally traced a path through the onslaught of chains. The Uchiha blitized forward, he spun on his heel to avoid a chain that almost got his ankle and took off. Rushing toward the other side of the arena, Sasuke jumped to his left just as one of the chains barreled down on the tiles and shattered them like child's play. The fuma shurken was launched in the air with the tile debris as a result. Not one to quit, Sasuke launched forward and ping-ponged of the air borne tile pieces until he recovered the tool. The smirk that was about to form on his face was erased when the chains came racing after him mid-air down. Sasuke tucked his shoulders in and twirled as he descended, he slipped right past the constructs. Ignoring the air that whistled harshly in his ear as he raced to the ring like a falcon in its dive, Sasuke hurled the shuriken at Naruto.

Crushing pain suddenly shot through the lone Uchiha, Sasuke made note of his halted dive. One of the chains had latched upon his ankle and constricted the muscle like a snake that caught its prey. With a simple flick of his wrist Naruto summoned his other chain to deflect the fuma shuriken, and another small movement brought the captured Uchiha to him. "Well, look who ain't so high and mighty anymore mister 'fancy' eyes." Naruto teased him as he commanded the other chain to wrap around Sasuke's abdomen and arms.

"Now that I've got you, submit. Surrender yourself or else." Naruto's vocals dropped a bit and his eyes grew chilling cold, the tightening of the chains around Sasuke's ribs was testament to his willingness to win. Despite the pressure that was building up, the Uchiha refused to show weakness.

"Never." Sasuke's bloodline limit twirled for emphasis, he withheld a grunt of pain from escaping, his pride was at stake. 'Just keep talking Naruto, just a bit longer is all I need..'

"Don't be stubborn Sasuke, I don't want to do it. But I will if I have to." Naruto looked to Iruka and then back at Sasuke. "Either you surrender or Iruka's going to be explaining how all your bones were reduced to dust." Naruto was a bit surprised by the conviction his tone held, if he was a spectator, even he would believe that statement.

' I won't kill the stubborn idiot. But I might break an arm to make my point, and to win this.' Willing the chains to tighten even more around the bounded Uchiha, Sasuke's face contorted into pain as his face grew red from improper blood flow. Naruto shook his head in disappointment and hollered out to him, "Come on Sasuke, It's okay to lose...urmm sometimes I mean-"

Sasuke's body bursted into a flock of hawks that cawed and dispersed in Naruto's face before taking to the sky above the ring. The birds began to flock together and create a tight circle that steadily shrunk in diameter and lowered in altitude, until Naruto found himself surrounded by the fowls.

"Genjutsu!" Naruto cursed the branch of jutsu and summoned his chakra chains to him, he mimicked the trapping formation of the birds, and the chains rotated around him in a protective field once more. Effectively pushing the birds back and keeping them at bay. Naruto scanned the ring for any sign of his opponent, Naruto felt an immense spike in chakra. He sensed the rumbling of the stone beneath him. Thrusting his chains into the ground, Naruto shot himself into the air in a single bound. The ground beneath his feet exploded suddenly and shot forth a massive inferno that chased him into the sky, Sasuke emerged from the adjusted earth with his jutsu in tow.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Naruto hastily reacted in time to avoid the worst of the flames, summoning his chains once more, the constructs instinctively responded and coiled over the Uzumaki in thick protective layers. Shrouding him from the fireball at the very last second, Naruto screamed inside his chain armor that didn't prevent all the heat from searing him. Crashing into the arena, once again disfiguring the Academy's sparring ring, the dust settled to show a panting and slightly burned Naruto, his chakra chains clattered lifelessly to the ground and dispersed with a deafening clang. Naruto rose to his legs shakily, and observed the disheveled state of his dark-haired opponent.

Sasuke was bit worse for wear as well, covered in dirt and small cuts that riddled his arms, legs, and clothing. He was sweaty and visibly starting to tire, but his Sharingan still burned brightly in rebellion. 'Glad I decided to work on my endurance, or Naruto would have won by now.' Drawing a dagger that was a bit bigger than any run of the mill kunai from his weapons pouch, Sasuke took a defensive stance with the wickedly curved blade.

"You up for some swordplay?" Sasuke flipped the blade into reverse grip and brought up his guard, simply unsheathing his tanto, Naruto ignored the question and shot forward with a primitive battle cry. Prepared when Sasuke met his sprint half way in a mere moment, Naruto's reflexes took over when he slid clear under Sasuke's swipe. Twirling on his knees Naruto turned and lunged at the Uchiha's unprotected back, only to be thrown back by a heel to his chin. Backflipping with the momentum of the kick to gain some space, Naruto threw his tanto at Sasuke. Parrying the blade and shooting forward to capture it, now dual-wielding blades, Sasuke sped toward the retreating Naruto. Pulling up the sleeves of his sweatshirt, where two identical seals resided on his wrists, the Uzumaki bit his thumbs and smeared blood on them.

"Dodge this!" Naruto threw his arms forward as over two dozen shuriken popped into existence and sailed toward Sasuke. Cursing aloud Sasuke quickly switched the blades to opposite grips and leaped forward, his Sharingan went into overtime calculating the various trajectories. 'He's gotten better with shuriken, only a third of them are off course. That leaves me with eighteen more to dodge. Easy enough.'

"Eyes don't fail me now." Sasuke began to rotate and spin in mid-air, smacking rows of shuriken away with the rapid interval of blade swipes he completed, sparks sprayed forth with each collision, and a few shuriken actually slipped through his blade barrage. Ignoring the stinging sensations Sasuke parried the last set with a vertical slash from Naruto's tanto, and deflected some with his dagger. The Uchiha smirked to himself as the crowd reacted to his graceful dance in the midst of the deadly projectiles. Right back in action, Sasuke formed a chain of hand seals as he descended upon his opponent. Sasuke quirked a cheeky grin at the Uzumaki's scowl.

"Katon: Hibashiri!" Tracing a circle in the air with his blades, sparks followed Sasuke's movements and the air before him ignited into a ring of fire. Which shot forth and expanded as it splashed upon the arena, surrounding Naruto in an unsavory inferno in only a few seconds. Landing in a crouch, Sasuke stood before Naruto in the burning ring of fire, breathing a bit more heavily than earlier.

"I think you have something that belongs to me," Naruto eyed his tanto that Sasuke wielded rather proficiently, 'Damn you Sasuke, making everything seem so easy.' Sasuke smirked and shook his head in disagreement, "Oh really? Come and take it then Naruto-chan."

In an instant Naruto was upon Sasuke once more, throwing wild kicks and jabs, trying to lead the Uchiha into the flames. Sasuke caught on and forced Naruto back on the defense when he began to slash and stab at the Uzumaki with little regard for safety. Swift shuffling on his feet and straining his neck allowed Naruto to slide away from the blades, until Naruto finally vaulted away in a corkscrew flip. In midair he ran through a quick series of hand seals, thrusting out his palms in a cupped fashion he hollered. "Fūton: Reppūshō!"

Caught off guard Sasuke gasped as his movements were forcibly suppressed, then tossed through the air by an immense burst of wind. The resulting air pressure banished the ring of flames and left the spectators in awe at the raw power of the last Uzumaki. Bouncing off the stone tiles until he righted himself into a rolling crouch, Sasuke unconsciously felt his ribs and hissed at the touch, he was injured. Naruto dropped to a single knee to catch his breath. 'That technique worked just as well as I hoped, but using Reppūshō plus the chakra chains for so long was harder than I thought it would be.'

Naruto noticed that Sasuke was still conscious and very much still bearing that infernal dojutsu of his . 'Damn, teme's still as strong as ever, I'm starting to run low on chakra. I got to make this next move count.' Naruto gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, despite the burning pain that flashed through his body at the moment. Unknown to him, Sasuke was in the same boat. Standing to his full height Sasuke addressed Naruto from his place on the other side of the ring, "Hey! Naruto this fight has gone on long enough don't you think?"

Naruto seemed taken back by the nonchalant nature of the statement but agreed nonetheless, "Yeah it has. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sasuke nodded and offered a true smile that quickly turned chillingly sinister, "Finishing this brawl, so we can all go home." Naruto nodded in agreement and smiled an equally unnerving but fox-like grin, "Of course bastard."

Sasuke nodded in understanding before he broke off into a long chain of hand seals, while Naruto's chakra spiked immensely once more and the very winds seemed to gather around him to support his next jutsu. Sasuke's cheeks swelled up with intense heat that threatened to burn his mouth, but he remained calm and spat a ball of pure white fire into his hand. Resisting the instinctive urge to flail his arms in panic, Sasuke remembered his training and focused on manipulating the chakra, and in just a instant the white flames expanded and raced up his entire arm.

Naruto inhaled heavily and exhaled as his technique was nearing peak strength, hands together, his formation reminiscent of praying. Opening his eyes he watched Sasuke tame the white-hot flames that engulfed his entire right arm, yet the boy seemed more concentrated and not fearful or in pain. Flexing his fingers experimentally Sasuke watched in silent awe at his progress, this technique had taken him some time to even get to this stage.

Sasuke turned his now dark eyes upon Naruto, fully intent on rushing into this with blind faith, he could no longer handle the drain of the Sharingan. Both boys meet each others gaze evenly, equal in everyway. There was no arrogance, no inferiority or superiority in their eyes, just mutual respect and a bit of admiration for one another's skills. Wordlessly Sasuke took off in a full-blown sprint, his speed fooling the eyes of the slower folk with fiery afterimages. Naruto shoved his right palm behind him silently and the Reppūshō hurled him forward at break neck speeds, matching the Uchiha's hasty approach for the first time.

Raising their respective jutsu, the Uchiha and Uzumaki shared an excited smile despite their predicament just inches from impact. Driving their ninjutsu brandishing hands forward without hesitation, they clashed.

'No matter what Naruto/Sasuke I respect you.'

"Fūton: Kami Oroshi!"

"Katon: Hōōken!"

Boom...Instantly a brilliant beam of light overtook the two boys and blinded all within the immediate vicinity, a deafening explosion followed right after that sent tremors throughout the Academy grounds. Incinerating the stone and earth that made up the arena, a massive dust cloud washed over the entire area and left many graduates panicking in reaction to the sudden explosion of elements. When the dust cleared and Iruka was able to gather and calm his students, all eyes instinctively went to the demolished ring in search of a victor. None could voice their thoughts as they were astonished by the result of a battle between the best of their class, factions scrambled to the separate craters that the fighters unwillingly resided in.

The whole time Iruka stood there, petrified with guilt and fear for his indecisiveness, if only he had intruded just a bit earlier. Instead he found himself just as sucked into the hype of the battle as his own students, and for this Iruka felt ashamed. Shaking his head vigorously he grimaced and schooled his features to the greatest expression of seriousness he could muster, 'Now is not the time for such thoughts, my students need me.'

...

The Hokage sat quietly as he absorbed the events that his treasured crystal ball had allowed him to view from afar. "Well that escalated fairly quick." The thought of such hot-blooded youth brought a smile to the kage's features as he mused over his past.

"Hokage-sama, those were the two you were referring to?" A man dressed in casual black shinobi pants and shirt inquired from behind the cover of an orange novel.

"Indeed Kakashi-kun, those are the two. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha." Kakashi Hatake raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the names of the two rookie genin, "Uzumaki huh? I haven't heard that name since Kushina-san was still alive, is he her-"

"Hai. Naruto is Kushina's son, he acts just like her you know." The Hokage smiled warmly at the thought of the deceased woman, her smile could light up any person's day.

"And the other boy is the last surviving Uchiha. How does his brain check out, is the kid sane at all anymore?" The kage nodded in understanding of the anbu operative's question, and his smile fell into a grimace.

"More or less, his therapist reports that Sasuke has made considerable progress in the last two years and seems to be letting go of his anger. But still it is clear that the boy plans to find his father." Kakashi understood the kind of damage losing your entire family at such a young age could do to a child, and didn't put it past the boy to be a bit on the disturbed side. They all were a bit disturbed in their profession.

"Well that sounds promising. Based on his performance, I would say that in a few years he'll rise through the ranks quickly." Kakashi giggled quietly and turned yet another page of his beloved literature. "The same can be said for the Uzumaki, I remember hearing tales of the mighty clan of sealmasters."

"Good to know that you agree, because you will be taking them on as your students." The Hokage smiled in amusement as he noticed Kakashi's lone eye widen in shock, he swiftly pocketed his romance novel in a show of seriousness.

"Students? Hokage-sama, with all due respect I cannot take on those two... it is true that they show promise. But I'm not fit to teach anyone. Not to mention the organization needs my strength and experience more than a pair of genin. I-"

"Silence Kakashi." The man whispered harshly while overwhelming chakra flooded the room, the tile floors cracked and the walls splintered under the pressure. The Hokage's killing intent raged on quietly like the foreboding of a storm and promptly made the famed Kakashi of the Sharingan silence himself.

Satisfied that the he regained the shinobi's respect and attention, the Hokage cleared his throat casually. "As I was saying Kakashi-kun, you will take Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha on as your students. That is not up for discussion." The Hokage narrowed his eyes dangerously at the elite shinobi that served him, "But before you interrupted me I was going to tell you that you will stay with the Anbu Black ops, but will have your load cut back some. The village still needs your abilities to protect it from the shadows, but I will also need your assistance for an important project."

"Project?" Kakashi found the peace of mind to speak once more in his reserved tone, and inquired. The older shinobi nodded and tossed a file on his desk, scattering an array of papers upon it. Casting his trained eyes over the the entirety of all the documents in a few seconds, one caught Kakashi's attention in particular and he read the title aloud to himself.

"The Hokage Initiative." Kakashi allowed the words to flow smoothly mouth from his voice, despite his lack of information of the project. "What is this Hokage-sama?"

"The Hokage Initiative, a.k.a. Team Hokage, is a project that was created during the last days of the Third Shinobi War by the joint effort of Danzo and myself." Pausing to allow Kakashi to take in the information, he was pleased to see no visible reaction from the news. "Prior to the Iwa's surrender, he approached me inquiring of how would I continue to protect this village as the world evolved. Kumo, Iwa, Suna, Kiri, Kusa, Ame. All would remain threats to the national security of the Fire Country and Konohagakure. Inspired by the generations of shinobi that allowed our village to survive three shinobi wars." The Hokage stood and looked out upon his village as Kakashi scanned the documents while listening intently as well.

"I decided that I must follow in the footsteps of my predecessors. The Shodai and Nidaime trained the Sandaime along with the village's current councilors to be a force during the very first war, and down the line the Sandaime trained the Legendary Sannin. They along with your father, Konoha's White Fang, played crucial roles in Konoha winning the second shinobi war. So I have decided to follow in their footsteps, and train my own group on genin...to create something greater." Kakashi's lone eye shot to his former sensei and commander-in-chief, Minato Namikaze.

At the age of 37, the blond shinobi still carried every bit of charm and intelligence that he held in his younger days, heck if not more than ever. His blond locks had grown incredibly shaggy and sprawled down to the mid of his back, with bangs that draped over his shoulders and covered his forehead. His tan skin seemed to glow even more radiant than before as well, the epitome of health and life. The Yellow Flash of Konoha, wore his typical emblazoned cloak and casual blue shinobi attire underneath.

"Kakashi I must admit something to you, something I should have told you years ago," The older shinobi turned his vermilion slit eyes upon Kakashi with shame. "I am dying Kakashi."

Kakashi's initial reaction was more professional than what Minato had anticipated it from being, he hid a nostalgic smile to himself, Kakashi was always shrewd like that. "How?"

"The Kyuubi." Kakashi's eyes narrowed involuntarily at the mention of the accursed demon, "The night it attacked and the Sandaime assisted me in sealing half the beast's chakra into myself. I believed that the advanced nature of the Hakke no Fūin Shiki, would allow me to handle the strain of the fox's demonic chakra." Permanently altered vermilion eyes were a testament to his status as the village jinchuriki, Minato smiled sadly.

"I was wrong." Turning back toward the window as Kakashi tried to absorb all the information properly, Minato continued to explain. "The Kyuubi's chakra has eaten at my health for the past twelve years, and has left me with a shortened life span. It is estimated that I will die in eight years. The funny thing is one would never know from the youthful appearance the fox gives me, that I was dying." The blond chuckled dryly at the irony.

Kakashi struggled to bury the personal feelings that made him want to jump over the desk and beat the living crap out of his sensei for hiding such a secret from his sole surviving student. "Why didn't you tell me? We could have found a way to fix this, we could track Tsunade-san down and bring her back to cure you." Kakashi argued sternly yet without raising his voice to his sensei.

Minato disregarded the comment with a dismissive wave of his hand, "The more people who knew, the more complicated things would become. I am content with dying suddenly and leaving the village with a Godaime Hokage to replace me." Minato peered out the window at the bustling streets of Konoha, a small smile tugged at his lips.

Kakashi's sharingan flashed involuntarily, "But I'm not."

"I am sorry Kakashi for not telling you, but I had to protect you from being hurt more. I didn't want you to feel like you were losing everyone back to back. Besides Kakashi-kun, Jiraiya-sama has been tracking that woman for years now and has come up short. I do not have time to wait around and hope that she finds the heart to return to Konoha and attempt to cure me." Minato stated rather offhandedly, "I am beyond saving now, my only hope is to see this project through to the end."

Gathering up the documents that detailed the plans and timeline that followed the eight-year deadline the Yondaime Hokage had to live, the Hokage shared the project's objective. "In the end one of those boys, Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke Uchiha, will become my successor for the position of Hokage and as jinchuriki of the Kyuubi."

Showing off that speed that the Yondaime was infamous for, Kakashi found the blond Hokage before him in an instant, a comforting hand on his shoulder and the fatherly smile that he used often when they were still Team Minato. He genuinely asked this time. "Will you, Kakashi, help an old man fulfill his dying wish?"

Offering one of his reputed eye-smiles, Kakashi nodded. "Hai, sensei."


Sup guys it's Taijen and I'm back again! Yeah! It feels good to get this idea out of my head, I've been struggling to gather inspiration to finish my other Naruto fanfictions. I have hit a huge case of writer's block on chapter six of 'Turn of Events: Reloaded', while I honestly haven't put much thought into chapter four of 'A Few Steps Back'. But I kind of feel like this has allowed me to release some creative juices, so tell me what you guys think. This story can go either way, one-shot or epic length fic. Anyone hope you guys review and check out my other fics if you're not familiar with me.

Edited: 12/14/15

Character Stats:

Minato Namikaze- Ninjutsu: 5 /Taijutsu: 5 / Genjutsu: 3.5 / Speed:5 / Strength:3.5 / Intelligence: 5 / Stamina:5 / Hand Seals:5 / Total : 37.5

Naruto Uzumaki- Ninjutsu: 3.5 /Taijutsu: 2 / Genjutsu: 1 / Speed: 2 / Strength: 2.5 / Intelligence: 2 / Stamina: 3.5 / Hand Seals: 3.5 / Total : 20

Sasuke Uchiha- Ninjutsu: 3 /Taijutsu: 3 / Genjutsu: 1 / Speed: 2.5 / Strength: 3 / Intelligence: 2 / Stamina: 2.5 / Hand Seals: 3 / Total 20

Vault of Jutsu:

(Sutikki Bushin no Jutsu)- Sticky Clone Jutsu. Ninjutsu, C-rank, Supplementary. A jutsu derived from the Second Hokage's original technique, similar to normal shadow clones minus the memory and exp. sharing, but can be used as traps and decoys for opponents.

(Katon: Hōōken)- Fire Release: Phoenix Fist. Ninjutsu, C-rank, Supplementary, Short range. An original technique created by Sasuke Uchiha, wielding white-hot flames the user attacks with the mystical flames of the ancient phoenix. The nature of the jutsu's variation is limited at the moment, and the ability to be used by others is unknown as well.