Inspired by the many, many fics wherein Naruto defects Konohagakure No Sato because he loses the ability to trust the Sandaime.
The Third Hokage was not a man many wanted to see angry. In fact, very few had the balls to piss off the man widely regarded everywhere as the God Of Shinobi, and absolutely none of them lived within Konoha. The few that did want to see him pissed off did not live very long, either, as they were oft rather foolish individuals. Therefore, just about everyone, even his enemies, treated the man with the respect one of his reputation deserves.
Regardless of this fact, there was one who had never managed to learn just who he was talking to and it showed. Even if he did know, he probably couldn't give less of a shit. There was no fear in him as he calmly strode into the God Of Shinobi's office.
"Naruto…" The third began, unclasping his hands and trying to offer the boy a smile to lighten up the somber mood.
"Why!?" Naruto quickly snapped. "Why didn't you tell me!?" He added, his eyes narrowing into a glare that did not hide his anger at all.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and, for all of an instant, looked not like that old asshole who could wipe the floor with any given Konoha Shinobi. Oh no. He looked like the sixty year old man that he was, tired and weary of a long life that had lasted well beyond the normal length of a shinobi's. "I guess I can't say I didn't expect this."
"Answer the question!" The blond little boy, far, far too young to wield his weapons, yelled, his voice acting as nothing short of a lightning bolt that further shook the aged leader. "Why?"
"You must understand, Naruto, I did what I had to do to protect you." Explained the old man.
"To protect me!?" The small boy asked, almost snarling. "Yeah, I can see how telling everyone but me that I'm the Kyuubi would protect me!"
In a flash, Hiruzen had already crossed the range of emotions from ashamed to slightly angry. "Naruto. You are not the Kyuubi." The man explained, standing up and walking around his desk. The entirety of the trip to reach the boy himself had only taken but a few seconds, but he already saw the disbelief in the boy's face, even before it was apparent.
The boy clicked his mouth. "I've seen the seal. Mizuki-teme told me." The boy said, snarling. "That's why everyone hates me! Even Iruka-sensei…"
Hiruzen scoffed. "So you are more willing to believe the words of a traitor and manipulator than mine?" The old ninja asked, raising one eyebrow. Naruto seemingly shrank into himself. "I have forgotten more about sealing than Mizuki will ever learn, Naruto, take it from an expert, you are not the Kyuubi. You are its jailor, you are the reason that the village still stands, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise." The man said, kneeling in front of the boy and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Then why does everybody hate me!?" He yelled. "What did I do to them!? Nothing! It's because I'm the Kyuubi! They know and they hate me because I… I…" Naruto sobbed right then and there. "I'm a demon!" He finally let out.
Sarutobi's hand flashed and, in what was nothing but a blur of movement, he slapped the blond, harshly, on the cheek. "Naruto!" He yelled. "Pay attention to me. Hear my words when I say it. You are not the Kyuubi." He said, gripping the boy's arms and holding him still, noting how he trembled as he did so.
"You're just trying to manipulate me! Mizuki might have been a traitor and a bastard but he told me the truth! He told me that you're just using me because I'm destined to grow into a powerful weapon!" The boy yelled in his panicked state, expecting to receive another harsh slap due to his words of disrespect towards the most powerful man in the Land Of Fire.
All he received was a hand upon his head and one around his back, as well as the tight pressure of a hug. Despite himself, the boy had already begun to sob much like the little kid he was, instead of the weapon he was supposed to be, and was clinging tightly to the third's robes, as if he would disappear if the boy let him go. "That's a lie, Naruto. Listen to what you're saying. A traitor told you that, Naruto, are you going to believe him?"
"No." Naruto finally spoke between sobs. "But… But…" he began, trying to push himself away, but finding the effort useless as the Third was far, far stronger than the boy and he was keeping him tightly in place. "You don't trust me!" He finally let out.
"Don't I, Naruto?" Asked the third, a hint of hurt in his tone, and a hint of realization. Sarutobi was not feeling particularly well at the sight of the crying boy. His face was most definitely not suited for tears and a runny nose, he summarized, no, it was made to smile that smile that made it seem as if the sun rose from his office.
"You don't trust me! If you did, you would have told me about the Kyuubi! I know you know who my parents are! There must be a record of my birth somewhere! You lied to me all my life! You never trusted me with the truth!" the blond yelled, punctuating every sentence with another sob and a push to try and remove himself from the third's arms, all of them futile and not even managing to make the elderly man budge.
"Naruto… I lied to you for your own protection. I lied to you because I love you." The third spoke, trying to use the most soothing tone he could. "I didn't lie only to you. I lied to everyone in your generation. I lied to them so you could have friends."
"What!?" The blond nearly yelled. "How does that even work!?"
"Well, you do have friends. You skip class and play pranks with Kiba, don't you?" The third asked, a genuine smile blooming on his face as he saw Naruto briefly recover at the memory of the joint pranks he played with Kiba. "And you cut class to nap with Shikamaru and Chouji sometimes too, don't you?" He added, a more accusatory tone this time. "That's not gonna help you get better at the business, you know."
Naruto blushed at those memories. "What does that have to do with anything!?" He asked, trying his hardest to get the Third's attention off his attention-calling antics.
"A lot." The third stated. "Prejudice, and that is to judge people before you actually know them, is the staple of mankind. The adults know that you're the Jinchuuriki, and that is basically the container, of the Kyuubi and they let that cloud their judgment of you, Naruto." The man explained. "The newer generations won't have that information clouding their minds. They will obtain the academy's information on jinchuuriki first and foremost, and that is an unbiased perspective of them." The man explained, assuming that Naruto would know the meaning of 'bias' and 'perspective', mostly because he'd actually seen the boy was smarter than he let on.
"But… they'll leave me behind if they learn that I'm the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki…" Naruto said.
Hiruzen shook his head. "I doubt it, because they will know you and they will know that you are nothing like the Kyuubi. It's not about keeping them from knowing the truth, Naruto, it's about helping them understand the truth." The man said. "It's tied to the prejudice thing." He added, seeing Naruto's mouth form into an 'Oh' of understanding.
"Then why didn't you tell me?" He asked, his voice tiny and so cracked that Hiruzen was certain that the boy would break into a million pieces if he chose the wrong words. "Why didn't you trust me?" He added. "Why don't you ever tell me anything?"
Hiruzen took a second to answer, first showing the boy a frown of thought. "Naruto… Answer me honestly. Would you have kept your mouth shut if you'd known about your status as a Jinchuuriki?"
The third's eyes settled into that knowing expression basically told Naruto that lying would be useless, so he only let out a small and sheepish "No." before resuming his hurt look. "But… I can keep a secret if I know it's important…" He tried to defend himself.
"You sure you can?" Sarutobi asked. "You don't have to keep this one, Naruto, I can give authorization to whomever I want to divulge any secret in the village and you're the only person besides myself to divulge this. If you want to tell everyone, that's up to you."
Naruto didn't answer, merely retreated into himself. "You still haven't told me who my parents are… and I'm sure you know."
"I can't tell you that, Naruto. It's for your own protection. Only I and a few other people know that." The man said, placing both of his hands in the blond boy's shoulders and remaining at arm's length from him. "You need to trust me on this one, Naruto." The man said, looking at him seriously.
"How can I trust you when you don't trust me with anything?" The boy said.
"I trust you, Naruto." The third said, the seriousness and conviction in his voice almost enough to sway Naruto right then and there. "In this entire village, there is no one I trust more than you, however, you're still young and inexperienced. You can still be manipulated and you can be deceived. It's not that I don't trust you, Naruto, but you're an innocent and this world has a way to hurt innocents all the time."
Naruto looked wobbly on his feet. "… How can I believe that? You've lied to me all your life… You always said you didn't know… How do I know you're not lying to me about everything… about how I'm not the fox…"
"I'm not lying to you now, Naruto, and I will do my hardest to never have to lie to you again." The third explained. "Do you want to know how much I trust you, Naruto?" The third asked.
The boy nodded his head well before his brain caught up, and when it did, it only cheered the reflex on.
"Very well, then." The third said, and suddenly in his hand was a kunai brought on from a hidden pouch hidden in the bulky robes' right sleeve. The old monkey used his left hand to grab Naruto's own and, in a flurry of movement, Naruto's hand was holding the Kunai, pointy end ahead, right in front of the very place he'd need to stab to instantly put an end to Sarutobi Hiruzen's life. "If you were the fox, Naruto, you wouldn't miss this chance. But you're not the fox, Naruto. You're an innocent little boy who has had to deal with things that no one should have to suffer through and you've done so admirably."
Naruto almost instantly, after hearing the man's words, threw the Kunai away and simply tackled the Third Hokage to the ground, openly crying with wild abandon into the man's chest. "I'm sorry!" He sobbed into his chest. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you, jiji!"
"It's alright… I'm sorry I lied to you, Naruto." The man replied, reciprocating the young boy's hug.