Deep within the village of Konohagakure no Sato, an old man sat behind a large desk. He was wearing a long red and white robe with a triangular hat with the kanji for fire decorating it. His name was Sarutobi Hiruzen, a man hailed as the 'shinobi no kami' and the Sandaime Hokage and right now, he was currently stuck deep in thought as his old teammates and now trusted advisors stood across the desk from him.
Their names were Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, also known by many as the Konoha council. Their purpose was to advise the Hokage on any matters related to the village, though they possessed no real political power. The point that made the aged leader wary of them was that they tended to take the side of his militaristic rival, Shimura Danzō, regularly lacking the faith that the current leader had in people.
Homura was an old man with spiky grey hair and a thick beard that only covered his jaw line while a pair of green rimmed glasses took pride of place on the bridge of his nose. He wore a green robe with a lightly tanned jacket covering it further while a large, light grey shawl kept his neck from view.
Koharu on the other hand was an equally old woman with grey hair tied into a bun with a large hairpin with pearls located on the blunt end while a pair of tassels were attached to the sharp end. Her eyes were barely open, showing little more than slits to anyone that would look at her. Dangling from her ears were a pair of earrings made from several green and red pearls strung together. She wore a similar ensemble to Homura, though her robe was a light grey while her jacket was a significantly darker shade of the same colour and instead of a shawl she wore a sash of the same shade as Homura's shawl.
The Hokage had a good idea what the duo were there to talk about, just yesterday the Hokage's residence had been infiltrated and an important scroll had been stolen by a child that had failed the ninja graduation exam no less. The boy had eventually been caught by his teacher, only for the duo to realise the so called failure had simply been tricked into stealing the scroll, having been convinced by his teachers assistant that it was a makeup exam and that any scroll that was genuinely forbidden wouldn't be labelled as such.
The night had almost taken a disastrous turn when the real traitor had told the boy a piece of information that had been kept from him specifically, it was only because of the teachers actions and words that stopped the night being a true disaster.
Of course the fact that the child was literally the prison for a beast of immense destructive power known as the Kyūbi no Kitsune made things slightly awkward, mainly because his advisors considered the boy a potential weapon for Konoha to use and his every move was criticized, meaning this course of action he had gone on would bring some concerns to the front of their minds.
"Homura, Koharu, how may I help you this fine day?" the aged leader asked as he brought out his favourite pipe and poured some tobacco into it.
"We would like to confirm a few details about yesterday's events," the spiky haired old man stated seriously as the other man light his pipe with a small match.
"And what would you like confirmed?" the Hokage asked seriously as he began to rest his chin in his fingers.
"Is it correct that Uzumaki Naruto broke into the Hokage's tower without setting off any alerts, avoiding the sensor ninja and ANBU patrols that we approved of before breaking into your vault and stealing the forbidden scroll?" Koharu asked him calmly, her face set in its usual stony frown.
"That is correct," Sarutobi stated, forcing himself to not swallow the saliva that was building up lest it give the duo any ammunition for them to use against him in this scenario.
"So this boy managed to sneak past security that most Jōnin would fail to deal with, all the while wearing a bright orange jumpsuit?" Homura asked with his trademark frown decorating his face, earning a nod of confirmation while the Hokage took another puff of his pipe.
"That is all we wish to confirm about last night, however we would like to know what your plans for this boy are," the old woman said with an air of authority despite not having any over the villages leader.
"He proved last night that his loyalty is not in question and Iruka repealed his decision to fail him as the only portion he failed on had improved to a level sufficient to pass," the old man stated, earning a couple of nods from his old teammates, "because of this I am assigning him to a genin team alongside the rest of his class."
"Are you certain that doing so is a good idea?" the bespectacled man asked calmly, causing the aged leader to frown at the question, surely they didn't have a problem with making the boy a ninja, they had been gunning for that to happen for years now, why would they suddenly change their minds?
"Do you have a problem with my decision? I thought you two wanted him to be made a ninja?" the aged leader asked the pair with a small frown.
"That is correct, however our problem is not your decision to make him a ninja, it is your decision to place him on a genin team," the bearded man stated calmly, not letting is emotions play out on his features as he looked at his old friend.
"What would you suggest then? Surely you of all people know the value of teamwork in a ninja cell," the robed figure asked with a hint of confusion.
"Yes, teamwork is important, however we believe the correct place for a ninja with the stealth skills to infiltrate the Hokage's vault is not in the regular forces," Koharu explained to the aged leader, causing his eyes to widen.
"You can't possibly mean?!" Hiruzen started, only to receive a pair of nods from his old friends as his mind raced over what he should do.
XXX XXX XXX
Uzumaki Naruto however was completely oblivious of the conversation concerning him right now, then again he was more concerned about how his day had been.
He had finally received his hitae-ate last night and was now a ninja just like he had always wanted to be.
Today had started off rather crappy though, he was supposed to have his photo taken for his ninja licence but when he handed it in to the Hokage he had been told to take it again and why? Because it was too artistic for the old man's tastes that's why.
However after that his day managed to pick up, mainly by meeting the Hokage's grandson, Sarutobi Konohamaru. The child immediately took a liking to him based off the simple fact he hit the boy after finding out who he was.
The child had managed to brighten up his day, even going so far as to learn his signature jutsu, the Oiroke no jutsu, a technique that had proven to be the undoing of perverts everywhere, including the Hokage the previous night, though he had to improve on the technique in order to take out the child's prejudiced sensei.
Still, the child made him feel better by actually acknowledging him as something other than 'the demon brat' or 'the deadlast idiot' that most of the village saw him as and in return he acknowledged the boy as Konohamaru instead of 'the honourable grandson'… he had even managed to give the child some genuinely good advice as well.
That last part was probably the part he was proudest about, he had actually managed to give someone proper advice instead of simply getting in their way or teaching them something perverted, if he was honest with himself he could hardly believe he had actually been cool enough to say what he did.
Sure he liked to believe he was cool but deep within his mind he knew it wasn't true, that was one of the reasons Sakura didn't like him. It actually made him feel slightly depressed that he knew next to nothing about how to act cool but was able to manage it when he wasn't trying.
The important part though was that he was finally a ninja, that immediately added coolness to him simply by having the hitae-ate proudly displayed on his forehead.
Those were his thoughts as he scoffed down his fifteenth bowl of ramen with an insatiable vigour that he always possessed when eating the 'heavenly noodles' as he liked to called them.
"So how does it feel to finally be a ninja?" the owner of the ramen stand, a man in his forties called Teuchi. He was wearing a standard chefs outfit consisting of white clothes covered by a white apron and a small, white had that kept his hair from going anywhere near the food.
"It's awesome! I've got my hitae-ate and now everywhere I go people know I'm a ninja!" the young blond almost shouted in joy, obviously overjoyed at the fact he would no longer have to act out just to get attention.
"Ha ha, just remember that being a ninja is hard work, you'd better not slack off or you'll never get anywhere in your career," the ramen chef reminded the boy jovially, earning a sharp nod off the young boy as he set his face in a serious expression before proceeding to devour the bowl of ramen in front of him.
"Excuse me Uzumaki Naruto?" came an unfamiliar call to the blond, causing him to turn his head to the stranger, only for his eyes to widen slightly at the sight of a ninja dressed in black shinobi pants, a black sleeveless shirt covered by grey armour, while his shins and forearms were protected by armour of the same colour. On his back was a katana tilted to provide easy access from the right shoulder.
Despite all that it was the man's face that stood out, or rather the porcelain mask with a crow design that hid his face and denoted his status as a member of the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai, or as they were regularly called, ANBU, the villages elite force that took orders from the Hokage himself and no one else.
"Uh, yeah, what do you want?" the boy finally responded, earning a moments silence from the ANBU as they wondered if the child realised who he was talking to.
"Hokage-sama requests your presence in his office immediately," the crow masked ANBU stated after deciding to just ignore the child's lack of respect and complete his order to retrieve the boy.
Almost immediately Naruto went from a curious expression to a dread filled stare. The Hokage had told him that he would be assigned to his genin team tomorrow and that he wouldn't receive missions until then, combined with the fact he had already given the man his account of the previous night and it meant only one thing to the blond, the old man had probably decided to repeal the decision to make him a ninja.
"Well go on, you're a ninja now so don't keep Hokage-sama waiting," the middle aged man said with a laugh before noticing the boy's expression and suddenly wondering what was happening to make him look so scared.
"Come on, Hokage-sama wants to see you now," the elite ninja stated seriously before placing a hand on the child's shoulder and vanishing in a swirl of leaves that represented the standard Konoha Shunshin.
"I guess he can pay his bill the next time he comes in," Teuchi muttered to himself before proceeding to remove the empty bowls of ramen on the counter and preparing the stall for any other customers that might show up.
XXX XXX XXX
The Sandaime Hokage sat behind his desk, his two advisors standing either side of him anxiously waiting for the arrival of the spiky haired blond, going over how he would explain the situation to the boy.
The only evidence that he was even slightly nervous was that he puffing his pipe slightly harder than normal, though only enough for the most observant of individuals to notice.
He was cut from his musings by a swirl of leaves indicating that the ANBU he had sent to retrieve the boy had returned with the young jinchūriki.
Taking several deep breaths the old man decided to start by explaining why he was there.
"Hello Naruto-kun, I believe you haven't met Homura and Koharu yet," the fire shadow stated kindly, pointing out the duo standing to his sides in the process, "they were once my teammates but now they act as my advisors in important matters."
Not a sound came from the blonds throat telling the old man that the boy had probably come to an incorrect conclusion concerning his reason for standing before him right now.
"Now my advisors know about what happened last night and came to me with a suggestion I believe has some merit," the aged leader started, noticing how the blond was beginning to tear up as he continued his statement.
Naruto himself couldn't believe it, he had literally been a ninja for less than a day and because of these advisors he would be losing his licence already… it just didn't seem fair to him.
"They suggested that instead of letting you graduate with your class and join a genin team," Sarutobi noticed the tears starting to stream from the boys eyes, knowing that what he was about to say would stop them straight away, "you are immediately inducted into ANBU."
Just as he predicted the tears stopped as Naruto's head shot up to look him in the eyes. He didn't blame the boy, he was officially the dead last of the academy and had barely passed courtesy of a traitor and a jutsu that needed absolutely no chakra control at all to use, so to hear that he was being considered for a position in ANBU would probably be one of the biggest shocks of his life.
"W-wha?" the young blond started, unable to form a coherent sentence as his brain tried to comprehend exactly what was happening right now.
"You have displayed an immense talent in the art of infiltration, most Jōnin are incapable of breaking into the Hokage residence without being detected until it was too late," Homura stated seriously, his expression betraying nothing concerning his thoughts on the subject, "combine that with some of the pranks you have pulled off over the years and I think it is safe to say that your skill in avoiding detection is great enough to earn you a position within ANBU."
Hearing the more experienced ninja's words Naruto found it hard to process that they were offering him a place within the village's elite simply because he was good at not being found. The only person that had ever found him was Iruka-sensei but even then it was purely because he let the man find him as opposed to the Chūnin's skill.
"But aren't ANBU supposed to be really strong? Even if I'm good at hiding I don't think I'm good enough to beat a proper ANBU in a fight," the whiskered child admitted while looking at the floor. Sure he may have beaten Mizuki but that was a combination of shock and sheer numbers as opposed to skill.
"Combat efficiency is only a minor aspect of gaining a position within ANBU, as long as you possess at least one skill that could benefit Konoha when put to use then you will be considered for entry," the old woman of the group informed the boy with about as much emotion as the other retired ninja, "if you accept the offer then you will be placed into the initiate program and will be taught everything you need to know for the position."
"Before you make your decision I believe I should inform you of some other pieces of information," Sarutobi started before the boy could start thinking too much, "the first thing you should be aware of is that if you do decide to accept the invitation you will be sworn to never reveal your identity as a member of ANBU."
Upon hearing that piece of information the blond jerked his head up to look at the aged leader, seeing nothing but seriousness in his eyes. Gone was the kind old man he had grown up knowing and in his place was the sandaime Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure no sato, a man that would do whatever was necessary to protect his village. It wasn't as though seeing this side of the man was unheard of for him, he had witnessed the man talking to ninja about serious business when he was younger but he had never seen the look directed towards him.
"And before you think about joining just to get the training before leaving, if you do accept the position you will be signed up for a compulsory term of three years, meaning you will have to stay in ANBU for three years after finishing your induction training. Do you understand?" once again the seriousness of the Hokage made the blond grow nervous. This was a chance that several of his classmates would kill for… the problem however was his goal.
He wanted recognition for being a great ninja, he wanted acceptance but if he joined ANBU he would have to work in the shadows, he would have to try and trick his friends into thinking he had failed and given up on being a ninja until he finally left the dark side of the village. But then he was being offered something that would make everyone accept his skills when he finally left and not only that, he would receive special training upon joining, training that would probably help him in the long run.
"I do not expect you to decide just yet Naruto-kun, however I want your answer by eight o'clock tonight and you are not allowed to tell anyone of this offer, do you understand?" Hiruzen knew he was putting some serious pressure on the boy by giving him less than three hours to decide on his immediate future, however if the boy decided he wanted to join the village elites, alterations would need to be made to the not quite graduated children's teams.
"Thank you jiji," Naruto said quietly, earning another statement from the old man.
"And if you accept our offer, you must refer to the Hokage as Hokage-sama, no matter who it is or how much you like them, do you understand Naruto-kun?" the simple fact that the aged leader told the blond that he must refer to the Hokage with respect brought a slightly nervous thought to the front of the blonds mind.
"Why are you talking like you'll be replaced?" the question was asked with a slight trace of anger and the old man knew why. Despite the boy's constant yells of how he would become Hokage, he was actually happy with the current one, the idea of a new Hokage being named might've come as a shock to him.
"Naruto, I might be the strongest ninja in Konoha right now however I am old, there is no guarantee I'll still be alive within three years. If I do die then as a member of ANBU you will have to obey the new Hokage without question, do you understand?" the explanation was one that resounded through the blonds mind, despite all his strength and skill, the man once hailed as the 'shinobi no kami' couldn't fight time.
"Yeah… I'll see ya later jiji," the spiky haired child said with a downbeat expression as his mind raced over what he had learned over the past ten minutes.
"Goodbye Naruto-kun, and remember I want your answer by eight o'clock, if not I will take it as a no and will place you in a team to take the genin exam," instantly the azure eyed former academy student turned on his heel to face the old man, seeing a knowing smirk on the man's lips before asking his question.
"What do you mean take the genin exam?! I've already passed the graduation exam haven't I?" the sheer fact the child was shouting at the Hokage earned a pair of small glares from his advisors, though they did nothing given their former teammates lack of concern over it.
"You completed the academy exam to see if you have the skills to become a genin, however it is up to the Jōnin instructor whether you are worthy of being a genin or not, now go, I have other important business I must attend to. Just remember to think over what you want before making your decision," and with that said, the aged leader motioned for the young boy to leave his office, leaving the young blond in a state of confusion as his mind tried to make sense of everything he had just been told.
XXX XXX XXX
Shimura Danzō was an old man, a few years older than Sarutobi Hiruzen, a man he once considered his rival before the sandaime was declared. He wore a rather plain kimono with bandages covering his right eye and his right arm constantly held in a sling.
He had just received information concerning a specific meeting that had occurred within the Hokages office and he was not happy with the situation one bit. If it had been any other ninja he would have agreed with the rest of his generations judgement, however the person they had just invited to join ANBU was the Kyūbi jinchūriki.
He was well aware of the boys stealth skills, having paid close attention to the boys pranks made that obvious. The problem was that ANBU were assassins by nature, they had no place on an open battlefield… and it was on an open battlefield that jinchūriki were their most dangerous. In times of war it was a simple process to simply send a jinchūriki up against an entire battalion with nothing more than a seal expert to suppress them when they had finished crushing the enemy, doing so could save hundreds of Konoha ninja, allowing them to win the war with less damage and giving the other countries a deterrent from launching a follow up attack when the war was over.
So hearing that the current jinchūriki might be inducted into ANBU made him concerned. He wouldn't deny that the boy would probably make quite a good assassin however he should be trained to harness the Kyūbi's chakra or use area destruction jutsu, not precision strikes designed to kill one person quickly and quietly.
Unfortunately Koharu and Homura believed it would be beneficial to place the boy in ANBU and Hiruzen had agreed that the boy would do well there, it was for this reason all he could do would be to try to deter the boy from accepting the invitation.
"Sai," came his quiet call. Almost instantly a young boy wearing an animal mask and a black cloak appeared before the old ninja, "find Uzumaki Naruto and convince him to turn down the Hokages offer."
"Hai Danzō-sama," and without another sound, the stranger vanished in a swirl of leaves.