Son of Sannin

by The Shugokage

Prologue

He stood atop the tower staring out at the raging mass of chakra before the walls of his village: he had hoped the demon would pass by. With a silence belying his advancing age, his old sensei landed next to him holding a small ball of cloth.

"I still can't believe you're doing this." Jiraiya grumbled. "For Kami's sake Minato it's not too late. Tell me how to do it! You're a father now, years of diaper-changing and horseplay ahead of you, and the Hokage on top of that. You can't just throw your life away like this!"

Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, turned to face his former teacher. "I can't ask anyone to do something I wouldn't do myself Sensei. Besides, he's here. There's not enough time to teach you the jutsu even if I wanted to." He glanced back out at the demon. "Just promise me you'll take care of him, and Kushina, alright? This village should know he's a hero, my little Naruto."

Grimly, the old sage nodded. He knew there was no talking the Yondaime out of this, not now. He watched silently as his best student ran through the hand signs, calling upon the Shinigami himself to bring the Kyuubi no Kitsune's reign of terror to an end. With a howl that made even a hardened ninja like Jiraiya flinch, there was a flash of light and then, nothing. The demon was gone, as was his protégé. Victory was theirs, but at a painful and agonizingly high cost. In his arms, Naruto began to cry.

Moments later the old ninja stepped down into the Hokage's office, now occupied by his old sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, and Senju Tsunade, Jiraiya's former teammate. Without giving him opportunity to ask, she looked up from the floor, tears running down her pale porcelain cheeks. "She didn't make it. In her condition, the chakra pressure was too much. She's gone." Naruto only cried harder. Handing the baby to Tsunade, the old toad sage moved aside the aging Hokage. "So what now? With no one to raise him... the orphanage? Can we really do that to Minato's son?"

Sarutobi sighed heavily. "I'm sure a number of families would be willing to take the boy in, especially with the love there was for the Yondaime. What worries me is how the family would react once he starts manifesting the Kyuubi's chakra. You did say Minato designed the seal to allow him eventual control of the demon, correct?" Jiraiya nodded. "Actually, he'll absorb the chakra. In time, if he lives long enough, there wont be a Kyuubi anymore, only Naruto with total possession and control of the demon's chakra."

"Why not take him away from here?" Both men looked to Tsunade, still cradling the now-sleeping Naruto in her arms. "I'm serious. We know the truth; who else needs to? No one knows about him, right? Why not just leave and save the explanations? Most people wouldn't understand how he did it anyway. He defeated the demon but it cost him his life in the process. What more do they need to know?"

Sarutobi nodded. "That's true, but what of Naruto? You suggest taking him away from his village. To where? Where would be safer than a hidden ninja village?"

"The wild" Jiraiya offered. "Even if there are families here that would take him in, once he starts using the fox's chakra people will think he's the demon reincarnated come back to finish what he started. There would be mobs crying for his blood within days, if not hours. Or worse, one of the clans might try to control him to their own ends. Or even Danzou. It's not worth the risk keeping him here."

Tsunade nodded. "I'll raise him. If anyone asks, I adopted him because he is what Dan and I never had." At this her eyes began to water.

"Looks like there's more truth to that than you'll admit, gorgeous" the old hermit chimed.

"Shut it you old lecher, you're going to help too. He's going to need a father-figure and you're it."

"Well, if you two are this adamant about it I suppose it will have to do. Even so, I want him to come back eventually: Naruto is a part of this village, even if he won't grow up here. And if he turns out anything like his father, he may even take my place one day. Both of you know how old I am: I can't keep this job forever. Eventually a Godaime will have to be named, and it will be either one of you if someone more suitable cannot be found." Sarutobi lit his pipe. "But that's a matter for another time. Will you at least stay for Minato's funeral?"

The two Sannin exchanged glances, and nodded. "We can do that."

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Chapter 1: Six Years Later

"Are we there yet?"

If there was one thing Naruto hated, it was waiting. It'd been days since they left Waterfall village and baachan still wouldn't tell him where they were going. Even though he liked surprises this was starting to get on his nerves. Of course, being a six-year-old it didn't take much to get on his nerves. First Jiraiya-ojiisama stops by for the first time in months but didn't teach him any new moves, then he tells them to pack up. He looked upset, which Naruto didn't understand at all, but nevertheless complied. He'd learned it wasn't a good idea to get on Tsunade-baachan's bad side, and Shizune-neechan was always nice and helped him pack.

"I swear kid, if you say that one more time I'm gonna throw you off the nearest cliff" Jiraiya threatened. He knew raising kids wouldn't be a walk in the park, but this was just annoying. And if he thought this was bad, Tsunade certainly must have been through worse. He'd been gone most of Naruto's life due to the needs of his spy network, not to mention Tsunade would kill him for keeping up on his 'research.' "We're almost there, alright?"

"Don't worry Naruto, once we get there we'll go get something to eat, okay?" Shizune looked down at the boy with a smile and Naruto's face brightened considerably. If there was one way to calm the boy down, she knew, it was through his stomach.

Tsunade just shook her head. For a child so stubborn and difficult to deal with at times, he was unusually simple to please. But then, he'd always been that way. Naruto never wanted much: it seemed that as long as he had his family and the occasional scroll the learn from he was content. Ever since seeing his first jutsu he'd been pestering her or Shizune constantly to teach him. It was aggravating, but whenever they did take time to teach him basic education or jutsu, he was rapt with attention. He learned quickly, which was good, but over the last 2 years she'd nearly ran out of things to teach him. While his chakra control was above average for a boy his age, it was nowhere near good enough to perform many of the more useful medical jutsu she knew. Beyond basic first aid and diagnosis jutsu, his medical knowledge was nil. And no matter how hard she tried to teach him, how patient she tried to be, the boy just had no understanding whatsoever of genjustu. Shizune tried teaching him poisons but he didn't have any interest. In that aspect he was very much like his father: hand-to-hand, very direct and to the point. He once even told her that he didn't like poisons or sedatives because he wanted to see the results of his efforts immediately, not wait for them to take over. With that in mind she'd refrained from showing her strength techniques, knowing that Naruto would never stop begging her until he learned them. And with Jiraiya's inconsistent presence, it was hard for Naruto to learn anything from the old pervert at all. Sure, he'd left jutsu scrolls, but most were beyond Naruto's current ability.

She sighed heavily. Despite appearances she didn't hate Jiraiya as much as people thought. Sure, he was a lecherous pervert who never stopped his sexual advances on her, but he was also a former teammate and they had at one time been willing to die for each other. She appreciated his efforts to keep them safe, because though she would argue she was perfectly capable on her own Naruto needed all the protection he could get, especially with what Jiraiya had told her when they left Waterfall.

"What's wrong baachan?"

Looking down she found a pair of big blue eyes staring back up at her. Ever since he was a baby she'd always thought, and Shizune agreed, that if she looked long enough she just might drown in them. He'd always had a calming effect on her, when his boundless energy wasn't driving her up the walls, anyway. And when he was happy it just seemed infectious: even on the worst of days it was hard not to smile around him. "Nothing's wrong Naruto. I was just thinking about what we're going to do with you when we get to Konoha."

"Tsunade!"

"Relax Jiraiya, you already said we're almost there, right? Anyone who's walked this road more than once could tell where we're going."

Naruto was ecstatic. "Alright, Konoha! I always wanted to go there. We're always moving around and now I actually get to go somewhere I want to go!" He was literally running circles around the three older shinobi.

Shizune couldn't help but giggle. "Yes Naruto, we're going to Konoha. And unless I'm mistaken we won't be moving anymore. Your old enough to go to the ninja academy now and once you graduate you'll be a ninja of the village. No more moving around. You'll finally have a permanent home" she said, then looked up at the two Sannin ahead of them. "And your grandparents can finally settle down too."

Jiraiya nearly tripped, whirling around to face the younger woman. "Settle down? Are you crazy? Don't get me wrong that village has some fine research opportunities, but I can't stay in one place for too long. Never could." He quickly found himself off the ground, grabbed around the throat by his former teammate. "We had a deal" she hissed, quiet enough so only he would hear. "You keep your perversion in check around Naruto, and I don't beat you to death for it." She was livid, he could tell, more so than when she'd caught him peeping on her in the bathhouse when they were kids. "Now now, Tsunade-hime" he wheezed, trying to maintain a neutral tone even as he gasped for air, "you don't want to get violent in front of him, do you? He just might want to know how you can lift a grown man off the ground." He managed a weak smile, while she just glared. "Remember the deal, lecher" she said, and promptly dropped him.

Naruto was the first to recover. "What was that about? What's ojiisan talking about, research opportunities?" Tsunade just stared, while Shizune was quickly beside him. "Naruto, remember when I told you not to ask about things that make baachan mad?" He nodded. "Well, that makes her mad, so let's just not ask about it okay?" Still confused, but also well aware of how scary Tsunade could be when she was angry, he decided to let it go. "Okay."

The four continued walking in silence, each thinking about the village that lay ahead. For Naruto, it was mostly what his neechan had said about the academy. Whenever they'd taken time to teach him jutsu or other things and he'd asked why he had to learn it, the usual answer was that he needed to know for whenever he started going to the academy. For the past year he'd been wondering if he was ever going to get a chance: with all the moving around he'd hardly had time to make friends, much less attend schools anywhere. But now they wouldn't be moving anymore, and he was going to be in school for a long time too. "Shizune-neechan, how long does it take to graduate from the academy?"

The woman beside him smiled. "Well, it really depends on how good you are at being a shinobi and how quickly you learn. Most ninja usually graduate in six years." There were many of her generation that graduated much earlier, but that had been a time of war and things were different: gennin were put into combat teams as soon as they were reasonably skilled. In times of peace a village could afford to keep children in school longer to produce a more well-rounded shinobi, not just a battle-trained soldier. Even so, school wasn't going to be easy for Naruto, not with two Sannin for grandparents. Many would expect him to live up to their reputations and be an astoundingly skilled shinobi. She knew better though. Regardless of one's upbringing it was unreasonable to expect them to be like their forerunners. That's why she didn't tell him about her classmates. Naruto had a habit of setting goals that met or exceeded those of more skilled people. If she told him about ninja that graduated in only a few years he'd likely set that as a goal for himself, if not graduating in only one year. Like Tsunade, she would rather see him focus on getting the most out of school rather than try to get out as early as possible.

"Six years? You mean I don't get to be a ninja until I'm twelve?"

"Naruto, when do you expect to die?" Jiraiya interjected.

"What?"

"Jiraiya what are you-"

"Just hold on a bit, Tsunade, there's a reason for this" he said, still eying Naruto. "When do you" he repeated, pointing to the boy, "expect to die?"

Naruto was dumbstruck. He'd never really thought about death before: he'd been told about people who had died, but his own death wasn't something he really thought about. "I... uh..."

"Thought so" the old sage said. "Naruto, sometimes ninja graduate earlier than six years, but that is very rare, and many of those ninja usually don't live as long as ninja who spend the full six years at the Academy because they didn't stay long enough to get a balanced education. Too many gennin died in the last Great Ninja War because they didn't get to spend enough time in school. You want to live a long life, right?" The boy nodded mutely, hanging on the elder's every word. "Then don't worry about getting out of school early. Take your time, learn as much as you can and get the most out of it, because as soon as you graduate you wont have a whole lot of time to learn a lot of new skills. You'll be on missions frequently, and when you aren't you'll be training to keep and improve the skills you'll already have. The life of a shinobi isn't easy; it's a lot of hard work, just like Tsunade's been telling you all your life. Understand?" Again, the blond just nodded. "Good."

For the second time in an hour the group fell into silence. Naruto kept pondering his neechan and ojiisan's words, and couldn't escape the apparent connection between an early graduation and an early death. He was almost terrified. What if another war started and he was pushed out early? Would he be ready enough? Would they let him stay in school anyway? He didn't want to die! But, ojiisan said it was rare to get out early, so maybe he'd be alright if he just tried to be regular, not too good and not too bad. No, he couldn't lie to save his life and baachan knew it. She could read him better than anyone and wouldn't let him get away with that. Even though all three of his family kept talking about not going overboard and pushing things too hard, they all wanted him to try to be his best. He'd have to do that and just take his chances.

Shizune was worried about her adoptive little brother. She'd been trying to avoid mentioning anything about graduating early and here Jiraiya-sama went and told him anyway. Still, she supposed, he'd given Naruto enough reason not to strive for early release, even if the reason given wasn't entirely true. He had a habit of that, it seemed, telling half-truths and minor lies to diffuse a situation. She couldn't argue that so far it seemed to work on Naruto, but it wouldn't forever. She glanced over at her master, somewhat disturbed by her unusual behavior. Tsunade-sama normally would have flattened Jiraiya for scaring her son like that, but this time hadn't done a thing. It was almost like... she agreed.

"Jiraiya, you're in for a world of pain as soon as I figure out what I'm going to do to you for scaring him like that."

Or maybe not.

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They arrived at the gates of Konoha less than an hour later. The village was everything Naruto had been told it was, and more. The very first thing he noticed though was the Hokage Monument; how could anyone entering the village not see those huge stone heads? And the trees! There were so many trees it reminded him a lot of Waterfall. As they walked through town he also noticed several things he wanted to come back and see later: training areas, clan compounds, the river, there were just so many new things to experience. He also didn't fail to notice the many people staring at them, which he didn't really understand. No one ever stared at them before. "Baachan, why's everyone looking at us?"

Tsunade smiled. "It's because here in Konoha Jiraiya and I are kind of famous. We're called 'legendary Sannin' because of our skills as ninja. At one time we were considered the most powerful ninja in the world besides the Kage of each hidden village."

Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Ojiisan and baachan were super-powerful ninja? "Awesome! Will I be as strong as you guys some day?"

"If you train enough and don't take a lot of stupid risks, you very well might" she said. "Just don't push yourself too much. Knowing when to take a break and relax is just as important as training. The body doesn't get stronger during training: it gets stronger by healing after training."

Shizune just had to chime in. "She's right Naruto. Spend all your time training and you'll never meet some cute little girl that will steal your heart away." She giggled at the sight of Naruto, normally loud and confident, quietly blushing in embarrassment.

Jiraiya would have given his two ryu but Tsunade would knock him back to Waterfall if he did. He even agreed with her, if for different reasons. He sighed. Oh well, he'd just have to wait until the boy was older to explain the real uses for time spent away from training. He couldn't help grinning at thoughts of the future. "Alright, here we are" he said proudly, "our new home." The four stopped in front of a relatively large house on an estate surrounded by thick shrubs. The house itself was easily bigger than an ordinary family home, though smaller than a clan-house. It was decorated in the traditional style, with tile roofing, wood framing and sliding doors. There were also carved stone toads of varying sizes everywhere, capping pillars, adorning each corner of the roof, and even serving as places to sit on the front lawn. It certainly fit the old sage. "I've kept this house for years. It's got everything you'll need, save for the perishables like food. There's an open clearing on the north side you can use for a training ground, just don't destroy anything." He looked pointedly at Tsunade. "I think there's a bathhouse out back, but I'm not sure. I always went to the one in town." His old teammate scowled, but said nothing.

"It's beautiful. I didn't think you had such good taste Jiraiya-sama." Shizune, like Naruto took in the sight in front of them.

"Good taste? Girl, I am Jiraiya! The legendary toad sage of Mount Myo-"

"Save it Jiraiya." Tsunade quipped, rubbing her temples. "Shizune, drop your bags off and take Naruto out for something to eat. We have to go have a talk with the old man."

The younger woman nodded. "Alright. Come on Naruto-kun. Let's put our things inside and then get that food we talked about, okay?" Naruto nodded. "Okay neechan!" She led the boy up to the house, leaving the two Sannin to themselves.

"Well, better get this over with. At least he'll be happy to know you aren't drinking anymore."

"Shut up, perv."

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In minutes both were in the Hokage's office, standing before the man who had once been their sensei. Sarutobi Hiruzen was old, yes, but still a ninja of renown far above both Sannin combined. Even after years of being gone from Konoha, Tsunade still felt a little intimidated in his presence. Jiraiya was a mask of calm.

"It's good to see you both" the aged Hokage began. "Tell me, how have you been these past six years?"

"Well enough, all things considered" Tsunade answered. "So far Naruto's life has been fairly normal and straightforward. Except for all the moving around I'd say he's led an unassuming life. He's started some basic education with Shizune and myself, and with Jiraiya's occasional help he's learned a few basic ninja skills and tactics."

The old man nodded, absorbing the information like a sponge. "And what of his parents, or the Kyuubi. Does he know of either?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "If I understand Tsunade correctly, Naruto was told his parents were shinobi that died during the Kyuubi's attack. He wasn't told anything specific about his father: you know how little kids have a hard time keeping their mouths shut. We kept moving around anyway as a precaution against any enemy ninja discovering him, even though no one should even know he's alive. Besides, with him growing up under two Sannin he doesn't need the pressure of his father's reputation on top of it."

"He doesn't know about the demon either" Tsunade said, answering his second question. "It wouldn't be right for him to know about it, not at his age. I remember when we were that age, and how we were as we grew up. Right now he's just content to be a carefree little boy, but by the time he's out of the academy he'll be developing his own identity. He shouldn't have to deal with the Kyuubi and his own development as well. Personally I'd be happy if he never found out."

"You know that's not going to happen" her old teammate replied flatly. "In a few years he'll start learning jutsu, which means he'll start molding chakra. Once that happens it's not unlikely that he'll start tapping into the Kyuubi's chakra as well, even unknowingly. The seal is supposed to keep him from drawing more than his body can handle, but it's bound to happen. Once it does he's going to have questions."

"About the seal, how is it?"

The toad sage sighed heavily. "Honestly sensei, I don't know. Minato said the seal would allow him to use the fox's chakra and all, but except for the night of the attack I haven't seen the seal at all. The only thing I can guess is that it only shows up if he molds the fox's chakra, which thankfully I haven't seen him do yet. He's a smart kid, don't get me wrong, but he's no prodigy like Kakashi." He took a seat in front of the Hokage's desk. "I've also been getting some troubling information from my spies. Apparently there's a group running around trying to capture the jinchuuriki. No reasons given, but the idea of one group of people holding all the demon-containers is really unsettling regardless of why they're after them. From what I've heard most of the sightings so far have been in or around Rain Country, but no one knows how many of them there are. I tried getting some information from Hanzou, since he was in charge of Rain last time I was there, but never heard anything back. All that I can really confirm is that they call themselves Akatsuki, and they wear full-body black robes with red clouds on them."

Tsunade sat down beside him. "That's the main reason we've come back now. So far no one should have any idea that Naruto is the Yellow Flash's son, so this Akatsuki is a bigger threat to him than any village. He'll be much safer behind the walls of Konoha than out in the wild somewhere. It's ironic, really. We took him away from here to protect him from the villagers: now it's probably the safest place in the world he could be."

Indeed it was likely the safest place to house young Naruto, now that this organization was after him. But even the Village Hidden in the Leaves was not without its dangers. "Safer than the wilderness, yes" Hiruzen said, "but not entirely safe."

"Sensei?" Both Sannin were curious as to their teacher's foreboding words.

"You both know the origin of Konoha, how Senju Hashirama-sempai was made the Shodai Hokage rather than Uchiha Madara, and how later the two fought at the Valley of the End. Madara brought with him the Kyuubi, proving that his Sharingan eyes could control the demon. From what I understand from my former teacher, after Madara's defeat the Niidaime Tobirama-sensei allowed the creation of the Konoha Police force to keep watch on the Uchiha and their actions, even though it was said to be a sign of trust between the two clans. Over time the Uchiha began to feel second-class compared to the Senju, and not just because two Senju had been Hokage. After the Kyuubi attacked six years ago, Danzou, Homura and Koharu had the entire Uchiha clan moved to one corner of the village, creating the 'Uchiha District.' I tried to fight them, but was overruled. They believed that the Uchiha had summoned the Kyuubi, just as Madara had done decades ago. Apparently the Uchiha have now grown to resent this discrimination against them, and there are rumors of rebellion and war."

His former students sat in silence, dumbstruck by the situation at hand. "Sensei, how do you know all this?" Jiraiya kept up a very elaborate spy network, even to a lesser degree inside Konoha, and he'd never heard anything like this.

The old man let out a long, heavy sigh. "I have an informant inside the clan. His loyalty to the village is above suspicion, and he reports to me alone; I trust Itachi completely. But none of that should really concern either of you for the time being, aside from keeping Naruto safe from those with the ability to control what he holds prisoner."

"With everything you've just told us I'm ready to take him back out of the village" Tsunade fumed. There's no way I'm allowing him to grow up next door to people who would use him as a weapon!"

"And what would you do out in the wild, hime?" Jiraiya responded. "He's got enemies outside the village and potential enemies inside, yes. But, at least inside the village he'll have every Konoha shinobi looking out for him. You can't seriously think that 'Tsunade's son' isn't going to have ANBU watching him now and then; he's a high-profile target for kidnapping and ransom. Besides, you'll be here to keep the Uchiha at bay, and sensei here will do what he can as well. It's better than being outside the village walls having no one to rely on for Naruto's safety but yourself."

"I must agree with Jiraiya, Tsunade" the Hokage confirmed. "I would much prefer Naruto to be here, even with the threat of the Uchiha, than outside the village where I cannot protect him."

She'd been double-teamed, and if she was honest with herself she agreed with them. It made more sense to keep Naruto as close as possible to those who would protect him, and sensei seemed to know more about the Uchiha and their plans than Jiraiya did about the Akatsuki. Her shinobi instincts were telling her they were right, that what was known about the Uchiha was safer than what was unknown about the Akatsuki. But, her motherly instincts screamed at her to get her son away from danger of any kind. Find a place where neither Akatsuki or the Uchiha could find them and raise him there in safety. But when she thought of him, Naruto, all she could see was the happy face of a boy who was told he wouldn't be moving anymore. He was finally going to have a stable life; could she really take that away from him? No, she relented, she couldn't. "Alright, we'll stay. But I'm keeping him as far away from the Uchiha as I can, and I expect the ninja of this village to watch those red-eyed bastards like a hawks. No one is ever going to take my son away from me."

The two men nodded agreeably, and the three set about discussing the young boy's future.

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"So how was it Naruto?"

Naruto smiled, holding his belly contentedly. "It was great neechan, thanks! We'll have to go there a lot. Ramen's the best!"

Shizune giggled at her little brother's antics. "I don't think Tsunade-sama would like that Naruto. You need a well-balanced diet if you're going to be a strong shinobi."

The two were strolling down a side street in the village, wandering back in the general direction of home, but not in any hurry to get there. As they walked by a park Naruto tugged in her sleeve. "Neechan, can we go play for a while? I don't wanna go home yet."

"Sure Naruto, there's still a little daylight left. But when it gets dark we're going home, alright?"

"Okay!" With that the young boy ran off to the sandbox, barely noticing a young boy laying by the swings staring up at the sky. He found his way to the sandbox, where another child his age was playing. "Hi, I'm Naruto. Can I play here?"

The girl looked up at him with wide, pale lavender eyes, clearly startled by his presence. "I.... um.... s-sure. Okay" she said quietly. "I'm Hy-Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hinata... that's a pretty name" Naruto said, grinning widely. "And pretty eyes, and hair... you're really just plain pretty."

Hinata didn't know what to think. No one had ever said something like that to her before. Well, no one she didn't know, anyway. Father sometimes said she was as pretty as her mother. "Um... th-thank you. I ha-haven't se-seen you be-before. Are y-you n-n-new he-here?"

"Yeah, I just moved here with my ojiisan, baachan and neechan. Neechan's over there" he said, waving to Shizune. The older girl waved back. "We moved here from Waterfall so I can be a ninja!"

At this the girl before him seemed to brighten and relax, if only a little. "R-really? I'll be g-going to the ac-academy this ye-year t-t-too. I... I'm s-scared though."

"Scared? Why? Neechan didn't make it seem so bad."

"I'm af-afraid I w-wo-won't meet my f-fa-father's expectations. I'm s-scared I w-won't be g-g-good enough."

Naruto just smiled. "Don't worry Hinata-chan, I'm sure if you try your best you'll be just fine. That's what baachan and neechan always tell me, anyway."

'Did he, did he just call me Hinata-chan?' She couldn't think of what to say. Yet again no one aside from her father said things like that to her, not even the other family members. Fortunately, she didn't have long to think about it.

"Hinata, come. It's time to go home." A tall man in plain white robes stood in front of them, holding out his hand expectantly. "Hai, father. Goodbye, Naruto-san." She bowed politely and walked toward the street. Her father, looking down at him, bowed his head slightly before following his daughter out.

Shizune watched the encounter, quietly observing how Naruto handled himself as well as how he was received. He likely had no idea who he was talking to, which was probably a good thing for the time being, but she was perfectly aware. Both had the white, pupil-less eyes of the Hyuuga clan, and neither bore a mark on their head, signifying membership in the main branch. She would have to tell Tsunade later, just to be safe.

"I guess it's time to go home too, isn't it neechan?" Naruto asked as Shizune walked over.

"Yes it is Naruto. Come on, let's get you home and cleaned up for bed."

With that the two walked home, both of them thinking about the day's events, and things to come.

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Author's Note:

Not all chapters will be this long. My minimum word limit per chapter is 4000 for this story, but I am trying for around 4500 on average. This chapter is only long because I added the prologue rather than posting is separately.