Notes: So this was a scene I had written for "The Hokage We Need" but could never find a good place for it; So I decided to make it a small standalone one shot. Now if you have not read "The Hokage We Need" then alot of things might not make sense, though it can still be read as a stand alone small story.

Honestly this didn't make it because past this opening scene, a lot of it would just be rehashing both the Private Ceremony in "The Hokage We Need" and also the Hokage Funeral from the show. Still, this small piece does have some character devlopment and plot items, so I thought I would share it anyway.

Hope you all enjoy!


The dark cloudy sky above served as the backdrop to the day that nobody in the village was looking forward to, it was a day that was supposed to celebrate a life, yet it had since turned into a day of despair.

Sitting at his desk, Naruto just looked at the papers in front of him with longing eyes. Sure he had already gone to the private funeral and said his peace there; But today was the day that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would be laid to rest.

He didn't really know how to react to it all, yesterday he was trying to deal with Sakura and Ino, and today he had to attend the very public funeral of one of his mentors.

He had been informed that most of the branch family of the Sarutobi clan had already departed and were on there way back to their respective villages, so any awkward things that may have had happened at the private funeral wouldn't be brought up.

Naruto sighed as he leaned his head back in his chair, not really knowing what to do. He had more paperwork to take care of, yet he didn't feel like doing any of it. It didn't help that he would have to depart to attend the funeral in just a matter of a few hours.

Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door as Kakashi suddenly came in dressed in all black as he was carrying something "Oh, Kakashi-sensei…"

Kakashi just gave a nod towards him as he walked over to the desk and laid some clothes down on it, they were all black yet had the Uzumaki symbol on the back of the shirt "Custom made funeral clothes, your tailors spent all day yesterday working on them."

"I-I didn't know I had tailors…" Forever impressed by how many people or things he had, Naruto lifted up the shirt and looked it over; the texture and design of it were astonishing. "Wow, this is really good."

"Well, they were made for the Hokage after all." Naruto had a small smile come over his face before it suddenly vanished, thoughts filling his head as he held the clothes in his hands "The Hokage huh?"

"Hm?"

"..." Naruto was silent for another moment before he closed his eyes, letting all of the memories of the old man fill his head "You know, I always wanted to be Hokage."

"Yeah, you never would shut up about it." Kakashi used a jocking tone to raise the mood, and Naruto did let a small slip out.

"I also always wanted the Old Man to be the one who would put the hat on my head as a transfer of power." Kakashi lost his somewhat joking tone as he looked at Naruto after he had said that, closing his eye right afterward.

"I see, that was always the custom." Kakashi looked over on the side of the desk where the Hokage Hat was laying, the authority it brought with it was immense. "To think, you would be the first Hokage that was chosen by the Daimyo."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Don't you know? It's customary for the current Hokage to appoint his own successor; and for the Daimyo to confirm it before going to a final vote with the Jonin Council. Every Hokage before you was appointed by their predecessor, including Sarutobi-sama. Even back when your father passed away, Sarutobi-sama was just picked by the Jonin Council to resume the position. He had only been out of it for a year and a half anyway by that point."

"Well, it's not an honor I wear proudly. I'll always have an asterisk in the history books of not being the successor the previous Hokage wanted. Though when you think about it, who is my predecessor? The Old Man? Or my Dad? Either way, I have big shoes to fill with both of them."

"Yeah, you certainly do." Kakashi didn't really know what to say as Naruto commentated to himself, asking questions that didn't have a right or wrong answer.

Before the conversation could continue, however, Dragon appeared beside Naruto in a kneeling position "Hokage-sama! A visitor!"

"Who is it?" Naruto looked over at Dragon with somewhat noncaring eyes, expecting it to be just Sakura or someone.

"Lord! It's the head of the Sarutobi Clan, Ibiki Sarutobi!" Naruto perked up at the name as he straightened himself out and nodded.

"Ibiki...Alright, send her in."

"Lord!" Dragon vanished as silence followed, Naruto questioning somewhat why Ibiki was here while Kakashi merely walked to the side to allow her to speak to Naruto.

After a moment, another knock was heard as the door opened to reveal Konohamaru in front, with his mother Ibiki in the back; both dressed in black robes. Konohamaru had a downtrodden look on his face, but perked up some when his eyes landed on Naruto "Hey boss…"

"Hey, Konohamaru. Good Morning Ibiki." Naruto gave a small head to the both of them as they both entered into the room, Ibiki holding a letter in her hand.

"Good morning Hokage-sama." Ibiki did as best of a bow as she could in her wheelchair as she rolled herself up to Naruto's desk, a small smile on her lips "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise, although I believe I told you just to call me Naruto." Ibiki gave a small laugh as she nodded.

"Very well...Naruto-sama." Naruto gave her a blank stare, causing her to laugh some more as she waved her hand "Just joking of course. I'm glad to see you're well Naruto."

"Thank you, Ibiki." The two of them exchanged pleasantries as Naruto leaned back some, a bit more at ease now that he had entered into conversation with them "I'm surprised you're here, I would have thought you'd be heading to the top of the Hokage Mountain all ready for the funeral."

"We were on our way; however I needed to stop by to give you something before I headed on."

"Hm? Give me something?"

"Yeah, but before that; Konohamaru wanted to give you something as well." Ibiki looked down at Konohamaru who just gave a head nod as he walked around Naruto's desk as he reached inside of chest pocket and pulled out…

"A Handkerchief?" Konohamaru pulled out a white Handkerchief with the Hokage symbol in the middle of it and placed it in Naruto's hand.

"Y-Yeah...T-That was Gramps…" Naruto looked up at Konohamaru and gave a sad look as he spoke.

"Konohamaru, why are you giving this to me if it belonged to the Old Man?" Konohamaru was quiet for a moment as he looked to the side, causing Naruto to reach his hand out "Konoh-"

"It's because you deserve it." Konohamaru quickly said the words causing Naruto to stop and give him a questioning look.

"I...Deserve it?" Konohamaru just slowly nodded, causing Naruto to keep the questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"..." Konohamaru struggled to find the words before taking a deep breath as he began to speak. "Gramos always carried that around with him; he said it was something that had been passed down to him from his sensei. He never used it, saying it was too valuable of a good luck charm to use. H-He also passed it down to your dad."

Naruto went a bit wide-eyed as he heard Konohamaru speak before he looked back down at the Handkerchief "Dad had this?"

"T-That's what I've heard anyway. Mom said apparently that when they were examining your dad's body after he was killed, they found that, unharmed, untouched. Like it was meant to never be tainted."

"R-Really?" Naruto looked down at the Handkerchief one last time as he gave a small smile and nodded with determination. "Well then, I will do everything I can to uphold that. Thank you, Konohamaru."

"D-Don't mention it, boss. I-I just wished it could have been gramps to pass it down to you, instead of me." Konohamaru had some tears in his eyes, but he wiped them away as he shook his head "I-I can't cry…"

Konohamaru whispered the last part, but Naruto was able to pick it up as he gave a sad look and got down onto his knees as he wrapped his arms around Konohamaru.

"W-Whoah Boss, what are you-"

"It's OK Konohamaru...I know you've already cried once...But I know from experience, unless you get it all out the first time, it's going to keep coming back…"

"B-Boss…" Konohamaru didn't move for a second, but not long after his body began to shake as it collapsed into Naruto's arms, tears streaming from his face as he cried the hardest he had ever cried.

Hiruzen was the closest thing he had to a father figure after Konohamaru's father was killed when he was young. THough it wasn't his fault, he always blamed himself for his father's death, saying if he was stronger, he could have stopped it.

So when Hiruzen was killed, he blamed himself once again. He kept trying to tell himself that he just needed to be stronger; if he was a little bit stronger, he could have saved his grandfather.

He blamed himself for everything that went wrong.

He never wanted it to become public.

Even when he gently cried on Naruto's shoulder the first time, he still held it all in.

But today?

The day that his grandfather would finally be put to rest?

He couldn't hold it in.

He couldn't keep the pain hidden.

And with Naruto offering himself to be a beacon that Konohamaru could put his trust in and to stop blaming himself?

He had to let loose.

Konohamaru cried hard onto Naruto's shoulder as Ibiki rolled herself around and stroked her son's hair, tears also gently coming out of her eyes at the scene. She knew what her son was going through and she hated that he couldn't do anything for him at times.

So that's why she couldn't thank Naruto enough.

For the longest time, she had to hide her respect and gratitude towards him.

But no longer.

Now she also had to show it.

Naruto held Konohamaru close for a few more moments until his crying was just soft sniffling as Naruto gently let him go, as Konohamaru wiped his eyes off. Naruto gave a small smile as he ruffled his hair "I promise Konohamaru, I will keep the memory of your grandfather alive."

"I-I know...You will…" Konohamaru had to talk through the gasps as his mother pulled him close as he laid his head in her lap and gently cried still, Ibiki stroking his hair as he did so.

She looked back towards Naruto as Konohamaru cried and gave a small smile as extended the letter towards him "What's this?"

"This is also something from father; it was the letter he wrote to the Fourth right before he took over." Naruto looked up at Ibiki in surprise as she gave a small smile "I know it was written to your father, but just like the handkerchief, I think you should be the rightful owner of it now."

Naruto looked at the letter as he took it from Ibiki's hand and looked it over, a small smile on his face as he opened it and took out the old letter as he began reading it.

"Minato, First I must say…"


15 Years Ago

"Minato, First I Must say congratulations on being approved by the Jonin Council on being the Fourth Hokage." The hand of Hiruzen Sarutobi swiftly wrote as he smoked his pipe, the moonlight illuminating down onto his paper. "It's not a job that just anyone can do, yet I feel you have demonstrated yourself as someone who can not only do the job, but thrive in it as well. Your love for this village is evident, as is Kushina's. When she and Biwako got together the other day for tea, I could just hear the love in her voice for this village, and I think you've helped her quite a bit in that regard."

Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe as he stopped and looked outside, the sound of crickets chirping being the only thing to break the silence before he continued. "Though many things will be expected of you as Hokage, the number one thing you must accomplish is to guide the youth of this village to a bright future. They are the ones who will build the future and take this village to heights it has never seen before, and it will be your goal to guide them there and make sure that they reach their full potential."

"This world is full of many threats and the road to peace will not be easy to achieve, yet I think if anyone can lead us to a future of peace, it is you. It will not be easy of course, the other villages, even our allies, will be looking for an opportunity to strike when we are weakened, and it is because of that, that you must always be ready to strike and defend. Yet I feel like you have the charisma to maybe lead us out of the senseless wars that have defined my generation, and into an era where peace reigns supreme."

A knock was heard on the door to Hiruzen's room, causing him to sigh as he signaled to them that it would be a moment.

"Let me end off with this; I know you and Kushina have been talking about starting a family. I want to let you know that if you need some time away to help raise your child, I will gladly help and support you along the way. I promise to help guide your children on the path to a righteous and rich life, and I promise that this village will support you in every way it can, and for generations to come."

"Sincerely, The Third Hokage…"


Present Day

"Sincerely, The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi." Naruto gently closed the letter and placed it on the desk as he ran his hand through his hair and looked outside, tears wanting to come out yet he forced them down.

Ibiki noticed this as she gave him a small smile as she motioned for Konohamaru to raise himself as she did a small bow "That is all Hokage-sama. I wish you a good day."

Ibiki turned her wheelchair to leave with Konohamaru right behind her, with Konohamaru giving a small wave as he left.

As soon as they opened the door and left, Naruto just shook his head as he looked up at Kakashi "Kakashi-sensei...I really wished I could have met my parents; they sound amazing."

"Yeah, they most certainly were." Naruto gave a small smile as he got up from his chair and grabbed the black clothes "Well; I guess we should be heading on soon. I'm sure the ANBU want me somewhere specific for security reasons."

"Yeah, let's go." Naruto nodded as he opened a drawer on his desk and placed both the letter and Handkerchief inside, and went to grab his clothes when a sound stopped him.

It was the sound of rain.

Naruto looked out his window as the rain began to fall from the sky; pelting his window. Kakashi walked over to him and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder "Even the Heavens are crying today…"

"Yeah…" Naruto felt a tear run down his face as he wiped it off as he grabbed his outfit and started walking towards the door. "Well, let's go."

"Right, after all, we need the Hokage to attend after all."

"No, that's not quite it." Naruto looked back out the window as he smiled and confidently said: "Today we only have one Hokage, and he is currently waiting for us on top of the Hokage Mountain, and his name is Hiruzen Sarutobi."