"Old man, I think it's time I leave to pursue my dream."
The blond was standing in front of a large oak desk staring down the village's greatest and oldest hero. Both of the men were staring at each other, neither unrelenting in their cause.
"I told you Naruto, I don't want you to go. Call it selfish, call me overprotective, but I don't want to see you hurt out there. You haven't had any training as a ninja, so unless you allow me to put an Anbu on you, my answer will still be no."
It pained the Hokage to see his grandchild in all but blood being denied his dream, but sometimes he had to make tough decisions to protect the people he loved. This was just another example of what being a leader meant.
Naruto sighed heavily. "Fine. What if I told you I've been training since I was four years old? Would you let me leave the village then?"
He had his reasons to not let anyone in on the fact that he had been training in the ninja arts for almost all of his life. If people knew he would either have been employed as a ninja for the village or people would have tried kidnapping him. The man was famous after all, even if most of the villagers didn't know why.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a long puff of his pipe and blew the smoke to the side, careful not to let any get near Naruto. The last time it happened his grandson gave him a dressing down that even made him scared.
"Why keep it from me Naruto? Was it to prevent you from becoming a ninja for the village?"
"That's exactly right. If I had become a ninja that would have been my life until I died. My dream would stay just that; a dream."
The Hokage knew what Naruto was saying was the truth, and it hurt him all the more. He had always wanted him to grow up to be just like his father. The greatest ninja to have ever walked the earth. It would've meant a lot to him.
"You're right. To prevent you from pursuing your dream would create a rift between us that I just don't want. I already have a son that hates me, so there's no need to include my grandson."
Naruto smiled. "You know I could never hate you old man. You're the only person who's ever been nice to me, so of course I'm never gonna hate you."
Hiruzen had to hold back a tear at the blinding and loving smile his grandson was giving him. It was both a sad and happy moment for him. Sad because it was true what he said, nobody in the village had ever shown an ounce of kindness to the poor kid and happy because his grandson felt nothing but pure love for him, him, the guy who had killed more than almost anyone else in the elemental nations.
"It means a lot to hear you say that to me my boy. Unfortunately I'm going to need an example of your abilities before I send you alone out into the world." As much as the old man wanted to let him go, he had to see if Naruto wasn't full of hot air about his training.
Naruto chuckled, his eyes full of mischief. "You sure about that old man? If you are, I'm gonna make your Anbu kneel to me with a new type of nature type I've been working on."
The man could feel the Anbu in the room tense up at his proclamation. It made it all the sweeter that he was going to be able to have some fun.
Hiruzen raised a brow, and instead of telling him no, simply waved his hand in a go-ahead fashion.
Naruto merely flicked his finger and the four Anbu that were on the ceiling plummeted to the ground, all of them in the kneeling position.
The Hokage no longer had any doubts in his mind about Naruto's ability to defend himself. To take down four elite Anbu with the flick of a finger spoke volumes about his strength.
"Please release my ninja Naruto."
"Of course."
All four of them instantly got their bearings together, and with a glare in the blonde's direction, disappeared back into their hiding spots.
Naruto looked at the Hokage smugly. It wasn't everyday he got to impress his old man. Actually, he had never really been able to impress him.
"So? Do I finally get to travel the world and shoot some movies?"
The eldest Sarutobi stood up behind his desk and smiled largely. "As much as I want to know how you did that I'll hold my tongue. Come here my boy, and give your old man one final hug before you leave."
Naruto took one big step and wrapped his arms around Hiruzen. It smelled like terrible tobacco, but Naruto didn't care. This was the last time in a while that he was going to see his grandfather, and he'd be damned if he didn't hug him because he smelled bad.
"I'm gonna miss you so much gramps."
"And I'll miss you. Take care out there Naruto."
"I will."
Naruto broke away from the hug, but not before subtly putting a seal on his grandpa's back. The seal would signal him if he used any destructive jutsu, that way he could come back and make sure his old man was able to die of old age.
The Hokage watched as Naruto strolled out of the office with a large smile on his face. Seeing him that happy let him know that he made the right decision letting him leave the village. When was the last time he saw the kid smile like that?
"You'll go far Naruto. I know you will."
As he sat back down in his chair he realized there was a note on the top of his desk. With grizzled hands he unfolded the letter.
Dear Old Man,
I want to first thank you for looking after me, even though you had plenty of more important things to worry about with the village. Granted, all the people were assholes, but still.
I want to keep the letter short so I don't take up even more of your time so here's my closing remark. My first movie is going to be released within the next few months. I have everything done for the movie, and it'll be about the upbringings of my character. I expect you to be there opening night.
Love, Naruto
Hiruzen smiled and carefully folded the note, placing it in a special drawer on his desk only he could open for safe keepings.
"Anbu, you are dismissed for the day."
Without hesitation his most trusted guards disappeared, finally leaving him alone. Once he knew nobody would interrupt him he looked at a picture of him and Naruto and cried tears of both happiness and sorrow.
"I'm so proud of the man he's become. Minato, Kushina, you would be so proud of your son. Just as proud as I am."