Chapter 2: Shoes to Fill
Danzou's mouth was left agape as he fell back into his seat, having lost out to Naruto for the position of Hokage. He could not believe the audacity of it. It was so infuriating that Danzou abruptly got back up and dismissed himself, giving Naruto a threatening glance as he left the venue. Naruto paid it no mind as he too looked stunned. Even though he was preparing himself for the chance that he would earn the title, actually hearing the Daimyo appoint him to the rank was marveling. Shikaku and the other ninja in attendance were also bewildered by the Daimyo's decision.
The Daimyo noticed the situation of the room and the fact that everyone needed time to let the information sink in. He chuckled before saying, "I think that's enough for today. We will convene this meeting tomorrow, with our new Hokage at the opposing head of the table." He finished with a smile. He and his delegation got up and made their way out, going to their residential area of stay. The Daimyo patted the boy's shoulder as he left, giving him a short congratulations.
Naruto then looked to the remaining four in the room, trying to reign in his shocked expression. The next to stand was Shikaku, smiling at the boy for succeeding in beating out Danzou. He was a little nervous to have a Hokage as young as Naruto, temporary or otherwise, but Shikaku saw it as a better option than Danzou. He would wait and see what Naruto did with this opportunity. The Nara would watch his actions without bias, and if he deemed Naruto worthy of such a position at the end of the two months then the boy would have his vote in the Jounin Vote. He walked up to Naruto with a smirk, "Well, congrats kid." The Nara left with that.
The two remaining elders got up next and made their way to the exit. They were too stunned to speak with the Uzumaki at the moment. Naruto thought Koharu was about to say something to him as she stopped beside him and turned her head slightly, but then decided against it and followed her old teammate out. Naruto looked to the last occupant of the room as a man clad in Anbu armor and a tiger mask bowed before him. He stayed there for a minute before Naruto realized he was waiting for an order. The Uzumaki waved his hand, saying, "At ease."
The Anbu Commander straightened out, nodding courtly at his new leader, "Hokage-sama, if you would please follow me to the Anbu headquarters. I must assign you a team of your own personal Anbu to watch after you over the course of your reign."
Naruto understood. He had always known that the Hokage had his own team of Anbu that trailed him from the shadows every minute of the day. He had always been able to spot them around the Third and Fifth during their times. It was not that they were bad at stealth, far from it. Naruto just discovered that even from a young age he had an inert ability to know when he was being watched. Whether the Kyuubi had a hand in that could be left up to discussion. Naruto nodded to his Anbu Commander, "Lead the way."
Tiger did not reply. He just turned and headed for the facility, which was not far at all. In fact, it was the next Hokage monument head over. The Anbu faction was stationed behind the Nidaime Hokage's stone monument, the Hokage who had created the first Anbu program. Upon entrance into the facility, Naruto noted it was very much like the Jounin lounge. The only difference was the several doors that led to training rooms, and a dining hall, for the members. All the Anbu members in attendance turned to the two entering, expectantly.
Tiger's strict tone echoed through the building, "Bow your heads you insolent whelps! You are in the presence of the Rokudaime Hokage!"
Upon hearing that, all the Anbu bowed, much to Naruto surprise. He needed to start getting used to such treatment. He then realized they were all waiting for his orders once more, "You can all be at ease." They did so as he continued, "Now, I was told I get my own personal Anbu. Any volunteers?" No one raised their hands; they all just continued to stare at their leader, as if waiting for something else to happen. Their actions just confused Naruto. Was he that unpopular?
Tiger leaned over to Naruto's ear, whispering, "Hokage-sama, Anbu are trained to take orders. They do not respond well to questions. Order them, and they will respond."
Naruto nodded dumbly, quietly thanking the man before turning back to his elites, "Let me rephrase that." Naruto told them as a smile was brought to his lips, much to the Anbus' interest. "I order everyone, who believes that they are the strongest here, to raise your hands."
He was not surprised when everyone put their hands into the air. They were the best of the best, they were Anbu. It is only to be expected that they had such confidence in their abilities. He would expect nothing less. Naruto's smile grew into a smirk. He was proud of the ninja that were now under his rule, and his pride just radiated off him, "That's what I'm talking about."
Naruto turned and started heading out, telling Tiger with a smirk, "Give me the best you got."
Tiger nodded as his Hokage left. The Anbu Commander turned to his subordinates and chuckled evilly. The temperature in the room dropped several degrees when he sniggered. When Tiger chuckled, nothing good never followed, "Time for some tryouts, maggots."
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Naruto opened the door to his new office. It was one of the few buildings that had been left untouched by Pein's attack. The Uzumaki closed the door behind him. The sun was just about to disappear beneath the skyline as dusk was upon the village. The office was covered in darkness. Naruto could have flicked the switch beside the door but decided against it. The orange light of dusk coming from the village outside of his office was more than enough.
A festival was currently being held for Pein's defeat. The reconstruction of the village was underway, with the help of some foreign aids. One that came to Naruto's mind was Tazuna and his construction crew from the Land of Wave. That, along with Yamato's Mokuton abilities, would have a brand new village in about two to four months. However, the village decided to put the reconstruction on hold for a few hours to have a festival, opting to let its people indulge themselves a little. The festive was being held to raise the people's spirits. It was very flashy and illuminated the entire village in bright lights and commotion. Wandering venders had set up shop and some of the few already built restaurants and bars were abuzz with people waiting in lines out their doors.
As Naruto made his way across the office, he noticed a package on his desk. It was a box that weighted a couple pounds. The present looked like it held an article of clothing. Naruto squinted to see the note tapped to its cover. The note read:
You have a striking resemblance to that of the Fourth Hokage, so I wanted you to have this. I always liked Minato and that cloak of his. I made the same kind for any future Hokage who were interested. I feel that it suits you. I look forward to seeing what you can do as Hokage. Hopefully you are made a permanent Hokage when the time comes. Good luck.
Sir Shijimi, Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
The Daimyo's insignia followed. Naruto opened the box and found that it was a cloak much like his own, except this one was entirely white with red flames that trailed around the bottoms. Naruto could tell from the touch that it was made from some of the finest cloth. It was very soft and smooth; yet firm enough to withstand the life of a ninja. He pulled it out the box and let it unfold to get a good look at it. In red kanji, down the middle of its back, was the words Rokudaime Hokage. He also noticed the thread that connected the front of the cloak's neckline. Naruto slid his own cloak off and replaced it with the one given to him. He finished getting it on as he clipped the one line of thread that connected the opening of the cloak together. He looked down at his front, and then back (to the best of his abilities). It was a perfect fit over his jumpsuit. He folded his previous cloak up and let it sit on the box at the corner of his desk, making a mental note to thank the Daimyo at tomorrow's meeting. The Uzumaki walked around his desk and sat at his chair, turning so he could lean back and still look over his village from the window. He let out a heavy sigh. Today was one of the longest days he had ever had, and the sad truth was, he had much more to do. He just needed a minute to relax. His mind wondered to the Jounin Vote that would be held in two months. He did not believe in the slightest that he had a majority of the Jounins' votes. Even though he did indeed protect the village from Pein it did not necessarily make him Hokage material, contrary to whatever the Daimyo believed. He knew everyone still saw him as the dimwitted and annoying kid that defined him for much of his life. He had been trying to change that ever since he had gotten back from his training trip with Jiraiya, but he had hardly made any improvement with the higher-ups of the village. He needs to sway the Jounins' opinion of him within the next 2 months, and that was going to be a challenge. Although, he knew he could do it. If his father (he was still giddy about saying that), Jiraiya, and Kyuubi could have faith in him, then he could have it in himself. After the Jounin Vote, if they voted in favor of him, then his Hokage inauguration would be announced. However, he would not be surprised if his promotion to Hokage was already known to the entire village. It had been about an hour since the end of the meeting. However, this was a ninja village, and news spread like wildfire when you did not try your hardest at keeping it a secret.
The minute he had to relax felt like it only lasted a second as there was a knock on his door. He was still leaning back in his chair when he wobbled his feet back and forth, slowly turning to face the door to his office. Naruto leaned into his chair more, thinking it would be funny to see whoever was behind the door's reaction to seeing their Hokage in such a position.
Though he grunted in frustration that his peace was interrupted, "Come on in."
Naruto's heart dropped when Danzou came walking in. The Uzumaki immediately sat up in his chair, not wanting to let this man see him like that. Danzou did not seem to notice the boy's sudden movement as his mind was elsewhere. Naruto let out a low growl with hardened eyes, "What do you want?"
Danzou's one visible eyebrow rose, "So much hostility. What for, Hokage-sama?"
Naruto could clearly hear the way Danzou spat out "Hokage". Naruto knew he could not just come right out and say that he knew all about Danzou and the stuff he had been up to. However, he could come close to it. "You do not have to put up an act. I know more than you think, Danzou."
That surprised Danzou, but he did not show it. His stoned expression did not falter, "So what then? You obviously hold no trust for me and have openly shown that you hate me. Are you going to strip me of my title? Send me to jail? Erase all the work I have done to get where I am today? I can assure you that no matter what you do, I will always come back." Danzou was sure that Naruto had no evidence against him, whether the brat knew things or not. Thus, he was not afraid of any accusations that the child could make. Even the Hokage could not send someone in Danzou's position to their death without proof behind their reasons. And if Naruto could not kill Danzou, then the war hawk knew he had won. Because Danzou knew that no matter what the Uzumaki tried to do, he would always find a way back, it was what he had been doing all his life. The position of Hokage would someday be his, he was certain of it.
Danzou's musings were interrupted by confusion when Naruto chuckled, "No Danzou. I do not intend on taking anything from you, contrary to what you may believe." His words just confused the Shimura even more. "You see, Danzou. I have already won. I am Hokage, you are not. There is no one higher than me. There is no one that I must answer to. This battle is over Danzou. I will always keep you under my thumb, and I will wait. Wait for the one day you slip up. When that day arrives, I will crush you like the insect you are."
The boy's words infuriated Danzou to no end, so much so that he turned and left. How dare that boy speak to him in such a way! Who was he to talk to his elder like that? As Danzou made his way out of the Hokage's building, he was already devising a new means to obtain the power of Hokage. He was finding it hard to come up with a sound and reasonable plan until he remembered Naruto's words.
"There is no one higher than me. There is no one that I must answer to."
Danzou smirked wickedly, as a new idea of rising to power began to develop. Naruto was a fool to think that there was no one who was of higher rank than the Hokage. There was, in fact, one such person that all Hokage must answer to. That was the Daimyo of the Fire Country. Danzou was getting excited as his new plan folded out in his head. Naruto would regret ever trying to cross Shimura Danzou of Ne. He would make sure the boy paid for his ignorance.
All the while, the Commander of Ne was completely unaware that he had already fallen into Naruto's trap.
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Sakura and Shizune sat at Tsunade's bedside. She was still in a coma and appeared to be nothing but a frail version of her former self. They were located in one of the newly constructed buildings in the village as the commotion from the festival outside was almost completely muffed by the wood walls. News of Naruto's promotion to Hokage was flooding the streets like wildfire. It only helped to amplify the celebration. Most of Naruto's own generation and the rest of the ninja populace were still in shock from the discovery. It was actually the very topic Sakura and Shizune had been talking about when someone knocked on the wood door to their room.
Shizune got up and went over to the door. When she opened it, she was shocked to find their new Hokage, Naruto, standing in the doorway. She dumbly backed up and beckoned him to enter, bowing respectively. When Sakura saw her teammate, she followed Shizune's example, no matter how weird it felt. When the Haruno learned of her teammate's new position, it was an understatement to say that she was dumbfounded. She had been used to his ramblings about being Hokage, but to her they were just hollow statements. She never really believed he could actually become Hokage, no matter how much she hated herself after thinking that. But who could blame her? This was Naruto she was talking about; the "drop-out", and most annoying kid that ever graduated from the academy. There was no way someone like him could have become the Hokage. Yet, he proved everyone wrong and did just that.
Naruto told them to stop bowing, finding it too weird. Sakura stood and just stared at Naruto; mesmerized by the way he looked. Not counting two days ago when she saw an exhausted Naruto, this was the first time in over a month since she had actually seen the new Naruto. That month of separation had felt like an eternity. He looked so different now, while not very much physically. Except for the cloak, he looked identical to the idiot she had come to love as a brother. However, he was still different in every other way. The way he now walked radiated with power. Even now, the two Kunoichi could tell that he was on guard. The way he walked just reflected in the way he talked. He commanded obedience and was stern with his language. This authoritative Naruto was completely new to her.
She was shocked when Naruto did not even spare her a single glance as he walked past the two and kneeled down beside Tsunade's futon. Naruto did not look at either of the two as he asked, "Can you two please leave us? I wish to speak to Tsunade-baachan alone. Go enjoy the festival."
Sakura was too stunned to talk. Shizune did all the talking for her, "Of course, Hokage-sama." The older Kunoichi grabbed the Haruno and pulled her out the room, following the reigning Hokage's orders, much to Sakura's protest.
Naruto looked at Tsunade's weakened and sleeping form in silence with an emotionless expression. He lost track of how long he stared into her aged and wrinkled face. However, no matter how much he tried, he could not keep down the emotions that were bubbling up in him. They just kept bursting back up. Sorrow, sadness, and most of all, regret. Regret that he did not return sooner and stop Pein from putting Tsunade, his surrogate mother, in the state that she was. He leaned forward and dug his face into the nape of her neck, tears falling freely from his cheeks, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I should have finished my training quicker and come back, and then I could have saved you! It's my fault you're in this condition."
It took Naruto a couple minutes to reign in his emotions. He looked at her unmoving form again, "I promise I will live up to the example you set." A sad smile graced his lips, "Heh, although I do intend to keep the title. So don't think that just because you wake up, you'll be getting your hat back. You're going to have to pry it from my cold dead hands, old woman."
Naruto wiped away his drying tears with his shoulder, vowing to himself and Tsunade that he would never cry again. A Hokage did not show weakness. He did not let his emotions run him. He was the epitome of power, and was an example that all Shinobi should follow. Naruto stood with an even stronger resolve before bowing to the previous Hokage. He turned and proceeded to head out. He once again ignored the two Kunoichi that were waiting just outside, intent on going about his business. His silence once again, shocked the two as they tried to get his attention. He wanted to talk to Sakura, but he was just too busy. He Shunshined into a cloud of smoke before either of the girls could approach him.
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Kakashi was standing in front of the memorial stone with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He could hear the commotion in the nighttime air from the festival being held across the village. However, he did not intend on going as he was busy conversing with Obito and Rin about his day and its craziness. His head slightly rose as he sensed Naruto. The Jounin was surprised that he had not noticed his student until he was standing directly beside him.
"Naruto?" Kakashi asked, turning his head to look at him. Like most of his peers, Kakashi was stunned to find out his student was now Hokage. Temporarily, but Hokage, nonetheless. When Kakashi saw the side of Naruto's body, he had to do a double take because at first glance he could have sworn he saw the Fourth Hokage. He was not jealous that his student had taken the position of Hokage, far from it. He never wanted the title of Hokage, and if it had been offered to him he would have swiftly declined. He just did not want that kind of responsibility on his shoulders. However, he did not think any of his students at their age, especially Naruto, was ready for such a thing. And to see Naruto holding the same title his sensei once had; it was just disrespectful. It was also the reason the first thing that came out his mouth was not congratulation for the boy's dream coming true, but instead a question, "What are you doing here?"
Naruto continued to stare at the stone his sensei was previously looking at. He did not reply to his sensei's question, he merely asked one of his own, "How come you're not at the festival?"
Kakashi did not like the way Naruto dodged his question, Hokage or not, he was still his student. Kakashi decided to not answer the Uzumaki's question, countering with, "I could ask the same of you."
Naruto's attention never left the stone, but he could hear the tone Kakashi was giving him. He then realized that even his own sensei did not believe he was ready for the title of Hokage. It did not show, but Naruto was hurt to know that his sensei would probably not vote in his favor at the Jounin Vote. Naruto answered his sensei, "I'm here to see an old friend."
Kakashi's eyebrow rose in confusion. Kakashi did not know of any people, other than Jiraiya, who were close to the boy and dead. It could have been Jiraiya, since his named was engraved in the memorial stone, but the man had been Naruto's teacher and had died pretty recently, so to hear the Uzumaki speak of him in such a way was strange. He wanted to know just who the boy was visiting, "Who may that be?"
Naruto walked up to the memorial stone, tracing his finger across all the names. He stopped for a second when he came to Jiraiya's, but continued down afterward. "He was my first real friend…" Naruto then chuckled as he turned around and started to head for the cemetery section, where his real destination was, "He was actually the one that made me want to be a ninja and become Hokage."
Kakashi's gaze followed the boy as he walked away, greatly interested in who this man was that Naruto spoke of. Naruto stopped several feet past Kakashi, his back turned to the man, "His name was Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Kakashi's eye slightly widened, surprised to hear that as his hands slipped from his pant pockets, becoming slack. He knew the Sandaime cared for the boy, but he never thought they were that close. His ears perked up when he heard Naruto continue talking, "I'm glad you're okay Kakashi-sensei." Naruto's words actually caught Kakashi off-guard. Naruto looked over his shoulder, but did not meet his sensei's eye; instead he looked off into the distance to his side, "When I came back and discovered you were dead, I almost lost it. I don't think I could handle it if another one of my teachers were to die. It's good to know you came back."
Kakashi nodded, silently thanking his student for his kind words. Naruto turned forward and began to leave with his parting words, "Life is short, Kakashi-sensei. Enjoy yourself. Go to the festival and have fun, that's an order."
A small smile appeared underneath his mask as Kakashi looked back at the memorial stone, 'Sorry Obito, Rin. While I may be against it, he is Hokage right now so orders are orders. I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow, okay?' The Hatake turned and Shunshined away.
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Naruto was now once again standing in front of the same tombstone he had been doing earlier in the day. He was smiling at the slab of marble, "I did it Jiji." That was all Naruto had to say as he turned and told the grave as he left, "I'll be back next week old man, so don't go anywhere."
As Naruto headed to his next destination, his mind remembered the Sandaime's words to him about the position of Hokage, after he finally became a Genin.
"The Hokage is one who continues to act as the main pillar of the house, protecting it! He's the one who carries the will of Konoha, the Will of Fire, entrusted with it! I can sense a mighty flame within you Naruto. Show the world! Show the world, your Nindo!"
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Many of the Clan compounds were some of the first buildings being reconstructed. As such, the Hyuuga Clan's compound was already nearly complete. It was not anywhere near as extravagant as it used to be, but it was on its way. The construction team working on it was currently on break as they enjoyed the festivities the village was offering elsewhere. A good number of the Hyuugas were at the festival, but many others were holding their own party in the sanctity of their compound. Main and Branch family congregated together, putting their differences aside for the time being as they enjoyed their short time of peace with one another. The main courtyard of the complex was abuzz with Main and Branch members as they mingled together, surrounded by tables with a variety of drinks and food. Hyuuga Hiashi was currently chatting with one of the elders, his daughter Hanabi by his side. She was older now, soon to turn twelve. Her wardrobe was identical to what she wore in her younger years, just bigger to accommodate her growth.
Hiashi and Hanabi's attentions were drawn to the multiple gasps across the party. They, along with the Main branch elder, turned to see what was causing all the commotion. They were shocked to see Uzumaki Naruto as he strolled through the courtyard, earning bows and congratulations from many of the Hyuuga members. He returned all of them with a smile and a courteous nod as he made his way up to the three. Hiashi and Hanabi were too stunned to even respond to Naruto as he stopped in front of them with a wide smile. The elder was quick to make up for their slack. He stepped forward and smiled eagerly, shaking the Hokage's hand with both of his, "Hokage-sama, it's a pleasure to finally meet you!"
Naruto nodded politely with a smile once more, "And I you, um…"
The elder did not seem insulted in the slightest that the boy did not know his name, "Hiroshi, sir."
Naruto's smile never faltered, but he did find it weird that the man kept shaking his hand. "Yes! Hiroshi." The Uzumaki was finally able to pull his hand free as he turned to the two he actually knew, "Hiashi-san, nice to meet you again. After all these years."
The Clan head of the Hyuuga regained his composure, surprised that the boy he had only met once actually remembered his name. He was also surprised it was this boy that was given the title of Hokage. However, after defeating Pein, he found it hard to argue. The boy was certainly powerful enough. The Hyuuga never really held anything against the boy like many of his kin used too, except for the times he had pull a prank on their compound, but other than that he was just some ordinary kid. In fact, his opinion of the boy only increased when he defeated Neji in the Chuunin Exams and thus allowed Hiashi to tell him what really happened to his father. It was because of the Uzumaki that Hiashi was able to get the heavy weight of guilt he felt off his shoulders. For that, Naruto had unknowingly earned Hiashi's vote in the Jounin Vote.
"It is good to see you too, Hokage-sama." Hiashi returned Naruto's smile and shook the man's hand. He shook it with just one hand, unlike the elder. "What can I do for you?"
Naruto let go of Hiashi's hand and scratched the back of his head, laughing, "I was just wondering where Hinata was. I needed to talk to her."
Hiashi found it strange that the Hokage needed to see his eldest daughter, but he did not make it known as he pointed to the main house building, "She is in there, talking to her cousin Neji."
Naruto nodded, thanked the man, and then excused himself as he made his way over there. He did so while pretending not to notice the hard stare that the girl beside Hiashi was giving him ever since he came up to the three.
Hyuuga Hanabi never averted her gaze from the man's face as she analyzed him. She heard much of him from her older sister and cousin, Neji. She had never actually met the man, but she did watch his fight with Neji during the Chuunin Exams a couple years back. She never thought much of the man. To her, he seemed incompetent and just extremely lucky when it came to fighting. When she heard of his victory over Pein and his ascension to the position of Hokage, she learned just how wrong she was. After having been proven wrong, which did not happen much, she made a mental note to look into the man some more. It only angered her that when she actually got the chance to speak with the man, she froze. She did not expect him to catch her off-guard like that, coming to her home of all places to see her sister. She was also mesmerized by the way he held himself. That was another thing that stopped her. He walked with a purpose and left no opening to any around. Even in her young age and without the Byakugan activated, she could see that. As he walked away, she was mentally kicking herself for saying nothing. Another part of her was a little peeved that he did not even make an attempt to converse with her. She then had to remind herself that he was Hokage, and thus had more important things to do than hold a conversation with some academy student. Genius, or otherwise.
The Rokudaime Hokage made his way through the sliding doors of the building's entrance. He was surprised to find only Neji and Hinata sitting there. They were talking to one another, sitting on couches that faced one another and both of them had a drink in hand. He did well in hiding his presence like he did to Kakashi, as the two did not notice him until he appeared in their peripherals. By then Naruto was nearly between the two.
Neji's eyes widened at Naruto's sudden appearance, and slight change of wardrobe, as Hinata nearly fainted, stuttering, "N-Naruto-kun!"
Like most of the village by now, they too learned of the Uzumaki's new title. They were stunned to say the least, but extremely happy and proud of their friend nonetheless. Neji, being a Jounin, knew of the vote that would take place in two month's time, and as such, had already intended on siding with Naruto.
The two Hyuugas put their drinks down, stood, and bowed, which Naruto quickly said they did not need to do. They weakly protested, but listened to him. Neji was the one to ask, "Hokage-sama, may I ask why you are here?"
"Neji, you don't need to call me "Hokage-sama"" Naruto told the Hyuuga. The Uzumaki did not know if Neji would listen, but he felt like he needed to make it clear at least once, "And I wanted to talk to Hinata, if you wouldn't mind?"
At hearing that, Hinata's heart started to beat faster. Was he here to talk about what happened when she tried to save him from Pein?
Neji nodded, understanding what they needed to talk about. He walked past Naruto, letting him clearly know that he was in the Uzumaki's corner for the upcoming Jounin Vote. Naruto thanked him kindly as the Hyuuga made his way out to the courtyard, saying, "I'll just wait outside."
When Neji was gone, Naruto turned to the standing Hinata. She was blushing furiously and had her hands clamped together over her chest. She fidgeted nervously, being under her crush's gaze. Her breathing became heavier as he walked up to her. He then embraced her in a hug, making Hinata gasp at the sudden action. She was as red as a tomato as her crush tightened the hug. Her face was in his chest as she inhaled his scent. The new fabric of his cloak added to the already pleasant smell of ramen that always seemed to linger around him. She was glad she was pressed into his chest, else he was would have seen the redness of her face. Naruto laid his chin on her head as he whispered into her ear, "I'm so glad you're okay Hinata."
Hearing him say those words gave her the courage to slide her arms around his body, under his coat, as she returned the embrace. She was in heaven, and wished that the embrace would never end. He was so warm and his cloak just seemed to envelop her. She let out a whining moan when he pulled away, too quiet for even Naruto to hear. The two still had their arms around one another, but now they had enough room to meet each other's eyes. Naruto's bright smile brought a smile to Hinata's lips. Naruto spoke, "I wanted to thank you, Hinata. If it wasn't for you, Pein surely would have beaten me. I can never repay you for what you've done. I owe you my life." Hinata nodded happily, she could feel tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes. However, she stayed silent as she knew he had more to say, "I, however, cannot return your feelings right now."
His last words drove her down from her Naruto-high, but she did notice the subtle hint at the end. Her smile faded, but she understood what was going on, "I-I get it."
Naruto understood he hurt her just now, but she needed to know where he stood, "Don't get me wrong Hinata. You're one of my closest friends and one of the only people who have always believed in me. I do love you. Just not the same way you love me. But don't take it the wrong way!" Naruto's words seemed to lighten her spirits as he continued, "I can't focus on such things right now. If we tried having a relationship, I can assure you it would never work out. I have a village to reconstruct, and look after. Give me some time to adjust to my new position as Hokage, and then I promise we can give this a shot!"
Hinata's smile was brought back to her face at hearing that promise. She nodded elegantly, "Of course, N-Naruto-kun!"
Naruto's smile turned into one of his full blown grins. Shortly after, they let go of one another and Naruto said his goodbyes. She offered to have him stay with her and Neji, but he politely declined. She apologized, but he quickly corrected her, saying she need not feel sorry for showing such generous hospitality. He left after that, saying his farewells to Neji as he past him on his way out of the Hyuuga compound. When Neji went back inside and asked what happened, he was shocked to find a passed out Hinata on the couch. He was immediately at her side, worrying for her until he saw the dark crimson blush across her face, and a small trickle of blood running from her nose. Hinata's dreams had finally come true and her realization of what had just happened between her and Naruto ran her over like a freight train.
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Naruto walked into his office once more, this time feeling a lot more tired. The festival was slowing down and people were heading to bed, while others went back to work on construction. Naruto decided to turn the light switch on this time. The overhead lights flickered to life as they lit up the room. He dragged his feet along, going around his desk and plopping down into the cushioned chair. He turned so he was facing his desk. Looking down at it he saw an assortment of objects on the mahogany wood. There was a bent over lamp with a switch on the wire, near the light's base. A silver picture frame, which housed no picture. That did not really surprise Naruto. He had never really seen any pictures on Tsunade's desk. Other than that were a wooden scroll holder and a small, sectioned, basket with no handle. Inside the different sections of the basket were paper clips, paper weights, and some sticky notes.
Naruto then reached into his pocket and withdrew the leaf he had snatched during his battle with Pein. He looked at it and smiled, remembering the warmth that had spread through him when he first saw it. It was still a luscious green, and healthy, leaf. Leaves in Konoha tended to stay healthy for several days, even after they are detached from their stems. Naruto intended to get the leaf laminated so he could keep it on his desk, but pushed that onto his to-do list for tomorrow. Naruto lifted his desk basket and put the leaf halfway under it so the thing would not go flying off anywhere. After doing so the Uzumaki went back to looking over his desk.
There were two drawers, a top and a bottom, on either side of the desk that Naruto sat between. Above his legs was a very thin drawer that, when he opened to see what was inside, held even more desk appliances; pens, pencils, sharpies, highlighters, rubber bands, quill and ink, and a bunch of other useless stuff. Naruto shut that drawer and opened the top drawer on his right side. There were a total of five scrolls. Each one was color coded and had several of the same letters printed over their binds. The letters were 'D' through 'A' and then 'S'. Naruto then realized these were the mission lists.
The new Hokage pulled the one marked 'D', placed it on his desk, and opened it. As he unscrolled the paper, he found there to be separated seals, each one had their own markings to differentiate between them. He unsealed the first on the list, mentally thanking Fukasaku for teaching him how to seal and unseal things before returning to Konoha. Naruto found that another scroll appeared. He took hold of the new one and opened it. After reading the details, he realized it was a request for a mission. It had the description and given rank, as well as the amount that would be paid upon its completion. Naruto resealed the mission and then closed the scroll, placing it back into its drawer. He was aware that the Hokage handed out all missions, so seeing the scrolls was not a big shock to him. He looked into the drawer below the one he was just in and found files. There were tabs to the files, and after reading them Naruto discovered they were deeds that the Hokage owned. There was a wide variety of things, such as the Hokage monument, the office building, Konoha's cemetery, and a lot of other complexes that were operated by the ninja of Konoha. As Naruto was skimming through, his finger stopped on a tab he did not think he would see.
'Ichiraku Ramen?' Naruto thought to himself as he pulled the folder out. He looked over it and discovered it was the deed to the land that Ichiraku Ramen operated on. The date of the purchase of the land was around seven years ago. Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered the old ramen chef telling him, when he was about nine years old, that they would soon be going out of business. Apparently he and his daughter could not pay for the monthly rent on the land, on top of the money spent on maintenance and supplies. They just did not have the money anymore. When Naruto learned of this he went to the Third, yelling and pleading at him to help. Afterward, he never heard about money problems from the ramen cook again. He had almost forgotten about the incident. A sweet smile broke across the blonde's face, 'You're the best, Jiji.'
He placed the file back where he found it and closed the drawer. Naruto shifted to the other side and started with the bottom drawer this time. When he opened this one there was a loud rattling noise. Naruto's expression faltered as he looked at the multiple sake bottles sitting up in the drawer. There was a saucer sitting in between the tops of a couple bottles. Naruto sighed at Tsunade's antics, 'Why am I not surprised?'
He swiftly shut the drawer, ignoring the clanking bottles as he pulled open the top drawer. A full blown smirk passed over Naruto's face at what he saw. 'JACKPOT!' Naruto pulled a rather bulky textbook from the drawer, wiping its surface to rid it of dust as he read the title; A Thorough Guide to being a Kage.
Naruto leaned back, opening the book to its beginning pages. He was about to start reading, but a knock on his office's door beat him to it. His head fell back against his chair in frustration. He picked his head back up, looking at the clock hanging above the door and saw that it was 11:09. He groaned quietly, "Come in."
A Chuunin came walking in, holding a rather massive scroll. Naruto recognized the man as Akame Iwana for the distinctive eye patch he had over his left eye. He wore the traditional Chuunin outfit with his forehead protector covering his entire head like a bandanna.
Naruto's attention was drawn to the scroll the man was holding. The Hokage put his book down and got up, moving around the desk in a rushed manner, "You found it!"
Iwana handed the man the large scroll, bowing, "Not quite, Lord Hokage. A couple of construction crew men found it under the rubble as they were preparing the area for reconstruction. They are waiting downstairs."
Naruto looked up and met the man's eyes, catching the Chuunin off-guard. He was not prepared for how overjoyed his leader would be, "Well give them my thanks and a small reward for their efforts."
The Chuunin nodded, "Right away Hokage-sama." The ninja turned and left, closing the door behind him.
Naruto held the scroll that Fukasaku gave him, and propped it up against the side of his desk. It was used to transfer sage clones he had left on Mount Myoboku to his location so he could dispel them, acquiring their Senjutsu without the need to stop in battle. He was glad to have it back in his possession as he had new plans for it. Naruto had a new interest in Fuuinjutsu he acquired during his training with Fukasaku. He had always known about the style, and Jiraiya had even tried on several occasions to get him interested. It just never seemed like his cup of tea at the time. However, after learning about its uses from Kyuubi, and the fact that his mother's country was actually destroyed because they were feared for their aptitude in the subject, his interest spiked. He made a mental note to visit Konoha's archives and see what he could dig up about the technique.
Naruto went back to his desk and picked up his book, finally getting some peace and quiet as he started to read though the book.
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It was around 5:47 in the morning and Naruto was leaned back passed out in his chair, his favorite new book lying on his chest. He had passed out about three hours prior, having lost track of time during his reading. He had read about one-fourth of the way through and had to say, if it was not for this book, there would have been a lot of things he would have never been prepared to do. Naruto stirred in his sleep as he heard something beside him. He cracked an eye open and looked to his right as he saw someone going through his mission list drawer. The person did not seem to notice that Naruto was awake. He performed a Shunshin and appeared behind the person with a kunai at their throat. Naruto immediately deciphered that this was no ninja. Any graduated student would have noticed the man's sudden disappearance and any Chuunin, or higher, could have predicted his movements with the simple technique and parried him. The intruder squealed, which confused Naruto as he asked in a deadly tone, "Who are you and what are you doing?"
"H-Hokage-s-sama?" The person, who Naruto now knew was a girl, looked over her shoulder at her leader in terror. She had purple hair tied in a ponytail with a feminine suit and skirt that gave off a professional vibe, yet still showed off her curves. She was sitting on her legs, and shaking, "I-I'm your secretary and just d-doing my job."
Naruto then remembered reading in a passage of the book last night that every Kage has a secretary that makes their schedule for the day. Whether they follow such a schedule was up to the Kage. The secretary is also the person who is to wake the Hokage in the morning (6:00 a.m. on the dot). As well as fill the mission scrolls with the new daily missions Konoha gets. At that moment he then noticed the many scrolls that lay around them, unfolded and categorized together. He felt like an idiot for overreacting like that, but did not want his secretary to see that. Plus, she was pretty cute so he wanted to play it cool. He put his weapon back in his kunai holder on his leg as he walked back to his chair with a straight face, "Sorry about that. What's your name?"
The girl was still a little frazzled at her Hokage's actions, but answered him nonetheless as she pushed her rectangular framed glasses up her nose, while holding a clipboard in her other hand, "My name's Emiko, Hokage-sama. It's an honor to meet you."
Naruto was still getting used to the way people now treated him. He knew it was going to take awhile to get adjusted to it. It was a complete one-eighty from how he used to be treated. Naruto smiled at the girl, looking into her lavender eyes, "Thank you Emiko."
Naruto grabbed the book that fell into his chair after he used his Shunshin to get behind Emiko and closed it, putting it on the desk as he turned back to his helper, "Do you know where the bathroom is? I need to take a shower and wash my cloths."
Emiko's nerves slowly calmed as she nodded, "Yes. Go out the door and turn right. Go down the hall and it will be the third door on your left."
Naruto thanked the girl and left. He found the room and entered. It was a room full of washers and dryers, washers on the left, and dryers on the right. The next room past this one was a washroom. He took his clothes off after putting his cloak up on a hanger and leaving his ninja supplies on a table in the middle of the room. He was quick to put everything else in the washer, and head into the showers. He washed and exited with a towel around his waist. The washer was done and he moved them to the dryer across the room. Naruto pulled one of the scrolls from his pouch lying on the table and unsealed another orange jumpsuit and pants. Naruto really liked Fuuinjutsu. It just has so many uses. He put his new pair of clothes and supplies back on, along with the cloak, and headed back to his office. Upon his return he found that Emiko was done and all the scrolls were cleaned up and back in the drawer. She was standing beside his desk, scanning through the schedule she had made for her leader.
He made his way to his chair and sat down. He then put the Kage guide back into its drawer as Emiko started to go through her list of things or him to do. Apparently everything on the schedule, besides breaks for food and the meeting with the Daimyo later in the day, was paperwork. She had several Chuunin come throughout the morning to drop off stacks of paperwork. Mountains upon mountains of paper. Mission reports, files, deeds, requests, and assigning ninja to missions; they all needed his consent and approval. What was so difficult about it was that he had to know everything about the documents, which meant he had to read everything. That is why it would take so long. Thirty minutes into his paperwork, he came up with the idea to use Kage Bunshin. It seemed to work for the following hour, but as he watched the clones do his work, he could not help but feel like he was cheating the system. He was Hokage damn it! Not those clones! It felt weird to not do the work himself. It was different compared to when he was training with his clones. He did not know what it was, but after the hour he dispelled his clones and went back to work on his own. Emiko never questioned him in his actions, even if she was confused. She had seen the previous Hokage do such things at the beginning of her reign, and did not question Tsunade then either.
It was around 9:00 when Naruto decided to take a break. When the Hokage took his first break was when the secretary bid her farewell for the day. She was just there to refill the mission list and let the Hokage know of his schedule, after that she went back to work at the desk at the entrance to the building. Emiko said her goodbyes and headed out. Naruto watched her swaying hips as she left. He shook his head when she was gone and stretched. His day was his own now. He could follow Emiko's schedule, or do whatever the hell he wanted. Of course, if he did the latter, that would be frowned upon and show that he was not ready for such a position. On the other hand, he did know that he could not just be some workaholic and have no time to himself. That would make him go crazy. He was going to follow Emiko's planner, but of course he would find time between then to relax or train, like he had planned. Being able to mingle the two together is what made a good Hokage. At least that is what his book said.
'Speaking of which,' Naruto thought to himself as he pulled the book back out the drawer. He was about to get up and head out for breakfast but was stopped as five Anbu jumped down in a kneeled position in front of his desk. Naruto was not surprised in the slightest as he had sensed them coming. The one in the middle of their group stood, and Naruto noticed it was Tiger. He smiled at the man, which did not really get a reaction since he was wearing a mask. Tiger did a quick bow before straightening out and approaching the Hokage's desk.
"I have assembled your team, Lord Hokage." Tiger said as he stepped to the side and the four others walked up to the desk. They each wore the traditional Anbu armor, and had the Anbu insignia tattooed upon their shoulders.
The man on the far left was very tall (about 6'4") and pretty bulky. He wore an elephant Anbu mask. The man was bald. The man next to him was a bit short, or at least it looked like it since he was next to such a large man. The guy had short, spiky, blue hair held back by his Anbu mask that looked like an armadillo. The two Anbu to his left were clearly women. They had very feminine figures and their chest pieces left slightly more room for their busts. The one beside Armadillo was a couple of inches taller than him and had flat, shoulder length, black hair. She had a bear Anbu mask. Lastly, the one beside her had the same flat, shoulder length hair, except hers was red and the left side of it was tucked up and around her head; sort of resembling a peacock as it splayed out behind her. Her Anbu mask looked like a bird.
Tiger introduced them in the order they stood, starting with the big guy, "This is Elephant. He has very devastating Taijutsu abilities and is a strong Doton (Earth Release) user. The next is Armadillo. He may be young for Anbu, but he is one of our most promising members. He has an overall good basis among the three base Jutsu types, as well as Kenjutsu. He excels in the use of his Katon (Fire Release) abilities. The next over will be their acting leader, Bear. She is my second in command. She excels at all fields. Her strongest feat is that she has no weakness. All of her abilities are up to par with one another. The last one is Peacock. She is strong in Genjutsu and the art of infiltration."
Naruto nodded as Tiger spoke, hearing the abilities of the people that would follow him every minute of the day. When Tiger was done, he was thanked and told to leave. He followed orders and bid the Hokage a farewell. When he left, Naruto looked at each of his Anbu, telling them, "Remove your masks."
They did so obediently. Elephant had brown eyes and a black tattoo on his right cheek of the Konoha symbol. The man looked aged, probably in his late thirty or early forties. Armadillo had the same colored eyes as his hair and looked very young, maybe only a couple years older than Naruto. Bear had strikingly bright cyan eyes. She had some crow's-feet and looked to be in her forties. Peacock had dark brown, almost black irises that seem to go well with her hair. She had a small spiral piercing in her right nostril that gave her a sort of punk look. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties. They all stared at their Hokage with no emotion, just a straight face.
The Uzumaki ordered them, "Tell me you names, and ages."
Bear was the first to speak, introducing herself and the others, "I am Natsumi. Forty-four." She motioned to Peacock beside her, "This is Izumi. Twenty-one." She motioned to her other side, "He is Daisuke. Nineteen. And the big guy is Kenta. Thirty-five."
Naruto nodded as Natsumi's arm fell back to her side, her Anbu mask in her other hand's grasp. The Uzumaki then told them, "You do not need to act so formal around me anymore. You are my team now, and should act like you would normally."
Daisuke (Armadillo), after hearing this, smiled and scratched the back of his head, chuckling, "Well that's cool! I hate having to act like a robot all the time."
Natsumi (Bear) cast him a cold glance that he just brushed off as Izumi (Peacock) snorted. The red-head looked over at Daisuke, "Shut up, idiot! Just because Hokage-sama said we could relax doesn't mean you stop doing your duty."
Daisuke raised his fist to his face, shaking it in anger as he blushed slightly, "I know that! AND WHO YOU CALLING AN IDIOT!"
Kenta (Elephant) shook his head disapprovingly at his younger peers actions as Natsumi was now standing beside him, moving out of the other two's way. The two older Anbu had been in the faction for so long that their robotic personas had effectively rubbed off on them; more so Natsumi than Kenta. However, the two were still a lot more stoic now than in their younger years. They did not hold anything against the two younger Anbu for displaying their emotions in such ways. They were young, and would grow to the Anbu way eventually.
Naruto's laughter brought the two's arguments to an end. He was now leaning against the front of his desk, holding a book under his arm. His hands were stuffed into his pockets. The four, especially Natsumi and Kenta, were surprised when they did not realize the Hokage had moved from his chair. Naruto told the four, "You guys are very lively. I love it. Now, please tell me why you became Anbu."
Natsumi was once again the first to answer, "I merely did it for the pay raise and chance to further my ninja career. I've been in the organization for over fifteen years. I feel like I have experienced enough in my time as a ninja, and thus intend to retire in another year or two."
None in the room were surprised to hear that. There were very few ninja still in service that were past the age of forty. They were either dead or retired. Kenta nodded, agreeing with his captain, "I became an Anbu for the pay raise as well. My wife was pregnant when I first became a Jounin and we needed more money. I was accepted by Anbu and joined for the upgraded pay. With it I was able to support my wife and our child. My daughter is now ten and we are expecting another child within the next several months."
Naruto nodded, giving his congratulations. Kenta accepted it as Izumi spoke up, "I joined because I lost a bet to my close friend, Mitarashi Anko." Naruto had to stop himself from cringing at that woman's name, "Because I lost, I had to join Anbu. I enjoyed it, so I stayed with it and have been here for the last five years."
Naruto nodded and turned his head to Daisuke. The Uzumaki noticed that the boy had been staring at him the entire time, but did not address it. Daisuke shook his head as he was staring at the Hokage in awe. When the blue-haired boy regained his composure, he was slightly blushing, "I, uh, became an Anbu to get stronger so I can one day – hopefully – be the Anbu Commander."
Izumi scoffed at him, but he ignored her. Truth be told, that was not the real reason why Daisuke joined the organization. Well, it was part of the reason, but it was not the main reason. Daisuke grew up in a family of no ninja, but he had heard the many stories of great ninja before and during his time that fought for what they believed in. He grew up admiring such men as Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi. People like that were the ones who made Daisuke want to be a ninja. He trained and ascended the ranks in the hope of meeting those he had come to admire. When he learned of the Yondaime's death, it almost crushed Daisuke, but it did not stop him from climbing the career ladder. When he found out that his other hero, Kakashi, was in Anbu, he stopped at nothing to acquire the power needed to enter the cream of the crop. However, upon his acceptance into Anbu, four years prior, he learned that Kakashi left the faction to become a Jounin sensei. Any hope of meeting one of the people that made him want to be a ninja was gone, so he immersed himself in Anbu, following its emotionless teachings as an escape. Through the years in Anbu, he learned of a rising name getting thrown about. Uzumaki Naruto.
Daisuke had always known of the boy's existence, he just never really thought anything of the boy. However, when he first learned of the boy's deeds, his opinion was slowly swayed. His respect for the boy only multiplied when he learned of Naruto's victory over Pein and the fact that he was now Hokage. The Uzumaki reminded Daisuke of his greatest hero, Namikaze Minato. When Naruto came walking into the Anbu facility the day prior, it took Armadillo everything he had not rush the boy and kiss the man's feet. Daisuke, having found his new hero to idolize, made it his only goal to get on Naruto's personal Anbu team. The fact he actually succeeded and was now standing in front of his hero just made Daisuke the happiest Anbu alive. He wanted to ask him so many questions, and he wanted to prove to Naruto that he had succeeded in becoming a great ninja. However, such an act would probably freak the guy out, and Daisuke did not want his first impression with his hero to be awkward. He feared he had already thrown Naruto off with the way he was just staring at him for the past five minutes.
Daisuke's worries ended when his hero smiled. Naruto was happy to hear that there was someone like him; someone that had good reason to be in Anbu. The man's drive to be Anbu Commander reminded Naruto of himself. Naruto's smile beamed with pride, "That's a very good goal."
Daisuke nodded eagerly; a bit too eager if Naruto had to say. He ignored it as he told them, "I know you will take good care of me. Dismissed."
The four went back to business, putting their masks back on and then disappearing as they hid in the shadows of the room. Naruto could tell where each of them were, but knew that any other ninja would have trouble detecting their presence. He held the book under his arm as he made his way out of his office and building, all the while his Anbu were trailing him from the shadows.
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Samui, Omoi, and Karui stood at the edge of Konoha, overlooking the massive destruction that crossed its land. They were shocked to see it in such a state. The outer ring of Konoha seemed to be fine, but a large chunk of its middle was destroyed. They could see the reconstruction taking place, but they knew it would be months before it was even close to being how it used to be.
Tears started streaming down Karui's face as she abruptly screamed, "NO WAY! I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE! DID THAT LITTLE PEBBLE REALLY CAUSE ALL THIS DAMAGE?!"
Omoi was sweating, "K-Karui… What have you done?"
Samui ignored their idiot behavior as she proceeded to look for the nearest Konoha ninja to direct them, "Don't be ridiculous. Let's go find someone to talk to."
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Naruto returned to his office an hour later. He had gone through the village in secret, not wanting to draw attention to himself yet. He ate at one of the newly constructed restaurants in a Henge, to keep people from approaching him. He ate and read his book. When he was finished he returned to his office. He shut his door as he made his way back to his desk, dispelling the Henge. He looked to the clock and saw that it was almost noon. It was unbelievable how it had felt like an entire day had past, yet it was not even half over. Naruto put his book back in its drawer as he went back to work on the papers littering his desk. His meeting with the Daimyo was around 3 o'clock so he had time to kill. Time to kill, meant paperwork.
Sometime later Naruto was finishing up the stack he had on his desk when he heard a knock on his door. He told the person to enter and saw it was his secretary. She addressed him, "Hokage-sama, these people from Kumogakure no Sato have requested an audience with you."
Emiko moved out the doorway as three people came walking in. Naruto immediately looked over the three, noticing how different they dressed compared to the Shinobi of Konoha. They filed in and walked up to the Hokage's desk as Emiko stood near the closed door.
The three Kumo-nin were surprised when they did not find Tsunade of the Sannin sitting there. Instead, they found a blonde haired boy who looked like he was in his late teens. Now having a young Kage would not have been such a surprise, if it was any of the other Hidden Villages. However, this was Konoha, the strongest reigning village for the last hundred plus years, so seeing a man who looked about their age was quite shocking. Karui was the one to rudely ask the other's thoughts, "You're the Hokage? How old are you?"
Samui instantly sent Karui a death glare for her obnoxious behavior. Naruto merely chuckled, surprising the three. He answered, "I know it must be hard to believe. I am sixteen for your information."
Karui and Omoi's brow furrowed. They sent each other glances behind Samui's back. They were thinking about the same thing. How it was ridiculous that Konoha would let someone so young be Hokage. Sunagakure no Sato had already done such a thing, but it was one of the weakest Hidden Villages. To hear that Konohagakure had done so too just shined a poor light on it. The kid was probably nowhere close to their Raikage's power. That, plus the state that Konoha was currently in, made Kumogakure no Sato the strongest Hidden Village in the world. Karui and Omoi had always believed that the Raikage's words of Kumogakure being the strongest was true, but now seeing how weak Konoha had become, just made his words ever more profound.
Naruto could easily decipher what the two were thinking, no matter how much they tried to hide it. However, his smile did not falter. Konoha was indeed in a state of weakness, but Naruto would change that. He would make sure that there would be no dispute on who was the strongest when he was done with rebuilding Konoha. For now, he let their confidence remain as he asked, "So what can I do for you folks?"
Samui told Naruto what had happened with Akatsuki and how a man named Uchiha Sasuke and his team came to capture their last Jinchuuriki. The Uzumaki was shocked to learn that Sasuke had joined Akatsuki, but he was good at concealing it. They were none the wiser as she continued to say that the Raikage wanted to hold a summit that would commence in a month's time so they could deal with the Akatsuki threat once and for all. Naruto stopped the Kunoichi to ask why it was being held in a month's time. She said that the Raikage was being very cautious. She and her team were to travel to each of the Hidden Villages personally. This was going to take close to a month. The rest of the time would be used to prepare and travel to Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron), where said meeting would take place. Naruto understood and let the woman continue. She went on to ask for information on Sasuke. When Naruto asked why they wanted such information. Samui informed him that the person he captured was their sensei. Naruto was frustrated by his best friend's actions, but declined their request, much to the other's dismay.
Karui whipped her arm out in front of her, blurting, "WHY THE HELL NOT!?"
Omoi was also greatly angered by the Hokage's decision. While he did not say anything, he did grab the hilt of the sword strapped to his back threateningly. Being the over-thinking one of the group, Omoi thought of the worst possible situation where a fight broke out from Karui's actions, so he wanted to be ready.
Samui was frustrated by their actions but did not get a say in it as the three then noticed the four overwhelming presences that surrounded them. Naruto was watching on, no longer smiling, as his hands were clasped in front of his face, much like the previous Hokage had done when she was in thought. He had subconsciously picked up that habit from seeing Tsunade do that on the several occasions that she was serious around him. The four Anbu watching over the entire conversation hid their presence until the two Kumo-nins showed hostility towards their Hokage. This action caused the four hiding in the shadows to leak their killing intent out, stopping any movement from the Kumo-nin.
The pressure exerted from the four did not stop as Naruto spoke, "Uchiha Sasuke is Konoha's problem. I am sorry he has caused you such troubles. He will be handled, I promise you. I do not, however, have to tell you anything about him. And if you continue to go after him blindly, he will make you pay for it." The Hokage's words just infuriated Omoi and Karui more, but they had to reign in their hate or else they would be dispatched by the Anbu watching them. Their actions at the very moment could start a war between the two villages, which was the opposite effect they wanted out of this meeting. The Hokage's voice broke through their thoughts once more, "You said that he captured your Jinchuuriki. Do you know when this happened?"
Samui nodded, sweating lightly from all the killer intent being thrown around. She was going to give her younger peers a piece of her mind when they were out of the office for acting so childish and giving Kumogakure a bad name. But part of her could understand. She felt the same heartache for her sensei that they did. She answered the Hokage, "Yes, it was about three days ago. After learning about his capture, we immediately were sent on this mission."
Naruto nodded, still in his thinking position as his brow furrowed, "Then I advise you and your Raikage to spend more of your time looking for Akatsuki's hideouts than on Sasuke. Because your teacher is still alive."
The Uzumaki's words shocked the three. The three completely forgot about the Anbu around them as Omoi took a step forward to ask, "What are you talking about?!" The dark skinned man immediately retracted his foot as he felt one of the Anbu's chakra spike at his sudden movement.
"It takes about three days for the Akatsuki to extract a Biju from a Jinchuuriki. However, that is when they have all their members. Their numbers are dwindling. We believe there are only three of them left that can actually perform the Jutsu. Based on our estimations, that means it will take one to two weeks before they could possibly pull the Biju from your sensei." Naruto informed them.
A smile was brought to Karui's face as she sighed in happiness, "Thank goodness." There was still a chance that they could save their sensei.
Samui said what the other two would never say, "Thank you Hokage-sama." She continued with, "We will inform Raikage-sama so he can send more search teams out. We will now be taking our leave."
Naruto nodded, dismissing them as the Anbus' killer intent slowly died down. The three left with Emiko leading them. The Uzumaki turned to his window and looked over his working village. His thoughts wandered to that of his old best friend, and greatest rival, Uchiha Sasuke. 'Where are you, Sasuke?'
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Sasuke and his Taka team made their way through the dense forest, jumping from branch to branch at great speed. As they made their way to Konoha, Sasuke's mind was flooded with images of his family and brother. The final words of his brother echoed through him.
"Forgive me, Sasuke… This is the end…"
Sasuke then remembered telling Tobi the reasons behind his urge to destroy Konoha and its people.
"If I said I accepted Itachi's will, it would be nothing but talk. The nonsense of those who don't know hatred. If anyone rejects the way I've chosen to live my life, I'll kill everyone they love! Then they'll at least begin to understand… hatred."
Sasuke was brought out of his musings as he came to a halt, noticing the distortion in space up ahead. His team stopped on the branches behind him. Tobi appeared from the distortion as he stood there, greeting the other Uchiha, "Hey, Sasuke."
Karin was shocked as she had not sensed him coming, 'His chakra just came out of nowhere. What the hell?!'
Suigetsu cursed under his breath, "Shit! Bad timing."
Sasuke stared stoically at the elder Uchiha, "How did you know where I was?"
Tobi scoffed at the man, "Don't underestimate me. It's within my power."
Sasuke ignored his words, changing the subject, "What do you want with me now? Taka is no longer a part of Akatsuki. We have no further use for you."
Tobi shook his head, "I said I'd have to kill you if you betrayed Akatsuki, and you broke your promise to me."
This confused Sasuke, but he did not show it, "What are you talking about?"
"The eight-tailed beast."
Karin argued for Sasuke, "But we found the Hachibi and brought him to you!"
Tobi spilled the news to the group, "It was a fake… In other words, you failed." His words shocked the entire team as he continued, "The Hachibi pulled one over on you. I'm really disappointed in you guys."
Sasuke looked at the other Uchiha incredulously, 'I saw everything with my Sharingan. There shouldn't have been time for him to split-' Sasuke then remembered when he cut one of the Jinchuuriki's tentacles from its body, '-it was then!'
Suigetsu took a hesitating step forward on his perch, "So what do you want us to do about it?! It's not our business anymore!"
Tobi turned his attention to the boy, "No, you will finish your last job as part of Akatsuki. But I don't care about him anymore. There's something else I want you to do."
Sasuke eyed Tobi, asking, "What if I said no?"
Tobi answered back, "Then you'll have to fight me to get to Konoha, I won't let you pass."
Sasuke was already upon him with a Chidori aimed at the man's heart. Sasuke was surprised as he just fell through the man's torso as if he was not really there. While Sasuke was phasing through Tobi, his words caught the younger Uchiha's ears, "It's a little late to go to Konoha now."
Sasuke heard the man, but his thoughts were on their interaction just now as he jumped forward and landed on a branch behind Tobi, 'I went right through him, just like before. What the hell are his powers?!'
Tobi further explained himself, slowly looking over his shoulder to the boy, "You goal is futile now. Too bad."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.
"Konoha has been destroyed." Tobi's words shocked all of them.
Karin was the first to ask, "What do you mean?!"
Something started to form beside Tobi's feet. A Venus fly trap erupted from the branch. Its mouth was completely enclosed, but everyone knew it was Zetsu, one of the remaining members of Akatsuki. He spoke darkly, "I'll explain."
Tobi looked down on the thing beside him, asking the man, "So, who's the new Hokage?"
Everyone could hear Zetsu scoff, confusing them as his darker voice answered, "That Naruto kid."
This revelation stunned everyone. Tobi chuckled darkly when he heard that, "Hoho, that's unexpected. I thought for sure they would hand the hat to Danzou."
Zetsu agreed as the others only looked on in disbelief, "Indeed, it appears Naruto-kun's powers are greater than we anticipated."
The members of Taka were in shock. From what they had heard from Sasuke, this Naruto was supposed to be an idiot who relentlessly chased after their leader. However, to find out that he was actually the new Hokage put them in a weird situation. They looked to Sasuke and were further surprised to see the Uchiha's expression. They almost never saw Sasuke in such a shocked demeanor.
The Uchiha could only stare at Zetsu in disbelief. There was no way that idiot Naruto could be Hokage! Sasuke felt a surge of hate starting to build inside of him for Naruto. He had never really even thought about the blonde aside from the times he was confronted with the man, but hearing that Naruto had accomplished his dream of being Hokage made Sasuke boil in unknown rage. The Uchiha then realized that Naruto was no better than any other of Konoha's people. When Sasuke pictured the citizens and people of Konoha's laughter and smiles, never did Naruto appear. It was because Naruto was similar to Sasuke. The Uchiha believed that while the others bathed in ignorance for his brother's sins, Naruto was above such actions. The Uzumaki was the one speck of light that kept Sasuke from losing all hope in the people of Konoha. And it was now gone. Naruto was just the same as the others, laughing at him, and enjoying the peace that had cost Itachi his life. Sasuke spoke words that betrayed his actual feelings, "Whatever! I don't care about that! What happened to Konoha?!"
Tobi looked back at Sasuke, "One of my minions, Pein, destroyed the village. But because you and Pein have made such a commotion, the five Kages have begun to move. They're holding a meeting."
Zetsu interrupted the man, "I'll explain the rest."
Zetsu went about the story, going into detail about the fight between Naruto and Pein while switching between voices from time to time. Through his retelling, the ones listening could only stare in silence at the powers Naruto displayed. Once Zetsu was done, the others were silent. From the beginning of the story, they were led to believe that this Pein was some kind of "God-like" Shinobi because of the Rinnegan. Yet, Naruto defeated Pein and his "God-like" powers.
Suigetsu looked at Zetsu, almost not believing the man, "This Naruto defeated Pein all alone?"
Zetsu's body shook, and they realized that was his way of nodding, "That's right. He's gotten ridiculously strong. He's probably stronger than Sasuke-kun now." "Most certainly."
Sasuke scoffed at the Akatsuki member's choice of words, "Heh! I don't care about that. I'm interested in this Kage Summit."
Suigetsu then asked, "Wait, I thought your target was Danzou and the other elders? Why go to the summit?" Karin shot the man a dirty look, mad that he was going against her Sasuke-kun. He shrugged, defending himself, "Wh-What? Am I wrong?"
Sasuke answered the man, "They may be my targets, but I have a new one now."
Tobi's eye rose from behind his mask. He had a sneaking suspicion as to who it was, but did not ask. He let the boy continue talking, "We'll go to that meeting and kill the Kages. Our plans have changed."
No one could see the smile that curled onto Tobi's lips, "Good."
Karin was frustrated that Sasuke-kun would just change their plans so willy-nilly, but followed his lead nonetheless, asking, "So, where is this meeting?" She mentally thought to herself, 'This sure is turning out to be a huge pain in the ass.'
Tobi turned to his minion, "Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron). It won't be held for another month, so you will just have to wait till then."
Sasuke complied surprisingly easy, much to the others shock. They all began the long road trip back to the Akatsuki hideout. Tobi was mentally sidetracked as his mind wandered to that of the nine-tailed Jinchuuriki, 'That Uzumaki Naruto threw a wrench in my plans. No matter, he will fall eventually. I will use the Kage Summit as a means to show Sasuke that he needs his brother's eyes. If he is defeated by Naruto, then all the more reason for him to want Itachi's eyes. And after I give Sasuke his brother's eyes, nothing will stop the boy from killing Naruto, no matter how strong the brat gets. There is no power that can compare to the Uchiha's. This plan is perfect.' Tobi snickered to himself.
All the while Sasuke was planning on how he would bring an end to the only man he had ever thought of as a friend.
\/
Naruto looked over the field full of Kage Bunshin as he sat, perched upon a large boulder. His hundred clones or so were scattered around, doing what was commanded of them. Half were working on Nature Transformation and the other half on Shape Transformation. Both groups were training their chakra abilities with his Wind affinity. Another thing Naruto noted he gained after his fusion with the Kyuubi was a far greater control of his chakra. Naruto hypothesized that this was due to the stop in the seal's constant input of Kyuubi's chakra that always used to throw his own off course. Because he no longer had an interruption of chakra, Naruto found that his control was far greater now than in previous years. It only helped in his training with his Fuuton abilities. One important thing he learned after him and Kyuubi became one, was that his normal self was incredibly weak. At least, compared to other such ninja as Kakashi, Gai, Yamato, and just about any other Jounin that he could think of. He did have Sage mode and Mezame, but the latter was considered to be a last resort for Naruto (at least he thought so). The prior would take way too long to activate in battle, although he was working on a way to incorporate his clones, and the large scroll that hung from his lower back in a way that would reduce the time a hundred fold. Naruto was currently holding a small scroll about Fuuinjutsu he got from Konoha's Archives. It was just a scroll for beginners, but interesting nonetheless.
Naruto turned his view from the scroll's contexts as he stared over the horizon. The stars were bright in the nighttime sky. His mind played over the day's events. After the team from Kumogakure made their leave, Naruto went back to work. He finished up his paperwork as the time for his meeting with the Daimyo was close. He made his way to the council room, his large scroll strapped over his left shoulder as it hung near his lower back.
Everyone, except for Danzou, was present for the get together. Naruto was not surprised by the war hawk's absence. If Naruto had to guess, the man was probably out already planning the blonde's downfall. He shrugged it off as if it was nothing, his attention turning to the meeting that was about to start. Naruto started off telling them of the Kage Summit that would be held in a month's time and how the Raikage wanted to discuss the Akatsuki. They took in the information gingerly and commenced with the seminar. The meeting itself was entirely boring in the blonde's opinion, but he feigned interest.
He also tried to ignore the way the Daimyo seemed to always ask for his input and would constantly stare at him, smiling behind his folding fan. Naruto was finding it strange how everyone just seemed to stare at him nowadays. Although, he did not think much of it as they had to have their own reasons for it, and to each their own. As the meeting went along, they basically just discussed how they would budget their money and gave ideas on how to raise money, and help decrease the time it would take to rebuild Konoha. They talked about fundraisers, charity events, and campaigns.
All of it just annoyed Naruto.
The Uzumaki already had things planned out for the village, and hearing the people talk about their foolhardy ideas (half of which did not really know how to even sustain a ninja village, in Naruto's opinion) was just irritating. Halfway through the conference Naruto stood from his chair to gain everyone's attention. He then told them what he thought of them and their ideas, saying this was now his village, and as such would make sure it prospered. The Daimyo's advisors and elders were appalled by the boy's rudeness, while the Daimyo, Shikaku, and Tiger snickered at the boy's forwardness. He then made them a promise that shocked everyone.
"I will have Konoha back to her former glory in under two month's time."
After saying that, he left them. They were taken aback by the boy's proclamation. It would take two, maybe three, months minimum to return Konoha to her former self. At least with the way its reconstruction was moving now. That left the rest of the groups looking around at each other in confusion, wondering how the boy could pull such things. There was disbelief in the air, but they knew that if he somehow was able to fulfill this promise, then the boy would undoubtedly win the majority of votes for the coming Jounin Vote.
Naruto then went over to Konoha's Archives. Konoha's Archives was essentially a library located behind the Sandaime Hokage's head monument. It was open to the public, except for certain sections that were closed off for ranked Shinobi. The Kage section, being the smallest section do to there being only one Hokage at a time, was locked down with a plethora of seals that made it almost impossible to get into. Only the caretakers of Konoha's Archives and the Hokage had the means to enter. It was mostly filled with the previous Hokage's journals. Besides their journals were three large scrolls – roughly the same size as the one on Naruto's back – that contained many Kinjutsu. He noticed one of them as the one he had stolen before becoming a Genin.
'Guess the old man moved it here afterwards.' Naruto told himself. However, he spent hardly any time in the Kage section as he went about asking for Fuuinjutsu material. He was surprised to find that in the entirety of Konoha's Archives, there were only two small Fuuinjutsu scrolls. They were both beginner scrolls that went into detail about the sealing and unsealing abilities that pertained only to other scrolls as their medium of use. Something that Naruto had basically already mastered, making them next to useless.
His hope of learning Fuuinjutsu was quickly dying as he began to leave. He was stopped when the librarian helping Naruto brought him to a new section he did not know about. Apparently it had been closed off after the Fourth's death because no one had the means to enter it. He was told by the caretaker that it was created by the Fourth and his wife. When they arrived the caretaker told him it was covered in almost unreadable seals. The only things they had been able to decipher over the years was that the markings covering the wall were Blood Seals. Naruto was quick to understand as he pulled the kunai out and went over to the wall. The librarian protested as Naruto pricked his palm, telling the Uzumaki that many people have already tried, and failed.
The caretaker's jaw nearly hit the floor as the seals covering the wall slowly faded. The woman pointed a shaking finger at the man in front of her, "Then that means H-Hokage-sama, y-you're- you're-"
Naruto put a finger to his smiling lips, going, "Ssshhhhhh."
The woman nodded dumbly as she watched her Hokage enter through the door to the room. After he went through the seals reappeared, locking down the place once again. She turned around and went back to work, pretending like nothing had happened as she whistled a nonchalant tune.
Naruto's hopes returned with a vengeance as the room he had entered was lined with scrolls upon scrolls decorating the walls. It was a decently sized room that had a pedestal positioned in the middle of it. Naruto walked up to the mount and noticed a parchment attached to its surface. Naruto looked down on the piece of old paper and could tell whoever wrote it was in a hurry as the calligraphy looked rushed. It read:
To my son,
I leave to you our entire families' lifeline. Their abilities and their stories. You are an Uzumaki so show it with pride! Don't be a picky eater. Eat heartily, so you grow big and strong! Take a bath everyday and keep warm. Don't stay up late. Get enough sleep! Make friends. You don't need a lot, but just a few true friends you can really trust. And I was never good at it myself, but study hard and practice your Ninjutsu! But don't worry. Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not, so if you have a hard time, don't let it get you down. Respect your senseis and senpais at the academy. Oh, and one more important thing; about the three ninja vices. Be especially careful when lending or borrowing money. Save the money you earn from missions and don't drink until you're twenty-one. And drinking too much is bad for you so take it easy! As for women; I am a woman, so I don't really understand, but, anyway, there are only men and women. So you will find yourself interested in women. Just don't fall for a strange one! Find a woman like your mom. Speaking of vices, one more thing. Watch out for Jiraiya-sensei! Naruto, you will face many painful and hard times. But just be yourself, and have your dreams and the confidence to make those dreams come true! I really really really really really wish I could be there, to teach you so many more things. I wish I could be with you longer, I love you. Me and your father have to go. The Kyuubi is currently attacking and we have to stop it. Goodbye, my love.
Your mother,
Uzumaki Kushina
P.S. Hey Naruto it's your father, Minato! B^D like my cool guy face? Haha! Sorry, I don't have long now. I want to say so much more! I just wanted you to know, as your father, I second everything your motor mouth mother wrote. ;^)
Your father,
Namikaze Minato :P haha
Naruto cupped his hand over his mouth as he had to suppress the chuckle erupting from him. His father's antics lightened the Uzumaki's mood tenfold. He was almost brought to tears as he read through his mother's words, but seeing his father's part greatly lessened the pain he was feeling. If Minato was still alive, Naruto would have surely been embarrassed to be around his dad. The way he acted, even through his letters was just so childish. However, Naruto would not change a thing about it. These were his parents' last words to him. He pulled the parchment from the pedestal and sealed it into one of the scrolls in his back pouch. He then went about searching the room. He found many Suiton scrolls, but his interest lied elsewhere. He soon found the mother lode of all Fuuinjutsu techniques. An entire wall of the room was dedicated solely to Fuuinjutsu scrolls. The Uzumaki knew to start at the beginning levels, so he grabbed three of the beginner scrolls and made his way out.
From there he went back to the office for most of the day as he worked more on his paperwork. Aside from paperwork, Naruto began his plan of increasing Konoha's reconstruction in order to help his chances with the Jounin Vote. There was no doubt in the Uzumaki's mind that word of his promise to the Daimyo's council about restoring Konoha within two months had spread through the village, much like how his promotion to Hokage had. Good, that was what he had intended. Naruto needed the people to understand that it was him who would play the ultimate role in Konoha's revival.
Naruto was thankful that he had built so many bonds with people across the world in his younger years as a Genin. When he looked back on it now, he could almost slap himself for not realizing just how important these people were. People, who were now leaders of their respective countries and, from what he could remember of them, owed him. It was time to cash in such favors and ask for assistance. He did just that, writing letters that were to be sent via messenger birds to the Daimyos of Tori no Kuni (Land of Birds), Na no Kuni (Land of Vegetables), Haru no Kuni (Land of Spring), Udon no Kuni (Land of Noodles), and to the leader of Hoshigakure no Sato (Village Hidden Among Stars), who just so happened to be the acting Daimyo of Kuma no Kuni (Land of Bears) as well. Each letter detailed Konoha's current predicament and the help that was needed. It was also asking for an agreement to be made between the countries. With the help of their aid and investments in trade between counties, Konohagakure no Sato in turn would protect the others should they be threatened by invading forces. Another bonus was that any missions requested and sent to Konoha from the others would have the cost of it cut in half. It was a very generous offer, even to the few countries that had their own ninja villages like Haru no Kuni and Kuma no Kuni (though nowhere near as strong or big as one of the five major Hidden Villages).
Naruto was sure that each of the countries would reply back in total agreement. All of the Daimyos were people he had met and helped in his younger years.
There was Toki from Tori no Kuni. Naruto, Neji, and Tenten had been sent to Tori no Kuni to protect the person they believed was the Daimyo; a man named Sagi. It turned out that Toki, posed as her brother Sagi, assumed the identity as the "Cursed Warrior" in order to kill a man named Hoki. Hoki was the person who had assassinated her brother and father. Toki attempted to attack Hoki, but was defeated, and resigned herself to death, seeing that she was unable to take revenge. However, Naruto arrived and convinced her to live on for the sake of Tori no Kuni before defeating Hoki. The next day, Toki revealed her deception and apologized to the people of the land, but asked to be allowed to continue ruling the land to help restore it to its peaceful nature. The people forgave her and she continued to rule as Toki. She thanked the Konoha team, and told them if she could ever repay the three she would. Naruto was cashing in this offer in his letter to her.
There was Haruna from Na no Kuni. At that time three ninja staged a coup in the Land of Vegetables, forcing Haruna to flee the country, and she hoped to gain international sympathy in an attempt to reclaim her throne. She travelled with Kikujo and Yurinojo, posing as part of a caravan to avoid being targeted, and changed her appearance to take the role of her bodyguards' sickly male cousin, Shun, in order to keep people from questioning her identity. Naruto, Hinata, and Chouji were hired under the pretences of helping the peddlers move their wares in a D-ranked mission, but they learned of the true purpose of the mission after Kikujo's death in his battle with one of the usurping ninja that had overthrown Na no Kuni.
Despite their anger over being misinformed, Naruto's group agreed to protect the princess, sending the peddlers away to safety, and defeating the first of the ninja. Haruna refused to rely on them, even going so far as to knock Hinata unconscious to escape alone, despite the Hyuuga's attempts to convince her that Naruto also suffered from loneliness. Naruto eventually caught up with Haruna and told her that Hinata was badly injured while fighting one of the two remaining enemy ninja. When the leader of the three foreign ninja attacked, after capturing the princess' other protectors, Haruna learned that her father had regretted giving Haruna as a hostage, and begged the conspirators to treat the people well. Haruna's ideals changed, and she even used herself as a shield to try to protect Naruto from the enemy leader's attacks. Naruto eventually overwhelmed the enemy and restored peace to Na no Kuni.
The Uzumaki later found Haruna apologizing to Kikujo's grave. She had asked Naruto to stay and help her rebuild the country, but politely declined, due to his promise at the time of bringing Uchiha Sasuke back. She understood and told his team that, if they ever needed anything, ask. Naruto would be doing just that in his letter to her.
There was Chikara from Udon no Kuni. His finance at the time, Princess Fuku, hired him and Ino, who was to pretend to be her while she tried to drop weight. Apparently she'd gained weight by nervously eating because of how scared she was in meeting the man. Unfortunately, they could not deceive the Daimyo for long. They were young, incompetent, Genin. What more could someone ask? When Chikara found out about the real Princess Fuku, he loved her more than Ino, and they married. After joining the two, Chikara offered them many riches, but they swiftly declined. He then told the two Genin that they would always find a friend in him. Naruto hoped, for the two's sake, that his words still rung true.
Then there was Sumaru from Kuma no Kuni. He was the self-proclaimed "Yondaime Hoshikage" of Hoshigakure no Sato and acting Daimyo of the Land of Bears. Several years ago Naruto was sent to the Land of Bears with fellow Genin; Neji, Tenten, and Lee. The Uzumaki first met Sumaru at the border of Kuma no Kuni, where Sumaru stopped them from walking into a canyon filled with toxic gas, called the "Devil's Ravine".
Naruto admitted to misinterpreting Sumaru's actions as an attack, and had a brief, uneventful battle. During which, the Konoha team witnessed first-hand the Kujaku Myoho in battle. When the star that the people of Hoshigakure worshipped was stolen by a mysterious bandit; Akahoshi – the acting leader of the village – charged Sumaru, and his friends, to get it back. Sumaru was taken away by Akahoshi, posing as the real mysterious bandit as the other ninja collapsed from the side effects of their Star Training. Akahoshi then put him in "suspended animation". Sumaru was then rescued by Tenten and Lee. Shortly after, Sumaru guided Neji, Tenten, and Lee, with the other Hoshigakure Genin, to find the mysterious bandit that stole the star. They all found the bandit, who turned out to be Sumaru's mother, Natsuhi. Akahoshi used his Jutsu to try to kill her. Akahoshi's brief attacks wounded Natsuhi. Then Naruto, Neji, Tenten, and Lee fled to Natsuhi's hideout where Sumaru and Natsuhi rested, and recovered. Sumaru later awoke, seeing his mother for the first time in ten years. Natsuhi awoke as well, confessing the reasons why she abandoned Sumaru. He told Natsuhi to leave him alone, and said that he had these dreams where he could not catch up with two figures.
Naruto assumed he was talking about his parents. Sumaru was upset by his mother's abandonment, and said that his mother would never do that. However, he was then in tears and forgave his mother. Sometime later, the group awoke to find Sumaru's mother's bed barren, and realized what she was about to do: to steal the star to prevent further use. The team of Naruto, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Hokuto (another Hoshigakure Genin), and Sumaru rushed to stop Natsuhi, but were too late. They arrived to find Natsuhi dead. Sumaru vowed to avenge his mother's death, and flied to where Natsuhi's body laid. Akahoshi ordered the training hall to be set with flames. As this was going on, Sumaru realized why his mother abandoned him, and forgave her before the training hall was destroyed. It was revealed later by Sumaru that he had apparently survived the blast because of his mother's spirit.
At that point in time Naruto and his teammates had already taken Akahoshi out. Sumaru's final vow to Naruto was that he would make his village the most powerful village in all the lands, and that it would exceed the Five Great Nations, even without the star's power. Naruto had to scoff at the boy as he wrote his letter. Sumaru, even as "Hoshikage" and Daimyo, apparently had not been doing jack. Naruto had not heard anything spectacular, or even noticeable, coming from the village since then. They were still the same small, and just about worthless, village they were back then. Naruto knew it was harsh to think that, but it was the truth. It only took four Genin to take out their self-proclaimed "Hoshikage". Such a thing was pitiful. Of course, Naruto did not put any of that in his letter to Sumaru. That would basically be asking for them to decline his offer.
Lastly, there was Kazahana Koyuki from Haru no Kuni. She was a famed actress under the alias of Fujikaze Yukie. The Team 7 of old had been given the mission of protecting her as she finished one of her movies. They were brought to Yuki no Kuni (Land of Snow) – the Land of Spring's previous name – under the pretenses that they'd merely be supervising an action film. However, they soon discovered that Koyuki's uncle, who was the Daimyo of Yuki no Kuni, and leader of Yukigakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Snow), wanted her head.
The film crew turned out to be warriors of the previous Daimyo, and tried to protect Koyuki, which inevitably failed. The ninja from Yukigakure used some sort of device called Chakra armor to hold off the Konoha team as they kidnapped Koyuki. Naruto trailed them, but was captured as well. Imprisoned with Koyuki for sometime gave Naruto the opportunity to talk with her and break through the cold barriers she had set around her. Naruto was slowly getting through to her as he broke out of his bindings and made an escape with the princess. Eventually the Uzumaki ended up having to fight the leader of Yukigakure.
After some help from his friend, Sasuke, Naruto defeated Koyuki's uncle and allowed Koyuki to return to her birthright as the country's new Daimyo. Thanks to Naruto and his team's efforts, the country was renamed Haru no Kuni as the snow that had made the land desolate was wiped away. Naruto was hospitalized after his fight with the leader of Yukigakure, and upon awakening, discovered that Koyuki had given him a kiss in his slumber. She also was going to take part in one of Ero-sennin's books made movie. Naruto did not know if she had or not, and did not really care. As long as she was willing to agree to the arrangement given, he had no quarrels with how she spent her time in her private life.
Naruto made sure to finish each message with a sense of emergency, asking for their response as quick as possible. He then signed his name and stamped each of them with his letter of approval. Upon their completion he went to Konoha's messenger room (which was the very first building constructed after its destruction, for obvious reasons) and sent them on their way. Naruto returned to his office for only a few minutes as he grabbed his scrolls and made his way to a training field, far behind the Hokage Monuments, so as to not disturb Konoha's peaceful reconstruction. It was at a reasonable enough distance so that he could sense if anything bad happened to Konoha, and train to his heart's content without any wandering eyes. He made note that his Anbu team did not count as "wandering eyes".
This is where Naruto had been for the past two hours. He let his clones do all of the Ninjutsu aspect of his training as he focused solely on his Fuuinjutsu scrolls. He had no intention of using his clones for his Fuuinjutsu training as he saw no purpose in it. When it came to the method of sealing, Naruto had come to learn one of the most important things about it. You either learned it or you did not. There was no middle ground where you kind of understood it. You were either right, or you were wrong. Plus all the scrolls seemed to tie in together with one another so he could not be reading one and then have a clone read the other. The clone reading the second scroll would not really understand the contexts of the scroll and therefore would not correctly know what to do and thus not learn it. It made the clone's knowledge utterly useless, even if the original Naruto understood the first scrolls contexts. The clones knowledge would just come back fuzzy and he would not grasp the second scrolls meaning, which meant he had to read it himself. As he realized this, he wondered if this was also the reason he did not use clones for his paperwork. They were almost the same thing. He had to read it to grasp the information correctly.
Naruto's three scrolls were laid around him on the rock, all of them open. He just finished reading up on the last one and finally understood Fuuinjutsu's full potential. The process of using seals was long and intricate. It was time consuming, and at times seemed almost tedious. However, Naruto knew if he could fully master the art of Fuuinjutsu, even reality would bend to his will. What made Fuuinjutsu so feared throughout the world was not its uses, but the infinite possibilities that could spawn from the wielder's mind. Unlike all other techniques taught to ninja, Fuuinjutsu was flexible. There is an untold amount of possible seals that could be crafted. Storage seals, Restraint seals, Transportation seals, Counter seals, Enhancement seals, and the list just went on and on. Anything you could think of was possible, and that is why learning about the style made Naruto giddy. He knew not to get too overhyped, especially with his Anbu constantly watching him. The Uzumaki then reminded himself to incorporate his elite team into his training at some point, for sparring purposes. He would only do so after he was sure that his base fundamentals were up to snuff. He did not want to resort to his Sage mode or Mezame in just a simple spar with one of his Anbu, it would make him seem weak and reliant, in his own mind.
Naruto stood from the rock and closed up his scrolls one by one before shoving them into his overstuffed back pouch. When it took him a couple pushes to get the final scroll in, the Uzumaki decided that he needed get a slight modification of wardrobe to handle the overcompensating amount of scrolls. At least until he had perfected the method of sealing items on his body. Naruto then grabbed his Sage Scroll by its strap and slung it over his shoulder. As he did this, Naruto dispelled the tiring clones; shrugging off the mild headache he got as all the memories rushed his head. He had been able to remain conscious after releasing a thousand at once, so a hundred or so was not too bad.
The Uzumaki jumped down from his boulder and walked up to the trunk of a large oak tree. Its diameter was probably a yard thick. Naruto placed his left palm upon its bark and recalled what his clones had been learning, putting all their experience into one. Naruto whipped his arm to his side in one swift motion. Nothing seemed to happen at first. Then the tree started to shift, off balanced as a diagonal line was cut clean through the tree's trunk. It fell to its side, away from Naruto. There was no splintered wood, and the end of both halves of the tree was smooth to the touch. The cut was perfect. Naruto smirked triumphantly as he Shunshined away. His somewhat impressed Anbu following close behind.
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Author's Notes: That is it for now. Just want to let everyone know that when I was retelling the stories behind how Naruto had come to know the different Daimyos, most of it came directly from Wikipedia. I did edit them somewhat so they may vary a little from the actual filler, and Koyuki's story was in my own words, but most of it was copy and paste. Wanted everyone to be aware of that. Copyright and all that.
I do not like OC's, but I find that they are a necessity when I do not want to have Naruto interacting with his generation yet. No OC will play more than a supporting character in this story I assure you.
I am sure the NaruHina fans out their enjoyed their little moment.
I hope you liked the glimpse of Naruto's ever growing power. Hopefully everything has been solid and believable.
Did you all like Kushina and Minato's letter? I did not, and do not, intend to have Kushina sealed within Naruto so I thought I would get some interaction between them. Even if it was only in the form of a letter. Anyway, tell me what you think of the second chapter and how well, or bad, I'm doing! R&R.
Jutsu Description
Shunshin (Body Flicker Technique); D-Rank: a high-speed movement technique, allowing a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. To an observer, it appears as if the user has teleported. A puff of smoke is occasionally used to disguise the user's movements. It is accomplished by using chakra to temporarily vitalize the body and move at extreme speeds. The amount of chakra required depends on the overall distance and elevation between the user and the intended destination
Kage Bunshin (Clone Technique); B-Rank: Similar to the basic Clone Technique, this technique creates copies of the user. However, these clones are corporeal instead of illusions. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among every clone, giving each clone an equal fraction of the user's overall power. The clones are capable of performing techniques on their own and can even bleed, but will usually disperse after hit by a strong enough force. The clones can also disperse on their own or be dispelled by the user of the technique. Shadow clones cannot be distinguished from the actual person even by Doujutsu (Eye Techniques) because the clones have the exact same amount of chakra as the original, and are not made from any other substance like water clones are for example.
Henge (Transformation Technique); E-Rank: It is typically used to change into people other than oneself, but one also has the ability to change into animals, plants, and even inanimate objects like weapons. This gives this technique an abundance of uses. The transformation of a skilled shinobi will be exactly like the genuine article, so it will be impossible to tell the two apart. On the other hand, a transformation performed by an inexperienced person will have obvious discrepancies. It will be impossible to deceive anyone with it. This is one of the most basic Ninjutsu, as such most shinobi know how to perform it.
Chidori (One Thousand Birds); A-Rank: This technique channels a large amount of lightning chakra to the user's hand. The amount of chakra is so great that it becomes visible. The high concentration of electricity produces a sound reminiscent of many birds chirping, hence the name. Once the technique is completed, the user charges forward and thrusts the Chidori into the target. This produces heavy amounts of damage that is usually fatal. This technique is classified as an assassination technique because of the speed at which it is performed, despite the loud noise it produces.
Kujaku Myoho (Mysterious Peacock Method); B-Rank: A trademark of Hoshigakure, this technique utilizes the chakra-enhancing radiation of a meteorite, that fell 200 years prior to the start of the series, to give the user an enormous amount of chakra. The technique itself manifests in the form of a feather-shaped array behind the Hoshigakure ninja and spreading out from behind them like a peacock's tail feathers, hence the name. This chakra is easily manipulated into various shapes to create techniques, making it one of the most versatile Jutsu around.
