Here's the second chapter.

I've received a few reviews asking about the pairing. The only thing I can tell you is I don't know. I've been thinking of making no pairings with him whatsoever. Romance isn't my strong suit, and I'm not really sure about the Naruto/Fu pairing from TSR:SHH. I've put Sakura among the characters because she is going to be a major character of this fic, and no other reason. Admittedly, I have been thinking of maybe pairing her up with Naruto, but the Sakura in this story will be undergoing a strong personality change just like Naruto, so strong she might appear OOC, and the same goes for him.

I fully agree that the canon versions of them would make for a very bad couple. Still, if I decide to make a pairing, I'll let you know and add it to the summary. Although, there will be no Naruto and Hinata pairing, and that decision is pretty much final. Nothing against Hinata, she's a great character, but it wouldn't fit into this story.

I don't own Naruto.


"What's the status?"

The Second Hokage and his successor, along with his other two former students and a trusted subordinate, were currently in the Hokage's office checking a status report regarding the invasion that happened two days ago. Homura and Koharu had been elated to see him after such a long time, while Danzo had remained oddly stoic but expressed pleasure at his prompt arrival.

On the other hand, Tobirama's joy had been based more on the fact that they'd survived 'til this day, since it was like they'd been separated for no more than a couple of hours from his perspective.

Still, seeing them weathered and old had really brought home the fact that it had been a long time, despite having already met the much older Saru than he remembered. Koharu especially looked like the stress of their profession and advanced age had affected her, her wrinkles more pronounced and standing with a slight slouch that made a part of his undead heart ache.

Danzo... well, his phlegmatic poise, so very different from the prickly temperament he displayed when he had last seen him, spoke far more than the cane and his bandaged appearance. To be honest, the two versions of Danzo almost seemed like separate people; he barely recognized the man.

Hiruzen hummed before answering Tobirama's question, "All in all, we're quite lucky. Though nothing to scoff at, there aren't as many casualties as I previously thought, and infrastructure damage could have been much worse. Our forces will be stretched thin in the foreseeable future, and it'll take a while to recover our strength."

"How bad are we talking?" Koharu asked wearily.

"Not so bad that we can't accept all mission without leaving a sizeable enough force behind to defend the village."

"That's good. With the recent invasion, the security of the village takes priority," Tobirama stated. "Regardless, we mustn't show to our clients and the other villages that our power has dwindled, so we'll still have to accept all the mission requests we are sent."

The Third Hokage agreed full-heartedly; they truly were fortunate in that regard. "Yes. We'll give some of our ninja time to recover, while the ones in better shape will handle the missions. I think it would be a good idea to give the village repairs as mission requests for genin and some chunin."

Tobirama nodded in approval, "Speaking of genin, I'd like to have Naruto's official documentation and his birth certificate. I'd also like you to tell me something about him. His dreams, skills, teammates, mission performance, etc."

Sarutobi smiled, "Well, it's best you hear about his mission performance from his sensei, but I think you'll be happy to know that your grandson strives to be the greatest Hokage in history."

Tobirama's just raised an eyebrow, "Not an unusual goal." Despite his seeming nonchalance, his student could see the happiness at the thought of his descendant becoming Hokage.

"You will be training our jinchuriki, Lord Second?" The reincarnated kage frowned at Danzo's choice of words, the old man's thoughts on his grandson being very apparent from that alone. "A wise decision. It's about time the boy received proper training and while he's still young and malleable."

"Proper training? What is that supposed to mean?" Tobirama demanded stonily.

"What it means is that one Naruto Uzumaki, whose potential should've been cultivated to the point that no one else in our village could match him, is weak. As he is now, it would take a miracle for him to reach jonin status before the age of twenty," Danzo said, his expression not giving anything away.

"And yet, he defeated Shukaku and its host. We all know the power the tailed beasts possess, Danzo, and not just anybody can take one down," Hiruzen responded, a proud smile gracing his face. Although, his friend's unhesitating criticism, even in the presence of Naruto's extremely powerful ancestor, still left him rather uneasy.

"Gaara of the Desert is young, inexperienced, and of unstable mental health, not to mention that the One-tails' strength was tied to the condition of its jinchuriki," The Shinobi of Darkness argued firmly. "The boy's own absurd levels of chakra and stamina kept him alive more than his skill and intelligence, nor could he have won without Gamabunta's aid, or that of the Nine-tails. In fact, if it weren't for the latter, Naruto Uzumaki would've been effortlessly beaten in his first match of the Chunin Exams' third round."

Internally, the Third Hokage winced at the truth in that statement. As much as he would've liked to deny it, Danzo wasn't outright wrong in what he was saying. Naruto had little in the way of refined skill, physically and mentally-wise, and Hiruzen knew from experience that determination could make up for only so much. A part of him had always feared that one day it would lead to his downfall.

One of the main reasons Kakashi Hatake had been placed as his teacher was to try and prevent that, but Naruto still wasn't growing at the rate he'd hoped for. He was afraid the Uzumaki's boundless determination would be more a curse than a blessing, that his desperate attempts at attaining a seemingly unattainable dream would leave him miserable, if not drive him mad with grief.

That was the last thing any of them needed, least of all Naruto.

However, the aged kage was unpleasantly reminded that he had the worst poker face among the four elders when Tobirama's eyes narrowed while gazing in his direction. That glare made him feel like a bucketful of cold water had been spilled down his back, just as it had in his younger days. Neither did the white-haired man fail to notice that, though shifting a bit uncomfortably, his two teammates appeared to be leaning a bit more to Danzo's side, as if at least partially agreeing with him.

"I'm afraid I'm a little out of the loop here due to my, you know, 47-year absence," the Second Hokage said, crystal-clear sarcasm in his tone, as though mocking their intellectual capabilities. "Therefore, I'd appreciate if you spared me the suspense and just explained what the hell you're all talking about."

Tobirama's suspicion, coupled with a slight foreboding sensation, only increased when the four elders glanced at each other, like a bunch of brats deciding whether to let him join their clubhouse. For God's sake, they were technically his seniors; why couldn't any of them just give him a straight answer? Did they not trust him to keep his composure, no matter how grave the news?

After a little while, Hiruzen resigned himself to bringing whatever the issue was to light, "It pains me to have to tell you this, Tobirama-sensei, but for the first few years of schooling in the Academy, Naruto's education was sabotaged and meddled with."

"What?!" A rare expression of enraged dumbfoundedness crossed the undead man's face, demanding an explanation as loudly as one of Might Guy's 'youthful' wails.

"I'm afraid it gets worse," he continued with a measure of cool composure he didn't know he had, for all the sorrow he was feeling at the moment. "Unfortunately, it caused a chain reaction of events that lead to Naruto's growth being stunted, not only as a ninja but as a person."

Tobirama inhaled through his nose while crossing his arms in an attempt to remain calm, though his grip was much tighter than usual. What he was hearing was outrageous, his mind making interpretations of his student's words at a pace that was almost too fast for him to take in and each one making him angrier than the last.

Nonetheless, he stomped down on the urge to throw a childish fit. He was the clueless one here and knew better than to make accusations before they laid out all the facts to him, "Explain. Now."

"The simplest explanation, Lord Second, is that Sarutobi was too soft and too trusting," Danzo huffed. "He took the ideals of the Will of Fire and blew them out of proportion, acting on them in situations where they did more harm than good."

While the man in question glared lightly in response, Tobirama noted that he didn't refute the statement either. Odd, considering the fact he was practically smitten with the Senju philosophy.

"Enough, Danzo!" Homura interjected, tired of their squabbling. "Do not let your disagreements make this conversation any harder and lengthier than it needs to be."

A moot point in the Second Hokage's opinion. He was planning to needle them for as much information - and excuses - as they could give him. Still, he was glad that Homura did his best to keep the two on track. Even now, it looked like their rivalry hadn't abated; they were just a bit more mature about it.

Just a bit.

"I underestimated how deep the villagers' resentment of Naruto went," the current Hokage said, lighting his pipe with a low-level Fire jutsu. "The scorn from the civilians was expected, but it seems that many of our shinobi were affected almost as badly, despite the trauma of the recent war... though I suppose that a tailed beast appearing in the middle of their home-village is something else entirely, especially for the younger generations."

"Most of the Academy's staff consists of shinobi from those generations, mere teens at the time of the attack, since most of the older ones who'd held a position there were killed by the Nine-tails," Koharu added her two cents. "Some of them lost loved ones, some didn't know how to process the incredible fear they felt that day, and others went through both those experiences."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement, "From everything I gathered, Naruto did study hard and pay attention at the beginning, but the faculty teachers used various ways to tarnish both his schooling and, consequently, his reputation among his peers. The investigation showed that it ranged from using genjutsu to mix up the questions on his tests, giving him harder exams on purpose, to throwing him out of class for the most trivial of reasons."

"And in all that time, it never came to your attention?" Tobirama asked, somewhat incredulous. For good reason, too; the Hidden Leaf Village was chest deep in shinobi. Someone should've been able to notice or connect the dots.

"Actually, Naruto did bring it to my attention, but being a guardianless orphan, I assumed that he just had trouble learning. I helped when I could, but I was far from being available on a daily basis," his former student replied sheepishly.

"So you just assumed he lied?"

"A child telling a lie is a harmless, every-day occurrence, certainly much more acceptable than the possibility that our shinobi were so full of hatred that they'd willingly take it out on an innocent boy." Danzo's cutting remark prevented the Third Hokage from answering. "This is what I meant earlier when I said you blew the Will of Fire's ideals out of proportion, old friend. Because of that, the boy lacks proper training, a proper education, and the proper childhood you so foolishly believed was possible."

Hashirama's brother knew that Hiruzen always had the best intentions in mind, but he'd never been blind to the fact that he sometimes had his head in the clouds when it came to certain ideas and notions. He had believed it merely a phase, that the Hokage position would help him grow out of it. There definitely was a great change in him, a sort of pragmatism and grimness he used to lack, but clearly not as much as Tobirama had hoped.

"Argue later, you two. Hiruzen, please continue," Koharu said calmly but insistently. The Hokage nodded in thanks before resuming his tale.

"In any case, his sabotaged education led Naruto to believe that studying was pointless, and his lack of contact with people makes him oblivious to the many social mannerisms that we take for granted. It became even worse when he started doing pranks to get attention, even if it was of the bad sort. By the time I found out he'd been telling the truth, the damage was done, and getting him to form efficient study habits was an exercise in futility."

The old man was glad his sensei was such a composed person, his rigid posture being the only sign of his growing anger. He didn't think he could handle someone as powerful as him going on a rampage.

"The end result is that his great social shortcomings, lack of education and stunted growth make him seem like an annoying and idiotic nobody in the eyes of his peers and the ones who don't know of his burden."

Tobirama was silent for a few moments, just staring at his old subordinates with an intense gaze, before inhaling deeply. Not that his reanimated body needed oxygen, but it helped his equanimity. He was sure more bad news was on the way, and throwing a long temper tantrum was beneath him as much as it was unproductive.

"Alright, but what about his adoption? I can understand keeping the clans from doing so, but I'm sure some form of arrangement could have been made," the white-haired man demanded.

A sense of awkwardness permeated the air as all four of them, for some reason, looked either embarrassed or irate. That didn't bode well.

"It's because of the Civilian Council, sir. They prevented us from making any such plans, including even apprenticeship," Homura explained, a note of frustration in his tone.

Tobirama raised a disbelieving eyebrow. He knew well about that particular council; he founded it, after all. However, it wasn't really a ruling body, but a group of people, all civilians, who held significant clout in the various business sectors of the village, from merchants to bankers. The council's main purpose was to inform the Hokage and his advisors of the Hidden Leaf's economic issues and discuss advancements, solutions, and such.

The secondary purpose - rather obvious to anyone with half a brain - was to show that the Hokage cared about the opinions of the civilian class.

So how in the world could they have had a say on Naruto's living arrangements? Or even his training?

Homura continued before he could ask, "The Nine-tails attack nearly left our village destroyed. A lot of the infrastructure was laid to waste, along with many business locations. For a short time, we were economically crippled. The only reason we avoided bankruptcy was because of the remaining families of the Civilian Council who pitched in and made the Hidden Leaf's recovery possible."

"I fail to understand what significance that has regarding Naruto," Tobirama Senju said.

"After Hiruzen revealed Naruto Uzumaki's status to the villagers, there was outrage, calling for the child's head in the belief it would also kill the Nine-tails," Koharu took over from her teammate. "Thankfully, the Civilian Council was aware of the importance of having a jinchuriki, but they threatened to leave the village if Naruto was given any form of special treatment, including adoption and apprenticeship."

"And you let them get away with it?" he growled out.

"We had no choice, sensei!" Homura rebuked firmly. "The primary and secondary sectors, the ones that were necessary to build the village back up, are mostly comprised of civilian workers and employers. The shinobi have very few experts in very few of those fields. We thought of threatening them by denying protection should they decide to leave, what with all the increased criminal activity after the war, but they could simply buy such services elsewhere. The village was in ruins! The fact is, we simply-"

"Needed them more than they needed you," the Second Hokage finished for him, gritting his teeth at the truth of it. He gave them a hard look, "Still, you're telling me that you, the Leaf's most experienced shinobi, couldn't outwit a bunch of civilians?"

"Tobirama-sensei," Hiruzen said with authority, causing them all to straighten up on instinct. Tobirama gave him a weird look at the tone. "I understand why you're upset, but you will show respect. You might have held the position of both adviser and Hokage, but those days have passed, nor are we your subordinates anymore, however we may address you. The fact is, you weren't there to witness the aftermath of the attack, or come up with the solutions, so I will not accept any undue criticism, not even from you. Am I understood?"

The undead man stood there, baffled and mum, before realizing that his former student was right. He was letting his emotions cloud his judgment and disrespecting the Hokage and his advisors, whatever else they may have been to him in the past. It was difficult to reconcile with that fact; from his point of view, it wasn't even half a week ago that they'd been his students.

But it still didn't make his behavior any more or less than that of a spoiled brat, certainly not of the grown man he actually was.

Nor of the Hokage he used to be.

Sighing, he inclined his head.

"You're right. I apologize for any disrespect I've given you. I'll try to control myself better from now on." It felt weird and uncomfortable saying to those whom he used to lecture about proper decorum, but Tobirama knew it was the right thing to do.

He had set the standards for them; it was only fair he abided by them too.

"We understand, sensei," Koharu assured him, her voice taking on a gentler quality. "We know it must be hard for you to hear all this, but with you here now, we can begin rectifying our failures. Your presence and relation to the boy will grant us some much-needed leeway, loath as I am to admit that it's needed in the first place."

"If I recall correctly, Kakashi Hatake is his squad leader," Homura said. "We should inform him of the arrangement as soon as the meeting is over."

"Actually," Hiruzen cut in suddenly, causing the others' gazes to fall on him. "Jiraiya informed me that he's taken to training him since last month. It explains how Naruto summoned Gamabunta and harnessed the fox's strength."

Tobirama remembered him. Sarutobi had introduced the man as one of his ex-students, and a former teammate of Orochimaru's. A summoner of the Mt. Myoboku toads and the village's spymaster, though the Toad Sage's sense of formality left something to be desired. Nevertheless, the fact his mere presence made that gut feeling - the one that all experienced shinobi learned to trust - practically scream "danger", assured Tobirama of his skill.

"Sensei, you won't mind sharing, will you?" his strongest former disciple asked, but with a confidence and finality that almost made it seem like an order.

"As you were trained by both Hashirama and myself, the results speaking for themselves, I suppose I won't mind sharing again. Besides, Jiraiya might have skills that he could teach Naruto that I can't."

"Excellent." Hiruzen smiled, pleased.

"Still," Homura promptly said. "What is to be done about Team 7, not to mention Kakashi's two other students: Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha, I believe."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, honestly surprised at him knowing the identity of Naruto's teammates.

... Actually, no. He really shouldn't have been. This was the team led by one of their strongest jonin, infamous for failing graduates one after another. Sasuke was the last of his clan and the most valuable genin of the Hidden Leaf along with his aforementioned teammate, and Sakura had probably fallen onto his radar simply due to association.

"Well, since all three of them failed to be promoted, according to the rules, the team should remain as it is," Hiruzen suggested, though that'd leave the obvious problem of Naruto not only having too many teachers but the appearance of being heavily favored, especially since all his mentors would be famous and extremely powerful shinobi.

"This isn't the sort of situation we're usually faced with, so I don't think we should rely on common practice," Koharu advised. "Perhaps Kakashi ought to focus on Sasuke alone. From everything I've seen, comparing him from before the exams to the one after his solo training with Kakashi is like trying to compare your average jonin to a kage."

"And leave this Sakura Haruno unattended?" Tobirama interjected. While he's had to make more than his fair share of 'unfair' decisions with cold efficiency, leaving a young genin without a sensei when arrangements could be made didn't sit well with him. "If Naruto and Sasuke are to receive private tutoring, I believe it would be well within our power to grant this girl a teacher of her own. As was mentioned earlier, we have ninja to spare in spite of the invasion."

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, looking almost bored. "If we're all in agreement with this, then I suggest we let Kakashi choose the most suitable candidate. He knows her skills better than anyone, so there isn't anyone better qualified to do the picking."

Danzo inclined his head, concurring with the decision, "Yes, though Naruto and Sasuke should take priority. Those two have the potential to shape the future of the Hidden Leaf Village. However," The old man narrowed his lone eye. "Orochimaru's meddling is concerning. He obviously wants the Sharingan and is goading young Sasuke with the promise of power. What truly worries me is that the boy's desire for revenge is just the stepping stone he needs."

An Uchiha that wanted revenge? How original. Tobirama's mind immediately flashed to Madara, a swell of bitterness and exasperation rising along with it, but he pushed those feelings down. He knew better than to automatically associate the long-dead traitor with a twelve-year-old boy still loyal to his village. Although, that nonetheless begged the question of...

"On whom does Sasuke Uchiha seek vengeance, and why?" he asked just as the thought finished.

The mood in the office suddenly darkened, causing Tobirama to lift a curious eyebrow. The usually-prepared man also felt a twinge of disbelief at the notion that there was even more bad news. He had thought the Uchiha had merely faced the exact same fate as his own clan after failing to sense any Uchiha chakra except for a single source - doubtful as it was with their clan pride and all - but it seemed like Lady Luck was still giving him the cold shoulder.

Hiruzen finally spoke after exhaling a small smoke cloud, "The Uchiha clan was almost completely wiped out in the course of a single night by one of their own, a ninja by the name of Itachi Uchiha. The man is labeled a traitor and an S-Rank criminal... or, at least, that's the official story we fed to the public. The reality of it, however, is much different."

"Different how?" the undead man crossed his arms.

"Madara's ability to control the Nine-tails is by no means a secret, and with the beast appearing in the middle of the Leaf in a cloud of smoke, it narrowed down the options of who to blame the attack on. It certainly didn't body-flicker to the middle of the village," he said the last part with a chuckle. "Either way, with several testimonies of seeing the Sharingan in its eyes, the clan fell under heavy suspicion, and the shinobi populace began ostracizing them. It snowballed from there, and not long after the Uchiha began plotting a coup d'etat to overthrow us."

A scowl graced Tobirama's face at the revelation. He didn't need to hear the rest, he could do the math well enough himself; the Uchiha clan's eradication had in actuality been an operation sanctioned by the four living people present in the room.

He would've done no different. Frankly, he wasn't at all surprised that the Uchiha had decided to plan an insurrection. He'd been fairly sure back when he was still among the living that such a day would come. They had just been too proud, too narrow-minded, and too... dark to integrate themselves into the village beyond just the physical sense. The Will of Fire, the Senju ideal that had truly been responsible for the Hidden Leaf's creation would've never been fully accepted by them, except for a select few.

In his mind, they had always been the number one threat to his home. Their isolation from the rest of the Leaf would've come with or without him establishing the Police Force, which had forced them to be a neutral party when it came to the village's political affairs. After all, an inside enemy was far more dangerous than any external threat, especially in the ninja world.

Hashirama had been too soft and naive to see this, uselessly trying to persuade him to play nice with the - as he was just proven correct - treacherous clan. He'd done the best he could, of course, giving them a job where their unstable emotions would be kept in check, while simultaneously putting a limiter on their strength by keeping them in the village and away from combat-related situations.

And it had worked.

Nonetheless, he couldn't help but admire one Itachi Uchiha as Hiruzen continued narrating the events from 5 years ago. The willpower and fortitude it'd taken to kill off his own clansmen, his parents included, and then deliberately cause his beloved baby brother to hate his guts must've been beyond measure, all for the sake of the village.

He might've very well been the truest Leaf ninja ever, and from the clan Tobirama had least expected. Regardless of his personal opinions, he always gave credit where credit was due.

He sighed while pinching his nose, feeling like his very soul was tired, which wasn't far from the truth. "I think we should wrap this up for now. I want to have a chat with Naruto's sensei, preferably before he wakes up. The doctors told me that they'll be bringing him out of the medically-induced coma this afternoon."

"Actually, there is one more matter that needs to be discussed, and your input would be appreciated, Tobirama-sensei," Koharu said before turning to stare at the monkey summoner. "Hiruzen, you are strong and wise but also old; too old to be leading this village. We need a new Hokage."

If the old man in question was offended, he hid it well beneath the appearance of contemplation. He answered a minute later, "I believe you are right. I am hardly fit to lead anymore."

Tobirama was inclined to disagree. "I beg to differ. For the most part, the Hokage position is a mental exercise. Therefore, your advanced age and experience are a boon, not a shortcoming."

In his opinion, the most vital traits of a leader were judicious decision-making, charisma, and emotional control. Power alone didn't grant one the ability to wisely decide what ninja to send to get the best results from a mission, or how to effectively negotiate with other politicians and fellow leaders to promote good relations or make lucrative business deals.

Still, people wanted a powerful leader that made them feel safe and comfortable. In the ninja world, the most powerful of them were usually those who had honed their skills, physical or otherwise, through countless battles, and pure muscle without any brains would get a shinobi killed sooner rather than later. Which was why the judgment of the strongest shinobi was normally held in high regard by their comrades, which further made them good kage candidates.

"True," Homura admitted. "But better we have a wise and strong Hokage who physically exhibits those traits. Or, at least, doesn't give the impression that their power is waning. We were just invaded and came out victorious with barely more than a scratch due to nothing less than a stroke of pure luck." He settled his gaze on Tobirama as he said the last part. "Our people need the reassurance, and, frankly, so do we, for both our present and our future."

"Which is why we think Jiraiya would be the best option," Koharu finished.

In spite of the serious topic, Hiruzen chuckled, drawing the attention of the other occupants. He gave them a somewhat sheepish but amused smile, "I apologize, but you're asking for the impossible. Jiraiya will not give up his 'freedom' that easily; you'll sooner convince Kakashi to give up his Make Out collection than convince Jiraiya to sit still in one place for the rest of his life. More importantly, the Hidden Leaf Village needs his spy network, now more than ever in the upcoming times of tribulation I feel she'll be facing."

"He's right, you know," a new voice piped up, causing all of them except for the Hokage to stiffen and direct their attention to the source. The man in question stood there, crouched on the window sill and smirking at them like he had just won the lottery. "Besides, if all of you are so set on a sannin, there is one other."

Tobirama hadn't even sensed him, a highly impressive feat in and of itself. As if feeling his gaze, the Toad Sage turned towards him and kept on smirking in an infuriating manner. Probably on purpose too, from what the reanimated kage had gleaned about him.

"Spymaster's trade secret, m'lord. You know how it is," he said smugly to the renowned sensor.

Tobirama's eyes narrowed slightly, eventually deciding to be the bigger man by answering with a lighthearted scoff. It was certainly a blow to his pride, however small, but it proved Jiraiya's proficiency at what he did.

The corners of Hiruzen's lips tilted upwards at the exchange, while the rest of the elders had tense expressions on their faces. When the sannin noticed, he grinned slightly at them, "C'mon, guys! Why the long faces?"

"You said that another sannin could take the mantle of Hokage. While there is little doubt regarding her skills, it hardly even matters. She hasn't been seen for over a decade," Danzo responded.

"She?" Tobirama asked.

"Your grandniece Tsunade," Koharu revealed to him.

The man in armor perked up at that, glad to hear of another familiar name, though it was quickly replaced by confusion. Hadn't been seen for over a decade? The way Danzo had phrased it strongly implied that she hadn't gone rogue, nor that she was in hiding. It sounded more like she'd left with their permission but hadn't kept in touch.

But why would she leave the village for such a long time, all the while refusing any contact with it? It inspired no confidence whatsoever, and if the bad news kept piling up, Tobirama didn't know how long it would be before his mind broke apart at the seams, followed by his ash-and-dust body.

"I'm sure I can smoke her out, one way or another. I'm the last person you'd want wearing the hat and actin' all high and mighty. But Tsunade..." Jiraiya paused a moment for effect. "She's got the brains for it, more than a loafer like me."

The three elders looked ready to protest, and Tobirama was a bit perplexed at the hint of disdain on Danzo's and Koharu's faces, but all of them stopped and looked to him for some reason. They almost seemed uncomfortable, which he couldn't figure out why, before shifting their looks to Saru.

Unfazed by the attention, the Hokage locked his hands in front of his mouth in silent thought, his eyes closed. After a few short moments, they opened and had a decisive gleam to them, "Very well. Jiraiya, I'm tasking you with finding and bringing her back. You are to relay this message: The honeymoon is over. She'll know what I mean."

The spymaster nodded before addressing the Senju in the room, "Since we'll be sharing responsibilities for Naruto's training - and yeah, I heard everything - I guess you'll be coming, too. I want the kid to tag along for this ride."

"Alright, but I'd like us to go ten days from now." At their confused looks, he explained, "I'll need the time to assess Naruto's skills, get a head start on his training, and sketch out a regimen based on the results. I'd also like the time to get to know him before embarking on an actual mission with the boy."

Jiraiya's expression softened as he nodded in agreement, "Fair enough. With Sarutobi-sensei still with us, there isn't any real need to rush anyway. You should also know that Kakashi was Minato's student, and he's aware of Naruto's relation to him."

Hiruzen then passed his former teacher a folder. When he opened it, he recognized it as a personnel file, which depicted a young man with white, spiky hair not unlike his own, and a mask that covered over half his face. Graduated at the age of 5, promoted to chunin at the age of 6, became a jonin at 13; Kakashi was obviously a natural prodigy considering the rate at which he had climbed the hierarchical ladder.

The next part surprised him enough that he froze for a few seconds. Put in charge of a chunin team in order to complete a vital assignment in the Third Shinobi World War, during which one of his teammates had been kidnapped. Kakashi and the remaining chunin under him, one Obito Uchiha, had decided to undertake a rescue operation.

It resulted in the loss of his left eye that was later replaced with the Sharingan of his dying teammate, given willingly. The timely arrival of Minato Namikaze prevented any more deaths on the Hidden Leaf's part.

Ever since then, Kakashi's usage of the Sharingan had led to him acquiring the monikers "Copy Ninja" and "Kakashi of the Sharingan". Besides that, his other most notable skill was his mastery of Lightning Style, as well as his ninjutsu expertise in general, no doubt bolstered by the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai.

Seeing the man's address written among his personal details, Tobirama began molding his chakra to body flicker out of the office. However, Jiraiya spoke once more just as he did, "Oh, you should probably work a lot on Naruto's chakra control. He's gonna need it for a special jutsu I want to teach him."


Kakashi Hatake was a man of many regrets, who lost many people important to him during his short life, even for shinobi standards. He'd fallen into depression more times than he could count. After acknowledging that point, with no little help from the few of his remaining friends deciding to knock some sense into him, he began finding ways to cope with it all, and what better way than hobbies.

Like reading adult literature in public.

The man was doing just that in the late morning as he walked back home after helping with the reconstruction. Luckily, most of the damage would be repaired within several days, maybe little over a week. That's how lucky they were, taking into account the fact they had been invaded by two different forces, one being another hidden village and the other led by one of the Legendary Sannin.

Kakashi wasn't as surprised as some of the others, though, as he had not only heard of the miracle but actually witnessed it as soon as the barrier encasing the Hokage and Orochimaru had gone down. He was embarrassed to admit that he'd stood gaping like a fish for almost a half a minute after seeing his Lord Hokage jump down and join the fray, assisted by the fucking Second Hokage.

Hell, Guy had gotten his bearings back sooner than him, even though it was to immediately wail about their youthful good fortune and some other crap the Copy Ninja had already forgotten by this point.

Well, as he'd learned by now, life was full of disappointments. Granted, the arrival of the reanimated Senju could hardly be classified as a letdown.

Reaching his front door and without looking, he put the key in the lock on his first try, still engrossed in the literary work of art. Turning it towards the left, he unlocked the door and entered his humble, somewhat spartan abode.

Just as was about to turn on the lights, he couldn't help but feel that something was... off. He lowered his book while discretely going for a kunai. He promptly stopped, taken aback by the scene. Sitting on one of his chairs was a man in blue armor with a white fur collar over a black full-body suit. Of course, he recognized him immediately.

While he knew he should've done something respectful like giving a formal bow, he was so floored he inadvertently did things the usual Kakashi way. Raising his unoccupied hand, he waved in greeting.

"Yo."

Tobirama Senju's eyebrows went up slightly at the masked ninja's odd attitude. The Hatake wondered if he just phenomenally screwed up any chances of being in the man's good graces. Relief swept through him as he saw his lips twitching upwards in amusement. "Kakashi Hatake, I presume?"

The jonin instantly turned serious, closing his book and putting it on the shelf next to the door. "Yes, sir."

"I came here to talk to you about one of your students: Naruto Uzumaki."

Kakashi's uncovered eye widened in bewilderment. He wondered how his cute, little, knucklehead student might have drawn the legendary man's attention.

"Oh? What about him?"

"His skills mostly, as well as his mission performance."

"May I ask why?" the masked ninja inquired.

"I want to train him," Tobirama replied.

Though Kakashi had guesses when the undead Hokage had said he wanted to know about Naruto's skill and mission performance, that was still the last thing he had expected. He decided to voice his confusion, "Is there a particular reason why you are interested, Lord Second?"

"Yes, though it will be kept a secret at the moment. It was decided between me and Hiruzen that it'll be kept away from the public's ears for the moment, with only a select few allowed to know. Since you're already aware that Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's son, you are among those selected." Tobirama paused for a moment. "Naruto Uzumaki is my great-grandson."

If he was shocked before, now he was frozen in his spot without finding the ability to move of any of his muscles, almost as if the whole world had gone still. After half a minute of staring all wide-eyed, he finally regained enough composure to say a single word.

"Oh."

Tobirama just looked at him in a way that made Kakashi think he was making fun of him. Rude much, not that he was dumb enough to actually say it to the freakin' Second Hokage.

Putting his chin in his right hand, he thought of the best way to phrase his assessment of Minato's son. After all, Naruto's mannerisms and attitude were far from exemplary, and, as stupid and nonsensical as it sounded, he didn't want to hurt the Second Hokage's feelings. Neither did he want to make his student seem like a hopeless case, which he definitely wasn't, his most recent victories being proof enough.

"Well, I can safely say that Naruto has more potential than he has talent," Kakashi said carefully. "Still, it's hard to evaluate his natural aptitude for the ninja arts considering his sabotaged education. Lord Hokage informed of it after I was assigned to Team 7."

Tobirama grimaced, anger and bitterness overtaking his features for a second. "Yes, Saru has informed me of the circumstances of Naruto's childhood."

"With such a shoddy foundation, there were a lot of things I had to teach him that he should've known by the time he graduated. The most obvious was his overall lack of finesse in virtually all of his skills. Oddly enough, despite his big mouth, the only thing he excelled at was subterfuge and traps. Nonetheless, he was physically among the better ones in his class."

"I imagine so. The Uzumakis' powerful life force granted them many advantages; sturdier bodies was just one of those," the undead kage elaborated.

"It's more than just strength and stamina. As an academy student, he could lead chunin on a chase across the village after playing one of his pranks. He got away with it almost half the time." Tobirama actually chuckled at that piece of information. Hiruzen hadn't told him about this. "So, he's got speed and agility too, but the problem is he lacks the know-how and patience to make it efficient in direct combat."

"Basically, he has power but little control," Tobirama concluded, feeling a tinge of relief. He could work with that.

"Something like that. Admittedly, he's gotten a lot better since then, so it isn't as much of a problem anymore. Still, his fundamentals need work, especially his chakra control. If he can master that, with his energy reserves he'd be a ninjutsu powerhouse," the jonin finished.

Tobirama nodded, "As is the most common case with Senju and Uzumaki."

"Yeah, but most ninjutsu specialists are mid to long-range fighters. From training and observing Naruto, it was easy to see that he was a short-range fighter by nature," Kakashi commented. "Not surprising, really. Both his parents were best at short-range too."

"So taijutsu is something to pay attention to," Tobirama deduced, Kakashi inclining his head in agreement. "His physical skills would compliment it well. Even so, ninjutsu can be used at all ranges, and even if he is at his best in close quarters, it doesn't mean he can't be trained to fight efficiently at all distances."

Kakashi nodded. He himself was an example; he might've been a mid to long-range combatant in most cases, but that didn't mean his taijutsu and melee combat skills were to be taken lightly. He could cross blades and trade blows with the best of 'em.

That reminded him...

"I believe his taijutsu lessons were sabotaged even after Iruka Umino was assigned to their class. The one in charge of hand-to-hand combat training was Mizuki, who was biased against him," the Copy Ninja revealed. "When Naruto had failed the graduation exam several months ago, Mizuki told him he could pass if he stole the Forbidden Scroll and learned a jutsu from it. Naruto was desperate, not to mention taught to trust his teachers, even if he doesn't always respect them."

Tobirama grunted in understanding. "And I assume that the technique he learned was my Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Sort of. It was actually the A-ranked version of it. It took him less than an hour."

Tobirama smirked in pride. If nothing else, that right there was proof of the latent talent his great-grandson had.

"I've managed to work out a fair amount of kinks in his taijutsu, plus physical training. I've also taught him the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu and the Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu, in addition to some tactics and misdirection, to which he took like a fish to water," Kakashi continued with the evaluation. "Still, it's during his spars that I saw his aptitude for short-range combat.

"Initially, he's average at best. But after a little while, as his body gets warmed up and instincts and reflexes take over, there's this... shift that takes place. He gets more graceful, performs feats of speed and coordination that he usually isn't capable of, and doesn't get hit as much. I'd go as far as to say that his instincts for close range combat are even better than his father's."

The former Hokage rolled that thought around in his head for a short while, eventually nodding in satisfaction. "Any more advice? Things I should know about?"

Kakashi silently contemplated before answering, "Naruto learns best by doing things instead of learning the theory behind it. Give him some proper guidance, let him learn through his body, and I guarantee he'll surprise you."

That sounded a lot like Hashirama, and his brother didn't know whether to be glad or dismayed that Naruto inherited from him too. In the end, though, Hashirama had (very obviously) been the stronger one between them, so he supposed he ought not to worry about it.

"What about his mission performance?" he asked.

Kakashi shifted in his spot, looking almost awkward. This was the part he'd been dreading the most.

"Well, you could say his personality and performance overlap a lot."


Naruto didn't know where he was, nor the time of day. Kinda hard to determine when his eyelids felt like they weighed twenty times their usual weight. His body was fairing better, just barely, as if every side of him was encased in a block of cement.

Thankfully, he felt the heaviness slowly leaving him. His fingers twitched first, then his brow furrowed, followed by the rest of his body getting used to the sensation of movement. He could at least tell that he was in a bed. Finally, he opened his eyes, only to immediately shut them at the assault of light. Man, he must've been out of it for a while if his eyes were so damn sensitive. He didn't even get to see where he was.

All of a sudden, memories of his last moments of consciousness invaded his mind. He remembered the Chunin Exams, the invasion, and that idiot Sasuke going after Gaara all on his own.

Gaara. With that name came the image of a red-haired kid his age, after which it twisted into a grotesque form of a monster, its shell made completely of sand. It scared him, badly. He remembered getting pummelled by it, and then himself pummelling it back with his shadow clones. He was eager, no, desperate to beat it, and it had nothing to do with self-preservation.

Sand. Sand everywhere. All around him, squeezing him. Trapping someone. Someone important, a pink-haired gir-

In less than a second, his eyes were wide open in alarm, and he'd shot upwards in his bed.

"Sakura!"

A hand grabbed the boy's right shoulder, causing wild, panicked eyes to turn towards the person next to him.

"Mr. Uzumaki! Please calm down, and take deep breaths. Everything's alright."

Calm down!? How could he calm down when that monster was getting ready to squash his teammate into a bloody paste? Naruto was just about ready to voice his outrage when that same person interrupted him.

"Sakura Haruno is okay, Mr. Uzumaki. There's nothing to worry about," she insisted, his mind finally registering their gender.

Following her previous advice, he started taking deep breaths, willing himself to simmer down. Feeling composed enough to talk normal, he again glanced up at the woman, blushing promptly in embarrassment.

He spluttered clumsily for an apology, "Miss. Chiyuku! I'm really sorry! I-"

"It's quite alright, no harm done." Nemuri Chiyuku smiled gently down at him. She was his doctor whenever he was in the Hidden Leaf's hospital, being one of the few people who didn't hate him for the Nine-tail's attack. Not that he'd known that the first time the old man had assigned her to treat him for breaking his arm after trying to climb a tree.

Looking around, he noticed the perpetual whiteness attributed to the village's main medical facility. He himself was wearing the usual hospital garb.

"How do you feel, Mr. Uzumaki?" his doctor asked patiently.

Testing his extremities, he found he was way better than earlier. He grinned, thank God for accelerated healing rates. "Pretty good actually, but I'm also pretty hungry."

"Understandable. You've been unconscious for two days." The genin stared at her in surprise. She giggled lightly at his shocked expression. "You would've woken up sooner had I not put you in a coma. Your body needed to heal, and from what I know of you, you wouldn't have sat still even if Lord Hokage told you to. Now, I'll do a few short tests to take in your condition."

He followed her instructions, doing whatever she told him to and truthfully answering whenever she asked him to tell her if he felt pain or discomfort. Not ten minutes later, they were done. "So how am I doin'?"

"Very well. In fact, you can start training tomorrow."

He sighed in relief, his troubles assuaged knowing that everyone was fine and he could continue training the next day. Maybe he could get Kakashi to teach him that Chidori thing. It looked so awesome.

The boy was so deep in his thoughts, he missed Nemuri going towards the wall to his left. When he noticed her new position, he took note of a small seal formula on the wall. He stared at it in confusion before looking at the doctor for clarification.

She smiled at him, "A very, um... special person wishes to see you. He left this seal on the wall and said for one of the staff to infuse a bit of chakra into it when you were up and about."

He stared at her, even more confused. A special person wanted to see him. A bit of warmth filled him, but that feeling was drowned out by curiosity. Outside of his team and the old man, who the heck wanted to see him?

She stepped back after putting a bit of chakra into the formula, and a few short seconds later, a new person appeared out of thin air. Naruto jumped at the sudden arrival. His ninja training also kicking in, his hand reached for the pouch he normally wore on his hip, only to find it missing. He mentally slapped his forehead for forgetting he was in hospital robes.

And besides, it wasn't like Miss. Chiyuku would invite someone who wanted to hurt him.

The blond stared at the man in blue armor with white hair that reminded him of Kakashi-sensei and Pervy Sage. Maybe he was a relative of one of them. However, as he kept gazing at the male adult, he couldn't help but find him familiar for some reason.

The man turned towards the last occupant of the room and bowed his head a bit, "Thank you for contacting me. If I may, I'd like to have a moment alone with him."

"There's no need, m'lord. He's perfectly healthy, he can be discharged today. You may use this room to converse, though." With a bow of her own, which Naruto noticed was much deeper than his, she left the room. It left the two of them to gaze at one another, one emotionless and the other staring simply because he didn't know what else to do.

The white-haired adult was the one to break the silence, "Congratulations on your victory against Shukaku. I heard it was a great battle."

Naruto smiled at the praise, but still remained a little suspicious, "Thanks. Not like I had many options with, ya know, it being either myself or the village."

"A very impressive accomplishment regardless."

A blush adorned his cheeks, and he tried to steer the conversation in another direction, "Um, who are you? Have we met before? You look sorta familiar."

The man smirked, his amusement palpable. "I should think so. You do see my face on most days."

"Really?" Naruto's eyebrows went up. "I think I'd recognize you if I saw you almost every day."

He kept smirking, which started to annoy the blonde. "I never said you see me almost every day. I said you see my face almost every day."

The young ninja furrowed his brow in bewilderment. His face? The hell did he mean by that? The only faces he saw on an almost daily basis were the ones on the Hokage Monu-

For the second time that day, his eyes shot wide open. After taking in the man's features more closely, he jumped from his bed and went towards the window to look at the mountain behind the Hokage's office. As his eyes landed on a particular face, he recognized the identity of the man in his hospital room.

He pointed a shaking finger at him. "YOU'RE A GHOST?!"

Naruto was just about ready to shit his pants in fright, made even worse when the dead-man dropped the smirk and gave him a stony glare, looking ready to take over his soul or some shit. Oh man, this was not the way he wanted to go. He'd thought he would at least live long enough to kiss a girl, hopefully Sakura, but without, of course, the backlash of being clobbered to within an inch of his life for it.

As the spirit of the Second Hokage opened its mouth, he prepared himself for the incantation that would spell his doom.

"I... am not a ghost, Naruto Uzumaki, and don't refer to me as such again." Naruto stared at the man in surprise, seeing a deadpan expression on his face instead of the earlier glare. "I am a reanimation. I was brought back with a jutsu of my own creation by Orochimaru, the rogue ninja that is responsible for the invasion two days ago."

Orochimaru; he remembered that name. Sakura had told him it was the name of that snake lady from the Hidden Grass that they'd fought, except it seemed that 'she' was actually a he. And now, that same guy was responsible for attacking the Leaf. From the sound of it, this Orochimaru had also somehow duped the Sand into joining him.

Wait a minute! If that was true, then-

"If he's the one that brought you back, how do I know you're not really on his side? How do I know he ain't the one pulling your strings?" he demanded, as suspicious as he was indignant. Attacking his village was bad enough, but using one of its former leaders to do it? This guy deserved an A-grade ass-whoopin' and a one-way ticket to the afterlife, preferably the dark one with demons and fiery pits.

The smirk came back, but this one that looked almost... proud. "Using your brain, I see. A good question, and one with a simple answer. As I said before, Reanimation is my jutsu, which means I know its workings inside and out, including how to counteract it. Orochimaru's original idea was to use not only me but also my brother, the First Hokage, to fight the current one. Fortunately, I managed to break his connection with both of our souls, after which Hiruzen and I forced him to abort the invasion."

Naruto exhaled and smiled in relief. The old man was alright, and now he knew that it was okay to trust the dead-man. After all, old-man kage had regaled him a few tales of Tobirama Senju's exploits and teachings. It was obvious just how much he respected his late sensei, and how much sadness his sacrifice had caused him.

Nevertheless, that still left the question of why the Senju wanted to see him. Maybe he recognized his awesome skills? He did congratulate him for winning against Gaara.

"Why are you here?" Wincing at how rude he sounded, he quickly rephrased his question, "I mean, um, is there a reason you wanted to see me, sir?" While the blonde genin was fully aware his politesse and social graces were a work in progress, Kakashi-sensei and the old man did manage to pound some semblance of them into his head.

Plus, the guy in front of him was the friggin' Second Hokage. The real deal. The Hidden Leaf Village's big enchilada once upon a time. He did him no justice by acting like an immature brat.

Tobirama's visage turned serious, but Naruto could swear that there was also a hint of warmth in its cool austerity.

"I'm here because you are my one and only descendant. You, Naruto Uzumaki, are my great-grandson."


Not bad, huh? Way better and more realistic than the original, if I do say so myself. It was a bitch to write, let me tell ya that! The conversation in the Hokage's office had taken more brainstorming than any of my previous chapters, and that's what mostly held me back from progressing with the rewrite. With the next chapters, I have a bit of a clearer picture of what I want to do, so they should come out pretty fast, though try not to get your hopes up.

And as for the OC Nemuri Chiyuku, she won't really have a big influence on the story. I got her name by combining the first name of the My Hero Academia character called Midnight, a Pro-Hero whose real name is Nemuri Kayama, and the word chiyuku, which means 'healing ward'. The idea for the last name came from Sanitize, a Naruto fic by Sage Thrasher, of which I am a huge fan.

Recommendations:

Legacy Ascending by The Epic Pen

The World Turns Without You by ensou

Fade to Black by Iaso