Thank you all who have read my story and followed sorry for the delay but I wanted to severely edit this next chapter which I am happy to say was fun to expand on. Please read and review and oh yet again I do not own Naruto, read the disclaimer from the first chapter for the rest of the stuff.
The recently appointed Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the wife to the First Hokage, Mito Uzumaki Senju entered the Young Monkey's home and were greeted by servants before hearing the familiar sound of a baby laughing.
Mito could literally hear the joy coming from the boy just from the laughter and could tell that the child will grow to be a good boy, a real good boy, not some lollipop mask wearing man who constantly says he's a good boy.
'Perhaps the child might not be a threat after all.' Mito hoped as she took note that the sound was coming from down the hall.
Hiruzen noted the sound as well and walked down the hallway towards Naruto's temporary room until Hokage Mansion is finished, which was already filled to the brim with toys young Naruto would love. If not then Hiruzen and Biwako really misjudged young Naruto and his love of anything frog, fox, or orange related and coloring books.
The Third didn't feel right leaving the compound still and neither did his wife but the mansion had more room and it would be easier to slip away and see his family than slipping out and traveling near the forest where the clan made their home.
The duo found Naruto's room surprisingly clean for a baby though it could just be that Naruto hadn't started to play with his toys yet as Mito looked around for Naruto only to find a fox stuffed animal on the ground and heard a gurgling noise under her and looked.
Mito saw baby Naruto crawling on the ground in a ones zee that was colored orange and almost furry, which just made her pick the little boy up and hug him out of pure cuteness and the sound of a squeal was heard throughout the village.
'What is with girls breaking down at the first sign of my son?' Hiruzen said and realized that he just said son, bringing Naruto into his home and life was surprisingly simple, adoption was easy and with his adorable face it was fairly easy walking around. It was like he was the one part missing in his family, a shining star to brighten up anyone's day. Even Sasuke Sarutobi, Hiruzen's Father is quite happy with his Grandson as he seemed to be quite active again rather than sitting in Council Chambers like he usually does.
"Oh Monkey you have quite the cute little child." Mito chirped while tickling the little baby boy while using her experience as a Mother and Grandmother to hold the child properly. Though in truth she was secretly examining the child as she felt something strange in her belly, the seal used to contain the Nine Tailed Fox became active and it took every ounce of training not to look suspicious.
"Thank you Mito-San it is a great assurance to know that such a great woman approves of our child." Hiruzen turned to notice his wife at the door of the nursery with a fresh bottle and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.
Mito noted the bottle and made mention of it "Biwako isn't Naruto a bit too young to be using a bottle he's only two months old?"
"No Lady Mito, Naruto is old enough for the bottle, he's special that way." Biwako was about to take Naruto out of Mito's hands when Mito gestured her to stop and took the bottle to feed him. She won't be able to do that any time soon, her son and daughter in law are both in the front lines and they wouldn't dare have another child at such a dangerous time.
Naruto drank from the bottle surprisingly fast and strangely enough with little spilling, what milk did land on his PJs disappeared as she noted there were seals on his clothes to keep them from staining save for the large ones.
Mito spent the rest of the night volunteering to watch the boy and read, calling herself his honorable Grandmother and set him down into the crib after rolling a ball to him and watching the boy roll it back with surprising accuracy. Children only two months old shouldn't have that type of accuracy, the medical files stated the child was exactly that, a child, but he had a healing factor that made minor wound heal fast. If anything it meant that he won't get sick at all and if he's wounded he'll recover faster than anyone else.
This is similar to Mito's current abilities thanks to the Nine Tails and her Uzumaki Blood, strange that the boy would have similar abilities. Mito may admit the little bundle of sunshine in front of her is innocent but she can't say the same for whoever left him out there to be found or killed.
So she performed tests on the boy, minor ones while everyone, including the boy, was asleep and what she found was surprising as the bright flash of blue light came leaking out.
Chakra levels higher than most Jounin tend to attract attention, even more so is there are traces of some demonic blood breaking down into his bloodstream suggesting that he is able to absorb demon chakra, and finally there's a chakra suppression seal on him, top of the line too so if that's the level he's at with seal on, Gods know what will happen when he shuts it off. The seals weren't recognizable but whoever did this had to be a top tier seal master, Mito is Level 10, the highest level but Hirashama surpassed her by being the only one to be considered Level 11. These seals had to be the work of a Level 9 but it was all neat and well organized to the point where no one could simply remove the seal which begs the question. Who would seal a newborn's chakra and how does he have enough to rival most Elite Shinobi already without dying.
Once she was done checking the boy Mito needed a plan to watch the boy without being suspicious but for now she had to protect the boy and watch over him.
Mito stayed true to her word and actually slept in the rocking chair that night after performing the tests and awoke the next morning to help teach Biwako how to carry the boy easier without causing neck or back problems later. She also went on to explain tricks to caring for a newborn and everything leading up to the child leaving the nest. This is turn allowed her to distract Biwako so Mito could examine Naruto's seal once more and ensure that it worked properly and noted it would leak too much chakra unless she did something that required hours of work on the seal alone.
Soon after she decided to have a heart to heart with Hiruzen in his study with thousands of silence seals to keep this a secret. Hiruzen in turn knew this was serious and both occupants of the office had a look of seriousness that could cut stone.
"Hiruzen I performed a test on Naruto last night while you were sleeping to ensure he was healthy and nothing happened to him." Mito admitted and the first thing she noticed was Hiruzen was going to punch her by clenching his fist and flexing his muscles.
Of course he held his anger in since he knew Mito wouldn't do anything without a reason so he let her continue after taking a deep calming breath.
"I found a seal placed on him that will only appear when he uses chakra, it's a chakra suppressor meant to keep his chakra from exploding, it's keeping his body from being destroyed from the strain." Mito saw the look of surprise in Hiruzen's face but there was also a look of recognition, like he knew this would happen.
Leaning back on his chair Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose before explaining "When we first met the boy he unleashed enough chakra to rival most Jounin was that his original level before the seal took effect or was the seal activated before?" Hiruzen was now extremely curious, what caused this, such a high skill to make chakra suppressors of this level couldn't have been done by Konoha shinobi. If there was a shinobi that had the skills for such a task the First or the Second would have placed them in the Sealing Corps, but then again as the Third Hokage and as a Father he had to find out more.
"If we do nothing Hiruzen this boy already has such wild chakra I sense he will not be able to use Genjutsu like normal children, his chakra is too chaotic and heavy nor would he be able to perform simple jutsus as well. He can only learn B-Ranked or above when you start teaching him." Mito is a renown sealing master, she knows of many different ways to control the boy's chaotic chakra until he's old enough to tame it. The Third Hokage had to think with his mind rather than his heart, his son would never have a normal life if the chakra is too powerful to be controlled.
"Mito-Sempai is there anyway you can seal his chakra, let it grow slowly rather than allow Naruto to be tormented by such power?" Hiruzen knows what happens when a child is born with so much power, people tend to claim the power for themselves, others become jealous, and many will attempt to spoil the child to gain favor.
Mito nodded and thought of a way to seal the chakra without it interfering with Naruto's bloodline limit due to it being powered by chakra when she started formulating the complex seals.
"Give me a few days Monkey I'll figure it out but for now you should know he has a bloodline that allows him to convert his chakra into accelerated healing. The boy will heal normally fatal injuries in hours provided he gets medical treatment to keep him alive until then and as a result he can't get sick." It was a surprise to the Third but now that he thought about it Naruto just keeps on surprising him be it his apparent ability to understand them and his ability to track the children being trained before the Academy.
Hiruzen wanted to keep ANBU on Naruto but thought against treating his son like a spy, he's a child with no way of communicating, 'unless there are enemy baby ninjas running around the village' The Third mused.
Instead opted to observe the boy to ensure nothing happens to him but for that he'll need to created the telescope eye, the technique his sensei was working on before his death.
With ANBU now constantly watching the compound as a result of his new position it made the Third feel safer but it also meant something else when Naruto gets older.
Already Naruto showed surprising traits not commonly found in a boy only two months old, for one he was an escape artist. Naruto is capable of escaping from his crib several times in the past month that both Biwako and Hiruzen panicked to the point where seals were kept in his clothes for protection. Next was his surprising precision be it the vomit incident with Danzo or the tossing of the ball with Mito he shouldn't be able to do any of this because he lacks motor control.
Despite all this Naruto has shown nothing but love to the Sarutobi couple as he sat in his baby chair and ate breakfast from baby food, though he refused the smashed peas and any form of vegetables. He even went so far as to close his eyes and looked away, much the chagrin of his parents as they tried their usual tricks, make funny faces, talk cute, bring out toys but none of it worked.
Mito was watching it as she was eating some ramen a servant brought her and she noticed how Naruto seemed to notice the smell and look at her or rather the ramen bowl. She knew what this was, it was time for the old tricking the child plan she used for years.
"Biwako hand me the baby food." Mito ordered but before Biwako could, Mito was already up and stole the baby food with a bowl of ramen in her hands, guess which one Naruto was paying attention to.
She soon took out a string of ramen and blew on it before giving him one, which he took by the end and started to eat it or rather inhale the noodle until he was done by signaling with a baby burp that resulted in Biwako running into their room to grab a camera.
"Naruto's first burp I must record this for posterity." She said to herself as she set up the incredibly long camera and by that time Naruto looked at his mother with a curious face as many times before the camera was already set up.
The picture was quickly taken and Biwako quickly ran to make sure it came out right, much the annoyance of the Third, who pinched his nose at the stress before noticing Naruto was now eating his baby food.
"Sometimes you have to give your child the goods first Monkey, other wise you'll be a bad guy in their eyes." Hiruzen nodded at the advice as he decided to start eating the breakfast his wife made for them while reading the Konoha Newspaper.
As they ate breakfast Mito could help but smile, with her children moved out of the house and her husband ill and his brother now passed she finds it very lonely and instead wishes for company, perhaps that's why she became so attached to Naruto. Her Granddaughter would often spend time taking care of her Grandfather and he in turn would teacher her his lousy poker techniques.
The little baby boy would be extremely happy to the point where it was contagious as many children had come up to the family just to see how adorable he is and parents would have a hard time not wanting to hug the baby boy senseless.
Of course the ANBU assigned to guard the family would be cautious, even if Naruto is adopted he's still greatly loved by the Hokage and his wife so if the boy is taken hostage he will be the perfect little bait.
After breakfast Mito knew she had to leave, it was by this time she would visit her Granddaughter Tsunade, it was at that thought she had an idea.
Her little Granddaughter was an only child, all of the active duty adults were gone and many of the children were either in the Academy or Genin so they couldn't play with her. Tsunade needs someone to play with or even take care of that isn't like her Grandfather so Mito told Tsunade about how her Grandfather's favorite student just had a child and maybe she could help them out.
She instantly loved the idea and went to see the new baby and thought he was adorable, setting herself into the position of big sister and helped Biwako in the caring of the child. Everyday after class she would race down to the Sarutobi Compound until they moved and began to constantly help Biwako with taking care of Naruto from changing diapers to running down to the store to pick up supplies, or just watching the little boy sleep.
Naturally the new seal was placed on Naruto after explaining that his chakra is too strong as it is so his body can't handle it unless it's slowly eased into it. The seal on top of the original seal, creating a double suppression seal to keep the chakra from leaking out and allowed for fine tuned chakra control. So whenever Tsunade came to baby-sit, and by baby-sit I mean teaching the baby how to gamble like her Grandpa taught her, she would constantly find it strange that a baby has so many funny pictures on him.
After breakfast the Third returned to his office and chose to fill out the paperwork however he found something that made his blood boil everyday, the casualty lists. As per procedure it's usually the squad leader's job to inform the next of kin should anyone under their command were to fall in battle but Hiruzen had to read the full report. There was no end to the number of casualties on his desk and many could have been avoided had the Commanders hadn't rushed the missions.
'I wish I was out in the field, I could have done something about this.' Hiruzen thought to himself as he looked at the number of soldiers returning back to active duty in the coming months. Many were highly skilled and worked with him in the past as a teammate, subordinate, or superior so he knows what they are capable of.
Biwako was working overtime at the hospital now due to the new arrivals of a recent defense mission that failed miserably because the target was mostly protect by rookies. That's the problem with war, you either act like a soldier and kill or you're dead, there are no rookies during war time.
The casualties were severe, not just physical but mental as well, many returned from the battlefield semi-catatonic from what they experience and what they had to do. Several had to kill young Genin no older than five because they were simply assigned to deliver battle plans. That usually meant ambushes comprised of kunai traps, explosive traps, holes with spikes on the ground, or even boulders to crush them. It was an ugly job and many had to hear the young children cry for their parents because they failed to set the trap right to kill them.
Information was part of the war, some squad leaders would want the information in hopes of getting a promotion, so they set the traps to capture or leave the bodies relatively intact. Because of this they have to watch their victims die or turn away and let someone else take the job, as Hokage he couldn't let that pass.
He called in every Squad Leader, Company Commander, and Platoon Leader of all branches, regular, medical, intelligence, even ANBU, and they were all brought before him in the mission room that was once used to hand out soft missions.
The look in their eyes is the way to tell whose been out on the field and for how long, if their eyes are bright, they are excited, young, fresh blood, but if their eyes are cold, emotionless or even blood thirsty, then they've been out in the field for too long. As Hokage he couldn't let them out on the field but he has no choice as he sat there with the First Hokage to his right and the Jounin Commander to his left.
In the crowd he recognize his former teammates who had gone their separate ways following the death of the Second and Hiruzen's appointment to the Hokage chair. He waited for everyone to enter and get situated before giving them a reminder of what they are.
"You kill you're enemies or you capture them with minimum force, Konoha shinobi are the scalpel in the war, Iwa is the Hammer, Kumo is the sword, Suna is the dagger, and Kiri is the knife that stabs you in the back. We are precise so no more unnecessary casualties from either side, plan better, execute perfectly and we can all return home safely." The Third Hokage spoke with such conviction that anyone who would disobey his will and orders would find themselves with the T&I Department.
"But what about Kumo or Iwa, they've killed so many of our own just for the hell of it, we need to give them the same response." One of the younger squad leaders spoke, his vest was so new it looked like he just pulled it out of the wrapper.
"What did you hear that from the bar, shut up rookie you don't know what you're talking about so let the experience soldiers talk." A Company Commander berated, he was obviously just returning from the field, his vest and uniform were cut and burnt from various weapons and jutsus suggesting he's been out in the front lines. That meant he fought during the defense of the Fort and was more than likely the commander of the recon element of the fort.
"Hey I've been in the front lines I was at Kazami Bridge when it fell." The first Jounin countered and everyone looked at the young Jounin with disgust.
"Don't you ever mention that Bridge ever again." A female Jounin hissed in fury as she scratched her chest from where she was ran through by a sword, more than likely at the bridge.
"Oh what's the matter you haven't seen a real man in so long well look no further because here I am." The young Jounin bragged before suddenly the temperature turned cold as they all froze and turned to the source, the First Hokage.
Even at an old age and dying he is still one of the most terrifying men ever to exist in the world, a man who could level a mountain in a single punch and then rebuild it like it never fell.
"Enough" was his response but he never raised his voice or spoke of anger, the look of absolute disgust was written on his face as the rookie soiled himself at the sight. Many who were around during the forming of the village or better yet fought during the Clan Wars knew that the First could brutally murder them all without lifting a finger. He simply uses enough Killer Intent to give them all heart attacks or better yet make their heart stop all together.
The First stood up and walked towards the Jounin and Chunin "When Madara, my brother and myself formed this village we dreamed of uniting every single person in the world together like a family. But I now see that my dreams have not come to pass, if not even fellow Konoha shinobi can unite then what hope do we have for the rest of the world?"
The God of Shinobi still wore the Konoha symbol with pride but today it was something else as he removed his Forehead Protector and looked into it like it was a distant memory.
"Are we not Men of the Leaf? Is our bond not what separates us from the rest of the Hidden Villages and are we not all connected together under the tree that is our village?" The First questioned them all and they all in turn nodded "Then my brothers and sister remember we are a shining example to the world, we do not kill like the barbarians of old, we fight with precision and honor."
Everyone in turn had a look of reverence, here is the man who formed the village they all grew up in and would fight to protect. He was right as there was always something about him that took away the fear, took away the anger and instead replaced it with a calm sense of purpose.
"Quite right Sensei." Hiruzen interrupted before standing up and looking at his comrades "Which is why I am shaking off these old robes and joining you all in destroying our enemies and sending them back to their own countries."
Hiruzen threw off the Hokage robes to reveal a red samurai armor not unlike the First Hokage wore into battle only with the Sarutobi Clan symbol on the collar, which was something the First took notice of.
"Careful their Hiruzen one might think you're becoming me." Hashirama teased before looking very serious, something the Third failed to notice until he felt the First pinching his ear with his legendary super human strength. "AND WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT LEAVING THOSE ROBES ON THE GROUND DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO DESIGN THESE ROBES?"
The Third in turn acted like anyone would do in this situation, he tried to squirm his way out while apologizing as the First Hokage looked at him like a mother scolding her child for leaving his clothes on the ground.
"IF YOU'RE SO SORRY THEN PICK IT UP." The First continued to yell into the Third's ear before letting him go.
"Sensei you're mean for an old geezer." Hiruzen pouted like he was a child before scooping up the robes and suddenly feeling something very painful in the rear.
"ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH." The First yelled and Hiruzen felt the fingers full of chakra hit him where the sun don't shine as he screamed at the top of his lungs as he shot out of the room.
'Are these guys really Hokages?" Everyone thought as Danzo in the background couldn't help but smirk "Oh sweat revenge, you now know how that technique feels like Monkey."
It took the Third Hokage ten minutes to return, very dirty with a bloody nose and several slaps to the face.
The First seeing this smiled and gave Hiruzen a thumbs up not unlike a spandex wearing Taijutsu user would in the future.
"I see my aiming is just as precise as ever." The First boasted as many in the room really wish they could get back to the seriousness of the situation.
"PRECISE YOU SHOT ME INTO THE WOMAN'S HOTSPRING." Hirzuen yelled back only to get clonked in the head by the First and falling face down on the floor.
"Be grateful you brat I seem to recall you spying there with me only a year ago." The First shouted only to suddenly feel the air grow even colder than his own killer intent and he looked to see the source as every man backed away from the raging females in the room.
"Now, now ladies let's be perfectly calm here respect you're elders." Hashirama begged and stuttered while backing away from the female Jounins.
That didn't help as the women charged at the First Hokage as he let off a girlish scream and started running out the room, all the while the girls trampled all over Hiruzen, if not for the armor taking the force of the attacks, he would be dead by now.
The Third stood up and found his red armor was ruined as he let out large tears of water that soaked the carpet and cried "My ARMOR."
"Um how is he doing that?" One of the Jounin asked as the tears began to form a large puddle on the ground before another Jounin spoke up "Yeah shouldn't he be dehydrated or out of water by now?"
Hiruzen's male teammate pulled up his glasses like it was a tick whenever he started to sound smart "Remember our sensei was the Master of Water and Lightning, Hirzuen probably used the same water storing technique as the Second." Homura commented as they all looked at the Third Hokage with concern as he held the pieces of the armor in his hands like it was his precious while they could hear women yelling outside and a really girly scream.
It took the rest of the afternoon before the female righteous fury caught up to the First, though it also didn't help that Mito Uzumaki Senju found out about his peeping either. Let's just say with her mastery of seals his punishment was a hundred times worse, I won't go into detail but let's just say the damage done was worse than his fight with Madara Uchiha.
Once everyone was calm Hiruzen returned wearing his traditional Jounin uniform after the women destroyed his new armor, honestly the flak vest was far better than the red suit of armor anyways.
In the mean time Hiruzen was out on the field again commanding a larger force in order to push Rock and Sand out of their lands and that of their allies. The Sand already has a weak force so they were mostly augmented by Rock in order to stand even a ghost of a chance of defeating the strongest nation.
Kiri was temporarily allied with Konoha by helping to hold back Kumo though really it was just payback since the Second Tsukikage was a mortal enemy of the Second Mizukage and any chance of getting back at them is a good thing.
So while Konoha takes down the heavy hitters, Kiri will take down Kumo and switch opponents at random in order to prevent both sides from getting the better of another. Suna lost half of their forces already and it showed, their forces are at an all time low and it was only because of Iwa that they're still in the fight, until now.
Sarutobi managed to get the Council to agree in sending the bulk of their attack force out by reminding them that the Second's sacrifice will mean nothing if they hide behind their walls while the world is tearing itself apart. It helped that he selected many now sitting on the Council, especially after their previous posts didn't have the loyalty of the business below them so they stayed in the village as the cowards ran.
All of this culminated in the Third finishing his preparations, the ANBU and his two Elite Guards would be on him at all times so he didn't worry but what did worry him is what if he failed.
There was no successor to the Hokage post should he fall, the First would have to retake his post even at his advanced age so he was left with no choice but to agree that the Council would be in charge of running the village, the Jounin Commander in charge of the military. It isn't the best idea separating two powers but he had no choice, the war will have to be finished soon or else Konoha will not have the strength to fight off the war.
It was just after dinner when the Third packed for the mission, much like the last time he left Hiruzen spent his last day eating with his family only there was one new addition, Naruto was there. Although Hiruzen wouldn't admit it a part of him believed Naruto might just know what is going on so he became more cooperative with his food, never throwing any or even refusing them.
Naruto fell asleep soon after the dinner, all of the extra food left him tired as his Grandfather tucked him into bed and told the young child a story. The story of the creator of all ninjutsu and the ninja world, the Rikudo Sennin, who defeated the first tailed beast and sealed it into the moon. Of how he traveled across the world in order to defeat evil and of course, how it was his blood that formed this village. The Uchiha was the power, the Senju the leadership, the Uzumaki the money and trust, all were created through the blood of the Sage.
As Sasuke read to his grandson with an ancient scroll passed down from generation to generation he could hear the ruffling of clothes from his son's room, curious as both he and his wife asked him to make sure Naruto was asleep tonight.
'At least Hiruzen has his youth.' Sasuke mused as he heard the doors slide open and heard the light footsteps of his daughter-in-law across the hall.
Back in the room Hiruzen moved out of bed and opened his ninja closet to find his clothes, armor, shuriken and bo staff were all lined up in the closet. Moving first he removed his clothes from its stand and donned the black suit underneath, finding that the past six months had not made it too tight despite Biwako's cooking.
Next he removed his flak jacket out and adjusted his armor straps before checked his weapons, finding all were correct and adjusted for his mission. His shuriken holsters were in his back along with a slightly large pouch in-between containing various storage scrolls for spare equipment and emergency equipment.
Finishing off his appearance Hiruzen grabbed his forehead protector and tied it to his forehead before grabbing his staff as he walked out of his room but stopped to remember where he was.
Looking around him he was quite saddened that when he returns the Hokage Mansion will be ready. Sighing he stepped outside of his room knowing that his wife was waiting for him outside with young Naruto so Hiruzen filled his back with everything he would need. Spare weapons, armor, repair kit for weapons, paper, ink, food and water to last two weeks, a medical kit, a tent, sleeping bag, and most of all food pills, chakra pills, blood clot pills, sedatives, rope, ninja wires and a lot of explosives.
But most of all he took the image that they took not too long ago, a family portrait to celebrate his appointment to the post of Hokage. Triple checking his supplies Hiruzen made sure he brought along spare books and a map of the target areas, no point in getting caught with them so he kept the information in a special blood seal.
Once he was done packing however Hiruzen could hear Naruto in his nursery, he had fallen asleep after his Grandfather's story. His Father was waiting outside and found his son looking far older than he should, the burden of power and command but he also knew that his son needed to see his own son so Sasuke Sarutobi stepped away from the door.
It was quiet inside, Hiruzen noted, as he quietly opened the door and went inside to find that yet again none of the toys were out, Naruto was out with his family on their last day before Hiruzen is deployed, perhaps in some way he knew what was about to happen. Hiruzen found his son sleeping soundly in his little cot, hugging his little fox and Hiruzen smiled and remembered why he fought, it was for the future generations, they are far more important than anyone else.
Once he was done Hiruzen walked out of the room, leaving the door cracked open to let some of the light shine in and onto the front porch where his wife was waiting for him with a somber look in her eyes. Her hair was loose rather than the normal ponytail that she kept it in and for once she looked saddened.
"It's only been three months since you marched to war with Tobirama Senju, you returned six months later with a child in your arms and news of a dead Hokage." She spoke in quiet tones, almost as though she didn't want to wake the dead. "I do not want to hear news that another Hokage has fallen in battle Hiruzen, our child needs his Father and the village needs their Hokage."
They heard the sound of a cane coming towards them and ever curious as most humans are they look to the source of the sound and found the First Hokage coming towards him, his wooden cane tapping against the ground with his wife by his side.
"I heard you were leaving tonight, a wise decision Hiruzen." The First spoke in a way that even the Third knew was serious.
"We came here to give you something you might need." Mito continued her husband's sentence as he began to cough from fluids in his lungs as a result of inhaling some not so healthy substances in his youth.
Mito, ever concerned with her husband's health attempted to finish what he started but he instead waved her off before he composed himself and pulled a gauntlet from out of nowhere and presented it to Hiruzen.
It was a metal arm bracer, slightly bulky but that was due to the metal plating and the extra padding to protect him. Putting the bracer on his left arm Hiruzen noted that it didn't interfere with his fighting at all and also took note that the armor would allow him to absorb quite the heavy blows that would normally destroy anything else.
"I assumed you two placed seals to keep it from breaking as well as a storage seal like your old armor sensei?" Hiruzen took a few test jabs and maneuvers with the gauntlet just to make sure and knew it would work well.
Hirashama nodded as they heard a light thud as everyone turned their attention to the source of the sound, a young Naruto who escaped his crib.
"Naruto just loves sneaking up on me." Biwako commented before she noticed something, or rather everyone else did, Naruto was on his feet which means he walked to them from his room.
Naruto then half walked and half crawled towards them before the group walked towards him and Biwako lifted her son up into her arms and everyone knew that the connection he had with Hiruzen was what brought him here yet again.
Naruto then brought up his fox plushy towards Hiruzen, something that they all found adorable but he could take the little fox with him. However Naruto would have none of his and began to cry until Hiruzen took the fox and decided to keep it in a special seal in his gauntlet.
"I will be back Naruto-kun." Hiruzen whispered in his sons ear again as his son hugged him as best he could before letting go and the Third turned to the First "Sensei you're back in the chair, take care of my family and the village."
The First nodded as the ANBU and his Elite Guards appeared in the front lawn and the Third walked towards them, noting Danzo in his new ANBU mask along with the ANBU Commander by his side.
Nodding at his guards he looked once more behind him and saw his son waving goodbye, causing Hiruzen to smile before running off to war in order to lead three hundred Elite Konoha Shinobi to the fight.
That turned the tide surprisingly easy as Iwa and Suna didn't stop fighting in order to reach Konoha and as a result they were pretty tired while Konoha was still fresh from retreating and use of guerilla warfare tactics in order to slow down and dwindle enemy forces.
Now that they are Hiruzen struck with support by a large part of the ANBU Division, he struck blow after blow, taking out larger forces and turning them into splinter groups and preventing the groups from forming together.
It was a well and thoroughly that out tactic with Sarutobi's most trusted men, mainly his old teammates and any Jounin he's ever found to be a great battle commander, leading the attacks to force the enemy into retreat.
The Third refused to stop then and ended up assisting Kiri soon after while he left part of his force to continue the campaign in Iwa and Suna, the attacks were brilliantly executed and had it been anyone else, they would have lost the war.
Instead Hiruzen anticipated every possible plan of attack and counter attack Suna and Iwa would attempt while anticipating where they'll go, resulting in massive enemy casualties due to ambushes and traps along with poisoned food and water supplies, out of date medical supplies, and in some cases just plain old fashion bandit attacks.
The results were massive loss of life and much needed supplies, which the Third used to his advantage thanks to the use of bandits. The bandits were naturally tricked into believing that the convoy they were attacking were minor when in fact they were the relief supplies meant to help the men trapped behind enemy lines, in this case Fire Country. Three thousand men trapped behind Konoha lines and it became worse as there were hardly any of them that had the strength to stop the bandit raids so in the end those three thousand men were killed, their corpses robbed of anything precious and their bodies left to rot.
All the while at the Battle of Kiri Hiruzen Sarutobi made a name for himself by creating the Magma Bomb Jutsu, a technique so powerful that it wiped out an entire company of Kumo Elites. By combining fire with earth and wind, without the use of clones but instead weaving three different jutsus at the same time he created a brand new S-Class Jutsu.
Kiri couldn't respond as the devastation from the jutsu alone was so powerful the effects were closer to that of a volcano erupting. Many who witnessed and survived the encounter were never the same as those who lived on the island did not leave their homes, they were confident of their country's shinobi. They watched the entire battlefield turned into molten rock, all done by a young man with the symbol of fire etched on his back.
The Battle of Kiri occured in one of the larger islands, not the capital but at a major staging point for a massive Mist counterattack with a bulk of the MIST Division, shinobi trained by the Seven Swordsmen themselves. With a single jutsu he wiped out thirty percent of the Mist Division, eighty percent of the regular force, and fifty percent of their ANBU, the SHARKS.
He then descended upon the survivors bo staff in hand, the steel weapon was pure black with weighted ends with the symbol of fire etched into it that slowly began to fill with blood until the symbol of fire became as red as its namesake. The Third struck them all down, shattering weapons and bones like they were made of tissues and continued to advanced through the army, none of them managed to fight back. It was due to the shock and speed of the Third Hokage as he quicly overwhelmed them with Taijutsu, Bojutsu, Ninjutsu, Fuinjutsu, and Ninjutsu. His fight was so one sighted that he suffered no wounds and by the time the members of his men descended upon them, there were only fifty left.
His normally gray flak vest became stained with the blood of many, blood from his defeated enemies while his black suit remained clean strangely enough, but the worse was Sarutobi left the army either dead or crippled for the remainder of their days.
So began the legend of the Professor as he showed his mastery of all Konoha techniques by using them against his enemies, leveling the battlefields in many cases as he tore the enemy asunder.
There was no denying Sarutobi hated this but Kumo attempted to eradicate them, it was only natural he respond in kind. They say the way that man fought, only God himself could ever face him, even the Raikage and Mizukage respected him while the Second Tsukikage was badly injured by his hand, resulting in Onoki taking over as the Third Tsuchikage. (Yes I know that didn't happen but hey this is AU)
The Third Hokage earned his name and rank during that war, transforming himself from an unsure but tough boy to a confident and strong man who the village proudly called their leader. So by the end of the First Great Shinobi War the survivors of his attacks and the leaders of the countries agreed to give him this title, Hiruzen Sarutobi the God of Shinobi.
To be given the title of his sensei was the greatest personal moment for the young man, after all it's not everyday one earns a title only two men before him ever obtained. But he never forgot his family as after he cleaned himself following every battle he summoned his son's toy fox and began to remember his home. The fox was an anchor to the Professor, it reminds him why he has to do these horrible things, it was to protect his son and others just like him.
That man, not the soldier, returned home a hero after a year at war, ironically he arrived just in time to find young Naruto now able to walk though not old enough to understand the young boy instantly saw his Father and half walked and half crawled towards him.
Hiruzen, happy at finally seeing his son noticed he will most likely have the same spiky hair as him, bent low and scooped up his son and tossed him into the air only to catch him again before hugging him. Though some could have sworn that the Third looked afraid for a moment, had they looked they would have notice Biwako with fire in her eyes for her husband throwing their son into the air. What if he dropped him or he slipped, what if he went too high, what if some bird came out and snatched their adorable child away. All of this and more came racing through her head as the fire in her eyes made the Third want to run back to the battlefield.
'War would have been easier than messing with a pissed off wife', Sarutobi began to think of some form of stress relief but that was for another day.
Following the end of the war they had a ceremony and he set his son in his arms like a cradle and looked to his men and whispered into Naruto's ear "Look Naruto these are the faces of the men and women who fought to protect our home, the Will of Fire runs deep inside all of them. Never lose your Will of Fire my son for it is the greatest weapon anyone in this village could ever want or ever need, it is even greater than me."
Naruto looked as though he understood what his Father was saying but there was one thing that made Hiruzen smile even more than before.
Naruto saying "Dada" which if you were a parent you would smile, his son said his first words and so Hiruzen cheered and lifted his son into the air, much to the confusion of those attending to the ceremony, at least until he explained.
At the end of the night Hiruzen tucked his son into bed with his wife and they couldn't help but smile but Hiruzen was far from at peace.
"Am I foolish enough to believe our son would grow up in a world of peace?" Hiruzen asked his wife.
"That's hope Hiruzen, its what kept us going all those times you were away, let yourself have hope." Biwako answered and Hiruzen nodded.
"Even if we are at peace, we are shinobi and I intend to teach Naruto what he needs to survive." Hiruzen answered "For a Sarutobi is always needed in the battlefield."
END
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, it was even longer than the last one I believe, sorry for such a nondescript fight scene but I intend to really start writing fights next chapter. Please review and put up new ideas because next chapter is a time skip to Naruto's first day of the Academy and a certain White Fang will be there along with a Slug Princess and of course some humor.