A/n: Since I'm so bad at updating, I've decided to do a recommendation for a Naruto story I feel is underrated every time I have a new chapter. That way you may have a new and longer story you can enjoy while waiting for the next instalment of The Hokage Thing. For your sake, I'll try to recommend stories that don't look like they've been abandoned.
Random Recommendation: The Windmill Turns Both Ways by Blaizekit - basically, what happens when a Naruto from the past is taken to the future instead of the other way around? It's a novel idea and done amazingly well. The plot is gripping and the characters are spot on, and if you've liked the friendship in this series, you'll love it in that one. Plus, it's complete.
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Chapter 02
Duty
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The weeks following didn't get any better.
Takiko remained rude and insulting. The only positive thing about that was Atsuya replying with cutting words that made the girl go red. As a result however, Takiko targeted Atsuya less and less, and focused solely on making Naruto as miserable as she could. He tried to ignore her, because he knew his father wouldn't tolerate fights or insult contests, but it only seemed to make her angrier. Atsuya was, as promised, helpful when discussing missions and training, but due to the line that he drew that first day, Naruto felt too uncomfortable around him to truly be himself.
Sumina was alright, Naruto guessed. She took them on missions once a week and supervised their training the rest of the time. She corrected their forms and gave them harsh workouts which Naruto knew to be beneficial to their bodies, but was gruelling as heck. Other than that however, she never spoke to them. Naruto also resented the fact that she barely glanced up from her books when she oversaw them. It was something he understood intellectually, because she was a jounin and a couple of genin couldn't really expect to capture her complete attention, but it was grating nonetheless.
The only silver lining seemed to be that the team only met up three times a week, so Naruto didn't have to see them that often.
So that led Naruto to some comfort eating at Ichiraku's for lunch. He was halfway through his second bowl when somebody dropped into a seat beside him, and reached for his head.
"Hey Naruto-kun," Shirou greeted as he gave the neat locks a forceful ruffle. He was grinning from ear to ear, despite the fact that his clothes were covered in dirt and his face stretched in exhaustion.
"Shirou!" Naruto beamed, instantly brightening. His chopsticks dropping back into thick noodle, Naruto whirled around. Sure enough, the dark haired and the spectacled genin were not far behind. He raised a hand to wave wildly at them. "Kaoru! Yuuta!"
He had met Shirou, Kaoru, and Yuuta back at the academy. More specifically, he had met the members of the future Team Eleven when he was wandering around the forest and they were doing a survival exercise. They were five years older and one of the first to truly accept him for him. One thing led to another and they had managed to stay friends for all these years.
"Yo," Kaoru saluted with a crooked grin. She pulled up the stool beside Naruto. Yuuta nodded in Naruto's direction before turning to the ramen chef, ordering for the three of them. "Man, it's like been forever since we saw you."
It had only been ten days or so, which was a pretty long period considering they were both in Konoha, but they had gone longer without contact. Though, as Naruto took in their appearances bemusedly, perhaps it wasn't about how much time had actually passed and more about how much it felt like had passed.
"Yeah, what happened to you?" Naruto asked curiously, looking the three of them over. Kaoru and Yuuta appeared no better than Shirou.
Shirou actually winced at that, drawing Naruto's attention. The dark haired boy shook his head, a wry smile on his face, "It's just the upcoming chuunin exams. Sochiro-sensei is putting us through the ringer in preparation for them."
"Oh yeah, you failed the last two times, didn't you?" Naruto remembered aloud.
Shirou crossed his arms and mock glared at him, "You don't have to put it like that! Brat."
Naruto only laughed.
"It is nothing to be ashamed of," Yuuta said, having finished his orders and turning back to the three of them. He adjusted his glasses. They glinted in the sunlight. "Many shinobi never even make it to chuunin excepting war times, and the rate of promotion for Konoha per exam is about two or three genin. Considering that, and that the exams are only hosted in places accessible to Konoha three or four times every three years, the amount of—"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Kaoru swatted Yuuta's head with a roll of her eyes, cutting him off. "You've only gone through this like a billion times. The average age a shinobi is promoted to chuunin is sixteen. If you're not in the acne age anymore and are still a genin, chances are you'll be stuck as a genin forever because villages only want to showcase their little prodigies, blah blah blah."
Yuuta looked highly offended at Kaoru's bastardization of his accounts. Naruto had taken the time to quickly finish the rest of his ramen but used this moment to cut in before it could escalate.
"So!" He said innocently, though from the amused look Shirou sent him, he didn't quite pull it off perfectly. "What do you think your chances are this time?"
The three exchanged a look. Yuuta was the one who answered, and his response was slow. "Well, the exams are held in Suna this year, which is allied with Konoha. Last time we were in Kumo who seemed intent on failing our teams. Unless Shirou messes up like last time, we should be able to pass."
Shirou looked insulted. "Oi! I'll have you know I—" And then he wilted before their eyes, slumping against the ramen stand. "Okay so I really messed that up."
Yuuta nodded seriously, although there was a glint in his eyes that spoke of good humour. "There really was nothing redeemable about the stunt you pulled."
"He was the shame of the Kumagai clan for a while there," Kaoru whispered in Naruto's ear. "His mother actually kicked him out of the house. Said 'don't come back until you learn the meaning of teamwork, and maybe some common sense from Yuuta!' He had to bum out with us for weeks."
Shirou flushed, actually looking embarrassed. It didn't happen very often. "I thought we promised to never to mention that again."
"Aw come on, it's Naru-chan," Kaoru complained.
"Yeah," Naruto grinned. "I'm like, special." And then he turned to grumble at Kaoru, "Stop calling me that."
"Oh yeah," Kaoru laughed. "Sorry 'bout that Naruto. Just slipped out." She winked at him. "I'm serious though, the girls will be calling you that all the time. Because no matter how much of a badass ninja you are, you look adorable."
"Ugh," Naruto groused. He had his fair share of shrieking girls back at the Academy. If there was one good thing about his new genin team, it was that he didn't have to deal with that anymore.
It was also probably the only good thing about Uchiha Sasuke—because he drew at least half the girls away. While he might not be the Yondaime's heir and the Rookie of the Year, he was the son of the Head of the Uchiha clan and a lot of people considered him to be 'cool'. Naruto wrinkled his nose. Well, Sasuke was that. He was cold to everyone, and seemed to have an obsession with beating Naruto.
Naruto really wasn't sure why Sasuke was so cantankerous, when his brother Itachi had to be one of the nicest people in the world. Sometimes he wondered if all the likeable genes had just gone to Itachi instead.
"In any case," Yuuta cut in, looking equally as uncomfortable with the topic as Naruto was. "The first time we attempted the chuunin exams, we failed the first portion. The second time, the second test. Logically, we should be able to make it to the third test this time and fail."
Kaoru snorted. Loudly. "There's nothing logical about that."
"In any case," Yuuta continued sternly. "We do not actually have to win the third portion to be promoted to chuunin. As long as we make a good showing, we should be able to rise up in rank."
"I wonder if my team could ever pass the chuunin exams," Naruto said glumly, slumping over the stand. "I can't see us pulling off the 'teamwork' well enough to pass the first two sections."
"Who knows," Shirou mused. "Your individual strengths might be monstrous enough to pull it off."
Team Eleven had barged into Naruto's home the day after Sumina's test and had demanded the details. He'd been met with shock and blank stares when he told them. Kaoru had even spat out her drink. Shirou patiently explained that in no way had that been a genin level fight. Naruto had not been entirely unaware of that. Clans consistently produced children who graduated the Academy above the regular genin level, and to best them as Atsuya and Takiko did, they had to even be above that.
Still. Naruto flicked his empty ramen bowl, frowning. "I wonder if that'll really be enough."
"You should ask for a C-rank mission," Yuuta said thoughtfully. "I've heard that they can really bring an uncooperative team together. Going through mutual danger helps to deepen care and regard for others."
Naruto pushed an elbow on the table, resting his cheek against the heel of his hand. "A C-rank?"
Team Five had only completed three missions so far, all of them rank D. Normally the Hokage wouldn't even consider sending a team who had so little history between them out of Konoha. But the members of Team Five were all above average in terms of ability, and Naruto was the Hokage's own son. That should count for something.
"I'll give it a try," Naruto decided. Beginning to feel more positive, he beamed at his friend. "Thanks for the suggestion, Yuuta."
It was just then that Teuchi came back with Team Eleven's steaming bowls of ramen. Just to accompany his friends, because he was so nice and all, Naruto ordered another bowl for himself. They spent the rest of the time catching up. Lunch break had to end however, and serious ninja business resumed.
"It's back to training," Shirou groaned, his head thumping against the table.
"Yeah, yeah, suck it up," Kaoru said unsympathetically as she stood. She grabbed Shirou's ear and gave it a hard tug, earning an 'ow you evil evilness', but did manage to get him out of Teuchi's shop.
"Goodbye, Naruto-kun," Yuuta said formally as he pushed up his glasses again. He smiled, and then turned to follow his wayward teammates.
"Bye," Naruto waved, before hopping off himself and thanking Teuchi for the meal. Then he made his way to the Hokage tower.
Villagers shouted out greetings along the way. He stopped by some and chatted happily with them, in no real hurry. And he loved their attention. It was a welcome change to the cold glares he used to receive when nobody was sure if he could really hold back the Kyuubi. One old lady even gave him a basket of fruit when he told her he was going to visit his father.
There was, perhaps, a small part of him that was dubious about the rapid transformation regarding the villagers' will. A hint of resentment at the fact that their shift in mentality coincided with the Yondaime's recovery, rather than anything Naruto did. Kabuto had been the one to bring it up, and Naruto hadn't been able to get it out of his mind since then. But even so, it was vastly preferable to the alternative, and there was little he could do about it anyways.
Finally he made his way to the base of the Hokage tower. Two Uchiha guards nodded at him as they let him through.
Tensions were still high with the clan, but the Yondaime's declaration that it had been Uchiha Madara acting alone the night of the Kyuubi Attack had for the moment, delayed confrontation. Suspicions still ran high regarding the Uchiha, but with the Yondaime backing them, there was little the other clans could do about it.
His father and the Sandaime discussed the issue often, of that Naruto was sure. The Yellow Flash never showed a hint of anxiety while they were at home, but sometimes when they were walking the streets, Naruto would catch a worried glance towards the Uchiha police from his father.
Intellectually, Naruto thought he understood the problem. Bad relations equalled bad performance. There had even been a time where it seemed like the Uchiha might be planning a coup d'etat. But at the heart of it, Naruto had a hard time connecting with the issue.
The Uchiha always treated him and the civilians quite nicely. They could act snobby towards other shinobi, but derision couldn't truly hurt anyone. Naruto knew he had to be missing something, because his father didn't make mistakes, but it didn't feel to him as if the Uchiha thing were a big problem.
Naruto beamed at the two officers and pushed open the door.
The secretary's desk was located at the other end of the circular lobby. There wasn't really any security reason for it, because if an intruder had already forced his way halfway through the village and into the Hokage Tower, a clerk could hardly stop them. But sometimes there were large volumes of people who waited for an appointment with the Hokage, and a spacious area at the base allowed for an exceptional seating area.
A civilian in his late forties or so was manning the desk. Currently he was working furiously on a half completed sheet of paper. Naruto didn't recognize him, so he figured it must be someone new. But Naruto was always willing to make friends.
He skipped over, using a mixture of balance and chakra control to not bruise the fruit the old lady had given him.
His form had cast a shadow over the secretary's work. The man looked up, a hint of annoyance on his features, though it didn't seem to be directed at Naruto specifically. Then confusion settled in as he took in the fact that it was a child visiting, and then recognition.
The man's eyes widened, "Namikaze-sama."
Naruto scratched his head. He'd never gotten used to the formality that was beginning to be addressed to him now that his father was Hokage. "Er, just Naruto is fine. Anyway, is my dad free?"
The man nodded dumbly. And then shook his head.
"Please give me a moment," he muttered, looking flustered as he ducked his head again. Quickly he sorted through the schedules for the day, and taking a breath, he looked up again. "I'm sorry for the wait, Namikaze-sama. There are no appointments pending for this afternoon."
"Eh, you don't need to be sorry if you're telling me good news," Naruto grinned. Giving up on the name thing as a lost cause—though he'd make the man come around!—Naruto waved goodbye and ran for the stairs. "Thanks! And the answer to that problem is in the trade routes!"
He made his way up to the top of the tower. Only one person stood in sight, though Naruto knew there were a few ANBU lurking about. He wasn't yet at the level where he could easily detect them, having no real sensor capabilities, but his dad had pointed them out to him before.
"Hey Genma," Naruto greeted happily as he strode up to the Hokage's door. At the entrance was always a member of the Yondaime's chosen guard platoon. When he was away on foreign affairs he was meant to take all three, but at home, the risk was considerably less.
"Naruto," the senbon chewing jounin acknowledged with a languid nod.
Naruto opened the door with a wave goodbye, stepping in to a spacious room overlooking the village. Namikaze Minato sat behind a large rectangular desk in the center, head bowed as he hurried through his stacks of paperwork with a look of intense concentration on his face.
The door swung shut as Naruto bounded to the desk. He looked down at the latest document his father was working through. The basket he was carrying swayed at his knees, blocked by the outcrop of the mahogany desk.
"Border disagreements with Kumo again?" Naruto frowned.
"They like being unreasonable," Minato said dryly, finishing up the last of the signatures with a sigh. "I guess I should be glad it hasn't turned into skirmishes yet. They're testing our power."
"You mean your power," Naruto corrected with a grin.
Minato glanced up, and his expression changed to reflect Naruto's. "Yes, that's right. And they'll find that Konoha certainly hasn't gotten any weaker."
"Hm," Naruto hummed. His dad often discussed foreign affairs with him and made it into a teachable moment, but Naruto probably shouldn't initiate one while his dad was still working. Though first— "It was nice of you to employ a retired shinobi."
Minato pushed the rest of his documents to the side, blue eyes twinkling, "Ah, so you've noticed then?"
Naruto nodded. It hadn't been hard. Although the newest secretary did not wear a forehead protector any longer, he dressed in tear resistant shinobi clothing and in a style that was unsuitable for any civilian profession. The biggest thing which gave him away was his posture however. Although Naruto didn't think the man noticed it, he held himself in a way that would make it easy to reach for weapons or slip into taijutsu, likely ingrained now after decades of practice. There was also the fact that he hardly made any noise when he moved, and his movements themselves were minimalistic. Naruto estimated that the man had been a chuunin before retirement.
"Not everybody is Sarutobi-san or Jiraiya-sensei," Minato mused. "Higashikuni Ichizo-san had a long term in service and it might have been dangerous for him to continue. He hadn't taken to civilian life very well though, so I've invited him to work for me here, instead."
Naruto had noticed that too. The slight dilation of the pupil, the faint tremor in the hands. It was symptoms of withdrawal. His father was vastly understating what condition he'd likely found Ichizo in, and the easy hope which he'd offered. It was something Naruto always marvelled about in regards to his father, when he became old enough to understand. His dad was just really, really, nice. And he wasn't nice in a braggy way but a subtle, quiet way that ensnared the lives around him.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Naruto asked, hoping that the man would be. He looked like he needed it.
"Well," Minato's eyes bunched up as he smiled. "I can only offer Ichizo-san a place to work, but I believe in the resilience of Konoha shinobi."
"Yeah," Naruto agreed thoughtfully. His dad made it so easy to have confidence in Konoha. Maybe that was what being a Hokage was about.
There had been a time when Naruto had wanted to be Hokage. He had wanted the love of the villagers. But now that he had love—in the form of his friends, of Kakashi nii-san, of coming downstairs to his father every day—Naruto found that he didn't require any more. He still wanted to become the strongest ninja in the world so that he could protect everyone he loved, but he didn't want a job that seemed all consuming like the kage office.
He didn't fault his dad for taking it though. Jiji was getting old, and there was no better successor than Naruto's father. The villagers took up so much of his father's time, but Naruto understood that, too. There were a lot of people who needed help, and Dad helped because he was kind. He wouldn't be Dad otherwise.
Although sometimes, sometimes he wished…
"Ne, the old lady Joruri wanted you to have some fruit," Naruto said, pushing the wicker basket he'd been carrying onto his dad.
"Huh?" For a moment, Namikaze Minato looked utterly stunned. And then his features smoothed out and he took the basket with a small smile. "That was very nice of her. And very nice of you. Did you come all the way here to deliver that?"
"Eh." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "No, it just kind of happened. I came here because I wanted to ask for a C-rank."
"A C-rank?"
"Yeah!" Naruto shoved unnecessary thoughts aside. They weren't helpful to anyone. "We're ready for it, don't you think?"
"It's true that your individual abilities are great," Minato mused, and then his gaze sharpened. "But it's against procedure to allow a genin team a C-rank mission so early. You more than anyone should know this."
Naruto did know. D-ranks were legitimate missions. There were a variety of people in Konoha who did not have the time or inclination to perform minor chores and thus hired genin teams to complete them. Konoha was big, and the number of tasks that needed to be carried out every week even more so. Otherwise, career genin could not exist.
Even so, fresh genin were encouraged to take a minimal number of D-ranks before trying for higher grades. D-ranks bound teams together through mutual displeasure and exhaustion. D-ranks taught discipline. D-ranks eased newly graduated students into the rigours of shinobi life. D-ranks trained genin to become so used to team formations that it became instinct to them.
Naruto sighed, "Yuuta thinks it might help with team dynamics."
Minato exhaled, "I see."
While Naruto was too embarrassed to complain too much about his team, his father knew the gist of it. At first Naruto had been reluctant to tell his dad much about his genin test, except expressing his discontent and frustration about Takiko's actions. Eventually it'd all been coaxed out of him. It'd been relieving to let go of it all, but his dad's patience had only made Naruto feel childish in his grievances. Dad only told him to give it some time.
"So can't we have one?" Naruto pleaded. "I know it's bad conduct, but I don't see Team Five getting any better with D-ranks. D-ranks are meant to improve a foundation right? But currently, we don't even have that."
"And you came to me here at my office, instead of asking for a C-rank at the missions desk, because you didn't want to force my decision as a Hokage," Minato said, sounding amused. "Or is it that you didn't want me to be seen as being unfair? That sounds more like you. I'm really impressed, Naru-chan."
"We—well, Kabuto's really good at this 'being underneath the underneath' thing," Naruto said, blushing. It was kind of embarrassing to be caught like this and then praised for it. "Between you and him, if I didn't know this much, I'd really be an idiot wouldn't I?"
Minato let out a laugh and pulled out a file from his stack of papers. "Alright, you've convinced me. I will assign a C-rank mission to Sumina. You will leave at 0800 hours two days from now. I'll let her give you the details. You can go begin packing if you'd like."
"Yatta!" Naruto leapt up, pumping a fist into the air. He turned to run back home, because it had been forever since he'd been outside of Konoha. "Thanks Dad, you're the best!"
And then he was out in a whirlwind of motion.
Minato watched his son go with amusement. As always, Naruto was a fountain of energy. He was the so called Yellow Flash, and still he had trouble keeping up with his son. He wasn't even sure what Naruto was in such a hurry about—or if there was anything to be in a hurry about. Often times Naruto seemed to like rushing to places just to rush to places.
Youth. The Sandaime had laughed at him when Minato complained about it.
With a shake of his head, Minato tried to bring reign focus back to his papers. Naruto's visit had been a pleasant distraction, but Minato did have Hokage-y things to be doing. In truth he would rather deal with Naruto's team dynamics than trade agreements, but he had little choice in the matter.
The fact that it was a problem with Kumo just made it worse. Konoha's and Kumo's bond had never been a strong one, and after the kidnapping incident of the Hyuuga heiress four years ago, their relationship had reached sub zero temperatures.
Naruto had been quite astute to notice that Kumo was testing the waters. What his son didn't know, however, was that there was no way this could end amiably. This was only one of the many feelers Kumo put out to assess how ready Konoha was for battle, and it was a struggle to try and depict Konoha as still strong but not outright aggressive.
Minato could feel a headache coming on. He'd attended the Treaty gathering six years ago with Naruto in hopes that he could witness the end of Kumo's and Konoha's animosity towards each other. The only reason that the Cloud nin had come to Konoha was to sign that wretched peace agreement after all. He hadn't imagined that it would turn into the political nightmare that it had.
Konoha had gone with the diplomatic route to avoid war. They were not ready after their then recent confrontation with Iwa and the Kyuubi attack. Hiashi had seen that too, and their clan made the greatest sacrifice for Konoha.
It did, however, mean that Kumo could not be forgiven.
Kumo had to know that too, and they could not fail to be wary of Konoha's Yellow Flash back at the helm. Konoha itself was not free from such troubles. There were many who welcomed the idea of war, because despite the drain on resources, they had more than a reasonable chance of winning, and the rewards they would reap could be great. The leader of that faction was none other than Shimura Danzo, another inherited problem.
While Minato was popular with the younger shinobi, the older generation still held reservations about his particular views. Danzo had many supporters among them, and even the Sandaime was unwilling to move against his old friend. Minato had managed to limit Root, but without any obvious disasters caused by the faction, he had no real reason to disband them. It was a vexing situation.
Maybe, Minato thought absently as he plucked an apple from the delivered fruits basket, he should just sic Naru-chan on them and have them all shamed into agreeing with Minato through undeniable cuteness. Child exploitation? Phhft, whatever. His son would know it was for a good cause.
Besides, it was Minato's money which brought in the ramen. Naruto would forgive him.
Smiling now—an unconscious gesture—Minato rubbed the skin of the apple against his shirt to clean it before taking a bite. With one hand, he scratched out a counter proposal to the latest contract handed to him, while he took a well deserved snack with the other.
He wasn't really sure how long he worked for when he heard the door swing open again. He did know that he'd long since finished the apple and had put the fruits basket back under the table, although he'd lost track of the minutes in between. If he took the time to think about it, he'd remember everything clearly, but at that moment his focus was not on such things.
"Forgot someth—" Minato began as he raised his head to ask the intruder… only to find that it wasn't his son like he had expected. Naruto was one of the only ones who entered the Hokage's office without prior appointment. Of course, the one standing before him now was one of the others.
Minato blinked.
"Sensei?"
"Hey Minato," Jiraiya greeted easily as he closed the door again. For a moment he stood scrutinizing the slab of lumber, before reaching into his breast pocket. Then he slapped a seal onto the door. Turning back to face his student, Jiraiya grinned. "Hope you aren't expecting someone else."
"No one at the moment," Minato said, eyeing the Sannin's work. Jiraiya had come prepared. It took him a moment to decipher the components. A privacy seal. Minato straightened, voice somber. "What is it, sensei?"
The Hokage office had privacy seals of its own. In a ninja village, even thick walls and an insulated door could not guarantee confidentiality. If Jiraiya was using his own secrecy seals on top of that, it meant that he did not trust the ones installed in the village to be enough.
"It's probably not what you're thinking," Jiraiya sighed, flopping down on the chair in front of Minato's desk. It creaked under the older nin's weight. "Might be something, might be nothing. Just want to make sure, you know?"
Minato felt himself relax in his seat. Smoke then, and not fire. It could still be dangerous if left unchecked, but it didn't require an immediate response. He gave a small smile, "Did Hiroshi-kun come up with something?"
Jiraiya grimaced. "Ugh, I might not be Acting Spymaster anymore, but don't count me out yet. Besides, the brat wouldn't be able to turn out something subtle like this." Giving Minato a fond look, Jiraiya gave a wry shake of his head. "If only you had a twin who could take over my information network. They don't make shinobi like they used to."
Perhaps Minato should have been flattered, but he was well aware of his own abilities. It was more worrying that Jiraiya was apparently frustrated enough with his chosen successor to make mention of it. Minato had thought they'd been doing well.
"Is Hiroshi-kun no good?" Minato asked in amusement.
"Hiroshi's fine," Jiraiya replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. He sighed. "But that's all he is. Fine. He makes a good intermediate, but he doesn't have the skills or the personality to be my true successor. If you want Konoha's information network to continue being the best, we'll have to find someone else."
Minato just shook his head. Jiraiya's requirements were simply very hard to fulfill. Apparently, to be a spymaster, one needed to have an honest quality, otherwise they could not gain the trust of all of Jiraiya's informants. They also had to be intelligent enough to get information from uncooperative populations, and good enough with people to notice discrepancies. Konoha had many shinobi experienced in espionage, but to find someone like that—well, difficult would be putting it mildly.
"I'll be on the lookout," Minato promised. He leaned forward, keen. "Now, what do you have for me?"
Jiraiya reached inside his shirt. His face turned serious as he brought out a leaflet of papers, and threw them on Minato's desk. "Madara."
Instantly Minato stilled, his previous good mood evaporating.
Jiraiya explained everything as Minato looked through the gathered information. There wasn't a lot. There wasn't even real confirmation of anything. Jiraiya had been absolutely right when he said it might be something, or it might be nothing at all.
What suspicions there were however, made Minato's blood run cold. Kiri. If Madara had allies in a major village, then to deal with him, they might have to deal with war after all. He only hoped that Jiraiya's worst case scenarios were exclusively that—scenarios.
"So what do you think?" Jiraiya asked when Minato was done, eyes shrewd as he regarded his motionless pupil. He had long since picked up the signs for when Minato was still thinking on or had already completed a problem.
"We have to investigate," Minato whispered as he put the pages down. "There's no other option."
It was more probable than not that Jiraiya's information was false, but they could not leave it. They were shinobi, and on the off chance that Madara did have some connection with Kirigakure, they needed to know.
Jiraiya regarded Minato evenly for a moment before lowering his gaze to the papers once again. In the best case, they'd find something there that would lead to Madara. But there was always the danger of running into guards or allies of the ancestor Uchiha, and that could certainly not be made light of. Added to that, the location itself was a hotbed for trouble. The sannin's voice was deceptively light, "So who'll it be?"
"Someone I can absolutely trust," Minato muttered.
The list—wasn't extraordinarily long.
Minato had to wince at the thought. It felt ungenerous to the shinobi he so easily smiled at to reveal that he did not have total faith in their allegiances, but neither could he afford to be naive. Everyone was loyal to their Hokage, but they were also loyal to their teams, their clans, their patrons. Besides that, this kind of mission required a different kind of trust altogether.
"Well think on it," Jiraiya said after a searching look. "You have some time to. This information's not going anywhere. If you want someone to bounce ideas off of, my door's always open for you."
Minato smiled weakly, "Thanks, sensei."
Jiraiya was astute and a good judge of character, but he had been away from Konoha for most of his life. He did not know the current ranks of shinobi well enough to discuss their potential with Minato, but sometimes Jiraiya had different ways to look at things that were a great help to his former student.
The sannin left soon afterwards, taking his papers with him in hopes of filling out more information from his end of things. Minato knew that was unlikely. They needed intelligence from the inside. Minato hunkered down to go through the personnel files.
Halfway through, his foot kicked something beneath the table, and it took Minato a second to recall the fruits basket. With a smile, Minato reached down and took it out once again. He'd nearly forgotten about it. He'd have to take it home for dinner, otherwise the fruit might go bad.
Seeing it did remind him of Naruto's visit earlier though, and of something Naruto had said. Minato stilled. The words, and more importantly, the thoughts behind them struck him. And, the more Minato thought about it, the more he realized he was inclined to agree.
He bit his lip, wondering if he should. But this was about the village's safety, and personal feelings had to be put aside. And this route, he had decided, was potentially the best one he could take.
Minato sent out the missive. If anyone cared about what the Hokage was doing, they'd know that the meeting took place, but wouldn't know what it was about. He also let his secretary know of the appointment.
Fifteen minutes later, and Minato had yet another guest in his office.
Yakushi Kabuto stood before him, grey eyes cast downwards in a gesture of perfect submission as he bowed in greeting, "You called, Hokage-sama?"
A/n: Holy crap, you will not believe how hard it was to write this chapter. There are a lot of scenes I had in mind for this chapter or the following two, and I could not decide which should go where. In the end I've decided to go with this combination, because I feel like tonally, it fits together, but who even knows anymore.
Q&A
Why does Team Eleven know so much about the chuunin exams?
It's my personal theory that clan/shinobi children just know what the chuunin exams are about. I can't imagine that they've never seen or heard of one from their older siblings/family. Team Seven didn't know anything because none of them have family members to expose them to it, and Kakashi doesn't like to tell them anything. I think the clan kids know that they have to work their butts off to pass the first two tests and then can just show off in the last one. Winning, of course, would be best, but only because of the prestige. As such, I didn't include this explanation in the entire conversation between Team Eleven and Naruto, because none of them would bother to comment about this. It wouldn't even occur to them that some people don't know.
How does Team Five only go on a mission a week? That's ridiculously slow.
To participate in the chuunin exams, a team must have completed at least 8 missions. In other words there have been teams in the past which have tried to apply but have not completed 8 missions. Considering that the first chuunin exams after graduation occur probably three months in, that's about 3 missions per month. When Kabuto reveals the mission history of Rock Lee, it's stated that he completed 20 D rank missions and 12 C rank, which equals 32 missions in total. 32 missions in 12 months is about 3 missions per month. Therefore, I can only conclude that ninja don't actually get sent out on that many missions.
While this seems shocking, it makes more sense if you consider that the Naruto universe seems to be set in pre-modern times. Historically, warriors were highly venerated but actually were in combat very little, and spent most of their time training or performing public services. For a statistic, consider this—gladiators were the most well trained fighters in ancient Rome, and highly expensive to maintain, so much so that purchasing gladiators for games were known to bankrupt cities. Yet, a gladiator was only required to fight about two or three times a year. Yeah.
