It had been three months since Anko's death and still Uzumaki Naruto was in coma. Her death had struck him harder than anything and Hiruzen knew it. He always knew Naruto was quite a perceptive child, able to understand others feelings but due to having too much chakra in his chakra system (extremely developed for a normal shinobi but mediocre in comparison to a jinchuriki) made his patience near to zero and hence he could not properly focus on anything.
"What are you going to do about the young Uzumaki, Hiruzen?" asked Danzo.
"To be honest, I'm still not able to decide what to do with him Danzo. He has potential but he doesn't have any drive and lacks patience to convert that potential into real power. We can't make him an emotionless tool due to his guardians, his parents last wish and not to mention political backlash. The civilian council will be pissed off if either of us even tried to take him as a student and we both know his education is going to be sabotaged, due to their blind hatred. So in the best interest of the village it's just best to continue things as they are till Naruto is sexually mature, so that the Uzumaki line may still continue. But all the physical violence will be completely stopped", answered Hiruzen.
"Who is going to be your successor in case you passed on?" asked Danzo.
"It is going to be Jiraya but I can't make it official since we need to first find a successor to his spy network. Since we are talking about the topic of village security if either off us passed on then you should tell me about your successor to ROOT. I know it's still active even after my order of closing it. Also don't even consider pulling strings behind the scenes which will eventually make you the Hokage. We are both old Danzo. We both don't have any kekkai genkai, powerful jutsu or super advanced elemental manipulation to show off power like Ohnoki, Minato, A or Tobirama-sensei. We had always fought with intelligence and our body but with our decaying body and chakra system weakening it will look bad on the village. People will assume that Konoha has no ninjas capable of being a kage after Minato's generation and our image will only drop if once a fierce fighter gone soft with old age and a cripple old man lead the village", said Hiruzen.
"Then what about Itachi or Shisui, both are strong and with proper training can become excellent leaders", said Danzo.
"True. Both definitely have got the potential and announcing one of them as my successor can also ease our strained relationship with the Uchiha but both of them are very young and could easily be manipulated if the manipulator has experience on their side plus their career has just begun. They haven't even made a name for themselves yet", countered Hiruzen.
"What is going to be done about the snake contract?" asked Danzo.
"The contract along with the technique Anko left is going to be Naruto's property till we find out why it was left with him. Still you haven't told me about your successor?" questioned Hiruzen.
"I wanted Inoichi to be my successor but he refused. My other option was going to be Ibiki but he is currently being groomed to be the head of T&I by Inoichi. The best option is Shikaku but he is too lazy, plus our thoughts contradict each other. I'm currently training a very promising candidate, his name is Sai but he has close to zero socializing skills", answered Danzo.
Suddenly an Anbu entered the secured room and said - "Sorry for the intrusion Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama but I'm here to inform you that Uzumaki Naruto has woken up from his coma".
"Rabbit thank you for your hard work. Now Danzo come with me, this will be the moment we'll decide our Jinchuriki's future", said Hiruzen.
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(In the Anbu Hospital)
Naruto was sitting rock still. He didn't cry, he didn't shout, he didn't do anything except for sitting still. Anko's last words to him were still ringing in his head ( Consider these as your birthday present and live your life to its fullest). The result he deduced from her final words were her life was in critical danger or she was dead. Even though he was not showing any emotions he was furious. He was angry with the Hokage, his gaurds, Konoha and its citizens but above all he was angry with himself. If he had hidden himself better Anko would be safe. He knew as ANBU his guards had other duties than to see over him and his jiji had to meet dignitaries to keep the village running. He knew he was weak but with no one to teach him the advanced stuff, he was stuck.
"Well Uzumaki Naruto is quite an enigma isn't he Hiruzen, to be able to fool you with the act of a fool with no patience. He has potential that surpasses even yours not in the traditional sense but if he can control his emotions to this degree without prior emotional conditioning then after Kumo we may be able to get a perfect jinchuriki. So how do we train him?" asked Danzo.
"Just follow me and you will see", said Hiruzen.
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(In Naruto's ward)
"How are you feeling Naruto-kun?" asked Hiruzen.
"How is she jiji?" asked Naruto.
"Mitarashi Anko is dead, Uzumaki", said Danzo.
"I see. So who are you old man?" asked Naruto.
"I'm Shimura Danzo, commander of the ROOT ANBU and one of the 3 elders of the village. But the real question is who is the real you, Uzumaki Naruto?" questioned Danzo.
"The real Uzumaki Naruto you ask. He is a boy who has average intelligence, loves to prank, over forgiving and stubborn in nature, very adept at grasping people's emotions and possess a lot of common sense to know there is some connection with him and Kyuubi which makes civilians and most of the shinobi forces hate me and I'm not a common orphan that is why I have my own apartment and the Hokage cares for me so much", answered Naruto.
Both Hiruzen and Danzo were speechless but both of them were impressed nonetheless. For a boy of 8 years of age answering them in such a mature fashion without being intimidated and not to mention the details of the answer.
"Do you want to abandon the village, Uzumaki Naruto?" asked Hiruzen.
Naruto has never heard his jiji speaking to him in such a commanding tone before but nonetheless he answered - "Yes I want to abandon the village. This may be my birthplace but it is not my home. Everyone except a very few people despise me. There is nothing in this village I hold dear except for the little knowledge I was taught by many and my second sensei who genuinely wanted to be my friend", answered Naruto.
"I understand your point of view but we can't let that happen. You are a very important figure in Konoha my boy. You have a family in this village but they can't help or interact with you till you become a ninja or your life will be in a grave danger. The fourth wanted you to be treated like a hero but instead you are treated like a pariah. We can't help you since the civilian council hates you and we need them because we are still recovering financially from the third ninja war and the kyuubi attack", said Hiruzen.
Danzo was very happy but didn't show it. He wanted to smile by seeing his rival slowly returning to his past self, cunning and shrewd. To see his friend playing with words to get the jinchuriki to their side.
"What do you mean by fourth wanted me to be seen as a hero?" asked Naruto.
"I will answer all of your questions Naruto. Everything to who your parents were to your inheritance, but you will have to promise that you will never betray and stay loyal to Konoha", said Hiruzen.
"I need some time to think jiji and I want my scrolls in my apartment before I reach there", saying that Naruto left.
"Quite a daring move you have made my friend. There is a 50-50 chance he will either become our strongest ally or our worst enemy", said Danzo.
"He will become our ally Danzo. I know he wants to know more about his background and he will need our help to bring back the Uzumaki clan but we need to figure out who his second sensei was. His second sensei will be the key to ensure his loyalty to this village", said Hiruzen.
"My men will start searching for this mystery sensei, the boy speaks of. So need to worry about it", said Danzo.
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Sorry if you don't like Hiruzen's new attitude but I would like to point out that in the manga he was soft yet had a militaristic view of things. He ensured that Naruto be able to trust him yet didn't taught him anything and overlooked his mistreatment. Danzo is going to play a major part in the story and Naruto is going to act very differently to even fit this story, as you could have guessed from these chapters.