EPISODE 21: Naruto and the Departure

That day, Jim Namikaze woke up sooner than usual. It was a big day for him. The possibility of not seeing The Leaf again for a very long time was there, but the feeling of knowing that he could make a massive positive difference for the clan and its people was more invigorating. The truth was that if the other clans had no one that knew the arts of the sages and The Leaf had several people with that knowledge, then they would be well-prepared to deal with any conflict. He was the one that could bring that knowledge to The Leaf and become a teacher of the sage arts there. The mission had a lot of meaning and the potential to be the stepping stone to a more peaceful world without ninja wars. He would help The Leaf to make it happen.

Jim left early and walked towards Konoha's main entrance. Hiruzen and the four guards that helped him had agreed to meet him there. Along the way, he greeted the few people that he saw and said good bye to them. He was cheerful, but obviously this "good bye" was different; he was leaving for some sort of long-term mission—just like Jiraiya.

As he left, he saw most of Konoha and took a last look at the legendary monuments of the four Hokages on the mountain. He had met just one of them, and just that one made a significant positive change in his life. He could tell that the other three Hokages were remarkable individuals as well. Something about the Fourth always seemed familiar, but he never paid much attention to that gut feeling. He also remembered his visions along the way, in particular, the ones about Naruto Uzumaki—the future Seventh Hokage.

He arrived early at the main entrance, so the others were not there yet. However, he caught a sight of Kakashi's team—Team 7 (Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto)—before the four of them left for some kind of training or mission. They were just 30 meters beyond the entrance—not too far, but not close neither. Kakashi was at the front and Naruto was the one in the group that was in the rear, so Jim could see him clearly. He had not seen Naruto in the last three weeks and, knowing who this guy was going to be and what he would do, he had to say something to him before he left. (The possibility of not coming back existed; Jim Namikaze was aware of that.)

"Naruto!"

Jim called him loudly to make sure that they would hear him. Naruto turned around and was thrilled to see it was his "long-distance" friend—they barely talked, but they always greeted each other enthusiastically and they had talked and eaten at the ramen shop just a couple of times.

"Hey! How is the training with the Hokage? I haven't seen you in a while!"

Kakashi heard Naruto and stopped the group so that Jim could say good bye to him—he knew about Jim's mission already.

"The training is over now. I will be leaving for a long-term S-rank mission today. I won't be back for a long time!"

Naruto was a little surprised. It had been just five months and this guy was already doing S-rank missions. He had to be really good! (Obviously, Naruto didn't know anything about Jim beyond what he saw, which wasn't too much.)

"Good luck on the mission!" yelled Naruto.

Naruto was about to rejoin his team to go to their last preparation—for the Chunnin exams—when Jim said something that Naruto didn't expect. These were important words that Jim Namikaze wanted to tell the future Hokage, before his trip to the Earth Realm:

"Naruto, if you already know that you can be a great Hokage for The Leaf, make sure that you become one! When I return, I will be glad to support you and The Leaf! Believe in the great things that you will do!"

Naruto was even more surprised when he heard that. He had never told Jim about his dreams of becoming a Hokage. How did he know that? However, how he knew it didn't matter. Those encouraging words were uplifting for Naruto Uzumaki and, despite their limited friendship, those words ensured that Naruto would not forget about Jim Namikaze, even after all the years that went by before they met again.

"I will! I definitely will! You will be the surprised one when you see me again! Wait and watch!"

Naruto looked happy, self-assured, and very optimistic. He was also a very friendly guy, like Jim, although much more hyperactive—most likely because of the massive amounts of chakra that he had inside since the Fourth sealed the Nine-tails within him to save Konoha. Jim was glad to know that such a guy would be the Hokage in the future. Good-hearted, confident, and charismatic leaders—such as the future Naruto—were what the Human Realm needed.

After that, they waved hands and Team 7 left. Kakashi didn't say a word, but he also made a quick good bye signal to the Hokage's apprentice. He was well-aware of the low chances he had of returning since no one else—from The Leaf—had travelled to that realm before, so they didn't know what he would find… Naruto left with the utmost positive opinion about him. On the other hand, Jim wondered when he would see the blonde Hokage again.

After Naruto's group was gone, the Third Hokage and the four Anbu guards—with their masks on, as always—arrived at the entrance. Then another familiar face arrived from a different route. Jiraiya was there too, although it was just a coincidence. He didn't know that Jim Namikaze was going to leave that day.

Jiraiya got the wrong impression at first. It was obvious that Jim was getting ready to leave, but Jiraiya didn't know that it was for a mission.

"Are you going to leave already? How long has it been since we had our crazy challenge? Five months?"

Then, Jiraiya looked at Hiruzen:

"Old man, you must have overworked him. What did you make him do since I left?"

Jiraiya jumped to conclusions too quickly, but that wasn't surprising coming from someone like him. Jim told him about the mission:

"It's good to see you again. I am not leaving The Leaf. I will take a trip to the Earth Realm of the Monkeys to complete a mission. I plan to become a sage there, just like you did at the Realm of the Toads."

Jiraiya opened his mouth and he left it open for a while. He felt as if someone had dropped a glass of icy water on his head. He certainly wasn't expecting that. Jiraiya looked at Hiruzen again:

"Yes, you definitely overworked him! I don't know why I am so surprised about this…"

He put his right hand on his face for a second, then he looked back at Jim:

"You know how dangerous this is, don't you? Are you well-prepared?"

"Yes, I have been training for this since you left. And recently, I found the way to make the trip."

Jim sounded secure, but Jiraiya wasn't sure that this was a good idea. He walked towards Hiruzen and asked him something, with a lower voice:

"Did you talk with the old monkey about this? I am a little worried that he may make a barbecue out of him. That guy always had a really bad temper. Will they really help him like the toads did with me?"

Hiruzen had not revealed all the details to Jiraiya, but he planned to do it after Jim's departure.

"It's ok. Everything has been handled well. We have to talk about this when I get back."

Jiraiya was still a little worried. He knew that King Enma was no "easy customer." On the contrary, the only human that he accepted was his summoner, Hiruzen. Jiraiya also knew that "becoming a sage" was no easy task, even if the monkeys helped him. Becoming a sage at the world of the toads was the most difficult thing he had done in his life, and a great toad sage had helped him to accomplish it. Even then, Jiraiya's sage mode was still not in its perfect form. It was more difficult than what anyone imagined. Jiraiya had experienced it and he had achieved the toads' sage mode at 80% of its complete power. He knew how difficult it was. Nonetheless, he also understood that both Jim and the Hokage were sure about this; it surely was something that had to be done for The Leaf. Therefore, Jiraiya decided that he would give him advice instead of talking about how crazy this mission was:

"I wish you good luck and success. Make sure that you find an experienced sage at their realm. Get him to help you. You will need it if you want any chance at learning their sage arts and… don't give up. It won't be easy. Don't lose hope and persevere."

"Thank you for your advice Jiraiya; I don't plan to come back until I complete the mission."

Hiruzen realized that it was time to leave. He didn't want to get Jiraiya too involved in this, since he planned to tell him everything about Jim Namikaze after he left.

"Let's get going guys. Jiraiya, wait for me at the Hokage's building. We have to talk. I also have another mission for you, now that we have the Chunnin exams here at Konoha."

(Hiruzen planned to assign Jiraiya to give Naruto Uzumaki some training.)

Jim, the four Anbu guards, and Hiruzen started to walk to their training grounds.

Jiraiya gave Jim a final farewell:

"Take care of yourself and don't trust those monkeys too much! If your life is at stake, abort the mission!"

"I will be careful!" shouted Jim while he waved his hand for a good bye to Jiraiya and to Konoha. However, he didn't plan to abort the mission under any circumstances. This wasn't just a mission for The Leaf; it had personal value for him.

They arrived at the place where they had trained for the last five months. The time for Jim Namikaze's departure had arrived.

"Will I ever know you guys without your masks?" asked Jim.

The guards stayed silent and Hiruzen said something:

"Take them off."

The four were a little shocked when they heard that.

"Third, are you sure about this?" asked the black-haired one.

"This wasn't our initial plan," pointed out the brown-haired one with a trace of doubt in his voice.

"It is ok. I trust him," said the blonde one.

(This was the one that gave Jim the dark yellow cape for his visit to the deserted Uchiha village.)

"You have nothing to worry, he is one of us and has been for a while now," replied Hiruzen, with his usual calm and confident voice.

Hiruzen didn't sound like a boss, but everyone followed his command. He, as Hokage, was the main decision-maker at The Leaf and all the ninjas there respected his decisions, which were always done with The Leaf and with them in mind.

All four of them removed their masks.

Despite their tough training since an early age, they all looked pretty normal without their masks. The surprise was that one of them was a woman; however, Jim had already suspected it before because of the violet hair. It simply didn't fit well for a man's hair, but Jim didn't give much importance to that small detail back then. Now, it made perfect sense, of course.

These four were part of the Hokage's personal Anbu squad; and they were among his usual bodyguards as well.

Jim was glad about seeing their faces before he left. Now, he felt that he truly knew them.

"You will be the first ones that I will teach the sage arts to. I am grateful for what you did to help me during the last five months of training."

"That will be if we are still alive when you come back; we have the most dangerous job at The Leaf, after the Hokage," said the black-haired one, who was also wearing a gray bandana on his forehead.

The blonde guy complained:

"Man, you are such a pessimist; it's a wonder you are still alive!"

"I would be honored to learn these secrets arts from you Jim," said the brown-haired one, looking pretty happy.

"If it is good for The Leaf, it will be good for me too," added the violet-haired woman—she didn't look like a talkative type.

"That's the spirit!" proclaimed the blonde one, who was clearly the loud one out of the four.

It was good to see that there were real people with human emotions and personalities behind the masks. Far too many Anbu ninjas gave the impression of being cold-hearted masked assassins. And that was the case at many clans, but The Leaf's positive culture—led by the Hokages from the start—cultivated a new generation of ninjas that understood that being a killer was not the goal or the purpose of the Anbus; maintaining and defending peace and justice was their true purpose. Unfortunately, not all of The Leaf's leaders followed that philosophy, but Hiruzen always followed it and so did his Anbu guards. (The Hokage was the main leader of the clan, but not the only one in charge of the Anbu squads.)

Jim Namikaze exchanged a handshake with each one of the four Anbu that were now his friends. It was ironic because departures and "good byes" are expected to be sad, but they were all cheered up and happy. Maybe they needed to take their masks off already… (Jim Namikaze's departure was certainly very uplifting for these four guards and for Naruto.)

Finally, Jim walked towards Hiruzen. He had saved the most important and most meaningful handshake for last. Hiruzen grabbed his hand and held it strongly.

"Before you leave, there is something you must know…"

Hiruzen was just one hair away from telling him something that he wasn't supposed to say. He felt he probably wouldn't see Jim Namikaze again, but he could not say anything because everything could change at The Leaf if he did that. Therefore, he chose to give him advice and a helpful item, instead of telling him anything about what was going to happen to him.

"Never use the forbidden taijutsu technique again. Forget that you can open your chakra gates. In the battles that await you, you can't afford to guarantee your defeat if you can't win in less than your body's time limit. Concentrate on learning about sage chakra. Jiraiya has told me that it is as powerful as opening several chakra gates, but it just fades away, without bringing you down too. You will be on your feet if the sage mode runs out, but you won't be standing anymore once the body's chakra gates are exhausted. And if you ever open all eight, you will die. Never use them again. And… remember everything I taught you; it will come in handy no matter where you go."

"I understand. I will not use them again. Thank you for everything master Hiruzen Sarutobi. I will never forget all the things you taught me."

Jim's voice was grateful. He was an all-new person and a new ninja after those five months at The Leaf. He was glad that he had the Third Hokage as his teacher. And Hiruzen was glad that he got the chance to be Jim Namikaze's mentor.

Jim was going to let go of the handshake, but Hiruzen held his hand and grabbed it with his other hand as well.

"Thank you for everything that you are going to do for The Leaf and for all of us. I will never forget it."

Hiruzen didn't sound as The Leaf's Hokage or as his teacher, but as a very grateful friend.

Jim smiled. He liked to see that even though he had done nothing yet, the Hokage was very hopeful and believed in him.

"I am happy that I have the opportunity to make a positive difference for such a great clan. Thank you for being my teacher and my friend Hiruzen."

"Before you leave Jim, take this too."

Hiruzen revealed a silver amulet and gave it to Jim.

"If King Enma gives you trouble give him that and tell him that I said you are going to make a change for the future of his kingdom."

Jim placed the amulet in one of his pockets. He trusted the Hokage's advice. He knew that "the king" was Hiruzen's summon after all.

Jim Namikaze walked away from them and created the chakra seal from H.O.'s secret stone. He placed the seal's center close to the sharingan. Then, he made the Earth Realm's summoning seal—as Hiruzen had taught him—and combined it with the other one. He began to see the image of a location from the world of the monkeys through the seals. With Maida's sharingan, he changed the location until he saw the place he had seen before—the one that looked like it had a tribe of monkeys nearby. Next, he created the chakra mark of the modified summoning jutsu (from H.O.'s book) and marked his own body with it, from head to toes. Finally, he looked back to see the others one last time; and he did it:

"Summoning jutsu!"

He disappeared and a thin cloud of dust dissipated from that spot afterwards. Had it worked? Was he at the Earth Realm already? The others didn't see the location he saw because they didn't have the sharingan, and Jim was not there anymore to tell them if it had worked. Obviously, Hiruzen knew that it worked. He had definitely found something that others were not capable of finding. Hiruzen knew that it was related to his sharingan eye's unique ability; thus, none of them could have found it anyways.

The four guards put their masks back on. Their "Jim Namikaze" S-rank mission for The Leaf was now complete and it had been a success. The Fourth Hokage's relative had been trained and he had been able to accomplish and find what he needed. The rest depended on him. (S-rank missions were the most important ones for the whole clan, not necessarily the most difficult ones, but in most cases the important ones also had the most danger. That's why everyone associated A-rank and S-rank missions with the elite ninjas.)

The guards were going to leave, but the Hokage was still standing there.

"You guys can go ahead. I will catch up with you."

"But…" (they were interrupted by him before they could say anything)

"Don't worry, I am old, but I can take care of myself well. Nothing will happen if we are 20 meters apart. Besides, after this important mission I want you all to rest and enjoy some time with your families at Konoha. You are my guards, not my slaves."

The Hokage was sad because of the departure, but he smiled anyways.

(If there was a good leader that was worth guarding, The Leaf's Hokage was certainly that person at the Human Realm during that time.)

The guards understood that he probably wanted some privacy to think, so they walked away—but they didn't lose sight of the Third completely.

Hiruzen looked at the spot where Jim Namikaze was before he disappeared. There were many things he didn't say, but he could not risk changing The Leaf's past, since trying to change some little details for Jim Namikaze could backfire and end up changing everything for the worse.

He said his last words for Jim Namikaze there:

"I wish good luck for you my good old friend. I hope my training was enough. I covered all the things that you mentioned back then, when we had the same age…

If only you could have met Minato; I know you would have been very proud of him. Your son was a remarkable Hokage that inspired us all, despite his young age. I am sorry; I am very sorry that I couldn't tell you about him or about Naruto. I am glad that you and Naruto, at least, became friends. I am also sorry because I couldn't save Minato the day it happened. I couldn't keep the promise I made to you. And today, I couldn't risk changing The Leaf's future to tell you the truth. Maybe I will tell you something someday, if I see you one more time.

Good bye."

Hiruzen was seen with a tear in his eye for the first time during the whole story.

The truth was that he was a great Hokage not just because he was skilled or powerful. He was a great Hokage because he cared about others. He cared about everyone at The Leaf and saw them as his family…

Just a few days after Jim Namikaze's departure, the Chunnin exams began at The Leaf…

NEXT- Episode 22: Arrival at the Earth Realm