Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 8

On a particularly hot summer day, after another heart pounding escape through town, Naruto collapsed beneath a tree near the edge of the village, where the hillside met the walls. He had been prowling through the branches looking for a way to sneak in and see Hinata again, hoping to talk to her while she went about her chores. She had missed training yesterday and things just were not the same without her there to laugh at his jokes and smile at his mistakes. Not many people gave him smiles, and hers just seemed, somehow, more.

So today, after waiting for hours (okay maybe only thirty minutes, but who was counting?) he had abandoned any hope of training and went to search out his friend. The last time she had missed two days of training was when that woman, The Honorable Bitch, had activated Hinata's caged bird seal as punishment for dropping a tray of tea and shattering the delicate ceramics. Naruto had been nearly sick with worry until an equally frustrated Neji had finally challenged the pacing blond to a no holds barred spar so that they each could blow off steam. The massive fight had left them both so beaten and exhausted that when Hizashi had arrived, with his Byakugan flaring, they could hardly stand. The Branch Hyuga had just chuckled while mumbling something about boys being boys and how some things never change, before he carried them both back to the compound to join Hinata for dinner. The two combatants had grinned rather stupidly through matching swollen black eyes at a slightly pale Hinata who could only blink in shock at their injuries and happy faces, while gingerly sipping Hiro-san's tea.

Unfortunately, Naruto had been so absorbed in recollecting the amazing feeling of a warm family dinner, that he had landed harder than intended on a tree limb near the Hyuga compound. His abrupt arrival had accidentally pissed off some stupid pigeon, who proceeded to berate the poor boy so loudly it had drawn the attention of the nearby Branch guard. That guy had been freakin' hard to escape! Even using his most elusive maneuvers, Naruto had nearly ended up on the other side of the village before he felt the shinobi give up and head back. Damned Hyuga. Damned Byakugan. Damned bird. Ruining everything.

The small blond pouted and slumped against the tree with his arms crossed. Moodily he reached down and chucked a rock into the dense foliage, but was surprised a split second later to have it hurled back at him, with ten more rapidly following. Dodging all the projectiles with an ease that he had yet to realize was unusual for a child his age, he popped up and shouted, "Oi! What gives?! Face me like a man, you lazy assed chicken!"

However it was not the expected drunken civilian or neighborhood bully that emerged from behind the curtain of leaves, but a blank white mask. Naruto's fists slowly lowered from his fighting stance, and his blue eyes studied the stealthy figure materializing before him. He must be a shinobi, Naruto assessed. His footsteps made no sounds, even on the dry leaves. There was neither a bounce to his step, nor an intimidating stomp. He was almost gliding forwards out of the shadows. The weapon pouch strapped to his leg definitely confirmed the guarded boy's suspicions.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the ninja called, it was not a question.

"Who's looking?" Naruto warily replied. He had learned the hard way, that not all ninja were nice ninja. In fact, aside from Jiji, Hinata's father, and Dog (who liked to pretend he was not the one sending that Ninken to check on him, puh-lease), he couldn't think of any nice ninja. Those guys didn't exactly do "nice". So the random appearance of this eerily blank white masked shinobi, had the unfortunately experienced child's instincts on high alert.

The intruder tilted his head slightly, seeming to appraise the boy who was trying very hard to appear unafraid, despite the way his pulse visibly raced in his neck. "I have come to deliver an invitation to you."

"A wha...?"

"Would you like to be a shinobi?"

Would he like to be a shinobi? Did the Hokage like tobacco?! Hell yeah he wanted to be a shinobi! It was only his living dream, to fight his way into the adoration of the villagers and become Hokage, the most powerful shinobi on the face of the earth! Kami, he would do just about anything...

"Tell me more!"

Hiruzen sighed as he sat down on the fallen log beside Naruto-kun's campfire near the banks of the river. Once again he had found it necessary to use his crystal ball to find the jinchuriki's forest den when Dog had reported that the boy had not come back to the orphanage for a while, and yet the head mistress had not deemed it necessary to include his absence in the last status report. This was the third, no the fourth, time he had intervened on behalf of the scorned child. He would never understand how these civilians could rationalize such gross neglect. It had become obvious that the simmering antipathy between the matron and the kid was mutual, for he was as keen on avoiding her and the orphanage, as she was to be rid of him. And if Naruto-kun wanted to avoid you, it was nearly impossible to find him. For such a loud child, both aesthetically and audibly, he sure had a hell of an ability to hide. It will be interesting to see what kind of a shinobi he becomes some day, the old man snickered to himself.

The Hokage glanced over at the shaggy runaway and his expression sobered. The boy was unusually quiet tonight. A stream of conversation usually sprouted freely from the boy's mouth, but tonight his face was scrunched up in a look of constipated concentration that was nearly painful to see. The aging man's heavy eyebrow lifted and he cleared his throat before saying, "Naruto-kun, what on earth is on your mind?"

Big blue eyes that danced in the firelight turned to the old man, and after a heartbeat, the small but steady voice answered him with a question of his own.

"Jiji, what do I have to do to become Hokage?"

Hiruzen fought the urge to chuckle, this was not an unexpected subject matter for Naruto-kun. However the seriousness with which the boy has brought up the topic tonight, gave The Professor a feeling that the question ran deeper than it seemed. He paused and scrutinized the expression of uncertainty cast cross the round face. Look underneath, the underneath.

"A Hokage is the one who protects the village and all who are within it," he answered the earnest question with sincerity. "They are the one who defends against enemies and strives for peace. They bear the burden of deciding what must be done for the best of the village, even if it means someone we care about might get hurt. Because the village is the future, and future must be preserved at all costs." At the last word the aged shinobi gently placed his hand on the shorter head of spiky yellow hair that seemed to blaze even brighter in the firelight. "And you, Naruto-kun, would be a wonderful Hokage, do you know why?"

"Because I'm a super bad ass and all the other ninja are gonna be blown away by my epic awesomeness, dattebayo?!" The boy bounded to his feet to accentuate his declaration with rapid fire punches at an invisible enemy.

This time he was unable to contain his laughter, and the Hokage wiped a tear from his eye as Naruto blushed but giggled as well.

"Well, yes, there is always that, to be sure. But I was talking about your strongest quality." Hiruzen poked a weathered finger into the skinny chest of the child, tapping his heart with emphasis. "This, Naruto-kun, is your greatest advantage and the key to becoming Hokage." Naruto gently rubbed his hand over his ribs and looked up to his Jiji with confusion on his face.

"Your ability to create bonds with people, to cherish those bonds, and fight for them, will be the key to your strength. Our bonds with each other are what make all the bad things worth enduring. And that is what shinobi do, we endure."

Once again the boy lapsed into thoughtful silence, and Hiruzen could only shake his head at the uncanny resemblance he held to his father. Minato, what would you think if you saw him now? Am I doing enough? Have I said too much? Sometimes I feel uncertain of my own mind.

"I like that much better," stated Naruto with an air of finality. "Your way makes much more sense than what that creepy ninja said. It just feels right in here, ya know?" He emphasized his conclusion by firmly planting his fist over his heart, and nodding sagely with satisfaction.

The Hokage's brow furrowed at this comment. "What ninja, Naruto-kun? Who has been talking to you?"

Naruto frowned and humphed dramatically before reaching to remove a skewered fish from the fire and inspecting it closely. "Some weirdo with a white mask. He followed me today and said he knew a guy who could make me into the strongest ninja ever, and teach me tons of cool jutsus and stuff." Deciding the fish was done he handed the stick over to Hiruzen, who accepted it but gestured for him to continue.

"Then he told me that in order to be strong enough to be Hokage I had to leave everyone behind and only listen to this one guy, uh, I think he called him Bozo-sama." Naruto took a big bite out of the other cooked fish he had pulled from the fire. His next words were garbled as he chewed sloppily on the hot meat, "and that just didn't feel right, you know Jiji? I mean, I finally made some friends in Hinata and Neji, and I just can't give that up now!"

Internally, Hiruzen was fuming. The skewer in his hand shook as he realized how close he had come to losing this precious child. But he schooled his voice and asked, "So what was your answer to him?"

"Well, I wasn't really sure at that moment. I mean, those jutsu did sound super cool. But I think he figured I was just shocked or something because he didn't wait for me to answer, just told me to come back to that spot tonight when it was dark, and then he just disappeared all of a sudden. As soon as he left that ninken showed up, although he still thinks he's too sneaky for me to notice. As if! So I left him sniffing around in the leaves where the ninja had disappeared. Then I went to try and find Hinata again, but Neji gave me this weird note from her instead. And then I got hungry so I came here. I was gonna go back to that place and meet the ninja after we had dinner, cuz I remembered I had already promised you some fish next time we hung out, and I never go back on my word! But now, I don't think I want to be a shinobi like that. I want to be a Hokage that has a crap ton of friends, dattebayo!" The boy's rambling narration of the near miss went on uninterrupted as Hiruzen processed all the information.

The two continued to eat their fill of fish, with Naruto animatedly taking over most of the conversation, as he usually did, with all kinds of random concerns and observations. Some of the more notable ones being: "what does 'that time of the month' mean, and why did it keep Hinata away from training? Was it like The Shy?" The perplexed blond had waved the note that poor Neji had once again been reduced delivering in front of a flustered Hiruzen's face. The uncomfortable man and puffed rapidly on his pipe and blushed before telling Naruto to ask Dog the next time he saw him. But all through boy's disjointed ramblings and awkward questions, the wheels in the back of the Hokage's head were spinning.

As the last log crumbled into embers, Hiruzen rose to his feet and firmly stamped his cane into the ground, having made up his mind on several things. "Come along Naruto-kun, you're not going to sleep in the trees tonight. It's high time that you have a place to call home. Follow me." Naruto's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he scrambled after the old man with a thousand new questions spewing from his mouth faster than a lightning jutsu.

A week later Hiruzen entered the village council meeting in a fouler mood than he ever had before. Ever since his decision to relocate Naruto-kun, the amount of filed complaints had tripled, creating towers of paperwork all over his desk. The fact that most of them were ridiculous bullshit had the furious shinobi nearly steaming.

The meeting had barely been called to order when the chairperson of the civilian council shot to his feet. "Hokage-sama! The council demands to know why you have gone over our heads and given that child funds for food and lodging without seeking our approval first." The overconfident man leaned forward over the table, pressing the palms of his hands flat on its glossy surface in a way that emphasized the sparkling array of rings on his fingers.

Here we go. Gird your loins you fools. "The funds for the keeping of Uzumaki Naruto," Hiruzen made sure to emphasize the boy's proper name with no small amount of killing intent, "came from a private donor. Neither the village nor myself are financially contributing to his care."

"Hokage-sama, it is unsafe!" A woman to his left protested, dramatically clasping her bosom in mock fear. "He is unsupervised in that place! Who will watch him outside of the orphanage? He will end up rampaging unchecked through the-"

"At the last meeting you were complaining that he was a danger to the other orphans!" Hiruzen cut off the absurd accusation. He was rapidly losing what little patience he had left as the council members nearly twitched with agitation at his continued rebuttals. "And if you think that the pathetic excuse for childcare which was being provided by that institution qualified as 'supervision', then you will be thrilled to learn that I have personally ensured that he will be guarded at all times." The last part of the statement was directed straight at Danzo's bandaged face. I see you, the God of Shinobi's glare seemed to say, your shadows cannot hide from me.

Danzo returned the gaze with his own glare, a small smirk on his face. He had made sure to visit each of the civilian council members in the days prior to this meeting, stirring up their righteous indignation over the 'gross abuse of the Hokage's power'. They were pitifully easy to manipulate. And this was just a small, first attempt at taking the kyuubi boy under his wing. If that ninken had not been there, his agent would have been successful. But it was of no matter, Danzo was a patient man.

"This is blatant favoritism Hokage-sama!" An older councilman declared by slamming his fist into the table as if to hammer home the idea that he was the voice of all reason. "If anyone should be protected it should be the last Uchiha! Without the Sharingan, The Leaf will be the laughing stock of the Hidden Villa-"

The Hokage drove his cane into the floor with a reverberating crack to silence the biased demand. "The Uchiha has a whole damned compound at his disposal, stocked with jutsu and weapons that are for his use alone. I hardly believe that-"

"But Hokage-sama that demon is not fit to be mingling with the rest of the villa-AACKK!"

The abhorrent moniker was the last straw. An explosion of killing intent so thick it could be cut with a kunai blasted through the council chambers. The civilians were nearly knocked out cold, many were left gasping for breath. The Elder Advisors flinched, Danzo's scowl deepened further than was thought physically possible. Even the shinobi clan leaders had sweat beading across their foreheads.

As quickly as the suffocating wave crashed across the room it dissipated, leaving the council members dazed in their seats. Not waiting for the assembled group to catch their collective breath and again insult the precious child who was the key to the prison that contained one of the village's greatest threats, the Hokage of Konohagakure arose with all the authority of his position as a leader of the Land of Fire, his penetrating black gaze panning the faces around him. His gravelly voice resonated with power as he addressed his captives-er-audience.

"Seeing as it has come to my immediate attention that this civilian council is incapable making any rational decisions that take the welfare of all the village inhabitants into account, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of The Village Hidden in the Leaves, do hereby dissolve the civilian council. Effective immediately!"

Nara Shikaku nearly swallowed his cigarette. Aburame Shibi's eyes were so big they could actually be seen. Akamichi Choza snorted crumbs across the table. Hyuga Hiashi's eyebrow was twitching uncontrollably as he brushed said crumbs off himself. Inuzuka Tsume had sunk her nails clean through the table. Yamanaka Inoichi emitted a girlishly squeaky gasp.

Only the two Elder Advisors seemed to be able string together a coherent thought. They leapt to their feet so abruptly that their chairs were knocked over beside Danzo, who seemed ready to snap his cane in two.

"Hokage-sama, as your advisors, we strongly discourage this decision!" Homura barked angrily. The civilians had always been key swing votes when it came to opposing views.

"And as only advisors, I am entitled to disagree." Before anyone else could come up with any other ridiculous excuses the Hokage forged ahead, "This is a Shinobi Village! The Village Hidden in the Leaves, founded by shinobi, in order for them to come together and cease their fighting, protect each other, and foster the Will of Fire so that it may burn with fervor down through the generations. The civilians were allowed to join our village so that we may enjoy the comforts of society they can offer, which are rarely provided to a warring people. And in return we offered them protection at the cost of our own lives." Hiruzen's hard eyes ruthlessly bored into the members of the council chambers, daring anyone to challenge his truths.

"We shinobi will not withdraw the blanket of our protection from the civilians that live amongst us. However, we will no longer be including them in the decisions that govern our laws as ninja. They will be permitted a committee that may submit a limited number of requests to the council at large via a single representative. Their children may attend the academy if they so choose. But the existence of a civilian council that holds sway over shinobi decisions, while refusing to participate in the life of a ninja, ENDS THIS DAY."

It was with a sense of satisfaction greater than that which he felt on the day he had passed this damned hat on to Minato, that Sarutobi Hiruzen lazily spun in his large leather chair. His cigar was burned down to the nub, which he gnawed absentmindedly. A timid knock broke into the silence of the empty office.

"Enter."

"Hokage-sama-cough-the cleaning crew is here-cough. Perhaps you should call it a day?" The poor chunin assistant wiped her watering eyes. "There isn't any paperwork left, after all-COUGH."

The relaxed Hokage eyed the secretary who was trying fruitlessly to wave the haze of smoke away from her face. "Of course, of course," he murmured as he stood and walked towards the door, his robes leaving a trail through the piles of ashes on the floor.

When his smug face had finally disappeared down the stairs, the chunin eagerly waved at the genin team who had been assigned the unenviable D-rank mission of cleaning the defiled office.

"Honestly," she grumbled, blowing her nose into her filthy handkerchief. "Did he have use a freaking fire jutsu on all the civilian paperwork?"