Team 7 re-entered the village after the trek back from the Wave country. The clouds sat heavy and grey in the sky, the air heavy and thick with the promise of rain to come.

Kakashi lazily dismissed the team as he headed off to debrief the mission. As he wandered off towards the tower, his team decided what to do. Sakura decided that now was as good a time as any.

"Sasuke-kun, do you want to get something to eat?"

"Hnn, not really. I'm going home."

"Want me to come with you?"

"You live in the other direction, don't bother."

"Oh, ok."

She looked around for her other teammate, whom she had no doubt had been building for his own attempt at asking her for the same.

She was surprised to see that he had gone entirely.

It was dark by the time Kakashi was going through the final debriefing steps in the Hokage's office. The clouds from earlier had thickened and burst, and the rain fell freely onto the town below. Fat drops splashed off concrete and wood, soaking into the ground turning dirt into thick muddy paste.

Civilians scurried in the dark, moving quickly from cover to cover as they carried out whatever errands they had to do. Kakashi looked out as the Hokage read his report. He envied the people sometimes. Easier lives, less risk of death, all the time in the world to enjoy books.

The report was fairly standard, as far as C-rank missions that got bumped up to A-rank went. Kakashi was a ninja of A-rank, possibly verging on S-rank in the books. He was capable of completing such missions on his own. His report was entirely from his perspective, excluding a small paragraph at the bottom of the page about the performance of his team.

"So Kakashi, and I quote; 'Team performed adequately in combat, subduing a ninja of superior skill by use of tactics and persistence.' Interesting way of putting it. It would be remiss of me not to question further the role of your team. I might just use this opportunity to ask about their progress."

Kakashi sighed. This was the bit he hadn't been looking forward to. This was the bit where he had to actually think about things.

"What kind of ninja did they subdue? Who subdued them? How? What jutsu were they able to employ?"

"In the initial engagement, they acted together to get me out of a water prison jutsu at short notice, evading Zabuza before killing his water clone.

During the second engagement, I didn't see the fight due to my preoccupation with a swordsman of the mist. From my knowledge of the assailant, they were quick and used ice release jutsu."

"I thought the entire clan was dead."

"They weren't. They might be now."

"Regardless, surely you got a report from the team?"

"I did, Sakura was forthcoming with her version of the battle."

"And?"

"She guarded the bridge builder against all threats admirably whilst her teammates engaged the enemy. Her vision of the battle was obscured, but she saw the outcome, which I noted down in the report."

"Indeed. Your other genin?"

"Were too wounded after the battle to give me their account. I never got round to it, the right moment never came up. I had to help rescue an old lady from..."

"I see. Unfortunate."

"It is, I think that concludes the debrief. The team is doing well."

Kakashi got up and made his way towards the door.

The Hokage put down his pipe, tipping the ash into the tray on his desk before he looked back at Kakashi.

"It does, except for one more matter."

"Which is?"

"The fact that I have another report about this mission still to go through. With Naruto. And since he heard your report it's only fair that you hear his don't you think?"

Kakashi shut the door and sat back down. Hiruzen examined him. He looked...tired. He looked, out of it.

"Come out Naruto, I know you're in the curtains."

He duly detached himself from the shadows of the fabric and came to stand in front of the desk. The Hokage motioned to the second chair in his office.

"Sit down Naruto."

"May I stand?"

"Yes, but you'd probably be more comfortable if you sat."

He remained standing; a dark shadow in a room that the Hokage suddenly noticed was quite dark. He reached for the light switch under his desk, a useful bit of installation he kept ready if he wished to turn it off without getting up. It did not function as intended.

"Naruto did you break the ceiling light?"

"Yes. I don't like bright lights when it's night."

"You really shouldn't do that."

"Apologies."

"Anyway, you are both frustrating. One of you for your laziness, the other for his sheer lack of appreciation for normal human boundaries and etiquette. Naruto, do you have a written report?"

"No."

The Hokage relit his pipe. It was going to be a long night. He reached into the small hidden draw that contained a much stronger breed of tobacco that he knew was bad for him. But it was going to be necessary.

He lit it and enjoyed the hit of the stronger flavour before blowing smoke. It wasn't like he was going to live forever anyway.

"You do know a written report is required."

"Given I am off the records and without rank, it would not fit into the filing system. I do not wish to appear beyond the absolute necessity."

"Tough. Your previous employment may not have required it, but I do. Write it for me as soon as possible please. In the mean time, give it verbally, and since I know most of what happened, I'll ask you directly.

What activities did you undergo during the mission from your arrival?"

Naruto couldn't be seen to move, but noise came out from under the hood. With only the light from his desk, the Hokage couldn't even see his chin under the hood to give indication of talking. He definitely needed more lights as backup. It was a little unnerving when you could see nothing but darkness under the hood.

"I arrived and was given a briefing by Kakashi-taicho."

"Taicho?"

"He was effectively captain of multiples squads for this mission."

"Fair enough. Continue."

"I was given orders to protect the bridge builder and the team, and otherwise infiltrate Gato's base as a secondary objective if I could."

Hiruzen turned to Kakashi.

"You ordered him to take out Gato? You do realise that his company though doubtless corrupt, had a strong share in Konoha's merchant quarter? If that share falls into the wrong hands, Konoha could be crippled economically, even if most of our income is derived from missions and shinobi work."

"I thought it might help our mission. If anything I didn't expect him to be able to."

"Ok. What happened next?"

"From the time between arrival and the fight, I either protected the team or scouted Gato's base. On one occasion I encountered Zabuza's associate Haku, whom I was unable to prevent from gathering medical supplies due to one of his team being held hostage in his sleep."

Hiruzen didn't even look surprised when he turned to Kakashi.

"How does that even happen?"

"He doesn't get on well with Sasuke to start with, and the conversation at one stage ran over a sensitive topic of conversation that set him off. He left and ran out into the forest, returning the next morning."

"You didn't talk to him?"

"He seemed ok."

"Alright...continue Naruto."

"He had trained vigorously, excessively actually. Then slept through exhaustion. He survived the encounter, Haku's behaviour was odd."

"How?"

"He didn't kill him in his sleep instantly like I would have."

"Oh. Continue?"

"After that incident, I worked out Gato's compound and had formulated a plan to kill him. However the attack happened before I could enact it. I brought warning to Kakashi, allowing him to intercept and engage Zabuza alone whilst his genin attempted to take on Haku."

"Attempted?"

"Haku used an imprisoning dome of ice mirrors which he could shift between quickly, along with senbon to attack the two genin."

"Interesting, how were they doing before you arrived?"

"The Uchiha had awakened his sharingan, and was faring better, but both of them where not coping well with the situation. Neither of them had a plan to attack and were defending but taking damage. I estimate they had another five minutes at best before they were disabled."

"Your assessment then?"

"Either Kakashi kills Zabuza and then protects the builder from Haku, or Haku wins first and the genin and bridge builder dies."

"The third genin, Sakura yes? She could have stalled Haku for enough time for Kakashi to deal with Zabuza?"

"No. She would have died without striking a blow."

"A bleak assessment."

"I only make assessments I think are accurate."

Hiruzen saw Kakashi shrink a little further back into his chair, a pained sigh escaping him.

"Ok, so you intervened?"

"Yes, I entered the dome and applied a genjutsu to Haku. I believed that he could not remove the genjutsu without disrupting his own technique."

"That's a significant gamble Naruto."

"It was the quickest option I could use. I had backup plans to use, but they were less favourable."

"Your genjutsu?"

"A variant of my shadow enhancing technique, I flooded the dome with shadow to his mind such that he was blinded. After quieting the genin, I considered my options.

I believed that the genin were too injured to continue fighting, so asked the more injured one to evacuate through gaps between the ice mirrors. Unfortunately he made noise next to the mirror, and Haku moved to attack him directly.

I predicted his attack and shot him as he appeared from the mirror, unfortunately his attack was completed and the genin took a direct salvo of 10 senbon. However he survived and Haku was dead."

Kakashi coughed.

"You wish to interject Kakashi? I'm finding Naruto's account quite informative as to the combat that took place. A bit less technical than your fight but compelling."

"I wish to suggest that Naruto isn't telling his part correctly."

That got a raised eyebrow.

"I suggest that Naruto used him as bait."

"That is actually quite a serious accusation. Did you use him as bait Naruto?"

"I did not. I wanted him and the other to escape such that I could engage Haku better alone. I don't work well with others."

"But you know how others might react to situations?"

"Mostly. Other people sometimes make mistakes, but usually are predictable."

"But you refute using him as bait?"

"Yes."

"Well Kakashi, he denies your accusation. Why do you make such an assertion?"

Kakashi didn't flinch from the tone of voice.

"Gut feeling. It just seems like expecting an injured genin to stealth his way out is a poor play I wouldn't expect Naruto to call."

'Very clever Kakashi, cloaking your criticism with a complement as you might for any other person, but you mistake Naruto for someone who'll pick that up.'

Naruto continued not to show any signs.

"I made the right call."

"Admit that you used him as bait. Admit you made the mistake, even if it did end up working out."

"I did not use him as bait."

The Hokage held up a hand.

"Regardless, let's put that aside for now. Now Naruto, Kakashi's report states you then nearly killed the client and infiltrated Gato's base. I'd like to hear about that."

"After finishing my fight, I moved to assist Kakashi, but he finished his fight just as I got there. Gato arrived with at least a hundred men. Kakashi was tired, his genin were not combat ready, and the client was vulnerable. I worked out a possible plan, given that Gato was unaware that Haku was dead, and enacted it without delay."

"That plan being to assault the client, nearly kill him, and distract Gato?"

"It was also to prevent further combat, which heavily favoured our enemies. Instead, I balanced the risks against the potential rewards for my various possible actions and enacted the most favourable outcome."

"That's remarkably clear thinking for someone of your age and experience, especially with the given threat."

"Thank you Hokage-sama."

Kakashi merely shrugged.

"Now, when you infiltrated Gato's compound?"

"I sat through their victory feast, before Gato invited me back into his private chambers. I believe he thought Haku was a girl, and started trying to undress me."

"He what?"

"Tried to undress me, I believe with a view towards reproductive actions taking place."

There was silence. Kakashi broke it, his voice little more than a growl.

"Bastard."

"Agreed Kakashi, such men should not be allowed to live. Then again, should we have expected anything more? What happened next?"

"Once he had committed too far to the action, I unhenged and killed him with a blow to the throat using my tanto. It felt right, in a strange way."

"Strange how?"

"Like I was invulnerable."

"I know that feeling well Naruto."

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"But it still ends up feeling hollow after awhile doesn't it Hokage-sama."

"Usually."

Naruto took in what the older men were saying. He did slightly understand, but he was debriefing. Now was not the time to consider such things.

"I then used the idea that someone had killed Gato to spread chaos in the camp using another two henged forms. When I left the compound was in chaos. I then returned to the village to report to Kakashi sensei."

The Hokage reloaded his pipe with another thick wad of the strong stuff.

"So overall, you nearly got a teammate killed and nearly killed the client, and used a risky and I assume improvised series of events to complete your objectives. You also caused collateral damage to the shipyards, killed a prominent businessman and caused nearly two hundred hired bandits to start a civil war in their camp."

"That is one way of putting it. I did what was necessary to complete the mission."

The Hokage struggled to find the right words. Naruto had completed the mission in a totally unorthodox manner, probably stepping over lines he would never have his regular forces think of crossing, but he had been successful.

'So Danzo, this is how you have trained him. Complete the mission at all costs as well as possible.'

In the end, he decided a chat with the wily bastard was in order, well, more in order than before.

"Well you completed the mission, and have likely rid of the world of a man who could later have been an issue. A couple more questions though.

What did you make of the genin on the team? Have the advanced since the test you observed in your first mission?"

"The Uchiha is the most similar to me, and has awakened his sharingan. However he didn't have a plan for Haku's attacks. The other genin trains hard, but is only average at best. The girl should be dead, or killed out of mercy before she actually has to go into a real fight."

The Hokage looked at Kakashi to see his expression. He was surprised to see that Kakashi was merely slumping into his chair, not offering any defiance.

"What jutsu could they use?"

"I saw them use no gen or nin jutsu. They know tree walking, but honestly have no other appreciable skills that I saw."

"Interesting, you are dismissed Naruto. Remember, that written report."

Naruto was gone in an instant, no doubt moving along the rooftops to wherever he went.

He turned back to Kakashi. The man looked tired, slumped in the chair, his hands gripping the arm rests loosely.

"Kakashi...your team is?"

"My team is bad. Permission to speak bluntly?"

"Given."

"Of my current team, I don't know if I know what to do with any of them. One is average, bland. He has the commitment, but he's bland and has nothing special about him yet. He has the one technique, but it's difficult to master, and since the only other known practitioner is dead...I can't help him. One is an obsessed fangirl, and Naruto did get it right. She should probably not be a ninja unless she takes it more seriously. The other is the worst though."

"I thought Sasuke was the best of his class? All reports show that he has good skills in all areas."

"He is the most like Naruto. Only the differences are stark. Naruto is good, but he's not arrogant. He just has no idea how other people work. Sasuke is arrogant. He's good, but he's arrogant. Naruto can't work with a team because he has no idea about emotion. Sasuke simply refuses to believe anyone else is worth working with. "

"They passed your test though."

"True, but I suspect Sasuke only went with it because he had to, and Sakura because she's a fangirl. She has potential but I fear I'd need to brainwash her to unlock it."

"Hmm."

"It gets worse. When Naruto arrived, I honestly preferred working with him. Despite his lack of knowledge of people, and ruthless streak, he's a good ninja. A very good ninja. He will likely continue to surpass everyone his age. I...wish I was his sensei and not that of my team."

The Hokage stroked his beard. He had seen a lot of ninja's whom the pressure was getting to. He'd seen newly promoted chunin break down because someone had died on their first of second mission. He'd seen jonin who'd just stopped because of things they'd seen. He'd seen people who had lost loved ones. He had lost loved ones.

And now he was seeing one of his elite break down over his team. One of his most fearless and brilliant shinobi struggling to cope with the challenge of his team.

He'd had a team once, there'd been problems, but he'd managed. Mostly. They'd all become legends by the time one of them went off the rails beyond redemption.

"I could always transfer you off sensei duty. Move you to be Naruto's sensei permanently. He's currently without one, and will need training to advance."

"You could?"

"I am the Hokage. Unless it bothers the civilians directly I can do whatever I want. Shinobi matters are my job."

"But would you?"

"No. You need to persevere here Kakashi. If you really want to train Naruto, then arrange it yourself. However I will not allow you to simply abandon your current team. Keep training them, and train them better because currently it's not going well."

"Hai."

"Go home and sleep Kakashi. You look like you need it."

"One last thing?"

"Of course. There always seems to be."

"Do you think Naruto used one of my team as bait?"

"Maybe. The thought definitely crossed his mind. Still though, I couldn't tell you for sure. Perhaps one of my T&I people could. If he did, it needs catching early."

Kakashi nodded and made his way out slowly, book rising into his hands magically to cover what parts of his face could not be seen.

Just before he left, he turned back one last time.

"Oh. Naruto might make a good addition to T&I now that you mention it. He got through the first two excuses. That's more than most people do."

The door clicked behind him as he left.

There were a few brief moments of silence where Hiruzen stared out of the window into the city. The rain had mostly stopped, and the clouds had broken just enough that the pale sliver of a moon shone through.

He looked out as he heard the footsteps of his final appointment coming in. He didn't really hear them. He knew the person walking was too careful to make noise unnecessarily.

There was a slight rustle as they took their seat.

"An interesting turn of events Hiruzen. It seems Team 7's mission to the Wave ended up killing Gato as a side product. My sources suggest his criminal empire is crumbling in all the other elemental nations.

Of course, my agents have moved to capitalise, and have seized as much as they can. Naturally this will work its way into Konoha in the usual way."

"Money into the hands of people, treasures as bribes and scrolls into obscure sections of the library?"

"Of course. I still think it was one of my finest bits of work to use the library as a place to drop off captured jutsu scrolls and the like."

"No-one ever thinks to wonder where they came from."

The sat in silence. Hiruzen reached for another wad of the rich tobacco.

"I hear you sent Naruto along to them as backup, he did well I take it?"

"Apparently. Kakashi was impressed you know. But it's not all good."

"He doesn't get along with others does he?"

"Well, the full list of his interactions with the other genin lead to one of them nearly dying, and another of them trying to hurt him before he restrained her."

"She's lucky then."

"Lucky?"

"Judging by her profile, and the report's details of her actions, it sounds like Naruto could very quickly have killed her if he had wanted to. In fact his instinct would have been to. Like he did for Zabuza's associate. Like he did with Gato and his thugs."

"He made two direct kills in this mission, and performed actions that lead to a further hundred at least if our reports are accurate. Children his age should not do that. Most genin don't make their first full kills until they reach chunin level where the stakes are raised."

"Naruto isn't a child. He's a shinobi. An assassin."

"He's human."

"He's a weapon. Even without the use of his asset he's a weapon."

"Do not mention the asset. It is his curse. It is why I gave him to you, even if I forbade you from teaching him to use it."

"He could be more. Imagine it. He sneaks in and unleashes a sudden hell on his foes. Imagine any foe suddenly having him appear and go off like a million explosive tags."

"No. He will not be a bomb."

The air was thick with the intent of both men. They looked each other in the eye for a long, long moment before it began to defuse. Danzo spoke first.

"I know. He's your soldier to command now. You admit he is good. Better than any of your common genin and most of your chunin."

"At what he does he is an A-rank ninja. But if he was caught, he's no better than a decent genin as a normal shinobi."

"He does what he does well. I suspect he'll keep doing so."

There was a moment of silence. The Hokage paused for a moment and then clapped his hands together gently.

"You knew what was going to happen. How long?"

"Since Gato got his first tendrils of power into Wave."

"What manipulations did you enact?"

"A few subtle ones. My operatives might have seeded Tazuna with the idea of a bridge, and ensured that Gato didn't try to destroy it directly until Konoha shinobi could make it there. From there, I knew Naruto could get in."

"Was Gato that much of a threat? He might have been rich, but Konoha could have squashed him with some ease had he got out of hand."

"He's a worm. A parasite. Eventually he would have gained enough money to catch the ears of the Daimyo. Money buys influence. Eventually we would have found him holding a larger stake in our futures. Making us a target. Better to kill the parasite before it grows. Nip it in the bud so to speak.

Plus, if he ever came to dislike us the consequences would be dire. We have enemies Hiruzen, hidden enemies who would see this village destroyed."

"Ironic that the root is strangling the flowers of that plant."

"Your mastery of the metaphorical is as sharp as ever."

"Your appreciation of the practical is as well. Still, did you really think Naruto would be the one to do what you needed? Did you really plan this from when Gato first entered the scene as a possible threat?"

"Yes. One day I hope Naruto does the same. He has a gift for the subtle, even if he doesn't know its full extent yet."

"You see him as a successor?"

"Leadership is in his blood."

There was a thoughtful pause before both men looked out over the dark city.