Hiruzen

A sigh escaped through his lips, one that indicated relief. It was quite late in the night, or better said, very early in the morning, the Third Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato thought. Eyes closed, shoulders slumped, he looked like the dictionary definition of tiredness. And in truth, he was really, really tired.

'I'm getting too old for this´ he thought. For the paperwork, and the late nights. For political dealings, and trying to outsmart the nest of vipers that called themselves the council. For being the one everyone looked up to, everyone trusted to lead them in good and bad times.

He was tired of being Hokage.

Truthfully, he was old to be a shinobi several years prior, only capable of doing administrative work. And now? He should have been in his home, enjoying the fact that he achieved what so very few others had achieved before him. Getting to an old age in a world filled with young deaths.

With his eyes closed, he could almost picture himself. Retired, spending his time studying Chakra as he did before he became Hokage, or perhaps even as an Academy teacher. There wasn't anything like the pride of shaping young kids into powerful shinobi, he thought. He had managed it with quite a lot individuals, if he said so himself. Three Sannin and two sons at the very top tier of ANBU, along with several of his clan he helped here and there become Elite Jōnin. Unfortunately, his legacy was slightly marred by his third son that, while powerful, was only a shadow on the wall compared to his other sons, and even they were nothing compared to him. 'God of shinobi' he thought proudly. If only…

A tingling in his neck was all it took for his rambling to end and for his relaxed posture to straighten in a fraction of a second, hand automatically going for a secret stash of weapons under his desk, eyes now staring intently at the center of his office. Or more importantly, at the person that was standing at the center of his office. Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly. While he was no Senju Tobirama, one couldn't get to a Kage level without developing a fairly good sensing ability. And the man in front of him had managed to avoid his notice right in the middle of the office.

It took another second for his security detail to notice their visitor, but after that the person was left with several weapons pointed at several of his vital organs. However, the man in the middle still had the calm look on his face, his arms raised in a peace gesture. After a minute of observation, Hiruzen gave the order to his loyal soldiers to stand back.

"Took you long enough to notice me". The man said, his deep voice laced with amusement, but his eyes told another story. Barely a second of emotion before they returned to their cold, death stare. A frown made his way to the old Hokage. He had never seen eyes look so death, not even in war. This man must have lived through something horrible he thought, to get eyes like that.

He wouldn´t wish that even to his worst enemy.

He took another look at the man before him. Tall, at about 6 feet. Lean, but strong. Dirty clothes, that looked befitting for a beggar in a street, not a shinobi who managed to bypass the security of the highest guarded building in a village full of capable shinobi. Delicate features that made Hiruzen feel a sense of familiarity, like he had met the man before.

But the most curious aspect of his physical traits was his red hair and his violet colored eyes, both a very peculiar shade.

"Why is it I can´t sense your chakra? You are standing right in front of me". One of the ANBU said rudely. The man didn´t even turned to look at him, just gestured calmly with his head towards Hiruzen, who narrowed his eyes before exhaling softly.

"He is an Uzumaki. I´m assuming this is some kind of seal".

A smirk was all the response he needed. The ANBU nodded, clearly familiar with the potential of seals even if the obscure branch had taken a dive in the years since the destruction of Uzushiogakure.

"What is your name?" Hiruzen asked, the surprise he had felt making its way towards carefulness. This man had bypassed his security without using any chakra whatsoever. That made him dangerous.

He expected another smirk, from what he had observed of the man, he had a boastful yet laid back attitude. However, said man tensed and said no with his head.

"I can tell you but I can´t tell your friends over here. You will have to send them outside". The man said with complete seriousness.

"Why?" A clearly confused Hokage said, before the man moved. The Hokage barely saw a glimpse of a tattoo on the wrist of the man, before hell broke loose.

The ANBU guards rushed to him, while Hiruzen threw a Shuriken towards the man before making hand signs. However, the man was clearly expecting this, dropping low to avoid the passing of swords above him before standing on his hands and kicking the four ANBU guards in their heads, shattering their masks and knocking them out. Standing on his feet again, Hiruzen thought that there was no way he could avoid the veritable rain of kunai he had sent towards him.

Only for such rain to clash against an invisible barrier not an inch in front of the man, dropping to the floor after losing their momentum.

Hiruzen widened his eyes, not just because of the failed attack but because he could now sense the chakra of this man, and he had rarely felt a chakra so large, so dense. It was a feeling that in Hiruzen´s mind was only surpassed by the feeling of Senju Hashirama´s and Uchiha Madara´s chakra. And those two were monsters who even he wasn't worthy enough to compare.

"When I have to use chakra the seal is disrupted and the concealment is cancelled". The man said nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just defeated four of the elite forces of his village and deflected an attack of the Hokage himself in a matter of a couple seconds. The redhead took a seat in one of the visitor's chairs, before he popped his feet up the desk. A moment later the feeling of his chakra vanished completely, as if it had never existed.

Hiruzen could have continued attacking him, delaying him enough so that support could arrive. And although he was old, there were very, very few ninjas powerful enough to match him on a fight. However, before he could, the man in front of him once again rolled up his sleeve, exposing the tattoo Hiruzen barely got a hint of previously. This time though, he managed to see it clearly, and what he saw made his eyes wide to a veritably incredible length. He turned sharply towards his visitor's eyes, hoping to find something, anything. Still, the man was sitting in a non-threatening manner; his eyes as dead as before, and waited calmly for him to gather himself. As if he was reading his thoughts, the man spoke to him.

"I just want to talk, old man. I swear on my honor as an Uzumaki that I didn't come to harm you or the village. And really, do you consider me stupid enough to attack the place with the strongest ninja in the village, along with a team of his best and brightest subordinates?" the man said, and finished with a smile.

Hiruzen could have argued that he did look kind of stupid when he smiled like that, and that he had taken out those "best and brightest" like a child's play, but he let it slide, just like he let the "old man" comment slide. He thought for a second before nodding, and taking his seat once again. When a couple of seconds later another squad of ANBU appeared, surrounding the man with weapons drawn and jutsu on their lips, Hiruzen ordered them to take their knocked comrades and leave him. Confident that he could at least hold his own in a fight, and last long enough for reinforcements should It ever come to it, the Hokage sealed the room so that no one else would hear what was about to be discussed.

"So you're an Uzumaki? I thought everyone had perished in the attack". A raised eyebrow immediately made the Hokage feel a little bit stupid.

"Really? Kind of funny you say that, since there have been two Uzumaki's in the village since the fall of Uzushiogakure". This made Hiruzen pause. While it wasn't exactly classified information, it was still hard to get, especially from someone who didn't have a village. And given the prowess of the Uzumaki, the few occasions that a village got its hands on one it became known in the entire elemental nations in but a few weeks. The last time Kusagakure had quite frankly boasted about the little girl they found like she was the second coming of Uzumaki Mito.

He would have continued, but a movement of the man´s arm brought Hiruzen's attention back to the thing he had caught a glimpse of earlier.

Hiruzen hesitantly approached his arm towards the man´s, rolling his sleeve up as he neared it. When it was a feet away, both of their forearms, or more exactly their tattoos in their forearms, lighted up a bright red color, reminiscent of a fire.

"Who are you? How do you have the Hokage tattoo? It can´t be falsified, as the process of making it is passed down from Hokage to Hokage and sealed deep inside the mind. No amount of torture, no Yamanaka, no Sharingan, no one and nothing can extract that information from the Hokage. " Hiruzen asked after a few seconds of contemplating the man, his voice calm and composed, his face blank like a true shinobi should. The question earned a nostalgic smile from the man in front of him, who took a quick look at the Hokage Mountain before closing his eyes with a sigh.

"Why, Rokudaime Hokage Uzumaki Naruto, at your service".