"Ne, Jiji? Why do we use pencils to write in class? These brushes are so much cooler."
Hiruzen looked up from a stack of reports to regard Naruto hunched over Kakashi's scroll. The old man smiled gently at the ink spots all over the boy's forehead. In the weeks since the silver-haired Jōnin had given Naruto his birthday present, the blond had been in the tower almost every day, eagerly working through the challenges presented in the scroll. Because the boy did not own his own set of brushes or inkwell, Naruto visited the old man to use the beginner's calligraphy set the Hokage had procured for Kakashi's initial demonstration. The additional time spent together was a fortunate side effect.
"Well, Naruto, ink and brushes have several disadvantages over pencils. Though you don't seem to mind, most people don't appreciate how messy they get when using ink, especially if they don't have much experience with a brush." At Naruto's confused expression, Sarutobi pulled a small mirror and a towel from his desk to show the boy his ink-spotted face. Naruto accepted the towel after seeing his reflection and began scrubbing his whiskered cheeks clean as the old man continued. "Pencils are easier to carry around and don't require any preparation to write with them. In fact, there are only three ways I can think of where people still use brushes and ink. Can you guess what they are?"
As Naruto continued scrubbing at his face to remove the last ink spots, the young blond puzzled on his Jiji's question. "You write with a brush, Jiji! That's one place, dattebayo!" Apparently satisfied with how clean his face was, Naruto dropped the towel beside his workstation and scrunched whiskered cheeks up in thought once again. Looking down at the scroll in front of him, the boy's face brightened again. "Kaka-nii used it here to make my scroll, too. That's another place." Several more seconds passed before the blond turned a hesitant face toward Sarutobi. "Is the last place something to do with being a ninja, Jiji?"
The old man smiled at his ward, clearly pleased with the answers that had been offered. "You guessed two of the three situations, Naruto. Well done!" As the boy smiled back up at him, Hiruzen continued his explanation. "Writing with ink and brushes is considered to be a more elegant form of writing than using pencils. It is also different from using pencils because, excluding the case of special seals like the one on your scroll, ink is permanent. Whatever you write with a pencil can be erased and changed, but ink will stay on the paper and won't disappear after it dries. These two traits make it quite useful for the two more mundane applications I had in mind: paperwork," the old man gestured to the stacked sheets on his desk, "and art." The Hokage indicated the tapestries hanging on the wall: flowing murals depicting scenes from around the village that the Sandaime had painted during his leisure time. "Because it is a traditional skill, many clans expect their members to be able to write and draw with a calligraphy brush. That will be part of the schooling that Konohamaru-chan receives when he prepares for the ninja academy. I use a brush for my paperwork as Hokage because the ink shows that what I say in the documents I sign hasn't been changed since I wrote it. I use ink for my paintings and poetry so that I can be reminded of the beautiful activities going on every day around the village."
"But what about my scroll, Jiji? That's not Hokage work or fancy stuff. Why did Kaka-nii use ink to make my scroll?" Naruto picked up the object and waved it for the old man to see. "He said it was fu-fūjutsu, or something like that."
The Sandaime nodded. "Fūinjutsu is a ninja art that stores chakra in written symbols, mostly on paper. With good planning and lots of practice, a ninja proficient in fūinjutsu can do things that are impossible with regular ninjutsu."
"What kinds of things, Jiji?" Naruto cocked one eyebrow up, clearly dubious about the old man's claim.
"Well…" The Sandaime reached into one of the drawers on his desk and drew out a rectangular slip of paper. Handing it to Naruto, the Hokage continued, "this is a sealing tag that was written up to lock away a ninja's chakra. If I were to put it on a ninja and use a bit of my own chakra to activate it, this seal would partially block the ninja's ability to use their chakra. With enough of these tags, they would no longer be able to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu."
Naruto quirked an eyebrow, obviously intrigued, but the boy still seemed to need further convincing, so the Hokage decided to share his penultimate example of the art. Wrinkled hands reached into another drawer of his desk before drawing out a stylized kunai knife with three blades on its head and an incredibly intricate formula written on the paper tag wrapped around its handle. "Fūinjutsu was also a specialty of the Yondaime Hokage. He was able to use seals to instantly teleport to any kunai tagged with these seals. This technique is called the Hiraishin no Jutsu. It is one of the jutsu he used in the last war to protect our home. This sealing formula is so complex that no one has ever been able to replicate his proficiency with the jutsu." Hiruzen offered the knife to the boy who placed his brush down and accepted the offered blade with reverent awe etched across his features. "Fūinjutsu is the basis for some of the most powerful techniques in the ninja world, Naruto."
Naruto turned the knife over in his hands, gently running his hands over every surface. When he tried to feel the edge of the blade, the boy drew his hand back with a sharp hiss of breath, a drop of blood forming on his fingertips where the kunai had cut skin. "Sugoi, Jiji!" Naruto's breathy whisper demonstrated exactly how enthralled he was with the weapon. After several more minutes turning the blade over in his hands, Naruto carefully handed it back to the Hokage.
The old man stored the relic back in his desk and turned to Naruto with a small smile on his face. "Namikaze Minato gave me that kunai the day that he was selected as the Yondaime Hokage. He wanted me to be able to call for him whenever I needed. If I threw that kunai, the seal would alert him, and he would be able to appear at my side in an instant."
At that, Naruto's face lit up in excitement. "Then I'm gonna do that too, dattebayo! I'm gonna learn how to do fūinjutsu and be an awesome ninja like my daddy. I'll be able to come and help my family when they need it! I'll even figure out how to do the Hiraishin."
The Sandaime smiled at the declaration. "Well, I think the first step to making that happen is to complete Kakashi's scroll. Once you complete that, we'll see about getting you started on learning the sealing arts."
"Yatta!" Naruto reached for his brush, ready and eager to pass the test Kaka-nii had made for him so that Jiji would teach him to be like the Yondaime.
Sarutobi watched contentedly as this youngest protector of the Leaf attacked the scroll with renewed vigor. The Hokage had no doubt that the boy could learn the sealing arts, if he so desired. Naruto was creative and clever; there would be little he could not achieve. The talent and heart of this new generation would build a strong future for Konoha, of that the old man was sure.
"Danzō-sama."
Shimura Danzō calmly placed his teacup on the table before he turned his bandaged head to regard the newcomer kneeling at attention just outside the door frame of his private meditation room. At first glance, the bowed figure might have been mistaken for one of the Hokage's ANBU. A simple, unmarked robe covered the heavily armored form whose face was hidden by a porcelain mask, just as with the elite agents. However, even a second glance at the figure would betray the lie in that initial assessment. While ANBU masks wore neutral expressions and were patterned to give a vague impression of the animal that served as the agent's call sign, the expression on this painted face was that of a snarling spirit, howling its fury against creation. ROOT was Danzō's personal army: blindly loyal and masterfully trained, they existed only to act as agents of the aged man's will.
"Report." The order was given in a cold, raspy voice that conveyed a tone of absolute mastery. This man would be obeyed.
If the masked figure had any sense of self-preservation, she might have shivered. However, those instincts had long since been repressed to the point of non-existence. Thus, it was with the same monotone voice that the messenger continued, "An intruder was captured making his way toward headquarters from the north. His approach vector followed standard village approach routes for ROOT shinobi and avoided security sweeps by the main forces. He surrendered immediately when confronted, saying that he has a message that can only be delivered to the 'Shinobi no Yami'. Agents brought him to Interrogation Facility Two and processed him according to protocol. He has responded to interrogators by repeating his initial declaration. We attempted a psychic probe, but his mental wards are exceptional; Yamanaka Osamu is currently comatose, suffering from what the medics have described as 'acute psychic trauma'."
The old man's posture did not change. Not a muscle twitched out of place, nor did he utter a word. Having done none of those things, however, Shimura Danzō's irritation became apparent, as the air pressure in the small sitting room suddenly doubled. Despite the suffocating atmosphere, the messenger remained in her kneeling posture, head bowed and ready to receive her commander's orders. "I will hear his message." Once again, the voice was like ice, frozen boulders tumbling roughly down a frigid stream, uncaring what they smashed as they raged to their destination.
At once, the cloaked figure rose from her kneeling posture to retrieve the wooden cane resting by the doorway. With a bow, she presented it to the old man, who had risen with surprising grace for someone who, apparently, could not walk without aid. Accepting the prop, the crippled veteran made his way to the door, spartan black yukata rustling in the early Spring breeze. Turning to the cloaked figure waiting beside the still-steaming mug, he ordered, "Increase counter-infiltration patrols. And tell Minori-san that I will be stopping in for a pot of her best jasmine tea later this afternoon."
Orders given, the old man began a slow, measured stroll through his clan compound and out into the village proper. As he walked past his clansmen and down the streets of the village, the veteran of three Great Shinobi Wars cast a calculating eye over the children who ran by him, busy in their play. Many were unexceptional, unworthy of his time and efforts, though he never failed to keep an eye out for those he might bring under his tutelage.
After several hours patrolling, with no new prospects, the bandaged elder turned into a small tea shop where a hanging tag outside the door declared that the business was closed for the day. As the old cripple pushed open the door, the hostess and her serving staff rushed over to bow deeply to him. "Danzō-sama, we are honored by your presence. We received word of your coming and have prepared the back room for you, in keeping with your usual preferences."
The heavily bandaged figure regarded the completely empty tea shop before he turned to the crone sitting by the door. Shimura Minori was the village elder's second cousin and had married outside of the clan to start this tea shop with her late husband. Despite retiring from shinobi life, she remained active as a dealer of poisons, paralytics, and drugs of all kinds. That expertise would come in handy today. Nodding to the shop's aged founder and ignoring the rest of the staff, the old man walked slowly to the back room and settled himself onto a cushion. "You will leave after the table is set." Once again, the order was given calmly, with no fear of disobedience.
Immediately, the serving staff swarmed about, setting two cups and a piping hot teapot in the center of the table. Then, with professionalism born of practice, they stepped out the front of the shop, deftly closing the door and leaving the room to be lit by soft beams of the late afternoon sun.
Shortly after the lock clicked shut and the shuffling of the aged Minori 's feet faded to nothing; a sliding hatch hidden in the wall opened to reveal two more cloaked figures holding a bound man between them. As the captive was forcefully seated, his 'host' took a moment to study his guest. The man was short, with a small, gangly frame. He had short-cut, wiry hair that extended down his face to form an unkempt beard. The clothes he wore were interesting: a tan yukata worn over black pants. Both were made of good fabric but draped on the man unprofessionally. When the blindfold came off, small, beady eyes raced around the room, taking in every threat and escape route as only a coward could, before finally settling on the bandaged man across the table. Licking cracked lips and rubbing thin wrists to restore circulation after his shackles were removed, the slight man looked greedily at the teapot on the table and the steaming mug in front of the bandaged elder. "Yami-sama, I presume. I don't suppose your lordship would be willing to offer your humble servant a bit of refreshment. Your men have been most unkind to me, despite my peaceful cooperation when I arrived. I do wish I could have answered their questions, but I've been told that I only get to speak with you. My master was pretty insistent about that."
The Shimura clan's eldest surviving shinobi nodded his silent assent and watched as the other man poured himself a full mug of tea and took a tentative sip. After a second's consideration, the expensive brew seemed to meet the visitor's approval, as the mousy man proceeded to drain the rest of the cup in a single swallow. "Right quality stuff you've got there, your lordship," the grubby man smacked his lips in appreciation before refilling his cup. "I was told you're a man with taste, and boy, is that right. Orochimaru-sama must want ol' Gaichūmaru to get a taste of the finer things in life for when he promotes me."
"Perhaps." the old man replied, unconvinced. If Orochimaru had indeed sent this fool, it was because the task entrusted to him was simple beyond all reckoning. The man reeked of equal parts ambition and stupidity. "Why have you sought out the 'Shinobi no Yami'?"
"Well, Yami-sama," Gaichūmaru once again swallowed the entire contents of his teacup before filling it for a third time. "Orochimaru-sama has a business proposition for you. Seemed right keen on it, too. Said it would 'fan the embers' of the fire you've been trying to light and net him a couple new research subjects. Top it off with a mighty big stick in the Hokage's nethers, if you know what I mean, and it's a golden package." The man smirked at his host, but only the right side of his face responded, though the man didn't notice. It seemed that Minori's brew had begun to take effect.
Danzō considered the man in front of him before the elder raised his own mug to his lips and slowly sipped the contents, savoring the exquisite flavor. The old man's mug had been coated with the antidote to his cousin's concoction, which, combined with a carefully cultivated immunity, meant there was no risk from drinking the same tea as his guest. Calmly placing his cup back on the table, the bandaged elder addressed Gaichūmaru, who seemed to have finally noticed that something was wrong due to the drool that had begun to pool on his sleeve. "You are a fool." The ratty man's right eye widened in surprise before narrowing in anger at the accusation. "You were brought before an older shinobi and immediately assumed that you had met your contact. Based on that assumption, you shared not only your name, but your master's name as well. With minimal prodding, you referenced plans years in the making and expressed disdain for the reigning Hokage of Konohagakure." The man's small eyes bugged at the realization, and he tried to speak, though his mouth was, at this point, too uncoordinated to form words. Cutting him off, the bandaged man continued, "Finally, as you may have realized, you trusted the drink offered to you, which was laced with an additive that has left you numb and immobile."
The rat-faced man tried to rise, but his muscular control had deteriorated enough that he only fell face first onto the table. "Mraah, mrah mrehmreh mrah." The man's beady eyes looked up at the stone-faced elder: wide and fearful.
The man known as the Shinobi no Yami gestured, and the limp form of his guest was jerked up to a roughly seated posture by one of the guards that had been observing the room from the shadows. "Normally, I would have you killed to rid the world of your incompetence. However, your proposal was intriguing enough that I will give you one chance to save your life by telling me everything I want to know." The masked figure holding Orochimaru's spy upright wiped a foul-smelling swab over the man's swollen lips as Danzō continued. "When I ask a question, you will answer it and continue providing information until you are told to stop, at which point you will cease speaking. If you fail to follow these instructions, you will be killed, and I will send someone more intelligent to speak to Orochimaru. Do you understand?"
The man was white-faced and sweating, but he had regained enough control with the application of the antidote to nod vigorously and began to ramble unintelligibly. "Mrah, mrah mrah, mreh mroh mrah-"
"It seems that you can be trained, at least when the cost of failure is yourself," the Shimura elder cut across the man's garbled response. The room sat in silence for several minutes, Danzō sipping contentedly at his tea and Gaichūmaru gradually regaining muscle control so that he could sit up under his own power. "Now," the second most powerful man in Konoha gently set his cup on the table. "Tell me about the Snake's idea."
"Well, Naruto, how was your last day of school?"
The Sandaime's greeting followed a tremendous bear hug from the breathless blond. As his class was dismissed for the last time to their waiting parents, Naruto had led the charge of excited five-year-olds spilling from the school building's doors. Looking around the schoolyard, Hiruzen smiled to himself as he saw the grinning faces of children who knew that they were free from their desks for nearly a month. Chief among those smiles was the one that threatened to split Naruto's whiskered cheeks as the excitable blond waved a sheet of paper far too quickly for the old man to read the words written there. "I passed Jiji! I did it, dattebayo!"
Accepting the offered paper from the boy, the Hokage resolved to spend time over lunch reviewing Akari-san's comments about Naruto's performance. The more immediate concern was celebrating with the excited blond. "That's wonderful news, my boy." The old man caught Naruto mid-leap and brought the wriggling mass in for another tight hug. "I knew you could do it." As he noticed Naruto looking around the schoolyard hopefully, the village patriarch answered the question he could see forming on the young boy's lips. "I'm sorry to say that Kakashi got held up returning from his mission in the Land of Rivers, Naruto. He sent Pakkun ahead several hours ago to tell me that he would be late. However, he is safe and should return later this afternoon. In the meantime, why don't you and I go get lunch, hm? Hideko-chan asked to bring Konohamaru-chan by later, as well. We can have a celebration of you graduating from your first year at school."
"Okay," Naruto's disappointment at missing Kakashi was quickly replaced by excitement that he would be able to see both of his brothers at the same time that afternoon. "Can we go get ramen at Ichiraku's?"
Hiruzen chuckled to himself at the blond's selection. Naruto could be so unpredictable in so many ways, but it was easy money to bet that the whiskered boy would choose to go to Ichiraku's at every opportunity. "We can go see if he has space for us." With that, the Hokage let Naruto down and walked sedately behind the blond as the pair made their way to the small food stall.
Leaping onto his stool, Naruto proudly addressed the aged chef, "Miso ramen, please, Teuchi-jiisan. We're celebrating because I passed school, 'ttebayo."
"Congratulations, Naruto!" The ramen chef beamed as he served up a bowl of miso with all the toppings for Naruto and a seafood special for the Hokage. "Eat up, there's lots of broth and noodles ready for when you finish this bowl."
As the pair sat and chatted through their meal, Hiruzen took the opportunity to read Akari-san's comments about Naruto's classroom performance. As the old man had predicted, the young teacher's analysis had largely consisted of backhanded compliments and brutal assessments of the boy's shortcomings. Despite this, she had passed Naruto to the next grade and even commented on the blond's surprising dedication to his studies. The Hokage smiled when he read the comment about Naruto's handwriting. It had taken several suggestions that fūinjutsu required meticulous handwriting and a demonstration of the Hokage's own calligraphy to convince the boy of the necessity of practicing, but Naruto had eventually decided that the skill was a worthy investment of his time.
After several more bowls and over an hour of shared laughs, the Hokage leaned back in his seat, sighing contentedly. "Well, Naruto, we ought to head to the tower. Hideko-chan should be arriving with Konohamaru-chan soon and Ichiraku-san would probably appreciate space for more customers. While we wait for them to arrive, you can show me how much progress you've made in making the leaf dance."
Naruto nodded excitedly and slurped down the broth from his last bowl. The pair stood, and the old man dropped his customary overpayment to cover future bowls on the small stand's counter. Then, with a smile, his wrinkled hand found Naruto's smooth one and the pair set off for the Hokage tower. They arrived to find that Hideko had yet to arrive with Konohamaru, so the old man offered some of the leaves from his office plant for the boy to demonstrate his progress. Thus, it was that the Hokage's daughter arrived with a sleeping toddler to find Naruto grinning with pride as the Sandaime praised him for the leaf that remained resolutely adhered to the boy's fingertips as the five-year-old raced wildly around the office. That game was soon forgotten, however, as Naruto's enthusiastic greeting woke Konohamaru from his midday nap and the 15-month-old started to toddle resolutely around the office. The two boys took turns chasing each other as their Jiji watched contentedly from his seat, laughing along to the excited shrieks.
Eventually the pair collapsed into a tangle of limbs on the floor, gasping for breath. Their energy returned a second later when the door opened and a head of wildly spiky, silver hair peeked through. "I'm not late, am I?" Kakashi's nonchalant question was met with a shout of joy from Naruto and an excited shriek from Konohamaru. Letting himself into the office, the masked man eyed Naruto fondly. "I take it from the excited faces that today was a good day?"
Naruto nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh, Kaka-nii! I passed, dattebayo! I get to keep going to school. There's even some people who let me play with them now."
Kakashi smiled behind his mask at the news and reached for his bag, drawing a kunai. "Congratulations, Naruto! We'd better let the whole pack know."
Naruto nodded eagerly, but the Hokage's voice stopped the Jōnin before he could complete the jutsu to summon his familiars. "Kakashi, I think we'd better take things outside, if you're going to summon the entire pack. My office has barely withstood these two hooligans without adding eight ninken to the mix."
"As you command, Hokage-sama." Kakashi saluted and grabbed Naruto's offered hand as the Hokage scooped up Konohamaru. The mismatched quartet marched out of the study and beyond the warded sector of the tower before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. When their vision cleared, Naruto grinned to find that they had come to the same field as his first day with Kaka-nii. Kakashi released Naruto's hand before nicking his right index finger with the kunai, flashing through five hand signs, and slamming the bloody appendage on the ground.
When the smoke cleared, eight dogs stared expectantly at Naruto's face. "Well, pup?" Pakkun's gruff voice came from atop Bull's head as the small pug grinned down at the smiling boy. Naruto grinned and raised both hands in a victory pose that sent the entire pack into a frenzy of excited yips, pushing bodies, and licked faces. Naruto was left laughing breathlessly on the ground, short arms trying unsuccessfully to push the big animals off him.
This continued until Konohamaru made his displeasure at not being included known in the form of some very vocal babbling and determined wriggling in the Hokage's arms. As the old man set the toddler down, Kakashi let out a sharp whistle that drew the attention of all nine sets of eyes in the dog pile. "You've got a little one joining you." A gloved hand gestured to the toddler, who was steadily advancing on the mass of limbs and tails, making grabbing gestures with tiny hands. "If he gets hurt, it's dry kibble for a month for the lot of you."
At that, Bull, a huge bulldog, separated from Naruto to go attend to the toddler. The massive bulldog took several seconds sniffing Konohamaru before drenching the small form in drool with his enthusiastic licking. The youngest Sarutobi was shocked into silence for a second before he proceeded to stick his small hand as far into the big dog's mouth as it could go, giggling the entire time. The rest of the pack resumed attacking Naruto, who still failed to fend them off, even without their largest member, and was forced to lay breathless on the ground as he was licked clean of anything that wasn't dog slobber.
After a minute, the dogs pulled back and Naruto gradually caught his breath. Bull brought Konohamaru over, as the boy had crawled almost completely into the big dog's mouth, and deposited the slimy toddler onto Naruto's chest. This brought on a new round of hysterics for the boys before Pakkun nipped playfully at Naruto's fingertips and both children were once again on their feet, racing around the field as they chased after the frolicking hounds.
Several hours later, Konohamaru had literally fallen asleep on his feet before collapsing onto an attentive Bull's back and being carried to the Sandaime. Most of Kakashi's dogs had retired to the afternoon shade, taking turns to go out into the sunshine and chase Naruto around the field. Watching the blond race by, Hiruzen wryly contemplated the advantages of getting the Uzumaki a dog of his own for the boy to run ragged every night. Doubtless, the extra exercise would help the whiskered five-year-old focus during school and homework by using up some of his seemingly limitless energy. Unfortunately, the old man didn't quite trust Naruto to take care of a dog by himself, so he shelved the idea for later. Instead, with a quick glance at the setting sun, the village leader decided to bring everyone inside for the day. "Naruto, I think it's time for us to head back to the tower. Hideko-chan will be by soon to collect Konohamaru-chan, and I'd like to get him cleaned up before then."
Naruto pouted. "Can't we stay out longer, Jiji? I haven't caught Ūhei when she's going fast yet."
Said greyhound smirked from where she lay panting and sprawled across the lawn. Thus far, Naruto had only been able to catch her by wearing her down. Pakkun's gruff voice pre-empted the blond's continued whining, "We're just about out of chakra from the summoning anyway, pup. We need to go home and sleep." The pug padded over to the blond, and leapt onto the boy's head, balancing there precariously. "We're all real proud of you. Good job this year." The voice was low, not so quiet that the others couldn't hear, but obviously meant for Naruto alone.
Whiskered cheeks flushed, and the blond mumbled out, "Thanks, Pakkun-sensei."
Giving the boy one last lick, the tan dog leapt from Naruto's head to trot over the where the rest of the pack had assembled in front of Kakashi. With a salute from the self-described 'softest paws in the world', a cloud of smoke enveloped the assembled canines and blew away to reveal that the summoning had been dismissed.
With the absence of external stimuli, Naruto felt his energy flagging as he meandered over to grab Kaka-nii's waiting hand. Stifling a yawn, the small blond allowed himself to be hoisted onto his brother's hip, while the Sandaime picked up his grandson. As the leaves again swirled around the senior ninja, Naruto's eyes closed, and he fell into a deep, contented sleep.
"Wake up, Naruto. We have to get you ready for bed."
Blue eyes cracked open as the blond looked around, slowly focusing in on the ramen posters that marked the space as Naruto's apartment. The blond looked around from his comfortable position in Kakashi's arms, as the young man walked through the apartment toward the bathroom. Yawning, small arms stretched wide as the whiskered boy tried to wake himself up. "I can't go to bed yet, Kaka-nii. I got one more thing for today, 'ttebayo."
"Oh, you do?" Kakashi's tone was amused. "And here I thought that finishing your first year of school followed by three hours running the pack ragged would be enough for you. What else do we need to do today?" Even as he asked, the young man turned on the water and began to strip Naruto of his dirty clothes, only for the little blond to struggle against his older brother's efforts.
"I gotta finish your scroll, 'ttebayo!" Naruto's exclamation effectively put an end to Kakashi's efforts, as the little boy pulled his once-white t-shirt back over his bright yellow locks. "I only got one thing left, and Jiji said it was a special one that I should do with you."
"I suppose that would be the perfect finish to today," Kakashi agreed after a moment's consideration. Turning off the water and pulling the plug, the silver-haired ANBU shooed the smiling blond toward the kitchen. "Well, get moving, then. I've got some brushes you can use if you're careful. I'll get the inkwell ready while you get your scroll and set up at the table. Grinning, the now fully awake child rushed out of the room while his taller companion followed, much more sedately.
When they had set up at the table, Naruto grabbed Kakashi's brush and dipped the tip into the ink tray. "What's the last thing, Kaka-nii?" The blond's hand hovered over his last box, clearly eager to finally see what his brother had hidden for him many months ago.
"Well," Kakashi began, "this last exercise isn't a test of everything you've learned at school, but of everything you've learned about the leaf exercise with Sandaime-sama." At Naruto's quirked brow, the young Jōnin continued. "Hokage-sama told me today that you've learned how to move your chakra through your arms to stick the leaf to your hands." Naruto grinned and demonstrated as, with several seconds of concentration, he was able to stick the unrolled end of the scroll to his flat palm and draw it an armspan above the table surface before it broke free. "That's very good," the masked man congratulated before continuing. "I'm sure Sandaime-sama told you, but the next step with the leaf is to move your chakra while keeping the leaf stuck. What we're going to do here is to push your chakra through the brush into the ink as you write on the scroll."
Naruto's eyes grew large as dinner plates as he considered that idea. "You can put your chakra out of your body, Kaka-nii?!"
"You can indeed," Kakashi agreed as he reached to a plant on the windowsill and plucked one of the new growth leaves that had sprouted there. Then, to the blond's amazement, the leaf proceeded to fall from his older brother's gloved hand before stopping to hang in mid-air half a meter below the Jōnin's fingers. After a second, the leaf ascended back into Kakashi's waiting palm. "Most ninja can't extend their raw chakra more than a half dozen centimeters from their body," the young man offered. "It's much easier to channel your chakra into a jutsu, which will hold shape as you direct it. Having the conduit of a formed jutsu or, in our case, the physical brush, allows you to push the chakra outside of your body. When you create seals using fūinjutsu, you'll push your chakra through the brush and into the ink on the paper. You need to provide a steady stream of chakra as you create seals." With his explanation finished, Kakashi gestured to the scroll. "Your task here is to do the same thing. Try to push your chakra out of the brush and into the ink as you're writing your name. Two things you need to know." Here the ANBU prodigy raised his hand to stall Naruto's first attempt at the exercise. "Your name needs to be written in kanji this time, and the amount of chakra you push out of the brush doesn't need to be uniform. This will be easier than creating seals, but I still don't want you to try doing this again without either Hokage-sama or I there to watch until we say it's okay."
Naruto pouted for a bit but relented when Kakashi continued to stare pointedly at him. "I won't Kaka-nii. I promise, dattebayo."
Promise received, Kakashi relaxed and gestured to the scroll. "Let's see it, Uzumaki-kun."
Grinning like a madman, Naruto leaned over the paper, eyes narrowed in concentration. This week in class, Akari-sensei had shown each of the students how to write the kanji for their names. They had run out of time before she could help Naruto, but the Sandaime had been willing to show the boy the appropriate brush strokes later that afternoon. The study session had lasted late into the evening, but the lesson was still fresh in Naruto's mind. Slowly and carefully, the blond traced out twelve strokes for the first character in his last name, followed by nine strokes for the second. It was quite a weird feeling: pushing his chakra outside of his body, but Naruto managed to keep the energy flowing through the entire writing process. After two more characters for his first name, which needed two and three tries, respectively, Naruto's name was finished, and the boy watched in breathless wonder as the last line of script dissolved from the end of his scroll. A small puff of smoke erupted from the previously enclosed circle to reveal an envelope.
Picking up the paper, Naruto looked over the kanji before turning to his watching companion. "What's it say, Kaka-nii?"
Somewhat embarrassed, Kakashi took the envelope and read the inscription. "To: Konoha's Gekage, From: Kaka-nii. Happy birthday, Naruto."
Naruto cocked his head to the side, blue eyes wide in curiosity. "Who's the Gekage? I thought this was for me, dattebayo."
"Ah ha," Kakashi chuckled a bit to himself before he explained. "Do you remember how I said that a Genin is a junior ninja, someone who's just learning how to be a ninja? I thought that Gekage would be a good title for someone who's learning to be Hokage. I figured it would be an appropriate nickname until you earn the hat for real."
Naruto beamed as he accepted the envelope back from the silver-haired young man. "Sugoi! So that's me? I'm the Gekage? You're the best, Kaka-nii!"
"Well, don't stop there," the masked man prompted. "Don't you want to see what's inside?"
Eagerly, small hands opened the envelope to find a photograph. Blue eyes studied the image there before Naruto hugged it tightly to his chest. "Thank you, Kaka-nii. It's awesome, dattebayo." Naruto's voice was thick as the little boy desperately tried to hold back tears.
"You're welcome, Naruto," Kakashi warmly replied. "Now, I think it's time for that bath. You've had a busy day."
Naruto nodded and allowed himself to be shepherded to the bathroom. An hour later, Kakashi looked back in the boy's room as he turned off the light. Naruto nestled deeper into the covers as he drifted off. Even as he succumbed to sleep, the boy snuggled tightly to the photograph he had worked so hard to earn. It had been taken during one of Kakashi and Naruto's camping trips. Against a backdrop of the huge trees that made up the forests around the village, the pair had pitched a small camp. There they had spent several evenings, with the older boy teaching the younger survival skills. In this scene, Naruto was surrounded by Kakashi's hounds, all grinning broadly at the camera. In a similar fashion to the way Naruto had pasted other clippings overtop of real photos as he tried to imagine Kakashi's face, this picture had been altered to show something different than the original scene. Though it was much more professionally done, the changes were just as obvious as the blond's cuttings from magazines: the Naruto in this picture wore the bright red hat, proudly adorned with the kanji for fire which declared its wearer to be the Hokage. As Kakashi closed the door to head home for the evening, he chuckled to himself. "I can't wait to take that picture for real, Naruto. They'd be so proud of you. Goodnight, Gekage-kun."