It has been a month since Naruto's birthday and he is finally allowed to play with his friends all day again. It took them ages to get over their colds. Being able to get sick must suck. After a full day of playing in the park with his friends, Naruto runs home at top speed. Iruka-niisan is doing the chunin exams and he has time to experiment with fuuinjutsu before Iruka-niisan is finished. Unless he gets disqualified.
Naruto runs up the stairs to their apartment so fast he trips over the package sitting on the doorstep. It is a big package and it has Naruto's name on it. Carefully, Naruto reads the rest of the characters on the package. It has his address on it too. Proud of himself for reading all the words, Naruto clambers over the package, unlocks the door and pulls the package inside. With much effort, Naruto manages to drag the huge package far enough inside for him to be able to close the door. It is very heavy, and too big for him to lift by himself. Naruto shuts the door, locks it and turns his attention back to the present. Who is it from, he wonders.
Naruto squats down beside the package and gives it a good sniff. It has a scent he recognizes. The package is covered in his mysterious godfather's scent. Naruto whoops, jumping up and pumping his fists in the air. His godfather didn't forget him after all!
Grinning like a hyena on a sugar high, Naruto kneels down and tears open the package. Inside he finds a brightly wrapped box with an envelope attached to the top. Naruto pulls off the envelope, opens it and tries to read the words in the card. To his delight, he can read every word. The note says, "Hey Kid! I hear you're six now. You don't think girls are icky, do you? Because I can assure you they are not. ;) I also heard you are starting the academy in January. I thought this stuff might come in useful. Presented to you by Your Godfather."
Once Naruto is finished toiling through the note he scratches his head, wondering why His Godfather would think he might think girls are icky. Naruto's best friend is a girl after all. Naruto shrugs and turns his attention to the actual present. Naruto pries the box open and, upon seeing what's inside, gasps in happiness. Sitting right on top is an orange t shirt with a picture of Gamabunta on the front. Naruto picks the t shirt up and hugs it. Then he sees the backpack. It is orange and green and has two old looking toads in cloaks on the front. The toads names are beside them, but Naruto cannot read them. He will ask Iruka-niisan what the toads names are, or maybe he could ask Hinata's dad.
Tucked in beside the backpack is a pencil case with tadpoles on it. One tadpole is orange and the other one is yellow. Their names are next to them, but Naruto cannot read their names either. Underneath the backpack are some exercise books, each with a different toad on it. Naruto cannot read their names, but he intends to learn.
Naruto carefully stacks the exercise books beside his backpack and pulls out a smaller wooden box. Carefully, Naruto opens it to find a perfectly organized set of ninja tools. Eyes wide, Naruto carefully takes out one of the perfectly balanced kunai and runs his finger along the flatter part of the blade. Mouth open in a silent 'o', Naruto replaces the kunai and picks up one of the pointed shuriken. He holds it carefully, trying hard not to cut himself. After staring at the shuriken in awe for a few moments, Naruto puts it back in the weapons' case and tentatively touches one of the reels of ninja wire.
Naruto's awed expression slowly gives way to a massive grin. Then he jumps up and starts running around the apartment yelling "Woohoo! Yes!" at the top of his lungs. Then Naruto falls onto the floor and starts laughing happily.
Remembering that there is more in the box, Naruto rolls into a sitting position and scoots back over to his Godfather's present. Digging in the box, Naruto discovers a bunch of pens and pencils tied together with an orange pice of string. Beside them is a small box of toad shaped erasers. Naruto places these items carefully on top of the exercise books and dips back into the box.
This time, Naruto pulls out four scrolls. Each one is labeled with Kanji that Naruto vaguely recognizes. After staring and thinking really hard, Naruto figures out that the scrolls say 'First Hokage', 'Second Hokage' Third Hokage' and 'Fourth Hokage' respectively. Naruto grins. Scrolls about the Hokage's will come in handy for knowing how to be the Hokage one day.
Carefully lining up the scrolls beside his backpack, Naruto delves into the bottom of the box, where two books still lie waiting to be inspected. He pulls out the first book to discover that is called 'History of the Village Hidden in the Leaf'. The author is someone with the last name 'Uchiha'. Naruto decides to ask the nice police chief to help him read that person's first name.
After carefully placing the book on the floor, Naruto lifts the other book out of the box. This time it takes Naruto a bit more effort to read the title, but he soon discovers that the book is 'The History of the Village Hidden in the Whirlpool, by somebody-whose-name-he-can't-read Uzumaki. Second edition; with updates by Kushina Uzumaki.'
Naruto stares at the book in his hands. His mum helped write it? Naruto stares in disbelief. He stares in happiness. He is holding something his mother did! He has something of hers that he can keep and read and look at and hold and the Hokage can't take it away because it's for school. Naruto stares. And stares. And stares some more. And keeps staring for all of five minutes.
Eventually, Naruto gets up and takes the book into the bedroom. Carefully, he places it on his bed so it will be nice and comfortable. Once he is sure that no harm will come to the Whirlpool history book his mum co-wrote, Naruto heads back to the rest of the school supplies and carries them one by one into the bedroom and finds homes for them. Then he sits on his fuuton hugging his Gamabunta plushy and staring at his Mum's book with a huge grin on his face.
Naruto puts his toad themed stationery into his toad themed backpack and heads off to meet his friends. He wants to see if any of his friends know the characters he does not. When he arrives at the park, Naruto quickly locates Hinata, Choji and Shikamaru. If any of them knows it will be Shikamaru. Naruto brought the Leaf History book, but not the Whirlpool one. He doesn't want to accidently get it dirty or ripped.
After showing his toad things to his friends, Naruto asks them if they know any of the characters he does not. After pouring over the toads' names, Naruto's friends assure him that, no, they do not know any of the kanji that he does not. The only one they recognize is the kanji for 'toad'.
"We need an adult," says Shikamaru. "Adults know how to read kanji and we don't."
"But where can we find an adult?" asks Choji. "Unless we all go to one of our houses."
"Iruka-niisan is still at the chunin exams," says Naruto.
"My dad is at the chunin exams keeping an eye on his team," adds Shikamaru.
"My dad is busy doing clan stuff," says Hinata. "If I go home he'll make me help him, because I'm going to lead the clan one day."
"Same with my dad," says Choji. "Does anyone know any other adults?"
"We could ask the Hokage," suggests Hinata.
"NO!" Naruto blurts out. If they go to the Hokage, he might find out about the Whirlpool book, or even ask for the Fourth Hokage's cloak back. Naruto did not take it back after the party. It is currently sitting on his fuuton with the scarf his mum made and the Whirlpool book.
His friends stare at him in confusion.
"Why not?" asks Shikamaru. "Does it have something to do with why you never returned The Fourth's cloak?"
Naruto blushes bright red. He wishes he could tell his friends who he is.
"I thought so," says Shikamaru. "So what other adults do we know?"
"Well, we could always asks Shisui," suggests Hinata. "He's older than us, so he might know these kanji."
"But where do we find Shisui?" asks Choji, pulling out a bag of chips and setting about devouring its contents.
"Let's ask a policeman," suggests Hinata. "They're all from the same clan, so I bet one of them will know where to find Shisui."
"Okay!" Naruto agrees, and starts packing his stuff back into his backpack. "Let's go find a policeman!"
In the Village Hidden in the Leaf, on the Eleventh of November, several people stop when they see a most unusual sight. Four small children, one of whom is the jinchuuriki, march straight up to the chief of police, who is out on his rounds. After asking the chief where Shisui is, the children are informed that he is currently unavailable.
Upon seeing how disappointed the children are, Fugaku Uchiha asks why they wanted Shisui, adding jokingly whether or not they wanted him for a prank. Upon discovering that the children wanted Shisui's help reding some unfamiliar kanji, the police chief does something that astonishes everyone who sees it and everyone who hears about it. He sits down with the children and helps them read the name of every toad on the jinchuriki's stationary.
The onlookers pretend not to stare, or even listen in as Fugaku assures the children that, yes, the author of the history book is his wife. Then he sadly informs them that no, he didn't have any more success than Shisui did trying to convince his daughter to play with them. The kids don't seem too saddened by that, bravely declaring they will win Sasuke over once they start at the Academy.
Fugaku laughs and smiles encouragingly at that, and the onlookers all freeze in shock. Not one of them ever considered the possibility that the forbidding head of the Uchiha Clan might actually have a sense of humor.