The words Ibiki had said just yesterday were looping inside Hiruzen's head as the Hokage made his way to the Academy. In the shadows, his ANBU guards were watching always vigilant. Absentmindedly, the old man answered back the citizen of his village who offered him their greetings.
"This isn't the Will of Fire."
These words had the bitter aftertaste of truth denied for too long. Hiruzen had told a young, six-year-old Naruto that the villagers would see and acknowledge him if he were to become a ninja. It had been the only solution he could see at the time but it wasn't a solution for Naruto.
No, it was a solution for the village and himself. The villagers had to acknowledge Naruto. They had to be ultimately good people. They could be ignorant and confused and afraid but they had to be good people. Because otherwise, what did his five decades of service mean? The village had to be worth it for otherwise, wouldn't it mean he had wasted his life?
If the villagers could bond over mistreating a young child despite the words of their hero and leaders that he was armless; if the village could betray its core ideal; if it could be so ugly… What did it mean?
So Hiruzen had decided to forge ahead, giving time and again to the villagers the opportunity to redeem themselves, to accept Naruto as one of them, to share with him the warmth of the Fire and the shade of Three. And he had sacrificed Naruto once more in the process.
He had done nothing for Naruto partly because this… Scheme of his wasn't even meant for Naruto in the first place. Then, he had willingly fooled himself, believing the smile of the small blond boy to be genuine and healthy.
The worst was, it had been genuine once. He had sold a false dream to a little boy who trusted him and the little boy had believed him, giving him a toothy smile and swearing he would do it. Because believing was better than accepting he would always be alone. Even if the dream was a travesty of one.
Even when, six months ago, he had promised to do better by Naruto, it was still with the hope that the boy would redeem the villagers by his efforts. That he would effectively become such an impressive shinobi - and the boy was becoming an impressive shinobi - that the citizens of Konoha would be forced to see him and realize their mistake.
It hadn't been, once again, for Naruto as much as it was Hiruzen holding on the hope that the villagers could do better. That they still believed in the Will of Fire. That their Hokage could still be proud of his precious family.
Yet, Ibiki was correct. It wasn't right to keep pushing Naruto in this direction. The villagers had been given a twelve-years long chance to heal and do better and yet they still relied on their black sheep. Naruto was a wound Hiruzen had allowed to fester, a cane he should have confiscated back long ago.
Yet what could he do? The crux of the problem now was that, for thirteen years, he had done nothing. If he started punishing people right now, it would feel empty. And Hiruzen would appear indecisive and cruel. The work of a Hokage was to protect the village but what, or in this case who was the village? Was it the people who had strayed from the path or was it a little boy who deserved much and got nothing?
The old Kage breathed in deeply. It would be the work of his successor. As for him, it was time he allowed Naruto is own path. And if it wasn't one that allowed the villagers to prove their worth, then so be it.
Hiruzen shook his head to disperse his thoughts as he arrived at the Academy. Students were gathered in the yard and arranged in rows under the watchful eyes of Iruka Umino, a tanned, dark-haired chuunin with a horizontal scar across his nose, one of the teachers of the Academy, while Naruto was talking animatedly while holding out a ball.
"Alright kids, this is a simple game to help you with chakra control and reserves building." There was a general groan in the assembled youths. Chakra control was never fun. Naruto smiled at his audience. "I guarantee you it's fun. Let me explain the rules: you stick this ball to your palms and you pass it by spiking your chakra. If you have the ball, you can walk three steps before you have to pass. The goal of the game is to score points by sending the ball in the net of the opposing team. Everything clear?"
Hiruzen watched as the faces of the youngsters brightened as Naruto explained the game. The old Kage smiled: trust Naruto to make chakra control intensive and interesting somehow. Hiruzen was glad the blond was still inventive. He was even more content at the thought that it was as much energy not directed towards pranking anymore.
"We'll form, hum, four teams? Is that right Iruka-sensei?" The chuunin instructor nodded and Naruto returned his gaze to the students. "I'll be with each of you to teach you how to manipulate the ball properly and then, we'll have some matches. Does that sound good?"
There was a collective, enthusiastic "yes!" before one of the students, young Hanabi Hyuuga, Hiruzen recognized her, rose her hand.
"How are you going to be with every one of us?"
Naruto's smile crooked. "I'm glad you asked miss?"
"Hyuuga Hanabi."
"Miss Hanabi, observe," said Naruto smugly before he crossed his fingers in a unique hand sign and, in three puffs of smoke, three replicas appeared.
"Those are clones," deadpanned the young Hyuuga. "I can make these too."
"Are they?" Naruto questioned while nonchalantly passing the ball to one of his clones. Who caught it.
The student's eyes comically widened at the sight. Another little boy rose his hand. "Can you teach us that, Naruto-sensei?!" He asked with a grin lacking a tooth.
The blond reddened slightly and scratched the back of his head. "Hehe, I'm sorry, you need the Hokage's express authorization to learn that jutsu." Naruto suddenly smiled again. "But you're in luck because you'll be able to ask him the permission yourself." The blond gestured for the students to turn around.
Their eyes widened even further. "Bow!" Bellowed Iruka. Too starstruck to protest, the youngster all bowed to the old man.
Hiruzen bowed slightly in return. "Good day, children. I've heard of a new sport being practised in my Academy and I was curious as to what it was."
"You wanna play, Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked with mirth in his voice.
The Hokage gave a smile back to the blond. "Why not. We are a team. Let's demonstrate, shall we? Iruka-kun, would you mind doing the referee for this game?"
The chuunin bowed. "My pleasure, Hokage-sama."
The old man imitated the blond hand sign and three perfect replicas appeared in the same puffs of smoke.
"The first who score two points. The kids need to learn how to play, we can't hog the field for too long, Hokage-sama." Naruto informed. "Iruka, launch the ball in the air as straight as you can."
The chuunin obliged. Four young blonds were facing four wizened old men, eying each other like it was a battle to the death.
"Go!" Iruka screamed before jumping backwards.
Uzumaki-ball was an instant favourite of the Academy students and the sport became widely practised in the schoolyard, outside of just chakra control exercises.
Also, the Hokage lost. It could be that it was because he didn't want Naruto - the proud inventor of the game - to lose in front of the students. Or it could be that the fifth clone of Naruto, under the boy's Sexy Jutsu and dressed in a cheerleader outfit, was that much of a distraction.
AN: I read an interesting comment about Hiruzen's mindset and I thought I'd explore it a bit.
Not-basketball is officially called Uzumaki-ball now. Leave a review?