Author's Note

Hello!

As mentioned in the summary, this Fan Fiction features an alternate universe to the original anime. There will be inconsistencies, deliberate or not, particularly regarding the canon timelines, settings and events. As for everything else, this Fan Fiction will endeavor to remain true to the source material.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy. Comments and suggestions are most welcome.

Chapter 1: Namikaze International

Naruto yawned and stretched with a satisfying pop as he emerged from the subway together with the daytime working population of Tokyo, Japan. The trip from Fujisan to Nishi-Shinjuku took almost two hours of his morning and by now his stomach was craving for a full bowl of ramen. But his hunger had to wait, he cannot afford to be late for his first day of work.

Briskly walking Naruto eyed the skyscrapers that stretched up the avenue; the people walking under their shade, all going somewhere as fast as possible; and the massive LCD screen to his right, featuring a pretty girl with pale, flawless skin. He noted that nothing much had changed since he had last been there two and a half years ago. Back then he had just graduated fresh out with a degree in management. Now twenty-three years old, he was ready and rearing to take on the world of a full-fledged salaryman. Well, almost ready.

Eyes growing wide, Naruto fished his wallet out of his pockets. He flipped the wallet open and his fear was immediately confirmed. He had forgotten his ID card. Wracking his brain, he took out his mobile phone and scrolled his contacts. Hesitating, he breathed deeply and hit call. After two rings, a male voice came through.

"What's the matter, are you lost?"

"Kakashi-sensei . . ." Naruto trailed off. "I forgot my ID."

There was a short pause on the other line. "Just tell them I sent you," Kakashi said. Then a quick click.

Naruto sighed, pocketing the device. It was only his first day, and already he had sought his mentor's help to get in to work. But better than never, right?

Increasing his pace slightly, Naruto continued down the avenue before stopping in front of an opulent building soaring over the corner of two streets. Namikaze Tower was not hard to find; it was the tallest building in Nishi-Shinjuku. Straightening his body, he adjusted his tie and strutted in.

Naruto entered the lobby through a set of huge glass doors which slid open on his approach. Immediately, he felt out of place. The sprawling hall squirmed with throngs of men in designer suits; expensively dressed ladies, dolled up to the hilt; and people sternly nodding their heads and talking on their phones. He was wearing a suit himself and looked all business like, but the air around him was odd, unfamiliar. It was sort of daunting and intimidating, not like the one in laid-back Fujisan.

Slowly Naruto weaved through the crowd towards the elongated reception desk at the far wall, all the while careful not to make a sound on the sparkling granite floor. Eventually he reached the long counter, the length of which could have easily seated twenty men dining style.

"Good morning, welcome to Namikaze International, my name is Tenten," the crisp-looking receptionist greeted with a practiced smile.

"Hello Tenten, I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he said. "I'm here to see Kakashi-sen . . . I mean Mr. Hatake."

Tenten's eyes widened. "Senior VP Hatake?" she blurted, then composed herself. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Well, he's actually expecting me," Naruto replied scratching his temple.

Her expression turned to doubt. "For a moment, please," Tenten said, eyeing him. She picked up the phone and began to dial. "Hey, Sakura," she spoke to the receiver, her voice almost a whisper. "Someone's looking for the SVP. Male, spiky blond hair, blue-eyed. No, of course I'm not talking about the Chairman. Says his name's Naruto Uzumaki." Then a pause. "Are you sure? All right, I'll send him up," she said, returning the receiver to its cradle.

Tenten turned to Naruto, smiling again her practiced smile. "Sorry for the wait. Here's your visitor's ID which also doubles as a keycard," she said, sliding the ID across the counter to him. "It'll allow you access to the executive floors, so please wear it at all times while in the building."

"Thanks, Tenten, will do." Naruto smiled as he grabbed the ID lanyard and slid it over his head. He turned to walk into one of the dozens of elevators, tapped the card to the reader just below the numeric keypad and rode up the building. Within seconds, the high-speed elevator stopped and opened its doors. Between two huge paintings, the number sixty-five greeted him with aplomb.

As Naruto stepped out of the elevator, he noticed a faint cherry blossom smell. At first, he thought the scent came from the humidifier nearby, but then a voice from behind called out to him.

"Naruto, I presume?"

Naruto twirled to see a fair skinned girl with emerald eyes and pink hair long enough to reliably cover her ears. She was wearing a red blazer, matched with a classy pair of charcoal pants. For a second, Naruto cannot take his eyes away from her, as if he found her attractive. Or did he really?

"Sakura Haruno," she said, extending her hand. "I'm the executive assistant to Senior Vice President Kakashi Hatake."

"Naruto Uzumaki," he said taking her hand. He recognized her as the one Tenten was on the phone with. "Pleased to meet you."

"I've heard good things about you from Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said. Then she glanced down at the visitor's ID hanging from his neck. "Although that remains to be seen," she added curtly.

Naruto saw her expression and scratched the back of his head. "Yes, sorry, I know it's my first day, and I should have been more careful."

Sakura sighed a long sigh and smiled. "So long as you understand."

Naruto breathed relief, then his eyes widened. "Wait, did you just say Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, I did," Sakura replied. "Like you, I was also one of his students at the university."

Was that Kakashi-sensei's press release? Naruto thought.

"Anyway, I'll walk you to his office." Sakura said. "It's like a maze here, we wouldn't want you getting lost."

Naruto grinned at her. "That would be nice," he said, although there was really no need to. He knew the place like the back of his hand.

"Kakashi-sensei's in a meeting now with someone though, so you'll have to wait," Sakura said.

"With whom?"

She paused for a moment before answering, "Hinata Hyuuga."

A little later, she bid Naruto good luck in front of twin mahogany doors. "Thanks," Naruto said.

Watching Sakura turn the corner and disappear, Naruto clasped his fingers around the door handle and stepped into Kakashi's office.

A powerful kick sent Naruto flying back outside.

Well, not him really, but his mirage. The real Naruto was still inside, circling around his spiky, silver-haired assailant. Once behind him, Naruto launched a devastating roundhouse kick of his own. But a hand caught his leg midway, and he was thrown high above. Before hitting the ceiling, however, Naruto backflipped in the air and used the ceiling as a foothold. He launched himself towards the assailant, who soared from the floor to meet him in mid-air. Their paths formed an "X", and both landed opposite each other at the same time.

"You've grown quite a lot, Naruto. Jiraiya-sama has trained you well." the silver-haired assailant said as he stood up.

"And you're as harsh as ever, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto smirked. "Assaulting your student who you have not seen in years."

The sound of clapping interrupted the two. Hinata was standing in the corner watching them and applauding. A huge smile crept over her face. "Welcome back, Naruto."

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed as he sprinted towards his best friend. "It's been a while."

Hinata gave him an affectionate hug and a light peck on the cheek, surprising Naruto. "Way too long," she said.

"Well, Hinata did miss you, you know." Kakashi chimed in. "She even made time to be here despite her busy schedule."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Hinata protested, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. "We were filming nearby so coming here was really not a problem."

"Oh, by the way, I saw your billboard on the way here," Naruto said. "The long hair suits you well."

"Does it?" Hinata asked as she glanced down and stroked the dark blue strands hanging over her shoulder. "Why, thank you, Naruto." Her blush was more apparent now.

Naruto simply grinned and scratched his cheek with his index finger.

The familiar tone of a new message filled the huge office.

"Oh my, I have to go," Hinata announced, reading the message on her phone. "My manager's already downstairs."

Naruto sighed. "Let's catch up soon, yeah?" he asked.

Hinata beamed with joy. "I would love that!" she replied, before saying her goodbyes to Naruto and Kakashi.

"So, let's get to business, shall we?" Kakashi said once they were alone. He walked across the room behind the bar and pulled out a steaming bowl. "I got you ramen."

"Awesome! Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto dashed to the bar and pulled out a stool. "Itadakimasu!"

The mentor watched his pupil gobble up the meal, amused that he could swallow the noodles without much chewing. After Naruto emptied the bowl, Kakashi asked, "Which do you want first, the good news or the bad news?"

"Right now, no news is ever going to be bad news for me," Naruto blurted as he rubbed his stomach.

His easy-going tone earned a sigh from Kakashi. "Fine. Good news first then. The chairman and Kushina won't be back until next week."

"Next week!" But Naruto wanted to see them soon. "How's that good news?"

"Well, your parents returning earlier would mean that the deal with the Kazekage Group is off."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully and settled his hands behind his head. "And the bad news?" he asked, unsure what to expect.

Kakashi shifted and folded his arms. "A third of the board wants to change up the rules on succession," he replied coolly. "They want Fugaku Uchiha at the helm."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed. That was worse than he had expected. "They wanna get rid of dad?"

"Not just Minato-sensei." Kakashi's eyes met his student's. "As his successor, that includes you as well."

Naruto's eyes widened at the realization. "Can they do that? I mean, wouldn't that require at least a majority vote of the Board?"

"Right now, they can't since they're the minority," Kakashi replied matter-of-factly. "But next year? They're gathering allies, Naruto." Kakashi handed Naruto a folder. "See for yourself."

His hands shaking, Naruto thumbed through the files. "Uchiha Holdings," he muttered under his breath. "How could they get seven votes in such a short time?"

"As you know, Uchiha Holdings owns ten percent of Namikaze International. That unavoidably gives them two seats, votes, in the twenty-member board," Kakashi explained. "The other five votes are from members of the board who concurrently hold substantial shares in Uchiha Holdings."

Naruto stroked his chin. "Next to the Uchihas, they're the ones who'll benefit the most from an Uchiha chairmanship," he observed.

"Curiously, aside from the Uchihas of course, the other members of the minority held no interest in Uchiha Holdings until late last year."

Naruto felt his jaw clench. "The Uchihas are selling their shares to gain allies in the board."

"That is correct. However, it's not as simple as that." Kakashi took a deep breath. "They're selling for another reason: to fatten up their war chest. The Uchihas are positioning themselves for absolute control over Namikaze International."

Naruto almost dropped the folder. "All of these can't be right, Kakashi-sensei. Grandfather worked hard all his life to steer the company to what it is today, as his father before him, and his father before him."

"The times are changing, Naruto. Rather than a monarchical ruler, the company's employees, investors, the board—they desire a tried-and-tested leader, someone they can put their trust in. The Uchihas are capitalizing on this sentiment."

"But dad—"

"Don't get me wrong," Kakashi said, raising his palm. "There's no question that Minato-sensei is an excellent leader. What these stakeholders are concerned about, however, is Minato-sensei sticking to tradition, choosing his successor not due to merit but due solely to being a Namikaze."

"Then all I have to do is prove myself to them, earn their trust, make a name for myself without the Namikaze name behind me." Naruto's expression, however, betrayed the confidence in his voice.

"Precisely," Kakashi said, patting him on the shoulder. "You can do it, Naruto. I've known you long enough to know that."

"Kakashi-sensei, I . . ."

Naruto tossed forward as Kakashi slapped him on the back. "All right, now that you're up to speed, let's get to work, shall we?" Kakashi handed Naruto another folder.

"I hope this isn't another attempt to take over the company," Naruto said as he flipped it open.

Kakashi chuckled. "Fortunately, no. Much better, I must say. It's a new you."

"It's my biodata," Naruto said. "But everything's different, changed, except for my name."

"We wouldn't want them getting any clues of your lineage, right?" Kakashi chuckled again. "Who would have thought adopting Kushina's surname would serve a purpose other than for security."

Naruto turned to the next page. "Product Marketing Department-Concealed Weapons Team. You're placing me under her wing?"

"Since you're not that familiar with the nitty gritty of the company, it's better to start climbing the ladder from the bottom, know the ins and outs of the business." Kakashi replied. "Besides, Sakura finished at the top of her batch, you know. I'm sure you'll learn a lot from each other."

Naruto felt his heart race a little. "I'm not actually against the idea, Kakashi-sensei. Truth is, I wouldn't have it any other way," he said, closing the file. "And Sakura seems like a nice person."

"She is, don't worry," Kakashi quipped. "And before I forget, there's something you need to know."

An impatient look crept over Naruto's face. He had had enough surprises today to last him a month. "What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi paused for a moment, then answered, "Fugaku's second son, Sasuke Uchiha, is part of your team."

TO BE CONTINUED.