Zabuza stared at the apartment. He and Haku had been given the apartment next door to Naruto and a small stipend for necessities until he could find a job. He really hadn't expected much considering the neighborhood and the condition of the building, but...

He experimentally flipped the switch next to the door.

At least it had electricity.

He turned the tap on the kitchen sink.

And running water.

He decided to wait until Haku arrived before they made any decisions about furniture. Haku had been called to speak with the Hokage after he'd been dismissed, and he had no idea how long that would take.

As it turned out, Haku ended up coming back nearly an hour later with a rather pensive expression on his face.

"Is something wrong Haku?" he asked.

Haku paused, apparently trying to find a way to put his turbulent thoughts into words.

"The Hokage told me that I could start a clan here in Konoha when I was ready." Haku finally said.

Zabuza paused. Thanks to several less than thoroughly thought out actions on his part, he was stuck in Konoha. Since Haku refused to leave his side, the teen was stuck here as well. He'd never really considered the future beyond his dream which had seemed to be a rather distant one after his first failure and an even more distant one now, since Konoha would be far more serious about taking him out if he left. The current administration in Kiri who had come into power after the sudden and mysterious death of Yagura had put his name on the rolls of Missing-nin more for show than anything, but they wouldn't hesitate to kill him out of principle if he ever returned. He'd always been a more in the moment kind of guy, but it looked like he would have to very seriously consider the future now.

"That will have to be your decision Haku." he said, trying to comfort the boy who he knew had family issues thanks to that waste of space father of his. "Until then though, I recommend that you don't wear women's clothing. You don't want to give any potential brides the wrong idea."

"Master Zabuza?" Haku asked, apparently having decided to take his words under consideration.

"Yes?" he replied.

"The Hokage wants to assign me to the hospital as a medic. Will...will that be alright?" Haku asked nervously. He could see that the boy was interested.

"Will you be paid?" he asked. The hospital would be a good place for the boy since was a damn good medic and had never really had the heart to kill anyone, and money was going to be tight for a while.

"Yes." Haku replied.

"That's fine then. Be sure to do a good job." he replied.

Naruto had been walking home from the Ichiraku ramen stand when the rather stern looking old man with Hyuuga eyes came up to him. The look in the man's eyes was rather uncommon for a denizen of Konoha. Instead of hatred or disgust, he had a look of...determination?

Before he even knew what happened, the old man had grabbed him, pulled him into a rather awkward position that he found surprisingly difficult to escape from, reached through his open jacket, and yanked his shirt up.

"And, here I'd been worrying all this time." The old man said smiling, and looking somewhat relieved.

"Experimental seal invented by the Fourth Hokage on the fly during the middle of an attack my ass. If that isn't an Uzumaki special, I'll eat my underwear." The man said as he let him go. The stern and ancient looking Hyuuga then ruffled his hair before walking off, whistling something as he did so.

That wasn't the strangest thing about the encounter that had been beyond weird as far as Naruto was concerned. Following the old man's pronouncement, the faces of a number of the adults in the area had taken on relieved expressions and people who had been scowling at him moments earlier seemed to be in such good moods for some reason that they didn't bother glaring at him as he passed.

"Ah Danzo, right on time. Come to speak with me about my decisions earlier today?" the Third Hokage said, not even bothering to look up form his paperwork at the person who had just entered his office.

"Yes." Danzo said, not bothering with small talk.

"You can easily figure out the obvious reasons as to why I allowed Momochi...er, Uzumaki Zabuza to live, considering the way Kushina reacted when her brothers died." The Hokage said as he idly flipped through a report.

"That is sensible," Danzo replied. "Such fury directed at the village rather than the enemy would be...unfortunate. I came regarding the boy though."

"Yes, Haku. You were going to recommend forcing him to start breeding now were you not?" The Hokage said as he stamped a supplies requisition form, still not looking up at his friend/rival/the bane of his existence.

"You know me too well." Danzo said almost sarcastically.

"That recommendation would be unwise. Considering the boy's nature, he will rebel in the only way he can by killing himself and you won't get very far if anywhere." The Hokage said. "Allowing the boy to breed in his own time will create stronger ties between both him and his future family and Konoha, allow him to put down roots as it were. As his current loyalties are to a person who will be staying in Konoha, rather than another village, this will be much easier. If his life in Konoha is relatively pleasant, he will pass on his love for the place as well as any horror stories he may have about his previous home."

"I don't see how that..." Danzo started before the Hokage who had yet to look up from his desk cut him off.

"Other than the fact that he can and will be encouraged to have a large family rather than the one or two you might get using your method? I prefer my shinobi to be truly loyal to their home, rather than be conditioned to be so. Conditioning can and - in the past - has broken quite spectacularly. There is also the strong possibility that other families with Kekkei Genkai that were sitting on the fence will see how the boy is treated and use that to decide whether or not to come here in the future as well. Other villages are snatching up lines that could be ours if we play our cards right in this situation." The Hokage replied.

"You know, there are times when I remember why you were chosen to be Hokage." Danzo replied after a moment of thought.

"The "Soft option" isn't always the wrong option Danzo, especially in this case. Remember, if that boy or any of his known offspring "mysteriously vanish" you'll be answering to me or my successor, and probably have to deal with an exceedingly upset Naruto as he seems to have claimed Haku as one of his few friends." The Hokage said, clearly dismissing the Head of ROOT.

Uzumaki Masao stared into the distance. His first grandson...his first grandson had...If he hadn't, his first grandson wouldn't have...

When he had left Uzushiogakure long ago, he had thought this would be a nice place to settle with his wife, son, and the new baby that was on the way. It hadn't been too close to the ocean that he had feared since his father had died, it wasn't too rainy like Lightning and Fire were, and despite being somewhat desolate, wasn't a desert like the Wind country was.

For many years, this place had been just as eerily beautiful and majestic as it had been to him when he had come here for the Chunin exams as a child, but now...

His son hadn't been too interested in the Uzumaki clan techniques, preferring flashy jutsu that suited his fiery personality and chakra type perfectly. His grandson however...His grandson had absorbed every lesson he had given him like a sponge, and had paid for that with his life.

He should have burned the old scrolls and closed the door on that part of the past long ago. They had not been worth the price his family had paid for them.

His grandson couldn't have handed over the clan techniques if he had wanted to.

Looking at his son, he could see that the man was thinking what he was. With Kinmaru gone, this place was no longer home. But, how could they leave? And, if they did leave, where would they go?

Edited 2-27-17.