It had been three years since he had seen the baby last, since anyone had seen the baby really. The Third's surprise at the funeral hadn't gone as well as he had expected and as a result he had had to write a law that forbid anyone of talking about what had happened that night upon pain of death. Itachi knew why he had done it, to spare the boy as much pain as he could and so that he had a chance to create a few friends his own age. Most older shinobi had understood the circumstances of the sealing and hadn't been worried about it, it was the civilians and chunin, genin and academy students that had nearly rioted over the boy. So to keep the peace he had hid the boy from the public eye though every now and then there would be a new whispered rumor amongst the gossip mongers of the village.

Other things had happened as well, his own brother had grown into a happy three year old who was currently attempting potty training though he seemed more content to pee in their fathers office then the toilet. He himself had become a genin shortly after the attack and then a chunin just recently. His clan had been moved to a section of the village that had been dubbed the Uchiha Compound by the council, claiming that it was an honor. His father saw it as a betrayal to the clan and had informed him shortly after he became a genin that the council blamed the Uchiha for the Demon Fox attack.

Itachi could understand the reasoning behind the suspicion as Madara Uchiha had been infamous for his complete control over the Demon Fox. What he didn't understand was why the council made outrageous demands from the clan or why his father was being so stubborn. It seemed the only one who was actually attempting to resolve the whole issue was the Third but it was like trying to put out a forest fire with oil. Neither side was willing to give an inch and the Hokage was losing ground with every attempt at a compromise.

Itachi was still young but the pain he had witnessed from the hundreds who had died in the line of duty was unbearable. There was no end to the constant fighting in sight so the only thing Itachi could do was try to lessen it if only by a little. So that was why he had requested a moment of the Hokage's time, he wanted to find a peaceful solution between his clan and the village.

Currently he was sitting on the bench in front of the Hokage's Secretary's desk. The Hokage was in a meeting and could only squeeze him in between his next meeting. The secretary was a middle aged woman and a retired kunoichi if the scars on her hands and face were anything to go by. Her office that was also half a waiting room was small but clean and well lit with one wall dedicated to the greatest ninja who had come from Konoha.

Itachi had expected a quiet wait until his meeting with the Hokage. What he did not expect was a small yellow blur to run past him only to be caught by the secretary before it could reach the hallway that lead to the Hokage's office. The blur, as it turned out, was a small child with wild blond hair who was still attempting to running even though the secretary had a firm grip on his collar and was holding him a few inches from the floor.

A young woman in her early twenties stormed in a second later red in the face and shaking with rage. Itachi recognized her as one of the nurses at the hospital.

"That's it I'm done!" she declared and slapped a sheet of paper down on the desk.

The secretary didn't look at all pleased. She released the child and instructed him to take a seat on the bench before picking up the paper. "And what exactly is this supposed to be?" she asked.

"A list of all the things that little brat has done just since I started work this morning." The woman said sending a glare to the child.

Itachi turned his head to get a better look at the supposed devil child and was mildly surprised to see that it was the boy he had seen last over three years ago. He was smaller than Sasuke was and a bit scrawny and far too dirty for it to only be ten in the morning. Even though he was clearly malnourished he seemed to be full of energy as he swung his legs back and forth. He recalled that his mother Kushina had been the same way so perhaps it was genetic.

"He peed in your shoes?" the secretary asked with a raised eyebrow drawing Itachi's attention back to the two women.

"Yes! And I can't get the smell out." She said with a dirty look to Naruto.

"Well you've been his caregiver for five months now, have you tried to potty train him?" the older woman asked.

"That is not my job."

"Actually it is." She opened a desk draw and pulled out what appeared to be a contract, and flipped to a certain page. "You see right here were your duties are outlined."

The other woman had nothing to say.

"Now let's see what else you have here," the secretary said as she read down the list. "Ah, he drew on the wall."

"That's right. He took those crayons the Hokage so kindly gave him and scribbled all over the wall and then didn't even bother to clean it up." The woman said and sent a dirty look to the boy who wasn't even paying attention to her.

"You are aware that he is three years old and that as a group three year olds as a whole have been known to color walls." The secretary said dryly. "And where were you when he was drawing on the walls?"

The other woman floundered for a moment. "It doesn't matter anymore I'm quitting."

The secretary heaved a sigh before pulling out another stack of papers from her desk and handing them to the caregiver. "Go back down to the first floor and go into the room on the left then fill these papers out."

The woman snatched the papers and marched out of the room without a second glance. Clearly she didn't know that the room she had been sent to was the front office for the T&I division.

The secretary stood up and gathered the sheet of paper the former caregiver had left and a thick folder before locking her eyes on Naruto. "Don't you move from that seat, Naruto, I'll be right back."

The smaller then the average toddler stood up and gave her a salute before plopping back down next to Itachi. And for the few seconds she remained in sight he was the picture of a well behaved child, but then she was out of sight and that all changed. His first course of action was to prod Itachi in his arm several times.

"Yes?" He asked. Sasuke had done the same thing many times before.

The boy pointed to his headband. "Ninja!" he squealed in delight.

Itachi gave a nod. "That's right."

Naruto clapped his hands and giggled excitedly. He then poked Itachi in his chest, "Friend?"

He would be the first to admit that his social group consisted mostly of his immediate family, his cousin Shisui and a select few older shinobi. Friendswere not something he had many of because most everyone his age was so far behind him developmentally that they no longer attempted to approach him. And though he was considered a genius amoungst the vast majority of the village, he would be hard pressed to explain this all to a three year old.

So he nodded his head, he doubted he would see very much of the child so he didn't have to worry about the boys attachment to him. In all likelihood he would be forgotten by the boy's bed time.

It was then that the Secretary came back into the waiting area followed by the Hokage and three men who he had come to know as the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio who were renowned across all the nations for the battle tactics and teamwork.

"Old Man!" the toddler beside him yelled before flying of the bench into the Hokage's arms.

Itachi knew that anyone else would have been reprimanded had the spoke so disgracefully to the Hokage but the Third let out a long suffering sigh. "How many times must I tell you Naruto? Call me Hokage."

Naruto donned a serious look and shook his head. "No! Old Man." He said as though he were correcting the Hokage and pointed to the wrinkle and age spots on his face.

Behind him Inoichi, Choza and Shikaku chuckled before walking past and out of sight.

The Hokage put Naruto back down who ran over to the secretary who was holding paper and crayons out for him.

"Itachi." The Hokage said. "Let's hurry, my next meeting should be here shortly."

Itachi stood and followed the Hokage out of the waiting area but not before Naruto said good bye.

"Bye Friend!" he called in a loud voice.

Itachi gave the boy a small smile and a wave before following the Hokage to his office.

His mother and fathers faith in the sealing jutsu the Forth Hokage used appeared to be well funded. He was no expert of course but other than the marks on his cheeks the boy acted perfectly human and showed no signs of aggression or over intelligence. Clearly all the hate directed at the boy was from a small minority of uneducated civilians and shinobi. But hate always did seem to spread faster than anything else, hopefully the boy wouldn't become too effected by the villagers wrath.