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Naruto was sitting on one of the chairs in the Hokage's office, apparently waiting for the arrival of the Sandaime's former teammate. Naruto never thought about what Hiruzen did before becoming Hokage, and he realized that at one point the aged Hokage had also probably been a genin. That one thought gave him hope that maybe he could become Hokage. Sure he always shouted that he would to the villagers on the street, but there was always a bit of doubt.
He heard a tapping coming from the hallway and looked to Sarutobi questioningly. It sounded... ominous, if he could give it a word. The tapping continued before it stopped right outside the door to the office.
Hiruzen sighed, Danzo never knocked, he simply made his presence known with his cane and waited patiently for the Hokage to say, "Enter."
The door opened and Naruto saw a man walk in who, despite his frail and crippled appearance, practically emanated power and control. So, this must be Danzo, the man who had something to do with Naruto's new eyes.
"Hokage-sama. May I inquire as to why I've been summoned?" Danzo asked before looking to his right to see Naruto staring at him. He looked back at Hiruzen and saw the serious glare on his face, and immediately knew what he was summoned for. He chuckled before letting out a cough, "I see, this is unexpected. I assumed that it would at the very least take until he graduated as a shinobi to be revealed but here we stand, not a full day after I released him back into his apartment."
"So you do have something to do with this." said Hiruzen, "Why would you do such a thing? Surely you didn't think that we wouldn't notice eventually."
"Oh I knew you would notice, and put the pieces together over time. I had simply hoped that the original plan of the seal coming off during a mission would take place, and that it would be revealed after my death." said Danzo casually.
"Wait, what do you mean 'after your death'?" asked Sarutobi.
Danzo gave a weary sigh, "I'm dying, Hiruzen. I've already gotten my affairs in order and soon you will be getting an influx of ANBU level shinobi entering your ranks after I do the best I can to give them their emotions back. My legacy will be small, but it is those eyes and my shinobi that I will be leaving in the wake of my death."
Hiruzen didn't know how to feel. On one hand he was flat out pissed that Danzo would go under his nose and implant his grandson in all but blood with the eyes of an already cursed clan, but on the other hand he was saddened by the imminent death of his once best friend, and could understand the urge to leave something behind. This could actually work in Naruto's favor as long as the village didnt find out about it until he could protect himself. He knew that this would garner even more hatred from the villagers and even the shinobi, but they already hated him enough to attack him in the streets, so he would simply have to hide it until he was strong enough.
"Hey old man, what are you dying of? Don't they have a cure?" asked Naruto with some concern. Even if this guy was the one who gave him these new eyes which he still didn't understand, and made him lose the memories of a week, he didn't want anyone to die if he could help it.
Danzo chuckled, "Young man, I am not a person you would want to keep alive if you knew some of the things that I have done. However, I appreciate the concern." He looked at Hiruzen in the eyes, "Hokage-sama, either you are going to tell him about his burden or I am. He needs to know why the village hates him if he is to accept it and grow into a shinobi worthy of the trust I have placed in him. Your naivete regarding the issue has always irritated me, and now that I have nothing left to lose, it WILL be revealed."
Sarutobi had slightly wide eyes as he thought about this perilous situation. There was no hiding it now, Naruto had his eyes on him and even if Hiruzen had Danzo removed and forbidden to say anything on the matter again, the seeds of mistrust had grown in Naruto already. The Hokage had always told Naruto that he didn't know why the villagers hated him so much, and now that Naruto knew otherwise, he practically had to tell him or risk the blond losing his faith in his most trusted confidant.
The old man sighed, "Naruto-kun, what I am about to say is an S-Class village secret, with the punishment of revelation being immediate execution. You are immune to this law, but I would urge you to keep it a secret and only tell those that you trust implicitly."
Naruto nodded, apprehensive about learning why everyone seemed to hate him besides a couple in his class and a total of four adults in the village.
The Sandaime began, "How old are you, Naruto-kun?"
"Eight."
"And what happened eight years ago, on your birthday?"
"The Kyuubi attacked the vi-" Naruto cut himself off as his eyes widened, "Wait a second, that's why they hate me?! I'm the Kyuubi?!"
"You are NOT the Kyuubi, Bijuu cannot be destroyed, they can only be sealed. The Yondaime Hokage, my successor and predecessor, sealed the body of the Kyuubi into the only child born that night, you. You are not the Kyuubi, you are it's jailer. Just as when you seal an object into a scroll, the scroll doesn't become the object."
Naruto had tears in his eyes, "But then why do they hate me? If they know I'm not the Kyuubi, then why do they kick me out of stores? Why do they attack me on my birthday? I don't deserve their hatred! I deserve to hate THEM!" Naruto shouted with anger in his voice.
Surprisingly it was Danzo who replied, "If you hate them, then hate them. Unlike my naive teammate, I believe that hatred can be extremely powerful as a weapon. Darkness is a tool, and if you bottle it up then eventually you will snap and become the very monster that the citizens of this village seem to believe you are. Prove them wrong! Use your hatred to grow strong with your own power. The power of the Kyuubi, and those eyes I gave you are merely tools to help you grow. Use them, and prove to this village that you are not the Kyuubi, but the only one with the power to protect them from it!"
Naruto was shocked into silence, he didn't know what to say. Nobody had ever told him that hatred could be a good thing, they always told him it was wrong. But what this man was saying made hatred sound like a good thing. He didn't want to become a monster, and it sounded like expressing his hatred was the only way to do it.
In a manner uncharacteristic of him, Naruto bowed his head and said, "Thank you Danzo-sama, you have given me a lot to think about." before he stood from his chair and left the office.