Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the papers before him. Like every day, he had to sign off and assign missions. He sat hunched over in his chair, deciding which pile to tackle first: completed missions or unassigned mission. Signing off on completed missions would be the easier task. He would scan the file before putting his signature at the bottom and placing it alphabetically in the proper drawers. Assigning missions was harder because he had to evaluate which of his many teams would be best suited for the missions. The problems got worse when the best team was already on a mission or there were multiple places a team would fit. Going with the philosophy to do the hard task first, Sarutobi started on the list of unassigned missions.

The D-ranks went to the new genin, while the C-ranks when to genin with more experience. B-ranks and A-ranks were assigned to chuunin and jounin. It seemed like everything would fit together fine, until he realized there were more C-rank missions than available genin teams. He went through the list of missions again, this time marking the more important missions. Some of the simple ones would have to wait. After spending another thirty minutes pouring over the papers, Sarutobi still had one emergency mission that was left unassigned. It was an escort mission from Konoha to one of the Land of Fire's border villages. The client wasn't nobility, but he was the leader of a small village. He had heard enough about rouge shinobi to refuse to enter the forest without an escort.

Going over the list of available genin for a third time that day. The only team that wasn't away on a mission or about to be was Team Minato. He had told Minato the previous day that he would allow his team a break from assignments out of the village so his team could adjust to a fourth person and train for the chuunin exams. It looked like he would have to break that promise. Sarutobi sincerely hoped this wouldn't affect Team Minato's performance in the chuunin exams.

oOoOo

Where was it? Obito crawled across the floor to look under his bed for the second time. His goggles where missing. Obito sat on his knees and surveyed his room again. Most people would be surprised to know that Obito was actually a very neat person. He put things away after he had used them, he did his laundry, and he made sure everything was in the correct place before leaving. The only signs of his desperate search through his sleeping quarters were an unmade bed and a few articles of clothing lying next to a hamper.

It was seven-thirty in the morning; he was supposed to meet up with his team at eight. Upon reaching the conclusion that his goggles had been taken, Obito left the house through his window. He knew who had taken them. Uchiha Yakumi.

Yakumi had been bullying Obito since he was five. At first Yakumi had hit Obito, but once Obito started the academy and learned to fight back, Yakumi stopped the physical beatings. Now he simply took Obito's weapons or goggles. Obito had thought about getting himself a backup of all of his equipment, but it cost too much money. He didn't make that much from missions and his parents wouldn't pay for them. Obito ran down the block, several shopkeepers waving to him as he passed. He made sure he had his smile plastered on. They probably assumed he was running late for something. Which he almost was.

Obito stopped in by the entrance into the Uchiha compound. Looking behind him to see if anyone was watching, Obito slipped down the street along the wall. The spot he was looking for was about a half mile down the road. He knelt on the ground and probed the wall for the loose bricks. He had discovered long ago where Yakumi hid his things. Obito had decided not to gloat about finding the spot, which turned out to be a smart move. Yakumi still believed Obito had no idea where his things were hidden. It was another good thing that even an Uchiha without a sharingan could use genjutsu. Yakumi never even noticed that Obito had removed the items.

Obito pulled out the loose brick. Deep inside the wall were his goggles. Reaching inside, Obito removed his goggles. There was a new scratch on them from being shoved into the wall. Putting the brick back in place, Obito stood up and started to run again. Now he was late. Dodging civilian as he hurried to the training fields, Obtio saw a group of kids huddled around a tree. He slowed down to get a better look. A group of five to six year olds were trying to coax a cat out of a tree. The cat was stubbornly refusing, hissing every time one of the kids tried to reach up and grab it. It only took Obito a moment to make a decision. I was going to be late anyway.

oOoOo

"Sorry I'm late. There was a group of kids trying to get a cat out of a tree and I stopped to help." Obito rambled, trying to defend his late arrival. Minato sighed. When was Obito going to grow up?

"Did you get the cat out?" Naruto piped up. Minato stared at him. Did he actually believe Obito? Minato watched Obito's face and saw surprise there. He must've known his story was unbelievable too. Though Minato knew he should count his blessings, Obito was only forty minutes late today.

"Uhh…yeah. The kids were really happy." Obito rubbed the back of his neck. He turned to Minato. "So what are we training on today?"

"Today's training is canceled. The Sandaime has assigned our team a mission." Minato started. "It's a…"

"Yes! Finally a mission. I hope its super cool!" Naruto was nearly jumping with excitement. Obito was staring at Naruto strangely, like he thought Naruto was some kind of enigma.

Minato continued explaining. "It's a C-rank mission. Our client is one of the Land of Fire's border village leaders. We need to escort him to his village. The journey is a two day journey, so we should be back in Konoha in four to five days. The village leader isn't a target, so we shouldn't encounter any enemy shinobi. I want you to remain cautious, though. This is your first mission as a new team and things aren't always what they appear to be." Minato thought he heard Naruto snort. He looked over at the boy. Naruto just grinned at him. "When are we leaving?"

"I'm going to the Hokage's Manor to meet the client. You four can go home and get your things. I'm sorry the mission is last minute, but it appears we were the only team that was available." Rin nodded and started off towards her house, Kakashi walking behind her. Obito left a few seconds after them, mumbling something about 'rushing here for nothing.'

All that was left was Naruto. "I don't really have anything to grab. All of my equipment is with me." Minato detected a hint of loneliness in the boy's voice. It must be hard for him, not even having someone that he needed to let know he was leaving. "You can come with me to the Hokage's Manor." Naruto grinned a little wider. "Please let me do the talking." Naruto agreed, but Minato suspected he had no intention of remaining quiet.

oOoOo

A C-rank mission wasn't really what Naruto had wanted, but it seemed like they were the only team available. Minato was walking next to him, whistling. He stopped and asked, "What do you think of Konoha?"

It was actually a hard question. Naruto knew more about what was going on than anyone seemed to think. He needed an answer that would be appropriate for someone who had only been here a few days. "The places that I've been to here are nice. Even though Konoha is in war shopkeepers don't take that as an excuse to inflate prices." Naruto looked at the shops lining the street. Merchants were at their stands, smiling and waving to anyone who passed by. "It's the people here that amaze me. They're so friendly. Nowhere else that I've ever been has had merchants wave to a passerby, not to get their business but just to say hello. The just seems to be a different spirit here. Do you think that's what the shinobi meant by the Will of Fire?"

Minato didn't answer immediately, instead waving towards several villagers. "I think you need to figure that out for yourself." It was such an elusive answer. If Naruto didn't already know the answer, he would have said so. Letting Minato's comment slide, Naruto looked up at the Hokage Mountain. There were only three faces on it now, not the five he was used to. Back home they had still been working on adding his face. He had only been Hokage for seven months. He wondered briefly if time was moving normally back home or if he would just go back to the time he left at when he returned. That was if he found a way back.

"Do you want to be Hokage?" Minato started beside him. The question seemed to come out of nowhere.

Minato glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eye for a minute before nodding. "Yes, ever since I was little. I've worked hard and tried to make myself the best candidate for the job."

"Did anyone ever doubt you could do it? Did they make fun of you?" Naruto didn't know why he was asking. A desire to know more about the man who was his father has suddenly surfaced. Up until that point, Naruto had been viewing Minato as the future Yondaime. He had recognized that the Yondaime was his father, but outside of one other time, he had never thought of this man as his father.

Minato took the first step that lead up the mountain. Turning around, he faced Naruto. "There was this one kunoichi in the academy who doubted that I could become Hokage. She thought I looked flaky. She made fun of me and teased me about my dream. At some point, her opinion was all that mattered to me. I just wanted her to acknowledge that I could accomplish my dream." Minato blinked, surprised that he had told a near stranger something so personal.

Naruto knew Minato was talking about Uzumaki Kushina, his mother. "And have you changed her mind?"

Minato's lips twitched upward, a lazy smile spreading across his features. "I think so." Minato continued walking up the steps. Naruto allowed him to lead the way into the Hokage's Manor. The receptionist had them wait several minutes before sending them into the Sandaime's office.

The Sandaime was standing, clearing his desk off. This was the first time Naruto had seen the Sandaime of this time stand. His back was straighter, making him taller than he had been in the future. "Ah, Minato-san and Naruto-san, I do believe you are here about the mission?" Minato nodded. "I apologize for breaking my promise. I didn't think there would be so many missions at once." Shuffling through the papers, the Sandime pulled out the mission file. "Here it is. The clients name is Sato Keiji. He is the leader of a small border village. He heard about several rouge shinobi and didn't want to travel through the woods without an escort. He should be joining us shortly."

"As soon as Kakashi, Rin, and Obito join us we will be ready to leave, Sandaime-sama." Minato spoke. Naruto thought it strange that Minato had spoken with so much respect in his voice. He had expected the Sandaime and Minato to be closer than that.

"That could be a long wait, Minato-san. Obito-kun had a habit of running late." The Sandaime was smiling. Naruto knew that smile. It was the same one the Sandaime always gave the chuunin's who has spent many afternoons chasing him down. Naruto felt a small comfort, knowing that the Sandaime treated Obito in a similar way to how he had treated him. At least the Sandaime's treatment had nothing to do with the fox.

"If he isn't here when Kakashi and Rin show up, I'll go look for him." Naruto offered. The Sandaime and Minato both looked like they had forgotten he was there.

A knock on the door stopped the Sandaime's reply.

At the Sandaime's request, Minato opened the door. A middle age man stood in the doorway. The man was clean shaven and had black hair with gray specks in it. He was short, but his confidant stance made up for his height. Naruto figured this was the village leader. "Sato Keiji." The man introduced himself as he walked passed Minato and into the Sandaime's office. Naruto struggled to see a man like this fearing the woods. "Is everything in order for my trip?"

"We are waiting on the rest of the team to be here." The Sandaime said. Keiji grunted in response.

Not a minute later, Obito burst through the doors without knocking. "Wait, I'm here first. I could've taken more time to pack." Obito complained. The Sandaime and Minato looked shocked at Obito's early arrival. Naruto studied Obito's expression. His attitude didn't match his body language. Obito had complained about being first, but Naruto had seen his body relax, like he had thought he was going to be late and was relieved when he was not.

Kakashi and Rin arrived at the same time. Naruto thought it strange that the two were usually together. He thought Kakashi was a loner without any friends, but it looked like he didn't mind Rin's company.

With a slight bow to the Hokage, Minato led his team and client out of the building and towards Konoha's gate. He was explaining the path they were going to take to the village leader. Keiji remained confident in his step. Why would someone who wasn't afraid ask for a shinobi escort? Either Keiji was a great actor and was terrified in ide or this mission was going to be a lot like Naruto's first C-rank.

A/N: I was going to start with the chuunin exams, but I felt that the team needed more time together. Writing the characters has become easier, with the exception of Rin. I just don't know what to do with her. Thank you for reading and please review. I was shocked with how many reviews I've gotten for the past two chapters. Thank you to those who have already reviewed.