A/N

I decided to keep going with this story after all; it's just too much fun.

Enjoy! :D

Chapter 4

A few days later

"I've told you before that being Hokage isn't all about handing out missions or standing in front of a crowd with a badass coat." Tsunade lectured, as they walked down the hallway.

Naruto groaned. He could see where this was going; somewhere troublesome.

"As Hokage, there will be people you will have to deal with, people who may not necessarily like you." Tsunade continued. "Especially you; there will doubtless be older, more experienced shinobi who will resent you for your quick rise to power."

Naruto didn't disagree, and Tsunade could tell that he was listening carefully. That was one thing about Naruto; he wanted to be everyone's friend.

"I'm taking you to meet the ANBU who will be protecting you during the inauguration. These will be the people protecting your life; try not to piss any of them off."

Tsunade stopped in front of a door, which Naruto recognized as an informal meeting room. Naruto couldn't feel or hear anything from the other side, which meant that it must be sealed; probably for privacy. Naruto smiled slightly; he liked these ANBU already.

Tsunade grabbed hold of the doorknob, then turned to look at Naruto. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself, then nodded at Tsunade. She opened the door, and stepped inside, Naruto following closely, his face perfectly neutral.

"SURPRISE!"

The wall of sound almost blasted Naruto back out of the room.

He slowly stood up, out of the stance he had automatically taken, surveying the room, beginning to smile.

The occupants of the room burst out laughing, Tsunade in particularly. The female Hokage was bent over at the waist, clutching to the doorknob in order to stay upright while laughing hysterically.

When she finally stopped, she was gasping for breath. She pointed at Naruto, still clutching her stomach. "You...you should have seen the look on your face!" She gasped, bursting out into fresh laughter.

A few giggles scattered throughout the rest of the room, but other than that the shinobi stayed mostly quiet, waiting for a reaction from Naruto.

Naruto scowled at Tsunade, then moved past her, playfully bumping her into the door as he passed.

Tsunade let out an oof as her cheek was smushed painfully against the wooden door.

Naruto grinned, taking his seat at the head of the table. The rest of the shinobi sat, too, pulling out their chairs and sitting on either side of the table.

Tsunade crossed the room to sit across from him, and promptly put her legs up on the table. Reclining in her seat, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, as if she wasn't paying attention. Naruto ignored her, busy examining the shinobi around him.

On his right hand side, Sasuke sat, looking at him with a slightly haughty expression, as usual. He wore an amused smirk on his face, and he met Naruto's gaze unwaveringly. Next to him, Sakura sat perfectly straight, her hands in her lap, smiling at Naruto.

On the other side of Sakura, Sai sat, his face betraying absolutely no emotion. At least he had finally stopped smiling at Naruto with that fake smile he hated. On Sai's other side, Ino sat, reclined in her chair, her impatience obvious.

Chouji and Shikamaru finished the right side of the table, Chouji's face surprisingly neutral, Shikamaru's as bored as usual.

On the other side of Tsunade, Tenten winked at Naruto. Next to her, Lee smiled, his teeth flashing, and gave Naruto a thumbs up. Neji sat with his back perfectly straight, his face neutral, his posture as perfect as any clan head's.

Shino was a mirror of Neji, observing Naruto calmly behind his sunglasses. Hinata smiled shyly at him, but didn't look down.

Finally, directly to his left, Kiba was grinning at Naruto, almost as if they were sharing a joke. Between Kiba and Naruto, Akamaru sat on the floor, wagging his tail slightly when Naruto looked at him.

Naruto let the silence drag out for another minute, waiting. He shifted his gaze from ninja to ninja, not quickly, but never pausing long enough to force anyone to look away, either.

Other than Tenten's wink and Lee's thumbs up, they made no other movement, simply waiting on Naruto, as if they realized this was a test.

Finally, Naruto decided he had kept them waiting long enough.

"I couldn't come up with a better team if I made it myself." He said finally, smiling.

A collective sigh was issued from every member of the room, even if Neji tried to cover it. Naruto saw Sakura relax out of the corner of his eye, smiling again.

"Finally, brat. I was wondering how long you were going to keep us waiting."

"Keep you waiting?" Naruto asked incredulously, slipping out of Hokage mode. "I can't even count the number of times I've seen you fall asleep on the job this last week!"

"That's a lie! I don't ever fall asleep at work!" Tsunade said, standing up out of her chair to point a finger at Naruto.

"Yeah, right, like you're fooling anyone. And you snore too!" He exclaimed.

"I do NOT snore!" Tsunade exclaimed indignantly.

"You're right." Naruto nodded. "It's more like listening to an elephant wheeze after running a mile." He said thoughtfully.

"Hokage-sama." Shino interrupted calmly. Both Naruto and Tsunade turned to look at him. "Perhaps you could continue this conversation at another time?"He asked. "You're agitating my kikai bugs."

It was a total lie, and they both knew it, but Tsunade retook her seat and Naruto nodded, both grinning.

"There's something else you should know, as well, brat." Tsunade said. "All of the people in this room, even the ones who weren't before, are now ANBU. After you take over, they will remain ANBU, and be your personal ANBU. That means that you can command them however you wish, without going through ANBU command."

"And, " Shikamaru added, "If you keep us, it means that we'll be protecting you at future public events. Like the Chunin Exam finals, for example."

"Sounds good to me." Naruto grinned.

"Good." Tsunade rose from her chair. "I'll leave the plans to you." She paused at the door. "Oh, by the way. The Hokage's Inauguration is just as much of a stunt as it is an exchange of power." She smiled. "Put on a good show."

Naruto, Ino, Sakura, and Kiba all grinned, while Shikamaru dropped his forehead into his palms. "So troublesome."

xxxx

As the rest of the Konoha 13 filed out, Naruto spoke up. "Hey Hinata, will you stay behind for a second?"

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura all froze. Ino and Sakura turned to look at Naruto, then each other, smiled, and walked out the door, whispering.

Naruto got up, and closed the door behind them. He activated the seals too, considering the rather high probability of unwanted listeners.

He turned to look at Hinata, who was standing, looking slightly nervous.

"You didn't really say much during the meeting. What do you think of our plans?" He asked curiously.

Hinata smiled a little. "It sounds...fun." She said honestly.

Naruto grinned. "Great. I'm starving, you wanna go get some lunch?"

Hinata froze, as if unable to believe her ears. Naruto smiled again...she was so freakin' cute like that.

"W-with you?" She asked hesitantly. She hadn't wanted to believe that the dinner was more than a one-time thing. She didn't want to get her hopes up, only to have them crushed.

"Well yeah. Unless you have plans to eat with someone else..." Naruto said, teasing.

"No!" Hinata burst out. "I-I'd like that."

Naruto grinned, and offered her his hand.

She blushed furiously, but took his hand, unable to keep the smile from spreading on her face as they walked out of the Hokage Tower.

xxxx

A couple days later, the day of Naruto's inauguration

Naruto turned to look as the door opened, and smiled at Sakura. She was the first one to enter, and she closed the door softly behind her, and returned Naruto's smile.

She looked slightly shocked as she took in Naruto's new look. "How do I look?" He asked.

He was wearing navy blue pants, as usual, but instead of the normal undershirt and jacket, he wore a long-sleeved black shirt and his green flak jacket. Naruto almost never wore his flak jacket, saving it for more formal occasions, which was odd since it was meant for field use. His pants and shirt had been ironed, and were creased perfectly and wrinkle free.

She stepped closer, eying him critically. She licked her fingers, and pressed down a stray golden lock that was sticking out at an odd angle. She frowned when it refused to stay down, and was about to try again when a voice from behind made her freeze.

"Would you stop mothering him, Sakura? He looks fine."

Sakura whirled around. "Would you shut up Ino! You..."

Naruto tuned them out as Sakura and Ino began their usual bickering. He sighed as the two banshees started raising their voices, and plopped down on the couch against the wall.

They were in a narrow, but long, rectangular room, light streaming in from a few small windows to his left. The door in front of him, where Sakura and Ino had entered, led out into the hallway. To his left a second door led out onto a decently sized balcony, from which there was a staircase up to the back of the roof of the Hokage's tower.

The door opened silently, and Sasuke entered, eyes scanning the room instantly. He glanced again at Ino and Sakura, then turned to look at Naruto. He shook his head slightly in exasperation, and Naruto grinned back at him.

Sasuke crossed over to sit on the wide armrest, to the left of Naruto. Naruto took a second to wonder why the hell Sasuke didn't just sit on the couch like a normal person. A moment later, the door opened, and Naruto was suddenly glad that Sasuke hadn't sat next to him on the couch.

Hinata opened the door, shut it behind her, then turned to look at the two girls that were still arguing. She turned to look at Naruto, who rose his eyebrows and grinned at her.

She smiled, partly at Naruto, and partly in happiness at the familiarity in the gesture. He patted the couch beside him, and she blushed slightly before moving to sit beside him. She sat stiffly, her hands on her thighs, very aware of Sasuke's presence just on the other side of Naruto. However, the blonde took her hand off her thigh anyway, and held it in his hand.

Hinata shot a glance at Sasuke, who was looking at them with an amused smirk on his face.

"About damn time." Sasuke said in amusement.

"What was that, Teme?" Naruto asked, with a slight edge to his voice.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows innocently."I said it's about damn time Ino and Sakura shut up."

Hinata and Naruto glanced to the side, and were surprised to find out that the two Kunoichi had, indeed, shut up. Both of them were staring in shock at their clasped hands. Then they turned around and started whispering furiously to each other. Apparently the rumors in the Hokage's Tower had been true, after all.

Hinata blushed slightly, while both Naruto and Sasuke rolled their eyes.

Girls.

The door opened again, and Kiba and Shino entered.

Kiba grinned instantly upon spotting them on the couch, his eyes glinting in mischief.

"Hey Naruto!" He called, making a large show of sniffing the air. "I smell a vixen in heat...can you smell it too?"

Naruto was opening his mouth to reply when he was interrupted.

"Kiba! You're annoying! Why don't you go hump a fire hydrant or something?" Ino asked loudly.

Kiba's neck got a little red. "What is it with me and fire hydrants? I swear you've got some kind of weird fetish!"

"You'd be surprised how many girls have crazy ideas about firemen." Hinata stated calmly.

Ino swiveled her head from Hinata to Kiba rapidly, beginning to panic. "What? No-no that's...that's not what I meant at all!"

"You'd probably really like to see my long hose wouldn't you." Kiba said, grinning."Or maybe it's the uniform?" He gestured down at his clothes.

Naruto started laughing uncontrollably.

Ino was blushing now. "You...you perverted FREAK!" She yelled, raised her fist, and started chasing Kiba around the room, while Naruto tried extremely hard not to fall off the couch.

"Oh, honestly." Sakura said.

"Get a room." Sasuke told them, pretending to be slightly annoyed. He was betrayed by the wide smirk on his face.

Shino waited for the two to fly past him before crossing the room calmly, leaning against the wall next to Hinata's end of the couch.

"YOSH!" The loud yell announced Lee's presence. "The amount of youth in this room is overflowing!"

"It's too early for this." Shikamaru sighed behind him.

xxxx

Sasuke sighed impatiently. He still didn't know why they'd agreed to meet here so early. Having these specific people in the same room for any amount of time, when they weren't on a mission, was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Sai." He said abruptly. The pale, emotionless ninja looked up from where he was sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Let's go." It was a little early, but Sasuke needed to get out.

Sai nodded, and rose to his feet, following Sasuke out to the balcony.

xxxx

Iruka stood next to Anko, Kakashi and Kurenai in the crowd. The sun was high enough in the sky now that it was no longer shining in their eyes, but still early enough to avoid the midday heat.

Kurenai's son was sitting on Kakashi's shoulders staring at the top of the Hokage Tower. The three of them had arrived early, but the crowd was already large, and they were still a fair distance from the tower. Now, however, the crowd was enormous. It filled every street within sight of the Hokage's Tower, citizens and ninja alike crammed together on the streets.

After all, people had come from all across the continent to see the Hero of the Fourth Shinobi War designated as Hokage.

Kurenai's son gasped with the rest of the crowd as two enormous birds rose off the tower. One was a golden hawk, which had to be one of Sasuke's hawk summons. The other was white as paper with harsh black outlines, clearly Sai's work.

The two birds rose in the air quickly, gaining altitude. Once they were high enough in the sky to be merely thumb-sized, they stopped rising and started circling the square.

"Shouldn't they have been there a little earlier?" Iruka asked.

"You're forgetting that they're the show." Kakashi responded. "There are other ANBU around the square already."

There were? Iruka craned his neck. He hadn't seen any.

"You're not supposed to be able to see them, silly." Anko laughed beside him. "You're supposed to focus on the illustrious Konoha 13, while the real security remains in the shadows."

Kakashi frowned slightly, but didn't contradict her.

"How long till it's supposed to start?" Kurenai asked.

Kakashi had just checked, "It's supposed to be another 15 minutes. But if Sai and Sasuke kick-started things...who knows. Tsunade-sama could be here any minute now."

xxxx

Shino came in from the balcony. "Tsunade-sama has informed me that we are starting earlier than planned. Let's go." The ninja quickly hopped to their feet, heading towards the door.

"Why's she changing things up? We weren't supposed to start for another 15 minutes." Naruto asked.

"She probably doesn't want to lose the excitement created by the emo-princes and their wonderbirds." Shikamaru said sarcastically.

Sakura punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't call him that, you know he hates it!"

Shikamaru rubbed his shoulder, "He's not even here right now you crazy woman." He rubbed his shoulder again, and Sakura frowned. Maybe she'd punched him harder than she thought.

They all jumped up on the roof, starting to smile in excitement.

"Masks." Shikamaru said calmly, next to Naruto.

"Beast Human Clone!" Kiba exclaimed from behind them, and Naruto turned to see two identical grins as Kiba and Akamaru slipped on their masks.

Naruto grinned. "You guys look awesome. Where's Baa-chan?"

Shikamaru pointed. "Shhh. It's starting."

xxxx

Iruka held his hand over his eyes as he looked up at the top of the Hokage Tower. Sure enough, there was Tsunade-sama, wearing the Hokage's coat, her hands on the railing. Behind her, two ANBU flanked her in their normal black and silver attire.

The crowd had hushed when she appeared, and she spoke now, her voice resounding clearly throughout the streets.

"Good morning! I am Senju Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage! To all our visitors; welcome to Konoha!"

She paused for a moment as the crowd went nuts, the amount of noise making Iruka wince and wish he had brought earplugs.

"Normally I would have some lengthy speech prepared for you. But I have managed to find a scapegoat-I mean a successor."

She paused while some among the crowd laughed.

"And quite frankly, I'm more than ready to retire, and get the hell out of this heavy coat." She paused again. "So without further ado, allow me to introduce the future Rokudaime Hokage, Uzamaki Naruto!"

She stepped back and to the side as the crowd erupted into cheers.

The sound of a bass drum being struck echoed throughout the streets. Where the Hokage had been standing, suddenly nine figures had appeared, crouched on the railing.

They were wearing black pants, black long-sleeved shirts, and black flak jackets. They all wore red arm and shin bracers, and had black, red and orange capes that fluttered in the breeze like fire. And their masks, instead of being white, were black and painted with the orange face of the Kyuubi.

Half the crowd had started muttering amongst themselves, and the other half were going nuts. Iruka really, really wished he had brought earplugs.

The nine figures surveyed the crowd for a few moments longer, then disappeared again. Iruka looked around, and realized that they were all standing on top of a different roof around the square, looking down at the crowd.

The crowd went nuts again, and Iruka turned back to see that Naruto was now standing by the railing, two of his ANBU flanking him. Behind him to the right, he could spot the long, midnight-blue hair of Hinata. To his left, spiky brown hair identified Kiba.

"I'm surprised he didn't pick two of the shorter members to make himself look taller!" Anko yelled, shouting to be heard over the crowd.

"I hardly think he needs any help looking tall. He practically towers over Tsunade now!" Iruka shouted back.

xxxx

Kiba smirked bemusedly behind his mask. They had been standing here for 20 seconds now, and the crowd was still roaring. The amount of applause and cheering was almost deafening, even from this distance.

Naruto smiled good-naturedly, and finally raised his hand, trying to quiet the crowd.

They didn't want to be quiet, but they shut up for Naruto. Naruto cleared his throat, then activated the jutsu that strengthened his voice. He didn't really understand how the jutsu worked, but it did, and that was all that mattered to Naruto.

"Thank you!"

The crowd was about as quiet as it was going to get.

"Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to be Hokage. At first, it was because I wanted the acknowledgement. Then, it was because I wanted to protect the people precious to me. Now, I think I've realized that it's because it's in my blood."

The crowd roared. There had never really been an announcement about Naruto's parentage...but things like that had a way of getting out. Especially after the Fourth Shinobi War, when Naruto became an even bigger topic of conversation.

"Ever since I was made a genin, 6 years ago, I have given my all to protect Konoha and my friends. That's not about to change now."

"As Hokage, I promise to protect Konoha to the very best of my ability. That includes protecting it from the old farts that have been running this place for WAY too long." He grinned cheekily at Tsunade, who rolled her eyes in response.

xxxx

"That's Naruto all right!" Iruka yelled as the crowd laughed.

Anko facepalmed.

Tsunade walked forward again, to stand facing Naruto.

Kakashi absently noted that one of the birds was rapidly descending out of the sky.

"Well, I don't know about that last part, but, I have named you as my successor, Uzamaki Naruto. Do you accept the position as the Rokudaime Hokage, and all the duties it entails?" She asked.

"Hai."

Tsunade removed a scroll from her sleeve, and a long white coat appeared in her arms.

At the same time, Sasuke was jumping off his hawk summon to land on the roof next to the Hokage's tower, looming over the Hokage. At the same time, another figure rose on the roof opposite.

Kakashi felt a smirk tug at his mouth underneath his mask.

xxxx

Sasuke watched Ryuu make handseals with his Sharingan, matching him seal for seal. He had to make sure they finished the jutsu at the same time, after all.

They inhaled as much air as they could, at the exact moment. Still in sync, they pursed their lips and exhaled as forcefully as possible, giving birth to two identical fiery dragon heads, which were followed by a long, twisting, body.

The dragons ascended, intertwining as they rose, spinning around each other.

"Then let it be known that from this day forward, Konoha has a new Hokage!"

Sasuke didn't glance downward; all his attention was focused on his jutsu, forcing the dragon higher and higher.

xxxx

Naruto resisted the urge to glance upwards as thousands of people gasped. He slipped his arms through the coat. It was white, with a high collar, and a low hem that fell to the back of his ankles. It was painted with orange flames along the hem, and the kanji for The Sixth Hokage were embroidered on his back in orange, outlined with black.

It looked almost exactly like the one his father had worn, except orange instead of red. It most definitely was not the traditional Kage uniform.

He deactivated his jutsu, and turned to Tsunade. "Thank you." He said, his voice slightly hoarse.

"You're welcome, brat."

xxxx

Iruka followed the intertwining dragons upwards with his eyes, watching in amazement. He had never seen a fire jutsu that impressive in his life, even a collaboration jutsu.

Suddenly, both heads reared back, their heads and necks separating, even as their bodies remained intertwined.

At the same time, both Hokage bowed to each other, then rose. Tsunade disappeared, and Naruto turned again to face the crowd.

The two dragon heads crashed together in a massive explosion, creating the largest firework anyone had ever seen.

Naruto bowed, his image perfectly framed by the expanding fireball above him. Then, he was gone. The Hokage, and his ANBU, had all vanished.

The crowd sat stunned for a moment as the pyrotechnics faded.

Someone started clapping. The sound spread into scattered clapping, then, within the space of a few-seconds, rose into a deafening roar as every person in the audience expressed their approval.

They may be trained, deadly, killers...but they sure can put on a show. Kakashi thought with a smirk.

xxxx

Naruto collapsed into the couch, breathing a sigh of relief. Hinata was too anxious to sit, and was pacing by the door to the hallway.

Kiba leaned up against the wall as the rest of the Konoha 13 entered the room. Naruto made sure that Ryuu hadn't sneaked in before he spoke.

"Well, that was fun." Naruto said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it Hokage-sama, but we need to talk-" Shikamaru started.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't call me Hokage-sama, it sounds weird." Naruto interrupted.

Shino opened his mouth. "That's very illogic-"

"At least when we're alone." Naruto begged. "I've known you all too long, fought beside you too many times."

Shino opened his mouth again.

"You can call me Naruto-sama if you must." Naruto said firmly.

Shino closed his mouth.

"Very well, Naruto-sama." Shikamaru continued, while Naruto rolled his eyes. "We need to discuss things like who will be guarding you, when."

"Whoa, whoa wait, what?" Naruto asked, confused.

Shikamaru sighed. "As your personal ANBU, we are also your bodyguards. Surely you knew that."

"I thought that was just for special events and stuff! There's no way I'm letting you tail me all the time!"

Shikamaru sighed. When was Naruto going to grow up?

"All the other Hokage have had bodyguards too, Naruto-sama." Sakura reminded him. "It's part of our duties."

Naruto held up fingers, and started ticking down. "If someone means me harm, I'll sense them coming." He lowered a finger. "I'll have multiple clones around the village; it'll be hard to find the real me without me knowing." He lowered another finger. "And the only way anyone will know it's really me, will be if I have ANBU bodyguards tailing me."

He grinned. "And finally, you're under my direct command, if I recall correctly. Therefore, I command you to drop your bodyguard duties until I tell you otherwise." He smiled triumphantly.

Shikamaru sighed. How troublesome. "Very well, Naruto-sama." He ground the last part out, biting on the words. There was no use arguing further, however. Naruto could be as stubborn as a mule.

"What exactly are we going to be doing, then?" Ino asked, slightly exasperated.

"I've already got an assignment for Sasuke and Sai in mind." Naruto grinned. "I'm sure I'll manage to think of something."

He made a familiar handseal, and four clones ran out into the hallway, shutting the door again behind them.

Naruto turned serious for a moment. "For now, follow my clones out, take the afternoon off, prepare for the celebration, whatever. If you don't hear from me tonight, report to the Hokage's Office at 8:00 am tommorow. Sasuke, stay behind for a moment."

The shinobi rose, filing out the door.

"What were the clones for?" Sakura asked curiously.

Naruto smiled. "Rearranging furniture."

Sakura looked at him skeptically for a second, then shrugged, and walked out.

Sasuke leaned against the wall, waiting. Naruto got up, made sure the balcony door and windows were closed, then double checked the soundproofing seals.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Naruto moved to sit down on the couch again, passing a hand over his eyes.

"We've always worked well together, Sasuke. From that time against Zabuza, when we freed Kakashi-sensei, all the way up to the conclusion of the Fourth Shinobi War."

Sasuke raised both eyebrows. No one ever spoke of his involvement in the war. If they celebrated him for his defeat over Kabuto, or for saving the lives of the 5 Kage, they'd have to admit that he left Konoha in the first place.

He was never recognized for finally killing Orochimaru, or for eliminating Deidara. In exchange, his defection from Konoha was turned into a "Leave of Absence" for health reasons. As if he had never left. It was possibly the best deal Sasuke could have ever wished for. Saving the Five Kage had helped a lot with that. Having Naruto as his best friend didn't hurt any, either.

"We are more alike than appearances would imply." Sasuke responded evenly, doing his Shino impersonation.

"Indeed. Except you've not once wanted to become Hokage." Naruto said, raising his eyebrows.

"I had enough time in the spotlight as a kid. That kind of job...isn't meant for me."

Naruto grinned, then sobered. "What do you know about Root?"

"Very little. I've only learned about it since returning to the village. It was led by that scumbag Danzo, right?"

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "That's more than most people know. Yes, it was led by Danzo, and it was originally the Third's idea. He tried to shut it down when Danzo became too...Uhh...important."

"Dangerous." Sasuke supplied.

Naruto grinned. "Exactly. But it was already too late, and Danzo held Root's loyalty to the man. He retreated into the shadows after that, however, and Root was like smoke- the Third could smell it, but every time he tried to catch it in his hands, it just slipped away."

"Every operation of Root was above an S-class secret. So secretive that Danzo was the only one who could speak of them. All the members had seals on their tongues, seals that prevented them from spilling anything important."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "How...practical."

"Nightmarish." Naruto agreed. "As Hokage, it would be better if I didn't have to stain my image with the more...unpleasant side of protecting a village. I'm sure you heard a little about my run-in with the Kumo ninja a few days ago, even if Baa-chan and the Raikage kept it all hush-hush."

"I've heard a few things." Sasuke smirked.

"How would you like to form a new version of Root?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke was, for once, speechless. He might've been able to guess where this was going...but he hadn't really believed it.

"You would have the power to truly protect the village you love, without all the spotlight."

"How do you know I love this village? How do you know I didn't just come back for you and Sakura?" Sasuke asked, smirking.

"Sasuke." Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "There's a fine line between love and hate, especially when it comes to this village. You and I have walked it our entire lives; I've just never crossed it."

"You've come close to hating the village?" Sasuke asked, slightly surprised.

"I probably would've gone crazy the first time I found out I was holding the Kyuubi. If Iruka-sensei hadn't been there, that is.

The first, and only, time I met my dad, I punched him in the stomach for imprisoning Kurama in me."

Naruto sighed. "All the times the villagers were mean to me, hated me, as a child. It would've been so easy to hate them back." He smiled sadly. "Why do you think I never gave up on you, when you left the village? I knew how you felt, I understood it."

He grinned again. "But then again, I love this village more than anything. I love the view from the top of Dad's head. I love the smell of the streets, I love the ninja, I love the forest. To me, Konoha will always be home."

Sasuke nodded, giving in. "I spent almost 3 years with Orochimaru. Then even more time after that traveling around, hunting my brother, hunting you. Fighting in the war. During that time, I never had a place I could call home." He sighed. "My worst memories are in this town. But my best memories are here, too. You're right; Konoha is my home."

"But I'm not sure I really want to take over that man's old position. I'm not sure I would want the job anyway."

"Think about it. You don't have to answer immediately. I'll see you later tonight." Naruto assured him.

"Yeah." Sasuke stood up to leave, and started to walk towards the door.

"Oh, and don't get the wrong idea." Naruto said, before he could open the door. "You'd still be reporting to me."

Sasuke smirked over his shoulder. "As if either of us could do our jobs alone."

Naruto smirked to himself as Sasuke left. Sasuke had just admitted to needing Naruto's help. And Sasuke would accept the job, he was sure of it.

Then he gathered his thoughts, and stood up. He had plans, damn it.

He smiled to himself. It was about time Konoha was introduced to a little more change.

A/N

That's chapter 4! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Reviews, as always, make my day and give me inspiration to keep going. Or sometimes not so much. But I still like them. Gimme.

~protossfire