Note: This takes place a few months prior to the events in Chapter 8. Enjoy?
Sarutobi decoded the message Misaki had sent via Jiraiya. It only contained one short line: Beware the Mizukage.
He was relieved that his gut feeling about Mist's leader had been correct, though he was equally annoyed that their contact did not offer any source of proof or extra information. As it was, all he could do was proceed as cautiously as he had been prior to knowing for a fact that something was amiss. He lit his pipe and considered this newest development when his office door slammed open.
Ah, must be that time again.
"Hey, jiji! We're heeeeere!"
Naruto's entrance was as loud as ever and Sarutobi sometimes wondered if he would ever become a proper shinobi or if he was destined to be this generation's Jiraiya.
"We, Naruto? Did you bring your friend Sasuke-kun with you?"
The blonde boy grimaced at the very thought. He strolled through the doorway casually and made waving motions to the presence Sarutobi could sense in the hallway. "Ugh, I would never. I brought Sakura-chan with me! You said you wanted to meet her and today's her off day."
A small pink-haired girl stepped up behind Naruto and bowed to him formally, hands behind her back. "Hokage-sama, it is an honor to meet you." She straightened and her green eyes flashed keenly, taking in the surroundings. The bandaged forearms, armor plated weights and senbon through her tidy bun made her look like a tiny doll geared up for battle.
"Sakura-chan, it is nice to meet you as well. Naruto has told me about you, extensively. You're quite the tutor."
She smiled at Naruto fondly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm sure he means well, Hokage-sama, though I doubt I could live up to the tales he tells. I merely provide one-on-one instruction that is more geared toward his learning style."
Sarutobi blinked. When Naruto said "smart", I did not anticipate "adult level intellect". I'm amazed the Academy instructors have not mentioned her at all.
"Ah, yes. Naruto is quite the storyteller, isn't it?" He ignored Naruto's whoop of outrage. "What did he mean by 'off day'?"
Naruto jumped in before Sakura had a chance to answer. "Sakura-chan trains all the time, jiji! Sometimes Sasuke and I hadta drag her off the training grounds way past dark, so we made her promise to take one day off a week." She frowned and made a small noise, fingers flexing in irritation.
"You disagree with him, Sakura-chan?"
Her spine straightened. "Training is important, Hokage-sama. There's no way for me to protect anyone if I cannot first protect myself." Sarutobi felt like there was an undercurrent to her words, something that bordered on accusatory. She met his stare dead on and he was startled by how serious her gaze was.
I have not seen such a face since Itachi came to me speaking of clan warfare.
"While true, you are still young, Sakura-chan. We have many shinobi in our forces that keep Konoha safe." Do you trust me to care for your loved ones?
She seemed to understand his unspoken question and appeared to consider it longer than he was comfortable with. Why was she so wary? Konoha had been peaceful since she was born.
"You make a valid point, Hokage-sama. However, when it comes to those most precious to me, I will not leave their protection to an impartial party." I trust only myself with that which is important. All else can be left to you.
Naruto was, unfortunately, more observant than Sarutobi had given him credit for. He could see the boy's brow furrow, realizing that the conversation had taken a strange turn, but not knowing what it was. All the spoken words were normal, if somewhat serious. Sakura seemed to sense this as well and broke her gaze with him to look at Naruto, her face instantly conforming into a cheerful smile. "Naruto, why don't you show Hokage-sama your progress report? I think he will be pleased."
He brightened and dug around in his garishly patterned shoulder bag, pulling out a folder. "Nakajima-sensei sent this instead of the usual envelope. I didn't look, promise!"
"I wouldn't let him, Hokage-sama." Naruto stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed, swatting his arm playfully.
Sarutobi eyed her change in demeanor thoughtfully as he took the portfolio from Naruto. She seemed sincerely happy speaking to Naruto as if she had not just been indirectly accusing him of … something just moments ago. It was clear from everything the boy had told him that Sakura was a lifeline for him, a bright spot in an otherwise confusingly hostile world. She had befriended him, taken care of him and even introduced him to his only other friend in the world, though Sarutobi doubted Naruto would ever admit as much about the last Uchiha. So what was her goal?
He was wary of treating a nine year old with suspicion, but Sarutobi had lived this long only because of his keen instincts. Something told him that this girl was unusual.
He opened the folder expecting a one page summary of Naruto's work, but instead he was faced with a recommendation for early graduation, with an outline of the few standards Naruto would need to achieve perfectly before he was allowed to leave the Academy. To say he was shocked was an understatement, despite knowing that Naruto had improved leaps and bounds since he became acquainted with Sakura.
He felt her eyes on him as he read through Nakajima's comments, but when he looked up, she was engaged in a game of janken with a red-faced Naruto.
"No fair, Sakura-chan, you always win! Can we please, please, please have ramen for dinner tonight?"
"Nope! You want to win, you best get better at janken. Plus, ramen isn't a food group, you know. It's bad enough you eat it for every meal when I'm not around." At her last sentence, Sarutobi felt her eyes on him again, this time much closer to an accusatory look. He was impressed by her tenacity, though it would take more than a death stare from a little girl to make him quail.
She must have seen the state of Naruto's apartment. Perhaps she blames me for his misfortune, even if she doesn't know the cause.
He interrupted their argument. "Naruto, did you know that your teacher has recommended that you graduate early?"
"W-what?! No way! I knew I was gonna beat everyone else!" He puffed up with pride at the idea, but deflated when he looked at Sakura. "But what about Sakura-chan? And … Sasuke?"
She smiled at him and flapped her hand at him teasingly. "Oh, Naruto. We qualify too, you know. I'm sure Hokage-sama knows what a great team we make. After all, he's kept such a close eye on his protégé." Sarutobi heard: We will graduate together, because we are the only ones who can keep Naruto safe in all ways. You have failed in this task.
"His what?" Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion while Sakura just smiled again.
"His protégé, someone who will succeed him. As Hokage."
"Oh! Yeah, I've spent so much time in this office it might as well be mine!"
Sakura's smile was suddenly mischievous. "You had better brush up on your handwriting, Naruto. The Hokage does a lot of paperwork, you know. Hours and hours of it." Sarutobi looked at the state of his desk ruefully, the contents proving her correct.
"Sakura-chan will be there to help me with it, though, right?" Naruto peered at her with big blue pleading eyes.
She just patted his arm. "Of course. Where else could I possibly be? We'll even wrangle Sasuke in for bodyguard duty, just to see that look on his face." Naruto mimicked an exaggerated petulant frown that looked more like a pout. "Yep, that's the one."
Sarutobi cleared his throat and the two children looked up from their conversation. "Naruto, this accelerated plan allows you to graduate from the Academy this summer. Will you be ready?"
He gave a thumbs up and struck a pose that looked entirely too familiar. "No worries, jiji! The springtime of my youth has only begun to flower!" Sakura cracked up laughing, nearly falling to the floor as Naruto looked intensely pleased at her reaction.
She gasped for breath and burst into giggles again. "G-Gai-sensei would have loved to hear you say that." Sakura took a deep breath and contained herself enough to say, "He was so disappointed when you never came back to our training sessions. I had to endure fifteen extra minutes of him crying, you know."
"Once was enough! He's crazy." Naruto rolled his eyes and then looked horror-stricken as a sudden thought came to him. "Saaaay, jiji, when we graduate, can we pick who not to have as a sensei?"
"I'm sure Hokage-sama would pick the most suitable jonin for our team's special circumstances, as befits the leader of our village." Whoever is chosen had better treat Naruto right.
He couldn't find it in himself to disagree with that.
"I will do my best, of course." Message received.
She nodded once, sharply. After a moment, the look in her eyes became softer. "Hokage-sama, if you would excuse us? I need to go to the market to purchase vegetables for dinner tonight." She placed a strange emphasis on the word "vegetables" and Sarutobi realized with amusement it was because of Naruto's tendency to glower at the very thought.
"Of course, it is no trouble at all." He scribbled his signature at the bottom of Naruto's paperwork. "Here, Naruto. Bring this to Iruka-sensei's office at the Academy now, so you can get started on your new curriculum tomorrow."
Naruto offered him a quick salute and shouted, "See you at dinner, Sakura-chan!" before rushing out on his errand.
She was about to turn and leave herself, when he spoke. "Sakura. Please stay for just one more moment." Her unnatural focus came back immediately, tensing when she heard his tone. Sarutobi stood from his desk and she eyed him warily, but he only closed the door and activated the silencing seal on the threshold.
"Hokage-sama?"
"Sakura, what I am about to tell cannot leave this room. You cannot tell Naruto, or Sasuke or anyone else in your class."
She looked troubled. "Will keeping this secret hurt the boys?"
"Not exactly."
She huffed irritably, the first open sign of disrespect she had shown him the entire meeting. "That is very much a non-answer, Hokage-sama."
"This secret is about Naruto, but he cannot be informed. He must find out for himself."
"And Sasuke?"
"Once Naruto discovers it, who he informs will be left to his … for lack of a better word, discretion. I will not attempt to influence him."
She folded her arms. "Fine. All knowledge is worth having, even if I have to keep it to myself for a short time."
Somehow, this statement did not surprise him. He did not attempt to insult her by sugar-coating what he was about to reveal. "Naruto is the vessel of the nine-tailed fox demon. It was sealed into him as a infant by the Yondaime. Only those who were alive at the time know about it. A law was passed prohibiting the discussion of his status as a jinchuriki."
Sakura went very still. Suddenly, the tension she had been carrying was amplified and her frame nearly vibrated with energy. He had been expecting several reactions, but the absolute ferocity that she was radiating was not one of them.
"Thank you for telling me, Hokage-sama. It is good to know what we will face in the future." This was said in the steeliest tone he had ever heard on a child.
"You seem angry about this news, Sakura-chan."
"Hokage-sama, it is no secret that the adults despise Naruto. They aren't necessarily violent about it, but it's there and it's damaging because their kids mimic their actions without the knowledge, however uninformed, to back it up. I knew something was wrong, but I just didn't know what." She looked him in the eye again, her gaze sharp. "I went looking for a reason, you know. You'll be happy to hear that no one would tell me why."
"The law is there for a reason."
"The reason is flawed, Hokage-sama. I'm sure Naruto's parents would not want Konoha to treat their son as a pariah." She placed an odd significance on the word that Sarutobi did not trust; he had not intended on telling her Naruto's background, just his status. He decided to redirect the conversation.
"So you're not afraid? Most people would be, in your position."
"Naruto is Naruto, no matter his tenant. Nothing could make me afraid of him."
He nodded at her and released the silencing seal on the doorway. "Good. He has a valuable friend in you, Sakura-chan."
"I can only hope to live up to the name, Hokage-sama."