AN hey ya all! Chap 5 is ready to serve for ya! Come along people, enjoy it while it still warm. This was already beta-ed by Prescripto13, therefore no fear for grammar errors! And thanks for those who add my story into their favorite, and also who follow my story, may this gracious offer satisfy your quench for some light reading!... Man where the hell did I get those big words ?! it was beyond above my usual words! Anyway, as always… Happy reading!

Walking While Struggling

The blonde babe was lying in his crib in the corner of a room. On the right side there was a table lamp, its dim yellow light illuminating the room. The walls were made of vertical wood paneling, and a matching wooden door stood opposite of the crib. The infant felt comfortable, warm, safe, and most of all stuffed. He was starving before, but after being offered a white liquid, its sweetness and warmth had made his tummy feel great. He learned that the name of the magically warm, amazing white liquid was milk. Now he was dozing off, and he looked to the window on his right. The night was very beautiful with the sky full of stars and a pale full moon contrasting the dark of the sky, projecting a pale light that penetrated the glass into the dim lighted room. The child's eyes mirrored this. Never before had he seen such beautiful scenery; it was so soothing. While thinking of this, he thought about his parents. He knew the old man was not one of them. He did not know how, but he just knew it.

Although being just a newborn, he did not yet know his parents up close and personal. He just knew that by instinct he needed—wanted—his parents, who were not there for him. Therefore his tiny little mind said that his parents were abandoning him because he was unwanted or that he was a misfortune for them. It was so sad for him. He was just a baby being introduced to a cruel and harsh world, and no one wanted to act as an anchor to him. He was alone.

I am alone. I don't like being alone.

His chubby legs began kicking, and his hands fisted. Then he started to whimper, a whimper which grew into an all out cry. He was desperate; no one who was this small should feel this, this emotion should be a stranger to him. His small body moved and wiggled around in the bundle of sheets. Not long after he was tangled in it, with only the upper part of his face showing. He tried to free himself, but it was a failed attempt. He continued to cry, but no one heard him, and even the old man did not come to comfort him like before. However, the tangled sheets proved to be a warm cocoon for him. Exhausted and stuffed, he fell asleep immediately.

"Pathetic little piece of meat. Took you long enough to fall asleep, my ears almost exploded to oblivion," a deep rumbling voice in the deepest part of the child's consciousness mumbled.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

CRACK!

"Aa, I guess age has caught up to me," Sandaime chuckled to himself, his back gave him a reminder of his old days. He was just finishing all of the paperwork that had piled up since he took the position of Hokage. There was a very sharp increase in paperwork since that mournful day; much reconstruction needed his approval, and the work of the Leaf's shinobi had to be managed. This prevented other hidden villages from attacking the vulnerable Konoha, for the idea of Leaf shinobi still going in and out on missions was a warning that Konoha remained at its prime. Formerly, Konoha was a prosperous village with a great agricultural system, thanks to the Yamanaka clan with their knowledge of plants especially flowers. In terms of medicine Konoha was also quite good, supported by the Nara clan with their supply of deer horns. Now, more than half of it was buried under debris, leaving destroyed ruins.

It was a half-hour 'til midnight. Sandaime had missed his family dinner again, but it was unavoidable. The fact that Konoha was on the edge of falling apart was enough to make him skip his dinner. He was sure his family would understand.

I hope so though.

Sighing, Sandaime decided not to go home, opting instead for a small cottage he owned near the Hokage tower. It was quite far from his house. He cleared up his desk and put the cursed pile of paperwork on his secretary's desk. Then, he grabbed his hat from his desk and went out. The street was deserted, with the moon and stars above his only company. Soon the Hokage was surrounded by trees, old trees that had witnessed their kin slaughtered. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, and then ran at full speed to his cottage. He remembered that he had left Minato's son there and had asked his secretary to feed him. Dread settled in his stomach, what-ifs running through his head. He knew the villagers and shinobi hated the child and they would try everything—anything—to get rid of it.

Sandaime picked up his speed, concentrating to feel for any chakra signatures near his cottage. Besides the baby there was one other presence, and a rather unexpected one at that. Its owner had been gone for months, with no traces or sightings at all.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaa

The little one felt like waking up now. He started to move around a bit and opened his eyes. He gaze was met by two old men, both looking at him intently. He recognized the one on the left as he was the one who held him the last time he was scared by the weirdoes. But the man on the right was new for him. He looked weird but in a funny way, with his overly long white hair and thick lines going down his eyes. There was also a little bump on the left side of the stranger's nose. The infant giggled at the sight, and both men's eyes widened in surprise. Then he cackled merrily, filling the air with his baby laugh. All of his sadness and despair were forgotten, vanishing in his contagious joy.

The old men looked at each other in confusion, with a smile on their respective faces. They glanced at the baby again. Then the silly-looking one began to chuckle, and not long after his own bombastic laughter mixed with the cackling of the child. It was a strange combination indeed, but their collaboration was enough to turn the quiet night into a merry one. The oldest of the trio wore an ear splitting grin on his face, making his wrinkles more pronounced. At this, the child was shrieking in delight. He wiggled his tiny body around, but his movement was limited by the bundle he was in. Seeing this, the wrinkled man reached down to assist him by carefully untangling the bundle and picking him up. As the little one was lifted from his crib his shrieking disappeared, only to be replaced by soft cooing.

The baby was being held securely in the elder's arms. He curiously reached out his chubby hands, trying to touch the wrinkled man 's face. He just wanted to feel the wrinkled face—Was it hard? Soft? Mushy? The old man stared down in confusion. Then he realized the child's intention and brought his face closer to the small hands. After he made contact with the wrinkled face he started to knead it, followed by some pulling, puckering, and eventually a bout of inquisitive hitting. The infant was giggling like mad, entertained with the expression of the face owner which was getting more comical with each action. Then the booming laugh of the silly-looking man reached his ear. Instantly his head snapped to the source of sound, his hands frozen in their work. He kept staring at the silly man until the silly man stopped his laughter. Then the silly man spoke to the wrinkled man, using words the baby did not yet know.

Then the child was transferred to another pair of arms. This pair was bigger and more muscular. He was closer to the silly man man now, being held out at arm's length with the giant's eyes examining him all the while. looking down at him. Suddenly the little one was up in the air, coming down to be caught in the silly man's arms. Initially confused he did not give any reaction at all, but soon he was shrieking in delight again, earning the two adult's laughter. The baby was tossed several times into the air, and then finally he was being held close once more, his small head resting on the silly man's broad shoulder. The infant's eyes felt really heavy right now; he was tired of all the excitement and laughing for the last half-hour. He opened his tiny mouth in a big yawn, and closed his eyes in a peaceful slumber.

"The loud brat is asleep now," the taller man chuckled. He put Naruto inside his crib. "Man, he sure has his mother in him, but not the outside though," he scoffed. "Minato seized his looks, Kushina claimed her part inside. Heheh…"

"Indeed he is, indeed," the wrinkled man responded. Smiling softly at the sleeping Naruto, he blanketed the child from the cold.

He truly is one of a kind in so many ways.

The child snuggled deeper into the warm blanket, and fell further into dreamland.

AN hooray, you've reached the end of chapter five! Congrats to you! There's no Kakashi in it, (I know I know, but I have to make Naruto appear in this story not just Kakashi, after all this is Naruto fanfic. And they both will meet eventually but it will be a very rough ride! Muahahahahaha! you'll see it if you stick to this story) just a peek of our favorite blond baby head. There'll be more of this, in the upcoming chapters. The next chap will take a looooong time for me to write, because I have works, lots of works on my body… yeah it's not only my shoulder, but my entire body… HELL YEAH! BRING. IT. ON! Anyways, as usual, thanks for reading… and after I thought about it, review would be nice. Thank you readers J, and good day !

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