I do not own Naruto

Talk now – normal talk
What now – normal thoughts
Speak – biju, higher being talk
Listen – biju, higher being thoughts

Chapter 6 : Advancing Plans

As Naruto awoke he had a hard time hiding the smile on his face, he had a few plans to deal with his situation and had visited the people he cared about and that actually cared about him. He closed his eyes, remembering what he had learned and practiced in the god realm, breathing slowly he began to focus on doing the first chakra exercise, he remembered that he had first managed to unlock his chakra during the attack on him when he had tapped into Yukimura's biju chakra.

Once he was done with the first exercise he quickly moved onto the second exercise, each took from ten minutes to half an hour. After he finished the second exercise Naruto placed one of his hands on the side of the wall near his bed making sure that it was just between the bed and the wall and wouldn't be visible from above the bed or from below it, a small sensation of flowing water ran through his hand before it disappeared.

He smiled under his blanket, the place where he had placed his hand now had five small white spots there that were invisible to all but the greatest sensors and magic users, the spots formed a small magic mark that would allow him to sense anybody who was hidden nearby and alert him when the seals began to flare up so he could have a head's up for when the Hokage decided to spy on him, the last part was that they allowed Yukimura to study the seals in his room in more in-depth then before.

Naruto quickly washed up and ate then left to set some of his own plans into motion, Sayaka and Yukimura's words still echoed through his head. Build in the need for flexibility in your plans in advance because of the old adage that 'no plan survives contact with the enemy'.

First he began to make his way towards the market district of Konoha, he had all but forgotten about the people's glares that now returned in full force and seemed a constant companion through out the village. He shrugged the glares off, remembering what Yukimura had taught him; by acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. He still liked Sayaka's words more. Unlike a sword, scorn has only the bite you give it.

With his return he began to notice small things about the buildings in Konoha, almost every building looked quite odd, at least compared to the photos he had seen in the books found in the library of Yukimura's god realm. He intentionally got lost on the way to the market to be able to wander around a bit, this way it would help to paint him as more of a small scatter brain child to his Anbu guard.

As he walked around he could spot small cracks in some of the buildings, quite a few buildings had the multi tiered cake design of the building where his apartment was located, most of building roofs were red, blue, yellow and a few green colored, with the same thick cables on them.

A wind blew and Naruto coughed from the dust, why does Konoha still have dirt roads? What do they do when it rains, mud would be everywhere, is it so hard to pave the roads? Walking around he also saw a few people with a strange four-pointed star with a red and white fan symbol embedded into the centre of it, their attire still consisted of the standard Konoha-nin attire with the strange symbol emblazoned on the shoulders instead of the regular symbol. Are they guards of some sort?

When he finally arrived in the market district he paused for a moment seizing everything up, afterwards he looked through some of the different shops, keeping an innocent look on his face at all times, he took a keen interest in those that sold food, after quietly observing the people's reactions to him there he found a place and simply observed all of the different shops that sold food, each looked to have their own brands either home made or brought from outside Konoha, the issue of trade caravans was something he put aside to investigate for later, he need to think and choose his targets. If the Hokage ever asked why he would just stand there observing people, he would respond that he liked seeing the hustle and bustle of the market, how it fascinated him as he had never seen so many people.

After observing the people Naruto believed he had found a few potential targets and he began the second part of his plan, he in the coming day made his way towards the shops and bought a few products from each shop and made a mental mark, taking notes if the people overcharged him and if they switched the products he bought, a few shops actually had either the owner or an employ gather the products rather then letting the customer do so. After he bought something from each shop he made his way back to his apartment, comparing the different people's reactions to him in their shops. He made sure to visit the market regularly and observe the people there again to help build up a credible lie. It pained him that after finding a small book shop he couldn't enter the place, he looked at the place and swore to return one day to it.

One night the Hokage came by and took him to Ichiraku's Ramen stand for dinner, he briefly wondered if his Anbu guard informed the Hokage of the quality of the food he had purchased, to his surprise he found out that the ramen was rather good and ended up eating five servings, amusing the Hokage with his appetite.

The owner Teuchi and Ayame acted almost warm towards him, it was an improvement from the constant glares and it did make him feel better. The Hokage acted the elderly and loving grandfather role like a master; he asked about how he felt in his new home and told him stories about when he was younger as well.

When they were done eating the Hokage escorted him back to the apartment, wished him good night and then left. That night after washing and getting into bed, he did his chakra exercises then pretending to be asleep gently touched the magic mark on the wall and sensed the Anbu in the shadows.

He turned a few times thinking about the day and trying to determine if there was some sort of under lining reason for the Hokage's actions. He does appear to be the grandfatherly figure he portrays, perhaps the attack actually forced him to take a greater interest in me, yet I still can't help but wonder if there isn't something more behind all of his actions. Even out of the orphanage the people treat me in a similar manner; their glares are ever present, slowly isolating me. And then he arrives one of the few people who doesn't treat me as such. His eyes snapped open as a thought struck him; he stared straight where the Anbu was hidden in the shadows, blinking Naruto quickly got out of bed and went to the bathroom faking a need to cover for his sudden awakening; then quickly returned to his bed.

Could the owners of the ramen stand be working for the Hokage? He takes me there and I just happen to find other people who don't look at me like the other villagers do, coincidently it's the Hokage who is responsible for the meeting. It would certainly help to create some fond memories with the Hokage and bind me emotionally to him, if the people at the stand work for the Hokage they could further help to keep an eye on me when he's busy and later report anything suspicious.

He wanted to scratch his head so badly. This reminds of playing shogi with Yukimura, I could be paranoid and they are just good people, but with ninja's, chances are that there's a second side to it, if not a third, fourth and fifth as well. He mentally sighed. It doesn't matter the trip was a lucky event after all and I can work it in my plans, in fact. He turned on side of the bed and hid his face by covering it with a hand to hide the small smile upon it. Maybe a few more trips would help after all.

The next few days passed rather quickly, Naruto had formed a small pattern, he would wake up and do the chakra exercises, wash up and eat; after that we would travel around Konoha, often stopping by the market, the Hokage visited him and the two went to the ramen stand again. It still irked him that he couldn't train in his fighting styles but with the Anbu being ever present he couldn't risk it. With his test he couldn't yet return to the god realm even with the week passing, instead Naruto decided to visit the Hokage and advance his own plans, what awaited him there surprised him and through things into chaos more then he expected.

The room Naruto was in had a hardwood floor with books, scrolls and various items filled the shelves near the walls, four cabinets could be seen in the back of the room on either side, a large wooden desk could be found near the room's end with the Hokage standing behind it with a paper file in his hand, large stacks of paper were placed on the desk in piles.

"Really old man?" Naruto asked surprised. So he's guiding me on that path already.

The Hokage gave him a warm grandfatherly smile. "Yes Naruto-kun I can enroll you into the shinobi academy, a new class cycle starts in a few months."

"But aren't I too young? The caretakers at the orphanage never mentioned the shinobi academy" He asked in a curious tone. Let's hear the excuse he has for this.

The Hokage rubbed his chin a thoughtful manner. "Well, the academy usually starts around the age of seven or eight, but if you sign up early you wouldn't have to be alone all time and you could make friends there."

Naruto smiled and nodded. That's almost three years the others will have on me, it'll be an uphill battle there, it does however sound that he's doing it for good reasons at the very least, no matter how badly it may yet end. He shifted uncomfortably. "Old man what I am going to learn there?"

The Hogake kept his warm smile. "The main goal there is to teach how to be a ninja Naruto-kun."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably again. "Will I learn to read and write there?" he asked shyly.

The Hokage looked at him puzzled. "Well yes."

"Can you have someone teach me some stuff before the academy starts?" He asked in a meek tone.

The Hokage furrowed his eyebrows and had a disappointed look on his face. "Why Naruto-kun? That would give you an unfair advantage compared to the children."

"I'm not a cheater!" Naruto yelled, before sinking into his chair and speaking in a voice close to crying. "Its just that….at the orphanage people called me stupid and didn't teach me how to do it like the others, they would give up half way through. If I meet some of the other kids there they could tease me and say mean things about me, then I couldn't make friends. So if I knew how to read and write like the rest I wouldn't look stupid if they said anything about it."

The Hokage's face took a more thoughtful look though a flash of sadness could have been seen across the man's face. "I see, well perhaps I could help out just a bit with that Naruto-kun, not to much we wouldn't to give you an unfair advantage."

"Really?" he asked in a relived tone of voice. Unfair advantage my ass, chances are those kids already know how to read and write.

The Hokage nodded and Naruto smiled and wiped his eyes. "Thanks old man, I just wanna know the basics, you can't built something if you don't have a good foundation."

The Hokage gave him a surprised sharp look. "So true Naruto-kun"

Shit, I can't believe I let that slip! Naruto put on a goofy smile. "Yeah I'm pretty wise."

The Hokage kept a sharp eye on Naruto. "Oh and you came up with that on your own Naruto-kun?"

Naruto squirmed a bit then scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Nah I kinda heard it around the village."

The Hokage's face slowly softened. "Well who ever said that is a wise person Naruto-kun."

It looks like I'm safe. "Hey old man can you show me around the village and tell me about the buildings and stuff? I heard they all got a cool history."

"Well I do have some work to do."

"Oh." Naruto lowered his gaze to the ground.

"But I can take a small break for you Naruto-kun."

"Thanks old man you're the best." Naruto told him in a cheerful manner.

"Just remember that I won't be able to do this every time alright Naruto-kun?"

"You got it old man." He answered with a large smile on his face.

The Hokage looked rather happy Naruto noted talking about the different buildings in the village; a few of them actually had some interesting history. He seemed melancholic when talking about the Hokage Monument and especially about things related to the second Hokage. Naruto did learn a few interesting things, such as that the buildings atop the Hokage Mountain that included an archive library with information on all of its shinobi, past and present, all the missions their shinobi had undertaken and shelters for the population in case of an attack.

Another interesting point was the Konoha Aviary that was a building in Konoha where messenger birds such as hawks delivered messages, and also rested after delivery. The aviary was a circular building built into the top of a tall tree with a spiral staircase. It consisted of multiple bird cages lining the walls where the birds stayed. The Hokage seemed rather fond of the building; apparently the Shodaime had a passion for falconry and the Nidaime helped to improve the building.

The Hokage told him how he and some old friend used to clean the bird cages and how at one point they were both covered in bird poop after rattling them by accident and how and old man named Hanasaki that took care of the birds scolded him. The Hokage and both his shinobi team and genin team later returned and cleaned the bird cages as well. For his part Naruto looked to absorb everything in with wide eyed enthusiasm, while gently leading the Hokage towards the market place. When they reached the market place after entering it to his rather great annoyance the Hokage did realize that Naruto had led them there.

"Naruto-kun, do you know how we ended up here?" The Hokage asked in normal tone of voice but he could detect and underlining tone of curiosity.

Naruto laughed a little. "Um well, my feet just kinda walked here on there own." He tried to walk further into the market place but the Hokage was standing still not moving a single inch.

"Oh, that's interesting, why do you think that is?" The Hokage asked bringing his pipe to his lips.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked towards the middle of the market place. "I kinda come here a lot"

"Oh, do you find it interesting for some reason Naruto-kun?"

"What does interesting mean?" he asked confused.

The Hokage chuckled "Does it have something that's got your attention or that's made you curious about it."

"Um well" Naruto turned around looking at the place, I need to buy more time, he looked around and could see people looking at the two of them, it's still not enough. "It's just that there are so many people here, I haven't seen so many people in one place like this in my life, and their all coming and going all the time" He shuffled his feet, "I don't feel so alone when I'm here. "

The Hokage smiled "You see Naruto-kun that's why it will do you good to go to the academy"

"Yeah, your right old man" A good excuse but I need him to walk further through the market place, I could blame the lack of important buildings here but I should have planned better for this.

"Naruto-kun, how would you like me to show you one of my favorite spots in the village?"

"Yes" Damn I guess we're leaving this place, I wonder where this spot of his is located?

The Hokage smiled. "I can also show you a bit more of the village from there."

"Where are we going?" He asked curiously.

"Up on the Hokage Monument"

"What?" Naruto looked towards the Hokage mountain, they where a fair distance away and climbing the stairs would take a while considering his short legs. "Old man I'll fall asleep before we get up there!"

The Hokage chuckled. "Don't worry Naruto-kun we won't be going the normal way."

"Huh, how then?" Is there some secret passage?

The Hokage emptied his pipe and placed in a pocket of his robes and then gently picked Naruto up with his left arm and brought him closer to his shoulder. "Now hold on, I'm not exactly a spring chicken anymore."

Naruto tightened his grip on the Hokage's shoulder, he gave a final look through the market place; a few people had seen them after all. Its better then nothing, now what is he going to do? Naruto felt a strong wind around him then saw a few leafs in front of him before he blinked and found himself on top of a roof. "What happened?" he asked bewildered.

"Just a little jutsu Naruto-kun, don't worry."

That was a simple jutsu?

"Now let's get some exercise for these old bones of mine." The Hokage then quickly jumped of the building and Naruto closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, the Hokage looked to be jumping all over the place, when he finally stopped and Naruto opened his eyes he found himself looking at a forest and he also could see several buildings in front of the forest. That must be must be archive library.

The Hokage gently let Naruto back down. "Turn around Naruto-kun."

When Naruto did turn around he was completely shocked at what he saw, the entirety of Konoha lay stretched out before him, he felt like was back on top of the mountain with Yukimura and Sayaka. Hundreds of houses could be seen out in the distance; how many thousand of people live here? He could see buildings of all sizes with different colored roofs, large patches of green trees seemed to be mixed in with the buildings; while large forests surrounded everything in a protective embrace, farther into the distance he could still see the large walls that defended Konoha and more forests surrounded it as well. He wasn't sure what the Hokage wanted him to feel by bringing him to this place, humble perhaps, well he defiantly felt that, but it was more. To gain my freedom I'll to overcome all of these people? As the vastness of Konoha lay sprawled out before him he couldn't help but smile. I accept the challenge.

"What do you think Naruto-kun?"

"It so huge!" he answered in a bewildered tone of voice while flailing his arms about.

"Yes, yes it is." The Hokage answered nostalgia clear in his voice.

"I never imagined it was this big old man."

"It helps to put things in perspective" the Hokage looked around the area they where at "this was always my favorite spot in the village as a child Naruto-kun." The Hokage smiled sadly. "As Hokage it is my duty to protect all the people that live in this village," he raised both of his hands "all of their lives are my responsibility."

That certainly is something. "That sounds like a lot old man."

"Yes it is a great responsibility" The Hokage's face seemed to brighten as he smiled "but also a great joy. To those who possess the Will of Fire, everyone is family. The desire to protect one's family builds thicker and stronger bonds between each and everyone in the village."

What is he leading me to? "What's the Will of Fire old man?"

"This is what gives Konoha's shinobi the strength to continue fighting against all odds, building willpower and strength of character. It is symbolic of the hopes and dreams of the previous generation being passed to the next." The Hokage gestured to the whole of Konoha again. "This is a place where every shinobi are born, raised, grow old and fight to protect their home. These people are precious to me. We share a home, we share a life, and though we may not share tied of blood, they are precious to me, they are my family."

"Everyone is family?" I wonder if that you consider even the orphanage caretakers that tried to get rid of me and that you made disappear family as well?

"Yes my boy everyone, I believe that if the Will of Fire is embraced by everyone, the village will be alright no matter what happens."

Naruto smiled and nodded then looked out into the distance. Not bad he played on my supposed desire for a family to get me to want the title while indoctrinating me, well played. He cast a quick look at the Hokage who was still looking out into the distance. Quite a lot of feelings the old man is going through, who knows how many things he has had to do to keep this place standing. Best to change the subject for now. "Hey old man what's that large funny building in the distance with the red tiles and large things near it." He asked pointing into the distance.

"Ah, that near Naruto-kun is Kikyō castle; those two large things are called shibi and are shaped like shachihoko, that place is where some important guests stay during their visits to our village"

"Oh" Naruto nodded. Well that's one interesting place to remember.

"Now, there in the distance, that large pink building is the Konoha Hospital that serves the medical needs of both ninja and other people in our village."

Naruto nodded again. "That's a nice place" he rubbed his stomach, "they had really good food there." As Naruto looked on he saw steam rising from one part of the village, it was small but still visible. "Hey old man, what's that place in the distance where smoke's rising?"

"That isn't smoke Naruto-kun, its steam."

"Like the one from ramen?" He asked a puzzled look on his face.

The Hokage chuckled again, he looked Naruto noted, rather happy. "Something like that Naruto-kun, that over there is the Konoha Hot Springs and it's the public bath of Konoha, those are some good eyes you have Naruto-kun."

Naruto ignored the last part staring at the hot springs. Huh I guess shinobi do need to relax as well and building something like that here would certainly help. Naruto looking to his left and right noticed two parts of the forests that were fenced off, inside one he could make out a river and a tower located in the exact centre; the forest's radius was about ten kilometers he guessed. "Hey old man what's with the fences there?"

The Hokage looked in the direction Naruto pointed at. "Ah the one over there, that is the Zero training ground also known as the No-Hunting District and it is a wildlife preserve for rare and unusual animals. It was used for tests for our shinobi but this was discontinued because the field was turned into a nature preserve."

"Uh shinobi have do go through tests?" Sounds like an interesting place, they may have patrols there and killing and skinning an animal from there may get me into trouble if caught, perhaps I could simply explore the place and check out some of the plants and fruits there.

The Hokage nodded. "Yes to show their skills."

"Like how much ass they can kick right?" He asked smacking a fist into an open palm while keeping a goofy smile on his face.

"Exactly Naruto-kun" the Hokage replied chuckling "now the second one there you must promise me not to approach." The Hokage finished in a serious tone.

"Why?" he asked curiously. Well that place has my interest now.

"It's dangerous Naruto-kun and I need you to promise me that you won't approach it on your own."

"Is it important to keep your promises?" Let's see how this plays out I could push a bit farther with this if it succeeds.

"Yes Naruto-kun it's very important." The Hokage continued in the same serious tone.

"Would you ever break a promise old man?" He asked shyly. Come on say it.

"No Naruto-kun I wouldn't."

Perfect "Alright I promise then."

The Hokage nodded "That is the Forty-Fourth training ground, its primary role is to serve as a testing ground for the skills our shinobi posses. It is a very dangerous place, filled with hordes of flora and fauna, often gigantic and poisonous, within the forest are several large and deadly creatures such as leeches, tigers, and bears."

"That sounds scary old man." Well that's definitely another point of interest I wonder if I can observe some of the tests there or sneak in and gather some supplies while investigating the place.

"As long as you don't go inside it should be fine Naruto-kun."

"But I'll have to go inside eventually, right?"

"Only when you're a trained shinobi Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded and returned his gaze to the village, he squinted his eyes so that he could make out a large rather old looking castle near the edges on the village. "Hey old man who lives there, other important people?" he asked pointing at the castle.

The Hokage seemed to grimace. "That is the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility or Konoha's jail, it is a place where bad people who have committed serious crimes work off their debt to society."

"Like the caretakers from the orphanage?"

"Far worse Naruto-kun."

"There are worse people then them?" he asked in a shocked and worried tone.

"Yes, quite worse, but don't worry Naruto-kun that's why shinobi exist, the help defend others against such people."

"So their like heroes?" Smooth manipulation on your part there old man.

"Exactly Naruto-kun"

Naruto returned his gaze to Konoha and saw a small trail of smoke began that began to rise close to a wall. "What's that old man?"

The Hokage let out a sigh and rubbed his temples, "That Naruto-kun is the Konoha Ninja Tool Research Facility, the Detached Office; it is a research building facility run by a man named Iō with his assistant Shōseki. The facility specializes in the making of new weapons for our shinobi to wield. The station was originally located more inward, however it was forced to relocate to the outskirts of the village due to the random explosions which like you can see occur, though Iō claims are challenges during his inventing."

That can't be the only one. "It looks small."

"Well it's not the only one, Iō is more eccentrics and he was allowed to build his own shop and experiment there to his heart's content."

Oh! So there is another one, could it be tied to the Anbu? Slowly Naruto got closer to the edge of the statue and looked down noticing the word Fire painted on the roof of a building.

"Careful now Naruto-kun."

"I'm ok old man, but whats that the building with the funny marking on it."

"Ah" the Hokage stepped closer the edge as well "that it the Hokage Residence, usually it is the mansion occupied by the Hokage during their reign, it is located close to both the Academy, that you can see over there" the Hokage pointed to a building "and the Hokage Monument."

While Naruto had seen it before and appeared quit large he had never seen from above. "It looks huge." I wonder if it contains any important scrolls.

"It is one of the largest buildings in Konoha; it was built during the reign of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju."

"So do you live there?"

"For the moment."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well I do have my own house and room, usually the Hokage lives there, but it is not a strict requirement. Hashirama-sama lived at his clan compound more often then there, Tobirama sensei lived there a lot more, I myself divided my time between there and my other home for a period, the Yondaime still kept his other home as well."

The Yondaime's home could still exist? "Huh, so you keep another house because you could get kicked out of this one when someone else comes along and get's the title?"

The Hokage chuckled. "Precisely Naruto-kun. Making plans are we?"

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back if his head "Maybe, but I wouldn't want to see you end up on the streets, so its good to know you got a place to go to, ohh you could have taken my apartment if not."

The Hokage smiled. "That very generous of you Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked returned his gaze to the forest around Konoha "Old man is the Yondaime's house still standing?"

"No, sadly it was destroyed during the Kyuubi attack."

"Oh, I thought people kept it as a reminder of how cool he was."

"Perhaps if it had not been lost."

"Oh yeah that reminds me old man, I saw some people with a weird red and white symbol on their cloths through the village, who are they?"

The Hokage's tone became a bit more formal. "They are the Konoha Military Police Force; it is the judicial organization in Konoha, think of them as the people who help keep the peace here in our village"

Naruto nodded. So I was right about them. "Like guards?"

"Something of the sort Naruto-kun, its purpose is to maintain the law in the village; they are regarded as shinobi who monitor their fellow shinobi."

"Oh, so they created it?"

A small scowl graced the Hokage's lips before it quickly disappeared, "No it was founded by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju."

"Your sensei!" he interrupted.

"Yes Naruto-kun, it was given to the Uchiha as a sign of trust and good faith between the Senju and themselves. It consists of mostly Uchiha clan members. The current leader of the organization is Fugaku Uchiha who is also known as the Uchiha clan head."

"So they send all the bad people to jail?" He pointed at the one from earlier.

"In part yes, but they also have a prison built in the organization's building as well; the one you saw is where some of the worst end up in."

"Oh" That's an interesting tid bit.

"Now the symbol you saw is the symbol of the organization, it is a four-pointed star with the crest of the Uchiha clan embedded into the centre, a red and white fan."

Naruto nodded and sat down; the sun was setting and colored everything in an orange light. "Its really nice here, old man."

"Yes, it is Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled as the person who was teaching him the basics about reading and writing left, the person was just as professional as Tetsu Sasaki had been, holding a cold and professional attitude the whole time. The man was named Sadakuno Goda and looked old; he looked close to retirement Naruto thought.

Though he did rather enjoyed the small flash of panic on the man's face when he the told him that he would tell everybody who taught him how to read and write properly, it looked like the man didn't want it know who he had helped, he insisted that Naruto keep quite about it as it was his job and he didn't want any credit for it, claiming that sometimes shinobi don't want always the glory and prefer to simple get the job done and knowing it's success was enough for them.

A good excuse, he realized, and a believable one at that mixed with some wise words about the shinobi way. He smiled now he himself had an excuse to go and visit the library in Konoha in the near future.

When Naruto visited the public library in Konoha, more cold glares awaited him there; the person behind the main desk seemed to have an icy glare that was honed in on him.

"Can I help you?" the woman all but hissed. She was of medium height, looked to be in good shape and had long chestnut hair that was pulled back to reveal a full, warm face. Expressive black eyes were set gracefully within their sockets, the woman had a small scar stretching from just under her right eye, running towards the tip of the nose and ending above her left eye.

Great another lovely person to deal with. "Hello mam" he waved at her "I'm here about reading some books." Naruto got a look at her name tag that read Aye Kimura.

"You can read?" The woman sneered.

What's this one's problem? He nodded. "Yep, the old man helped out with that"

The woman snorted. "This old man must have a lot of free time on his hands, where did you meet him on the street or some nursing home?"

Oh how nice I said almost the exact same thing about him. "Huh? The old man has this really big home; he said all Hokages usually live there" Naruto could all but hear the woman's panic set in.

"What?" The woman stammered incredulously.

Naruto nodded and then began making hand gestures. "Yeah, he took me to the Hokage Monument and told me about the house he lives in now, that has a strange symbol on it and how the first Hokage stayed at his home more often then there and his sensei stayed there most of the time and he still has his other home in case someone comes and kicks him out when they the title."

The woman seemed to fiddle unsure of her actions. "Oh, well…I?" Oh crap, is he really close to the Hokage? The woman cast a glance at Naruto who was looking wide eyed at her keeping an air of innocence. Uh he looks too stupid to lie, best to just bury him in paper work.

The woman coughed and cleared her throat. "Well to read or borrow books from here you need to get a library permit, and that requires some paper work"

Of course it does. "Like what mam?"

The woman handed him a piece of paper from a drawer at her desk. "You need to fill this application and you need a parent's signature to complete the application process. Like wise you need to present an ID with photo, name and address."

"But I don't have any parents and I don't know about the other stuff." So burying me in paper work huh?

"Well that's a shame" the woman replied in a mocking tone of voice. "Come back when you resolve the problem."

"How do I do that mam?" Nor even a bit of aid huh?

"Figure it out yourself, now leave."

Great, I need to rely more on the Hokage after all.

To Naruto's surprise the Hokage actually helped him get the documents needed for the library permit, what's more he lent Naruto several books to read; of course after quick look through the books most appeared to glorify the previous Hokages and Konoha. Still it looks like the old man may actually be on my side, could it just be incompetence? Why would he help me get a library permit so easily? Hm, he was rather busy so he may have wanted to get rid of me quickly or…. He's eyes widened. He could keep track of me this way as well, the library would keep a list of the books I borrow and read, that list would end up at the Hokage and he would know if I'm getting to smart for my own good. He smiled momentarily. Well it's good I don't the library permit for to long.

The libraries reluctantly made him his library permit and handed it to him.

"Well what books are you interested in?" She asked looking upset.

"Um, the old man."

"The Hokage." The woman replied sternly.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and nodded. "Yeah, the Hokage gave me some books on Konoha but are there any on the lands outside of Konoha? He took me to the top of Hokage monument and I could see stuff in the distance and I wanted to know if there's something else out there?"

"Of course there is." The woman replied hotly.

"Yeah but what is there?"

"Other countries and villages of course!"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That sounds so cool; do you have any books on that? Maybe with some pictures."

The woman rubbed her temples. "Uh, yes, but considering your young age you won't have accesses to all the books here, nor will you be able to take them home with you."

Ah, so limiting me to a degree? Though perhaps it simply related to more adult maters, I'm curious just what books will be off limits. "Can I read them here then?"

The woman nodded "Yes, we have two lecture halls, but seeing as there still under renovation because of an unfortunate incident" she glared at him at the incident part "you will have to stay here."

"Alright!" Did the Kyuubi attack affect this place as well? Is she blaming me?

"Wait right here and don't touch anything."

It was when the woman got out from behind her desk that Naruto could see that she had a wooden left leg; he wasn't sure if it ran above her knee of remained just under it. So she may have been injured in the Kyuubi attack and got stuck here, I guess she blames me as well. He gritted his teeth and then calmed down. It's not like I wanted this either.

After the woman returned with three books she escorted Naruto to a table not far from the reception desk.

"You have an hour and a half until lunch brake when the library closes and the opens again in one hour, don't draw anything on them and don't rip them either." She told him in a professional tone of voice.

Naruto nodded and took a seat opening one of the books brought to him, one with a lot pictures in it. Well at least I can claim I liked the pictures in the book.

Naruto placed his left hand under the cover of the book and used his right hand to turn the pages, he briefly closed his eyes and focused the way Yukimura had taught him, a signal that it was time to act, he felt a small familiar feeling as Yukimura's magic coursed through his body again and spread out, he could feel it touching the books near him all the while slowly moving towards the others as well.

As more people came into the library Naruto noticed how a part of them sent him cold glares, he ignored them and returned to his book. Half and hour later the library closed as it was lunch time, he went back to his apartment and dropped the books the Hokage gave him, he quickly eat and then returned to the library and signaled Yukimura to continue as before, this time Naruto stayed until late into the evening.

He would return and repeat the process in the following days, switching seats to be closer to the parts of the library that he hadn't been close to the days before, if anything changed in does days it was the fact that it appeared that with the passage of time and him spending so much time there the first libraries he had met was warming up to him while her colleagues, that he later met as well kept a neutral tone with him.

While Naruto lay on a chair listening to the Hokage talk, he couldn't help but smile at what the Hokage was doing, gently pushing him to want the title of Hokage, talking about how loved and acknowledge the previous Hokages were, feeding his need to do the same and desire the title, he had doing this for quite a while, always dropping a hind about it in other conversations as well. Currently the Hokage was talking about how great summons were and how most of the previous Hokages had summons as well.

"Wow they sound great old man, so you have a summons as well right?" he asked in a cheerful and curious tone.

The Hokage nodded as he stamped a piece of paper. "Yes I do Naruto-kun, I have the monkey summons."

"Monkeys?" he looked puzzled "Are they cool?"

"I like to think so; they all have their own unique fighting style and jutsu."

What is he playing at? I'll need to ask Yukimura and Sayaka about the summons when I see them next time. "They sound awesome" Let's try something though, stir the waters a bit. "Could I sign your contract in the future?"

The Hokage shook his head, as he stamped another piece of paper. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun but the monkey summons have sworn themselves to my family alone. But perhaps one day you will sign a summon contract as well."

"I don't think I'll ever be so lucky." He answered in a downtrodden voice. Let's hear your answer.

"Have faith Naruto-kun, a bright boy such as yourself, why you never know what may happen." The Hokage answered in warm tone of voice looking compassionately at him.

Does that mean he already has someone who will let me sign a contract in the future? He mentioned the toads as well, why would he want me to become their summoner? The Yondaime had them, could they actually become my allies or is it some sort of a sick joke, them having the jinjuriki of the Kyuubi as their summoner, the two who are viewed as responsible for the Yondaime's death, their last summoner. Uh this is just more food for thought. "Ok old man." Naruto nodded and smiled again before rubbing his stomach slightly. "I'll think I'll go to eat something; can you come over to Ichiraku's?"

"Sadly not today Naruto-kun, I'm rather busy." The Hokage motioned towards the papers on his desk.

"Ah" he answered in a resigned voice "that's too bad, maybe next time old man." When he reached the front of the door leading out of the room he stopped briefly and turned around. "Hey old man if I make dinner for us will you come eat?"

The Hokage looked at him curiously for a moment. "Of course."

"Do you promise?" he asked in a hopefully and meek tone of voice. Come on remember what you said old man.

"Yes I promise Naruto-kun." The Hokage answered in a warm grandfatherly voice.

"And… you wouldn't break it would you?" That's it just a bit more.

"Of course not" Naruto noted how the Hokage's voice was firm as steel.

Excellent. "That's great old man!"

"What brought this on though Naruto-kun?" The Hokage asked in a curious tone keeping his eyes on Naruto.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well I just wanted to say thanks for what you've done for me old man, with the people teaching me stuff and all, and I hear that that's how you repay people."

The Hokage smiled and nodded. "That's rather thoughtful of you, very well then Naruto-kun, I wish you luck for it."

Naruto waved at him as he left the room.

The Hokage returned his gaze to the stack of papers on his desk, Uh if only things could be as pleasant as this was for the rest of the day; he picked up one piece of paper from the desk and looking over it quickly before he placed it back down and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Tensions with the Uchiha and Kurama clan are slowly rising, and now with members Kurama clan losing their lives on missions and their bodies not even being recovered, he rubbed his temples this time, things are just getting worse with them.

The Hokage let out a tired breath, well at least business is going well and Konoha has plenty of missions coming in. Hmm I still have a bit until the meeting with Shinga to discus his research. The Hokage looked over a mission report that he had put aside. It appears Itachi Uchiha is quickly rising through the ranks, already a chunin at age ten and wants to join Anbu, he's already been taped by them as well, hmm well best to see how he does in the coming months and then decide on the matter. The Hokage lit his pipe before returning to the stack of papers on his desk.

Takenao Toma sighed as he read another page of an old book about vegetables, he was planning on growing a few more vegetables and then to sell them in his shop later, but first he needed to know how to take care of them and what work was needed for each one of the plants. His shop sold vegetables and other foods made from them, he used recipes handed down from his great grandfather to make the food, what other things he sold that he didn't grow or make himself were usually either bought from some of the people in Konoha or brought in with the trade caravans from towns nearby. The food business in Konoha is always profitable.

He avoided the meat products and milk ones, they were too complicated for his taste, it was in his opinion best to stick with something simpler, the few chickens he had drank water every day, he didn't want to think how much water cows, pigs and sheep drank. I could probably water my crops for a week with the water they drink in a day. Takenao turned another page of the book, the smell of fresh cut radishes filled the store from the small snack he had eaten earlier in the morning. He owned the store and like many others was the shopkeeper as well, the store wasn't large more medium size overall, but at least it has his, he had good relations with the other store owners and made sure not to step on anybody's toes, a few had connections with the merchants guild representative and could make things difficult for him.

Takenao turned a new page, it was a good day he decided, there wasn't anything that could ruin it, a small noise made from a bell he had hung near the door alerted him that someone walked into the store and he put the book down to look at who it was, a small felling of dread began curling up in his stomach, his day had gotten far worse then he thought it could ever get.

"Heya mister." A small blue eyed blond boy with six whisker marks on his cheeks spoke to him waving a hand. The boy was dressed in dark blue pants and had a grey jacket with a red line running down the sides of the arms starting from the shoulders.

It's him! Takenao cringed. The kid was a sore topic for the people of Konoha, he had seen him walking around the market once or twice, and heard that the kid had bought products from a few merchants. Takenao had been informed that the word was to either deny him service or sell him food close to the expiration date or better yet already expired. The boy looked to have such innocent eyes. "Can I help you?" He tried keeping a tone as neutral as he could, money was still money.

The boy's eyes widened. "Yeah, I need the stuff on this list." The boy pulled out a piece of paper from a pocket of his pants and gave it to him.

Takenao quickly read the list, he had everything on the list and there were a few products that were close to the expiration date, a few were expired ones as well, he could defiantly score some points with the other merchants if hr gave the kid those products. Takenao smiled. "All right then I'll get you these products."

Naruto smiled "Really, thank you mister!" he finished in an honest tone of voice.

Again Takenao noticed those wide blue innocent eyes and felt a small tinge of regret before he pushed that aside. "Just wait right here" Takenao noticed the boy nod enthusiastically. It took a bit longer to gather everything on the list, he made sure that most of the stuff was either close to the expiration date or expired. Heh I'll add a bit more to the price and everything will be great.

"Here's everything on the list and the price for them." Takenao handed Naruto a piece of paper with the bill.

"That seems like a lot mister." Naruto responded in a bewildered tone.

Takenao furrowed his eyebrows and scowled. "It's what it costs, unless you're saying that I'm lying." he put more force behind the last words trying his best to sound intimidating. Takenao flinched a bit when the boy seemed to withdraw into himself, yet at the same time he felt a bit of pride for this accomplishment.

"No mister." Naruto reached into his pockets and after counting the money handed it to the man. "Thanks mister." Naruto told the man as he picked up the bag with the products.

Takenao smiled. "No problem kid." Heh, maybe this day won't be so bad after all, this will defiantly win me points with the other merchants.

Naruto smiled. "Now I can make a great dinner for the nice old man, I'll definitely tell him I bought the food from here."

"He's nice huh?" Takenao responded absentmindedly looking for his book again. Make they'll both get food poisoning. Oh well no skin of my back if some old fart get's sick as well.

Naruto nodded his head "Yeah old man Hokage's great!"

Takenao's eyes bulged, his blood froze in his veins, he felt his toe nails digging into his shoes and his butt cheeks clenched faster then he could ever imagine possible. That can't be right, there now way that that's possible. A small memory rushed through his mind, one that he had not paid attention at first and pushed it to the back of his mind, a memory of a few merchants talking about the boy and the Hokage walking through the market place not long ago.

Takenao gulped. "So your making dinner for the Hokage?" he asked, his voice shaking, he had already begun to sweat.

Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically and answered in a cheerful tone of voice. "Yeah, the old man promised he'd come and eat it as well."

Takenao felt his heart skip a beat, maybe there's still a chance it won't happen, he steadied his voice. "Oh, well you know the Hokage's a busy man, he may not make it after all." Of please Kami, please.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. "No way! he promised he'd be there, he said it was really important to keep your promises, so he'll definitely arrive and eat dinner with me just like he promised."

Takenao began sweating heavily. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Maybe I can blame it on his cooking skills. "Can you actually cook kid? Making food isn't exactly easy you know, a lot of things can go wrong."

Naruto nodded happily and smiled before answering "Yeah, the old man got someone to teach me how to do it and that person said I was really good at it, the old man said he was impressed with me."

Of course he did, damn I can't blame on that then, the Hokage probably got someone to teach the kid after all and that person would report to him on the progress. He noticed the boy begging to leave. I can't let him go. "Hey kid wait a minute." He called out his voice was close to breaking.

"What is it mister?" Naruto asked curiously.

Takenao had beads of sweat running down his temples and forehead; he began to chew his lower lip. Shit, what do I do? If I sell him any good stuff I'll get into trouble with the other merchants and they could even ostracize me, but if I let him go with the food he's got I could end up accidentally giving the Hokage food poisoning, and I don't know what kinds of trouble that will bring down on my head, could the Hokage actually kill me or would I end up in prison after a visit at Torture and Interrogation?. A chill went down his spine; there was talk of a rising star there that very good at breaking people.

As Naruto looked on at the man he had a hard time not smilling, Yukimura's words resounding in his head. Force people to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose, put them on the horns of a dilemma, they are gored wherever they turn. Naruto laughed on the inside, while on the outside his mask did not betray him. If the Hokage get's food poisoning I doubt he will sit idly by, it's one thing when someone else suffers it's entierly something else when you're the one who suffers, he will make an example out of this man and the others will think twice about trying it on me as well or if the merchant chooses to sell me the good stuff he will also be less inclined to act against me in the future becouse of the known risk, either way it works in my favor.

Takenao put on his best smile and rubbed his hands together. "Well if it's for the Hokage maybe I should add something more."

Naruto gave the man a strange look. "But I don't have any more money mister." he answered in a down trotted tone of voice.

Takenao waved his hands in a dismissive manner. "Don't worry it's free of charge." Just give me the damn bag back so I can switch the food around.

Naruto tightened his grip on the bag, furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. "No way mister, that's special treatment and the Hokage said I shouldn't get that, and I don't think he'd want that it either, it doesn't sound fair to me."

Of course, Kami damn it all. Takenao's finger nails dug into his wooden counter, he looked at the bag the boy had, he spotted one of the products and an idea struck him, he quickly raised his hands from the counter. "You know kid I think I made a mistake when I added the prices up."

Naruto backed away slowly and asnwered in a frightened tone of voice. "You mean I have to pay more?"

Takeno wildly waved his hands in front of himself. "No no no, it's actually less kid." Sweat still poured from his temples and he felt his back wet.

Naruto's eyes widened "You mean I get money back?" he answered in a bewildered tone of voice.

Takenao nodded his head furiously. "Yes, uh looking at it now I think I added something a bit more expensive by accident."

"But why?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I um... don't have my glasses on. So just give them back and I'll look over the list again."

Naruto looked strangely at the man. "But you still don't have your glasses on mister."

Takenao just clenched his teeth, his toe nails all but reached the wood floor through his shoes, he smiled sweetly again "How about you just read me the list, ok kid?"

Naruto nodded "Ok mister."

As soon as Takenao got his hand of the bag he felt a weight lifted of his shoulders, he quickly swapped the products for fresh ones and handed them back to the boy, while also giving him back a part of the money. He had tried offering the boy some special discount but he stubbornly refused, even trying to create special offers just for the current day, but the boy still refused. Uh, I guess he's just a kid, a bit on the stupid side, and too innocent to do any harm, add the connections to the Hokage that he can blab to and that's a dangerous kind of a fool to anger. Takenao let out a sigh of relief as the boy left; maybe he could lie about what happened, he didn't need to tell the other merchants anything, it wasn't certain that they would find out. Yeah, I can try and deny it after all. Those plans came to a crashing halt when he heard a voice from outside his store and his blood froze in his veins.

"Thanks again for all the great stuff mister! I hope you find your glasses so you don't overcharge people again."

Takenao saw the boy waving enthusiastically at him with a stupidly innocent smile on his and a few people staring at him, amongst them a few of merchants as well, he paled a bit. Well shit, guess I'm going to try and tell them about the kid's connection to the Hokage, I just hope they believe me. Dear Kami I wish the kids never comes back; I don't know how many days like this I can take.

Naruto's Anbu guard let out a relived breath as she saw the boy finaly go to sleep, her mission was simple enough, watch over the Uzumaki to make sure no one attacked him and report if it looked like he couldn't handle anything related to living alone, which he seems to be able to do remarkably well, he is a fool but has the fool's luck as well, those innocent blue eyes appear to absorb everything they see.

The Anbu let out a sigh, she was just a few months away from retierment and had been given this assaingment becouse of her good track record, the Hokage needed someone who would do the job and do it well, following orders to the letter, the last Anbu guard who had taken liberties with following orders had learned of the consequences his actions. She had hoped that she could do a few more high class missions before her retirement but it had been for not after the attack on the Uzumaki.

She gently checked her surroundings before returning her gaze to the boy, she had been part of the high guard in Anbu, and now she would end her carrer babysiting, she could still hear the snickers, the chicken guarding the fox, she had worn the chicken mask with pride and made it something fierce.

At least this way she could better train the new Anbu member Cat, and ensure she received training befiting a potential new high guard member. And after everything was said and done she would retire and leave the village, her husband's crippling injury and her own long years in Anbu, adding the fact that they wanted to start a family and work on a farmland, one that her husband's family had left him and that would be near the border with The Land of Rivers and they could act as spies all but ensured their departure from the village, she was lucky in many ways, that region was amongst the few green regions in Fire Country and they wouldn't need to tap into their nest egg too much.

As much as they would have liked moving out of the country it was unfortunatly out of the question, while as civilians it wasn't much of a big deal, for a ninja and one who had actualy distingueshed themselves such as her, that would raise some alarm bells, so most of the other countries where she and her husband could move too fell of the map, those that remained like the lower countries were in many ways to bloody, she shuddered remembering some of the missions done there, blood always seemed to be spilled in that place, her only other real option would be to move to a country near Iron but conditions were much harsher there.

Already it would require a few Yamanaka's to go through her mind before leaving, she shuddered to think what would happen if there was a suspicion of treason, she has seen the end result of an interrogation that had been too brutal and had reduced the person to a drooling mess that received a swift kunai to the neck as a mercy killing.

Staying in Konoha was out of the question, both her and her husband agreed on that matter, even now she would lay done her life for the village if it was needed but after serving as an Anbu and being part of the Assassination Batallion her view of the village and her country had changed greatly. As much as she had loved her village before when she was still a small child now that feeling of love had been beaten, stabbed and had blead out heavely in a ditch before getting back up only to receive a shovel to the face. Both she and her husband didn't want any of their children to grow up in Konoha and become shinobi, the village had a tendency to chew up and spit out shinobi in some of the worst ways imaginable.

She had attempted to persuade her little brother and his wife to move away as well or at least refraing from having their children become shinobi, sadly they hadn't listened and adopted two children recently who they hoped would become shinobi like them one day. She shook her head remembering little Kari's wide smile and innocent eyes, the girl seemed far too fragile to ever become a shinobi, and considering what was required of shinobi she could see little Kari being broken by the profession in to many ways to count, those wide innocent being replaced with a hollow gaze from the horrors she would witness and many times would commit herself.

The current daimyo was unfortunately weak willed and easily swayed by the court members on what decision to make, that of course when the man wasn't delegating his tasks away to others, and this in turn led to some people and their families gaining more power and influence, amassing great wealth, that in turn they wouldn't share but rather horde it all for themselves.

With the daimyo's more lax approach on governing, each region had began making its own laws and taxes, the regions ended up colliding with each other on several occasions, small infighting between them had become normal, and not paying taxes the favorite game of the governors and nobles or at the very least paying as little as possible.

The regional governors had become more and more secure in their position and with it solidified they slowly began to indulge themselves in more and more depravities, she herself had been sent on a mission to kill a few of the little boys that had escaped a nobleman's harem. She had barely refrained herself from killing that man and had hoped and prayed that a mission would come to kill him, sadly it never came.

Worse was the issues of the succession that was still unclear as the daimyo was believed to have had sired many children, however the validity of those claims were contested, most of his children had been married into noble families or started their own, add the fact that the oldest two had died recently, and a potential civil war seemed near. One of the daimyo's sons, Kenijirou, looked to be the new favorite; however the problem lay in the fact that he was also the most unstable of the bunch, his own depravities made some of the other nobles blush, and that was an achievement not to be envied.

She cringed when she thought about Kenijirou actually becoming the daimyo, the country would mostly likely collapse in on itself in a few short years during his reign and make it ripe for invasion from the other countries, at least the green zones were safe, or as safe as they could be, they were the areas where things were still normal and livable, they had a clear set of laws to follow, a good administration and the cities weren't something short of a sewage pit like some cities.

Chicken shook her head, shinobi were supposed to be heroes, or at least that's what she had been told as a small child, sacrificing themselves for their village, to keep other people safe, fighting the battles others couldn't. Once a person joined the ranks though that illusion began to shatter, a person needed money to live, money that one got by either joining one of the departments in Konoha, which only got more difficult as time passed, or by doing missions. And the missions would slowly become more and more dark and the fine illusion of being a shinobi would soon shatter into a thousand pieces; while shinobi were still needed they weren't heroes or something even remotely close to it, calling themselves such was a horrific lie.

I don't think a hero every had to drug a woman and using stolen sperm impregnate her with another man's child, so her sterile husband would divorce her and kill his best friend, who was the father and just another victim of a plot to bring down his friend. All done because of a political play and the shadowy game that follows it everywhere, ruining three lives in one stroke.

She sighed there was still little she could do, her gaze fell on the jinjuriki, his life she realized would be even darker then her own, mostly likely he would be kept as a big secret weapon to throw at the enemy when the situation was most dire, in this case he would need to just unleash a bit of the Kyuubi's power and run wild, or be trained to become Konoha's ultimate weapon, though seeing as how he had not received any training that option seemed less and less likely.

She didn't understand why he was given such a small apartment in this old building, while it was perfectly livable, she didn't understand why he wasn't kept in a place were he could be monitored appropriately, but it wasn't her place to think about her orders, that had become quite clear during her career, she just had to carry them out.

The jinjuriki could by all accounts take care of himself, no other attacks had occurred and she could recommend that guard duty for him cease later when her mission ended and the academy semester began in two weeks, Anbu were always needed somewhere else, Konoha had a lot of missions coming in. As she relaxed her shoulders she noticed the jinjuriki shift in his sleep, one thing seemed to be that the Uzumaki slept quite a lot, perhaps it is simply something from the attack, she quietly began to get into a meditative position that would allow her to rest and remain vigilant at the same time, something that sadly only a few Anbu still knew nowadays.

Flash back before Naruto woke up at the start of the chapter.

Naruto parried another sword swipe and quickly countered managing to land a blow on his opponent's left arm forcing him to drop his blade then he swiftly brought his second sword to his opponent's neck and watched as he disappeared a moment later.

"Well done Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded and placed his swords back upon the rack from where he had taken them at start of the match, he picked up a glass of water from a table near it and looked around the dojo, as part of his training Sayaka and Yukimura would recreate images of people they had fought in the past and have him fight them as well, each person had a different style and forced him to adapt to them giving him experience in fighting different styles and opponents, often he would have to fight multiple opponents at once. His most recent opponent had been a boy with spiky blond hair and red eyes, a golden set of metal armor, and a large red blade, with a curious spiral design to it.

"Go clean up and join us in the living room."

Naruto nodded and left the dojo, after they returned from sledding, they had eaten and after two hours, time in which he read in the library Sayaka called him to practice his fighting styles in the dojo. After quickly washing up he made his way into the living room, both Yukimura and Sayaka were sitting on chairs in the middle of the room, another empty chair was nearby with a small wooden table with a tea pot and cups on it was between the three of them.

Naruto looked around the room he hadn't been in it all that often, the rug in the room always seemed to stand out to him, it was of a dark color and had blood red falcate shaped leafs upon it. He made his way to the empty seat and sat down taking a sip of the tea and looking at the two, Yukimura wore a pair of black pants and a white shirt; to Naruto's surprise he also wore a pair of black socks. Sayaka on the other hand wore black fitting pants and a dark blue sweater.

"Felling better?" Yukimura asked when Naruto lowered his tea cup.

"A little" he answered.

"I take it that you've formed some sort of plan by now to deal with the situation in Konoha." Yukimura asked as he picked up his own tea cup.

"I have a few ideas about it."

"Well let's hear them Naruto-kun, we'll add to them as we go along."

Naruto nodded. "Right now I still have food at the apartment but once it run's out I'll need more, so I either have to go hunting or buy some, but after seeing how the people look at me, I think I will have a harder time doing so. This doesn't include the fact that I don't have any money of my own yet or the Hokage's spying on me."

"Indeed, the Hokage will most likely give you a small allowance, now what are you thinking about the other matters?"

"I'll have to use it to my advantage, maybe if my Anbu guard reports the fact that the merchants aren't treating me fairly the Hokage will intervene to get them to change their minds."

"Perhaps" Yukimura intoned sipping his tea.

"However, it would be best to show the Anbu and the Hokage that I can manage my own money so that he will stop with a part of his spying."

Yukimura placed his cup back on the table "And if the Hokage decides not to intervene and aid you or the Anbu guard doesn't report your merchant problems to him?"

"I force the issue." he answered quickly.

Yukimura smiled and raised an eyebrow in a curious manner. "Oh, do tell how you would achieve such a thing."

Naruto let out a small breath. "I invite the Hokage over to dinner, to show that I can manage on my own and what I've learned so far, perhaps to show my gratitude for his help. I buy some food from a merchant that will sell only expired food or close to the expiration date and casually mention what a nice man he is and that I'll be sure to mention it to the Hokage from were I got the food. The merchant will then have a choice, he either sells me food that isn't harmful and doesn't risk it in the future either or he let's things play out in which case I use the food and give myself and the Hokage a few stomach problems."

Noticing the skeptical looks on Yukimura and Sayaka's faces he continued. "I'll simply act like an innocent little child who doesn't even know what a lie is, making it difficult for the merchant to believe I'm lying to him. This would plant the idea of the Hokage coming over from time to time and potentially hurting the Hokage because of his food, something that I doubt he would risk. He would then have to choose to either start selling me good food and get in trouble with the other merchants or have trouble with the Hokage, either way I force him to make a choice between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve my purpose and he is gored wherever he turns." Both Yukimura and Sayaka gave him proud smiles.

"Not bad. And if the Anbu informs the Hokage of the quality of the purchased food and the Hokage decides not to eat it?"

"Simple, I make him promise beforehand that he will show up and eat the food, if doesn't then I use it against him that he doesn't keep his promises and that I can't trust him, how I shouldn't keep my promises either then. If he manages to wiggle his way out I have him promise again and repeat the processes once more. Add a small scene for the Anbu to witness where I cry that the Hokage refused in the end and that he's like the other villagers."

"Not bad Naruto-kun, it still needs a few changes to it but it's nothing we can't fix. Now what if that merchant has to close shop because of the pressure that other merchants exert on him?"

"I mention how I get my food from there to the Hokage, so that will a good point for him, and if closes shop, then I'll…." He stopped he couldn't repeat the processes forever.

"Well?" Yukimura asked.

A smile spread over his face. "Strike the Sheppard and the sheep will scatter, I casually observe the market place to see who the most influential or high placed merchant is and make an example out of him."

A proud smiled spread over Yukimura's face. "Excellent, I'm glad you're using the lessons you've taught you. Now about the academy and your ability to read and write properly"

Naruto rubbed his chin. "I could try and make friends at the academy, but insist that the Hokage find someone to help tutor me to help learn to better read and write before going to the academy to not look stupid, as it could impede my ability to make friends, I'll add that I got teased because of that at the orphanage, not that it isn't true."

"Indeed, consider that he may want to enroll you earlier with children older then you."

"Why would he do that? I would have a lot of difficulty there if that was the case, I would be at a disadvantage for any physical activities."

"He would know exactly where you are at all times, either at the academy or at home."

"Hmm, I can… observe at first the atmosphere there and see how things progress, if it's that bad I'll drop out, I doubt he would deny me the chance to enroll again next year. Considering my situation I don't think he will allow me to live a civilian life, if he considers it, I do know some of the skills you taught me to help survive, I could simply say that I'll become a writer and then write some of the books we have here in the library and claim that I came up with them."

"Good, very good actually."

"As to the mater related too your future friends."

"Anybody will do, however I'll keep my eyes open especially for clan heirs, or clan members."

"And why is that?" Sayaka asked raising her cup of tea, she was holding it with three fingers, her Pinky and ring finger were held closed.

"They will be in a position of power in the future and it never hurts to have someone like that as a friend or ally."

"True. While we do know some skills, quite a few of the shinobi arts of this world are still a mystery to us, how will you fix that?"

"The library, can you use your magic like you did before in the hospital and in my apartment to read books, could magic be used for such a thing?"

"Why yes it can. It won't be useful every time though and there is the matter of learning from a book and learning from a person."

"Hmm, I'll try a see if one of the academy teachers is willing to actually teach me, if not perhaps I can blackmail one."

"Good."

"Don't rely entirely on the Hokage, building your base with him as the support is faulty as it will crumble when he dies, and considering his advanced age, that may come soon enough."

"I know that" he told them in an irate tone of voice "but I'm using what I have available at the moment, I'll still work on finding a way to catch my own food and grow it as well, but I need time to do that and to get out from under his watch."

"Just the answer we were looking for" Sayaka intoned giving him a small smile as she raised her tea cup again.

"What? A flicker of realization passed through his eyes, "you were testing me!"

"Yes." Sayaka brought her cup down and placed it on the table.

Yukimura filled the tea cups again and looked towards Naruto. "Keep in mind that you will need friends, allies and servants."

"Servants? hmm" he rubbed his chin "I'll keep an eye open for that as well then."

"We may be able to help you more on that matter"

"In what way?" he asked. Could they create someone like that?

"If it comes down to it, we can create a way for you to send some people here to the god realm and we help convince them to join your side."

"That sounds incredible useful, but there has to be some sort of catch, we could simply use it on the Hokage or merchants if not."

"Once here, they would need to remain until they agree to join your side, if the Hogake were to disappear it would cause chaos, likewise a change in personality would arouse suspicion, so that option falls through as well. You could in the future bring someone here who you greatly trust."

"That's definitely an option I'll consider, but these people joining me sound more like a secret agents more then anything"

"Perhaps they will be, while you remain here we will continue your training, but after you leave here we will ask you to not return for a month."

"What? Why?" he asked panicking.

"We want to see how you handle things on your own Naruto-kun, consider it part of your training."

"I...alright"

"Cheer up it won't be that bad." Both Sayaka and Naruto gave Yukimura and annoyed look. Yukimura coughed awkwardly "Well how about I tell you about what I've come up with about dealing with the seals in your room and show you how to signal me to use my magic when you reach the library."

Review away

Constructive criticism or pointing out possible errors/issues within the story is always welcomed.

Check out the poll on my page and the forum where the other polls are.

Old A.N:

- honestly the roads in Konoha don't look paved, a good rain will mess everything up

- the buildings look…unique? That's one word for them, I prefer rather messed up overall but hey there have been worse

- him going to the academy for this reason does make sense, the Hokage knows where he can be found most of time and he wouldn't be lonely.

- The dialogue scene with the person that the Hokage got to help Naruto learn to read and write was cut and replaced in the end.

- Itachi's age seems to be a bit of a problem, and by problem I mean plot hole, so he's chunin at 10, ok, joined Anbu roughly half a year later, er ok, why not? I think he joined Akatsuki after the massacre that happened when Sasuke was 8 and Itachi was 13 and then beat Orochimaru who ran away after his defeat. But here's the thing, Jiraya mentioned that Orochimaru left the organization seven years before the story started. So Itachi had to have become a full-pledged member of Akatsuki when he was 11 and beat down Orochimaru, all the while being an Anbu member, so damn did he ever multitask or what? Clan member, Anbu and Akatsuki member, talk about running ragged no wonder the guy got sick. Here I'm going to change a few things to make things less… muddy.

- The daimyo being weak willed can actually be seen in the few scenes he's appears in, he's a bit harder during the meeting with the others daimyos discussing the alliance but then returns to his rather normal self. There was just one movie that had him being a bit more forceful.

Finished writing chapter 6 on 26 III 2014 I wonder how long until it's posted?

I recommend the Gotrek and Felix series of books, I started with Orcslayer, Manslayer was good as well, Elfslayer is by far my favorite, while Shamanslayer and Zombieslayer are great as well, Zombieslayer has one hell of a siege.

Story recommendations :

End Game Version R by Kur0Kishi

This is so bloody damn kick ass, some great fight scenes and bad ass moments in it, add some Fairy Tail music to it and you're golden. Seriously just read it you won't regret it.

The Harsh Truth By: Shadenight123

Wow, just wow, great stuff, I highly recommend it, their's struggle, backstabbing, scheming, and great plot twists. Best of all it's complete.