July 3rd - nearly 4 years after the Kyubi attack

The last two, nearly 3 years of Naruto's young life went without major accidents. He was as happy as a child could be. His big sister Shizune was as loving and stern as ever and his big brother Kakashi was as cool as you can get. Sadly he was only around once a year and for some odd reason his sister always tried to take a little bit of Kakashi's attention away from him. Why couldn't she realise that Kakashi was his big brother.

The yearly visits of his big brother and his surrogate grandfather were the highlight of his year. The old man always had fascinating stories about great shinobis like Sakumo Hatake, the Senju brothers or his father Minato Namikaze. Yes Naruto knew who his parents are. Ero-grandpa told him on his third birthday after he questioned who his father was and why he looked like the late student of the toad sage. After that day it made sense to him, why it felt wrong to call his grandma, mum.

As much as Tsunade would have liked to be called mum by him, since he could speak he only called her grandma. At first she was a little bit depressed but remembered that her little Naru-Chan would forever be her little Naru-Chan. So what if she was only his grandmother? She would always be the motherlike figure in his life.

Right now we see a 3 nearly 4 year old Naruto holding Shizune's hand walking towards a small pond near the Senju cottage. It was incredibly hot today so his sister took him to the pond to cool himself off. His appearance didn't change that much. He was still a mini version of his father with 3 whisker-like lines on his cheeks. He is relatively tall for his age and wore a simple white t-shirt with a toad on the front. On his back he proudly displayed his clans crests. A red whirlpool with Senju emblem on top of it. The only major change were 3 red lines, one on either of his cheeks and the last one on his chin.

On his 3rd birthday Naruto accidentally channeled his chakra for the first time while playing tag with Kakashi and Shizune. Neither Tsunade nor the Sandaime understood why they appeared. But it was now undeniable that Naruto was Senju, spotting the same marks as his great granduncle Tobirama. Naruto thought it made him look badass like the Nidaime. Tsunade thought they made him look adorable.

"Are we there yet Zune?," the curious voice of Naruto asked his sister.

"Just another minute Naru," came her reply. "But you said that already a minute ago," Naruto wined on. He didn't mean it to be rude but a young Uzumaki/Senju child has a lot of energy to waste. Especially if he also has a massive fox made of chakra in one's tummy. Not that Naruto would know about the fox yet.

Shizune didn't respond as the pond came into view. "Yatta!" Naruto screamed while running towards the pond, discarding his clothes his way to it. Shizune could only smile and shake her head at his antics. He always had more energy than a normal child his age would have.

Once he arrived he jumped straight into the pond. The pond itself wasn't that deep and Naruto was a very good swimmer. He loved being inside of water and swimming came naturally to him. Shizune couldn't help but smile. "Looks like someone is enjoying himself."

The only response she got was being splashed into the face of the young blond. Although Shizune was a little bit irritated, the sound of Naruto's laughter melted her irritation away. Naruto was just a happy kid and his laughter would infect everyone around him.

"Say Zune," Naruto began "Water was Uncle Tobirama's element, right?" "Yes Naru. Your great uncle was the greatest water-release user of all time," Shizune responded.

Naruto's eyes became stars "Really? Uncle Tobi must have been super powerful. Maybe even stronger than Grandpa or Dad."

"Yes he was very powerful. He was said to be as strong as his older brother was. Considering that Lord Hashirama was known as the God of Shinobi and is widely believed to be the strongest shinobi to ever live," Shizune told an excited Naruto "it is even more remarkable considering that he didn't have a bloodline like his brother."

Naruto was amazed at how powerful his uncle apparently was. "Amazing so he was stronger than Dad?" "While your dad was very powerful, without Lord Tobirama your father wouldn't have been as powerful," Shizune replied. Seeing the confused face of her little brother she continued "Lord Minato's signature technique was the Hirashin also known as the Jutsu of the flying thunder god."

"What a cool name," Naruto was amazed how badass his father was to use a jutsu with that name. "But why is uncle Tobi important to dad?"

"Because your uncle invented the jutsu. Your father however used it to its fullest potential."

Naruto's eyes couldn't become any bigger. His uncle was apparently so badass that his father, the greatest hero of hidden leaf, used his technique to become the legend he became.

"Wow that's amazing. Say Zune, do you think I could learn to become as cool and strong as uncle Tobi?" Naruto asked.

"Of course Naru. If you work hard enough, you can achieve anything," she replied.

"Really?" Naruto asked and seeing Shizune nodding continued "Then I will work harder than anyone. One day I will learn how to use the Hiraishin and I'm going to a greater shinobi than anyone before! Just believe it!" Naruto proclaimed while busting his fist towards Shizune.

Shizune was speechless. Not just because of the proclamation made by Naruto but because of another thing. Why did water flow around Naruto's arm. Naruto's reaction was a little bit different "What the…!" "Language Naru!"

July 5th - a few days later

"So Naruto's affinity to water might rival you uncle?" Jiraiya just arrived a few minutes earlier for his monthly visit. To say he was shocked that his godson affinity to water was apparently that strong would be an understatement.

"That's what Shizune said. I believe he lacks control over it tho. It never happened before that day," Tsunade's initial reaction was the same as Jiraiya's. But she couldn't be any prouder. Naruto proved to be a true Senju and worthy heir to the most powerful clan in history.

"Not being able to control it might be dangerous Tsunade"

"What do you suggest?"

"We going to start his training. I know we planned to wait till his fifth birthday, but his affinity might be dangerous if he can't control it. We won't do anything major. Just basic chakra control exercises and the basics to water-transformation," Jiraiya replied.

While Tsunade doesn't like the idea of starting his training early, she agreed with Jiraiya. If they would leave his affinity untrained, he could become a danger to himself and those around him. So she silently agreed with her old teammate.

Jiraiya didn't wait for her response and headed towards his godson, who was in the garden. He found him taking care of some flowers Shizune planted upon moving into the cottage. To say that Naruto had a green thumb, would be an understatement.

"Ero-grandpa!" Naruto shouted and ran towards his godfather, who in turn chuckled at the nickname. 'He definitely takes after Kushina' Jiraiya thought back to the redhead who called him Ero-Sennin. "How are you brat. I heard about the pond."

"You did? It was really scary ero-grandpa, water isn't supposed to do that isn't it?" the curious blond asked Jiraiya.

"No it isn't but I know why it reacted that way."

"You do? Tell me. Tell me"

"Well your grandma and I believe that your affinity to water-transformation is comparable to your uncle Tobiramas."

"It is. I always knew that I'm awesome Ero-grandpa."

Jiraiya just chuckled at his response. "Yeah you are. But after this day I expect you to call me sensei Naruto." After noticing the confused look on Naruto's face he continued "starting with tomorrow, your shinobi training begins."

"You will train me?"

"Of course I will. I trained your father so of course I will train you to. And I make sure that you will surpass your father Minato."

"And uncle Tobi?"

Albeit confused that Naruto apparently wanted to surpass his grand uncle he replied "Of course my boy. I make you stronger than our esteemed Nidaime."

Naruto couldn't contain his smile. Tomorrow his journey as shinobi would begin and he would become a greater shinobi than his father, his grandfather or his grand uncle. ''I won't disappoint you sensei."

And Jiraiya knew that his new student wouldn't. Considering how smart Naruto and how much energy he had, he will easily become a student worthy of Jiraiya the Gallant. 'He is going to be a joy to train and hopefully he will become a goldmine like Minato was. He attracted so much attention worthy of proper research,' the old man thought lecherously but also wondered, 'Is it just me or did his flowers start to bloom brigter? Must be my imagination.'

AN: And that's it for chapter 2. I think this chapter shows who my favorite Hokage is. Tobirama is kinda underrated tbh. I mean the guy not only was said to be on par with his brother, he also essentially created the entire academy system and created so many jutsus. I also strongly believe that he established most of Konoha's infrastructure during his brother's reign.

I just wanted to make Naruto admire his badass uncle and give him a connection to him. Water-Release is super cool in my opinion and will be a main pillar of Naruto's strength. See you soon.