"I humbly request permission to join the ranks of the ANBU, Hokage-sama."
The blonde and blue eyed boy, no older than twelve, is kneeling before the desk at the office within the Hokage tower, his head bowed.
The room is seemingly empty save for two occupants. The hour is late, with only the dim moonlight shining through the open windows.
The other occupant of the office, a man sitting behind the desk, dressed in white robes and pointed white hat calmly regards the child before him. Seconds tick by in silence before he replies.
"This is a surprise, Aqua-kun…" The white robed man opens a drawer on his desk and takes out a pipe. He slowly and deliberately fills and lights it, taking a draw, before exhaling a cloud of smoke.
"After your promotion following the Chunin exams, when I myself made you the offer to join the ranks of the ANBU, you declined and stated your intent to pursue a career as a medic-nin. Tsunade-hime herself vouched for your skills and offered you an apprenticeship…"
The man chews on his pipe thoughtfully.
"This was just a week ago. So what changed now, Aqua-kun?"
The kneeling boy raises his head, his eyes meeting those of the man behind the desk.
"War is coming, Hokage-sama."
The man behind the desk raises an eyebrow at the boy's proclamation.
"...The Hyuga incident?" The man drawls out, thoughtfully.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. Kumo will not back down after their ultimatum. Yet I do not believe that you plan to acquiesce to their demands either." The boy speaks with no hesitation.
"Indeed, I do not, but it is nevertheless a bold proclamation. I know Ei, and he is prone to bluster. He may rage and make demands, but following up on them when it can escalate to a new Shinobi world war, so soon after the previous one…" The man paused.
"Konoha is in a weakened position." The boy took the silent queue to elaborate on his claim. "We have not yet fully recovered after the attack of the Nine-tailed fox, whereas Kumogakure is as strong as it has ever been."
The boy pauses his explanation and the man waves him on to continue.
"I do not claim to know the Raikage as you do, Hokage-sama, and yet it seems to me that if ever, now is the time for our rivals to attempt to revise the status quo of the last peace treaty signed between our nations. A peace treaty signed during a time when our ranks were less depleted and our Jinchuuriki more experienced."
The boy speaks with a deliberate yet polite tone, and when he finishes he calmly returns to silence with a placid mask in place as he awaits the man's reply.
Said man regards the boy with piercing eyes throughout the explanation and even as silence sets in. After a minute he eventually blows out another cloud of smoke and speaks.
"As much as it saddens me to say it, you are correct. Though I suppose it makes me glad that the current youth of the village possess minds clever enough to see the individual trees for the forest…"
The man pauses thoughtfully before continuing.
"Yet what of the reverse? How does this global picture you paint of a coming war have anything to do with your mind changing in regards to joining my ANBU? Are you so bloodthirsty that you wish to fight the enemies of Konoha at the first given opportunity to do so?"
The man's eyes narrow."Or does your sense of pride demand you take to the field instead of saving those in need? I must say, Tsunade will be very disappointed to hear so if that's the case. Good medic-nin are valued just as highly as capable field shinobi, if not more. With the potential you showed, you would be well within your rights to keep away from the front during these coming times…"
The boy's face still betrays nothing, but when he speaks his voice is as hard as steel.
"It is because I do not wish to lose my sister. I would make a request of you, Hokage-sama." The boy's blue eyes reflect the dim light of the moon coming in from the windows.
"In return for me joining the ranks of the ANBU, please do not assign my sister on any missions outside of Konoha's walls during this coming war."
"Oh?" The robed man's voice is seemingly intrigued. "Ruby-chan is graduating this year, is she not? And she is showing much promise. Though her theoretical knowledge could stand to be better, she is still the top of her class when it comes to all practical aspects. Better than most of her instructors. Some even call her a true prodigy. I understand your concern for your twin sibling, but she has much to offer as a valuable asset to our village…"
"Ruby is not ready to face the grim realities of our world." The boy's voice is resolute. "And between the two of us it was I who graduated the academy early. While Ruby is my equal in potential, she will not be able to fully realize it for at least several years still. She lacks the correct mindset, Hokage-sama."
The boy bows his head again, breaking eye contact with his superior.
"Please make use of me instead in this war. I will be a much faster pay-off on your investment than my little sister who still needs time to grow and come into her own."
The man chuckles as the boy finishes speaking.
"And you believe that you already have the correct mindset, to face these grim realities then? Aren't you overestimating yourself a little bit, Aqua-kun?" The man has a wry smile on his face. "It's true that you are perceptive for your age, and have already earned the rank of Chuunin before most of your peers even graduated to become Genin, which shows you do not lack talent. But to attribute un-earned wisdom to yourself seems a bit egotistical, doesn't it?"
The robed man takes another drag at his pipe.
"It's fairly normal to have an aggrandized sense of self at your age I suppose. But the fact of the matter is that while you are certainly ahead in your progress as a Shinobi compared to your sister, it's not to such an extent that it would be worthwhile for me to completely stymie her development by keeping her caged in… Simply in return for you choosing to apply your skills on the battlefield as opposed to in the hospital."
"The way I look at it, it's not exactly a terrible choice for you to apprentice under Tsunade after all, perhaps even becoming an S-rank medic-nin eventually, while Ruby-chan can catch up to your potential as a combat Shinobi in due time as she matures."
"If I were to agree to your proposal I would be trading away one for the other, whereas if I decline Konoha would eventually get both. While my preference would have been for you to join the ranks of my ANBU, it's simply not worth it with this conditional clause added by you."
The room once more descends into silence.
The boy's expression does not waver as after a minute he once again raises his head and makes eye contact with the ruler of his village.
"I must respectfully disagree, Hokage-sama. Because that is not all I am proposing. As a Shinobi of Konoha my allegiance is to you as our leader, but I am also of the Uchiha clan. My oath of loyalty is to Fugaku-sama first and then through him to you."
"Me becoming a member of ANBU and answering to you first, before even my clan, has value to both yourself and the village far beyond any hypothetical potential that I or my sister can display as Shinobi."
A pause.
"..Go on then. What is this hypothetical yet undisclosed value that you can provide me and Konoha?" The man quirks an eyebrow.
"Do you trust your guards, Hokage-sama?" The boy's eyes move from the man and briefly scan the perimeters of the otherwise seemingly empty room.
"With my life, Aqua-kun."
"And with the truth of the Nine-tails attack?"
The robed man's gaze hardens. He raises a hand and gives a subtle signal.
Half a dozen shadows flicker out of the office. The man makes another motion with his hand and the doors close while a haze settles over the windows and a buzz starts radiating from the walls, ceiling, and floor.
"We are alone now, Aqua-kun. Say what it is you intended to."
The boy rises from his kneeling position.
"The current political climate inside of Konoha is unstable. Many blame the Uchiha clan for what happened five years ago. After all, Uchiha Madara was said to be able to control the Nine-tails with his Sharingan. While I do not believe the culprit to have been him, the precedent is there for the Sharingan being capable of such."
The man frowns.
"And how exactly would this be relevant to the current situation, Aqua-kun?"
"The Uchiha clan, despite being a founding clan of Konohagakure, is yet to be honored with having one of its scions appointed to the position of Hokage. In regards to this, there is a certain level of dissatisfaction among some members of the clan leadership-"
The white-robed man snorts.
"-and in addition there is the new general attitude of mistrust and suspicion being leveled at the military police structure being run by the clan. If things continue as they have been, it will all inevitably come to a head."
"It is only a matter of time until the Uchiha will either defect to another Hidden Village or attempt to take control of Konoha through force in order to rectify these grievances." The boy states with the same matter of fact tone one might use to discuss the weather.
To call the following silence heavy would be to say that the warring clans period was mildly unpeaceful.
Not a muscle moves on the boy's face as the man sitting across from him studies the young Uchiha with an equally calm, almost serene expression.
"It's treason, then?"
The floorboards crack and splinter ever so slightly from the tidal wave of killing intent being unleashed. A fraction of a fraction of what the man behind the desk was capable of, the boy knew.
"Not if it's preempted and the situation de-escalated, Hokage-sama." The boy is unfazed.
"Preempted you say? You are rather casual for someone suggesting that their own clan be struck down. I suppose you would ask for clemency for yourself and your sister then? It would be a waste of all the other Sharingan, but I suppose they could be harvested so as to not be lost to the village…" The man's voice is downright surgical as he speaks.
The boy's mask slips ever so slightly, lip twitching downwards, before recovering a split second later.
"I am suggesting nothing of the sort Hokage-sama. Such a solution would be highly irrational. If the village attempted to eliminate the Uchiha then the probability is high that some would survive the purge and flee to seek refuge and settle within the borders of Konoha's rivals."
"And not to mention that if Konoha were to turn on one of its founding clans and eliminate it in such a manner, the blow to the status, image and general power projection would be unrecoverable."
"Not for at least a generation I suppose…" The man behind the desk ruminates.
"My apologies Hokage-sama, but not ever, so long as there is a record left of it in history somewhere." The boy interrupts his superior.
"No clan would ever feel protected by the village and instead would feel trapped within its bounds, seeing themselves as surrounded by potential enemies rather than allies. It would undo everything that the Lord First strived for while reaching for his dream. The words 'Will of Fire' will truly be empty noise ever since. There will be no taking back any lost meaning behind them."
The man smiles, but it does not reach the eyes.
"So if I do nothing then there is to be open rebellion and if I act then the legacy of Hashirama will forever be tainted? What a dilemma…" The man empties his pipe into an ashtray on his desk and leans back in his chair.
"Then what do you propose I do, Aqua-kun? I surmise that you have some solution on how to resolve this or else you would not bring it up?"
"Hokage-sama, I believe that a solution is indeed there. And neither must it be extreme nor convoluted."
"The grievances by the village against the Uchiha Clan are mostly due to their perceived involvement with the attack of the Nine-tails. The grievances of the Uchiha clan against the village are somewhat reactionary, yet are built on a foundation of discontent from being denied the position of Hokage…"
"And…?" The white robed man tilts his head in confusion at the boy's vague summary.
"And the solution is simply for you to make your intent clear to make a member of the Uchiha clan your chosen heir to the position of Hokage. Someone who could not be affiliated with what happened five years ago, clear of suspicion of any involvement in the attack or motivation for it."
"To this end it would be best to pick someone too young to have been involved and someone that experienced personal loss that night. In the eyes of those that believe in the guilt of the Uchiha collectively, this should be enough appeasement to dispel their paranoia."
The man's eyes widen for a second before he blinks. Then blinks again.
"...ah.." The sound slips out of his mouth, almost too quiet to hear.
"Aha.. hahahahahaha…!" It builds up into a crescendo, like a snowball rolling down a mountain peak until it becomes an avalanche.
The man is laughing, grasping his belly, wiping away tears at the corners of his eyes.
It lasts for minutes, but eventually, ever so slowly, starts to subside. Until all that's left is tired wheezing.
"I must admit, Aqua-kun… that I did not expect you to go that far… for a job application to my position! You are proposing your own candidacy aren't you? Or is it Ruby-chan you are trying to promote to me?"
The boy is standing with his eyes closed and his hands behind his back. He had been ever since the uproarious laughter started.
"Either me or her would suit the purpose just fine, though I do recommend myself."
"After all…"
The boy opens his eyes.
Where there used to be blue irises, two dark six pointed stars are outlined in a sea of blood red.
"That night we lost our mother."
The very air around the boy shakes, as if in a haze.
"If there is any fool within Konoha that would claim that we would not seek retribution on the true perpetrator of the attack, I would be more than willing to explain to them why their position is erroneous."
For the first time, the boy's voice has a hint of emotion in it. A slither of pure unadulterated rage and hatred, seeping out and coating his words.
The killing intent suffusing the Hokage's office now is no lesser to the one which was there minutes ago.
"Indeed… You bear the evidence for your claim within your eyes. The Uchiha do love strongly after all..." The man does not avert his gaze from the dark stars facing him, yet his shoulders tense ever so slightly.
"...However please do not blind yourself on behalf of proving how genuine your motivation is to me, Aqua-kun. You have already made your point clear."
The boy closes his eyes again, and when he opens them they are the same deep blue as before. The killing intent fades, leaving behind only more cracks in the room's surfaces, as evidence to the existence of the raging storm of emotion he unleashed.
"You need not worry on my behalf, Hokage-sama. Ruby and I have taken measures to ensure that such an outcome does not come about."
"Hmm, so Ruby-chan too then? Five years ago?"
"Yes."
"And with your prodigious skills as a medic-nin you'd know how to carry out the transplant… Haaa… I suppose you really are not planning any treason on behalf of your clan if you would reveal those trump cards of yours to me."
"Do we have a deal then, Hokage-sama?" The boy's voice was a calm sea, once again with no hint of any emotion. The very model image of a young Shinobi.
"Ha… You truly think Fugaku-dono would settle with you as my chosen candidate to succeed me? Itachi-kun has been allowed to join the ANBU at a critically young age even before you, with certain expectations in place shall we say…And even aside from him Shisui-kun shows just as much potential."
The man has assumed a thinking pose, with a faraway look, considering all that was said, while waiting for the boy to refute his words.
"Fugaku-sama had every expectation of you declining the appointment of his heir to your ANBU when he made the offer as a sheer formality."
"It was mostly proposed by the elders as a tactic to fuel the justifiable casus beli towards you, for the sake of the less belligerent members of the clan and our allies. Something else to feel wronged about when you inevitably declined. Or so they thought."
"That you accepted Itachi into your retinue came as a surprise… And made Itachi be viewed with suspicion and had his trustworthiness and fitness to be clan heir questioned by the other clan members more than anything."
"I'll concede you that one, Aqua-kun. When I gave him the news, Fugaku-dono's expression was certainly one that served to drastically increase my mood at the time." The man grins. "And Shisui-kun? What do you say of his potential candidacy for my current post?"
"Considering the power within Shisui's eyes… You would be facing open rebellion. But not from our clan - rather from your own council. They would not trust him in a position over them, not for his character, but for fear of what he can do to their very identity should he wish for it."
"Tch. Please do not call them my council. I inherited that headache from my predecessor more than anything…" The man sighed, shoulders slumping.
"And Shisui's eyes… You speak of the Kotoamatsukami, do you not? Most do not even know that such a power exists, nor that Shisui-kun has access to it."
"Shimura Danzo-sama does. With all due respect Hokage-sama, as far as the Uchiha are concerned that is enough."
"And once again I can not refute your logic, Aqua-kun… Perhaps you are wise beyond your years after all…And here I thought I could have fun putting a self important brat with an inflated ego in his place. Boo…"
The man stands up from his seat behind the desk and takes off his hat. He stretches his neck and shoulders languidly.
The boy watched him, in no hurry.
"I suppose you could summon Hatake-san here if you really want to, Hokage-sama, but please let us finish our discussion first."
"Ha, show some respect for your senpai, even if he is my ever so tardy pupil… That doesn't know when to quit reading goddamn Icha-Icha right in front of my five year old kid…"
The man ruffled his bright yellow hair with his hand, while breathing out a deep sigh. He finally turned to the boy and crossed his arms.
"Fine. I accept your deal, you cheeky little devil."
"I'll keep Ruby-chan as far from danger as I can manage. Find her a nice batch of D-ranks to last a lifetime, painting grass green and watering pond plants."
"I'll also officially take you on as my apprentice and personal ANBU guard. Don't expect me to go easy on you, or for it to only be a formality. I can and will make you wish that you never got the bright idea in the first place!"
"Also you'll be the one to explain this to Tsunade… I am seriously in no mood to justify why I stole her apprentice right from under her nose, and after all the arrangements had already been made…"
Perhaps it was a trick of the poor lighting, but at that last remark the boy shuddered ever so slightly. Nevertheless, if he did show any such sign of weakness he recovered quickly.
"I deeply thank you for putting your faith in me, Hokage-sama. I will be sure to live up to the expectations placed on me by the legendary Lord Fourth."
"That's the spirit! If Gai were here he would have been ecstatic at your youthful energy. So I'll be sure to tell him all about it!"
"Oh and I'll be sure to tell Kakashi-kun about how you sacrificed yourself ever so bravely for your precious sister, you S-rank siscon."
"And what will Ruby-chan say when she hears that you stole her dream of becoming Hokage from her? Saddling her with glorified chores while you learn all the techniques that she ever dreamt about… Ah, your precious sister might just start hating you…"
Having said this, Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, laughed out loud. Some might say that he did so ever so slightly sadistically.
Uchiha Aquamarine completely dropped his carefully controlled mask and for the first time that evening, acted like someone expected of a child - pouting while glaring back at the laughing man that was now tousling his hair. Though he would deny this to his dying breath if ever questioned on the topic.
He did eventually become so sick of the hair touselling that he knocked the offending hand away though.
"Ruby is strong, she'll bounce back. Ai's… Our mother's wish was simply for one of us to be Hokage when we grow up, so it makes no difference which one of us it is going to be. And I'll just let Ruby copy all the techniques you'll teach me anyway, so it won't matter if she misses out on training."
Minato clutched at his heart dramatically.
"You'd seriously leak my secret techniques to others?! Gah! Betrayal! It hasn't even been a minute since we made our deal and your loyalty is already proven worthless?! At least let me teach them to my own kid before you go and do that!"
"I said my loyalty would be to you before it would be to Fugaku-sama and I meant every word. It just so happens that Ruby matters more to me than either of you ever did in the first place… or even Konoha itself for that matter. Hokage-sama."
"It's a bit late adding the respectful address at the end when you just said all that, don't you think?" Minato heaved a tired sigh.
The Fourth Hokage walked back to his desk, making another subtle hand gesture on the way. The room, isolated from the outside by a sealing privacy technique, returned to its previous state. The only evidence to anything being out of the ordinary being the cracked floorboards and shelves.
"Damn. That wood was imported…" He muttered as he eyed the damage while opening one of his drawers and ruffling inside of it.
"Why would you even waste money on that when Yamato-san can grow it at will?" Aqua tilted his head in confusion, and partial self consciousness about contributing to the damage caused.
"It was a gift from the Daimyo of Tea country… He thought that since we are the 'Village Hidden in the Leaves' we would have a high appreciation for that sort of thing." Minato was making quotation marks as he spoke and rolling his eyes.
Eventually he straightened up while holding a scroll he dug up out of one of the bottom drawers of his desk. Unraveling it he pressed a finger to one of the seals and in a puff of smoke a bone white mask popped out.
"I suppose we'll formalize your recruitment tomorrow. I'll tell your new colleagues to prepare the paperwork…" The Fourth Hokage nodded in the vague general direction of the half a dozen shadows that slipped back into the room when the barrier went down. "...And draft the letter informing Fugaku-dono that I'll be nicking another one of his clan's prodigies. Fun times."
"But meanwhile… here ya go." He threw the white mask lightly at the boy.
Aqua caught it and turned it over. What faced him was an image of a stylized beak, with dark lines stretching out from it and outlining the head and eyes.
"I expect you to be wearing it… When you report for duty tomorrow at training field forty four, at six am sharp. I'll assign one of your senpais to fill you in on further details when you get there. You'll be fast tracked through standard ANBU training, of course, but it's still a necessary formality."
"Welcome on board, Crow."
AN: I just wanted to make all the "Staringan" memes real. Aqua and Ruby were both reborn, however their previous lives were also in the world of Naruto. No familiarity with Oshi no Ko is required to understand the story.