Part 1: Naruto Era, It Takes a Village
Summary: Maybe, just maybe, Hiruzen got a few things right in helping the orphaned Naruto.
(1)
"I've asked several women but they've all said no. I've humbly come to you in the hope that you will be the one who puts a stop to that streak."
She looked at him but didn't respond, preferring instead to observe him as he stood in her modest home.
The Third Hokage looked tired—and hopeless. It was understandable. He'd just fought a battle against a monster, almost saw the destruction of his village, and also lost his wife. And by now, everyone knew that his chosen successor and his wife, Minato and Kushina, were also dead.
The baby he cradled in his arms was sleeping peacefully, the picture of perfect innocence in a night born of carnage.
"It's only temporary," he said into the heavy silence.
Still, she refused to speak, aware that he was watching her like a hawk. It was on the tip of her tongue, her response. But still, something inside her caused her to hesitate. Her answer felt grave to give, the weight of it seemed to determine the world's fate.
She kept her distance and glanced once more at the sleeping child, the expression on her face aloof.
She then looked at the Hokage and frowned, still maintaining her stony silence in the face of his desperation. Finally, she said, "I know what he is."
The vessel holding the Demon Fox.
Hiruzen nodded. "But you also know who he is."
She did. She was former shinobi.
The baby was the Fourth Hokage's son.
The baby suddenly whimpered, causing Hiruzen to rock him and croon softly to calm him.
Seeing that, her face finally crumpled, the impassive expression on her face collapsing into lines of despair because she feared she wouldn't be able to deny him.
Yet she had to try to convince him not to ask her again.
"Hokage-sama, you ask too much."
His sigh was deep and it reverberated through him so palpably that even she felt it. "I know, but I'm running out of options. Nobody wants to help."
Then in a whisper she barely heard, he added, "Please."
She felt the stirring of it, the grief she'd tried to bury along with the child she'd delivered from her womb just a week ago.
But the only proof that she'd been pregnant lay in a cold grave in the family plot. Now, she only had a body that refused to acknowledge she was no longer a mother. Her breasts were heavy with milk for a child she'd meant to nurse but who no longer needed it.
A small, pitiful whimper from the bundle in Hiruzen's arms suddenly reminded her that here, though, was a child who did.
The realization shook her, and her body responded to the call, the instinct to nurse, to nourish a baby who was stubbornly clinging to life, resolutely making his presence felt by both adults.
She felt herself melting even as her grief flooded her. An act of kindness wouldn't hurt. She knew that. She could still be of use to this child.
Silently and slowly, she reached for the baby. Hiruzen's body shook with relief.
When the baby was settled in her arms, she unbuttoned her blouse.
Hiruzen turned away. "Thank you."
"It's only temporary," she repeated his words back to him.
"It's enough."
(2)
The first time he saw the mask, he was four. He'd been running around recklessly through the main streets of Konoha because nobody had cared enough to tell him to stop.
But the masked figure suddenly stepped in front of him and Naruto had bumped so hard enough into his thighs that he'd bounced back and landed on his butt. He looked up at the person. He wasn't tall like most adults. This one stood halfway as tall as some of the people he knew, like that ramen guy.
It was the coolness of the mask—such a neat swirly design—that distracted him, made him forget how much his butt hurt, and made him forget to cry.
Years later, he would recall this incident and relate it to Kiba—after they'd become friends—all while Naruto scratched Akamaru underneath his chin.
This early event marked Naruto's lifelong affinity and liking for dogs…and foxes.
But the guy in the dog mask leaned over and picked him up, even dusted off his dirty trousers.
"Hey, kid."
He saw nothing beyond the porcelain mask, only heard the voice. It was friendly enough, and Naruto heard no malice behind the tone. There was no censure, no anger for bumping into him.
It was the kindness that startled him. Nobody had ever used that tone of voice on him before. There had been dreams, vague memories of a soft voice crooning a lullaby, of whispered endearments almost like a mother talking to her child, that often made themselves known in the recesses of his mind.
But those were so nebulous, he wasn't even sure they were real.
Not like this. The mask might have been cold, but this mysterious figure's presence was solidly real, the voice was warm, distinctly compassionate.
Naruto could only stare at him in mute fascination because this was a rare occasion in his life. What's more, the person in the mask did nothing either, just returned the same stare and waited patiently.
Eventually, after the silence had grown long enough between the two, with one last pat on his blond hair, the masked guy walked away.
The second time Naruto saw the mask was only a few days later. One moment, he'd been on the ground being pushed face-first into the dust by the neighborhood bully, the next he heard the sounds of a scuffle and he was finally free of that painful grip. And then he was being helped up by Dog-mask again.
Naruto stood up and watched the bully and the other wailing children run away from them. Something sharp and shiny was sticking out of their butts.
He turned back excitedly to his savior and asked, "Are you shinobi?"
The mask inclined forward. "Yes."
"Can you show me how to do what you just did?"
"No. I'm forbidden to do that."
Naruto's face crumpled with disappointment, but it lightened again when the voice added, "But don't worry. They won't bother you again."
And he was right. Because from then on, Naruto started seeing Dog-mask more frequently. It seemed to him as if he lurked and stayed in the shadows, but he was always watching out for Naruto. He would wave at him and get nothing back in response, maybe a slight nod on occasion. Despite that, Naruto felt reassured by his secret presence.
Sometimes, when he woke up in the morning, Naruto would find some curious offering by his pillow: a piece of candy, a book, a carved, wooden toy, or some chocolate.
Somehow, he knew they were from the guy in the dog mask.
...
"He's been late to his mission for the third time this week, Hokage-sama. And all because you won't allow me to put a stop to his obsession with that creature!"
Hiruzen gazed at the complaining shinobi coldly and only took another puff from his pipe. "Yet despite his tardiness, he's proven himself an excellent Anbu operative. Your complaints merit no justification."
"But Hokage-sama! Why should he waste his time on that boy? I just—"
"You may leave now."
The shinobi immediately recognized the annoyance, the cold dismissal in the Hokage's tone and quickly bowed himself out of the office.
In the silence that followed, Hiruzen took another puff from his pipe.
"Did you hear that, Kakashi?"
Kakashi stepped out from his hiding place and bowed before Hiruzen. He took off his dog mask. "Hokage-sama, why didn't you tell him you just promoted me as Anbu captain?"
Hiruzen smiled in response. "He'll find out today when you go address them later. Despite your youth, I have absolute faith in you."
Kakashi accepted his compliment humbly, only bowing quietly.
"And thank you for continuing to watch over Naruto."
(3)
"I knew it."
Hiruzen stiffened at the voice and turned around to face Teuchi, who was peering at him with intensity, his hands planted on his hips.
"Teuchi." Hiruzen bowed a greeting after lowering his arms to the side.
The ramen chef tilted his head to the side in puzzlement, his gaze lingering on the Hokage's hands and the evidence of the paper seal with the enchanted inscriptions gripped tightly in them.
"Care to explain what you're doing, Hokage-sama? What are you doing sneaking around in the back of my store? I knew they were some kind of magical seal but I just didn't know what kind."
Hiruzen tried to keep the guilt from showing on his face, but it crept up into his tone. "It's nothing malicious, Teuchi. They're here to protect you and Naruto."
"From what?!"
This time, the Hokage couldn't hide the frown of concern that crept over his weathered features. "In case the chakra inside him leaks."
"Oh, that?" Teuchi said with a laugh. "I'm not worried at all! He's perfectly fine when he's with me." But then his eyes drew together in a perplexed squint. "But what I want to know is why are you doing it? Why not let your shinobi do it?"
"This is one of those things that I can't pass over to others. I just felt I owe it to you and to the boy."
Teuchi shook his head. "You don't owe me anything, Hokage-sama."
"It's the least I can do. You won't let me pay you for the ramen you've been feeding Naruto and for the food Ayame's been leaving at his door."
Teuchi waved it away with a snort. "I do this because I can't turn away a hungry child, no matter who or what he is." He then folded his arms and tilted his head. "You know, Ayame and I have seen a couple of these same seals pasted above the walls to Naruto's home."
Hiruzen refused to acknowledge the statement. Instead, he bowed low to Teuchi. "I bid you goodnight."
Teuchi watched the Hokage walk away. After a few minutes, he turned his gaze to the side of his shop's wall, where he saw the enchanted seal disappearing from view.