Konoha's Retrieval Team

Chapter 4

I don't own Naruto

Masashi Kishimoto does!

A couple of days passed, and Naruto went to see the Hokage once again since he offered to teach him fuinjutsu by practicing his calligraphy in his office with him for an hour or two. When he finished practicing his calligraphy he would help the Hokage arrange his paperwork since he seemed to hate dealing with it. Naruto only thought to himself if there was a jutsu that would take care of that problem, he would have more time for himself. As he walked through the road his attention fell on a stall that was selling animal porcelain masks and the one that caught his attention was the kitsune mask. Even if it was all white it didn't matter since he could design it Naruto was in a [Henge] when he went up to the stall owner and asked him how much the kitsune mask cost. It was easier when Naruto disguised himself so he wouldn't be recognized by the villagers.

"Excuse me, sir, how much are you selling that kitsune mask for?" Naruto asked the owner of the stall as he picked it up and began to examine it to see if he would like to buy it.

"Are you sure you want to buy that mask, little boy? In Konoha, many people see the kitsune as a bad omen." The stall owner told Naruto to try to discourage him from buying it.

"I'm sure about it, since I'm just a kid I don't care for omens right now since I don't get it," Naruto commented and he pulled out his gama purse to hand over the currency to show the man he was willing to buy it.

"Ah don't mind me little boy I'm just talking gibberish but if you want it so bad I'll be happy to sell it to you at a lower price." The stall owner told Naruto making the young jinchuriki happy.

"Ah thank you sir I appreciate it. So how much do you want for it?" Naruto asked, hoping to get a good price for it.

"That would be fifty ryo." The man replied as he went to get a bag for the mask and handed it over to the little boy, who got excited and hopped around in joy.

Naruto gave the man fifty ryo before placing the new mask in his bag he thanked the stall owner and continued to his destination. He sometimes wonders what it would be like to have parents walk with him and buy him gifts, like the rest of the kids. Naruto understood at a young age that life was not fair and you had to fight to survive even against all odds. He was just grateful to know that he had a few people who truly cared for him and what to see him exceed in life and become a great man. On his way to the Hokage tower, he found an alley that dispelled his [Henge] and transformed into his original form, as soon as he stepped out of the alley he felt all the glares stare at him instantly. Already used to the glares he ignored them and kept on his way to see the Hokage.

Hokage Tower

Behind closed doors in the Hokage office, all you heard were perverse giggles instead of someone having an appointment to see him or the sound of a stamp either approving or rejecting documents. Most people hold the Sandaime Hokage in high esteem, but a few knew the real reason behind the giggles while a few were appalled with his behavior. The Sandaime thought he would have some free time to catch up on some very important reading this morning before he got started with his paperwork. An unexpected person kicked open his office door surprising the old Hokage as he dropped his book to the floor. At that moment the door was kicked open and the Anbu guards protecting the Hokage jumped out of their hidden place with their weapons drawn.

"Good morning Hokage-jiji! I came here early for my fuinjutsu lesson like you promised me the other day. I promise not to bother you either if I have a question old man, and once I finish maybe I could help you arrange your paperwork for you if you like." Naruto commented, giving everyone in the room his foxy grin as he went to the couch and placed his new item there so it wouldn't be damaged.

The tension in the room became so high it could slice through butter with the abrupt entry of the little Uzumaki, catching everyone in the room off guard with his declaration. As the adults were still processing everything that happened just a moment ago, Naruto walked past them and saw the orange book that was lying on the floor picked it up, and was about to read the title of the book out loud.

"Icha Icha Paradise, so what is this story about old man?" Naruto asked, giving the Sandaime a curious look on his chibi face as he opened the book to read the first page.

The Hokage gave a horrified look as he tried to stop Naruto from reading the book, the last thing he needed was a perverted jinchuriki. Suddenly one of the Hokage Anbu appeared next to Naruto taking the book out of his hand, while she performed a fire jutsu destroying the book in the process. Everyone in the room heard a cry of agony from the Hokage, seeing his prize book being destroyed. The Hokage received sympathetic looks from the male Anbu in the office understanding that the village leader suffered a great loss. A single Anbu shed a few tears as he gave a silent prayer to the most wonderful literature in the world, while the mask covered up the evidence.

All the males felt how the room became cold when they felt the killer intent come from the only female Anbu. All the males in the room sweat dropped what most men would consider female fury one of the most troublesome things to deal with. The young blond felt like his life was in danger not knowing why he was having a strange feeling standing next to the masked female. Naruto not knowing what was going on passed out catching the attention of everyone in the room. Noticing her mistake Rabbit picked up the little boy and laid him down on the couch until he woke up.

"Boar, Tiger, and Crow go back to your places, Rabbit you need to get a hold of your emotions otherwise you could hurt innocent bystanders do you understand?" The Sandaime said in a stern voice, she then performed a dogeza before she spoke.

"I apologize Hokage-sama for what I have done. If you feel like I should be punished then I gladly accept it without complaint." The female Anbu responded to her village leader knowing that she stepped out of line.

"I accept your apology but try not to let it happen again. And I will apologize to you as well I never meant for that to happen, so whenever you are part of my protection detail. I will be more considerate of you and any other female Anbu in the future with more by not pulling out my hobby." The Sandaime explained as he put away his book and waited for Naruto to wake up to begin his lessons.

"Hai Hokage-sama!" Rabbit said before she vanished back to her hiding spot as she sighed in relive that she didn't hurt the young blond.

The Hokage was able to regain his thoughts in order when he remembered that Naruto would need some materials so he would be able to learn his fuinjutsu. So he began to make a list of materials that the young Uzumaki would need to learn the art of fuinjutsu. He then came up with another idea that would help Naruto from being glared at and kicked out of the civilian establishment. He wrote down some more items to be bought since he needed to make sure that he would be able to fit in with the villagers. Once he was done writing the list he called for Rabbit, who appeared before her village leader when he spoke.

"Rabbit, I have a mission for you I need you to go and get everything on this list this might take you a few hours but it is important. I want to make sure that Naruto will have everything he needs for his education when he starts the ninja academy. But first I'm going to need you to get all the fuinjutsu supplies so I can begin teaching little Naruto in his family arts. And possibly with the right guidance he will be a proficient fuinjutsu master in the future." The Sandaime explained to his female Anbu who nodded in understanding as she picked the scroll up and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

The Hokage stood up and went to make his tea since he wouldn't be able to read his book while Naruto was in his office. He just hoped that Naruto wouldn't take long to wake up since he wanted the young blond to begin to learn fuinjutsu. The Hokage then picks up a mission report as he feels another headache start to come since his Anbu who were coming from a top-secret mission. They accidentally stumbled into an unfortunate situation finding a couple of Uzumaki females trying to get away from a battle. The outcome was a sad one since the Uzumaki mother died which only left the daughter alone as an orphan, and at this time she was put in a medically induced coma from the trauma. The Hokage quoted the Nara's "troublesome" knowing very well that this was going to bring a set of new trouble for himself.

"Tora" The Hokage called when suddenly a male Anbu appeared with one knee bent and his right fist over his heart when he spoke.

"Hai Hokage-sama!" He replied head bowed towards his village leader as he waited for his next words.

I need you to go to an old forgotten clan estate I would like for you to fix it up. It is that time of the year once again do you remember?" The Hokage asked his subordinate who nodded once he remembered what the Sandaime was talking about.

"You may go." The village leader said as the male Anbu vanished in a puff of smoke.

A groan was heard coming from the couch as the young Uzumaki began to stir awake after losing consciousness. Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see the Hokage watching him carefully to see if anything was wrong with the boy. The Sandaime stopped what he was doing and waited for the blond to get off the couch and sit on the chair in front of him. Once Naruto realizes that he is lying on the Hokage's couch he got up and walked to the chair and sat down.

"Hokage-jiji, I came ready to learn the ninja art of fuinjutsu what is the first lesson, sir," Naruto asked his first question as he wondered if it was going to be extremely hard to do.

"Good Naruto for your first lesson I would I will have you practice writing calligraphy for today. But during the night you should read about an hour from this book called "Introduction to Fuinjutsu" so you can have a better idea of what you going to be learning in the future. You would be one step closer to learning this ninja art of fuinjutsu just like your idol the Yondaime Hokage." The Sandaime explained to the little Uzumaki who was excited to get started as the Hokage asked Naruto to make himself comfortable in the corner when he brought him a brush, paper, and ink.

For the next ten minutes, the Sandaime told Naruto that his grandson Konohamaru used the table work on his academy homework. This is before he attempts to assassinate him of course as all attempts have failed. Naruto burst out laughing listening to the old man's stories while the Sandaime chuckled in amusement. He then explained the intricacies of calligraphy once he can grasp it, and in time unconsciously can draw under pressure. The old man even taught Naruto how to clean his brushes, ink, and paper and told him it was crucial for him so he would become a fuinjutsu master. And instructed him to start practicing with the examples Hokage made for him as he went back to work on his paperwork. Naruto spent the next couple of hours practicing his calligraphy strokes slowly and carefully making sure he would get used to it when the female Anbu finally returned with all the supplies on the list.

"Rabbit, were you able to get everything I wrote on the list, and did you have any problems getting his sizes for his clothes and ninja wear?" The Sandaime asked as he waited for an answer, he saw Naruto stop and clean up put away his items, and waited to be noticed.

"Hai Hokage-sama, my apologies it took so long to stop by Uzumaki-san's home to check what size clothes he wears right now and I got him some bigger clothes as he gets older in time. As for everything else I was able to get on the list just like you ordered Hokage-sama." Rabbit replied in a monotone voice while placing a few scrolls on the Sandaime's table before kneeing once again.

"Thank you, Rabbit you may go back to your position till I have further orders," The Sandaime said as he stood up with his smoking pipe in hand and he walked over to the window to get a view of the village.

"As you command Hokage-sama." Rabbit replied as she went back to her position guarding the Hokage.

"Naruto-kun I know I haven't had the time to visit you enough so I decided to make it up to you by buying everything you are going to need for the academy. I'm sure you heard that my Anbu bought you clothes and a ninja outfit for the next few years till you grow out of them or decide to buy your own. Naruto should you feel that the instructors are sabotaging you report it immediately to me I will not allow my ninjas to undermind me do you understand." The Sandaime told Naruto in a serious tone as he tried to make his point and get the little blond to nod in agreement.

"Jiji I'm not going to lie but practicing calligraphy is boring, I can't believe that anyone who learns fuinjutsu has to go through this type of torture," Naruto complained while pouting as he crossed his little arms in defiance.

"I understand that it is hard for you to stay still since it requires a certain amount of patience to learn this ninja art. But this will help you to become Hokage in the future and I'm going to tell you a little secret that not many people know. All the past Hokages learned to use fuinjutsu to protect the village just like your idol the Yondaime." The Sandaime said to the little blond Uzumaki whose eyes went wide in disbelief from the revelation, then he looked at the Hokage with eyes full of determination before he spoke.

"Jiji I promise that I will try my hardest to learn calligraphy and fuinjutsu. I won't let you down, old man. Also, I want to thank you for everything you have done so far for me." Naruto walked over to the Hokage who was standing by the window before hugging him.

The Sandaime felt a pang of guilt in his heart knowing for a fact that he hasn't done much for the son of his predecessor. He was also sad that the Yondaime's last wish was never accepted by the villagers who should have seen his son as a hero, not as the Kyuubi. Minato you would have been disappointed with the village and I don't want to even imagine what Kushina would have done if she were still alive. She would have killed the villagers for hurting her little boy without hesitation." The Hokage thought a shiver ran down his spine when he thought of seeing Kushina in the afterlife as she tortured him for eternity.

"Okay jiji it's time for me to get going I can see you going to be busy for a while with all the paperwork. I'll come and see you another time I still have a lot to learn and I have to read the book you gave me." Naruto said ready to say goodbye to the old man he was interrupted.

"Remember Naruto you are not allowed to get ramen I have a guard watching over the stand just in case you try something funny. And don't forget to come by my place for your chores, might be old but not senile." The Sandaime said leaving little Naruto gaping like a fish as he was reminded of his punishment.

"Uh, right almost forgot about that, well till next time old man got to run since I'm so hungry I have to find another place to eat old man later," Naruto said waving goodbye as he bolted out the door, the Hokage could only chuckle at his antics before getting gloomy as he looked at his desk to face every Kage's worst enemy, the dreaded paperwork.

When Naruto left the Hokage tower he immediately went looking for a place to eat but first, he needed to find an alley to use the [Henge no jutsu.] Once he found a place and made sure no one was looking when he [Henge] into a random person and left he was able to buy some food at a store. Afterward, he went to a dango stand since his sensei loves sweets and he bought himself a box of pokey. Once Naruto was satisfied with everything he bought he went into an alley once again and pulled out his storage scroll. He placed all the items in the middle of it and with a half ram seal he whispered "Kia" and in a puff of smoke everything vanished, he rolled the scroll and left.

Naruto was running through the woods as he took a shortcut to the playground. As he was getting closer to his destination, he heard jeers, laughing, and a little girl crying while apologizing. It looked like older kids were being bullies he felt his anger rise without a second thought he sneakily made his way to the group without being seen. He began to check his other bag the one he was carrying trap-making items and easy-to-make weapons. He made a quick plan in his head on how to handle the situation he was seeing, the last thing he wanted to see was a pretty girl being hurt by others. And he knew deep inside his heart that it was the right thing to do to help her from these bullies.

"Hey, Hyuga freak I said to get on your knees, bow, and apologize." The older boy said with a sneer on his face as he placed a foot on the girl's head to humiliate her.

"I thought all Hyuga's members were supposed to be strong and stuck up, it seems we found the runt of the clan. What a shame you shouldn't bother yourself being a ninja. You would be better if you just killed yourself I'm sure no one will miss you." The older boy said with disdain as he heard his friends laugh at the scared little rabbit as they surrounded her.

Immediately after hearing what they intended to do to her Naruto resolved himself to teach those pieces of trash a lesson. When he saw the leader of the group walking forward to try to grab her, having heard and seen enough Naruto decided to jump out of his hiding place. He suddenly appears in front of the girl in a defensive position in case anyone tries to attack him.

"Why don't you pick on someone who could stand up for themselves and not a nice pretty innocent girl? I can't allow trash like you to become ninja in the future if this is the way you act." Naruto growled out as he held his anger toward the five older boys.

"Oh look who it is! It's just the demon kid my parents always talk about. They tell me if I ever see him beat him up as much. They told me that his mother was a whore and his father was a traitor to the village, and that was the reason he is an orphan." The leader of the group said in a sing-song voice as he got a laugh from the rest of his friends.

This in return got a scowl from the little blond as he got verbally attacked by the bigger kid, making him feel even more anger at the fact the villagers are making their assumptions on who his parents were. Naruto became determined to fight these pieces of trash for what they did to the girl and for mocking his existence. As for Hinata, she was surprised that someone came to help her, and in return, the same kids said horrible things about the yellow-haired whisker boy. She was left speechless by what happened next when the whisker boy came like a storm and swept them away like debris. Also, Hinata heard stories from her mother when she was alive as the hero showed up at the last minute to rescue the princess from being hurt. This was the moment in time when she saw her hero from the stories that stole her heart away as he showed his determination to protect her.

"Fine have it your way! It seems the only way you idiots are going to learn anything is until I beat it into you. But that is fine I get a chance to see where my ninja skills fair up right now. Be lucky you guys are going to be my guinea pigs for this fight, so don't blame me if you get hurt too bad." Naruto proclaims as he places his fist in front as a vow.

"Is that so well guess I'm going to kick your ass you little shit!" The leader of the group yelled as he rushed forward to attack.

Naruto thought that the leader was an idiot for underestimating him as he parried the older boy's swing as he jumps to the side to create space between them. He reached into his ninja bag and grabbed his chili powder balls he held one in each hand before he crushed them and rushed this time to lead the bigger boy into a trap. The leader sees another opportunity to beat on the little blond demon and rushes forward once again to meet Naruto head-to-head. When Naruto got in range he flung the chili powder into the older boy's eyes causing them to burn and sting as he screamed in pain. Once the older boy stopped to try to clean the powder off his face he received a strong hit in the stomach and another to his nose where he ended up breathing in chili pepper making his drop to the floor and choke.

The rest of the bullies were snapped out of their thoughts when they saw their leader fall to the ground while choking. They were about to rush after the blond demon when they noticed he had a slingshot when he let the first shot loose, getting a direct hit to one of the boy's privates making him crumble in agony. He then placed another rock in his slingshot and let loose once again hitting another boy in the forehead and knocking him out. The last two boys decided to spread themselves in case the blond menace tried to pull another trick on them since they didn't feel like being his fourth victim. So both boys went wide on Naruto's flank in the hope of pincer him and giving the blond a thrashing for what he had done.

"Wow, they do suck at being ninjas huh. Well, it only you two pieces of trash left standing let make it something to remember for the three of us." Naruto commented with a sneer making the last two boys bristle in irritation.

"You know what you little demon once we catch you and beat you up we are going to break your fingers and strip you naked and humiliate you in front of the village. That will teach you to go against your betters since you are a parentless orphan of a street rat." A top skinny boy replied hoping to anger the boy into making a mistake.

"Okay, you two, I'm done playing nice with you here I come," Naruto said and reached behind him as he had two more chili pepper balls in his hands before rushing away from them not wanting to get trapped by them.

When both boys saw that he was running away they ended up following him not wanting for him to escape. Naruto saw that the first part of his plan work ran toward a tree, knowing that he hadn't mastered the tree walking exercise wanted to see if he would be able to do it under pressure. He felt the other two boys closing in on him as he sprinted faster and he pulled away from them when he reached the tree he began to run up it. The two boys stopped in their tracks when they saw the little demon run up a few steps he ended up channeling too much chakra on his feet launching him into mid-air and doing a somersault over the two bullies. At the same time, he flung the chili powder as they began to cry out in pain as they tried to wipe their eyes, while they were blind one by one Naruto gave on strong kick to the gut and a chop to the neck to both remaining bullies.

The whole situation only took a matter of a few minutes and when everything was over Naruto left the bullies with a laying knockout of groaning in pain. He then made his way to the girl who was still in the same spot, she had a look of awe on her face when he walked in front of her. Naruto tilted his head to the side as if figuring out what the girl was thinking when he crotch in front of her he placed both hands on her face to see if she was okay. Hinata froze at the touch as her cheeks turned pink from the contact with her hero who saved her from getting hurt.

"Hey, Hey, Hey are you ok? Did those bullies hurt you?" Naruto asked in a concerned voice as he looked deep into the eyes.

"Y-y-yes I'm ok t-thanks you for asking. N-n-no they didn't hurt me much just m-my knees and the side of my face h-hurts. And m-my clothes have become d-dirty. I-I-I'm fine I-I-I might get p-punished by f-father." Hinata stutters not able to look at the boy who rescued her from some bad people.

"Why would your tou-san punish you for being attacked by other children? It sounds kind of dumb to me, from what I tell you a very shy but kind person. And you are as pretty cute as a princess from the fairy tale stories I have read." Naruto responded making the girl blush from the kind words the boy told her.

"In m-my f-family, they look d-down on w-weak clan members like m-myself who are k-kind to others by showing our e-emotions. B-but what I-I h-heard from many of m-my clan I act just like my l-late mother did w-when she was y-younger. And the Hyuga elders c-can accept that f-from the heiress t-to be that way." Hinata explained her situation to the blond-haired boy his face turning into a scowl at her mistreatment by her own family, he couldn't believe that someone's family would treat a nice girl like her that way.

"So what is your name if you don't mind me asking Hyuga-san" Naruto asked as he helped her up on her feet.

"I-I'm H-Hyuga Hinata, the h-heiress of the Hyuga c-clan n-nice to m-meet you" She replied in a shy low whisper, while her face was red.

"Ahh cool, I'm Uzumaki Naruto nice to meet you too Hinata-chan. So are you here on your own? You should be careful around people who might have altered motives We can't have anything happen to you princess." Naruto said as he looked around the wooded area where the five boys brought her.

Hinata was still in shock from everything that had happened not long ago and the fact that Naruto protected her made her feel warm inside. She began to take a good look at the spike blond whisker boy with cerulean blue eyes with three whisker marks on each side of his cheeks. He single-handedly defeated all five bullies while using tricks and weapons even running up a tree with good agility. Hinata saw the boy when got older he would become a very powerful ninja, her cheeks began to heat up once again as her imagination started to run wild.

"O-oh kami-sama he-he thinks I'm p-pretty, n-no one has ever said that about m-me other than m-my kaa-san. Plus he was worried about me too it feels good that someone cares for my well-being." Hinata thought to herself since her mind drifted away, till she finally felt someone poke her cheek.

"Eep!" Hinata was snapped out of her thought by the spikey blond boy poking her in the side.

"You know that's rude when someone is talking Hinata-chan? So are you here with someone?" Naruto asked as he tried to fish some information from the shy Hyuga.

"S-s-sorry it was n-not my intention to b-be rude. N-no I j-just w-wanted to b-be on m-my own, since it getting l-late I-I am sure m-my clans guards s-should b-be looking f-for me." Hinata replied as she began to stare at the ground while poking both index fingers.

"I see, good to know I wouldn't want your guards to attack me by mistake. Do you want me to guide you back to the playground?" Naruto asked as he waited for her reply since he didn't want to leave her alone in the forest.

"Naruto-kun p-p-please I-I would appreciate that," Hinata responded giving Naruto a small bow of thanks.

"Okay, then if you ready to go Hinata-chan, leave it to me. I'll get you back safely." Naruto proclaims, as he walks up to her reaches out grabs her hand, and guides her back to the playground.

That action made Hinata's face go red like a tomato and she started to feel dizzy and she was on the verge of fainting. It didn't take long for them to reach the playground when Naruto turned around he saw her face flush and asked her if she was sick. Before she could answer, Naruto put his hands on her cheeks and forehead causing Hinata to faint as she fell to the ground. Naruto was surprised at what happened to the pretty girl as he crouched and took a good look at her.

"Hinata-chan, Hinata-chan, are you ok? Dammit, guess she was hurt and I guess was acting tough." Naruto thought as he looked at her face closely.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Ko was scanning his surroundings close to the playground since he was sent out to go look for the Hyuga heirs. Lucky for him he had a good idea of where to find her since there were a few places she would go. He then turned his [Byakugan] on that is when he saw the Hyuga heiress unconscious and rushed towards her right away when he saw who she was with. Unfortunately, Ko misunderstood the situation and thought of the worst-case scenario he felt anger rise thinking what did the demon brat do? When he got there he saw the demon child holding her while trying to wake her up by lightly smacking her face.

"What have you done to Hinata-sama you demon brat? You're going to pay for what you have done." Ko said as he took an offensive stand ready to discipline the little demon.

"Hold on a sec I could explain what happened to Hinata-chan," Naruto replied with a look of panic on his face as he saw the man get ready to attack.

Ko didn't hesitate to juken the demon brat sending him flying back and crashing into a tree making him fall unconscious. Ko walked toward the fainted heiress and checked her condition to see if she was injured, seeing that she had some bruises on her face and some scratches on her knees. He picked up her gently as he [Shunshin] back to the Hyuga compound to get her looked at and healed. When he reached the compound he took Hinata to her room where he sent medic-nin to look after her injuries. Ko went afterward to the Hyuga clan's head office to explain to him his version of what happened to Hinata and what he did to the Konoha's jinchuriki.

Naruto woke up an hour later his little body hurt from the deliberate attack he received from the family member of Hinata as he misunderstood the situation. He found himself lying in some bushes next to a tree his body impacted into while his body felt a slight sense of pain. He slowly got up and brushed himself off as he slowly went to his apartment to take a quick shower and change his clothes. On his way home he went over the whole situation of fighting a group of bullies and having a nice conversation with the pretty girl he protected. He had to listen to the vicious words of the girl's family member before he outright attacked him for no reason.

When Naruto got to his apartment he sneakily made his way towards the roof and threw a rope over the edge. He repelled himself down the building to his kitchen window where he entered. Naruto carefully checked his home to see if anyone had entered it as he checked his barricaded door and windows to make sure no one had broken in. He slowly began to undo each trap that he had lying in wait around his home so he could move around safely once again. This took some time to do since he had some that were a little tricky to undo for specific reasons of course.

Naruto decided to continue his calligraphy since he was determined to improve so that when he became a Genin he would be able to use it in battle. After a couple of hours, he decided to take a break by making his instant ramen to eat, when he finished eating he went and lay on his couch. Naruto chose to read a book on tactics just like his sensei told him to do, and then his fuinjutsu book like his jiji told him to do as well. Even if he didn't like to study his sensei made it clear a great ninja is not only someone powerful but also smart. Naruto's goal to become the strongest ninja in the world was not a far-fetched dream of his, since he believed in himself that he could accomplish anything if he put his mind to it. And that is how he spent the rest of his day never taking a step outside until the following day.

Konoha - Hokage's office

The Sandaime Hokage has been having headaches because of all the chaos that has happened to the village. It has been bad news, and after bad news, it is only so much an old man can handle. And from all the reports he has been receiving didn't look good. He has been deep in thought about many troubling things that have disturbed him and two names popped up in his mind, Uchiha Itachi, and Shimura Danzo. And with the Uchiha massacre losing almost ninety percent of their ninja forces, put great pressure on the elderly Hokage, and the political ramifications it would have around the shinobi world. He just hoped no other surprise would appear during their time of weakness otherwise, they might just find themselves in another [Shinobi War.] While the Hokage was still deep in thought, he was snapping out of it when heard a knocking on the door.

"Enter!" The Sandaime said as he stood looking out at the village smoke on his pipe.

"Hokage-sama, we just received a message scroll from Inu, it said urgent Hokage's eyes only." The chunin explained placing the scroll on the Hokage's desk.

"Thank you. You may leave now." The Sandaime told him as he began to rub his temples having a sinking suspicion that he was about to have more trouble than he hoped. The chunin bowed as he left the office leaving the Hokage to go back to his post. The Hokage began to do some hand signs and placed his hand on the desk. A privacy seal was placed to make sure no one could see or hear inside the Hokage's office as the aged Hokage took a sip of his tea. He began to unseal the scroll to read the troubling news.

Hokage-sama,

Team Ro was coming back from our mission near the borders of Kusa & Taki. When we stumbled into a situation that piqued my curiosity. We began to watch a conflict between the two ninja villages, as they began a battle near our border. On my whim, I told the team to stand by and gather any valuable information. While watching the teams of Kusa and Taki battling it out.

In the confusion of all that we saw a civilian mother and daughter trying to get away from the battle. Before I was able to give any orders. A kunai with a paper bomb went off near them. Sending both mother and daughter flying into our borders. Me and my team quickly rushed over to see if they survived the explosion.

The mother was able to wrap her daughter and cover her before the explosion went off when they hit the group both let go from the impact. The little girl had some bumps and bruises but was okay. The mother on the other hand was caught by a projectile that fatality wounding, but surprisingly held on to life so she could have last words with her daughter. Neko did some medical jutsu just to keep her from dying, as they had their last moments together. Hokage-sama she told me that they were full-blooded Uzumaki. And that her daughter could explain better the situation they were in till that point. We should be back in the village in a day or two.

Anbu code name: Inu

When the Hokage finished reading the scroll he knew right away that his troubles might have just gotten a lot worse. And he couldn't find it in his heart to turn away an Uzumaki only because he didn't want to let his adopted grandchild know part of his heritage because he felt that he wasn't ready. Now Hokage found himself at a crossroads where he had no choice but to let Naruto know about her. But this could be a new opportunity for him to connect with someone his age and the deciding factor would be having a lost family member. He would have to explain to Naruto about the Uzumaki clan and its history and how Konohagakure is connected with them.

This would also be the perfect chance to bring back the Uzumaki clan through Naruto and this newfound Uzumaki girl since it would be hard to keep her a secret from the boy. The last thing the village would need is their jinchuriki to be a flight risk over the hate and distrust of the villagers. By having a new Uzumaki in Konoha with red hair it would bring legitimize the authenticity of the claims. And with their own local Uzumaki being an outcast and ostracized because they still have hateful feelings about the boy. The Hokage guessed there could be no harm in telling Naruto about his mother and the importance of keeping this a secret he deserves to know at least.

He would have to get Jiraiya to come back to the village as soon as possible for the next council meeting since their going to be many topics of importance that concern him as well. The Sandaime would have to get all the documentation to prove Kushina is the mother of Uzumaki Naruto. And to have her [Will] to be read in front of the council ninja and civilian, and to see who she appointed as his legal guardian other than Jiraiya. The Hokage realizes that running a village and trying to protect the village jinchuriki who happens to be the Yondaime's son is not easy when you have outside forces and inside forces challenging your every decision. The Sandaime was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his door knock once again, with an unscheduled appointment,

"Enter!" The Sandaime loudly announced where he stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he was looking over the village.

"Greetings Hokage-sama, did you wish to speak with me?" The Uchiha Matriarch commented, giving the Hokage a small bow of respect.

"Yes, please take a seat and make yourself comfortable would you like a cup of tea?" The Sandaime asked as he finally turned to face his new guest.

"Yes please thank you for the gesture Hokage-sama" Mikoto replied as she took her seat and gave elderly Hokage a sad smile.

"Mikoto-san, I want to give my condolences for the loss of your husband and your clan. If you need any help from the village please let me know and I'll try to help as best as possible." The Sandaime told her as he gave a sad look of sympathy knowing that this was a great loss to the village.

"Thank you Hokage-sama, if the Uchiha clan needs any assistance we won't hesitate to ask," Mikoto said giving her thanks to the Sandaime.

"Mikoto-san, I must give my apologies but I must ask you about the night of the massacre." The Sandaime asked in hopes of gaining new information about the event.

"It's fine Hokage-sama, I understand that it has to be done to get a clear picture of the event." The Uchiha Matriarch took a sip of her tea, as she gathered her thoughts on how to explain what happened.

"Take your time I won't rush you Mikoto-san," The Sandaime said as he sat in silence patiently waiting drinking his tea and smoking his pipe.

"On that day it was already evening that night and I was finishing cooking dinner as I waited for my family to return home. That is when I began to hear the screaming and yelling and the sound of battle. Fugaku quickly came home and told me that we were being attacked by an unknown ninja, and asked if our youngest son had come home. I told him he stayed late to training at the school training ground, and he sighed in relief. He made a [Kage Bunshin] and sent it out to gather the Uchiha police and to gather information." Mikoto paused as she took another sip of her tea before she continued from her account

"He told me to go to the dojo and wait for him there because he had his suspicions about who might be the person committing this crime. So I hurried to get to the family dojo when all of a sudden everything turned black. That's when I woke up at the Konoha's Hospital not knowing of my clan and family's fate." The Uchiha Matriarch finished explaining what happened that night from her point of view.

The Hokage during her explanation was listening carefully to see if she suspected anything from the council made him sigh in relief inside. But it seemed someone knew something was about to happen and prevented her from getting killed. They only knocked her out and placed her in an abandoned house away from the massacre that saved her life. And the same person saved a few children from going to the afterlife. Now the question remains who knocked her out and how did they know this was going to happen? The Sandaime thought about this carefully but knew that Danzo had something to do with the massacre he knew that he had to put a stop to the Root program.

"Mikoto I have good news, bad news, and horrible news which would you like to hear first?" The Sandaime asked giving her a sad look in his eyes, that made the woman's heart clench in despair.

"I would like to hear about the horrible news Hokage-sama?" She requested dreading what she was about to hear from the village leader.

"Eighty-one point seven percent of the Uchiha clan was decimated leaving ten surviving members of the clan. But the worst part was the person who massacred your clan and killed Fugaku was your eldest son Uchiha Itachi. " The Sandaime said as he saw a horrified look on the Uchiha Matriarch not wanting to believe the village leader's words.

"Did something happen to Sasuke? And where is he at? Mikoto asked with a shakey voice as she felt her world coming to an end.

"Sasuke-kun is right now at Konoha's hospital, he ended up receiving a genjutsu attack by Itachi causing him to have psychological trauma he is currently in an induced coma. It was a very severe genjutsu attack so he will need someone to keep a close eye on him." The Sandaime explained to her the condition of her youngest son and how she was going to need to care for him for the foreseeable future.

"I see, good, good thank you for looking after him while I was unconscious Hokage-sama I appreciated it. I'll make sure to give him the proper care by requesting the Yamanaka specialist to give him counseling." The Uchiha Matriarch responded in hopes of reigning in the hatred that would consume Sasuke in the future.

"I see, I have confidence that he will be able to overcome this trauma with the help of his family and friends. Very good I agree with you one hundred percent with your decision." The Sandaime stated ready to give the Uchiha clan all the support the village can give them.

"Hokage-sama so what is the good news you have for me?" Mikoto asked for a glimmer of hope from all the trouble news she had been getting.

"Now for a surprising good news during the investigation, we discovered one of the Uchiha men was married secretly to a non-clan member. They were fortunate not to be recognized as an Uchiha for the fact that they lived outside of the compound. It is noted that he has two daughters, the oldest her name is Kato Rin, she is thirteen years old and is a genin and he hasn't awakened the sharingan yet if ever. Then we have the youngest daughter her name is Kato Aika she is seven years old and she is going to begin the academy this week. I was told by the man's wife that her husband wanted to keep it a secret from the clan since they both fell in love with one another and had kids." The Sandaime paused and took a sip of his tea before he continued speaking.

"To protect his family he told his wife to give their daughters her family's name as a precaution in case anything were to happen in the future. Do you understand why I asked to speak in private with you Mikoto-san?" The Sandaime told while eyeing the woman evenly for any reaction from her.

"I see," Mikoto replied as she nodded in understanding.

"I was hoping to keep this from all the council I don't want to complicate their lives and let them live as normally as possible, that is if they awaken the [Sharingan.] I'll leave the explanation to you and their mother and why it had to be done for their protection. If you want to change the traditions of the Uchiha clan now would be the time to do it since all the children are still growing, leaving their education up to you Mikoto-san." The Sandaime explained to her as she agreed with the village leader, she was also curious about the family of three and what would the future hold for them.

"I will put great thought into reforming the Uchiha clan once I go over all the clan laws either adding or eliminating some of them. I will need some time to go over them and even have you and maybe Shikaku give me some advice on how to go over it." The Uchiha Matriarch responded getting a nod of agreement from the Sandaime.

"Mikoto-san, I wanted to ask you if you are willing to let the family of your deceased clan move into the compound. And since her husband was killed in the attack she has no income to be able to support her daughters, only if the oldest takes care of them with her Genin wages. You are also going to need help raising six infants and having two experienced mothers take care of and raise them would benefit you both. And if you need help taking care of the compound with all the wealth the Uchiha have gotten over the years paying to assign Genin teams to help work around the compound wouldn't be a bad thing either. You would even be helping your fellow Uchiha with some needed money for their expenses." The Sandaime suggested some options for the Uchiha Matriarch who was pensive.

"I will think on many of the matters we discussed carefully Hokage-sama. I will allow them to move to the Uchiha compound. It would be an inconvenience for a civilian to travel from the village to the compound, they would be able to stay at her husband's home. I will talk to Kato-san and see if the girl does awaken their sharingan and if they are willing to change their family name to Uchiha. As for the rest, we will figure it out in time as long as we don't get other surprises for the foreseeable future." Mikoto explained to the Sandaime who nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm glad that this meeting went so well, I was sort of worried about the decision you were going to make. Otherwise, this would have become a problem in the future, something that would slow the progress of growth for your clan. And the last thing I need is to bring the village council into this matter it seems they are always trying to get involved in the ninja business." The Sandaime said as he stood up from his seat and walked over to the window to look at the village once again.

"You are right, Hokage-sama, clan matters shouldn't be the concern of the civilian council. Do you have any idea what is going to be brought up today in the council? If not I'll take my leave Hokage-sama I have other matters to attend to." The Uchiha Matriarch told the Sandaime as she stood up gave him a small bow and left the office.

"Kami, one appointment finished another few more to go, it is already becoming such a tiresome day. And my day is only getting started, hopefully, I won't receive any more bad news. I need a vacation and spend more time with my grandson Konohamaru. That would be a wonderful idea let see if I could put that plan into motion." The Sandaime thought to himself and he finished drinking his tea as he got started with his paperwork as soon as possible.

A/N: Hello fellow writers and readers I was able to finish this chapter faster than I thought I would be able to. Please leave your reviews it does make a difference for a writer. PM me if you have any questions. PM me if you are interested in being my Beta for this story. I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter have a good day "Epyon"