Chapter 2

"So, Pain has been beaten?" Madara aka Obito Uchiha asked wanting confirmation. "By Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Yup, and it was quite the battle if I do say so myself." Zetsu said. "The kid took Pain on all by himself and won."

Obito/Madara had to admit that he was impressed, Naruto Uzumaki had completely blindsided him by defeating Pain. The blonde Jinchūriki had just proven himself to be a threat, and wasn't to be approached without caution.

"What else did you learn?"

"Well, Tsunade Senju is no longer the Hokage, the Daimyo showed up and chose a new one."

"Considering the situation, I assume it's that warhawk Danzo?"

This name caught the attention of Sasuke Uchiha who was listening in on their conversation.

"Nope!" Zetsus grin widened. "From what I heard, he was shut down rather hard in front of the Daimyo, guy didn't stand a chance!" He laughed.

"Really?" this was a surprise to hear, he expected Danzo to be Hokage. "Then who holds the title of Rokudaime Hokage?"

"Kakashi Hatake is simply warming the chair until the actual candidate comes back, but nobody knows who they are; not even their name or gender!" he sounded excited by the sheer mystery of who it could be. "They did however order to have the borders fortified and heavily guarded, along with calling back all their shinobi; something big is going on."

"So, not only do we not have the eight tails, Sasuke." He looked to the youngest Uchiha. "But the Land if Fire is now completely on lockdown, you're lucky the Raikage was dealt with before he could do anything." He looked back to Zetsu. "And Naruto?"

The boy deserved to be called by his actual name now.

"Hailed as a hero and recovering rather quickly, and lastly there's a coronation in five days; that's all I was able to get before I was forced to retreat."

"It's enough." He spoke. "And where are you going?"

"To kill Danzo and the elders, that should be obvious." Sasuke said. "They made my brother murder our clan and for that they'll pay with their lives, so will—"

"Going to Konoha is suicide." Obito/Madara stated. "By the time you get there, your friend Naruto will be back at 100% and fully healed if he isn't already." He spoke.

"So, what."

"You can't win with your current strength, especially if he has backup like Kakashi Hatake." He explained. "It's best to wait for now, the element of surprise will give you a better chance of victory."

Danzo was an annoyance that needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later, but they had no choice but to wait. Sasuke was oddly quiet for a few moments before replying.

"Fine, it's not like he'll leave Konoha anyway." The young man said knowing that he was right. 'The new Hokage, if it's not Danzo of Kakashi then could it be?' he couldn't think of anyone else suited to be Hokage. 'Guess we'll see in five days.' He planned on being there no matter what.

'Konan destroyed Nagato's eyes before escaping, I didn't think she'd actually do such a thing…Nagato was onto me.' Obito/Madara sighed. 'Uzumaki truly are troublesome even in small numbers, and what's worse is how this sets the plan back.' He would have to lay low once again. Maybe even get rid of Sasuke and his friends if they became a liability.

Land of Whirlpools – Uzushiogakure

As it turned out, Uzushiogakure was much bigger than they'd thought if the ruins were anything to go by. The buildings must've been massive and the architecture amazing, the village must've been beautiful. Yet that didn't stop it from being destroyed.

"This is where the Uzumaki Clan once resided?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Naruto answered. "If this place hadn't been destroyed, do you think I would've been born here instead of Konoha?"

"It's possible since the Uzumaki Clan rarely ever left the Land of Whirlpools, despite their friendship with Konoha they didn't share a lot of their techniques because they could easily change the power balance." Sai said. "Had they not been wiped out then I have no doubt that you would be a shinobi of Uzushiogakure and not Konoha."

The thought of a life that could've been, it was one that he no longer had the privilege of wishing for. Not when he had so much on his plate now, his friends didn't know he was the new Hokage. Well, it would be official during the coronation. Even so he wanted to tell them since they already knew about Nagato giving him the Rinnegan.

"Hey guys, I—"

"There it is…I think." Sakura said.

The two looked to where she was pointing to see a shrine. It was old fashioned yet looked completely untouched by time. What's more there was energy around it, they recognized the chakra while Naruto recognized the natural energy, but there was another energy that they didn't recognize. The trio got closer, but as upon reaching the steps, Sai and Sakura found themselves unable to ascend.

"I guess this is where I go alone." The blonde said. "Don't worry I'll be fine, hopefully."

"Just make sure to come back, a lot of people will be super pissed at us if something happens to you." Sakura said.

"Like I said, I'll be fine."

Despite saying this, he was on guard; ready to go into Sage Mode at a moment's notice. Gathering natural energy had to become as easy as breathing, this was what he needed when training Sage Mode. The Hokages before him had something that made them stand out, some strength that made them feared. Being the Jinchūriki of the Nine Tails couldn't be his defining strength, he needed his own.

'Shame you and I can't get along.' Naruto said as he stepped inside of the Shrine.

'Your father sealed me away inside of you, you're my prison just like your mother and Mito before her.'

'Why were you sealed in the first place?' he asked. 'Did you attack or—'

'That bastard Madara used his sharingan to control me and then the first sealed me in his wife, Mito who put me in your mother!' the fox exclaimed. 'This all started with him.'

"Now he's back and wants to shove you in some giant statue along with the other Tailed Beasts." Naruto frowned. "Madara has to die, and this time he has to stay dead."

'That we can agree on at least.'

"Hey, is it just me or can we hear each other much more clearly than usual?"

'It's this shrine.'

They were now in a narrow hall that was illuminated by many candles. It reminded him of Orochimaru's hideout, but this hall had a red rug, and the walls were smooth.

'Your body is soaking up the energy that's flowing through this place, I think this is why your friends couldn't enter, they would've died minutes in.' the fox said. 'The Uzumaki longevity is much more prominent inside of you now, it's why your body is adapting so quickly, thank that cousin of your; you must've been closer related than I initially thought.'

Naruto suddenly stopped as he came to the end of the hall. The blonde froze at the sight before him. A large portrait of a slender young woman with light brown skin and pale purple hair. One thing that stood out were her pointed ears, and the small sickle-shaped marks of red situated on her cheekbones, right under each of her gold eyes. The pupils of her eyes had a noticeable lavender color in the center of them. Her hair was tied back in a bun with her bangs swept to the right of her face, with a cluster of long strands dangling in front of her ears.

Fear gripped his soul as he stared at the smiling woman.

'Honerva Uzumaki.' The fox said. 'I thought something about you seemed familiar boy, she's your great, great grandmother.' He spoke. 'That scroll under the portrait must contain what Nagato wanted you to find.'

"Honerva Uzumaki, what's up with her ears?"

'She isn't the same species as your kind despite her appearance, that woman was on par with the Sage of Six Paths and nearly destroyed the world.' He spoke. 'I wasn't aware she managed to reproduce before her death.'

This was both interesting and a problem. If anyone with any critical knowledge about Honerva found out that Naruto was her direct descendant then he would become an even bigger target. This damn kid was a danger magnet. Granted it started with himself, but still.

Naruto took a deep breath before walking up and grabbing the scroll. He couldn't deny that there was quite a bit of personal curiosity behind his actions as well as a desire to learn about his clans' techniques. Aside from that, he needed answers and the means to get stronger. Naruto wasn't sure how strong Madara was, but he had to be ready to fight the man who was on par with the first Hokage. No matter what it took.

4 Days Later – Land of Fire – Konoha – Hokage Tower

When Naruto came through that door, the first thing Kakashi did was get out of the seat which he never wanted to sit in again. The jonin never wanted to deal with that much paperwork again in his life, he would let the Hokage deal with that.

"I take it you didn't enjoy the—"

"Never again." Kakashi said. "I'll take being a jonin any day."

"That bad?"

"There are issues that only the actual Rokudaime Hokage can make a decision on, you'll have to address them after the coronation." The older man said. "Did you tell Sakura and Sai?"

"Yeah, when they were helping me regain my sense of self, I kind of let it slip." He chuckled. "I was always going to tell them though." He smiled. "Now, could you please bring me Anko and Ibiki?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." With that he disappeared.

"It's weird hearing him call me that." Naruto said. 'Wonder how long he plans on watching me?'

There was someone watching him, and he had a good idea who.

"There's a good chance that Danzo will have ROOT operatives spying on you once you return." Sai said. "He will look for weaknesses, try to undermine you like he did with the Third, try to manipulate you into doing what he wants…no matter how horrific the act."

Danzo was dangerous and killing him outright would cause some bad backlash without proof. If the man were to try something like start a coup or try to assassinate him then he could justifiably kill him. Killing usually wasn't something Naruto thought about like this or at all, but Danzo was an exception. The Third had made the mistake of not killing him, so now the Sixth would clean up the mess.

Naruto sat down, he hadn't exactly rested since he grabbed that scroll, and began learning its contents. But at least now, he knew what Nagato wanted him to know.

"This is going to become everyone's problem, and the only thing I can really do is warn those who will listen." The young Hokage was aware that only one hidden village would heed his words and that was Suna. A couple dozen minor villages, Spring Country, Demon Country, Sara's daughter and her followers, and hopefully he could call in some of Jiraiya's contacts who trusted him.

"One thing at a time, we've got time before it happens." He took a deep breath. "For now, I need to focus on the current situation." He spoke. "As long as nothing complicated comes this way then everything will be fine."

The Next Day – Konoha

The coronation was underway and people were more than ready to see who their new Hokage was. They'd waited seven days, and the Daimyo had come back along with other nobles from the capital. This had only served to cause even more of a commotion.

The Daimyo stepped forward with a smile.

"People of Konoha as the Daimyo, I give you the Rokudaime Hokage!"

The chosen candidate stepped forward; their face concealed by the hat that their predecessors wore.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

In a dramatic fashion the Uzumaki took off the hat with a smile. To those below he seemed to shine with an aura of glory and heroism, his very presence inspired them just like a leader should. Just like the Fourth Hokage did. The crowd went wild.

The rookies simply stared in surprise; they hadn't seen this coming. Naruto Uzumaki had just become the Rokudaime Hokage, and would be literally leading the village. The blonde's dream had finally come true.

"Naruto-san's youth now shines brighter than ever!" Lee exclaimed. "I mustn't fall behind!"

"I knew something was up when Naruto was suddenly sent out on a mission with Sakura and Sai, then the defense fortification and calling our shinobi back." Shikamaru sighed. "Naruto gave those orders out before leaving."

"Why?" Ino asked.

"Squad 7 must've gone somewhere important." The Nara sighed. "Well, that aside this is quite the development."

While they were happy for the blonde, they were conflicted at the same time. Naruto Uzumaki was going to be running the village, the guy had no experience in leadership. The blonde wasn't exactly the wisest person either nor was he the most mature. Admittedly nobody could deny his strength, drive, determination or the fact that he embodied the will of fire. However, that was all he had.

From a safe distance, Sasuke Uchiha stared at the Hokage. This must be some kind of cosmic karma, Naruto Uzumaki had become Hokage now of all times. This was completely unexpected and made things much more complicated for the Uchiha. Naruto had changed and it was clear to him that the young man had gotten much stronger; getting to Danzo and the elders was going to be difficult. It was a good thing he and Taka abandoned the Akatsuki cloaks.

'Does he know the truth about the Uchiha Massacre?' Sasuke hadn't considered the possibility that the truth might be hidden from the new Hokage. 'If he's in the dark about it then maybe I can convince him to hand them over?'

Attacking head on was suicide if he slipped up, Naruto using lethal force on him was a death sentence. Not to mention the other shinobi here, getting out was very unlikely. Even with the rest of Taka backing him up. He would retreat for now and plan.

"Congratulations…Naruto."

Chapter 2 End