The boy's first memory was of a wood-floored hallway, morning sunlight shining through the windows, and at the end of this hallway was a man by a door with a greeting face. He walked closer to the door, nearing this man.

"Hello there, and what may be your name?" The man asked in a kind manner, holding a clipboard and a pen.

He stared wide-eyed at this man with confusion, not responding to the question. He turned back, looking at where he came from, he saw a door swinging, that must be where he must have come from.

He tried to think of how he got here in this building. He could not. He tried to remember any memories before this hallway but felt a small ache in his head every time. He felt total confusion and loss with every attempt to remember.

His attention was fully on the door, as it already stopped swinging and was still, staring at it looking if he could get any clue to reassure him, any idea of what was happening. When the boy failed to find anything, fear and panic started to spread to his entire body, and when the threat of shaking and tears was inevitable, he felt something.

Focus. Move forward.

The sweat on his palm stopped and was already drying. He closed his eyes, feeling his body resting and breathing returning to normal. All he could do was to move forward, as he felt.

"Hello? Are you alright?" the teacher asked with concern.

He turned back to the man, opening his eyes and noticing the scar on his face. He stared at the man, and went into deep thought, even if there was nothing to think about, he knew to follow those simple words. He looked into his future teacher's eyes and opened his mouth.

"My name is Naruto."

/

Her boy was finally becoming a ninja, she had confidence in him passing the bell test, but she could never tell what Kakashi would pull on her son. She knew he wouldn't pull any punches, he respected Minato too much to do that.

She was worried, of course, the life of a ninja was dangerous and dirty. She long ago accepted that her boy wouldn't be so innocent for so long after becoming a ninja. He always wanted to follow in his father footsteps

Kushina signed, holding her hand to her stomach, looking through the window into the forest in her backyard.

If only he could see his son today, he looked just like him, but without the maturity and patience Minato had. Kushina smiled at the differences and similarities between him and his father, both carrying that determined attitude, shown in a different ways.

She remembered the ache on that night when she had lost her love to the fox, and the relief she felt when she held her boy after the fox was sealed away. She missed him, so very much. There wasn't a day she didn't think of him, especially in special moments like this when Minato would be so proud of his son.

Minato always talked about his dream, to make the world a better place, so that their child would be able to be safe and happy. She didn't believe she could make the world better, but she could do the latter.

But now, her son would be out in the world, she had no control over what would happen to him, and no way to be by his side.

It didn't feel right here being in the safety of the village while her son would experience life and death situations.

Her old gear still fit like a glove, she put her hair into a pointy-tail.

She didn't train much, as raising him was her main focus. She had known it would be hard raising a child, but without Minato by her side, it was more than she expected.. Once he started attending the academy though, she had more time to herself and felt the need to regain what she had lost while not training over the years. She still had the strength to do some pretty damage, but not as much as she used to be able. But with some time and dedication, she could be a terrifying foe.

She, fortunately, has some time and a hell of a lot of dedication.

But training by itself wasn't enough for her to be strong, strong enough to protect her son, strong enough to fulfill Minato's wish: to make the world a better place. She needed the real deal. He finished preparing herself and walked out her house's front door and left for the Hokage tower. She had a request for the third.

"I am coming out of retirement, and I'm requesting to rejoin the ninja force and I won't take no for an answer."

The third stared at her. As straightforward as he expected when she barged into his office. He noticed her eyes, they were different from before, granted they hadn't met in quite a bit, with his Hokage duties and her with her son.

He had seen her eyes change before, when he first saw her holding her barely born son after the fox disaster in the hospital. Her eyes then had fierceness and hurt, she had those eyes for a while. She wasn't quite the same as she was, but she was still Kushina, his successor's wife and one his strongest ninja in the third shinobi war.

"What made you think I would say no, Kushina? Having a ninja like you would make things a little easier" He said with an old man's smile. How could he say no with the fire in her eyes?

Kushina stared at the old Kage, she would never be able to make him spill it out, but he was overly protective of her, even assigning an ANBU team to protect her family. She understood a squad to protect her son since she wouldn't be able to be with him all the time, but to put her in their protection as well didn't make sense. She guessed he still held the guilt of her husband's death deep in his chest, just like her.

"I had to say it, just so it could go through that old head of yours, old man." She said with her hand on her hip and a grin on her face.

The third laughed, "Don't worry, this old man is still operational, especially here," tapping his head. "And what about your boy, have you told him about this?" he asked inquisitively.

This is an important decision, even if she is one of the strongest ninjas in the village she was still in danger in every mission she would take, it would only be right to tell her son. And her mission would be tough, or at least later they would later on if she agreed with the offer he had for her.

Her expression softened. She had told her son about her decision after he passed the Academy test, and of course, he was worried and didn't want her mother to be in danger, fully aware she worried for him as well. He didn't protest, though, and gave that smile when he was happy for someone, even if he disagreed.

"He's a ninja now, and soon he'll be out of the village and taking missions, and I have to be out of this village as well, he's going to be in danger, it would only be right that I did so." She said with a passion and drive.

"Hm, I understand," He said. He would've done the same when his son passed the test, he and his wife had the same worries as Kushina did, but Hokage's duties prevented him.

He pulled three documents from his task, his "Confidence in him passing the bell test, yes?" he teased, knowing full well the boy would pass. He's a very promising Genin, showing more skill in the Ninjutsu than academic subjects, but still passing with a decent score on the writing test. He knew his future was bright, like his father's.

Her smile was all he needed for a response. He laughed lightly, looking more into the papers from his pile.

"Okay, Kushina, and would you want a specific role in our force?"

"It seems you already have something planned already," she said with a small annoyance, eyeing the documents in the Hokage's hands. She had a guess of what they were and didn't know if she liked it.

"Unfortunately, there aren't any positions available that I can see here," He said with a grin, knowing full well that there was always room in their forces, and not even trying to look like he had seen what was available.

"But as I do see here that three genin teams have found themselves without a sensei," he threw the three papers onto the desk, sliding just onto the edge.

Contemplating the offer, Kushina stood staring at the paper, not walking towards the desk. She had come here wanting a dangerous position. To carry Minatio's ambitions, she couldn't do low-risk missions. The more dangerous, the more impact it would have on the grand scheme of things, for better or worse.

But teaching a team of hers was something she never thought of doing. If she saw them to be fit to be a ninja, she would teach them the best she can, but was this something she wanted?

She took a step forward, the files becoming clearer. Until she touched the files, they weren't hers. She saw three boys on the files. She didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't change the world all by herself, not that if she had three students that she would be closer. But even if one of them could inherit her dream, she could hope that it would survive into the next generation. And if no one shares her dream, then she would have some effect on the world, somehow.

She took a step closer. Maybe she couldn't change the world, but maybe one of them could. One step closer and she was in reach of the paper. She felt something, and she reached out to the paper to the left, to the kid with shaggy black hair, and violet eyes. The name on the file confused her.

"Naruto? What about his last name?"