"Lord Orochimaru, there has been an interesting development" said a boy with silver hair and glasses. "Hm? Kabuto, do tell" the man replied. "It appears that Konoha has elected a new Hokage." "Oh? And who might that be?" he asked. "Naruto Uchiha" the boy replied. Orochimaru's face twisted into a frown. That was not good. That was the total opposite of good.
"That matters little but it seems that we will have to take extra precaution when approaching Sasuke" Orochimaru said. "Surely Naruto won't let us get anywhere near the Uchiha boy right?"
Orochimaru chuckled. "Kabuto, Sasuke will be a genin soon which means Naruto won't be able to watch him at all times. We will still go through with the plan. Sarutobi sensei will die and Sasuke will come to our side." Kabuto nodded and left the room. Once he did, Orochimaru hissed. "Damnit!"
The next morning Naruto sat with his head in his hands observing the scene in front of him with mild interest. A small boy had just attempted to 'attack him' with a wooden shuriken. That small boy just so happened to be the grandson of the third Hokage as well. It didn't help the fact that Menma and Sasuke were in the room as well and both of them were quite vocal today due to what happened yesterday.
The small boy got up and looked at Menma and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You tripped me!" he said. Menma grabbed the boy by the collar and yanked him up. "I didn't trip you, you tripped over your own scarf you goof!" he said. That's when another person came in. He had on a blue, long sleeved shirt with the standard jonin vest on. He adjusted his glasses and glared at the orange jumpsuit wearing boy.
"Unhand the Hokage's grandson!" he said. The boy smirked. 'This guy would fall in line like everyone else' he thought. But then he received a punch to the top of his head. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. "I don't care if he was the Hokage's grandmother!" Menma said. Sasuke just shook his head. He was surrounded by idiots.
Naruto who was just silently observing cleared his throat. "Ebisu, take Konohamaru back to the Sarutobi compound. Menma, Sasuke, go get ready for the graduation exams" he said. Seeing as Sasuke was about to say something, he cut him off. "We will talk later Sasuke, I promise." The teen nodded and pulled Menma by the collar out of the room.
Once the room was clear, he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He didn't get much sleep from the night before.
But that was when another presence decided to make himself known. "Sleeping on the job already? I thought we made the right choice when electing you to be Hokage." Naruto opened one eye and looked at the man who was sitting inside the window. "I'm starting to see why Sarutobi hated you using windows" he said.
Jiraiya grinned. "Too bad, doors aren't really my thing" he said. "And neither is having dignity" Naruto replied. Jiraiya face faulted at that but quickly recovered. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but what are you doing here Jiraiya?" The man gained a serious expression which was not common for someone like him. "Have you ever heard of the Akatski?" he asked.
Naruto raised an eyebrow but shook his head and motioned for Jiraiya to continue. "It's a group comprised entirely of rouge S rank shinobi with the goal of capturing tailed beasts." That caught Naruto's attention immediately. "So you're telling me that there's a group of S rank shinobi who want to collect nuclear weapons to use them for who knows what?" he asked. Jiraiya nodded and Naruto sighed.
"Menma can't take on an S rank ninja and he doesn't even know about the damn fox. You see the deep shit your sensei put me into? I'm half tempted to just give him the hat back" he said. "That's what I'm here for. I was waiting until he became a genin to introduce myself to him. He's matured a bit from the brat he once was."
"Matured is a stretch" Naruto said, recalling the scene that just happened in his office before Jiraiya arrived. "So you think I should wait?" he asked. "Hell no. Don't get me wrong, Menma isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the box but at the end of the day it isn't fair to keep information like this away from him."
"I was thinking the same thing. I don't think I should tell him about his parents right now though" Jiraiya said. Naruto shook his head in disapproval. "It's better to tell him now, versus letting him find out later and harboring resentment toward you."
"I guess you're right. As much as it pains me to say this but you know him better than I do and he trusts you. Do you think he's ready for this?" "Menma may be brash, loud, and a bit idiotic at times but he is a good kid and at the end of the day, he is no different from you and I. I get-" he cut himself off as he sensed a familiar presence entering the village.
Jiraiya seeing the pause, voiced his question. "What's happening?" Naruto frowned. "What is Tsunade doing here?" he asked. Jiraiya's eyes widened considerably. "Tsunade is back?" he asked. Naruto nodded slowly and closed his eyes. "She will be here soon, she's probably upset at the fact that her sensei is no longer in power to let her do as she pleases. And knowing her, she will most likely pummel something so I suggest you keep that thing in your pants" Naruto said.
Jiraiya didn't need to be reminded of that. He knew her better than almost anyone. And then he remembered something. "I never got around to ask but when will you two make up? I get things happened but it was 15 years ago and you both made a mistake."
"In my life I've come to learn that some things are just not meant to be Jiraiya." They heard sounds of wood breaking and people screaming. "It appears that she still has her temper" Jiraiya commented with a grin. That's when the door to the office slammed open and in walked an angry looking Tsunade with a flustered Shuzune and 'a pig?' Naruto thought with confusion.
She didn't even pay Jiraiya any mind as she marched up to the desk and glared at Naruto. "What the hell is going on!?" she yelled. "It is nice to see you too. Although I didn't send a retrieval team after you, it looks like I won't need to anyway. Welcome back, you too Shizune" he said. The brunette blushed in embarrassment as Tsunade spoke again. "I'm not playing any games Naruto. Why did you become Hokage?"
"Jiraiya, Shizune, anbu, could you leave us alone for a minute?" Naruto asked. They both nodded and left the room. The anbu followed suit. Naruto then turned to the window and gazed toward the village but said nothing. This bugged Tsunade greatly. She walked behind the desk and stood in front of him with her arms crossed.
She narrowed her eyes at him and asked again. "Why?"
"Much better. You should know by now that I won't speak to you if you act like a child" he said. She growled at him but he continued. "As for why, I honestly don't know myself to tell you the truth. It may be because the old monkey couldn't dig himself out of a hole this time but there were other capable candidates. Why are you so angry?"
"You know why I'm upset" she said. "And it's not my fault Tsunade. I was just as shocked as you were. But at the end of the day Konoha is my home and now my responsibility" he said with defiance.
"You promised me that you would never take that hat" she said. "I'm surprised you still care about that promise after all these years" he said chuckling. "Surely you haven't gone soft." "Those feelings died. You lost that privilege a long time ago" she said unflinching. "The fact of the matter is that you know why you are not able to take that hat."
He grabbed her hand and she flinched at the contact. "You said you don't care but yet you came from Kami knows where to Konoha to confront me after 15 years." She hesitated and remained quiet for a moment.
"Will you actually force me to come back to the village?" asked with a frown. "Ah, I had a feeling that's what this was over. Jiraiya you owe me. But if you were so worried about me bringing you back, that means you know you shouldn't have left in the first place" he said.
"You know why I left! You were the reason I left to be exact!" He winced at that and let go of her hand. "You don't think that I don't have nightmares about that day?" he asked in a calm voice. "I remember every single moment of that day up until what happened, vividly. And I blamed myself. I let it eat at my soul for years and years and in truth, I'm still not over it. But the fact is that you're not innocent either."
Seeing as she was about to retort, he spoke. "I'm not saying that it's your fault that he died. I will never blame you for that. I'm saying that if you had put your dislike for me to the side, then we could've prevented it."
"You had your chance Naruto. You were not there" she said. "We were at war Tsunade. You saw the beginning, up until after your battle with Hanzo but you didn't fight for 3 straight years" he said somberly. "You think I gave a damn about the war?! I needed you! I told you that you didn't have to fight. I was scared. I waited months and months for you to leave the battle field but you never did" she spat.
Naruto put his head down at that. "I didn't leave you because I hated you. I will never hate you, we've been through too much for me to ever do that. I left because I wanted to protect our child from the man you were becoming" she said softly. His eyes began to water but he kept his head down. She wouldn't see him cry.
"I don't mind returning to the village, seeing as you would go look for me anyway" she said a little annoyed. He didn't bother to look up at her and she sighed. She cupped his chin and made him look up at her and her heart almost broke at seeing the same eyes she saw all those years ago.
"I will mend fences and move on as long as you promise that we can keep it professional. I can't love you intimately again" she said with a frown. He closed his eyes and let out a humorless chuckle. "I already broke one of your promises, who's to say I won't do it again?" he asked.
She gripped his face tighter and gave him a sweet smile. "Trust me, for your sake I suggest we don't go down that road again Naruto" she said. He let out a deep breath. Then he gazed into those beautiful hazel orbs and spoke.
"I promise that I will keep it professional with you" he said softly. "Good. Now I will be taking over the hospital and I would like to see the potential medics as well" she said. He nodded slowly and they heard the door open and Jiraiya peeked his head in. "He's not dead Shizune" he whispered. The duo in the room sweat dropped.
The other two guests made their way back into the room along with the little pig who Naruto still couldn't figure out what it was doing here. "So are you gonna tell us the good news?"
"Congratulations class. I have been your instructor for 4 years and I've seen all you you grow from little brats to capable shinobi of the future. It has been a pleasure to teach all of you and I look forward to hearing about the great things I know all of you will accomplish. But before that, I need to announce the genin teams" a chunin with a scar over his nose said.
All of the students in the class had their newly earned headbands and there was a mixed crowd of emotions. Menma sat next to Sasuke and Ino. She had long platinum blonde hair with blue eyes. Someone who he had always been fond of. She was always nice to him and would eat lunch with him when they were younger. They always maintained their friendship and their shared love for flowers.
"Ino, Sasuke, who do you think will be placed on teams?" Menma asked. Sasuke shrugged and went back to thinking whatever Sasuke thought about. Ino pondered the question for a moment before speaking. "Well considering Sakura and Sasuke were at the top of the class all year, they will most likely be placed on the same team. My dad already told me that I'll be laced with lazy bones and Chouji" she said defeatedly.
He laughed. "Come on, Shika isn't that lazy" he said. They heard snoring and turned around and saw Shikamaru in a deep sleep. "He just came out of the room not too long ago. How did he even pass?" Ino asked. "Just because he's lazy, doesn't mean he isn't capable. He's the smartest person I know and that's saying something" Menma said.
"How?" Ino asked. "I know 2 Hokage and neither one of them are as sharp as Shika" he said. "You know Lord 5th?" she asked in surprise. "Of course I know him. Broody is the one who will train me to become Hokage!" he said. Sasuke's lip twitched at the statement but chose to remain silent. "I don't think calling the Hokage that is wise" Ino said reprimanding her friend.
Menma scoffed. "He broods more than duck butt here" he said pointing at Sasuke. "What was that?" Sasuke asked and Menma pretended like he didn't hear him.
"Team seven will consist of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno-" "Yes! True love prevails" came the loud voice of a pink haired girl. "As I was saying, Team seven will consist of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Menma Uzumaki. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake" he finished.
Sasuke could accept that. At least he had Menma on his team. On the downside, he had his most loyal fan girl on the team as well.
"Team 8 will consist of Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inozuka. Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi. Team 9 is still active. Team 10 will consist of Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akamichi. Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi" he finished.
"You will all meet here in one week for to meet your sensei's. Good luck" he said as he left the room.
The group of friends decided that they would go celebrate with some barbecue at Chouji's families restaurant. "Sasuke where are you going?" Ino asked. "I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to go speak with Naruto" he said. They nodded and continued to venture to lunch.
Naruto sat in his chair going over some meaningless files. He tried to get his mind off of what had just happened in his office. He didn't know how to feel. On one hand as the Hokage, he should be glad that another one of the Sannin is back in the village. She also just so happens to be the world's greatest medic.
But on the other hand, he was human just like everyone else. That woman knew him better than anyone else and vice versa. But he made the deal already. They were just comrades and nothing more. But it still didn't make him feel any better.
That's when Sasuke chose to enter and Naruto sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time today. Sasuke walked up to the desk and sat down in front of him. Naruto, who was growing tired of the position already chose to speak up. "I'm guessing you have a multitude of questions. Fire away."
"How did you become Hokage?" he asked. "It seems not everyone is happy with the decision" Naruto muttered. "Lord third chose me as a worthy successor and deemed me fit to lead the village" he answered. Sasuke nodded at that. "I guess this means I will be seeing you a lot less" he said. Naruto smiled. "Of course not. I can always make a shadow clone or two. Besides, we live in the same house" Naruto reminded the teen.
Sasuke grunted at that. "Why don't you take me seriously?" he suddenly asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he replied. "I heard about what you did in The Mist. You defeated the 4th Mizukage who just so happened to have a tailed beast inside of him. And you did it with relative ease."
"Word spreads fast huh?" Naruto mused. "Yeah, and I'm still weak. You have strong techniques that you could pass down to me" he said. "Did you ever complete the jutsu I showed you before I left?" he asked. Sasuke nodded. He then made a shadow clone to stay in the office and put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and body flickered away.
They reappeared in a giant clearing and Sasuke looked around confused. "Where are we?" he asked. "This is the Hokage's personal training grounds. A place where only the highest ranking ninja dare to enter. I personally think it's a bit overrated but that's not why we're here. Perform the jutsu Sasuke" he said.
Sasuke smirked and activated his sharingan. He went through hand signs at an impressive speed and gathered a large amount of chakra.
"Fire Style Fire Dragon Jutsu" he said. He spewed out a large dragon made of fire and it shot toward a few trees in front of them and the trees exploded. Naruto had to fight back a true smile as Sasuke boasted. He didn't even look winded.
He turned back to the older Uchiha and spoke. "It took me a month to learn and another month to fully master. I was waiting on you to come back to show you that I am fully capable of being taught. I'm not driven by revenge anymore.
But there's no reason for me to ask you to train me anymore considering you'll be busy now. I'll ask my sensei for further guidance. See you at home Naruto" he said as he walked away.
Naruto stood there with a frown. He shook his head and slowly walked back to his office. When he got there, there was an envelope on his desk. He immediately noticed the Mizukage signature on the letter and picked it up. He went over the contents in the note and with he began to frown with each second passing.
He closed the letter and sat back in his chair. That was when another knock was heard at the door and in walked Hiruzen who looked younger than ever.
"You seem to look lively" he commented with a smile. Naruto rolled his eyes at the man. "I haven't even had the hat for a day and I've been attacked by your grandson, questioned by Tsunade and abandoned by my pupil. The hat might truly be cursed" he said dryly.
"I heard about Tsunade coming back. I'm surprised you two were civil. She isn't exactly the easiest to work with" Hiruzen said chuckling. "Tell me about it" Naruto muttered. "But it does seem like you'll have your hands full. I have full faith in you" he said.
"Yeah, yeah this is your fault I know. But I have a question." "What's that?" Hiruzen replied. "2 active Kage from different villages aren't allowed to get married right?" Naruto asked. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and then it clicked. "I'm assuming that's what was in the letter from the Mizukage" he said with a grin.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. "You are just as bad as Jiraiya. You're just good at hiding it." Hiruzen gave him an innocent look. "I don't know what you're talking about" he said. "Yes, the Mizukage offered a political marriage between herself and me as a way of strengthening the alliance." "Well I have to say that this is an interesting development. You two have to know each other well in order for her to request something as grand as this" Hiruzen said.
Naruto nodded slowly. "We had gotten pretty close overtime during my stay" he said. "Are either one of you seeing anyone?"
"I'm not and I'm almost one thousand percent sure she isn't either" Naruto replied. "Then I don't see a problem. Well aside from the fact that your kids would have to split living arrangements with the both of you. That's if you were to have any kids."
Naruto laughed at that. "Taking care of Sasuke was hard enough and now having to worry about Menma wanting to take my hat, I won't have time to deal with any more brats." "Who knows?" Hiruzen replied.
Naruto was silent for a moment but then asked a question. "Do you think I should? I mean what would Tsunade-" he paused. "Ah, so that's why you're so worried" Hiruzen said with a knowing smile. Naruto put his head down. "Seriously, I would be more than glad to give you the hat back" he said. "Nope. I served my time. You were destined for this. Your sensei and your father founded the village which in turn led to him becoming the First Hokage."
"Sounds like nepotism to me" he said. "In a way it is but that's how we have flourished for so long. The Will of Fire was passed down to each Kage from the previous."
"We're getting off topic here. What do you think she'll say?" Naruto asked. "I truly don't know Naruto. But it shouldn't matter what she thinks because at the end of the day, you two are no longer together."
"Fine. I guess I'll agree to the terms." "I'm sure Mei-San will be glad that you agreed" Hiruzen said. "Oh you have no idea" Naruto mentally said. "But I do have another question", Naruto said. "And what would that be?"
"Where is Danzo's Root base located?"
"We will begin hunting for the jinchuriki's. They are all in secure areas of their respective villages so we will have to proceed with caution" Nagato said seriously.
"Of course! Lord Jashin requested more sacrifices!" Hidan said. "Your sacrifices are stupid. They pale in comparison to my art! Just as everything else!" Deidara said. "What!? How dare you disrespect Lord Jashin, you damn creep?" "Creep? Why you-" "Hidan, Deidara quiet down" Nagato said in a dangerous tone.
They both huffed and both their respective partners shook their heads in exasperation.
You all will continue to operate in duos. Remember to not kill the jinchuriki" he said directing his orders to a certain zombie duo. "Whatever" Hidan said.
It was about a month later where Naruto could be seen standing atop of the Hokage office. It was midnight. He was set to be married in one month and he honestly didn't know what to expect. Sure, he knew Mei and she was nice and drop dead gorgeous but she was still a Kage and had her own village to run. Plus their romance mostly revolved around sex.
He didn't tell Tsunade or Jiraiya about the marriage. Kakashi found out by eavesdropping and somehow Gai found out from him but he warned him to not shout it across the village. Menma and Sasuke were getting along just fine on Kakashi's team along with that pinkette.
At the corner of his eyes, he saw a crow. And then another one and then another. Then a multitude of crows formed at there appeared Itachi.
"There's no reason to lie anymore boy"