Becoming President

Disclaimer: This work is not intended to offend anyone. Naruto and the United States of America do not belong to me. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha, while the United States of America is the property of its citizens.

So I've just learned that to be a U.S. Senator you need to be at least 30 years old. Naruto is 25 years old(a dumb policy), yeah let's just pretend that he is eligible lol.

Also: PLEASE, I NEED HELP, I COULDN'T WRITE THIS FIC ALONE ANY MORE IT'S GOTTEN TOO COMPLICATED!!!!!! MY BRAIN!

Rebecca Russell-Harth

She still remembers those days clearly; the very first day she met the love of her life, the very first day she saw him. It was her first day at school, and she was crying, as were all the children; their parents had just left them in the lonesome in a strange room, and even stranger people. They've given them smiles of encouragement and promise that they'll come back, but that doesn't convince any of them; wails of children wanting to be with their parents and teachers trying to calm them, all for naught.

Yet, one boy stood out the most - with blonde hair and the brightest ocean-blue eyes she had ever seen, he was captivating. Unlike his peers, he didn't cry and instead chose to stand on the side and cover his ears. They were annoying him, and his annoyance somehow made her angry! Who did he think he was, feeling like he was better than all of them? Safe to say, she was not impressed. And her impression of him did not improve at all in the first three years of school. She saw him as a bad boy who always pranked her, the teachers, and the other students. Almost every week there would be news on the latest prank he had done, and somehow that made him popular with the other boys and girls.

It didn't help that, despite all that trouble, he was still at the top of the class without paying attention. She worked hard and studied almost every day, and yet he still beat her on everything. She hated all things related to Nathaniel Russell. And that hate continued to almost fester until a certain autumn when the leaves turned crimson.

He told her that her hair was beautiful. It was the first time she had heard that from someone besides family. And on that day, Rebecca wanted him to be her friend. Her first friend. Before him, she was bullied; her red hair made her the target of other girls. Before him, she was alone. And on that windy autumn day, she finally had a friend.

Sometimes her cheeks flushed the same color as those leaves when she recounted those memories. It was so romantic. Now that she thought about it, it was almost like a fairy tale.

She introduces him to Omar, now Hiruzen's unofficial uncle. Although he is Muslim, it does not stop her from being friends with him. She was bullied before and she will not bully another. For the next few years, they have each other's backs!

She hadn't fallen in love with Nathan yet, which came after another fairy tale moment when he saved her from that madman. And only when she was in high school did she realize her emotions. When she finally told everyone about her feelings for him, Rebecca had never seen Natha-Naru so flustered. It was cute. He was cute. They dated and stole kisses under the tree. It was great.

Then Naru told her he was joining the army, which confused her. Naru could have gotten a scholarship at Harvard easily, and even if he wanted to join the army, why not join the officer corps? He was very adamant about it. When she asked him about it, he only gave her a vague answer. That was the first time she noticed that he was hiding something from her, but she kept quiet; she trusted him. She will always trust him.

When his army contract came close to ending and he was placed on reserve duty, instead of spending more time with her and their newly born son, he headed off to university. She was angry, oh so very angry, he promised her that he would still have time for them and she didn't believe him one bit. You couldn't divide your time between family and university, especially at Yale. But then he did the impossible and did it. That was the second time she had been confused, how? It's almost as if he could be in two places at once! And after that, there were rows of interesting decisions made by him.

Giving almost free legal services to anyone, and investing so much money their bank account is now racking millions, Rebecca is in a high-paying job, and her family is obscenely rich. Even she shudders at how much they gain every hour. At this rate, they will become billionaires in the next three years. All of that action confuses her, and it all makes sense when she sees her husband's speech on TV and the way her coworkers joke that they want him to be President. It all makes sense. The assassination attempt on his life does not help her to wrap her mind around the notion that her husband wants to be President. He never had any ambition for power, making his actions unexplainable to her.

"Rebecca, it's time I told you the truth," he whispered into her ear while embracing her. "I should have told you a long time ago." They lay together in bed, sleeping peacefully under the soft glow of the moonlight.

"Well, it's about time," she hugged him more tightly. "My husband is hiding something from me. What took you so long?"

He did not answer.

"Are you angry?" He asked the question with the most obvious answer.

"Of course I'm angry!" Tears flowed down her face. "You didn't trust me."

"I'm sorry, I know that words aren't enough, but I'm sorry." He hugged her even tighter.

"That's all in the past." Rebecca wiped her tears and sat on top of Naru, their faces only a hair's breadth apart. "Will you tell me? What's the big secret?" she asked with a coy smile, and Naru replied with his own.

"A long time ago, the nine-tailed fox…."

That was the most romantic chapter I've ever written.

Also, I did not expect that writing this fic would lead me to research U.S. political theory in such detail.

Naruto Uzumaki

The United States of America is a compound republic, or in layman's terms, a federal government. The power that the people give to a single entity, i.e., the system of power, is divided into two distinct governments: the federal government and the state government. Each of these governments constantly battles for control over its respective jurisdiction. To effectively exercise this power, there must be some form of communication between these two governments, and that communicator is the Senator, who represents the entire state, while the State Representative only represents a specific district within the state. Their job is to be the voice of the state and its people in the Hall of Congress.

(it's infecting me!!!! The useless words are infecting me!!!)

And that is the position I am trying to attain: a position of power that would allow me to be a bridge between the state-level government and the federal government. Unlike in any other country where their equivalent of a senate (for example, the House of Lords in Britain) is merely a formality—almost useless. Oddly, America has such a strong upper house in its parliament, unlike any other country, that some people say that in the U.S. The Senate is more powerful than the House of Representatives.

(yes America a lower house usually held more power and the upper house is merely formalities. You guys need to reduce the power of the Senate somehow.)

Anyway, I ran for Senator in my home state of Michigan as a Democrat. The reason why I chose this party is that the Democratic Party is entrenched in the community, not because I have anything in common with the party. I fully intend to betray them in the future and create my party by stealing the moderates from both sides of the political spectrum.

People expected me to go independent, even the Democrats thought I was going independent. My announcement to join their side must have been a nasty surprise for them. They did not want me in, it was obvious to everyone who knows a little bit about politics that I was too "extreme" and too controversial, but they couldn't reject me and they knew it. I'm too popular of a candidate to reject. If they rejected me, there was a chance of me siding with the Republican Party, which would destroy their hold on Michigan. That's why, with a heavy heart, they accepted me.

It was obvious to everyone who would win the state election; the Republican candidate simply didn't even have a chance. What is surprising, however, is that the Democrats finally took over the majority in the House of Representatives. That's impressive. The Republican Party under Trump currently holds significant influence due to the timing and economic problems facing the country. It's unlikely this will lead to anything drastic.

(Oh my sweet summer child)

Next thing you know, I was a senator.

It did not take long for me to be ostracized by the party leaders simply because I did not fall in line with their views. Some senators are sympathetic to my plight, but they are too afraid to help me for fear of enraging the people at the top.

It's vexing, having so much power yet being unable to do anything. They want to crush me and are actively trying to. They call me an idealistic fool, just another piece of meat for the machine to crush. They didn't say those words with hatred or sneering contempt; instead, their tone conveyed regret and pity, as if they had once experienced the same thing.

The senators, both old and new, have all tried to reform America for the better, whether they are on the left or the right; everyone has the same goal: The prosperity of the people.

What differs from all of them is their approach to achieving their goals. Every time I notice that newly elected Senators who are not from a political background deliver their speeches with passion, resolve, and conviction, while the veteran politicians sound tired and disillusioned by the system they are in.

It made me realize something. Everyone here is trying their best, yet nothing can be changed. An invisible shackle has enslaved all of them. Their real enemy is not each other or everyone outside the country; it's the government itself. The once-mighty system has transformed into some sort of diabolical bureaucratic monster. Where even the most powerful are bound to its will, its collective will.

The measure of a great politician isn't on how many bills they pass or how many accomplishments they have achieved. It's about how long they can maintain the idealism they bring into the chamber, and how long they can maintain their character and integrity. Absolute power doesn't corrupt absolutely; it will only make you suffer under the weight of your failures until you are broken and no longer care. The notion of me slowly losing my resolve scares me. Death would be preferable to living a life of emptiness.

Greater men than I have tried to change this country and tried to break the shackles and greater men have failed yet some have succeeded. Our accomplishments as a nation are all recorded in this chamber. The problems we faced and fixed, though not perfect, at least we've tried and improved: the end of slavery, women's suffrage, and civil liberties for all, regardless of skin color. We can change and we've done it before.

What's stopping us to change once more if it's not ourselves as a nation?

If not for the will of the American people?

And our indomitable will to improve?

I will never give up. Not until we are once again a city upon a hill, where the light of our nation shines as a beacon of liberty once more.

…..

This is what I admired about America, your country always trying to be its better version of it self. The great American saga hasn't ended so it saddened me to see all of you guys hate each other so much.

Y'all have so much potential as a nation that it made me awed, amazed, and sometimes speechless as an outsider.

I hope you guys one day could achieve or even surpass that potential.

…..

I can't do this. Being isolated as a politician is freaking impossible if you want to enact change. Every time I tried to build up a connection they just ignored me. I've been called the black ship of the democratic party and for a good reason too. I didn't always vote for the same thing as the party, I act more like an independent senator rather than one that is affiliated.

I'm still popular with the public, sure, but it's not going to be that way every time. Slowly but surely they will know that I'm practically independent and I do not know what would be the consequences of it being revealed.

Things aren't as smooth with the opposition either. The more shallow Republican members would attack my credential as an acting senator while the smart ones will use me as a justification and "prove" that the democratic party is in discord while also pointing out that I am a source of that discord. While what they are saying is true they sure like to embellish them.

"This is impossible!!" I disheveled my hair.' I can't do anything," I said with bitterness.

Kurama, who is sleeping on the carpet in the senator's room, gave his two cents. 'Did you try to contact Bernie Sanders? Isn't he in the same position as you are?'

'I did but the old man had some political sense not to associate with me. A smart move really; he knows that trying to befriend me will only isolate him from the little ally he has in Congress.'

'You should've been inside the House of Representatives first before becoming a senator,' Kurama mentally sighed.

He's right, there's an unofficial progression if one wants to be a president and I just skipped a step and paid dearly for it. Most of the senators here are veteran politicians meaning they already had entrenched themselves into their party power. If I was in the House of Representatives where most of the politicians there are new to the job (case in point: AOC), he could have a chance to build a connection with them but noooo he just has to skip a step. And also can't make friends with the newer senators; the veteran politician had snatched them up fast before I could and threatened them despite the fact some of them support me secretly.

'This is the worst,' the urge to tear my hair is strong.

'Naruto,' Kurama's words broke me from my stupor, 'someone is approaching the office in ten minutes,' informed Kurama.

'Ten minutes?' I looked around my office and saw absolute chaos. 'Oh frick, shadow clone!' After cleaning up the mess in my office, I corrected my messy suit and sat calmly, pretending to read a document about some sort of orange juice getting Justice? What a weird document.

The oakwood door was knocked upon by someone, and I once again cleaned my suit. Coughing to clear my throat, I finally spoke. "Come in." The door opened, and a figure that looked fairly old emerged and I don't recognized.

"Hello, Captain, or should I call you Senator now?" The older man sat down first in front of me, "You've certainly taken a surprising path for yourself. Who knew that the boy from Detroit would become a politician?"

I raised my eyebrows. "You talk to me as if you've known me since I was a child—unless…"

"We've been monitoring you," he said with a knowing look.

Organizations filled with a bunch of creeps.

"You wouldn't think people like us would ignore talent, would we? Did you already guess where I'm from?"

"I've never heard of you in this organization. Does that mean the CIA director is merely your pawn?" Kurama woke up and waddled his way to my lap. It was an agreement we made to impress potential guests in exchange I would let him loose in the wild for a day.

"More or less. An organization as important as ours wouldn't change leadership in every administration; we need continuity to function efficiently."

That's not good at all for democracy. But It does explain why the CIA seemingly has the same policy even after decades and a new presidential administration. It's either a coup, satellite, or economic sanctions.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly. My chakra flared a little but all three of them aren't even bothered by it, unlike the agents that I met before. These people are absolute Veterans in their respective fields. I almost forgot the one rule about warriors: fear the old, In the occupation where people die young.

"We would like for you to become our partner."

Blink.

Blink

"Come again?" came my intelligent response. "You want to work with me?"

"Yes," the old man replies. "We have the same interest. It would be stupid on our part not to work with you."

"And why should I want to work with you people? As far as I know, that would just mean you three are proposing a dependency agreement to the CIA. I would rather have freedom of movement and action than be a CIA puppet." This isn't the first time they propose to a Senator to become a "partner" with them. The last time it happened they were just telling that senator what bill to support. It was a dynamic I do not want to have with them; it was equivalent to shaking hands with the devil.

"You don't have a choice. Look, everyone in Washington knows that you are ignored and isolated," he put forward his arm, "You are in desperate need of allies and the CIA will happily help you."

"What do you have to gain? Aren't you helping a potential enemy?"

"No, I'm not. I'm helping a potential commander-in-chief," he said with a smirk

"You want me to be president?" I can't hide my bafflement. "Six months ago I destroyed your operation in the Dakotas."

"Again people like us would not ignore talent and you're also the only qualified person to lead. China is rising and right now more than ever we need unity. When we withdraw from Afghanistan our prestige as a Nation and our stability will be shaken. We need you at the helm when the worst scenario will likely happen."

"Withdraw from Afghanistan?" I raise my eyebrow.

"It's something complicated that the president had discussed with us and we were with him. That place will not give any advantage besides reducing our influence on the region."That's true all that bombing and our troop presence in the middle east only help our enemy to successfully paint a picture that we are an occupying force and invader. Something I somewhat agree with. "I'll send you the files… only if you'll agree to work with us. So what do you say, Mr. Russel?"

I contemplated my options and didn't see once I could do this alone without some sort of help from outside forces. And the CIA is one of the best forces that could help me. While they have a shady past and even present I can't think of more Nationalist and zealot loyalists for the USA they will disregard democracy and our founding principle if it ensures the prosperity of America and its people. They are the shadows–the root of this great nation.

And with a heavy heart

"I accept."

I DID IT, I MANAGED TO ENTER ONE OF THE BEST UNIVERSITIES IN MY NATION HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Also, I think China is making a deal with Cuba about a military base… yeah wacht out for that if you're an American.