Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto or AoT.

The Nine - Arc 1

Chapter 5: Assessment II

THE Hokage Tower served as more than just an administrative building for the Hidden Leaf Village. With the security provided for it, it was an ideal place for storage of documents that detailed transactions, pacts and deals that the village had been involved in. It was also a place where the village's most valuable secrets were hidden and where valuable artefacts were stored – the kind of items that were just valuable, not dangerous.

The Professor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat on his chair with one such object placed on his desk – the Crystal Sphere rumoured to have existed longer than the age of shinobi, its tale going far beyond the times of the Sage of the Six Paths. Cradled by red silk, it allowed him to view almost anything within a fifty-kilometre radius, the furthest he had been able to push himself.

Currently, his attention was focused on the Academy not to far from his office. It would have been much easier for him to go to the Academy for his purposes. However, forty-two years of power had made him realized that his presence altered the natural course of destiny for most people. Especially when such people were ninja in training.

A knock on his door made him sigh. The seasoned leader placed his pipe between his lips, leaving it unlit for the moment as he made a sound that allowed the door to open. He was not surprised when Dog stood at the other side, mask and ANBU uniform in place.

Almost at the same time Hiruzen could feel his ANBU guards shifting, marked only by a breeze that was easily dismissible. If Dog noticed the shift, he did not find it concerning. He stepped into the office, hands stiffly by his side.

The darkness in the hallway had made it hard to appreciate how well the uniform fit the ANBU operative. A sleeveless, silver flak jacket atop a similarly sleeveless top. His arms were covered in black cloth with silver armour platings strapped at his wrist and elbow, black gloves covering his hands.

"Back from another mission, eh Dog?" The Hokage said, more to himself than to the man standing before him.

"You know how it is, sir."

"So, what brings you here? I'm assuming it's not to watch the upcoming battle, although I would recommend it."

"No, I'm actually here to talk about the state of the ANBU Headquarters," the standing ninja said. "I just came from a mission and I can't even rest since someone saw it fit to desecrate my room. Whoever it is must really hate me."

"I'm assuming your room is the one with wires all over it like spider webs," Hiruzen said.

"No, mine is the one overflowing with some slippery gunk that someone forgot to get rid off." Dog's face shifted to the ceiling, "That's actually the least of my problems. It has a distinct smell of shit and pink walls. And ninja wire."

"I see." A miniscule application of chakra lit his pipe.

"Who was it anyway?"

The old man turned to the crystal on his desk. Two boys stood facing to each other, the tension between them clear through the sphere. The Hokage did what he did best - analyze each combatant by their abilities.

Naruto Uzumaki was a nuisance, that being the Hokage's impartial opinion. He pranked because it was fun and it got all attention on him. His academic performance was as fickle as his personality. It stood out brilliantly some times while at others it was so dismal one would think that the tests were done by two different people.

His talent in taijutsu was difficult to gauge for the very same reason. The Academy instructors could not gauge whether the boy took taijutsu as a joke or he was just inherently bad at it. Maybe when they were introduced to ninjutsu the truth would be known.

Sasuke Uchiha, on the other hand, was something out of a textbook. He was good at everything he put his mind to. He led the class in everything— on and off the books alike. His basic skills in projectile training were already the best anyone had ever seen in his generation.

Hiruzen was sure that the boy's mastery of the nearly extinct Uchiha Clan's rite of passage jutsu was on par with that of an ordinary low B-rank Chuunin.

The only aspect that the boy lacked in was his socialization skill, given how he seemed intent on ignoring every existence apart from his own. Even so, his manners and etiquette were commendable.

Thus, even if there was a disfigured ANBU Headquarters in the village, "Well, it certainly can't be him."

The Hokage said that, well aware that Dog's attention was on Sasuke Uchiha.

"The final battle may begin!"

Naruto needed no further invitation from that, throwing a quick jab at Sasuke. With the same quickness, Sasuke cocked his head out of harm's way before crouching down and attempting a leg sweep. Naruto jumped to the sky, attempting a kick to his opponent's midsection when gravity pulled him down. Sasuke leaped away, face impassive as ever.

Sasuke's left hand reached into the holster on his left thigh, pulling out five kunai that he threw at Naruto. The blonde plucked the first one from the air and used it to change the trajectory of the four that followed it, well aware that it was a textbook distraction from Sasuke. Just as the latter moved towards him, he threw the kunai in his hand towards the Uchiha. He immediately followed its path, assaulting Sasuke with a barrage of punches the moment he dodged the kunai.

The black-haired male countered with his own blows, constantly redirecting the punches before they made contact. Naruto grinned, increasing the frequency of his blows until his fists were a blur to his own eyes. By the grimace on Sasuke's face, his assault was doing wonders to his chances of victory.

Abruptly, his opponent fell on his hunches and shot a fast kick to the blonde's chin. Naruto had less than a second to shield his chin as he allowed himself to fall backwards, Sasuke's foot missing by a hair's breadth. Flipping back to his feet, he grinned.

"Well, well Sasuke," he said, shifting to a basic taijutsu stance. He lowered his centre of gravity, right fist held towards his opponent and his left hand pulled to his back in a claw. "Shall we actually begin?"

Sasuke smirked. That being as good a response as any, the Uchiha raced towards Naruto and led with a relentless assault of roundhouse kicks. The blonde dodged the first few, used his left hand to catch the ankle of Sasuke and swung him away. Without losing his little advantage, he followed Sasuke as he skidded on the dusty ground and landed an uppercut.

Sasuke went airborne for just a second, which allowed Naruto to elbow him back to the earth. Naruto took the satisfaction of his opponent's grunt with a smirk as he grabbed the blackette's ankle, lifted him off the ground and slammed him right back with a force that raised a hazy cloud of dust.

Through the dust, the blonde saw a shift in Sasuke's expression. It could have been mistaken for a grimace but years of unintentional and mostly unpleasant interactions told him to fall back. He listened immediately, slamming Sasuke for good measure before leaping back.

He fell on one knee, ready to move at the slightest sign of danger. Through the dust, the blonde saw Sasuke stand up. He was a black shadow, but Naruto could see his fellow student reaching to the pouch strapped to the back of his waist. Barely seconds later, five shuriken burst out of the cover cutting through the air with a barely audible sound. Prepared as he was, Naruto flipped over them and used the ground as a springboard to advance on the other student.

Sasuke emerged on the other side of the dust cover just as Naruto entered it, the prankster exiting it just as soon as he had gone in. Unlike the previous bouts, Sasuke was ready for him. A heartbeat after he had Sasuke in his sights, Naruto found himself a victim of vicious blows to his person. Sasuke was unceasing, unleashing a furious mix of hook, jabs and painful kicks on the blonde.

The tide had shifted, Naruto realised with a painful grimace. All he could do in the face of such a one-sided exchange was to cross his arms over his chest in a futile effort to soften the blows. He found himself walking from the punches and kicks, dodging what he could and talking the ones he could not.

In the middle of it all, he was well aware that Sasuke could not keep his advantage forever. That awareness kept him searching for openings he could exploit. His eyes darted all over Sasuke's form, skipped to the environment around them and to the skies above. With a sudden jolt, Naruto stopped his retreat for the few moments it took to get a footing before leaping back faster than his fellow combatant could react.

The Uchiha had scored a few blows in the process judging by the painful feeling in his arms. Naruto had no time to rest as he had to dodge two shuriken that came his way with unerring precision. Following the dodge he raced towards the black-haired boy, grinning despite the fact that he stumbled for the first couple of steps.

He regretted the impulse when Sasuke pulled at something invisible— well, the ninja wire became a very visible danger when sunshine shone off its thin surface. Naruto heard the clear sound of spinning ninja stars at his back, eyes widening in panic. With his forward momentum, he could not gracefully escape the trajectory.

He did not need to.

Just as the sound had registered to his senses, it went away. He turned and beheld the sight of a shuriken crashing from the air and landing on the ground, buried almost instantly under light soil. His moment of distraction cost him dearly when he ran into a painful knee to the stomach.

He skidded to a stop, fell to his knees and gasped for breath. His hand clutched his stomach, painful heaves leaving his mouth. Despite - and maybe because of - the agony, Naruto let a painful laugh be heard from him. With some effort, he rose to his feet and coughed out the little blood in his mouth.

His blue eyes went to the sidelines where his co-students watched the match with mouths wide open. They must have been too stunned for any other reaction to form on their stupid faces. He searched for a familiar face but all he could see was a mope of lavender hair and nothing more.

"I don't know whether to be surprised that Iruka-sensei hasn't stopped the battle," he commented quietly, turning to face his opponent, "or that you haven't attacked me yet."

Sasuke did not respond, glaring at him impassively. Chuckling further, Naruto went down on one knee— just how he had been before things went south for him. His fetched a handful of sand from the ground and made sure that his opponent saw it.

"Shall we finish this?"

Unbidden, a dog barked within their earshot. That being their signal, they each shot at each other. Naruto's feet left displaced soil in his wake, and he saw Sasuke's do the same.

They clashed in the middle of the makeshift ring, maintaining the contact for a split second before they began exchanging blows at speeds that should have been impossible for either of them. Their exchange sounded like muted cannon fire, which was as loud the clapping of a multitude.

Over and over, the battled across the ring, their kicks and hands blurs even to their own sight. The exchange was not confined to the centre of the ring, both of them eager to battle with as much freedom as they were allowed in the ring. A light cloud of dust rose yet again from their exchange, an exchange that lasted as long as their stamina.

They parted for just a moment, Naruto wiping the thin line of blood that ran down from his lips with a grin. He had released the soil somewhere in the previous bout. Sasuke was smirking too, a rarely seen excitement shining in his onyx black eyes. They again moved to re-engage each other.

Naruto went in with a kick, one that Sasuke took into his two hands and rotated the blonde away before letting go. Naruto went flying, flipping midair and leaping off the ground and connecting an elbow shot to the last Uchiha's clavicles. A muted grunt of pain was all he heard before he let out a similar sound thanks to a kick to the stomach.

Parting for another moment, the two took breaths before smirking simultaneously.

"Not bad," Sasuke said his first words in the match, standing near the ring's edge.

"I could say the same." Having said that, Naruto grinned. "This has been fun, ya know."

Then, as the dust settled, he did something no one expected. He wiped his brow of sweat and with a wave towards his opponent he walked out of the ring.

"Naruto is out of bounds." Iruka blinked back to action. "Due to disqualification, Sasuke is the winner."

That snapped everyone out of their shocked reverie. They seemed to have difficulty on whether to be happy they could finally go home or be surprised by the abrupt ending to the match. Naruto grinned to himself, walking to rejoin his fellows. He could feel a lot of gazes on his person, something that was really strange. Then again, it was not all that different from the looks he had gotten used to.

"That was..." Dog sighed, "something."

"No need to be conservative," the Sandaime said, a calculative glint in his eyes. "I believe you have your curiosity satiated."

"I suppose," Dog said, eyes to the crystal as it went dark. "How will I get my next mission?"

Hiruzen sighed quietly. "You'll receive your directions from the Commander. But still, I'd like you to keep your eyes open."

"You have anything special for me?"

Rummaging through the papers on his desk, the older man pulled out a paper and placed it atop the pile. "I have an idea in mind. I'm not sure when I'm gonna start on it but..."

"Is something the matter, old man?"

Most leaders would have been offended by the apparent disrespect but Hiruzen took it in stride. "The Fire Lord's Representative is being given a new post. He'll be working in the Land of Snow. As a result, he's being replaced."

"Hmm, is that so? I'd say it's about time. He's been here for what? The whole of your two reigns?"

"Thirty-three years, the equivalent of my first term." The Hokage's pipe had gone off a while ago, and he was tempted to have it relit. "Well, I guess he's been around here longer than any before him."

"Who'll be his replacement?" The ANBU was now facing the village through the wide glass windows of the office.

"The Feudal Lord's niece, Princess Aì."

Even through the dog-featured mask, Hiruzen could feel the narrowed eyes of the younger ninja and he hummed. "Isn't she a little too young—" 'and inexperienced' was left to the Hokage's imagination, "for such a... huge responsibility?"

The Professor agreed. "But from my interaction with her, I can tell that she's unique. One of her abilities is one to process any information in less than a minute regardless of the quantity of data."

"Are you saying that—"

"She's like you? No, no. She's nowhere near the likes of you but we're getting sidetracked. The point is, she's more than prepared for her upcoming job." He placed the metal pipe on his table, "Let's just hope she's not overprepped, yes?"

"Hm."

"Anyway, I don't have to tell you but she'll need a guard for the duration of her stay here." Hiruzen placed the on the table, regarding Dog with serious face. "I need you to find that protector."

"You don't want me to be the one to guard her?"

"No. You're needed on missions more than any of the black ops. Just find me a guy."

Dog headed towards the door, hands in his pockets. "Sure. When does she arrive?"

"Sunday. Oh, and keep your eyes open."

The masked man stopped and turned his face to the Hokage. "Why's that again?"

"There's something big in the works. It's still just an idea but..." Hiruzen sighed. "Keep your eyes open."

"Still as vague as ever, hm?"

The wonderful aroma of ramen was predominant in the air. Naruto's seat barely creaked as he consumed hot noodles, shoveling them in his mouth with the wooden chopsticks. He was on his third bowl, certain that Teuchi was already done with preparing the fourth bowl of his miso ramen.

To his right sat Iruka, his second serving barely touched. He supported his head on his wrist, studying his most peculiar student satisfy his stomach's needs. His left hand idly stirred the ramen noodles as he waited for Naruto to be done.

Finally, and with an unnecessarily loud sigh, Naruto slammed the bowl on the counter. He wiped his chin with the back of his hand, a happy grin stuck on his face.

"How was the test, Naruto?" Iruka said the first thing that came to mind.

Naruto gave a puzzled look. "What do you mean? You set it so you should know."

"I guess so," the instructor sighed. "You did answer all of the questions, right?"

"Not quite," the bright smile Naruto had leaked to Iruka, and he gave his own little smile. "I left two blank spaces since I hadn't the slightest idea. Otherwise the other questions were almost sleep-inducing. Almost like ten of you in a history lesson."

"Are you saying that I'm boring?"

"Did I say that?" Naruto said, eyes to his bowl thoughtfully. "Well, you're only a tenth of the exam's boring nature and that's only during theory classes."

"Thank you Naruto—"

"Don't thank me. A tenth of boring is still boring." The boy turned to Teuchi. "Bring in the next bowl old man."

The ramen placed in front of him, Naruto resumed his slurping. The fourth bowl was finished in a literal minute and a fifth took its place. He paused after a few bites, placing Iruka-sensei on the periphery of his vision.

"So tell me sensei, what did you think of the taijutsu match between me and Sasuke?"

Iruka gave the question no mind. He was more focused on eating his food than boosting Naruto's ego.

He chose to give the first answer that came to mind. "It was actually less of a spar and more of something else."

"I don't know about that." Naruto held some noodles between his disposable chopsticks. "I found it exciting, ya know."

The teacher mock frowned. "Don't tell me you're turning into a battle crazed maniac."

"It's too early for that. Before today, sparring had felt too perfunctory; all about the mechanics of combat and less about displaying what we'd learnt or letting off some steam." He shoved the food into his mouth, face scrunching at the taste of cold noodles against the fading warmth of the broth.

"So what are you trying to say?"

"When it became obvious who I'd be fighting, I expected another intense combat session with little excitement. However, intrigue was in every punch we exchanged and with it a great deal of fascination. The very first jab I threw was not a simple starting move. It felt like I was daring Sasuke to reveal his moves. To fight back so I could try – and most likely fail – to understand his taijutsu style. Even if I would've failed, the road to that— what did you think of the spar, sensei?"

Iruka did not reply immediately, pondering the implication of the unnecessary emphasis on his title. He lifted his bowl off the table and brought the edge to his mouth, drinking the soup with as much silence as he was privileged. The quiet allowed the two to hear Teuchi humming quietly, ignorant of their conversation. Behind them, a quiet murmur was all that could be heard from the people walking by.

It also brough to the brown-haired chuunin's attention an almost silent rattling. It was consistent, almost like the never ceasing buzz of an electric transformer fifty metres out, or the hum of bees in the Aburame Clan'a hive farm.

Iruka turned to his most peculiar student, his eyes narrowed at the look Naruto had on his face. He was staring at his hazy reflection in the little broth that remained in his bowl, distorted by steam and the noodles. His lips were tightly pressed together – not quite a frown, mind you – and eyebrows knit together. His hands held his plate tightly to the point of shaking— the rattling sound coming from the chopsticks vibrating against the vessel.

The ninja sighed, reaching out with his left hand to grasp his student's wrist. "Naruto, to be honest I—"

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed even further.

Iruka smiled. "I think that you did great back there. You shone through the battle and I'm really proud."

The boy's tan hands suddenly let go. Only when he had finished his fifth serving did he turn to his instructor with a grin.

"Thanks, sensei." He stood up, and walked out of the stall, adding a farewell as an afterthought.

Iruka sighed. Was that the answer Naruto had expected? Naruto's grin had been genuine but the brunette man had gotten the impression that the blonde was somehow dissatisfied with the answer he had given. It was a bit disappointing to the teacher, the fact that he had been unable to lift his student's spirit the way he was expected to.

It was also odd given that nothing he said was forced.

"Is something the matter, Iruka?" Teuchi asked, collecting Naruto's five bowls.

Iruka stood up, placing enough money to cover his and Naruto's bills on the counter.

"No, everything's fine." He answered, leaving the stall.

He needed to rest.

His walk to the most important building in the village took less than five minutes given how close said building was to the Academy. He was barely freshened up, various parts of his body giving little groans with every step he took to the Hokage's office.

The floors were red, half of the walls' height painted the same. Pictures of various people who had played a significant role during their times were hung here and there on the hallways, illuminated by the electric lighting above.

Eventually, he did reach the office. He entered without knocking, something most people dreaded. The office was the same as he remembered it from a few days ago when he had been taken into custody.

Pictures of the previous Kage and the current one were hung right above the door, as if it gave their souls a chance to supervise whoever sat on the big chair. The room was circular, the wooden walls lacking anything significant save for the Hokage's robes and hat to his right. Directly from the door was the leader's desk, scrolls placed on the ground and piles of paper on the desk itself.

Upon his entrance, the Hokage's eyes narrowed. His eyes were all that was visible behind the papers.

Naruto smiled, pushing his bangs away from his forehead. "Hey, Gramps. This a bad time or what?"

"No, it's actually a preferable occurrence," the Hokage said. "What's the matter?"

Naruto reached into his shuriken pouch, his hands freezing when the air inside the office suddenly became tense. He could feel a warning glare on his person, a feeling that encompassed his entire body. Countless needles aimed at every organ of his body – vital and not.

He carefully retracted his hands with a nervous chuckle. "That's not a good feeling."

"I can't say I understand." The old man shrugged. "It has never happened to me. What were you up to?"

"I just wanted to show you a shuriken I found at school today," the boy answered. "Can I?"

"As long as it does not end up in my throat."

"Very funny." Naruto once again reached into the pouch, carefully, and felt through the weapons until he found a shuriken without a sharp end.

He removed it and slowly walked to the table, placing it on top of the pile closest to the Hokage. It was taken into the man's calloused hands, his form hidden by a barricade of never-ending paperwork. It was was only for a moment before the man re-emerged.

"Naruto, can you help me with shifting these papers?"

"Sure thing." Naruto moved closer to the table. "Where do I put 'em?"

"Just place the ones that I've dealt with on the floor to my left. The others to my right." The Hokage smiled. "Once you're we can go for a walk."

Naruto focused on the little task, carefully carrying the heaps from the desk and placing them on the ground. He took extra care in ensuring that the top papers did not fly off. The old man took care of the little papers that he had been dealing with before Naruto's appearance. Despite how careful the Academy student assumed he was, a few papers got separated from the main piles. He decided to deal with them once he was done.

It was only a short time before he got curious about what was written on the papers. There were papers were classified as reports, others as requests. The old man was already finished with the reports. Some of the requests had 'Pending' sealed onto them in gray while others had 'Approved' sealed onto them in red ink.

A request for funds that would be used in preparing the training grounds just beyond the village's limits(Approved), a request for expansion of the Market District(Declined), a request for renovation of some of the buildings in the eastern part of the village(Approved), a request for long-term sleeping arrangements in the Kiyomi Mansion signed by the Feudal Lord—

"Is the Feudal Lord coming to the village?" Naruto asked, holding the letter up.

Gramps stood up. "Haven't you been taught that nosiness can get you in trouble?"

"I don't think so," Naruto answered, ignoring the rhetoric nature of the question. "So, is he?"

"No."

"Then why is there a request for long-term lodging in the Kiyomi Mansion?" Naruto finished returning all of the papers to their rightful place. "That's like the best of all the lodging and everything else related to that, right?"

"Not that it concerns you, but we'll be receiving a new Representative from the capital."

The Hokage ran a hand through his graying hair, smoothening it before covering his head with his ceremonial hat. Naruto rose, a curious look on his face.

Of all the councilmen and women, the Feudal Lord's Representative was the most mysterious member. He – his gender was just about the only thing know about him – had been in the village for over thirty years, according to their syllabus and yet little was known about him. Naruto did not even know the old guy's name or appearance.

It was not foolish to think that the position of Representative was made up in their lessons and that there was no such thing as a representative from the capital. Such assumption were wrong since there was a Representative. Naruto had seen his shadows every once in a while, lingering by the Senju Clan's compound.

The Academy trainee snapped out of his thoughts when his leader stepped out of the office with a silent request to be followed. He hurried after the older man, closing the door behind him.

The two of them maneuvered through the maze of hallways. They made their way out after an infinite number of reverent bows to the supreme leader of the Leaf and looks of disapproval, disgust and, dare he say, hatred. Naruto never paid attention to those. He chose to focus on those that actually liked him, even the Cat-masked ANBU by the front entrance who returned his cheeky wave with a respectful nod. The gesture was directed more to her superior than to him but Naruto took it.

They emerged from the building just as the sun was halfway down the distant hills that edged the Tokiwa Sanctuary. Half the village's surface was under the shadow of the hills. The two made their way to the very base of the cliff, walking side by side towards the stairs that led to the top.

Hiruzen hated to break the comfortable silence. "Did you know that the Hokage Monument was never meant to be a tradition?"

"Really?" Naruto raised an eyebrow as he gaze at the Second Hokage's sharp chin. "Your face kinda gives a different impression."

"When the Shodaime passed away, Lord Second wanted something to honour his brother with, something that would be finished before the Final Valley," the Third Hokage informed. "That bore the first carving. After the Second died, I had the same idea about honouring his sacrifice— the second face. After I became Hokage, the Fire Lord did not hesitate to order my face up there. Same happened with Lord Fourth."

"That does explain a lot," Naruto said.

"How so?"

"The place the First's face is carved gives the impression that no one expected this village of ours to have upto four leaders and be on its way to a fifth."

The old man hummed, realizing the little fact then. "I never saw it that way."

"I'm sure you're not the only one." They stopped at the first break, watching for a short while as the darkness of night slowly choked the sunlight. "So, about the shuriken I showed you."

"Oh, yes." He took the star from his robes and handed it to the blonde.

"What is this weapon? I know I've never found it in any of our supply stores."

"That's an old issue of the shuriken. It's been five years since they were decommissioned, actually."

"They're decommissioned? But why's that?"

Waving the weapon in the air absentmindedly, the old leader replied, "You may not realise this, but this shuriken is made out to 99% Grade 3 Yurei Steel, the remaining percentage being Grade 2—"

"Ordinary steel," Naruto interrupted. "The latter is an impurity even though it gives the shuriken a good weight for throwing." Looking at the weapon in the old man'a hand, he proceeded, "I guess what you're trying to say is that the manufacturing cost was too high?"

"How did you know that?"

Naruto started the next flight of stairs. "When I threw it earlier today, it was unlike any shuriken I'd thrown before, all of which had felt like trying to teach a wild elephant how to tap dance on top of thin glass. This one though... it was vastly different." He glanced over his shoulder at the old man's face, concealed under the shadow of his hat. "It was throwing a sleepy cat from the third floor, only for it to land on its feet if albeit ungracefully. I blame that on my inexperience with the shuriken."

"Hm. I guess you'll have to deal with the elephant then."

"What if we don't use Grade 3 Yurei Steel but substitute it with Grade 4 of the same, but only fifty percent of it. The remaining should be Grade 1 ordinary steel." Pausing, the trainee flipped to the top step and face the Sarutobi as he climbed up in a more traditional manner. "By 'we' I mean the manufacturers. The final weight will be 133% of this one's but I'm sure that it's within what's the preferable and acceptable weight."

"You're overlooking the fact that the final price will be 119% higher than this one's."

The boy shrugged. "It's a good place to start with the research, right Gramps?"

"Where were you all this time? We could have used the ideas two years ago."

"Well, I was kinda busy in the advanced program." He grinned, "But, heroes always arrive at the last minute, right Gramps? That's what all those Princess Gale movies seem to suggest."

The old man laughed, a deep and rich chuckle that Naruto could not help but echo.

They walked, reaching a point where they were level with the Third's stone face's nose. From there it was impossible to continue on with the stairs. They entered into one of the safety bunkers and followed its burrowed cavities until they emerged on to of the cliff. By then the sun was nothing more than a cold bluish ball in the western horizon, a cold breeze sweeping through the plains of Tokiwa in the absence of the sun's heat.

"So old man," Naruto started, hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "Who will be representing the big man?"

The Hokage, having sat on a rock, lit his pipe. He took in the intoxication of tobacco in the form of dark smoke and then released it.

"His niece. Princess Aì." Naruto looked back at that, eyebrows raised. "Ah, I suppose you haven't heard of her, have you?"

"Did the raised eyebrows give it away?" Naruto's sarcasm was taken with a little smile. "Of course I haven't heard of her."

"Well, she is the heir apparent to the throne and therefore has to learn more about administration from the experience she'll gain in her three-year deployment to our village." The seated elder let out a steady stream of white smoke. "She's already a prodigy in anything related to administration and that's only because she has a special condition that allows her to process an enormous amount of information in short periods of time."

"So she's a genius, huh?" The blonde sat facing the Hokage. "I just wish she's not stuck up."

The Hokage chuckled. "Trust me, she wouldn't recognize stuck up if it came and introduced itself to her. She's actually known for her tendency to evade her guards just so she can interact with the local folks in the capital and any place she visits."

"So she's that cool huh?"

"Well, she's definitely cooler than you," he answered with a teasing smirk. "She's accomplished all the goals she set for herself in her dream of becoming the first female leader of this great nation for over three centuries. And guess what? She's only thirteen!"

Naruto blew a raspberry. "Like I care about some supercilious woman— SHE'S THIRTEEN?!"

Well, that attempt at nonchalance was ephemeral.

Hiruzen nodded. "I said that."

"Please tell me you're kidding around."

"I'm not."

Night settled fully, a hazy white glow rising from the village. It was a combination of the differently-coloured lights that gradually replaced and outshone the starlight. It was one of those days when the moon was new, darkness covering the forest that surrounded the village.

Naruto stared at the glow of the old man's pipe. The smoke out of his lips was made to appear darker by the night. It did not last long, the glow dimming until it went off.

"Do you think I can—"

The ninja trainee's statement was cut off by a sharp, "No."

"Can I..."

"Nope."

"I should—"

"Definitely not."

The blue-eyed male growled. "Oh come on! You haven't even heard what I want!"

"You want to talk to the Princess, right."

"Well, can I?"

"My answer had not changed, Uzumaki."

"Why's that?"

The Hokage did not answer immediately, taking his time to refill his pipe with tobacco. He then relit it with a wave of his hand, his face getting an orange hue.

"It's the Princess, Naruto." The man explained. "No, she's the Princess of Princesses. She isn't just an ordinary royalty— in less than ten years she will be leagues above you and your quotidian existence. You can't just approach like you approach any leader. She's not as fond of you as I am— she probably doesn't care about the villagers to the same degree as you and I. Approaching her could go any way. For all we know her uncle might decide to cut off the funding to our village which is very, very bad—"

Naruto yawned. "All I'm getting out of your obfuscate statement is 'blah, blah, blah.' If you're so scared I'll make you a deal, Gramps."

A vein throbbed at the Hokage's temple. "What deal?"

"I know that you've mastered every jutsu documented in our village's archives and libraries. Therefore, if I can get her to talk to me, you're gonna teach me a jutsu." The Hokage opened his mouth to speak, but Naruto shushed him with a grin. "If I fail, I'll be cleaning your office for the rest of my Academy days."

"Did you not hear what I said?"

"As I said," Naruto replied, a frown on his face. "Obfuscate. But if anything goes south, blame it on me. Say I'm crazy or somethin'."

The Hokage rubbed his forehead. "She's arriving on Sunday. You have one day - Monday - to make her..." He made air quotes with his left hand, "'talk to you'. If you fail, Mr. Kento will be relieved of his duties."

"Oh, relax." Naruto grinned, standing up. "There ain't no way I'm failing."

"We'll see, my boy, we'll see." Hiruzen extinguished his pipe barely minutes after he had refilled it, deciding to address something that had caught his attention. "And obfuscate? It seems that your taijutsu isn't the only thing you've been keeping under wraps."

"Oh, please. I'm allowed some privacy, aren't I?"

To be continued...

Nothing gives me great pleasure than to realise that Naruto Uzumaki had no plot armour in canon, unlike Son Gokū who's literally the most armoured individual in anime history, forget about Gowther.

Kinda reminds of Eren Yeager, who's the most exposed individual in anime given the number of times he should have died.

Above that, there's nothing that I love more than to read the reviews to my story.

I'd like to address this to zombieoriginario22240. I love how detailed your reviews are and that's why I'm gonna say this: be patient. I'd like to give you previews to what I have in store but that's gonna blur a lot of lines.

I am going to give you this though: this is a strictly Naruto-AoT crossover and this is just the beginning where I get to establish how The Nine's Naruto is different from canon Naruto. The Titans are gonna appear in this story, and so will some key characters from Attack on Titan.

And of course, I have to admit that your review made me realize that I was dragging Arc 1 out too much. I won't change much in terms of plot, but I'll try to publish longer chapters. With any luck, we'll be getting into the real sweet stuff on the next two chapters.

As usual, Rate and Review you guys. I love y'all.

27/02/24: Hi everyone. If anyone reads this, I just wanna inform ya that the next chapters of The Nine may be, like, super duper delayed. I'm kinda caught up in some unpleasant shit and I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I am not abandoning it. I just took up too many story ideas before The Nine's idea even solidified in my mind. I'm writing too much and dealing with too many projects - FF and Wattpad - at the moment.

20/04/24: Please don't flambe me :(. It's just that shit's hit the fan. I've been busy watching Game of Thrones, Fairy Tail(can't believe I've never watched it lol), Solo Levelling, Code Breaker, [rewatching] Code Geass, Attack on Titan, Sekirei- look, the point is that I do not see any updates comin' up any time soon but please, bear with me. My watching aside, my life has taken a turn for the worst and I'm kinda concerned. But, you can hope for a minimum of five chapters - and, hopefully, a new story - by mid-June. That's if things truly get worse, anyway.

Haraviel.