Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
...
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and the memory of the Raikage's visit to Konoha became nothing more than a distant memory. Those who had been in the presence of the traveling village leader were grateful that nothing no hostilities that had come of his time in Konoha. Not that more than a handful of people had braced for such an outcome and were still waiting under the possibility that something would still happen.
One could never be too cautious after all.
Renku wasn't particularly pleased with how Boss had planned ahead but still, he didn't get paid to question what his employer did. He could understand it, they were mere humans walking the streets around those who had the skill to kill them hundreds of different ways in a matter of seconds. It was due to their position in town, dealing with issues that were beneath the clans, beneath the council, beneath the Hokage, that allowed them to act in such a way. It didn't mean that they were untouchable in any sense of the word. Far from it. When dealing with people who could hide an exploding tag without being sensed, it was important to know just where one's boundaries were.
Boss, unfortunately, liked to toe the line.
Not a week after the Raikage's visit, Boss had had a meeting with the head of the Hyuga clan, one which none of his subordinates were privy to the information shared between the two of them. All that anybody knew was that months ago, the two of them had met for nearly four hours discussing who knows what. He trusted Boss to tell him anything necessary but whatever he was keeping hidden away now felt like at least a little bit of it should be shared. Still, he was the Boss, he knew what he was doing. It would just be nice if he told others what it was that he was doing.
That was probably asking too much though.
"Heya Renku!"
At least there was one kid who seemed to find a way to bring a semblance of a smile to his face every day. "Kid," he said with a small nod of the head. "You keeping up with your lessons?"
"...Yes," answered Naruto, quickly averting eye contact.
"There was a pause there," stated Renku, having picked up on it immediately.
"...No."
Renku allowed himself to chuckle as he rustled Naruto's hair as children around them met up with members of their families. "Don't fret Naruto," he said. "You've only been going to the academy for a couple months now. There's years to go before you're expected to graduate."
"But what if I get really good, really quick? Won't I graduate quicker then?"
"You would, but then you would be separated from all the friends you've made," said Renku as the two of them started making their way back home.
"Oh yeah," said Naruto as he thought over this tidbit of information that Renku had given him.
Frankly, Renku wasn't fazed about the whole friendship thing but Naruto, being the kid that he was, cherished his peers. The more time he could spend with them and actively be a kid was all the better. He was already training to be a weapon for the village and Boss had some grand plans for his adopted son on top of that. Once his time being a child came to an end, it would be all business from there on out. If he could help Naruto enjoy his childhood for as long as possible, then that felt like a good use of his time.
"Anyways, Makina's looking forward to teaching you fractions over the next couple nights. I'm sure if you do well enough she will give you a reward," said Renku, garnering a loud groan from the boy. It was one that he had expected, given that not only was he spending his weekdays studying in the Ninja arts with his peers but at night Boss had Makina still teaching him for a couple hours each day, the boy's day was rather packed. Still, the better equipped Naruto was for the future the better the boy would be.
The better their family would be.
...
Hiashi Hyuga strode through the family compound with graceful steps, pausing momentarily to return the greeting given to him by two members of the branch family. He didn't have to pause on such an occasion, in fact some of the elders would likely be displeased that he showed such courtesy. However, he wished to be a leader that led by example so that if he taught his daughters anything it would be something that their mother would be proud of.
With his eldest daughter having now started studying at the academy, he had done his best to keep Hanabi entertained, as difficult as that was at times. After the 'incident,' his youngest daughter had latched onto Hinata protectively and declared that she would become the strongest Hyuga so that nothing ever happened to her sister again. It was a trait that had brought a smile to his face but had an adverse affect with the elders. They were sticklers for tradition, making sure things would remain the same as they had for generations.
It was part of these traditions which infuriated them as of late with him having met with Naruto's guardian. The man commonly known in the slums as 'Boss' was a confident man, something which had been shown when the two of them had met a number of months previously. Confidence was necessary when speaking with individuals who were strong enough to end their life in a heartbeat.
Hiashi had gone into that meeting knowing that he owed Naruto a debt and by proxy, his family. He would have been willing to gift the man anything given that his son had effectively prevented an international scene. He did not wish to ponder over what the consequences would have been. What the man had requested though had been, unexpected, hence it had taken quite some time for the two of them to work out all of the finer details. Everything that had been asked for was well within Hiashi's power and would likely ruffle the feathers of the elders were they to know just what was promised. Well, if certain situations didn't come to pass then his promises would not have to be fulfilled.
He truly wished those situations did not occur.
"Hiashi, you look troubled brother," commented Hizashi as he came up from behind. "And I don't even need the Byakugan to see that. Are you worried about how Hinata is doing at the academy?"
"If only it were so simple," said Hiashi before the two of them began to walk side by side.
"It never is," replied Hizashi. "From what I have heard is that she is doing well academically. It almost seems as if she is doing it to try to impress someone."
"If I were to somehow able to understand how a young girl's mind worked, I would be able to publish such a piece and double our family's value."
The chuckle from Hizashi was rather undignified as he tried his best to hold it in. "Brother, I never knew you to be such a jester."
"You are a father yourself, surely you know how to keep young Neji amused when he is not studying?" ribbed Hiashi.
"We tend to have some walks through the nearby forest, enjoying the nature around us," said Hizashi, composing himself. "Still, I think that I owe you for having riled me up. What say you and I tear up a training ground? Show our children just what a Hyuga is capable of?"
Hiashi wanted to refuse. He was the head of the Hyuga clan and shouldn't simply skimp on important family issues to go gallivanting with his brother.
"Or has your time with the Elders made you a chicken?"
"Oh that does it! I'll show you what happens when you insult your Clan head!"
Let it be known that Hizashi knew just how to trigger his older brother and as he raced down the hall, laughing maniacally, he knew that Hiashi was smiling as he gave chase.
...
Naruto knew that he should spend some time enjoying the company of those his age outside of the academy and group training. But no matter how much he wished he could muster up the will to do so, he couldn't afford to do so.
When he had known that he would be meeting the Raikage, he had been able to take everything he had learnt into consideration. He had dictated the conversation, thrown the Raikage off his train of thought and taken advantage of weaknesses that wouldn't have normally been there.
He had only been able to do so because he had had the time to prepare.
Time was not something he was always guaranteed to have.
It was why he spent a good number of hours watching Boss at work. While his presence unsettled those who spoke with Boss the continued to do their business. Naruto watched without saying a word, looking for mannerisms, small facial twitches, the tightening of knuckles on a binder, anything that Boss could use to his advantage.
Naruto had begun to recognize a few common traits but had gotten somewhat confused as to why Boss hadn't struck when he had had the chance. It was in these moments that Naruto began to realize that just because one individual held the advantage didn't mean that said advantage had to be exploited, at least not immediately. In some circumstances, Boss chose not to strike at all but only in situations where he would gain no extra benefit from doing so.
It was why Naruto chose to spend so much of his free time just watching Boss in action. There was always so much to learn, so many different ways to approach the same situation. Different ways to plant the seed that could potentially take years to bloom.
...
Hiruzen looked over the reports into his hand, given to him earlier in the day by Iruza. He had requested that the Academy instructor keep him updated regarding his students, given how many of them would one day be powerful figures in the village. The Nara, Uchiha, Inuzuka and many more had their heirs located in the same class, mostly by design. The relationships they forged now may very well dictate how the village progressed in decades to come when they took their respective places at the head of their clans.
The scattering of civilians children who were attending the academy in Iruza's class seemed to be holding their own. A number of them would likely make it to the end of their training and become Genin but Hiruzen was aware that without the backing of an established family, it would be a lot harder for them to make their way through the ranks. Some of them could very well not make it to Genin and either not make it past the test their Sensei requested of them or just not graduate from the Academy in the first place.
There was one student who kind of blurred the lines between it all. Naruto Uzumaki was indeed the heir of a respected clan but as the last known surviving member, well, that spoke for itself. It was possible that he would never even know of who his father was, as much as he wished he could share that secret with him.
The family that had taken Naruto in, he believed, didn't have any nefarious reason for adopting the Jinchuriki. From the few times he had met with the head of that family, he seemed almost intent in looking after Naruto as if he were his own flesh and blood. He was Kushina would have been mortified to know what kind of home her son had.
Arguably, it was for the best in some regards. Had 'Boss' not taken Naruto under his wing then who knows whether or not the child would have ever found a loving family. As tragic as it sounded, it was a strong possibility that Naruto could have ended up living by himself in some squabble doing his best to look to cater to his basic needs.
It would not do well to dwell on what could have been and focus on what lay ahead. Children learnt from those around them and he just had to hope that Naruto didn't learn anything that would be detrimental to his time in the Academy.
...
Naruto lurked in the shadows of a tree as he watched the event play out in front of him. He was no stranger to the concept of bullying, for much of his childhood he had been a victim of it while he had lived in the orphanage.
While that had been more physical in nature, the words thrown around sometimes hurt far more than any strike. So, as he watched a young pink haired student being bullied by a group of girls, each of them giggling as they struck at her with slur after slur, he contemplated the best course of action. How would Boss handle this situation? Was it even in his best interest to interject himself in the first place? What were the benefits he could garner from being the hero?
As much as he wanted to clear his mind and just do what he felt was right, doing so would make him a target of the bullies. While he could deal with whatever they threw at him, he had to consider further implications. While he didn't know of any of them being from influential families that didn't mean that he knew everything. There was a possibility that one or more of them had a parent who sat on a council or was influential in the village in a different kind of way. Making an enemy of them could potentially mean that he made an enemy for Boss and the family. While they could more than likely handle it, if there wasn't any benefit to be had then Boss would likely get cross at him for having brought trouble to their home.
Perhaps direct confrontation wasn't the best course of action. There were other ways to settle a confrontation. All he needed to do was a little bit of research to get a better understanding of the powers at play. Once he had all of the necessary knowledge, then he could strike.
It was time to prepare his own seed for the future.
...
Hope you enjoyed.