Sidelook 01: Hiruzen Sarutobi

-Hiruzen-

Staring off into the village with his pipe in his mouth he couldn't help but sigh. "It's confirmed she awoke it then?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The voice of Genma Shiranui, Minato's former Head Guard spoke up. 'What a shame that situation is, young Genma could have been truly a bright star...'

Shaking the thought away he'd ruminate on it for a moment. "Well, that truly does complicate things. As for what she said about the barrier..." He couldn't help it, he chuckled. Truly, his granddaughter was such a cunning little brat! Seeing the obvious flaws they had left in their sensing barrier at such a young age! Aah, she truly was the best of both Minato and Kushina. 'I wonder if that imprint of Minato is subconsciously helping her along?' It was worth some merit to think about, perhaps he should do the same for Konohomaru when the time came.

Aah, his ANBU where waiting still. The follies of old age he supposed. "I'll have the commander move Headquarters to Base A7. It'll be out of her range for at least a few years as long as she's not using the Kyuubi's chakra. We'll also be officially switching around the bases we use near borders and cities, so in the case of the worst, her abilities will be more effective. When you get back to base have Team Ro come to me."

"Your will be done, Hokage-sama." 'What a corny line, Tobirama-sensei.' Teeth clenching down onto his pipe a little he'd subconsciously light it with a truly minuscule amount of chakra. Taking a deep inhale his eyes would close, and his aching joints and back would for a short while be soothed.

Exhaling he'd give out his next orders, "Unseal Uzumaki F1 and Namikaze J1. Give it to her whenever she masters Water Walking." The sudden jolt from both young Naruko's guarding squad and his own was quite humorous, and warmed his old bones quite well! Thinking for another moment he finally decided that was enough for now. If his little granddaughter gave him any more surprises, he would certainly adjust, but for now, that was it. 'Should probably tell Jiraiya that brat.'

Thinking of him he couldn't help but clench his teeth a bit tighter around his pipe, the seals he had infused it with just for situations like this barely keeping it from snapping in half. 'That brat, seeing me suffer as Hokage, and still running around. Isn't it my turn to explore the world and look at beautiful ba-'

The sudden nosebleed knocked him out of those thoughts, and with a completely blank face said, "Dismissed." A moment later Genma and his squad left his office. 'Now to deal with the voyeur.' "Come out Danzo."

The shadows around his feet grew and elongated, slowly turning into a shadowy humanoid that then turned into Danzo. "Young Genma hasn't grown any sharper it appears." Danzo's voice was cold and distant like usual, but it brought a twitch to his lips nonetheless.

"Aah, perhaps old friend. But it appears you've gotten a bit sloppy! Young Tenzo noticed you." At that, a glint formed in Danzo's eyes before he snorted his voice a bit droll,

"Yes, I'm so surprised the Wood Style user found me in your shadows on a wood floor Hiruzen." The banter for a brief moment brought a touch of a smile to both of their lips before they turned serious.

"You noticed what they held back?" At that a snort escaped from his lips, he couldn't help it, his ANBU truly were quite cute if they thought they could hide things from him!

"Indeed. Minato's bodyguards truly are quite loyal, even managing to get Tenzo to keep his mouth shut." It truly was an impressive feat, perhaps young Tenzo was finally making more friends? 'I knew getting him Jiraiya's self-help books would help the lad!'

"Her seal is fully functional still, with no signs of Kyuubi chakra leaking outside of intended parameters." Aah Danzo, never fully saying what he means. But still, the unspoken words didn't need to be said, for they both knew the truth with that revelation. The shard of himself that the Yondaime had left inside of Naruko was truly influencing her - after all, it should have been impossible to just awaken the Mind's Eye of Kagura 'because she wanted to'.

 "With every day I get more and more impressed with Minato." Shaking his head Hiruzen would snuff out his pipe. "It's something to keep in mind for the future I suppose. You have a young lad you're quite keen on, don't you?"

The gleam of pride in Danzo's eyes was always a joyful one when it appeared. 'Truly, sometimes I regret letting him steep in the darkness so much.' "Indeed, perhaps one day he'll be able to inherit all of my skills. It seems I've beaten you in this race Hiruzen."

A chortle would escape Hiruzen's lips, "Aah, but Danzo! I have a Uzumaki Jinchuriki to teach whenever someone finally steps up to become Hokage. It seems that my win is nearly guaranteed!" No one else would have noticed it, but the twitching in Danzo's eyes was blatantly obvious to him. Truly, one of the greatest joys in life was annoying his old friends.

"We'll see about that Hiruzen." A gust of wind blew through the room and with it Danzo disappeared. 'He's gotten quite testy in his old age! Maybe he needs Jiraiya's self-help books as well. But both his Shadow Style and his Wind Style have gotten quite impressive. Those Hashirama cells of his have improved his strength and control by quite a bit. He might even be stronger than our young ANBU Commander!'

Truly, Danzo could be quite lucky. Sadly, he had to be the 'morale' shinobi as the Hokage. Couldn't do with clients freaking out about the Hokage with another Hokage's head on his chest, could he? 'What a shame, we could have extended the life expectancy of so many shinobi if Orochimaru just hadn't gone overboard...' 

Stepping away from the window he'd go back to his desk. "Now where was I..."