BONK!

[THIRD PERSON POV]

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the sheet in front of him with a small smile, he had expected as much of Aoki.

Reports of a boy who had steadily grown closer with his classmates and excelled in Taijutsu were scattered around his desk, the only stain on his record would be his N/A mark on everything Jutsu related.

To some, it may have been an issue but Hiruzen believed that it could be remedied, he had made certain plans for Aoki to grow regardless of his situation but through a stroke of luck, it seems Aoki had beaten him to the punch. According to the ANBU stationed to watch over the boy, he already had a few interactions with Might Guy and had cultivated a blossoming friendship.

'It seems the fates look on you kindly Aoki…' Hiruzen thought, looking at a report detailing one of Aoki's encounters with the Jonin.

The Hokage was mildly disappointed that Aoki hadn't requested further testing on himself but as he understood Aoki's potential in Taijutsu, it became less important.

The combination of guilt, a sense of responsibility and faith in Aoki's growth had resulted in Hiruzen paying more attention to Aoki than most other children, perhaps the only one who outshined him in garnering the Hokage's attention was a spiky-haired Jinchuriki who had been beginning to cause the Hokage trouble lately.

No matter how much chaos he caused however, Hiruzen would never punish him; it was the least he could do. Hiruzen had toyed with a variety of ideas on how to care for Naruto but each one held distinct issues with heavy consequences. Minato had accrued a gargantuan number of enemies during his career as a ninja, if any of them were to find out that his brood still existed on this earth, there would be many who would willingly give their lives in order to end Naruto.

The clans, the other villages, Danzo and a multitude of other factors had led Hiruzen to the conclusion that the best way to ensure Naruto's safety would be to limit their interactions, and treat him as any other child.

But his treatment of Naruto would not be replicated by the villagers, the narrative surrounding the boy had been warped to paint him as a monster. Hiruzen was no fool, through limited searching he found out that Danzo had been the one who spread the rumours and earned Naruto ire from the villagers.

Hiruzen naturally punished Danzo by limiting Root's budget for the next 3 years and poached a few of his ninjas that hadn't been brainwashed yet, but the damage was done. With how the villagers treat him, Hiruzen now showing more attention to Naruto would only highlight the boy's existence even further. The Hokage regretted his past inaction, if only he had taken Naruto under his wing earlier, and controlled the narrative of his existence, he would've been able to help further. 

Now he was chained, any act he could do to help the boy, would indirectly cause him more harm. 

'What do I do Minato… have I failed you?' Hiruzen lamented, a frown marred his face as he contemplated the situation. The picture of Hiruzen and his wife that laid on his desk was covered in a layer of dust, the Kage had not had a moment of respite in some time.

With a sigh, he rubbed his forehead to ease the oncoming headache he felt, 'I'm too old for this. If only Jiraiya or Tsunade would come back and take my mantle I could rest my weary bones.' He thought, nestling into his seat and picking up his pipe, flicking his finger and lighting it in one fell swoop.

One needed to understand that beyond the Hokage's capabilities lay a man who had been thoroughly beaten down by life, the death of his wife, betrayal of his student and inability to do anything regarding young Naruto added a few extra wrinkles onto his aged face.

The Uchiha situation was also increasing in complexity and topped the disastrous ice-cream sundae that was the Leaf's political landscape.

At times like these, he would sometimes think of leaving it all behind and relaxing under a tree with his pipe in hand, perhaps with one of Jiraiya's books in the other. But the Will of Fire inside the Hokage burned any footing that an idea like that could have; he mustn't rest until he does his duty to his fullest capabilities, regardless of whether his capabilities fell short of what was necessary or not.

Hiruzen wrote down some notes in Aoki's graduation application, allowing him to skip the Jutsu requirements for graduating and adding in a few extra clauses to make it more fair, the last thing he needed were people accusing him of giving students special treatment, of course it was true, but it'd be a pain to deal with the rumours.

Hiruzen stood up from his desk and decided to go for a walk, his thoughts had become crowded with all the fires he had to put out and he worried whether smoke would start coming out of his ears; some rest would do him good.

'Perhaps I should visit Aoki and Sasuke… it might do me some good' he thought with a small smile, Hiruzen always felt more relaxed after visiting the Sarutobi clan compound; reminiscing of simpler times.

[AOKI POV:]

I entered the house with a smile on my face, I had just had another race with Guy in the morning and today was a half-day at the academy meaning I had much more time to devote to training.

Peaceful days like this need to be cherished, I'll be a ninja soon and I have no doubt that things will get more hect-

"THAT'S NOT FAIR! YOU CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN GRANNY!" shouted a voice from inside the house.

I quietly tip-toed over, recognising the voice as Sasuke's but not willing to also be thrown into an argument yet. I should observe first.

"Your parents graduated at 12, so will you. This is not negotiable." Said Tomo's crackly voice. Her tone was even and firm, this was how she spoke when she was 100% serious about something.

"SO? Look! Even Aoki's applied! He's younger than me! How can he be a ninja before me?! It's not fair!" Sasuke shouted back, his words laced with hurt and anger.

I froze in my place as Sasuke yelled back at Tomo, this was the first time he had fought back against the old lady.

"As long as you want to live in this house, you'll listen to me. You cannot graduate until next year, is this understood?"

Usually, when Tomo gets into a fight she also gets angry and her accent creeps in, but the way she spoke made it clear she wasn't going to take no for an answer. She was resolute and unmoving.

I was peeking in from around the corner as the two yelled at each other in the dining room but was found out when Sasuke turned away from Tomo and ran past me, running into his bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

Me, the twins and Amaya stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments. Tomo looked at me for a second before retreating to the kitchen, she had said her peace and wanted to say nothing more.

I always wondered why Sasu didn't apply for early graduation in the previous years, he told me of a few friends of his who passed and when I asked him about it, he would dodge the question and change the subject hastily.

Since Tomo got word of me applying for graduation, she's been a little colder to me. There was no drastic change nor did she confront me about it, but I could sense an imperceptible tension. Tomo would limit her interactions with me, putting up small barriers between us once again that I had previously managed to breach after much difficulty.

'Looking after kids for years on end, only for a chunk of them to die on the field… it isn't hard to guess why she wouldn't be thrilled at my choice.' I thought, deciding to play with the kids a little bit before training, the three grew worried at seeing Sasuke storm off like that. I felt that intruding on him would only make him more upset and decided to give him some time to cool

In the midst of me reading the kids a book, Sasuke's door flung open and he jumped out with a bag slung over his back and another clutched in both of his hands.

'Oh no.'

"FINE! I can't be a ninja in this house?! That's ok! I'm leaving!" Sasuke said bringing his bags into the dining room and dropping them both with a thunk. The two bags were bulging and were half opened, a few of Sasuke's clothes were spilling out of them; there were even Kunai mixed in with the clothing!

'Definitely not safe.' I wanted to chide Sasuke about it but now wasn't the time.

Tomo came out of the kitchen and looked at Sasuke with an icy glare. She said nothing but gripped the wooden spoon in her hand tightly.

Numa, Kuma, Amaya and I in the audience just stared at this fiasco for a couple moments, waiting to see how Tomo would react. Her next words made my mouth hang open in shock.

"Fine. Go." Said Tomo, turning back and heading into the kitchen.

Sasuke looked stunned for a moment before contorting his face into one of anger and grabbing his bags, making a beeline for the doors and bursting out without as much as a goodbye.

All the kids started to cry, the fight had scared them too much.

I sat with them for a while until they had calmed down and weighed my options. I could go to Tomo and talk her out of it, convince Sasuke to come back home, or just ignore it all together… The last one wasn't a viable choice.

Sasuke has wanted to be a ninja since he was a child, but one more year shouldn't hurt him, right? If I were Tomo, I might react the same way. Ninja work is too dangerous for a child to go into, yet I know many who will.

I don't want Sasuke to be hurt, but I know that Sasuke will dive headfirst into that career regardless of what I, Tomo, or anyone else has to say.

'This sucks… but I'm gonna have to do it.' I thought, gathering my courage and heading into the kitchen. Tomo was muttering some things under her breath, I managed to catch a few words such as: "Sasuke… kid… idiot."

It didn't take a genius to decipher what she was saying. I figured I'd ease my way into the conversation instead of getting to the point right away.

"Granny Tomo… do you need some help cleanin-"

"No. Go to your room… take the kids." She said, interrupting my offer.

 I said nothing for a moment and just stared at her back which was cleaning one of the dishes, from where I was standing I could see that it was already spotless.

"Granny… you know Sasu's gonna be ninja anyway right? Whether it's today… tomorrow, or next year?" I ask her, walking up so I'm standing beside her.

She said nothing to me and continued scrubbing.

"Look Granny… I don't know why you don't like us being Ninjas… but I can guess."

With that, Tomo stopped scrubbing and looked at me for a moment, now that I finally had her attention I wasn't about to lose it.

"No matter what happens, Sasu will be a Ninja one day. Me too. I know it's dangerous, and to you, it might seem like we're kids who don't know any better… and maybe you're right. But this is what we choose Tomo…" I said, patting her elbow as she turned away from me again.

"Sasu's probably heaving around those bags in the sun, dropping a few Kunai here and there… let's go get him." I said, slowly getting to my point.

"The sun's really bright today… if we don't get him soon…" I said trailing off ominously, "Who knows how many people he'll blind with that reflective head of his!"

Tomo didn't say anything and just put the dish she was cleaning down, clunking them into a pile.

"..."

'Tough crowd.'

Tomo kept her silence and just sighed.

Did my joke fall flat? I thought it was pretty good! At least it lightened the mood!

"Stay here with the kids, I'll be back soon." Said Tomo, breaking the silence and turning to me with a complex expression.

I tried to tag along and said, "I'll come with yo-"

"No. Stay here." She said, ushering me out of the kitchen as she followed.

Understanding that she wouldn't take no for an answer, I complied and went to the kids, my mood was lifted at the sight of Tomo leaving the house… before she came back inside, grabbed a wooden spoon and left once again.

"Sasu… get bonked!" Numa said with a smile.

Kuma nodded sagely, "Bonk…"

Amaya giggled while I internally prayed for the poor boy. Tomo would bring him back soon… hopefully in one piece.

[THIRD PERSON POV]

Hiruzen walked up to the Sarutobi clan compounds with an easygoing smile on his face, the walk he was taking was doing wonders for his mental health. The peaceful aura that permeated this compound contrasted with the chaos in his mind and helped him relax.

He diverged from his usual path and went on the road that led to Tomo's house, 'It's time I visited Aoki and the lot... I wonder if the twins remember me from last time hoho-' he thought, before his thinking was interrupted by a crackly screech.

"GET BACK IN HERE SASUKE!" Tomo yelled, hobbling over to a boy who was struggling to run with two heavy bags in hand.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONG YOU HAG!" Sasuke abandoned one bag and focused on pulling the other but it was too late for the boy, Tomo had reached him.

Hiruzen deadpanned at the sight of Tomo herding Sasuke back into the house with a wooden spoon and decided to head back.

The paperwork that weighed his desk down suddenly looked a lot more attractive.

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[A/N: Tomo solos your favourite verse.

Powerstone goal for extra chap: 270

P.S. The Academy arc ends very soon, if you have something you'd like included in the story, let me know and I'll see if it works. I appreciate all suggestions.

P.P.S. Leave a review if you enjoy the fic and would like it to get better!

Extra long chapter because why not?]