Talking with Hiruzen

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

November 2, x787.

"Hey, Kakashi, I wanna talk to the Hokage." Alfonzo said after finishing his work for the day on the training ground.

Currently, Alfonzo was working on the Twelfth Training Ground. And because this training ground had a river running through the middle of it, the job would be a tough one. Though, that fact did not bother him. He would just spend a lot of time drying off after he was done working.

"Didn't you just see him yesterday?" Kakashi asked curiously while looking up from his book. "What else could you have to talk to him about?"

"It's about Naruto." Alfonzo replied, knowing that Kakashi was once the student of Naruto's father, Minato. "I can sense the foreign magic power sealed inside of Naruto and I wanna know what's up with that."

Hearing that, Kakashi was surprised, though he did not show it on his face or in his body language. Instead, he simply shrugged his shoulders. Then, when Alfonzo started moving to exit the training ground, he followed him.

"I'm guessing you know about that magic power, right?" Alfonzo asked, not expecting an answer. "And you probably can't tell me about it, right?"

"That's right." Kakashi replied. "It's an S-Class Secret of the village. So, there's a high chance Lord Hokage won't tell you about it, either."

"Well, I'm still gonna ask." Alfonzo replied with a knowing smile as the duo walked through the streets of the village. "I mean, at worst he'll just tell me no, right?"

"I suppose." Kakashi replied.

Little did Kakashi know, information about Kurama was in Danzo's records, though he had no idea of the Nine-Tailed Fox's name. So, Hiruzen already knew that Alfonzo knew about it. Still, Alfonzo's smile made him think that things would end differently.

In fact, Hiruzen knew that Alfonzo knew about a lot of the village's secrets. However, he never talked to Alfonzo about them.

Over the six months Alfonzo spent in the village the first time he came, Hiruzen had gleamed a lot about his character. So, he did not think that Alfonzo would spread the village's secrets. Unless the village became his or Fairy Tail's enemy. But now that Danzo was dead, he did not think that would happen.

That's right, Danzo was now dead. During the time Alfonzo had left to see the Grand Magic Games and stay with Elicia when Amar'e was born, Danzo had been executed for his crimes. And though it pained Hiruzen to do so, he was the one who personally cut off his old friend's head.

Despite the fact that he often let Danzo get away with murder, even letting the fact that Danzo tried to have him assassinated after Minato died, Hiruzen's Will of Fire would not let him forgive Danzo after having proof of all his crimes.

Eventually, Alfonzo and Kakashi reached the Hokage Tower. And when they did, they wasted no time heading up to Hiruzen's office. However, they had to wait for about twenty minutes, as Hiruzen was meeting with a team who was about to go out on an important mission. So, they engaged in casual conversation until they were invited into Hiruzen's office.

"So, why don't you let me introduce you to a few nice girls, Kakashi?" Alfonzo asked with a smile. "There are some pretty cute girls in my guild, you know. But I got the hottest of them in my harem, though."

Looking up from his book, Kakashi could see the smug smile on Alfonzo's face when he mentioned his harem. In response, he only rolled his eyes, though.

"I already told you, Alfonzo." Kakashi said, returning his gaze to the pages of his book. "I don't have time for a girlfriend or a family. They'd probably just get fed up and leave me."

*Smack!*

"Oh, come on, man." Alfonzo replied as he slapped Kakashi on the back. "That's just an excuse. You'll never know if you don't try, right? I mean, if you ask a wizard, I bet they'd be able to put up with you. We take weeks at a time, sometimes, when we take high class quests. So, I'm sure a girl like that would understand."

'I bet Laki would really like him… If she's over me, that is.' Alfonzo thought, feeling a bit guilty about rejecting Laki all those years ago. 'I mean, Kakashi's definitely a sadist. I've seen the way he messes with people in the anime and during my time in the village. Then again, maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea. I could see some serious fights for dominance between those two.'

Still, after six months, when he brought Saeko and Rika back to Magnolia, Alfonzo decided to bring Laki as one of his companions for his last trip to finish his work in the village.

Eventually, the door to Hiruzen's office opened. Through it, a group of three shinobi Alfonzo was familiar with walked out of the office.

"Yo, Genma, Raidō, Iwashi." Alfonzo said, greeting the three shinobi. "How's it going. I was expecting to see the three of you when I showed up yesterday."

"Oh, Alfonzo." Raidō replied after hearing Alfonzo's greeting. Then, he shrugged his shoulders as he continued. "Yeah, we thought we'd get the mission to escort you, too. But we didn't."

"Well, them's the breaks sometimes." Alfonzo replied with a shrug of his own.

"Elicia should have had the baby by now, right?" Genma asked. "She was pretty far along when you left."

"Yeah, it was a boy." Alfonzo replied, his proud father smile making a reappearance. "We named him Amar'e. Wanna see some pictures."

As he spoke the last part, Alfonzo started reaching into his pocket to get his lPhone.

"Congratulations, Alfonzo." Iwashi said while waving off Alfonzo's offer. "Although I'm sure we'd all love to see pictures of the kid, we gotta get going. We have a mission."

Genma and Raidō nodded in agreement, causing Alfonzo to deflate. However, as an experienced wizard, he knew how important it was to be focused on the mission. So, he removed his hand from his pocket and wished them good luck.

The three shinobi also congratulated Alfonzo once again. On top of that, they offered to treat him to a drink when they returned from their mission before they hurried out of the Hokage Tower. Then, Alfonzo and Kakashi stood up and entered Hiruzen's office after the receptionist told them Hiruzen was ready to see them.

"Alfonzo, is there anything I can do for you?" Hiruzen asked in a grandfatherly tone after Kakashi shut the door behind him and Alfonzo.

"Yeah, I have a question." Alfonzo replied. "Two actually."

"If I can answer them, I will." Hiruzen replied casually.

"Is it really a good idea to not train your Jinchuriki in the use of his Tail Beast's power?" Alfonzo asked in a solemn tone. "You know Naruto is having a lot of trouble controlling his magic power because of it. And if you don't do something about it, he might not be able to graduate from the academy. I mean, he can't even make a decent clone with the [Clone Jutsu]."

Immediately, Hiruzen's casual demeanor disappeared. Then, he glared at Kakashi, whose visible eye had widened to a comical degree. After a moment, however, he remembered that Alfonzo had seen all the records in Danzo's base. So, he looked away from Kakashi, who was clearly surprised by Alfonzo's first question.

"*Sigh* I forgot just how much information you had found in Danzo's base." Hiruzen said in a defeated tone. Then, Hiruzen turned to Kakashi again before continuing. "And Kakashi, you don't have to worry about how Alfonzo knows this information. He found it when Danzo was brought in."

Just then, Kakashi remembered that Alfonzo was the one who brought in Danzo after he was declared a fugitive when he tried to kidnap Alfonzo and Elicia. So, he relaxed by quite a bit.

Then, Hiruzen picked up the smoking pipe lying on his desk, brought it to his lips, used a bit of [Fire Style Magic Power] to light it, and took a puff.

"*Sigh* It was decided that the Nine Tailed Fox's presence would be kept secret from Naruto until he was ready." Hiruzen said.

"Yeah, that was something Danzo pushed for." Alfonzo said, the solemnity in his tone not reducing in the slightest. "And that was so that he could break the kid's spirit before making him a loyal member of Root, remember?"

Hiruzen also knew that. However, things in the village were peaceful. So, he did not see the need to mess with the status quo. But Alfonzo's following words made him reconsider.

"So, I have a proposal." Alfonzo said. "Why don't you let me train him in the use of that power. I've done a lot of research about [Sealing]. So, I can figure out how to let only a small amount of the Nine-Tailed Fox's magic power through the [Seal] the Fourth Hokage put on him. That way, Naruto can get used to its power slowly and gradually. And if things get out of control, I can [Seal] in right the fuck back up."

"How is that possible?" Hiruzen asked in an astonished tone. "It's only been four months, or so, since you gained access to information about [Sealing]. There's no way you should have enough experience to do something like that."

Not only Hiruzen, but even Kakashi looked at Alfonzo skeptically. Alfonzo, on the other hand, only smiled at the two dumbfounded shinobi.

"Did you forget? I've been training with sigils for years." Alfonzo replied. "And I'm considered the best at what I do. And since [Sealing] is basically just another kind of [Word Magic], it wasn't that hard to understand."

That was the first time Hiruzen and Kakashi had heard anyone make learning about [Seals] sound so easy. [Sealing] was considered a very obscure art among the shinobi f the Hidden Villages. So, there were not many shinobi who could be considered masters in the field. And Minato and Kushina, Naruto's parents, were considered grand masters. So, their [Seals] would be very difficult to crack. However, Alfonzo claimed that he could do it without an issue. That was simply unbelievable.

"I can tell neither of you believe me." Alfonzo said, not offended by the disbelief he could see in Hiruzen and Kakashi's eyes. "So, why don't you test me. And if I pass, you let me handle Naruto and the Nine-Tailed Fox. Having your Jinchuriki trained would be a good thing for the village, too, right?"

With that, the Hokage's office fell into a tense silence.

That was something Hiruzen could not deny. Having a trained Jinchuriki would be great for the village. However, if Alfonzo was not as capable as he said, not only could the Nine-Tailed Fox break free from the [Seal] in the worst case, causing Naruto to lose his life, but the village could be destroyed, as well.

Kakashi was also worried about all this, too. Naruto was the child of the people he respected the most. So, he did not want anything to happen to him. Unfortunately, the decision was not in his hands.

In fact, Kakashi wanted to adopt Naruto when Minato and Kushina died. However, due to village politics, he was not allowed to do so. And that was mostly due to Danzo's machinations. So, he was glad that the old schemer was dead. However, so much time had passed since Naruto was born that he did not know how to interact with the mischievous young man.

"*Sigh* I can't pass up the opportunity to have Naruto trained properly." Hiruzen said, ending the silence. "I'll test your skill in the [Sealing] arts. And although I'm no grand master in [Sealing], we do have examples of grand master-level [Seals]. If you can unravel them, I'll agree to your proposal. Otherwise, I'd ask that you do nothing and leave things as they are."

"I can agree to that." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "And I'll show you just what level I'm at when it comes to [Word Magic] of all kinds."

Both Hiruzen and Kakashi could feel the confidence and pride rolling off Alfonzo in waves. So, they relaxed slightly. Still, they were not fully confident in Alfonzo's ability to employ the [Sealing] arts. Even so, they're attitudes had warmed up to the idea considerably.

"And what was your second question?" Hiruzen asked after taking another puff from his pipe.

"Why the hell haven't you told Naruto who his father is?" Alfonzo asked sternly.

That question caused Hiruzen to freeze momentarily.

"Not that it's all that hard to figure out." Alfonzo continued. "I mean, I can understand why Naruto can't figure it out. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. But how in the hell doesn't everyone else in the village know. The man's face is carved into that mountain…"

As Alfonzo reached that point. Alfonzo pointed out the window facing the Hokage Rock.

"… and the two look so alike that it should be impossible to not figure it out." Alfonzo said, finishing his tirade.

Once again, the office fell into silence when Alfonzo was done. However, instead of a tense silence, this one was quite awkward. So awkward, in fact, that Hiruzen and Kakashi could not look Alfonzo in the eyes.

"*Cough* *Cough* It's because of the rumors that had been spreading around the village about Naruto being the reincarnation of a demon." Hiruzen said sheepishly. "Because of them, the villagers refuse to believe that Naruto, a demon, could possibly be the child of the Fourth Hokage."

Hearing that, Alfonzo could only look at Hiruzen in dumbfounded amazement.

"*Sigh* I seriously doubt the collective intelligence of all your citizens." Alfonzo said, sounding extremely tired. "Either way, I really think the kid deserves to know who his parents were. There's no reason to keep it from him."

"But that could invite assassins." Hiruzen argued.

"I bet all the spies in the village already know who the kid's parents are." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "And by extension, all your enemies and allies probably already know, too. Only the dumbasses of your own village are in the dark. Besides, he's already twelve years old. If no one has sent an assassin after him by now, I doubt it will happen any time soon. Unless he starts showing genius-level talent, or something like that."

That was another point Hiruzen could not deny. Then, he realized exactly how much Danzo had manipulated his thinking over the years. Since, all the reasons for not training Naruto and keeping his identity secret from him were put into his head by Danzo.

'Damn that Danzo.' Hiruzen thought to himself while clenching his fists under his desk. 'I treated you like my best friend for so many years. Yet, you did everything you could to undermine me and pervert the village into your image.'

"*Sigh* I guess you're right." Hiruzen said while shaking off those thoughts. "I'll tell the boy who his parents were myself. He deserves to know. And I owe him an apology, as well."

To that, Alfonzo nodded in agreement.

'Had you continued to be stubborn about this, Hiruzen, I would have let Orochimaru kill you during the Chunin Exams.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'But since you got your head out of your ass, I'll save you. Hell, I'll even kill Orochimaru for you.'

["You should let the old mother fucker die, anyway."] Riot grumbled. ["He's clearly senile if he couldn't see through Danzo's bullshit. In fact, we should just burn down this whole village full of dumb fucks for believing those stupid rumors."]

During his last trip to Magnolia, Alfonzo had found out that Orochimaru had been broken out of prison. However, he had no idea how that happened. Just like when Jellal broke out, it was a mystery.

Ignoring Riot's violent outburst, as usual, Alfonzo continued discussing about Naruto with Hiruzen. Then, after a bit more conversation, Hiruzen eventually brought Alfonzo to the Forty-Fourth Training Ground, the Forest of Death to test his proficiency with [Sealing]. As this place was usually restricted to shinobi over a certain rank, barring special circumstances, it was a perfect place to conduct the test in secret.

On a side note, this would be the only one of the training grounds that Alfonzo would not have to modify, thanks to its role in the Chunin Exams.

In the end, Alfonzo passed Hiruzen's test, amazing him and Kakashi greatly. So, as per their agreement, Alfonzo would be allowed to train Naruto as a Jinchuriki. However, Hiruzen would be the one to tell him about the Nine-Tailed Fox being [Sealed] inside of him.

And that conversation would take place tomorrow after the academy let out, along with the conversation about Naruto's parents. Unfortunately, Alfonzo would not be there to console Naruto. However, he would do his best to help the blond boy through it when he eventually showed up at his residence.