New Beginning

Six years had gone by since Hiroki was reborn into Naruto world. Hiroki was now a young boy with light tan skin and short black hair with dark brown eyes. He was staring outside, seeing many people coming and going. He has been living in the orphanage ever since his "mother" died in labor and his "father" died in the second shinobi war.

Right now Konoha was winning against it's enemies. They had a few more fights to win and that would be the end of it. He heard news from civilians and the lady that took care of the orphanage. Sakumo was leading the front against the Suna. He earned the name of white fang due to his blade becoming white as he slashed the lives of his enemies away. Sasori's parents were one many that fell to Sakumo and his blade. Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade fought against Hanzo. After that battle they were known as the sannin. Jiraiya met Nagato, Yahiko and Konan. Their parents died in the war and the toad sage took them as his disciples, teaching them ninjutsu. Of course the last part of this was only known by Orochimaru and Tsunade. The war was over and many shinobi were returning home. Many villagers and shinobi were gathering near the gates of the village to welcome their heroes.

"Things have been going just like the anime. I better start practicing seriously now before major events happen and I'm too weak to stop them from happening." Hiroki said to himself.

The first thing he thought of was a way to save Sakumo from his suicide.

"Sakumo will get ostracized by the village once he returns from a mission that he did not complete because he chose to save the members of his teams. I now have to know when that will happen." Hiroki said.

As he left the orphanage and went towards the village central area. The central area was the place were you would know about the news regarding Konoha and it's shinobi as civilians and shinobi alike, spread the word to anyone that had ears.

"Have you heard? Sakumo has failed his mission because he chose to rescue the captured members of his team. This affected directly in the last battle of the war."

"He's a failure of a shinobi."

Hiroki passed by the two men that were gossiping. When he heard the last man say those words, he stared at him, making the man have cold sweat all over his body.

As Hiroki continued walking, he went towards the village gate to welcome the heroes of this war. He knew that sooner or later Sakumo and the others would show up. He has not met any of his favorite characters yet and this was a good opportunity for him to do so. When he was arriving he saw among the crowd a young teenager that was around 15 years old. She had red hair almost reaching her waist. Hiroki knew this was a good opportunity to meet one of his favorite characters and maybe trade a few words with her.

"Excuse me ne-san." Hiroki said as he pulled onto the girls sleeve.

"Oh. Hi." She said with a bright smile.

"Can you help me? I want to see the heroes come, but I'm too small to see."

"You are so cute. Here, let ne-san put you on her shoulders so you can see." She said as she grabbed Hiroki and put him on he shoulders.

"Ne-san, my name is Hiroki. It is a pleasure to meet you. And thank you for the help."

"I'm Kushina, Hiroki. It's nice meeting you too. If you need anything, just let ne-san know and I'll help."

"Thank you Kushina-san."

"Hey hey hey. Call me ne-san. Kushina is too formal." She said.

Hiroki had a huge smile on his face. He never thought that he would meet Kushina and she would be so trusting and friendly.

"The heroes have arrived. Let's congratulate them for their undying will to protect Konoha." A man in his forties wearing a white hat with a kanji for fire said out loud. It was no one other than Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage.

As he finished his words, the crowd welcomed their heroes. Hiroki saw a few characters he recognized. They were young, but it was easy to know who they were. He saw Fugaku, Hiashi and Hizashi, Orochimaru, Sakumo and lastly, Minato. The crowd cheered for all of them until Sakumo. They only stared at the man and didn't give him a warm welcome. This made Sakumo stare down to the ground on the corridor the crowd of people made. Hiroki asked Kushina to let him down and as she did, he went straight towards Sakumo. As Sakumo was walking, he felt a tug on his left hand. He saw a small child that had the same age as his son and smiled at the boy.

"Hello young one." Sakumo said.

"Sakumo-san, the true measure of a shinobi is not how he lives but how he dies. You have done nothing wrong. On the contrary, you have saved many lives in this war and helped Konoha greatly. Those who don't complete their mission might be seen as scum, but those who abandon his teammates and friends are worse than scum. Raise your head high for you are a true shinobi." Hiroki said, encouraging the white fang.

Sakumo could only start dumbfounded at the young boy. His eyes started tearing up, but he quickly wiped the tears away.

"What might I call you?"

"I'm Hiroki." Hiroki said with a bright smile.

"Thank you Hiroki for the kind words." Sakumo said as he patted Hiroki on his head and continued walking, but now with his head held high.

As Hiroki started going back to Kushina, he saw Minato talking to her while they were hugging.

"Ne-san, who is he?" Hiroki asked.

"Ah. Hiroki, this is Minato."

"Minato? Is he your boyfriend?" Hiroki asked.

This made Kushina and Minato blush. They tried to retort, but only stuttered.

"Minato-san, I'm Hiroki. Nice to meet you."

"Hello Hiroki. Since you call Kushina ne-san, you can call me ni-san." Minato said with a smile as he ruffled Hiroki's hair.

Minato then took Hiroki and put him on his shoulders as they walked towards the central area of the village. As they were walking, Minato had a familiar feeling with Hiroki. He then studied the boy for a while.

"Hiroki, where are your parents?" Minato asked and then saw Hiroki's sad face.

"I don't have any. The lady from the orphanage said my mom died in labor and my dad died in the war. I have never seen them." Hiroki said.

"Sorry for asking you that Hiroki. Here, I'll give you a present." Minato said as he pulled out a three pronged kunai out of his pouch.

Hiroki could not believe what he was seeing. It was the famous flying thunder god kunai knife. He grabbed the kunai and played with it for a bit.

"Thank you ni-san. This is so cool. I'll become a shinobi just like you and one day, be the strongest shinobi ever." Hiroki said.

"You wish to become a shinobi?" Kushina asked as she was interested in learning more about the young boy.

"Yes. I want to protect those important to me and the best way is for me to be stronger than others." Hiroki said.

Kushina smiled at the young boy and then at Minato. She could feel that what the kid said was the truth.

"Hiroki, have you started the ninja academy yet?" Minato asked.

"Not yet ni-san. The orphanage won't allow me to enroll until I become 8 years old."

"If you could, would you like to start the academy?"

"Yes, I would." Hiroki said loudly, not even thinking of another answer.

"Alright Hiroki. We have arrived at the orphanage. Take good care of yourself and eat at least three meals a day so you grow strong." Kushina said as she took Hiroki from Minato and put him on the ground.

"Thank you ne-san. Thank you ni-san." Hiroki said as he went a hugged them.

"We'll come by the orphanage sometimes to check on you." Minato said as the two left.

Hiroki then went inside the orphanage and then to his room.

Kushina and Minato continued walking to their destination and Kushina saw Minato was thinking of something.

"Minato, why the thoughtful look? Did something happen?"

"Ah. Sorry hehe. It's just that I felt some space-time fluctuations on Hiroki. It was weak, but I clearly felt it."

"Do mean that he has the same affinity as you?"

"Most likely."

"Are you going to take him as a disciple?"

"I don't know. I'm going to talk to the third and ask him to have Hiroki enrolled in the ninja academy. I want him to develop his chakra first. If those space-time fluctuations continue to increase, I'll have to teach him. It is something dangerous if someone tries learning it without someone to teach the ropes."

"And that is why I love you. You care even for those that you have only met an hour ago."

"I guess he has grown on me. He reminds me of myself. No parents and no one to rely on." Minato said with a sad face.

"No need to be sad. I'm here for you and will always be. Hiroki will grow up to be a great man someday and we will be next to him. Now let's go get some ramen." Kushina said as comforted Minato and marched towards Ichiraku while dragging the blonde.