Chapter 4

Naruto couldn't help a smile as he listened to Kiba talk about dogs. He didn't really like dogs that much, but Kiba was talking to him, unlike the other kids. They've been talking for the past few days, and it looked like he was slowly making a friend.

The fox–Kurama!–was right.

Kiba puffed out his chest, a smirk on his face. "Mom said I'll get my own nin-dog in a few years. We're gonna be the best partners. Everybody will be jealous."

Naruto's smile grew wider. He already had the best partner. He was going to become an amazing ninja with Kurama's help.

Ask him if he thought of a name for his dog.

Naruto blinked, trying to keep the surprise from showing on his face as Kurama spoke again in his head. The fox had been teaching him that ninshū thing for the past week, and when they did the fist bump a couple days ago, Kurama could talk like this.

He still wasn't used to it. He couldn't talk back to the fox yet, but Kurama said that it shouldn't take too long before he could. He just had to get better at ninshū.

"Did you think of a name for your dog?"

Kiba grinned. "Of course I did. I came up with the best name since a month ago. I'm going to name him Akamaru."

Naruto's brow scrunched up a little. Akamaru? Was Kiba's dog going to be red? He'd never seen a red dog before. Red was nice, but could dogs even be red? He scratched his head a little. Maybe it was a chakra thing?

"Hey, Kiba, you wanna play–"

"Oi, Kiba!"

Naruto tried not to frown as a loud voice interrupted him. Looking to the side, he saw a brown haired boy running towards them. Shinji…

"Come play tag with us." Stopping next to Kiba, Shinji pointed a thumb over his shoulder at three other boys gathered next to a tree. Naruto felt a twist in his tummy when he saw Daiki and Kenji among them.

Kiba scratched at his head, looking between Shinji and Naruto, face scrunching up as if pinched.

A cold feeling spread through Naruto's stomach, and he tried to get ready for what he knew was about to come. Kiba would go play with the other boys and leave him alone, just like everyone else.

Much to Naruto's surprise, though, Kiba looked at him with a smirk. "Wanna go play tag?"

For a moment, Naruto could only stare at Kiba wide eyed, the cold feeling in his chest slowly going away, replaced by something warm. He opened his mouth to say something, but Shinji just spoke over him.

"Why are you even talking to this guy? Nobody likes him."

Kiba crossed his arms with a frown. "I can talk with whoever I want."

Shinji frowned back. "Whatever. Wanna come or not?"

"Nah." Kiba shook his head. "I'm gonna look for Shino. I wanna see if he found any cool bugs."

"Bugs? Really?" Shinji made a face, shaking his head before running back to his group.

Kiba looked around, a grin forming on his face as he pointed at a tree in the distance. "Let's go check on Shino. We can play with him."

Despite the warm feeling in his chest, Naruto found himself hesitating as he looked at Kiba. "I haven't talked to Shino yet…"

"So?" Kiba cocked his head in confusion. "You can talk to him now. C'mon." The boy gestured with a hand before breaking into a run to the other side of the courtyard.

Naruto ran after the boy with a smile. Maybe this time things would be different.

__________________________________________

A quiet sigh escaped Hiruzen as he skimmed through another budget report. Dealing with paperwork in his office was always tiring. At home, he could use a shadow clone or two, but in public, the Hokage always had to project an image of indomitable strength for all who may be watching, even if it meant powering through a mountain of papers.

His favorite blend should be enough to carry him through the day, and he could have a nice, relaxing tea once he retired in the evening. A warm brew always soothed his tired mind after long hours spent in the office.

The old age was finally catching up to him, but he still had a couple decades or three left in him. Hopefully, he could find a successor soon enough and enjoy his well earned retirement. He'd barely spent any time with his grandson lately. His son, too, once he returned from his tenure at the Fire Daimyō's court.

A frown crossed Hiruzen's face as an old memory surfaced to mind. They hadn't been on the greatest of terms when Asuma departed. He was even part of the reason why his son chose to leave in the first place.

Perhaps a few years away would do his son good and help him gather some much needed wisdom. He supposed that time would tell.

A fox masked ANBU suddenly flickered in his office, dropping to a knee, and Hiruzen set aside his papers on his desk.

"Lord Hokage, the recon mission in Grass was a success."

Hiruzen's eyes widened a fraction, mouth settling in a grim line. So it was true, after all.

"Report."

Fox began his recollection, listing everything that his team managed to find about the two Uzumaki survivors. By the end of the report, Hiruzen had a deep frown lining his face.

A woman and her daughter. The mother treated only slightly better than livestock, in exchange for a home and a living inside that village. An admirable resolve. Some parents were willing to sacrifice everything for their children.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and the image of two mangled corpses flashed in his mind.

His jaw tensed, a deep, quiet exhale leaving through his nose.

"You are dismissed."

The ANBU left in a body flicker, leaving behind a swirl of leaves that quickly vanished into wisps of smoke.

For a moment, Hiruzen just looked idly at the far wall, letting the stormy tides in his mind settle. The Leaf was truly a cut above the rest. Moments like these reminded him that his village was the most civilized among the others.

The others called them weak for holding such values, but they were still the strongest among the five. Even weak, and weakened still, none of their enemies dared to make the first move. The Cloud tried, and thought they got away with it, but the wheel always turned in the end.

Hiruzen fished out his pipe from his robes, lighting it up with a touch. He took a deep pull, savoring the bittersweet aroma for a moment before exhaling a hazy plume of smoke. He stood up from his chair, facing the tall windows overlooking his village, a frown curling his mouth.

Two Uzumaki. The embers of a great clan. They would be a boon for the village. The boy would get a family. The girl or the mother might have the same bloodline limit as Kushina.

The Nine Tails was being helpful, even if he seemed to take an odd pleasure in adding to his sleepless nights, but no one could tell what might happen in the future. That rogue Uchiha was still at large. Naruto would have to learn how to control the fox's chakra at some point. Tenzō wouldn't be able to suppress the Nine Tails by himself in case of a rampage.

But with the help of those chains…

Hiruzen took another puff from his pipe, gaze sweeping across the village once more time before turning around and making his way to the door.

Perhaps he could use a second opinion on this matter.

__________________________________________

Naruto stood in front of my cage, all smiles and rainbows and sunshine while chattering about his day as I lazed around, sprawled on the floor, head resting on my haunches.

It's been two weeks since the brat started the Academy, and the past few days felt like I was playing some unholy blend of The Sims and Crusader Kings. I never thought that I'd spend my time helping a five year old befriend other five years olds, but then again, I never thought that I'd end up in this world without a penis, either.

Life had a funny way of getting you to open up to new experiences, I supposed. And, well, it wasn't like I had much else to do in here to pass the time, aside from watching Leaf Village TV and playing with my chakra.

I've been experimenting a little, and, while I managed to figure out how to light shit on fire, I still had a long way until I could roleplay as a dragon. The progress for other jutsu rip-off shenanigans was similarly slow. Replicating ninja magic sounded easy in theory, but without knowing the hand seals to get a feel of how the chakra was supposed to mold, it turned into a lot of trial and error work.

I never imagined that I'd regret not being enough of a Narutard, but come on, I didn't even know the hand seals to the fucking Transformation jutsu. Meanwhile, there was one guy in my AP chemistry class who knew all the seals for the Water Dragon jutsu.

The old memories in my noggin didn't come in clutch, either. Kurama hated ninjutsu the most among his siblings, and nearly all of his knowledge on the topic came from what he had witnessed during battle.

It sucked, but I still had plenty of time to figure things out. For now, I'd just stick to working on my fire bending.

"–and then Kiba put a huge beetle on his face and kept it there for a whole minute while making funny faces."

The brat concluded with a grin, hands on his hips as he looked at me expectantly. In moments like these, I kinda wished that I read a parenting book in my old life, even if ironically.

"It's good that you're starting to make some friends, but you should try to pay more attention in class, even if it's boring to you."

Naruto blinked, his smile making way for confusion. "Ehhh, but why? Can't you just help me like you've been doing?"

His whiny voice almost brought a frown to my face. I had to nip this in the bud before it became a problem. I didn't mind being a backseat teacher, but I wasn't going to do homework in his stead.

"Brat, if I keep giving you all the answers, you won't learn how to think for yourself. I can help you with difficult things, but critical thinking and problem solving are vital skills to a ninja. If you want to reach all the way up to that Hokage Rock, you'll have to build a strong foundation."

As expected, the brat just made a frowny face at my refusal, but he seemed to actually think about my words.

"What's critical thinking?"

I took a moment to figure an example, and, soon enough, my mouth twitched with a smirk.

"Do you think that painting funny faces on the Hokage Rock would make a good prank?"

Naruto blinked at the sudden change in topic, a grin suddenly pulling at his cheeks. "Hell yeah, it would! You like pranks, too, Kurama?"

A quiet sigh escaped me. "Yes, but that's beside the point right now." I held up a finger to forestall his excitement. "Consider this prank. How would you do it? What would you need to pull it off? Could you do it without being caught until done? What consequences would your prank have? Would they be worth the brief satisfaction of defacing a village monument?" I tapped at the ground with a claw, sending a few ripples through the water. "You ask yourself these kind of questions, carefully think about everything, and then decide how you wish to act. That's critical thinking."

Honestly, I expected that half of this would just fly over the brat's head, but the oddly intense look on his face took me aback a little.

"That sounds really complicated, but I think I sorta get it?"

Ah, right. Chakra did funny things to the brain in this world. And Naruto was pretty smart to begin with. If Kakashi and Itachi could philosophize at seven years old, then this brat shouldn't surprise me too much by being smarter than the average kid back home.

"Having an idea in mind is a good start. You'll understand more as you grow up."

Naruto nodded, face scrunching up in confusion. "But how's math and history gonna help with being a ninja?"

My mouth twitched with a suppressed smile. It seemed that math was a constant source of frustration for children, no matter the universe.

"Math is mostly useless, but a small part of it might help you throw weapons better one day, or maybe even help you in a mission. And you need to know history, so you can avoid making the same mistakes as your ancestors."

In an ideal world, at least. From what glimpses I had so far, most of the so-called shinobi history taught in the Academy was just Leaf nationalism with a dash of Senju glazing.

I'd bet the other villages had their own version of history, too.

What a joke.

A brief silence fell among us as the brat considered my advice. I didn't expect him to start liking academics or anything like that. I'd consider it a win if he just passed his exams. Mindset was the key, and it would make a world of difference compared to his canon counterpart. He could be an irreverent menace if he wanted, but I wasn't going to let him stay ignorant of so many things.

"The Academy is boring right now, isn't it?" My voice rumbled through the chamber, breaking the quiet. "I have a new idea for your ninja training."

Naruto looked up, big, blue eyes shining with excitement. "Really? What is it?"

"Another important skill that every ninja should possess. Information gathering."

The boy scratched at his head, forehead crinkling a little. "You mean, uhh, learning stuff about people and places?

"Yes. Or just looking for a specific thing."

"Like what?"

"A location of potential interest." My lips quirked with a smile. "For example, there's this old looking building somewhere around the edge of the village. You could spend an hour each day, trying to look for it."

His face fell a little as he listened to the objective. I had a feeling that he was going to hate most D-rank missions with a passion.

"An old building? I thought it was something cooler."

My smile stretched further. "There's something special about that old building. It has the Uzumaki swirl at the front."

And just like that, his interest returned tenfold. A burning curiosity shone in his eyes as Naruto stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Is it related to my mom?"

"In a way. Her clan built it here a long time ago to store something, and people forgot about it."

"Store what?" Some of the enthusiasm bled out of his voice as a frown made its way on his face. "And why did they forget about it?"

"Perhaps only few people knew about it and they died. I'll tell you what's inside when you find it. Consider that your reward for completing a mission like a real ninja."

__________________________________________

Naruto was bored.

He shifted in his seat, propping his cheek on his hand while doodling on a page with the other. Teacher Iruka was talking about something boring at the front of the class, something about shinobi history that made Naruto want to smack his head against the desk.

He didn't think the academy would be so boring. When were they going to start doing cool ninja stuff? It's been almost a month already, and all they did was language, history, maths, and physical exercise. The last one was alright, the fox kept telling him how ninjas needed the exercise to become super awesome, but the rest was boring.

Kurama said that history was supposed to be useful, but Naruto felt like he was about to fall asleep.

Setting his pencil down to scratch at his cheek, he dug the hand in his pocket, pulling out a small leaf.

Kurama said that awesome ninjas trained all the time, even if just small stuff. The fox taught him this cool trick where he could use chakra to stick small objects to his skin. He had to watch his chakra carefully all the time, so it was a little boring, but it was better than listening to what that tree guy did sixty years ago.

Pressing the leaf to his forehead, Naruto focused his chakra in one point until the leaf stuck to his face. Smiling, he picked up his pencil, but found it a little hard to focus on his chakra and doodling at the same time.

With a frown, he stared at his paper while focusing on his chakra and the leaf. Maybe if he practiced long enough, he could do both at once? That sounded like something a cool ninja should be able to do.

Maybe this was the next step for the leaf exercise?

A movement in the seat to his right made Naruto look up from his desk, only to come face to face with Kiba. The boy was making a funny face, staring at him like he just did something weird. And he wasn't the only one.

Glancing around, he saw a few other kids giving him weird looks.

"Hey, Shinji, what's that freak doing?"

Naruto looked away, ignoring the whispered comment and the sting in his chest that it brought.

"He just put a leaf on his forehead, what's the big deal?"

Teacher Iruka suddenly turned around from the blackboard, and Naruto almost dropped the leaf as he met his eyes with a weak smile, hoping to not get scolded again for not paying attention. Much to his relief, the man turned back to the board, but it was short lived as Iruka paused halfway, looking at him again, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead.

Ah, crap, he was really getting scolded, wasn't he–

But the teacher didn't say anything. Iruka just kept staring at him weirdly like almost everyone else in the classroom.

–eh?

Naruto's face scrunched up, and he focused back on the leaf when he almost dropped it again. Why was everyone giving him these funny looks? Didn't they know this stuff, too? Kurama said that sticking a leaf to the forehead was the easiest chakra control exercise, and all ninjas knew how to do it.

Maybe teacher Iruka was surprised that he could keep the leaf stuck on his face for so long without getting tired? Kurama said that other kids his age would struggle with this exercise after a few minutes, because they didn't have enough chakra.

But why was everyone else acting so surprised? Did nobody tell them about the leaf exercise yet? They were gonna fail at being ninjas at this rate.

Naruto nibbled at his lip, scratching his head a little. Maybe Kurama knew something about this? But why was he being quiet? Was he sleeping?

Heh. Look at their faces.

Ah, there he was!

I'm saving this memory for posterity.

Posterity? What's tha–

"Naruto… do you know what you're doing right now?"

Iruka's voice drew Naruto's attention back to the blackboard, and his face creased in confusion. "Sticking a leaf to my face?"

Really, why was everyone acting so weird about this?

Some of the kids laughed, but he didn't pay much attention to them. He still had to focus on his leaf.

Even the half asleep Shikamaru, head on his desk, had an eye cracked open, watching him curiously.

Sakura, the girl with the nice, pink hair from two seats across was also looking at him strangely. She also gave him this sort of look a few days ago when he'd answered that complicated math question with Kurama's help, so maybe she was being weird in a different way than the other kids?

Girls were pretty weird anyway, so Naruto wasn't sure.

"Where did you learn this?" The teacher spoke again, voice sounding a little worried. Worried because he might get too far ahead of his classmates?

Naruto looked back at Iruka, ready to tell everyone how great the fox was at teaching stuff, but the familiar voice speaking in his head gave him pause.

You heard some ninjas talk about it and figured it out on your own.

Eh? Why didn't Kurama want everyone to know how smart and awesome he was?

Most people would freak out if they knew we were talking like this. Just keep quiet about it for now and let the old monkey deal with it.

Naruto couldn't help a frown. That made sense, but he didn't like it. The fox was a lot nicer than people thought.

"I heard some ninjas talk about it and figured it out by myself."

The teacher blinked a couple times, brow scrunching up a little. "You… figured it out on your own?"

Iruka made a face like he was having trouble understanding, which was super weird, because this was really simple. Naruto was just doing what everybody expected from a real ninja.

Grinning, he gave an enthusiastic nod. Kurama told him about the exercise, but he learned it by himself, just like every other great ninja had done.

"Naruto, you're doing the leaf exercise." Kiba whispered from next to him, wide eyed.

"Mm-hmm. Wanna do it with me? I have a spare leaf in my pocket."

He should keep more leaves on him. The next step of this exercise definitely involved sticking more leaves to his face. Kurama was probably expecting him to figure this on his own, and he did it in less than a week. The fox was going to praise him again for doing so good at his ninja training.

Kiba scratched at his head, looking a little unsure. "Uhh, maybe the next time?"

Huh. Maybe he didn't want the other kids to give him funny looks?

"Okay."

Naruto smiled and Kiba went quiet.

A few of his classmates kept looking at him weirdly, but he ignored them, focusing on his leaf, proud that he managed to keep it stuck to his forehead through all of this.

Teacher Iruka eventually went back to his talk about history, but Naruto only listened to it with one ear while continuing his chakra exercise.

He was going to become an awesome ninja at this rate.

__________________________________________

Hiruzen's gaze swept across the table before him, briefly locking eyes with each of the gathered clan heads, all of them showing varying degrees of curiosity. All the major clans had a seat at the council table.

The only one missing was his old friend.

Danzō would learn of this, sooner or later, but this type of endeavor would be better handled by ANBU. The Root had their use, but they had a poor record in missions that prioritized the human element. They'd rather abandon the mission than risk having The Leaf associated to other Root operations.

"To start this meeting, I have a question for all of you." Hiruzen leaned forward ever so slightly in his seat. "If another village managed to acquire members of your clan and keep them hidden for years, exploiting them for their own benefits, how would you respond?"

His question had the same effect as poking an anthill. Hiruzen folded his hands atop the table, waiting patiently.

"I'd like to say that no one is stupid enough to steal from us, but we've seen the mess with Cloud from two years ago." Tsume was the first to speak up, leaning back in her seat with a smirk, drawing a brief glance from the man seated across from her.

Hiashi's face gave away nothing, looking as if carved from stone. Hiruzen could see the lingering traces of resentment, though. Hiashi was hiding it well, but his eyes still told enough of a story.

The Hyūga Affair had soured relations between them, and two years were not enough for that wound to properly mend.

"The Hyūga have been insulted once." Hiashi's voice was like cold steel, yet his words were carefully measured. "We would not tolerate a repeat."

Judging by their commiserating looks, that sentiment seemed to echo in the others to varying degrees. Even Fugaku gave a curt, almost imperceptible nod from next to Hiashi.

Letting another Hyūga Affair go unpunished would no doubt have dire repercussions for The Leaf.

"This is a troubling scenario to consider." Inoichi looked from across the table with a frown. "Bloodline theft, the loss of clan secrets… it could easily lead to war."

If one of the major villages was involved? Most likely. With Grass, however, it would depend on whether Stone was willing to make a move. But knowing Ōnoki… they'd likely stay out of it.

"I prefer to think that an Uchiha would rather choose death than enslavement by the enemy, to use against their own clan." Fugaku spoke up calmly, face a stern mask and voice measured. "But in the case of such an event, those who dared would soon learn why the Uchiha have always been great warriors throughout the ages."

The man's choice of words earned him a few odd looks from Chōza and Inoichi, but Hiruzen did not expect anything less from him. He'd dealt with the Uchiha for long enough to know the extent of their pride.

"That's not a hypothetical question, is it Lord Third?" Shikaku's mild voice cut through the brief silence like a knife. Hiruzen met the man's narrow eyed look with a grim smile.

"I'm afraid not. A few days ago, an ANBU operative returned from a routine mission with an unexpected report." Hiruzen swept his gaze across the table. "For the past few years, the Grass Village has been hiding two Uzumaki from us. A mother and her young daughter. They've been treated rather poorly, to say the least."

The revelation earned him a few raised brows and wide eyed looks.

Hiruzen would rather have as few people as possible aware of the Nine Tails situation for the time being, but the brief, side-eyed look from Shikaku made it clear that the man wasn't entirely sold on that cover story.

"Uzumaki?" Chōza spoke up in confusion. "I thought Kushina was the last of them."

"Whirlpool's destruction has not been a single day's affair. Some of them have clearly slipped between the cracks." Shikaku leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms with a smirk. "I wouldn't be surprised if more of them were scattered across the continent."

"Grass?" Tsume snorted in disdain. "Those cowards and weaklings? No one would take them seriously even if we waltzed in, grabbed the Uzumaki, and left."

As crassly as she put it, she had a point. Hiruzen doubted any of the major villages would bat an eye at Grass if they ever complained about losing their Uzumaki. The Leaf and Sand were allies. Cloud and Mist were too far away to care. Stone would not make a move without a sufficiently tempting incentive.

"Regaining the Uzumaki Clan would be a great boon for our village. We could start rebuilding the strength we've lost with the fall of the Senju." Inoichi said, drawing a series of nods from nearly everyone at the table, even the ever stoic Shibi.

"If any of those two could use the Uzumaki binding chains, having them in the village would be vital, in case the Nine Tails ever becomes a problem again."

Fugaku's comment earned him a frown and disapproving look from Inoichi and Chōza, but Hiruzen had to agree with the man. Currently, they had no means to contain the Nine Tails in the catastrophic event of a seal failure. The Reaper Seal was an option, but a last resort one that would permanently cost the village the tailed beast and another Hokage.

"I see." Hiruzen glanced from one clan head to the next, a thoughtful frown curling his mouth. Most of them seemed in favor of a rescue operation, with the rest simply keeping their thoughts to themselves. His gaze lingered on Shikaku, meeting the scarred man's keen eyes. "How would you conduct a rescue operation for those two Uzumaki?"

"I suppose the most optimal course of action would be an ANBU retrieval. I'd advise a stealth specialized team for the job. One Hyūga and at least one genjutsu user."

Hiruzen nodded. He'd considered that scenario among the most likely to succeed with minimal backlash. Mouth pressing in a line, he gave a thoughtful hum. "Let's assume that Grass somehow connects it to us. How would you proceed from there?"

Shikaku frowned in thought, hands steepling atop the table. "Before that, I have a suggestion, Lord Third."

Hiruzen smiled thinly. "Go on."

He'd have a definite solution by the end of this council.