Chapter 9

Officially, nominating a child for early academy enrollment was not, in truth, that big of a deal.

The child had been discovered to possess a high degree of proficiency or raw talent in one or various Shinobi arts and, as a military state, the village policy was to hone these abilities early so as not to let them go to waste or be lost due to a normal civilian life being unable to nurse these prodigious talents adecuately.

Unofficially, Naruto was discovering, it was like paining a neon sign over the kids head.

He should have guessed really. The two people he knew about from his time period that had gotten an early nomination were Kakashi-sensei and Itachi, and both were comparable monsters when measured against the run of the mill Shinobi.

It wasn't done often, not only was it difficult to find a child with actual talent beyond mere hopes and dreams but the person that nominated them risked a lot of his own reputation/prestige. If the nominee turned out to be average or worse yet, sub par, or even injured in the tests of the academy then that person was branded, at the bare minimum, reckless.

Both Itachi and Kakashi had been nominated by members of their own families.

But he, the resident Jinchuuriki being nominated by the 'recluse' that was the snake sannin had come, as far as most could tell, completely out of left field and made a lot of civilians and quite a few Shinobi curious and rumors were already starting to float around.

None of which were true. Naruto wouldn't trust that serpent as far as he could throw him, which in his present state wasn't very far at all.

The only reason he'd chosen him over the others was because...well...he was there.

And now he was in a rush.

He had to start climbing the shinobi ladder early. The higher his rank the more techniques he'd have access to, the more doors he'd be able to open, the more clearance he'd have. More clearance meant more information and he needed information.

That was the key to finding Tobi.

He only knew the vaguest of Tobi's acts before the war had broken out. It hadn't mattered to him where the hell the Uchiha had come from, only what he could do to stop him. And by the time their little plan of going back in time saw itself pushed from the aspect of pipe dream to necessity anyone that could have possibly answered such questions were long since dead or enemies...or both.

And more than that he needed to get to Tobi before he managed to achieve the insane level of strength he'd gotten during the war. He needed to warn the Jinchuuriki about him. Him and maybe Akatsuki too if they still existed.

He finished off his breakfast, tossing the dish in the sink, promising to clean it out later before he made for the door, ready to leave when he heard a knock.

He paused, blinking, wondering who it would be as he reached for the kunai and Shuriken pouches to strap them on. They'd been given to him, courtesy of Sarutobi. "Be right there old man!"

The door opened, no doubt picked with chakra. "I'm not that old kiddo."

The voice was unfamiliar, and Naruto quickly looked up, finding a smiling silver haired man.

"Uhhh...who're you?"

The man's face fell. "Woah, Tsu-chan warned me but that's a real kick to the gut kiddo. Its me! Dan.

Naruto blinked.

So this the one Tsunade had been so hung up on...

"I thought you'd be taller..." The blond found himself saying before thinking.

"Me too!" He shot back with an easy grin. "But alas humans don't grow on hopes and dreams. Which reminds me. Have you been eating fruits and vegetables like Tsu-chan told you last time we were here?"

"Uhh...I guess?"

"...You have that refrigerator stuffed with ramen don't you."

"There's cereal in there!" He defended.

-0-

Dan walked him to the academy.

It was...a novel experience.

And no that wasn't a euphemism.

It was actually a novel experience. He'd never had someone walk him to the academy grounds. The Hokage occasionally saw him before he left his apartment when he could spare the time but those times were few and far between and even then he had to head to the tower, not to the academy which was a bit out of the way from his destination, so having someone walk him the whole way there was a real change of pace.

And the company was actually nice to boot.

It didn't take him long to realize Dan was a joker, he always had a ready comeback or witty comment. It kinda reminded him of Jiraiya. Though Ero-sennin tended to be more dry sarcasm than witty quips.

"Ahh my two princesses." The silver haired man said, drawing Naruto's attention enough for him to find Tsunade and a much younger Shizune.

"But I really am sick!"

"Oh bull-to-the-shit." The slug princess shot back! "You just don't wanna go on the first day!"

"We never do anything on the first day!"

"You get to say Hi to all those wonderful people you'll be spending the rest of the year with."

"I say Hi to them all the time anyway! Its not like we can lose each-other inside this village."

"You get to say Hi to the teachers then."

"I don't want to say Hi to the teachers. That's half the objective here!"

"Tough luck then."

Huh...he didn't remember Shizune-neechan talking back to Tsunade...ever...even when she deserved it...

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