A bored Naruto can be seen in the Hokage's office, staring at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who is holding Naruto's photos for the Ninja Registry. Due to his special graduation circumstances, they hadn't been able to do anything until today, but they finally had the photos. What surprised Hiruzen was that Naruto didn't make a joke about it; he'd actually expected him to appear with his face painted, or something like that.
- Can I leave now, old man?
- Yes, Naruto, everything is in order, you can leave.
Naruto proceeded to get up from his seat and stretch a little; he was bored and didn't feel like doing anything… Maybe he should go to sleep, if that sounded like a good option, but as he was about to leave, a boy appeared with two shuriken, one in each hand and a long scarf that covered his entire face; he also had a yellow shirt and brown shorts and blue sandals.
He ran straight to the Hokage saying he was going to defeat him, but tripped over his own scarf, causing an awkward silence in the office. Meanwhile, Naruto started walking listlessly, avoiding the boy who was getting up complaining of a pain in his nose.
"Ow, ow, ow," were the whimpers of the infant, which were ignored by Naruto who was near the door, but he stopped when he heard the child blaming him for tripping, which made him turn to look at him, with a raised eyebrow - yes, it was you, you made me trip so that I would defeat the old man and not get the title of Hokage -
There were 5 seconds of awkward silence, both for the Hokage and the ANBU, but something surprised almost everyone, and those were Naruto's words.
"If it was me, now what?" Konohamaru was speechless. What could he say? Usually, people told him it was his scarf's fault or something like that.
- Um… - Naruto waited 5 more seconds and left with the same listless step, avoiding bumping into Ebisu who came looking for the "Honorable grandson of the Hokage".
- Honorable grandson, I'm so glad you're alright. What happened to you?
- I... tripped over my scarf -
"Oh, honorable grandson, what have I told you about running away? How do you expect to become Hokage if you ignore my training? Only I can give you the foundation you need to be a good Hokage."
- Ebisu -
-Is Hokage-sama? -
- Konohamaru is already gone-
…
…
…
- EHHHHHHH?!!! -
_._._._._ Streets of Konoha _._._._._
Our blond protagonist could be seen walking lazily, while being followed by a square stone; everyone watched this scene with strangeness.
Naruto was aware of the "rock," and he also knew who was inside, so he did nothing. He simply walked towards one of the many hills near the village's training grounds to lie down and take a nap.
Thirty minutes later, he reached a small hill with a single tree, where the shade was just right for him to lie down and sleep. He lay down immediately, just as the stone, which had two holes through which our protagonist was being "spied on," finally stopped moving. Then, as soon as Naruto sat up, the "stone" exploded.
- *Tos tos tos*I think it was too much gunpowder.
- Hmm, I'd say so, next time try a smaller explosion or a bigger "rock" -
- Yes, thanks for the tip -
- You are welcome -
…
…
…
"THE PRESENTATION!!!" Konohamaru exclaimed, worried, before crouching down and drawing on the floor in a depressed mood, saying that the presentation had been ruined and that it hadn't gone well.
The boy complained until he felt a hand gently placed on his head. He looked up to meet Naruto's eyes. "How about you try again? I promise."surprise meKonohamaru's eyes lit up and he nodded. After that, Naruto sat back down and waited for the show.
Konohamaru went back to "hid" in the "stone", but when he was about to use the same amount of gunpowder, he remembered what had happened recently and the advice he had been given, so this time he used less gunpowder, and then it happened.
The rock exploded again, but this time Konohamaru leaped out of the smoke and began a presentation with a banner. It was about to fall, but Naruto cloned himself, and two of his clones held the banner up so it was clearly visible. It read, "I am Sarutobi Konohamaru, the next Hokage." Seeing this, Naruto applauded, which made Konohamaru blush slightly. He was the first person to applaud this presentation; it almost always went badly, with people either ignoring him or mocking him.
But he had come with a goal, so he drew two shuriken and assumed a defensive stance - Get ready, I'm going to defeat you -
- Because? -
- Huh? -
- What did I do to make you want to defeat me?
Konohamaru blushed; he hadn't thought this through. He knew the boy in front of him hadn't done anything wrong, that he'd actually tripped over his scarf, but he'd come too far to back down now. "Because you accepted that you stopped my attack on Jiji, I'm going to defeat you first, and then my grandfather."
- Alright, then get into a defensive stance - Naruto then summoned two wooden kunai. He didn't know how he had done it, he suspected it was part of his new "powers", but it didn't matter, he ignored that and got into a defensive stance.
Konohamaru began his attack by launching a quick attack against Naruto, which flowed with the boy's movement, then kicked one of his hands, causing him to drop his Shuriken, and then with a spinning kick he threw the shuriken against a tree and embedded the weapon.
*Wow*That was all Konohamaru said, but it didn't matter, he continued the attack with the Shuriken he had, since Naruto didn't defend himself, he only dodged his blows, but in a moment of "distraction", he threw his Shuriken, which was dodged by Naruto, and the Shuriken embedded itself against the tree, leaving Konohamaru defenseless without weapons.
In the end they stood face to face. Konohamaru lost his confidence; he knew that the boy in front of him had not been taken seriously, but despite giving it his all, he couldn't do anything to him, and now without weapons, he had nothing to do.
He looked at the ground sadly, because of his humiliating defeat, but then he felt someone gently touch his head again and saw Naruto in front of him, offering him one of his wooden kunai. "Come on, Konohamaru, I'm having fun and so are you, let's keep playing." Konohamaru opened his eyes in surprise, but without realizing it, he began to cry. Naruto looked at him worriedly. "Konohamaru, are you okay? What happened?"
- *Gimoteando* No… nothing happened… it's just that you called me by my name - she would say, half-crying.
- Isn't that right? Don't you like it?
"No, it's not that. Almost no one calls me by my name. They always call me 'honorable grandson,' 'grandson of the Hokage,' or similar titles. They never call me by my name." Naruto could only stroke Konohamaru's head again. He understood that feeling. For a long time, and even today, he was called by "titles" he hadn't asked for.
"I understand, Konohamaru. My name is Naruto, but a lot of people call me by other names I don't like... it's annoying, isn't it?" Konohamaru just nodded while laughing a little. "But it doesn't matter, Konohamaru, I'm here, calling you by your name, and we're going to keep playing, okay?"
He just nodded; he was so amused and happy that he had forgotten that they weren't really "playing," they were having a fight.
It had been a while since the game started and Konohamaru was tired, while Naruto looked as fresh as a daisy. While they were playing, Naruto helped correct some of Konohamaru's mistakes in combat, which the boy overheard.
- *Panting, panting, panting*because? *panting*"I can't touch you," exclaimed a tired Konohamaru.
- I have a lot of energy, besides, you're too slow for me -
- What? -
- That's natural, Maru. I'm a shinobi; I have more energy and training than you.
- I have a Sensei who will give me the shortcuts to becoming Hokage -
- Hahahahahahaha - was Naruto's amused laugh - Maru, there are no "shortcuts" to becoming Hokage -
- But Ebisu -
- Maru, no, there are no shortcuts, there are never any shortcuts to being strong, there are only advantages, but in the end they don't matter -
- Huh? -
- Maru, you have an advantage in having your own sensei, but that's not a shortcut, because no matter what he teaches you, if it's not useful or you don't practice it, it won't be any more useful than sitting around all day.
- But... then... shouldn't I try harder?
- I'm not telling you that, Maru. Don't see the path to becoming Hokage as a straight line; it's more like climbing a mountain. There will be easier stretches, and just as many.there will bemore difficult -
- Naruto... do you want to be Hokage? -
Naruto remained silent for a moment, carefully considering his answer. "Before, I would have said yes, that I would be the next Hokage without hesitation," Konohamaru listened attentively to Naruto, "but currently I couldn't say yes... some things have happened to me lately that have made me reconsider many things about how I've lived and how I see life."
- Is that a yes or a no?
- Why do you want an answer?
- Because I want to know who my rivals for the hat will be.
- Hahahahahahaha - Naruto's laughter was contagious, which made Konohamaru laugh too, but at the same time Naruto stroked Maru's head again, which made the boy blush; he was starting to like this treatment.
- Onii-chan, why are you petting my head so much? -
"And why not? You're a child, you should be treated as such, no matter who your family is," Naruto said, "ignoring" what he called his older brother. "Why don't you like it?"
"No, I do like it," Konohamaru said quickly, blushing at his fuss over something so simple.
"Then all the more reason, Maru, sometimes it's good to receive a little pampering." Konohamaru simply nodded at her words. "Come on, let's sleep for a while."
Maru saw that in a good light, so she followed Naruto under the shade of the tree, where they lay down peacefully, Naruto with his arms crossed behind his head, and Maru laid her head on Naruto's stomach.
_._._._._ 1 hour later _._._._._
"Honorable grandson, you finally…" Ebisu trailed off, seeing Naruto silence him with his finger, and took in the scene before him. "What are you teaching the honorable grandson? To be a lazy bum?" Ebisu said with annoyance. He was one of those who distrusted Naruto, not because of what he possessed, but because of the weight of it. He knew that if the seal were to break one day, it would be the end for the village.
- No, I'm just teaching him to take breaks sometimes, because too much effort can burn you out.
Ebisu remained silent for a moment, not entirely sure that was true, but he nodded, because it made sense - Good, but the break is over, I have to take the honorable...
- Konohamaru -
- That? -
- Konohamaru, his name is Konohamaru -
- I know that -
- And you still call him "Honorable grandson" -
- Because he is the grandson of the Sandalman -
- Have you thought about how it feels?
- Huh? -
- He has a name, it's Konohamaru, he's a boy with the desire to be Hokage, but despite having his own name, with his own dreams and desires, they only call him "honorable grandson" do you know how he feels? - Ebisu remained silent, thinking about what the boy said and he understood, he didn't like that title.
- I'll keep that in mind... thank you very much, Naruto -
Naruto just smiled, then carefully stood up and picked up Konohamaru, and began his walk towards the clan district. When Ebisu was about to say something, he paused for a moment, and for today, Konohamaru earned a break from his studies and training.
_._._._._ Sarutobi Clan Compound _._._._._
The clan compound was very simple compared to other clans; you only knew it was the Sarutobi clan's territory because of the clan logo and the sign at the entrance, where there were 2 guards who saw Naruto arrive with Konohamaru in his arms, and simply nodded to Naruto.
It wasn't his first time there; in fact, it had been a while since his last visit, but deep down they were happy to see him doing well. Naruto headed straight to the clan's main house, where the Third Hokage lived.
When I was at the door, it was immediately opened by a woman, she was a young woman, 29 years old, she had brown hair and brown eyes, she was Mayuri, Konohamaru's mother.
"Mayuri-sama, it's been a while!" At that moment, Mayuri glared at Naruto, who could only chuckle. "Sorry, how about I try again?" Naruto said, amused. "Mayuri-obasan, it's been a while!"
Mayuri changed her gaze, looking happily at Naruto - Oh, if it isn't you, Naruto, and I see you've brought Konohamaru, you know you've neglected us here. Why haven't you come back?
- Sorry about that, Obasan, I got distracted with the academy and forgot to visit you.
Mayuri just puffed out her cheeks. "Oh? Are you sure it was just because of the academy?" Naruto laughed uncomfortably; he knew she meant the jokes.*Sigh*Forget it, come on, leave Konohamaru in his room, and let's go have dinner.
- But… -
"Don't give me any trouble, kid. Besides, I just made his favorite today, my beef stew." Naruto's stomach growled, making him blush. "Hahahaha," Mayuri chuckled shyly. "See, go inside, put Konohamaru in his room, and let's have dinner, Naru."
- Yes, Grandma - after entering the house/mansion, Naruto moved through the hallways, without getting lost once, while being greeted by the mansion's servants, until he reached Konohamaru's room - Wow, this place has changed, before there was a crib -
"Of course Naruto-sama has changed, you haven't been to the compound for 4 years," that amused response from one of the maids made Naruto feel a little... A while ago, due to his treatment by the village, he took refuge in the Sarutobi clan, where he met almost everyone, except for Jiji's eldest son. He was even present in the first 4 years of Konohamaru's life without him knowing it.
After leaving Konohamaru in his bed, he went straight to the dining room, where Mayuri was already waiting for him with food on the table. "Welcome home, Naruto," he said.
Naruto simply covered his eyes, hiding his tears. It had been so long since he'd heard those words, and being an orphan, and after everything that had happened to him lately, he just needed to hear them. That was one of the reasons he hadn't returned; he didn't want them to neglect Maru while taking care of him, or to feel abandoned because of Maru.
Mayuri just stood up and hugged Naruto. "There, there, there, Naru-chan, I'm sorry for not looking for you sooner, but we wanted to respect your wishes. But now everything's going to be different, Naru-chan. Now I want you to come to the house at least once a week, unless you're out of town on a mission." Naruto just nodded against Obasan's stomach. Sometimes that was all he needed, to feel that someone was waiting for him, that someone loved him. "Welcome back home, Naru."
- Yes... I'm already home, Obasan - were the words spoken by Naruto, with tears in his eyes.
Naruto's Subconscious
- At least he's not alone -
- *Puf* I'll never understand that thing about humans. Why do they come together? What for? They're still weak.
"Sometimes you don't need strong allies... sometimes just having someone there to stay is enough," said the other "Naruto." "Maybe that's what you're missing... someone who will stay no matter what."
The Kyuubi didn't respond to that, and simply lay back down, ignoring the intruder. Meanwhile, the other simply remained silent, watching the scene with a tranquility unlike his usual self. It wasn't boring, it wasn't disinterested, it was simply peaceful.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Well… I got a little sentimental, didn't I? What did you think of the chapter? I know it was slower or more bland than others, but hey, it was nice.
Furthermore, the story won't always be a comedy; that would make it boring in my opinion.
What did you like? What didn't you like? What can I improve?
I don't know why this chapter came out this way, it just happened. The next story to be updated will be, Prince of the Underworld, and then the new story, whose winner was, Naruto the Father of Asia.
That's all, Sayonara.