Chapter Three: The Godaime Hokage

They entered a large, resplendent hallway decked out in bright gold and silvers. The curtains were a majestic purple, the banners that same purple with gold trimming. The suits that aligned the walls were silver.

The Daimyo led him through the rooms, as if on autopilot, until they entered a third hallway and the Daimyo told him to wait until he was called. Naruto frowned but nodded, privately wondering why the Daimyo would do something that, by all accounts, was so out of character.

Ten minutes later, the Daimyo's voice rang out, calling him out of his thoughts and beckoning him down the long hallway. As he looked around, his eyes widened as he looked at the pictures on the walls, the visages of the Hokages. First his father the Yondaime, Namikaze Minato, stared back at him. Then, Sandaime, Sarutobi Hiruzen-sensei's picture followed. Nidaime, Senju Tobirama-sama came third. And finally, the co-founder of the village, Shodai, Senju Hashirama-sama was displayed.

He frowned as the Daimyo smiled and asked him to kneel.

Doing so, he silently waited.

"For almost one hundred thirty years, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure no Sato, has served the Land of Fire faithfully; first with Senju Hashirama, whose idea it was to start the hidden village, which ended the warring states period, and when his reign ended prematurely at the end of the first shinobi war, a full thirty years after the founding of the village, was replaced with his brother, Senju Tobirama who served for another thirty years, dying near the end of the second shinobi war.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was elevated as Tobirama's last official act as Hokage, and lasted for almost fifty years, retiring when a candidate so powerful and so accepted by the people, Namikaze Minato, rose up as a contender. Though, as you know, Minato-kun was killed prematurely, ten years into his reign, at the hands of the Kyuubi no Yoko."

Naruto nodded.

The Daimyo smiled, "Hiruzen has gone for another thirteen years bearing the mantle of Hokage, in part because of a proclamation your father made before he died. He named his successor to Hokage."

Naruto's eyes widened though he gulped as the Daimyo continued. "The Godaime Hokage-koho was a babe, not three days old, when the Yondaime Hokage died. But in him, the Yondaime saw the future of his village. His final act was, according to Hiruzen, to reappoint the Sandaime the position until a time that Hiruzen was unable, or unwilling to act. That mask, Naruto-kun, is only worn by the Hokage, or his chosen successors, and is a sign that you are the Godaime Hokage-koho, future leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Naruto raised his head, breaking all sorts of protocol, as the Daimyo invited him to stand.

"Hiruzen and I have had this meeting planned for some time, because though the Sandaime is not yet ready to step down, he is getting old and would prefer that you, Namikaze Naruto, take the mantle before his death. He fears that he hasn't long to live, and is afraid that the former members of the civilian council would take the chance of calling in old favors upon his death and encourage the shinobi council to reinstate them, the death or absence of a Hokage the only time they would be able to do so.

Now, with the contents of this scroll, and with the repercussions the information foretells, I am amending the agreement between Hiruzen and me.

Namikaze Naruto, having completed 15 D-, 22 C-, 16 B-, 19 A-, and 5 S-ranked missions, out of 77 missions, a 100 percent success rate, and having been the appointed successor of the Yondaime Hokage, and latest student of the Sandaime Hokage:

I, Akihito, Hinokoku no Daimyo, hereby name, and invest, you as the Godaime Hokage, for now until eternity, the leader of shinobi villages of the Land of Fire, and supreme dictator of the same."

Naruto paled as he trembles, the weight of the words just spoken pressing down upon him. His breathing grew erratic, and his eyes flickered as his consciousness processed the words just spoken to him. Finally, he took a deep, calming breath and spoke.

"Akihito-sama, Hinokoku no Daimyo, I, Namikaze Naruto, son of the Yondaime Hokage, apprentice of the Sandaime Hokage, accept your words, and swear upon my name and honor, to faithfully serve my village, and my Daimyo, as Godaime Hokage."

The Daimyo nodded, accepting his words and promise. Then, he said, "It is customary for the new Hokage to have a portrait done before he performs any official duties. Shall we have this done now, Godaime?"

Naruto nodded briefly. The Daimyo smiled as he walked over to what looked like an intercom, before pressed a button and spoke into it.

They waited in comfortable silence, as Naruto processed what had just happened. For ten minutes, Naruto just looked around the room, and studied each of the poses displayed by the Hokage before him, when to his surprise three people entered. The first, carrying a camera, was a young woman that excitedly rushed over to the Daimyo and began speaking to him erratically, while the second and third, to his chagrin, walked over and pulled him over to a pedestal before motioning for him to step onto it.

As he did so, the two men started measuring him, poking and prodding places he felt they had no business bothering. For twenty minutes, they worked in animated conversations, moving so fast that he could hardly keep up.

Once they were done, the woman merely smiled and said, "Now we wait, Hokage-sama."

He groaned, and looked at the Daimyo, who merely smiled back and said, "It won't take but an hour, Naruto-kun. I forgot how eager the tailors become when something of this importance happens."

Naruto sighed again but said nothing, deciding that dozing off seemed a good thing to do.

Once he woke almost forty minutes later, the photographer was looking nervously at the door, and the Daimyo sat looking over a blood-red scroll that contained the kanji for Hokage.

He studied the Daimyo, looking for any apprehension on the man's face, wondering if he was regretting shooting the jutsu so early. Fifteen minutes later, the doors burst open, and he turned to see the two tailors animatedly bringing in a clothing bag.

He was gestured toward the pedestal again, and complied silently, turning towards the Daimyo. To his shock, the Daimyo stepped down, and walked over to him, and handed him the scroll, saying, "I'm not sure how this works, there are no instructions you see, but Hiruzen gave me this thirteen years ago with instructions to give it to the Godaime."

Naruto took the scroll, immediately noticing a seal. He applied chakra automatically, and frowned in confusion as a single piece of chakra absorbing paper, with the kanji for Kage, came out.

Shrugging, Naruto looked at the scroll, and followed the instructions there.

He picked the paper up, and pressed it to his right shoulder above the tattoo that all ANBU have, and then ran chakra through the paper. A sizzling sound was heard, causing him to clench his teeth in pain, for about five minutes.

Once finished, the paper fell to the ground, and burst into flames. In its place, the tattoo for Hokage was permanently burnt into his flesh.

The tailors didn't hesitate, rushing up to him, and unzipping the bag they brought in. His breath caught as he eyed the robes.

They weren't much, just red on white, and long enough to reach his ankles, but to Naruto, they were a symbol of everything he'd ever loved; the village, the people, and most importantly his sensei and family. When he first pulled out the robes, he opened them to reveal a set of shinobi attire.

"Hokage-sama," the first said, "I am Nuu Sutetchi, the personal tailor for the Daimyo. I have served the house for almost seventy years. In those years, I have had one duty that the Daimyo assures me is the only other that transcends all others, producing the inaugural robes and uniform for the Hokage.

As custom, I based the design of your new uniform specifically on those you wore today. The fabric is a solid black jumpsuit, with mesh woven throughout, and dark grey gauntlets which will cover your wrist, forearms, elbows, hamstring and quadriceps, knees and ankles, we include a new Hitai-ate with the uniform, which contains the kanji for Godaime Hokage upon it, which you can use to replace the standard Konohagakure Hitai-ate, or not at all.

The official uniform is, as you know, red on white, ending just below your ankles. It comes with a white sash that is used to hold the entire thing together, and when paired with the haori used by the Sandaime Hokage, will complete your outfit."

"The Haori is inherited?"

"Oh yes," the Daimyo said, "the Shodai, Hashirama, was insistent on that. It was seen as a status symbol, and therefore not replaceable, unless destroyed. If it's lost, a seal has been woven into the fabric that can recall it."

Naruto nodded then asked, "And what do I tell Hiruzen-sensei, and for that matter, what do I call him."

The Daimyo chuckled and said, "That is for you to decide, though it is tradition for the new Hokage to formally ask the former Hokage to relinquish the name."

"Is there somewhere I can shower?"

The Daimyo nodded, and gestured for the younger tailor to show him to the bathroom, which the Daimyo told him contained a shower and ofuro. He took the new uniforms, and walked out quickly.

He stepped in, locked the door and stripped down, unsealing all of his weapons from the uniform's numerous seals, and which he placed in one of the many backup scrolls he carried around. Then, doing something he usually hates, Naruto pressed the scrolls to one of the many seals adorning his body, and applied chakra.

That finished, Naruto turned the shower on, found the nearest, unscented, soap and quickly cleansed and bathed his body. Finding an unscented shampoo was impossible, so using the same bar of soap; he quickly lathered and rinsed his hair.

Skipping the ofuro, which he normally did, Naruto applied a low-level fuuton jutsu, which dried his body.

Then he swiftly dressed.

He pulled the bodysuit, which was one full suit that zipped in the back, on, surprised by the comfort of the thick material. Then, he placed the gauntlets on, and was surprised to feel a small drain on his chakra. "Chakra conducive," Naruto said in surprise.

He placed his geta back on his feet, and stood, before pulling the robes on for the first time. Then, he looked in the mirror, and quietly said, "Come on, Godaime-sama."

As he stepped out of the bathroom, Naruto made his way back to the ceremonial room a few doors away and entered. The Daimyo smiled as Naruto entered, and said, "You look good, Hokage-dono."

"Thank you, Daimyo-sama," he said standing tall. The Daimyo smiled and said, "Come now, Hokage-dono."

"Daimyo-dono," he corrected. The man nodded, and said, "Very well, I release you back to your village, and bid you a wondrous reign, Godaime Hokage!"

"Matte, Daimyo-sama!" the photographer said rushing forward. The Daimyo stiffened, but turned and said, "Oh, that's right Naruto-kun this is Hanae Emi, my photographer. She is new, so doesn't know all the rules just yet."

Naruto saw the pale look on the girls face, and said, "I know the feeling, Daimyo-dono. I'm sure Emi-san will use this as a learning experience."

The woman hastily nodded, bowing to the Daimyo in subjugation, as the Daimyo chuckled and told her all was forgiven. She sighed in relief, and shuffled towards him, making sure to never expose her entire back to the Daimyo, as she stood to the right of Naruto.

He turned, and watched as she back stepped to the wall, before saying, "Hokage-sama, I will attempt to get the best picture possible!"

He looked back at the poses his predecessors took, noticing that each of them were somewhat traditional, the only difference each took was the weapon that they carried, the Shodai carried a standard kunai, the Nidaime held senbon in between his fingers, the Sandaime carried his bo staff, and the Yondaime carried the tri-pronged kunai that held the summoning seal for Hiraishin no Jutsu.

Pulling his robes back, Naruto exposed his wrist for a brief moment, and surged chakra, releasing his ANBU tanto.

Emi looked excited as Naruto then took the same stance his predecessors' had, the smallest difference being that he was holding his tanto with both hands extended downward in front of him. A quick flash caught his attention, and the woman said, "Thank you, Hokage-sama, Daimyo-sama!"

"You're dismissed, Emi," the Daimyo said, then turned to him, "And you, Hokage-dono, are free to leave. I would, however, like to know how you appeared in front of me?"

Naruto smiled and said, "Did you never wonder what that kunai was for Hiruzen-sensei sent you five months back?"

The Daimyo pulled the standard shaped kunai, which he'd kept on him at all times by Hiruzen's suggestion, out, and felt along its shaft, feeling the seal carved into it for the first time. "This sealing formula is different than your father's is it not?"

Naruto nodded.

The man smiled, and waved gently as Naruto disappeared.

To his relief, Hiruzen-sensei's office was empty save the man himself, who looked up at his entrance. Naruto shifted embarrassedly as the Sandaime stood upon seeing his new attire. Hiruzen-sensei circled him, inspecting each and every element, looking for the slightest crease, the least significant detail that would reflect poorly on the village, and him, as a whole.

"It seems congratulations are in order, Godaime Hokage-dono."

"Sensei," Naruto muttered underneath his breath. Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled in amusement as continued his inspection of his successor. Naruto stayed straight-backed the entire time, not letting his apprehension show in the slightest, even though it was eerily apparent to the wizened Sandaime Hokage.

"Though," the Sandaime said, "This does put a damper on our plans for the young Uchiha."

Instantly Naruto perked, as he said, "It does, does it not Hiruzen-sensei?"

The Hokage looked around the room, and sighed. An awkward, uncomfortable silence settled between the two, as the Sandaime looked down at some papers that were flittered across his desk.

Naruto sat down on a seat in front of the desk, automatically subverting to the man that had raised, and trained him, for nearly his entire life. Hiruzen thought for a few moments, and sat down behind the desk as he closed his fingers and rested his chin on their bridge, before he sighed.

"I assume, Naruto-kun, that Daimyo-dono was less than pleased with Jiraiya's information?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes sensei, though it must be bad if the Daimyo is going so far. I haven't seen it."

"And I am guessing that he elevated you on the off chance that I die in the coming months."

Naruto nodded again. Hiruzen frowned, "Well, this is an interesting mess that the Daimyo has placed us in. We again have two Hokage, one still in need for an undercover mission that only he can perform, while the other is getting older by the day, with the weight of the village pressing down even more in this beleaguered state."

Naruto listened to his sensei, understanding both the problem, and equally not having a solution. As the silence spread on for ten minutes, the younger sighed and said, "Perhaps if Sandaime Hokage-sensei would tell me what information Jiraiya recovered I could help?"

The Sandaime looked at him, studying Naruto for the briefest moment before he opened his desk and pulled out a red and black scroll, which he handed to Naruto. As soon as he touched the scroll, the tattoo on his arm burned and he clenched his right fist, as he said, "You could have warned me, sensei!"

The Hokage chuckled, and said, "It will stop hurting after about a week, Naruto. Though that does answer my question on whether you were initiated correctly."

Naruto shrugged as he used his thumb to break the seal formula holding the scroll closed. As he unrolled the scroll, his eyes widened, and he cursed.

Report #10673: Spymaster

Mission: Locate the New Hidden Sound Village

Rank: A- to S-

Initial report:

The Village Hidden in Sound, a relatively new village by all standards, is attempting to become a major player. In the first six months, they have held recruitment drives, the majority of their troops made up of missing ninja. On 3 July, Spymaster received information from a source in the former Land of Rice Fields that the Jounin-oyabun of Sound was actively searching for an alliance with one of the big five.

Upon reflection, the information was obviously a trap set by the Jounin-oyabun, Konohagakure missing ninja, Orochimaru. At the time, however, the prospect of gaining a new ally that would strengthen the village was an opportunity too good to pass up. So, after finding and interrogating an Iwagakure missing ninja, who admittedly withstood many hours of enhanced interrogation techniques, Spymaster thought the information said ninja gave accurate.

He was led to believe that a recruitment officer, a genin Sunagakure missing ninja kunoichi, was waiting in one of the many brothels in the area. After an hours debate, Spymaster took the form of a well-known Sunagakure missing ninja jounin, and entered the brothel.

As soon as Spymaster entered his Henge no Jutsu failed for unknown reasons, and Spymaster was set upon by no less than ten jounin missing ninja from various villages. That, alas, proved to be a secondary trap, for when Spymaster's attention was focused on the jounin, the genin kunoichi slipped a tranquilizer through his defenses.

Spymaster woke almost an hour later in a room containing what appeared to be gravity and resistance seals covering the walls, strapped to a table with chakra absorbing seals etched into the metal surfaces, and Orochimaru and an unknown sound jounin standing over him.

They attempted to retrieve information on the Sandaime Hokage, and Konohagakure's defenses. Their interrogation tactics however, while harsh, were crude and Spymaster does not believe that he gave anything away. For about six hours, they used light enhanced interrogation tactics on Spymaster, with each tactic worse than the one before.

Finally after six hours, they stopped, promising a continuance to come at a later point. About a minute after they left, however, an unknown Konohagakure ANBU, Kuma, entered and proceeded to free Spymaster with an ease that Spymaster has not seen for many years.

At first, Spymaster thought it was a trick to reveal information, but when given the opportunity Kuma showed exactly who he was loyal too, by using an enhanced interrogation seal on the unknown jounin that reduced the male to a heap of skin. The current status of unknown jounin is not known.

After escaping the room, Spymaster proceeded to take down Orochimaru, going so far as to rip off the missing ninja's arms and beat him with them. Then, Kuma and Spymaster made their escape. The current status of Orochimaru is unknown.

While were making their escape, Kuma's Kage Bunshin no Jutsu proceeded to free almost two hundred captured ninja from all over the elemental nations, whom immediately sided in our escape attempts. Many of this newly freed ninja died in the escape, though final count of those successfully liberated number in the fifties.

In Orochimaru's attempts at interrogation, however, Spymaster believes he has ascertained the reason behind the tactics. It is the opinion of Spymaster, Gama Sannin no Jiraiya, that Orochimaru means to attack Konohagakure in the near future. It is further speculated that, in that event, that Orochimaru's main objective will be the death of the Sandaime Hokage.

Thus ends the report #10673

Naruto rolled the report back up, setting it down on the desk in front of him, before he turned his attention to the Sandaime. Hiruzen-sensei was studying his face as he said, "Do you see why Daimyo-dono moved up our time table so abruptly?"

"I do, Hiruzen-sensei. If the village was to come under attack, and you were to die, subversive elements in the village could take the opportunity to gain more power. With the Daimyo appointing me now, and not after your hypothetical death, we subvert those elements."

The Sandaime nodded. "Yes. But this makes our position a lot more difficult. By law and tradition, I should step aside gracefully and make your transition to Hokage easier. However, there are reasons I have not yet placed the village in your hands. The most important one is that you are not yet finished with your training. Yes, you are easily an A-ranked shinobi; however the forces moving against us are led by an S-ranked missing ninja.

Before I get to my proposal, I would like to know what you think, Godaime Hokage."

Naruto frowned, his mind analyzing the situation as he tried to come up with a scenario. "I don't know. Your reasons make since, and I know that we cannot allow anyone else to get close to the Uchiha, so I still need to complete that mission. But, I think the most important thing is that I get the training I need to become worthy of my new position."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled, and nodded. "Excellent reasoning, Naruto-kun, luckily, I think I have a plan. It will come as no surprise to you that no one thinks your team is ready for the Chunin Selection Examinations. Kakashi even said so, going so far as to point out Sasuke and Sakura's blatant attempts to subjugate him. That said, to change the teams at this point would kill the dynamic of the newest generation. The problem is that the old elements of the civilian council, have dedicated the vast majority of the past thirteen years playing to Uchiha Sasuke's ego and temperament, in the event that an opportunity presents itself he would speak on their behalf.

My thinking is this; those same subversive elements I have been talking about have already suggested that Kakashi take Sasuke on as his apprentice. Before now, I was adamant that not happen because it would leave Sakura and yourself without a sensei. However, today Yuuhi Kurenai, the jounin sensei for team eight, was approached by Sarutobi Asuma-kun in order to facilitate training for Yamanaka Ino that he could not perform.

Kurenai has, reluctantly, agreed to take Ino, and in the interest of fairness, any current genin kunoichi assuming they have their jounin sensei's permission, on in a temporary apprenticeship while her two male students go to Asuma or Kakashi for specialized training. Ironically, the training will last until the beginning of the exams. And while this would leave you without a suitable sensei, today a fortuitous event placed the perfect person within grasp."

"And who would my new sensei be, Hiruzen-sensei?"

The man smiled and said, "Why don't we go find him and see?"

Naruto watched as the Hokage stood, looking at the pile of paperwork before him, and earnestly determined to find a way around the horror.

The Sandaime lead him out of the building, absently pushing the door open, immediately gaining the attention of the three ANBU on duty. Naruto briefly wondered why they hadn't sensed his arrival, or reacted as they were trained to do.

As they walked down the spiral staircase, Hiruzen-sensei would wave absently to each person that spoke up, telling them things that made no sense to the Godaime, even going so far as to ask a newlywed woman how her honeymoon had gone.

They reached the outside within five minutes, and the Sandaime absently extended his chakra, a feeling that swept over Naruto, overwhelmed by the feeling of power at the old Hokage's disposal.

He followed suit, absently feeling out for the same source which Hiruzen-sensei seemed to latch on to, before resuming his journey.

"It is a beautiful day is it not, Naruto-kun?"

"It is, sensei," he said as the elder Hokage took a turn about a block away from the tower, going left as they approached the public bathhouses. To his shock, Jiraiya was leaning against the wall, giggling as he scratched something on his pad.

Sensei cleared his throat, a sound that had come to terrify Naruto, who noticed with wonder that it seemed to invoke the same feeling in the white-haired Sannin. Jiraiya stopped whatever it was he was doing, turning to and standing at attention in one instant second.

"Sensei," Jiraiya said monotonously as he looked at the two, after a second he said, "Kuma-san."

"Jiraiya," the Sandaime Hokage said, "Kuma just returned from a meeting with the Daimyo. At said meeting, Daimyo-dono decided to advance our plans, investing Kuma as the Godaime Hokage."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed and he said, "What does this have to do with me, Sensei?"

Hiruzen smiled, "We, both Kuma and I, agree that he is not yet ready to assume the office, and that a mission he was on is to important to abandon. Events, however, have conspired that make it that Kuma cannot continue in his current role without arising suspicion. I need you, therefore, to assume the position of Jounin sensei for Namikaze Naruto, codenamed Kuma, effective immediately."

Jiraiya looked at him and said, "And what of you, Godaime-sama? What can I teach you that Sensei cannot?"

Naruto sighed.

"I have received many letters over the years from my mother and father. Many of these letters detail their experiences with you, while others detail the techniques they new, and how to perform them. However, there are two techniques that my father specifically refused to put down on paper."

"Hiraishin and Rasengan?" the man guessed. Naruto shook.

"You're half right, Jiraiya-san, contrary to popular belief, my father did not create the Hiraishin no Jutsu. He merely refined its use. In fact, my father specifically said that you were the only person that could teach me Toad Summoning, as well as Rasengan."

Jiraiya knelt down in front of him for a few moments, then looked up at sensei, before saying, "Before I make a decision, Kuma-san, I have one final question. Why?"

Kuma stared at him, and then grinned, "Because, who better to teach the Godaime Hokage to embrace his heritage than his Godfather?"

Jiraiya guffawed and nodded, then said, "It would be my honor. Sensei, from now on I, Densetsu no Sannin, Jiraiya, will take over teaching Namikaze Naruto!"

The Sandaime nodded. Jiraiya then stood, totally serious, "If I'm going to do this, sensei, Naruto and I need to leave the village for the next month. We're going to need some space if I'm to effectively teach him the things I think he needs to know."

Hiruzen nodded. "Naruto," the man said authoritatively, "While you are gone, I will begin preparations for your ascension in two months, which I believe will be the earliest that you can take the position safely."

"Okay sensei," Naruto agreed, "I will try to be worthy of the position when I return."

Hiruzen nodded then said, "We will need a reason for your not being in the village."

Jiraiya smirked, 'Tell the old coots on the council that I have chosen my next apprentice, Sensei."

The Sandaime sighed but nodded.

"Naruto, we'll be traveling southward to Kaengakure no Sato, where we'll stay for a few days. While we're there, I'll begin on teaching you the Rasengan."

Naruto nodded and with a look to the Sandaime, the two headed off.

End