Chapter 1

Hiruzen Sarutobi lay on a hospital bed, unconscious, the toll of having fought one of his old students leaving him weak and closer to the realm of the Shinigami than ever before in his past. By the bedside, stood another of his students, Jiraiya, with a despondent expression on his face. His timely intervention in the later stages of the battle had led to this outcome. He shuddered, thinking what his sensei's state would be had he not intervened so fortunately. His summons had taken care of the rampaging snake summons Orochimaru had used to wreak havoc on the walls of Konoha. He had used a dual Rasengan (Spiralling sphere) to break open the Shishienjin (four purple flame formation) made by Orochimaru's bodyguards.

He then made five shadow clones, which proceeded to dispatch Orochimaru's bodyguards, his so-called elite ninja, thought Jiraiya with a smirk, who didn't last longer than ten minutes with his clones. When he saw one of them activate the cursed seal, he then began to take things seriously. That fat one, Jiro-something or the other, had lost it in the middle of the fight. He then tried activating the cursed seal. That was when two of the clones had used the Katon: Gamayu Endan (Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet) to set the unfortunate bastard on fire, ending his life before he could even power up. The clones then proceeded to kill the remainder of the sound four, only a girl with red hair that reminded him of Kushina managed to escape. Ah well, he'd get her next time.

Meanwhile, his other clone had taken his sensei to safety, leaving him facing his old wayward teammate, Orochimaru.

-Flashback-

"Well, Orochimaru, looks like nothing's gone your way today!" said Jiraiya, with a grin.

"Ukukukuku, Jiraiya, it seems you've managed to get in the way of my plan to destroy this Godforsaken village, again." Replied Orochimaru. "Well, it doesn't matter, now. I'll just kill you and then burn this place to the ground. The Jinchuuriki should be here soon, and that will be the end, Jiraiya."

Just then, the gigantic Shukaku outside the village was jumped on by what seemed to a gigantic toad, which cleaved its arm off. It then jumped back, and waited to make its next move. Orochimaru gritted his teeth, as he watched it transform into a nine-tailed fox that let out a roar, before rushing the sand tanuki sending them into a battle of gigantic proportions. He turned to see Jiraiya sending a wave of spikes from his now enlarged hair, which proved difficult to dodge. He took a few glancing hits, nothing too serious.

"Looks like your Jinchuuriki isn't coming." Said Jiraiya, with a smirk. "It's time to finish this!" He went through hand seals for his next attack and let loose another gigantic fireball. Toad oil was quite potent in its enhancement of fire jutsu, he mused, a simple fireball could become a flaming boulder.

Orochimaru was seemingly consumed by the flame, causing a big explosion. As the smoke settled, he heard the snake-like voice of his old teammate. Orochimaru had summoned one of the Rashomon gates.

"I'll kill you later, Jiraiya. It seems I've overstayed my welcome! Die!" He screamed, signalling a nearby snake summon, which in turn let out a large spray of acid. Jiraiya jumped back to avoid getting hit by the acid. Orochimaru then made his retreat.

-End flashback-

Jiraiya then finished off the rest of the attackers, drove them back, and finally attended a meeting with the assembled council, before coming to the hospital to see his now bedridden sensei.

He wondered about was to happen next. Hiruzen had been overcome by one of the greatest powers in the world: Time. Jiraiya knew that continuing to be Hokage would lead to his early demise. There were only a few others who could even possibly take over the position, him and Tsunade being the more obvious choices.

'Speaking of future Hokage,' he thought as a young blond boy entered the room.

Naruto had just woken up after having beaten Gaara. The guy had used some strange type of weird jutsu and let his tailed beast take over. Until, Naruto had hit him, though. He jumped on hit that pasty bastard hard. And that had cancelled the jutsu, effectively rendering Gaara useless. This was his best win yet.

But, he had heard from of the nurses of the Hokage being gravely injured in the invasion. This had effectively given Naruto to leave to find Hokage-jiji as soon as possible. And there he was, lying unconscious, looking weak and frail. "Jiji…" he said, staring at the resting form of the wizened village leader. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. Naruto thought of Hiruzen Sarutobi as a child would his grandfather. The very thought of losing someone to the orphaned blond boy was simply….simply…unfathomable. The very thought that he could die was not on any list of outcomes or possibilities on Naruto's mind. He was going to take the hat from Jiji after all.

"Not his best day, huh gaki?" said Jiraiya, from behind him.

Naruto turned around to look at the Toad sannin. "Ero-sennin, Jiji can't….be like this. He's the HOKAGE! I want to find the guy who did this and kick his ass!" Naruto stood, shaking, his hand balled up into fists.

"Woah, easy there, gaki, you're gonna have to get in line. Orochimaru isn't going to get off this one easy. I'll take care of him." Replied Jiraiya in an attempt to placate the young genin. Naruto seemed to be angry even then. Jiraiya put his hand on his shoulder. "Look, gaki, the only way you can make Orochimaru pay for this is if you get stronger. The way you are now, there's no way you could even touch him."

This snapped Naruto out of the hateful trance he seemed to be in. He looked at the old sage, as he told Naruto that he was basically nothing to the snake sannin. He knew he wasn't super strong yet. But he would be. He would be the strongest ninja in the whole village. He would be a Hokage, and protect those he cared about, those who were precious to him.

Naruto looked up at Hiruzen's prone form, and then back at Jiraiya. "Then I'll get stronger, then I'll become the strongest." Naruto's tear-filled eyes had a new determination, one Jiraiya hadn't seen before. In fact, it was eerily similar to someone he had trained in the past. Someone who possessed that exact face of determination. Someone who had been Hokage.

Two weeks later:

Naruto had been working very hard since he first saw his grandfather figure's unconscious frame. He had decided to start working harder and to spend more time training.

-Flashback-

"Ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya turned around to see Naruto running towards him. He smiled at the approaching boisterous boy. "Can we talk?" he asked, as he came close.

"Sure, kid. Give me a minute." He replied, and finished his lunch. "Come on, sit with me. I'm assuming this is about your training?"

"Yeah, I need your help." Was the reply from the blond genin, "I need you tell me what to do next. I'm sorta confused." Jiraiya looked up from the bowl of ramen he was eating. This was interesting. Naruto was never confused about training.

"What do you mean, Naruto? Do you want me to teach you a new jutsu?" The boy looked excited at the prospect, but then seemed to stop. "No, it's not that I don't want to learn a Justu. It's…It's…." he trailed off. Jiraiya looked at him, patiently waiting for him to put into words whatever it was he wanted to say.

"It's just…Jiji knew more jutsu than anyone I know…he's the smartest person I know. But Jiji used to say that there's more to being a ninja than just learning a bunch of cool jutsu, you know? And in the exams, I did good, I beat Neji but I don't know…"

"So, what you want to know is what else is there in being a ninja beside cool, flashy jutsu?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah." Came the reply. "I never really paid much attention in the academy, so, I don't remember much…" Naruto put his hand behind his head sheepishly. "I was hoping you could help me…"

"Alright, gaki. Come with me."

-End flashback-

Jiraiya had led him to a training field and had then given him a lecture about the different types of jutsu, the different types of chakra natures and the different types of things he could learn.

"A well-rounded shinobi should have decent skills in all the major areas: ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu. That way, no matter what kind of situation you're in, there'll usually be something you can do to get out of it. Taijutsu, when you have to fight in close; take your friend Lee, for example, he's the one who fought the Suna Jinchuuriki in the second round, right?"

At Naruto's affirming nod, he continued, "He's great at taijutsu. One of the best I've seen at his age. But, he can't learn anything else. That's his biggest weakness. You could easily put him in a genjutsu and then take him out. Or you could just him with ranged ninjutsu, he'd have to dodge. So, he's stuck having to work around all this. But that doesn't make him weak, no. It just makes him vulnerable when fighting someone who catches on to his weaknesses quickly.

If he were to cover all areas, then he could easily been one of the strongest genin in the exams. So, you have to cover all these areas to be a good ninja."

"Hm….Okay. So what do you think about me? I know I dunno any genjutsu, but I've got the taijutsu and ninjutsu to be strong, right?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Naruto, your taijutsu needs a lot of work. Your speed is bad. Your endurance is good though. You could benefit from learning a style, instead of brawling like you do now. And your ninjutsu repertoire isn't very good either. All you know is the shadow clone jutsu. That's good. But it's hardly enough. The summoning jutsu I taught you is a big step as you get more allies to work with in battle. But that's about it.

But the biggest point, is that you can't a genjutsu."

At Naruto's confused look, he began to elaborate. "You see, Naruto, casting genjutsu requires extremely precise chakra control. You have more chakra than most chunnin here. You can't learn to do genjutsu because you'd be stuck doing chakra control exercises until you turned thirty."

Naruto seemed to somewhat distraught by the news. "Aww..man, I was hoping to use some awesome badass illusions into scaring my enemies or something cool like that…" But, he brightened up. "That just means I'll have to be the best ninjutsu user ever! Alright!"

Jiraiya let out a peal of raucous laughter at the hothead's declaration. "But you still have to learn how to dispel them. Otherwise, you'd be a sitting duck, just the way you are now!"

"Can't you teach me some awesome ninjutsu first, then teach me about genjutsu?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Hm….that doesn't seem like a bad idea…" Jiraiya started, his fingers under chin in a thinking pose.

"And you would benefit from having another attack…." Naruto nodded, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"Plus I do know a lot of ninjutsu, it's one my specialities, you know…" Naruto was practically salivating at the prospect of learning some badass jutsu now.

"But where's the fun in that?! Let's do some boring genjutsu first!" said the toad sage, causing Naruto to face-fault.

"Baka- ero-sennin!" The boy shouted, amid loud laughter from the sage. "Take this! Sexy jutsu!" Naruto transformed into a naked blonde girl, and with a cry of "Jiraiya-sama" Jiraiya flew off with a nosebleed.

The blond transformed back and smirked. "That's all the ninjutsu I need."

The next day, his genjutsu training started. He met with Kakashi the next day. Kakashi was rather curious to see the initiative Naruto had taken and the 'change' in him, as Jiraiya had said. Wasn't this the kid who was always yelling about super-cool-badass-awesome-flashy-as-fuck jutsu? Ah, well, Kakashi thought, you learn something new every day. "Yo." He said to the lone genin sitting in the training field.

"Kakashi- sensei!" came an exuberant cry. Kakashi had to say, out of the whole genin team, Naruto was the one person who was truly fun to have around. He was always upbeat and energetic, which was quite refreshing, especially if you were a hardened anbu captain with years of experience in assassination, torture and the like. Kakashi gave Naruto his eye-smile.

"Well, Naruto, Master Jiraiya told me you needed help with genjutsu. Though I am curious, why didn't you come to me directly?" He said. Naruto looked down sheepishly, putting a hand behind his head.

"Well, sensei…you sorta left me alone to train with that Ebisu guy during the exams, and that's when I met Ero-sennin, so…." Kakashi's visible eye widened at the name 'Ero-sennin' as he listened to Naruto's explanation. It seemed Naruto was slightly hurt at being cast aside by his teacher. He would have to remedy that now.

"Well, Naruto, for what it's worth, I'm sorry that I left you alone like that out of the blue. To be honest, I thought you could handle it on your own. And you did. Your performance at the chunnin exams was amazing from what I heard from the others. I'm sorry I missed it."

"It's okay, sensei," said the bright boy, with a smile. "I want to get strong so I can be Hokage and protect my precious people, dattebayo! Let's start!"

"Also, Naruto, there's one other reason that I'd appreciate if you kept to yourself." Said Kakashi, leaning in. Naruto leaned in to get what he was saying. "I thought Sasuke needed my help more than you." Said Kakashi, his hand cupping his mouth.

"Really, sensei?" said Naruto, his eyes sparkling. "I'm stronger than you Sasuke-teme! Ha! Take that, ya lamebrain!" Naruto continued to spout all sorts of insults at Sasuke while Kakashi stood in the background, with a sweatdrop.

"Ha….maybe…I shouldn't have said that…."

After Naruto calmed down (Which was a small feat in itself), Kakshi began explaining the theory behind genjutsu disruption. Apparently, genjutsu users sent a small portion of their chakra into the target's system, which made them experience different kinds of illusions. The more skilled the genjutsu user, the more small the amount of chakra was.

"So, Naruto," said Kakashi. "The simplest technique to break most genjutsu is disrupt your chakra flow by holding it in for a few seconds and then releasing it all at once. Let me show you. Genjutsu Kai! (Genjutsu dissipation)" Naruto watched as Kakashi showed him how it was done.

"Now, remember, you can only use this once you know you are in a genjutsu. So, be wary of the signs that you are in an illusion. Like extreme visuals, or repetitive situations, for example. Anything out of the ordinary really. Just make to do it when in doubt. Now, I'm going to cast a basic genjutsu on you. It'll make you see some strange images. I want you to dispel it, okay?" Naruto nodded.

"Ready?" asked Kakashi. "Magen: Kyoten chiten(Demonic illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth change)!"

Naruto's surroundings began to change. He found himself suddenly surrounded by lava. He was standing on a rock surrounded by lava that was splashing. "Shit!" he shouted. "What the hell is this?! Okay, I know it's a genjutsu, but my body will think it's real if any of the lava hits me and react naturally. Okay, calm down, calm down."

Naruto then let out an abrupt burst of chakra. "Genjutsu kai!(Genjutsu dissipation)"

In a second, the training field was once more visible and Naruto was treated to the sight of his Jounin sensei reading porn publicly. "Sensei, I did it!" he cried. "Yatta!"

Kakshi looked up from the porn he was reading. 'Not bad,' he mused. He was able to do it quickly. 'Looks like starting him off with a C-rank jutsu wasn't a bad idea after all.' "Well done, Naruto." He said. "But you took five whole minutes to break out of that simple genjutsu. It looks like we're going to have to do it again so you can break out of it in under a minute. That way, your reaction time will be better."

"Alright, sensei! Let's do it!" cried Naruto. As Kakashi made the hand signs again, Naruto suddenly cried out, "Sensei, wait!" Kakashi stopped his rapid hand signs and again looked at Naruto. "What is it, Naruto?" he asked.

"I actually have a question, sensei."

"Shoot."

"If genjutsu are illusions, why do we feel them?"

Kakashi's visible eye bulged for a second. It was rare to see Naruto, of all people, want to know how genjutsu, of all the possible jutsu in the world, worked.

Naruto then continued, "Well, sensei, is it possible for a person to actually feel the effects of a genjutsu even though it's just an illusion? Because, my arms feel hot even though it was just an illusion."

'This is new,' mused Kakashi. Naruto being analytical was the last thing he expected from the energetic blond. But then again, he was the most unpredictable ninja Kakashi had ever met, so Kakashi figured he'd just go with it.

'Looks like I'm going to have to get a bit technical.' He then launched into an explanation of how genjutsu worked in depth, why they worked the way they did, the psychosomatic effects that were a result of the complexity of the human brain and the senses, and the effect chakra and genjutsu had on them.

What was most interesting to Kakashi was, Naruto was trying to understand everything he said. He was actually making an effort instead of passing this off as 'shit I won't get anyway' as he had one day dubbed it.

"So, what we feel is based on we actually think we feel, and genjutsu manipulate that, right?" he asked, once Kakashi was done. "Yes, Naruto, that's it in a nutshell." Replied Kakashi. "Well, are there genjutsu that manipulate reality itself? I mean, as in genjutsu that you can't avoid by not believing the illusion?" he asked.

"Hm….Naruto, there's an old clan in Konoha called the Kurama clan, that specializes in genjutsu. They are rumoured to be capable of doing genjutsu that actually make things happen in real life. The last prodigy, was, however, unable to control her powers and wound up killing her parents, thus effectively ending the clan."

Naruto had a rather flabbergasted expression on his face that Kakashi construed as shock. "Maa, Maa, Naruto, When a kekkei genkai manifests, if the user is unable to control it, they begin letting it loose at inopportune moments that can wreak havoc. And that's what happened in this unfortunate case."

"But, to have done that and look in the mirror….sensei…" Naruto started, his expression sorrowful, "I can't even imagine…"

"Calm down, Naruto, she's being taken care of by the anbu of the village. There's not much we can do for her anymore."

Naruto seemed to have a thoughtful look to him now, Kakashi noticed. "Maybe, maybe, we can all go and talk to her?" he asked, interestedly.

"Maybe, Naruto, maybe. Now let me continue." Kakashi said with an eye smile. "Then there are jutsu that are cast with the sharingan that are impossible to break."

"But sensei, I've never seen Sasuke-teme do a single one."

"Naruto, he just awoke his kekkei genkai. Give it time."

"Okay, what are these jutsu that you can't break?"

"Naruto, the sharingan is capable of different things and the Tsukuyomi(Moon Reader) is one of them. It puts you in a virtual dimension where the person who put you in the genjutsu, which is done through eye contact with the Mangekyo sharingan, can physically and mentally torture you for a period of thirty-six hours. As the sharingan is a kekkei genkai, it uses chakra which puts in the rather horrifying situation of being in a world where the caster has complete control." Explained Kakashi.

"But wouldn't that go against the psychosomatic effect you just talked about?" Naruto asked. "Well, sharingan is a form of yin release, Naruto. That is, to say, it manipulates intent and spiritual energy of life forms. So, you can't beat it by simple belief. It literally manipulates spiritual energy, so it's impossible for the victim to break out."

Naruto didn't seem to be convinced. "That seems to be missing out on some details, sensei…"

"Well, to be honest, Yin release isn't very well-known and there's very little knowledge about it. Jiraiya-sama might know more though…And I did simplify the explanation a little"

Naruto now seemed to be satisfied. "All right, sensei, let's continue. Thanks for telling me all about it!" He smiled again. But then, he seemed to think about something. His expression changed from a carefree smile to a more focused one. And then Kakashi saw it.

His eyes slightly squinted. His mouth seemed smaller. His hair seemed to as wild as it was now, only bigger. The whisker-marks weren't as visible anymore. It was like looking at the face of the man himself, with a steel expression on his face. 'Sensei…' said Kakashi, his lone eye widening.

"All right then, Naruto, let's continue!"

A week later, Naruto had managed to dispel mosty genjutsu that were B- rank and even many of the ones that were A-rank, but he had trouble doing them under one minute. Kakashi had been so pleased with his progress the first day that he had called over a friend, Kurenai Yuuhi to help Naruto dispel even more genjutsu.

So, for a week, Naruto had been subjected to some of the weirdest genjutsu he had ever seen. Some of them had seriously freaked the shit out of him. But he had managed to do remarkably well, in Kurenai's opinion. She deemed him able to fight most genjutsu users effectively by the end of the week.

Naruto's answering smile could have lit up the whole village.

It was at the end of the day that he had had news that the Hokage had finally woken up. 'Finally,' he thought, 'Jiji's awake!' He rushed to the hospital, jumping over the rooftops.

He ran in through the front entrance. He walked up to the receptionist there, a pretty young woman with brown hair. "Excuse me, lady, which room is the Hokage in?" he asked. "The woman seemed to look at him with the usual expression of the villagers for a moment, before something else found its way into her eyes. "Room 258. He's currently taking visitors." She said. "And thank you, for fighting that rampaging monster during the invasion." She added the last part rather hesitantly.

Now Naruto had always been ignored. Some people might have described him, usually by the anbu who captured him when he pulled his pranks, as a rather necessary evil or even an annoying fly that wouldn't just go away. These moments of being insulted provided something Naruto craved as any other human being: acknowledgement. But this, this was one of the few times he was ever acknowledged for something in a positive light. He put on his brightest smiles ever, saying, "Thanks. This is my home too." And quickly ran up the stairs to see his Jiji.

Once he was upstairs, when he neared the room Hiruzen was in, he saw a large number of people waiting to see the fallen Hokage. He smiled and waited outside the room for them to leave. He later peeped through the door after some people had left and saw that Konohamaru, his mom and Choji's sensei, talking to him. Konohamaru was crying. 'Heh, he's such a crybaby,' thought Naruto, as he sat outside the door.

Soon, Konohamaru left too, asleep and carried by his mother. Asuma, or Choji's sensei in Naruto's world, stopped as he passed by. "Naruto, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's me."

"He's waiting for ya, kid. Go on."

"Thanks, uh…"

"Asuma. Sarutobi Asuma."

"Thanks, Asuma-san! Tell Choji and Shikamaru I said hi!" said the exuberant boy as he ran inside.

When he walked in, he saw his Jiji sitting in a hospital gown on his bed. "Yo, Jiji!" he said, cheekily. "You finally awake?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I finally am. It's good to see you." Said the old Hokage, a smile on his wizened face.

"A-Are you better now, Jiji?" asked a now hesitant Naruto. Hiruzen smiled. He had spotted Naruto when he came to the hospital through the window. He was truly happy Naruto cared enough to wait so long.

"I am, Naruto-kun." Replied Hiruzen. "Jiraiya tells me that you've taken a more active interest in your training. I'm glad."

Naruto then proceeded to launch into the story of how he fought Gaara at the exams, and how he had been learning to dispel genjutsu over the past week. He told Hiruzen about his training with Kakashi and Kurenai and how he had become stronger. He even told him about the nice 'receptionist nee-chan' as he now dubbed her.

"…and that's it, Jiji!" the boy declared. "Kurenai-sensei told me I was now good enough to dispel most genjutsu I would find in ninja outside. This just proves it, Jiji! I'm going to be Hokage and protect my precious people!"

Hiruzen smiled. It seemed Naruto had found a new dream, one it seemed would give him strength. "That's great, Naruto-kun. I'm very happy that you are. After all, that's what being a Hokage is about. Protecting the whole village."

Naruto who had been listening with a smile all this time, suddenly froze.

The gravity of that one statement, had seemingly put a bunch of things in place for him that he hadn't thought of before.

Naruto had always thought of Hokage as the ultimate acknowledgement. The ultimate way to prove that he was someone people could love and care about. A way he could prove that he too, was someone they could depend on, trust.

Naruto looked at his Jiji with awe. The old Hokage had told him everything he could ever want to be in a single sentence. He now understood why the old man before him was the Hokage of the hidden leaf. He understood, at least a little, what it meant to be Hokage. The leaf shadow.

When Jiraiya had told him of Naruto's newfound maturity, the 'change' as he had called it, Hiruzen was slightly surprised. Naruto had never shown a mature side to him before. It was something to look forward to, even if he didn't fully believe it himself. Now, he could see it. The look on Naruto's face when he had said a single sentence about what being Hokage meant to him, that look of sheer focus was one he had seen once before.

"Jiji, thanks! That means a lot coming from you." The whiskered boy said, a megawatt smile on his face. "Think nothing of it, Naruto-kun, from a Hokage that's about to retire to one that will take up the seat in the future." He answered.

Naruto looked up again in surprise. "Jiji, a-are you going to retire?" He asked, his voice small.

Hiruzen sighed. "Naruto-kun, I'm old. You know this. I also was gravely injured by Orochimaru." He paused at the expression of fury on Naruto's face. An expression he had seen once before as well. He smiled. Jiraiya had missed something, it seemed. "So, if I continue to be the Hokage, the village will no longer be safe. So I must step down."

"Who's going to be the next Hokage, Jiji?" asked a now curious Naruto. "I would ask Jiraiya to do it, but his position as spymaster is not something that can be easily give up. He is too valuable to us that way. He stopped at the expression on Naruto's face. The boy seemed flabbergasted. "EH?! Don't make ero-sennin THE HOKAGE, JIJI!" he shouted. "He peeps too much already!"

Several nurses and female doctors looked out from rooms in the hallway towards Hirzuen's room, seemingly wondering the same thing.

'Who in God's name are they talking about?!'

They then heard a sound that hadn't been heard in years. Hiruzen Sarutobi's laughter. The sound coming from a man who had nary laughed in the past years. Laughter from a soul that had seen death, destruction and lived through it all. Laughter from a man who had sacrificed his whole life in service.

Naruto was slightly confused, but still smiled all the same. He had never heard his Jiji laugh before. It was nice. He wondered if this what it was like to have a grandfather.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been surprised many times in his youth, usually by enemies in the midst of the numerous battles and wars. He had rarely laughed since he took up the position of Hokage, the stresses that came with it were unconducive for that kind of thing. But this, this was pure gold. Called Jiraiya the pervy sage was something so poetically perfect. His laughter echoed throughout the halls, bringing smiles to the faces of those listening. The Hokage, it seemed, was retiring.

They both heard a sigh come from the window and it was pervy sage in question coming in, having heard the last part of their conversation. "Well, it certainly isn't that bad a nickname, right sensei?" he asked, grinning widely.

Hiruzen turned a smile his way. "Surely, Jiraiya-kun." He said. "Anyway, I want you to find Tsunade and bring her back. She's the only one who can take the hat now. And she's the only one who can bring back some of the strength that used to be in these old bones." Hiruzen had discovered that the stresses of Hokage life had gotten to him and that he needed to step down if he wanted to die peacefully. The doctors had confirmed that much.

"Tsunade, eh? Well, you'd have a better chance trying to get pigs to fly. You sure you don't want gaki here to take the hat?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "Tell her to come here first, Jiraiya-kun. Tell her I need her help to get better. She will listen. Then tell her that I want her to take the position of Hokage."

"Well, then that's decided. Naruto, you're coming with me. Go pack. We leave tomorrow." Said Jiraiya. Naruto nodded, smiled and bade goodbye to Hiruzen and told "ero-sennin" that he would see him tomorrow, amid chuckles from Hiruzen.

"Well, Jiraiya, it seems you were right. He has become more like his father." He said, as the blond left.

"I told ya, sensei. That boy is going to become a legend, just like his father."

"Well, you did miss something though."

"What?"

"Did you see the look on his face when I mentioned Orochimaru? I know you were there, watching from the window."

"Yeah….that did seem a bit familiar…" The toad sage scratched his chin. "I know I've seen that before."

Hiruzen smiled, looking out the window at the setting sun. "It seems both the Yellow Flash and Red-Hot Habanero still live on." He could see a yound blond wearning orange run towards the Monument.