Uzumaki Naruto is a smart boy. It is a fact that he acknowledges and understands, because that's what everyone tells him so it must be true.

Tsukimi, the orphanage matron, is the one who tells him this the most. She is different from other people because she has deep lines on her face and her hair is grey. When he asks her why that is, she tells him that it's because when people get very old, they start showing signs of aging. The old woman is nice. She gives him and the other kids sweets sometimes when they're good but sometimes has difficulty getting all of them to bed.

But not all adults are like she is, Naruto notices. Sometimes there is an old man that people call 'Hokage-sama' even though he isn't Hokage anymore, and he stops by to see how the older kids who became Genin are doing. He seems nice, but he looks at Naruto strangely, tells him that he was a friend of Naruto's parents but won't actually say their names when Naruto asks. Politely, even. Sometimes.

Naruto ignores this however. If the old fart doesn't have anything good to tell him, then Naruto isn't going to listen.

So because the retired (a word he learned from Tsukimi-baachan) Hokage wouldn't teach him anything, and the Genin kids always ignore him, he tried rummaging through the old books that the orphanage had to find anything that could help. He eventually finds a discarded and wrecked book that one of the Academy students threw away, and after skimming through the pages that weren't destroyed he finds something called the 'leaf-sticking exercise'.

He wants to learn it. Apparently, chakra control is something that people need to learn in order to be a shinobi, and Naruto desperately wants to be one. His drive for it was quite simple.

One day, when Tsukimi-baachan's back was turned, an older boy snatched a locket from a girl that was Naruto's age. The girl cried and begged him to give it back, saying that it was the only thing that she owned that had her parents' faces in it.

Naruto didn't know he could get so angry, but he did and punched the older boy in the face, just like the Genin kids punched the dummies outside. The boy dropped the locket and started crying louder than the girl, whining for Tsukimi-baachan at the top of his lungs, and Naruto is so completely satisfied with the hug he gets for returning the girls locket that it makes the scolding he gets utterly worth it.

It had been so thrilling, and it was then that Naruto decided he was going to be a shinobi. Even if he didn't understand which he liked more between fighting and the girl's hug. The older boy hasn't tried picking on anyone since.

Disregarding his motive for a moment, he still needs permission to go out.

"Tsukimi-baachan?" Naruto looks up at the matron. She seems to be in a good mood today.

"Yes Naruto-kun?" She gives her usual smile.

"Can I go outside to the trees?" Naruto pleads. It is one of his favorite things to do because he always gets to see the shinobi kids training and jumping from tree to tree. Even though that isn't what he's going outside for this time.

Tsukimi sighs, but her smile doesn't go away. Another thing that confuses him.

"You can Naruto-kun, but you have to promise me something."

"Promise what?" Naruto's brow furrows.

"Be back before the sun is down, or I'll have to call the shinobi to come get you." Tsukimi looks down at him in a way that said that he probably shouldn't disobey.

"I promise." Naruto nods resolutely.

Tsukimi just manages to ruffle his hair before running off.

Naruto doesn't bother to hide his grin. He finally gets to train!

Hatake Kakashi is a weary shinobi. Young, but weary. It is a fact that he acknowledges and understands, because it means that the people around him won't shut up about him needing some time off.

During and after the Third Shinobi World War, Kakashi had what was either a slew of bad luck, or the gods had decided 'fuck this person in particular'. His first friend had died saving their teammate, giving him a gift that no amount of money or gold could equate to, and then he was forced to kill said teammate for the sake of keeping Konoha safe.

The death of his much-loved Sensei followed, taking with him the woman that he considered an older sister. Things had not been looking up for him at that point, but he endured.

After the Kyuubi Attack, Sandaime-sama delegated the next Hokage to be Tsunade. Kakashi distinctly remembers the shouting match that followed this decision, but Tsunade-sama eventually capitulated and became the Godaime Hokage. She is a good Hokage, Kakashi knows, if a little bit temperamental.

Her actions regarding Kumo's attempt to kidnap the Hyuuga heiress was something that cemented his faith in her as a leader. She had been utterly ruthless with them. They had knowingly used Konoha's good will against them and tested the waters too deep. They threatened war against Konoha for killing their ambassador/kidnapper, to which Tsunade retorted that they had already taken on the world three times now and if Kumo wanted to fight, they wouldn't have a village to fight for afterwards. She could not be cowed with threats, and she knew they could not be defeated right now.

Kumogakure was sent home with their tails between their legs, and their reputation in tatters. Kakashi is vindictively pleased by this. Not only does it improve Konoha's standing in the eyes of non-shinobi in terms of strength and sense of justice, but a guiltless little girl gets to keep her livelihood and her family remains unbroken. Family is something that he appreciates greatly.

Kakashi thinks privately that recent ally Sunagakure is impressed with Tsunade's attitude as well, made evident by the large jug of very expensive sake sent to her by the Kazekage as a token of goodwill.

It's been five long years since that night the Kyuubi appeared. Things aren't getting worse for him, but despite some notable moments, they aren't really getting much better either.

He is an ANBU still, rising to captaincy since being placed here by his Sensei before his passing. And everything is a blur these days. Wake up - eat - mission - come home - eat - shower - sleep. It is routine and boring but he doesn't know what else to do. He doesn't have experience with other matters like friendship and love. He takes notice of women and wonders what it would be like to have a wife but he isn't bold enough with them to make an advance.

He tries to ignore his regular woes however, and focuses on his duty. He is still on patrol after all. It wouldn't do well to have something bad happen under his watch. He has some attachment to his own credibility after all.

Lost in his own thoughts, he unintentionally meanders into riverside park.

Kakashi sees a boy with eyes and hair like Obito's. The spiky locks are a bit longer though, looking more like Sensei. His face looks a bit more focused than Obito's ever did around that age. The boy is carrying a tattered book under one arm and a water bottle in the other. He is whimsically intrigued, and tries to catch his scent on the wind to see if the boy was related to anyone he knew-

-And he pauses. The boy's looks are familiar, but the scent is more so. He knows this scent like the back of his hand, and his mind blanks in conflict with joy and shame.

This boy looks nothing like the two who sired him, but there is no question that he is theirs. Genes were funny sometimes. But this boy was meant to be his family. Kakashi often wonders what it might have been like. Him being the older brother, Sensei being the long-suffering but stern father, and Kushina, the fiery and embarrassing but loving and effective mother.

Sarutobi told him that Naruto was dead.

Sarutobi was about to be dead.

Uchiha Madara is older than dirt. It is a fact that he acknowledges and understands, because it means that his time is running out.

He had lived far longer than any normal human being should be conceivably possible to do, even the Uzumaki.

After the battle with Hashirama in the valley and the subsequent faking of his death, he'd spent decades cultivating the DNA that he'd taken in an attempt to prolong his life and achieve the power that the stone tablet spoke of. But Madara had not been idle. In between his experiments with Hashirama's chakra and flesh, he'd been out in the world, trying to remember why he fought to bring peace to the war-torn lands of the Elemental Nations.

And the answer came to him after many years, in the form of a stubborn crimson-haired woman and the equally fiery child she bore him. His natural protective instincts brought themselves to the surface of his mind with a vengeance, after all, the daughter of Uchiha Madara would be hunted until her last days. With some advice from his new wife, he developed a Juinjutsu to be placed on Kushina's heart which would seal away her Uchiha power before it could surface.

Her once black hair turned as red as her mothers, and her eyes violet. And so it was that Uchiha Kushina became Uzumaki Kushina, whose chakra was still so abnormally strong that Konoha decided that their previous Jinchuuriki had run its course and it was time to replace her with someone younger and more powerful. Madara's opinion of Konoha had lowered further than he thought it could be at this point, but at least knew Kushina would be kept safe. He had already been old by the time Kushina was born, and his dear wife Haruka's health had been failing. And at least this way he could still watch Kushina from the shadows.

His plan went back into motion, but he always kept his eyes on Konoha. Kushina only ever knew him as "Otou-san", so she remained ignorant for the most part about her heritage. Haruka sent a message to Kushina telling her that Madara had passed away peacefully in his sleep a year after her departure. She left out his actual name, but the stone on his empty grave read 'Uzumaki Izuna'. He hoped his brother didn't mind but knew that Izuna would have liked Haruka, even if he wouldn't like the rest of the Uzumaki.

Over time, Madara's bitterness for the Shinobi World started to come back. Everywhere he looked, there was some form of misery to be found. His wife was falling incurably ill, the side-effect of being treated with infected tools after a scuffle with some Iwa Shinobi prodding Uzu's borders. Smaller nations suffered, with orphans created by selfish larger nations. Around every corner of the world, the shinobi nations caused pain.

Haruka's death had only made Madara accelerate his plans. By then he had awakened the Rinnegan and summoned the Gedo Mazo before he transplanted the eyes into an Uzumaki orphan whose own chakra would sustain the eyes, whilst keeping a spare eye on a boy who held greater potential than even Namikaze Minato or the Sandaime Hokage.

As time passed and Obito was in his clutches, he entrusted Kuro Zetsu and Obito to enact the plan and once again faked his death by using Izanagi, programmed to bring him back after five years. After transplanting his original eyes back into himself, he spent some time evaluating the changes to the world and one single, glaring fact stood out and made Madara's blood boil.

Kushina is dead. She and her husband died after Obito ripped the Kyuubi out of her, which told Madara something else; that Kushina had also been pregnant.

But apparently, Kushina had sense that Madara didn't know she was capable of, and before the Yondaime could seal away the Kyuubi into their newborn son, she teleported it away with an advanced Jikukan-Ninjutsu that took the full remainder of her chakra and lifeforce to do but left the child without any Kyuubi sealed in him. Kushina would have died anyway with the Kyuubi ripped out of her, but Madara admired that even on the brink of death, Kushina would not let her son be used for Konoha's 'Greater Good'. Sacrifices needed to be made, but Konoha's reliance on the Bijuu to maintain the imaginary balance of power was pure weakness.

As much as he hated the fact that Kushina was dead, it may very well have been the best decision. If she had sealed the Kyuubi back into herself, she wouldn't have been able to avoid attention from village officials that would attempt to weaponize her. It would have painted a huge target on her back for not only spiteful villagers but other greedy nations.

Minato had died too in a combination of chakra exhaustion and giant-claw-through-the-stomach but Madara didn't mourn the man. Such loyalty to a place like Konoha was enough for Madara to dislike him, and with his grandson now free of the Minato's influence, the boy could be taught to think for himself like a true Uchiha should. Madara didn't doubt that Minato would have tried to get Naruto into the trap of 'village above all' and be self-sacrificial.

Madara sighed and stood up, his ancient bones actually creaking as he did so. He knew he didn't have much time left and Hashirama's DNA would only support him for so long, but he could at least spend his last years raising his grandson and turning him into every bit the legend Madara himself was.

He would make sure of it.

Spiky black hair with a slight blue tint. Check.

Charcoal-black eyes and a fair but healthy skin tone. Check.

Unnaturally powerful chakra and abnormally large reserves. Check.

This was definitely his grandson. If it weren't for a DNA test or being able to sense the chakra similarities, no-one would have guessed he was Kushina or Minato's son too. The resemblance between Naruto and a young Madara was startling. If he were to hazard a guess, he would say that Naruto as a five-year old had as much chakra as Madara himself did at almost eight. Something easily attributed to his Uzumaki genes combined with the Uchiha.

Taking a closer look, he saw that the boy was sitting underneath a tree by the artificial extension of Naka River that ran through Konoha from one side to another. This area was particularly quiet regarding civilian foot traffic, which was probably why Naruto chose it for the little chakra control exercise he was doing. It didn't surprise him that such a serene place could be found in Konoha. It was a very large village and there were even a few large parks that could be mistaken as forests within the walls.

A leaf was stuck to his forehead. By the bored look on the boy's face, Madara could tell that Naruto had been there a while and had most likely mastered the exercise not long ago. He inwardly praised the patience it took; with reserves like Naruto's, he'd probably been out for hours. Still, that control would remain with him for the rest of his life.

Madara also reasoned that now that Naruto had mastered the exercise he grew bored with nothing else to occupy him. He looks up to the sky. Perfect. It's only mid-day, giving Madara the opportunity to confront the boy and get the ball rolling.

He stepped out of the trees, purposefully brushing his legs against a bush to get the boy's attention. Sure enough Naruto looked his way and eyed him with all the suspicion a five-year-old could muster.

"Hello, child." Madara greets in his aged baritone, as though it isn't strange for an old man in a cloak to be approaching a young boy.

"Hello." Naruto replied politely but still suspicious.

"I noticed that you were practicing chakra control while out on my walk. Are you training to become a shinobi?" Madara asked, spinning a conversation as a typical old man would.

"Yeah," Naruto seemed to relax and a bit of excitement entered his expression. "I can stick a leaf to my forehead now!"

"Very impressive for someone your age." Madara commended. "How long did it take you?"

"I dunno," Naruto shrugs boredly. "But it was ages. I came out when I woke up."

"How did you learn the leaf-sticking exercise? You have to be much older to join the Academy." Madara was genuinely a bit curious.

"I read it in an old book at the orphanage!" Naruto reveals, looking proud, but the look was replaced with an annoyed frown. "The rest of the book was all wrecked though. I don't know what to do now."

Madara's lips twitched. So that was why he was looking so bored earlier.

"You must be good at reading then?" He asks conversationally.

Naruto nods, expression proud. "Yeah! Tsukimi-baachan lets me go early since the other kids can't read so well yet."

The woes of advancing faster than your peers. Prodigies often knew it too well.

"You know, I could teach you something too." Madara offers slyly.

"Like what?" Naruto walks up to him, reservations and suspicion temporarily forgotten. Madara nearly smiles, wondering if he had ever been this trusting as a child.

"Well, I could teach you some more chakra control. I was a shinobi once too, you know. A strong one." Madara reveals.

"Really?" Naruto seemed doubtful. Most likely thinking an old man couldn't really be strong.

"How about we make a deal? If you can master this new exercise before the day is up, I'll come back and teach you Ninjutsu tomorrow."

Naruto is almost visibly vibrating in excitement. Madara went into an explanation about what the tree-climbing exercise was, along with a quick demonstration. Naruto soaked up everything the old man had to say, and just before he began his own attempts at the exercise, he poses a question.

"Hey Jii-san, what's your name?"

"It's polite to give your name first." The old man chastised mildly.

Naruto looked a bit embarrassed at the reprimand but spoke up. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Well, Naruto. You can call me Madara. Now get to it, the day won't last forever."

As Naruto sped up the tree and made it a not-so-astonishing three steps up before falling flat on his back, Madara thought that things had gone better than he could have expected them to. In time he would reveal the truth to Naruto about his heritage, but for now-

"Oof!" Naruto wheezed again after failing.

He wouldn't mind a few more days like this before he died again. They were few and far in between in his life.

Naruto wasn't fully Uchiha. He was an Uzumaki, a Senju by principle. He took traits from both and yet, he seemed to be something entirely different. Madara watched as Naruto confidently jumped down from the top of the tree and landed softly on the dirt road, a feat that probably would have at least fractured the bones of any other child his age.

But the differences were all physical, except in appearance. Naruto's chakra was already strong without training, and his body was more durable in every way when compared to an Uchiha or Senju child. When it came to looks and personality however, Naruto was truly Madara's grandson, especially regarding their minds. He snapped back at Madara when he teased the boy, and he made more and more progress up the tree with every failure.

Madara didn't let these thoughts distract him from raising Naruto. If anything, the presence of an Uzumaki body would merely enhance the boy's pre-existing natural talents such as the Sharingan and chakra strength to a greater level of potential. To what level was anyone's guess, seeing as the natural birth of an Uchiha and Uzumaki child in one had never occurred during the entire duration of recorded history, Kushina being a modified exception.

On top of that, Madara was different to every other Uchiha who had ever awoken the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. He managed to reproduce before dying. Even he couldn't predict what kind of effects that would have on Naruto, being the only descendant of someone like him. Worst case? It meant nothing. Best case would be freedom from a curse.

In fact, Madara may very well have died before attaining the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and never discovered the 'solution' to its crippling, inevitable blindness. He was haunted by the loss of Izuna, and in his grief took the only thing he could to continue the fight. Izuna's eyes had never failed him.

Madara would always remember that day. The day he lost his last brother, and the trust of his clan.

"I did it!" Naruto cheers, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I got to the top! You said that you would teach me Ninjutsu!"

"I said that I would teach you one, and tomorrow." Madara's cracked lips twitch. "It's getting late, Naruto."

The sun was nearly down already. As much as he would like to spend more time with Naruto, it would be suspicious if the boy didn't go back to the orphanage. And from what Madara understood, this was the first time that Naruto had ever trained in the Shinobi arts. No matter how much energy and chakra Naruto had, his body wasn't ready for that level of rigorous training yet. Madara would wait until he was certain that Naruto could handle it.

Naruto looks around and notices that it's getting dark. His lips tilt down.

"I should go, Jii-san."

"Goodnight, Naruto. Come back early tomorrow for that jutsu." Madara nods stoically.

Naruto smiles a bit tiredly, but picks up his book and water bottle and turns down the beaten path.

"Naruto."

The boy looks back and takes in Madara's sharp expression.

"Don't tell anyone about me. Not even the person you trust the most."

Naruto picks up on the seriousness in his tone, and gives him a nod.

His expression slackens. The younger between them gives him a wave and runs off.

"That brat." Madara chuckles wryly.

Only five-years-old and mastering Genin-level chakra control exercises. Two in one day. That kind of determination was scary in the shinobi world, especially with a lineage like his. He hadn't asked for help, instead going purely on trial and error.

He heaves a deep sigh and manages to pick himself up off the bench, using his cane for balance. Things can be taken slowly for now but he is still plotting. He toils over a plan in his head on how to make his grandson reach his full potential. He is not a good man, but he would do anything for his loved ones.

Madara does not stop thinking until he reaches the village wall and the stars are out. He is careful in making sure that no village guard sees him and taps a part of the wall lightly with his cane, just hard enough to push a panel in.

A wooden hatch opens up, enough for him to duck under without too much stress on his back. He built this entrance to an underground hideout for his personal use up until he left the village. Judging by the amount of dust that had gathered and how his belongings were all untouched it seemed as though no-one had yet discovered it.

No matter. For now, it was just a place to hide between the times that he got to see Naruto.

He takes a seat on the wooden throne, dust exploding from the cushion despite the gentle dip, and falls into a deep sleep instantly.

Naruto drops into his bed after he eats dinner and has a bath.

"Big day, Naruto-chan?" Tsukimi teases after tucking him in.

He doesn't answer. But he does let out a quiet snore into his pillow.

Hiruzen has barely a chance to blink before he is picked up by his throat and slammed against the wall of his office.

He does take note of a masked man with a red left eye, giving him a glare of pure hatred. Oh dear. This wasn't how he expected his evening to go.

"Ka-Kakashi!" Sarutobi splutters, choking on his words.

"You lied to me." Kakashi's voice is comparatively calm compared to his eyes.

Someone steps into the room and gasps in shock.

"Kakashi! What are you doing?!" The newcomer shrieks. Sarutobi recognizes it as Shizune, Tsunade's young apprentice.

"You told me that he was dead, so why-" Kakashi's grip tightens. "-did I find a child with Sensei's and Kushina's scent?!"

The copy-nin's voice rose with every word, angrier and angrier. Sarutobi cannot answer. Partly because he doesn't think that the 'for your own good and his' excuse will do anything to soothe the ANBU's anger. Mostly because his throat was being crushed.

Suddenly he is dropped and he falls to his knees. He gasps for air, mouth moving like a fish out of water.

"Kakashi!" Another voice barks. Tsunade this time. "What the hell was that about?! Answer me!"

"He told me that Naruto was dead!" Kakashi's voice is consumed in frustration, enough to ignore protocol. "I found Naruto playing near the river. Why... Why wasn't I told?"

"Naruto?" Tsunade's hard tone is replaced by confusion. "What do you mean you thought he was dead?"

Sarutobi realises that things will not go well for him when she finds out what he has done.

"After Sensei and Kushina-" Kakashi swallows thickly. "-died, Sarutobi told me that their son was dead. But I found him. He was meant to be my responsibility."

"Kakashi, I need you to calm down."

Kakashi heeds her words, but does not stop his hateful glare.

"What's your excuse?" Tsunade asks him, a bit menacingly. "Lying to one of my Shinobi like this?"

"The village-" he rasped desperately. "The village was weak. Kakashi-kun was needed-"

"Kakashi would be of greater use with passable mental health. You're going to have to come up with something better for undermining my authority like this." Tsunade interrupts him ruthlessly.

Tsunade turns away from him in mute disgust. It breaks his heart that another one of his precious students feels that way about him.

"Shizune, take Kakashi to the waiting room." Tsunade orders. "I need to have a word with my former advisor."

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune hoops her arm around Kakashi's and drags him out, pointedly looking away from Hiruzen. Kakashi allows her to lead him out, but his Sharingan is glinting more viciously than any Uchiha that the old man has ever met.

There is a moment of silence while the Sandaime drags himself back into his chair. He wasn't going to lie to himself, he was truly terrified of what Kakashi could have done to him if Shizune-chan and Tsunade hadn't been there to save him. There was a reason that he was only an advising old man. He was well and truly beyond any combat capacity he might have had a mere few years earlier.

"I don't think that I need to tell you that you're being asked to leave." Tsunade starts off. "This manipulative behavior has a time and place, when it serves to protect Konoha and its subjects. Hiding this from Kakashi was a bad idea, but what I'm confused about is why you thought it would even work, even if it had been the right thing to do. I can't trust your input any longer."

The hardness in her tone has returned. But it is the truth that hurts him more. So he nods silently.

"Good." Tsunade nods in satisfaction.

Tsunade steps out of the room, no-doubt to assess Kakashi's current state. Hiruzen silently despairs at her cold dismissal, but having things put into perspective like that makes him realise that he had probably only made things worse, and he knows that he has brought his suffering upon himself.

Deep down, Hiruzen acknowledges that maybe he had put the village itself before the subjects too often. He thought he was doing what was best, but it should have been obvious that an emotionally traumatized boy like Kakashi could have been thrown completely off the deep end and become a gigantic flight-risk... because of his stupidity. Kakashi's constant enduring of under-appreciation and mental stress speaks well of his character, but not of the people he is supposed to protect. They remain ignorant of the perils he goes through each and every day.

Hiruzen wipes his eyes and picks up his belongings. He has no right to interfere anymore. Orochimaru was lost to him long ago and Tsunade was seeing him for what he truly was. He only hoped that his last student would see him as he always had.

Tsunade sighs as she steps into the hall. It was just one thing after another today.

Though to be fair, she hadn't expected Kakashi of all people to assault a former Hokage. Seeing Naruto must have riled him up beyond his normal sense of calm.

Naruto... she'd heard whispers of another prodigy-to-be from teams that babysat at the orphanage. They would complain about one boy in particular that was a handful, even for the Jounin. He showed a remarkable ability to pick up what he watched, and the story about him getting into a fight over some girl's pendant still made her smile.

She thought back to his parents. She wasn't actually well acquainted with Kushina, despite the relation, but she did know Minato. Mostly because Jiraiya wouldn't shut up about him when the kid was his student and always brought Minato with him when he saw Tsunade, if only to show him off. The kid was flaky and annoying but both he and Kushina had been taken before their time. Nobody deserves dying with the knowledge that their child's future is uncertain.

'And there's Kakashi too.' Tsunade sighs again as she steps into the conference room, where she sees Shizune chattering to a quiet Kakashi.

The kid had seriously been through some tough shit. Having to look after himself after his father commits suicide and finding the body himself one night was bound to have some psychological effect on him, but then proceeding to lose two close friends (one of which he had to kill) and a Sensei that was probably more like a father-figure to him, it was going to get to the point that Kakashi just wouldn't be able to keep himself afloat in his own despair. She needed to do something immediately.

She thinks back to Sakumo. The man had no attachment or bonds to help his mental state save for his son, but wasn't discouraged from doing the 'honourable' thing and removing himself from Kakashi's life. With the way things were going, Kakashi may very well do the same thing as an escape from being unable to cope with his losses.

Tsunade toils over it for a while, watching Shizune comfort Kakashi out of the corner of her eye, and thinks she may have a plan.

She strides into the room and plants herself in front of the frozen ANBU.

"Alright kid, this is how it's going to be." Tsunade puts on her best stern voice. "I'm giving you another five years in ANBU at maximum, after that, you're going to become a Jounin-sensei."

Kakashi's face becomes instantly disbelieving and he nearly shoots out of his chair to protest, but Tsunade is quick to settle him down.

"You can, of course, send your new subordinates back to the Academy if they fail your test, but at the end of the next five-years, you will not be returning to ANBU. For all intents and purposes, you will be another public Jounin."

Kakashi looks quite flabbergasted when she is done, making her smirk with open amusement. Shizune seems hopeful, and Tsunade knows that her student is concerned for Kakashi for more than one reason.

The Jounin isn't exactly fit to take care of a child in the capacity of a family member, but she thinks that he can probably take up a position as a sensei and help not only his students, but himself.

After a few silent minutes, Kakashi breathes out a resigned breath and manages to say only one thing.

"Hai."

Tsunade smiles, and hopes that she has done right by the kid.

"We can talk about your assault of a Konoha citizen another time. And your enrollment in an instructors course to see if you actually are fit to teach Genin. You over reacted. Badly. You're going to be punished, regardless of your station.

Kakashi's head droops.

AN: Got bored of reading and decided to write some. Don't expect regular updates, I'll write when I please.

07/10/2022 update:

Stop reading if you don't like the story. Stop reading if you don't like any story on this site. You are not obligated to keep reading, you're not paid to keep reading, it's free entertainment for those among you who enjoy it. I don't want criticism because I ignore it anyway, I don't care if you don't like how similar or not this story is to canon. I started writing this as an outlet for my own ideas, it will not be twisted or warped to suit what the readers want. If you want canon, go watch or read it. If you don't like this story for its similarities or deviations to/from canon, stop what you're doing and just leave. You have better things to be doing with your time, evidently.

If you don't like it, it's clearly not for you then. Don't leave absolutely dumb shit reviews complaining, and go find another story, or maybe write one of your own.

There is already something you can do if you want rich world building and different universes that deviate from what you're used to. It's called reading an actual book.

The absolutely entitled behavior of some people on this site leaves something to be desired.

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THIS FICTION ANDA NARUTO DON'T BELONG TO ME