Naruto did so and his hand went to his head, feeling the cold metal and notched grooves of a Konoha head band. Iruka had his goggles in his hand.
"Congratulations! You graduate!" Iruka said with pride. "And to celebrate, we're going out for ramen tonight!"
Naruto smiled and was hard pressed not to cry. He decided to hide his tears by jumping on Iruka in a hug. "Iruka-sensei!"
"Owowow, Naruto that hurts!" Iruka said, though he was pleased to see the boy so excited.
"Thank you Iruka-kun, you may leave for now," Sarutobi said as Iruka escorted Naruto to his office. It was late and Iruka and Naruto had just gone out for some ramen after a clone had given Sarutobi the forbidden scroll. However he had wanted to talk to Naruto and make sure he was alright.
"Um… sure Hokage-Sama," Iruka said, "I'll see you in a week Naruto."
As Iruka closed the door behind him, Sarutobi turned to look at Naruto.
"Naruto…" Sarutobi started, only to stop as Naruto launched himself at him, grabbing onto the old Hokage as he cried. Sarutobi was actually surprised, in all his years of knowing the blond he had only ever seen him cry once. The one time he had gone out to the Kyuubi festival and gotten beaten by a group of drunk villagers.
I guess what he learned today was too much for him to take, Sarutobi thought as he wrapped Naruto in a hug.
"Sorry… Jiji," Naruto said with a small hic up.
"For what?" Sarutobi asked, amused. "The scroll his back, you helped me root out a traitor and just became a genin…"
"I got your robes wet," Naruto pointed at the small wet spot from his crying.
The Sandaime looked down to see that his robes were indeed wet from Naruto's tears. Sarutobi held in a snort of amusement, of all the things Naruto could be sorry for, it was for getting his robes wet.
"Jiji," Naruto said in an abnormally quiet voice. "Is it true? What Mizuki-s- Mizuki said?"
Sarutobi sighed, he had known this was coming at some point and had hoped to have some time to prepare for it. "It is…"
"So I am a demon…" Naruto said, looking down at the ground, tears forming in his eyes.
Sarutobi grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, making the blond look up at him. "Naruto, I want you to listen carefully. You are not a demon. When the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi into you, he had made it his dying wish for you to be seen as a hero."
"A hero?" Naruto questioned, getting a nod from Sarutobi. "Why?"
"Because Naruto, it is only thanks to you that the Kyuubi is safely locked away. You are the entire reason that Konoha is still standing today," Sarutobi said.
"Really?" Naruto asked, his voice a little hopeful.
"Yes," Sarutobi said, "you are the hero of Konoha."
"Then, how come every one hates me?" the blond asked.
Sarutobi sighed, "they don't hate you Naruto… They just don't understand, sealing, or fuiinjutsu as it's called, is one of the most obscure ninja arts there is, and the hardest to master. Very few people understand this, and so when something like a demon gets sealed into somebody, they are unsure whether the seal can really hold something like that, a being of such power in. you have to understand that when the Kyuubi attacked, many good ninja died that day, and because of that they are unwilling to accept you, fearing that you are really just the Kyuubi in human form."
Naruto frowned, that made sense, in some sick and twisted way. But now that he knew why he was hated, he had to wonder what he should do. Would people be able to accept him? Could he get people to see past the Kyuubi and look at him as Naruto?
At the moment it didn't seem all that likely. After all, the people of Konoha had twelve years to get over their loss and see Naruto for himself. Then again he had not really helped in that regard. He had been so desperate for attention that he had turned to pranks, since even bad attention was better then no attention.
But maybe if I show them that how good a ninja I am, and that I'm willing to protect the village, maybe I can change their minds. Naruto thought to himself.
He looked up at Sarutobi with determination, "I'll show them that I'm not the Kyuubi, that I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of Konoha! I won't let this get to me, ever! Dattebayo!"
Sarutobi smiled at seeing the boys will of fire returning. "That's good Naruto-kun. I have no doubt you will eventually get there. However, it will require a lot more hard work then what you are used to. You won't be able to do your pranks anymore and will have to actually take the time to learn about being a shinobi. After all, a Hokage is not just the most powerful ninja in the village, he is the smartest and most cunning as well."
"So then your pretty smart, huh Ojisan." Naruto said.
Sarutobi chuckled a bit. "Naruto-kun do you know why I earned my nickname of professor?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Uh… Because your smart?"
"Well essentially yes." Sarutobi admitted. "However, it is much more then that. I earned the title of professor because of my ability to read people and react to any given situation both on and off the battle field. In the many years that I have lived, I have amassed much knowledge from reading books. Things that taught me about Shinobi basics, to the more advanced ninja abilities and theories, as well as knowledge on civilian practices like politics, which has become essential for every Hokage to know now."
He took a minute to curse The Nidaime's decision to create the council, the whole reason a Hokage needed to know politics. He had been told by his sensei, Senju Tobarima before the Second Shinobi War started that the he was one hundred percent positive he had been drunk when he came up with the idea. It looked good on paper, having a group of people dedicated to helping the Hokage deal with the everyday affairs of Konoha's civilians. However the reality was far different. Sarutobi had spent more time fighting with the council then anything, and many of the people in it, especially on the civilian side were extraordinarily greedy, always wanting more money and to line their pockets with more coin.