The Bonds That Strengthen Us

Sneaking into the Hokage's office was supposed to be easy. The plan was simple: Get in, plant some pink dye to explode when the Hokage's desk drawer was opened, then get out without leaving a trail. While it doesn't sound easy, Uzumaki Naruto was a natural born prankster capable of anything- even the impossible. 

After everyone in the building had left for the night, Naruto snuck out from bushes he was hiding in behind the Hokage Tower.

'Good thing I didn't wear my orange jumpsuit today! I might've gotten caught if I had.' Naruto thought to himself as he brushed dirt off from his pants. He was the furthest thing from rich as an orphan living off of monthly allowances from the Hokage's Administration. His black Anbu-style pants and dark green shirt were a lucky fit that he found in the dumpster behind a clothing shop. He would ignore the tears in the clothes, as he was just grateful to have an outfit for what he had planned.

Naruto looked up at the building with a mischievous grin.

'Time to get started!' Naruto thought excitedly as he picked up a roll of rope he had kept next to him in the bush. Another lucky find from dumpster diving around the shops of Konoha. It was crazy how much good stuff got thrown out!

He snuck around the building until he made it to the front door, only for it to not even budge when he tried opening it. Naruto tsked and crept around the other side of the building to a side entrance, only for the same to happen.

'Dang it! I should've expected them to lock up if everyone was leaving. I guess that just means that nobody is inside then!' Naruto let out a quiet laugh and began Plan B. He looked around the building's side until he found what he was looking for.

'Jackpot! An open window! Someone is definitely getting in trouble for leaving that one open!' Naruto grinned widely at his luck. He quickly found a medium sized rock suitable for his plan. Soon enough, the rock was tied to one end of the rope. Naruto stepped back and observed the window. After measuring the approximate distance he needed to throw the rock for it to land inside the window, he chucked it in as hard as he could.

Thud

A loud noise erupted from inside the room he had thrown the rock. Wincing, Naruto looked around to see if anyone was around to hear it. Not seeing anyone, he steeled his resolve and began climbing the side of the Hokage Tower.

Upon making it into the room, he found stacks of files and papers everywhere. Not wanting to leave a trace of his presence, he quickly stalked through the room towards the door, careful not to accidentally mess with any papers.

After figuring out where he was in the building, Naruto quickly ran towards the Hokage's Office. 

Five minutes later, a heavily breathing Naruto found himself in front of the Hokage's door. He calmed his breathing and pressed his ear to the door, listening for any movements inside. Upon hearing nothing, he gently opened the door and slid inside the office, closing the door behind him. 

'I did it! Now I just have to plant the dye and get out!' Naruto silently cheered to himself. As he looked at the desk, he found several kanji written on the drawer. Ignoring it, he opened it, only to find that it was empty. Feeling something was off, he looked at the "empty" drawer with more intensity, waiting for something to change. After nothing happened, he shrugged and began to plant the dye. 

Just as he finished his trap, the door to the office swung open. Naruto looked up in shock as he hadn't heard anyone even approach the room. 

A man with long silver hair tied back into a ponytail stood in the doorway, a look of immense confusion was etched onto his face. With one look, Naruto could tell this man was strong. He wore the standard jonin vest he had seen many other ninja in the village wear. A sword was strapped across his back, unlike any he had seen other shinobi wear on their body. He wore a black long sleeve under shirt and black Anbu-style pants similar to the pants Naruto was wearing. Unlike Naruto, the man had bandages taping off his pants at his sandals. All in all, the man looked awesome.

"Woah, you're a shinobi, aren't you! You must be a jonin based off of your vest! Are you strong, sir? Can you teach me?" Naruto rattled off in excitement, forgetting his original mission.

"What? Well yes, I am a jonin and I guess I am pretty strong- Wait! Don't try to distract me, kid! You're trespassing in the Hokage's Office! What are you doing here?" The man replied bashfully before remembering why he was there.

"Well I was trying to prank o-jiisan but you caught me before I could escape!" Naruto crossed his arms and pouted at the man. 

"Why are you acting like I'm at fault here? You aren't supposed to be in here kiddo," The silver haired man shook his head and smiled.

"Come on, let's get you home before Lord Third finds you in here." He finished, extending his hand out to the boy. 

Naruto looked at the man in complete awe. Nobody except for the old man had ever been this kind to him. Especially not someone so… cool! Naruto smiled widely and took the man's hand. Suddenly, a flash of lightning wrapped around them. Naruto felt a "tug" of sorts and in an instant he found himself in front of his apartment in the red-light district of Konoha, still holding the man's hand.

"Woah, can you teach me how to do that, shinobi-san?" Naruto exclaimed, filled with awe. The man chuckled before replying.

"I'm not sure you're ready to learn how to do that move, but I can teach you other things instead, Naruto-kun." Naruto's mouth opened wide in shock.

"How do you know my name?" Naruto whispered back in surprise.

"Ah, I'm a good friend of Lord Third. Your o-jiisan talks about you often," He smiled warmly at Naruto as he spoke, an air of friendliness surrounding him.

"How about I come pick you up tomorrow morning and I'll teach you a bit of what I know," Naruto nodded in excitement, his words failing him.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then Naruto-kun. I'll come by around 12pm, okay?" The man waved at Naruto before turning to walk away.

"Oh right, my name is Hatake Sakumo by the way. Nice to meet you." Sakumo smiled cooly at Naruto before disappearing in a current of electricity. 

Naruto stood in front of his apartment door for a few more minutes in complete awe before snapping out of it. After shaking himself out of his stupor, he grabbed the key to his apartment from his pocket before heading inside.

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The inside of Naruto's apartment was barren. A simple couch and a small wooden coffee table sat in the living room. Attached to the living room and to the left of the entryway, was his kitchen. He only had a fridge, stove, and a barely working microwave inside. To the right of the living room was a small hallway that held a closet and two doors. One door led to his bedroom and the other to his bathroom.

Since he lived in the red-light district, it wasn't too uncommon for his apartment to get robbed while he was out. Once he learned how to set traps, the robberies became more and more scarce. However, he still kept minimal items and no valuables inside just in case someone managed to get past his defenses. Anything that held personal value was kept on him at all times.

He took off his sandals and sighed contently. 

'I went out to prank o-jiisan and came back with a real shinobi to teach me! This is the best day ever!' Naruto smiled widely before going to his room to get ready for bed.

He took a quick shower (cold of course, the apartment building never had any hot water), and put his pajamas on before tucking himself into bed. 

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Back in the Hokage's Office, the silver haired man from earlier appeared in the flash of lightning. Behind the desk sat Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.

"So, would you like to explain why the boy is living in the red-light district? Alone? At five years old no less?" Sakumo questioned the old man in front of him angrily. Hiruzen had the nerve to look down ashamed.

"No other apartments would accept the boy because of his… affliction. And as you know, the council only permitted a certain amount of money be spent on the boy monthly. I did the best I could with what they gave me." Hiruzen sighed disappointedly as he gazed at the picture of Namikaze Minato on the wall. 

"Things were never meant to turn out this way. In a perfect world, Minato and Kushina would be here to take care of their son. The village would be prospering. I would still be enjoying my retirement." He continued, frowning deeply.

"But they aren't here. You were supposed to guide and support him. He's only five damnit!" Sakumo sighed frustratedly. 

"The council has restricted my movements too much. Danzo has the civilian and the elder's votes. He has the Hyuuga vote as well for whatever damn reason. The only way he will lose control is if a new candidate for Hokage steps up. Wait." Hiruzen looked up from his desk with a face that screamed he had an idea.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Wait. No. No no no. You aren't going to suggest what I think you are, right? I don't know anything about politics, Lord Third. I have zero experience! There has to be someone else" Sakumo pleaded with desperation. He couldn't be Hokage! The most experience he ever had leading others was when he commanded battalions of ninja during the Second and Third Shinobi Wars. This was too big of a step.

"No, Sakumo. You are among the strongest shinobi in the village right now. I can't give the hat to Fugaku when the village distrusts the Uchiha so much. Tsunade would gamble the village treasury away, Jiraiya is managing Konoha's spy network, and I can't give it to Danzo for obvious reasons. Not to mention, you already are revered enough to take the hat from me. We both know you would have been the Fourth Hokage instead of Minato had you not said no back then as well. You are the only option this time, Sakumo." Hiruzen elaborated with a mischievous grin on his face. If things went accordingly, he would finally get to enjoy his retirement!

"Don't worry, we'll work out all the details of the plan in due time. There's no rush here. In the meantime, you will meet with Naruto tomorrow and begin training him as we planned. The only part of our plan that is changing is that you will meet with me daily and oversee how I conduct matters. You will shadow me as an anbu guard during the afternoons until I feel that you have learned enough. Mornings and evenings will be spent training Naruto until he starts the academy. Once he's in the academy, Kakashi will take over his training and you will focus on gaining favor in the council." Hiruzen concluded, grinning like a Cheshire cat. 

Sakumo listened intently with a frown etched onto his face. With the way Hiruzen had spoken, it sounded as if he had already planned this. But for some reason, the more he listened, the more Hiruzen made sense. With tension between the village and the Uchiha being at an all-time high and Danzo making things harder by controlling half the council votes, something needed to be done to take Danzo out of the game. This is the only way that Uchiha relations could be repaired. After a few minutes of thinking, Sakumo was forced to agree with Lord Third.

"Alright. Let's do it." Sakumo sighed as he finally relented. Hiruzen wasn't called "The Professor" for nothing, after all.

"Perfect. Tomorrow you'll begin training Naruto daily for the next three years until he enters the academy. Come to Shikaku's strategy room in the basement of the tower at 4pm so the three of us can work out the details of this plan." Hiruzen stated, opening his desk to grab paper to write a letter to Shikaku.

"Wait, don't open that-" Sakumo started saying before a poof of pink dust burst in the Hokage's face. Normally shinobi of his caliber would never fall victim to traps as rudimentary as this, but because of the lack of lethal intention behind the trap, The Professor of the Leaf found himself covered in a glittery, hot pink mess.

The White Fang of the Leaf struggled to contain his laughs as the strongest shinobi in the village wiped the pink mess off of his face. 

"Sakumo."

"Yes Lord Third?"

"Make him run around the entire village fifty times everyday."

"By everyday, you mean-"

"Every. Day."

"Yes Lord Third."

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