ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

Trust p.2

"Don't blame yourself. You crying for me means that you do care about other people, and I'm grateful for it," Naruto said, as he hugged the girl tighter, causing her to blush slightly. "Thank you for your concern. It's refreshing really, since not many people showed me kindness out of the goodness of their hearts." He said the last part with as much sarcasm as possible, making the girl in his arms giggle.

Naruko pulled away from the hug, blush still on her cheeks. "Thank you." She whispered.

"You're welcome," Naruto said, before he smirked, "You know... I kind of like your hugs, it's all warm and cuddly, like hugging a teddy bear!"

Naruko's blush flared as she pouted indignantly at the accusation, "I-I'm not a teddy bear! I'm a kunoichi!"

Naruto laughed harder as she continued to pout, "I know, I know, I'm just teasing you. Now shall we get going?"

Finally having her blush under control, she nodded and smiled warmly. "Sure. Let's go!" she said, and they both continued on their way towards the Hokage Mansion, with Naruko greeting the villagers and shinobi alike along the way, while Naruto just smiled warmly at his counterpart.

~ D ~ R ~

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, was not having a good day.

First, last night he found out one of the Academy Chūnin instructors, a man named Tōji Mizuki, had deliberately sabotaged the Genin Exams of one of the top students of the gradating year out of spite for the Kyūbi, and then tricked the said Academy student into stealing the Scroll of Forbidden Seals which was kept under heavy guard by the ANBU and the Hokage in the safest vault in the Hokage Mansion, which the student did successfully and managed to get away with it!

The elderly Hokage was currently siting behind his desk, puffing on his stovepipe while reminiscing about last night's events. He lowered his Hokage's hat in embarrassment when he thought back on the way one Uzumaki Naruko did to get the scroll from him, even though she was caught red-handed by him during the act.

Hiruzen lowered his hat further in shame. 'To think, me of all people, the Kami no Shinobi (God of Shinobi), would be defeated by such an absurd jutsu...' he sighed as he thought about the infamous Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Jutsu) used by the girl, which caused him to pass out from blood loss, 'If word got out about this, my reputation and the villages' would be inconceivably ruined... I think I might have to label that jutsu a kinjutsu, just in case.'

He was snapped out of his reverie when the double burgundy doors into his office opened to reveal a middle-aged woman in her thirties with brown hair and dark eyes walk in.

She bowed respectfully. "Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded with a grandfatherly smile. "Ah yes, Hikari-chan, what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

The newly named Hikari just rolled her eyes at her leader's antics as Hiruzen chuckled, "Genin Uzumaki Naruko would like to speak with you. I believe she is bringing along a guest."

The Hokage raised a surprised eyebrow at that information. "Really now?" he asked, wondering who might the guest be, "By all means — send them in."

"Hai Hokage-sama." and Hikari left, and soon a familiar figure emerged from the doorway, which immediately ran squealing towards him like a cannonball. No one had yet noticed a second figure that silently slipped through the door, and quietly pushed it closed.

"Jiji!" the blonde bundle squealed like the innocent little girl she was supposed to be, and Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh heartily. Over the years he had come to love the girl as one of his own, and he was overjoyed indeed when the villagers finally decided to let go of their old hatreds and welcome her with opened arms, despite the beast within her.

"Why, hello there Naruko-chan!" the Hokage said happily, "How are you today?"

Naruko, who was still sitting on the elder man's lap, smiled brightly up at her surrogate grandfather, "I'm fine Jiji! I'm finally getting my shinobi license today!"

Hiruzen laughed again, "Good for you Naruko-chan! You're one step closer to achieving your dream!"

Naruko giggled as she pumped her fists. "Of course I am! Dattebane!" She immediately covered her mouth in embarrassment as a blush formed on her face, whilst Hiruzen chuckled.

It was at that moment he took notice of a second presence in the room, and the wizened Hokage turned his attention towards the other occupant of the room. Before he could even speak, his jaw dropped slightly at the sight of the young man in front of him, his stovepipe dropping on the floor as he did. Naruko tilted her head in confusion at the Hokage's actions, and she turned to look at her new friend for answers, who just stood there with a kind smile as he scratched the back of his head.

"M-Minato?"

Hiruzen couldn't believe it, he swore that the boy in front of him was an exact replica of his predecessor when he was younger, and he couldn't help but raise his hopes slightly at the thought of him being alive again.

To his slight dismay, the blonde boy merely shook his head with a warm smile. "No. I am not the Yondaime Hokage."

Seeing where the conversation was going, the Sandaime turned to his surrogate granddaughter, "Naruko-chan, you better go get your license made. Your friend and I are going to have a little chat."

Naruko stared at him confused as her mind was putting together the pieces of Naruto's appearance to that of the Yondaime Hokage, her idol. She nodded nonetheless as she made her way out the room, her mind pondering the possibility of Naruto being the Yondaime's son or relative.

Sparing one last worried glance at her new friend, who just gave her a reassuring smile, she made her way to the doors and started her journey to the roof, where the licenses were being made. In the back of her mind though, she silently hoped that Naruto somehow, by some miracle, would be her long-lost relative, as judging by their facial structures and blonde hair they were both in some ways similar.

But she knew it was a fleeting pipedream, but it provided some measure of comfort to the girl at least.

As soon as the doors closed, Hiruzen immediately stood up. "ANBU, leave us."

Silently, four invisible ANBU vanished from the room, and Hiruzen put up a privacy seal around the room. Once done, he stared down at the blonde boy in front of him, his aura and chakra flaring as Killing Intent filled the room. "Depending on how you answer my questions, I will decide whether you live or die, is that understood?" To his surprise, the blonde didn't even flinch when the boy nodded back, expression serious. "First of all, who are you?"

Naruto stared back at him with equal intensity.

"Depends on who's asking."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as his Killing Intent flared to new heights. "The one asking is a man who can wipe you off the face of the Earth if you answer wrongly or snidely." He clarified as he sat down, "Now, I'll ask again — who are you?"

Naruto sighed as he smiled a little as his respect for the Sandaime went up a notch. No wonder he was called the Kami no Shinobi — his aura and Killing Intent would floor even experienced Jōnin and knock out inexperienced Chūnin and Genin.

But, Naruto reminded himself, he was far from an average shinobi.

Noticing the smile, Hiruzen frowned as he readied for anything. "Why are you smiling?"