Facet of Future

2

Facets of the Future

Chapter 1

The Sun shone warmly through the windows of the Hokage's office, accompanied by the sounds of birds chirping and that of the bustling village stretching out as far as the eye could see. The seat behind the desk was empty though, if only because its occupant was currently rummaging through a file cabinet along one wall. He was a well-built man wearing what looked like the standard Konoha jounin uniform from the back, with the white cloak and hat of the Hokage hanging on a nearby rack. There was something familiar about his spikily-styled blonde hair…

"Oh, no way…" Ino said in disbelief.

"…is that who I think it is?" Chouji asked.

Eyes turned to Naruto, who was staring at the screen with wide eyes and a slowly-widening smile.

The Hokage stepped back from the file drawer, and closing the cabinet turned while scratching his head irritably. Despite the two long bangs framing his face which hadn't been there before, there was no mistaking his face, least of all the three, iconic whisker marks on each cheek.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH!" Naruto cheered at the top of his voice, jumping and pumping his fist into the air repeatedly. "I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! I BECAME HOKAGE!"

"NARUTO-SAN!" Lee said with tears pouring down his face. "CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR YOUTH FINALLY REACHING ITS FULL FLOWER!"

"THANKS BUSHY BROWS!" Naruto said with a grin and a thumbs-up at Lee.

"…I better tell mom to update our fire insurance." Kiba grumbled. "Pretty sure it won't be long before the village burns down."

"Hey!" Naruto protested, and Hinata placed a hand on her teammate's arm.

"Be nice, Kiba-kun." She said, and Kiba huffed but didn't insist.

"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered.

Everyone else in the room stayed silent, though for the most part – Kiba and Neji remained as stoic as ever – they gave Naruto's exuberance indulgent and congratulatory smiles. "Don't celebrate just yet, brat." Tsunade said, though she too was smiling at Naruto. "You're still a long way from becoming that man on the screen. Haven't you noticed? He is a jounin, while you're still a genin."

A light seemed to come to Naruto's eyes. "Bring it on, baa-chan." He said with a determined expression. "By the time the year is out, I'll be a jounin, you just watch."

Tsunade cackled but didn't say anything as she resumed playing the recording.

Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki walked back over to his desk, and crouching down began rummaging through the cabinets. "Shizune-san," he called. "Can you come in for a bit?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Shizune blinked in surprise that she was still working as the Hokage's secretary in the future, but then she smiled in acceptance.

A couple of moments later, and Shizune walked in, virtually unchanged from the present day.

"Wow," Ino breathed in awe. "Shizune-san looks like she hasn't aged a day."

"…she's probably just using the same genjutsu baa-chan does…" Naruto began only for Sakura to lightly swat him on an arm.

"Be nice, Naruto." She said.

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto said.

"Was there something you needed?" Shizune asked.

"…yeah…" Naruto said while continuing to rummage through his desk's cabinets. "Have you seen the updated report from the Pest and Fumigation Office? I'm pretty sure it should be in already."