Otokage

Chapter 3 and 4

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Part 3 and 4 of Naruto: Otokage (I merged the chapters as they were 2500 words each).

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 3 and 4

The reality of being a Shinobi is nothing like the stories that children are fed. In a fight or a war there are no winners or losers. There are only survivors and the dead. Words like heroes are fraudulent. A hero to one person is a villain to the next. The Fourth Hokage was testament to that.

There are no such things as "legends". The truth is that in the life of any Ninja there are only three things which are guaranteed; decisions, conflict and bloodshed. No more, no less and the Uchiha massacre was a testament to that.

Yet despite being despised by the majority in Konoha because of what he held, Naruto couldn't help but occasionally think about the past he'd never encountered. What if he'd remained in Konoha? What if he believed that heroes were real? That a 'real' Shinobi way was worthwhile? The blonde chuckled to himself at the thought of it. If he believed in all that then he'd have to be an idiot who couldn't see that there was an 'underneath the underneath'.

Coincidentally the reality of a Nin's life was similar to the mood of the village where he now was. Nami (Wave) as it was commonly known was a place that had paid the price of a Shinobi life because whoever the Mizukage was obviously cared little for the place to allow it to become so desperate.

The cold weather and eerie silence were a reflection of the sorry state the village lay in. Naruto had read everything he could about the village because of his own interests. It was one besieged by poverty and bloodshed yet despite all this the place still had the potential to become a powerful allypoverty because of its location alone if his intervention went as planned.

"Naruto-Sama…"

Upon hearing his name murmured and having got past the mental image of Karin on her hands and knees with a collar around her neck, Naruto turned to check on his team mate and silently smiled at her sleeping form. Though she lacked the fighting abilities of the Sound Five, Karin's skills at sensing chakra surpassed even his own and made her a valuable team mate especially in a place as deserted as Wave.

It was then that Naruto noticed a brief grimace in the medic's features as she shivered because of the cold weather and he immediately placed his cloak atop of her own. Immediately he noticed that Karin relaxed in her new found warmth. With his partner taken care of, Naruto's mind wandered back to the matter at hand.

There was only one reason he was in Wave and that was to gain an apprentice…

It was from a distance that he'd watched, his blue eyes filled with mirth at the familiar scene before him. It was of a young man, who Naruto knew for certain was the same age as him practicing water walking. Funnily enough such exercises were something that Itachi had emphasised as a necessity.

It didn't matter to the man that a Jinchuuriki's chakra reserve would compromise his control. To Itachi Uchiha that was simply an excuse and excuses could be dealt with just as weaknesses can be overcome. Wise words indeed...

Despite the nostalgia, Naruto couldn't help but be impressed by Itachi's younger brother. It had been several hours and yet still Sasuke had not tired.

As soon as that thought crossed Naruto's mind, the Uchiha snarled annoyed by something. It was a shame though that Sasuke-san got so angry the Jinchuuriki mused.