Konoha's Dream Team

Chapter 10

"NARUTO-NII-CHAN!"

Naruto froze as he walked through Konoha, and turned around to find none other than Konohamaru rushing up to him. Now that Naruto thought about it, Konohamaru had changed a lot since they first met. Originally wearing a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a helmet-looking thing, along with a long scarf, Konohamaru had been a bit of a spoiled brat, but now, he had mellowed out a lot, and had taken to training with Naruto whenever the blond invited him. He had even dispensed his old clothes, now wearing clothes that looked much like the clothing Naruto had seen the Sandaime wear in pictures from his Jounin days, black ninja pants and a black kimono shirt over mesh. He still wore a long scarf, but it was black now. Konohamaru had originally thought about dispensing the scarf as well, but when Naruto commented on how it reminded him of the long tails on the Sandaime's forehead protector, he decided to keep it. He also wore a black headband, which kept his hair out of his eyes. To get used to the feel, for when he became a ninja, he'd say if asked.

"Oh, it's been a while, hasn't it, Saru?" Naruto said, grinning at his somewhat-student.

"Nii-chan!" Konohamaru yelled, looking upset about something. "I heard that you brought back some old hag to be the Godaime Hokage!"

"Ah, yeah, the Sandaime's old student, my grandmother, Tsunade," Naruto said with a nod. "What's wrong, Saru?"

"How could it have been decided so early?!"

"Huh?"

Konohamaru glared at Naruto.

"The geezer's corpse is barely even cold, and they just go ahead and pick a new one?! They're just gonna forget that he ever existed and just move on with-"

Konohamaru would have continued with his rant, hand he not been interrupted by a finger flicking him on the forehead, making him flinch.

"Eeeh, I never expected you to be an idiot, Saru..."

"W-What?! I'm not an idiot!" Konohamaru protested. "You're the idiot, idiot!"

Naruto put a hand on Konohamaru's head and spun him around to look at the Hokage Monument in the distance.

"See those faces, Saru? And that great tree?" Naruto asked, pointing up at the monument, and his own homage to the Sandaime Hokage. Konohamaru huffed.

"What about them?"

"They're there to show that even if they're dead, even if their bones turn to dust, the previous Hokage will never be forgotten," Naruto said, moving his hand down to pat him on the shoulder. "They're always watching over us, and their will, their dreams, live on inside us. The old geezer will never just be forgotten. He will live on forever, as long as his Will of Fire exists in a Sarutobi. You, and Asuma-sensei."

"Huh?" Konohamaru muttered again, looking up at Naruto now, which made the blond grin.

"Just like how the spirit and the memories of the Senju live on in me, Sarutobi Hiruzen lives on in you, and in everyone he considered family. Do you remember who those were?"

"Um..." Konohamaru scratched his head. "He told us once during class that it was everyone in the village..."

"Exactly. How can a loving old geezer like that be forgotten?"

Naruto leaned in to whisper conspiratorically.

"And between you and me, how can he be forgotten in favor of a drunken, gambling old lady like my grandmother?"

Konohamaru snorted, and Naruto straightened up again, patting Konohamaru on the head once more.

"Alright, how about some training?"