The Secret

3

When the gates of the Village Hidden in the Leaves drew close, Naruto pulled an ANBU mask out of his cloak, fitting it onto his face. Obito did the same with his orange spiral mask, and Itachi placed his old weasel mask on. They didn't want to be recognized right away, so they put on disguises. With how poorly the village did maintaining and raising their ninja, they all doubted anyone would recognize their unique chakra signatures.

The group arrived at the gate to find Izumo and Kotetsu sitting at the desk waiting to welcome guests for the Chūnin exams.

Naruto had on the teal Uzushiokage hat on, making it easier for them to tell he was an important figure. The two guards took one glance at the hat before bowing in respect.

"Welcome, Uzushiokage. It is nice to meet you. Your accommodations have already been prepared for your arrival. Please make your way to the Hokage tower in order to get a tour and a guide to your abode for the duration of the exam," Izumo explained. Naruto nodded his head and led the way to the tower, though he could hear Kotetsu in the background asking if he needed an escort. Naruto ignored him, knowing the way by heart.

The group entered the building and followed the hallway to the Hokage's office. When Naruto was younger, he'd have simply blasted through the door, but since he had to at least pretend to be professional, he knocked. When the group was invited in by a very familiar voice, they walked in and saw that Kakashi truly was the new Hokage. Naruto nodded his head while the others bowed respectfully.

"It's nice to finally meet the leader of the Uzumaki's homelands. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I am the sixth Hokage," the man introduced.

Naruto removed the Kage hat and watched as Kakashi's eye widened. The only thing visible was his blond hair, but it seemed to be enough for the silver-haired man.

"It's good to see you again, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied, causing the man's eye to widen even further. "It's been a few years, hasn't it?"

Kakashi was silent for several minutes, though his jaw visibly moved behind his mask. When he finally could speak, he could only manage a single word.

"N-N-Naruto...?" The blond simply nodded, removing the mask from his face. He grinned at his former teacher, who slowly stood and went to embrace his student. He was stopped by the other two men wearing masks. With a wave of his hand, the two men stepped back, allowing the teacher the chance to hug him. "Y-you're alive... thank God..." Kakashi released his hold on the blond and stared into his crystal blue eyes.

"I'm alive, Kakashi, and I managed to reach my dream, though it's a different village with a different title. I became the Uzushiokage." Kakashi nodded dumbly, so Naruto slipped out of his hands and went toward the two men that were wearing masks.

"I'd like you to meet some people, though I'm pretty sure you already know two of them." He turned toward Konan and Kakuzu, who each had a small child in their arms, first setting the older down onto his own feet and then taking the baby and cradling her. He turned back to his teacher and led the toddler with him. "These are two of my babies. This is Fumiko, and the handsome boy next to me is Itsuki." Both children had blond hair, and Fumiko had black eyes like obsidian while Itsuki had blue eyes just like Naruto.

When Kakashi saw the little boy, he was brought back to when Naruto was still that young, and the look of curiosity that always seemed to be in his eyes. The toddler even had whiskers on his cheeks like Naruto.

"Who is their mother?" Kakashi whispered.

Instead of answering, Naruto waved over one of the children from one of the three teams and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "And this is my oldest, Fugaku."