A Thousand Years

The Training

"Stupid Sasuke..." Naruto mumbled angrily, slamming the door shut. He kicked off his shoes and dropped his schoolbag on a chair, diving into the nearest couch. "Thinks he's better than everyone..." He huffed.

"What's wrong?" Kushina came down the stairs upon hearing the front door slam.

"Nothing." Naruto sulked, lying face down on the couch.

"Is it Sasuke again?" She sighed, moving to sit next to him. "Honey, you can't keep comparing yourself to him, remember he's enrolled in the ninja academy."

"I wanna go there too!" He complained. "Why won't you let me?" Kushina's eyes lowered to the floor.

"I need to keep you safe." She whispered, taking a deep breath. "I couldn't protect your father, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you."

"Ka-san, I know you miss Tou-san, but I want to be as awesome of a ninja as he was!" Naruto pleaded, eyes wide with hope.

"No." Kushina's expression hardened. "It's for your own good." She stated firmly, standing up suddenly and leaving the room. Naruto sighed, he knew his mother wasn't going to give in. He desperately wanted to become a ninja to help other people, but if she wouldn't let him train at the academy, there was no way he could. He's even asked some older ninja to teach him but they had all refused, the whole village knew that Kushina would go on a rampage if she found out that her son was learning such 'dangerous' skills.

"At this rate I'll never beat Sasuke at anything..." He sighed.

Naruto strolled down the streets of the busy marketplace, deciding to head for some ramen, that anyways cheered him up. The small restaurant was empty, and after greeting the owner, he took a seat and waited eagerly for his snack. Someone else entered the shop, Naruto glanced over and assumed the person was a traveler, their black cloak swished behind them, faded with age. He knew it was a woman, as their frame gave it away. He was curious about places outside of Konoha, he's always dreamed of being able to travel across the Land of Fire and maybe even to the other nations, because of this, the eight year old decided to try and start a conversation.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you a traveler?" He asked just to make sure. The woman turned her head slightly, as if surprised that he was speaking to her.

"I suppose you could say so." She responded, voice smooth and light.

"Where do you come from? Are you from somewhere else in the Land of Fire?" He questioned excitedly.

"Indeed, I do live in the Land of Fire." The woman nodded. He noticed her speech was a little... old fashioned.

"Is this your first time in Konoha? Where else have you visited? What's the coolest place you've been?" Streams of questions flowed from the boy's mouth, though she didn't seem fazed.

"No, I've been here a few times before, I've seen many nations and many people. As to which was the most interesting, I cannot say, they are all very different." The answers came just as naturally as the questions had.

"Cool!" Naruto smiled, continuing to ask about other places and customs, the woman answered patiently, going into detail when he requested it. The two talked for a few hours, and by the end, Naruto felt like they were almost friends.

"What made you come to Konoha again?" He asked through a mouthful of noodles.

"Actually, I have been here for a while now, a couple years. I had originally come back in order to help a friend with something, he had insisted it needed my attention."

"Really? Who is it? Maybe I know them."

"He's passed now." Naruto stopped his chewing upon hearing this.