The Young Hokage

The Ninja Academy

Chapter 2: The Ninja Academy.

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It has been six long years since that dark day on October 10th. During that time the village had been busy rebuilding the many homes and shops destroyed or otherwise damaged in the nine tails attack. From an outsider's perspective, the village was once again looking every bit as powerful as it did before if you were but a lowly villager and knew nothing about the true state of the village and the lasting damage left behind in its wake. But if one were a ninja or otherwise an observant villager they would worry silently in their homes or in hushed whispers on the streets.

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In a small clan compound on the outskirts of Konohagakure lived a small family of three. This family was none other than the Uzumaki family. Kushina had trained her two small children hard in preparation for this day in particular. This day was none other than their first day at the ninja academy. Kushina called out for her two children to come downstairs. The first of the two to appear before her was a small girl. She had long red hair just like her mother's that was done up in two long ponytails that made their way to her back. She also bore the same deep blue eyes as her late father. She was quickly followed by her slightly older brother. By a whole minute and a half. It was clear to the both of them that he was still very much waking up if his stumbling down the stairs and the rubbing of his eyes were any indication at all at his level of wokeness. He like his baby sister before him also bore the same deep blue eyes. However, he also inherited the same hair color as his late father. On both of his cheeks, he bore six thin cat-like whisker marks. Three on each. Kushina guessed they were a direct result of her son housing the nine-tailed demon fox but that was but a guess on why he had those odd markings of his. Kushina eyed both of her children with a critical eye. The eye of a highly skilled ninja. Today was going to be their first day at the ninja academy. She knew first hand that both of her children would have a fairly easy time given how lax the ninja curriculum had become over the years. Something she was adamantly against but was nevertheless powerless to stop as the village council had more or less forced it. But even so, she demanded nothing less than perfection from her two children. Once she was done with her observation she gave them both a happy smile. Their form was about as good as one could realistically expect given their age and level of training.

"Ok let's go kids. You don't want to be late for your first day do you"? Kushina asked her two children as she opened the front door before being quickly followed by the two soon thereafter.

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As the family of three slowly walked towards the village both Naruto and Naruko couldn't help but look at the many tall buildings all around them. They had never seen such tall buildings in their life. Living so far away from the village proper had meant that the tallest things they had ever seen were the trees and the distant mountain ranges that they would sometimes near whenever their mother took them on trips to the nearby fishing village of Nahama which was home to the biggest lake they had ever seen in all of their six years of life. The buildings of their home village were by contrast both fascinating and frightening to the two children.

As they continued to walk ever deeper into the village the many villagers would all wave or bow to them. Naruko all the while was busy hiding behind her older brother. She had always been the shy type even when the kind old Hokage would pay them a visit about once a month. Naruto himself mostly liked him. The only thing he really disliked about him was the look he would sometimes catch the older man giving him. A look the man would give only to him and to nobody else. A look that hinted at a mystery just out of his reach. He had first noticed it on his 5th birthday. The year before. But no matter how many times he would ask the older man he never could get an answer to his question. Just as that thought entered into his mind did he feel a light tapping upon his shoulder. Looking to see who it was he saw his mother pointing to a four-story brick and mortar building. Naruto eyed the building with some level of curiosity and awe. His late father had once attended this very school and he had grown up to be the Hokage. It had always been his life-long dream to one day become the Hokage just as his father had done years before. This was to be the first step to that dream.