Kugutsu no Shinigami

| 1 | Salvaging the Lost Art

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That mantle goes to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Sandaime Hokage sat in his office, pondering upon the matter of negotiations with Sunagakure. Soon, he would, alongside his ANBU, depart on a diplomatic mission to Wind Country, where he would discuss an alliance with the Yondaime Kazekage. His thoughts drifted towards Naruto. The last time he had left the village, the villagers had seemed to have taken it upon themselves to cause as much harm to poor Naruto as possible within the timeframe that he was gone in. Upon his return, imagine his surprise when he found that he would be signing 187 death warrants, all civilian losses and killed by the ANBU watch that he had assigned to protect Naruto from harm. The ANBU consisted of loyal and powerful shinobi, all completely devoted to their Hokage and willing to carry out his command at any given time, regardless of their personal feelings or thoughts. Despite this, there are occurrences where one would slip through their tight operations; commonly with the help of a, particularly devious shinobi. Concluding his long thought process, the aged Sarutobi finished his paperwork stack, before heading towards Naruto's apartment. 

~~~

Naruto was euphoric. He had never expected the Hokage to arrive at his rundown apartment the night before and invite him on a trip to the Village Hidden in the Sand. This, of course, would be the reason why he was running around in circles in order to display his blatant excitement, like any child his age; five years old. 

"So, Hokage-Jiji, why are we going?" Asked Naruto, clear positivity showing without issue.

The recipient of the question smiled, "We hope to form an alliance with Sunagakure, bringing benefiting both countries."

"What does 'benefiting' mean?" The youngest of the group inquired, like an ever-so-curious person of his age group.

"It means 'a good result from something'," Hiruzen replied.

As they moved along the road, Naruto asked more questions, such as trivia, history, and of course, shinobi topics; all revolving around the village that they were about to visit, with 'his old man' answering the questions with enthusiasm, amused to see him so excited about visiting a new country, but also partially crushed that Naruto was so euphoric to get out of Konoha. 

~~~

Arriving at the gates of Sunagakure, the party were greeted by the Kazekage and three children, presumably his.

"Welcome to Suna, Hokage-Dono. I hope your journey was pleasant; these desserts are, after all, harsh," greeted the ruler of the Hidden Village.

"Not at all, Kazekage, and thank you for meeting us on this occasion," the Hokage answered, "Allow me to introduce Naruto Uzumaki, my grandson in all but blood."

Nodding, the Yondaime Kazekage returned the favour, with gestures to indicate who his children were. "This is my eldest, Temari, the middle child is Kankuro, and my youngest, Gaara."

With all the introductory politicking wrapped up, Hiruzen leads Naruto to his hotel, where he would be residing during the course of the democratic visit. Of course, he knew Naruto would not allow himself to be confined in a room for the duration of the visit, and voiced this, permitting him to go exploring, but warning him to stay out of trouble.

That Night:

Ever transient in patience, Naruto exited his hotel and as he admired the architecture of the village, he found himself amazed at how the villagers had adapted to the harsh sands of Wind Country. Naruto strode along the Northern Wall in order to compare the size of the village to Konoha, and as he did so, heard an audible creak, like ancient foundations being disturbed.