Naruko found herself standing outside of the Hokage's office. She hadn't actually been here in a while. Since the last bandit extermination two months ago she hadn't had any missions that saw combat. Mostly the team was back to doing D-ranks and a few easy C-ranks. Though they always seemed to be given trouble from clients when they saw Hina-chan's missing hand.
The redhead had been called to the office for some reason. She could faintly hear yelling coming from inside the office. She looked curiously at the secretary, she had been told she could go ahead and knock, but it definitely sounded like she couldn't. Whoever was yelling was upset about the fourth Hokage's legacy. Whatever that meant.
She shrugs and knocks on the door to the office and the shouting stops. "Enter." She opens the door and walks in. The Hokage is inside, looking old as ever. Though he kind of looked older than usual, like he was just tired. Not far from the aged kage was a white haired man. Naruko thought he might be part giant. He was one of the tallest people she had ever seen, He was only a little shorter than Kaguya. He had a wart on his nose and red lines going down from his eyes. His hair was almost as long as hers, though his wasn't restrained like hers. Instead of the usual Konoha forehead protector he wore one that had the kanji for oil on it.
"You requested me Hokage-sama?" The older man nods and says.
"Yes Naruko-chan, this is Jiraiya, my student. I thought you two should be acquainted." Jiraiya snorts.
"Acquainted is one way to put it. I should have been raising her. Or at least Tsunade should have." Naruko looks at him curiously, why should he have been raising her? He looks like he is about to answer her before the Hokage speaks.
"Don't push it Jiraiya."
"Sensei, she is willing to leave the village, and you called me back to change that. And you think I'm going to keep our connection a secret?" Jiraiya's tone was dumbfounded. "You're losing it." The Hokage sighs and nods. "And don't think we're done talking about why exactly she's willing to leave. You better pray that when Tsunade finds out what you've done you're on the other side of the continent or dead already." The Slug Princess would grind the man into dust. Jiraiya certainly wasn't going to keep it from her. He already had his spies working on finding her location.
"So are you going to tell me how we should know each other or not?"
"I'm your godfather."
"Oh. So where've you been?" She didn't seem to particularly care that he wasn't there for her. She was going to tell Hina-chan later. The white eyed girl would be mad enough for her anyways.
"I run the village's spy network. I've been out of the village pretty much constantly since you were born." He wasn't going to tell the girl that the main reason was the Sandaime's lies. He had no intention of using her, but it would break her father's heart if he found out she abandoned the village. Even if he would understand why. "Though I did send you a wallet for your birthday a few years ago."
Naruko nods, knowing the one he was talking about. Though that raised another question, "So how come that's the only thing you ever sent me?" She had only ever been given one thing addressed by him.
"It's because everything else is too valuable to trust a courier with." Either because it had high monetary value, or was too powerful. "I had meant to drop by but work always kept me away and unable to deliver them."
Naruko nods in understanding. She had only really been curious because the tall man seemed upset that he wasn't there for her. She'd certainly appreciate gifts, who wouldn't? But she didn't need them, Hina-chan always seemed weirdly intent on spoiling her anyways. "So then you're here to make sure I'm loyal to the village?"
"I'm here to right the wrongs he caused you." He says jerking a thumb towards the Hokage. "And in the process hopefully show you why, even after everything I've lost, I still love the village. And more than anything to let you know that there are more people in the village who love you kid."
"Sorry, I'm not into guys."
"What? No you misunderstand, I mean platonic love."
"I was joking, Sasuke already taught me the difference between the two." So she still didn't have tones down perfectly. "Though it is the truth. I'm into girls." The man seemed weirdly pleased by that. He pulled out a small notepad and started writing something in it. She had never seen a reaction like that before. She'd have to ask her teammates about it, Hina-chan wasn't the only person she could ask anymore (though she still went to her girlfriend most of the time). "So do you know who my dad is?"
"Are you not curious about your mom? You look just like her, you know."
Much to both men's surprise the redhead nods. "I already know about Kaa-chan."
The Hokage asks, "How did you find out?"
"People have a bad habit of calling me Kushina when they first see me. Then it just took meeting someone who knew and asking." The Hokage wasn't really surprised, the girl was smaller than her mother was at that age, but other than that she looked just like the woman. "So are you going to tell me about my dad or not?"
Jiraiya nods. "I'll tell you, but know that you cannot tell anyone, because this is an S-rank secret."
"Oh then never mind. I don't wanna know if I have to keep things from Hina-chan." She told the other girl everything, well assuming she remembered to tell her. She still hadn't told her about Uzume's siblings, cause she keeps forgetting.
"Why are you so intent on not keeping secrets from the Hyuuga heiress?" The Toad Sage knew they were friends, but even friends keep secrets.
"She's my girlfriend." The man giggles at that and scribbles more notes. She really didn't get it.
Jiraiya looks at the Hokage. "She deserves to know, I'm sure it's fine if the Hyuuga heiress finds out."
Hiruzen was tempted to say no, but sighed. The girl was going to have to find out someday. And perhaps he could use this. So after a moment he nods at the Toad Sage.
"Alright then, you can tell your girlfriend. Your dad is the Yondaime Hokage. Namikaze Minato."
"Wow I look nothing like him."
"You certainly inherited your mothers looks. Though it seems like you have more of your dad's temperament." The girl was far too calm to be like Kushina in personality. "You're taking this pretty well."
"Should I be mad?"
"Well he did seal the demon inside you."
"Yeah, but he's not the one who told the whole village. He did what he thought was right to save the place he loved." She wouldn't fault the man. She felt odd. She held no real love for the man, she had never met him and he hadn't been there for her. But she feels a strange yearning for him, similar to how she felt for her mother or Uzushio. She supposed that's just how family is. She can't explain why she cares despite never having met her parents, she just did.
The Toad Sage smiles at her. "It's a relief you don't hate him, he was like a son to me."
"So what was he like?"
"He was an idealist, perhaps to a fault, who despite being an orphan never stopped believing in the good of others. He was also powerful, Despite his young age he had almost reached SS-rank at the time of his death." He would have been the second Hokage to do so. "You have no idea how much he cherished the idea of family. He was looking forward to treating you like his little princess." Wasn't that what Kurenai-sensei said about Kaa-chan too? "He would have accepted your being gay with little trouble. Though he might have whined about never getting grandkids to spoil. The man was totally cool headed most of the time, but around the people he cared for he was much kinder, and much more relaxed."
The aged kage couldn't help but smile, he always was fond of his successor. It truly is a shame the man died so early into his career. Yes he had no doubt the man would have found a way to make the village happy without sacrificing his child. But Hiruzen always had and always will do the best he can for the village. He thought Minato would do the same, but the man's youth might have let him see a solution he had missed. Well no use crying over it now, what's done is done.
Before Naruko can voice her next question the door to the office is kicked open and a kid runs in. He had brown hair and an overly large scarf. He was also wearing a strange helmet that Naruko thought was almost as bizarre as Tenten (she still had trouble with the girl). Naruko was a bit lost in thought and hadn't heard him speak. She didn't miss however that the kid tripped on his own scarf. She quickly catches him before he hits the ground. "You should wrap this scarf up better. See my hair? I keep it up like this to stop it from tripping."
"I didn't trip on my scarf! You tripped me!" Naruko blinks in surprise as the boy jumps out of her hands.
She looks at the Hokage and raises an eyebrow, the man sighs and says, "Meet my grandson Sarutobi Konohamaru." She looks back at the kid, he looks weirdly smug and upset at the same time. Weird.
"Your name is too long." He looks at her weirdly, she can't place it. "I guess calling you 'kid' will work." The boy looks indignant at that.
"You can't just call me 'kid' I'm the Hokage's grandson!" As if by fate at that moment another man bursts into the room.
"Honorable Grandson! There you are, come, we must get back to your training." Naruko looks back at the kid.
"Would you rather I call you that? Cause there's no way that's happening. Whatever, Jiraiya we can talk later. I'm sure you can find me whenever. See you later Hokage-sama, and Kono too." The boy blinks in surprise at the nickname. He can't help but stare as she walks out of the room.
"Jiji, who was that?"
"That was Uzumaki Naruko, she's been a genin for a few months now. Though don't let that fool you, she's taken on S-rank nin." Hiruzen of course was lying by omission, but he thought this would do his grandson some good. It seemed to be working as the boy had stars in his eyes. He ran out of the room before Ebisu could react.
The three remaining men in the room looked at each other. Finally Jiraiya spoke to Ebisu, "Aren't you gonna go after him?"
"I'm waiting, he doesn't realize it but I always give him a head start. I'm training him in evasion by letting him run off." The other two nod, well that explains how Konohamaru always managed to get away from the jonin.
"So he's going after Naruko, right?" The Toad Sage snorts.
"Oh for sure. Speaking of, Ebisu you should probably get going, we weren't finished talking about her." Ebisu nods and leaves the room. The kage gulps. Jiraiya was always the scariest when angry, because he never got angry externally. So when he was enraged, he was enraged. Of course he could argue Tsunade was the worst because she could crush a mountain with one blow. "I'm not going to ask why you sacrificed her. I know you thought it was for the best. No, I want to know why you forced Kurenai to stop raising her, and forbade both Kakashi and Rin from talking to her at all. And of course lied to me, blatantly, in your letters."
"Kurenai was stagnating while raising her. Kakashi and Rin would have too. I needed to make sure you were focused on the spy network, not on a child."
"That's bullshit and you know it! I could have raised her on the go, not only keeping her out of sight of the villagers, quelling their hatreds through lack of contact, and still kept up the spy network."
"The road is no—"
"I will break your jaw if you finish that sentence. Don't you dare tell me the road is no place for a child! Not when you decided the place for a child is one where she'll be publicly abused and malnourished! Look at her, both her parents were tall for their age, but she's tiny. That's what not being given proper nutrition for years does to a child! So no, I'm sure the road will have been a fine place for her."
"But she forged bonds here in the village."
"Yes and those bonds are the only thing keeping her in the village, there is no patriotism involved. If something happens and these people die, then she won't hesitate to leave. And with so much unbridled power inside her she could likely come back to destroy the village one day. Sensei you might have helped the village in the short term but you've done catastrophic damage in the long term."
"So then I should dispose of the girl?"
"You've forgotten how sealing works. When you destroy a scroll containing kunai the kunai don't disappear, they all come out at once. That's how all variations of storage seals work, and I'd assume this one too."
"So she's a bomb to be set off in a rival village if we ever go to war." He could certainly use that.
"Sensei, I will be blunt. If you harm even a single hair on her head all three Sannin will be missing nin." That was enough to get Hiruzen's attention. He couldn't afford to lose Jiraiya, the man was the only person currently fit to replace him as Hokage. Tsunade would have been considered loyal, but after the Anbu who was sent to tell her about Naruko was found dead at her last known location it was assumed she betrayed them. Though he hadn't added her to any bingo books because the cause of death was suspicious. But he unofficially considered her a missing nin as did Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was still fond of both his teammates. Sure Orochimaru was a sick and twisted bastard, but they had been best friends until the end. He wonders sometimes if the man would like to just get drinks sometimes. He held no hatred for his teammate and he liked to think the feeling was mutual. Of course he still had to bring him to justice, but he could never truly hate his teammate.
"Fine, unless the girl betrays the village then I won't allow anymore harm to come to her." They both knew he meant by the villagers, they couldn't stop her from getting hurt in spars or missions.
"Now then I believe there is a girlfriend you never told me about properly." He only ever got told they were close friends.