Inheritance

The Art of Infiltration

Sarutobi exhaled slowly, smoke pouring forth as he did so, spreading out before him and tracing mesmerizing patterns in the air before finally dissipating. Pipe smoking was one of the elderly shinobi's preferred methods of easing the many stresses and strains of the job he did, and soothing the guilt of sending his shinobi out to perform difficult missions. And, anticipating the arrival of his student Jiraiya along with the man's own apprentice to take just such a mission, he had turned to his pipe.

"You know old man you should cut that out, smoking can kill you - and we can't have you dying before you've announced me as your successor now, can we?"

The Hokage lip twitched into an almost imperceptible smile as his eyes flickered to the window that only one person used as a method to get into his office. Well, two, if you counted his sensei.

"I hope you realise that you shouldn't be imitating your sensei's bad habits, like climbing through that window, Naruto-kun. They're the reason he hasn't been named Hokage."

"You and I both know that you couldn't make Ero-sennin Hokage. The hot springs would never be safe if he had to stay in the village." Naruto shot back, and the Sandaime had to concede the point, as Naruto walked round to the front of his desk, in order to speak properly to the Hokage. Sarutobi looked over the boy, and felt a surge of pride as he took in the shinobi he had become in just a short amount of time. From the subtle changes to the way he stood, that indicated a certain readiness to jump into action, or the slight changes in muscle definition that indicated the hard graft required of a shinobi; to perhaps most importantly, the sharpness and determination contained within the blond's gaze. His boundless energy, and determined personality had found a purpose, and been channelled and focused towards his dream, and protecting his village.

Very few shinobi his age could boast of the same.

"I take it Jiraiya has decided to wait for you to be briefed and get ready to leave?" The Sandaime inquired, earning a nod from Naruto.

"He said he'd meet me by the Eastern gate in an hour, so I'd have time to get mission ready."

"In that case I'll get started with the briefing immediately." The Hokage reached for a scroll on his desk and pushed it towards Naruto, motioning for the blond to pick it up. "This mission will be a B-rank infiltration mission. Normally, a shinobi of much higher experience would be assigned this kind of task; however, I'm going to be frank with you Naruto, Konoha's forces are stretched thin. All of our Jonin are occupied either with Genin teams, or their own missions; and the majority of our Chunin still in the village we require to maintain a reasonable standard of village security. In addition, this is a time sensitive mission, we can't afford to wait for other shinobi to become available."

"So, basically, you just need someone non-essential to our forces, yet good enough that you can trust them to complete the mission. That still doesn't explain why you've opted for me over another, more experienced Genin?" Naruto asked, admittedly with only slight hope of the Hokage answering his question.

"If I'm honest, there is only one other Genin level shinobi who may be a better choice than you to undertake this mission, given what Jiraiya has been reporting regarding your growth. However, there is another reason for choosing you for this mission. The fact is, you're a student of one of the Sannin, and you must have a record to match that for the village to maintain face - especially with the Chunin exams fast approaching. Konoha's position among the five nations is weaker than it has ever been, and as a result, it needs to appear that we are stronger than we actually are. One way of doing this, is to display the talent of our up and coming shinobi."

Naruto considered the Hokage's words carefully, in particular how he mentioned that the village wasn't in the best position. Vulnerable. He had always been led to believe, in all his studies, and by everyone he spoke to, that Konoha was the strongest of the five. That this may not be the case anymore unsettled him. It meant that his home could be in danger.