What it takes to be Hokage

Chapter 13

"So, you've been on the battlefield again."

Naruto stayed in his position, not moving a muscle. He had just returned to the Uzumaki Compound, after finding all the summoning beasts, seeing Hashirama and Madara from afar –watching as they learned of their new position as head of their clans– and he'd found all the tailed beasts. It was high time he returned.

He was kneeling in front of Mito's father, eyes fixed on the ground but he replied all the same, "I could not stand by and watch others get hurt, Honourable One."

Naruto was now twenty three years old, Madara and Hashirama having been Clan Heads for little more than two years. It had taken him two years to find all the tailed beasts and to convince them of his plan, his position in the flow of time and his foreknowledge of the future.

He nowadays sported three long gashes along his back, where even the Uzumaki armour was unable to protect him. Upon his face, a blazing red eye contrasted with a sparkling azure iris. Compliments of his encounter with the nine tailed fox of this time.

It seemed that Kurama could not heal the wounds he himself had inflicted as well as he healed other wounds. A younger, wilder version of the Kyuubi had not been as understanding as the older, three generations enslaved Kurama. Naruto's left eye had been damaged and he needed Hashirama's help to fix it. For the time being, he could not afford the disability and relied on the demon within him to see with the same perfection as before.

The other eight demons had been just as welcoming of his presence and between being crushed by the eight tails, being nearly drowned, steamed and boiled by the seven, four and five tails, poisoned by the six tails, and eaten by the three tails, Uzumaki Naruto had had quite enough of irrational tailed demons.

The only one that hadn't given him any trouble was the one tails, Shukaku and that had merely been because the silly sand demon had already been sealed within the temple of a monk guarded rather poorly by the Sand Shinobi. They were not yet a village, but rather a congregation of people that agreed to get along. Not very well though. The smallest amount of provocation, real or imagined, was all it took to get them at each other's throats.

However, Naruto had been rather interested in the small boy huddled near the monk in charge of the temple. The small raw kanji carved into the boy's hands had alarmed the blond at first until he understood their purpose.

The kanji on the boy's hands were Kokoro (Heart) and ukeru (Accept/receive). A message that Kurama had explained, was for the boy to always remember as he was being groomed to become the next Jinchuriki of the one tailed beast.

Naruto did not allow that to happen.

He'd gotten to the beast first and convinced him to follow through with Naruto's plan. He had been easier to convince than all the others merely because he had already been enslaved and could therefore already see the outcome as Naruto tried to describe it.

Interestingly enough, Naruto had also seen a small family of Uzumakis settled amongst the people of the Sand. A tiny blond haired girl with bright green eyes told Naruto the reason for their settlement.

Love was a funny thing and the heart wanted what the heart wanted.

In the small toddler he'd seen perhaps a hint of the three Sand Siblings that he'd known in his past. And it amused him to think that Gaara just might be related to the Uzumaki, no matter how distantly. It would definitely explain the bright red hair the other Shinobi had.

"I see." The blond was pulled from his thoughts and back towards the current conversation.

Naruto remained silent, knowing that it was not yet his turn to speak.