Interlude: Sarutobi Hiruzen
A year and a half had passed since the Kyuubi incident. Sitting in his office, the Hokage was taking stock.
Much had been done in that time. In minutes, the fox had destroyed numerous buildings that needed to be rebuilt. A Bijuudama, the strongest technique of the tailed beasts, had torn through the very center of the village, albeit at an angle. The Fourth, of course, had managed to teleport it away with his technique, preventing an explosion within the village. But the kilometer-long swath of annihilated structures had only been partially restored by this time. All efforts were first directed at rebuilding the most necessary buildings. But even so, the Ninja Academy itself had only just been rebuilt.
There was, of course, some good in this time. Simply in that it wasn't as tense as the years of the world war… Everything was at least a little bit calm. Relatively.
Recently, Konoha had been shaken by the case of one Might Dai. A very, extremely persistent ninja. Just think, he became a genin at three and a half years old. Even though he remained one three decades later, the man showed the highest valor and courage in March of the previous year. Using a forbidden technique, fatal to the user, he protected the team entrusted to him, which included his son, from a squad of elite ninja from the Hidden Mist. The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were effectively disbanded, as four of them were killed by the Konoha shinobi.
Fortunately, there were no more shocks for the Leaf. The same couldn't be said for the Mist, where a year later, just the other day, a child not yet a genin massacred all the academy graduates. Hiruzen strongly disapproved of Kiri's customs. A caste system reigned there, where members of the lowest caste—the third—had to kill their comrades upon graduating from the academy.
But no matter how much Sarutobi disliked the shinobi world and its particularities, there was little he could change. Especially in a country as distant as the Land of Water. Also, as the Hokage, he had to focus on the affairs of the village he led.
Undoubtedly, for the not-so-young man, the greatest tragedy was the Leaf's casualties. In a mere few minutes of the Fox's rampage, hundreds of shinobi had laid down their lives… Time had scabbed over the wounds. They no longer hurt, but they remained visible. The Kage did everything in his power so that the people of Konoha could live at least as they did before. Even if not everything went as he would have liked.
Remembering those events, images of the child he had promised to take care of often flashed through the Hokage's mind. Naruto Uzumaki—that was the name recorded in the documents, so as not to expose him to the many enemies of his father. Despite his young age, Hiruzen found it difficult to say with whom the Fourth Hokage hadn't had time to fight and, consequently, maintain friendly relations. Therefore, it was forbidden for anyone to say who Naruto's parents were. Unnecessary risk would be… unnecessary.
Little remained of the couple's property, that is, of Kushina Uzumaki's as well. Unfortunately, their house was almost in the center of Konoha, slightly to the west. Right where the bijuu's technique had flown. And all that was left there was a huge bald patch with the rubble of hundreds of houses. Of course, Minato, as Sarutobi knew, had secret hideouts. But Hiruzen didn't know where they were. They were secret, after all. The parents left their son only their techniques and a small apartment that Konoha had given his father back in his student days.
Many shinobi who had survived the battle with the Kyuubi were unwilling to simply let go of their losses. Hiruzen could understand them, he truly could, for he had lost his wife then. But to start blaming everything on a child who had become the beast's container was absurd. An absurdity that, due to widespread rumors, had become reality.
The Hokage had enacted a law forbidding anyone from saying that Naruto was the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Especially to the younger generation. The man didn't know who exactly had spread the word about the jinchuriki's appearance: one of the ninja who had helped during the attack; some medical-nin who easily sensed the ever-flowing chakra of the tailed beast; or an overly perceptive cleaning lady-gossip who, based on the "fox whiskers," had correctly guessed everything. Sarutobi was sure of only one thing: someone had lacked the sense not to spread such information. And Hiruzen had been irritated by this for some time. So much so that he enacted this law and punished its violation harshly. He was disgusted that some were spitting on the principles of the Village. To hell with that "village weapon" term; they were, first and foremost, willing to harm a resident of Konoha! It was outrageous!
Catching himself in negative thoughts, Hiruzen abruptly stopped. He reflexively reached for his pipe, lit the tobacco, and took a deep drag of smoke. Calmness came as quickly as it had appeared.
Time will pass… and things won't be so bad. Naruto is currently only in the hospital; nothing threatens him there, and he won't be able to feel the hatred of the villagers. When he comes out into the world, they will have calmed down.
Naruto is one and a half now, isn't he? It's been over six months since the ANBU stopped watching him. That incident with the killing intent in the hospital was not ignored. But a completely quiet year, without a single need for shinobi, led to the surveillance being called off.
Sarutobi occasionally, not often, looked at the reports on Naruto. He was almost immediately placed in the group of children with the highest potential. Not surprising, considering how strong his parents were. More importantly, he should be able to speak a little by now…
Hiruzen looked around his workspace. Empty, all the papers had been reviewed and processed. He turned back and saw the yellowing evening sky.
"Just the right occasion," the man noted, getting up from his chair. "I made a promise, and my words are not empty. It's time to personally meet Naruto. And to tell him that I'm his…"