27Chapter 1: The Unexpected Surprise... (Pilot Chaptor, you know the drill.)
Hi...
Naruto Uzumaki woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. He groaned as he sat up in his futon. While rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his left hand he clicked off his alarm with his right. He slowly opened his eyes and only got them to open halfway. He sighed and stiffly got out of bed. With a Few quick stretches to work the kinks out of his muscles he slowly walked over into his bathroom. He walked over to his rusty sink and turned the squeaky knob so that the water could run. After a moment of letting the water heat up he splashed his face and then looked up into the cracked mirror. What he saw was the same like every other day. Naruto could see the real result of what the villagers gad done over the years.
He sighed and then looked over at his clothes stand. Sitting on it was one of his orange jumpsuits. The invasion of the Sand and Leaf had taken the giver of those jumpsuits. The Sandaime was gone, and now The Godaime Tsunade Senju was running the village. Naruto let his hands brush up against the orange fabric. The Sandaime had gotten them made very special. Not only where they his favorite color, but Sarutobi had Naruto's protection on his mind when he ordered them. Made out of a strong mesh fabric used in Ambu Battle Dress Uniform's the jumpsuit could take slash from a samurai sword and just barely mar the fabric. It was also designed to breath and allow moment, in the sleeves were secret loops that held kunai in place and on the inside of the jacket many pockets and compartments had been made. Naruto sighed as he thought about the deceased Hokage.
He slowly took of his clothes and walked into the shower. As he turned the water on full blast the sudden jet off cool water took the last remnants of his grogginess away. As he began to wash and clean himself he let his mind wonder and he began to think of his previous dream. At one time he had wanted to be Hokage, now that dream was just as far away from him as the earth to the moon. The realization of his short comings had been driven in his head when he had almost lost to the minion of the traitor Sannin Orrochimaru. Naruto stared at the bottom of the shower as he lathered up his hair. The mask he had put on so very long ago was cracking and slipping away, much like the mask that the fake Hunter-Nin Haku once wore. he let out a heavy sigh and ran his hands across his chest.
His finger's brushed up against the Necklace of the Shodaime Hokage and he looked down upon it. He had brought back the renegade Sannin Tsunade back from her own personal exile and had won this necklace in the process. As he stared at it he felt his heart sink. "I know why this necklace won't kill me..." He said to himself as he turned the necklace around in his fingers. "it because... I died a long time ago..." Naruto let the Necklace drop to his chest and he began to finish up his shower.
As he came out he grabbed a towel off the rack and began to dry off his hair and body. When he was done he set the towel down on the sink and began to slip into his clothes. When he was finished he left the bathroom and slowly walked over to the kitchen. With a quick bowl of cereal, he was ready to fool the world like he had done for the past nine years. He slipped on his sandles at the and was about to leave when he realized he had forgotten his headband. With a short stride to his living room he lifted it off his table and tied it around his head. With that done he ran to the door and opened it. Stepping out he locked the door behind him. He looked out to the rising sun and he jumped away to the Hokage tower.
As he ran and jumped he across the roof tops of his home village he saw the other Shinobi getting out of their homes and heading to the tower as well. While looking to his left his eye's caught the sight of a baggy tan jacket. Naruto cracked a small smile. Hinata Hyuga, heiress of the Hyuga clan. He knew of her feeling for him just like everyone else, but thinking better than to approach her or her family had kept him from acting on them. He could see the sleep still etched on her flawless pale face and his smile widened a fraction when he saw her yawn. He always thought she was rather cute when she was tired. His supposed crush on the pink haired banshee Haruno was just an act to draw attention to himself and keep people from getting to close to him. He returned his gaze back to his target, the Hokage Tower and he kicked up his pace.
When he arrived he saw that a carriage was parked in front of the Hokage tower with a familiar crest on it. The crest of Nami no Kuni was imprinted on the side of the doors. He smiled remembering his time in the ocean born village and how he had been treated like the hero his father had wanted him to be. He stopped short of the tower and looked up at the faces on the mountain. His eye locked on to the face of the Yondaime and he felt the same feeling he always felt when he looked upon that face. Pride. He had discovered that the Yondaime Hokage had been his father when he was still young and in the orphanage. At that time he had thought that he had been abandoned and alone. When he found out he felt happy and sad. Happy that he knew why he was alone and that his father was a great hero. Sad because he was alone.
When he found out about the Kyuubi the night of the Mizuki incident he knew that his father had a choice to make, and when he had decided to do what was right to save the village he smiled. But that didn't last long as he knew that his father's sacrifice had been in vain, he was treated worse than the shit in the gutter and only now was the treatment getting better after he had stopped his fellow Jinchuuriki Gaara during the invasion of the sand and sound. Bringing back the famed Medic-Nin and Sannin Tsunade had also helped in making the treatment better, but to Naruto it didn't matter anymore. With one last look his father he jumped away and into one of the open windows on the fourth floor of the Tower. He landed inside and walked along down the halls and to the stairs. As he climbed he met up with a few ambu. He smiled at them and they nodded to him in return.
If their was one group of people Naruto could trust it was the Ambu. Having watched over him since he was a baby and shadowing him until he graduated had given Naruto a sense of safety among them. He continued up the stairs and soon made it to the commissioning floor where Shinobi where given mission's and assignments in the village. He stopped next to the main room where Tsunade and Iruka gave out missions. closing his eyes he focused on the sound coming out of the office and heard that his team was already assembled inside. Naruto took a deep breath and then let it out. He walked into the office and waved to his teammate's, a cheerfully fake smile plastered on his face. "Hey guys, Sakura-chan." Sakura frowned at him but said hello as usual. Sasuke remained silent as he brooded. Kakashi was leaning against the wall of the office reading his book despite the presence of Tsunade and Shizune.
Tsunade sighed as Naruto came in. "Honestly gaki, its 7 in the mourning..." Iruka smiled at Naruto and Naruto smiled back at his old sensei and friend. Tsunade sat behind the desk looking at each one of them before she said "Alright... I know you are wondering why you have been called here today... so am I for the matter." At this Kakashi looked up with a raised eyebrow. "An official from Nami no Kuni arrived yesterday and asked for a meeting early this morning with your team. To be specific... he asked for Naruto..." Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. "Really?" Tsunade nodded. "Yes... I have read the reports of your previous mission there and know of your actions during your stay. I have yet to figure out why you have been called but it appears they might wish to hire your services again." Kakashi nodded "Hmm, well Naruto did make a rather... large impression on the villagers... I assume they would like him to return." Tsunade nodded at that. "Well we will soon find out, I sense the chakra signature of that Official now."
As if on cue the door on the left opened and a tall man in blue robes walked into the room. He was young probably in his twenties with a brownish red hair and a pointed chin. His green eye's looked across them for a moment then back at Tsunade. "I wasn't expecting the whole team." Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Well I assumed you would be wanting them as well so I called them here." The Official nodded. "That is a reasonable explanation..." He then turned to Naruto and with a smile asked "Naruto-sama would you please come over here?" All eye's widened at how the Man addressed Naruto. "Umm... sure." Naruto said as he stepped closer. What could this be about?
As reached the man side the Man pulled out a scroll and said "I am Taisuke Karuma, I am the head of trading and shipping in Nami no Kuni. I was sent here by the people of my county to set up trade agreements and trade roots between Konoha and Wave." Naruto nodded. "Okay... umm why do you need me here for this?" Taisuke held out the scroll for Naruto which he took. As Naruto broke the seal and began to unroll the scroll Taisuke spoke. "Well the thing is... We need the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni to sign the forms and currently we don't have one." Naruto read the first line on the scroll and his eyes widened. "Yo-You can't be serious." Naruto stammered out. "We are very serious Naruto-sama... Do you accept?" Naruto stared at the scroll and he looked up at the other's in the room. "Naruto what is it..." Shizune asked not understanding what was happening.
Naruto turned the scroll around to face the others and Tsunade's and Iruka's eyes widened in shock. "They want me to become the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni..." The room went silent and everyone's jaw dropped. "You have to be joking! Naruto, a Daimyo!" Sakura shouted in disbelief. Kakashi closed his book and looked strait at Taisuke. "You can't be serious, Naruto is just a child, and an immature child at that." Naruto frowned at that. "Naruto is to young for such a position, I have to say I disapprove." Iruka stated as he looked at the man in shock. "I have to agree." Tsunade said in a stern tone. Taisuke nodded. "I assure you this is no joke, no con or the like. Naruto Uzumaki was picked to be the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni, I even have recommendation from your own Daimyo of Hi No Kuni, The Daimyo of Kaze no Kuni, and from the Queen of Spring county, formerly know as the Land of Snow."
All eye's were wide and once again jaws threatened to hit the floor. "So as you can see... this is a very serious matter... so, Naruto-sama... What is your answer?" Naruto looked from Taisuke to the scroll and then to Tsunade and Iruka. His eye's then trailed over to Sakura, Sasuke and then Kakashi. He bit his lip and closed his eyes. It was several minutes before Naruto spoke. "I'll... I'll do it." Taisuke smiled brightly "Excellent! The people will be vary pleased by your answer. Now that you have accepted there are a few forms you will need to sign and agree to. Once that is complete all we need to do is inaugurate you into office, I hope that-" It was then Tsunade shouted. "HOLD IT!" Taisuke stopped speaking and then looked at Tsunade. "Is there a problem Hokage-sama?" Tsunade nodded "Damn right there is, how do you just come into this village and have a child become your Daimyo!" Tsunade finished heavily panting.
"She is right, Naruto knows nothing of politics and the duties of a Daimyo." Iruka said and Naruto's eyes narrowed a little. "How would you know that, eh, Iruka-sensei?" Iruka froze having never seen Naruto use this tone of voice or attitude. "I am tired of people under estimating me, I sat in the Hokage's office for hour's watching the old man do mountains of paper work and he explained everything to me in detail as he worked. I know the Sandaime's style of politics and how he took care of his duties better than probably his own son knows. Do you really think that I wouldn't know?" Naruto finished and then took a deep breath. "I have agreed to this job and I intend to do it right, that is a promise." Naruto then reached up and pulled off his head band with a hard tug. "I won't be needing this anymore..." Naruto tossed his headband on to the desk and then turned to Taisuke.
"Alright, let me see these forms... I have a feeling one of them is the T3-94B and another is the 6G-T43."Taisuke nodded "Correct Naruto-sama. I will go get them for you immediately." Taisuke gave a short bow and left out the room. Naruto was just about to follow when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Kakashi looking strait at him. "Naruto, this isn't something you can handle, your just a kid." Naruto after a moment said. "The Sandaime became the Hokage when he was my age... why can't I become a Daimyo?" Naruto then began to walk off when. "Naruto." Naruto turned to see Tsunade looking at him with tears in her eyes. "You... You really can't be serious about this... you can't leave the village, your friends..." The unspoken Me hung in the air between them and Naruto gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry Baa-chan... but I have a new job to do right now..." Naruto looked down at the necklace hanging around his neck. "I made a promise... and I will fulfill it... but all in good time..."
Naruto looked back up and smiled. "Just keep the chair warm... okay?" Tsunade after a moment nodded and Naruto smiled. He then ran out of the room and left the other's in the office. "I...I...I can't believe this happened..." Sakura stammered out. Sasuke only nodded his eyes still wide in shock. Iruka slumped in his chair. "Naruto..." The room remained silent until Tsunade said "Team Seven... is here by put on reserve until a new member can fill in your spot... I'll see you all later..." Tsunade stood up and walked out of the office. Kakashi looked down and then sighed. "I need to go... dismissed." Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke and Iruka followed soon after. Shizune walked out of the office through a side door and left the two teammate's alone. Sasuke bit his lip and then said "I need to think..." He ran out of the room and Sakura stood alone in the office before she to left.