"Naruto! Get up for school!"
Early in the morning, Heshu was jolted awake by Hanzo's voice.
He grabbed the alarm clock by his pillow and squinted at it.
Eight AM.
"This early?"
He lay back down. It was Saturday. He allowed himself a day off.
Just before settling, he yelled towards the door, "Hanzo! Keep your voice down!"
It was hurting his ears.
"Naruto!"
"It's your opening ceremony today!"
"You can't be late!"
Hanzo's calm voice filtered through.
Heshu launched himself out of bed the next second.
"Shit!"
Naruto's opening ceremony. That meant he had to go up on stage and give a speech.
Heshu rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up.
"Naruto…"
Hanzo was still calling, relentless.
Losing his patience, Heshu walked straight to Naruto's bed, grabbed the boy by his collar, and marched him to the bathroom.
Hanzo: "…"
"Big sis, I'm so tired…" Naruto's eyes were slits.
Heshu pointed to his own bleary eyes. "I'm more tired than you!"
"Being Hokage is so hard!" Naruto sighed, looking at the exhausted, sleep-deprived Heshu.
"Hah." Heshu's mouth twitched.
Hard? You'll have to do this too, one day! Probably worse than me!
He splashed cold water on his face.
Heshu, along with Hanzo carrying Naruto, headed for the school. At the gate, they met Itachi and Sasuke.
"Teacher."
Itachi had just been promoted to Jonin not long ago. He wore the green flak jacket, holding little Sasuke's hand.
"Itachi." Heshu gave a brief nod, then looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke was aloof. The moment he saw Heshu, he turned his nose up proudly.
"Sasuke, not even going to look at me?" Heshu crouched down and pinched the kid's cheek.
Sasuke puffed up his face, furious, like a pufferfish.
Satisfied with his routine teasing, Heshu nodded and headed for the podium.
[Ding! Affection of Target Sasuke Uchiha: -100!]
"…"
Heshu stumbled mid-step.
"Hokage-sama?" Uchiha Masako looked at him, puzzled. Tripping on flat ground?
"I'm fine." Heshu waved a hand calmly.
At the entrance, Itachi nodded to Hanzo. Hanzo glanced at him but said nothing. Itachi entered with her.
His gaze drifted subtly to Hanzo. As his own strength grew, Itachi questioned more and more the identity of this "ordinary nanny" in the Hokage's household. Sometimes, a strange sense of pressure emanated from this seemingly unremarkable woman.
"Sasuke!" Naruto wriggled out of Hanzo's arms, eagerly reaching for Sasuke's hand.
Sasuke's pretty little face darkened instantly. He clung to Itachi's leg.
Naruto persisted, trying to grab him.
"…"
Sasuke's little heart trembled.
"He's the demon fox's son!"
"Listen, you can't play with him at school!"
"So scary!"
"I don't want to go to school with him!"
"Mommy… waaah…"
Hanzo stood beside Naruto as the whispers drifted to their ears.
Itachi's eyes swept over the gossiping faces, finally resting on little Naruto's stubborn, stiff posture.
"So annoying!" Listening to the chattering, Sasuke frowned. "What a bunch of busybodies!"
He snorted coldly.
"…"
Itachi stared at his younger brother's back, incredulous. Who on earth had corrupted his baby brother? Who taught him a phrase like "busybodies"?
After Heshu finished his speech, Hanzo took Naruto to his class.
Heshu didn't leave. His figure appeared silently outside the classroom window, watching.
The teacher, Iruka, was assigning seats. From the initial thirty kids, only Naruto was left, standing alone at the front.
"There's a seat there!"
"Go away! Don't sit next to me!"
"Sakura, can you sit with Naruto?"
"Sorry, sensei… I don't want to sit with him."
…
Heshu watched from outside, his gaze growing colder and colder.
Those who haven't experienced it might not understand what a devastating blow a scene like this is for a child. If not for Naruto's naturally cheerful and stubborn nature, his psyche would have surely been scarred.
Heshu's figure appeared inside the classroom.
"Hokage-sama!" Iruka's eyes lit up.
"Wow! It's the Hokage!"
"The Hokage is here!"
"The Hokage actually came to our class!"
The little radishes sitting below burst into excited chatter.
Naruto stood on the platform, looking at Heshu, his eyes holding an unconcealable hurt.
Heshu walked to him and ruffled his hair.
The classroom fell silent instantly. The little radishes all stared at Heshu's action. Why was their idol touching that freak?
"Why doesn't anyone want to sit with Naruto?" Heshu asked gently. They were all still children, too easily influenced.
"Because he's the fox demon."
"Mom says he'll hurt us!"
"He's dangerous!"
"He doesn't have parents!"
For a moment, they all spoke at once.
Heshu looked at them closely. Innocence shone in each of their eyes. They didn't realize their words were invisible blades. They only knew what their parents had told them.
"Has anyone here seen the fox demon?" Heshu asked again.
The little radishes looked at each other, then shook their heads, confused. How could they have seen it? They were just newborns then.
"Then why do you call Naruto a fox demon?" Heshu asked, curious.
"Because…"
"Because…"
They couldn't articulate a reason. Finally, one blurted out, "My parents said so!"
Heshu smiled. "Naruto isn't a fox demon. He's like all of you—a child who likes to play games and cause mischief."
"I'm not a mischievous child!" a boy protested, his face turning red. He didn't want the Hokage to think that of him.
Okay, Heshu thought. The kid who said that is definitely a troublemaker.
"Is that so? But Naruto is so naughty! At home, he never studies properly. Always wants to go out and play. Gives me such a headache!" Heshu pretended to sigh, resting his chin on his hand.
Naruto blinked. That's not true! I listen to big sis at home!
"Really? Then… then I can help, Hokage-sama! I can make Naruto study!" the boy jumped up, excited.
Holy shit! I can help solve a problem even the Hokage can't! I'll be written into shinobi history!
Once one spoke, Heshu's little fan club in the classroom couldn't hold back.
"Me… let me! My grades are good!"
"You're lying! My grades are the best! Let me help Naruto improve!"
"My mom says I'm good at teaching! I want to be a teacher! Pick me, Hokage-sama!"
Uchiha Sasuke stared at the eager little radishes and sneered. Such idiots. I saw right through Heshu's little trick.
"Who should I pick?" Heshu looked troubled. "You're all such good kids!"
The eager radishes below grew even more frantic. Oh my god! This was like a dream! The Hokage praised them! The Hokage—famous across the whole shinobi world! The strongest person alive!
The little radishes felt dizzy. Even the shyest little Hinata timidly raised her hand from the crowd.
"This is so difficult. How about… we let Naruto choose?" Heshu said with a smile. "And as Naruto's helper, of course I'd have to invite them over to play at our house!"
"Aaaah…"
The classroom descended into madness.
"Naruto! Sit with me!"
"Naruto! I'll make you love studying!"
"Naruto! Want to be top of the class? Sit here!"
"Naruto! Please! I'll bring you lunch every day! Okay?"
The kids swarmed Naruto, chattering non-stop. They grabbed his hands, bursting with enthusiasm. Even if their enthusiasm wasn't for Naruto, it was directed at him.
Naruto had never received this kind of attention. His face turned as red as a little tomato.
In the end, Naruto chose Hinata as his tutor. He'd only met the others once, but Hinata was different. Neji sometimes brought her over to Heshu's place, and over time, they'd become something like childhood friends.
Naruto and Hinata sat together, both their faces as red as little tomatoes.
Heshu looked at the big, hopeful eyes below and laughed. "Of course! As long as everyone gets along, I'll invite you all over to play—as Naruto's big sister!"
"Yay!"
The classroom nearly exploded with cheers.
As Heshu left, he glanced back inside. His gaze met a pair of eyes under a pineapple-like haircut. There was no fanaticism like the other kids, just lazy boredom.
Heshu knew who he was. Naruto's future strategist—Nara Shikamaru.
Heshu gave him a gentle smile.
The bored Nara Shikamaru froze. Long after the Hokage was gone, he hadn't snapped out of it. He blinked, belatedly, as his cheeks flushed red. He had become the third little tomato in the classroom.
When Hanzo came to pick Naruto up, he expected the boy to be downcast after the morning's events. But before they even left the school grounds, Hanzo saw classmates from a distance, happily waving and saying goodbye to Naruto.
At a glance, Naruto looked like a social butterfly.
"Naruto," Hanzo called out.
Naruto immediately said goodbye to his friends and scampered over on his short legs.
"How was school today?" Hanzo asked, following the parenting guides to prompt the child to share.
"School was so fun! We played games together!" Naruto happily recounted every little thing that happened.
Hanzo listened with a faint smile, responding earnestly, never brushing him off. Naruto might not have parents, but Heshu and Hanzo had filled his life with love, letting him grow up wrapped in it.
That afternoon, Heshu summoned Iruka alone.
Iruka was thrilled. "Hokage-sama!"
Heshu gestured for him to sit. "Naruto is in your class. Please look after him." An ordinary student was one thing, but Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Iruka nodded solemnly. "Please rest assured, Hokage-sama!"
Iruka had a secret. He'd met the Hokage once, long ago, when he was very small. It was the day of the Nine-Tails attack. His parents were evacuating with him and other civilians when the beast struck. It was the Hokage's summon that appeared and saved his family's lives.
Heshu nodded, reassured. He could trust Iruka. This man, crucial to Naruto's growth in the original story, was a truly strong person. To not blame his parents' deaths on Naruto… that alone was remarkable.
Tsunade came to say goodbye.
Jiraiya, after finishing his new book, had left Konoha in a hurry, probably afraid Heshu would settle the score. Tsunade, however, had stayed much longer.
"Tsunade-nee, having just Shizune to look after you isn't enough. Why not pick another girl to take along?" Heshu suggested. Shizune's talent was limited. Compared to Tsunade's combat skills, her medical research shone brighter. Tsunade's fighting prowess was top-tier and needed an heir.
"You want me to take a disciple." Tsunade saw right through him.
Heshu nodded. "Shizune will be overwhelmed alone. It's a good chance for you to pick a suitable one."
Tsunade looked at Heshu. Heshu looked back.
Finally, Tsunade sighed in defeat. "Fine. You know I can't refuse you." She shrugged.
That day, Heshu brought all the kids from the Academy for Tsunade to choose from. It was an equal opportunity; he wouldn't show favoritism.
In the afternoon, the person Tsunade brought back was Haruno Sakura. Fate was like a turning gear, clicking into place unseen.
Haruno Sakura seemed nervous meeting Heshu. "Hokage-sama."
Heshu patted her head. "Since Tsunade-sama chose you, you must have something worthy of recognition. Don't let her down."
The confusion in Sakura's eyes turned to determination. She nodded firmly. "I won't, Hokage-sama!" A hint of steel showed between her brows.
That day, Tsunade left Konoha with Shizune and Haruno Sakura to travel and train.
"Hokage-sama. A new mission assignment." Nara Sōsai's expression was grave as he handed a scroll to Heshu.
Heshu unrolled it. It was a request for aid from Takigakure. Intelligence indicated that ninja in black robes with red clouds had appeared near the village. Their target was suspected to be the village's Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. Takigakure had sent the request to Konoha first.
Heshu frowned. "Assemble all Jonin in the village not currently on missions."
As his words fell, a shadow flickered behind him.
Soon, the Hokage's office was filled with Jonin.
"There is an S-rank mission. But the danger level… far exceeds S-rank."
Heshu's words made many widen their eyes. What mission could be more dangerous than S-rank?
After Heshu explained the situation, the office fell silent. Everyone had seen the footage of the Five Kage fighting that masked man. It was a battle of gods, their strength not even in the same dimension. This wasn't just beyond S-rank. This was a suicide mission.
"Teacher. I'll go." Itachi was the first to step forward.
Hyūga Tenri, also a Jonin now, stepped out. "I'll go too!"
If Akiaoi Shinya were here, he would have stepped forward without hesitation. But Shinya was in Kumogakure.
"Then we'll go too," Shisui and Juri said, exchanging a look.
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