Uzumaki Naruto's POV
Karin showing up was a small thing, but it was a damn nice surprise. A girl who reminded me of Kushina… Not like they were some perfect copy of each other. Still, just having her around felt good, on its own.
The younger Uzumaki—though compared to me, she was kinda the "older" one—dragged her ass over with my favorite chocolate cake, which, among other things, got her the warmest welcome possible.
Then this girl, looking at me like a kid staring at Superman, started pouring honey in my ears. Figuratively, obviously. And considering how I felt about her—and the fact she had the decency to come not just not empty-handed, but with something she'd clearly picked to my taste—I listened. At the table, sharing the sweets with her.
Only… she went way too hard with the fancy word-lace. So hard that, while I was laughing inside, she almost got tangled in her own compliments.
What I especially liked was that when I saw her spiraling and told her to explain it normally, she actually did. No trying to play me like some bank clerk selling you a "great deal" with horse-shit interest rates.
So. She wanted to work for me. For free, even—she added that part with extra emotion. Said she wanted to repay me for everything I'd done for them. And even if a whole lifetime wouldn't be enough, she still wanted to show she actually knows how to value what people do for her, and show some real gratitude.
I nodded, thought for a bit, and told her no—I didn't need anything. Helping them was my own whim. She could drop by to chat, sure. And if her mom started nagging her, she could even live at my place. But I've got clones and other people handling everything, so she didn't need to strain herself. After which she…
"Pleeaaase," Karin begged, latched onto my leg. "I'll be useful! I can read and write! Just show me how, and I can work with boring paperwork!"
Sitting at the kitchen table, I found the whole thing pretty damn weird.
"Well, shit," I muttered, chewing my lip. A few seconds of thinking later, I decided, "Fine."
"Really?!" Red eyes snapped up at me, just an ocean of hope in them.
"Yeah. I work a lot in the lab in the basement. It needs a ton of reagents and other stuff. I've got a lot of suppliers, and the connections are already set up—but there's still a pile of paperwork after every delivery. You'll do the cataloging?"
"Of course!" She nodded like a bobblehead.
So that was that. Today we finished the cake together, and the next morning—after I'd celebrated our successes with Hinata and Sakura the day before—I started explaining to Karin what's what. She handled it… obviously not as well as a shadow clone with my memory, but her effort and focus made the whole process way more alive. It was just nice having her around, and I had someone to talk to—because I don't exactly have conversations with my clones. My house even felt a little more alive thanks to the "worker."
In quotes because I still don't pay her—she flat-out refused, and I didn't exactly fight her on it. She and her mom have more than enough money, so they can do whatever the hell they want.
So, after I was done with Karin—and after I took a moment to watch her adorably focused "serious working" face—I went to train Ice, Wood, and Sand elements. Then, instead of staying in the lab… even though I'm technically still on a break… and instead of actually resting, I headed to the Hokage's residence.
A few days ago, some interesting guy arrived in Konoha, and Hiruzen offered to introduce us. I figured that kind of connection was worth having—very worth having—so I walked toward the big round building with anticipation. And the old man also mentioned we had a couple more things to talk about.
"Hey, Naruto. Right on time," Hiruzen greeted me when I walked in.
Like seven seconds before me, someone else had entered—someone I knew from my past life, and someone the local books talk about plenty. He was already by the desk. A tall guy with long, spiky white hair, green clothes with a red haori thrown over them, and a huge scroll on his back.
For a moment, something deep—recognition—flashed in his eyes, but for some reason he hid it right away.
"A couple matters came up we should discuss. But first," the old man turned slightly, "I have to introduce you. Naruto, this is—"
"No need, Sensei. Better I do it myself," the other shinobi rudely cut the Hokage off, stepping forward. Then he smoothly flowed into some weird-ass pose and started talking dead serious:
"I am the hermit of Mount Myōboku!" He stuck one leg forward and pulled his right arm back, fist clenched. "The Wise and Immortal Spirit! The Toad Sage of the Mountain!" His left hand snapped into a concentration seal, and the office filled with white smoke with a damn blast. "Jii-raaai-yaa!!!"
He dragged the sounds out and screamed the end.
When the smoke started clearing, that "Immortal from the Mountain" was sitting on an orange toad, making what he clearly thought was the most badass, epic face possible.
"…" I watched that whole performance in silence and just… deflated. First a snake who can't decide whether he's a man or a woman, now this… "Uzumaki Naruto."
I introduced myself, then turned to the stunned Hiruzen—whose hat got blown off by the smoke burst, and whose documents were now scattered across the whole office.
"My condolences."
Yeah… good thing it's not me who has to pick that up and sort it, flashed through my head as I looked at the hundreds of pages all over the floor.
"Jiraiya…" Sarutobi's voice came out kinda doomed as he stared at his office.
"Huh?" the named one looked around, then glanced at Hiruzen awkwardly. "Uh… old man, sorry. I… yeah."
The "Sage" jumped off the toad, picked up the Hokage hat, patted it like he was dusting it off, then plopped it back onto his teacher's head.
"I didn't do it on purpose, you know…"
After that, he started cheerfully picking papers up off the floor, while me and the toad watched, unbothered.
"Like this…" In a few seconds, he slapped a third stack onto the desk.
The fact that there had been five stacks before—and the documents were clearly sorted some specific way—didn't bother long-hair at all.
Hiruzen looked over his desk, sighed again like he was suffering, and turned to me.
"Come in, Naruto-kun."
"Yeah…" I walked closer, pulled the chair out, and sat down.
Jiraiya looked at me with some weird emotions, sometimes flicking his eyes toward the door behind my back. But this time he wasn't planning to interrupt his sensei.
"Remember how you once brought in a couple deserters from the Mist?" Hiruzen started from far away. I nodded. My first meeting with this Jiraiya was already going kind of shitty, so I decided to deal with that later. "They kept them in Interrogation for a long time and found out a lot. As you know, the Mist is currently ruled by Yagura… His rule is cruel, and the regime is ruthless. They've exterminated almost all the Mist shinobi who had Kekkei Genkai. A lot of shinobi didn't want to obey the new Kage anymore, so they deserted. Even many of the Mist's Swordsmen did the same, and the Six-Tails' jinchuriki too. The Fourth Mizukage doesn't tolerate betrayal, so all deserters were declared internationally wanted and bounties were placed on their heads. Those who stayed were forced to become executioners of the people they used to call comrades…"
"Brutal," I commented.
Jiraiya stood nearby, fidgeting. They could've brought him a chair too if the old man ordered it, but looks like Hiruzen was pissed about his papers and decided, yeah, stand.
"And not just shinobi," Hiruzen continued. "Because of the harsh regime, the population started dropping. Same with their tax income. But they still needed money to keep the village running, so the Mizukage sank as low as squeezing the poorest layers of the population."
"And that's when the revolution happened?" I clarified.
"Right. But it failed. It was led by the one you captured—Momochi Zabuza. He prepared poorly, underestimated the strength the weakened village still had, and barely managed to escape. Right now, the Bloody Mist is burning with a new revolution. But it might fail too. We can stop that—and get something out of it."
"O-o-oh, finally I get something out of this," I said with an innocent face. "So how are we splitting the Mist?"
Hiruzen started coughing.
"No, Naruto, you didn't understand. We'll support them."
"…And annex their economy? Like I did in the Land of Waves?"
Jiraiya, still listening quietly, bugged his eyes out. Hiruzen coughed even harder.
"No," he started, then stopped. "Maybe… a little."
"Mm-hm." I nodded all important, like, yeah, yeah, I get it.
"So… anyway…" He took a couple seconds to gather his thoughts, then got straight to business. "Negotiations and those questions will be handled by other people. The most important part of the mission—combat support—will be on you and Jiraiya. That's why I called you. To introduce you, and to get an answer: will you participate?"
I thought, but not long. You can squeeze something out of a neighboring country either way, so this was very likely profitable for me. Plus, I'd been thinking about… world conquest and my tyranny, and came to the conclusion I should practice on something smaller first. Back then I'd already thought the Mist would be a good place to train that. And now I'm getting a mission right there. "What a coincidence," I would've thought, if I hadn't personally dragged two information-packed—and therefore possibility-packed—reasons into Konoha with my own hands. And besides, I openly said I wanted to get something out of this. From capturing Zabuza and Haku, I mean.
"Preliminarily, I'm in," I answered the old man, then still turned to Jiraiya with doubt. "As for… your thoughts?"
To be honest, he looked like a clumsy idiot. But I still treated one of the strongest shinobi in the world properly—someone who's probably done a lot of good and protected a lot of lives in the village I live in. Because, well… maybe this awkwardness is just a mask, and in action he's actually good?
"Drop the formal crap," he waved a hand like some neighborhood bro, and my image of him as a serious badass cracked a bit more. Then one of the Sannin turned to the old man. "I'm in, like always. What are we doing?"
"Knew you'd agree. Right now, I've contacted the leader of the revolution, Terumi Mei; we agreed on the arrival of our delegation. The delegates will discuss conditions—including resource exchange and a development plan for the Mist's future. After that, you'll need to help neutralize Yagura and seal the Tailed Beast into another vessel. But the priority is your own survival. This isn't our war; even if the possible profit—access to unique resources and plants, a strong boost for medicine, and other advantages—do not let that make you take unjustified risks. Work together. Don't take risks alone. Jiraiya will handle negotiations."
"Mhm." I thought, looking at this Jiraiya. After his little intro show, I had doubts about his diplomacy.
He was also looking at me thoughtfully, and he was the first to ask:
"I heard you're pretty strong. A month of running Koharu ragged… and you captured a Mist Swordsman. But isn't this too much for an operation like this?" He aimed that at Sarutobi.
"And what else was I supposed to do so it'd be 'just right'?" I shot back, not waiting for Sarutobi to answer.
The "Immortal Spirit" even kinda stumbled, then rubbed his chin.
"Grow up?"
My eyebrow twitched. And when I was about to snap back, Hiruzen cut in between us:
"Naruto is ready for this operation. But only if Jiraiya leads."
"Hmph," I snorted. So they trust each other. Not fully me. Maybe there's a reason. "Maybe I should do the talking, then?"
"No!" the old man shut that down instantly. Instead of explaining, he dug into the desk cabinet and handed me a folder.
"Daaamn," I muttered after reading.
I wasn't snooping through every Hokage document with my sphere-vision, so I actually got surprised. It was about major losses in the Grass Village after an attack that happened not long ago. Everything went to shit because the attack happened right during a change of power. A few hundred people died.
The papers didn't talk about me, but it was obvious that my actions also weakened Grass, and the previous top dogs got overthrown. They lost all resources and almost all influence, so another faction kicked them out immediately—the one that stayed kinda on the side and did other little schemes, which is why Konoha stayed almost untouched, and then suddenly became the most influential. They used the opportunity. In a few days the "head"—or rather, by then, the local homeless guy—managed to "get poisoned" and die in an alley. What a shame. A lot of other people from the old top got the same fate, while some managed to run.
So yeah, a normal power shift. Nothing special. But it weakened Grass, even if not by much, and it hit especially hard because the Uzumaki soldier capable of healing left. That's what a third side in Kusa used—those who wanted to squeeze power away from the second. For that, the third hired a fourth—exactly a gang, a mix of regular thugs and shinobi, the one the village ran into. And that gang, with their leader thinking they could just take over a whole village, went all the way. Didn't work, and Grass held out. Though who'll be in charge there is still being decided.
But either way, it was a slaughter. And doing the math, I figured the victims would've been about a hundred less if I hadn't interfered in that power reshuffle. For Kusa that's not nothing. Though yeah, considering the kind of intrigues they had going, a bloodbath would've happened anyway. That's just life in this world.
"You mind if I take some of these papers with me?" I asked with a slight smirk, waving a sheet listing the fate of Grass's former leadership. "Yeah, I admit part of it is on me—but I didn't get much out of it. That's life here, what can you say. Grass shinobi should've put their kunai through that 'diplomacy-oriented ruler' a long time ago instead of just watching the army stagnate. And hoping that primitively exploiting a barely-alive woman would save them from everything is just as stupid. A village should be a big, reliable machine that doesn't break down when a few gears break. And that's just the problems I can name right off the bat about these grass types—there's way more. Kurogane Reizo's gang… who the hell even are they? Three hundred mugs… You're telling me they couldn't notice them earlier, prepare better, and eliminate them? Instead of letting some randoms into their village just to hack each other to death."
Hiruzen sighed—just overflowing with pain for this world.
"Naruto… I only wanted to bring you to the idea that your actions create chaos. Don't think I'm blaming you for those deaths… Grass really did make a lot of mistakes, and there are a lot of guilty parties in that situation. But your actions can have big consequences. In the Mist, it'll be even bigger. And… the people there are far more professional than in Grass. First of all, I don't want them to harm the Leaf—or you."
Hiruzen clearly doubted my experience, and apparently wanted us to lean on Jiraiya's experience in this. That's why we're going together, even if I could close a mission like that alone.
"Fair," I accepted it anyway. My practical experience with stuff like this really was pretty low. "How long are we looking at?"
"After the Chunin Exams end. Until then, I ask you to stay in the village… As you know, Orochimaru has declared war on us. I have a bad feeling. So I'm asking you to watch over the village while it's at risk. At least until the exams are over."
"Hm. Fine. I'll try to keep casualties to a minimum if someone decides to attack the village," I answered, and Hiruzen's tense face smoothed out. He leaned back like we'd covered everything important.
But nope. Not everything.
"Back to the Mist mission," I said. "How about Sakura goes with us?"
"That is… an excellent idea. Jiraiya, keep an eye on her too," Sarutobi replied, not changing position. "She can help you a lot."
"Sakura… that's a girl, right?" Jiraiya finally joined back in.
"Logically, since we're talking about 'her,'" I confirmed, and the "Sage" spread into a sleazy grin, pressed his fingers into a little checkmark under his chin, and nodded happily. My facial muscles started having problems again. "She's thirteen, by the way."
"Oh." His face went stone, then turned thoughtful. "Well, then I'll guide that hot young blood so that when she grows up—"
He started some "inspired" lecture, but shut up when he noticed his sensei's face going pale. He followed the old man's gaze and met my darkened expression.
"Naruto, don't…" Hiruzen tried to calm me down, but I cut him off with a wave.
"It's fine." I stood up and turned to the white-haired guy. "He'll live."
The huge man—almost two meters tall in those bench-sandals—looked at me like he didn't get a thing as I grabbed his open haori, patted it down, then fastened a single button.
"You know, you give me this irrational urge to deck you," I said, lifting my head, eyes locking onto his still-confused brown eyes with the red stripes running down from them. "And I'm going to satisfy that urge."
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