XI. (Naruto, Age: 17-ish)

Naruto manages to smother his laughter behind a cough even as he exchanges an amused glance with Nagato, but Yahiko doesn't even notice as he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, still attempting to dissuade a particularly insistent fan-girl (with no real success thus far.) Honestly, the entire situation is made even more entertaining by the fact that his enthusiastic student had actually bragged to them endlessly about having the entire village smitten with him because of his 'charisma' and 'devilishly handsome looks' right up until he'd officially become the figurehead of the Akatsuki and the whole of Ame did exactly that.

Who knew the hot-headed, little brat could be modest?

Diligently ignoring the small voice in his head (that sounds suspiciously like his old teammate's disdainful drawl) pointing out the fact he had been the same way once, he surveys the various villagers milling about and around them (considering the woman chattering away to Yahiko had quite literally stopped them in the middle of the street) and thinks back to what had led to this development, faintly bemused even still.

His adorable students had been witness to the harshness of the shinobi world even before Pervy Sage had taken them under his wing, and even Naruto, for all of his idealism and lightheartedness and (though he'd never admit to it even on pain of death) 'mother-henning', could not shield them from it while they were under his care. Two and half years after Naruto unceremoniously adopted the trio, Hanzo's paranoia had reached new heights, and his ridiculous precautions and haphazard delegations of the village's resources inevitably led to food shortages among the denizens and an increase in unemployment for citizens and ninja alike.

The children had tagged along on one of his rare treks into the heart of Ame, and the gloomy atmosphere and overall misery permeating the air had been so obvious that even Yahiko had noticed. Well, Naruto muses, correcting himself, stretching his arms above his head as said boy finally gets rid of the girl and shoots Don't-You-Dare-Say-A-Word glances at he and Nagato as they walk along, his most cheerful student has always had the uncanny ability to grasp the most important part of a conversation.

All it had taken was one trip into the village, and Yahiko had decided then and there that he was going to change it.

"Yahiko?" was uttered in surprise at the same time as Konan's "What are you talking about?" The two didn't even bother exchanging looks as per usual, instead keeping their eyes glued on the boy whose eyes were gazing about the market in indignant rage. Naruto had, of course, picked up on what his student was referring to. Never mind the fact the kid's an open book; he recognizes the same feelings stirring within his own body. Words such as 'despicable', 'pathetic', and 'unacceptable' come to mind, all of them synonymous with 'Hanzo.'

"I'm going to change this," he explains to the two who don't quite understand just yet when he receives a nod of approval from Naruto, gesturing all around them, "all of this. No one deserves to suffer like this, especially by their leader's own hand." Ah, he can remember thinking with a grin, so Yahiko has been keeping up with news regarding the village. Nagato and Konan start at the revelation, eyes wide, and Naruto steps forward to ruffle his hair.

What could the three of them have done but accept such brightly burning determination?