This chapter has been beta-read by: Sakura's Unicorn

"Oh, hey! There you are, Sai. Come in."

The directive comes from somewhere behind a wall of white; as usual, the Seventh Hokage is buried in paperwork up to his whiskers. Sai steps lightly into the office, closing the door behind him.

It's been over a week since he encountered Sasuke Uchiha while out on a personal errand, but it's the first time he's had a spare minute to get out of the house since then. Between Ino's incessant need for food, sex, or reassurances that she's still pretty, Sai has barely had the time to go to work let alone make what amounts to a social call, albeit with the Hokage.

Naruto clears a space in front of him, moving one of the large piles, and Sai raises an eyebrow. "You look like shit," he tells him honestly.

Naruto scowls. "At least I have an excuse. You were born looking like a creep."

"There's an awful lot of frustration in your voice," Sai notes. "Are you having enough sexual intercourse? Irritability is one of the first signs of –"

"Finish that sentence and I'll have you cleaning chewing gum off the desks at the Academy for the rest of your life – believe it!" Naruto threatens.

Sai smirks. "Whatever you say, Dickless."

"Can anyone on your team even pretend to respect this office?" Shikamaru lurks in the background, probably to make sure Naruto actually reads the documents he's supposed to. Sai also suspects that the Hokage's advisor routinely uses his shadow jutsu to keep Naruto from collapsing over his papers. "None of the other Hokage's advisors ever had to deal with this."

"Well, you could take a page out of Gai-sensei's book and challenge me to a duel every morning, but that's not exactly your style, is it?" Naruto sniggers and then abruptly shuts up as his body goes rigid. "Hey! Shikamaru, man! Come on!"

"We have business to discuss," his advisor reminds him, not even trying to sound patient as his shadow pins the Hokage in place. "And I'd like to get out of here before nine o'clock for once, so could we get on with it?"

"Ah, now I see who wears the pants in this relationship," Sai remarks, earning sour looks from both men even as Shikamaru releases Naruto.

"He's right, though," the blond man says grudgingly, his demeanour turning serious. "I assume Sasuke did his usual cryptic routine and didn't tell you anything?"

"You assume correctly."

Sasuke only offered him hints, but Sai still has contacts. His former Root comrades – the reformed ones who aren't serving prison sentences or dead – hear things. Because he has the ear of the Hokage, he is, in a way, an unofficial link between the old world and the new. So, they still pass information on to him in the hopes of preserving the greater good in Konoha.

Root is nothing but a distant memory now, and the children who suffered there have long since been rehabilitated through the care and effort of Sakura and her clinic. Which means there's only a specific group of children who would benefit from Sai's experience.

A specific, dangerous group of children…

His teammates filled him in on the Shin Uchiha incident long ago – of the lingering remnants of Orochimaru's experiments and countless emotionless clones with fully active Mangekyō Sharingan.

Sai shudders at that.

It's the army Danzo would have killed to possess had he lived.

Beyond Naruto's optimistic plans for the future, he hasn't heard much about how the clones are adjusting to the orphanage. But given the suspected nature of this meeting, he supposes he's about to find out.

Naruto appears to sense his thoughts.

"Listen, if you want to say no, I totally get it," the Hokage tells him with the air of someone resigned to hear the worst. "I know that things are busy for you right now with the baby coming and all. You probably want to spend as much time with Ino and your kid as possible."

"Perhaps you might tell me what the job is first before giving me the option to back out," Sai suggests. "Is that now how one is meant to preface the assignment of an unpleasant duty?"

"It's not unpleasant exactly," Naruto hedges with a minor twitch, "but it would be…challenging."

"Konoha will be accepting three of the Uchiha clones on a trial basis to see if integration is possible," Shikamaru says. "They're going to need an instructor."

For other members of Konoha's ninja elite, this would not be an unreasonable request, but Sai isn't exactly anyone's first choice for mentoring the city's youth. His upbringing inside Danzo Shimura's organization still casts a long shadow, and while people might be more at ease around him than certain other reformed shinobi, they would still prefer Sai not be the one to influence the next generation.

"Protocol dictates their instructor be of jōnin rank," he points out.

"And you and I both know you have more practical experience than half the people serving as jōnin right now," Naruto replies. He holds up several files. "The mission specs are in here if you're interested – official reports and what Sasuke found out – but I think you already know what I'm asking you. These kids need someone to teach them, and I think you're the best candidate for the job."

Even though this is what he expected, Sai is unsure how to answer.

"Wouldn't Kakashi be a more appropriate candidate in this case?" he questions carefully. "His experience with the Sharingan, not to mention his responsibility in training the legendary heroes of the Fourth Great Shinobi War…"

"Kakashi might have all that under his belt, but there are other important experiences he doesn't have," Shikamaru says. "You grew up being a nameless, expendable pawn for a secret organization. Sorry if that was indelicate."

"No, that is a fair assessment," Sai acknowledges.

"It's really not just that," Naruto interjects. "I mean, yeah, your upbringing definitely has some importance, but the reason you're the best person for this job is your relatability."

Sai blinks at this. "I don't understand."

"The reason Kakashi was a good teacher to us was that he understood us on a basic level," Naruto explains. "Sasuke and I were orphans. So was Kakashi. He knew what it was to lose his parents and he knew what it was like to be judged based on something he couldn't control. And he had a soft spot for Sakura because she reminded him of the girl he cared for when he was younger."

"Rin Nohara," Sai remembers. He has heard bits and pieces about Kakashi's past over the years, but has never asked directly; prior to joining Team 7, Danzo required he be familiar with every member's background.

"Yeah. Point is there was something there that let him bond with all of us. With the clone kids, he wouldn't have that," Naruto says. "Not that I'd rule out bringing him in to help. Considering Sasuke's made it clear he wants to be as hands-off as possible on this one, Kakashi might be the only one who can help them deal with their Sharingan issues. But these kids are going to need someone they can go to who can empathize with them…maybe even trust one day."

"I seem to recall it took a while for you and Sakura to trust me. What makes you think the same can't be said for these boys?"

"You're not working for an evil organization anymore, are you?" Naruto shoots back, but without any true malice. Instead, his expression shifts back to serious. "As long as I've known you, you've done your best to learn about what it means to be human. Whether it's from your stupid-ass books or just talking to other people, you know what it's like to start with zero real emotion or feelings – just like these kids. There's no one else in the entire city who has that experience, and that's why you're really the only one I can see succeeding in this task."

They hold each other's gaze for a long while. Naruto breaks it with a tired smile.

"At least, that's how I see it. Like I said before, I get it if you don't want to take this on. I know I'm doing an awesome job selling this –" Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "– but it's not going to be a walk in the park. You say the word and I'll find someone else. It'll be hard, but we've done more difficult things before."

Sai remains quiet for several minutes, thinking over what his friend has said. As much as Naruto tries to hoke about "selling" him on the idea, he is being utterly sincere.

To be honest, Sai is tempted to turn down the job.

As intriguing as it is, he thinks Naruto gives him too much credit. He didn't achieve his current lifestyle by himself.

In some ways, it's Sai's association with Konoha's current Sannin and his membership within the renowned Team 7 that has allowed him to integrate into city affairs as (relatively) easily as he has. That and his wife's imposing nature.

Sai never realised that becoming the husband of Ino Yamanaka would lead to so many opportunities, whether it be choice invitations to social gatherings or establishing healthy work relationships with others. From existing in the shadows without even a name, Sai has become an actual upstanding member of the community.

With a job and everything.

When Sai was younger, he never would have dreamed that he would grow up to be the head city planner of the Leaf village. Instead of wetwork and black ops, he designs buildings and monuments to showcase Konoha's distinct spirit. All of his paintings have names now, and he's even sold a few to collectors.

And then, of course, there are the changes that he attributes to becoming a father.

Inojin is a perplexing child. It's as if every quality of Ino's that Sai finds mystifying and everything she doesn't understand about him were mixed together to create this…peculiar, amazing and completely separate individual; one that Sai loves with his entire heart, a sensation he never experienced before.

Nor did he ever truly expect to experience it again and yet, in a month or so, there's going to be another tiny, new life in their home. A daughter, the scans say. He's admitted only to Ino (and Sakura because she's always had a unique gift of getting him to talk about his feelings) how terrified he is of the prospect.

"You'll be fine," his friend and former teammate told him months ago when he first expressed these doubts. "You've done a great job with Inojin and, if you have any problems, you have so many people who would help you out." A surprisingly true fact.

But Naruto was right earlier; Sai would much rather be preparing for his daughter's birth, enjoying his wife and son, and planning Konoha's cityscape than embarking on what sounds like a long, complicated mentorship.

However…

There is a very strong part of him that knows he would not forgive himself for putting his happiness in front of the needs of three young boys – especially those who have been raised in not entirely dissimilar circumstance to him.

It is a testament to his friendship with Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke over the years that he could feel this empathy.

"I appreciate your offer to find someone else, however, you're correct," Sai says. "These boys will not develop in an environment where they are surrounded by the reminders of their past. In Root, we were forced to become desensitized to the deaths of our brothers. It was something we were required to learn. These clones have had it practically bred into them."

Naruto brightens. "So you'll do it?"

"Yes."

"Great," Naruto says, relief evident in his voice. "To be honest, I really didn't have a back-up if you didn't take it."

"You're not exactly known for your contingency plans," Sai adds.

"You won't start with them right away," Shikamaru says, also sounding relieved. "Once they're in the village, they'll need to undergo mandatory psychiatric evaluations."

"And they need to be instructed in the shinobi way," Naruto adds. "They'll have to attend lessons of some sort, but that probably won't take too long. "

"They have Sharingan, as well as more practical experience than most chūnin, so that should cut the time short. According to Kabuto's reports, they are highly intelligent, so the usual five years of Academy instruction won't be required."

"Which is a good thing because I don't want them around too many people just yet," Naruto says firmly. "Just because they're geniuses doesn't mean they have the right skills to get along with other kids."

"A situation which you would know nothing about," Sai notes, thinking of the stories his teammates have told him about Naruto's academic performance; the term 'dead-last' comes to mind.

"Watch it!"

"I am merely offering an observation that Sasuke would be making if he were here and not changing diapers," Sai says dismissively. "Speaking of, this is a matter of the Uchiha, isn't it? Shouldn't their new clan head be here? Inojin has been talking about the news for a month now."

Naruto makes a face.

"Usually? Yeah. But this was all decided before Sarada officially took over. Sasuke said something about not bringing old world thinking into the new clan or some angsty bullshit like that," Naruto complains, earning a discreet cough from Shikamaru. "Anyway, whatever his logic is, I happen to agree that Sarada shouldn't be burdened with too much of this until she's more accustomed to her responsibilities."

"And there are many," Sai says. "Quite a lot for a girl her age. Inojin is having his own difficulties simply shadowing Ino these days. For Sarada to take all of those duties on…"

"Well, it's an Uchiha thing, I think – they're all goddamn overachievers," Naruto says, although there's affection and pride there rather than criticism.

"Honestly, I'd rather she be an overachieving bureaucrat than become head of ANBU at thirteen," Shikamaru notes. "Because that turned out so well the last time."

It's a sobering sentiment and the three of them exchange grim looks.

None of them knew the truth about Itachi Uchiha until after the war – during, in Naruto's case – but they were all affected by choices he made. None of them want to see their children experience the same difficult decisions he faced.

Sai decides he doesn't like the tension in the room. Social protocol demands a change in subject, or so he's been trained by his wife to believe.

"Where will the boys be staying?" he asks, half-expecting Naruto to suggest something ridiculous like hosting all of them at the Hokage's residence. Hinata would probably let him, too; the woman is still utterly besotted, even after all these years.

There's a knock from outside the office and Naruto grins. "Funny you should ask that. Come in!"

The door swings open, revealing a familiar, weary-looking face.

"Yamato?" Sai asks, the question directed to both Naruto and the former interim leader of Team 7.

"Lord Seventh," Yamato says in greeting. Of everyone formerly on Team 7, he's the only one who ever refers to Naruto by his title even when they are speaking informally. "Anko Mitarashi just relieved me of my surveillance duties and directed me to come see you." He then nods at the others. "Shikamaru. Sai."

"Oh, yeah. I needed to talk to you," Naruto says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Something that couldn't be conveyed via messenger bird?"

"This is better said in person," Naruto shrugs. "There's a situation that's come up that I need to know your thoughts on. If you're interested, Anko will temporarily take over your assignment."

"She's been retired for years," Yamato says in mild protest.

"Don't let her obsession with sweets fool you – she's still lethal," he warns. "And crazy. More importantly, she knows the old snake's habits pretty well."

"Are my abilities in question?"

"No. That's not it at all. In fact, I have another job in mind for you."

Yamato, Sai notes, has the sense to look at least slightly worried.

つづく