Note: Forgive the lateness of this chapter, I've been spending my time with my family for Christmas. That being said, I hope you all had a good one. In this chapter, it will be continuing on from the last.

3.

When Naruto was finally called back into the Hokage's office, his nee-san by his side, he was understandably apprehensive. Despite his resolution not to get too involved or to think too much over what was going on, the moment he stepped foot in the room, he could taste the tension. It was in the crease of his mother's brow, the clenching of Ero-baka's fist, and the lines that seemed to have multiplied across the Hokage's face.

Body language was a medic-nin art, and Naruto was well versed in its application. Quite often, his kaa-chan dragged him out into the streets of the villages they passed through, pointing to a random person walking the street, and asked him what they were thinking or feeling.

In an effort to alleviate the tension that had settled in the room in his absence, Naruto bounced in, planting a wide smile on his face. It wasn't exactly forced, either. He was always overjoyed to see his kaa-chan, no matter the circumstances. In some ways, she was like the light in his life. He didn't know much about his life before he had been brought to her, he was that young, but he knew Tsunade had been like a shinobi with a shining kunai to him.

Slipping his hand into Tsunade's as he bounced up, he squinted up at her, twitching his lollipop from one side of his mouth to the other.

"Kaa-chan?"

Tsunade looked at him, honey eyes warm. "What is it, Naru-chan?"

He paused, looking into the interested eyes of the Hokage and Ero-baka for a moment. He quickly turned his attention back to his adopted mother, expression honestly curious. "Are we going to stay here?"

At the question, Tsunade seemed to sag a bit. The conversation with her old sensei and her teammate had raged for a long time, and she still hadn't had the time to properly absorb all that she had learned. What she did know, however, was that she would keep Naruto safe at any cost, and if that cost was her rather reluctant return to Konoha, then so be it. It was a mother's duty to sacrifice all she had for her son, after all.

Reaching out, she ruffled his hair, smiling at him reassuringly. She was under no illusion that he needed it, but it was more to reassure herself. Living in Konoha would be a change, of course. They had all grown used to their own almost nomadic ways, and it was a lifestyle they enjoyed. It would take some adjusting, and some sacrifice, to make it work. But they would have to, that much she knew.

As grudging as it was, she had to admit her son was safest here. She had taught him what she could, but now it was time for him to really, truly learn. For the sake of his own safety.

"Yeah, Naruto-chan," she told him, sleighting a look at Jiraiya and her own sensei. "We're staying here."

A long moment passed, and a thoughtful visage took over Naruto's face.

"Okay," he stated simply.

"Okay?" Tsunade inquired.

He nodded, more certain. "Okay."

A bright smile blossomed across Tsunade's face. She was under no delusions about her adopted son. He was a bright boy, insanely so. In the odd glimpses of maturity on his young face, in the knowing smiles that crossed his face and the way his eyes shone, she saw it. It was a spark, bright, intelligent. And in those moments, she had no doubt that he would surpass his father in all ways.

Minato had been handsome, smart, and above all, kind. And Naruto was every bit his father's son.

Shifting slightly in his chair, Hiruzen coughed slightly to rid the room of the oddly happy silence that had fallen upon it. As all eyes shot to him, he smiled warmly, his own only fixed on Naruto. He took in every little detail, from the way his fingers twitched nervously to the way he scratched at the back of his neck. Every little motion was so familiar, and yet so unexpected, it was eye opening.

But more eye opening, was just how much the boy had grown. Last time he had seen him, Naruto had fit perfectly in his arms. Now, he stood tall for someone so young, just as his grandson Konohamaru was. And not all of that was height. Something in his eyes gave him a presence. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was that same elusive quality that had drawn him to Minato.

"You've grown, Naruto," he said, repeating his thoughts. "The last time I saw you, you were only a baby."

Tsunade snorted, although it looked like anger still existed in her somewhere. "He's still a baby."

"Kaa-san!" Naruto whined childishly, pausing in his unwrapping of yet another piece of candy. However, despite his whining, there was a hint of contentment, of happiness, in the shine of his eyes.

An amused hand covering her mouth, Shizune let out a quiet laugh.

Almost immediately, Naruto rounded on her, eyes betrayed. "Nee-san!"

The laughter that came from the Hokage's office was heard all around Konoha that day.

Once the laughter stopped, the stories came. Nostalgic tales from years passed, some happy, some sad, and some just so funny that the laughter started all over again. The conversations raged for hours, until the afternoon light dwindled into the slowly twinkling sky of evening and all the village slumbered for the night. And so too does the youngest of their company, little Naruto asleep, his head in his mother's lap, a smile on his young face. None of them have the heart to wake him, and so it falls to Shizune to take him to their new (old?) home at the Senju estate.

When night fell, and the dark haired woman was gone, the young boy whisked away with her, all was quiet. For a long moment, the Hokage's office dwelled in silence, warm and content. And then it quickly turned to conversation once more.

"He's a bright boy."

It was Jiraiya who broke the silence.

Tsunade looked at him, eyes unreadable. "He is," she said, before adding, "just like his father."

The reminder of just who had contributed to the life of the boy made them all sigh wistfully for a moment. Jiraiya's eyes were the saddest however, memories of his smartest, strongest, most talented student rose fresh in his mind. Minato's son had turned out just like he had, even without his influence. And he didn't know how to feel about that.

"He still just needs to be trained," Hiruzen cut in then, snapping them out of their memories. "Have you taught him much, Tsunade?"

The honey-eyed woman sat back in her chair at that. Naruto was every bit the prodigy she understood that Minato had been, and she didn't envy Jiraiya one bit for having to teach one. Quite frankly, it was exhausting at times, especially when at the end of the day that little genius was also your child. That being said, Naruto picked up techniques faster than she could ever imagine in her wildest dreams, and his chakra capacity was no laughing matter, as was his stamina. She'd spent years chasing him around, and unsticking him from convenient ceiling hiding spots to think otherwise.

"I've been training the brat in iryōjutsu for a while now, he's good at it too. Wants to be a medic," she stated, thinking back on his skills. He had picked up a lot of habits and interests from her, but she had never been prouder than when he had taken an interest in Iryōjutsu. It had almost been worth the struggle they'd gone through (for almost two years, she reminded herself) to tame his wild chakra control. "He's too young to learn proper taijutsu, so I've been teaching him my way."

Both of the men gulped at that. It was well known just what Tsunade's taijutsu was like.

Destructive, to put it simply.

"He knows a bit about poisons from Shizune, too," she mentioned, thinking. "I taught him a couple of ninjutsu too. The brat took to them like a fish. He's got enormous reserves, that kid. I'm not too sure if that was Kyuubi's doing or Kushina's though. Other than that, he's passable with kunai and shuriken, but much bettter with senbon. He's got a thing for traps, too. I think it's something to do with his love of pranks."

Blinking at how much their student/teammate's son had learned, the two of them would have been left with hanging jaws if it weren't just like a Namikaze and Uzumaki to pick up on things so quickly. It was in his genes, after all.

"He really does take after his parents," Jiraiya mourned, much to their agreement. "Too much. I don't know if this village is built to handle another prodigy. I mean, look at that Uchiha kid. May as well just give the brat a promotion to Chunin now."

Tsunade shook her head. "No."

"Not that I don't agree with you, Tsunade," Sarutobi spoke up, looking at them both. "But why not?"

She shrugged. "I want to teach him the value of hard work. If he's going to be a shinobi, he's going to have to work his way to the top, starting with Genin," she stated simply, but with conviction. "Just because he's a special little brat, doesn't mean he's going to get any short cuts. Besides, he do with some interaction with people closer to his age."

Both of them nodded at that reasoning.

"You do know the current batch of Genin are a couple of years older than him anyway, right?" Sarutobi mentioned. "And the only available team? Well, I'm not too sure that they'll take kindly to someone young joining them."

"Bah," Tsunade waved him off, unconcerned. "Naruto will be fine, he's a mature little brat."

Sarutobi shrugged, reaching for a form that was left sitting on his desk, intent on adding the new shinobi to the roster. Originally, he'd been planning on having Naruto installed in the Academy first thing, but he should have known Tsunade would have taught her son a few things. Oh well, it would fix the problem of Kakashi's missing Genin quite nicely.

Signing his name off on the paper, he placed it in the finished pile, and reached into his desk. Extracting a black hitai-ate, he threw it to Tsunade, who caught it with ease. It would be a little bit for Naruto, as most were made to fit those of higher age, but he'd have to make due. There would be no point in getting him a small one, he'd just grow into the one he had.

"Alright, so it's settled," he announced. "Naruto will join Team 7 under Kakashi Hatake, alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno as their official new team member as of tomorrow afternoon."

Across the room, Jiraiya grinned. "May Kami have mercy on his soul."

Even Tsunade couldn't help but smirk.

This would get the brat back for all the pranks he'd pulled on her over the years. He would hate her come the next evening, but that would teach him to try and slip purple hair dye into her shampoo. She was a Sannin, as if she would fall for such a pathetic trick.

No, that had fallen to Shizune.