Welcomed Second Chance by Darashiko

Chapter 4: The Pervert's Decision

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.

OxoxO

The Hokage's office was occupied by the Third Hokage, his student Jiraiya and the head of T&I Department, Inoichi Yamanaka. The room was secured with silencing seal so that no one can eavesdrop on them. Although if someone could manage to somehow listen to what they were saying; at the moment, they would hear nothing but silence. Now why they were silent?

It's because they just finished hearing the record Jiraiya brought with him, his conversation with one Naruto Uzumaki, or rather the one who has taken the place of Naruto Uzumaki. Some of his answers made the other 2 occupants of the room wander, if it wasn't simply Naruto who finally snapped. Even though the boy wasn't informed about his status as a jinchuriki, the animosity the villagers showed him was enough to drive an 8 years old child insane. The thought was terrifying to Hiruzen, as his agent has informed him about the mental state of Sand's jinchuriki. Truthfully Hiruzen had met the boy regularly to show the villagers that he was important to him, which he was; both as a military asset and surrogate grandson. But now he was lost about what to do with the change.

"Jiraiya," he broke the silence after a long moment of silence he spent smoking his pipe. "you talked with the boy personally. What's your opinion about him?"

"The boy is honest. Everything he said, he told the truth. I can say there are things he doesn't want us to find out. He did mention human race going extinct for their mistake. And with how easily he accepted death as part of life at the age of 19, I'm guessing he lived through the aftermath of an apocalyptic war. The he talked, even though he wants to live longer than before, he isn't afraid of dying a second time."

"Inoichi, what's your evaluation of the boy?"

"Lord Hokage, he is a 19 years old boy. He has his mentality fully developed, so trying to change his mind will be futile. At the moment, any steps we take to change it; he will take that as brainwashing and in best case scenario he will just ignore it. So I think our course of action should be to just observe and get a full picture of his character. And he is willing to trust the people who Naruto trusted. The list of those people is not very long. So my suggestion is to not break his trust. Naruto never remembered or maybe never thought about people's slight against him but he said that his forgiveness isn't cheap. Since he is being honest, I think we should do the same in any of our action regarding him. Then the matter of his willingness to sacrifice his life to save his siblings. That's a sign of selflessness. If our shinobi can show him that they are willing to put aside their hatred, I think he will be willing to do his best to protect them. There are many things we don't know about this new person. Also he offered to see his memories, which means he is sure that either he doesn't have anything to hide or his memories are too gruesome for others to watch. Keep in mind, he said that he lived in a different world and was brought up in a different culture. He is sure to have different opinion about matters and different values to that of our own which is undoubtedly an important part of his character."

"He has met with his well-wishers shortly after he woke up, on his own volition. But he hasn't come to meet me yet." Hiruzen took a long drag of his pipe before continuing. "I feel as if I would have to start all over again to have a relationship with him."

"On the bright side," Jiraiya had a stupid grin on his face, "you wouldn't have to give him the Talk."

Hiruzen almost coughed smoke at this piece of information. Even though he was a closet pervert himself, he dreaded any moments when he needed to give someone the Talk. 'Thank the gods for the small mercy; giving the Talk to anyone is a nightmare.'

The blonde occupant in the room was concerned at this. "Lord Jiraiya," Inoichi asked with anticipation. He had to know. To be relieved of the duty of giving the Talk was something every parent would be happy for. But coming from Jiraiya, it gave him a bad feeling. After all, his baby daughter was the boy's classmate. "is the new Naruto a womanizer?"