With the passing of time, came upon a new era where Naruto had been respected. Despite all this, Jiraiya did not have enough time to congratulate his beloved student, due to the day of his fabled departure. Upon walking to the gates that resided in Konoha, both student and master met, along with new instructor Yamato.
"Weren't you meant to be training me?"
"Naruto, the new paths of the leaves lie ahead of us. Besides, Tsunade rejected your complete freedom of choice so now you can't come along with me."
"It'll be alright Jiraiya." The two looked across Yamato. "With your departure, I'll be sure to nurture Naruto as a better person."
"I don't want to be a better person; I want to get stronger!"
"Easy there," Noticing these were their final moments for now, Jiraiya put him hands on Naruto's shoulders. "I know you'll train hard till I come back. When I do arrive, show me your new advanced moves. Also, don't worry, I'll try to weaken the akatsuki with my snooping and make it easier on your end, so don't get into trouble."
"Ok! But don't start doing your pervy research!"
Jiraiya chuckled at his immature comment. He was valuing the time he was given with Naruto and he trusted the boy would become a shinobi worth his time on. "I'll try."
"You better! I don't want everyone to know the hokage's teacher to be a pervert when you come back."
"How long to you think I'll be gone for?"
"How long do you think it will take for me to become hokage?"
"Touché; you make me look like a bad person either way."
"Ahem... Jiraiya." Yamato intruded. "Anything I should know about Naruto?"
"He's very hardworking. Let him overwork if he wishes but do keep your eyes out on the demon within him; I trust that's why you were recruited as his new instructor to begin with. Also, take him to ramen sometimes too, he enjoys it a lot."
"Noted. Please keep in mind, I'll try to tutor him with force if need be, but I'll follow your advice."
"Do as you wish."
"You guys sound like your about to start babysitting me." A glum look came across Naruto.
Realising this was the right time to say his goodbyes, Jiraiya set about his face slowly in the opposite direction. "I'll be seeing you two soon then."
"Look forward to getting the hokage's benefits as soon as you get back!" Naruto's fists raised in the air through instinct.
"Have a safe trip, Jiraiya." Yamato waved.
"I will. Goodbye, Naruto."
"See you later!"
The man smiled and left to make his departure clear to the two. As he was leaving, Yamato looked across to his newfound pupil and smiled.
"He has a lot of trust in you, do you realise that?"
"Yeah. I do."
Further between the the two, Jiraiya looked back at his two comrades. As the leaves of the spring season swirled in delight, he smiled to himself and set his worries at ease. The sun glistened across the new awakening of Konoha's genin and everybody set their sights upon their own goals.
Naruto Uzumaki was a boy who was determined to become hokage no matter what happened in the process. His now former teacher, Jiraiya was one of the legendary sannin who had wanted to tutor a child of prophecy; whether Naruto was this child of prophecy was yet to be told, however the chances were very high to him.
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After the picnic of Naruto's confession, it had felt good to return to the ichiraku ramen place. Both Teuchi and Ayame greeted him with open smiles and whilst they had wanted to know what caused his previous sadness, just seeing him in his happy state pleased the two.
Ichiraku ramen was a famed ramen restaurant in Konoha that many admired. It's interior was wooden, with white flaps hanging out on the entrance as a welcome message. The area was lovingly cleaned by Ayame, whilst the payments were handled by her father, Teuchi. The two had worked wonders across their workplace and they both respected Naruto.
He was smiling. Naruto was beaming with excitement as he marvelled at the large bowl of ramen being served. The bowl had taken up a large area, with portions of pork, lettuce and seaweed inhabiting it. Excitedly, Naruto began chomping on his food after saying his prayers.
"Did I promise you refills?"
"Yep, pretty sure you did!"
"Is that so?" Yamato had a glum look written across his face. "Your an expensive person."
"Cheer up. The foods good anyway so does it really matter?"
"Yes it does, Naruto. Anyway, what was it you wanted to ask me as your new superior?"
"Oh," He slurped on a long noodle piece before continuing. "Yeah, what's the deal with you being my sensei? What makes you so special?"
"That's a long story; I doubt you would be interested-"
"I'm up for it, so spill!"
"Well," This was tricky for Yamato. He had wanted Naruto to show interest in him and yet his method for doing that was undecided. After much thought, he came up with his hook. "I was born with the cells of the first hokage, Hashirama."
"Woah! So your a relative or something?" Yamato's method had worked.
"No. I have relations to Orochimaru. I was never truly born, and instead I was one of his detested experiments in his plan to mutate the Hashirama cells from his corpse into stolen newborns-"
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Well," Yamato staggered for a few seconds. Suddenly he had begun to notice Naruto losing his attention and soon he gave up. "Well... it doesn't have to do anything... with... me being your teacher." The shame in his voice felt like it was piercing his heart.
"Do you have any reason-"
"Alright, I was truly selected so that I could control your outbursts with the nine-tailed fox. Take a look at your necklace."
"Sure." Naruto was now reinvested and brought out his blue crystal necklace which Tsunade once gave him in a bet. "What's so special about it?"
"That necklace was made through the ages around the time of the early hokage. It has unexplainable properties, one of them being that I can tame your outbursts thanks to my cells' roots to Hashirama. This means we can take risks with you being a jinchūriki."
"Hmm... I guess it makes sense." He smiled. "That's pretty awesome!"
Hearing those words had brought overwhelming happiness within Yamato. "Why don't I get you a refill on that overpriced ramen of yours?"
"Yamato sensei... Are you crying?"
"One refill of miso ramen please!"
"Quit ignoring me!"
Despite being annoyed, Naruto was convinced to keep quiet once his refill was brought to him. Yamato watched the boy eat his meal whilst admiring his cheery attitude. There was something odd about Naruto which made you like him. Finally, Yamato had understood why both Kakashi and Jiraiya had taken such an interest in the young boy. He was indeed set up for the title of hokage, and Yamato was going to push him towards that goal.
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Characters:
1. Kakashi the copy ninja
2. Naruto the knucklehead
3. Sasuke of the uchiha clan
4. Tsunade the new hokage
5. Ibiki the expert
6. Jiraiya the gallant
7. Sakura the brains
8. Danzo Of ROOT
9. Anko as Sasuke's new teacher
10. Yamato as Naruto's new teacher
11. Sai of ROOT
12. Shizune as Tsunade's assistant
13. Tonton as Tsunade's pig
14. Suigetsu the liquid mystery
15. Kabuto as a villain
16. Hinata of the hyuga clan
17. Ino of the Yamanaka clan
18. Tenten as a weapons expert
19. Lee as the rock solid ally
20. Neji of the Hyuga cadet branch
21. Shikamaru as of the Nara clan
22. Choji of the Akimichi clan
23. Kiba of the Inuzuka clan
24. Shino as the insect specialist