Yondaime scanned the ground around him warily, and kept his senses alert. This sewer was old, musty, and dirty, just the kind of place he expected Orochimaru to be conducting his sickening experiments. The shallow stream of sludge, dotted with tons of trash on its sickly green surface, flowed very slowly and steadily, untouched and unchanged by time. They had found the general location of Orochimaru’s lair, but did not know exactly where it was in this complicated tunnel system. To think he had been right under their feet the entire team, and conducting his experiments on the people of the Leaf Village.

My people! Yondaime roared in his mind. He would not let Orochimaru escape this time. He wouldn’t allow his people to be harmed by this menace any longer. He intended to eliminate him and any that stood by him and he was going to do it tonight if it was the last thing he would ever do. Two ANBU ninja landed soundlessly in front of him, just as wary as he, watching for any signs of an ambush.

“Lord Hokage! We’ve located Orochimaru’s lair! Sarutobi has already engaged the enemy, and so have many of our ANBU squads and Jounins. There are more than we expected. We need you!” He said, adjusting his mask, which was flecked with abstract blue dots.

“Lead me to them! Quickly now! We must not let any escape!” Yondaime ordered, and as the ANBUs surged forward, he followed closely.

They led him through winding tunnels, careful to avoid falling in the ever present river of sludge. They used the small paths on either side of the stream, ignoring the wretched stench that resulted from years of garbage and waste. Yondaime was intent on one thing. Ending Orochimaru’s life right here and now, ending his ambition, and his dreams.

The ANBUs stopped in front of a dark passage, and stepped lightly through the darkness. Yondaime followed, and they headed steadily toward a grate in the floor, large and rusty. Instead of holding the usual black, seemingly bottomless pit of sludge behind its bars, the grate looked down on a huge lair. They were above the room, and could see clearly into it. The lighting was good, which illuminated the pure carnage taking place below.

ANBUs and Konoha ninjas fought against many other ninjas, all with Sound Village headbands. He could see that the Konoha warriors were outnumbered, and were being beaten pretty badly. He nodded to the two ANBUs who lifted the grate, set it aside and plunged into the fighting, wielding their swords with skill. Yondaime took a breath and then dropped gently to the floor.

He had one objective. Find Orochimaru, kill him, and end his ambition. That was what he was here to do, and he would gladly kill any Sound ninjas who were foolish enough to stand in his way. He patted the bag at his side, as if to reassure himself it was still there. It held his sealed kunai. He didn’t feel as confident as he did before he opened that grate, but he was Hokage. He had to do his duty.

The southern end of the chamber was bereft of any fighting, and required climbing a large set of stairs to reach. Here, many aquariums had been filled with a strange substance, and what Yondaime saw shocked him. Many bodies floated in those tubs, their faces expressionless, and eyes glazed behind the glass. Rage, a white hot knife, cut through his head, and filled his inner being, leaving him unable to feel any other emotion. Orochimaru will die for this. He will die here and now.

He searched ceaselessly through the maze of tubs, looking for any sign of Orochimaru. Rounding a corner, which led into another chamber, Yondaime smiled as he saw the object of his desire.

Sarutobi lay injured, badly beaten on the ground in front of him, nearest to the turn. The chamber was not very huge, but it was full of Sound ninja, most dead, or badly injured. Those that remained, stood guard in front of Orochimaru, who stood, swinging his Kusanagi sword around, and then licking some blood off its tip. He was wearing his usual attire, the tan vest over a dark undershirt, and the purple tie around his waist, along with tan pants.

“Here you are Orochimaru. I’ve finally found you. Looks like Sarutobi got here first.” Yondaime said, grabbing one of his sealed kunai and twirling it around his finger.

Orochimaru stopped twirling his sword abruptly and looked up in surprise. His eyes widened when he saw Yondaime, but he wiped his face clean and reverted to a smile, licking his lips with an abnormally long tongue.

“Ah, it’s the famed 4th Hokage, or Konoha’s Yellow Flash. I knew you would be here eventually. I was just packing up, getting ready to leave, after stabbing my old sensei with this Kusanagi.” Orochimaru said while laughing and twirling the sword around some more.

Pushing the dozen Sound ninja out of his way, Orochimaru sped towards the still body of Sarutobi, sword raised. In less than a second, Yondaime disappeared and reappeared in front of Sarutobi, kunai meeting Orochimaru’s Kusanagi with a clash of steel. Yondaime’s iron grip and steady arm held back the sword, though the kunai felt on the verge of giving in to the legendary blade. Orochimaru smiled, showing his sharp teeth. Yondaime met his smile with a rock hard expression, eyes colder than an ice storm in the deepest winter. It was time to finish this affair.

Flipping backwards over Sarutobi’s body, Yondaime replicated himself three times. Orochimaru flipped backwards as well, and held his Kusanagi ready as he landed, light-footed and soundlessly. Springing all three of his clones forward, he threw three different sealed kunai in different locations around the room, making sure one of them didn’t land anywhere inconvienient.

“This jutsu…..could it be?” Orochimaru wondered aloud, ready to meet Yondaime with his sword.

As he slashed at Orochimaru with his kunai, Yondaime suddenly disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room, standing on top of one of his sealed kunai. Dodging a large number of shuriken thrown at him by the many Sound ninja bodyguards, Yondaime bit his thumb, stopped and thrust his palm to the floor.

Standing on top of Gamabunta’s head, he towered over the Sound ninja, and Orochimaru himself, who still stood defensively across the room from Sarutobi’s unconscious form. Gamabunta’s gaze went quickly to Orochimaru and his look soured.

“It’s you Orochimaru. I should have known I would be summoned for this eventually. Do you mean to kill him 4th?” Gamabunta asked, licking his large frog lips.

“Yes, that is the objective of this mission. Orochimaru, you always were a fool, and full of bloodlust, even I saw that as a child. Right now, your ambition ends!” Yondaime roared, urging Gamabunta forward.

A huge blade appeared in the giant toad’s mouth. It was Gamabunta’s preferred weapon. Orochimaru thrust his palm to the ground, and a giant snake collided with Yondaime and Gamabunta, causing Yondaime to be knocked off balance, and thrown to the ground. He flipped in mid-air, and disappeared before he hit the ground, reappearing in a different corner of the room, in front of one of his kunai. He examined the situation before him.

Orochimaru stood atop Manda, unshaken by the collision with Gamabunta. Both of the giant summons were fighting for position, pushing each other back and forth. Yondaime barely had time to react as he spun and blocked a blow from Orochimaru’s Kusanagi. The evil Sannin had disappeared from the back of Manda and snuck up on Yondaime using his Body Flicker.

The Sound ninja watched in amazement as Orochimaru’s sword was knocked from his hands, and both he and Yondaime fought hand to hand, trying to get the advantage. In the middle of the room, the same fight was going on between Gamabunta and Manda, with no clear cut winner.

Yondaime blocked Orochimaru’s blows and went on the offensive, using anything he could to get an advantage over Orochimaru. Finding an opening, he got ready to knock Orochimaru to the ground, but was amazed as his swinging leg was ensnared in a trap of grey snakes, all ferocious and hissing madly.

Slipping his kunai out from his sleeve and slicing through the snakes with almost inhuman quickness, Yondaime flipped backward and stood opposite from Orochimaru. Smiling, Orochimaru surged forward, more snakes coming out from his sleeve, around his hand. Hands flickering in hand signs, Yondaime’s fingers made the sign of the tiger.

“Blasting fire ball jutsu!” He roared.

Fire immediately blew forth from his mouth, enveloping Orochimaru and causing him to shriek. Not even the former 3rd Hokage, Sarutobi, could match his fire jutsu. He held the flame, causing Orochimaru to writhe in pain in the fiery furnace of death. Finally, after about a minute, he let go of the cord of fire, causing the molten pool to recede.

The ground was charred, but there was no sign of Orochimaru. A kunai sped past his vision and Yondaime turned quickly in the direction it came from only to feel something behind him. Flipping up, he felt a large shuriken barely skim his back, causing his white cloak with red markings to be torn to shreds.

He landed and barely dodged Orochimaru’s Kusanagi, which the fiend must have retrieved somehow, and flipped sideways, nearing the spot where Manda and Gamabunta were still vying for leverage. Orochimaru lept at him again with his sword raised. Yondaime smiled, which caused Orochimaru to look alarmed.

In a flash, the Hokage appeared behind Orochimaru, and thrust a kunai into his back. Producing another one from his sleeve in less than a second, Yondaime slashed at Orochimaru’s head. Yondaime then flipped over the front of Orochimaru and dodged a blow from a second Orochimaru, who seemed to come from nowhere. The Orochimaru he stabbed started to melt, and was reduced to a pile of dark brown sludge in a matter of seconds.

Damn! A replacement! Again, the 4th stood across from the Sannin, each staring the other down. Finally, Orochimaru spoke, his mocking tone almost amused.

“Well, 4th it seems as if we are warmed up enough, don’t you think. After all, this isn’t an Academy class. Hehe, let us see the full power of Sarutobi’s choice. Show me what you can do 4th!” Orochimaru disappeared in a puff of smoke, and reappeared behind the 4th again, Yondaime barely seeing the blur of his figure.

“You can’t beat me when it comes to speed.” Yondaime explained, reappearing on the other side of the room, next to another of his kunai.

He turned away from the astonished looks of Orochimaru’s bodyguards, and held out his palm, keeping his eye on Orochimaru. A ball of blue energy started forming, spinning madly in his hand. Its speed of rotation rivaled his own speed, and soon they would combine to end Orochimaru’s life, and most importantly, his ambition.

The blue ball of spinning chakra in his palm caused his whole being to shake. The chakra was so strong, he could feel his skin being wasted away, his arm bones jolting, and his fingers jumping in their sockets. He didn’t care what price he would pay, as long as he could save his people, save the Leaf Village, from Orochimaru. This, he promised to do here.

Orochimaru examined the spinning blue ball carefully. Yondaime knew he knew what it was. He had to have seen Jiraiya use it, in there training days, at least after Yondaime taught it to him.

“You see this Orochimaru! This is my own creation! And tonight, you shall meet your end by it. You will regret ever going down this road as you rot in Hell!” the 4th yelled, speeding forward in a blur. Orochimaru’s reaction time was not enough, and he was trapped as the circling blue chakra expanded upon contact with his stomach. Orochimaru’s eyes widened, and just before he was blown back by the spinning sphere of powerful chakra, he laughed, loud, cold and chilling.

Puzzled, Yondaime realized the trap and teleported to one of his now many numerous kunai in the room. Manda’s tail slapped down on his previous location less than a second later. The body of Orochimaru that had been blow back had turned into a pile of thick, brown sludge. He scanned the room for Orochimaru, keeping his eye on the Sound ninja bodyguards, who also seemed to be looking for him. He heard a loud booming voice in the chamber.

“Get him you fools. Do not let the cretin escape this chamber!” Orochimaru’s voice echoed throughout the room.

The dozen Sound ninja sprang forward, and Yondaime stood casually, waiting for them. The first enemy ninja slashed at him, and stood shocked as he slashed through air. He fell with a kunai in his back, as did the next eleven foolish ninja. Yondaime stood over their lifeless corpses, still scanning for Orochimaru. Manda had been stopped and engaged with Gamabunta again, who looked to be losing, but not by much.

“Whew, that was close with that giant snake.” Yondaime said to himself. “I’m not making another mistake like that again, and I wasted chakra.”

“Are you tired?” said a voice behind him.

Whirling, a kunai came to his hand and skimmed Orochimaru’s tan vest. The Sannin ducked under it and blasted Yondaime back with a burst of flame that came from a hand sign made with his left hand. Yondaime used the Body Flicker to emerge appear next to Orochimaru, and teleported around the room with insane speed. He had made sure to drop plenty of kunai during the battle in the moments before for this moment, and keep Orochimaru from noticing at all. Orochimaru cloned himself dozens of times, in an attempt to catch Yondaime, but to no avail. Every clone was destroyed and the original Orochimaru was thrown back into the western wall in the room, grunting in pain.

Orochimaru licked some blood from his lip and thrust his palms outward, snakes coming from his sleeves. Within seconds, the snakes had expanded throughout the entire room, but were being cut through by a yellow blur with what looked like flashing kunai. Yondaime smiled as a kunai landed next to Orochimaru, who sprung back, but not fast enough. Yondaime appeared in front of him, and with a slash from the kunai, a deep gash was made in Orochimaru’s face.

Yondaime did not stop there; he attacked with all his ferocity. His blows were blocked by Orochimaru for the most part, but the blood from the gash reached his eyes and forced him to retreat into the corner of the room. There, Yondaime teleported and charged up his blue sphere.

“Orochimaru, it’s over! You cannot escape my jutsu. With this special jutsu, no human eye can follow my movements, not even Sharingan. My Flying Thunder God technique has been seen by many, and none have lived to tell of it except those close to me. You will not be one of those who survive. It ends now Orochimaru! Say goodbye to your ambition!” Yondaime roared, raising his hand, Rasengan ready to blast Orochimaru to bits.

“No one can end my ambition!” Orochimaru yelled, grabbing onto Yondaime’s right hand.

There, he held the Hokage, and looked up. Yondaime tried to pull away, but Orochimaru held him fast. He heard Manda roar behind him, and knew that perhaps this is where it would end. Pulling back his free hand, which contained the spiraling Rasengan, he plunged it into Orochimaru’s chest as fast as he could, and seconds later, was swallowed whole by Manda.

Yondaime was immediately enveloped in a prison of slimy residue, the snake’s saliva almost encasing his body, and filling his mouth, nose, and ears. He slipped further through the prison, down and down. He did not want it to end like this. This couldn’t be the end. Maybe I still have some kunai in my sleeve. He moved his right hand, but he did not feel any kunai tucked away up their. Not losing hope, he desperately tried to move his hand, but he couldn’t find room to get to his belt to grab any kunai in the snake’s long, slimy stomach.

So this is how it ends. I die as snake food. Orochimaru…he lives on. At least, he thought he was alive. He did manage to hit the Sannin with Rasengan, but he couldn’t manage to get him entirely. Anyway, there has to be a way out of here. Wait...I can still……yes!

Moments later, he found himself standing over one of his sealed kunai, in the room. Manda hissed and looked surprised at the sudden loss of the huge bulge in his stomach and then evaporated. That meant that either Orochimaru didn’t want to have him out any longer, or he was too weak to. Yondaime hoped it was the latter.

He sped warily to where he had hit Orochimaru with Rasengan….only to find him gone. An imprint, with the outline of a person, was in the wall behind where he had hit Orochimaru, and pieces of the stone wall lay littered on the ground at the foot of it. He still survived it…damn.

Yondaime kept his guard up. If Orochimaru was still here, he may still have enough strength to attack one more time. But after getting blasted like that, and with a serious face wound, Yondaime doubted it. If it hadn’t been for Manda, he was sure he would have killed Orochimaru.

He searched for Gamabunta, and found the giant toad, unconscious in one corner of the room. Sarutobi still lay in his original spot, and his chest rose and fell with ease, which meant he was still alive. Yondaime let out a sigh of relief. The old man had probably fought of all these dead Sound ninja and just ran out of chakra before he could reach Orochimaru.

Yondaime felt around his own chakra levels. They were low, but he had enough left to use his Flying Thunder God to its full ability. Using Rasengan two times had been tough on him, especially his left hand, which he used it with. It looked broken, and Yondaime could feel sharp pains surging through it. He strolled over to Sarutobi’s body and picked the former Hokage up, resting him on his shoulder. He wore the black apparel of the old Hokage battle suit, something which Yondaime could never get used to.

He carried the old man back into the maze of the glass display cases, with the floating bodies. Sarutobi was light on Yondaime’s fit frame, so he carried the man with ease. In a matter of minutes, he found himself back in the large chamber, where some fighting was still taking place. The Sound ninja were now advancing on a circle of Konoha ninja. Bodies littered the ground, and the cries of the wounded filled the air. Yondaime set down Sarutobi’s body and took some small shuriken from his pocket. The Sound ninja were now converging on the Konoha ninjas’ last stand formation.

Yondaime threw the shuriken, and then replicated it hundreds of times, causing a sea of shuriken to take down one section of the Sound ninja from behind. The rest of the enemy ninja stopped and looked shocked. He heard some shout and point, and he even heard a few murmurs of “Yellow Flash” in the crowd of enemies.

They all gasped as Yondaime disappeared and reappeared amongst them, standing over a dead body of one of their own, who had a shuriken with a very strange tag on it stuck in his neck. All of the shuriken that he had used had a strange tag on them.

Working his kunai effortlessly, he cut through the many Sound ninja in his way, using the piled bodies with sealed shuriken in their necks to teleport instantaneously to that spot, and kill the large group of enemy ninja within seconds. Few escaped, and Yondaime allowed himself some mercy, but after about a minute, the four dozen or so Sound ninja that had stood between him and his people, lay dead in piles, all cut open and bleeding profusely, courtesy the Flying Thunder God technique. Only two enemy ninja managed to escape, and they would always remember the day they saw the abilities of the legendary Yellow Flash.

The darkness slowly consumed Anko’s mind, and the pain. It seemed as though she had spent days in this dark room, and the place where Orochimaru-sama had bit her was burning like a raging fire. It was all she could do to keep from screaming out anymore. She thought her scream had forever left her after the first hour. In a way, her brain had numbed her entire body, as it was wracked by bouts of pain.

She hadn’t been able to stand for….she didn’t know how long. She could see nothing but the blackness that had even crept into the corners of her mind, hear nothing but her own screams, and imagine nothing but a brave ninja warrior coming to save her, handsome and strong. Scooping her up in his arms and carrying her gently away from this place. How she longed to leave this lying position, how she longed to no longer be paralyzed here.

It seems her sensei had abandoned her. She hadn’t heard anyone come into this part of Orochimaru’s hideout since he locked her away in here, in the dark. Almost all her hope had gone.

But then…..light….a piercing ray of hope cracked its way into the featureless void that the dark had provided for Anko, and she felt her heart get hundreds of pounds lighter. Someone had found her. She raised her head as much as she could, before she found out she could barely move it at all, to see if she cold get a good look at who was coming in the room. Instead, all she heard were voices.

“Lord Hokage, look at this. It’s a little girl.” A young, male voice said, apparently shocked.

She heard footsteps, slowly approaching. They were right to be cautious here. Did I just hear Hokage? She shook her head, she must be hallucinating. She didn’t seem to be hallucinating when strong arms picked her up and appeared to be almost cradling her. She tried to move her arm, but her nerves were not responding.

“What’s wrong with her, Lord Hokage?” The same young voice asked.

“Orochimaru’s doing. It’s obvious. This mark…”

The finger of the man, who was carrying her, brushed across her neck and came in contact with the tender, burning spot where her sensei had bit her. At that moment, a scream, high and piercing, came from her lips and her nerves came alive. She flailed like there was no tomorrow in the man’s arms, but to no avail. Tears came and she kept screaming.

Whoever this was, she didn’t know them, and that means she by no means trusted them. Her eyelids seemed to be glued shut, and even when she felt the warmth of sunlight hit them, she still did not cease her screams. It was only when she felt a sharp pain on the top of her head that she stopped, and then came more blackness.

When Anko awoke, she winced at the sun pouring into her eyes from a window next to her. She appeared to be lying on a soft surface, somewhere. She almost cried out in joy, if she hadn’t been so tired. Anywhere except that room…anywhere.

Once her eyes got adapted to the light around her, she could see her surroundings clearly. She was in a hospital, or at least it looked like one. Her bed was more than big enough, so she rolled around a little bit, and stretched out her aching muscles. She was weak though, weaker than she had ever felt. She took in the room around her. It was small, containing only her bed, a white dresser, and a counter with a sink and cabinets above, all white. How plain. At least I’m not back in the dark.

She shivered and buried her head in her pillows. She lay there for a few moments, stretching out her legs. The fish nets had been removed, she just realized, and so had the rest of her clothes. Once she took this in mind, she covered herself up hastily with a blanket. It was soft against her bare skin, and warm. Sleep almost immediately enveloped her and ended her thoughts.

Well, that was quick. She’s too tired to even find out where she is. Yondaime thought to himself as he appeared out of nowhere to the girl’s bedside. Picking his sealed kunai up from the floor, he adjusted his favorite cloak, the white with the red markings on the back, so it was comfortable, and then started examining the mark on the girl’s neck.

He was sure that if he did this while she was awake she wouldn’t let him, especially when she didn’t have any clothes on. What the mark was, he did not know exactly, nor did Sarutobi, but he was going to find out. It had become just a plain black mark overnight, as it was no longer the color of flame. It’s obvious that it causes her pain. She screamed when I touched it back in the sewer.

His thoughts were interrupted as Sarutobi entered the room with a young Asuma Sarutobi and an older Sakumo Hatake. All three sets of eyes flickered immediately to the girl, particularly the mark on her neck.

“Have you reached any conclusions yet?” Sarutobi asked, scratching the white stubble on his chin.

“Well, as of now, nothing. I do know that it hurts her. When I touched it back in the sewer, she screamed like someone was cutting her open.” Yondaime said, rubbing the mark gently.

“Hm, it is obviously the work of Orochimaru. From what we’ve seen, it is probably a hindrance, since we did find nine other children around the hideout, which had been branded with the same mark. They were all….dead.” Sarutobi said.

“Dead? Were they around her age?” Yondaime asked, eyes widening in surprise.

“Yes, just about around her age.” Sarutobi said sadly. “It is one of Orochimaru’s experiments without a doubt. This, I did not expect, even from him, but it is so. She is the only survivor, and we will raise her here. Whose care do you want to place her in?”

“She can stay with me. I will take care of her. I’ve needed an apprentice for a long time. Asuma would have done well, but it appears you’ve taken him from me 3rd.” Yondaime said, smiling and patting young Asuma on the shoulder, which made Sarutobi chuckle.

“Lord Hokage, I must speak to you.” Sakumo said once Sarutobi and Asuma were out the door.

“What do you need Sakumo?” Yondaime asked.

“I was wondering if you could also have Kakashi as an apprentice. He needs this training. He’s already a Chuunin, but I feel as though you can exploit his full potential.” Sakumo explained, eyes drifting towards the sleeping girl on the bed.

“I’m sorry Sakumo, but the only reason I chose this girl is because she’s special. Kakashi is indeed an advanced student, but picking him out of a crop of other worthy students would show favoritism, and that is something I cannot do. This girl was never part of our Shinobi system. It is best if I show her things and train her, instead of putting her in a school environment. You understand, right?” Yondaime said, looking straight at Sakumo.

Sakumo nodded, and directed another glance towards the girl. He then said farewell to Yondaime and left the room. He’s a good man, and Kakashi is a good kid, but it can’t be done. Yondaime thought, looking at the mark on the girl’s neck. She is special after all. She has potential. That is clearer than a giant bonfire in the night.

It took him awhile to notice Jiraiya leaning against the doorway that Sakumo and the other two walked out of. He was looking at the girl, and the mark, and munching on an apple.

“Well, I guess everyone is walking in on me today.” Yondaime said, walking over to Jiraiya and smiling.

“So where’d you find the little girl?” Jiraiya asked with his mouth full.

“We discovered her after we drove away Orochimaru. She’s going to become my apprentice. I’ve decided I’ll train her to become Hokage.” Yondaime said, casting a glance at the girl, who had now rolled over and was breathing hard, and yelping in her sleep.

“Must be a bad dream eh? What makes you think she’ll grow to love this village and the people in it as you have?” Jiraiya asked.

Yondaime hated it when his old sensei asked questions like that.

“That’s a chance I’ll have to take.” He said, grabbing the apple from his sensei and taking a bite out of it.

“Yes……..yes it is.” Jiraiya said, taking the apple back and gnawing at it.

Yondaime winked at his sensei and disappeared, leaving Jiraiya to chuckle and think. He hasn’t changed much since he was a little squirt, just in ability. This girl…she is special. Not as special as he was when he was a student, but very special. Now, where’s the damn women’s bathhouse in this place?

Yondaime reappeared right next to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. His special kunai he always kept in this spot right beneath his feet. He loved ramen and came here almost every day to eat it. He didn’t like eating it in his private quarters, like the past Hokage did. He liked to come and talk to the people here, and hear what was going on in town, so they could relate to him and he could help them at times.

He liked talking to the kids more than anything else. He had always wanted kids of his own, but if he got killed on a mission...

Sitting down, he ordered ramen with chunks of honey ham in it. That was his favorite, and after this last mission, he needed something to lighten his mood.

When he came here, he was soothed. He didn’t have to think about missions, or enormous responsibility, or anything like that. He could just sit and be with his people, and talk to them. The man on his right turned to him and shook his hand, telling him his name amongst other things. I think I should know everyone’s name by now, if I’m not mistaken, at least all the Shinobi.

“There was a big racket under the sewer, like some kind of earthquake was going on or something, and then after a while, a bunch of ninja are being carried through the streets, and everyone is hustling around getting things done. It was all stressful. Lord Hokage, did you guys fight a war under there or something?” The man sitting next to him asked.

“In a way...but you guys don’t have to worry about anything now. It’s all taken care of, one hundred percent OK! I want to know what you people are up to around here.” Yondaime said, sipping up another noodle off of his chopsticks and giving the man his best smile.

The man brightened and looked at him with appreciation. He talked about his son, and how much he wanted to be like “Konoha’s Yellow Flash” which made Yondaime smile. He then talked about his daughter, and how handsome she thought the Yellow Flash was, which made Yondaime laugh over his ramen.

“Sounds like you have a great family my good man. I’d love to meet them, but I’m afraid I’ve been here longer than I’m supposed to. I have very important things to look into for this village.” Yondaime said, clapping the man on the shoulder.

“Lord Hokage, before you go...can you...can you come and meet my son? He wants to meet you so very badly.” The man asked.

“Well, I suppose I have time, take me to him. I’d like to meet the little squirt as well.” Yondaime said, following the man.

The man and his family lived right across the street from the ramen shop, and the boy happened to be standing outside. His eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw Yondaime, and he rushed forward and began speaking hurriedly.

“Lord Hokage, I’m going to be like you. I’m going to grow up and become Hokage, and then I everyone will look up to me, and love me. I’m going to be the greatest ninja ever and show everyone how powerful and wise I am! Isn’t that awesome Lord Hokage?” The kid yelled, causing Yondaime to smile.

“Well, you have a long way to go. Becoming Hokage isn’t easy. You have many people to protect and lots of responsibility.” Yondaime explained.

“Protect...responsibility? What do you mean?” The boy asked, scratching his black hair. It was matted down with sweat, probably from playing all day, and his auburn eyes sparkled with excitement at meeting Yondaime.

“Well...don’t you have anyone you love? Anyone that is precious to you?” Yondaime asked, adjusting his cloak again.

“Well, yeah. I love my mom, and my dad, and as much as she annoys me, my little sister.” The boy said, smiling smugly.

“See what I mean? You must become strong, because then, you can protect the ones you love.”

“Well...who’s precious to you Lord Hokage? Who do you love?” The boy asked, looking questioningly at him with those mesmerizing auburn eyes.

“Everyone in this village of course! I became Hokage because I love this village and want to protect it, and that, my boy, is when someone can truly become strong. When they want to protect something they love, and will give their life to defend it, that is the true meaning of inner strength.” Yondaime explained, kneeling down and putting both hands on the boy’s shoulders. “When you can protect someone close to you, and keep them from being harmed in a dangerous situation, there is no better feeling in the world. Sometimes people have to make sacrifices, but those sacrifices only make you stronger, and keep your loved ones out of danger.”

“Wow...I understand now. Thank you Lord Hokage.” The boy said excitedly.

From the corner of his eye, he could see that the boy’s father was smiling a huge smile. He touched Yondaime’s shoulder and mouthed a sincere thank you. Yondaime nodded, and turned back to the boy and gave him a wink.

“Can you do that for me? And what’s your name?” Yondaime asked.

“It’s Iruka, and yeah, I’ll never let any of my loved ones get hurt, so I can become strong!” Iruka said, pumping his fist.

“Well Iruka, thinking like that is what allows you to become Hokage, and I think you have it in you.” Yondaime said, patting the boy’s shoulders and giving him a big smile.

“Really? You think I can become Hokage like you?” Iruka wondered.

“Well of course you can. Now, excuse me, I have to be going now. There are some important things I have to attend to. I’ll see you guys later, and Iruka...” Yondaime said, standing up and pointing at the boy. “Remember what I said tonight, and you’ll be happy in life.”

With that, Yondaime disappeared into thin air, and left Iruka and his father standing there in the fresh night air, amazed.