The Second Hokage's Nightmare

The Second Hokage's Nightmare

When Naruto woke up, he kept his eyes closed and habitually reached an arm out beside him, only to grasp empty air.

His palm landed on the cool bedsheets. The other half of the bed had long since lost its warmth, and only a few long black hairs on the pillow proved that Satsuki had indeed slept there.

Naruto's eyes snapped open. This was the first time something like this had happened. Normally, Satsuki was clingy to the point of practically being fused to him. Even when they curled up on the couch to watch a movie, she had to wrap her arms around his waist from behind, or at the very least hold his hand. Mornings were even more so.

Waking up to find his arms empty like this—Naruto searched through his memories and could not find a single precedent.

He searched the entire house and found nothing. After getting dressed, Naruto stepped outside onto Konoha's streets with a head full of questions, only for unusually strange snippets of conversation to drift into his ears from every direction.

"Did you hear? Lord Jiraiya has chosen the Sixth Hokage! But it isn't Lord Naruto!"

"You're kidding, right?! Wouldn't the Jonin object to something this major? Wouldn't Lord Naruto mind?!"

"That was what I thought too, but it seems everything went pretty smoothly! The Sixth Hokage Lord Jiraiya chose is Lady Uchiha Satsuki!"

"Uchiha?!"

"Could it be because Lady Satsuki drove back those unidentified white creatures when they attacked Konoha last time? Well, since she's Lord Naruto's wife, there shouldn't be a problem."

"But isn't this way too sudden? How could something as major as choosing a new Hokage not leak even the slightest hint beforehand?"

"How could it possibly have been decided without careful consideration? Choosing