Serve Me As King

Dusk had fallen, and the sky was especially gloomy.

Naruto landed beside Hiruzen Sarutobi and strode over with his head held high. "So, how was that? Was I strong?"

"Strong." Hiruzen nodded kindly. "And me? How did I do?"

"You did all right." Naruto smiled. "Not bad for an old guy fighting three people at once."

"Naruto, help me up."

Naruto was now about as tall as Hiruzen. But with Hiruzen's back hunched, he was actually a little shorter.

Naruto hefted Hiruzen's limp, heavy arm over his shoulder. "I praise you once and you're already out of steam? You need to eat more."

Hiruzen nodded. "Take me back to the Hokage Building."

Naruto leaped down from the arena. The fighting was still raging all around them.

Might Guy kicked a ninja flying. While still in midair, he flashed a jaunty thumbs-up and grinned, his gleaming White Fang shining. "Lord Hokage truly is the strongest!"

Then he turned his thumb toward Naruto. Even though Naruto had badly injured Rock Lee and sent him to the hospital, there was no denying that Naruto had always fought fair and square.

"Five minutes left! Keep it up, Might Guy!"

Naruto supported Hiruzen as they left the arena, keeping a steady pace. At first, Hiruzen's legs still had a little strength in them, but before long Naruto was carrying nearly all his weight, with Hiruzen's feet merely shuffling along.

"Forbidden Jutsu take that much out of you? Old man, you won't last more than a few years, will you?"

Hiruzen glanced over his shoulder at the Shinigami following them. "I'm afraid I don't have many years left."

A chill ran through Naruto. He quickened his pace, and before the sun had set, they reached the Hokage Building. He settled Hiruzen onto the sofa where he usually sat, the one with the crystal ball on it.

"Is Konohamaru not home?"

Naruto replied, "He's probably at school. He came to see me this morning when I was on my way to the arena and wished me luck."

Hiruzen felt a pang of regret. He fed what little Chakra he had left into the crystal ball and performed the Telescope Technique.

A group of boys and girls huddled in a shelter appeared in the orb. Hiruzen couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Too bad I can't hear them."

The scene shifted. A man who looked like an ape appeared, his sideburns and beard forming a complete circle around his face. Wearing Knuckle Dusters, he fought a group of Sound Ninja, his punches so powerful that each one sent an opponent flying.

It was his second son, Asuma, the instructor for the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho.

"Naruto, what do you think makes a good Hokage?"

Naruto frowned. "Old man, you're not about to start giving your last words, are you? I don't want to hear them."

"I'm dying."

Hiruzen lay back, his gaze unfocused. "The jutsu I used just now was called the Reaper Death Seal. It came from your Uzumaki Clan. You make a contract with the Shinigami, then seal and sacrifice the target's soul along with your own."

Naruto was silent for a moment. "I think a good Hokage is one with the power to rule by decree. You had the strength, but you were too weak-willed."

Hiruzen stared at him in astonishment. He hadn't expected Naruto to give that answer.

"Just look at today. Apart from me, nobody even came to save you," Naruto continued. "If you'd been tough enough in the past to order that anyone who failed to come to your aid would be killed if you survived, do you think they'd have dared hide?"

"If you're counting on personal loyalty, you'd better run into someone with as much moral character as me. How many people like that are there in Konoha? Most of them are animals."

Hiruzen choked and struggled to catch his breath.

Naruto waved a hand. "Never mind that. Do you have any inheritance you can leave me? Like that Enma Adamantine Staff you just used. I really like it. Leave me a copy of the contract."

"I was afraid you'd be sad, so I've been holding on this whole time!" Hiruzen thumped his chest. "I wanted to leave that to Konohamaru..."

Though Hiruzen had always treated Naruto like a grandson, that was one thing in theory and another in practice. No matter how close you were, there were still degrees of affection, even among your own children.

"Damn it, you've really disappointed me." Naruto turned to leave.

"Wait! Naruto! I still have something to say..."

"There's nothing left to say. You've broken my heart." Naruto stopped at the doorway, his back to Hiruzen, his voice full of sorrow.

Hiruzen couldn't help thinking how awful he was. He'd managed to disappoint the last child who'd been with him in his final moments. With trembling fingers, he raised his hand. "The contract is in the third tier of the Secret Compartment on the right-hand bookshelf in my study..."

"Third Grandpa!" Naruto returned with tears in his eyes and clasped Hiruzen's hand. It was impossible to tell whether his emotion was genuine.

"Don't worry. I'll find Konohamaru a more suitable Summoning Beast. The Adamantine Staff suits someone strong like me. He's too skinny to handle it."

Hiruzen thought that was fair. His gaunt face broke into a smile. "Naruto, you really are a good kid."

"Of course."

With great effort, Hiruzen raised a hand and rested it on Naruto's head. He wanted to pat him, but no longer had the strength. "You've wanted to be Hokage ever since you were little, haven't you? If you really become Hokage, how will you rule Konoha?"

"I'm afraid you'll die without resting easy if I tell you," Naruto said, hesitating slightly.

Hiruzen gently shook his head. "Don't worry. Grandpa can accept anything, because I believe in your character."

"I'll command Konoha to offer me absolute loyalty. I'll make those ignorant villagers obey my supreme will and wisdom, and have them proclaim me king!"

Naruto's tone was fervent yet calm, as if he were talking about having a bowl of his favorite Tonkotsu Chashu Ramen for dinner.

"You! You? You..." Hiruzen's small eyes flew wide open. The age spots on his face turned gray, his throat bobbed, and he looked on the verge of losing his breath.

Naruto quickly slapped his chest, making his lungs expand until he coughed up some air. "Easy, easy. Ask whatever you want, nice and slow."

"Naruto... Why do you think that way? Konoha... We're all one family. We should live together as equals and discuss things together..."

As Naruto pressed Hiruzen's chest with Chakra, he replied, "I'm wise, and they aren't. If I still had to discuss things with them, wouldn't that mean there was something wrong with my head? Equality requires both sides to be qualified as equals. If a dog wants to eat at the table with people, it at least needs to be loyal, right?"

Hiruzen's already-fuzzy mind was completely baffled. But Naruto spoke so fluently and made his case so clearly that Hiruzen couldn't help thinking there might be some truth to it.

Konoha would eventually belong to the next generation. Perhaps the old system simply wasn't suited to the people of a new era.

His eyes slowly closed, then shut completely. The Shinigami's pale hand reached for his head.

Thump! Thump!

Bzzzt~

His eyes opened again. Naruto was pressing down hard on his heart, Chakra surging from his palm as he forced it to beat.

Even the Shinigami's hand had frozen, as if wary of something.

"Third Grandpa!" Naruto's eyes brimmed with tears. "Is there any more inheritance you can leave me? Don't go so soon. You're the Hokage, after all. You must have plenty of wealth. Anything will do. I'm not picky."

"You're like a poor kid who's gone hungry too long." Hiruzen smiled, his gaze fading. "There's a list beneath the will in my study desk drawer. Take whatever you want from it. Hurry."

"A will?" Naruto stopped.

Hiruzen touched the Samurai Armor. "Wearing armor under the Hokage Robe... Ha. I'd made preparations long ago."

With that, he breathed his last.

The Shinigami clawed out his soul, sliced off his head with a dagger, then shoved it into its fanged mouth and swallowed it. Four faces bulged and shifted beneath its burial robe.

Naruto thought he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure. He reached out and felt around, but there was no sensation. He couldn't tell whether he'd touched anything.

He arranged the old man with the white goatee neatly on the sofa, resting his arms on the armrests.

He entered the Hokage's study and picked up the will. The letter was sealed with red wax and stamped "Hiruzen Sarutobi." He wasn't listed as the recipient, and he didn't open it.

He took the list, then began searching through things, his eyes reddening.

By the time he reached the Hokage Building's rooftop, the sun had only just set. Looking at the four faces on Kage Rock, he couldn't help wanting to laugh a little.

They were all in the Shinigami's stomach.