A Conversation with Naruto

When Naruto opened his eyes, memories of what had happened before he lost consciousness came rushing back. He sprang to his feet.

"Kei! Kei!"

It was pitch-black all around. He could just make out that they were in a house, and through the window he could see stars twinkling outside.

"You're awake?"

Beside him, Uchiha Kei stretched and struggled to sit up in bed.

"Holy crap! What are you trying to do?!"

Naruto suddenly threw his arms around him and squeezed hard.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen. It wasn't like this the last few times."

Naruto sobbed.

From the moment he'd lost control of the power that was about to emerge, Naruto had been panicking.

As someone who had experienced it firsthand, he knew just how powerful and violent that force was.

If...

If he'd hurt Uchiha Kei, he would never forgive himself, no matter what.

"Don't worry. I'm really strong, you know."

Uchiha Kei's hand paused as he pushed Naruto away. He smiled helplessly, then reached out and patted Naruto's head.

It took a long while for Naruto to finally calm down.

"Naruto, do you want to train?"

Naruto wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "Haven't I been training all along?"

"It's different."

Uchiha Kei shook his head and picked up a book with the scent of fresh ink from the desk beside him.

"This covers some basic things about being a ninja. You can read it when you're bored."

Naruto took the book excitedly and began flipping through it.

A minute later.

"Kei, what is this? It's so boring."

Naruto set the book on his lap, his eyes vacant, looking as if his soul had been drained from him.

"Don't you have anything with pictures? This is all words..."

Uchiha Kei pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

How could he have forgotten about that?

He'd originally planned to teach Naruto Yin-Yang Release.

But after thinking it over, he realized there was no need.

Naruto had Uzumaki Clan blood, and his chakra reserves were astonishingly vast. Add Kurama, a chakra "factory," to the mix, and running out of chakra would never be a problem for him.

What he lacked now were ninjutsu and combat experience.

Thinking about ninjutsu reminded Uchiha Kei of Naruto's signature human-wave tactics in the anime.

"Naruto, what's your dream?"

At that, Naruto perked up.

"I'm going to become strong and be the Hokage of Konoha!"

Of course.

Watching Naruto's excitement, Uchiha Kei felt a little reluctant to burst his bubble.

According to the story, after enduring countless hardships, Naruto did indeed achieve his dream and become the Seventh.

But that was in the version where Uchiha Kei never appeared.

It was part of his plan for Itachi to become the Fifth Hokage.

That step was crucial.

Unfortunately, his plan didn't include Naruto becoming Hokage.

That didn't mean he didn't care about Naruto. It was just that, in his view, Naruto's personality was completely unsuited to the position.

A ruler didn't just need to be decisive and ruthless enough to act!

He also had to be shameless, unscrupulous, and thick-skinned!

Naruto's personality was far too much like Hashirama's. He was naive and foolish.

Without his absurdly powerful strength, someone would have taken him out long ago.

When it came to ruthlessness and shamelessness, Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen each had one of those qualities.

Danzo wasn't thick-skinned enough. He seemed sly and sinister, but was really just a clown.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had plenty of nerve, but he was indecisive.

If those two had worked together, Uchiha Kei might have escaped the village long ago.

There was no way he could have beaten them.

The problem was that the two were at odds and acted independently, which had allowed the clans in Konoha to gradually grow more powerful.

"Being Hokage isn't all that great."

Uchiha Kei thought it over.

"You're busy handling official business all day. Wouldn't it be better to chase girls, eat good food, and travel around? Doesn't that sound nice?"

Naruto's eyes went wide as he stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay?"

"What do you mean, am I okay? Are you possessed by God Mi?"

"Kei, it's the Hokage! The Hokage! The most respected person in the whole village!"

Uchiha Kei lifted his head disdainfully.

"So what? Isn't chasing girls way better? If you're handling official business every day, won't all the girls have to spend every night alone?"

Chasing girls and all that held absolutely no appeal for Naruto at the moment.

As expected.

"What's the point of chasing girls? They'll only slow down my Shuriken!"

As he spoke, a Shuriken suddenly appeared in Naruto's hand.

"Huh?"

Uchiha Kei hadn't even had time to be surprised before Naruto startled himself.

Uchiha Kei remained calm. It was all within his expectations.

Naruto had a strong talent, after all. He was Asura's reincarnation. How bad could he possibly be?

In the manga, Naruto had been useless at this point in time entirely because Kurama had been interfering with him.

Now that Uchiha Kei had persuaded Kurama not to interfere, Naruto's talent was naturally beginning to show.

Whether in ninjutsu or Taijutsu.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp whistle cut through the air as a dark Shuriken spun through the air and embedded itself cleanly in the edge of the windowsill.

"I hit it! I hit it! I was aiming right there! I hit it!!"

Naruto joyfully wrapped his arms around Uchiha Kei and shook him over and over.

Uchiha Kei's mouth twitched.

This is my new house...

"I'll go take a mission tomorrow. I'll see if I can bring you along."

"A mission! Does that mean we're leaving the village?"

Naruto let go of Uchiha Kei, his eyes shining with anticipation.

As far back as he could remember, he'd always lived in the village. He'd never left it.

To him, leaving the village was even more tempting than Ichiraku Ramen!

"Yeah. We're leaving the village."

A mischievous glint flashed in Uchiha Kei's eyes.

They were indeed leaving the village, but whether the journey would be pleasant was another matter.

Uchiha Kei had actually thought of this back when he'd gained the Three Tomoe, but a series of events had disrupted his plans.

"Great! I'll get ready right now!"

Naruto sprang to his feet, puffing out his chest as he headed for the door.

"Ready for what?"

Uchiha Kei grabbed him.

"What are you going back to get ready? Expired instant noodles or expired canned food?"

At that, Naruto's head drooped.

Kei was so right.

His place had nothing but expired instant noodles and expired canned food. The rest of his belongings were all on him...

"Remember, from today on, you're a genius! A genius even better than Uchiha Sasuke!"

Naruto blinked. "Who's Uchiha Sasuke?"

"That stuck-up Uchiha Sasuke!"

"I was already more of a genius than him!"

Uchiha Kei pressed a hand to his forehead.

People should know their own limits. Naruto wasn't exactly known for that.

After settling Naruto down to sleep, Uchiha Kei quietly pushed open the door and stepped outside.

The crescent moon hung high in the sky, and Konoha had lost the bustle of daytime.

The whole village was quiet, save for the occasional chirp of a cicada.

Uchiha Kei walked alone down the street, deep in thought.

He was actually quite hesitant about what he planned to do tonight.

He couldn't decide whether he should go.

If the negotiations succeeded, everything would work out, and he'd have far fewer worries from then on.

If they failed...

He would be exposed to the eyes of many people!