New Home: Konoha

Jun sat on the roof above Sarutobi's office, watching the sunrise and the citizens rise for the day. Sighing, the bright-eyed child thought to himself, "What a beautiful view..." He smiled towards the lightening sky as he contemplated what he'd experienced prior to his current state of sky-gazing.

It'd been about two hours since the patrol unit had discovered young Jun, 45 of those 180 minutes consisting of the patrol returning to Konoha with him. Just before the gates of the village, an ANBU member with an owl mask landed from the trees in front of the patrol. The owl-masked ANBU spoke bluntly, "I will bring the Uzumaki child to the Hokage. Return to your patrol."

"Yes, sir!" said the pair of Aburame clansmen. The female carefully set Jun on his feet before kneeling and giving him a small smile, which looked rather friendly despite her eyes being hidden by her goggles, and her being clad in the signature trench-coat style outfits of her clan. "You'll be safe here now, Jun."

He nodded in a mild act of shyness, "Okay... Th-thank you." He had a nervous grin on his face as he took a few steps over to the ANBU member.

The Aburame lady, before she and her fellow clansman headed back to their patrol route, waved a little and said, "If you ever need someone to talk to, you can come find me, Aburame Naoki, at the Aburame Clan Compound, okay, Jun?"

"Mhm, okay. Bye, N-Naoki-san." He waved goodbye a little as the pair returned to the trees, and the ANBU member casually picked up the young boy and effortlessly made their way down the central road from the main gate to the Hokage's office atop the Academy. Due to how early in the morning it was, well before dawn, there was little to no foot traffic to avoid, save for the patrolling Konoha Policemen and a few citizens, some of which were stumbling home drunk with or without assistance. Jun had spent years, from the very beginning of the original Naruto manga to the final chapter of the Shippuden manga, visualizing every aspect of this world, especially Konoha, but his mental images, as he had expected, paled in comparison to the real thing. His young eyes sparkled with wonder as he viewed his surroundings, taking in the sights he'd craved to see in his previous life.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, sat at his desk in solemn silence; he'd been awake since the previous day, and had been planning to finally get some sleep after the daily mountains of paperwork when the first report of the Uzushiogakure raid arrived. At first, he'd desired to send aid to their allies, but he quickly realized that he was incapable of doing so. The Land of Whirlpools was not only quite a distance to the east, it was also an island. By the time any Leaf Shinobi arrived, Uzushiogakure would likely only be ruins and corpses. Not only that, if he did send any, Kirigakure would perceive that as aiding an enemy, which would then make Konoha their enemy as well. As Hokage, he could not put his allies above his own people, no matter how much he hated himself for doing so. Thus, he could only remain silent and somber, waiting for the inevitable report of Uzushiogakure's destruction and subsequent extermination.

All things considered, in particular his mood from his conflicting ideals, as he was well-known for his firm belief in the Will of Fire, Sarutobi's grim demeanor was to be expected. Any news he expected to hear about Uzushiogakure, it would only be unfortunate and sorrowful, especially the loss of a close ally that was involved since the beginning of Konohagakure's existence.

It was during this dreadfully sobering experience that a sudden, small spark of hope appeared. An owl-masked ANBU member deftly leapt through one of the windows and landed before the grim Hokage, a young child held on one arm. Seeing the brilliant red hair of the five-year-old boy, Sarutobi immediately knew he was an Uzumaki clansman, even before asking. He'd also felt the chakra of several other Uzumakis in the past, and, though the purity and quantity was like a candle compared to the immense blaze that was Jun's chakra, the same unique energy that made the Uzumakis special was present.

"Hokage-sama, a patrol discovered this boy about half-an-hour east of the village, a good distance down the Naka River. Considering the situation of Uzushiogakure, we thought it was best to bring him to you first." The owl-masked ANBU set Jun on his feet, who, to Sarutobi's interest, stood far more calmly than any child his age, and stood silently in the Hokage's presence.

Clearing his throat, the Third Hokage focused his wise eyes on the young boy, who, to his credit, returned the gaze well, "I'm glad to see at least one person survived to escape the Land of Whirlpools... You've traveled very far, and you're too young to have to experience such hardship..." He sighed a little in melancholy, "I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of Konohagakure, though I'm sure that, by your eyes, you already know that."

Jun nodded, an act that seemed rather cute due to his appearance and age, "Of course, Hokage-sama is the strongest Kage in the world." Although he stated a fact, it was interpreted by Sarutobi as the idolization of youth, causing him to chuckle at the boy's statement. "I'm U-Uzumaki Jun... I was already an orphan before, so I have no parents... I was told that I was a genius by the elders, and I was supposed to start training soon... but, I don't think that will be happening anymore..."

"Well, I don't know about you being a genius, little Jun, but from what I can tell, you've got a lot of potential. Still, we have to do the standard enrollment test before you can attend classes. We can do that later in the day, when the instructors are preparing for classes." He sat forward a little, thumbing the brim of the red-and-white hat that was signature to his position of Hokage. Sarutobi asked the young boy, "As we don't have a place for you to live on such short notice, you will have to live at the Orphanage. Are you okay with that?"

Having expected this from the beginning, the red-haired boy agreed, "Yes, sir, I understand." Jun smiled just a little, "As long as I have a home, I'm happy."

Sarutobi smiled kindly at the young lad, "If you want to get some sleep after your long journey, you can sleep here in my office."

Jun shook his head, saying, "I'm okay, thank you. I'll just sit on the roof until the Academy opens. Is that okay?"

"Go right ahead. When the Academy opens, I'll go with you for your test. I think I can spare enough time for that."

Rolling his eyes a little at the ever-happy-to-avoid-paperwork Third Hokage, the Uzumaki boy said, "Yes, sir. Thank you for giving me a new home." He bowed politely before rather deftly, for his age, hopping through the window and climbing to the roof with one jump, where he grabbed the shingles and pulled himself up smoothly.

The ANBU member broke their silence at this moment, "Are you planning on protecting him yourself, Hokage-sama? This will cause a lot of trouble with the other Councilors and the clan leaders."

"Hmph, they know how I am. Since I can't help our allies in their time of need, the least I can do to appease my regret is to ensure that one of their clansmen can live peacefully in Konoha. That won't change, no matter who tries to persuade me." After stubbornly making his case to the ANBU member, who was certainly special due to being able to advise the Hokage on his decisions, Sarutobi sighed with mixed emotions, "Still, I can only do so much. After he's settled into the village, I won't interfere anymore. That is the most I can do for him without causing word of favoritism to spread."

"Understood, sir. We will return to our duties." The ANBU member saluted the Third Hokage before disappearing into the darkness of the village.

Thus, another hour of serenity passed by for Jun as he sat atop the Hokage's Office and watched the village below and the skies above, waiting for the time to begin his first adventure into the life of a Leaf Shinobi.