Mistakes

Sarutobi Hiruzen has made a lot of mistakes in his lifetime, possibly more than anyone else.

His biggest mistake might be his student, if only he could have gone back to that fateful day.

He knew that he was too soft, when you saw suffering on that level, you truly did your best to be kind.

His best friend didn't agree with that sentiment, which was another mistake.

He does not know if he did the right thing by allowing his best friend to establish Root.

He has a lot of regrets, even more so than his mistakes.

Live a long life like him and you're practically bound to it.

His teachers, his students, the sacrifices he made in the greater good. Even with all this power and authority, he is still bound to it.

He thought he truly passed down the torch, but like a curse it consumed the young man and came back to him.

And in the end, he allowed for more mistakes in the end.

He can feel himself slowly aging away, his young spry body nowhere to be found now. His mind is no longer as sharp as it used to be, just another old man now.

What a funny thought.

Thinking of mistakes, it comes back to an anomaly, a young boy.

He wasn't overly talented like certain people he has seen, he was talented for sure, but in the ordinary way that others are.

Sometimes there are talents that make one shake their head in shame. He has seen dozens of them and to a certain extent was even one of them.

He didn't have a powerful bloodline, his upbringing is poor at best. An orphan after the Kyuubi attack, like so many others.

Outwardly his personality is extremely average, a cheerful young boy.

But he has seen the reports, in the forest after school, he could be seen practicing taijitsu against trees for hours on end, like a well oiled machine.

No what shocked him was his body condition, he kept going and going, even with his chakra, his body kept over going their limits.

He has seen a fair share of training in his days, this was nothing new to him, but the extent it goes to, surprised him.

By the time the boy finishes, his arms and legs seem broken beyond belief. He would then rest to meditate his mind.

Even a jounin would wince in pain at that injury, but not him. He just keeps going again and again, not feeling anything.

The first time he saw that, he was truly concerned for the boy, it seems like he couldn't feel pain, so he injured himself again and again to feel something.

By the end of the month, he was truly getting desensitized to it, every other week it seems like he hurts his body in a new way, without as much as a flinch from him then waiting for it to heal to repeat it.

It seems like almost every free moment of his seems to be training somehow.

And he saw it too, the boy, either just practicing taijitsu or mediating for hours on end.

If not, practicing chakra control which should be beyond his year. At least during these peaceful times.

Then the next morning, he would go to school like normal, with his bruised and battered body like nothing is wrong.

But what scared him the most out of everything was his face.

It almost seemed like a dead man, absolute calm, even the strictest monks would have been impressed by that.

To him, it reminded him of his student, in a worse way, those cold unflinching eyes look so similar sometimes.

But then he saw the reports out of his training, the boy seems suspiciously average, average scores, average friends, nothing out of the ordinary.

If it wasn't for Naruto, they might have never noticed him. It was a paradox of sorts, which one was the real one?

The cold unflinching machine in the forest, or a laid back student of the academy?

It was difficult to tell.

So Hiruzen made contact himself, to see it for his own eyes.

And the boy surprised him once again.

He truly was a polite young man, he could see no act in that, sure he seemed to be nervous talking to him but who wouldn't be?

Not to mention an academy student, even hardened Jounin would flinch under the pressure.

But no, what truly surprised him was his answer? He truly thought of Naruto as a friend, and seems to appreciate the Hidden Leaf Village.

Satisfied with this answer, Hiruzen went on his merry way, but before he would go, he wanted to test the young man once again.

He let something slip as he walked away. Truly nothing seemed to happen, he sighed and thought to himself, he was just overreacting again. Soon it would be best to retire.

But before he could leave, he could feel the gaze on him, just for a second. A gaze without a shred of morality or humanity, a look even further than his student.

it was gone just as it was there, in a flash. One could truly think they might have imagined it.

But when Hiruzen looked back, he didn't see the young boy anymore, oh no he was still there, with the same smile waving to him.

But Hiruzen could feel the eyes flashing in his mind, that was no illusion, there was much more to this boy then he let on. He could almost see plans being made and deleted behind those eyes.

Hiruzen made a lot of mistakes in his life, he truly wished that he wasn't going to make his biggest one now.

Growing old was truly difficult.

Naruto had a lot of wishes, he wants to be recognized by everyone, he wants to get closer to the girl he likes. He wants to be a cool Hokage.

So when Sensei said that he can pass the exam by doing a special task, it truly seemed to be perfect,

Until the truth came out, there was no special task for him, he was a demon.

Everything made sense, all those cold looks from everyone, just like him being there was a mistake.

Those cold looks, which seemed to sting as he sat there alone.

He could barely hear the conversation beyond the tree.

But he knows what they are talking about.

That him, the demon fox would go away with the power.

And that Iruka sensei feared him, despised him.

Why would he even try-

"Maybe I do hate the fox"

He really does hate me.

"But not Naruto, not that boy".

And so came forth Iruka sensei's heartfelt confession, that he truly was an excellent student, that he's not the demon fox but Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha.

Hot tears seem to sting his face, and with that another conversation from earlier comes to mind.

"And I know that he's going to do something great in the future, even if he isn't the Hokage"

That voice seems to echo in his mind, maybe his first true friend, who always seems to be thinking of something, always wondering.

Nevermind that now, he's got an ass to kick

Ah but before that, he should hide the scroll nearby incase something happened.

and with that, the tale of Naruto begins once again.