5: Hiruzen the stalker

[Hokage's Office]

Some time ago...

In the Hokage's office, multiple identical individuals could be seen working tirelessly. They were all the same person: Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen, the original, was intently watching a crystal ball.

"Bless the day Kasuya suggested using shadow clones for this... I can't believe no one thought of it before."

The Third Hokage wore an arrogant smile as he watched his shadow clones work in his place.

"Let's see how Shisui is doing... He should have found the boy by now."

Hiruzen was using a technique known as the Telescope Technique to observe the young Uchiha ANBU. This technique had a restriction: the user had to know the chakra signature of the target.

But that wasn't a problem, given how loyal the young Uchiha was. Hiruzen had been able to check his chakra without any issues.

"If all the Uchiha were like Shisui and Itachi... we wouldn't be in this current situation."

*Sigh.*

Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh as he recalled the current state of affairs. In particular, the Uchiha clan, filled with arrogance, didn't seem to fit into the village. The ninjas distrusted them because of the relative ease with which they grew stronger, and the civilians simply hated them for their position.

They had been "entrusted" with the village's security by being given the role of the "Military Police Force." However, it was natural for citizens to hate figures of authority, especially when they had personalities as arrogant as the Uchiha.

Honestly, he didn't know whether to call his predecessor, his teacher Tobirama Senju, a genius. Knowing her intelligence, as well as her hatred for the Uchiha, he couldn't help but wonder if she had planned all of this.

Moreover, if you added the Kyūbi incident and the fact that everyone saw that it was controlled by someone with a Sharingan... the situation couldn't be worse.

"There's also Danzō..."

His old friend had become corrupted... Hiruzen couldn't deny it, but he couldn't find the conviction to cut him off completely. Instead, it was easier to eliminate the Uchiha clan, although personally, he wouldn't do it, nor did he want to prevent it.

"I should just observe for now. The situation hasn't escalated enough yet."

*Sigh.*

Hiruzen decided to continue watching Shisui, who had gone to find the son of that man.

Seiji Hoshino, son of Kasuya Hoshino and Sera Hoshino.

Hiruzen still remembered Kasuya... he was simply the perfect subordinate: loyal, slightly talented, and best of all, he didn't ask questions.

He had summoned his son to check if he had the talent to become a ninja and enroll in the academy.

Hiruzen didn't have high hopes. The boy had certainly inherited his father's looks, but there wasn't much to say about his parents' talent.

His father had a more than decent amount of chakra, but his body was weak, and he had vision problems.

His mother never showed talent in ninjutsu, but she had an abnormally strong body. Even so... it was a mystery how she had died during childbirth.

"Well, I promised to take care of him... so I can do that."

Kasuya had even joked that if his son was born with enough talent, Hiruzen should accept him as his disciple, and he had agreed... though he was drunk that day. A promise was a promise.

"If it turns out he doesn't have talent... I can arrange a marriage with some civilian kunoichi, and have the next generation carry on Kasuya's legacy."

Hiruzen continued observing while lost in his thoughts. After a while, he saw a scene that made his eyes widen.

The boy... Seiji walked straight toward Naruko. Upon seeing the girl, Hiruzen couldn't help but be surprised.

"She's identical to Kushina... except with blonde hair."

But quickly, Hiruzen realized a problem.

Why wasn't the girl in the orphanage?

Children weren't allowed to go out alone, let alone Naruko.

"Danzō... this has to be Danzō, no matter how I look at it."

Hiruzen gritted his teeth in anger. No matter the reason, tampering with the jinchūriki was simply too problematic.

He quickly calmed down upon seeing Seiji take Naruko by the hand, and when he saw Shisui disappear, he straightened up in his seat.

He believed he could trust Seiji to comfort Naruko. After all, he was Kasuya's son, and if anyone could comfort a woman, it would be that man's son.

A few moments later, two ANBU appeared in his office: one with black hair and the other with silver hair.

Shisui remained silent, and the silver-haired one slightly raised his head.

"Hokage-sama, I have something to report."

Hiruzen looked at him and quickly responded.

"Speak, Kakashi. What happened? Why is Naruko outside the orphanage?"

Kakashi remained silent for a few seconds and then sighed.

"Hokage-sama, Naruko was expelled from the orphanage... Also, from what I could investigate, her life inside was highly negligent, particularly the lack of food and constant verbal abuse."

Hiruzen could feel his veins bulging with anger.

"WHY AM I ONLY HEARING ABOUT THIS NOW? EXPLAIN YOURSELF, KAKASHI."

Kakashi, after a few seconds, responded:

"Elder Danzō... ordered that no one could interact with Naruko. We could only watch from outside the orphanage."

Everyone remained silent. Hiruzen contemplated the meaning of those words. Danzō wanted to use Naruko as a tool.

"Alright, you may leave, Kakashi."

Kakashi, however, didn't leave and asked:

"Hokage-sama, what do you plan to do with Naruko?"

Hiruzen responded briefly, quite reluctantly.

"It's not that simple. I can't intervene so directly because the council of elders might complain. Also, I can't entrust her to any clan without the others becoming suspicious."

Hiruzen knew he couldn't leave her in the care of any clan, fearing they might manipulate her.

It was a shame there wasn't a clan weak enough to not be a threat and trustworthy enough to take care of her.

Hiruzen knew there was no such clan... Or was there?

Hiruzen quickly realized that there was such a clan.

Weak enough, to the point of having only one member, and he could trust the reputation of its founder. Moreover, the other clans and the council couldn't object, given the altruistic and selfless reputation of its founder.

The Hoshino clan. Additionally, Seiji had enough resources to take care of the girl. The proof of that was that he could take care of himself without issues.

Hiruzen could feel a huge smile growing on his face. He could do it again.

Seiji was loyal and naive enough, just like Minato, and he could pull the strings to make the two children a couple, just like he did with Kushina and Minato.

After all, the best partner for a jinchūriki was a ninja who was extremely loyal to the village.

Moreover, Seiji had inherited his father's looks, so it wouldn't be too hard for him to charm the girl.

"It's decided. I'll entrust the care of the jinchūriki to the Hoshino clan."

The pair of ANBU couldn't help but widen their eyes in surprise upon hearing the Hokage.

"Shisui, go and find Seiji quickly. Kakashi, you may leave."

After hesitating for a few seconds, Shisui and Kakashi disappeared.

"Now all that's left is to check if the boy has talent as a ninja. If not... the boy will suffer. After all, the women of the Uzumaki clan have explosive personalities."

Hiruzen shuddered at the memory of Kushina and prayed for the boy's future.

"With his looks, he's going to have the same problems as his father with women... Poor kid..."

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