"Aoto... Your business will be hurt for a bit because of what you did today," Hiruzen said as he got up.

"I know if the people of Konoha show even a bit of hatred towards Naruto in my shop, I will ban them. I know that outside I don't have any power but here I definitely do. And this will continue until this madness ends. If anybody sells my goods to the banned people, they will be banned too. Our computers are already being sold to the other nearby villages, and the ninja tools too, so they better think before they take any steps," Aoto said, his face showing indifference.

Hiruzen nodded and decided that he would put up a public notice at this point and also inform people about Aoto banning anyone who mistreats Naruto. This was the correct way to do it. Kushina had faced bullying because of her hair, and her being a jinchuriki was always kept under wraps.

But this idiot Danzo. Did he think he had done some kind of service?

Hiruzen left, leaving only Aoto and Naruto in the room. Naruto was nervous as he didn't know what to do or say.

"Naruto, treat this as your own house. When does your school start?" Aoto asked, knowing that his session would start soon.

"Thank you. Hokage-sama told me that I will have to attend the ninja academy in 2 months," Naruto said.

"Good. You will be with my friend's son too. I will take care of your expenses. By the way, Naruto, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Aoto asked.

"What do I want to do when I grow up? I... I want to be the Hokage and gain the approval of everyone in the village," Naruto said. Hearing this, Aoto sighed. Even though he hadn't attended school yet, he already had dreams of becoming Hokage.

Damn you, Sarutobi!

"Good. Try your best, and I will help you all I can," Aoto smiled, not letting his views of Hiruzen cloud his face at all. With that, he got up and started cleaning the teapot. Naruto just stood there, looking around.

"Can I ask a question?" Naruto asked.

"It better not be calling me uncle. I am not that old. You can call me 'brother' or just 'Aoto' by name," Aoto said. Naruto shook his head and said,

"No... No... I want to ask why did you adopt me? Hokage-sama said that you will face problems for this." Naruto asked. Aoto stood silent for a minute and then said,

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"Naruto, remember one thing: when you know that you and your ideals are right, you should stand by them, even if the world doesn't view it that way. I knew that adopting you was the right thing to do, so I did it," Aoto said.

"But Aoto-san, I don't know anything about you, and you don't know anything about me," Naruto said.

"Damn! Why does this Naruto seem so knowledgeable for his age? Was he a transmigrator or something like that?" Aoto wondered. Naruto had grown up in an orphanage, so he had a fair share of worldly knowledge.

"Naruto, don't we have time now to get to know each other? We have a lifetime now," Aoto said. This brought tears to Naruto's eyes. He had never been given assurance like this, nor did he have a family before, so Aoto's words brought tears of joy. Aoto, seeing Naruto crying, could only go forward and hug him.

After a bit of Naruto's tears, he got up and asked if he could help, to which Aoto declined and just heated some food for Naruto. This guy just can't live on ramen and needs other kinds of nourishment.

So Aoto made him some food. Some time later, Shikuro came to check and, upon seeing Naruto, he happily smiled.

"I should let the kid play with my son," Shikuro said. By this time, he didn't have any kind of hatred for any jinchuriki. He was literally studying with a demon to begin with.

"Let him come tomorrow, and these two can play," Aoto said.

Shikuro nodded and left with a smile on his face. Naruto and Aoto talked a bit more, and Naruto asked about Corazon and wanted to know more about him. It was because of him that his life had suddenly changed, so he kind of idolized him.

"You will get to see him tomorrow," Aoto said. This put a big smile on Naruto's face. "Tomorrow you can go and bring your belongings here and move. Tonight is late. You can sleep here." This made Naruto happy.

----------------------------------------

Hiruzen was back in his office. After his wife's death, he didn't like to go home much, and the office gave him some sense of normalcy. He took out his pipe and started smoking it. Suddenly, the door burst open, and Danzo entered. He seemed like he was raging in anger.

"You gave Naruto away to that troublesome man?" Danzo demanded answers.

"Troublesome? Where has he caused any trouble?" Hiruzen replied, not caring about Danzo's attitude.

"Don't you think what Aoto did was suspicious? He went after the jinchuriki, and he knows techniques we don't know about."

"So? Is that a problem?" Hiruzen asked.

"Of course, there is a problem. What if he tries to control him like the Uchiha?"

"The Uchihas didn't control the Kyuubi. It's time you drop the accusations. Sure a Uchiha attacked our village that night but that doesn't mean everyone is responsible. We are already having an eye on them and there is nothing more we can do now about them. Even after years of searching for evidence, there has been none, so you better bury the hatchet for now. Aoto had promised me that he would teach Naruto techniques from his family later. That is enough for me to know since he and his friends have even faced a jinchuriki and defeated it," Hiruzen said.

"So you just believe him because he said so?"

"No, I believe him because Kakashi vouched for him, and now he has contributed too much to Konoha for us to doubt him," Hiruzen said, not bothered at all by the popping veins on Danzo's forehead. Seeing Danzo's expression, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel like Danzo and Aoto had faced each other, and he got the wrong end of the stick.