The aged Hokage grimaced as Naruto, in his ever gruesome display walked right up to his desk and placed a pale arm onto it. He raised a single eyebrow towards the blond haired junchuriki. "What is this?" He asked
"The arm of your former student." He replied blandly.
Sarutobi lit his pipe and took a puff before putting on a glove and grabbing the arm, twisting it around so he could see the snake summoning tattoo. He put the severed limb back down on his desk before turning to the blond. "You fought him?" He asked, taking another puff.
Naruto nodded.
"Since you did not bring me the corpse, I assume he escaped."
"Affirmative" He replied.
Sarutobi stood and walked to the balcony. "Were you able to discover what, or who he was after?"
"He followed my team throughout the entire second portion of the exam, it is safe to assume that he was after either the Uchiha, or the Hyuuga."
Sarutobi 'hmmed' This was somewhat disturbing, but still, from that alone it was easy to decipher who he was after, Orochimaru's lifelong goal was to learn and master every jutsu in order to become a 'Living God' a foolish ambition, no doubt. He was most likely after the Sharingan in order to aid him in that goal.
He would have to increase the guards around Sasuke. Perhaps grant the boy his personal Anbu detail. He was after all, the last person who could breed another Sharingan user in Konoha a useful eye that brought in many clients and a lot of clout.
If only for his bloodline they must keep him out of Orochimaru's hands.
He turned to Naruto. "Very well, you may leave."
"Hokage-sama." Naruto spoke, catching the old mans attention.
"Yes?" He asked curiously, usually when he dismissed the blond he would leave without a second thought.
Naruto gestured to the hand. "During the battle, Orochimaru used this tattoo to summon large snakes. The terrain suited me, the large trees allowed me to maintain even ground with the summon, however, should he have summoned Manda, or any other summon that was taller than the trees by a large margin then I may have been defeated easily. Therefore, I would like to get my own summon."
Sarutobi looked astonished for a moment before he looked contemplative. Most likely, the only reason Orochimaru didn't summon the snake boss was because he wished to remain hidden, when he was discovered he wouldn't care about going all out, so yes, if Naruto was to face him, he would need a summon. However, the only summons that Konoha possessed that could rival Manda were the toads and the slug, Enma was only good for personal hand to hand combat.
But…perhaps.
The snake summon itself, cared only for strength, if word spread among the snake clan that Naruto had defeated the infamous missing nin and now held his contract…Orochimaru would never be able to again fight on even ground with either Jiraiya or Tsunade, even less so with Naruto, as none of the snake summons would assist him should they be facing Manda.
But first he had to ask the blond himself. "So you are asking for a summon? Only Jiraiya and Tsunade hold the contracts for their summons and they are the only ones Konoha possesses that can go toe to toe with the snakes."
Naruto then looked to the severed arm on the desk. "Then the logical choice would be the contract we have available."
Sarutobi's lips settled into a thin line, it might be the best choice, and no doubt returning the snake contract to Konoha would bring back much needed prestige and power to the leaf village. However, should Naruto become the head summoner of the snake contract that would only increase his value as a human weapon in the eyes of the council.
"Naruto…" He began slowly, as if weighing his words. "Are you willing to take the snake contract?" He asked carefully.
Naruto looked to the old Hokage, raising a single eyebrow. "It is the most logical choice and quite frankly, the only one available to us. It is in the interest of the village."
Sarutobi took off his hat, revealing his thinning gray hair and sighed tiredly. He looked at Naruto's eyes almost pleadingly. He seemed so much older then, that Naruto felt his eyes widen just a bit. "It may be for the sake of the village Naruto but…what do you want? Should you choose to take it some people may be angry, since it is such a reminder of our greatest traitor. You would orchestrate yourself. It is not your duty or your responsibility to take it should you not want to." He emphasized hoping that some of the message reached him.
Naruto stared at the aged Hokage like he was alien. Without his Anbu mask the Hokage could clearly see the confusion in his eyes. Naruto simply couldn't understand...
Sarutobi was telling him that he could choose weather or not to take the snake summoning? But why? Wasn't the safety of the village and the strength of the village supposed to be his top priority?
Then…what reason did he have for this? Why would he place his choice, his want above the safety of the village? A shinobi should always protect their village so why would he even give him a choice and not command him to do so?
He was snapped out of his reverie as the Hokage's voice reached him. "Naruto." He prodded.
.
.
.
‼️If you want to access advanced chapters, wait no more and subscribe to my Ko-Fi, where you can buy books in completely downloadable PDF format.‼️
☕️ko-fi.com/skyarc☕️