One week after the attack, the heavens wept. Thousands stood in front of a monument to the Will of Fire. On it were carved the names of many of the heroes of that night. Some cried, some had no tears left, and tens of thousands more at the shelters gave silence and prayers when the bell tolled. After a while, many started to leave, either going back to shelters or, if they were lucky, homes. Eventually, only three remained: Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. The disciples quickly rushed back to the village when they got word of what had happened.
Jiraiya was just sitting, letting the rain wash over him, as his sensei stood behind them both, clearly blaming themselves for what had happened. Tsunade was not as close to Minato and Kushina as her sensei or friend, but she couldn't help but think back to Nawaki and Dan who had died just the same. She wanted to help them, but she didn't even know how to help herself. The least she could do was stay with them.
Jiraiya clenched his fists. "I should have been here. What's the point of being powerful when you can't even protect those close to you? I'm off gallivanting, looking for a prophesied child, training him and thinking I'm preparing him for the hardships ahead, only for such a child to be killed a few years later in a pointless battle. Now my student, who might as well have been my son…" Jiraiya choked it down. "Now even he is gone. His son, I'll raise as my own. He has no one with Kushina gone as well. Plus, him being a jinchuriki, he will be safer with me until he can control it like his father believed he could."
"You, a father? I hope he doesn't pick up all your habits." Tsunade, trying to lift the mood, was about to continue when her sensei spoke up.
"I'm sorry, but that can't happen, Jiraiya. We have to keep him in the village."
Jiraiya, never moving his gaze from the monument, said, "Maybe it's time I stay in the village for a while then. Plus, my presence will be good for the village's stability and will make the other villages think twice about attacking us."
"For a few months, yes, your staying in the village is a necessity. But you must not forget about the prophecy given to you from Mount Myōboku. You must continue looking. You can't just give up. Minato wouldn't want that." Spoke Hiruzen with his eyes falling to the ground.
"Don't lie to me, Sensei." Jiraiya looked at his teacher with a challenge in his eyes. "Not now, on this day. You don't want me close to Naruto. Why?" His voice became icy and low.
Tsunade stepped towards them. "Let's all calm down. This isn't the time or the place for such things."
Hiruzen looked up, meeting Jiraiya's gaze. With a heavy sigh, he explained, "If you take Naruto as your son, Danzo and Orochimaru will make a move. They will see it as a power grab. Best-case scenario: you and Naruto leave the village and are hunted by Root, who will use any opportunity to take Naruto. If they succeed, his life will be torture. Worst-case scenario: you, me, and Tsunade fight Danzo and Orochimaru. That would likely spill over into a fight between our Anbu and Root, and those forces would decimate each other. When we fight them, we would be lucky if only one of us dies. The village would be finished. We are barely holding on now; that would be our end."
Jiraiya seethed, but knew his sensei's words held weight. "So what will happen to Naruto?"
Hiruzen hesitated. "He… will be sent to an orphanage."
Tsunade was taken aback. The son of the hero of the village, sent to an orphanage when his godfather wants to raise him? Jiraiya, on the other hand, let his chakra burst out. It was so dense the rain could no longer reach him. "I can't allow that."
Hiruzen didn't even bother to reciprocate with his own chakra, only responding with words. "You must."
"Well, what's all the commotion over here, Jiraiya? That's not a very polite thing to be doing in front of the graves of all the fallen." Spoke Orochimaru, walking towards them. He gave a lick to his lips. "Though I suppose they don't mind much anymore."
All three grated their teeth; the rift between them and the snake had been growing ever since the Third Great Shinobi War.
Clearly enjoying their angry looks, he spoke. "Sensei, there has been an emergency meeting called. Considering its matter, I'd imagine you should get going."
"What is this meeting, and why am I only being informed now?" spoke Hiruzen.
"I didn't want to interrupt your morning, so I thought it best to wait to inform you. As for its purpose, well, that's to name the next Hokage."
One month later, in an orphanage on the outskirts of the village. The village was still filled with tents and makeshift shelters, but the orphanage was far enough out of the battle that it was mostly untouched. This was a very good thing, considering the number of orphans in the village had nearly multiplied by ten. In this orphanage, they cared for all ages, and in one area, it had the infants. The caretakers doted on them as if they were their own. But two cases caught their attention: two infants with no family. They both had names, but beyond that, they couldn't be more different. One had bright blonde hair and markings on his face and cried loudly and constantly. He was named Naruto Uzumaki. The other had black hair and was calm. He was named Kenji Senju. The Senju boy was given to a caretaker by a shinobi relative, but his name was never given, and he had never come back for the child. The Uzumaki boy, on the other hand, was delivered by an Anbu who gave his name and then vanished. Those poor boys, thought the staff. They have nothing but their names. While the children were being cared for, rumors were spreading amongst the staff that the new Hokage had been chosen and that there was much argument and disagreement about who it should be.
Eight months after the Nine-Tails attack, Jiraiya was sitting in the Hokage's office. "I'm leaving the village. I can't sit here and watch what is happening to my home without being able to do anything about it."
Hiruzen, sitting at the desk with his pipe in hand and Hokage hat on his head, spoke. "I understand. Go, and if something happens in the village that requires you, I'll send a toad." Jiraiya stood up, walked to the window, and leaped out.
I can't blame him, Hiruzen thought. In fact, I'm not even sure what exactly has him most upset: the fact that his godson is in an orphanage, having his father's and mother's wealth stripped from him to "help the village rebuild," or so Danzo had put it, convincing the clan heads and elders? Or was it the Uchiha getting the blame for the attack and having their lands taken and being relocated to the village outskirts, boosting surveillance of the entire clan? Even though the best chance for them to attack would have been that night, why listen to my order to manage the outskirts of the village? They would never have a better opportunity to take over. But Danzo's hatred blinds him. My grasp on the position of Hokage is loose. If I push back too hard, I'll lose it entirely. I have no choice but to wait and hold out for the next generation to come into their prime and help balance the scales in our favor. If the council forces the issue of a new Hokage, there is no one. Kakashi and Guy are the only ones with the strength, but even that's lacking for a Hokage. Both lack the mentality. Guy wouldn't be able to make the hard decisions—it would break him—and Kakashi is broken. But if I mentor him for the position early and get him out of his depression, I'm sure he would do the job splendidly. Thinking back to Minato, he concluded, But this time, I'll make sure to hold on as long as possible.