Anbu member Wolf
Hatake Sakumo is pretty entertained right now.
He had fully expected to be bored for a good few hours looking at the floor full of kids trying to enroll in the academy early. Instead he’s watching a scrappy little kid attempt to make a catapult out of wire, leaves and some twigs that he had gathered.
Of course he’s still doing his duty. He has evaluated for a henge, genjutsu, disguise and has also worked out why a five year old is doing his best to make a catapult to throw rocks at the window.
Once he had registered as a non threat he flared his chakra to tell his other squad mates to back off. Judging from the subtle feel of amusement coming from their signatures he gathered that they too had realized what was happening.
It’s a little amusing to say the least.
He watches as little Namikaze Minato swears when he cuts his finger on a sharp branch. And damn kid can curse, he hasn’t heard that colorful language since Tsunade bet him the ownership of the Hokage monument and lost.
The kid's catapult is pretty sad but he can see the idea that shaped it. It might’ve worked if he had more supplies and some more time. Nevertheless it’s a little impressive for a five year old civilian who obviously had never done this before.
Nevertheless Namikaze is running out of time evident by the panic on his face. He looks at the catapult and sends a quick prayer up before running to (probably) pull the fire alarm.
Sakumo decides to take a little pity on the kid. He obviously has a sharp mind and is pretty damn fast by the way he’s running back and forth.
When the kid yanks on the wire to catapult the pebbles after pulling the fire alarm the rocks spring up about an inch at most and then falls in the grass. Sakumo stifles his laughter under his mask and knocks on the window for the kid. Yuhi Shinku had obviously sensed the little chakra signature that is Namikaze Minato and he plays along.
He summons a clone and he himself walks over to the window and opens it, poking his head out and raising an eyebrow in Sakumos direction.
He heaves a tired, annoyed sigh that conveys his general distaste for him.
“The hell you want Sakumo?”
Sakumo thinks he should be at least a little offended.
“Anbu identities are supposed to be secret, you know.” he responds a little grumpily.
Shinku snorted a laugh and gave a judgmental look at Sakumo’s silvery white mane of hair.
Sakumo feels a little offended.
“You covering for the kid who’s stealing the exam as we speak?”
“Well–yeah” Sakumo sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not giving him too much help though, actually–you should probably turn back around now.”
Shinku gives him a look and Sakumo laughs a little nervously.
He sighs and closes the window back up, making a point to try and jam Sakumo’s fingers.
Sakumo goes back to where the kid is and oh–well now he really was a tree hugger.
Sakumo literally almost burst out laughing when the kid “accidentally” ran into Shinku. It might’ve been more believable had he not been watching and Namikaze practiced running into him and had rehearsed his apologies beforehand. He hadn’t thought anything would get funnier after the kid was practicing crashing into Shinku and had actually crashed into a tree.
Sakumo was literally bent over stifling his gasps of laughter as Namikaze sprinted straight into Shinku, “accidentally” slammed into his hand making the test papers go flying and simultaneously spewing out apologies. Shinku, sensing him, sent a glare where he was and then looked up to the heavens for strength. He found none.
Sure enough Namikaze slipped his paper into the messy pile of papers that he had sent flying.
The kid hadn’t done too bad.
The day when the results were posted Sakumo had received a simple mission to tail Namikaze.
He was to report back on what he did and what his intentions were. So Sakumo got up at the ass crack of dawn and went to the orphanage to watch the kid sleep.
He had been fully prepared to creepily watch Namikaze sleep but he was surprised when he found the kid silently getting up and stealing a black pen from the caretaker's office. Sakumo was…starting to get a little concerned about the state of things in the orphanage. The office smelled so horrible he had to use chakra to activate the scent blockers in his mask. Just ew. He knew that nothing would change though. The Hokage simply had other things to do especially with war looming over the horizon.
It hurt his heart a little to see Konoha’s orphans being treated so badly. All shinobi of the leaf had fought for everyone to be protected, to be able to live. This–this isn’t something that he wants to see again. This sorry excuse of an orphanage isn’t what he fought for. What his clan had died for. It’s a sharp kind of guilt knowing that children are living like this and he can do nothing for them.
Sakumo shakes himself out of his thoughts when Namikaze eases up a window and dives outside without making a sound. It's a practiced movement and Sakumo sees potential in him. He follows the kid to where he climbs up a tree and–almost immediately falls asleep. Sakumo forces down a chuckle and settles himself higher in the tree trying not to feel like such a creep.
When Namikaze wakes up and immediately flails his way out of the tree, Sakumo moves fast, he leaps out and catches him, saving him from cracking his skull on the ground.
It’s also pretty amusing to see the kid awkwardly extract himself from the bridal hold and speed walk away. Sakumo isn’t that intimidating right?
Sakumo is desperately trying not to laugh when Namikaze works out the puzzle in the sheet on his arm and almost immediately locks eyes with him. Man, this kid's luck kinda sucks. He’s full on mentally guffawing after Namikaze turns to (probably) try and leg it. Kids got spunk. He'll give him that. He does still shunshin to Namikaze’s side and the shunshin them both to the Hokage’s office though.
Sakumo tries to not feel like too much of an asshole when the Hokage speaks and the kid looks like he’s trying not to puke and die at the same time. His facial expressions have a lot of range which makes for a pretty amusing show as he knows that when he had reported to Hokage sama about the five year old stealing an exam packet the Hokage had choked on his pipe to laugh.
After he takes the kid back he goes into the Hokage sama’s office and sees him thinking and smoking his pipe absentmindedly. Sakumo silently kneels at attention, giving him time to think. The Professor earned his name afterall same as Sakumo earned his. Hokage sama puts down his pipe.
“You were correct Wolf, Namikaze Minato has great things ahead of him. Look into his parentage more, see where he comes from and trace his bloodline back to Iwa. he may develop a kekkei genkai native to Iwa. Jiraiya may be a good future jounin sensei no?”
Sakumo nods, Hokage sama was probably hoping for Namikaze to mellow Jiraiya out after all. He and Jiraiya are great friends but…well–Jiraiya is Jiraiya.
The Hokage hands him a mission and they exchange a meaningful look before Sakumo shunshins away.
On the test the kid had written that his dream was to be Hokage. Hokage sama’s two students were practically allergic to the hat, and Orochimaru had always had a looser understanding of morals.
Sakumo himself is more of a soldier, someone to follow orders than to lead.
Namikaze Minato was young and had radical ideas. A different background than most, he might be the key to bridging the growing divide between clan born and civilian born.
Kid had potential.