But then it made it so that he had to face crowds like this as Hokage.
"Chaos like this simply can not be allowed," stated Homura Mitoka, one of his long held comrades and advisers.
Inochi Yamanaka gave a small shrug. "The boy doesn't seem to be that bad."
"That may be the case, but the result is still the same. What is going on around him isn't going to be at all beneficial for the village."
"Then what do you expect us to do about the kid?"
"It is quite clear," Homura murmured, pushing up on his glasses. "Restraints will have to be put in place immediately."
"Doing so is the only logical choice. Disruptions for the general populace can not be tolerated," Koharu Utatane intoned, folding her hands in front of herself.
"Isn't that a bit much?" asked Inochi.
"Yeah," Shikaku Nara drawled, agreeing with his friend. "I mean, you're talking about a kid here."
Hiashi Hyuga didn't seem to look at anyone in particular as he spoke. "We can't simply ignore what it causes either. My daughter's skill and strength grew several fold without even a moment of training."
"And you're complaining that it made her better?"
"I am concerned that we do not know exactly what the... process does to the individual involved."
"Oh, good point."
"Which basically makes our course clear," Danzo Shimura put in. "This boy represents a factor that needs to be properly dealt with."
"Are you suggesting that we lock him up?" Koharu asked.
"Perhaps. At least until we better understand what he can give us. Once that is the case, we may be able to use him as a weapon. Those whom he empowers as well."
Something showed in the twitch of the Hyuga elder's features, but it passed before anyone could really take note of it.
"Doing so would certainly give us an advantage."
Narrowing his eyes, Shikaku was just shy of glaring at the bandage clad elder. "And would rob a boy of his childhood more than it already has been."
"Exactly!" Inochi seconded.
"We need balance," Ibiki Morino commented for the first time from his position near a wall. "Even amongst ourselves, having any one faction with this power would likely cause feuds amongst the families."
"True enough."
Having let the elders bark at each other, the Hokage figured that it was time that he stepped in. If he didn't, the fighting amongst themselves wouldn't even need Naruto's help. And the thing was that he liked that boy, for all of his troublesome ways, and didn't want him to be treated as some tool.
"Perhaps that might be best. If we know who is now... connected to him, we can be sure that no one can claim him as being too influenced by one part of the village or another."
"We already have one Hyuga as it is, and I heard that there was another girl who'd bonded to him," the Nara patriarch said, looking thoughtful. "Looks like the 'partners' are all girls, so I lucked out with a son."
"Guess you can rest easy then," Inochi teased.
Raising one brow, Koharu glanced at the blond man. "Do you not have a daughter of your own?"
"Yeah, I do... huh?"
"She could be a candidate herself."
"Hold on...."
Spotting that the blond clan leader was a bit confused at the moment, Hiruzen sympathized with the man, knowing that there wasn't going to be a clean way of doing this. At least now they were likely to introduce possible friends to Naruto than to try and use him. He hoped that this would be better than having him under lock and key. It was going to be a headache either way, and he just wanted it to work out as well as possible, while:
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