Time Passing By, A Hokage's Diary.

Jiraiya looked over the village of Konoha with a happy smile. His third anniversary as Hokage was the following day. He reflected on what Tsunade had told him the day he became the Godaime Hokage that if he screwed up she would kill him. His continued existence showed that he had not done too badly.

He turned back to his desk to his private journal. Every Hokage had kept one and they were considered invaluable historical records. He had balked early on at leaving a paper trail of ninja activity behind him after so many years as a spymaster but he slowly had gotten into the habit of using it.

He turned and leafed back to the beginning of the volume and looked over random pages.

Year 0, Day 180

It has been six months since I ascended to the title of Hokage and Tsunade has reminded me that my journal is still empty. Tsunade told me to consider it as notes for a book I was going to write one day so that has gotten me to start. She also has decided that the former teammates of Sensei are not needed in an advisory position. She suggested assigning them to the Academy and using their 'vast knowledge and experience' for the future benefit of Konoha to let them back out of power gracefully.

Tsunade and the apprentices had just returned from the Chunin Exams in Cloud. Surprisingly, all three of the kids looked happy and there was a closeness between Naruto and Hinata that had not been there before. They announced they were officially a couple. Good for them. I know Hiashi is pleased enough with the girl's progress that he will not do anything against the relationship. I decided to ignore the potential jabs for now. I think it is time to celebrate.

Year 0, Day 181

It seems more celebration is in order. It seems that Mitarishi Anko is expecting and Umino Iruka is the father. That is something no one expected. But looking back it does make sense. Anko had a bad reputation when she had the cursed seal on. She never allowed herself to have a lover for many years after a bad incident when it flared up during the heat of passion. Naruto now told me of the night during their vacation when Iruka and Anko had gotten together. Apparently, neither one had remembered about protection at the time so now that moment would bear fruit.

During the dinner last night, Iruka proposed to Anko but she declined. She liked him but she was not in love with him in spite of their actions that night. She had only felt it right to tell him what had happened and how she planned to have the child. Iruka had only said that she was not going through this alone and his offer to 'make an honest woman out of her' still stood.

Year 0 Day 197

Things have been quiet in Konoha. No missions over B rank have been contracted but negotiations are ongoing for several high level contracts.

I had assigned a pair of chunin named Kotetsu and Izumo to go gather information from my spy network. In spite of their obvious flaws as ninja, they make good spies. They fell into a mold similar to mine and acted as fools in their travels. Their cover I left to them but I feel they should do well. Early reports have been solid and they have begun to get in touch with my network.

After due consideration, I feel that the Apprentices should act on their own in missions. They are chunin after all. The team works well together. During the times I get out to train Naruto, he shows great improvement in all of his abilities. Now that he is a chunin it is time to begin the next step of his training. Up until now, I had been making him build a solid base of ability as an all around ninja. I wanted him to have solid fundamentals as both a ninja and a person before moving him up into the more powerful ninjutsu. As I taught him, it's all about control. Having the knowledge of when and where to use his power effectively is more important than power alone. Power alone is worthless but power under control and tempered with knowledge is true strength.

Year 0, Day 205

Team Senbon returned from its first border patrol and scouting mission today. The two girls we acquired from Sound are working out well. Also, it seems that there are admirers for all the genin members of the squad. Inuzuka Kiba continues to 'check up' on Tsuchi Kin in spite of her protests that she is recovered from her ordeal at the hands of my former teammate. The girl does nothing to drive the dog clan boy from her side however. Likewise, Fuuma Sasame is being courted by Aburame Shino. Some members of the Fuuma clan use spider based jutsu so the idea of being a living bug hive is not repulsive to the girl. The boy Haku is slightly older and seems to have an admirer in the form of Ichiraku Ayame. Haku seems to spend a good deal of his free time in her company. I will be promoting him to chunin in the next standard promotion cycle if the next Exam does not do it for me.

Year 0, Day 214

A former student of Kurenai was brought to my attention today, Kurama Yakumo. The seal that Kurenai had placed on her ability was failing and it needed repair. After subduing the girl, we determined the cause of her issues and solved them with the help of Team Apprentice. Tsunade gave her medical approval for re-training as a ninja and the Kurama clan agreed. I have assigned the girl to work under Kurenai once more as she is the sole ninja in Konoha to have been judged to hold the ranking of 'Master' in genjutsu. Since Kurenai had previously been assigned the members of Team 7, Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba, this gives her a permanent full team.

Year 0, Day 228

Reconstruction from the invasion by Sound has finally been completed. The Academy officially reopened its doors after the second destruction of the building in three years. With a new building comes a new way of training our youth. No longer will students learn the minimum needed to attempt to be genin. All graduates will now be full genin upon graduation.

The school will teach much more than the near civilian level it had been thanks to the manipulations of the former Elders. Requirements to graduate include chakra control sufficient to wall climb and tree run; at least two defensive jutsu and two offensive jutsu in addition to the basic three jutsu of Clone, Substitution and Transformation. The physical requirements Tsunade set up months ago also need to be met.

Scholastically, the non chakra based studies have been expanded to have all students have a basic understanding of many aspects of culture. All students will take botany, chemistry, math and writing courses. History has been made an elective course along with some once mandatory kunoichi classes such as flower arranging and poetry. Ninja will always need skills for undercover work and there will be jonin on call for special tutoring for all of Konoha's forces.

The biggest change in the Academy is in the new entrance exam. Being part of a clan or a favored member of the village elite will no longer carry as much weight. The first part of the new exam is the most basic. A prospective student must go into the slaughterhouse and kill a subdued food animal with a kunai. This might seem a harsh task for a child but it impresses upon every student that our business is death and there is no place in it for anything less. If they cannot kill an animal, how can they be expected to kill a person when the time comes? We will not be having any slackers or hangers on wasting our instructor's time.

Year 0, Day 241

Anko finally was forced to change her outfit today as she has a noticeable baby bump. She still wears her trench coat but has shifted to basic clothing underneath it. Iruka has been getting a reputation as many men in village now know who 'tamed Anko'. Iruka vocally disagrees with that title at every turn but I think some part of him likes it. Even Anko has given him some grief over it but always with a smile. She has taken a temporary position in the Academy teaching future kunoichi. Many of her classes are closed to men but rumors say the Academy boys should be worried if they try to harass the female students.

Izumo and Kotetsu reported in by courier again today. Several sources report that Orochimaru was spotted in the Land of Tea last week being pursued by a pair of people in black cloaks with red clouds on them. More on that later. There were no reports of a battle however and all three fell out of sight afterward.

It has taken time but the mental health specialists report that the cause of Uchiha Sasuke's mental problems has been discovered. It seems his mental torture at the hands of his brother was more intense than we first thought. Attempts to wipe that experience from his mind have been futile and even Inoichi feels they may never be able to undo the damage.

Year 0, Day 250

The Sound genin missing from the Daimyo's prison turned up today. It seems that a minor noble had dreams of a private ninja force. They turned on him and he paid the price with his life. Team 7 under Kurenai and Team 10 under Asuma managed to handle the mission with no injuries to Konoha ninja. All but one missing Sound genin escapees were accounted for as prisoners or casualties.

Year 0, Day 257

A more lighthearted entry today. The Apprentices invited us to a dinner last night. It seems that Hinata realized Sakura did not have a mask of her own. Naruto and Hinata approached Kakashi for permission to have one for Sakura. Kakashi agreed and also replaced the masks Sensei had given the Great Prankster and his sidekick. The new masks were also registered to their owners with ANBU so they could use them it they chose on missions. The masks are both a view on the students as well as a nod to their teachers. Naruto replaced his Fox mask with a Toad one but it had a fox's grin left on it. Hinata kept her Rabbit mask but added snake fangs to it instead of the normal rabbit teeth. Sakura was presented with a Flower mask but the design she painted on it is that of a flower from the west, the belladonna or deadly nightshade. Tsunade chuckled at the choice because the plant has both medical and poisonous uses.

Year 0, Day 267

Today was a training day for Naruto and me. He has exceeded my expectations once more. A month ago, I had assigned him several tasks with his wind affinity and working with toads. He showed me combination jutsu with both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. With Kichi, he channeled his wind chakra into the toad oil flame bullet and increased the damage potential by at least five times, With Tatsu, the combined wind and water chakra attack shattered trees. I shudder at what damage those attacks could cause if the toads had been bigger than Tsunade's pet Tonton.

Year 0, Day 284

Another report from I&K. The Stone Country is experiencing a personnel problem. They also identified a member of Akatsuki from that country as Rock missing ninja Deidara, an S class ninja. The man destroyed several border outposts simply to see the line of fireballs climb to the heavens. This was accompanied by some other information that shows the Akatsuki have a definite plan. Currently, they are hunting down missing ninja that could pose a threat to them and turning in the bodies for bounty. This solves two problems for them at once. It gets them funding and removes competition. The notes included a current bounty hunter Bingo Book. I warned all Konoha shinobi that were contained within to be extra cautious.

I do not know if I should be happy or sad on the fact that the Apprentices are now listed in that very book as C class ninja. The criminals who ran the operation the Apprentices broke up before the Cloud Exams months ago placed a total kill price of 1000 for all three of them. That is not even the cost of a difficult D rank mission but Naruto was excited for some reason that they were getting some notice. I did not have the heart to explain at that moment that a bounty hunter would literally have to bump into them on another hunt to even consider working on them as a target.

Year 0, Day 295

The first class graduated from the new Academy today. These were the class who had been about to graduate under the old method but instead got a brief refresher in the new system, There were twenty one graduates with many more to follow in the coming months and years. This means more than simply replacing numbers. That is another seven teams of genin since none will be rejected by their sensei for any reason. We might end up with a shortage of jonin sensei in a year or two if graduation rates hold steady. After the losses we received nearly a year ago, they are not nearly enough but it is a beginning.

The first big class is scheduled to test in about six month. The current enrollment in that group is nearly 100 strong. Then every three months after that in similar numbers. The biggest place we lost out on students is among younger girls who were not serious in their plans to be kunoichi. Tsunade suggested opening the Academy to nearby farming villages to increase enrollment and provide some defensive training to those people. Even if they fail out, they will be much more aware of ninja activities and provide a good outer ring of defense and intelligence for Konoha in the years to come.

Year 0, Day 300

Romance is in the air for many people. A number of males in the village had been given chocolates by girls. The ones I am aware of include Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Iruka and surprisingly, me. Mine showed up with no card and no way for me to know who sent them. I hope that in a month's time I am not subject to a beating but I think I will send an anonymous gift to someone next month.

Mission success rates are approaching a record completion percentage. But the failures stand out much greater. A chunin led genin team sent on recon to a mining town nearby has failed badly and only a single genin lived. A former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist had been running the town for months and few residents remained alive when the man moved on. We do not know how much in processed gold was taken but from historical output it could be a significant amount. Replacing the miners has been left to the Daimyo and he is setting up a garrison of soldiers there for added protection.

Year 0, Day 312

The next Chunin Exam is coming up in the Sand Village. Konoha is sending five teams this time. Team Guy, Kurenai, Senbon, Asuma and a rookie team led by Aoba. Many older genin have been promoted administratively as they are solid but not exceptional. As I told the apprentices before their first attempt, villages only send the ones that are essentially chunin already to foreign exams. Even if they do not make below the zone promotion through the exam, I will be promoting most to chunin anyhow on merit. Sending those teams is merely a show of strength for Konoha and a marketing tool for business.

Year 0, Day 328

White Day has come and gone and I still live. Tsunade seems to be pleased with her 'anonymous' gift of a day at a spa.

Iruka and Anko had a fight but things were soon soothed over when Iruka left on a personal mission and returned with something for Anko. The entire fight was centered on a food craving Anko had. No one in Konoha had it and she blamed Iruka for the lack of it. His mission was to acquire said item and arrange for a delivery to a local store that had run out. To the shock of everyone, Anko apologized in public to the chunin instructor upon his return. It seems she was distraught the entire two days he was out of the village.

Year 0, Day 335

Today is the anniversary of the attack on Konoha and Sensei's death. Little more can be said on that issue but a good amount of candles and incense was lit in the shrines around Konoha. More than a few were lit at the Hyuuga shrine. The apprentices joined Hinata at one near the Hyuuga estate but did not intrude on the clan shrine.

Regarding the Hyuuga, there have been several new pregnancies among them. Hiashi still rules the much reduced clan with a much more gentle hand than any clan head in over a century. He is no longer limiting the clan to being combat ninja. He has allowed several of the clan medics to train in Tsunade's program and serve in the main hospital. It is more public relations than anything else but it serves his personal plans well.

Year 0, Day 343

The Finals of the Chunin Exam in Suna were an interesting time. The strong showing by both Konoha and Suna helped our relations greatly. Suna had adopted Konoha style training methods and the quality of their limited number of genin soared.

One girl by the name of Matsuri made it to the finals and beat two others before losing to Hyuuga Neji in a difficult match. The girl would not stay down and it took Neji shutting down her chakra to end the match. He reports that she whispered as she fell, "I'm sorry Gaara-kun, I wasn't strong enough." If Gaara has found someone to care for him then there is hope that he can become seen as more than just the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi.

On a positive note, four of our genin were voted chunin during the exam; Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee and Haku.

Year 0, Day 357

There is a disturbing message from the Daimyo. One of his counselors was discovered to be spying for Iwa. The man was discovered in the possession of copies of many of the Daimyo's personal files. Among the information found on the spy was a list of several of the Daimyo's personal agents and the secret heritage of one Uzumaki Naruto. We must plan for the event of Naruto's heritage becoming public knowledge. That along with the events in Cloud six months ago would put a huge price on his head.

His being a jinchuuriki was made publically known then but few would do anything about it. Killing a jinchuuriki is the fastest way to bring about your own death because of the chakra being released but should Iwa learn of Naruto being Minato's boy, a number of suicidal assassins might think it is worth the price.

Year 1, Day1

It has been a year with me as the Hokage. Just to tweak Tsunade I gave a 'special' proclamation that on my anniversary, all kunoichi were required to wear crop tops and short shorts. The words 'entirely optional' were printed in small letters at the bottom. One of the biggest fears she had was that I would do just such a thing due to my overall perverted nature.

The number of kunoichi who actually did wear such an outfit surprised me. Several female ANBU simply wore the shorts while maintaining the rest of their armor in place. Even Anko wore the outfit while showing off her eight month along pregnancy quite proudly. It made the speech I gave to the public have almost a party atmosphere and a good time was had by many. I think the maternity ward in the hospital might be busy in nine months.

Tsunade got back at me by lacing my coffee with a neurotoxin that Anko created after the incident back during training the kids. The combination of snake venoms is now used on prisoners and unruly patients. After she slipped it to me, she proceeded to come into my office wearing a short nurse costume as a cosplay and check me over. So close and unable to move a muscle it was heaven and torture at once.

Year 1, Day 6

There was a new report from K&I today. The boy containing the six tail beast has disappeared from the Mist Village. There is no hint of him being captured. The report is that he simply left during the chaos there. His jutsu is unique so he should be noticed if he does turn up anywhere. I hope he can be found before Akatsuki can find him.

Year 1, Day 18

Naruto continues to grow stronger. He chafes at the idea that I am pacing his growth but I still feel that he is on track to be a solid A Class bordering on S class in some areas by the time Akatsuki is assumed to begin looking for him. The early work in making him as well rounded as his teammates means that I do not have to go back to fill in gaps in his education. The girls are still growing but not as quickly as Naruto now. I would put the team of them up against any chunin squad in Konoha and expect them to win more than half the time. Against a solo jonin or special jonin they might win one in three times. I believe they are ready to handle B rank missions without aid and A rank missions with a jonin leading them.

Year 1, Day 29

Anko had her child today. The child is a baby girl she and Iruka decided to name Kuraito after a breed of sea snake. You may never see a prouder pair of parents than Anko and Iruka. Anko even hinted that Iruka would be allowed to have more children in the future as she decided her daughter is cute enough to save the chunin's manhood. We know who is in charge of that relationship. Iruka had proposed once more when Anko went into labor but she turned him down once more. She did add the codicil that she reserves the right to change her mind at any time.

Jiraiya sighed and put the completed volume into the storage box. Several others joined the first as he was consigning the volumes to storage. This was a story he would not write but he wished he could. Only future Hokage would have access to this journal and those they allowed to view it. Even so, a fresh journal awaited and he might even get some time to write the next Icha Icha series based on the people in Konoha at some point.

Author Note and Explanation: It is with a strange duality I post this poor chapter. The Will Born in Fire is my first story on FF dot Net. It has languished far too long in its current uncompleted state. I brought the story to a good stopping point with no cliffhanger in the previous chapter. I had many good intentions on its course as this 'diary' chapter shows but I could not provoke my muse to expand on them. My disappointment with the ending of the Naruto manga made it hide and sulk. I long ago placed my reasons for my feelings on my author profile. I have not even watched or read any of that 'Boroto' and I have no intention to.

However, I have re-read all of my previous work and found a spark of something still there.

I find myself in the very position of Jiraiya at the end of this story. I am putting away the old records to start anew. I have begun a loose outline of the sequel to this story, tentatively entitled 'The Road to Jonin' I have no timeframe yet but I have hope.