Chapter Text
Maito Gai grinned as he felt the breeze rush through his hair. He was on his fifth of ten laps around Konoha, a consequence of not making the best ramen his Eternal And Youthful Rival had ever tried. (In hindsight, that was a foolish bet – Ichiraku’s existed, after all.)
“And STAY out!” A little boy was tossed bodily out of a store and directly into Gai’s path, bringing him to a screeching halt. The boy turned around to scowl at the store owner. His hands, clenched into fists, were shaking. Gai frowned. It was most unyouthful to treat any child in this way! Children were to be taught and nurtured and provided with love! A mumble made its way into his ears, distracting Gai from his offense.
“What was that, my boy?” The boy jumped, seemingly surprised to be addressed directly. His little fists firmed, and his jaw ticked up stubbornly.
“When I’m Hokage, nobody will throw me out of stores ever again!”
For the first time in a long time, Maito Gai was struck dumb. He realized, in that moment, that he had never thought to wonder exactly what had happened to the baby Minato and Kushina were expecting four years ago. Yet here he was, a tiny little thing, with the hair and eyes of Minato and the fiery temper of Kushina.
The boy was still staring, though his fire had begun to fade. That simply would not do! Clearly, this boy was a truly Youthful and Magnificent descendant of such excellent shinobi!
“A MOST YOUTHFUL AND MAGNIFICENT IDEA!” Gai boomed, startling several around him – including the boy. Oops. He hadn’t meant to let his enthusiasm run away with his sense quite so quickly as that. Lowering his voice, Gai continued. “Becoming Hokage is a most excellent goal! How will you reach it?”
The boy stared at him for a moment, awe slowly dawning in his eyes. Had Gai been paying full attention, he might have thought to wonder why such a simple comment brought so much joy to the child. However, Gai was not paying attention. The itch of an unfulfilled promise chose that moment to reappear in his mind at full force. He still had five whole laps to run!
The little boy’s words interrupted Gai’s distraction. “I’m gonna be the strongest shinobi in the village! Then they’ll have to make me Hokage!”
Gai grinned. Truly, a child after his own heart! Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He could continue his conversation with this delightful child and finish his run before sunset if he just invited the child along!
“YOSH! COME! WE SHALL TRAIN TOGETHER AND BECOME THE STRONGEST NINJA KONOHA HAS EVER SEEN!”
Oops. Too loud again. Though the boy didn’t jump quite as high this time, so perhaps it was fine. Gai excitedly explained his challenge to the kid and provided a challenge of his own – hold on all by himself for the remaining five laps around the village. With an excited “Believe it!”, the boy jumped on and off they went.
ANBU Hound listened to the sound of Youth fading away as Gai carried a hollering Naruto through the city. The ridiculous ninja hadn’t even bothered to introduce himself before befriending the boy. Did he know who Naruto was? Surely he did! The Hokage had called a meeting of every shinobi in the village and told them all – wait. Nope. Gai had spent that meeting running around the village, backwards, on his hands, because he’d bet that Hound wouldn’t make it to the meeting first.
Well, damn. It seemed like Hound would have to be the one to do it. That really was a shame – the poor kid hadn’t ever found an adult who’d believe in him until today. Hound’s little rebellions – filling the pantry at night, swapping dangerously old and rusty kunai for still old but less rusty ones – couldn’t really fill that need for little Naruto.
…plus, watching the Hokage experience both Gai and Naruto operating at full volume simultaneously would have been hilarious.