One last order of business

"Ah, please wait a minute, Naruto.", Tsunade called out, holding Naruto back

Naruto turned back with an eyebrow raised. He wondered what she could want now from him. After all, now he wanted to return to the loving bunch of his wives more than anything. He had learned to love their presence more than anything, and being seperated from them was agony. "What is it, Granny Tsunade?", he asked.

Without answering his question, Tsunade turned to the other women in the room howwever. "Konan and Kurenai, could you two please wait outside?", she asked of them. Giving each other a confused look, the two women nevertheless obeyed the Hokages word and left the room.

As soon as they were alone, Tsunade looked at Naruto and the young man gulped nervously. The air seemed to change, it was almost as if she would say something important. However, the rapid events from the last weeks had desensitized Naruto a bit to those moments. But what Tsunade had to tell him was important. "Naruto! From this day forward, your title is Kounin no Hitotsu no Sannin, the Hitotsu Shinko Sennin.". In other words, she was telling him the title he was given, was the One Successor of the Three, The One True Sage.

Narutos mouth hung open for a good minute. Finally, he found the words he needed to express himself. "But... But I'm still a Gennin, right? Shouldn't I take a test or something?", Naruto asked, perplexed.

Tsunade chuckled. That was so like him. But she shook her head with a warm smile. "A title is not something you can take a test for. It is given to you. And seeing as you are the head of clan now, it is more than well-deserved.", she explained.

"Of the Sannin, only Jiraiya has fully passed on his entire knowledge. I might need to teach the Slug Summon to Sakura. But even then, I am the last of the Sannin, so that would mean in affect you are not Sannin but something else. You learned what the toads had to teach you, you are more then a Sannin at this point Naruto. So the title that leads to the real title suggests you surpassed your sensei."

"And because of what Jiraiya was to this village, and the number of times you have saved the day often being the only one to survive or seeing to it that everyone you are protecting still stands. You are a true Leaf ninja, you embody the Will of Fire like no one else. So why not give you the title 'The One True Sage'? I mean you even inspired me to take on the rule of Hokage. You have been wiser then many for along time Naruto. You got Pain to give life back to everyone he killed and many more great feats of wisdom."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. It had been a long time since he had received such glowing praise and he blushed. "I feel... flattered. After all, I'm skipping the title of Jounin and Chunnin at once with this, am I not? I always figured I better remain a Genin in order to help protect me, so I did not think much of it.", he admitted sheepishly.

"We don't need you to be protected any more Naruto, you are clearly protecting us. And so I decided to give you this honor. Please also bear in mind Naruto, this honor is to help protect the village in the future. When the time comes for you to replace me or the next person to become the Hokage, this title might also give you more standing to state your mind much like a Jonin Commander. Official orders are to allow you your say, since defending this village seems to always come down to you. I felt we should at least make sure to listen to how you want to deal with the issues the village face.", Tsunade confided in him.

Naruto shook his head. It was flattering, but he did not consider him solely responsible for securing the peace. "I suppose that makes sense, but... it is weird. I mean, won't the title only make me a target, would it not?", he asked right back at her.

Tsunade took a few moments to respond. "It is quite the opposite, actually. The title and your presence in the village will only help ensure that anyone who has heard of the small deeds you did as a kid and the things you did to prove yourself before you got this title to remember them. Only goes to prove that they should avoid this village. Your name alone might bring great peace for our village Naruto, and allow us to help other nations and villages more.", she concluded.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, what can I say? I accept! Not that it matters any, right? You're going to do what your going to do, if I like it or not so whatever. Do I need to sign anything?", he asked with a laugh.

With a motherly smile, Tsunade looked at her beloved protegé. "Like most things, there is nothing for you to sign. It was already decided.", she told him. "Now, go. Kurenai and Konan are waiting for you.", she said and waved him off with a light gesture.

"Gotcha. Thanks a bunch... Tsunade-sama.", Naruto said with a proper bow this time and adressing the Hokage with politeness before exiting the room-