Naruto: The Gamer Hokage

"So, what are you doing here?"

Naruto asked with a confused tone when he saw Shikamaru walking together with his father on the practice ground.

"Well, my old man wanted to meet you." Shikamaru answered.

"Nice to meet you, Shikaku-san!" Naruto slightly bowed his head with some respect in his eyes. The man in front of him was a Jonin commander, the leader of all Jonin.

"It seems like your training is quite frightening, Naruto-san," Shikaku smirked as he looked around, seeing dozens of clones learning Water Nature Transformation and Fire Nature Transformation.

Naruto was surprised by Shikaku's display of respect towards him. Although he was strong, he was still a junior in front of Shikaku.

"Shikaku-san, I am just a genin. There is no need to do that." Naruto replied.

"I don't think so. You defeated Zabuza whom even I would have a harder time fighting. You deserved this much respect. Besides, thanks you to my lazy son has become a lot stronger."

Shikaku shook his head and answered.

Naruto decided to accept his answer and asked.

"So, what brought you here?"

"How about we sit down first?" Shikaku said while pointing at an empty place that had a lot of green grass and was only an undamaged place.

Naruto nodded and walked toward that place and sat down.

As they sat down, Shikaku asked something that almost broke Naruto.

"So Naruto, what are your intentions toward becoming the Fifth Hokage?"

This question truly broke Naruto. He had imagined Shikaku talking about his dream of becoming Hokage and even thought he would support him but never expected him to talk about the fifth Hokage.

Even in his dream, he was only the Seventh Hokage, not the fifth.

Shikamaru was on the side and was also stunned. He didn't understand his father's thoughts so Shikaku decided to explain.

"I already know about your dream of becoming Hokage. Considering how much you still love your village, I believe you will become the Hokage one day. But, I didn't think it would be Fifth Hokage."

"But you started changing my mind. From the Genin distribution to my son's training to your previous mission. You have shown intellect, determination, and strength that a Hokage needs to have."

"But, you might curious why am I talking about the Fifth Hokage's position, right?"

Naruto nodded his head without speaking a word.

"Currently, our village is neither the strongest of the five villages nor the weakest. But, if it wasn't for Sand Village and Mist Village's condition, we would have been in last place for sure."

"We need a leader, someone who can help the village grow stronger, someone who can fight other Kage and take down dozens of Jonin by himself, someone who can show kindness and ruthlessness at the same time."

"Third Hokage is slowly losing his ruthless side and has given far more powers to the civilian side which has weakened our military power by a lot. But on the opposite side, he has a friend."

"His name is Danzo Shimura. He is one of the most ruthless people in the village and has been gathering his own army from the Shinobi Clans. And, this is his personal army, not the village's army."

"More than that, he has been eyeing Hokage's position for quite a while. That's also the reason why Third Hokage took the seat for himself. But, it won't be long before he loses that seat."

"At that time, we will have four options, five if you consider Danzo. Jiraya of the Sannin, Tsunade of the Sannin, Kakashi Hatake, and myself. Jiraya has rejected that position twice and I don't think he is suitable for that position either."

"Tsunade has left the village in self-exile. Even if she manages to return, I don't think she is suitable to lead the village. Kakashi might have a chance but he is not at that level nor am I."

"But, you are different. Normally, it takes years for a shinobi to achieve the strength that of me and Kakashi, most can't even do that in their lifetime. On the other hand, you did it within just two months of training."

"While I understand that most of it was due to your hard work, a lot has to do with your talent as well. You just used the right tools in the right moment to improve your strength."

Hearing his words, Naruto suddenly answered.

"But, it won't be enough. The difference between Kage and Jonin is too much. I have felt the strength of Zabuza. Yes, technically I am not as strong as him but I have enough to reach that strength."

"But against Kage, that won't be enough."

Shikaku couldn't help but chuckle.

"You are talking as if I am forcing you to be Hokage tomorrow."

He shook his head and continued.

"A year, that's the maximum time you will get before Third Hokage gives up his position. He is too old for that position and as he grows older, his strength will decline."

"Yes, you did defeat Zabuza with Kyubi's chakra but it is your strength. You are a Jinchuriki. Kyubi's strength is your strength. And, seeing how easily you can use its strength makes my point even more relevant."

Naruto suddenly interrupted.

"If I use Kurama's strength, I have Kage Level strength right now. I am not controlling Kurama. He and I have a certain partnership where I can use his strength in a situation where my strength is not enough."

"That's exactly why I am not close to a Jonin right now. I am barely a Chunin, Elite Chunin at best."

Shikaku was silent for a moment before asking.

"Are you sure you can trust him?"

Naruto nodded his head.

"He had a dream where some powerful people tried to absorb him. At that moment, he and I were fighting together as a team."

Shikaku suddenly smiled and asked.

"It's not his dream. It's yours, isn't it?"

Naruto was taken aback while Shikamaru heavily sighed and said.

"Naruto, you are talking to one of the smartest people in the village. Don't try such an obvious lie. A Tailed Beast will never share their dream with a human, especially about how it cooperated with you."

Naruto was speechless but nodded.

"Sorry, Shikaku-san!"

"It's okay." Shikaku shook his head and continued.

"So, you dreamed of your future. You saw yourself being a perfect Jinchuriki and fighting against powerful foes. You must have gotten other powerful ideas from that dream as well."

"So, did you get any relevant information about your enemy?"

Naruto nodded. He had asked Kurama about those people and learned quite a lot about them.

"It might sound unbelievable but Kurama and other tailed beasts came from a single Tailed Beast known as Ten Tail and before they were born, Sage of Six Paths was the Jinchuriki of Ten Tails which he got after fighting against his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki."

"He said that Kaguya was from a completely different race and it was even stated that she came from Heaven or in Kurama's words, from a different world where there are people like her."

"The enemy that I fought was similar in power to Sage of Six Paths. In fact, I wasn't just using Kurama's Chakra. I was using something else as well. He called it 'Sage Mode'."

"I don't know what is but it sounded powerful. And, more importantly, I had Sasuke by my side. He had Rinnegan in one eye and Mangekyo Sharingan in another. As for the fight itself, I can't even describe it in words."

Hearing his words, Shikamaru and Shikaku were left stunned. They couldn't speak for a long time until Shikamaru suddenly remembered something and said.

"Wait, is that why you said those cruel things to Sasuke? So that he would try to forge the bonds with the village."

Shikaku couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Unlike his son, he knew the importance of Rinnegan. The only person who had such eyes was the Sage of Six Paths.

He never thought Naruto and Sasuke would face an opponent like that. As for Naruto making up such a thing, he never considered it.

And, he knew a bit about Sage Mode as well. He had learned it from Minato and knew just how powerful it was.

If Naruto could use Sage Mode and Kurama's Chakra at its full power, then it would be possible to gain strength above Kage Level.

Naruto didn't know what Shikaku was thinking. He just nodded and answered.

"According to Kurama, the natural progression of Mangekyo is Rinnegan. Since Sasuke awakened it in one eye, he must have gotten a lot more powerful. Even with Mangekyo alone, Madara was able to control Kurama."

"Right now, Sasuke has a lot of hatred in his heart and doesn't want to forge any bond with the village. In fact, I considered him a flight risk simply because of his thirst for power."

"If someone gives him a shortcut to strength, he might just grab it without hesitation. And, if this someone happens to be a missing-nin or from an enemy village, then it would be a big problem."