After 2 days of travel they arrived at a tiny community..no community wasn´t the right word it looked more like a self sufficient farm with even less people than Shino´s old village.

Shino had finnaly gathered himself seemingly back to his old self asking

“What are we doing here?“

“Isn´t it obvius? We promised you some food right?“ Kotetsu said.

“You already gave me food and since you are on some mission i doubt you are doing this out of leisure“Shino said.

“So the brat can use big words now“ Kotetsu whispered under his breath.

“You will stay here until someone from Konoha arrives to take you to the leafvillage...your fine with that right?“

Shiro didn´t give an anwer and just shrugged his shoulders..then he said

“Why did you know about the exact time my village got destroyed....you even knew my brothers name.“

Izumo got more serius“Your village is known to all the world now, it was a crisis that almost started the fourth shinobi war right after the third was just over.“

Shino didn´t know what he was saying so he simply asked “What?“

Kotetsu felt the need to intervene“Sometimes adults fight and when these adults are...“

“My mother explained what wars are.“

…...“Damn brat knows everithing huh?“Kotetsu apearently felt no need to hide his words.

Izumo got back to talking“Well aniways your village isn´t in the country of fire but it´s firmly in it´s sphere of influence so it came as quite a shock to everyone that it got destroyed just after the truce between the country of Earth and Fire was signed.The third hokage even resigned over the crisis.“

“So that´s why“ Shiro pondered.

Going inside one of the buildings everyone ordered something for each other.

Shiro got a a bowl of meat and soup wich he looked distrustfully at but soon demolished after having his first taste of actually prepared meat in almost 2 years.

Kotetsu said“Hey easy there kid that can´t be healthy for you“

Shiro was shocked“You let me order something poisonous?“

“No no i didn´t meant that, im just saying maybe decrease the tempo a bit.“

Yet shiro wasn´t listening he was already back to eating slurping up the soup after finishing all the meat.

“Well i be damned guess we don´t need to worry anymore about him being all bones right Izumo?“

Izumo cracked a smile at his companions comment.

“Anyways we should get back to the mission sooner or later.“

“What...Izumo we play the babysitter every time we don´t want to, but now where it´s actually alright we need to go?“

“Speak for yourself i apreciate being the babysitter of our loved ones“

After arguing for a while Izumo got convinced to stay the night as it was already evening aniway.

Izumo took the rare oppertunity to take a shower and not a bath in some cold river and enjoyed all the comforts civilisation had to offer after drying himself off he finally returned to Kotetsu and the Kid.

“Kotetsu what the hell you are ACTUALLY teaching A 4 Year old how to gamble!?“

“Hey man relax relax it´s just some cards and besides he´s basicly 5 aniways“Kotetsu said as if slowly being pushed in a corner.

Afterwards Izumo didn´t take his eyes of them and even played some chess with the boy beating him each time by just a bit to keep him interested at the end intentionally losing and pretending to be angry about it wich got Shiro and Kotetsu laughing quite a bit.

At the next morning the boy got woken up early and Izumo and Kotetsu had to say there goodbyes to him, reasurring him that they were looking forward to him becoming a part of the leave wich left Shiro flusterred and unsure his feelings.

From then on he helped out a maid of the farm in her late 40´s he mainly peeled potatoes helped with the cleaning and kept himself occupied, while getting fed well in exchange for his services.

The maids name was Okita and she seemed nice enough, but he didn´t enjoy talking to her as much as Kotetsu or even Izumo.

For Shiro the days went by until he was called away from his occupation by the person that took Izumos and Kotetsus order for food from them when they first arrived.

The younger man guided him to the bathroom telling him that Shiro would soon depart and this was his last chance at taking a shower.

Shiro went into the shower turning the shower only up a bit, after getting a flustered at the cold water flowing over him, but he soon adabted to the temperature and cleaned himself as much as he could and after about 30 minutes ermerging looking cleaner than the river ever made him look in the past.

He was just getting finished switching into a new pair of clothes

the maid.. Made? Bought?...Got him when a new voice called him over.

“Nice to finally see you, im Kurenai Yuhi and were departing for the leaf if you don´t mind?“

Shiro looked at the woman silently thinking that she looked about 20 maybe 5 years older than the others?

After thinking for a bit he replied

“Yes it´s nice to meet you how long will it take to arrive at the leaf and where will i stay and what will be my responsibilitys?“

Kurenai“Eh...You don´t waste any time do you? Let´s see about 2 days to the village then you´ll stay at the orphenage for a bit till you can be trusted to live alone in a few years and as for reponsibilities....Growing up i guess?“

“I don´t need to do anithing while i stay there?“ Shiro exclaimed in shock.

“I guess not but how about you be nice to the other orphans staying there?“

“I´ll guess i´ll be nice then.“Shiro said in confusion why he would not be put to work, afterall he would be eating out of there pockets...or would he have to catch his own food again?

Just like that 2 days passed with him and Kurenai travelling rapidly trough the nation.

Finally he arrived at the village.

When he arrived at the village he first got sent to the office of the Hokage, arriving there he witnessed an extremely old man looking at him, wich was surprising because he knew the previus hokage resigned a few years ago after Shiro´s village got atacked.

So he didn´t see much use in him being replaced with someone so old.

“Greetings fourth Hokage“

At the that the old man frowned“Why do you think that im the fourth Hokage?“

That truly shocked Shiro just 2 years and already there was a fifth Hokage “Apologies fifth Hokage“

At that the old man frowned a bit maybe finally connecting the dots trying to come up with an explaination why he was back on this chair, that he so naturally sat on for all these years being questioned of all things by a child less then a tenth of his age.