Tenchu
Chapter One - Talent
It was a rotten day to live in Konoha, Koichi reflected. He sighed as he ducked between the trees to avoid the drizzle of rain. A cold mist spread along the forest floor, causing a chill to creep into old bones. Well, perhaps not so old. He had nothing on Sandaime after all, but Koichi had been in the generation that had seen the Sannin become great.
The sun had been shining merrily earlier in the morning when he'd gone into the village to pick up a few supplies. He hefted the pack on his shoulder. Since he lived on the edge of the village he liked to keep all his shopping to twice a month. What a rotten day he'd chosen for it.
First he'd been just about bowled over by the Jinchuriki kid being chased by a squad of ANBU. Subsequently he'd been splattered with the wet pain that covered the brat, leftover from some prank no doubt. In the middle of the crowd it had been impossible to avoid being run over by the runt.
Then he'd been caught out when the weather had taken a turn. It was causing the paint to run and the stains in his clothing were starting to spread. And his bones were aching. Never had he been happier to see his little cottage in the forest come into view.
Approaching the front door, he frowned to see it had been left ajar, something Koichi never did. It was just asking wild critters to sneak in. He laid his pack softly, noiselessly, on the ground and pulled the kunai strapped at the small of his back. He slunk around back to the one window that didn't creak when it opened.
Channeling a bit of chakra, he disarmed the sound trap and slipped quietly through into a dark corner of the room. Soft light flickered from the fireplace. Koichi shook his head. If it was an enemy, they were certainly sloppy. Nevertheless, he did not sheathe the kunai. He heard the creak of the rocking chair and crept around the corner so he could get a better view.
Fast asleep in the chair was the little brat that had run into him earlier. Apparently he'd let himself in to escape the elements. Koichi sighed as he sheathed the kunai. The brat actually looked pretty pathetic curled up and shivering like that. How old was he now, seven? Eight, maybe? The years passed so quickly. For a moment Koichi considered dumping the kid outside his door, but thought better of it.
Naruto's first thought, upon waking, was that something smelled really good. His next was that he was warm. One blue eye cracked open. He could see the back of a man in front of the fire, stirring some kind of soup. He sat up, blinking sleep out of his eyes. A worn red quilt slipped to the floor as he did so. Blinking, he rescued scooped it up before looking up at the back of the man in surprise.
The man had turned around and was watching him. He looked like the grumpy sort, with the kind of deep wrinkles caused more by stress than age. His hair was graying as was the rough bit of facial hair. There was a nasty scar that ran along his jaw line and right through his ear. His skin was leathery, probably from a lot of time outdoors. Shinobi, Naruto's mind whispered.
"Hey there kid. Finally decided to wake up, have you?" The man grumbled at him.
Naruto blinked as a bowl filled with soup was shoved unceremoniously into his hand. He stared at it. Now he knew what smelled so good. The man was still watching him expectantly.
"Well," he said, "are you going to eat or not?"
"For me?" Naruto asked him, feeling a little dumb.
"For fire's sake child! Just eat it."
Naruto didn't hesitate. He was vaguely aware of the man pulling up his own chair and helping himself to his own bowl.
"It's really good," Naruto said between gulps, broth dripping down his chin. The old man just snorted at him and refilled Naruto's bowl when it was empty. Naruto took his time on the second bowl, savoring the taste.
"You know kid, if you're going to sleep in someone else's house you should try to be a little more discreet about it," the man told him.
"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly. He set down the bowl and clapped his hand in front of his face, bowing. "Sorry, sorry. I was just trying to get out of the rain and it was cold and before I know it I fell asleep! I didn't mean to! I was just so tired out after losing the ANBU and I'm really sorry and they were a lot more stubborn this time than they usually are and…!"
"Enough, enough!" the man said interrupting the ramble. "I get it. So, you got away eh? Not bad for a brat, running from ANBU."
"Eh? I'm good at it," Naruto boasted. "I can usually hid well enough not to get caught now! But…they had one of those guys with the dogs this time. Inuza…something or other."
"Inazuka."
"Yeah, that's them." Naruto picked up the bowl again, encouraged, and continued talking between gulps. If he had looked, he would have seen the man's eyebrows had just about leapt off his forehead.
"So, you usually are able to hide from the ANBU, eh? Standards must have dropped since I left," he muttered, watching the bond brat eat.
"Well, eventually I get caught, and then Old Man Hokage gets real mad. But anyway, this stuff is really good! Thanks a lot mister."
The man waved off his thanks. "Name's Koichi, not mister."
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Thanks a lot Koichi-san! I'll repay you somehow."
"Oh, I'm sure you will, Uzumaki Naruto. Say, it's pretty lonely out here by myself. What say next week you drop by for dinner again?" Koichi offered with a lopsided smile.
"Um, I don't wanna be any trouble." Naruto looked away.
"Haha! I won't buy that, not from a prankster brat like you. Trouble seems your middle name kiddo. Honestly, you're trouble, but you seem like pretty good company, so what do you say?" Koichi winked at him a peculiar light in his eyes.
"Well, I guess, your cooking is pretty good!" Naruto agreed, even as he polished off the last of the soup.
"Damn right kiddo."
The next night the Sandaime Hokage was working late, a single lamp illuminating his desk at the top of the Hokage tower. A slight draft caused him to glance up and notice the shadow in the corner. His heart nearly stopped for a moment until he recognized the silhouette. Then his heart nearly stopped again.
"Don't scare this old man like that, Koichi. I nearly had a heart attack," Sarutobi scolded.
Koichi stepped soundlessly from the corner and into the light. He was clad all in dark blue, an outfit Sarutobi never thought he'd see the man wear again. Koichi let out a muffled chuckle as he unwrapped the scarf over his face.
"Losing your touch Hokage-sama? I almost wondered if you'd notice me."
"I'm not dead yet, Koichi." Sarutobi rolled his eyes as he set aside the document he'd been working on. Koichi answered him with a hearty laugh. "So what do I owe the honor?" the Hokage asked him. "Surprised me, you slinking about in that outfit as though you never retired."
"Oh don't get too far ahead of yourself Professor. I'm not coming out of retirement. I just have reason to…dust off a few old skills," Koichi told him, sitting on the edge of the desk.
"I see." The Hokage was silent waiting for him to elaborate. Koichi huffed.
"I want your permission to train someone."
The Hokage took a moment to inhale deeply from his pipe before letting out a huff of smoke, eyes suddenly calculating. "You hardly need my permission to take on a student. You know I'd be delighted, but you stopped teaching decades ago."
"Not a student, an apprentice."
That caused the Hokage to sit up and really take notice. He had always hoped the Koichi would pass on his legacy so that the skills he was master of would not be lost to time. Koichi was a shinobi that the age had left behind. He was a real master of stealth, the kind of skills that nearly died out in the Third Shinobi War. To this day, Sarutobi could count on one hand the number of times he'd actually seen Koichi use a jutsu. Nevertheless he was one of the most deadly assassins in the world - the kind that never got listed in the bingo book.
Up until now, Koichi had many students, most of them his subordinates when he was a captain in ANBU. However, he had refused to take an apprentice to pass on the whole of his skill set to, saying that no one had appeared with the right aptitude. That included talents like Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi, both temporary students of his.
"Who?" he demanded.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
That sent the Hokage reeling for a moment. He chewed his pipe thoughtfully as he gathered himself back together. "Naruto...doesn't seem the type," the Hokage admitted finally. "He's...a bit loud, a real attention grabber." He quirked an eyebrow when Koichi began chuckling.
"It's because of that you haven't seen it. Tell me, Hokage-sama," he crossed his arms, leaning back, "how long as Naruto been playing pranks?"
"Oh, I'd say since he was seven. He's nine now, so, something like two years...?"
"And for how long has he been able to evade the ANBU?"
The Hokage's pipe fell from a slack jaw. Koichi snatched it from the air before landed on the desk and set the paperwork on fire. He handed it back to a startled Hokage, who immediately began to chew on it, lost in thought.
"It never occurred to me...to look at it that way," he admitted slowly. He had the look of someone in the middle of an epiphany. "They always catch him eventually of course, but...he's got no training."
"Exactly. Hokage-sama, with your permission, I do not want to see that potential wasted."
"It doesn't seem...like it would really suit him. He's loud, explosive really. I don't see how a style like yours will appeal to him. I can see your point now Koichi, but convincing Naruto may be another matter." The Hokage informed him.
"But do I have your permission, Hokage-sama?"
"If you can convince Naruto, then yes. I know you will not lead him astray, Koichi."
"Leave it to me, Hokage-sama."
"Wow Koichi-san! Did that really happen?" Naruto breathed, starry-eyed.
"Sure did kid. It was after that battle the Fourth Hokage got really famous. Iwa had a standing order to 'flee on sight' for him.
Naruto grinned, bouncing in his seat. He'd been a little hesitant to come back, but now he was glad he had. Koichi had the coolest stories to tell. He'd been around during the Third Shinobi War! And he'd seen the Fourth Hokage fight in person!
"But you know kiddo, what the Yondaime's real strength was with his technique?"
"What? What?" Naruto said, legs kicking under his chair as he leaned forward.
"Aw come on kiddo, no guesses?"
"He beat up a lot of guys?" Naruto hazarded.
"Nope." Koichi shook a finger in the air. "You see kiddo, you gotta think, why was he able to beat so many guys?"
"I dunno..."
"It's because his technique let him appear out of nowhere. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. The enemy could never even see him coming. It's something that all the explosive, flashy techniques in the world can't compete with. If the enemy can't even see you coming, how can they beat you? The Yondaime was a true master ninja. He brought the strongest aspects of a ninja, stealth and speed, right into open combat. Something most people don't know was that before he was Hokage, he was a top member of ANBU."
"Wow," Naruto breathed. All people ever talked about was how the Yondaime beat the Kyuubi. Naruto had heard more about his idol in one night that in his entire lifetime before.
"I trained him for awhile you know, back when he was a rookie in ANBU. Of course, he was already pretty good then, having trained under Jiraiya, one of the Sannin."
Hook
"Really?! I didn't know you were that old Koichi-san!" Naruto exclaimed. Koichi reached over the table where they sat to ruffle his hair.
"Hey now brat, don't talk about your elders like that," he scolded, though he laughed a moment after.
"Koichi-san? D'you think I can be as good as Yondaime someday?" Naruto stared at his empty plate thoughtfully. Koichi grinned, though Naruto couldn't see it.
Line
"Sure kiddo. Bet you could even be better, if you find a good teacher of course..." Koichi could almost see the working of Naruto's mind at that moment. His thoughts were about as obvious as a Bijuu on the rampage.
Naruto's head shot up and he looked at Koichi with bright eyes. "Say, Koichi-san, do you think you could teach me?"
Koichi's grin just about split his face. "I dunno. I retired from teaching awhile ago you know," he told Naruto, waiting until his bright expression started to dim. "But...I suppose if you passed a small test I could..."
"What? Anything! I'll prove I can be a good student! Naruto exclaimed.
"Oh? Well then...here's the deal..."
Sinker...
Sarutobi bit back a curse as he looked up to find Koichi in his office once more. Even though he'd been expecting the late night visit the man still managed to startle him. He was sure that Koichi enjoyed it too.
"Greeting Hokage-sama," Koichi said in a lilting voice. Oh yes, Koichi certainly did enjoy being able to sneak up on one of the strongest ninja of all time.
"You are impossible."
"Why thank you Hokage-sama."
"So, how are things with Naruto progressing?" Sandaime inquired, feeling rather at ease now that his heart had stopped racing. He now had an excuse to take a break from his paperwork after all.
"Oh, it's just beautiful. I suppose you noticed the task I set him to?"
Sarutobi nodded. There'd been a recent rash of pranks in the village. Oddly, though Naruto was the likely perpetrator, no one had caught him at it. The pranks had been smaller, more cautious, than the boy's usual ventures but it was unmistakable. At the scene of each 'crime' they'd found a slip of paper with an orange spiral on it. Naruto was apparently leaving calling cards now, probably Koichi's idea. But he wasn't getting caught.
"If he makes it to the end of this week, and he still hasn't been caught, I'll begin teaching him," Koichi told him.
"I can't believe you actually got him to ask you to teach him," Sarutobi admitted.
"Ah, it wasn't too hard. Just had to know the right things to say." Koichi grinned.
To Be Continued