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A/N: Izumi here! I have decided to give this what-if scenario a shot. First two (or three) chapter treatment. Tell me what you think!
Chapter One (Day Zero): Mission Briefing...
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Shikamaru exclaimed.
Every ninja in the room could not believe their ears. It was something you'd expect from the careless, impulsive types like Naruto and Kiba yet it was the smartest and possibly most level-headed ninja of those in the room had uttered those words. It was far from his usual resignation of "How troublesome." This was wrought with bitterness and disbelief. His reaction to the Hokage's proposition had rendered the entire room tense with shock.
"Shikamaru-" In attempted to comfort her teammate by touching his shoulder when Chouji stopped him "Ino. Don't," followed by the Akimichi shaking his head.
"Hokage-sama," The Nara said through gritted teeth "You know what those bastards did to Asuma-sensei right? B-but you want us to take care of those-" The godaime had sensed profanity and interrupted him "I know what I'm asking you is tough...unfair, even. But we have no choice. They are no ordinary children. They are, were, the Akatsuki!"
Naruto scratched his head, unable to wrap it around the situation at hand "Tsunade baa-chan, we killed those bastards already, right? I even hit that Kaku-something guy with my Rasenshuriken 'ttebayo!" Neji, the pale-eyed Jounin, uncrossed his arms as he joined the fray "You said Naruto's technique damaged the entirety of his enemy's chakra cirulatory system. So how was he able to survive the technique?"
"And I've disposed of that Hidan in the depths of our clan's forest. He shouldn't have been found!" Shikamaru added. The Hokage nodded as if considering the points before she replied "Yes, they were killed. To be more accurate, their bodies were decimated. However, their souls had survived and took over the nearest bodies that they could find."
Sakura was reluctant but she inquired "A-ano, Tsunade-shishou, did they all just happened to latch onto children?" This question brought a heavy frown to settle upon the godaime's face. She leaned across her seat and clasped her hands together "I'm afraid not. Our analysis had recently found out that the souls specifically targeted helpless beings. Toddlers, to be exact. Unlike ninja who are trained to control their chakra, these children who are so young do not even know how to use it. They cannot repel the invasion of another soul to their body and are therefore taken over."
The Yamanaka was filled with concern "Tsunade-shishou, d-does it mean that the toddlers are -" The Hokage breathed a deep sigh before adjoining her conclusion "Yes. The children are technically dead. Their...their souls were forcefully evicted from their bodies so whatever jutsu was used here can no longer be reversed. The body with another soul can survive, but the soul without a body cannot." This revelation caused the room to shatter - yet again.
"How cruel." The other Hyuuga remarked, her right thumb and forefinger next to her lips. "This is just not fair! Those children didn't even do anything! Why did they deserve to...to be the ones..." Kiba growled with indignance. Shino had to step in "The children just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We can neither rewrite the past nor undo what's already been done. Our best course of action is to move forward."
The room was hushed for a moment until Shikamaru, though bitterly, had willed himself to speak "So what happens now?" The Hokage's amber eyes scanned everyone she had summoned in her office. Then, she answered "I'm putting them under your care."
The room was pulverized into ash at this point. Even the normally unfazed Shino had nothing to say. The others, if they hadn't gaped at the godaime, had physically stumbled backwards. Despite this Tsunade pressed on, not losing the adamance in her voice, "Until we have throughly analyzed the forbidden technique and figured out a way to permanently deal with the Akatsuki, you will be the ones to take care of them." The frown deepened as she continued "The kids are weaponless and harmless so we're certain that they won't pose danger to you. You won't also need to go out of the village. However, due to their identities and the fact that this is a significant matter of the state, this mission is classified as A-rank."
"A-a-A rank...babysitting?" Tenten whispered in disbelief. Meanwhile, Tsunade tapped the papers against the table to align with each other "You can put it that way. Though none of them are newborns." She sets the papers down "I am not a monster. I know some of you hold grudges with the Akatsuki for wronging you and the ones you loved in one way or another. I acknowledge that very much. In fact, I'm not forcing you to do anything. Anyone can refuse this mission right now."
The ninjas exchanged meaningful glances with one another. Before they can respond, the blonde continued "However, I can only limit it to the first six who will raise their hand to be excused. We currently have six toddlers in custody, and the original plan is to divide them amongst the twelve of you including Sai." The ninjas glanced at the back of the room to the pale man who flashed a fake smile "Hello. Nice to meet you all." Once their gaze returned to the godaime she continued " But know this, the original plan and the best scenario is to group the dozen of you into pairs and to assign a child onto each pair. If anyone backs out, the remaining members will have to compensate. The six who are to remain by default will still be paired with each other. But then, the children assigned to them will become two."
Give it to Naruto to yell out the obvious "Like hell I will backdown! That is not my ninja way! I don't care if the mission is hard or ridiculous, 'ttebayo! I will never abandon my comrades especially when they need me!" Before, almost everyone had been eager to raise their hands but now they remained. Shikamaru broke the ensuing silence with an exasperated chuckle "How...troublesome." The hokage was mildly surprised but mostly amused. Despite being put in a situation they have an opportunity to avoid, no one dared to do so, not even the reformed Root Anbu next to the door. This is the power of Naruto's idealism.
"Since I see no hands, I assume that the twelve of you have all signed up for this mission." Tsunade heard nervous gulps from every corner of the room. She cracked a smile "Alright then. Let me divide you into your pairs." She shuffled the ninja profiles within her hands. When she was interrupted by Sakura raising her hand. The godaime raised her eyebrow "Yes, Sakura. Are you going to refuse?" She shook her head "I-it's not that. I was just wondering...why did it have to be the twelve of us, Tsunade-sama?" Her shishou regarded her quietly before answering "I have two reasons. First is skill. I cannot really spare the majority of my jounin on babysitting duties. I can't just leave it to genin either because even if the Akatsuki are helpless little runts as of now we will never know how they'll turn out in time."
Confused stares had emanated in the office. Naruto is a genin while Neji is already jounin. Did the Hokage forget their rankings? As if reading their minds the godaime added "Second is familiarity. I'm surprised that a majority of you had already encountered the Akatsuki. You, out of all the shinobi, should be most acquainted with not only their capabilities but also their personalities. Still, the information from the bingo book will be forwarded to your apartments as reference."
"Apartments?" Neji quietly muttered. Still, it did not escape the Hokage's ears "Yes. To watch over the children and to keep the public safe, we have decided to move you into apartments. But most of that could be discussed later. Now, nobody interrupt me. I'll announce the pairings."
"Inuzuka Kiba. Yamanaka Ino." The two glimpsed at each other with disgust. Of all the pairs it had to be the one that smelled like an animal all the time, Ino thought. At least it's better than bugs. Kiba wrinkled his nose. While Ino does look and smell good, he's pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to stand her stuck-upness.
"Tenten and Chouji." They pretty much reacted the same, except Chouji was more lighthearted, hoping that Tenten knows how to cook. Tenten, meanwhile, wonders if Chouji would be as hyper as Lee. At least she won't be forced to exercise all the time.
"Nara Shikamaru. Rock Lee." The two were surprised as they were both male. However, Shikamaru quietly let it pass while Lee, with fire in his eyes, promised "You can count on us, Tsunade Hokage-sama! We will do our utmost best to protect and nurture this child whom you shall entrust to us!" Which made Tenten slap her forehead.
The Hokage sighed and proceeded with the division. "Aburame Shino. Sai." Both were indiscernible in reaction so she quickly moved forward when she was interrupted by a blushing Naruto "Ah, ano-sa, ano-sa, Tsunade baa-chan." A vein appeared on Tsunade's forehead "What? Didn't I tell you not to interrupt me?" Naruto's face was small with shyness and he fidgeted with his index fingers "W-will I be paired with...Sakura-chan?"
"Like hell I will be paired with you!" Sakura's inner voice exploded. Fortunately, the Hokage was stern in her reply "Unfortunately, no. Sakura needs to focus being a parent to one child, not two." Naruto was about to protest when he was cancelled by her swift announcement "Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata." The pale-eyed woman was red as smoldering iron. Her inner self was throttled into full-panic mode. "I-I'm g-going t-to raise a-a ch-child...with N-Naruto-kun! W-we're g-going t-to stay i-in one h-ho-o-house. Don't faint! D-don't faint!" She timidly slapped her cheeks.
"So that leaves us with Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Neji." The Hokage finally concluded. The other Byakugan-wielder was not satisfied. "Hokage-sama. As a branch family member, it's my responsibility to look over Hinata-sama-"
"Which is precisely why I didn't group you two together. You won't be able to concentrate on the child assigned to you if you're constantly hovering next to Hinata." The Hokage cut him off. He gritted his teeth. "Don't worry, I've talked to Hiashi-san over this and we made a compromise. Your apartments will not be too far from each other. Please use the Byakugan with discretion." Hinata then moved to assure him "It's alright, Neji nii-san. Naruto-kun and I can take care of ourselves. Please concentrate on the mission at hand." Neji sighed in resignation "Please always take care, Hinata-sama."
Envelopes were distributed to them by Shizune, who so far tried to stay out of interrupting the briefing. As soon as they've received their respective envelopes Tsunade rose from her chair and headed towards the door "Alright then, follow me."