Summary: Haku died by Naruto's hand that fateful day on the bridge. This causes Naruto to take shinobi life seriously as he follows his dream to become the greatest Hokage ever!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Novrier: Thank you so much for my first review! I definitely understand what you mean and thanks for the feedback. I'll try my best to focus more on developing the emotional parts of the story.
Chapter 2
Requiem for a dream
Flashback continued
Darkness consumed his vision. There was no pain, no hurt, just darkness.
"I believe that one can only truly become strong when they have something to protect"
"I'll protect the entire leaf village and become the hokage! Then everyone will recognize my existence!"
'My dream…'
What would Haku think if he saw Naruto like this? He would be disgusted Naruto thought.
The shinobi that never went back on his word giving up on his entire dream after putting his life on the line to save a country without even finishing the job.
Pathetic.
"Get up Naruto!" He yelled at himself aloud, "I'm going to become the strongest shinobi in Konoha and protect everyone! Then they'll have to recognize me!"
Kakashi didn't know what happened when Naruto lost consciousness for that brief moment but when Naruto came to he was a different shinobi. Gone was the dullness in his eyes, replaced by an unwavering determination.
Naruto pull the sword from his stomach and immediately slit the throat of an incoming thug. Continuing with his swing he did the same for another approaching him from behind. Spinning it around in his hand to a reverse grip he ran through another, watching remorselessly as he spat up blood and fell limp over the blade.
He looked around slowly. The thugs had ceased their attacks in fear as they saw three of the cohorts cut down in less than 10 seconds.
Just then, an arrow landed in front of the thugs. It came from Inari, who stood in front of the entire village armed with pitchforks and various other weapons.
Naruto didn't remember what happened after that as he passed out. The toll on his body from using the kyuubi's chakra plus the multiple stab wounds left him weakened. But he did pass out… with a smile.
Flashback end
Once Naruto awoke, he wasn't the same. Kakashi attributed it to having taken his first life and expected the blonde to approach him for counselling or at least to talk. But the orange shinobi mostly kept to himself, always either training or helping Tazuna out at the bridge.
As they arrived at the gates to the village, an ANBU arrived via shunshin before them.
"Hokage-sama wants to see us immediately right?" Kakashi inquired lazily, his eye never lifting from his book.
"Hai, Kakashi-senpai" if the ANBU operative was surprised, he didn't show it and simply vanished from his spot.
"Well, let's not keep our leader waiting!" the jounin said with an eye-smile as he grabbed his students and vanished in a shunshin.
Hokage's Office
"Team 7 reporting back from a C-ranked mission sir!" Kakashi said cheerfully with an eye-smile.
"I see," the Hokage said with a small smile tugging at his lips, "And did you all have a good experience on this mission?"
None of the students replied, instead looking at their sensei to explain.
Kakashi gave his report to Sarutobi not leaving out a single detail. To his charges' surprise the old hokage's expression showed no surprise. Noticing this the hokage spoke up.
"You all are probably wondering why I don't seem surprised by this unexpected turn of events?" He began "If I had a ryo for every time a mission didn't go according to plan, I would be richer than Daimyo-sama. I was well aware of the Wave's situation, not to mention, a drunken civilian could hardly succeed in lying to me. Despite this I decided to send team 7 on this mission, do you know why?"
The genin of team seven shook their heads dumbly.
"It is because we need the wave to be free but also friendly with us so as to give the leaf preferential trade. This is why I didn't send a squad of ANBU, do you understand now?"
"Hai Hokage-sama!" the three responded in unison.
"Good," the hokage replied "You all will be granted one week off ninja duty, take this time to recover and enjoy yourselves a little".
They all gave their thanks and made their way to their respective homes. Kakashi stayed behind and as soon as the last genin left he felt the hidden ANBU leave as well.
Putting away his book, Kakashi became all business.
"I believe the seal is slipping" He stated with finality.
"Impossible, that seal is the single most secure jinchuriki seal in existence" Hiruzen replied evenly
"But Hokage-sama, I felt it's chakra during our final battle!" Kakashi said exasperatedly.
"I'm sure you did, but that does not mean the seal is slipping" the Sandaime said "Quite the contrary actually, you see my boy, the seal is supposed to give Naruto access to the beast's chakra"
Kakashi's shocked look nearly made the old man chuckle, "That is the way Minato-kun designed it. He made it so that over the course of Naruto's life, the Kyuubi's chakra would turn into Naruto's own chakra so that when he died at an old age he would take the Kyuubi's chakra with him, returning it to nature upon his death."
Kakashi was surprised his sensei had thought this through to such an extent within such a limited time.
"He really was a genius…"
"That he was, we lost him far too soon." They both had fond memories of the Yondaime, his loss hit them both very hard.
"It was his desire that Naruto be treated as a hero for being the jailor of the beast, but it seems he understood the villagers even more than I," Sarutobi chuckled mirthlessly, "He put a precautionary measure in the seal that activates whenever Naruto is in danger and releases a portion of the kyuubi's chakra. I'm not fully aware of all the specs of it but it seems that it also activates when he feels a strong negative emotion." The old hokage was rubbing his temples now.
Kakashi nodded silently, "Sasuke's sharingan has activated. The council will be pushing for me to train him more than the others."
"I understand. Are you going to enter them in the upcoming chunin exams?" Kakashi sighed at this.
"Before this mission I might have said no… but Naruto has changed... I think they're ready"
"Very well, then I'll leave Sakura to you and organize for someone to take over his training," Hiruzen looked out the window "It's about time he returned.
About Naruto's emotional state: He's going to be a little on the stoic side but he'll have his 'Naruto' moments as well. There won't be a stick in his butt, he simply has a belief of what a professional shinobi is and he tries to emulate that as much as possible. Let me know if you guys want a fight between Sasuke and Naruto in the next chapter, if so it'll be a bit longer than usual.
That's about it! Hope you enjoyed chapter two of Hidden by the Leaves.
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