Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction based on the Naruto world, created by Masashi Kishimoto. Except few of my own created characters like Hiro Utagawa all of the characters belong to Kishimoto. I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story.

Chapter 4: Potential

Like most members of the Sarutobi clan, Hideki was born with an above average chakra capacity and fire affinity. Like most members of Sarutobi clan, Hideki had his own dream to one day be considered among the likes of Hashirama and Hiruzen.

Like most members of the Sarutobi clan Hideki accomplished just enough to be remembered among friends and family, nothing more nothing less.

He graduated from the academy at the age of twelve, and took 4 years to become a chunin. He lost one of his teammates before the war and his father during the war. His mother did not live long enough to see him becoming a jonin, which happened after the war. Some might say he had a hard life, but Hideki knew very well that for a shinobi his hardships were mediocre at best.

Long time have passed since he had exchanged the history books for a copy of Icha-Icha Paradise.

Most of his free evenings were spent in this bar. But today he was seen furiously writing on a piece of paper instead of sitting drunk. He had to plan how to train his students to greatness.

"You should have brought more papers."

Hideki looked up and found a woman taking the sit opposite to him. She had two glasses in her hands, filled with wine. Hideki took the one offered to him.

The woman was not in any sense remarkable. She was wearing standard Konoha flat-jacket and looked like your average kunoichi. The woman was not extremely pretty or ugly enough to give a notice. Her hair was cut in just the perfect length, not too short or not too long.

Her face however, was familiar, "I've seen you somewhere before."

She nodded, "That's very possible. I am Konomi Mimura, the jonin in charge of Konoha shinobi archive."

Hideki took a small sip from the glass he was holding, "Nice meeting you Konomi-san. I would usually thank you for the drink but I don't think you are here for that, are you?"

"No"

"Why are you here then?"

She brought out a folder from the bag she was carrying, "I am here to help you, of course. Isn't that what Konoha shinobis are supposed to do, help each other?"

Hideki took the folder from her and opened it. The first page contained a title. It said:

The Complete Profile of Hiro Utagawa

Genin of Konohagakure

Created by: Konomi Mimura

He raised an eyebrow, "Interesting."

"Is it?"

"Very. Hiro Utagawa became a genin just today. He is not particularly gifted, or connected to any major shinobi clan. Wouldn't it interest you if one of the most qualified persons in the village to create a shinobi profile hand you the complete profile of one particular genin?"

Konomi smiled for the first time, "Usually it would. But you are missing one major point."

"Which is?"

"I am his mother."

The familiarities between mother and son started to become more noticeable to Hideki. The nose was same, so was the shape of the eye. Facial structure was close enough. Question is, why was she here?

"Listen miss." Hideki put the half empty glass on the table, "If you are here to praise your son, to tell me how strong he is and how good a shinobi he is going to be, please leave. I don't have time."

Konomi smirked, "Rest assured I will tell you exactly the opposite. My Hiro can tell you every single method of properly throwing a kunai, but if he actually throws them 4 out of 10 will miss the target. He can tell you how exactly the substitution jutsu works and how it can be improved, but doesn't even have the chakra reserve to use that jutsu 10 times in one a row. No Hideki-san, I am not here to tell you how great a shinobi my Hiro will be."

Konomi paused, arranging the words in her mind. Hideki was intrigued. What was she trying to say?

"I am here to tell you that Hiro is not suited for the life of a ninja."

That shut him up for a few seconds, "This is new. I never thought I would see one of my student's mother buying me drinks just because they want to insult their kid in front of me."

"Why would I insult my son?"

"Then?"

"I was merely stating the truth."

The bar was filling up. More and more people started to arrive, civilian and shinobi alike. Hideki finished the half empty glass in one go, "Can you elaborate?"

"There is a test the students have to take in the academy, it's called real life decision making. They are given a scenario and have to answer how they would solve the problem as a shinobi. I have collected Hiro's answers from his teacher Iruka. They are in the file."

It didn't take Hideki long to find the section. Everything in the file was neatly arranged. Although, that is to be expected from the person in charge of Konoha Shinobi Archive.

Hideki started reading. You are given a mission to steal a document from a mansion without exposing your identity. When stealing the document you faced one of the guards who saw your face. The guard has 50% chance of recognizing you as the thief. You are allowed two team members. Whom will you take?

The question was simple enough. Hiro wrote I will take one Yamanaka clan member and a poison specialist with me. The poison specialist can put the guard to sleep and the Yamanaka clan member can use mind jutsu to remove the memory from the guard.

"I don't see anything wrong with his answers." Hideki said finally, "There are easier methods, but his solution will work too."

"Look at the seventh question."

You are given an assassination mission to kill a civilian. The person is a business owner and the mission was submitted by one of his rivals. You have never done any assassination mission before. How will you deal with the situation?

Reading the answer Hideki understood Hiro had an active imagination, and had an idealistic view of the world. A mission to kill an innocent civilian wouldn't be issued. There must be some hidden meaning behind. I will try to find it out.

What Konomi meant was becoming clear to Hideki. He kept reading. There were more scenarios. War scenarios, defensive plans, interrogation situations. Hiro always gave a unique answer, his plans were complex and the amount of thought he put into some of them showed the kid's vast knowledge on the shinobi arts. But all his answers had one thing in common.

"There are no causalities." Hideki stated, "Every plan he thought of, he made sure no one dies. Sometimes he avoided the easier solution and went through a complex process just to avoid killing!"

"Yes." Konomi nodded, "You see Hideki-san, my boy is not like the other genins. I have never trained him in taijutsu or ninjutsu, what I taught him is something else. I taught him to focus even in the most chaotic situations, the kid never even realized I was training him. I showed him the depth of the shinobi arts and told him glorious tales of legendary warriors. And it worked somewhat. But he is also his father's son. My husband, you may have heard of him, Kunisada Utagawa."

Hideki's eyes widened, "The legendary Utagawa? The master painter?"

Kunisada Utagawa was a civilian artist famous even among the shinobi population. He was considered one of the greatest painters in the history of elemental nations. His works intensified the beauty of wherever they were placed. It was kind of shocking for Hideki to know his student was the son of such a person.

Konomi replied, "The same. Where I taught him to be a shinobi, his father taught him to be a thinker. He grew up with his father's moral code, and turned into a pacifist. And you know as well as I do, this world has little place for forgiveness and compassion."

Such is the face of the world, Hideki thought. Where forgiveness is seen as foolishness, and compassion gets confrontation in return.

"You may have not realized yet, but Hiro is obsessed with Jiraiya-sama."Konomi kept speaking, "He tries to always imitate him. See, he even changed his hair color. But I cannot break his heart and let him know that he could never be like Jiraiya. He is his own person. He will probably never get summons like toads, he will never have the astounding amount of chakra Jiraiya possess. I hate to admit it, because it would break my child's heart, but the path he has to follow to reach that place is longer than most. He has to walk five times as much as someone like Sasuke Uchiha."

He understood what she meant, "So why are you here?"

She drew her lower lip between her teeth, eyes filled with plea, "I am here to ask you something Hideki-san. Please, please protect my Hiro. He is a good boy. It might not be easy, but I want him one day to realize his dreams. Please, give him what he needs."

Hideki didn't hesitate, "I will."

Because that's what a teacher is supposed to do, show the way.

Konomi smiled and grabbed his hands, "Thank you Hideki-san. I will remember your kindness." She stood up, and so did he. It was time to leave.

"There is one thing I forgot to tell you", she suddenly said. "There is one field where Hiro has potential, maybe as much as Jiraiya. You will understand why when you see it. Consider it a suggestion."

"Really? What is it?"

Konomi smirked, "Teach my son fuinjutsu."