The Hidden Truths of the Village Hidden in the Leaves
Summary: Starting after the trip to the Land of the Waves, Sasuke has developed a sense of overprotectivness a shinobi feels towards their partner and Naruto has to deal with new surprises every day. The secret behind the Uchiha clan massacre is revealed and Orochimaru is scared of one man. ANBU and foxes flock towards Naruto as much as danger does. A whole new take on the life of Team 7 and co.
Kakashi and the others, who have all seen this, couldn't help but stare in shock at the retreating pair. If he had not seen them fighting against Zabuza, he wouldn't have believe his own theory that was now plugging his mind as he watched Sasuke push Naruto to sit down in the shade of the tree the blond had been occupying before he came to break up the fight and then sit down beside him. They were bickering like they always do but the masked jonin had to wonder just how many actually saw that there was no bite in their words.
''Kakashi, a word?'' He heard Gai calling from somewhere to his side and the silver haired man turned, only to almost jump out of his jonin vest when he saw Kurenai, Asuma, Iruka and Guy jump at him.
''What-?''
''How did you get those two to get along?'' Iruka was the first to ask, talking in a stage whisper that had Kakashi sweatdropping.
''What did you do to them?'' Kurenai was the next to ask, secretly stealing glances at the blond and the raven who were now quiet, but neither seemed to mind it. ''Did you threaten them with torture to get the to behave or something?'' Another sweatdrop appeared and Kakashi wondered how was it that he was always accused of being the insane one.
''You have to teach me, Kakashi!'' Gai all but yelled in his face, causing the younger jonin to lean back from the volume.
''Is that what I think it is?'' Asuma asked, his intent clear in his eyes and the silver haired jonin thanked his lucky stars that there was at least another sane person here.
''That is a question I, too, would like answered, Kakashi.'' They turned at the old voice, seeing the Sandaime standing there, smoking his pipe and discreetly observing the once again bickering pair that was getting stares from the other teams and Sakura. "Don't think I haven't seen it. Is it true?"
"Maa, maa, you seem troubled by it. Why?" Kakashi asked curiously, not really seeing what could possibly be bad about this development. If anything, nothing better could have happened. He just wondered when it had started and how he hadn't noticed it before now.
"I am not troubled. Far from it. I'm just curious as to what would cause such a thing to happen, especially for someone like Sasuke." The Hokage explained, all too aware of two eyes focused on him from a direction not even the ANBU he had stationed were in. 'I am not worried or against it, but there is someone who would very much like to know if it's true, I'm sure. After all, it will involve him eventually.' The old man smiled. "And with Naruto, after everything I heard about them in their Academy days."
"Is there a problem it's with Naruto, if it is what you are thinking?" Kakashi asked in a nonchalant tone but his eyes said a whole different story. Both Sasuke and Naruto were his students. He had been ready to die to protect them and he wanted them to become strong. Although Sasuke said he only had an ambition to kill someone, he still wanted their dreams to come true. He will protect them, as well as Sakura. He will protect his team no matter the cost. Let him be labeled as scum; he will rather be scum than worse than it! He wasn't going to allow anyone to hurt or belittle his students. Not even the Hokage. Iruka looked ready to join him on this mission, ready to give his life for Naruto's.
And Sarutobi saw this and he wondered what could have possibly changed this man, who didn't want to be a teacher, who didn't want to make connections with others because of what had happened in the past. Iruka wasn't that much of a surprise but the way Kakashi was acting ... 'Perhaps Minato was right. Kakashi simply needed some duties away from death and carnage. A duty where he will care for lives, not take them. He may go on missions where he will have to kill, but he now has those who he must protect.' Sarutobi felt his mouth twitching and had to fight down a grin. 'You were as right as ever, Yondaime.' He cast another glance to where Sakura had inched over towards her teammates, the others still staring at them. Neither boy seemed to notice as they were discussing something in heated tones, frowns directed at each other. 'And perhaps I have chosen the right team for him, as well.'
"As I told you, I am simply curious. I have nothing against it, especially if it's with Naruto. I think that it's a pick not even I could have paired up better. They seem pretty compatible to me."
"What is everyone talking about?" Gai asked, both he and Kurenai puzzled. Iruka must have gotten it but he stayed quiet, probably wanting to confirm his own guess. They didn't see anything strange here other than the Uchiha actually making a friend. Hurizen sighed, not knowing how to begin explaining this to people who have never felt such a connection to anyone ever before. It's extremely rare as it is, but for an Uchiha to feel it... it happened once in a generation, if at all.
"Well, you see... Oh, how do I explain this?" Asuma tried to find the words so Kakashi took over, only to realize he, too, didn't quite know how to explain it either. "You see ... Naruto and Sasuke ... they bonded through our missions-"
Kurenai suddenly got a strange glint in her eyes that had everyone but Gai feel chills running up and down their spines, Kakashi especially. He and Uchiha Obito, his once greatest friend and the closest person he had been to feeling what Sasuke must be feeling with Naruto, had gotten enough of those looks when they were his team's age. Even from Rin they were not safe. Even Minato-sensei had dreaded such looks in his days when he and, of all the people in the world, Uchiha Fugaku have had such a connection despite already having made it clear that he was interested in one particular girl. Asuma must have experienced something similar since he was as white as a sheet and the Hokage looked like he already knew what was going to come out of her mouth and he was dreading it. Iruka was bracing himself, for all the good that will do him.
"You mean to say Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto are a couple?"
Not far away, a certain blond was questioning the sanity of the fox demon sealed away in him. Why, you ask? Because it had randomly started gaffing with laughter, that's why!
Asuma's cigar fell out of his moth as he choked on the smoke he had just inhaled, the Sandaime not really far behind him. Iruka looked ready to faint from the suggestion, that's how much good his bracing himself had brought. Kakashi barely surpassed a flinch as he recalled all the stories girls loved to make up when an Uchiha, especially one as handsome as Sasuke, was involved and he pitied his students. Gai suddenly looked delighted.
"That is wonderful news! Love is blossoming in the spring time of life! Hurray for eternal youth! Hurray for free love! You thought them well, Kakashi!" Now Kakashi had joined the other two choking men, not believing his ears as he looked up to regard the beaming and crying man who called himself his eternal rival. Up in a tree not that far away, a dark haired, masked man in an ANBU uniform nearly fell out of the tree at this statement, not really sure if it was from the shock or from the stupidity he was hearing. Deep inside the seal on one blond's stomach, Kurama was almost pissing himself from how hard he was laughing. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were now regarding the assembled ninja, Naruto wondering if they were just being pervs like usual.
''NO!'' The choking men all screamed, drawing the attention of the other shinobi and the kids that had wandered over, Konohamaru wondering why his ji-chan looked so flustered. "Not like that, you two!"
"Then how?" Gai asked, still preplexed as ever, while Kurenai looked disappointed.
"They are on the way to become something more than friends-"
"Like boyfriends?" Kurenai interrupted Kakashi once more and Iruka choked on air again.
"No! They'r boys that are friends but they are slowly becoming a lot more, if they're not already." The silver haired man finally finished, glaring at the only woman in their group, daring her to say something like that again.
He should have known better. "Then if not lovers, what?"
Sarutobi sighed and was about to take over, but Kakashi shook his head at him. He had started it and he was damn well going to finish it. "You saw how close Neji and Sasuke were to fighting right now, the futures of their careers be damned?" Kurenai nodded, determined to understand this that had the others so shocked. "And you saw how he was ready to fight through Sakura without hesitation in his anger?" Again, he received a nod. "Yet when Naruto stepped in, Sasuke backed down instantly with admonishing words towards Naruto's reckless behavior?" Kurenai nodded, really not seeing where this was going and neither did Gai. Neji hadn't stopped yet Sasuke had. Why?
"Well, you both must have heard of shinobi developing a team mentality, yes?"
"Of course. It's the reason we put genin in teams of three after they graduate from the Academy. What's that got to do with what's happening with Uchiha now?" The kunoichi asked, getting impatient. Why won't he just say it plainly?
"Like I said, he wouldn't have hesitated to go through Sakura. Naruto, though ..."
"A shinobi can develop a team mentality, but they can also develop a partnership mentality." Asuma finally took pity on the black haired woman and explained in plain terms. "Like those with a team mentality become attached and protective of their team members, those who develop a partnership mentality come to cherish one person more than anyone else, sometimes even their own family. They are extremely protective and possessive of that person, and even if they had or get their team mentality developed over time, the third party, or even the entire team, will be less important than that person in the eyes of that shinobi."
"That still somehow sounds like a lover to me." Gai commented, arms crossed and the forefinger and thumb holding his chin as he concentrated, his bushy eyebrows in a frown and eyes closed.
"Just like your most important person can be your sibling, your sensei, your pupil or your best friend, your partner can be all of that, as well as a lover. It's a very thin line that can easily be crossed and your partner can become your most important person." Iruka explained, even though he was only going on rumors. He himself has never felt such a connection, even though he would give everything for Naruto. This sort of thing, unlike with your most important person, can't be one-sided and it's always been clear that, although he was important to the Kyuubi container, Naruto will never see him like that. He was the father figure that the boy never got and that's about it.
"Ah, I see." Kurenai said with a nod. "So because Sasuke now sees Naruto as a partner, he stopped before Naruto could get hurt."
"And if Neji had continued? What would have happened?" Gai asked, looking from one of his jonin friends to the other.
It was the Hokage who answered him, though. "Sasuke would have killed him." Gai flinched at the answer but the others didn't react much outwardly, although, inwardly, was a whole different story. ''He would have posed a danger to Naruto and Sasuke, since Naruto wouldn't have defended himself, would have acted on his behalf and removed the threat. If Neji had somehow hurt Naruto before the young Uchiha could prevent it, Neji would find himself in a world of pain before he would be granted merciful death. I have seen many shinobi felled by avenging partners, some of them so strong that they would have been candidates for Kages in their villages. Never underestimate the bond between theses partners; it could cost you your life.''
''I see.'' Gai, now a little paler than before, muttered. He will have to make sure his students didn't end up on the Uchiha's warpath should something ever happen to Naruto. If what he heard right now is true, then the boy will definitely not rest until whoever manages to hurt the blond is dead. He already knew that the younger Uchiha considered himself an avenger for what happened to his family. He didn't need any more motivation to get revenge, for anything.
''But isn't that kind of bond a little dangerous in a three man team?'' Kurenair asked, seeing just how serious what had happened earlier was. ''I mean, the two partners will help each other, but what about the third teammate? Or if its not a shinobi from their team, what about the other two? Won't they be in a direct line to danger since the shinobi will firstly look out after their partner?''
''It won't be that bad, if a shinobi manages to develop a team mentality as well. However, for a loner like Sasuke... that's going to be a bit harder. Oh, sure, he will protect Sakura when she is in danger, he already has, but it's more thought than instinct to do that. For a partner,'' Kakashi explained, ''A shinobi doesn't need to think before putting their own life in danger if it meant saving their partner. I know a few ANBU who became ANBU after their partner's death. They had killed over 12 S-class missing nins or shinobi from other villages because they had targeted their already dead partner on their way back. They wouldn't allow the body of their partner to have a disgraceful funeral. They dragged their body back, traveling six days with constant attacks while on enemy territory, then demanded that their partner be given a hero's funeral. After that, they joined the ANBU and sought out revenge. As far as I know now, they are simply one of the many masked ANBU elite.''
''It only gets stronger over time.'' The Hokage went on. ''The longer the bond is acknowledged by both partners, the stronger it gets. At one point, the partners will be able to sense each other from across villages, say, from here to the Village hidden in Sand. They will know how to complete each others moves, sentences, thoughts and will be aware of each other on a whole new level. Some even say that partners must be able to eventually communicate mentally, but that is nothing more than a false rumor people have started up to make other shinobi fear such partnerships. And because they can read each other so perfectly, there is more than enough reason to fear them. Imagine one ninja having two bodies. That is the extent of their bond.''
''No way.'' Even Iruka hadn't heard of something like that. Kakashi just lowered his head, remembering his friend who had thought him to value his comrades. Obito would have been disgusted with the man he had become while he was ANBU. But one of his kohai had reminded him that he can't look at the world from only one angle and Kakashi had started caring for others again. 'He almost became a candidate for Obito's old place in my heart, too. Only he didn't feel that companionship I felt with him. He was ... weird, even by ANBU standards.'
Sarutobi turned to Kakashi, fully turning his back to the two boys, who were now ignoring each other and an exasperated Sakura. ''Kakashi, how long have they been partners? When did it start?''
The jonin sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he thought. ''To be perfectly, honest, I'm not sure. They bicker far too often for me to catch any signs of mere tolerating each other, let alone something as deep as a sense of partnership towards one another. However,'' He shrugged. ''If I had to make a guess, I would presume in the first fight on our last mission. Their interactions changed a bit after that. By the second fight, they didn't seem to need to use words to convey plans. And during the third fight, they knew they could rely on each other without a single doubt in their minds. Sasuke had been ready to die for Naruto and Naruto, in turn, had been very angry when he had thought Sasuke dead.''
''So, on a mission?'' Gai asked. ''That's not so strange, then. Teams bond most on missions. The more dangerous it is, the better it is for making friends and comrades!''
''That being said, it was almost impossible to tell.'' The silver haired man continued. ''They were as competitive as ever, as ready as they will ever be to throw insults at each other, to tease each other... but they also trained hard together. They spent an entire day alone, from sunrise to midnight. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it, going from what I've heard and witnessed before that.''
''Yeah, I'm finding it hard to believe, too.'' Iruka commented, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He remembered all too clearly just how much Sasuke and Naruto bickered and to think of them as anything other than rivals, barely acquaintances, was really weird. In fact, he had been under the impressions that both boys would rather cut off a limb than spend a second more in each other's company than was strictly needed. Guess he was wrong, huh?
''But there is one thing that is now sticking out to me, now that I'm really thinking about it.''
''And what is that, Kakashi?'' Hiruzen asked, preparing himself for another bombshell. Really, anything that has any connections to Naruto has a great potential for a headache.
''In the bell test...'' Now even Asuma looked confused and Kakashi refrained from groaning as he realized that only special teams seem to have received that sort of initiation test on their first full day with their sensei. He remembered the torture he, Rin and Obito went through against Minato-sensei and he wondered if it had been that bad with Minato-sensei's own initiation test. ''The pint is that they work like a team to take the two bells from me, but that's not he point.'' He explained curtly. ''Naruto got caught trying to eat breakfast alone,'' And now it was Hiruzen that was refraining from groaning, because he remembered a certain student of his trying that in the past, too. ''So he was tied to one of the three poles while Sasuke and Sakura were supposed to eat their food in the brief brake I gave them before they were to continue with the challenge. They were hungry, obviously, and so they started eating, but after some time, Sasuke offered his food to Naruto, much to my surprise. That was my first time seeing a team who had gotten the point of the exercise. Sakura followed soon after and that's when I intervened. I tried to scare them with the consequences of breaking the rules or disobeying an order, but Sasuke stuck with his decision and stood up for Naruto, consequences be damned. Needless to say, his courage fired the other two up and I had no greater pleasure than to pass them and they became my first team.''
''I see.'' Hiruzen muttered under his breath. ''It would seem that their bonding had started a lot earlier and we never even noticed. How could something as important as an Uchiha developing a sense of partnership slip pass us?''
''Well, if I were to think real hard about it, it wouldn't be too surprising.'' Iruka confessed. ''Ever since he was little, Sasuke was isolated from other kids by his brother's shadow of greatness. Kids tended to give him space, girls all getting crushes on him and admiring him from afar while boys were either jealous or wanted to use him to become more popular. He was almost always alone in a group of people, because even when they were crowded around him, they weren't in his personal space, let alone touching him. And then came Naruto and got right up into his face and called him nothing special. That's when they first started bickering and competing with each other.''
Kakashi sweatdropped. It sure did sound like his students, alright.
''Then, after the Uchiha tragedy, Sasuke isolated himself to the edges of society because he didn't want their pity and their empty words. He focused on studying and then training, always doing everything perfectly. The admiration and envy both grew and Sasuke seemed to be drawing himself more and more in his own world, not caring about anyone. Even I sometimes failed to draw his attention, and I was his teacher.''
''Let me guess, Naruto could do it without any problems or difficulties?'' Hiruzen sighed, smoke coming out of his mouth. It wouldn't surprise him. Naruto was very hard to ignore when he put his mind to it.
''Yes. Back when they were my students, that's the most alive I've ever seen him since the massacre. All the other students would gush over him and call his name, talking to him, but Sasuke would ignore them as if they were less than particles of dust someone should have cleaned up. Naruto walks into the room and Sasuke is suddenly a lot more alert. I thought it had something to do with their desire to annoy each other as much as possible, but maybe I was wrong?''
''Then it might as well be irreversible if it has been going on this long.'' Asume huffed out, resigning himself to explaining to his team not to tease Naruto on a cruel manner. He really didn't need a pissed off Uchiha breathing down all of their necks.
''But isn't it good for Sasuke? To have a friend like that?''
''I agree with Kurenai. They are now in the springtime of their youth! They should be making bonds that will last them for the rest of their lives.''
''Have you forgotten just what it means for an Uchiha?'' Gai's eternal rival asked with a half glare. Of course Gai would forget. Gai hadn't had to deal with three Uchihas in his lifetime. And that was only up to now. Kakashi had no doubts that it will be him saddled with Sasuke's kids, if he ever decides to have any.
''What does it mean for an Uchiha, exactly?'' The younger of the Sarutobi family asked, Hiruzen staying quiet for now. Even he didn't fully understand what it means for an Uchiha to have a partner. He knows about them and their most important persons, but he never got to ask anyone about partnerships with Uchihas. It had seemed cruel to ask Minato, who was still sad that Fugaku had pulled away from him, and so suddenly.
Before Kakashi could answer, Sabako grabbed all of their attention by clapping his hands. ''While you were all busy fighting or gosspiping,'' He threw glares at the kids and dirty looks at the four jonin and Iruka, who all had the decency to at least look sheepish. ''We have decided on how today's Games are going to progress, so, genin, please step up. It is time for us to begin.''
