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When Itachi was barely old enough to toddle he wandered onto a battlefield.
Fugaku had found his eldest- and only, at the time- child silently sobbing while his Sharingan-red eyes stared unblinkingly at the corpses of both Iwa and Konoha shinobi. The young father had panicked and, as gently as possible, knocked the small child unconscious while his mind had raced to find a way to fix the problem.
The only pseudo-solution Fugaku had found- buried deep within the archives under the Shrine- was to seal Itachi's Sharingan. Fugaku had hesitated to consider the option because every documented case of a Sharingan being sealed also noted that there were long-reaching side-effects.
Side-effects such as disassociation, anxiety, irrational behavior, apathy, unexpectedly volatile bouts of irritability, and other serious issues that usually precluded the sealed individual from ever being able to fully recover even once the seal was removed. Compounding those well-documented side-effects were the written records that proved that the younger a Sharingan user was when the seal was applied, the greater the damage sustained to the member's psyche.
The idea of sealing his son's Sharingan also left a rather unpleasant Hyūga-esque taste in his mouth.
In the weeks that had immediately followed, though, Itachi had been entirely unable to sleep no matter what Fugaku, Mikoto or any of the other Clan members did.
Trying to cast a genjutsu with a matured Sharingan only made Itachi's own Sharingan develop faster since the little boy activated it reflexively to try to defend himself. It got to the point that Itachi's body had begun to shut down because the child was using his chakra to keep himself awake. Itachi's age had meant that the medics were reluctant to break out the serious sedatives and with Itachi's innate grasp of his own chakra the little boy was unintentionally negating the milder sedatives that the medics had given him.
Grimly determined to save his child, Fugaku had taken the seal to Minato to look over, to at least try to minimize the side-effects.
Minato had been far from pleased when he heard the story, but as it was an internal Clan matter the young Hokage had kept his mouth shut. In the end- though Fugaku knew that the blond had more than likely gotten help from Uzumaki and possibly the Gama Sennin- Minato made a few adjustments that would allow the seal to slowly dissolve over the next decade, making the seal transitional instead of the strictly on-and-off method of the original design. The idea behind the changes was that a transition would hopefully- and theoretically- lessen the intensity of any side-effects as it never sealed the Sharingan entirely away so much as it baby-blocked it.
Truthfully when Itachi had 'manifested' his Sharingan at the age of seven Fugaku had been terrified, but with Minato and Uzumaki's recent deaths he had not had any sealing expertise to lean on and thus the man had been reduced to fervently hoping that he had not done his son any irreparable harm.
Fugaku carefully observed his eldest as the young teen sat opposite him. They were inside the den of the main house, surrounded by dark blue and familiar Clan symbols, barely three feet apart, yet Fugaku felt as if his son was sitting on a different plane of existence.
Though the boy's limbs were loose, there was a weight on his shoulders and in his eyes that made Fugaku terribly angry. How long had Itachi been so close to his breaking point? What would have happened to his gentle little boy if Hokage-sama hadn't noticed the Uchiha Clan's plight? Would Itachi have-
"Itachi." The man said, a bit more sharply than he had intended. It will not come to that. Fugaku reminded himself sternly as his son's dark eyes fluttered open and locked onto his own. "It has come to my attention that you are not happy in the ANBU Black Ops."
"I live to serve, Father." The teen replied blandly, neither his body nor his eyes giving away any hints as to his inner thoughts. "I will-"
"Itachi." This time Fugaku used a gentler tone, one that his son had- very regrettably- not heard in quite a long time.
The younger Uchiha's mouth clicked shut and he gave Fugaku an odd stare.
"I realize that things with the Clan have been…..dire for quite some time, son." Fugaku continued calmly, his hands clenching as he fought against the parental urge to close the gap between them and comfort his son properly. "However, Hokage-sama has seen us- has heard us- and we have been absolved."
Itachi sucked in a sharp breath and leaned forward ever so slightly.
"There will once again be Uchiha jōunin-sensei, Uchiha Barrier operatives, Uchiha Academy sensei, and even Uchiha medics." Fugaku continued, some of the wonder, relief, and excitement bleeding into his voice as he informed his Heir of their Clan's triumphant return to the village's wider operations. "The ANBU Black Ops and the Police Force are no longer the only way for an Uchiha to serve our village." Fugaku shuffled a few papers around before he looked up and smiled softly at his eldest son. "Itachi you now have the option to resign from the ANBU and apply for the Konoha Instructor's Training Program or whatever position within the shinobi forces that you want to pursue as your career path."
"But Father, the Elders-"
"You leave those old fossils to me, son." Fugaku replied firmly, but not unkindly. "Part of the reason why the Uchiha Clan came together with the Senju nearly a hundred years ago to build this village was so that our children would be able to do more than fight and die." Fugaku held up his hand for silence and gave his son a firm look. "You are an incredibly gifted shinobi and I fully expect you to keep your skills sharp, as would be expected of an Uchiha and my Heir. However, the situation has changed. We are no longer being hunted within our own home. Hokage-sama has ordered our return to the fold as his shinobi and I will not disappoint his faith in us. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, Father." Itachi replied obediently, but Fugaku saw the thoughts whirling behind his son's dark eyes as Itachi slowly began to latch onto to what Fugaku was trying to tell him. "May I be excused?"
"You may." Fugaku allowed as he held out a paper for Itachi to take with him.
―――◊―――
Fugaku was toweling off after a relaxing bath when he felt his wife's chakra enter their room.
"Fugaku did you really give Itachi permission to retire from ANBU and pursue a different program?" Mikoto asked somewhat breathlessly as she came barreling into the bathroom without pausing to knock. Her dark hair had fallen out of its usual pristine fastenings, framing her lovely face and accentuating the redness around her beautiful dark eyes.
"Yes?" Fugaku replied somewhat hesitantly, wondering if he had read the situation incorrectly and had somehow upset his eldest son and his wife.
There was another long moment of silence as Mikoto stared at him in utter shock, but before Fugaku could truly begin to panic she threw herself forward and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." She cried against his skin as he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Mikoto chanted over and over as she continued to tighten her arms around her husband. "He's so happy, Fugaku." Mikoto pulled back and stole a bit of towel to dry her eyes with before she tosses the damp piece of cloth behind her. The woman then stepped forward so that her body was flush against her husband's and then she smiled.
Oh. Fugaku thought somewhat fuzzily as Mikoto's next words went right over his dazed head. I had forgotten just how stunning she is when she smiles.
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Ino bounced impatiently on her toes, waiting for her Daddy to finish chatting with cousin Takeda so they could finally go.
The aquamarine eyed, platinum blonde carefully shifted the basket she was carrying and huffed. "Daddy~!" The nearly seven-year-old whined. "I wanna meet my new cousin!"
Shaking his head in exasperated fondness, Inoichi finished off his conversation with his fellow clansmember and guided his impatient offspring out the front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, Takeda waving them off with a wry grin. "Princess, you need to learn patience." He grumbled good-naturedly as he took the basket from Ino and reached out a hand for her to latch onto.
"But I'm really excited to meet him!" Ino chattered cheerfully, swinging their linked hands slightly as she ambled along the bustling streets of Konoha next to her Daddy. "You said that this new cousin is Uncle Ichiro's grandson, right?"
"That's right, princess. You and Hikaru-kun are second cousins. Hikaru's mother- Minami- was the daughter of my brother." Inoichi confirmed as he smiled down at his daughter.
"But why haven't I ever met her? And is she even on the Clan register? I don't remember a Minami and Auntie Chiyoko made me memorize all the names on the Register since the village's founding." Ino asked, somewhat confused as they made their way through the quitter residential streets. Well, they were in a mostly older section of shinobi Clan compounds and most of the traffic tended to take place on the rooftops at speeds nearly indeterminable to the human eye. "And there were lots of names." She added somewhat sulkily.
Inoichi very carefully did not allow his displeasure to spill over into his tone or his body language. "Minami's mother was an Uchiha." He explained as patiently as he could manage as they rounded the last turn to the Hatake compound. "And we only recently were notified about her existence, so her name and Hikaru's names were just added to the Register a few weeks ago."
The little girl tugged on her father's hand and stopped, propping her free hand on her hip and giving him what she most likely thought was a bossy glare.
Personally, Inoichi thought it was a rather adorable attempt, given Ino's still babyish face and her cute sundress.
"But Daddy, isn't that against the Good Faith Agreement?" Ino asked with a pout, reclaiming her hand from her dad and crossing her arms across her chest. "That's the one where the Clans allow for intermarriage or dual-clan parentage, right? The one that Sarutobi-sama's father- Sarutobi the thirty-third, right?- had all the Clans agree to in order to prevent blood feuds between Konoha Clans? Does them not telling us mean that we're not on good terms with the Uchiha Clan now?"
Inoichi gave Ino a quick side-hug and a proud smile before answering. "You're right about the Agreement, princess. I- and the Clan- are most definitely not thrilled that we were not notified of Minami's connection to us- she fell in the line of duty a while back- but we've decided to put aside the breach in protocol and move forward."
"I suppose it wouldn't do us much good to be all mad about it now, huh?" Ino contemplated as she slid her hand back into her daddy's and they resumed making their way towards the last Clan compound on the street. "I mean, since Hikaru-kun is his father's heir he'll live with him, obviously. So even if the Yamanaka pursued the matter with the Uchiha it would be sort of….pointless."
"Very well-reasoned, princess." Inochi told his daughter proudly as they passed through the Hatake Clan gate and headed towards the modest home just beyond. There were a few other buildings, but it was mostly trees and grass, honestly. "We certainly don't want them to think that they could do so again- we missed out on not only a Clan member, but Minami also missed out on Clan training that she was entitled to, training that might have helped her survive longer- but at this point the Uchiha have apologized and both Clans are just choosing to move forward."
By that point they had walked up the two short steps and arrived at the front door, but before Inoichi could knock, it swung open.
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"Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino! You can just call me Ino. It's nice to meet you!" The blonde girl chirped brightly
Hikaru blinked slowly at the perky blonde and then smiled tentatively as he opened the door wider. "I'm Hatake Hikaru, you can just call me Hikaru. We're cousins, right?"
Ino grinned and bounced inside, cheerfully kicking off her shoes and wrapping him in an exuberant hug. "You're so cute!" She squealed as she swung him up and onto her hip, causing him to wrap his arms around her neck to keep his balance.
Still, the bubbly blonde was far nicer than Dudley, so Hikaru thought she might be a cousin he'd actually be happy to be related to.
Even if she was kind of treating him like a baby at the moment. She was friendly enough for it to not be annoying.
"I'm Yamanaka Inoichi, Ino's father. It's nice to finally meet you Hikaru-kun." The elder blond said wryly, stepping inside and setting down a wicker basket before ruffling Hikaru's hair gently and removing his own footwear.
"It's nice to meet you Yamanaka-san." Hikaru replied politely only for the elder blond to smile and shake his head lightly.
"Inoichi-oji is fine, Hikaru-kun."
"Yeah, we're family! There's no need for stuffy titles!" Ino announced primly, spinning around to get a good look at the inside of the house and laughing at Hikaru's startled yelp of surprise. "Wow, you guys really need to do some decorating."
"Ah, I'm afraid that neither Hikaru nor I have much talent for more than a minimalist theme, Ino-chan." Kakashi informed the girl as he entered, wiping his ungloved hands on a rag and nodding to Inoichi in greeting.
"Hmph, good thing you have me." Ino said with a saucy grin.
Suddenly, Hikaru wasn't quite so sure he was going to like this new blonde cousin.
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Hiruzen's rebellious mouth ticked up into a half-smile as he watched his blonde student passionately state her case to the Village Council.
By the Founding Charter the Hokage's word was irrefutably absolute; there was no higher authority than the Hokage himself within Konoha's walls.
However for Konoha to exist in Hi no Kuni the Shodaime- and Uchiha Madara- had needed to negotiate with the Daimyo. At the time of Konoha's founding shinobi Clans were little more than super powerful, shadowy mercenaries. What gave Hashirama and Madara the needed power to enter into negotiations with the Daimyo- on terms that the long-time ruler of Hi no Kuni would respect- was that the Senju and the Uchiha were the two most feared Clans in the region. Whenever one group would hire the Uchiha for a task their opponents would scramble to hire the Senju. By the two powerful Clans banding together and presenting the idea of Konoha to the Daimyo they proved that they were not desperate stragglers looking for a refuge so much as two powerful groups who could potentially topple the aristocracy if they were refused.
The Daimyo had been tough to convince- it had taken nearly five years of heavy negotiations, actually- but in the end an ironclad Charter was hammered out between Hi no Kuni and the newly founded Konohagakure.
Shinobi Clans who had long served the Daimyo were given leave to join the newly founded village. After a period of adjustment- the village infrastructure had to be built- the daimyo could then pay for missions that would allow him to avail himself of the services his Court had long enjoyed. Granted, these returning shinobi might not be exactly the same, but Konoha's training regimen had been the result of constant trial-and-error in order to produce well-rounded shinobi that would be a credit to the village as opposed to the sloppily trained, Clan-specific specialists of the previous era.
It had been a difficult process, especially in the early days of the village when newly arriving Clans were still in the process of negotiating with Konoha, wary and mistrustful after centuries of being inclusive and secretive.
Sarutobi Sasuke- Hiruzen's father- had actually been responsible for negotiating Pacts with no less than thirty-seven Clans of varying sizes.
An important facet of the Pact Treaties was the stipulation that certain amounts of information or techniques that would be shared with all Konoha shinobi. The idea of sharing techniques among more than just direct allies had been quite the sticking point, as many Clans had only survived due to their information about chakra, jutsu, or techniques.
In the end the shinobi that had come out of the Konoha Shinobi Academy had been exceptional which was how Konoha had been able to survive, thrive, and carve out a name for themselves.
The Village Council, however, had been the compromise for so many independent Clans with hundreds of years of traditions and unique mindsets to not only have a major voice in matters of inter-village relations but to also settle disputes under the Hokage's sharp eyes without acting as his direct subordinates. Every Clan Head of a Recognized Clan had an automatic seat on the Council and it was within the Council's confines that grievances were aired and sorted through so as prevent instability within the village.
The Nidaime and Hiruzen himself had added certain civilian seats for preeminent merchants or influential Clans whose chakra usages were considered 'civilian' but were vital to the village's wellbeing.
The paranoia of the Clan Wars had never truly died, not really. Though the secrets of chakra and its manipulation were still heavily guarded, many high-born civilian students who had no inclination to become shinobi still attended the Academy long enough to learn the bare basics of chakra manipulation, which gave them an appreciation for the village's shinobi and their unique needs. Even without being able to stick a leaf to their forehead or perform even the simplest jutsu the act of being aware of their chakra- even in an entirely latent sense- gave them a leg up in terms of intuition and critical-thinking.
Granted, it didn't transform these civilians into flawless businessmen or master strategists, but there was a definitive earnings gap between those who had at least been made aware of their chakra and those who had never heard of such a thing.
Due to Danzō's interference, rats had managed to sneak inside the hallowed halls of the Council, but Hiruzen was more than aware of that fact now and was actively working to correct it.
The reason Tsunade was presenting her case about opening a medic nin program separate from the Konoha hospital was due to the fact that training programs for 'specialists' needed to be submitted to the Council for approval. It was partially out of a desire to keep the Hokage's time unburdened by frivolous or ill-thought out requests and partially so that the shinobi Clans could offer support- through money, supplies, or information- or advice, based on how vital they felt such a program to be to the village's wellbeing.
"-would disrupt the overall effectiveness of the hospital." Tsunade was saying firmly as her amber eyes sparked with determination. "However, I have a solution. In the western district- near the Red Light district- there are a pair of apartment buildings that were used back in the Second War. After the end of the Second War Konoha went through a period of rapid expansion and that area was largely abandoned."
Hiruzen observed the room with guarded, shrewd eyes as Tsunade grimaced lightly and tossed her blonde head somewhat challengingly while a few of the Clan Heads began to murmur disapprovingly.
"I know that the area I'm talking about was hit pretty hard during the Kyuubi attack and is in disrepair." Tsunade bit out angrily at the patronizing looks a few of them were giving her. "But I believe that- given a little time and effort- the two old dormitories can be fused together and I can have both a school for medic nin and a research station."
"Tsunade-hime-"
"Look." Tsunade snapped fiercely, cutting the Clan Head off efficiently as she tightened her hands into fists. "I'm going to do this if you like it or not." Tsunade raised her voice to speak up over the chatter that broke out around her. "I am merely presenting this idea so that all of the shinobi Clans might have a chance to be a part of this. Because I am going to make a school. I am going to make a place to research new lifesaving techniques. I am going to take bright-eyed new students from the Academy or the hospital and I am going to suss out rejects or broken shinobi from the underbelly to as well. I am going to build an intensive medical ninja training program that doesn't fall under the purview of the already overloaded hospital. I am going to build a medical research and development program unlike any other that ceaselessly strives to find new, improved, and better ways to save lives. And even if none of you will assist me I will move forward with this enterprise."
"You can't-"
"I can." Tsunade said fiercely as she took a half step forward and glared ferociously at the Council. "My Grand-Uncle, the Nidaime, created the STP because he saw shinobi slipping through the cracks in the three-man cell mentorship program and those specialists have become the backbone of our shinobi corps. He set a precedent and I am more than happy to adapt his idea for my own- and Konoha's- benefit."
The mutterings died down a bit, but there was still plenty of patent disapproval in the chamber.
"At the time Uncle Tobirama made the STP medical jutsu were few and far between and medic nin even fewer and farther." Tsunade tossed her hair smugly and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "I, personally, advanced the field of iryō ninjutsu by leaps and bounds and it saved our asses, especially against Suna and their poison specialists."
"Very true, Tsunade-sama." Yamanaka Inoichi said clearly, cutting through the chatter of the room easily. The long-haired, blond man gave the Senju Princess a warm smile as he added. "I know I'm alive because of your advancements, at the very least."
Tsunade nodded lightly in appreciation and glared at those who were still unconvinced. "This needs to happen." Tsunade proclaimed passionately. "And there has never been a better time than right now."
"But the costs-"
"You've already purchased the land, haven't you Tsunade-sama?" Nara Shikaku asked from his seat between his two teammates.
Tsunade smirked evilly.
"Troublesome." Shikaku muttered as he propped his chin on his hand and stared thoughtfully at the blonde woman. "Right off the top of my head I can see how this could possibly come about."
"Shikaku you can't be serious-"
"One: every Clan present commissions one or two D-Rank missions for gēnin teams to help clear the area." Shikaku drawled steadily without acknowledging the detractor. "There is a fair bit of land in that area and once the ruined buildings are out of the way there will be plenty of ground for training and growing needed herbs for both training and research purposes."
"This would also help us raise more money for this quarter." One of the merchants mused aloud, his sharp eyes glancing back and forth between Shikaku's relaxed form and Tsunade's impatient one. "There are several projects that could use the additional funding."
"Aah." Shikaku grunted agreeably as he continued on. "Then comes the construction. An expensive and time-consuming process for certain-"
"The Uchiha Clan offers our craftsmen for the task." Uchiha Fugaku spoke up, surprising the hell out of everyone and causing all eyes to turn to him.
Fugaku only had eyes for the blonde Senju and his Hokage, however.
"The Uchiha craftsmen are expensive." One of the Clan Heads sneered scoffed disdainfully. "Surely you don't expect us to believe that this is anything other than a ploy-"
"For free." Fugaku continued steadily. "The labor, at least."
"Thank you, Uchiha-san." Tsunade said with a small smile, her golden eyes smug as she glared down her remaining dissenters.
Hiruzen only gave the Clan Head a brief nod, but his dark eyes blazed with pride as he watched the isolated Clan take such a big step back into the heart of the village's operations.
"Then the Hyūga Clan will cover the cost of the materials." Hyūga Hiashi stated decisively, never one to let the Uchiha to do anything seen as being 'better' than the Hyūga.
"The Aburame will provide appropriate funding for the first year." Aburame Shibi said in a level tone of voice. "Unfortunately none of our Clan talents are predisposed to directly aid in the renovations."
"Then the Akimichi will provide brunch for the workers!" Akimichi Chōuza chipped in jovially. "We can't let such a fine group work so hard on empty stomachs!"
"Thank you!" Tsunade beamed at all four Noble Clan Heads thankfully. "The Senju will, of course, turn the land over to the Hokage so that it will be neutral ground for all Clans."
"Well, that's settled." Shikaku said somewhat drolly. "The third point was startup funds, but the Aburame beat me to it." Shikaku nodded briefly at his fellow Clan Head before continuing. "I take it your medic nin are not going to be the weak links of their teams?"
Tsunade's smirk was positively unholy.
"If I might, Tsunade-sama, Hokage-sama?" Inoichi asked politely after a few moments.
"Yes, Inoichi-kun?" Hiruzen replied curiously.
"Forgive me if I overstep any boundaries, but might I suggest that the Academy be on the lookout for potential iryō nin?" Inoichi firmly shoved the idea of his little Ino aside so he could make his point as objectively as possible. "I know that there are kunoichi classes for the girls, but perhaps a unit could be added to assess those with potential as future medical ninja and arrangements could be made for some early training? I know that Tsunade-sama made a comment about the Academy, but adding a unit on medic nin during the early years of the Academy could garner more attention to the field, as opposed to later when the students start learning jutsu."
"Such as chakra control and basic first aid?" Shikaku took up thoughtfully as he leaned back and pondered the suggestion. "Even if they do not go on to become medical ninja, early training in control refinement or anatomy can only be a good thing. Perhaps a work study program of some sort for the older years or those who truly show an interest?"
"Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let us take a vote on Tsunade-chan's proposal and allow it to either move forward or be tabled." Hiruzen broke in firmly, anxious to get the meeting over with as it was quite late.
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"She's a slave driver." Naruto groaned dramatically as he flopped onto the grass next to Hikaru and Takeru.
"It's not that bad, 'Ru." Hikaru admonished absently as he worked on the wooden puzzle his father had gotten to entertain him.
"Says the guy who isn't allowed to help." Takeru muttered somewhat darkly from Hikaru's other side. "I'm telling ya we're doing more work than both of the gēnin teams combined."
"I'm not allowed to help 'cause inu-tou and 'Nade-nee are paranoid." Hikaru replied with a huff, never taking his eyes off the puzzle in his hands. "But yeah, I think you are. You guys are getting way better at wall walking though."
"We are, aren't we?" Naruto cheered with a grin, lopping over onto his back and looking up at the cleat sky with a brilliant grin on his face. "It's kind of easier than the stupid leaf exercise."
"It uses more chakra and you can move around." Takeru added helpfully as he closed his eyes and dozed lightly. "So that's probably why."
"Probably." Naruto said agreeably. "So, what's it like living with your dad?"
"It's brilliant." Hikaru said with a shy, excited grin. "We're still cleaning up the house- and I've got seedlings in containers again because we had to leave our rooftop garden behind. Inu-tou says that the garden is really helping the patrol teams keep tabs on the visitor's section of the market district, though. The Aburame, especially."
Takeru whined a little at the reminder of the loss of their garden and both the other boys gave the brunet commiserating glances.
"-but even though we're doing a lot of boring housework- Ino-chan comes over about every day to help 'decorate'; have I mentioned that that girl is a pint-sized dictator? She's still pretty fun, though!- and stuff, it's still great!" Hikaru finished in an awed tone of voice. Hikaru shook himself and glanced at his friends somewhat guiltily. "How's life with the Taskmaster?"
"I heard that, brat!" Tsunade bellowed from somewhere nearby, causing all three boys to wilt slightly.
"About like that." Naruto said glumly, but with a reluctant grin tugging at his lips. "She might be an old hag, but she doesn't miss anything."
A moment later a pebble sailed through the air and neatly smacked against the blond's forehead, causing aforementioned blond to topple over from his half raised position and grumble about 'old ladies' and their 'stupid behavior correction tactics'.
Hikaru arched a questioning eyebrow at Takeru, who grinned widely.
"Tsunade-nee is…..imaginative." Takeru trilled cheerfully. "Naruto hasn't quite gotten with the program yet."
Naruto muttered something about 'revenge' and 'awesome' but Hikaru was sort of reluctant to get any details.
"Oh, yeah. I wanted to tell you guys I was sorry." Hikaru said after a few moments of comfortable silence had passed.
"For what?" Takeru asked, his nose wrinkled in confusion.
Hikaru smiled sheepishly and ran a hand through his newly shortened, spikey mess of hair. "Inu-tou tested me and we found out that I inherited the Hatake chakra-"
"Hatake chakra?" Naruto asked, eyes bright an interested. "Is it anything like the Uzumaki Clan's chakra? Apparently our chakra- well, we not only have a lot of it, it's super po-por-"
"Potent?"
"Yeah! That's it! Potent! Thank Hikaru!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully, sitting up on his elbows to better see his friends. "It's part of why we tend to live so long and heal so fast."
"Awesome." Hikaru said with a grin. "I wish I had some of that Uzumaki healing."
"You and me both." Takeru muttered under his breath, glancing at the bandages peeking out of Hikaru's shirt with a scowl.
"Yeah, yeah." Hikaru replied, rolling his eyes at Takeru's mother-henning. "At any rate the Hatake Clan chakra is dense." Hikaru glanced between his friends as he considered how to phrase his new discovery. "I kinda wonder if we were a branch of the Uzumaki or something, now that I think about it. Anyways, Hatake chakra tends to be dense but we have really good control. Inu-tou says that his chakra 'reserves' are actually pretty small for a jōunin but since he has nearly perfect control he can throw around a lot more jutsu than people with twice his reserves can. Also, using the right metals, we can sort of extend our reach with a weapon and there are a few Clan techniques, but we haven't gotten to those just yet."
"If you have good control, wouldn't that make you a prime candidate for Tsunade-nee's medic program?" Takeru asked curiously.
"Not really." Hikaru admitted with a slight grimace. "Medical chakra is finely balanced and, quite frankly, my chakra is far too dense for me to be able to use medical ninjutsu properly. Even with my natural affinity for chakra control maintaining the sort of precision I'd need to keep from accidentally overloading someone else's chakra network- and therefore throwing them into a coma- would be…..exhaustive."
"So, kind of a double-edged sword then?"
"Yeah." Hikaru replied somewhat sheepishly. "Great for battle and other things with a slightly larger margin of error, but not really workable as a medic."
"Cool!" Naruto suddenly crowed excitedly, pumping a fist in the air energetically. "We're gonna be the best team ever!"
Hikaru and Takeru glanced at each other and grimaced lightly, but they didn't have the heart to break into Naruto's excited stream of chatter.
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