The Konoha ninja closed in quickly, two ANBU stopping at the Hokage's side to check on his condition while four more surrounded Kuushou, wary and on guard. Kakashi and Gai showed up a few seconds later, Gai with three long cuts across his chest and Kakashi with a deep gouge on his headband directly over his eye. Other than that, they seemed none the worse for wear.
Then another ANBU appeared in front of him, this one wearing a dragon mask. Kuushou took a moment to memorize the man's – no, the woman's – chakra signature. He had encountered it before, but had never had a name to go along with it. He also noted that the current Dragon was a solid head shorter than Hizashi had been.
"Dispel the henge," came the distorted command.
Kuushou allowed his henge to disperse, smirking. There were several muttered exclamations as his form was revealed, though no one said anything further. Dragon studied him for a moment, then gave a sharp nod and turned away to examine the scene of the battle. The Hokage was speaking with another ANBU while a third was scanning him with medical jutsu, something the Hokage bore with ill-concealed annoyance.
"Do you require any assistance, Yamanaka-san?" one of the ANBU asked.
Kuushou waved him off, shaking his head. He then wandered over towards the charred and smoking ground that marked Orochimaru's final resting place, honing in on the small chakra signature he could sense. He stopped before a small mound of ash, crouching down and brushing it away to reveal the hilt of the sword Orochimaru had been wielding.
He picked it up and immediately felt the blade attempting to draw on his chakra reserves. He allowed a small portion to enter the blade, noting how it immediately felt lighter in his hand as he did so. The majority of the chakra in the blade was distributed along the edge, and he dragged the blade along the ground experimentally. The edge cut through the dirt and rocks as if they were water, with not even the slightest sensation of resistance.
"Kusanagi, if I am not mistaken," the Hokage said musingly. "Orochimaru acquired it many years ago, and it has never left his possession since. Grass considers that blade to be a priceless artifact, and they were most displeased to have lost it."
"Is that so?" Kuushou asked mildly. He frowned for a moment when the Hokage held out his hand, but shrugged and surrendered the blade. The Hokage nodded in thanks, eying the sword consideringly for a long moment before finally turning it over to a nearby ANBU. Then his gaze drilled into Kuushou once again.
"Before we go any further, can you confirm that there is no sign of Orochimaru at all?" the Hokage asked intently. "Not even the faintest trace of his chakra?"
"None," Kuushou replied firmly. "You captured all of those snakes with your wind technique, and the fire consumed all of them."
The Hokage nodded, sagging slightly in relief. "Good. After seeing what he had become, I was uncertain that even the combination of our techniques would be sufficient to truly destroy him. What of Kabuto?" he asked next, turning to Kakashi and Gai.
"Captured and in ANBU custody," Kakashi said. "He was much more skilled than he let on, but between the two of us he wasn't too much trouble."
"Indeed!" Gai proclaimed. "It is tragic that such youthful skill has fallen to the treacherous wiles of the likes of Orochimaru."
The Hokage nodded, his face grim. "I want Ibiki working on him immediately. And call Inoichi back in as well. If he was as skilled as you say, then he was much more than a simple spy," he said, motioning to an ANBU who sped off to deliver his orders.
"What of Manda?" he asked next. "My clone dispelled before that situation was resolved."
Another ANBU stepped forward, this one wearing a lion mask. "The Snake Summon assaulted the-"
"The what?"
All conversation ceased for a moment as Kuushou became the center of attention. He paid no attention to that, however, still focused on what Lion had just said. He must have misheard that.
"Manda, the leader of the Snake Summons," Lion repeated slowly, his curiosity apparent even through his mask and cloak.
"That's-" bullshit, he started to say, but cut himself off. Whatever that presence had been, an Outling it was not. All of the so-called Summons bore the mark of the Outer Realm, an unmistakable tinge in their energy that was completely lacking in this Manda. It just wasn't possible.
"Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" the Hokage asked, his voice filled with concern.
"Fine," Kuushou replied shortly, frowning. After a moment, he realized that he needed to explain his outburst, and said, "I sensed Manda when he appeared, but he didn't feel anything like the Summons I have come across before. I thought he was something different."
The Hokage nodded after a moment, and then motioned for Lion to continue.
"Manda assaulted the Tower," said the ANBU as he resumed his report, "causing significant structural damage to the exterior and collapsing the upper floors. The lower floors are relatively intact, and the arena where the majority of the ninja were gathered sustained only minor damage. ANBU responded quickly and eventually managed to injure the Summon enough that it dispelled. Current casualty estimates are low."
"Good work," the Hokage responded, his eyes trailing back to the scorched area that marked Orochimaru's final stand. "When we return, I want you to take the Sound genin into custody until we can determine if and how they are connected to Orochimaru."
The Hokage quickly gave out further orders, informing everyone to keep the details of what had just occurred a secret until told otherwise, then assigning several teams of ANBU to secure the area and scour it for anything else Orochimaru may have left behind. The rest he dismissed, directing them to return to Konoha before he himself disappeared, only a muttered comment about the other traitor revealing his likely destination.
Kuushou barely registered the words, instead trying to understand how the beings he sensed could be Outlings when they felt nothing like them. Realizing that the other ninja were dispersing and that he had no reason to remain, he decided to head back to the Forest to see if he could examine the supposed Summon's signature more thoroughly, whatever remained of it.
Kuushou frowned at the trail of destruction that cut through the Forest. It was simple to determine where this Manda had been, but the traces of energy it left behind were already rapidly fading as they dispersed and blended in with the countless miniscule beings that made up the wildlife of the Forest. That in and of itself told him everything he needed to know, however.
Manda, whatever else it may be, was a denizen of this realm and thus not an Outling. He didn't know why that unsettled him so, but it did. What did it matter if Outlings weren't really Outlings?
It had nothing to do with him.
Kuushou eventually returned to the Tower and found the Konoha genin clustered outside, some gawking at the damage while others observed the comings and goings of the higher-ranked ninja, trying to figure out what was going on. The genin from the other villages had been separated and were being blatantly watched by a mix of jounin and ANBU.
Sasuke was the first to notice his return.
"Do you know what's going on?" the Uchiha asked as he approached, frustration clear in his voice. "No one will tell us a damn thing."
"Yes," Kuushou answered, nodding solemnly. The other genin perked up at that, drifting closer to hear his reply. He didn't say anything else, however.
After a few seconds, Sasuke closed his eyes and rubbed his temple as if fighting off a headache while Sakura spoke up. "Well?" she asked. "What's going on?"
"I can't tell you."
Sasuke just grunted while some of the others groaned in annoyance. Kuushou noted that Hinata wasn't one of them, and when he caught her eye she briefly activated her Byakugan before nodding her head slightly in his direction.
It seemed someone had been spying on him while he was out and about.
He shook his head slightly in response, and she nodded again. Any further questions were cut short when he sensed Anko blitzing towards the Tower. She burst into the group a moment later and lifted him up by his vest, bringing his head even with her own.
"Is it true?" she asked intently, her eyes wide and an entirely different sort of crazed look on her face. There was no need to ask what she meant.
"Yes."
Her grip shifted as her arms snaked around his back and he suddenly found himself being held tight and twirled around as Anko danced about, giggling loudly and chanting. "Dead, dead, the fucker's dead."
"You can put me down now," Kuushou said. Every ninja in sight had paused to stare at the two of them, and the younger ninjas' reactions varied between shock and envy.
Anko didn't, though she did stop spinning him around. "Fuck that!" she scoffed. "We're celebrating!" With that, she turned and disappeared in a shunshin, carrying him with her.
Kuushou smirked when he heard the weak moan from the couch behind him.
"And here I thought you were the 'Drinking Champion of Konoha' – wasn't your poison resistance supposed to be legendary?"
An arm flopped sideways, the middle finger extended and waving through the air for a moment.
"Your couch sucks," Anko's muffled voice complained.
"Then you should have stayed sober enough to disable the traps on your apartment," Kuushou countered.
"Kurenai's couch is better."
"I wouldn't know."
The room fell silent except for the faint swish of brush on paper and the muffled grumbling from the couch. After a few minutes, Anko managed to haul herself into an upright position and performed a quick inventory, making sure that her limbs were still attached and in the correct places. A few more seconds to straighten out her clothing that had gotten twisted around during the night and she was on her feet.
"Bathroom?" she asked shortly.
"First door on the right."
She walked carefully in that direction, keeping her head very still as she moved. He sensed a few chakra flares, including one he recognized as a medical jutsu designed to flush toxins out of someone's body, then Anko emerged once again, sauntering back into the living room with her hands stuffed in her coat pockets and a smirk on her face.
"Beautiful day, isn't it? Everywhere I look it's like I can see the bastard roasting alive and screaming for mercy." She sniffed and wiped an imaginary tear away from her eye. "It's wonderful," she sighed.
She strolled over to look over his shoulder as he worked. "Whatcha workin' on?"
"I've got a question for you," Kuushou said instead of answering. "Those snakes you keep using... what are they?"
"... Snakes," she replied, sounding confused.
"Are they animals that you have tamed?"
"Hell no," she said, "that would take way too much work. They're Snake Summons; 'bout the only good thing that bastard ever did for me was letting me sign the contract."
Kuushou twitched.
"Could you summon one?"
Anko paused for a moment, then shrugged and nodded. A moment later a small snake appeared in the living room, its triangular head swiveling back and forth and its tongue flickering rapidly as it tasted the air.
"Do you require assistance, Anko-sama?" the snake hissed.
"Blondie here has a question... or something. Fuck if I know."
Kuushou crouched next to the snake, eying it closely as he studied the feel of its energy. Just like with "Manda," there was no evidence of the Outer Realm's influence at all. The snake was also looking at him curiously, rather than doing everything it could to get away from him.
He held out his hand, and the snake slithered around his arm and raised its head until it was looking him in the eye. "What is your question?" it asked.
If he needed any more proof, that would have done it. After all, the snake was in direct contact with his youki and yet showed no sign of pain or discomfort.
"You aren't afraid of me," he stated more than asked.
The snake looked at him for a moment before it began laughing, swaying back and forth as it hissed its amusement.
"You taste strange, human," it said, "but you are hardly something to fear."
"Where are you from?"
"If you seek to gain our contract, you must speak with the its Keeper or travel to our home yourself," the snake said.
"And where would this home be?"
"The area surrounding Ryuuchi Cave, far to the south. If you seek to prove yourself worthy of the Snakes, you must find your way there on your own."
"That's all I needed," Kuushou said, lowering the snake back to the floor.
It looked back at Anko for a moment, then spoke. "Anko-sama, Sousan-sama wishes to speak with you soon, in private."
"Sousan? What does she want with me?"
"I was not told, Anko-sama. I was merely one of those ordered to relay the message to you should we be summoned." Its head dipped low for a moment before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Anko stared at the dissipating smoke for a moment, her brow furrowed, then shrugged and turned to him.
"And what was that about?" she asked curiously. "Afraid of you? Why would it be afraid of you?"
"Back in my world, the Summons always had a very... negative reaction to my presence," Kuushou explained carefully. "Since your snakes never did that – not to mention that they feel nothing like the Summons I know – I assumed that they were something else entirely. I'm not sure what it means that they're so different from what I expected."
Anko hummed thoughtfully, folding her arms across her stomach and tapping one foot on the floor rhythmically. "Well, some things are bound to be different, right? I mean, you've already pointed out a bunch of things that changed from there to here, so what's one more?
"Anyway," she said, brushing the matter aside as she shifted closer, "back to my original question. What are you working on?"
"Your cursed seal, actually," he replied, turning to grin at her.
She stiffened, her eyes snapping to his as she carefully controlled her reaction. "And?" she asked, her voice carefully neutral.
"Before you get worked up, the containment seals I added are still holding just fine. Then again, now that Orochimaru is dead, you don't need to worry about what happened in the Forest of Death occurring ever again."
Anko's eyes glazed over as a wide grin slowly spread across her face. "Yeah," she sighed happily. "Only wish I could have been there to see it."
Kuushou smirked. "The Hokage may have mentioned arranging something with the Yamanaka to share that memory with you."
"Really?" Anko asked, her voice hopeful.
"Really."
"Best Hokage ever." She continued to stare into the distance for a few seconds, then finally turned her gaze back to him. "So what are you doing with the seal now?"
"Well, between my examination of your seal in its complete state and the observations I made regarding Sasuke's seal as it was taking hold, I can say for certain that the underlying mechanics are the same. He appears to have refined his technique somewhat over the years, of course, but it's still the same idea."
"And that means... what?"
Kuushou paused, considering his response. "It means," he said slowly after a few seconds, "that I need to take another look to confirm something."
Anko shrugged, slipping off her coat and pulling the shoulder of her shirt aside as she took a seat on the edge of the couch. "Have at it."
He moved next to her, laying one hand on the seal and focusing. The containment seals he had applied were still holding strong as they successfully siphoned off the chakra necessary for the cursed seal to activate itself, and the second layer kept any chakra but his own from making contact with it. The third, a slight variation on the Fuuja Houin that relied on the bearer's willpower to fuel and sustain it, had actually strengthened considerably in the few short days since he had applied it; Anko was quite serious about keeping the cursed seal under control, something that came as no surprise.
He moved past those seals and made contact with the cursed seal itself, focusing on its physical roots within Anko's body. Her cursed seal had completely subsumed the targeted tenketsu and even altered some of her chakra pathways in the surrounding area, though the progress there was very slow. That was most likely the source of the intermittent pain that Anko had experienced over the years.
He prodded the seal carefully, ready to respond at a moment's notice should it react in ways he had not predicted. It didn't do anything at first, and it took several more tries before it suddenly lashed out, coiling around the small chakra probe he was using and attempting to infect it much like Sasuke's seal had done. He allowed the chakra to find its way back to his body, where it began destroying his flesh and infecting his tenketsu just like before.
It reacted to his counterattack the same way as well, confirming that the seals shared that particular characteristic.
He crushed the invading chakra and observed the seal's reaction. It did not quiet immediately, instead crashing against the barriers he had placed around it. Anko drew in a sharp hiss as her body tensed, and he could actually see the chakra she was pouring into the Fuuja Houin. He watched as the cursed seal appeared to probe the barriers around it carefully before finally settling down. Slight flares still occurred seemingly at random, as if the cursed seal was testing for weaknesses.
"What did you just do?" Anko growled, her voice slightly strained. "It's never felt like that before."
"Forced it to react. I needed to make sure of something."
"And now what?"
"Now I need a few days to go over everything."
"And when will it settle down?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"It will taper off before too long. There's no chance it will get through all of those seals."
Anko grunted, one hand rubbing over the seal, then nodded quickly. "Fine. I want to know as soon as you figure out whatever it is you're working on."
"Of course," he replied immediately.
She glanced over at the clock, then sighed. "I've got to be on duty shortly, so I have to head out. There's probably going to be a huge mess to sort out at the Tower, and we still have to finish the prelim bouts. Unless you hear otherwise, meet me at the Tower in two hours."
Kuushou nodded, and Anko began walking towards the entryway. She paused under the doorframe, facing away from him, and cleared her throat.
"I know Hokage-sama is the one who killed him in the end, but- you were- if you hadn't-" she swallowed audibly and roughly cleared her throat again. "Thank you," she said finally, her voice hoarse. She then swiftly left the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Her signature lingered outside his door for a few seconds, then moved down the hall and out of the building at a steady pace.
It was only a few minutes later that an ANBU arrived to summon him to meet with the Hokage.
Kuushou watched as Inoichi left the Hokage's office, the man looking distracted by something. The counterpart to his adoptive father still spared a smile and a nod for him as he left, though.
"The Hokage will see you now," the secretary called out.
Kuushou walked into the Hokage's office and settled into a seat across from Sarutobi. The old man was cleaning up a few documents from his desk, filing them away in a drawer before turning to face him.
"Thank you for coming, Naruto-kun," he began.
"Of course, Hokage-jii-san," Kuushou replied with a smile.
"We have several topics I would like to cover in this meeting, so let's get right to it. First of all," he said, pulling out a small scroll from another drawer, "this is your official promotion to chuunin. You have already been operating as one for some time, of course, so it doesn't really change anything for you. This, however," he added, pulling out another scroll, "does."
He handed it across the desk to Kuushou, who picked it up and unfurled it curiously. The contents of the scroll were hand-written, and he could still smell the scent of freshly dried ink lingering on the paper.
By order of the Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Chuunin Naruto Uzumaki is hereby approved to undergo the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai Qualification Trials effective immediately. All restrictions regarding age, service record, or prior evaluations are hereby waived.
Signed,
Hiruzen Sarutobi
Kuushou looked up to meet the Hokage's eyes. "You're kidding."
The Hokage met his gaze firmly, no sign of amusement on his face. "I would not joke about this, Naruto-kun."
"You want me to join ANBU."
"Very much so. I would be seriously remiss if I did not make the offer, especially after your showing against Orochimaru. I do not exaggerate when I say that it was only your assistance that allowed me to corner him so effectively and keep him from slipping away once more. You have done your village a great service, and I have every reason to believe that you will be able to do so for many years to come."
"I'm just… surprised that you would offer me such a sensitive position so soon. I know that there are people who are less than happy with the amount of trust you have given me already."
The Hokage sighed.
"You are an intelligent young man, Naruto, and you've shown a maturity well beyond your years, so I will be frank with you. Certain... elements of Konoha have not taken the revelation of your sensory capability well, especially since the abilities you have displayed are far more advanced than any sensor we've ever encountered. The ability to identify individuals accurately by their chakra alone is nearly unheard of, and doing so while they are actively hiding their signature is unheard of. They are already using this as proof that you intended to spy upon the village all along."
"So just tell them you knew all along."
Sarutobi slammed his hand onto his desk. "I should have known all along! Dammit, Naruto, it's only because of Orochimaru's sheer arrogance that we managed to locate him so quickly after his first assault. If they thought you knew about Orochimaru's presence in Konoha and said nothing they would have done their best to crucify you, and I'd be hard-pressed to stop them!"
The Hokage relaxed, leaning back into his seat and rubbing his temples. "As it is, it's well known that Orochimaru interfered with the exams and escaped. The excuse that you didn't recognize his signature the first time is holding them at bay for now, but it's also given them enough leverage to claim that you need to be paired with a 'more experienced' ninja to best utilize your capabilities."
"Meaning what?" Kuushou pressed.
"Meaning that they want you assigned to Danzo full time. Your agreement to act as his personal assistant for the duration of the exams opened the door for that."
Kuushou's brow furrowed. "How? It should be over at the end of the exams."
"It would be, normally. But Danzo has AAA-rank clearance to Konoha's files, which you do not."
"So?"
The Hokage sighed again. "So Danzo can claim that you used your position as his assistant and your sensory ability to gain access to those records without his permission. He could be reprimanded for allowing those records to get out, but not without forcing me to reprimand everyone above you in the chain of command for doing the same. As you are a chuunin – and a newly promoted one at that – that's essentially the entire ninja force.
"On the other hand, if you agree to become his permanent assistant, he will arrange to give you provisional clearance under his name and drop the matter. If he does, you will be allowed to access anything he can for as long as he allows it."
Kuushou shook his head slowly, wondering if Danzo had come up with this in the last day or if something like this had been in the works for considerably longer.
"But I didn't access any of those documents," Kuushou pointed out.
"And how can you prove that? Normally it would be a given that no chuunin could circumvent the security around such sensitive areas, but you're a sensor and so uniquely suited to doing just that."
"Why does that matter? You know I didn't do any of that."
The Hokage nodded slowly, looking tired. "I do know that, Naruto-kun. But if I simply dismissed the entire matter out of hand, I would be ignoring the laws that this village has operated under for decades. I could still do it, and there have been times in the past where I felt I needed to, but doing so comes at a cost.
"If I play favorites like that, if I unilaterally choose to believe one ninja over another without any sort of evidence or review, then I begin to destroy the very foundation of trust and teamwork this village is built on. There will always be a doubt that I was simply being sentimental, or even worse that I was deceived, and the ninja under my command will begin to lose faith in my judgment.
"As you said, Naruto-kun, I have already made some unpopular decisions regarding you. Those who felt otherwise didn't have any evidence to truly oppose me before. Now they do."
The Hokage fixed him with a disappointed gaze. "After all, Naruto, you have already hidden something from me once. Who's to say you won't do it again?"
"But I told you when it really mattered," Kuushou protested, his irritation growing as the Hokage continued his explanation.
"Did you? If I had known a week ago, the Tower in the Forest of Death might not be undergoing repairs right now. If I had known a week ago, Sasuke Uchiha might not be the newest recipient of the cursed seal." His gaze hardened and grew colder. "If I had known a week ago, we might not have a dozen ninja in the hospital and three in the morgue.
"You want me to make all of this just go away? I could, yes," he said deliberately, "but I won't. Secrets kill, Naruto-kun, and I think it's time you learned that lesson very, very well."
Kuushou knew better than to protest after that. It wasn't the first reprimand he'd had to endure since getting sealed, though it might very well be the harshest. He thought that the fight could just as easily have gone worse if they had intercepted Orochimaru the first time, but he wasn't going to play the "what if" game with the Hokage either. No, it was time to see just how far this would set him back, and whether it would be too far.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," he replied at last, his voice meek.
"Are you hiding anything else, Naruto-kun? If you tell me now, I promise that no further consequences will come to you. If I find out later that there was something else, especially if it costs the lives of yet more of your fellow ninja, I will not be nearly so kind as I have been."
Kuushou pondered for a moment how the Hokage would react if he really did tell him everything. He kept his amusement at the thought hidden, however, and instead quietly said, "That was the only thing I've been hiding, Hokage-sama. You know about the effect that seal has on me, and the way the Kyuubi's chakra is mixed with mine. I'm experimenting with some ninjutsu, but none of them are all that effective right now."
The Hokage studied him for nearly a minute before he slowly relaxed. "Very well, Naruto-kun. I'm sorry I had to be so firm with you, but this is part of being a ninja." The Hokage allowed a small smile to play across his face. "I suppose I am a little sentimental at that; if another ninja had done what you did, I would have done much worse."
"I'm sorry I let you down, Hokage-jii-san," Kuushou added, keeping his eyes cast towards the floor. He looked over to the scroll in his hand as if just remembering it was there, and held it up hesitantly. "What does this..."
"That, Naruto-kun, is the only alternative you have to Danzo."
"How?"
"ANBU operate under a different set of rules from normal ninja. The only people they are allowed to report to are other ANBU and myself. Not even the Jounin Commander has any authority over them. In exchange for that power, they are held to a much higher standard and are subject to much harsher punishments due to the sensitivity of their work. ANBU automatically have A-rank clearance, and most of them are aware of specific S-rank secrets that are necessary to perform their duties properly."
"So... if I joined ANBU, Danzo's threat falls apart."
"Exactly. By completing the ANBU trials, you will have proven that you can be trusted and simultaneously removed the possibility of assigning you to Danzo permanently," the Hokage said, a small smirk on his face.
Kuushou frowned. "I thought the trials were just tests of skill and knowledge. How does that prove I can be trusted?"
The Hokage shook his head. "There's a lot more to the trials than that. In fact, it would be fair to say that the physical requirements are by far the simplest of the challenges you will face."
Kuushou fell silent, weighing his options in his head. "While it's not what I would necessarily want, I'm not sure I understand why being assigned to Danzo is such a bad thing," he said finally.
The Hokage cleared his throat. "Danzo is... he's a complicated man. He's done a lot of good for Konoha over the years, but his methods are not what I would choose. This is especially true regarding the ninja under his command. When he was an active member of Konoha's forces, he commanded an elite group known as ROOT. The work they did was highly dangerous and sensitive, but even then the attrition rate of the ninja under his command was horrendous.
"Danzo sees ninja as tools, and disposable tools at that. As long as the mission's goal is achieved, any number of losses is considered completely acceptable. The ninja he trained were told that their own lives had no value, and they eventually came to believe it, every one of them. When ROOT was shut down we tried to deprogram them, return them to the general ninja populace.
"None who had been with him longer than a year managed it."
Kuushou blinked at the Hokage's bleak tone.
"What do you-"
"They committed suicide, either directly or indirectly. The longest survived six months in the field before charging straight into a group of enemy ninja, sacrificing himself to kill five of them."
The Hokage shook his head, then fixed Kuushou with a firm stare. "That, Naruto-kun, is why I want to keep you away from Danzo. The man ruins ninja, and I have absolutely no desire to see that happen to you."
Kuushou nodded solemnly, meeting the Hokage's gaze and holding it for several seconds. He eventually looked down again, fiddling with the scroll in his lap as if lost in thought.
"How long do I have to make a decision?" Kuushou asked finally. "I'd like to think on this, and maybe we can come up with another option in the meantime."
The Hokage nodded. "The earliest I could arrange for the trials to start would be a few days after the exam. I have bought you a little time by assigning you to the security detail for the rest of the exams. Even Danzo can't argue that your sensor ability wouldn't be incredibly valuable in that area."
"And who will I be working with?"
"You'll be paired with Anko again, though both of you will be reporting to Yamato-jounin, who is working under Hayate Gekko as head of security for the third phase."
Kuushou nodded again. "Thank you, Hokage-jii-san." He stood to leave, assuming the meeting was over.
"There is one other matter to discuss, Naruto-kun, before you go."
"Yes, Hokage-jii-san?" Kuushou asked as he sat back down.
"Inoichi has asked to take another walk through your memories, this time in an effort to identify other potential traitors or spies. Your knowledge of Kabuto Yakushi helped considerably in his capture, as Gai and Kakashi were more prepared for his true skill level. I'm not blaming you for this, Naruto-kun, but if we had paid more attention to the differences between the two worlds we might have caught him even earlier."
"That's fine," Kuushou shrugged. "I'm happy to help in any way I can."
"Thank you, Naruto-kun. I'll let Inoichi know. He should contact you in the next few days."
Kuushou made as if to stand again, and this time the Hokage nodded to him.
"You are dismissed, Naruto-kun."
Kuushou left, passing Shikaku who nodded to him before entering the Hokage's office. He checked the time, noting that it was rapidly closing in on two hours since Anko had left his apartment, and decided to head straight for the Tower.
As he walked, he pondered what had just happened. The way the Hokage presented the situation, Kuushou was supposedly backed into a corner of his own making. He wasn't entirely certain how true that was, but the old man hadn't said anything that rang false the entire time. He'd gathered enough information to know that Danzo and the Council could make the Hokage's life very difficult if they chose to, and it was likely they would find some way to retaliate even if he did take the safe way out and join ANBU.
On the other hand, he had nothing to fear from Danzo's indoctrination and even held a certain amount of appreciation for the man's methods. Rejecting the Hokage's offer would almost certainly sour their relationship, though, which would remove one of the biggest advantages he currently enjoyed.
Both choices were almost certain to disrupt his plans, however. ANBU rarely left the village, and he doubted that Danzo believed in allowing his agents much freedom.
Kuushou nodded to himself as he took to the rooftops and began hopping from building to building. If he didn't find another way out of this mess, his stay in Konoha would soon be coming to an end.
As Kuushou approached the Tower, he slowed to fully examine the damage the so-called Summon had wrought. On the top half of the Tower, one side was almost completely caved in. He could almost see the snake's body smashing into it before whipping to the side, sweeping walls and rooms away and flinging them out into the forest.
For all of that, it looked like the snake had only managed that single blow, however powerful it might have been. The lower half of the Tower showed almost no damage at all, and teams of genin and chuunin were already hard at work clearing away the fallen sections of stone and wood.
Some distance away from the Tower he could make out a heavily damaged section of the forest. There was evidence of a large creature thrashing about in the form of shattered and uprooted trees and great furrows dug into the ground as well as signs of ninjutsu where the landscape had been burned or scorched or abruptly jutted up into jagged spikes or massive walls.
As he neared the Tower itself, he noticed Anko speaking with the sickly ninja who had been in charge of the preliminary bouts. Anko was gesturing animatedly, a wide grin still plastered on her face, while Hayate just nodded every now and then or coughed into his hand.
There was another ninja standing slightly to the side, watching their conversation with an almost bored expression. He had a pale face and wore an old-fashioned head protector that Kuushou hadn't actually seen before outside of pictures of the previous Hokages. His signature was not one Kuushou was familiar with, either, though he was rapidly becoming used to that.
"Blondie!" Anko called out when she saw him approaching. "About time you got here! Turns out we've got a bit of an odd situation to deal with. The Inuzuka and Yamanaka brats were still fighting when Manda attacked, so their match wasn't settled. That still leaves the Suna chick, the Akimichi, and the two wimps from Sound to sort out too."
The proctor coughed deliberately at that point, then spoke up. "However," he said, "the two Sound genin have been taken into custody since they appear to have had knowledge of yesterday's events."
"Right," Anko nodded. "And I'm trying to convince him that not shuffling up the remaining fights is unfair to the other competitors since the Inuzuka and Yamanaka have had time to prepare strategies for their opponent. Not to mention boring as hell."
Kuushou shrugged. "You've got a point. No one else had time to prepare, though the remaining fighters only had three options for their opponents."
"Exactly!" Anko cried, whirling around to face the proctor again. "Which is why we make them to fight the people they thought were already out of the running!"
Hayate coughed for a few seconds, then sighed. "Very well, I'll allow it." He thought for a moment, then continued, "The Yamanaka will fight the kunoichi from Suna, and the Inuzuka will fight the Akimichi."
"Yes!" Anko crowed victoriously. "Now let's get to it!" She walked over and draped an arm around Kuushou's neck, dragging him with her as she walked into the Tower. "I'm tellin' ya, Blondie, this day just keeps getting better and better."
"That's bullshit!" Ino cried out after Hayate had announced that she would be fighting Temari.
"What's wrong, little girl?" Temari called out as she made her way down to the arena floor. "Too scared to go up against a real ninja?"
They both ignored Kiba's yelp as Ino turned to stare at Temari, a harsh glare on her face. "I'm not the old hag who's still a genin," Ino replied finally as she started down the steps.
Temari's confident smirk didn't falter as she pulled her fan from her back and began stretching. "Whatever you say, little girl."
Ino growled lowly in her throat as she stomped the rest of the way down the stairs and stalked onto the arena floor.
Kuushou had taken up a position near the onlookers again while Anko leaned against the wall nearby, and several genin had drifted to his side as they waited. Hinata had been the first, strolling over to take up a position on his left and refusing to move from that spot. Sasuke had followed shortly thereafter, leaning up against the railing and attempting to draw him into a conversation about what had taken place the day before. His current approach was to describe some rumor he had heard and watch Kuushou's reaction in an attempt to gauge how true it was.
"I also overheard someone say that Iwa had sent all of their ninja in an attempt to assassinate the Hokage, only to have the Hokage kill most of them with a giant tornado of fire and then send in his ANBU to finish off the rest."
The fiery whirlwind was by far the most common feature of the rumors, which wasn't surprising as it had apparently been visible from Konoha.
"Absolutely true," Kuushou replied, his voice filled with conviction. "It was horrifying to see the aftermath of that, but the salvaging was amazing. I've got enough kunai to last me decades now, and all I have to do is wipe off the ashes. I also heard we're going to send a small force to take over Iwa. Personally, I'm hoping to avoid that myself; it sounds rather boring."
Sasuke sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "So now it was was Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa, along with Tsunade and Jiraiya of the Sannin arguing about whose Summon is better and or finally 'resolving their tension' – whatever the hell that's supposed to mean – and Orochimaru announcing to the world that he was abandoning his life as a ninja to become a prostitute under the name 'Burning Funnel of Love'." He somehow managed to say all of that without the slightest hint of a smile.
Anko fell over laughing again, one hand clutching her ribs as the other slapped the floor. Kuushou smirked at her, wondering if she was the one who had started that one or just enjoyed hearing it again and again.
He turned back to Sasuke, put on his most honest expression, and said, "Yes."
Sasuke threw up his hands in disgust and finally stopped digging for information. Kuushou could hear Shikamaru muttering "Troublesome," a short distance away, and Kiba snickering to himself while Chouji opened up his second bag of chips.
On the opposite side of the arena, Gaara stood with his eyes fixed steadily on Kuushou's form, as they had been since he first entered the arena. Kuushou felt a surge of anger every time his mind drifted to Suna's jinchuuriki. He had been content to ignore the jinchuuriki when he first became aware of him, but continued exposure was rapidly wearing down his tolerance for the foul thing he contained. He was well aware that Gaara was far from stable and more than a little bloodthirsty as well, so it seemed like only a matter of time before they would come to blows.
"Ready..." Hayate intoned, glancing from side to side. Temari was holding her large fan with a hand on either end, her arms stretched out full length as she twisted her torso side to side. Ino had dropped into a crouch with a kunai in either hand, one finger through the loop at the end of each. "Begin!"
Temari immediately turned her twisting stretch into a spin, the fan partially opening as she swept it low along the floor then abruptly pulled it upwards diagonally. Ino had flung one kunai directly towards Temari and was in the middle of her second step as she began to charge forward when the wave of wind slammed into her, lifting her off her feet and flinging her backwards. Temari was already completing her second full rotation, the fan spreading even wider as she did so.
Ino landed awkwardly but managed to roll back to her feet in time to brace for the second impact. It still knocked her backwards, but she retained enough control to partially dodge the third. The bludgeon of wind clipped her side and sent her stumbling directly into the fourth.
Kuushou studied the technique closely, already discarding the possibility of using it himself even as he appreciated the mechanics of it. The gusts of wind battering Ino were strong but very blunt, easily diverted or broken with the right techniques. He had no doubt Temari could make them sharper if she wanted, but it was the range that was the real limitation for him. The swirls of wind gathering around Temari, on the other hand, were rapidly growing stronger and seemed to promise something much more than what he was currently seeing.
He wondered what a well-placed fire technique would do, both to Temari herself as well as her opponents.
Temari abruptly snapped her fan closed, the wind that had gathered around her bursting outwards in a final blow that was felt even in the balcony as the observing genin were pushed backward and the jounin anchored themselves for a moment. The burst of wind slammed Ino against the wall of the arena with a dull crack, and she dropped bonelessly to the floor to land in a crumpled heap.
Temari pulled out a kunai and flung it in one smooth motion, lodging it in the stone to the right of Ino's head. The implication that it could just as easily have been a few inches to the left was not lost on anyone.
"Winner, Temari!" Hayate called out. He had abandoned the arena himself and was crouched on top of the large statue of the hands that dominated one side of the arena.
Temari placed the fan in its holster on her back with a bored huff, then turned and strolled out of the arena with her head held high and a challenging expression on her face. Behind her several med-nin rushed over to Ino, scanning her over quickly before placing her on a stretcher and carrying her out of the arena.
"I never thought I'd see Ino get tossed around like that," Sakura admitted quietly as she stepped up next to Kuushou. "Still, if Temari hadn't gotten lucky with that first blow..."
"That wasn't luck," Asuma said quietly from where he was standing next to Chouji, a comforting hand on his student's shoulder. "Using a fan like that takes real skill since you can't use hand-seals, and she went out of her way to keep the wind she was creating blunted. She could just as easily have sliced Ino into pieces rather than knocking her out."
His eyes flicked over to Kuushou. "You don't seem too upset, Naruto," he added. "After all, this is the first time one of your students lost."
Kuushou shrugged. "Temari was better. She has several years more experience, after all, and I'm sure Ino will learn from this."
Asuma nodded slowly.
"Will Kiba Inuzuka and Chouji Akimichi please report to the arena floor?" Hayate called out, coughing.
Asuma turned back to his last student. "I'm going to check on Ino, but I expect to see you kicking some Inuzuka ass when I get back, got it?" he said with a wide grin and a wink.
Chouji grunted affirmatively, his fists clenched at his side and a determined expression on his face.
"Good." With that, Asuma disappeared in a shunshin and Chouji made his way down to the floor.
The fight that followed lasted much longer, but wasn't nearly as impressive to Kuushou. Both Kiba and Chouji refrained from using their more deadly techniques, and Akamaru was quickly knocked out of the battle by one of Chouji's stray punches. It eventually devolved into a battle of attrition, with Kiba putting his agility to good use as he dodged around Chouji's attacks and nimbly avoided his "Meat Tank" techniques. By the time Asuma returned, a relieved expression on his face, the course of the battle was already clear.
It took another ten minutes before Chouji slowed enough for Kiba to land a series of strong blows, culminating with an arm around Chouji's neck and the Akimichi passing out.
"Winner, Kiba Inuzuka!" Hayate announced.
"Yeah! I told you we could do it, boy!"
With the bouts over, Hayate called all of the genin who had won down to the floor to determine the matches for the third round. Gaara and Temari stood isolated from the Konoha genin, who clearly remembered Gaara's blatant murder yesterday and appeared to resent Temari's dominating showing against one of their own.
Once the numbers had been drawn, Hayate announced the results as he filled in the names for the simple tournament bracket.
"The West Bracket will begin with Neji Hyuuga of Konoha facing Kiba Inuzuka of Konoha. The winner of that bout will face Tenten Higurashi of Konoha in the last bout of the first round. Rounding out the West Bracket will be Sakura Haruno of Konoha against Gaara of Suna. The East Bracket will be Temari of Suna against Shino Aburame of Konoha and Hinata Hyuuga of Konoha against Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha.
"Each match will begin no more than ten minutes following the end of the previous match. If one of the competitors is not in the arena by that time, they will be immediately disqualified. You all have one month before the Finals begin; I suggest you use that time well."
With that, Hayate dismissed the group and disappeared from the arena. The genin milled around a bit, eying their opponents warily before returning to their jounin instructors. Kuushou followed Anko deeper into the Tower where Hayate was meeting with several other ninja to discuss their initial plans for security. The meeting lasted well over an hour, mostly led by the ninja in the old-fashioned headgear who turned out to be the Yamato-jounin he and Anko would be reporting to as part of the security force.
"Now that that's finally over," Anko groaned as she stretched, twisting and turning as she tried to work out the kinks, "we can get our celebratory dango and sake!"
"Didn't we already do that last night?" Kuushou asked.
Anko gave him a shocked look. "Hell no!" she said firmly. "I paid for last night, so that was congratulatory dango and sake! Obviously, if we're celebrating then you are paying."
"Obviously," Kuushou replied, deadpan.
Just as they made it out of the Tower itself and were preparing to start hopping through the trees, Sakura ran up to him. He studied her for a moment, noting her pale skin, shaking hands, and red-rimmed eyes, along with the mixture of terror and rage stamped on her face.
"Train me," she ground out, half-begging and half-demanding.
"I'm already-"
"More," she interrupted. "As much as it takes." Anko remained silent as she leaned against the outside of the Tower, watching the two of them curiously with her arms crossed.
"... As it takes to what?" Kuushou asked.
"To beat Gaara."
"Isn't your sensei-"
Oh, that was definitely rage in her eyes. Her trembling increased as her nails dug into her hands and her face flushed. "He told me to forfeit," she spat.
Kuushou paused for a moment before asking, "Did he say why?" It wasn't all that hard to imagine why, really; given what he knew of Gaara and his abilities, he wouldn't give any of the genin even a fifty-fifty chance of surviving a battle with the insane jinchuuriki, much less winning.
Sakura gulped, the rage draining out of her as she looked suddenly uncertain. "He- he said that it was too soon, that I would almost certainly die. He said he would say the same to anyone else that had to face Gaara."
Anko snorted in amusement, shaking her head, and Sakura looked at her for a moment before the rage suddenly returned full force.
"And what do you think?" Kuushou asked, honestly curious.
"I think I've tried too fucking hard for too fucking long and put up with too much fucking bullshit to just quit, Shannaro!" she snarled, stepping forward and getting face-to-face with him. "I don't care who he is or what he can do! He's just a kid like me, and I. Am. Not. Weak!"
Kuushou stared into her eyes, considering his response. It was certainly true that Sakura wasn't as weak as she had been, but the only thing she really had going for her was her nigh-perfect chakra control and her mind. She didn't have Sasuke's or Hinata's obsessive drive propelling her forward, and had only recently shaken off her naive mindset in regards to her own training.
While he was thinking, Anko abruptly entered the conversation.
"Tell me something, Little Miss I'm-Not-Weak. Have you experienced a life or death situation?"
Sakura nodded slowly, looking uncertain again.
"And what did you then, hmm?"
"I..." Sakura trailed off, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I froze." At Anko's condescending expression, she quickly continued, "It didn't happen again! The next time I held my own!"
"Held your own," Anko said slowly, as if tasting the words. "Lemme guess, you're talking about the second phase."
Sakura nodded again.
"The second phase, where you holed up in a secure location with eight other genin and barely managed to hold it long enough to pass. Did you kill anyone?"
"I- I think that some of the genin who attacked us may have-"
"I'm not talking about that, Pinkie!" Anko snapped. "Did you, you personally, kill anyone? Did you slit their throats and watch their blood pool at their feet while the light faded from their eyes? Did you poison them and listen to their screams of agony as they writhed on the ground? Did you-"
"No!" Sakura choked out, looking green. "No, I didn't kill anyone!"
"Well, the kid you're talking about has. He's killed eight genin, kids just like you, in the last three days, and the crazy little shit loved every second of it. You saw his match yesterday. He had that genin beat cold and killed him just because he could, because he wanted to. You think you're ready to face something like that?" Anko stared into Sakura's eyes for several seconds, then continued in a softer voice. "You aren't. None of you are. Kakashi's right; you should forfeit, and so should anyone else who has to face him."
Sakura sagged, all of the tension draining out of her frame as she hung her head. "So it's pointless, then?" she asked tiredly. "All that training I've been doing hasn't actually changed anything?"
"Them's the breaks, kid," Anko said, not unkindly. "Sometimes shit just doesn't go your way."
"Actually," Kuushou said slowly, causing both of them to look in his direction. "I may have an idea. It's far from a guaranteed win, but it could work. At the very least it will keep Gaara at bay long enough for the proctors to break up the match if you do end up forfeiting.
"And best of all," he added as Sakura looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes, "it's something you are uniquely suited for."
After all, he added to himself, Sakura was right about one thing: even if Gaara was a jinchuuriki, he was still human, and Kuushou knew plenty of ways to kill humans. The fact that it would be that particular human only made it all the more interesting.
A/N:
I may scale back the length of the chapters somewhat in order to more comfortably maintain my posting schedule, so don't expect 10k+ chapters every time moving forward. Other than that, hope you are enjoying the story and I look forward to reading any speculation on just what is going to happen now that Orochimaru is dead and all his plans have started to fall apart.
Next chapter: Another talk with Danzo and the arrival of Jiraiya. And then there's the matter of training certain genin...
As always, thanks for reading and thanks for all the reviews!