Chapter Twenty-One
"What the hell happened in that forest Kakashi?" A fuming Sarutobi demanded to know.
"Hokage-sama, I don't know where to begin to tell you what happened. But you were right, the boy and girl were in the forest." Kakashi answered, keeping his eyes on a closed white door as if he could see inside.
"Of course I was right what makes you think I would be wrong. But what did they do that warranted taking two teams of genin out of the forest and brought here immediately?. What could have made you think to do that" Sarutobi asked.
He had been having a nice day in the office doing his job undisturbed and with a lighter load than normal, the only thing out of the ordinary was a messenger from the daimyo arriving and giving him an envelope from the royal leader of the country. But before Sarutobi could open it, some medic ninja had alerted him to a dire emergency. Apparently Kakashi had requested an ambulance squad, the group of medic nin who had the fastest and most immediate arrival time to injured ninja on the field, for a standard retrieval job to the hospital. And if that wasn't bad enough, two teams had to be brought back instead of just one.
Needless to say, that warranted more immediate notice to the hokage, who could always get back to the written message afterwords.
Kakashi right now was waiting outside a room that Sarutobi was told had Sasuke inside. "When I saw Sasuke, his eyes were missing Sir."
"What?" Sarutobi asked, not expecting that. Dropping the pipe from his hand he swallowed the hard lump and wonders what would they gain from this.
Kakashi nodded, looking very crestfallen to confess this. "Anko and I were able to locate Naruto and the lost Hyuuga girl, at the time they were engaged in fighting off Asuma's students and some other genin from one of the other villages. Didn't care enough to verify which one. Anko and I made sure we had disguised ourselves as genin so we wouldn't be recognized and disqualify my students, but the byakugan saw thru it regardless. I went to apprehend Naruto, but he... I'm not sure how, but it was like he used a high level wind jutsu or something to propel me away."
"Apparently his instructors have succeeded in undoing all our attempts to hinder his ability to learn." Sarutobi thought out loud, not liking the idea at all. Sure, in time Naruto was supposed to become strong enough that he would serve well under Namikaze, but only when Konoha was able to ensure they could suppress such strength at any moment's notice. Not only that, but the boy was supposed to be trained in ways that ensured regardless of his strength he'd have an easily exploitable weakness, like an inability to do anything regarding genjutsu. A strong Naruto with no obvious Achille's heel was NOT supposed to exist.
"Sadly that is true. He's still no match for Sensei, but we have no idea what he can do now or how to take him down. Kyuubi would have to have some understanding of his weaknesses and helped him deal with those problems and perhaps strength any weakness we knew before are gone. If nothing else, he has proven he can get in some very lucky shots by catching his opponents off guard." Kakashi stated.
'Normally I'd be proud of a young ninja who can grasp that aspect so young instead of go for the flashy and 'heroic' parts of a battle, but this is Naruto we're talking about.' Sarutobi thought. "How was it he got away Kakashi?"
"Whatever he used against me made it hard for me to move. He knew this, and stood there taunting me for a bit rather than just finish me off. Naruto's still got some dumb traits after all. At this time Anko was facing the Hyuuga girl and from what I hear Team Ten decided to help her. The girl hit the Akimichi in what apparently was a rather effective way, and she seems to have rendered him paralyzed."
"Paralyzed?" Sarutobi repeated, knowing Chouza was not going to like this.
"I'm not sure if it's really as bad as it sounds. I was kind of paying more attention to my own students. But I did hear someone of the ambulance squad say that the Akimichi boy had taken damage to his spine and if not treated properly could be unable to walk again. Worse case scenario, total quadraplegic." Kakashi clarified.
"What about the other kids in the area?" Sarutobi asked, wondering just how far Naruto and Hinata were willing to go to hurt their former classmates.
"The Nara boy and Yamanaka girl showed no signs of being injured, but they were brought in anyway with their teammate. Sakura and Sai are fine, though Sakura did show signs of juuken damage combined with small stabs and some damage to her larynx. Oddly both were completely naked when found."
"Naked?" The Sandaime asked.
Kakashi nodded. "Sakura was given some paper to write on, and she claims Naruto caught them by surprise and destroyed all their clothes, weapons, the scroll for the exam, and even their hitai-ate. I asked how and she admitted to being knocked out so she didn't actually see how he did it. And yes, this happened to all three of them. Meaning none of them sensed him."
"So Naruto managed to catch your students by surprise, knock them all out simultaneously, strip them of everything on their person, and at some point Sakura came to and managed to put up some kind of fight but failed to win. At some point another team came by to try and assist your students, during which you found them all. Is that everything?" Sarutobi summarized.
"Almost Hokage-sama. At some point Naruto was able to remove Sasuke's eyes, likely to humiliate and anger him, while the others watched unable to do anything about it. And if that wasn't enough, Anko is missing now."
"Anko is missing?" Sarutobi repeated, not expecting that. Leaning back thinking what happen to Anko he sighs.
The cycloptic jounin nodded. "Yes. While I dealt with Naruto, she handled the Hyuuga girl, and yet according to Asuma's genin she disappeared with the girl like they had done a joint shunshin. Since she has yet to show herself, we can assume she's not around anymore."
Sarutobi closed his eyes for a moment. "Or worse, was in on this and is faking this disappearance to give them time to escape."
"I considered that too Hokage-sama. Oh, speaking of which, Sasuke now has the same seal on his neck that Anko does."
Sarutobi silently gasped for show, though he wasn't really surprised. 'So, that part is going to plan. Orochimaru is doing his part so Minato can reveal himself later.'
"Hokage-sama, I must beg you to not disqualify Sasuke from the exams." Kakashi requested, looking right at the old leader this time. "Surely we can give him new eyes within the month and get him trained to participa-"
"Kakashi, stop." Sarutobi told the jounin. "Even if we do give him new eyes, we can't get him to verify any participation. We do have ways to make sure no one undeserving gets to advance in other exams after all."
In the past there had been many attempts for genin who fail to make it to the third round where they try to get involved anyway, with various means and motivations and even helpers. At some point Iwa, the one who started the practice, came up with a way to stop this once and for all, where the students who passed the second round the proper way were required to donate some blood into a container that would remain sealed until the third round and kept hidden until then with no one able to tamper with it. Once the third round started the blood would be put on a seal that each genin would stand on, to verify if they were indeed one of the people that donated the blood and thus were allowed to be in the third round.
Kumo upped the ante by making it required for genin to not only give blood, but a handprint too that would be stored along with the blood. This way one couldn't just sneak in blood at some point and trick the seals. And once these villages started these security measures, the others had to incorporate them as well or lose credability to everyone else. And while these processes weren't completely foolproof, Konoha did require the genin who made it into the tower to provide some blood and a handprint and prove a match when the third round started.
"But the second test isn't over. We can get him to the tower just long enough to give his blood." Kakashi brought up.
"What if there's a preliminary round?" Sarutobi asked. "He'd have to participate to be considered an option, and that is impossible."
"What are the odds that will happen? We haven't had a preliminary in years."
Sarutobi shook his head. "Even so, there have to be witnesses to the verification and if you tried getting Sasuke in separately every witness is going to want to know how he got in when they watched the official process. That will be nearly impossible to justify and will cause us too many problems. It's not worth it."
"Not worth it? Hokage-sama, you promised me Sasuke would get to be in the third round and-"
"I know, but that was under the pretext he could make it to the third round on his own. Like it or not, he failed to pass the second round and with a medical record here proving he was taken out of the forest, he is ineligible in every sense of the word." Sarutobi calmly explained.
Kakashi however was not amused. "Hokage-sama, you must do something. Sasuke must be in the finals. You do not understand what this will do to him he will try to force his way even to go above you"
Sarutobi frowned a bit seeing where this is going and since Sasuke is thinking he is worth more than most people. "And why is that? Tell me Kakashi, why are you so insistent on this?"
"Sasuke needs to be shown off to the crowd so they can see how strong he is. Clients will specifically want to hire him more so he gets more experience and we get publicity. This could even get the Daimyo interested in his progress and offer to help him flourish more. You gotta admit after what just happened to him Sasuke needs a morale boost or else we could lose the Uchiha clan forever. I cant let that happen." Kakashi explained.
'Basically, he just wants to show off his star pupil. And it's likely not because Sasuke's an Uchiha. Kakashi's never been one to kiss their ass unlike some naive civilians who presume sharingan equals ultimate ninja. No, this is more than likely because Sasuke reminds him of himself at a young age and he's getting some vicarious sense of achievement from his pupil. Not unlike how Minato would sometimes showcase Kakashi when he was a genin, or myself with Orochimaru.'
"Even so Kakashi, let me point out just one minor yet daunting problem." The old hokage claimed. "Even if I went out of my way to cover all tracks and get your student to the finals, and even if you managed to work in some extra training along with the recovery from optic surgery he needs combined with sealing off the mark on his neck, we have no spare sharingans to give him. The boy has more pride than maturity, and will likely prefer being blind over having eyes that lack a sharingan."
Kakashi withheld a groan, knowing that the old man was right. Sasuke would never accept civilian eyes, more likely to gouge them out himself than let them taint his head, and the only doujutsu available was owned by people who would kill Sasuke before considering a donation. And if Kakashi was willing to donate his own, the problem was such surgery greatly risked weakening if not destroying the integrity of the eye. In short, Sasuke was screwed.
"So you're going to tell that boy that the only thing he's going to do for the rest of his life is produce Uchiha children?" Kakashi asked.
"No, Minato has plans for Sasuke so we don't have the option of giving up on him this easily. Not until Minato himself says otherwise. I think there is one possible chance to resort the boy, but that also comes with risk." Sarutobi continued, getting Kakashi's interest again. "When the clan was wiped out, Minato requested we store and preserve all the eyes we could, verifying in the process if they were in any condition to be used if needed later."
"Spares in case something happens to the ones he currently has?" Kakashi questioned.
Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, while you appear to have a lucky case, the body can reject donated organs. Minato requested spares in that case, and he is the one who has them stored away for immediate access. I could request a set for Sasuke-"
"Do it." Kakashi cut in.
Sarutobi closed his eyes for a moment. "However, what do you plan to say when Sasuke demands to know where we got them?"
"We... um... we could say we have some stored away in case he ever needed a replacement in his lifetime. That should be enough for him." Kakashi suggested.
"So then why would Minato have some too if they were supposedly stored just for Sasuke? Sasuke will know something is not right there and he's not exactly an understanding person. We need him to follow Minato, not see him as an enemy like Naruto does. Plus he will be offended that we would 'defile' the dead Uchiha to harvest them and wonder if we've done more that we aren't telling him."
"So you're saying no matter what we say, we risk Sasuke taking the same route that Naruto did? Seeing Konoha as the enemy?" Kakashi asked.
Sarutobi nodded but there was more. He knew if Sasuke found out what happen to his clan no doubt he would think Minato is the enemy but also the reason and blame for the downfall of his clan.
"Yes, that risk is present in all options for us. And I will not make the same mistake we did with Naruto and underestimate the possibility of betrayal. Naruto managed to escape because we assumed he was too stupid to succeed in betraying us and too naive to consider the option in the first place. Sasuke may not be stupid or naive, but he's not humble either. We must make sure that Sasuke will not abandon Konoha or go against the leadership just because his ego refuses to be bruised. I will consult Minato on this. For now, don't mention anything to Sasuke."
Kakashi nodded. "And regarding your promise to me?"
"Sorry, but thanks to Naruto I'm afraid it's impossible for me to keep that. You should be mad at him instead of me Kakashi." Sarutobi said before walking away. "Now if you excuse me, I have to return to a message that Daimyo-sama sent me."
'Oh, I'm mad at that brat all right. My chidori is too quick for him, I should use one of my slow-killing jutsu once I'm allowed by Sensei.' Kakashi rued.
Night came and Chouji was resting on a hospital bed, wondering if this was all he was ever going to do again.
'I can't feel my legs. My arms are numb but I can at least feel them again.' He tried moving his arm a bit, which resisted but did lift a little before he rested it again. 'Dad's upset, and I think Mom cried so much she lost five pounds doing it. Ino was very quick to name Naruto as the one who hurt me, even though Shika had to correct her that it was Hinata who actually hit me, and Mom almost exploded. First time I've ever seen someone taken out of a hospital by ninja instead of taken in.'
'But Dad, I don't know what he was thinking,' Chouji thought, remember the pensive, almost somber expression that Chouza held when the events of his son's crippling were told. Chouji had no idea what his father was thinking. Was he trying to be mad at Naruto but couldn't because of the hidden power struggle within Konoha? Was he simply pretending he wasn't mad but secretly outraged that his son might never be a ninja again?
'Does this affect his stance on Naruto?' Chouji asked himself.
A weird sound caught his ears and he looked to the window of his room, seeing Naruto quietly emerge from the outside.
"Yo-" The chubby boy started, but Naruto held a finger to his lips in a shushing manner, while his other hand held up something Chouji couldn't identify in the dim lighting. "What do-?" He tried to ask quieter, but Naruto emphasized the need for quiet and came closer, holding out his other hand.
The mystery item in question turned out to be a radio ear set, exactly like the ones ninja use to communicate with their own teammates over distance. Chouji had used one several times when Team Ten had to catch Tora.
'Why is he offering this? Is there something he wants me to hear?' Chouji asked himself, looking at the fox boy who gestured for him to take it. 'I might as well see what he's trying to say without saying anything.' He tried to grab it but his arm was still slow. So Naruto calmly came to his side and put the ear set on his right ear for him, then he turned it on.
"-to repeat that Hokage-sama?" Chouza could be heard in a very unfriendly tone.
'Dad?' Chouji asked himself. 'What's this?'
"Chouza, I know this is hard for you to accept but-" Sarutobi was heard next.
"But nothing! Dammit Sarutobi, this is my son you're talking about! How can you stand there in my own house telling me you're actually considering denying him medical treatment?"
Chouji jolted as most as he could with his limited movement and dropped his jaw. 'What? I couldn't have just heard that right.'
"Not denying, more waiting for a more opportune moment." Sarutobi tried to explain. "Let me remind you that Tsunade was killed, and our best available medics could never heal the damage to your son's spine right away. It would take months at best, not including the physical therapy."
"And you're saying you don't want that to be given to my son? Why the hell should I believe postponing treatment is better than giving it to him right away?" Chouza asked, still as angry as before.
"For one he can be a symbol to other people. Naruto was able to convince Hiashi's daughter to join him in his misguided attempt to stop Minato, so despite everything it's possible he could do the same to others. Anko might be convinced as well, and even before he departed people were planning on undermining Minato's efforts, claiming that he was becoming corrupt with power and needed to be taken down. With Kyuubi presumably working to aide him, we have to consider that Naruto could convince younger ninja such as your son to work against Konoha. However, as long as Chouji's injuries remain unhealed, they exist as a reminder to everyone of why they must not trust Naruto."
Chouji gulped and glanced to the whiskered redhead who simply stood there watching. Just listening to what he said made him wonder. 'Hokage-sama is seriously considering leaving me like this? Just to prove a point to everyone who is considering siding against him regarding Naruto? And Naruto suspected this would happen? How else could he know ahead of time to set up a radio so I could hear this?'
The sound of something shattering was heard, implying that Chouza had broken a table with his fists potentially reducing it to splinters. "Is this what you've come to Sarutobi? You're this afraid of Naruto?"
The chuuby boy could swear he could hear the old man frowning. "I fear nothing, and you will not address me by name like that Chouza."
"First of all, last time I checked you weren't visiting me as a hokage on duty, but merely as one concerned person to another. If you're going to pull rank whenever it suits you, that's going to make me seriously start questioning why you don't do it more often when the civilians try making demands in meetings. When they insist on something you bargain and negotiate, yet one of your own clan heads just wants his son healed and you try to give some bullshit excuse? You're supposed to be the God of Shinobi, not the God of Civilians dammit!"
"If a civilian is unhappy with my decisions there's nothing they can do about it. But when a ninja is they pose some degree of a threat." Sarutobi answered casually. "I try to pacify both sides, but frankly my ninja must learn to take no for an answer more than some civilians do."
'That doesn't make any sense.' Chouji thought. 'If the civilians are making demands then they need to learn to take no for an answer more.'
"If it was your son who needed help, would you just be standing there taking no for an answer?" Chouza challenged.
"For the greater good, yes. Yes I would. Which brings me to my other point Chouza." Sarutobi answered. "I said I was intending to delay such medical help for Chouji for a better time. That time would be when he no longer has to be a reminder to others of why to oppose Naruto. Meaning after Minato has won the conquest. At that time Chouji being healed shouldn't be a problem whatsoever. However..."
"However what?" Chouza asked, not liking this.
"Your son's injury has a second purpose to my designs. Not just as a motivator for opposing Naruto, but a warning to those that may support him." Sarutobi started. "As you may know, there are people in Konoha who don't think Minato should fulfill the prophecy and that it was wrong for him to set up Naruto as he did. I have eliminated many over the years, but I do not believe they are all gone, just better at hiding. And I have my suspicions that some of the clan heads are assisting them."
Chouji paled. 'Is he threatening Dad?'
Chouza grumbled but said nothing, so the Sandaime continued. "So let me make this perfectly clear Chouza. If you ever want your son to walk again you and your clan will give me and Minato total support for the conquest. And you will ensure the Nara and Yamanaka know to follow along as well. If you're already on my side then you've got nothing to be afraid of, but if you've been harboring treacherous thoughts all these years, you better decide whether or not supporting Naruto is worth losing your son."
"This isn't exactly making me want to support your side you blackmailer." Chouza warned, sounding like he was dangerously close to crushing the old man's skull like a grape.
"I'm not asking you to like it. I'm just pointing out I'm the one with leverage here Chouza. Now, your son will not be healed at this time no matter what you request, but ensure that I have three more clans with unwavering loyalty and he may just walk again someday. An easy decision if you have the right priorities if you ask me." Sarutobi said in a smug manner.
"Leave my house." Chouza said, not as forceful as he might have intended it to be. He sounded like this whole thing was hitting him where it hurt.
"Alright, see you at the next meeting Chouza. And don't say a word to your son. I could always get a new head for your clan after all." Sarutobi said.
Chouji closed his eyes. "I've heard enough." He whispered. Naruto removed the ear set. "You knew this would happen. Is that why Hinata attacked me like that?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, that was just because you were attacking her. And no, we did not know they would do this. Mom was the one who suggested it as a possibility."
"You have a mother?" Chouji asked, knowing Naruto was an orphan.
"Long story Chouji, and I don't have the luxury of time. Now, I'm not here to tell you that you should work with me to take down Konoha and fight the hokage. Instead, I just want to tell you one thing, as one old friend to another."
"What's that?" Chouji asked, curious. Right now he couldn't help but feel like he was talking with the Naruto he used to know, instead of one that he didn't know anymore and everyone was calling a monster. More than they used to that is.
"Despite what some people are telling you or assuming, I'm not trying to destroy Konoha. Or at least, I'm not going to destroy it in the way you might see Kyuubi doing it."
"You're not?" Chouji asked. "But everyone thinks you are."
"And how many of them actually asked me what I'm planning to do?" Naruto pointed out. Chouji nodded in understanding, so the former blonde continued. "I don't plan on turning this whole village to rubble and killing everyone within it. Not at the moment at least. I can't promise that won't change down the line depending on how bad things get here. As they are, my goal is to eliminate the ones in charge who want to go on this global conquest just so the Yondaime can feel like a god."
"So you're waiting for the Yondaime to come out of hiding, kill him and his biggest supporters when he does, and basically let Konoha continue on without them? Wait, you're not going to try and take the hokage seat that way are you?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm not interested in living here anymore. I've got another home somewhere else and I like it there more. You could go be hokage for all I care. My plan is to get the tyrants out of power, and I can only do that when it's clear who is and isn't on Namikaze's side."
"So, eliminate who is and leave who isn't to take care of Konoha from there. That's the plan." Chouji summarized, and Naruto nodded. "Why tell me?"
"I'm taking a chance that you can make a decision without relying on Shikamaru to do it for you. I'm not going to stand here and tell you that if you pledge your loyalty to me I will be able to heal you. But yes, I do know someone who can and would. So here's my offer, if at any point you decide Konoha is not worth supporting, my allies will get you out of here so you can live in peace and be healed right away. If you want to stay here, you're more than welcome, but you'll be accepting the risks that go with that."
"Just me?" Chouji asked.
"Oh no, go ahead and tell whoever you want. Just be careful who you tell. Ino seems a little less than interested to hear anything regarding my side after all, and she's not the only one."
"Maybe you shouldn't have been so quick to attack some of us." Chouji pointed out.
"The only ones we've attacked have been Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba, and if you knew what I knew you wouldn't be sympathizing with them either." The fox boy claimed. "Want to hear?"
'Where are they?' Anko thought while hiding in the trees, trying to find the group of traitors. 'They probably thought I would actually just walk out of here. Like I'd be stupid enough to fall for such an obvious trap. I just got to stay out of sight for a bit, let them think they're alone, then take them all down.'
She had no idea where she was, but being a Konoha nin she was no stranger to navigating in forests. The only landmarks she had seen were the stones surrounding the edge of the forest, and right away she had gotten the feeling that going near them and into the meadow was a bad idea. That had to be the trap these traitors were hoping she'd stumble into on her own.
Some faint rustling in the branches could just barely be heard, but it was enough to get her on guard. 'They're coming for me. They know I'm still here. Well, they want a fight I'll give them the last one they'll ever have.'
"What do you know about the Yondaime?" Hinata's voice could be heard asking, but she couldn't be seen.
"Huh?" Anko asked, not sure she heard that right. That was a very weird thing to ask right now.
"What do you know about the Yondaime? Would you call him a good man or a corrupted one?"
"Corrupted? The Yondaime was the greatest ninja Konoha had ever created." Anko defended.
"So? Does that mean he's a saint? Orochimaru and Itachi were great ninja too but you don't remember them for the good they once did." Hinata asked again, still unseen.
Anko frowned. "Orochimaru never did anything good in his life!"
"You speak as if this is personal for you." Hinata noted.
"Whether it is or isn't is none of your business little bitch. You're all traitors, people who abandon those around you to pursue selfish goals. People like you have no right to get away with your crimes." Anko declared.
"And if I told you that the people in charge of Konoha are traitors?" Hinata asked.
Anko rolled her eyes. "Not going to listen. Every traitor tries that approach. 'It's not me, they're the real bad guys I'm just doing what I know is right'. You know what I call that? Bullshit." She kept trying to spot any signs that would tell her where the former Hyuuga was, but it was impossible to do so.
"Don't you think there might be at least one time betraying someone is actually better than obeying them?" Hinata asked.
"Never! All traitors are scum and deserve to die. A cannibal can be more sympathetic than a traitor." Anko insisted, wanting to silence this girl.
"Konoha has been lying to you. The Yondaime faked his death and intends to start a war just to enslave the rest of the world and act like some kind of god." Hinata said bluntly mostly to test the tokubetsu jounin's reaction.
"That's the lie you're using to justify abandoning Konoha? Whatever drugs you guys are huffing you need to cut back on." Anko stated, not believing the proclamation in the slightest.
"You think we don't have evidence?" Hinata challenged.
"I don't care what you have, what you think, or what you intend to accomplish. You're all traitors, that's all I need to give a damn about, and I will be just as glad to execute any one of you as well as Orochimaru."
"Even if there's someone here younger than me on my side?" Hinata tested, referring to Konohamaru and his friends who thankfully weren't here to hear this.
"Whether eight or eighty years old, all traitors deserve to die." Anko stated firmly.
"Then I have nothing left to say to you." Hinata said, finally appearing in Anko's sight, standing there on the ground as if waiting for the older woman to make the first move.
Anko knew enough about the Hyuuga fighting style to know she had the advantage if she kept some distance, so she threw some kunai. Hinata expertly dodged them and ran up to her, claws bared.
"Striking Shadow Snakes." Anko said, holding her arms out. But no snakes came out of her sleeves. "What the-?"
Hinata grabbed her extended hands, digging her claws into the woman's flesh for a bit, then suddenly there was a puff of smoke that obscured the jounin's eyes and made her cough. Next thing she knew, she was standing in a sandy field at night.
"Welcome to Kaze no Kuni. It gets cold here at night." Hinata said while releasing her grip on Anko then disappearing in another puff of smoke.
Confused, Anko didn't have much time to think about it as it was indeed a very cold night. And Anko wasn't known for dressing for warmth, her skin getting goosebumps and her nipples poking thru her mesh shirt. Shivering she covered herself.
"Mark my words little bitch, you will pay for this."
"Good, we finally made it." Neji said when he and his team arrived at the tower the next morning.
"That was a difficult ordeal." Tenten commented, hoping she had recovered most of her weaponry. She wasn't one for using a kunai just once if she could help it.
'You have no idea.' Neji thought, still wondering what was the point of Hinata approaching him other than to play with his mind.
It didn't take long for the genin to realize they were supposed to open both scrolls, and when they did Iruka came into the room. He didn't look too happy, more remorseful.
"I want to say congratulations on making this far you three, but unfortunately I've been given orders to withhold your progress for the time being."
"What? On what grounds?" Lee protested.
Neji looked petrified. 'Do they know? How could they know?'
"The two traitors Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata were in this forest during your test. They assaulted two of your fellow teams, hurting them enough to make us remove them from the forest and exams for their own well-being." Iruka explained.
"But we never saw them. And we're perfectly healthy." Neji argued, hoping they couldn't prove him wrong.
Iruka did not look convinced. "Considering that you have a relation to one of the traitors, you having avoided them entirely does not make you look less suspicious. If anything, it only makes you look more suspicious, like you were in league with them to remove the competition."
"We weren't." Tenten insisted.
"I believe you, but I'm required to hold you all until a Yamanaka can confirm your innocence. If you pass that, you will continue in the exams without problem. IF you don't..." Iruka said, but trailed off, not sure what to say.
Neji could hear his heart pounding. 'My only hope is the Yamanaka doesn't need to check all our... wait, with Hinata involved he'd never pass me over. I'm doomed no matter what.'
Seeing no other choice, Neji sighed. "I did see those two. My teammates however never did."
"Neji? You're in league with traitors?" Tenten asked, appalled.
"I thought I could take them both down on my own. I was wrong." Neji admitted.
"Come with me." Iruka ordered, and Neji followed, leaving Tenten and Lee behind.
"I can't believe Neji is working with traitors. Him of all people?" Tenten fumed.
"Tenten, did you not hear him? He was fighting them." Lee argued.
The bun-haired girl shook her head. "Remember when we were fighting the Suna nin and he just ran off? How do we know he wasn't plotting something with them and didn't want us seeing anything?"
"I trust Neji not to do that sort of thing." Lee claimed.
Tenten looked away. "Well I trust the higher ups to find out the real answer."
"Tenten, are you say that given the options of Neji being a traitor or going off on his own to fight one, you find the first one the easier to believe?" Lee asked, more than just a little shocked that Tenten would be so quick to believe the worst about her own teammate of over a year just from one accusation.
Tenten withheld her response for a bit, then spoke. "I guess I do."
"Why am I here? I want to go see Sasuke-kun." Sakura said while seated in one of the interrogation rooms with Ibiki standing guard over her. Luckily she was clothed now, so she didn't feel as vulnerable as she could have, but he still intimidated her.
"You've been accused of a crime, and we're going to see if you're guilty or not." He answered.
"Who accused me of a crime?" She asked.
"Your teammate Sai says he heard you confess to murder of a fellow genin." Ibiki claimed.
Sakura's eyes widened. 'How would he... oh fuck, he was there when Naruto was trying to call me out of the cave. I completely forgot, so he would have heard me admit I killed Ami. All I thought about was that no one would believe Naruto if he was the one who told anyone.'
"Want to save us some time and tell me yourself whether or not you're guilty of that?" Ibiki asked.
"I'm just an ordinary girl from a civilian family. How could I kill anyone and not get caught?" She asked, hoping she could convince him she was innocent. 'I'm just lucky that baka didn't know about the other girls I've killed too. But how did he know I did it to Ami?'
"You are a shinobi are you not? And one who's trying to become a chuunin right? Are you saying you lack the ability to kill someone?" Ibiki challenged.
"Well..." The pinkette did not know how to respond. "I never had to before on a mission."
"Who said the murder happened on a mission?" Ibiki pointed out. "Several murders have been happening within Konoha and in a secluded part of town, one that you have been spotted in before in your younger days. The Uchiha clan district is responsible for its own security so with only one full-time resident and the clan seat filler Danzou currently required to assign the patrols it wouldn't be impossible for repeated murders to keep happening there. And there were no authorized requests for any of these people to be killed, so they were true murders. A crime that if you're guilty of could earn you lifetime in prison if you're lucky."
Sakura looked like she was about to piss herself, but kept as calm as she could. "It's not me. I didn't even know these were happening or whose been getting killed."
"All young girls around your age, all known to have been interested in gaining the Uchiha's affections for a while. Sounds like someone's killing a bunch of fangirls, meaning you're a potential next victim if you ever go to the Uchiha district." Ibiki said. "Or maybe the murderer is a fangirl who wants to eliminate the competition in the most effective way possible."
This was the time the door opened and Inoichi walked in. "I need to make this quick. I have to do a scan of another genin's mind in a few minutes too."
With a few hand signs Inoichi put a hand on Sakura's forehead and checked into her memories. After about forty seconds, he ended the jutsu and looked to Ibiki.
"She didn't do it."
"What?" Sakura asked, then caught herself. "Well of course I didn't do it. I'm no murderer."
Ibiki looked into Inoichi's eyes and could tell the blonde man was no speaking with certainty. "You sure about that?"
Inoichi nodded. "Yes, so we have to let her go."
"Thank you." Sakura said, getting up. Inoichi opened the door for her and she went out, but he remained behind. 'I have no idea how I got away with that, but damn that was close. I better be careful not to press my luck again. At least I've killed enough girls that now I should be more to Sasuke's standards. A boy who wants to kill people wouldn't want to be with a girl who refuses to kill people too after all.'
"You're lying Inoichi." Ibiki proclaimed from within the room after the door closed. "You saw that girl's memory. You know she did it or she knows who did. Why are you sweeping this under the rug?"
"It's Hokage's orders. There's nothing I can do." Inoichi reluctantly admitted. "He said it didn't matter if this girl was guilty or not. I was to declare her innocent, or it will be my child who gets the guilty verdict instead."
Ibiki blinked. "You're telling me that Hokage-sama is knowingly let one genin potentially get away with murder? Why?"
"I asked that too. His answer was pretty much 'Because I say so'."
"Because he says so?" Ibiki repeated, knowing there had to be more to it than that. "What is Hokage-sama thinking?"
"I don't know, but the man we used to be proud to call the Sandaime has become something else entirely. We might need a godaime sooner than we thought." Inoichi thought before leaving the room, wondering if maybe Ibiki would now be open to join the Pro-Naruto side. Ibiki had always obeyed the chain of comman mainly because it was his job to, but now that Sarutobi was starting to do things one might expect Danzou to, Ibiki might reconsider a change of allegiance.
Inoichi went to another room, where inside was Neji accompanied by a concerned Gai, an angry Hiashi, and a masked brunette kunoichi who likely belonged to the Anbu. She was probably there to make sure no fighting broke out, or to escort Neji to better containment if that had to be done. The Hyuuga head was looking at his nephew like he wished the boy still had his seal on so he could use it. "So from what I'm told, this boy encountered Uzumaki Naruto and his partner Hinata in the forest under questionable terms?"
"He failed to kill them. He better have a good explanation for that." Hiashi warned.
"Why bother? We both know what you're going to do whether my explanation is good or not." Neji said calmly. Knowing what was in store for him, it was like he had nothing left to fear. He was basically on his deathbed just waiting for someone to pull the plug, so what was there to be afraid of?
Hiashi said nothing, but no one doubted that he intended to hurt the boy once there were no witnesses.
"I may not be related to Neji but-" Gai started.
"No one asked you commoner. And when I want your opinion I will tell you what it is." Hiashi threatened. "Why are you even here?"
Gai frowned. "He is my student and the law permits me to be a character witness for him if he is accused of anything. I am here to see to it that Neji does not get mistreated or subjected to a witch hunt."
"Let me remind you both that Hokage-sama has the primary say regarding any punishment this boy will get if he deserves one or not. And his ability to do so trumps a clan head's ability." Inoichi said to be the voice of reason, though given what had just happened with Sakura he hated to point this fact out.
Hiashi as usual did not like to be challenged. "I am the head of the Hyuuga and my will over my clan is like that of a god."
"Would you be saying that if Minato said to not punish this boy?" Inoichi pressed, phrasing it rhetorically.
"That's none of your business." Hiashi stated. "Just do your job."
Inoichi did the jutsu to look at Neji's memories like he had done with Sakura, and saw what had transpired. 'Hiashi's not going to like this one bit.' He thought when he ended it. He sighed and felt a bit of sympathy for the confused boy who was likely going to suffer just because it would make an uncaring man feel strong. 'In a weird way, he's a lot like Naruto right now.'
"It would appear that Neji caught the presence of another byakugan within the forest and went to check it out as that was not supposed to be the case. He found it and it was indeed the former heiress with the Uzumaki boy. Neji tried to fight them both off, but Hinata was not fighting with the juuken." Hiashi could be heard grumbling but he said nothing. "Neji was not expecting that, and sadly he ran his mouth a bit giving them an opening to make him fall."
Hiashi immediately gave his nephew a backhanded slap that made him fall out of his chair. "You worthless-!" He was cut off by Gai who throttled and restrained him while the kunoichi assisted Neji back into the chair and made sure he was okay.
"Hiashi, refrain yourself or you will be the one walking out of here with bruises." Inoichi warned. "Now, as I was saying, Neji tried to fight them off, his only crime is that he was caught off guard."
"Hyuuga are never caught off guard." Hiashi got out.
"Says the man who's being pinned down by a mere commoner." Gai pointed out.
"Neji has done nothing that warrants any punishment or more scrutiny." Inoichi continued. "To punish him merely for being surprised means we'd have to punish all the genin who encountered Naruto and Hinata yet failed to bring them in."
'He's not telling the whole story.' Neji noted. 'He's either trying to protect me, or he's trying to protect Hinata and her partner. Could he be on their side?'
"Hyuuga do not fail. When I get the chance, this boy is going to learn what happens to incompetent people." Hiashi threatened.
Neji looked at his uncle. "Hinata never actually gave me an offer to escape Konoha and work with her to take people like you down. Right now I wish she would, so I could take it."
Hiashi was both surprised and offended. "You would abandon everything like a coward?"
"A girl who you and I both called miserably weak has proven herself strong enough to escape the fate you tried to assign her. And my mother taught me to never take abuse if I could help it. If Hinata can escape you, then why can't I?"
"And how are you going to do it Neji? You planning on having that worthless girl appear and take you away?" Hiashi taunted.
"If she gave me the offer, I'd accept it." Neji answered.
"That's enough for me." The kunoichi said before putting her hands on the boy's shoulders. Right then both she and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"What? Where did they go?" Hiashi asked, activating his byakugan.
"Who was that?" Gai asked, releasing the captive Hyuuga.
'I'm starting to think escaping might not be so bad an idea after all.' Inoichi thought.
"What? What just happened?" Neji asked, finding himself in a forest.
"You're out of harm's way Hyuuga Neji. At least, you could be." The kunoichi Anbu said before dispelling a disguise and revealing Kushina. "My name is Uzumaki Kushina, mother of Uzumaki Naruto. Or as I like to call him, Kuramamaru."
"Kuramamaru?" Neji repeated.
"My birth name. Not the one Konoha gave me." Naruto said, coming into view with Hinata beside him holding his hand. "So, you want to escape Konoha do you?"
"Why were you there?" Neji asked Kushina. "You had no way of knowing I'd be taken into custody."
"Yes, we did." Hinata answered. "There were three teams taking that test that had direct connections to me and Naruto-kun, and two of them got taken out of the exams because of fights with us. Wouldn't you wonder why the third team didn't?"
Neji couldn't help but nod slowly, knowing that was exactly why Iruka had approached his team in the first place. "When you spoke to me, you never actually asked me to join your side. I assumed it was because you had no interest in giving me any help. So why are you helping me now?"
"We've both been victims of the Hyuuga and Konoha Neji. The problem is we couldn't connect because you kept thinking you were the only one suffering. Despite you bullying me and knowing full well the adults were doing it too, you ignored it saying I deserved it. You thought you didn't deserve any suffering so you made yourself a martyr in your own eyes while ignoring anyone else who was miserable. You followed the clan not because you loved it, but because you felt you had no coice. Just like me."
"You didn't love the clan?" Neji asked, remembering how Hinata had wanted to unite the two houses. He had scoffed at her, thinking she'd never succeed and her whole plan to was just a way to try and get people like him to stop picking on her.
"No more than you love your uncle. I wanted to help the clan so it could become something I could love. Then I learned how deep the darkness of the Hyuuga is, and I knew my goal was a lost cause. For the clan to change, my father and the elders must die. You know this. You followed him as a leader, but if he wasn't already in charge, would you even consider following him?" Hinata asked.
Neji shook his head. "No, I wouldn't. But still, why are you trying to appeal to me? Why not your own sister first?"
"Hanabi was not like us, she did love the clan. She followed Hiashi and the elders almost religiously, listening to them without any doubt. She only sees the reputation and 'good parts' of the clan, completely naive to the dark undertones because the adults have never wanted to hurt her."
Something just clicked in Neji's mind. "You left her like you did that time because you knew that the elders would punish her for it in a severe way. That would show her that she's only the favorite of the Main House circumstantially rather than unconditionally."
"We told you that a few days ago when she asked what happened to Hinata-chan's sister." Naruto reminded the Hyuuga prodigy.
"Neji, now you've had your seal removed. you've seen how the Main House treats its own, not just how it treats the Branch House. You've seen that the lack of a seal didn't suddenly make you or even Hanabi safe from the clan leaders. Hanabi still needs some time for that to sink in before I approach her to see if she's learned her lesson. But for now, are you willing to listen to me on what must be done?" Hinata asked.
Neji nodded. "Yes, I want to hear everything."
"Even though you still blame me for all your suffering?" Hinata added, knowing this was still a hurdle to Neji's ultimate decision.
Neji was silent for a bit, then did a soft sigh. "For now, I'm willing to put that aside to hear what you guys are really up to."
Days later the second round of the exams was over, and Sarutobi was disappointed in the outcome. Only three teams had made it to the finals. One came from Suna, one came from Oto, and one came from Konoha. This team was the one with Kabuto on it, and it was confirmed that Naruto and Hinata had no interaction with them at all so they were allowed to pass. Neji's team would have as well if only to get more Konoha genin in the finals, but with Neji currently unavailable Team Nine was unallowed to continue like the rest were.
'Sometimes the whole 'Pass or fail as a team' policy bites us in the ass.' Sarutobi thought as he went to the meeting room where one was about to take place. And it was one he had not been looking forward to.
The old hokage went to his seat at the head of the room, seeing everyone else getting seated too. The first ones he saw were the clan heads, with Chouza and Inoichi giving him ugly looks and as a result Shikaku was too, albeit less harsh compared to the two. Hiashi looked unhappy with the absence of his nephew, and Tsume, Shibi, and Unkai of the Kurama clan looked normal. Looking away Sarutobi saw the civilian council and his elder advisors, but it was the newest arrival that he kept his eyes on.
"Welcome to Konoha Daimyo-sama." Sarutobi greeted when he took his seat. "I'm sorry that you had to come all the way here, but with the exams it was not possible for me to go to you like you requested earlier this week."
"I understand that Hiruzen, but that is all I can say I understand for certain." The ruler of the country claimed.
"What do you mean?" Sarutobi asked.
"I was given something. Actually, it was more like it was found one my grounds as if just placed there by an animal. It probably was, since it had teeth marks on it." The Daimyo said before pulling out an envelop from his robes.
'Why do I think this is connected to Naruto somehow?' Sarutobi thought.
"What are the contents Daimyo-sama?" Homura asked.
The daimyo opened the unsealed envelop and pulled out a tape recorder. "This was given to me about a week ago, and the only reason I haven't demanded anything sooner was because I didn't want to risk having this come to the attention of anyone else when there were so many foreign shinobi coming to this village. Now, I don't want to wait anymore."
He pressed the button, and the recording played. The sounds of footsteps were heard for a bit, then some groaning. There was a brief jangling of metal too.
"Comfy, Jiji?" The voice of Naruto was heard.
Sarutobi's eyes widened. 'What? Oh no, was that encounter being recorded?'
"Naruto?" The recorded voice of Sarutobi said next, and everyone looked to the old hokage.
The recording proceeded with all the things revealed to the council chambers, from Sarutobi trash talking Naruto to Konohamaru defecting from the village with him and Kushina. And of course the Yondaime's plans was mentioned in specific detail, which Sarutobi now realized was said solely for the sake of getting it established on this recording.
"Oh, you mean the plan for the Yondaime to fake his death for years, abduct all jinchuuriki using S-ranked criminals, kill the jinchuuriki to take the bijuu from them, then use the bijuu and Konoha to start the Fourth Shinobi War, only this time it's Konoha against EVERYONE even the allies? Yeah, I know, but there's something I don't understand."
"And you expect me to just tell you?" The recorded Sarutobi asked.
"Daimyo-sama this is a set-up." The in-person old man tried to claim, but it fell on deaf ears.
"You might want to after you actually hear the question old man. I know what the Yondaime's role in all this is, but not yours. So old man, what do YOU do and what do you get out of this massacre-waiting-to-happen?" Naruto asked on the tape.
Sarutobi wanted to destroy that tape, but with there being a strict no weapon policy for the room and a jutsu only ruining his character more, there was nothing he could do. Plus since the Uzumaki clearly brought this to the daimyo, it was not impossible that they can given him duplicates too.
"You want to know MY role?" Sarutobi's recorded voice said in a smug tone. "My role is the most brilliant of all. Minato is busy taking care of the weapons while I'm here to take care of the soldiers. I'm getting them ready for the war before they even know it's going to happen. And I'm in charge of making it start."
Sarutobi closed his eyes, knowing that regaining any credibility here was going to take a miracle.
After Konohamaru's part and a final taunt from Naruto, the recording ended and the daimyo did not look pleased. "So what is the meaning of this?"
"It's obviously a forgery Daimyo-sama." Sarutobi answered. 'I cannot believe that brat did something like this.'
"So you're swearing to me that the Yondaime is dead and will not be returning?" The daimyo added.
'How do I answer? I say yes then I'm going to be exposed as a liar when Minato does return. I say no then I'm still exposed as a liar to the people of Konoha. Either way Minato's reappearance will be met with some degree of internal opposition. More than it already is with those damn deniers of the prophecy.'
"Minato-kun is going to return and make Konoha truly glorious." Tsume said proudly.
"Inuzuka Tsume!" Sarutobi said in outburst, shocked that she would just up and answer on her own.
"Why deny it Hokage-sama? He's going to show up at some point. Besides, if this guy here," She gestured to the daimyo. "Doesn't like that, what can he do about it? Minato-kun can just get rid of him too if needed."
"Are you threatening me?" The daimyo asked, his guards getting ready to defend him.
"No, we're putting you in your place." Hiashi said with a smug smile that match Tsume's. "Minato is the one who's going to be in charge of this world, not you. You can go ahead and stay on your little throne, but you will no longer be the most powerful man in this country."
"And if you don't like that, Minato-kun will replace you with someone who does." Tsume added.
"This is an outrage!" The daimyo shouted.
"The Yondaime is still alive? Why weren't we told about this?" One of the civilians demanded to know.
"Did he finally kill the demon brat? Then why is he not already here instead of this fossil?" Another civilian asked, gesturing to Sarutobi.
Sarutobi did his best to suppress his outrage at this turn of events. 'Dammit Tsume, Hiashi, I know you both have high opinions of Minato but that doesn't mean you can create problems expecting him to solve them for us.'
Tsume looked at the daimyo like a big dog trying to intimidate a kitten just for the sheer fun of it. "Let me make it perfectly clear to you sir, you are not in charge of this country. We are. We always have been. You're just the thing that pays for our expenses."
"I will not stand for this!" The daimyo declared.
Tsume looked about as threatened as a person being told a single ant would kill it. "And what will you do about it?"
The daimyo rose to his feet, outrage clear as day on his face. "I may not be able to fight like you shinobi can, and maybe my security would struggle, but there is one way I can put you upstarts in your place." He then turned to leave, with no one stopping him.
'What is he planning? The only thing he could do that would have any realistic effect is... he could cut our budget completely, forcing us into an economic recession. And he could deny us many international missions. I can't let him do this, Minato will think I'm doing my job wrong. And I'm never wrong. I have to fix this, now!'
With no time to come to any alternatives, Sarutobi did some hand signs then brought her hands to his mouth. "Fire Style: Incinerating Shell Jutsu." From his mouth erupted a cloud of ash that swiftly went right to the daimyo and his attending guards. The guards tried to get rid of the cloud but of course one doesn't deal with a cloud with a spear or sword. The ashes quickly covered the men from head to toe and brightened considerably, as if they were being ignited.
Everyone watched, some in horror while some with relief, as the daimyo and his guards briefly flailed and tried to remove the ashes from their skin. But the ashes soon started to cool and harden, and quickly enough the victims looked like statues.
Sarutobi let out a sigh. "There, that solves that. We will have to ensure the replacement daimyo is more cooperative, but that should be easier than placating this one."
"What the hell was that? Are you just going to kill off anyone now?" One of the civilians asked in a panic. For years the civilians had felt secure that the ninja were too afraid to fight them, yet here the ruler of the country itself was killed by the hokage once his back was turned. That kind of implied they weren't any safer either.
"Unless you support our designs then maybe we should." Hiashi threatened, feeling comfortable doing so. It was very much like how he'd threaten the branch members.
"You can't do that! You need us!" One of the female civilian objected, hoping this wouldn't result in her head being cut off or something.
"No we don't. You civilians are only allowed in this shinobi village so you can do the jobs we're too good to waste our time doing. Each and every one of you is as disposable and replacable as an appliance." Hiashi stated, which resulted in a nod from Tsume, ugly glares from Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chouza, and a look of complete neutrality from Shibi. Unkai buried his head in his hands like this was giving him a headache.
"Enough! Don't you all see you're doing exactly what that damn Kyuubi boy wants us to do?" Danzou shouted.
"What do you mean?" Tsume asked.
"Don't you realize there was a reason he gave the daimyo a tape of him tricking Hokage-sama into exposing a hidden plan? He's trying to make Konoha fight among itself so it will be too weakened and distracted to do anything when the Kyuubi returns to finish us all off. By arguing you're giving the Kyuubi exactly what it wants."
Everyone was silenced, seeing that the old war hawk had a great point there.
Danzou rose to his feet. "The real enemies are out there beyond our walls. That's where the Uzumaki boy is, plotting against us trying to weaken us first before Yondaime-sama is ready to deal with him. Before, yondaime-sama was only able to seal away the monster. He's been plotting to find a way to remove it once and for all, and every one of the Kyuubi's kin out there. Which he can only do if those other demons don't know he's alive. That brat is trying to ruin our greatest hero's plan to save us all from being plunged into a world run by abominations. We should band together to fight them, not each other."
Sarutobi looked over the room and saw his old rival's silver tongue was working like a charm. Everyone stopped yelling at each other and now gave looks of support, except for the still angry clan trio that is the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans.
"The Yondaime will come back to us and save us from all the demons in the world. We must make sure he has a strong unified village for him to come back to once he has all his weapons ready. Then we will go find that rotten boy that tried to turn us against each other and send him to hell where he and his kind belong." Danzou finished with a tap of his cane on the floor.
All of the civilians cheered to hear this, their offense at the Inuzuka and Hyuuga forgotten in favor of their hatred of the Uzumaki.
"For now though, this has to remain a secret. We must pretend this meeting never happened. If anyone asks, the Uzumaki boy was the one who killed the daimyo. We tried to stop him but he got away. Everyone just remember what Danzou said, we must put aside all our issues with the other side so that when Minato returns to ensure a new golden age for Konoha he does not have problems to fix here first."
Everyone nodded, and the meeting was adjourned.
"Hello again Yakumo. How are you doing today?" Kurenai said as she greeted her first disciple, who was seated outside on the porch of her house painting what looked like a portrait. Ever since her team had been shelved, Kurenai decided to pay the young girl a visit once a week for old times sake.
Yakumo looked to the jounin, but her expression wasn't exactly welcoming. "I'm fine. This day is no different than any other day, except you're here."
Sadly, Yakumo had not been enjoying these visits as much as Kurenai had hoped.
"Are you still bitter about what happened? I left because it was for your own good." Kurenai said, taking a seat next to the girl as she dipped her brush in some red paint. "I never wanted to hurt you Yakumo."
"You were the one who told me I could become a ninja who used nothing but genjutsu. You were the one who gave me hope when the doctors said I wouldn't be able to meet the standards of the Academy. Then because of one bad day you agree to let my abilities be taken away and you walk out of my life, with some new fragile girl to mentor in my place." Yakumo said bluntly, keeping her eyes on her strokes.
Kurenai looked a bit ashamed. "I didn't want them to do that, but my skills weren't enough to guarantee you wouldn't relapse. What if you had another accident because I wasn't strong enough to protect you?"
"Sounds to me like you were afraid to take responsibility." Yakumo claimed.
Kurenai blinked and jerked back a bit. "Yakumo? What has come over you?"
The painter looked to the jounin. "I've had a lot of time to think while you were off being a jounin to other genin and being a mentor to another girl. I always blamed myself for you walking out of my life, I thought if I had just been a little stronger maybe you wouldn't have given up on me."
"I didn't want to." Kurenai defended. She had always felt bad about what had happened to the Kurama clan heiress, but at the time there was nothing she could have done for the girl. She had to leave Yakumo in the hands of the Sandaime because she couldn't handle the situation on her own. She just wasn't strong enough yet, and being around Yakumo so much while the wound was still fresh would only hurt them both.
Yakumo got some more red paint on her brush and continued her strokes. "I blamed myself. I thought I wasn't good enough for you anymore and that was why you went off to teach some other kids. They were good enough to become ninja but I was a wasted investment. Then a few months ago I talked to someone, and they asked me a question I never thought about before. What if it wasn't my fault?"
"It wasn't your fault Yakumo. I just wasn't strong enough to give you the security you needed." Kurenai said soothingly.
"If you really believed you weren't strong enough, then why did you accept being a jounin sensei just a few years later?" Yakumo challenged. "Why did you keep mentoring another girl? One who was supposed to be taught taijutsu instead of genjutsu. And why did you not come back to see me until after that other girl walked out on you?"
"I was ashamed. Here I saw two girls that needed a strong feminine role model and I tried to help you both. You needed to learn what to do with your powers and she needed to be protected from a bad influence."
"By bad influence do you mean her abusive family or a boy that had a bad reputation?" Yakumo asked.
"How do you know about the boy?" Kurenai asked, having always believed that unlike Hinata Yakumo was completely ignorant of Naruto.
"Uncle told me."
'As a clan head he would have to be aware of Naruto.' Kurenai thought.
"Doesn't really matter. The point is things went out of control for me and you just disappeared on me. I blamed myself for it and wished I had never tried to learn how to be a kunoichi. But then I was asked what if the problem wasn't me, but you. You just walked out on me, you were afraid to take responsibility. Better I be left to handle my problems on my own and you give all your efforts to the other girl than you face consequences."
Kurenai blinked. "What? No. Not at all. How could you say that Yakumo?"
"I can because it's true. I've had a lot of time to think about it Kurenai, and I don't see reason to believe I'm wrong."
Kurenai wanted to defend herself, but she wasn't sure what to say that the young girl would listen to. For the first time in this visit she actually looked at the painting Yakumo was working on. It was indeed a portrait, incomplete, but not of anyone the jounin recognized. "Who is this supposed to be?"
"No one you would know. Just a boy named Kuramamaru." Yakumo answered, putting some purple in the eyes.