Introverted
Chapter Twenty-six
Hiruzen took a deep puff of smoke before leaving his lit pipe in the hands of a Jounin nearby. He made a small smile as he adjusted his Hokage hat and then, calmly, he took the stage from Kakashi Hatake, the third proctor for the Chuunin exams.
"Welcome," he said proudly as he watched the ten ninjas who had survived the second trial stand shoulder to shoulder. To the uttermost left was Naruto, his cerulean eyes settled on him with a burning gaze of determination. He couldn't help but smile at such eagerness. His teammates stood next. Danzo's 'failure' was a pale skinned boy who barely held himself up with the use of a crutch, probably because of his back injury. He'd need time to recuperate.
Then was Sakura Haruno, the civilian kunoichi. She had a fire in her eyes that one, even if she looked mildly uncomfortable and had trouble swallowing, if the grimaces she made every now and then were of any indication. It had probably to do with her neck wound.
The Takigakure kunoichi, Ryuzetsu, was next. She stood tall and firm with an uptight posture. Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure was next, her eyes fearful and glancing towards Naruto every now and then. He couldn't help but wonder what the boy had done to make her so scared, but then again he would ask for their reports later on, through Yugao.
"The exams you have partaken in," he began slowly, "are a substitute for war." Calmly, he brought up his right hand. "Each of you who passed was forced to make choices in order to survive. You have held true to your beliefs, or maybe to your comrades. You have forged alliances or backstabbed each other at night. You have fought, bled and battled across five days…how did it feel? Was it something nice? Did it make you feel happy? I hope the answer was no," he finished with a grimace.
"These exams are a substitute for war, that is true, but they are not an excuse to kill or murder without cause. In the face of death, allies are the strongest bonds you can have. The loss of your teammates, the anger and the hatred you feel right now because of it must not drown the fact that you allied with other shinobi from other villages. Remember that culprits are not the entirety, but only the single individual who threw the kunai, who sliced the throat…do not accuse the majority of the faults of the single man or woman."
There was a loud sigh as the third Hokage then removed his hat from his head and made a simple but powerful bowing gesture. "I am sorry if any of you lost your precious friends to this exam." He stood back up stiffly a moment later. "But do not let that pain cloud your judgment. Understand that pain, make it yours, and then think if you would like to deliver it onto others. Would you? That is a vicious cycle that will never be broken, unless someone accepts and understands it…and refuses to rekindle the flames of war."
"In a month of time," he said then clearly, "there will be the final and public part of this exam. The members of the various courts around the lands of the Elemental Countries will converge in Konoha to watch you fight for the honor of becoming a Chuunin, of becoming a higher ranked shinobi of your village. I cannot speak for your own Kage, but know this: they will be certainly as proud of you on that day, whether you win or lose, as I will be for my own ninja." He nodded towards Kakashi, who stepped forward with a small covered casket.
"Come one at the time and take out a number," Kakashi drawled, gesturing to Naruto to head near him first.
Naruto's number turned out to be four. Sakura's was one and Sai held number seven. Kurotsuchi ended up with number five, and Ryuzetsu was nine. Neji Hyuga turned out to be number two, while Rock Lee went to number eight. Tayuya of Otogakure became number ten, and Kidomaru received number six. Tenten was number three.
"Sakura Haruno will fight Hyuga Neji," Kakashi stated then calmly. "Tenten Satou will fight Naruto Uzumaki, Kurotsuchi of Iwa will fight against Kidomaru of Oto, Sai Satou will fight Rock Lee, Ryuzetsu of Taki will fight Tayuya of Otogakure."
There was silence as the each shinobi watched their opponent. Yugao swallowed silently. Sai was the one guaranteed an easy win, Naruto would have to sweat it, but she was sure he would pull through…Sakura on the other hand…
Even training her to the death would not yield enough results in a month to put her on par with the Hyuga. Secretly teaching her techniques would not work either. Apprenticing her under a kunoichi would do nothing in that short frame of time. Literally, the pink-haired kunoichi beneath her guide was screwed even before starting. Thankfully, it seemed as if the girl had realized that too, because her eyes had already gone towards her teammates with a defeated gaze.
She'd give up before starting —nobody was going to fault her for that. She winced as she remembered the pain of a few attacks from the Gentle Fist style she had suffered during her Anbu training. They weren't pretty at all.
"The Great Konohagakure Arena will be open in one month, do not be late," and with those words, the Sandaime turned and left. In a moment, Jounin-sensei flocked to their respective teams, just like Yugao did too appearing right in front of Naruto.
"You did well," she began. "Did the medic check you lot for toxins? Poisons? Anyone needs another round of vaccinations?" she hoped her voice wasn't fussy. She was never worried about her Anbu squad because they usually knew what they were doing anyway, but with…children, you never knew if they took their shots or not.
"I'm fine Sensei," Naruto answered back, "But my teammates…"
"I'm fine," Sakura's voice was barely hearable. It came out softly, raucous and with effort as the girl winced while talking. "Hurts a lot to speak…throat itches…"
"The medic changed the bandages and applied anti-septic," Yugao muttered giving a quick glance over to the girl. "It's never enough. Enemies might have used poison on their weapons after all. Sai? Do you want to try and lie about your pain too?"
"No sensei," was what the pale boy muttered as he held himself steadfast to Naruto's shoulders with his other arm. "I don't trust Dickless holding me too close. He might lose himself to my perfection and try and touch me."
Naruto snorted. "I think he's fine, can I drop him, sensei?"
"You will not," Yugao remarked with a small smirk on her face. "I'll have you do a full check-up at the hospital then. Let's get out of here."
As she turned to leave, Naruto began to follow quietly for a few minutes, before he frowned and spun to raise an eyebrow at Sakura's still form.
"Sakura?"
"Ah…sorry," Sakura's face betrayed her grief. She grimaced as she began to walk next to him. "Naruto?" she whispered with pain clearly visible on her features as she tried to speak. "What happened…in the forest?"
"I'll tell you later," he replied in a hushed tone. "When you and Sai are both fine."
"Dickless," Sai quipped from his shoulder. "I am fine."
"Right," Naruto rolled his eyes. "How are we going to leave the training ground, sensei?" he asked then, as the thought suddenly crossed him. It had taken them a few days to reach the tower, how could they leave without doing the same?
"There's an underground river," Yugao remarked. "The above water is channeled through a pressurized tunnel. We sit on a boat and the water does the rest. We'll be near Training Ground Seven by the time the pressure drops."
With a look of understanding, Naruto remained quiet for the rest of the trip…even though he couldn't help but feel that the gaze that Sakura was sending him meant the girl wanted to ask something else.
The travel back was indeed a really short-lived thing, if only for the fact that once seated they were strapped to a few chairs and then pushed at incredible speed through a dark and damp hallway half-filled with water. It was definitively a new experience, a fun one to boot, but even then one short lived and staled by the fact he was more worried about his teammates' injuries rather than the ride.
The moment his sensei grabbed hold of both Sakura and Sai, he watched her leave in a hurry to the hospital and began to instead walk that way too.
He was now alone —walking along the streets as the sun slowly was starting to die over the horizon once more. He hadn't had lunch, and he didn't even feel like it, but then again maybe he could bring something to Sai? He didn't know about Sakura's parents…they were probably going to be warned their daughter was in the hospital to begin with. Sai on the other hand…he had no-one, had he?
His mind made, Naruto began to jump quickly away from the roads and for the rooftops, before jumping down in front of his home and entering in quickly. Danzo-sensei wasn't home, and after leaving a quick note behind he was soon out once more, headed towards Hebi.
He hoped they did take-away.
He entered the corner shop only to find it filled to the brim, with a few groups standing in queue. He bit his lips furiously as he watched the line move forward slowly…if this kept up, he'd have to stay there the entire night!
"If it isn't Sakura's teammate!"
The owner of the establishment had been making his rounds, but at his sight he simply dropped the plates to another waiter and headed over to him, grasping his hand with both of his and tightly shaking it. "Well my boy! How did it go?"
"Ah! Ehm…Kuro-san? Well, really," he stammered out surprised by such amicability. "It went well," he added. "We all passed, but Sakura and Sai are both at the hospital so…"
"So you came here to get something to bring over there?" the owner smiled brightly as he gave him a friendly pat on the back. "Well done my boy! We'll make a gentleman out of you yet!"
There were a few grumbles as he was literally pushed not only to the top of the line, but also beyond that. "So, who else passed?" the owner asked as he carefully began to select some pastries from one of the glass cases. "And don't worry: this is on the house! Passing even one of the Chuunin exams alive is something that needs celebration anyway!"
"Ah! Thank you!" Naruto bowed quickly and uncomfortably as he felt far more gazes than usual on his back. "Well, two teams from Konoha passed, a kunoichi from Taki and from Iwa too…and two Oto shinobi."
"Otogakure shinobi?" the owner raised an eyebrow. "Oh well, must be that new shinobi village that was built in the land of rice recently." Kuro appeared thoughtful for a moment. "What would you like to eat? I've gotten down Sakura's favorites and your other teammate's tastes are pretty simple…"
"Ramen," he replied slowly. "If it's possible."
"Everything's possible," Kuro winked at him. "As long as you keep on trying."
Five minutes later Naruto was jostling four different plastic bags as he reached for the hospital's entrance. He stopped before setting foot inside —with his luck, they'd confiscate his food before long. He was torn, but that didn't last long.
"Naruto!" his sensei voice reached him from a few floors above, at a window that overlooked on the main road. "We're here!"
He nodded and smiled back, before starting to run up on the wall all the way to the window and within the sterile looking room. He dropped the bags delicately on the bed-desk, and then gave a careful look to his teammates' conditions.
Sai had been literally strapped to the bed with his back upwards.
"Dickless, if you are having any strange ideas…kill them," he muttered as he watched him with interest. Sakura just smiled and made a small wave in his direction, before taking out a small tablet of chalkboard to write on.
Can't stress my voice, doctor's orders. Hit Sai for me.
"No violence allowed in the room," Yugao quipped quickly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Naruto, what did you bring?" as soon as his sensei asked that, Naruto felt queasy. He hadn't considered the woman when he had gone for food, but then again Kuro had been the one to give him four plastic bags rather than three…was the man able to see the future or something?
Going by exclusions, and keeping the Ramen for himself, he had an assortment of pastries for Sakura and a strange vegetable soup for Sai. His sensei was apparently given the benefit of doubt with various pieces of cheese, ham and fish assorted together.
"Sakura can't eat solid things yet," Yugao spoke softly eying the pastries. "Doctor's orders…"
"Cherry can have my soup," Sai stated firmly. "Anything is better than hospital food."
There was some sort of firm commitment in those two sentences that actually touched Sakura's heartstrings. It was as if Sai really cared that nobody else had to ever suffer from hospital food as long as he could avoid it. Maybe he had been sick for a long time, and that was the reason?
"I understand you," Naruto shuddered. "Do you think they purposefully make it horrendous, so sick people heal faster and leave for better food?"
"Hospital kitchens use low amounts of salts and spices, because they cater to a wide variety of clinical cases that might or might not die depending on the amount used," Yugao stated. "It is bland, I admit, but far better than roasted newts…and at least it isn't poisoned."
Sakura coughed slightly. Her right hand grabbing the water cup near her bed and taking a sip from it quickly.
She breathed out afterwards, gently letting the vegetable soup on the bed desk before grabbing her chalkboard and writing.
Sai, how can you eat something like that!? It's scathing my tongue!
"The warmth makes you feel fresher afterwards," the pale skinned boy remarked calmly. He couldn't, after all, claim it was just a foolish child's idea that eating a boiling hot soup could remove a seal designed to keep him in check placed on his tongue. Furthermore it wasn't as if he hadn't acquired a particular taste for that type of food. Maybe his seal would really fall off if he ate enough spicy…
"Sai, ever thought of turning your food into a weapon?" Naruto asked clenching his nose shut after giving a hesitant sniff to the soup. "I mean…what is in there?"
"Spices."
"Yeah, I got that from the stinging in my eyes…but what's in there precisely?"
"Peppers."
"And?"
"More peppers?"
"So it's a pepper soup?"
"Mustard is in there too," Sai quipped. "And Ginger, Cinnamon, Paprika and Coriander."
"Let me guess…the green bits, they're pepper too?"
"Chili pepper," Sai nodded. "And there's also Fennel and Garlic."
"And this is what you usually order at Hebi?" Naruto's face was morphed in disbelief. "How did you manage to convince the cook?"
"I handed over the recipe the day before," Sai remarked. "They placed it in the menu afterwards."
"Wait, the Death Soup? That's what you usually eat!?" Naruto's voice rose of just an octave, before he clamped a hand against his mouth. "Really?" he hissed out. "You know Sai…I didn't think you were suicidal."
"Dickless, you should taste it before complaining," Sai replied.
"No thanks, I like my tongue where it is," Naruto said as he shook his head gently.
There was silence in the room for a few moments, as finally the fact that they had passed the second part of the exam seeped in in its entirety.
"We passed," Naruto whispered silently, clutching his chopsticks. "We did it."
The tic-tac of the chalk on the board from Sakura announced that the girl was writing something too.
Yes, and I got Neji…I'll have to wait next time to get promoted with him as my enemy.
"That's not true, Sakura! You just need a good strategy. We have a month of time…we'll come up with something!"
"So does the enemy," Yugao remarked. "That is why it would be pointless to get your hopes up," the Jounin sighed. "The Hyuga branch family has access to many techniques of the Gentle Fist. Sure, you can be guaranteed not to be pelted by Kunai or Explosive tags, or risk being charred by Katon jutsu, but it doesn't mean you'll be able to win."
"Sensei!"
"Naruto, listen," she snapped back curtly. "Hyuga Neji is considered not only a prodigy within his own clan, but also the best among his peers. Sakura has no chance on an arena ground, on a one against one, to win. It is simply the way of things. Was this a battlefield, was this a no-laws arrangement, then she would had a chance and I would have trained her for it myself. As things are? She does not stand a chance."
"B-but!" Naruto stammered out, his right flailing quickly. "We reached the exams together! We aren't going to stop and—"
"She just has to put up a good fight," Yugao replied calmly. "Sure, winning against the Hyuga prodigy would guarantee her promotion to Chuunin, but also showing off her skills would do the same even if she were to lose."
She narrowed her eyes. "The one I'm actually worried about is Sai's match," she looked over to the raven haired boy. "Rock Lee was promoted without usage of Chakra…he has been personally trained following Maito Gai's regime, and the man is a monster. If there's a tough opponent, then it will be him." She shook her head slightly. "Nothing you can't beat with the correct tactic however; he is a pure Taijutsu user after all."
"No worrying over me?" Naruto asked, mocking a pout.
Yugao rolled her eyes. "I ask you do not kill your opponent, Naruto," she sighed. "I heard what happened from Sai already. I thought better of you: to leave your teammates' health in the hands of a foreign ninja, all because of revenge? I suppose now is as good of a time as ever to say it…"
She looked from Sakura to Sai, before settling on Naruto with cold eyes.
"Naruto…you disappointed me terribly during your exam."
Naruto's eyes widened briefly as the words sunk in. "You blinded yourself with rage, and forgot that had the ninja wanted to, she could have easily killed both Sai and Sakura before disappearing in the forest until the end of the exam. Allied village or not, what you did was…" she exhaled and calmly set her face to stone, "stupid. Irresponsible. Completely out of character. Had you been in Anbu I would have you expelled and stripped back down to Genin, but since you are a Genin I suppose you will have to suffer through my tongue lashing…what the hell were you thinking?! You are supposed to be the one to provide first-aid to your wounded teammates always! Even with allied village shinobi nearby, you must be the first aid provider!"
He took a step back as the ex-Anbu kept on speaking hotly against him.
"Not only that, but you left them alone —wounded and unconscious— in the hands of a perfect stranger! What if she had been a kunoichi from Iwa, who had simply stolen a forehead protector? What if she had been under a Henge to appear as someone else!? You had no means of knowing her real intentions, no means of discerning her true motifs, and yet you outright went and left your two teammates in her hands! Naruto Uzumaki, what the hell were you thinking!?"
He flinched and lowered his gaze, clenching his fists.
"I…I…" he choked on the words that wanted to come out from his throat too. He wasn't going to be of any use anyway! Better to leave them with Karin and go after the enemy team! Karin was family, she was an Uzumaki and there was no way she'd…
"And there is a reason I am telling you this," Yugao spoke finally as she turned her eyes to stare at all three of them. "After you were examined, I was told by the attending physician of the presence of a long-action poison in your bloodstream. It had seeped in through the open wounds, and there is a high chance that either the weaponry used was coated with it, or the one attending to you poisoned you hoping you would die within the end of the week."
Naruto's world crashed down. He could hear it break. He could hear the chinks and the cracks spread as he tried to merge the image of Karin as an Uzumaki, as family, with that of a cold-hearted monster that had poisoned his team.
"B-But why?" he croaked out, feeling pain as those two words took all of his willpower to pronounce.
"Who knows," Yugao hissed back as she watched Sakura furiously write on her chalkboard.
I knew the bitch wasn't to be trusted! I knew it! See!? I told you so! She actually wrote three exclamation marks, followed by tapping furiously with the chalk against the board before giving a look of smug satisfaction.
"In any event," the Anbu remarked, "I hope this serves as a lesson, Naruto," her voice lowered calmly. "Because of your so well placed trust, the poison had the chance to work for two full days. Sai will need rehab to lift more than his backpack beyond his shoulders, and Sakura's voice? It might just as well be gone."
Sakura's eyes widened as her hands clasped to her throat. No, she had spoken before, it wasn't 'gone'. The effect on Naruto, however, was far more profound. His eyes looked hollow as his own right hand had gone to his throat as the boy was grimacing. "I…I…I didn't know…I…"
"I hope you have understood the lesson, Naruto," Yugao replied frostily, before her tone suddenly changed back to the same worried-sensei she had used before that. "In any event you will receive training specifically against your first encounters, all three of you, as I found someone willing to help me out with it. Sai will need to play on Genjutsu to win against Rock Lee and I know just the Jounin for it. Sakura will receive some pointers from a friend of mine and as for you, Naruto…" here she sighed. "I have a shinobi who literally begged to be granted permission to train you. So you'll report to training ground Seven tomorrow, since he was apparently certain you would emerge unscathed."
Then she blinked and began to eat calmly, as if nothing else had happened.
"Well? Why are you not eating?" she asked once more, completely emotionless. "It will get cold."
It was then that it settled on them that there was something wrong with their sensei. She had delivered an important piece of information about an ally of Konoha, a Kusagakure kunoichi trying to poison two of the Genin assigned to her, and then she had gone back to…normal?
There hadn't been any incensed anger except for the verbally tearing down of Naruto's folly, and even then she had quickly acted as if it was in the far distant past a moment later.
I may never have my voice back, sensei?
The quietly written words on the chalkboard were read by Yugao and Naruto, who was on the same side as the Jounin.
"You'll probably be unable to scream again —the poison was viciously attacking your vocal chords by the time the tower medic gave you the routine anti-venoms. If you had been sent to the hospital a day later…you would have probably lost your voice entirely, if not your life." She then proceeded to shrug. "It's not uncommon for shinobi to return home from missions and then drop dead five minutes later. It's an intimidation act that works most of the time."
"But there's no proof it actually was Karin," Naruto muttered then. "It could have been the traps."
"Sure," Yugao nodded. "I am not berating you for not having attacked the Kusa kunoichi. I am berating you for having implicitly trusted her. The action could have been done by the Konoha team who set the traps, not knowing it would be another allied team who went in their pursuit…everything is possible, but I highly doubt someone would smear with poison their kunai or traps with such a long-action poison…it would be completely meaningless. If they knew they would still be checked by their Jounin-sensei afterwards."
"So…it either was Team Ten…or Karin?" Naruto asked then to be sure.
"Or someone you didn't see. Someone might have found a bush of berries and poisoned them before leaving, hoping another team would stumble upon them and end up poisoned. There is no certainty unless seen and proven, Naruto. That is why Konoha stresses on the teammates and the bonds. You must have someone to trust implicitly; otherwise you end up breaking before long in our line of business."
"It is not paranoia, if the entire world is out to get you," Sai stated sagely. "Dickless, don't think too much. Your brain can't handle more thoughts than kissing after all."
"Sai!" Naruto exclaimed back. "Stop it you…you pervert!"
"Pervert?"
"Yes!" a light suddenly shone through Naruto's eyes, as Sakura's too seemed to light in amusement. At the same moment as the Genin spoke, the Kunoichi wrote.
Sai's nickname is Pervert from now on!
"We'll call you Pervert then! It's decided!" Naruto clenched his right fist triumphantly. "We spent months not knowing what nickname to give back. Now it's done! I'm Dickless, she's Cherry and you're Pervert! With all your talk on dicks I'm surprised it took me more to realize it! There! You. Are. Pervert!"
Sai's eyes widened as Naruto finished talking.
He had a nickname. His shock must have been apparent, because both Sakura and Naruto looked back at him with perplexity. He quickly schooled his features a moment later. Danzo-sama would be mad if he dared to show any emotions on his face. Then again, wasn't he a failure of the Root program? And if he was a failure…wasn't he entitled to make mistakes?
"Pervert." He commented back to the blond. "Still better than Dickless…and Sakura is Kinky Cherry, no use hiding her own perversions."
There was a small smile on Sai's face there and then, something which wasn't missed by his teammates, who just grinned back.
Yugao felt her throat constrict slightly. She palmed a hand to her face and exhaled slowly.
Of all the rotten luck in the world…she had the one to be saddled with a team of perverts. If any of her sons or daughters —because she fully intended to give Hayate a full family— ever tried to nickname each other like that…she'd probably start evasion practice on them with blunt weapons.
As it was, two of them were recuperating in the hospital's beds and couldn't be subjected to the routine, and the third one had been tong-lashed by her enough for the day. She sighed and reclined her back against the chair, her gaze wondering to outside the window.
It was such a beautiful day…
In a room further down the same hallway, Hiashi Hyuga clenched both of his hands as he watched his daughter fight for her life in the intensive care unit. The doctors were working on her constantly —the best that money, fame, influence and power could buy— and yet there was little hope for more than stabilizing her. His gaze landed firmly on the two teammates that had refused to leave, one was an Aburame, while the other was the undercover Anbu whom he probably had to thank for saving his daughter's life.
He had been given a quick report from one of the Branch members assigned to the hospital —the Byakugan was a far cleaner way to check for fractures after all, and many members of the second half of the clan worked as medics or nurses— and the news had been grave indeed…but still better than what he had expected.
He walked briskly in front of the two, their eyes widening as they watched him stand in front of them, and widening even further when he made a firm bow towards them.
"In the name of the Hyuga clan…I thank you for saving my daughter's life."
He stood back up after a good minute had passed, letting the shock of the action sink in as the one who recovered first was the Aburame Genin.
"Hinata is a prized member of our team. It was our honor."
"There's no need, Hyuga-sama, we did what anyone else would have done," 'Kiba' hastily added.
"In any case," Hiashi said. "You did the Hyuga clan a great service." And an even greater one to him too...
Hinata was never meant to be a Kunoichi. Sure, tradition imposed that to become the heir of the clan, but now…now there would be no hard feelings. The arrow that had struck had literally torn through her sides, piercing her lung and damaging her spine.
She would no longer be able to walk.
She would no longer be able to fight.
She would leave the shinobi forces because of the life-threatening injury and remain home, where he'd find her a suitable match…and with that there wouldn't even be a need to place a Cage Bird seal on her forehead: where would a cripple go after all? And if they couldn't protect her from the safety of the main house, then clearly there was something wrong with their guards.
As Hiashi thought of this, a small burst of Morse code made its way through a small and portable antenna towards a relay tower hidden deep within the trunk of a tree. From there, the message bounced off two more hidden relays, before finally hitting a main deciphering station deep in the bowels of Land of Lighting first line of defense: the Hachibi Mountain.
The message was deciphered and then recoded, before being sent once more to another station which applied the same procedure. Eventually, the small strip of paper that was the message reached the desk of the Raikage.
Five simple words were written on it, five words that had been part of a plan years old, since the first time peace had been declared between Kumo and Konoha.
A bird is caged free.
A crumpled the paper, which burst to flames through the output of electricity. Calmly, the man stood up and crossed his arms behind his back as he straightened up, before turning to watch the surface of his desk piled with paperwork.
"Mabui?" he said then, after having pressed the button on his desk that was meant to communicate with his assistant. "Send a message to the Hokage. Kumogakure will gladly send a representative and a bodyguard to watch the tournament this year. They will arrive within the end of the week…so strongly word to the Hokage that he is to expect them."
"Raikage-sama? Of course, it will be done."
Sighing, A crossed both arms in front of his chest this time.
He wouldn't be going. There were no shinobi or kunoichi of Kumo who had participated in the exams, and he had no intention of suffering through 'diplomatic' talks with the Hokage. A shinobi shouldn't bow and drink half-poisoned tea with another. They should fight and die against one another, never yielding, never stopping.
He glimpsed at the papers on his desk.
To think he could incinerate a mountain if he wished…and yet he was forced down by the paperwork.
Maybe he'd take one page out of Killer B's book and go on a vacation somewhere else. The mountains to the North had a particularly nice weather this time of the year around…
"Raikage-sama? Who should I notify for the honor of going to Konoha?"
A show of force would do good, really good, but he wasn't going to move his brother from his position. The Jinchuuriki were weapons both of mass destruction and also of mass defense. The Hachibi's power could easily topple mountains…and also shield the village with barriers of lightning with ease.
"Yugito Nii will do as the ambassador. She's cool headed enough not to claw the face off the Sandaime. As a bodyguard…I will need constant updates on the situation. Mabui?"
"Raikage-sama," Mabui replied smoothly. "The last time I left, you disappeared for three months."
"It was just the spur of the moment…an act of rebellion in my youth," he replied with a slight sweat-drop on his forehead. "It won't happen again."
"I understand, Raikage-sama. I will warn Nii-sama and prepare myself."
A sighed in relief. Now, he just had to plan his own way to the Northern Mountains…
Orochimaru meanwhile smiled as he whistled a jingle, his golden eyes settling on the troops readying themselves to march. He grimaced at the sight of a small girl of barely ten, standing in line like the others and readying herself as if she were a kunoichi. Who let children in to begin with?
"You," he pointed towards her and she suddenly froze and stood to attention. "Your name."
"O-Orochimaru-sama! I d-don't have one!"
So it was one of the 'desperation orphans' born out of wedlock or a whore and left in the middle of nowhere to fend off for themselves. Nine times out of ten they died before their first year. Those who survived were usually jaded…but she didn't have the stern look or the antagonizing gaze that usually characterized those who survived the world.
No, she had to have become an orphan recently. She probably believed fighting against the enemy would bring her parents back, or at least die in revenge. She was a menace for the cohesion of any unit…and frankly, his army didn't need mascots.
"Then you're Hebi from now on. Follow me, I need an assistant." He turned and walked to leave, turning just enough to watch her quickly scamper to obey him even with her short legs. He smiled to himself.
It felt like having another Anko. He could get used to it if she also did a smiling face every time he presented her with something.
Kakashi Hatake stood silently watching the cenotaph of the shinobi killed in mission. Their names, their age, their date of death had been neatly scrawled on all of them. All those who had died defending their village, all those who had become 'heroes' were written there.
There was a single gash where a name was supposed to be. That was where originally his father's name had been, before he had chosen to save his team and come back rather than pursue a suicidal mission.
It had jumpstarted a war, his decision…hundreds had died just so he could save his team. A team that had then proceeded to get killed in a following mission, after his father had committed suicide.
He had grown up trying to remove that stain from his family's name since birth. He had trained; he had fought in a war his father had caused and lost friends, cherished bonds and his other father-figure all the while trying to survive through it all. And then…then he had even been taken away the chance to train his sensei's son.
There was a limit. So what if he had all but begged Yugao?
So what if he had let his mask down and had literally dyed his own hair black?
So what…if he had worn a greasy looking black eye-patch and swung his forehead protector over his shoulder?
He looked completely different, he felt completely different. He gently turned as he heard the soft footsteps of his charge make way towards him, and he couldn't help but smile. It was like looking at a smaller version of Minato-sensei…with whiskers and…hadn't he dyed his hair black? Why was it blond once more? Had he dyed it back in less than a day?
"Navy blue?" he asked calmly, eying the dark blue colored jumpsuit the boy was wearing.
It reminded him so much of his sensei it wasn't even funny. Lost as he was reminiscing, he didn't realize that Naruto was eying him carefully like a predator would a prey.
"Ah, I like the color," he stammered out back.
If he makes a mistake…I'll have an opening to ask about my father.
"And if he doesn't, you dyed your hair back to normal to appear once more inconspicuous with the population," the Kyuubi remarked calmly. "You know, Naruto?" Kurama said with a slightly hesitant tone. "Maybe…maybe I was mistaken about you earlier," he said then dutifully. "If you ever need my help…do not hesitate to ask."
Naruto's eyes widened for a brief second, just as Kakashi Hatake 'presented' himself.
"I am Hakashi Katake," he began gruffly. "Because of reasons I can't explain, I have a debt to repay with someone I can't tell you of," as a lie, it was pretty smooth, wasn't it? "Thus I will train you in preparation of the exams…understood?"
"Yes, sensei," Naruto remarked with a small smile and a quick bowing gesture. "I am Naruto Uzumaki. I am in your care."
Polite was always underestimated, after all.
Yagura flinched. The Sanbi refused to cooperate any longer. It screamed and trashed deeply within his seal, cracking and splintering apart all that held him back as corals seemed to grow out of his very own body as an answer to that.
That by itself was something unprecedented.
Isobu was never angry. He was actually always asleep or shyly muttering in a corner…but never, ever, had he been angry.
As it was, the seal wasn't strong enough to hold him back.
With a deafening sound that echoed and sounded much like a simple snapping of a twig, the seal that held the Sanbi back broke.
Yagura's Mizukage tower exploded outwardly, as the three tailed beast emerged from his host and screamed to the sky.
His wail reached beyond the clouds, propagating in the air as the tides grew and the waves crashed, before the turtle-Bijuu rolled into itself and with unparalleled speed crashed throughout the buildings that separated it from the sea.
With a sickening thud it fell in the water, generating a massive tsunami that swept through the entirety of Kirigakure.
That was how the reign of Yagura came to an end…
And in the end, it was just as planned…as Tobi watched from a nearby tower the scenes of chaos and the shinobi population trying to maintain order.
"Tobi's such a good boy, isn't he?"
"Remind me again. Why?" Zetsu spoke firmly with his twin voice as he slowly appeared from behind the masked man.
"Silly Zetsu," Tobi flapped his arms wide in the sky, as if encircling the moon. "Everything's more beautiful when it's broken! Broken! Snapped! Pierced! All is wonderful in blood and death! Screams are so nice to hear at night! A lullaby of perfection!" he giggled then. "But Tobi's a bad boy," he whispered seriously. "He forgot!"
Zetsu exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "What?"
"I can't remember…" Tobi huffed and pouted visibly like a child. "But when I do, I will no longer be forgetting about it!"
And to that sound piece of logic…Zetsu just disappeared back into the rooftop.
The lone sharingan eye that shined through the mask of Tobi reflected onto the village's destruction, as he memorized every single detail, every single pained face, every screaming woman or drowning child's body that he could find…
And then he laughed. He laughed as he disappeared into thin air with the power of his eye.
Perfection would be the road to take…
…because he'd burn down every other way to peace.
Author's notes
I wanted to insert some fluff and leit motif, before heading forward. Yeah, the fluff is there, intertwined with desperation and words of angst…just take your cut of the pie and leave the rest to the others.
Someone asked Tobi.
Meet Tobi. Meet (briefly) Yagura.
Meet Orochimaru (again).
The Chuunin Exam final is going to be boring…right?