This chapter has not been beta-ed
The pain of a new day
Chapter 26
"Run!"
"I am running, as fast as I can." The breathless reply came from slightly behind Enoki as he dashed through the village. "You need to slow down so we can keep up."
"What? The son of the Hokage needing me to slow down?" Enoki mocked, even turning around to run backwards. Naruto huffed at him while Sasuke glared. "We're not all geniuses that have been training with other geniuses for years you know." Sasuke reminded.
"Genius or not, we still need to run because none of us are safe from my father's wrath when he finds us." Enoki reminded with a grin that could only be seen in the curve of his eyes. His di-coloured hair hung over his headband, which was tied over his forehead. Naruto had taken to having half his hair under his headband and half over the metal plate, just like his father's. Sasuke had his headband strapped to his pant belt loops.
"WHEN? Aren't you supposed to be more optimistic than that?" Naruto yelled. Enoki shrugged. "You tell that to my genius father who's right behind us." Naruto turned fear filled eyes towards the way they just came before picking up the pace. This was the weirdest training they'd ever done. They'd thought it would be a good idea considering how much Enoki had improved, but was this really worth it?
"If they catch us, I'm blaming you." Sasuke drawled as he overtook Naruto.
"ME?!" Naruto screeched. "It takes two of us to have an idea. You do all the thinking and I do all the executing. Everyone knows that." He waved his hands in emphasis as Enoki giggled. "Yeah right, you do some of the thinking yourself Naruto, and I'm sure those are the plans where things usually go wrong."
Sasuke was forced to duck suddenly as the tree branch from the neighbouring tree extended towards him. "Now he have fricken TENZOU?" Naruto yelled in distressed. "Tenzou? We don't stand a chance. We should just give in. Honestly it'll be less painful."
"What happened to wanting to get better Naruto? Your chunin exam is coming up. Did you want to fail like last time?" Sasuke drawled, jumping over a moving tree branch. The young Uchiha jonin had agreed to help Naruto when he could, surprised Naruto was even still a genin at all. His skill was above it but his focus usually meant he messed up in one way or another.
"It's your third chunin exam, eh Naruto, maybe fourth." Enoki teased. Naruto grumbled something under his breath that made Sasuke's cheeks turn pink. "Gaara's already in Kazekage training. And he's fourteen. Can you believe that? Although that lucky bastard inherits the hat. Good thing he's got a great trainer." Naruto and Sasuke knew that Enoki has a special bond with the sand siblings. Temari practically gushed and fused over the teen every time she came. Which was often. The Sand and the Leaf had formed strong ties over the recent years, sending genin to each village to study for months to years at a time. The Sand Siblings were often sitting with Kakashi going through some form of training or another.
Enoki grinned suddenly before appearing next to Naruto and forcing the blond to a halt. A tree branch whizzed passed them and Naruto squawked with wide eyes. "Come on Naruto you had to have at least sensed the chakra in that."
Naruto was about to protest but was interrupted, "Close your eyes." Enoki instructed suddenly, growing serious.
"What? Shouldn't we be running?" Naruto asked, well wheezed. They'd been running for a while. Enoki shook his head. "It doesn't help just running. You know how to do that. You've been a genin for two years now. While Gaara is the same age, he's miles ahead of us. We need to catch up. So let's learn something new. Now close your eyes."
Naruto sighed, shoulders sagging slightly before doing as asked. "Alright now relax. Focus your mind inwards. You already know how to talk to Kyuubi. I've shown you before." Enoki breathed, near Naruto's ear. He knew that Minato would murder him if he found out that Enoki had been prompting Naruto towards the Nine Tails, but Minato didn't understand the fox as Enoki did. He was trying to help Naruto as well.
"He won't listen, you know he won't." Naruto muttered back but started focusing his thoughts so he could dive into his mindscape. "Hang on, you're not going to talk to him. You're just going to use the same level of focus." Enoki stated with a grin. He looked at Sasuke who huffed and signed for the Uchiha to move to another tree branch. "Tell me where Sasuke is, without using your eyes. It'll be easier if you think about all the things that make up who Sasuke is as a person."
"Eh? How do you do that?" Naruto grumbled. Enoki smacked his head with a groan. "Just think for once, Naruto. I know you can." Naruto sighed but didn't reply, focusing his attention inwards. Enoki looked towards his father, who'd halted his pursuit. Kakashi was highly in favour of training Sasuke and Naruto. He would be curious to see what Enoki was trying at the very least.
Sasuke watched from a branch just behind the blond, waiting. Every one sort of had high expectations of Naruto, even if they didn't say as much nor did they show any disappointment when the blond didn't meet those expectations. Sasuke found it rather puzzling, but there were times where he thought just maybe, Naruto's idiocy could be said to be genius in disguise. Still Jiraiya-sensei did say it was only madness if it didn't work. If it did then it was considered genius.
"ARHAA!" Naruto yelled in frustration, hands fussing with his hair. "I don't get it." Enoki hmmed for a moment before shifting so that he was behind Naruto. He placed a hand on Naruto's chest, and focused his chakra. "Now, keep your eyes closed, and focus on me." Enoki instructed while Naruto began to look a little worried.
Enoki pulsated his chakra, higher and lower, while focusing the most of it in his hand. His hand would heat up as the chaka grew higher and Naruto would feel that physically. However, would the boy be able to take the physical feeling to his sensing capabilities?
In response Naruto suddenly threw a shuriken at Sasuke with a large grin. "Why didn't you just do that the first time." Naruto yelled before dashing forwards again, further away from Kakashi. Enoki shook his head and followed the blond. Sasuke grunted, pausing a moment to marvel at Naruto. Perhaps there really was something to the boy.
.0.0.0.
Itachi regarded the mission carefully. It wouldn't be an easy one, even for him. The Hokage sure had learned whom to thrust all impossible missions to. Good thing working at the Academy meant he didn't get too many of them.
"So I presume Enoki is going with me?" Itachi asked. Working as an Academy instructor had made a lot of Uchiha members upset. Something about it being a waste of good talent. However, the decision had been a carefully made one, one that the Hokage and his father had wholly agreed with.
The future Sasuke's threat had not been taken lightly. Itachi was needed close to home to keep an eye on things as well as to train those who would feel Sasuke's anger the most. Namely, his previous classmates and sensei. So an academy instructor he'd become. Still, there were one or two missions that the Hokage assigned him every now and then.
"Actually, Itachi, this one isn't for you at all. This one is for Enoki alone. I want to see his progress. You're going to follow him from a distance and observe without him knowing. We need to know where his weaknesses are so that we know where to push him further. After all, I doubt Sasuke has sat idly by. For all we know he could be watching our every move, always staying one step ahead of us." Minato swung his chair around and faced the village, "You must only interfere if it becomes absolutely necessary."
Itachi hated that phrase. Absolutely necessary was relevant to perception. He might deem unconsciousness as absolutely necessary but the Hokage might decide to see what imprisonment did for Enoki's resolve. What exactly was absolutely necessary? The danger of village secrets, or the danger of Enoki's life.
Still that was an extreme. Minato would not want Enoki kidnapped and tortured. After all, Kakashi would not stand for it, and the man was deeply rooted in the 'Will of fire' way of things.
"I'll go get him. Last I heard, they were still running from Kakashi. I hope they end that before they go home. The Uchiha won't like the ruckus in the compound." Itachi murmured with a slight frown. Kakashi and Enoki had accepted Fugaku's offer and had moved into one of the smaller compound homes. The elders had been less inclined to protest the decision when Kakashi proved to be able to teach the younger Uchiha a thing or two about the Sharingan. Well that and everyone was curious as to whether or not Enoki would awaken the Sharingan or not.
So far, the boy hadn't been put into a position where he needed to.
"Well good luck. They should be tiring out soon. I give it another half hour before Naruto's in my office hiding." Minato chuckled. As if that would save the boy. Kakashi was relentless. Naruto had messed with the jonin's Icha Icha collection. Not really a smart thing to do.
Itachi bowed and headed towards the door. He too wondered about Enoki and whether or not he could awaken the Sharingan. Time would tell he supposed.
.0.0.0.
Enoki frowned when he sensed Itachi approaching. The twenty-one year old ninja wasn't usually out of the Academy at this hour and that was the only reason Enoki stopped leaping through the trees and dropped to the ground. Naruto whizzed past before skidded onto a large branch three meters ahead. He turned to Enoki in confusion while Sasuke lazily hoped over to join him, having had faster reflexes.
"Itachi." Enoki greeted while Naruto paled when the small Uchiha appeared in front of Enoki.
Enoki was almost fifteen years old, yet he was slightly larger than the genius Uchiha. Itachi just shrugged it off and said he'd always be faster than Enoki. The Uchiha threw the mission scroll to Enoki who caught it and scowled. He knew that colour. The blood red of an annoyingly difficult mission. "When are we leaving?" He asked, removing the seal and unrolling the scroll.
"We? Unfortunately no, this is just you. I'm not going on this one." Itachi replied quietly. "Given your recent activities, I suggest stocking up on some food pills before you go."
"Solo?" Enoki choked. Oh hell . . .
Itachi raised an eyebrow and Enoki suddenly felt younger than he was. "Well I mean, finally, it's about damn time that old man recognises my talents." He chuckled nervously, looking back at the scroll to read a bit more of the mission parameters. "I totally got this. I mean what's a week in Cloud -"
He stopped with a strangled choking sound. "CLOUD?" He screeched, sounding far too much like Naruto. "They HATE us in cloud. How am I supposed to get in there unnoticed? They have posters of me EVERYWHERE! I mean come on Itachi. This is too much."
"Are you saying your skills are insufficient?" Itachi asked innocently. "I mean I thought that with Konoha being the foremost hidden village in infiltration and disguise this would have been the least of your worries for the mission but if getting in alone is too much for you perhaps I should ask the Hokage for something smaller. Given your apprehension on infiltration, that rules out S rank, and possibly most A rank missions. Hmmm." Itachi paused here to look contemplative while Enoki gave him a sour look.
"Asshole. I'll go pack my stuff." Enoki growled. He waved to Naruto and Sasuke before heading towards his house. Itachi beckoned to Sasuke who grinned and jumped down from his tree branch. He dashed towards Itachi and stopped just out of arm's reach. He knew better than to allow himself to get his forehead flicked.
"How's your shuriken target practise going?" Itachi asked, knowing full well that Sasuke had mastered it two weeks ago. Only the boy hadn't told him yet? He was a jonin already and Itachi couldn't have been prouder, or sadder.
"Okay I guess. I've been helping Naruto. He's going to try for the chunin exams." Sasuke shrugged. Naruto joined them and grinned at Itachi. "Hay, Itachi-sensei, for this coming chunin exam can't you just look the other way for me?"
Itachi frowned. "And what, dear Naruto, would that say to the important Lords of the land? The Hokage allows rules to be broken if it's for his son?" Naruto pouted but Itachi continued, directing the conversation towards Sasuke. "I wanted to know if you'd considered Father's proposal to join the Police Force."
Sasuke sighed. Taking the Police Force position meant he was closer to Itachi as then they'd both have a position that was mostly village bound. However that took him further away from his Academy friends and Naruto as they wouldn't be on missions together anymore. It was a tough decision. One he wasn't sure how to answer just yet.
"I'm still thinking it through." Sasuke muttered. He hadn't told Naruto about it yet either and the blond was gawking at him in shock. Itachi narrowed his gaze at Naruto's expression before sighing quietly. "I'll leave you two alone. Kakashi-sensei appears to have retreated for now." And suddenly it really was just the two of them.
"The Police Force? That's awesome." Naruto stated breathlessly, his tone one of awe. He hadn't realised yet what accepting the position meant. Normally, since Sasuke had been a chunin and now a jonin before Naruto, they wouldn't have gone on nearly as many missions together. It was only through the good grace of the Hokage and their exceptional teamwork that they had managed to stay together this long without complaint.
The police force wasn't Uchiha only anymore, and generally, it was an honour comparable to joining ANBU, however different from ANBU in such that one operated externally, and one operated internally. Sasuke knew that it wasn't a demotion, far from it. In fact his next move as a jonin was either to take on a genin team and he felt he was too young for that, or to place himself into some sort of squad. Hunter-nin, ANBU, Police Force . . .
Yet, any of those would take him away from Naruto who was so far behind in terms of rank it was laughable. The blond didn't lack the skill, just the legal paperwork. Minato couldn't simply promote him for fear of being accused of favouritism. Besides, Naruto's lack of focus was something he had to work on. Simply giving him a way out really wasn't going to help him in the long run. Ultimately, Naruto was able to join the Police Force as well. His skill meant he could easily pass for a Captain rank.
Sasuke as well.
Yet, they were fourteen. And some people still feared Naruto.
Sasuke had mulled over the possibility of asking Naruto to join with him, but he knew that Naruto ultimately wanted to become Hokage, and Sasuke personally felt that Naruto should have more external village affairs experience before even attempting to take the hat. Wasn't really his say, but he knew Naruto would join the Police Force if he asked, and something about Naruto in the Police Force just seemed too restricting. For Naruto anyway.
It was a conundrum. He had those every now and then. A situtaition where his head just ran away with the matter and his heart didn't make much sense either. Itachi would smile and say nothing. Except just one time, where he'd admitted to Sasuke that being a genius meant the logic of the matter was a curse to the heart. Sasuke could sort of understand how Itachi must feel all the time. Logic told him one outcome but his heart told him to do another. A constant tug of war. Which one won most of the time?
"Yeah I guess." Sasuke smiled slightly, looking at Naruto who grinned at him. "No wonder you've been so broody lately." Naruto laughed. "I thought it was Sakura giving you hell again. I can't believe you guys are engaged. I still find it weird they have arranged marriages in clan."
"Oh come on, you say that like you forget the Hyuuga are trying to arrange a marriage between you and Hinata." Sasuke huffed. It wasn't that he was upset with the turn of events. It was more like he was confused by it. Sakura was his teammate and she was quickly becoming a respected medical ninja under Tsunade's tutelage. She was a Special Jonin working at the training clinic Tsunade had started when Minato had finally convinced her to stay in Konoha. If she continued growing as quickly as she was, she'd make jonin before sixteen. Impressive. Yet, she wasn't a marriage of benefit to the clan, and that was the confusing part.
He couldn't say he didn't have feelings for Sakura. She had this thing about her that drew him in. He'd fought against it at first. Eventually, after being on a genin team together and being sent out as Team 7 for most missions, he grew protective of her. Recently he'd come to realise that protectiveness was perhaps a little deeper and definitely a little more.
"Hinata is awesome. Her dad is creepy though." Naruto shuddered. "I mean why me? Who cares? If it becomes official, which I don't think it will, given my mom's disagreement with arranged marriages, I don't think I'd mind. Saves me the trouble of awkward dating." Naruto grinned. "I feel like Kakashi-sensei has something to do with it though. That guy seems to be awfully involved in match making. Makes me wonder if he's playing Icha Icha in his head or something."
Insights like these made Sasuke wonder if Naruto really was a genius.
Still, he was right. Kakashi-sensei was awfully pushy about making the arrangement official, because Sakura wasn't part of a clan. He had to work really hard to sell the idea to the Uchiha elders. He'd even drawn up a DNA chart of how adding Sakura to the clan would be a benefit. Luckily Sakura didn't know about that. She would have been mortified. She would have turned it down too.
The elders bought it in the end, provided Sakura continued to progress in rank and reputation.
Sasuke didn't think she'd have difficulty doing that, and if Sasuke played his cards right, he could end up taking charge of the Police Force. Well Itachi had mentioned a non-Uchiha might be better since they were trying to stray away from the traditional and had been working really hard to keep things civil the past few years. If Sasuke really wanted to, he could take over Master Jiraiya's position. The man was an expert in information gathering, and he was in charge of the highly acclaimed ROOT division. The ROOT division was strange but powerful. They were awkward in any social situation and Jiraiya seemed hell bent on forcing them into as many as possible. Yet their mission success rate was unmatched.
Kakashi dropped down from the shadows, making both of them jump. "It's time to head home boys, the sun is setting." Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and squeezed. "besides I think Sasuke's got some thinking he needs to do."
Kakashi ruffed the Uchiha's hair who tried to duck out of the way but wasn't quick enough. "Sensei!" both boys whined, with both also grinning widely. Naruto gave Kakashi a scroll. "Here's your Icha Icha Sensei."
Kakashi took it with a hard glare at the blond. "I should be mad at you, but, considering the skill it took to get this scroll in the first place I'm hard pressed to even want to hit you upside the head."
Kakashi had had a deep hand in the training of the two standing in front of him. He'd say they were about as powerful as they'd been at the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War, and perhaps a little better-rounded. Still, that meant he'd saved himself two years. Not all that much time to get the two stronger still. After all, they were hardly the powerhouses of their nineteen year old future versions.
At his statement, Naruto blinked in surprise before grinning. The future jonin felt his heart squeeze. This Naruto and Sasuke, they weren't HIS Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto wasn't as loud, or as impatient. He didn't rush into things with a bang and come out needing some repairs to his clothes. He was well prepared, organised, and hardly as fool hardy as his counterpart.
Sasuke was content, smiling and laughing with everyone around him. He was reserved but only in a 'I'm standing back to watch, rather than participate' kind of way. He was perfectly at ease and thoroughly well trained.
Kakashi was looking at the way Naruto and Sasuke were supposed to be had it not been for Obitio's attack, yet it didn't make him any happier. Somehow, even in this era of relative peace, there was still a painful nostalgia in the dawn of every new day.
.0.0.0.
Enoki shuffled through the streets of Cloud, making sure to be cautious about his outward appearance. If there's one thing his father had taught him, it was that sometimes, using a jutsu wasn't always the best way to hide one's appearance.
His hair was hidden with the use of a hoodie. His eyes were behind some sunglasses. His headband was left at home, just in case. His stance was forcefully clumsy and poor. His hands were gloved to hide the scars and callouses. His weapons were limited to what he could successfully hide.
Right now, he was nothing more than a normal citizen that was browsing the market place.
There was no way the Shinobi populace could be expected to remember every citizen in their care. Enoki was just one of those citizens. A disgruntled teen, sent to do his mom's shopping. He shuffled along, trying to look as unapproachable and background as possible. His hands were stuffed inside his pockets, fingers scrunching a shopping list that helped with the ruse. For the time being he was being careful to listen to the jargon spoken by those around him. Each region sounded slightly different. If he was really going to pull of the citizen act, then he needed to seem as though he'd been born here.
His chakra was suppressed as low as he could get it. Dangerous really. Considering he still had to consciously suppress his chakra for the most part. If he was startled, and there were any sensors nearby . . .
So far so good. He even allowed himself a small grin. He'd gotten in the hard way. Not every village had the sealing entrance the Leaf did, so good old patrol blind spots worked well.
His mission was to learn the progress of a supposed super assassin group that the Kage of Cloud was training. Did it exist, was it a possible threat, how many members . . . standard infiltration stuff.
So far he'd managed to scout out exactly where such a team could possibly be trained. He's also managed to ascertain its existence. The regular shinobi forces weren't exactly quiet about it. He'd heard a drunk Shinobi complain to a comrade about not meeting the admission requirements for the programme. He'd heard a small child nagging at what was possibly his older genin brother about whether or not he was going to take the test for the programme. He'd heard a mother brag to an acquaintance that her daughter was doing reasonably well in the training. All little things people couldn't help but speak about.
Unless the whole training programme had been done in secret, things were bound to slip. Considering that the programme wasn't secret, how many people were in it? Only a smallish programme could hide its existence completely. Unless it was ROOT and even then members were chosen for their orphan status and not so much their skill. Skill could be learned after all.
Yet the programme seemed to be widely known so therefore it was considerable in size, or it was considerable in skill. Which was it?
Skill was unlikely given that this mission was to learn more about the rumours that Minato had finally decided to stop ignoring. So size was possibly it.
He gave it another two days before he could be certain of which building to look into. Two days and he'd been sure. Perhaps less.
"Mah, gimme some of those." He stated loudly to a stall owner, pointing to a barrel of potatoes. After all it was a simple errand, and buying without purpose would cause suspicion, if someone was watching him. He had a meal in mind that he was buying ingredients for. Also part of the ruse. He wasn't too bad a cook. He was buying more than he alone needed but it was necessary.
The man grunted at him and shoved five potatoes at him, two of them close to turning bad. "Eh! Do I look like someone you can cheat old man. If I come home with these my Ma will be the death of me!" He didn't sound too angry, more fearful. He was careful not to be too loud either, just slightly alarmed. Attention was the last thing he needed.
"Just gimme my due and be on with ja. If you don't like my wares then go elsewhere." He looked like he'd had one too many fights with irate customers and he couldn't care less either way. Enoki inwardly shrugged. Not like he needed five potatoes anyway.
He shoved the coins at the old man and carried on with his list.
By the time he was done, the sun was setting and he made his way quickly to where he'd spied a rundown area of the town. Rundown possibly meant homeless. Homeless usually had less loyalty to a Kage who couldn't care to fix their problem.
He wasn't going to be able to convince them to fight on his behalf, but he was going to able to loosen their mouths if he could. Homeless knew things. They were more observant than house-dwellers.
He walked cautiously, finding exactly as he'd hoped. A small group of men and some women huddled around a fire, quiet yet content in each other's company. When they saw his approach however, they grew guarded, some scowling at him.
"I think you took a wrong turn boy." One man eventually said. Enoki had removed his glasses and taken off his hood. Homeless wouldn't care who he was, if they could even recognise him.
He raised his hands with the shopping bags in the air to show he meant no harm and smiled. His mask was down as well, meaning they could see the smile in all its toothy glory. "I know where I am. I just happen to have food enough to share and no one to share it with."
"Ah, well food is always welcome." The man smiled but it was still guarded. He moved to the side to show that Enoki was welcome to join the small group.
Enoki didn't waste time. He set the shopping bags on the ground and asked if anyone had a largish soup pot. He then proceeded to use a borrowed knife to chop the vegetables from the day's shopping scout and added them to a pot of spiced water. Last, he added some fresh meat that the homeless around him were rather excited about. He listened as they spoke, tales of days before, nothing really worth putting in a report scroll, but interesting for the night.
Once he was done chopping and adding he took the pot and placed it directly over the fire. He'd been delighted to learn it was a cast iron pot. Thick, heavy and capable of making delicious meals. He was even more delighted to learn it had a lid. Even better.
"So boy, where you from?" One of the men asked him. The man was closer to Sarutobi's age, being more of a grandfatherly figure to the group of homeless. "Around." Enoki grinned. "My family are away on a business trip. I offered to stay behind but I cannot eat all this food by myself. It would spoil and go to waste. My father always said to be grateful for what you have and if you have more than you need, give to those who do need it."
The statement was met with a sombre silence. Being neglected by the society around them was a hard life. "Anyway, I stayed behind cause my little brother wanted to be a Shinobi and I'm going bout finding out how to get him trained. My family is as non-shinobi as they come so we're not too sure of the hows and whats." He scratched the back of his head, looking thoughtful. "He has his little heart set on it, so the least we can do is try, right."
"A Shinobi life?" one of the woman spat at the ground in disgust. "Nothing there but heartache and sorrow. I'd know. I fought hard for this village in the last war. Got myself a serious injury that took away my chakra. An honourable discharge from rotation they called it. But look where I am now. I should have been hailed as a hero to my village. Won't even get my name recognised as being killed in the line of duty like them Leaf folk. I hear they got some fancy stone."
Enoki stirred the soup that was quickly becoming a stew, hmming and looking horrified and disgusted in all the right places. The others muttered their discontent, their faces showing their own shame and disgust at the situation.
"Ai, Ma wasn't too excited. Tried to talk him out of it for months. Low and behold the brat still wants to do it. Pa eventually caved, said we'd try. They don't take just anybody ya know." Enoki nodded along solemnly as he lied through his teeth. He had no idea how Cloud trained their ninja.
"Well maybe he won't make it passed chunin. Then he'd be mostly village bound. Only some chunin go on the dangerous missions. Just don't let him take the test for that new training programme." One man smiled sympathetically at him, sounding hopeful.
"That training programme be harsh. I heard one young'un died just the other day. Exhausted himself to the bone just to prove he could. A cold delivery of the body to 'is mum. Nothing more. He ain't the only one. He be the seventh this month, right Goro?"
"Maybe eighth?" Goro nodded distantly. "He was one of the younger too. At this rate, they'll have to shut it down. It's been up for what, almost a decade now?" Goro looked to the others who nodded.
"Yeah. Yet I don't think they have more than 30 who've passed the training."
Enoki narrowed his eyes. 30? In ten years. No way. Surely they couldn't be that hard on the recruits. "But if so many have died, why continue it?" Enoki squeaked out, as though the very idea of belonging to such a programme was unthinkable.
"No, child. The programme used to be really exclusive. That's why there's a test. Only selected Shinobi were even asked to take the test. I suppose they're getting desperate for results." Goro sighed.
Technically with the information he had now, he didn't even need to investigate further. However, he had to be 100% sure before he went back to Konoha. A conversation with a few homeless wasn't going to be enough. Besides, if it were that easy, he wouldn't have been the one sent on the mission.
Two days just became one.
.0.0.0.
Kakashi walked towards the detainment block in ANBU headquarters. He'd been here so many times before, yet the result was always the same. He couldn't understand it. It had been ten years. Why was the man still resisting.
Tenzou sighed when he saw him. "My answer is still no." The wood release user was currently checking the cells to see if there were any defects or hidden compartments.
"Come on Tenzou, you know he doesn't belong here." Kakashi argued back with a frown. "Iruka is too good for ANBU." Tenzou put his clipboard down and moved to the bed. He patted the spot next to himself to invite Kakashi to do the same.
The future jonin hesitated for a moment before perching on the edge of the bed. "Did you ever consider that maybe, just maybe, you're not seeing Iruka anymore." Tenzou stated carefully. Kakashi blinked but otherwise didn't say anything so Tenzou continued. "Personally, I think you're not seeing Iruka. I think you're seeing the man you knew before, the Iruka that died, and perhaps you're not giving this Iruka the recognition he deserves."
Kakashi frowned while he considered the words. He was a creature of habit, and perhaps he was interfering too much. He pushed hard in some cases and this had been one of them. He'd managed to stall Iruka's acceptance into ANBU for a year now. However, there were only so many reasons they could give the man before he caught on.
"I never said he wasn't strong, or capable, Tenzou." Kakashi began, thinking back to his past, the past where Iruka had chosen to be an Academy Instructor and why. "However, do you really think he'd survive the guilt of ANBU?"
One thing that remained true of this Iruka was the kindness that radiated off the man in waves. He was far too soft hearted, no matter his strength. Or was Tenzou right? Was he seeing the old Iruka far too much? The idea of what Iruka had become . . . that cold heartless machine. Was that stopping him?
Kakashi knew how ANBU had affected him. So much so that Guy, Asuma and Kurenai had felt compelled to speak to the Sandaime on his behalf and get him removed from ANBU rotation. Would Iruka go that way?
"Trust him, Senpai. What else can you do that won't anger him?" Tenzou answered with a small smile. "Besides, he'd be allowed to leave if he changed his mind."
Kakashi nodded and stood. Perhaps it was time to listen to Tenzou and stop forcing the man to listen to him. "I guess I'll stop hiding his acceptance letters then." He scratched the back of his head. "You won't tell him I was, will you?"
Tenzou just huffed at him.
Kakashi nodded once more and made his way out of the detainment area, leaving Tenzou to his work. He stopped by the Head Captain's office and knocked. The quiet command to enter was barely heard, but he poked his head in all the same, with a small wave and a large eye smile.
"Hatake, what do you want?"
"I'll stop interfering in Umino's application." He stated seriously, dropping the smile. I'll give him a copy of his acceptance letter and leave it to him." Kakashi looked down. He hoped this was the right decision. But Tenzou was right, it wasn't his decision to make and he should've stopped interfering ages ago. Hanging onto the past wasn't going to make the future any better.
"What changed your mind?" The captain gave him a considering look, having gone along with Kakashi's insistence in getting in Umino's way. If the man was determined enough, Kakashi wouldn't have been able to stop him.
Kakashi just waved and left the room. Some things didn't need answers.
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Enoki clung to the side of the wall, being careful not to use chakra. Senors were a pain and sometimes even the smallest amount of chakra would tip them off. Pulling himself upwards, moving closer to the open window one small moment at a time. Being spotted wouldn't help either.
As he reached up for the next dipped section in the wall, a rope wrapped around his wrist.
He hissed and tried to pull away, taking his chances with landing on the floor, but the rope was too tightly wound. Pulling away now would only result in a broken wrist. He could continue with that injury, but he'd rather not have to.
Reaching into his pouch he pulled out a kunai, intending to cut the rope. However, he suddenly found himself being yanked upwards. Suppressing the yell of surprise least he raise the alarms, he readied the kunai for whoever was at the other end of the rope.
A cloaked figure came into view, and he lashed out with sharp strike. The figure jerked backwards, the rope disappearing. Enoki flayed at the sudden loss of support, aiming his fall back towards the wall. He slammed against the wall, sliding further down and scrapping the pads of his fingers as he tried to find purchase. He grit his teeth and focused his chakra, hoping against all perdition that there wasn't a sensor nearby.
He dashed back towards the cloaked figure. If the Shinobi raised the alarm, he was in for a world of hell. He'd dropped the kunai in his need to stop his fall. He'd have to retrieve it later. If it was found, they'd know a konoha shinobi had infiltrated and that didn't bode well. He sprang over the ledge of the roof, drawing his tanto to strike out at the cloaked figure. They dodged and drew a kunai of their own, using it to block his next strike.
Enoki leapt backwards, landing on the roof with enough distance to study his attacker. The cloak bothered him simply because why would a ninja wear a travelling cloak in their own village. Not to mention, how had they seen him, and NOT raised the alarm first.
The only conclusion he could think of, that was simple enough to believe, was that this shinobi was not from Cloud.
A spy then? A leak in intelligence? A curious shinobi who happened to be in the area? Basically, was this someone targeting him or someone random?
The cloaked figure raised a hand and he gripped his tanto harder, ready for any physical attack that might be sent his way. Ninjutsu however, was another story.
"You're more patient than I thought you'd be." A deep voice drawled, the handing removing the hood of the cloak to reveal a young male Shinobi, without a visible headband. He looked to be early twenties, perhaps late teens. Enoki did not know him, and yet something about him looked familiar. It was too dark to make out any definite features.
"I half expected you to keep on attacking." The man continued, putting his kunai away. Enoki narrowed his gaze at that. Putting away his kunai meant he didn't see a threat. Not one worth needing a kunai for. He tasked and moved his tanto to its sheath, not needing it if the man in front of him wasn't going to keep his weapon out. There was a kunai sealed into his wrist band if he really needed it. Hopefully, he wouldn't. The man seemed to not want to fight.
What bothered him more, was that the man knew who he was, supposedly. It was too much to hope that maybe, just maybe, he was confused or mistaken. "Who are you?" Enoki decided that being direct in this case was perhaps the safest option.
"Don't you know me, little Hatake?" The voice, for the first time, was more than a toneless drawl. Enoki missed the drawl because when he heard now made a shiver crawl up his spine and shot straight down again. He could almost say the man sounded amused. "You and I are almost related."
Enoki started to get more worried than guarded. Related? As far as he knew Kakashi was his father and he didn't have any other relatives. At all. It also confirmed that the man was indeed looking for him. The shinobi part of himself said to stay and learn as much as he could about this man. However, the civilian part of him screamed at him to run, far and fast. For some reason, he was leaning more towards running, consequences be damned. Yet, he could not move. Not an inch. His breaths were shallow, fast. His body was in panic mode and he hadn't even noticed. What the hell?
The man suddenly disappeared only to reappear directly in front of him. He tried to jerk away, reflect more than anything, only to have his chin grabbed at the man forcing him to stay where he was. The man's grip was strong, painful. He pulled the mask away from Enoki's face, a deep frown on pale, angular features. Enoki was scared. Completely and utterly terrified. He thought he knew fear, he thought he'd managed to conquer it to a manageable degree.
"It's taken a long time for your Yondaime to send you so far away from home." The man whispered, fingers caressing the whisker marks on his cheeks. "You look so much like him, so much like he was before we knew the truth. That innocence, that strong determination. I hadn't realise how much of that was missing until now." Enoki was too frozen to even respond. The grasp was cold, the long bony fingers deceivingly vicelike. He should be able to get away. He wasn't some weak little genin. He had to move. He HAD to run away.
His heart was racing, his blood pounding in his ears. This man, whoever he was, was more dangerous than anyone he'd ever met. Did Kakashi know him? Was this who they were being trained so hard to fight? He'd noticed how nervous Minato and Kakashi had grown. They seemed impatient at the lack of progress he'd been making, almost like they expected more, so much more than what he'd been giving. Was this why?
Suddenly he remembered the kunai sealed where he needed it most. A focused amount of chakra was enough to summon the blade into his hand. For some reason this was what he needed to lash out at the man once again. He sneered as he let go of Enoki, moving away from the admittedly clumsy strike with little to not effort. "Don't start picking up Kakashi's bad habits." The man growled, glaring at Enoki.
A killing intent so potent he fell to his knees gripped his heart and squeezed his lungs. "You're far too insignificant as you are now to even bother with. You can't even stand." The man spat in disgust. Enoki couldn't breathe let alone respond. "You're turning out to be a waste of ten years. All that time, spent doing nothing but waiting. I expected more, so much more. Perhaps I should end it, kill you now." The man sneered down at him, raising a chakra glowing finger tips to Enoki's forehead.
Time seemed to slow down as chakra raced through his system. At first he thought perhaps this was Kurama, but no, this chakra was more violent, more unstable. It burned and sparked its way through his system, moving towards his eyes were suddenly the world was crystal clear. His body reacted without his command to do so, his hand gripped the man's wrist, stopping the glowing fingers from reaching his skin.
Another cloaked mass leapt onto the roof, running straight for them. Enoki let go of the man's wrist as he looked towards the distraction. The fourteen year old sprang away, recognising the movements immediately. Itachi. He'd ask the shinobi what he was doing here later.
Itachi threw a kunai at the man, but he caught the flying projectile with a sadistic smile and disappeared. Completely and utterly gone. Not a trace of his presence was left behind. Not even a chakra remnant. Enoki collapsed to the floor, chest heaving for air as Itachi approached.
"Are you hurt?" Itachi asked urgently but quietly. Enoki managed to shake his head. Itachi wasn't looking at him, not yet, but as the man's Sharingan landed on him, his gaze widened.
"They're blue?" he breathed in shock.
Enoki blinked, and the world suddenly went dull. He only had enough time to mutter "What?" before his world darkened completely and he collapsed on the ground in a crumpled heap. Itachi scooped him up and dashed away from the building before the patrol came around. A small part of him felt guilty for having stayed away for so long. He hadn't realised who the man was until it was almost too late. They'd learned enough to satisfy the mission.
But they'd also learned enough to gain more questions than answers.
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