I don't own anything.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Teaching a class
Matsumoto Yoshida, newly promoted Tokubetsu Jounin from Iwa was nervous. He had been given the order to infiltrate Konoha and find out the latest rumors about the invasion that had happened a week ago. The journey from Iwa to Konoha wasn't all that bad and he had made good progress. The closer he got to Konoha however the more his nerves started coming up. One does not infiltrate a shinobi village that easily and definitely not after an invasion. If he got caught it would be a one way ticket to interrogation and, if he survived that, to jail. Once more he wondered why he had forwarded this information in the first place.
Just out of Konoha he changed into a civilian outfit and disposed of everything that might give him away. Checking the fake entry papers he had bought on the black market, something which had cost him a lot of money, he set out. It didn't take him long to reach the village hidden in the leaves and while he had heard about the village before, this was the first time he actually saw it. The great walls that surrounded the village were impressive but the natural cliffs and mountains that protected Iwa seemed much stronger in his opinion.
Seeing that there was only one road leading to the entrance of the village, he joined several others that were travelling towards the gate. Most of them were merchants or businessmen, all looking to sell their goods at the right prize. Yoshida groaned in frustration as he saw the huge line of people in front of the gate. Apparently, security was still high and every visitor got checked.
"Great, this is going to cost me money." The person in front of him said. "It's going to take ages to get inside."
"Do you know what happened?" Yoshida asked the man.
"Not a clue but it must have been big." The man shrugged. "I travel to Konoha every two weeks and have been doing so for years. This is the first time I've seen anything like this. Usually they ask our papers and the purpose of our visit but that's it. Now, it seems as they are doing body-checks and everything."
Yoshida nodded at the man, realizing that he wouldn't learn anything of importance from him. He was glad though that he had the foresight to dispose of his equipment. He would have been caught red-handed.
It took him almost an hour before he reached the gate. The shinobi guarding it didn't seem to mind the constant protesting and complaining of the visitors and calmly checked everything. When he was asked for his papers, Yoshida nervously gave them to the man hoping that they wouldn't notice that they were fake. When the shinobi nodded, Yoshida relaxed and entered the village, trying to act as normal as possible. He thanked his lucky stars that the fake papers were well made. Once he was inside he relaxed a bit more and decided to first have a look around before starting his investigation.
Konoha seemed to be a beautiful village with lot of greenery. That was something that was pretty rare in Iwa as the ground there wasn't that fertile to allow trees and such to grow so easily. That didn't mean they didn't have any but not as much as in Konoha. Yoshida figured that the name of 'tree-huggers' that Iwa-nin used to describe Konoha-nin might come from this fact.
He followed some directions to get to the center of the village and quickly realized that Konoha was a lot bigger than he had anticipated. He kept his eye open for any sustained damage from the attack but so far he had seen nothing that indicated that there had even been an attack. Not only that but the people seemed happy and unafraid. Kids were running around playing in the streets, elderly people were sitting in the sun talking and playing Shogi or Go, even some shinobi he had seen seemed very comfortable and relaxed.
Deciding he could use something to eat, he went in search of small restaurant where not to many people would come. After walking around a bit, he found this small food stand called Ichiraku Ramen and noticed the gorgeous girl behind the counter. He shouldn't but he figured he might as well enjoy the time he spend here so he sat down and ordered a bowl of Miso-Ramen. After making some small-talk with the girl, who either knew not to talk about anything shinobi related or simply didn't know anything, he quietly ate his lunch. It was some of the best ramen he had ever eaten and he told her so, earning a beautiful smile from the girl. He was about to leave when two girls entered the stand. Their outfit and the way they carried themselves screamed shinobi to him and he ordered an extra drink just so he could stay a bit longer. He listened carefully to the conversation.
"Hey Ayame-neechan." The blond girl smiled.
"Hello Naruko-chan, Haku-chan how are you two doing?" Ayame smiled at them.
"We're fine thanks." Naruko said quickly. "But we're starving, I'll have three Miso-Ramen. What about you Haku-chan?"
"I'll start with one, thank you." Haku giggled at her girlfriend.
"Coming right up." Ayame said. "So how have you two been?"
"We're okay." Naruko said before she glared at Haku. "This afternoon though isn't going to be fine, however."
"Oh? Why's that?" Ayame said interested.
"Naru-chan is a bit mad at me for agreeing to Iruka-sensei's request." Haku smiled and tried to grab Naruko's tongue with her hand as Naruko stuck it out at her. "Iruka-sensei asked us to come talk to the Academy students about what it is like to be a kunoichi."
"Ah I see." Ayame laughed. "What's so bad about that?"
"I don't like little brats." Naruko said with a sigh. "It's not like they are going to listen to us. I mean, they had some kunoichi talk to us when I was in the academy and you know how many fangirls there were in my class. Did they listen? No, they preferred ogling Sasuke and pretending he was their knight in shining armor."
"Well, maybe you can do better than they did." Ayame said trying to encourage Naruko. "Here you go, enjoy." She then placed the ramen on the counter and both girls thanked her and started eating.
Yoshida left once they started knowing that it would be suspicious to stay any longer. He hadn't learned anything about the invasion but he did learn two names of the kunoichi. They had to be talented to be asked to talk to the students so he figured that at least he had gotten some information that might be valuable in some way.
He left the vicinity in search for other information about what had happened to Konoha. So far he had noticed a few shinobi jumping throughout the city's rooftops but other than that nothing much. He sighed realizing that he would have to extend his stay a bit longer than he actually wanted. There was no other way however as his leader would want to know as much as possible and returning without any real information would earn him a one way ticket to some jail time.
Naruko and Haku stayed a bit longer at Ichiraku's seeing that they had time before they had to go to the academy to instruct the children on what it mean to be a shinobi. They had decided that they wouldn't mince the truth and while it might scare a few of them away, the rest would hopefully realize the cold truths about the shinobi world.
Iruka was actually looking forward to see how Naruko and Haku would handle things. This class wasn't any better or worse than the previous ones he had taught he figured. In just about every class you had the ace, the one most likely to become the rookie of year, and then you had the other side of the spectrum, namely the dead last. Between those two you had scores of talented and dedicated kids who wanted to succeed in life. But just like any other class there were those who were there for the fame or the excitement. Iruka knew that those were the first to either quit or get themselves killed.
Then there were the fangirls and those were the ones he actually didn't like. The girls who chased the most handsome boy of their class, trying to get his attention and his acknowledgement. Last year had been the worst class in that aspect; hardly difficult to understand as the heartthrob of the class was none other than the last Uchiha. It didn't help that he was attractive and talented and so he had hordes of fangirls chasing him. This was worrying as those girls neglected their training in favor of trying to follow or seduce him.
His current class had one of those as well. Hyuuga Kenji was a prodigy in his own way; he was talented in most of the shinobi art and especially in Taijutsu. Iruka figured he wasn't that unpleasant to look at as girls swooned and sighed whenever they saw him. Not that he actually agreed, he liked women thank you very much. But the fact remained that girls liked him and sought his attention. Kenji was part of the main branch but not in line for any higher position, so that meant that he was taught from young age giving him an advantage in the academy.
Kenji himself was an okay guy. He wasn't stuck up or arrogant but neither was he compassionate or caring about those around him. He did his thing and that was it. He also knew that he was a shoe in for the 'Rookie of the Year' title but he never flaunted it in front of those less talented than him. He knew he was popular amongst the girls but paid little or no attention to them as he was mature enough to understand that these girls were not prime dating material.
Iruka looked at the clock and saw that it was almost time for lunch. He decided to give the kids a bit of extra free time and ended the lesson right there. The kids cheered and ran out of the classroom, not looking back lest their teacher changed his mind. Iruka smiled and sat down and waited for Naruko and Haku to arrive. They had agreed to meet during lunch so they could discuss what they had planned.
"Geez Iruka-sensei, seems you're still as popular as before." Naruko said from the window. "Were you giving one of your boring speeches?"
"Very funny Naruko, if I recall correctly you were just the same." Iruka smiled at the little jibe. "Come on in, you two."
"Thank you Iruka-san." Haku smiled.
"So what have you two planned for the lesson?" Iruka asked curiously.
"We decided not to simply address the girls but the whole class." Naruko started. "Also we asked the help of several others."
"Oh and who might that be?" Iruka frowned.
"You'll see." Haku said mysteriously.
When lunch period was over, the class slowly filled with students and like any other class it took a while until everyone was settled. Iruka, having dealt with this for many years, just sat there until class was supposed to begin. He then clapped his hands and like magic they all quieted down and started paying attention to him.
"Alright class, today I have a very special lesson for all of you." Iruka smiled. "I have asked two kunoichi to came speak to you about their time as a shinobi. These two kunoichi are very strong and they were the ones to discover the plot to destroy Konoha in the invasion a week ago. I want you all to listen very carefully to what they have to say, because someday their advice could save your life." He then turned to the door. "You can come in." All the kids turned to the door and watched as two girls walked into the classroom.
"Hello everyone, my name is Uzumaki Naruko and I'm a Chuunin." Naruko said introducing herself.
"My name is Haku and I too, am a Chuunin." Haku followed. "It's nice to meet you all."
"I will now give the word to Haku-san and Naruko-san." Iruka said. "Please treat them with respect and listen very carefully to what they have to say."
"Thank you Iruka-sensei." Naruko smiled at her former teacher. "First off, I want to assure you all that we won't give you a boring speech like Iruka-sensei does all the time." Here the class erupted into laughter as Iruka glared at Naruko. "Okay, that being said, I should warn you that everything that Iruka-sensei says is important. It might not seem so right now but trust me when I say that it can save your life one day."
"We thought it would be good if the class were the ones to ask questions and we'll try to answer them if we can." Haku said to Iruka who nodded. "Okay, who has a question?" A lot of kids raised their hands and Haku smiled at a girl who seemed a bit shy. "Yes, what's your name and your question?"
"My name is Namiko." The girl said shyly. "Is it true that you discovered the plans to the invasion of Konoha?"
"Nice to meet you Namiko." Haku smiled. "Yes, it's true that Naruko here saw Mizuki when we were guarding an outpost of Konoha. She alerted our sensei, who followed Mizuki and learned of the attack against Konoha. Does that answer your question?"
Namiko nodded and the class started whispering and talking amongst themselves. It was no wonder as they had all known Mizuki as their teacher so hearing that he was traitor was a bit of a shock.
"There's a first lesson for all of you." Naruko said silencing the class. "The shinobi world is a harsh place. Betrayal and killing is a large part of it and as such you'll have to learn how to live with it. It takes time and a lot of training to do so."
"Have you killed someone?" a boy from the back asked them.
"What's your name?" Naruko said in return.
"Sorry, I'm Tsuyoshi." The boy said blushing a bit.
"That's okay Tsuyoshi." Naruko said. "I have killed several people. My first kill was a bandit who was part of a gang who attacked people. He also raped the girls and women before killing them. It was very hard to end his life even if he was a bad person and the world is better off without him. During missions and the invasion I have killed more shinobi than I dare count."
"So why do you do it then?" Tsuyoshi asked a bit intimidated.
"Because they were a danger to the people and the village I love." Naruko said strongly. "As a shinobi it is my duty to defend everyone living in our village. I fight so that people can be happy and don't have to live in fear. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I think so." Tsuyoshi nodded.
"Any other questions?" Haku asked the class.
"I have one." A young boy said.
"Go ahead." Haku nodded with a smile.
"My name is Hyuuga Kenji and I wanted to know how you got to be so strong." Kenji asked. "A lot of girls here aren't very strong so I wondered how you got to be so strong?"
"That's a good question Kenji-san." Haku said. "The answer is very simple. We train a lot. Naruko and I have a very strict sensei and she makes us do a lot of training. It's not always fun but as a kunoichi, or a shinobi for that matter, it's necessary. If we don't train we don't get stronger and that might get us killed in a mission, or we might not be able to help our teammate when they're in trouble."
"We have a lot of fangirls here." Another boy shouted loudly making several girls glare at him.
"Please don't shout." Naruko said. "My class had some students like that as well. Even boys who just wanted to become shinobi for the fame and glory. Let me tell all of you something very important. Those who do not take their training seriously will get themselves or their future teammates killed."
"But we train at the academy." One of the girls said after raising her hand.
"Yes that's true but do you think you can get strong by just training a few hours a day?" Haku answered. "Do you think that after the academy you won't need any more training?"
"How much do you train?" The same girl asked Naruko.
"While I was in the academy, I trained for several more hours on my own after classes finished." Naruko explained. "I practiced everything I had learned and tried to come up with new exercises to become stronger."
"That much?" another girl asked surprised. "But didn't you have anything else to do? I mean, it sounds that you only trained and practiced, all day long."
"Well, I'm an orphan and didn't have many friends back then so I didn't have a lot to do otherwise." Naruko shrugged. "The point is that you need to keep training every day, or else you won't survive as a shinobi."
"All right, enough questions." Haku said smiling. "Naruko and I asked several more shinobi to show you all what they can do. We need to relocate to training field eight. So everyone follow us."
The large group of students and three Chuunin made their way over to the training field while passing through the village. The academy students enjoyed the attention they received while the Chuunin were busy discussing how things went. Iruka was very impressed with how Naruko and Haku dealt with the situation and thanked them for their hard work.
On the other side of the village several shinobi had gathered and were awaiting the arrival of the students. Amongst them were Uzuki Yuugao, Hatake Kakashi, the Sandaime Hokage, Jiraiya and Tsunade who had just arrived.
"She got you all as well huh?" Tsunade smirked at those standing there.
"Yeah, hard to say no when she whips out those teary eyes and quivering lip." Yuugao sighed.
"Tell me about it." The Sandaime snorted. "She used to get away with anything when she was little. Even after all these years I'm still unable to resist her."
"Same here." Jiraiya laughed. "It reminds me of how Kushina used to boss Minato around."
"Sensei was putty in her hands when she wanted to." Kakashi agreed with Jiraiya. "He couldn't refuse her anything."
"I remember when she was pregnant and had one weird craving after another, she would sent out Minato in the middle of the night." Jiraiya chuckled. "Poor guy was exhausted most of her pregnancy due to all the running around he did for her."
"They were such a happy couple." Tsunade sighed sadly. "They didn't deserve not seeing their little girl grow up."
"No they didn't but their sacrifice ensured that their girl would grow up and become the young woman she is today." The Sandaime said placing a hand on Tsunade's shoulder in comfort. "They wouldn't want us to dwell on the past any longer."
"Here they come." Kakashi said warning the rest of the gang.
"Alright, everyone sit down so we can introduce these people to you all." Naruko instructed the kids. Strangely enough all of them obeyed without protesting. "Alright, let's start with someone we all know and love. Ji-chan, please step forward." The Sandaime Hokage nodded and stepped forward just in front of the children.
"Hello everyone." He greeted them with a kind smile.
"As you all know this is the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen." Naruko introduced her adoptive grandfather. "He has been Hokage for many years and is considered the God of Shinobi, for he knows every jutsu in the village. This also earned him the nickname 'The Professor'. He was taught by none other than the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage and became Hokage when the Nidaime fell during the war with Kumo. He's famous for being the teacher of the Legendary Sannin who are considered some of Konoha's strongest shinobi ever."
"Thank you Naruko for that kind introduction." The Sandaime chuckled before stepping back.
"Next up is Tsunade-sama of the Sannin." Haku said motioning Tsunade to step forward which she promptly did while smiling at the young crowd whose mouths were hanging open. "Tsunade-sama is the great-granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage Senju Hashirama and great-grandniece of Senju Tobirama, the Nidaime Hokage. She was the student of Sarutobi Hiruzen together with two others. She is widely known to be the best medic-nin in existence and also one of the strongest kunoichi in Konoha ever." Haku then whispered to the kids. "She's also one of the favorites to replace the Sandaime and become the Godaime Hokage."
"Dear lord, anything but that." Tsunade said glaring at her sensei making everyone laugh at how uncomfortable the Sandaime suddenly became.
"Following is the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya." Naruko said introducing her godfather. "Jiraiya-sama was a student under the Sandaime together with Tsunade-sama and is considered the strongest of the Sannin. He was also the teacher of the Yondaime Hokage, who as you all know contributed in the winning of the war against Iwa and later on defeated the Kyuubi."
"He's also a pervert." Tsunade grumbled softly so that no student could hear it. Jiraiya heard it though and winked at her.
"Then we have Hatake Kakashi, also known as Copy-ninja Kakashi." Naruko said making Kakashi step forward. "Kakashi-sensei was a student under the Yondaime and is now one of the strongest Jounin in the village. He is now the Jounin sensei of Team 7 who helped out in defeating the enemy during the invasion."
"And last but certainly not least is our big sister and Jounin Sensei, Uzuki Yuugao." Haku said. "Yuugao-Sensei was part of Anbu before she retired to become Naruko-chan's teacher and later on my own sensei. She is one of the best Kenjutsu users in the village."
When all the introduction were done the kids were sitting there looking in awe at the shinobi in front of them. They realized that they were in the presence of legends and they were visible impressed with all of them. Iruka watched on as he had never seen any of them so intrigued and curious before, he had to admit that Naruko and Haku had come up with a great idea to catch the kids' interests.
"Now we'll spilt up in groups and then you'll rotate between each of us." Naruko explained. "You can ask questions to all of us but be polite and respectful. We'll let you know when it is time to switch to someone else." The kids quickly stood and all of them got sorted into small groups so that they all could ask some questions.
At the end of the day, it became clear to Iruka just how much of an impact the meeting had on the kids. When he walked them back to the academy he could hear several kids telling their friends who they thought was cooler and who they wished to become like. Girls were very impressed with Tsunade and Yuugao while the boys favored Kakashi, Jiraiya and the Sandaime. He was sure that by meeting these legends of Konoha, the kids had learned a lot about what it meant to be a shinobi. The future of this particular class seemed very good to say the least.
Someone else's future didn't look too good though. Touji Mizuki was currently incarcerated in the Konoha holding cells and was cursing his fate. Once he had regained consciousness he realized that his plans for the future had gone to hell, a place where he would soon be as well if his interrogators had any say about it.
His former fiancé had visited him, after pleading his case with the Hokage and she had been granted one visit. Tsubaki begged him to tell them everything they wanted to know and to renounce Orochimaru and beg for forgiveness. He had laughed in her face saying that the only reason he even stayed with her was to reduce the amount of suspicion that was already on him. Tsubaki had soon left after that and he hadn't seen or heard from her again. He didn't care, she was just a front he had needed at the time. If she was so stupid to believe him then it was her own fault.
So far he had been treated fairly well considering the crimes he had committed but he knew it was only a matter of time before they brought out the big guns. For betraying Konoha and attempting to assassinate the clan heirs amongst the academy classes, he would receive some first class attention, meaning Morino Ibiki or Mitarashi Anko. Those two were feared for their ruthlessness and sadistic ways of interrogation. He didn't look forward to that session. Not at all.
"Let me out of here." A man further down the cell block yelled out.
"Pipe down." Another man shouted back. "Some of us are trying to sleep here."
Mizuki sighed at the other prisoners in the cells. They were all Nuke-nin or criminals that had gotten life sentences or were waiting for execution. Most of the Konoha civilians didn't realize this but executions were an often used way to deal with the prisoners. Of course not everyone got sentenced to death but those that were, well they knew they wouldn't walk on this earth much longer. Suddenly, he heard the gate open and while he couldn't see who was walking inside, the others did and they started shouting and whistling meaning that it was a woman who had entered.
"YOU! YOU PUT ME IN HERE." A man shouted loudly. "You'll pay for this, I swear."
"Well, if it isn't my old friend Gato?" Mizuki heard the woman say. He recognized that voice anywhere and knew it to be Mitarashi Anko.
"I'm not your friend, you bitch." The man now known as Gato yelled. "When I get out of here, I'll….."
"Not when, Gato but if." Anko said pleasantly. "Besides, if you leave then your roommate will be unhappy and I wouldn't want to separate such a lovely couple."
"SHUT UP!" Gato roared.
"Sorry I would love to stay and chat but I have work to do." Anko said. "There's a traitor that needs my attention. See you around Gato."
Mizuki heard Gato yell out several profanities towards Anko but he knew she wasn't one to be bothered by them. His heart sank when she stopped in front of his cell and waved at him with that sadistic smile on her face. He was in trouble and he knew it.
"Hello Mizuki, are you ready to talk?" Anko asked him.
"Do whatever you want but I won' tell you anything." Mizuki said bravely.
"We'll see about that." Anko grinned before she instructed the guards to take him to the interrogation room. Anko followed behind them with a small spring in her step and looking very happy. It was enough to make the other prisoners gulp and feel a bit of pity for the guy she would be interrogating.