AUTHOR'S HEARTFELT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I would just like to give my million thanks to Blitz Magnus and Aikuchi Shikaku, who, helped me make this fanfiction possible. Thank you so much! I wish I could repay you for your kindness someday.
UPDATES! I finally finished Chapter 44! AND HELL, IS IT FULL OF ACTION! Hehehe, it's kinda like a Kashime VS Sasuke chappie with Sakura doing "something" to "release Sasuke's pain". Hmm, what could that be? Anyway, I'm currently writing Chapter 45 of Homebound.
And I do hope the questions I leave from the last chapter will be answered here. Kashime seems to have been hiding a secret about the whole clan of Haruno.
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(From the last chapter…)
Kashime was sitting on her bed, the side closest to the window and looked at the disappearing view of Kirigakure.
"You're going to be the leader of that country soon." Tenten broke the silence, "Isn't that great?"
"No, it isn't." Kashime replied, "I'm not going to take my office… not until I know that Sakura is safe in Konoha... And I will not take office if she dies, I swear that."
(Chapter 38 – Leaking out the Clan's Secrets)
Tenten was rather disturbed than amused by Kashime's reply.
"You're willing to sacrifice what most ninjas in the Mist dream of?" Tenten asked.
"I have a duty to my family, Tenten." Kashime confirmed, "My father was very close to his brother, who is Sakura's father and even told me that I should protect his brother's daughter... because he knows that it was Sakura who's going to make our ancestors proud."
"Oh, ancestors… Huh? An-an… The… what!" Tenten thought, "Does the Haruno clan have a bloodline limit?"
"…Do you have a bloodline limit?" Tenten questioned.
Kashime eyed her and sighed, "No, we don't. The Haruno superfamily is a broken clan. You'll find different Haruno clan members in different countries. But our ancestors were wise and powerful… until our clan became so massive that there was already distrust and misunderstandings. That was when our clan broke up and scattered throughout the world. I met different cousins of mine… Most of them are incredibly stupid, a disgrace to our clan's reputation of being intelligent. I guess that's a result of distrust… But my father was different."
"So… you don't have a bloodline limit, but rather a reputation to protect?"
"Right." Kashime explained, "My father was intelligent, very intelligent. He was one of the best shinobis the Mist had ever known… however, my mother didn't understand him and never appreciated the things he do for the town, so she divorced him. But I still prefer my father over my mother… Then I learned that he had a brother in the Leaf… And his brother had a daughter. His brother was far more intelligent than him, he told me, so undoubtedly, his daughter was incredibly smart. But when I met Sakura for the first time, I thought she was awfully stupid… Because I'll never accept that there's anyone in our blood who's smarter than me. I was always boasting that I was the Mizukage's student and that Sakura would have no chance of beating me."
"But?" Tenten smiled, "In every story, there's always a 'but'."
"But… I was wrong. Sakura was very intelligent indeed. She learned to speak at the age of 2… I learned to speak when I was 3. And else, she managed to keep her cool even if she's barraged by harsh comments from other people. I also experienced that but they didn't bring me down. But she… she was being affected by what people think and say about her… I pitied her and so I helped her. That was then when my father told me that Sakura's father… was only his half-brother. My father gave me a book of the Haruno genealogy and found out that Sakura's blood was superior: her grandmother was her grandfather's fourth degree cousin. I found out that her grandmother was also included in the family tree, but my grandmother wasn't. Meaning to say, Sakura and I have different grandmothers but the same grandfather. All the more reason to protect her, my father insisted."
"It sounds pretty much like the Hyuga Clan back in Konoha." Tenten smiled, "Most people in the Hyuga Clan marry their 3rd or 4th degree cousins to keep their bloodline limit… But my husband went over the rules and married an outsider like me. It's considered taboo but he proved everyone that I was acceptable to the clan. So now, I'm a part of the Branch family of the Hyuga Clan. There are two divisions of the Hyuga Clan: the Main family and the Branch family. The Branch family is tasked to protect the Main family."
"…Our family used to have that, too." Kashime replied, "The White Circle and the Blue Circle. The White Circle is the diplomatic and nobility class, and the Blue Circle are those who protect the White Circle. Until one time, the massive Haruno clan, which was originally from Konoha, had problems with the Blue Circle. And so, there it began… the exodus of the many Blue Circle members to the different countries of the world. I think only the White Circle remained in Konoha."
Tenten then remembered that symbol on Sakura's clothing when she was a genin… A white circle was on her back. Kashime's black clothing has a blue circle on the back.
Tenten spoke, "So… Sakura is a member of the White Circle and you are-"
"I'm of the Blue Circle." Kashime sighed, "Sakura's grandmother and grandfather are from the White Circle. My grandfather is from the White Circle but because he married someone outside of Konoha, my father became a Blue Circle member. But my uncle, born in Konoha with parents both from the White Circle, made him and his family members of the White Circle."
"I see." Tenten smiled, "What a sad story about the Haruno Clan."
"It may be a sad story…" Kashime managed to smile a bit, "But Sakura and I thought that it was a story with a happy ending. It's better for the whole clan to be this way."
"Why?"
"We don't like recognizing a lot of cousins." Kashime chuckled slightly, "We have hundreds, even thousands of them."
Then the room's door opened and in came Neji and Lee. Neji and Lee sat beside Tenten, she being in the middle of the two men, seated on her bed.
"So you said you were going to tell us your true intention about going to Konoha." Neji told Kashime.
Kashime stared at the clear-eyed man across her and sighed, "Now, truth be told… I… I ended up fighting Sasuke and I found Sakura yesterday."
"WHAT!" the trio replied.
"I found Sakura wounded, tied up and gagged. Of course, I removed her from being gagged and liberated her from those ninja strings. She used medical jutsu to heal herself. I… I tried to convince her to come with you to Konoha and leave Sasuke in Kirigakure... but she… she said that I have to go with you instead in search of a scroll. She would stay there and die rather than seeing Sasuke go insane and kill innocent people." Kashime explained.
"Scroll? What scroll?" Tenten asked.
"I consider this a mission – an S-rank mission to be in fact. You're asking me classified information." Kashime replied with slight hostility in her voice, "If I tell you, I have to kill you afterwards."
"But even the Mizukage doesn't know what you're doing!" Neji retorted, "How can you consider this an S-rank mission if the Mizukage didn't even know or tell you to do so!"
"I don't care how many times I have to die trying to hide the secret. This is the will of Sakura we're talking about! I made a promise to her, and to atone for my sins, I will do as she says." Kashime calmed down, "Forgive me if I cannot satisfy your hunting for answers, even if the answers are all in my hands. But please, don't tell anyone what I told you."
Neji spoke, "No, the Hokage has to hear-"
"Yes, we promise not to tell, even the Hokage wouldn't know." Tenten interrupted.
"Now why did you do that for?" Neji asked his wife.
"I trust in Kashime. We have to learn how to trust someone who's determined to do a will. We cannot stop her in any way, Neji." Tenten explained.
Neji finally understood and nodded, "Fine then. Just don't mess up this time."
Kashime smiled, "Thank you."
"Wait, how are we going to explain Sakura's situation?" Lee asked.
"Please leave that all to me." Kashime smirked, "I have it all planned."
TBC…
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superfamily – a massive family
Kashime enters Konohagakure with Neji, Tenten and Lee. Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage seems to be glad with Neji and Tenten after safely bringing back home Rock Lee. However, it seems like Kashime's presence and words have enraged Tsunade. What did Kashime say to infuriate Tsunade?
Find out on the next chapter of Homebound: Classified Information
"…As the Mizukage's student, I wasn't even strong enough to fend off against that demon."
- Haruno Kashime
"And what if I kill this future Mizukage right now!"
- Tsunade
A/N: All that I have mentioned here about the Haruno Clan is my creation. It is fictional with regards to the Naruto series.
Humanda Ka is still available.
See y'all!
+Releina Artemis+