"Nothing, Lord Third. Whoever it is that has been teaching these three kids has not returned in the past three months." Kakashi Hatake informed the Hokage from his spot beside Tsume Inuzuka, arms crossed as he slouched into himself.
"That or my brat taught him how to dilute and mask his scent." Tsume growled immediately after the younger male had spoken, "I swear, I can't control that runt. Ten years old and already he's chunin-level at avoiding detection."
Hiruzen bit his tongue- he couldn't tell Tsume that the Inuzuka had created the problem child that Kiba Inuzuka now was. That would just anger Tsume even further. And that wouldn't be in the best of his interests.
"This is most troubling." The aged Kage hummed, eyes closed with his arms folded over his desk. "This person has managed to elude detection for at least four years now. Clearly, he isn't a villager- how does he manage to sneak in without ever triggering any of our alarms or traps?"
Kuromaru, who had sat quietly to Tsume's left this whole time, now cleared his throat and called attention to himself. "If I may, sir, the pup's recognized as a tracking prodigy for a reason. He's had the ability to sniff out oddities since he was in diapers. He's undoubtedly honed that and focused it on traps- we should remember that his pack's headquarters lie in the most dangerous area of the Forest of Death."
Tsume grunted in agreement, "With the kid's help, there's no doubt that someone can get in and out of the Village without detection." Now she sighed and raised her face to the sky with exasperation, "Anyone wanna adopt 'im?"
"I'm not one for kids." Kakashi answered cynically, then turned back to the Hokage. "Listen, I understand that we should be worried about someone getting so easily into the Village for security reasons. But this guy's only ever actually come here to teach those brats. He hasn't broken any laws- we're sure that all those misdemeanors committed by the pack are of their own machination. Why're we so focused on catching him?"
Now Tsume growled audibly, but she said nothing.
Hiruzen didn't have to be a mind reader to know that she undoubtedly thought that this mysterious teacher had something to do with her husband's death. He would have to speak privately with her later on- she knew that the mission Daichi had gone on would be one that got him killed. It was erroneous to think that this unknown intruder had anything to do with what had happened.
After thinking this, Hiruzen turned to the Hatake that had spoken up. "There are too many unknown variables to allow him to continue running loose. The fact of the matter is that he is a shinobi from another Hidden Village that is able to sneak through our defenses. He may keep this information to himself- or he could sell it. This man is a danger to our way of life and he will remain this way until we catch him."
This person's intentions could be as innocent as they could be sinister. He may be sneaking into Konoha to aid children he had taken a shine to. Or he could be infiltrating their village to systematically weaken their defenses and grooming those children to use them in an attack against their home.
Until now, they had found no evidence of any structural weaknesses caused by anything other than natural processes. But as the Hokage, he had to contemplate all possible attacks on his home. And this man was a danger until he was caught and properly interrogated.
"So he's an enemy until he tells us why he's doing what he's doing." Kakashi summarized with a sigh. "I'd say only an Inuzuka could create a problem like this, but an Akimichi and civilian are involved, so there's clearly something wrong with all three of them."
Tsume barked out a harsh laugh as she shook her head. "Says the boy that-"
"Up, up, up!" Kakashi interrupted with a harsh glare, "We don't talk about that anymore."
Hiruzen shook his head at both his best trackers and their familiarity with each other. But he soon sighed and sobered up.
In his heart, he wanted to believe that this man was a good influence on the children and had only the best intentions. But in his mind, he knew that he couldn't rely on the hoped kindness of others. He needed to ensure it.
She woke up in her bedroom.
This wouldn't have been surprising or odd... If not for the fact that she was pretty sure she had fallen asleep on the wooden floor of their headquarters within the Forest of Death.
As soon as her mind had caught up with the fact that she had not been in her house last night, the young girl propelled her upper body forward. The sheets on top of her fell so they pooled on her lap but she didn't pay them any attention. Instead she glanced around her room in alarm, immediately feeling a wave of relief wash over her when she spotted Kiba, Akamaru, and Chouji sleeping on a heavy comforter on the ground.
It seemed that Kuzu had brought them to her house to sleep after they had fallen asleep in their headquarters. Even though it didn't happen often, it seemed that Kuzu had created this specific routine perfectly because he had never woken any of them in the small handful of times this had happened.
Because this had happened before, Sakura knew that the next thing she should have checked was her nightstand to look for a note from the old man. And when she turned her gaze to the piece of furniture, it was to find there was a rolled up piece of paper resting innocently beside her lamp.
With a small smile, the girl reached for the paper and opened it up.
'Remember to practice your earth release techniques. Don't mess up with this homework- I'm expecting good grades in all your subjects in the Academy at the end of this term.
Make sure the Inuzuka keeps proper hygienic techniques. He stinks. And I'm sure he's got cavities.
The Akimichi needs less sugar in his diet. He most probably also has cavities.
You should get checked out too. Don't your parents take you to the dentist?
Cut those bangs if you can't keep the damn things out of your eyes- you'll get killed in the field if you keep messing around with them.
Next time I come back, I'll be needing your aid. So practice and learn as much as you can.'
The first few orders didn't really strike Sakura as odd. The old man had been leaving her direct orders for a while now, mostly on the days that he left them in her house after they had fallen asleep on him. At first, they had been directed generally at all of them. But by the third time this had happened, he had left direct messages to her that she was supposed to then inform her friends about.
It was pretty interesting, though, to see that the old man had caught on to her growing discomfort with her long hair, even though she hadn't said anything about it. Although the whole cavity thing wasn't all that surprising- Kiba had been grouching about tooth pain whenever he ate sweet or cold things recently.
The last line, though... It was odd. Different. Kuzu didn't really tell them he would be back. It was kind of unnecessary, in her eyes. He always came back, no matter how much time he spent away. But asking for their help... Actually telling them he would need their aid... It was kind of scary.
With her eyebrows furrowed, Sakura chanced a look at the two boys sleeping on her floor. Kiba was splayed out on his back, with an arm thrown over Chouji's face. Chouji, in turn, was sleeping on his left side as he snored softly. Akamaru, so similar to Kiba in some things that it was kind of scary sometimes, was laying on top of Kiba's forehead, curled up and content.
It would be a while before either of them woke up, it seemed. If they were about to wake up, Chouji would be on his back and Kiba would be face down.
With a small sigh, Sakura decided to leave the note where she had found it and stood up from her bed. Once one her feet, the young girl made her way towards her dresser to get some clothes so she could begin to prepare for the day.
"Well, Kuzu said you should get it checked out, Kiba."
Akamaru yipped at him about how important it was for him to be able to use his teeth in battle in case of a worst case scenario.
And Chouji, bless his soul, didn't really offer any other reason as to why he shouldn't be fighting against going to the dentist. The Akimichi merely cooked their breakfast in silence.
Delicious aromas filled up the Haruno kitchen because of Chouji's expertise in the culinary arts, but Kiba couldn't bring himself to get excited over the fact that they had, essentially, been allowed complete freedom within Sakura's house. Her father was off on a business trip and her mother had run off to the market for some reason and neither had checked up on Sakura before leaving her home alone- which meant that all four of them were now in Sakura's house without any adult supervision.
It wasn't the first time this had happened and Kiba was sure that it wouldn't be the last. Even though Sakura's parents were neurotic over her well being, they seemed to be kind of ignorant over just how dangerous their daughter could be. He guessed it was because they thought she was too good to sneak boys into her house in the middle of the night. In his eyes, they were kind of stupid.
"I don't like hospitals." He crossed his arms over his chest with what was most definitely not a pout pulling at his lips. "And I've been good for two years without going to no stupid dentist! I don't gotta change that."
Sakura shook her head beside him, then placed a paper on the island where they sat. Kiba glanced down at it, noticed the old man's simple yet sturdy handwriting, and frowned when he noticed the hygiene part about him.
"I'm fine!"
"I think we've gone nose-blind around you." Sakura offered with a shrug, "Because we're pack, we're always together. But the old man isn't around you so often. And the girls in class are always whining about you smelling like wet dog."
Akamaru jumped onto the island's tabletop and growled at Sakura, "Well they smell like over-processed perfume and stupid manufactured stuff, but you don't see me barking about it!"
"Yeah, Akamaru's got a point!" Kiba turned a glare on his best friend, "How come they can complain about my smell but I can't say nothing about the fact that their stupid perfume constantly clogs up my nose?"
Sakura offered him a sympathetic frown. "Because society sucks." The shrug was as annoying as the fact that Kiba couldn't be angry with her over this. He knew she was right.
With a defeated huff, the Inuzuka placed his arms on the countertop and threw his chin onto his forearms.
"I don't wanna."
There was a soft click as Chouji turned off the stovetop. When Kiba lifted his gaze, it was to find that his best friend had prepared a large serving of oyakodon, filled with way too much chicken and beef for any normal person. He had used the Haruno's largest ceramic bowl as the vehicle for eating and Kiba found it kind of interesting how the four of them were able to eat from the same plate and none thought about that being possibly weird.
Chouji placed the giant bowl on the countertop, in between Sakura and Kiba, and then sat down in the chair that had been left open for him in the very middle.
Akamaru barked as he jumped towards the plate, sat down, and eagerly waited to be given permission to be able to eat from the humans.
Kiba sighed as he picked himself up, silently accepting the chopsticks that were offered to him by Sakura.
"I can ask my parents to see if they can take us together, Kiba." Chouji offered kindly, his words striking Kiba straight through the heart.
He didn't understand people.
But at least his pack was there to help him slowly come to terms with how odd everyone else was.
After they had eaten their breakfast, they worked on editing Kuzu's story so it read like an appropriate myth rather than another war story.
"We gotta cut out Hashirama and Konoha." Sakura mumbled as she lay on the floor with a pencil in her hand, poised over their first draft.
Kiba hummed in thought for a moment, "Maybe we could call Konoha a magical forest? Like, add magic into the story and make it seem like Hashirama is a legendary monster or something."
Sakura glanced at the Inuzuka for a second, then looked to her right and at Chouji, who lay beside her. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, her eyebrows were knitted, and her eyes were squinted so narrowly that they were almost closed.
With a small smile, Chouji looked down at the paper they had begun to write their first draft and contemplated on a possible name for their home and First Hokage.
He wasn't the smartest person around. But apparently he was very good when it came to coming up with names. Kiba was great at nicknames, but, apparently, he was good at thinking up names for their schoolwork.
The name of the protagonist of their story had been one he had thought up when he had noticed that Kuzu had never given the ninja a name. Nanashi. Nameless. Sakura and Kiba had both loved it- Kiba had thought it was cool and badass, but Sakura had said that it was a great name because it alluded to how small and helpless the Betrayed Ninja had been for all of his life.
Chouji had just thought the name was fitting because Kuzu had never given the man a name.
Hashirama Senju was their First Hokage. He was a man that gave his life for a dream and deserved the admiration and respect of the whole population of Konohagakure. He was also an amazing shinobi that had been so unbelievably skilled that he was known as the God of Shinobi. This wasn't a man he could besmirch for the sake of hiding his identity.
"How about... Kandaina omo, the Generous Lord? And Konoha can just be known as the Generous Lord's kingdom."
With twin shouts of approval, Kiba and Sakura let him know that they approved of the changes. The pink haired girl set to writing the rest of the story they would be handing in, all the while Kiba commended Chouji on having such a great talent for accurately naming things.
Chouji didn't understand why his friends thought it was a talent or why they liked it so much. What he had offered until now was simple and pretty easy to understand. There really was no reason to think it was more than it was.
But as long as they were happy, Chouji was too.
Chouza knew that the relationship between Kiba and his family was strained and difficult. He had known this for years now, much like he had known for quite some time that Sakura's own parents were simple civilians that were at a complete loss as to how to deal with having a shinobi daughter.
While the Haruno parents hovered over their daughter at times and refused to give her much space, Tsume gave Kiba too much freedom. And it seemed that this freedom was now impacting his health, if the children's assumption of him having cavities was reality.
"Tsume, may I have a moment?"
It had been two years since Tsume Inuzuka had become a widow and Kiba and Hana had lost a father. It had been two whole years since the Inuzuka Clan had lost a pillar in their family. It had been two years since Kiba's friendship with Sakura and Chouji had become completely inextricable. And it had been two years since Chouji had confided in him that he was worried about the Inuzuka family.
The children were not stupid. They were not ignorant. They were just children. The Haruno family didn't seem to understand this. Tsume didn't seem to care. But Chouza was very much aware of the fact that these kids were smart enough to notice when things were off, even though they were not able to understand why.
"I smell you've been with the runt."
Kuromaru had been the one to speak up. Tsume remained hunched over the mission report she was filling out, all the while the large dog to her side looked Chouza directly in the eyes.
It was still somewhat unnerving to speak to the animal as if he were yet another person. But he had learned from seeing his own son interacting with all sorts of different animals, Akamaru and Kuromaru included. Even though to him, a human, they were mere animals, they were still conscious and knowledgeable. He may not have been able to understand or communicate well with them- but he knew that they deserved his respect like any other person.
Having a child was one of the most terrifying yet enlightening occurrences that could happen to a man.
"The children came over to the house an hour or so ago. They had been finishing homework in Sakura's home when they fell asleep. Chouji made them all breakfast."
Tsume grunted with a stiff nod of her chin, but didn't take her eyes away from the report. Chouza, after years of having dealt with the likes of Inoichi and Shikaku, was disappointed but not surprised... Yet again.
Finding the woman hadn't been difficult. Unlike her son, who could be just about impossible to track down without an Inuzuka nose, Tsume had recently become a creature of habit. If she wasn't at the Mission's Desk getting assigned onto a mission, she was in the Inuzuka compound relaxing. If not in either of these places, she could be found in the Hidden Drink tavern.
Right now she was seated on one of the smaller tables on the balcony of the tavern, Kuromaru standing beside her as the ninja around them indulged themselves in alcohol.
"The kit's house is a favorite for their sleepovers." Kuromaru offered as he sat down in front of Chouza, gazing up at the man with comfortability clear in his eye. "But the pup staying out at night isn't anything new or worrying. You're not here to tell us where he's been."
Kiba was a ten year old child. Smart as he was and as skilled in taijutsu as he may have been, he was still only ten years old. Chouza had never been the kind to ignore age when it came to a ninja's viability in the field- he was one of the main backers to ending the practice of graduating Academy children younger than twelve so they could become fully fledged genin. Kids were supposed to be kids. They could begin to completely take life seriously when they were old enough to truly comprehend it.
Because of this way of thinking, he couldn't understand how someone as smart as Tsume could allow her second son to run loose. Chouza was not blind- he knew very well how dangerous Kiba could be if he wished to be. He sometimes despaired in thinking what could have been of this innocent child if he had never befriended Sakura and Chouji.
But this was not a fight he would be able to win. He had no say in telling a widow how to raise her children.
"The children wish to go to the dentist together, they think it might be fun to be with friends when they go." They had tried to make it sound like they had wanted to go because they were all interested in their own health, rather than trying to go with Kiba to be there for him. But Chouza could see right through them.
Something shifted in Kuromaru upon hearing this. His mouth tightened as his amber eye seemed to harden.
Tsume finally spoke up, making Chouza turn to her and lose sight of the seemingly irritated ninken. "Kuromaru'll bring you some money later." Tsume finally placed her pen down and brought her hands together to stretch them over her head. "While you're at it, see if you can take the runt to get vaccinated. Last time I tried, the little shit decided to be a hellsprite and bit the doc, so he didn't get some of the less important vaccines."
Runt.
He still couldn't understand why this was a descriptor of Kiba. Wasn't the runt of the litter supposed to be the weakest link? That certainly wasn't Kiba.
Tsume finally looked at him and gave him an amused smirk, "Inuzuka can be pretty hard to tame, y'know."
No. He didn't. Because Kiba could be just as decent as Chouji or Sakura if he put his mind to it. Just like Sakura and Chouji could be as devious and 'dangerous' as Kiba if they wished to.
These were children. They were not supposed to be boxed into such rigid assumptions just because their parents couldn't understand the fact that they were ever-changing because they were children.
"Of course." He eventually answered, "I'll tell you the date once I've made the proper arrangements."
"Sure thing, Chouza. Thanks." Then she turned back to her work.
Chouza left with a heavy heart.
Their weekend was spent finishing up their writing project and taking Kuzu's plea for more training seriously. When they weren't working on editing Kuzu's story, they were trying their best to perfect the few earth release jutsu the man had taught them. Sure, they would sometimes take a break, eat a delicious steak, and continue planning for their great sleepover in the Forest of Death, but they took their work very seriously.
When Monday finally rolled around, they had completed their big story and were all incredibly proud of what they had come up with. Sakura had utilized her most perfect penmanship to make the story look as grown-up as possible. And Chouji's drawings had really cemented the mythological feel of their big story.
"Alright, kids. Would any of you like to read your stories aloud?" Iruka-sensei asked them once they had finally hit the Literature period, starting off the class with a broad smile.
Even though this period was usually the most tedious, everyone was actually excited for it. Lunch and recess were usually the most looked after periods in their class. But, today, Literature took the cake.
Kiba and Naruto's arms shot up into the air almost as soon as Iruka-sensei began to speak.
"Us first! Our team is the best and our story's the greaterest!"
"That's not a real word, Fox Breath!" Kiba shouted at the blonde before he turned back to Iruka-sensei. "Our story'll blow theirs out of the water!"
Akamaru barked from his perch on top of Kiba's head, undoubtedly adding his two-cents to how great their story was.
Sakura smiled softly at her pack's eagerness and raised her own hand. Iruka-sensei quirked an eyebrow at him and, while Kiba and Naruto began to exchange insults and shouts, the pink haired girl asked, "Could we get into our groups for the first five or so minutes? That way we can practice how we'll want to read our stories."
Both fiery boys were doing their best to get closer to each other, almost standing on top of their desks, even though they were supposed to be on opposite sides of the room. Uzumaki was at the very edge of the classroom, while Inuzuka was in the middle. But that sure didn't stop them.
Iruka-sensei smiled at Sakura, "Well, if a group doesn't want to read their story to the rest of the class, they don't have to. But if you wish-"
"Yes! Now let us go first!"
"Naruto and Kiba, I will leave both your teams without reading your stories out loud if you continue interrupting."
That shut them both up.
Sakura smiled and looked over the classroom. Even Shikamaru, who was mostly always asleep by this time of the day, was eagerly looking at Iruka-sensei... Well, as eagerly as he could muster up. His eyes were ever so slightly widened, rather than completely narrowed. Even Sasuke and Hinata seemed like they actually wanted to read their myths. And Hinata hated speaking!
"Alright. Get into your groups quickly so you can decide how you'd like to tell your stories to the rest of the class." Iruka-sensei relented and in less than a second, Kiba was jumping over his desk to jump over the rest that were in the way so he could reach Chouji's desk.
Sakura shook her head as she stood up and jogged towards the desk, trying her best to dodge all of her other classmates as she did so.
"I still don't understand why we don't meet at your desks, guys." Was the first thing Chouji told him, Sakura, and Akamaru as soon as they reached his desk.
Sakura and he were seated pretty close by. There was only a kid with the surname of Hitomi in between them and he always moved to his friends when group projects were announced. In essence, they could stay in place and Chouji could take his desk and they were perfect.
"Where's the fun in staying put?"
"I agree with Kiba on this."
Chouji sighed softly as he pulled out their master manuscript. "Any thoughts?"
Sakura was usually the one to keep their important papers. But they had decided to let Chouji keep this specific story because they felt that he had worked twice as hard as either of them in making the story. He had come up with a lot of the names and descriptions and even made the drawings for their big work.
"I think you should read the narration parts, Chouji." Sakura offered with a small smile, "You did come up with a lot of the story, after all. I could read for the elders and Kandaina omo. Kiba could read for Nanashi."
He liked that plan!
"I'm the hero!"
"You get stabbed in the back by your village and mercilessly slaughter your elders." Sakura told him with an unamused deadpan, leaving him to smile broadly back at her.
"Exactly. I'm the hero!"
He was very much aware of the fact that they might get in trouble for this story. It was dark. It spoke of betrayal and a huge massacre. In its original state, it was even almost kind of treasonous. But they had changed it enough that Kiba believed that Iruka-sensei wouldn't have too much of a reason to not like their story.
Beside, they were all ten now. Only two years away from graduating. Their teacher shouldn't get so angry over them talking about betrayal and murder. Especially considering how they had been themes in another myth they had read during the class.
"O-okay. I... I don't mind reading so much."
Kiba smirked at the quiver in Chouji's voice and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Porky. You'll be amazing. Just like Pinkie and I. We're all great."
Akamaru yipped at being forgotten, but Kiba growled back at him that he wasn't part of this story so he could shut it.
His dog bit him in the nose before jumping onto Chouji's head.
"Brat."
"Runt."
Kiba rolled his eyes and ignored Akamaru's insult... even if it stung for some reason.
The first group allowed to go was Hinata, Sasuke, and Shino's group. Their story was one about a samurai that loved a ninja of a warring clan and lost her in battle. The samurai then went into the underworld to recapture her soul, only to die and reunite with her in the other world. Sasuke read the whole story while Shino and Hinata stood to either of his sides, quiet and unmoving.
Chouji guessed that Hinata didn't want to read because she was still so painfully shy. But Shino had most probably read nothing because he just hadn't felt like it.
After their team, the group of Ami, Haru, and Aoi had told their own story. All three of them had tried to act, but Ami had tried to outshine Haru. Haru had tried to outshine her. And they had ended up shouting over each other, all the while the blue haired Aoi had shrunk into the backboard as he tried to tell the end of their story. It was an interesting enough story, with a talking phoenix and a musical rock, but Chouji had not been able to hear it all because of Haru and Ami shouting over each other.
Finally, their group had been called up. Kiba had, once again, jumped over desks to get to the front of the room. They had only been two, Chouji's and Iruka-sensei's own... But... Still...
He and Sakura followed after him.
Once they stood in front of the chalkboard, facing the classroom, Chouji looked down at the papers in his hand. He looked up one final time to look at Iruka-sensei standing at the back of the classroom, who nodded at him with a small smile, and began to read.
"Once upon a time, there was a brave warrior simply known as Nanashi. He was a spectacular shinobi that never questioned his superiors and had always completed his missions, no matter how difficult. One day, he was sent by his kingdom's Elders on a mission he was told was extremely important he complete. But he did not worry- he had never failed before. The target may have been powerful, but so was he. So he left his home in the search of his target," now Chouji took a break, looking over at Shikamaru- noticing that his eyes were actually alert in intrigue- before he breathed out, "not knowing of the trap his Elders had set up for him."
"He travelled far and wide until reaching a large chain of mountains that held a stone staircase that led him to the heavens, into the kingdom of Kandaina omo, a forest spirit that was believed to be immortal."
Now Sakura stepped forward as she pointed a finger at Kiba- she had most probably already read over Chouji's shoulder to know the man's lines. "Betrayed shinobi, turn back. These are my lands and I will protect them if I have to, but there is no need to fight. Go back to your home. Forget having come to my territory."
Kiba, surprisingly enough, didn't shout out his lines. Instead he took on a rather serious approach, kind of reminding Chouji of the old man's own mood as he told them this story.
"I was given a mission, Kandaina omo. As difficult as it may be, I have to see it through. For that is my ninja way."
Kiba lunged at Sakura, who blocked his first punch and stepped behind him in a graceful twirl. After she had finished the motion, she wrapped her left arm around his neck and raised her right arm so her hand was grasping the top of his head- effectively placing him in a chokehold.
They hadn't talked about doing this. But Sakura and Kiba were great at improvising these kinds of things.
"The battle was over before it had even begun. Nanashi was no match to the Lord of the Heavens. But Kandaina omo was known by this name for a reason- he was as generous as he was powerful. So he allowed Nanashi to escape and return to his kingdom- a failure."
Sakura released Kiba and pushed him away, then rushed to stand beside Chouji once again. Kiba feigned a sad and long trek before looking Sakura directly in the eyes once more. When Chouji turned to look at her, it was to find her with her arms crossed over her chest and a heavy glare on her face.
"You return a failure! You may as well have not returned at all!"
"But, Elders-"
"You are a weakling and a disgrace! You are now to be known as the pariah of this kingdom!"
Kiba glared harshly at Sakura as he slunk away from her to stand on Chouji's other side once again.
Chouji continued with a heavy tone, "The Elders plans to kill Nanashi had failed, but this is not where the story ends. He became ostracized for having returned with his life a failure, rather than having died trying to complete his mission. His kingdom turned on him and belittled him, running him to the edges of his home until he was living in horrible conditions without any money to sustain himself."
When Chouji chanced a glance at Iruka-sensei, it was to find that his teacher had a small frown on his face. This scared him, but he continued reading as best he could.
"The scorn he received from his home made him begin to hate his kingdom. And one day, when he overheard a blind Elder speaking about his failed assassination, this anger erupted in a frenzy."
"Nanashi should have gotten killed fighting Kandaina omo. Why couldn't he have died as he was supposed to? That way, we would have been able to rally our kingdom with him as a martyr." Sakura loudly whispered with both of her eyes closed, then shrugged to herself, "Oh well. At least we have now rallied with him as a disgrace. A fate well earned in my book."
"Nanashi's rage knew no bounds. He broke into the Great Shinobi Temple, where the kingdom kept their strongest jutsu hidden from the world, and stole them all. Under the cover of night, he escaped with all these powerful jutsu and, once he was far away, performed one that granted him limited immortality, for a rather heavy price. For three years he trained his body and strengthened himself until he deemed he was powerful enough to avenge his memory. After these three years, he returned to his kingdom," Now Chouji took a dramatic pause as Kiba rushed to Sakura and held her by the throat, "And slaughtered all of the Elders that had dared try and kill him."
Kiba and Sakura didn't depict the death of the Elder. Instead, after Chouji had finished speaking, Kiba stepped back and returned to his spot beside Chouji.
Okay, at least Iruka-sensei couldn't get angry with them over depicting the deaths of Elders. That was good.
"The end." They all chorused.
Chouji's heart beat loudly in his chest as he stared at Iruka-sensei. And from the way neither Sakura nor Kiba moved, it seemed that they too were eager to see how their teacher would react.
Some of their classmates began to cheer over the great story they had told, but Chouji was much too focused on Iruka-sensei to pay them any mind.
The man was frowning softly.
Oh no.
He closed his eyes and brought his hand up to his chin. He looked extremely deep in thought.
Oh no.
~..~..~
I don't always leave a chapter on a cliffhanger. But, when I do, I make sure to make it as evil as possible.
I hope you all liked this chapter! Please review and tell me your thoughts!
