==============================
Chapter 14 : Unanswered Questions
==============================
¡§DID YOU? DID YOU KNOW, KAKASHI-SENSEI?¡¨
Sakura winced at the force of Sasuke¡¦s outburst. It was unlike him to do such a thing. Then again, it wasn¡¦t everyday long lost teammates reappeared in the middle of a selective examination.
¡§Calm down Sasuke.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§In answer to you question, no I did not know that Naruto was back. If I had known, you and Sakura would have been the first to know.¡¨
The boy gritted his teeth, forced himself to relax, and sat back down on the bridge railing. ¡§Then¡K what do you know?¡¨
¡§Depends. What do you WANT to know?¡¨
¡§Why the hell did he leave? Where has he been all this time?¡¨
¡§Gomen, Sasuke.¡¨ Kakashi said regretfully. ¡§I¡¦m afraid that information was so classified, that there are only three people who know, Naruto, Jiraiya-san, and Hokage-sama.¡¨
Sasuke suppressed a sudden immature urge to roll his eyes. ¡§Then what DO you know?¡¨
¡§More than you.¡¨
Fortunately, before Sasuke could respond to that, Sakura cut in.
¡§What¡¦s the Hidden Air Village, Kakashi-sensei?¡¨ she asked. ¡§I¡¦ve never heard of it before. Is it a new village, or something?¡¨
¡§Ah, now that I know.¡¨ He said. ¡§Actually, the Hidden Air Village is one the oldest, if not THE oldest village ever in existence. Thousands of years ago, before any other ¡¥official¡¦ villages were created, there was already a Hidden Air establishment.¡¨
¡§Then why have we never heard of it?¡¨
¡§It¡¦s not a definite village. There are no ranks like Jounin, Chuunin, Genin, or Kage in that village. It¡¦s all about skill. There are 5 classifications. Beginner Nin, Shinobi, Advanced Shinobi, Anbu, or Leader.¡¨ Kakashi said.
¡§But we know it exists, and that it was in the world long before any other village, because the original Hidden Air Village was composed of people with advanced bloodlines, and all the people with advanced family bloodlines originated from that village. Including the holders of the Sharingan.¡¨
==============================
¡§That¡¦s impossible, Gai-sensei.¡¨ Neji said firmly with narrowed eyes. ¡§You¡¦re saying that the Hyugas AND Uchihas originated from one village. That¡¦s just not possible.¡¨
¡§Not JUST the Hyugas and Uchihas.¡¨ Gai corrected. ¡§Every single last family with an advanced bloodline is from that village. Every family in the Hidden Sand, Mist, Leaf, Grass, Rain, and Rock.¡¨
¡§That IS a bit unbelievable.¡¨ Ten-Ten mused. ¡§But didn¡¦t you say that there hasn¡¦t been a Hidden Air Chuunin Exam participant in 22 years? If the village was that great, why don¡¦t they send more people in?¡¨
¡§Umm¡K well¡K¡¨ Gai rubbed the back of his head, wondering how to explain the concept to his students. ¡§I guess you could say, they don¡¦t care.¡¨
==============================
¡§Don¡¦t care?¡¨ Hinata murmured. ¡§Why wouldn¡¦t they?¡¨
¡§We don¡¦t know.¡¨ Kurenai replied. ¡§For all we know, maybe they DO care, but they¡¦re the only village that doesn¡¦t send consecutive candidates for the Examination. Even the Sand Village sends at least one team every year, but we¡¦re lucky if the Air Village sends one in 25 years.¡¨
¡§Don¡¦t they need the money?¡¨ Hinata asked.
¡§No. Think about it, Hinata. 99% of the Air shinobi are descendants of Advanced Bloodlines. If you were a customer, and heard of something like that, wouldn¡¦t you automatically assume that they¡¦re good? The Hidden Air¡K they¡¦re never assigned frivolous tasks like finding a cat, or exterminating roaches. They¡¦re only called upon for 2 reasons.¡¨
¡§What are those two?¡¨ Hinata asked.
==============================
Kakashi glanced at his students. ¡§One.¡¨ He said, ¡§is assassinations. Because of the high skill and the different varieties of abilities, assassinations are perfect for them. The second.¡¨ He paused.
¡§is warfare.¡¨
Sasuke and Sakura¡¦s faces were suddenly snared in fear. //War?//
¡§Both cases,¡¨ Kakashi continued, ¡§cost a lot of money. A regular Shinobi assassination costs hundred of yen. Advanced Shinobi assassinations cost even more, and if you hire their Anbu squad, you better have a LOT of money. Employing the Leader of the Hidden Air is out of the question. So the Hidden Air treasury is almost always full to the till. A one month war between two countries can cost up to millions of yen.¡¨
[I¡¦m not sure about the currency, so we¡¦ll just use yen as an example]
==============================
¡§That¡¦s horrible!¡¨ Lee blurted out. ¡§That¡¦s why people with Advanced Bloodlines are alienated these days! Because their precedents are like that!¡¨ he paused, realizing that he was describing Neji in a subtle manner.
¡§True.¡¨ Gai said. ¡§The second most recent major encounter with the Air Village was the War in the Water Country. Hundreds of Air Shinobi died then. But it was nothing compared to the most recent. In the most recent major case with them, thousands of Air Shinobi died. Thousands and thousands.¡¨
Their blood turned to ice. //How could this be? How could such a village function?//
¡§When was the most recent event?¡¨ Neji asked slowly, almost afraid to hear the answer.
¡§It concerned the Leaf village.¡¨ Gai said.
==============================
¡§It was when Kyuubi appeared.¡¨
Sakura¡¦s hands reflexively flew to cover her horrified mouth, and Sasuke¡¦s entire body went rigid.
¡§Back then, the Kyuubi was such a threat, the Sandaime-sama and Yondaime-sama had to ask for help from Hidden Air Anbu squad.¡¨
For a moment, there was silence. But an unexpected realization hit Sakura.
¡§But wait, if the Leaf hired Air Nins, then wouldn¡¦t our bank be completely depleted?¡¨ She calculated the figures quickly in her head. ¡§If we had hired them, then we¡¦d still be in debt right now! What¡K¡¨ she trailed off.
¡§Honestly, we don¡¦t know.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§It was a matter only the 3rd, 4th, and the Air Village know. We¡¦re not sure why, but we only paid a small sum of that money.¡¨
//¡K only a small sum?//
==============================
¡§What¡¦s wrong with the two of you?¡¨ Ino asked insistently as they walked toward the Hotel. ¡§You two have been acting all funny since your talk with Kakashi-sensei.¡¨
¡§You know, don¡¦t you?¡¨ Sakura mumbled, kicking a gray pebble. ¡§The history of the Hidden Air¡K¡¨
¡§Yea.¡¨
¡§So why aren¡¦t you a little bit bothered by it?¡¨ Sakura said, giving the stone a sudden, violent punt. ¡§Why aren¡¦t you¡K¡¨
¡§What? Disturbed?¡¨ Ino asked. ¡§Listen, I have a lot of questions too. But whatever they are, I hope I have enough patience for Naruto to answer them instead of just jumping into conclusions.¡¨
Those sentences, no matter how random, seemed to calm the two brooding people.
¡§By the way,¡¨ Sakura said. ¡§Where are Shikamaru and Chouji? I thought they¡¦d be coming with you.¡¨
¡§Oh that.¡¨ Ino laughed. ¡§Shikamaru¡¦s probably already there. And Chouji¡¦s not coming. He¡¦s got this really bad stomachache, so I told him that I¡¦d tell him everything that Naruto tells me.¡¨
The three of them went on towards the road to the answers of their questions, meeting Hinata and Gai¡¦s team along the way. Hinata, informed them that Kiba wouldn¡¦t be going because his fight with Suzuka caused his old wound when fighting Sakkon and Ukkon to open up.
They went up the elevator to Room 15, and knocked on the door. When they opened it, they were immediately greeted by¡K
======================================================================
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! I¡¦ve been sick, then on Thursday night, I was about to update when my computer crashed or something like that. I thought, ¡§Oh, it¡¦s okay, I¡¦ll update tomorrow night.¡¨ But when my computer came back on, ALL MY FILES WERE DELETED. EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE. ALL MY PICTURES, UNRELEASED STORYS, WHATNOT. On top of that, my Internet just CONKED OUT.
Friday the Thirteenth has been very bad for me.
So I had to retype this all on Sunday, and thank god for all my backup files. Internet didn¡¦t start working again until Sunday Night at 9:40PM, so I¡¦m sorry for everyone who was expecting an update.
Another thing: Using my backup files, I reedited every chapter so it¡¦s slightly more readable now. Have fun!
The reason I¡¦m revealing everything in one chapter, is because I¡¦m not good with releasing information little by little. It¡¦s not my style. Too advanced. -.- That¡¦s why the next chapter is ¡¥tell all¡¦.
Questions and Comments: icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com
-Yume
Chapter 14 : Unanswered Questions
==============================
¡§DID YOU? DID YOU KNOW, KAKASHI-SENSEI?¡¨
Sakura winced at the force of Sasuke¡¦s outburst. It was unlike him to do such a thing. Then again, it wasn¡¦t everyday long lost teammates reappeared in the middle of a selective examination.
¡§Calm down Sasuke.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§In answer to you question, no I did not know that Naruto was back. If I had known, you and Sakura would have been the first to know.¡¨
The boy gritted his teeth, forced himself to relax, and sat back down on the bridge railing. ¡§Then¡K what do you know?¡¨
¡§Depends. What do you WANT to know?¡¨
¡§Why the hell did he leave? Where has he been all this time?¡¨
¡§Gomen, Sasuke.¡¨ Kakashi said regretfully. ¡§I¡¦m afraid that information was so classified, that there are only three people who know, Naruto, Jiraiya-san, and Hokage-sama.¡¨
Sasuke suppressed a sudden immature urge to roll his eyes. ¡§Then what DO you know?¡¨
¡§More than you.¡¨
Fortunately, before Sasuke could respond to that, Sakura cut in.
¡§What¡¦s the Hidden Air Village, Kakashi-sensei?¡¨ she asked. ¡§I¡¦ve never heard of it before. Is it a new village, or something?¡¨
¡§Ah, now that I know.¡¨ He said. ¡§Actually, the Hidden Air Village is one the oldest, if not THE oldest village ever in existence. Thousands of years ago, before any other ¡¥official¡¦ villages were created, there was already a Hidden Air establishment.¡¨
¡§Then why have we never heard of it?¡¨
¡§It¡¦s not a definite village. There are no ranks like Jounin, Chuunin, Genin, or Kage in that village. It¡¦s all about skill. There are 5 classifications. Beginner Nin, Shinobi, Advanced Shinobi, Anbu, or Leader.¡¨ Kakashi said.
¡§But we know it exists, and that it was in the world long before any other village, because the original Hidden Air Village was composed of people with advanced bloodlines, and all the people with advanced family bloodlines originated from that village. Including the holders of the Sharingan.¡¨
==============================
¡§That¡¦s impossible, Gai-sensei.¡¨ Neji said firmly with narrowed eyes. ¡§You¡¦re saying that the Hyugas AND Uchihas originated from one village. That¡¦s just not possible.¡¨
¡§Not JUST the Hyugas and Uchihas.¡¨ Gai corrected. ¡§Every single last family with an advanced bloodline is from that village. Every family in the Hidden Sand, Mist, Leaf, Grass, Rain, and Rock.¡¨
¡§That IS a bit unbelievable.¡¨ Ten-Ten mused. ¡§But didn¡¦t you say that there hasn¡¦t been a Hidden Air Chuunin Exam participant in 22 years? If the village was that great, why don¡¦t they send more people in?¡¨
¡§Umm¡K well¡K¡¨ Gai rubbed the back of his head, wondering how to explain the concept to his students. ¡§I guess you could say, they don¡¦t care.¡¨
==============================
¡§Don¡¦t care?¡¨ Hinata murmured. ¡§Why wouldn¡¦t they?¡¨
¡§We don¡¦t know.¡¨ Kurenai replied. ¡§For all we know, maybe they DO care, but they¡¦re the only village that doesn¡¦t send consecutive candidates for the Examination. Even the Sand Village sends at least one team every year, but we¡¦re lucky if the Air Village sends one in 25 years.¡¨
¡§Don¡¦t they need the money?¡¨ Hinata asked.
¡§No. Think about it, Hinata. 99% of the Air shinobi are descendants of Advanced Bloodlines. If you were a customer, and heard of something like that, wouldn¡¦t you automatically assume that they¡¦re good? The Hidden Air¡K they¡¦re never assigned frivolous tasks like finding a cat, or exterminating roaches. They¡¦re only called upon for 2 reasons.¡¨
¡§What are those two?¡¨ Hinata asked.
==============================
Kakashi glanced at his students. ¡§One.¡¨ He said, ¡§is assassinations. Because of the high skill and the different varieties of abilities, assassinations are perfect for them. The second.¡¨ He paused.
¡§is warfare.¡¨
Sasuke and Sakura¡¦s faces were suddenly snared in fear. //War?//
¡§Both cases,¡¨ Kakashi continued, ¡§cost a lot of money. A regular Shinobi assassination costs hundred of yen. Advanced Shinobi assassinations cost even more, and if you hire their Anbu squad, you better have a LOT of money. Employing the Leader of the Hidden Air is out of the question. So the Hidden Air treasury is almost always full to the till. A one month war between two countries can cost up to millions of yen.¡¨
[I¡¦m not sure about the currency, so we¡¦ll just use yen as an example]
==============================
¡§That¡¦s horrible!¡¨ Lee blurted out. ¡§That¡¦s why people with Advanced Bloodlines are alienated these days! Because their precedents are like that!¡¨ he paused, realizing that he was describing Neji in a subtle manner.
¡§True.¡¨ Gai said. ¡§The second most recent major encounter with the Air Village was the War in the Water Country. Hundreds of Air Shinobi died then. But it was nothing compared to the most recent. In the most recent major case with them, thousands of Air Shinobi died. Thousands and thousands.¡¨
Their blood turned to ice. //How could this be? How could such a village function?//
¡§When was the most recent event?¡¨ Neji asked slowly, almost afraid to hear the answer.
¡§It concerned the Leaf village.¡¨ Gai said.
==============================
¡§It was when Kyuubi appeared.¡¨
Sakura¡¦s hands reflexively flew to cover her horrified mouth, and Sasuke¡¦s entire body went rigid.
¡§Back then, the Kyuubi was such a threat, the Sandaime-sama and Yondaime-sama had to ask for help from Hidden Air Anbu squad.¡¨
For a moment, there was silence. But an unexpected realization hit Sakura.
¡§But wait, if the Leaf hired Air Nins, then wouldn¡¦t our bank be completely depleted?¡¨ She calculated the figures quickly in her head. ¡§If we had hired them, then we¡¦d still be in debt right now! What¡K¡¨ she trailed off.
¡§Honestly, we don¡¦t know.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§It was a matter only the 3rd, 4th, and the Air Village know. We¡¦re not sure why, but we only paid a small sum of that money.¡¨
//¡K only a small sum?//
==============================
¡§What¡¦s wrong with the two of you?¡¨ Ino asked insistently as they walked toward the Hotel. ¡§You two have been acting all funny since your talk with Kakashi-sensei.¡¨
¡§You know, don¡¦t you?¡¨ Sakura mumbled, kicking a gray pebble. ¡§The history of the Hidden Air¡K¡¨
¡§Yea.¡¨
¡§So why aren¡¦t you a little bit bothered by it?¡¨ Sakura said, giving the stone a sudden, violent punt. ¡§Why aren¡¦t you¡K¡¨
¡§What? Disturbed?¡¨ Ino asked. ¡§Listen, I have a lot of questions too. But whatever they are, I hope I have enough patience for Naruto to answer them instead of just jumping into conclusions.¡¨
Those sentences, no matter how random, seemed to calm the two brooding people.
¡§By the way,¡¨ Sakura said. ¡§Where are Shikamaru and Chouji? I thought they¡¦d be coming with you.¡¨
¡§Oh that.¡¨ Ino laughed. ¡§Shikamaru¡¦s probably already there. And Chouji¡¦s not coming. He¡¦s got this really bad stomachache, so I told him that I¡¦d tell him everything that Naruto tells me.¡¨
The three of them went on towards the road to the answers of their questions, meeting Hinata and Gai¡¦s team along the way. Hinata, informed them that Kiba wouldn¡¦t be going because his fight with Suzuka caused his old wound when fighting Sakkon and Ukkon to open up.
They went up the elevator to Room 15, and knocked on the door. When they opened it, they were immediately greeted by¡K
======================================================================
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! I¡¦ve been sick, then on Thursday night, I was about to update when my computer crashed or something like that. I thought, ¡§Oh, it¡¦s okay, I¡¦ll update tomorrow night.¡¨ But when my computer came back on, ALL MY FILES WERE DELETED. EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE. ALL MY PICTURES, UNRELEASED STORYS, WHATNOT. On top of that, my Internet just CONKED OUT.
Friday the Thirteenth has been very bad for me.
So I had to retype this all on Sunday, and thank god for all my backup files. Internet didn¡¦t start working again until Sunday Night at 9:40PM, so I¡¦m sorry for everyone who was expecting an update.
Another thing: Using my backup files, I reedited every chapter so it¡¦s slightly more readable now. Have fun!
The reason I¡¦m revealing everything in one chapter, is because I¡¦m not good with releasing information little by little. It¡¦s not my style. Too advanced. -.- That¡¦s why the next chapter is ¡¥tell all¡¦.
Questions and Comments: icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com
-Yume