Oni Hogosha
Disclaimer:
Naruto is a product of Masashi Kishimoto, so I don't own him.
Legend:
"": quote, "italic": thought, italic: new
Japanese word (check glossary), underline:
techniques.
Chapter 11: Confessions
As Tsunade had promised after Naruto's departure she revealed his current rank. It didn't surprise them much after all he did just beat up three chuunin with almost no effort. However, new question arose, mostly about the Uzumaki bloodline and the deal with those foxes. Jiraiya gave a little detail about the Uzumaki but kept the foxes out. He claimed that it was one of his jutsus he recently created and they were probably seeing an illusion, he in known to pull tricks like that. The news of ANBU 21's defeat came hard on Hyuuga Hiashi, who again blamed it on the Demon Fox and refused to recognize that the teen had talent. Of course, Tsunade asked the Hyuuga crew to withhold the Uzumaki bloodline information from him.
The next afternoon, all members of ANBU division X gathered at the briefing room for their meeting. The only outsiders that were allowed were the Hokage, Jiraiya and Kakashi. By now Neji and co. already knew who their leader were but still they were surprised when ANBU 12 had told them. They were happy to learn that he had replaced their old names. Naruto began the meeting by passing a set of scrolls, one for each member. He then started by explaining the new changes in the institution, which were a set of new rules, team formation changes and new training guides to make them more efficient and to minimize losses. He then began to remind them their missions in the upcoming war, which most were already aware and let Shikamaru explain about their new defense system and the new team formation system, which took about an hour. After the explication Naruto started to talk again.
"As you can see each of you have received a scroll. These scrolls contain a set of C ranked and D ranked ninjutsu and genjutsu that all ANBU must know, it is mandatory. It also offers a set of exercise to increase your physical stats. If you didn't know by now, when it comes to a battle to death, it doesn't really matter what specialty you have or bloodlines. The guy who will have more options is the guy who will most likely win, thus variety is required. Learn the skills, learn your fields, learn about your teammates and gain knowledge. Only then can you ensure your survival and the survival of this village. If you mastered them already, I recommend that you go and learn some higher ranked ones, all these jutsus can be found at the library, so be sure to visit them. Now Nouzui will explain you about your duties in the upcoming chuunin selection exam", ended Naruto.
"Most of you have a recollection of what happen to us in the last exam, this time KSKS had drawn defensive zones to make sure that this never repeats again. Two ANBU teams that will switch roles between night and day will guard each of these zones. This system will start one week before the exam and will end a week after the exam. During this time Konoha will not accept any missions. Only one team per division will be outside of these zones, mainly on reconnaissance around our borders. So we suggest you start learning your zones as quick as possible upon receiving it. We have about 3 weeks left, so good luck to all", said Shikamaru.
After distributing the new teams the meeting ended. Neji was surprised to learn that he was now part of ANBU 12, so were Yori, Osamu and Takeshi, but they knew that Naruto would go solo sooner or later and they wished him good luck. As for Lee and Shino, they were still grounded till two new members joined ANBU.
The next morning, Tsunade and Naruto were discussing about the current changes when a light brown haired lady spotted Naruto and nearly jumped on him.
"You must be Godaime, also known as Uzumaki Naruto, son of Yondaime aren't you? My you have grown so much", she said to Naruto, who almost jumped on his turn.
He then pointed out that Godaime, was this lady next to him, who had yet again forgot to wear her robe and questioned who she was and how she knew him.
"Gomen, Tsunade-sama I haven't been here for the last 15 years and so much has changed now. I am Nakamura Rin, I was a student of Arashi-sensei", said the lady while scratching her head.
Naruto grabbed Tsunade for a second and told her to keep her busy while he gets Kakashi. If they succeed she might have her chief medical officer after all, as Rin was a renowned medic in the Fire country. He then disappeared in a flash, leaving Tsunade and Rin somewhat confused. So Tsunade simply decided to follow his plan and began to chat with the lady.
Meanwhile, Naruto found Kakashi thanks to Shoudo and his tracking specialties. The Copycat shinobi was at the monument of fallen shinobis, he was yet again day dreaming about his past, when he suddenly got grabbed and was being dragged by a high speed bullet, known as Uzumaki Naruto. When they reached the location, Kakashi's jaw dropped as he thought he was dreaming.
"I am sorry Tsunade-sama, I cannot accept your offer… I already lost too many of my precious people here. I do not wish to lose anymore. I am bad lucked here, I just came here to visit for old times sake", replied Rin.
"Oh really, then I guess you really must not care about us two fools, then", said Naruto from behind.
"Naruto? Is that you Kakashi-kun, you haven't changed a bit I see", asked Rin.
"Of course he has, ever since you were gone, he became a lazy ass, always late for his meetings by three hours and with the worst excuses of all. You see he was so struck by your departure that he went to ANBU for a few years then he realized he loved you. So I guess this is the first reason you need to stay. Second reason would be because of me, you still owe me fifteen years of service for abandoning me in this hell. The third and final reason is, because you became a medic because of Konoha and it is time to pay its due. You owe it to your sensei and to Obito. Besides you got to help me fix this lazy ass sensei, I know you still love him and see he is still single but still a coward to admit how much he loves you", said the blond haired jounin, while pointing at Kakashi, who was bright as a tomato.
Kakashi finally couldn't take it anymore so he grabbed Rin's hand and disappeared with the help of konoha shunshin, leaving Naruto and Tsunade laughing their butts out by the reaction of the shy Kakashi.
Kakashi and Rin reappeared on the other side of the village near the lake. He calmed himself and gazed at her but remained silent.
"I am really glad to see you Kakashi-kun, I never thought I would see you again… but what's Naruto talking about you having feelings for me? I thought you would have settled down with a princess by now", she laughed.
"Well, you were not there or else I would have… Its hard to notice when you are near a princess you know, they have a tendency to flee", said the silver haired man with a laugh.
"Hatake Kakashi, are you pimping me? You must be an imposter, the Kakashi I know would never say that, he's a cold hearted jerk", said Rin as she pinched him to make sure he was real.
"People change in 15 years Rin. I am still a jerk but I think I lost that cold heart of mine. It took me five years to realize how much I loved you and to notice that without you I am just a failure", he whispered quietly.
Rin gave him a strange look, she had trouble recognizing this Kakashi, a man she thought would never change. Hatake Kakashi, a man who was cold and had no emotions. She still remembered the day she left, after the Kyuubi incident. He was there near her, but he didn't stop her, if he had stopped her she would have stayed.
She had promised herself to never see him again, when Obito died she felt guilty that she had wasted all her love for this man and totally ignored him. Obito used to purposely clown around just so she could notice him, but she never did. He didn't bother telling her how much he loved her until the day he died thinking it would make her unhappy. She never forgave her heart for that mistake. All these years made her think how happy she could have been if she only had given Obito a chance. She walked far to forget about her past but the farther she went the more the path lead back to Konoha. It took her 15 years to finally step her feet back in the village to confront her demons only to be confronted with an altered Kakashi. A place where the man she once loved had became soft and even admitted his love for her. Both walked till they reached the monument of the fallen heroes. A place that made Rin tremble every time she got near, but Kakashi hugged and calmed her down. "You have changed a lot Hatake Kakashi…" she thought.
Meanwhile, Sakura was passing by the location when she caught her ex-sensei hugging a light brown flowing haired woman. It had been a rough day, she had been training all day after the incidents of two days ago. She wanted to get stronger, she felt so weak, Naruto was strong and was ready to rescue her Sasuke but she was still far behind. How could she rescue him if she fell on a simple prank from Naruto. Confused and curious by the changed scenery she decided to sneak up on her white haired sensei, at least it would help her forget about her current problem.
"I never forgave myself for Obito's loss. I should have been the one to die not him, he saved my life and yours. He traded my life for his, his happiness for yours and I still failed him. I … was such a jackass back then. I almost let you die for the sake of a mission. That lesson cost me my best friend. I thought I would make it up to him, with this gift he gave me, but I screwed up let again, I disappointed him by letting you go…" said Kakashi.
"Blame cannot go one way only Kakashi. It was my fault too you know. If I accepted him once, then he might have never died…" said Rin.
"No Rin, it was acceptable for you to leave this place, but it was my responsibility to keep you here. I never understood what sensei meant when he said you would never be happy with only one of us. It took me 15 years to learn it from my own student. Who would have thought Uzumaki Naruto had better understanding then me. He told me, it meant that we were each lacking a part of each other to fulfill your desires. I lacked his emotions while he lacked my courage. Instead I thought it meant that it was better if I never love you since I would be backstabbing him. I wanted to search for you but I gave up, 15 years had passed and you must have been living a happy life, why bother with a pathetic jerk like me", laughed Kakashi.
"I don't think you can refer your self as a jerk anymore, it wasn't such a bad decision, I mean what if the case was different. So don't blame for yourself for it. If you wish, I will stay by your side. But you will have to promise me that you will never think wrong about yourself again okay?" asked Rin, as she kissed him on the forehead.
"I cannot yet… I still got to fix my twisted fate that passed down to my students. I failed sensei, I totally forgot his principles and favored one instead of keeping them equal, heck I even failed to choose the wrong guy. I failed Naruto big time, I was the only person he had left in the village, but I ignored him, for 14 damn years I ignored him even when he was my student. I still can't believe I let him suffer 13 years of hell, I could never forgive my self for that. To make the matter worst, instead of hating me, he was helping me. I am such a blind fool even with this sharingan. If I only kept Uchiha Sasuke in check, my students wouldn't have to suffer now. But I failed, I failed to recognize his problem and I failed to stop him from the darkness. My past almost replayed on me when Naruto nearly died just to bring back Sasuke. He is kind of like Obito you know, he wanted to see everyone happy, so he wouldn't mind even giving his life for it. I thought he burned his own heart when he brought back Tsunade-sama. He just did it, to make Sakura happy, even though nobody thanked him, the whole Konoha owes him for that and yet they still blamed him for Sasuke's betrayal. How pathetic can we be, to blame the only reason Tsunade-sama came back", said Kakashi.
"She must have seen Nawaki-san in him didn't she? I still remember when sensei told us about that story. I never thought I would experience it one day, she lost her brother and lover, I lost my lover and my teacher, if she can still work here after that I am sure I cannot complain. Besides he is right, I do owe him 15 years of service, after all he was my responsibility too. It's funny don't you think, he managed to follow his responsibility even though he did not have any guidance from two failures like us", said Rin quietly.
Sakura was listening calmly, it was the first time she heard about her senseis past. She did not know Kakashi's past was so tragic and began to understand why Tsunade adored Naruto. After all, if she recalled, there was a picture of a boy, who looked like Naruto, it must have been of her brother Nawaki. She still did not know what all this has to do with Naruto's past, so she kept listening as they kept talking.
"He only started that two years ago, thanks to Jiraiya-sama. Still he has changed beyond what I ever hoped. He knows how to take pain well I guess he had been for 13 years after all. Knowing about his past, his parents and the reason of his terrible life would have broken any other 13 years old boy. However, he held on and became stronger because now he had a reason to live he told me. To fix the misconceptions of the past he told me. Although I would wish he did not waste his own happiness for it. I do think he is taking his responsibilities a bit to seriously, then again he has too I guess, if he wants to claim the Hokage title. He will be the first one to be referenced by three previous Hokages I guess", laughed Kakashi.
"Yeah about that, I thought he was already, I guess Orochimaru changed that plan didn't he, I was pretty sure Sandaime would held the title till he was ready", said Rin.
"That snake did and he's the Forth Shinobi World War is about to start now, I hoped we never went trough that again. I guess some people never learn. At least Konoha is getting ready and most of its hidden heroes have already returned, it would be nice if you did too. Tsunade-sama needs your help seriously, she cannot fight this war while having take care of the hospital. So will you help us Rin?" pleaded Kakashi.
"Of course I would silly, I can't let you die now that I found you can I? I still don't understand why you keep this mask though", asked Rin, after sharing a French kiss and dropping her head on his shoulders.
"Apparently, my face is a chick magnet. So it was the only way I could avoid getting crazy fan girls before I found you. Naruto is thinking of applying the same idea also", laughed the white haired shinobi.
Rin enjoyed the new Kakashi. He had surpassed her expectation just like the beautiful maiden that she had seen with her sensei had said. The man had emotions and was still cool like she remembered him 15 years ago.
"Ah, I wouldn't be surprised if they did. He better not become the old you or else you will pay for your bad influences", she said with a laugh.
"Ah I don't think there is a chance of that happening. Although he had no feelings for Sakura, I am sure he will find his person. I am just glad he just started to loosen up a bit recently. He still hides many secrets, the more I dig, the more he surprises me", replied Kakashi.
"I wouldn't be surprised, he has reasons to keep secrets. When people hate you outright, all you can do is hide yourself. When I looked in his eyes it seems he has way more weight on his shoulder then I can imagine. It's still no reason to go solo for life though. Don't worry big sister Rin is hear, I'll take care of that department", she said with an evil grin.
Kakashi knew what that meant, he was afraid, it was the first lesson he had learned from his father. When a lady gets angry or grins evilly be afraid, very afraid. The only one who doesn't seem to get it is Uzumaki Naruto then again he was good at surviving them. The couple realizing that the sun had fallen already decided to head home, after leaving the flowers on the monument that Rin had purchased on their way. If Rin were to move back at Konoha she would have a lot of work ahead. It's not easy to move back from the city. At least Kakashi had plenty of empty rooms in his mansion, which wasn't as big as the others but still big enough for a sole habitant.
After they left, Sakura got out of her hideout. It was the second time she had been ease dropping, a job she wasn't very good at. Instead of having to question her strength now she had plenty more question about her knowledge about her own teammates. Again, she managed to go in Uzumaki Naruto's life this time without even trying. Her mysterious teammate had so many secrets that she wondered how she managed to not notice them. All she knew was that he was a 15 years old blond jounin who was hated by the whole town for some reason yet had connections with the most important peoples in the village. He was in one way or the other tied with Sandaime, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Rin and their unknown sensei. Even more shocking, how could he be selected for Hokage candidate 15 years ago, he was only a baby then, it really did not make any sense. She decided to investigate with her biggest tool, Tsunade. It was time to break the secrets and she planned her moves meticulously.
She found Tsunade in the hospital doing her night shift duties and although she had no night shift that day she decided to help her sensei out. Tsunade was happy to see Sakura another pair of helping hand was always good. As they talked, Sakura began to mention of her encounter with Rin. Tsunade explained that she was renown to which Sakura asked who sensei might have been.
"What Kakashi never told you? It's not everyday you get to become the students of Yondaime Hokage you know, the most famous Hokage till date, I was sure he would have used it to brag about himself", replied Tsunade.
"Kiiroi Issen no Konoha? No wonder", thought Sakura, "but what did it have to do with Naruto". She recalled that his real name was never revealed, but it got her thinking for a while when she remembered what Jiraiya said about the Uzumaki bloodline. Then it hit her like a boulder "Oh shit, he is an Uzumaki and his nickname resembles Naruto's who is Kokuei Issen no Konoha, which means he is his SON!" screamed Inner-Sakura. Upon having this revelation Sakura stopped questioning, as she felt it was not good to find all secrets in one day. Sakura was in deep thoughts, it just didn't make any sense, if Naruto is the son of Yondaime then why would people glare and hate him? They should be doing the opposite. After reaching home, she simply went to bed. There was too much in her mind right now to think properly so she decided to sleep on the matter.
The next day she was at Hokage office trying to sort out hundreds of documents that lay on Tsunade's desk. The Godaime was busy presenting Nakamura Rin to her new duties she was overjoyed when the blond haired lady came in and offered to retake her job as a kangohei and since she had the experience and the reputation she could take over as her chief medical officer. Since Sakura had promised to help her clean up, she simply left her favorite pupil all alone in the office. Sakura had been pretty good at classifying and she did all except a big book, which she had left for last. This book seemed to belong to Sandaime and for some odd reason, there was a section that had been opened recently. This specific section was about Uzumaki Naruto. Just the name gave the kunochi enough reasons to look at it, he had plagued her with his secrets for too long and it was time to get to the end of it. The document almost made her scream. After all, it's not everyday that you learn that your ex-teammate is carrier of the greatest demon that terrorized the village. The teen was also recognized as the legitimate son of Yondaime Hokage. The strangest thing however were that none knew who his mother was. As she read it was discovered that the council overruled Sandaime's claim that the child was Uzumaki Arashi's, as he lacked proof. They had instead put him as adopted son, but it was clear now that he was the son.
Now Sakura understood what this small implication did to Naruto's life. If he were recognized as the son, he would have been treated with respect. But being considered adopted was the same as being the slave in Konoha. So instead of being the Hero, Naruto ended up being the becoming the fuel of their hatred. So this was his secret, it's pretty sensible why he would isolate himself knowing that, he had been trough hell 13 years like Kakashi-sensei had said and now he did not want to receive the silver plate and act like nothing was committed against him. Then again, he prefers to stay out of the batter when he could taken his vengeance, so he must have some other reason, but what? Sakura was too lost in her thoughts to notice an unsuspecting Tsunade and Rin enter the room.
"What the hell do you think you are doing Sakura?", yelled Tsunade as she noticed the page she had been reading.
The words frightened the poor girl, who began to mumble her words, what could she say to appease her mentor? She was reading a document that only a Hokage was allowed to read, so she kept mumbling, till Rin stopped her and calmed her down.
"You were not supposed to read this, but I guess you would have to deal with it sooner or later. You just made yourself, one big secret holder. From now on, you shall never and I mean ever mention about what you just read, to anyone, understand? Even if your life depended on it!" said Rin.
"I always thought he was different, but never like this. I understand now why he wants me away, he fears I would go against him doesn't he?" asked Sakura
"No, he simply wants to be left alone. He has more responsibility that even you cannot comprehend. His birth had been a big mystery, even Rin here who was near Arashi's deathbed doesn't knew how Naruto was born. All Sandaime knew was that he was his son and was destined to become the next hero and Hokage of the village. I searched extensively on every document I could find in Arashi's life. From my conclusion his mother name is Kikyo. She was the only person who was in Arashi's diaries. However, there is no record of who she is but recently I found a pattern to prove it was she. She was known to have foxes around her following her; a pattern recently shown by Naruto himself. That's all I know. I am sure he knows more but if he isn't willing to talk about I am not going to ask him either", replied Tsunade.
"I still don't understand, why treat him this way? They couldn't possibly blame him for something that he had no power over?" asked Sakura.
"It's because they are fools. Sandaime knew this might happen when the council overruled him on that decision, but he thought he had the last laugh by imposing that rule to keep the matter secret. He forgot Konoha was known for their stubborn people. That overruling gave them the reason to blame their frustration on him. What they could not do by hand they did it with glares and words, because he was lonely. It's easy to pick on the weak, it's human nature after all and it cannot be helped. I am surprised he managed to survive and not go berserk with hatred. That's probably what they hoped. But he isn't a demon, he is nothing more then a container…" added Rin.
"Then why don't we show them? Why let them live in this ignorance?" asked Sakura.
"Because, you cannot change a 15 years old lie in a day. People tend to believe what they wish to believe and that is why you cannot force them to believe", replied a voice from the back that frightened the three women.
"Naruto? What are you doing here so early, shouldn't you be in a mission in Kusa? How long have you been here" asked Tsunade.
"You seem to forget obaasan I tend to do my missions twice as fast. I was here long enough to know that I was the subject of this discussion. So I figured I would answer the question myself. Do you really wish to learn why it's a bad idea telling these villagers? I will tell you why if you wish to know so much", replied the ANBU-Captain as he closed the door shut behind him.
The three ladies remained silent, they did not know what to do. Tsunade was really feeling the heat this was the third time she had backstabbed him. Naruto told all three to sit down, which everyone did.
"The reason is because I do not wish to be pitied by fools who live in a false sense of glory. They think Konoha is the best place in the world while ignoring the facts that everyday there are kids around them who have to live a life of hell because of them. These are the same orphans and poor children who receive no kindness, no food and are picked by bastards like Orochimaru. Can you blame them? He is giving them pieces of bread and a chance to avenge the hatred the people of this village set in their hearts. People like us, who live in a false world where everything is nice and sunny, while we betray their trust, hope and innocence. We treat them worst then our dogs and let them starve to death. This is the real Konoha, a village who has betrayed the ideals of its heroes, for their false sense of glory. This cold war we are in now, would have never happened in we stopped living in our heads and looked at our feet. So Sakura, do you still think that life will be all great if my secrets are revealed and I become a glorified hero? How would this glory help these children that we must face now in the battlefield because of our ignorance?" asked Naruto, the three remained silent.
"Allow me to tell you what will happen? Nothing will change, all they will do is accept me and move on. Doing something selfish as that would insult to everything I stand for, everything all the past Hokages worked for. I wont let myself glorified by ignorant fools who abuse kids like be every day and think that they are the best in the world. That is not why my father sacrificed his life, nor my mother nor Sandaime and certainly not all those heroes who given their lives for his village. Understand that miss Haruno Sakura, because if you did you just realized how pitiful your last comment was", finished the blond shinobi.
Naruto submitted his mission report and left the three women stunned by his declarations. It took a moment for them to realize what had just happened. He just gave them piece of his world, a world that they had all forgotten. He was right people never change unless you slam it in their faces and even then they forget it. Sakura felt totally shattered and collapsed on Rin. Here she was an innocent girl, who was only thinking about how to save her lover, while ignoring the rest of the world. She felt guilt and hatred, hatred for her own selfishness. What he said was true after all, how many times she saw those kids, looking sad, looking desperate for acknowledgment and she passed by as if they never existed. She even ignored the one closest to her.
After Tsunade made sure she was okay and after signing an oath of secrecy, she was dismissed for the day. She went back home that day silently, the world seemed to have changed. It wasn't as bright as it looked, but rather dark and gloomy. "Welcome to the real world, Haruno Sakura, welcome to the world of Uzumaki Naruto", she taught as she walked.
End of chapter 11
Please review! If there are any words you do not understand, check the glossary or check previous chapters for explications. Thanks for all the reviews. This chapter has been edited. Changed a bit of stuff here and there gave more roles to some sub characters. More roles to Rin and made the Naruto secret revelation better I hope…
Character Introduction
Nakamura Rin: Former teammate of Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Obito and student of Uzumaki Arashi. She is a renowned kangoei from Konoha, who left the village after the death of Obito and Arashi. She came back recently to takeover as Chief Medical Officer in Konoha Hospital.
Nawaki: Brother of Tsunade who died young while defending the village. He had a dream of becoming the Hokage one day. It is the reason why Tsunade holds high regards for Naruto.
Glossary
Gomen: Sorry.
Sharingan: The Uchiha bloodline, which allows them to predict and copy enemy moves.
Techniques
Konoha shunshin/Leaf body flicker: A D rank ninjutsu that leaf shinobi of Konoha can use to teleport themselves to a given location. The amount of chikara depends of how far the teleport can be and it is a usual location they know of and takes time to reach the destination. User: All Konoha chuunin and some genin.
