Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.
AN: Full chapter title: Better Late Than Never! The Results Are In!
Caesar and his Legate walked side by side, observed the mending state of Konohagakure after the failed invasion. With them traveled Caesar's Praetorians, two dozen responsible for forming a rough circle around the two. Caesar paid little mind to where he walked. His focus remained on where he had lifted his arm up to examine the seal that burned beneath his armor.
"Three whole days." His hand balled into a fist. "It has taken three days but the seal at last properly works again." Naruto let his hand fall to his side. "What a tiring three days it has been but they are at last over. My Legion once again stands at my side in full."
"The seal working is undoubtedly a triumph but what caused it to fail in the first place?" Sasuke stared at his own arm as he spoke, his Sharingan swept over where the seal laid. "It did not fail on the first day neither did it fail in the Land of Waves. Why fail in the village? And why so suddenly?"
"I ask myself the same questions Legate." Naruto reached up and buried a hand in his uncovered hair. "It is infuriating to have questions so vital to answer yet make not a single step towards any solution."
"Perhaps the Toad Sage would be of use?" At the Legate's suggestion, Naruto scowled.
"The Toad Sage has not been seen in the village since the day after the attack. Sarutobi-jiji has no doubt sent him on a mission so there is no telling when he'll be back." Naruto did not enjoy the Toad Sage's habits but his training had given him strength he had lacked before. The invasion had shown him the power Jiraiya held, how much more there was for him to learn from the Toad Sage.
He would definitely be speaking with the Toad Sage at the first opportunity.
For now, he would merely appreciate one thing at last going to his plan.
"Legate, what do you think of the Hokage's plan?" Within the walls of his growing fortress or surrounded by his Praetorians, Naruto had no reason not to directly address the reason for why they were out in the streets.
"The Fifth is not at full strength yet but, given time, shall be more than ready for such a task, the Sixth has fallen under my command for now and prove more than capable of aiding in the reconstruction you promised to the Hokage to be performed by the men of your Legion, the First has spread itself far to fully secure the borders as the Fire Daimyo ordered the Hokage, and your Praetorians are exceptional guards for those that continue to bring in supplies." Sasuke glanced to the seal on his arm. "The Third remains in Nami no Kuni as you commanded and the Second and Fourth remain far from the village. With your seal properly functioning once more, it would be child's play to call forth the Seventh or the Eighth to take on the duty proposed for the Fifth by the Hokage. It would not sit well with the Centurion of the Fifth but he, like all others who have sworn loyalty to you, will respect your commands as always Caesar."
"There is no need for the Seventh or the Eighth at this time." Naruto's eyes briefly burned to red. "I do not like any of this but, whatever the Hokage's true aim is for my Legion with this proposed plan, will be met with the Legionnaires of the Fifth Cohort once the Centurion of the Fifth and you yourself assure me his force is at full strength once more. The Sixth shall remain mobile and the First shall appease the ridiculous wants of the Fire Daimyo to secure the borders of his lands. The Second, Third, and Fourth shall not waste their time with any of this. Neither shall my Praetorians be treated as mere escorts for such merchants and their caravans. Rotate such a duty to the Sixth for now. It is not hard to see they thirst for blood after their battles in the invasion. This will do to sate it, if only slightly."
"Of course Caesar." Sasuke turned his focus to the present, away from the future orders he would need to issue. "And what of meeting with the Centurions of your Legion's Cohorts?"
"That meeting shall of course happen tonight." Naruto could smile at such a thing. His patience had been stretched rather thin across the days he was without full access to his Legion. Communication was not difficult between the leaders of his First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Cohorts but his remaining four Cohorts were nearly impossible to contact.
"I shall spread the word Caesar." Sasuke sent a surge of Chakra to the seal on his arm, that allowed him to summon Caesar's Legion. He simply made sure that the seal truly worked at last, that it no longer refused his command to activate.
"Later." Naruto came to a stop, observed his hand for a moment before he clenched it into a fist. "For now, I must speak with Gaara. If the Hokage truly wishes for my Legion to undertake this assignment as he proposed, it shall do so how I desire."
"What of the other two and their father? Shall I set aside time for you speak to them as well?" Sasuke had not been surprised by the sudden stop because of his Sharingan. Naruto chuckled at his words.
"What of them Legate? The two eldest are useless to me and the Kazekage has already been brought to heel. I have no use of them." Naruto dismissed the two Genin and a Kage rather easily. "If you wish, you may converse with them whenever you please. I have more important things to do with my time."
"I suppose you are correct Caesar, the other three are not as important as the Jinchuriki." Sasuke brought his clenched fist over his armored heart and bowed his head. "Shall I depart to prepare the meeting?"
"The Centurions of my Cohorts were informed this morning when the seal proved to be working again." He began walking once more and Sasuke followed, did not ask the question that came to his mind. "For now, we have other things to concern ourselves with."
"And what are they Caesar?" Sasuke did not stop himself from asking that question.
Naruto chuckled.
"We have much work to do still. My Third Cohort is not yet a Legion in itself and my Second and Fourth may require additional assistance. We have more than our fair share of paperwork ahead of the two of us." Naruto chuckled as one of his hands landed on Sasuke's shoulder, pulled him to walk at his side. "It's going to take most of the day to finish it!"
"Of course Caesar." Sasuke chuckled himself as the two headed off to the Uchiha District.
Away from the amused pair of Genin, Hiruzen considered something he had long tried not to think on.
Orochimaru, a prodigal genius like few other who had been the orchestrator of the attack that still burned vividly in the minds of so many.
Jiraiya, a man who had proven that hard work and sheer perseverance to succeed could take one extremely far with his always growing prowess.
Tsunade, a woman who had gone so far as to write the book on how a Medical-nin should perform, had established the essential rules for any and all healers.
His three students, the three Shinobi collectively known as the Sannin.
He glanced to the worn picture he had so foolishly brought forth from where it belonged.
It was a memory of almost better times, a time when he did not know what it was like to lose so much, to outlast so many who would remain forever young in memory.
A time when he had taken on the three as his students.
A time before everything had become such a mess.
A time he hoped he did not repeat.
"I remember when that picture was taken. Tsunade had just rejected my latest request for a date and I had the bright idea to go and fight Orochimaru to make some kind of point to her, prove I was strong or something. I had to insult him plenty to get him riled up enough to fight. But, once the two of us got going, you know how bad it got back then." A hearty laugh filled the room. "You had Enma beat the two of us into the dirt when you found out later. Tsunade called us two some of the biggest idiots she knew while she was patching us up. I'm surprised she didn't just pummel us into the ground when she found out why we were even fighting."
Jiraiya dropped down in a chair already in front of the Hokage's desk.
"Those were much easier times." Hiruzen could allow his own chuckle at the memory of the antics of his students, at how often they would get into fights over the silliest of things in hindsight. It had always been enough to make him laugh after he had dragged the offended parties apart, usually the two boys of the team, and have Enma knock some sense into them.
Now, he could only think it had been a failing on his part.
"Perhaps…if things had gone differently…" He sighed at the endless 'what ifs' he risked letting his mind trap him in. He cast the thoughts aside for now, cast aside the ideas of a future that would only ever be fantasy now.
"Jiraiya, as you have seen, the village has become a target since the death of the Fourth Hokage twelve years ago. I had hoped your presence across so many lands, the presence of the likes of Gai and Kakashi, would dissuade any attackers but I fear my old age has made me too slow to adapt. I should have seen the signs of this attack sooner, recognized the Land of Sound and the Hidden Sound for what it truly was before it reached this point and we were caught so unprepared. I should have done many things differently to prevent this tragedy."
"That in mind, I am going to need you to leave on a mission only you can accomplish."
Jiraiya did not need to be told what the mission was, what it would entail.
He merely offered his old teacher a nod.
"I'll start as soon as I can."
"There is another matter I wish to speak with you about as well before you leave." Hiruzen set aside his pipe. "The bomb that blew up the stadium, the seal planted by Chiyo, is it truly what I feared?"
"I'm afraid so. I called Ma and Pa and they agreed with me after they investigated it themselves."
"Truly that boy is a genius to come up with something so destructive."
"Yeah, the two were pretty hopping mad about it too once they figured it out from what I told them and what they managed themselves. Those two demanded they get to pack it up and leave with it before it could cause any more damage. Pa promised to keep it inert and figure out a way to crack it for me. He'll have a messenger show up the moment he manages it."
"I hope they manage such an impressive feat. There is no telling what else Orochimaru has ready for any who pursue him if he left such a thing behind. It makes me fear to allow any of this out beyond a select few."
"Gai already knows and I'm sure Anko would appreciate knowing what's going on."
"I will be speaking to both of them later, Anko has been little more than a shadow due to her appearance and Gai is away on another S-Rank mission at this time. He will hopefully be back later tonight so I can hear his own thoughts on the matter."
"He recognized the blast for what it was. That's more than most can claim to ever know about Chakra like that. I'm just trying to understand how Orochimaru managed something like this. It's unheard of from what Ma told me before she left."
"Sadly, I truly fear few things lay out of that man's reach. His intellect, no matter how far he has twisted it, has already solved any problems he faced in the past and it must do the same now. Before he deserted and now it seems especially after, he has put his intellect to use once more. If the modifications we found in our autopsy of the Shinobi of Otogakure are standard for his forces than we are dealing with a foe like no other."
"Damn." There was little else for Jiraiya to say.
Hiruzen brought up his pipe and lit it.
He breathed out a cloud of smoke.
"Damn indeed Jiraiya."
Away from the Hokage's Office and the two Shinobi who conversed within, a group gathered.
"So…I heard the Exam results came in." Kakashi rather expertly ignored the looks sent his way by the rest of the Jonin and the Genin that had been brought with them.
"Really?" "No way!" "Who passed?"
Kakashi turned a page in his book.
"I'm surprised the Third actually managed something like that with all the issues he's been dealing with lately. The Fire Daimyo ramped up patrols to more than double than what they were before the attack. Not to mention the issues with the Wind Daimyo and having the Kazekage a prisoner right now."
Kakashi turned another page.
"I figure he'll announce them later or just send a runner to the Jonin if their student managed to pass. With everything going on, he probably doesn't even have the chance to meet any of the new Chunin face to face like he would like to tell them."
Kakashi turned another page.
Kurenai snatched the book from his hand.
"Alright Hatake, besides your two students, who else here passed?" It was impossible to think neither of the two, both dominate in both their matches and in the invasion that had commenced during the match between Naruto and Gaara.
It was rather obvious that none of the Sand Genin who participated in the Exams would be promoted. Invading the host village automatically terminated any promotion for the attacker's entrants.
"I don't know." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders in response. "I only got a messenger with a scroll about the two of them passing." He reopened up his book and his sole visible eye moved over the page once more.
"Kakashi's right actually." Asuma withdrew a scroll from his Flak Jacket, the seal already broken. "I've got one kid who passed on my team."
"And I have one as well!" Gai presented his own scroll, the seal broken just like Asuma's own. "One of my phenomenal students has passed!"
"And you already know about the two of mine who passed." Kakashi presented the scroll in his unoccupied hand, the seal broken.
"When did you get these?" Kurenai took the closest one, Asuma's, and quickly opened it. Her eyes raced down the paper, finding the relevant information. "I didn't get one of these today."
"I got mine yesterday." Asuma looked to Gai. "What about you?"
"Once I returned, it was waiting for me at the gate. I imagine the Hokage wanted me to know immediately." Gai and Asuma both turned to Kakashi.
"This morning." He turned to the next page of his book. "The messenger finally found me I guess."
He had avoided them until the Hokage had likely been forced to intervene. Or he had likely just sent Jiraiya to find the Copy Ninja and deliver the scroll in the messenger's place.
"You haven't gotten one?" Asuma collected his scroll from Kurenai and found no resistance. "Kurenai?" She wasn't looking at him, she was likely too focused on her thoughts.
"Hey, let's go check with my old man before he checks out for the night." Asuma didn't wait. He laid a hand on her shoulder and the two vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Well, half our friends are gone now." Kakashi snapped his book closed. "I guess that means this little get together is over with."
He was already in the process of wandering off when Gai landed next to him after a rather impressive jump, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
"Nonsense Kakashi!" Gai pulled the silver haired Shinobi closer. He was careful not to aggravate any of the injuries he could guess that had yet to heal for the masked Jonin. "There is no reason to depart when our students are all so excited for the results!"
"They can guess." Kakashi waved his hand off to the side, doing his best to toss aside the issue. "Besides, I should at least drop by and tell those two they managed to pass the exams. They need to be ready for the promotion ceremony."
"Ah, but you would likely get lost on the road of life if you were to go on your own!" Gai laughed as he spoke, Kakashi not offering an excuse as he was guided back to the group of now rather anxious Genin.
"So…who passed?" Sakura asked the question, seemingly elected by Ino as the platinum blonde looked towards Kakashi.
She had guessed right it seemed judging from how Kakashi shifted.
"Naruto and Sasuke are both getting promoted. Beyond those two, I don't know anything for sure." His visible eye moved over the Genin of the four teams gathered in front of him. Four were absent at the moment, two from two teams. "Due to what happened, none of the Sand Shinobi who entered this year were considered for promotion. All three are currently considered prisoners along with the Kazekage while negotiations continue."
"D-Did N-Neji pass?" Hinata asked the question Kakashi figured she would.
"The match between Naruto and Neji was thrown out due to outside interference. If the kid didn't go off and fight the Sand's Jinchuriki he wouldn't have gotten promoted, same for Sasuke. The Third is issuing some combination of battlefield and valor based promotion for those two for their actions during the attack." Kakashi turned to Gai. "So Lee was the one who passed then?"
"Indeed!" Gai smiled as he turned to his student, offering a thumbs up that paled in comparison to the pride that shined in his eyes. "Rock Lee was deemed to be exceptional in his showing during the Exams and his actions during the attack launched by the Sand and Sound!"
"I-I can barely believe such a thing Gai-sensei!" Lee leaped from where he stood, landed in front of the Jonin who had aided him so much in his quest to become a Shinobi purely through the use of Taijutsu, the Jonin who had taken on a student others would have deemed hopeless and refused to allow him to fail, to give up on himself, the Jonin who believed in his student when so many others had dismissed him.
"It was something I fully expected Lee! You are an exceptional student and one who shall rise above me given time!" Gai's smile grew wider, seemed to shine. His eyes burned with pride, with the joy he felt to see such an outcome, to see that others had at last come to see Lee for the exceptional Shinobi he was destined to be.
"Gai-sensei! I-I will not make your faith in me a mistake! I shall not disappoint you!"
"I have been nothing but proud of you and your drive to surpass your limits Lee, I have never been disappointed in you for you always strive to improve yourself no matter what! To know the passions of youth and the Will of Fire runs so strongly in my student is amongst the greatest of honors as a sensei!"
Kakashi merely observed the interaction between teacher and student.
'I guess I wish I could say that too.' He closed his eye and locked away. 'Guess I was never going to make even a decent sensei like you, huh Gai?'
AN: Alright, I'll be honest, I didn't have anything for those three days I skipped. Well nothing substantial at least. So they got skipped.
But the seal, after the failure that just can't be explained, finally works again so whoopee.
Also the Chunin Exams results are in with the following: Naruto and Sasuke from Team Kakashi, Lee from Team Gai, and at least one from Team Asuma as well.
There was also Jiraiya's meeting with Hiruzen about a mission only he can do. Really wonder what it is...OH WELL! I'm sure a question posed in a previous AN doesn't have the answer!