After my little reveal, Ami burst out laughing. Sai just gave me a small smile, one that was less creepy and more sympathetic. Genma sat back down grumbling. His hand over his face. Danzo's voice rang in the back of my head. 'Information is power Uzumaki, having more knowledge or Intel over ones foes can turn vulnerability into your trump card. It would be wise to remember such things.' Oh, how right the old warhark was. In a single sentence I'd cemented my place with my Senei, as insubordinate. Sure their is some truth to that. But more so than anything I showed him I could stand in the ring with Jonin and their mind games and come out on top. Regardless from the risks involved with me.
"So, you expect me to believe that the anti-social wonder boy here is the nine-tailed fox?" Ami was struggling to get through her laughter. Sai just lowered his head and Genma didn't even respond. So I didn't see a reason too. Ami, acted as if she was waiting for the punchline. The longer the silence stagnated the faster we watched her amusement faltered. "I mean you're not. Right." Genma let out an audible sigh.
"Go ahead, I mean. It's a debriefing with the Hokage directly after this meeting. Not much more damage you could do." Genma glared at me, his frustration was pretty amusing actually.
"Shouldn't we finish this meeting first Sensei." I smiled up at him, I'm sure he's loving it.
"Uzumaki, don't smile like that ever again. I mean you make a tasteless joke about being the Nine-tails and then try to smile. It was more creepy than sighs. Sigh just looked at her with his eyebrow raised. "No offense, but seriously you look like a thug." I look like a thug, non assuming Naruto Uzumaki?
"I highly doubt that, but before we where interrupted. Sensei can we finish this meeting, move on to what ever else you have in store. So I can go back to training."
"Yeah, sure. Normally you kids would have one more test. But I suppose this is as good of a test as any. Ami, what I'm about to inform you is an S-class secret. Punishable by death if anyone other than the Hokage or Uzumaki Naruto himself are to reveal information involving it. With that said, I'll hand things over to him." Ami was looking a little panicked. She'd started to fidget in her seat. Sai was perfectly relaxed. But I didn't expect anything less than someone who was within Ne with me.
"This is a joke, right?" I watched her look at Genma than to me in an effort to tried to read us.
"Believe me, Ami. I wished it was." I finally croaked out. In the moments this was all going on I don't think I really allowed myself to truly think it over. I'm not a fan of admitting when I'm wrong and sure as a play it was spectacular. From this I'd get everything I wanted. But, I didn't plan for explaining it. A little thing in my mind was pulsing with. What fear? Regret? I'm not sure, the little devil trying to pull my heartstrings could fuck himself for all I cared. "On October Tenth the Kyubii attack Konoha, and yes the Yodaime defeated it. However a village in our position has to hold a Jinchuriki. The Shodiame made a decree during the first kage summit. Suna got the Ichiba, Kumo was granted the Hachiba and the Nibi. The rest of them were spread out as the other villages saw fit. But Senju-sama kept the Kyubii for the Leaf. Mainly because he sealed it into his wife prior. But that's all semantics." I could feel the trembling in my throat. I was, angry? Upset? No. No I wasn't able to feeling either of those. Or so I'll tell myself. "See, he had to seal it, but outside of the Ichiba a successful sealing of the Bijui into inanimate objects was unheard of. More times than not a human sacrifice is needed. To become the host of the Bijui, to become a jinchuriki. Now, for village safety Konoha has always had one, and since the last one died during the Kyuubi attack. Or I guess their death was the catalyst. But yeah, so it's me." After finishing my explanation or ramble, I guess. I rested my chin on my hands staring at her trying to gauge her reaction. Trying to see into her mind, in a primitive way compared to the Yamanaka, but facial and body readings had worked for so many others. Why not me?
"So, you're not the Nine Tails." Her look read confusion, but her body language was tense, not stand offish but more guarded. She was being cautious. If we were later in our career I'd assume it was just standard. But Ami had admitted to having slacked too long to have any redeemable skill. So it was possible that this was just her initial reaction. I suppose anyone just learning this information would be similar, but for some reason I found myself slightly disappointed.
"Yes I am." For all event in purposes, the village had seen me as the fox my whole life. Danzo made it clear as the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, my job was to stand as a weapon above all else. The villages most dangerous weapon. My worth was defined by my prisoner. My future was defined by my prisoner.
"No, the kids got a warped way of looking at things. Naruto is merely the jailer." Genma said looking directly at me. "Fuinjutsu is a very complex and powerful ninja art that's pretty much only used for storage scrolls and explosive tags. So civilians and even most shinobi can't wrap their hands around it. However the fox is locked up tight. Isn't that right Uzumaki?" I simply shrugged at his statement.
"If you say so Sensei." Ami still looked confused, perhaps a little frightened. Sai shock his head in disapproval and Sensei had this begrudged look on his face, completely done with my bullshit.
"We'll now that we have all that cleared up, normally Genin are given a secondary exam by their potential Sensei. Uzumaki has made that a little tricky. So we'll skip it. However tomorrow at seven we're to meet at training ground thirteen. Welcome to the Shinobi corps kids. You officially begin your career as team thirteen from this point forward. I'd say congratulations, but you've got a lot to prove." Without saying anything else we just watched him get up and leave, never once looking back at us. Once again I found myself a little insulted. Hadn't I just showed this man I was someone to take seriously? In Ne we were encouraged to never turn our back to a challenger. No matter how weak they were in comparison. 'Ninjutsu can be devastating, but no man is immune to a blade.' Was a quote Danzo-sama once said. Anyone could wield a blade. Or maybe he already saw us as comrades? I chuckled to myself a bit at that. He probably just dismissed us, never even acknowledge my challenge and walked right out of here with out a single care in the world.
"Um, Uzumaki?" Ami just had to snap me out of my thoughts, which was probably for the best.
"Are you okay?" He voice was laced with caution and something else I couldn't pick up. I went to answer but found someone else voice cutting through the brief moment of silence.
"No need to worry Ami, Dick-less has a tendency to glare when he feels he's being underestimated by someone superior." Sai just smiled, I could feel myself glaring. Fully aware of it now, but now focusing it on something. Ami sorta snickered after a short elated sigh. But her eyes were still downcast and her smile was weary and tired. I guess it had been a long day. I sorta just left them after that, leaving Ami to take everything in and Sai to. Well I just really left Sai.
The walk back to my apartment was filled with the same glares, whispers and general uneasiness I grew up with. You'd think something like this wouldn't bother me at this point. But a strange sense of self-consciousness always ate at me. I suppose it would anyone, I'd heard about people filling the sensation of people talking about them, or judging them with their leers when they'd feel guilt about something. Or embarrassed. Maybe that was part of it, maybe I just felt guilty about my existence now, and this was my psyche playing tricks on me. But most of those people never experienced it for real. Most of those people didn't walk around with a demon in their gut. So whether or not it was all in my head or actually observable by others didn't really matter. These people had a right to their fear, their uneasiness. Hell they had a right to their hatred. Like Shiranui-Sensei had said. These people weren't familiar with Fuinjutsu. To them it was like the beast that slaughtered their friends and family was just stuck inside a new born. An almighty power like that was sure to corrupt. Hell even if they did 'understand' it. I was still a living, breathing, walking reminder of everything that they had lost. While Naruto Uzumaki was around. A reminder of their lose, fear and pain would be in their sight. But in the same vein, these people. They'd probably always be a reminder of mine.
My foot falls eventually brought my to a four story building at the edge of both the Shinobi and market districts. A lot of people frequented the area for the bars and dive, others for the 'company'. It wasn't my place to judge, I mean everyone needed escape from the hustle and bustle of keeping up their daily facades and troubles of lives of the unfulfilled. My apartment didn't really have much to make it stand out, a bookshelf filled with various books on Ninjutsu theory and Fuinjutsu, a table covered in scrolls of fuinjutsu prototypes and various ninja tools. A small kitchen and a bed. One thing Ne taught me, or I guess one of the many things Ne taught me. Was simplicity was best. Nothing more than what was useful was needed. And nothing needed was without use.
Heading over to the table I gentle began to wrap my arms in bandages. If our skills where being tested, a test of my new fuinjutsu, well first fuinjutsu was a given. I'd spent months trying to figure out how to get it working. The idea was pretty simple. It was a Kunai launcher. Something easily hidden away. Accurate, deadly, useful. It would set my apart, give me an ace up my sleeve. While still holding to the basic ideas of assassination. Quick, precise and most importantly discrete. Multiple operatives in Ne used Senbon or Kunai launchers. However the mechanisms where easily damaged, they made minimum noise, but anything with moving parts would give off a slight warning that experienced ninja would be able to hear. That needed to be eliminated. Add in the issue of reloading or them only working once due to complicated loading mechanisms and then you have something that might as well be useless when you look at it's practicality. So I figured, what if it acted like a storage scroll?
The rest was trying to tweak the ability to aim or fire. Tweaking the storage seals was easy. After reading through the first five volumes of Fuinjutsu for Morons I was eventually able to remove the puff of smoke. Doing slight tweaks and edits I was able to make sure each Kunai came out in pointed in the exact same direction. A slow release so it didn't jump but basically laid on the seal. No popping out to be easy to grab. From there it was developing a compulsory seal. Then finding a way to cause forward propulsion to the Kunai. It was a frustrating process. For weeks it was to strong, then it was just to weak, But around the time of the academy exam I was able to finally get something usable. Tonight, I'd successfully finish the trigger and tomorrow. Well tomorrow I'd show off my work.
The next few hours was applying the seal, testing it with dull Kunai and redoing the seal time and time again until I was satisfied. With a cup of instant ramen, and a hot shower I was ready to call it a day. Fully prepared to face the morning training. Shiranui-Sensei would see what skills I had. I'd slide by Ami's and Sai's attempts at forming a relationship. Everything would go my way. It had to. For once.
-A/N-
Hey guys, sorry for the delay in updating. Work, what can you do? I'd like to take a moment to say I appreciate everyone who has read the first two chapters and came back for the third. I know this one was lacking in length. But I'm trying to do this fic with an episodic feel. Rather than multiple scene or time jumps. I'm trying to leave that between each chapter to keep it easier to follow. I'm also debating on having different POV chapters in the future and would appreciate you feed back on if it's something you'd like to see. But we'll keep this short and end it here.