Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
6 years ago
"Speaking" - regular dialogue
Thinking - regular thoughts
Bijuu communication - Mental Bijuu communication
10-year old Naruko happily hummed to herself as she made her way to her favorite spot in the village with a several takeout bowls of ramen in hand. She had just finished a training session with Cat and Bear. With Cat she learned some new kenjutsu techniques and with Bear she learned some taijutsu techniques to fight against larger opponents using her smaller build and speed to her advantage.
And thanks to Shadow Clones she was able to learn a variety of other jutsus. Normally a jutsu reserved only for jonins, due to Naruko's vast chakra reserves and lack of control she was able to learn the Shadow Clone jutsu without much difficulty. It's unique ability to pass on its memories to the user when dispelled made it incredibly useful for recon or learning new techniques, though she would still have to learn techniques requiring muscle memory the hard way.
As she enjoyed the food of the gods Naruko sensed a familiar presence behind her. With a smile on her face she turned her head to greet him. "Itachi-nii!" But as he came into view her look of joy was turned into a look of horror.
Itachi was covered from head to toe in blood. His eyes had an empty look in them as if all the joy in them had been sucked dry. And to Naruko's keen eye it looked like he was... crying. Despite that he gave her a strained smile. "Naruko".
Naruko immediately got up and ran up to him in worry. "What happened Itachi-nii? Are you hurt? Have you gone to the hospital?"
Itachi kneeled down and gave his little sister-figure a hug. "I'm sorry, Naruko. This might be the last time we'll see each other."
"What... what do you mean?"
Itachi sighed. He knew should not be doing this but he could not bear to leave her in the dark, mission protocol be damned. "I... had a mission and now I'm a traitor of the village." Before Naruko could ask he pulled away to look her in the eye as tears began running down his face as he struggled to continue. "Naruko, I'm going to be a missing nin and join an organisation called Akatsuki. According to Jiraiya-sama they are a group of mercenaries that have been gathering various high-ranking missing nins. What their motives are is unknown. I've been tasked to spy on them now that I've been branded as a traitor."
Once more he enveloped her in a hug as he cried quietly. Naruko's heart broke with every sound, her enhanced hearing picking up every sob Itachi tried to suppress. He hugged her as if his life depended on it. She was an important lifeline to him, her bright smile lighting up his day and helped him through difficult times. This was the last time he would ever hold her like this and he wanted to savour as long as he could.
But alas, he could not stay much longer. After reluctantly releasing the hug Itachi once more gave a sad smile to Naruko and tapped her forehead with his fingers much like he does with Sasuke. "Take care of yourself little sister. And become a proud ninja, fighting for the village and the people inside it." With that he left with a shunsin as Naruko began to cry, unable to contain herself anymore. But she didn't cry for long, after composing herself she decided to get some answers.
In the Hokage's office the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi busied himself with the paperwork detailing the Uchiha massacre. It was yet another dark chapter in Konoha's history but it was necessary for the the village's stability. As he reassured himself with that fact the door to his office suddenly burst open as angry Naruko stomped forward.
The ANBU in the room, Cat and Bear included, were startled at her KI. It wasn't that long ago when she was happily sucking up all her training and now she was incredibly pissed with the Hokage for some reason. The ANBU hid their presence as they watched, concerned about the little girl they saw as family.
The Third Hokage on the other hand, he would not admit but he almost soiled himself. Naruko's angry visage and her KI made her look like angry demon. And it was probably his imagination but he could swear he saw Kushina behind her glaring at him with her daughter. "Explain yourself, old man", she said venomously none of the usual love and admiration present in her tone. This did not go unnoticed as the ANBU tensed themselves wanting to know what the Hokage did to earn the ire of their youngest member.
"Whatever do you mean, Naruko-chan?" he said with a smile hoping to placate her anger.
Unfortunately this only served to make her angrier as she growled. "Don't play dumb with me, old man! What did you make Itachi-nii do!?"
This startled the other ANBU. They were told that Itachi had gone insane and murdered his entire family, though Dog believed otherwise having trained the young man himself. The two were quite close with Dog seeing him as a younger sibling and he reminded him of a more subdue version of his late teammate Obito Uchiha. Likewise he saw Naruko as a little sister himself, not to mention he was quite close with her late parents.
He was broken out of his thoughts when the Third gave a heavy sigh. "I see Itachi paid you a visit before leaving. He always did adore you." He took out a bottle of sake and poured it in a glass. Stirring the contents he took a sip before taking out a folder and passing it to the irate Naruko. "The Uchiha clan were planning a coup. Originally I was going to ask another ANBU team to take care of it but Itachi himself volunteered to take the mission in order to spare his brother Sasuke."
Naruko read through the folder in disbelief as the third Hokage continued, "This was supposed to be the last resort but unfortunately diplomacy did not work. For the sake of the village, sacrifices had to be made."
"Bullshit!" Naruko swore. "There's always a better way. You're the Hokage! You could've done something to appease the Uchiha clan."
The Third slammed his fist on his desk in anger as he stared at the young girl. "There was nothing else I could do! I have a responsibility as the leader of this vilage to put the needs of the village and its people first. And all threats to the village must be neutralized before they jeopardize the stability of the village." He took another sip of his glass, calming his frayed nerves. "It's not easy job but it must be done. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made", he said as he looked sadly at Naruko.
Naruko could see the regret in his eyes and knew that he regretted giving such a difficult assignment to someone as kind-hearted as Itachi. But still she could not forgive him for easily sacrificing one of the few people she loved. "What is it really necessary to kill all of them save for Sasuke?" she asked sadly, eyes cast downwards not wanting to meet eye-to-eye with the man she once thought as a grandfather. "Is the village really more important than family? The ones we love?"
"The village is family, Naruko", he said in reply. Naruko scoffed at that answer though. What kind of family looks down at you as a demon, beating you up for something you had no control over? Or refusing to acknowledge your existence simply because your different?
Naruko remembered Itachi's last words to her and the promise she made to fight for the village and the people inside. She understood Itachi's feelings, her upbringing (or lack thereof) and being trained with ANBU meant she had to mature earlier than regular children her age. She knew right there and then that she would not become Hokage. The thought of ordering the people she loved to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the village frightened her.
She resolved there and then to follow Itachi's footsteps and devote her services to the village. But not out of blind loyalty or for the love of the village. No longer would she crave for attention or acknowledgement from the villagers. She will fight for the village because it's her home and to protect the people she cares about.
"I understand", said Naruko in monotone. "Thank you for your time". She gave a respectful bow and left the office with a shunsin. The Third Hokage finished drinking the sake in his glass as he let out a sad sigh.
He stared at the portrait of his deceased successor the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze. Oh Minato, what would you've done in my place? I'm too old for this.