Chapter II - The Brandishing Ceremony
Like the audience at a coliseum watching gladiators, several children stood around in a circle and cheered on the young warriors in the center. Two dark haired boys swung their wooden swords without any sharpness, bloodlust or malice. All they had was fervor.
They didn't know what a true battle entailed. To them, slaying your enemies was completely different from murder. That was their naivete; and in Shisui Uchiha's opinion, it was better if it stayed that way.
After taking a heavy swing, one boy was thrown on his rear.
"We have a winner!" Shisui announced from a bench on the side of the street.
The victorious boy held up his sword and a bonus two fingers, while the other kids huddled up to him. The defeated Uchiha pouted and stayed on the ground, prodding at the dirt road with his sword.
"It's just a play fight. Don't get beat up over it," Shisui said.
The boy huffed and looked away. "An Uchiha should never lose. Not even against another Uchiha. A loser is just a disgrace to our clan..."
"That's... kinda extreme. Even the strongest samurai of our clan, Madara, lost a few fights during his rival days with the first shogun, Hashirama."
The boy continued to sulk. "I bet Sasuke never lost a fight..."
Shisui laughed. "Are you kidding me?! Sasuke was a complete loser when he was little! In fact, he started losing so much, me and his brother started this game where-"
"What unnecessary things are saying this time, Shisui?" a voice from behind the boy asked.
The boy looked back to see who's shadow he had been caught in. A young man with hair and eyes just as dark as his was looming over him.
"Sasuke!" the boy yelled.
At the sound of the name, the other kids all looked back. After catching a glimpse of the Uchiha clan's latest golden boy, they all flocked to him like baby chicks to a hen.
"It's Sasuke!" one of children exclaimed while grabbing hold of his waist.
Before he knew it, Sasuke was weighed down by little, overeager Uchihas. He tried moving, but they had him rooted down. He wondered if asking one of their nonsensical questions would make them let go. He heard snickering, and looked Shisui's way. At least someone was having a good time.
"Shisui... do you mind?" Sasuke asked.
"What? The future Seventh Hodaiichi can guard the shogun, but he can't handle a few kids?"
Sasuke gave him a look, and Shisui shrugged. "Hey, you guys! Big Brother Sasuke's a little busy, right now, so he'll have to play with you all later."
Many "Aww...'s" and "That's not fair...'s" bounced around while Sasuke was freed from his adolescent prison. The kids quickly regained their energy, though, and went to find somewhere else to play.
"So, how did escorting the shogun go?" Shisui asked while he and Sasuke walked through the Uchiha's district together.
"It went fine. We met a small ambush party before making it to the capital, but aside from that, everything went smoothly."
Shisui's brow heightened. "You guys got ambushed?! By who?"
"The Sarutobi clan. It was about something involving the previous shogun. It seems the Sarutobi actually believe that rumor about Lord Danzo's involvement in the third shogun's death."
"Either that... or the rumor was true."
"Either way, they've pretty much sealed their clan's extinction now. Lord Danzo isn't the type to let something like this slide."
Shisui sighed. He knew Sasuke was right. Danzo never liked to leave loose ends, and the Sarutobi clan wanting him dead was as loose as an end could get. Them failing in their assassination attempt signed their own death warrant. By tomorrow morning, the Sarutobi clan's district would no longer exist.
Shisui sighed. "Well... guess there's nothing anyone can do about it now. So let's focus on the positive. Like your Brandish Ceremony tonight! You know everybody in the clan is gonna be there right?"
Sasuke grunted as Shisui shook his shoulder. "So they are..."
Konohamaru couldn't hear anything but his own heartbeat. His frenzied panting, the thundering pounds of his footsteps, the grouses of people he was bumping into in the street – all of it registered as empty noise. The only sense that was still operative was his sight, and the only thing it saw was the smoke pluming from his clan's district. He had to be seeing things. It was still daytime, after all; noon, at least. The shogun wouldn't dare disrupt the Brandishing Ceremony by trying to exterminate the Sarutobi only a few hours before. The seniors of the Sarutobi clan said this themselves.
They were wrong. When Konohamaru finally reached the district, he found that they were very wrong. Everything was burning. The houses that Konohamaru used to play in front of, the home his cousins stayed in; all of it was being devoured by flame. A crowd had gathered in front of the district. Some wore woeful expressions, but most were just tragedy seekers, trying to witness the disaster unfold so they could have an interesting story to tell later. Konohamaru squeezed through them while trying to get closer.
He eventually got close enough that he could see two men standing in front of the district. They were of the samurai police. Fresh bodies were laying behind them. Their cut up clothing depicted the Sarutobi clan's crest on them. Konohamaru felt the same pit of hopelessness he did in the forest.
One of the samurai held out a scroll, and began reading off it. "The Sarutobi clan has been found guilty of treason against the Shogunate! This morning a small ambush party composed of Sarutobi clan members attempted to take the shogun's life! It has been concluded that all of the Sarutobi were involved in this planning of this attack!"
Konohamaru gritted his teeth while tears welled up in his eyes. 'That's not true... Only a few members of the clan even knew about the ambush...'
"Also... evidence has been found that incriminates the Sarutobi involving themselves with Minato Namikaze, the Traitor of the Nation!"
Veins bulged off of Konohamaru's fist as he clenched them. 'That's not true! The only people who knew the Fourth Hodaiichi were Grandpa and uncle Asuma! These bastards... They're spreading lies!'
"For these grave crimes, the Shogunate has sentenced all of the Sarutobi to death! Also, any of their retainers are not allowed to attend tonight's Brandishing Ceremony! If they are caught breaking this rule, they will be charged with an indefinite prison sentence!"
The samurai police rolled up the scroll, having concluded his decree. Konohamaru stayed hidden in the crowd, tears running down his face. He wanted to jump out and strangle that man, but he knew he would just be cut down. He wanted to try to extinguish the fires, but he knew any effort would be pointless. He wanted to scream, but he knew he would just be caught, jailed and then executed along with the rest of his clan.
So Konohamaru bit his lip until it started to bleed and walked away. This was the smart thing to do. This is what his grandfather would have encouraged him to do.
Konohamaru stopped. "But that's not what my clansmen deserve..."
He shoved his way through the crowd, drew his sword, rushed the samurai who had read the decree and slashed at him with every ounce of rage blistering inside of him. The surprised samurai held up the scroll to protect himself, but Konohamaru sliced through it cleanly, just as he did the samurai's hakama. With blood spluttering from his chest, the samurai fell with a now bloodied scroll still tight in his grasp.
Konohamaru looked at the body. Then he looked at his sword. He had just killed a man. His hands trembled as the realization hit him. He had the urge to vomit again, but the other samurai had already drawn his katana. The young Sarutobi's reflexes reacted before his mind did, and he managed to parry the first stroke. His sword danced off his opponent's gracefully before gliding down its blade and slicing the man's hip.
"Y-you little shit...!" the man spat while holding his bleeding side.
Konohamaru cursed himself. He had cut too shallow. He looked at his injured adversary. He could have finished him then and there if he wanted, but he heard the shrieks of terror coming from the crowd. Konohamaru had forgotten that an audience was present.
'...what am I doing? ...I've got to run!'
Without sheathing his blade, Konohamaru ran in the opposite direction of the crowd, straight into the burning Sarutobi district. It seemed dangerous, but to Konohamaru it was the best route possible. The roars of the flames drowned out the crowd's screams and the samurai's yells. For once, something was louder than his heart.
"What do you mean, I gotta pay to attend the Brandishing Ceremony?!" the Orange Flash exclaimed so loudly, passerby paused for a moment before continuing on their way.
The lazy-looking guard in front of the large temple yawned. "Sorry kid, but that's the rule. You're free to watch the ceremony from the outer grounds, but if you want to watch from near the steps, you're gonna need to pay up."
Naruto folded his lip. "How much?"
"Thirty ryo."
"Thirty ryo?! You mean 'per person?!'"
"What? You got a date you wanna take or somethin'?"
The other guard grinned. "That's not a good idea kid. The guy who's being brandished Hodaiichi tonight – he's a real lady killer in the looks department. Whoever you're bringing might just become a fan, and turn her nose up at you."
Naruto scowled. That was the umpteenth time somebody had told him something remarkable about the soon-to-be-appointed Hodaiichi. Before this, he had been told that the next Hodaiichi was a prodigy only seen once in a generation. After that he had been told that he was a member of the highly esteemed Uchiha clan, and was going to be the fourth of his clan to receive such an honor, and also that he was handpicked by the current shogun from a young age. This new Hodaiichi was basically a celebrity within the capital.
Naruto didn't even know the guy, and already hated his guts.
He snorted. "Whatever... Who cares about the Brandishing Ceremony if a guy like that is being made Hodaiichi?"
The lazy-looking guard scratched his chin. "Hey... haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
The other guard cocked his head. "Y'know what, I think I recognize him too... Hey, kid. What's your name?"
Sweat started running down Naruto's forehead. "It's uh... N-n... Nice ass on that lady over there! Man, is she even wearing anything under that kimono?"
The aroused guards peered in the direction Naruto was looking. They saw an elderly woman watering flowers in front of the temple grounds. They squinted and looked back at Naruto. He, of course, had vanished.
He rested in an alley, breathing heavy on his knees. "Whoo~ Really gotta be careful from now on... Now, how I'm gonna earn enough to get into Brandishing Ceremony?"
Naruto felt something wriggling around his chest, then Gamatatsu poked his head out. "But Naruto, I thought you didn't want to go to the ceremony?"
"Are you kidding me? I wanna see that elitist jerk's face from as close up as possible. ...but first I need some money. Oi! Bushy Brows! You got any money?"
Lee appeared from one the shadows behind Naruto, making him jump.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. The only thing I have on my person is this scarf, my jumpsuit and all of my youth."
"And that's all equally worthless..."
Naruto sighed while ignoring Lee's depressed face. He walked out the alley and started strolling through Konoha's street. Lucky for him, it was dark and the streets weren't too busy at the moment. Though, they would be soon when the Brandishing Ceremony began.
He looked at the moon, or at least attempted to. It was partially obstructed by some obnoxiously tall building in the distance. It was the tallest in the capital by far, more so even than the castles that loomed in the distance. It was Rashōmon Castle – the headquarters of the shogun and shogunate. Naruto glared at the castle. Currently in it were the men who sentenced his father to death and branded him a traitor. He was still fuzzy on the details, but his malice was as clear as Spring air.
He spat on the ground, and kept walking. "Maybe I should just try gambling or something... Oomph!"
Naruto was nearly knocked off his feet when somebody collided with him. The other person had fallen to his rear, and Naruto loomed over the boy ready to bark at him to watch where was going. Then he saw the sweat on the boy's face, and after that, the blood on his sword.
"Hey now... What's going on here?" Naruto asked with a hand on his chin.
The boy looked at Naruto nervously. Then looked back and saw four men wearing samurai police uniforms come around the corner.
The boy cringed. "...damn..."
He got up and ran around Naruto to get away, but the samurai easily caught up to the fatigued youth. One of them pinned him down while the another grabbed his sword. The last two floated overhead, glaring holes into the boy. Naruto watched the scene curiously.
"So... this brat is the only one left?" one of the samurai asked.
Another samurai mushed the boy's head into the ground. "Yep. His execution means the end of the Sarutobi clan. Kinda of shame. They were a proud house, and third shogun was a decent guy." He yanked the boy up by his hair. "...but traitor's don't get a pardons..."
"And neither do murders. This brat killed Daisuke! I say, we give him his execution ahead of time."
"Wouldn't they be breaking from Bushido?" one of the standing samurai asked, hand on his sword despite his words.
"The brat's got a bloody sword. Just say he attacked us," the last samurai advised. "We had to defend ourselves."
The samurai smiled and quickly took up the suggestion. He drew his sword, put one hand on the kashira and held the point of the blade above the boy's head. The youth's eyes trembled.
"Have fun meeting the rest of your clan, brat..."
"Secret Technique: Toad Shuriken!"
The samurai squinted and looked up just in time to see a yellow toad crashing into his face. He fumbled backwards holding his nose, while the toad hit the ground and bounced back to where he was thrown.
"Naruto, don't just throw me like that all the sudden! I saw my life flashing before my eyes!" Gamatatsu cried.
"Stop whining. It's not like you got hurt, or anything," Naruto said while rotating his throwing arm.
The samurai police thew glares instead of toads. "Son of a bitch! Do you know how years in prison you just earned?"
"Hey~ I guess I'm pretty lucky if you'll actually give me a prison sentence instead of killing me on the spot."
Three of the samurai, including the now red nosed one, stepped forward with their blades drawn. Naruto put his hand on one of his.
"Draw either of those swords and you'll have signed your own death sentence..."
Naruto grinned. "So its fine so long as I don't draw my sword?" Naruto pulled out one of his swords, sheathe and all, and held it at its scabbard. "Good to know."
The samurai with the red nose growled and tore after Naruto with two of his partners behind him. Naruto twirled his sheathed sword. He ducked the first slash, and a sharp "swish" went over his head, taking a few blond hairs with it. The other samurai joined in, slashing and hacking at Naruto. They did more damage to the air than they did to him.
The blonde samurai jumped off a wall to evade a samurai's stroke, and flipped over the attacker's head. Upon landing, he struck the back of his knee, his hip and his cranium in quick succession. The victim's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he collapsed against the wall.
Naruto smirked. When another samurai thrust for his neck, the wanted ronin weaved out the way and caught the blade inside his sword's tsuba; both shocking and confusing his attacker.
The attacker was even more confused when, upon noticing the red nosed Samurai coming at him from behind, Naruto swung his sword, and like a sling, pelted the still caught sword at him. The samurai ducked in time, but caught the tip of Naruto's foot in his jaw as a result.
The orange samurai looked at the third samurai police. Now weaponless, the man put up his hands and inched off into the dark street. Once enough distance was made, he bolted. Naruto looked at the last samurai. He was holding up the boy, his sword pressed against his neck.
"Make another move, and I'll slit the boy's throat! Don't think I won't!" he cried.
Naruto didn't even fake looking worried. He leisurely strolled over the samurai, twirling his sheathed sword all the while.
"D-dammit! I swear I kill-"
A powerful strike hit the back of the samurai's head, and he dropped like a log.
"Taking children hostage is something even the world's greatest cowards would look down on!" Rock Lee declared to the unconscious samurai.
"Nice assist, Lee. I guess you're good for something after all."
Lee gave Naruto a thumbs up, and his teeth glinted. Apparently, he didn't know what a "backhanded compliment" was. The boy looked at the two in awe.
"You alright?" Naruto asked.
"Oh, uh... Yeah," the boy sputtered.
"It's a good thing we were around. The police around here seem pretty ruthless," Naruto said while putting back his sword. "So who the heck are you, anyway?"
"...Konohamaru Sarutobi."
"Woah... You're name after the capital? What a cool name."
"More like 'cursed' name. The new shogun stated that all Sarutobi be wiped out for trying to assassinate the shogun. ...I'm all that's left."
Lee made a shocked face. "C-can the shogun do that?!"
"With enough support from the shogunate, he can do anything he wants."
Lee gripped his bandaged fist, while Naruto punched his into his hand.
"The shogunate... The more I hear about those bastards, the more I wanna tear them apart!" Naruto exclaimed.
He fumed for a few more seconds, then took a deep breathe. "Anyway... we have to go. Try to stay low, okay Konohamaru?"
As Naruto and Lee sauntered off, Gamatatsu hopped onto the former's shoulder.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Konohamaru called out.
"Away from the city, obviously. I'm a wanted man. ...a wanted man who just beat up four members of the samurai police, to be exact. If I don't bail out of the capital quick, there are gonna samurai all over my ass. So see ya."
Naruto started walking again.
"Hold on. Maybe I can help you," Konohamaru said.
Naruto looked back with a his brow raised. "You can help me? How?"
"When I was little, I used to explore the city all the time with my friends Moegi and Udon. We found lots of secret routes that can get you in and out of places, and even the capital itself, without anyone noticing. I was heading to one of those places when I ran into you."
Naruto's face lit up. "Alright! Tonight, Naruto Uzumaki's luck might finally be turning arou— ...wait. You said you know lots of secret routes that can get you in out of of places, right?"
Konohamaru nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
Naruto grinned. His luck really was turning around.
Danzo patiently watched his reflection as the attendants finished setting his ikan. When his hat was finally set in place, they stepped back.
"Very good. You may go," Danzo said.
The attendants bowed and showed themselves out. Danzo continued staring at his reflection. It was finally time. Tonight at this temple, Danzo would take the last step out of Hiruzen Sarutobi's shadow. Now that his clan was also exterminated, there was nothing left to obstruct his path.
Danzo heard footsteps behind him. "What is it, Fu?"
"It's time for the ceremony to begin, Lord Danzo."
Danzo hummed and allowed Fu to escort him. 'Tonight... will be the beginning.'
The female attendants blushed as they helped Sasuke dress.
"Uh... Lord Sasuke, wouldn't it be better to have male attendants?" one of the girls asked, her cheeks burning.
"It's too late to worry about that now. The ceremony is about to begin," Sasuke said.
The girl nodded quickly and continued with her work. When she and the other attendant were done, Sasuke took a look at himself in the mirror. A black and blue montsuki with his clan's symbol on either side of his chest was what he wore. The women thought he looked marvelous in it, judging by their reactions, but Sasuke was merely complacent.
"Lord Sasuke, it's time," another attendant from outside said.
Sasuke nodded to her. 'Tonight.. I will fulfill my destiny.'
The time for the Brandishing Ceremony had finally come. People from all over the capital were flooding toward the Hojo Temple, and guards had been placed at every entrance and patrolled around the temple every hour to keep people from trespassing.
However, there was still one way to sneak onto the temple grounds unnoticed. At one corner of the temple grounds existed a pair of trees called 'the Kissing Sakuras.' One sakura tree existed inside the temple's gates. The other existed outside. They were the only sakuras that grew around the temple, and by some strange coincidence, both these trees had grown to similar heights and their branches had touched and weaved around each other. They were now conjoined.
Under the cover of the blooming cherry blossoms, Naruto and Konohamaru shimmied over the gate across the conjoined branches. Konohamaru got a little nervous when a patrolling guard stopped underneath them, but Naruto reassured him and told him to hurry. The two made it across the gate and raced across the temple's rear grounds before any guards could spot them.
"Yes! We made it!" Naruto exclaimed when they finally met up with the crowd at the front of the temple. "You really know your way around, Konohamaru."
Konohamaru was still trying to catch his breath. "Y-yeah... Thanks."
The crowd stopped in front of steps so tall, one would have to back up a few feet to see the top.
"The Hodaiichi has to walk all the way up there? Bet that's a pain," Naruto said while shading his eyes. "What do you think, Konoha...maru. ...are you alright?"
Konohamaru stared at the ground for a moment before answering "Yeah..."
Naruto was unconvinced, but he left it alone. Konohamaru had more than one reason to sneak onto the Hojo Temple grounds. Danzo was going to be here tonight, completely vulnerable.
Konohamaru gripped the hilt of his sword. 'Tonight... I'll get my revenge!'
Naruto looked around the crowd. He spotted a peculiar group of people who all looked alike. Some of them had fans on the backs of their clothing. 'Are they the Uchihas? They look familiar for some reason...'
Before Naruto could think of where he had seen them before, the chatter among the crowd immediately ceased. Everyone looked toward the top of the stairs. A finely dressed man with one eye covered appeared at the steps' peak. He raised one hand and all the people in attendance bowed. All except for Naruto who was confused about what was going on.
"Hey, Naruto...! You've gotta get down..!" Konohamaru exclaimed quietly.
Naruto whipped his head left and right like a dunce before bowing as well.
"You may stand," Danzo announced. The audience did. "Tonight will be a proud one for Konoha. For I will brandish the man who will go down as the greatest Hodaiichi in Hinokuni's history."
A myriad of cheers arose from the crowd, especially from the Uchiha side. Suddenly, squabbles started to come from the rear. Everyone looked back and saw guards splitting a path through the crowd. Behind them was another finely dressed man, though he was noticeably younger. His hair was dark. As was his eyes. He was definitely an Uchiha, which meant he was the soon-to-be brandished Hodaiichi.
The cheers returned in surplus. The women especially, were lauding over the youth as he passed them. Naruto snorted. Though, he made a face once he realized that Konohamaru was hiding behind him.
Naruto looked back. "Konohamaru...?"
"I can't let that guy see me..." Konohamaru said. "...I can't look into his eyes."
Naruto squinted. He looking for what was so dangerous about this man's eyes as he walked past. In that split second, both their eyes met. Time seemed to stand still. Noises faded out.
Then everything returned to how it was.
The guards stood at the foot of the steps as the Uchiha started to climb them. Naruto watched him carefully. He wondered if his father also had those eyes. Was that one of the reasons his mother never talked about him?
Naruto clenched his fist. 'Tonight... I'll find out the truth about the Hodaiichi.'
"Wooh~ Sasuke!" one particularly loud Uchiha shouted.
He got in the last yell, for once Sasuke reached the shogun and got on one knee, silence once again returned to the Hojo Temple. A veiled woman from the temple walked up to Danzo with a red pillow in her hands which held a ceremonial katana. She kneeled, gifted the katana to her shogun, bowed, then returned to the temple with the pillow.
"Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha's long esteemed Uchiha clan... State your purpose," Danzo instructed.
"My purpose is to be the shogun's sword. My purpose is to be the shogunate's sheathe. My purpose is to be Hinokuni's hope. Should I fail in my purpose, should my blade ever break; I will plant what is left in the soil, and pray that my flame grows once more."
Danzo gestured for Sasuke to stand. He held out the katana. "This sword symbolizes loyalty. Take it, and then tell me who your enemy is."
Sasuke nodded. He took the katana with both hands. He stared at it. Its sheath was colored a gallant blue. It was a sword meant only for his hands. Sasuke gripped the hilt.
"Yes, Lord Danzo. I, Sasuke Uchiha, only have one enemy in this world... and that's you."
Danzo's brow heightened. After Sasuke drew his newly gifted sword, the shogun's brow wasn't the only thing that was high.
It flew into the sky then hit the top of the steps with a thud. From there it rolled. It hit each individual step on its way, finally hitting the ground and rolling to a stop at some poor woman's feet. She stared blankly at the shogun's head before letting out a scream that sent everyone around her running for the exit.
Naruto and Konohamaru stayed where they were, as did the loud Uchiha. He stared wide-eyed at Sasuke who looked back down at the panicked crowd, Danzo's blood splattered across his face.
That night, a Seventh Hodaiichi was not brandished.