Standard disclaimer applies.
Ch. 9: Introduction
It wasn't difficult being Hokage most of the time. Sure, there were situations that require you to make stressful decisions. A threat to the village, council politics, control of the civilian population, and so forth. But such circumstances are far and few between that the only constant occupational hazard of being Hokage was, in fact, boredom.
The monotony of paperwork that comes with the job is never advertised in a village. After all, what kind of self-respecting ninja would want to sit behind a desk his whole life, instead of going on exciting and dangerous missions? No, being the pillar of the village, the one everyone looks to for guidance and inspiration, that's what being the Hokage is all about. Effectively, it's a trap for those gullible to fall for it. At least, that's how the Sandaime felt about it.
Rifling through a set of very official-looking documents, the Sandaime Hokage couldn't help but feel annoyed. He was supposed to be retired, damnit! A lifetime of service to his village was supposed to be rewarded with peace and quiet for the rest of his life. The old ninja sighed. It wouldn't do to dwell on lost opportunities. A last man he trusted with such responsibility was already dead, having given his life to protect his home. He pulled out a folder from underneath all the paperwork. Only his son lived now…
The elite jounin walked up the stairs, slowly closing the distance between himself and the doors to the Hokage's office. The secretary did not stop him as he pushed open the door. Uchiha Itachi was famous enough that even a civilian such as herself knew of him.
The Hokage was looking through the window when Itachi entered, light clouds of smoke leaving the pipe in his mouth. Itachi's nose twitched. He would never understand the allure of something that hindered one's abilities as a ninja. One had to be able to breathe after all.
"You've returned."
Itachi didn't reply, but only moved to set the file on the desk of the Hokage. The Sandaime didn't move to pick it up, but instead turned around to look at the Uchiha.
"The boy is still in custody."
"I assumed as much."
"Ibiki will be here within the hour. Once he arrives, we will use all the information we have retrieved to conclude this business." Itachi nodded, and took a seat in one of the chairs along the wall of the office.
Twenty minutes had passed before the interrogator arrived, holding a black binder. When he entered the office, the Hokage picked up the folder that Itachi had placed on his desk. Inside were several photographs.
"As you ordered, Hokage-sama, I returned to the site of the encounter."
The Hokage nodded in affirmation. "Did you notice anything out of place?"
"All of the bodies were removed. However, the campsite, which I assume belongs to the boy, was untouched."
"So either the Kumo-nin are not associated with the boy, or did not anticipate your return."
"That is what I concluded as well, Hokage-sama."
The Sarutobi turned to the heavily scarred jounin. "Ibiki, has the boy given any new information?"
"Iie, Hokage-sama. The boy sticks with what he told us first." The jounin flipped open the binder, pulled out a sheet of paper, and placed it on the desk. "However, his medical report revealed something to us."
Most of the information scrawled on the document was inconsequential, as far as the old man could tell. Blood type, white blood cell count, and so on.
"I'm not sure I understand your meaning, Ibiki. What is so special about this boy?"
"It's the blood type, Hokage-sama. A very small ratio of individuals have an AB positive blood type, and the ratio is even smaller within the ninja population. Almost always, the blood type is hereditary."
"And?"
"I cross-referenced the blood-type and our estimate of the boy's age with those of Konoha who had the same blood type and had children within that time period. Only two fit. Sarutobi Yasuo, who's daughter Keiko was born, and Kazama Arashi, whose son was never found after the Kyuubi attacked."
Realization immediately dawned upon the Sandaime's face, and even Itachi was surprised at this revelation, as his eyes widened fractionally. He opened his mouth to speak.
"Are you telling us that this boy is the son of the late Yondaime?"
"Yes."
The evidence was compelling, but Itachi still wasn't convinced. "How can you be sure? You say you checked with the families of Konoha, but what if he is not from here? What if he was born in a different village? Or perhaps he is either older or younger than he appears?"
"I've already considered those possibilities." He reached into his binder and pulled two sheets of paper, handing one to each of the other occupants in the office.
"Hokage-sama, Itachi-san, what you are holding is the structure of the boy's chakra system. It is varied from most."
The Sandaime was still trying to grasp the possibility that the legacy of the Yondaime still lives when he took the sheet from Ibiki. When he glanced at the paper, he recognized the discrepancy. "His chakra system is incredibly dense."
Ibiki nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. When I saw this, I went to the Hyuuga who mapped out his chakra system and asked his opinion."
"What was his response?"
"He said that the only reason someone should have a chakra system like this was if he had to control an inconceivable amount of chakra."
"Are you saying that the boy is the Yondaime's heir because his chakra system is built to withstand the Kyuubi's chakra."
"Yes…and no."
Itachi was getting tired of the roundabout way Ibiki was explaining this situation. "Ibiki, tell us what you know."
Ibiki raised one hand as a placating gesture. "What you must understand is that all the facts must be told in a certain order for the circumstances to be logical." He took a deep breath. "If you look at the map of his system, you will see that near the surface of the stomach, there are two separate chakras."
Both the Sarutobi and the Uchiha returned their eyes to the paper they were holding.
"The blue chakra, which is obviously the boy's, is holding back the red chakra, which must belong to the Kyuubi." Once again, he reached into the folds of the binder, pulling out another sheet, and handed it to his leader. "The first mapping was a day after Itachi-san brought him in. This is two weeks later."
Instead of another picture, this paper was a graph. There were three lines, with the ever-so slightest inclines. If he wasn't a ninja, he might have mistaken them for straight lines. The Hokage raised a questioning eyebrow to his chief interrogator.
"That, Hokage-sama, is the increase in the boy's chakra capacity, chakra regeneration, and the density of the of his chakra system. That was just in two weeks. At this rate, he'll have more chakra than anyone ever documented by the time he is twenty-five."
The Hokage handed the sheet to Itachi, who scrutinized the graph carefully.
"Do you know why his body is behaving so abnormally?"
"I have a theory, Itachi-san. Based on our experiences with the Kyuubi, we know that demonic chakra is extremely corrosive to humans. I believe that the boy's chakra is acting as a natural buffer between the boy and the Kyuubi."
"Then why is the boy getting stronger?"
"Because of the deterioration of the seal."
There weren't many times in the old Sarutobi's life when he wished he could change the past. Orochimaru's betrayal was one, but even that paled to the situation in front of him. If only we had refined the seal, to protect the boy from the demon's chakra…
The past was the past, however; there was nothing he could do now. If the current development continued within the boy, they were safe from the demon's power.
But are we safe from the boy's? With all his heart, he hoped he had made the right decision.
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"Even though I said that I trust Kakashi-senpai's judgment, I still wish to see what you have learned separately. Sasuke, I will begin with you. The rest of you, begin with your chakra control exercises." The two Uchiha brothers walked to thetraining area adjacent to their own.
Once their instructor left the field, the two kunoichi immediately turned their attention to the newcomer. So far, he hadn't spoken up, even when Itachi-sensei had introduced him. Keiko was the first of the three to speak up.
"Hi, Katsu-kun. My name is Sarutobi Keiko. It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand.
The boy did not say anything for a few seconds, and Keiko felt like she was dealing with another Sasuke, when he closed the distance between them and attempted to shake her hand, and instead grabbed her wrist. He immediately shifted his hand to her palm. "It's nice to meet you as well, Keiko-chan."
Keiko turned to Sakura, who had been staring at the boy the entire time. When she noticed the other kunoichi looking back at her, she blushed in embarrassment at being caught. She raised her hand towards the boy.
"Hello, I'm Sakura."
"Nice to meet you, Sakura-chan."
An awkward silence fell between them. Keiko kicked a stray rock. It tumbled past Sakura's feet, who was fiddling with a lock of her hair. Surprisingly, it was Katsu that broke the silence.
"Well, I suppose we should train, shouldn't we?"
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When Sasuke returned from their spar, he expected to see his two teammates pelting the newcomer with questions. Therefore, it came to a surprise when he saw all three actually doing the tree-climbing exercise. At least, Keiko and Katsu were still continuing. It came to no shock that Sakura was resting at the bottom of her tree. She really needs to improve her chakra reserves. As they approached, all three turned to face him.
"Sakura, you're next. Nee-san is waiting."
"Hai, Sasuke-kun." The pink-haired girl brushed off her dress and stood up. She started off in the direction that Sasuke came from, leaving the remaining three alone in the field.
Sasuke turned his attention to the stranger among them. Curiosity got the better of him, and he strode towards the newcomer. The boy jumped from the tree he was clinging to as Sasuke approached him.
"You are not from Konoha, are you?"
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The question was direct. Keiko knew that Sasuke avoided pleasantries whenever possible. Still it wouldn't have hurt to introduce himself.
"No," replied Katsu. "I was found by Itachi-san during his mission, apparently."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Katsu said this. "Did you fight my brother?"
Keiko turned back to the blond-haired boy, only to see him chuckling. "No, if we had fought, I'd probably be dead right now."
Sasuke's body visibly relaxed, but he still kept up with the questions. "Where are you originally from?"
The chuckling continued, and a hand found its way to the back of Katsu's head. "Well, to tell the truth, I'm not sure. I lived in what Itachi-san called Rice Country for most of my life, but…"
Keiko couldn't help but join in the conversation. "But what?"
The boy hesitated, as if unsure how to continue. Fortunately, Sasuke had already deduced the answer. "You don't know where you're from." Katsu nodded.
Sasuke persistently continued. "If that's so, how come you know how to use chakra? And for that matter, why are you training with us?"
The chuckling turned to a quiet, nervous laughter, and Keiko was starting to feel sorry for the guy. "Alright Sasuke, that's enough. Don't you think Itachi-sensei would have already asked the important questions already to make sure he's trustworthy?"
The Uchiha glared at his teammate for interrupting him, and was about to retort when…
"She is correct, ototo." Sasuke turned to see both his brother and Sakura standing behind him. "The Hokage and I both have screened this boy. He is training with us only for today as a means to measure his abilities compared to other genin. As to whether he is worthy of trust, that is the decision of the Hokage, and you will respect it."
Itachi's gaze slid over to Keiko, and she felt her face heat up when he nodded to her. "It is important for a ninja to trust the judgment of her superior." Keiko gave him a bright smile, pleasure at the compliment radiating off her.
Itachi turned to the rest of them. He took out a slip of paper, and handed it to Sakura. "I must meet with the Hokage. Escort Katsu-san to this address. Make sure he does not get lost."
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Sakura and Keiko nodded in confirmation of the order, but Itachi's eyes held Sasuke's for a second longer than they had to. Sasuke received the silent message. Do not allow him to wander.
So, nee-san, you don't actually trust this Katsu. Sasuke smirked as his brother walked away from them.
"Sasuke-kun, are you coming?"
Sasuke pivoted on the ball of his left foot, and saw that Keiko was already dragging Katsu away, with Sakura looking at him.
"Hn." The ebony-haired ninja started off towards his teammates and the stranger. He heard Keiko speak to Katsu.
"Hey, Katsu-kun. Have you ever had ramen?"
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"Megumi-sensei, when are you going to tell us what happened to Naruto? We're his comrades, we deserve to know!"
The kunoichi silenced the boy. "Quiet, Kaizo. We have another mission. You will find out when we are briefed. Now come."
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Another chapter down. See you next chapter.