Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series or any other series/movie that I might use for inspiration
CHAPTER 11
Meeting With The Kazekage
Three Years Later...
"Temari, Kankuro...Gaara..." greeted the Fourth Kazekage neutrally, keeping hold of his emotionless demeanor even before his own children. He was sitting behind his desk with his hands folded in front of his face as he adressed them, maintaining a relaxed farcade, though in actuality, he was more than alert of his surroundings, as any sane shinobi should be in the presence of his homocidal son , Sabaku no Gaara, the Ichibi Jinchuuriki.
The Fourth Kazekage is a farely handsome man of moderate height with rusted, spiky brown hair and dark brown pupils, his outfit consisting of black ninja pants, dark brown ninja sandals and a long, white Kage's robe with the kanji for 'wind shadow' on the back. The Kazekage carries no visible weapons with him, his magnetic release and gold dust technique all he needs to defeat his opponents.
"Kazekage-sama!" bowed the Kazekage's eldest child, his daughter, Sabaku no Temari respectfully, a beautiful 13 year old girl with light shade of spiky blonde hair that is tied up into four pony tails and beautiful green eyes. She is wearing a purple-coloured, off the shoulder garment that extends to halfway down her thighs with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating a fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and left thigh, she also has a black forehead protector tied around her neck with a large metalic fan strapped across her back, a weapon she uses to argment her wind release ninjutsu.
"Otou-sama!" greeted the Kazekage's eldest son and second born child, Sabaku no Kankuro, bowing his head in respect. Kankuro is a rather tall twelve year old boy wearing a black, baggy full body suit with a red and yellow circle at the front. Covering his head is a black hood with cat-like ears and forehead protector wrapped around his forehead. His face is covered with a face paint that has taken to a triangular design and on his back is a human sized battle puppet that is wrapped up in bandages.
"..." Gaara on the other hand simply refused to acknowledge his father and leader, keeping hold of a rigid and alert stance with a stone faced expression. He is the youngest of the people present in the office and the shortest too, with green eyes, fair skin, and short, spiky red hair with no distinctive eyebrows. He however has very distinctive, tanuki-like black rings around his eyes, another distinctive feature being the kanji for 'love' on the left side of his forehead, exposed by the parted forlocks on his left side of the head. Gaara is wearing a full body suit with t-shirt like sleeeves, 3/4 length legs, and an open neck with a white cloth over his right shoulder and around the left side of his hips. He carries a huge gourd on his bag held by a wide leather band system over left shoulder and around the right side of his hips.
The Kazekage couldn't help but take note of the gigantic ninja weapons that each of his children carried on their backs, almost as if they were competing for who could carry the largest load and still be able to carry out their mission effectively and efficiently. Supressing a chuckle to himself, the Kazekage decided to carry on with the proceedings, getting straight to the point of the meeting, not that there was anything else they could have talked about, his relationship with his children was a fickle one, to say the least.
"You may or may not be aware of this, but the chuunin exams will be held in Konoha almost exactly twelve months from this date. Something else that you might not know, is that our economy has been suffering a steady but harmful decline over the years, The Wind Daimyo has lost faith in our village ever since the third shinobi world war and has been giving away missions that were suppposed to be assigned to and completed by us to other organisations, namely, our so called allies from Fire Country, Konohagakure no Sato..."
"Get to the point! I do not have the patience to listen to your problems, what does this have to do with us?" demanded Gaara, shocking both his siblings with the blatant disrespect to their father and leader.
"It has everthing to do with you! You are the Kazekage's children and the three of you will be participating in the chuunin exams that will be held in Konoha as a team!" explained the Kazekage.
"But..."
"Let me finish Temari! You may ask questions when I am done explaining, until then, you will listen to me! That goes for you too...Gaara!" demanded the Kazekage authoratively, leaving no room for argument.
Gaara knew better then to carry on antagonnizing the Kazekage, as much as he hated it, he knew he could not hope to defeat this man at his current level, he'd already tried and failed many times, mainly because the Kazekage had the ability to suppress shukaku's sand with his gold dust. The Kazekage, seeing that he had the siblings' undivided attention, continued on from where he left off.
Temari on the other hand kept taking nervous glances at her youngest brother, not liking the idea of being paired up with him at all. Don't get her wrong, she loved her little brother dearly, but that didn't mean that she wanted to spend so much time with him, as she inevitably would if she was in his team. Gaara was a walking time bomb and she honestly did not want to be anywhere near him when he exploded.
"The three of you have been trained seperately up until now, but your apprenticeship officially ends as of today. Temari, you may continue to train with Baki in your spare time, as can Kankuro with Chiyo-sama. Gaara...we can also continue our training in our spare time...but for the most part, you will all begin taking missions together in order to develop your teamwork." ordered the Kazekage.
"And who will be our jonin-sensei?" asked Gaara apethetically. The door opened almost as soon as Gaara voiced his question, causing the sand siblings to turn around simultaneously, each adopting an alert stance.
"No need to be alarmed, I'm just here to meet my cute little students! My name is Pakura, and I will be your jonin-sensei for the foreseable and unforseable future!" exclaimed the young girl now identified as Pakura with a peace sign and a goofy smirk. She is a gorgeous 16 year old girl with green hair tied up in a bun on top of her head with a needle running through it and two locks of hair with orange tips framing each side of her face. She has smooth, creamy skin with pupiless brown eyes, wearing the female version of the standard jonin atire of Sunagakure no Sato, complete with a light brown coloured flak-jacket.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Are you serious? This...this idiot is our Jonin-Sensei?" asked Gaara with an even voice, traces of incredulity hower filtering into his tone.
"I do not mean to be rude...but I'm inclined to agree with him, Father" said Temari with a focused expression on her face, trying to analyze the young girl in front of her that did not look much older than she was.
"Be careful Temari...Pakura is the most powerful Jonin that I have under my command, even stronger than your sensei! It would be in your own interest for you not to underestimate her!" warned the Kazekage, shocking the sand siblings with his blunt honesty, Temari more so than the others, her knowing more than anyone just how strong Baki was. She was his apprentice afterall.
"M-Masaka! She couldn't be more than just four years older than me, how could she be stronger than someone as established and elite as Baki-Sensei?" exclaimed Temari in surprise.
If Pakura was offended, than she was very good at hiding her emotions, her only reaction being only to stick her toungue out at the Kazekage's daughter petulantly while giving her an arrogant smirk.
"You should know better than to judge shinobi on such fickle things, for all we know, there could be someone out there younger than even Gaara but stronger than even me! Your reaction is unbecoming of an elite kunoichi...Temari!" chastized the Kazekage.
"H-hai! Gomenasai, otou-sama! I have learned my lesson, it won't happen again!" apologised Temari shamefully, cursing herself for making such a rooky mistake, especially in front of her father of all people.
"Do not be too hard on yourself Temar-chan, there is a reason why I have been chosen to be your sensei..."
"And what would that reason be, besides your supposed status as the so called strongest person under the Kazekage's command?" demanded Gaara.
"Pakura has a unique set of skills that will benefit all three of you, but more so, you and your sister..." trailed off the Kazekage, pausing slightly for dramatic effect.
"What are these skills?" asked Gaara with a small frown, unable to contain his curiosity.
"She is a five star master of the wind and fire elements because of her strong affinities for said elements and consequently, is able to harness the rare ability to merge the two elements, creating the scorch release kekkei genkei!" explained the Kazekage to the surprise of his children and subrordinates, taking silent pleasure in the awed expressions on their faces while also taking pride in being able to break Gaara's emotionless mask, even if only for a few seconds.
"N-No way...! Y-you possess that ability?" exclaimed Kankuro in disbelief.
"Yes she does Kankuro! She is a true ninjutsu prodigy, that is why I have chosen her for the three of you, she will be able to help you all improve! Temari, Baki has taught you well, but it is time to take things a step further, Baki has only taught you how to cut with the wind, but Pakura can teach you so much more about the wind element..."trailed off the Kazekage.
"What do you mean...father? What could she teach me that Baki-Sensei couldn't?" asked Temari with a confused expression.
"I'll take it from here...with your permission of course, Kazekage-sama?" interupted Pakura, discarded her childish persona momentarily, she almost sounded like a completely different person, like she really was as dangrous and elite as the Kazekage said she was.
"Of course, be my guest!" was all the Kazekage said.
"Thank you." said Pakura respectfully.
"Temari, I'll start with you..." said Pakura, making sure that she had the young kunoichi's undivided attention before carying on where she left off.
"Hai Pakura-Sensei...?" questioned Temari. Pakura, seeing that she had the wind mistress's attention, carried on where she had left off.
"Up until now, you have been learning only how to use your wind element as a sharp blade, in other words, you have only been learning how to cut with your wind. I know this because that is Baki's specialty and limit. There is however more to wind release than just cutting, there are other ways to use fuuton chakra, you can use pressure techniques by controlling the wind resistance and pressure in the atmosphere or you can use vacuum or void techniques by sucking up the air from the atmosphere. Baki, at his level does not have the proficiency to teach you these things, but I can." explained Pakura matter of factly, stifling a chuckle at the imaginary or rather figurative stars that had taken the place of Temari's eyes.
"S-sugoi! I never thought that there were so many things one can do with fuuton chakra! Are you really going to teach me all that?" asked Temari enthusiastically, showing a rare childish excitement that neither her father or her siblings could claim to have seen too often.
"Hai, that is what I plan to..." said Pakura simply.
"That is interesting and all, but what could you possibly teach me?" inerupted Gaara with a monotone voice, although traces of curiosity and anticipatiom could be detected if one listened very carefully.
"Oh yes...Gaara right? Well...correct me if I am wrong Gaara, but Shukuka is known for its powerful wind pressure techniques, right?" asked Pakura rhetorically, but expecting a response from the ten 11 year old redhead regardless. Gaara on the other hand simply nodded his head at the young Jonin, impatiently waiting for her to get to the point. He didn't care that she spoke about Shukaku, heck he didn't even care if she hated him or not, as long as she could make him stronger, that was fine with him, he'd kill her later when he no longer had a use for her. It would be a good way to verify his existence if he managed to kill her, especiallu If she really was the strongest Jonin in Suna.
"And are you, at your current level able to use any ninjutsu that does not revolve around your sand?" asked Pakura.
"No, what is your point?" asked Gaara defensively.
"Well, as Shukaku's vessel, you should have a strong affinity for wind release, and should find wind pressure techniques all the more easier to master. So, effectively, I will become your fuuton ninjutsu teacher while you learn more sand techniques from your father in your spare time." explained Pakura, waiting patiently to see if the Ichibi Jinchuuriki had anymore questions.
"If that is all you have to offer, than you are just as useless as I thought you were. My sand is more than enough for me, I just need to find a way to negate the Kazekage's gold dust and I will become invincible." argued Gaara with conviction.
"Wrong! Pakura is more than capable of supressing you...Gaara! She is a master of the scorch release you imbecile! She'll turn all of your sand into glass and you'll be left a sitting duck! Did you not listen in class when they taught chemistry and physics!" shouted the Kazekage furiously.
"So that's why you chose her! This is another assassination attempt?" accused Gaara with hateful eyes directed at his father. The Yondaime smacked his hand against his head in exasperation, realising that, in hind sight, he should have anticipated this kind of reaction.
"That is not it either, believe it or not, Kazekage-sama really is trying to help you here! By training with me, you can learn how to fight against someone whose strength just so happens to be your sand's weakness. We can be able to find weak points in your fighting style and then find alternate means for battle. We want to help you to harness the full power of the Ichibi, and to do that, you need to be able to master all of its strengths and make provision for its weaknesses. That is why we want you to learn and master Fuuton, and that is also why we want you to spar with me, so that you can learn and adapt, so that you can master the Ichibi." explained Pakura ernestly, a soft expression taking over her facial features.
"...Hn! Fine! But if you find out that you're trying to kill me...?" trailed off Gaara maliciously, extending an open-ended threat to the young jonin.
"Alright! That's more than I can I ask for at this point in time, I just wanted you to give me a chance! We're gonna do great things together!" replied Pakura with a friendly smile, a mixture of relief and excitement creeping into her persona.
"Well... Now that that's settled..." started the Kazekage, only to be interupted by his eldest son.
"Wait a minute, what about me? What am I gonna learn from you?" whined Kankuro.
"Oh yes...you...ehehehe! Sorry, almost forgot about you there sport..." apologised Pakura incincerely, causing Kankuro to twitch irritably.
"B-bitch! You did that on purpose didn't you?" asked Kankuro furiously.
"Hmmmm...sorry, but I can't honestly say that I know what you're talking about." said Pakura, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.
"Aaaaargh...!"
"Stop messing with him Pakura, you know he has a short fuse! Just tell him already!" ordered the Kazekage.
"Oh alright! Spoil sport!" whined Pakura with a childish pout.
"Pakura...!"
"Okay okay! Geez, look who has a short fuse now!" retorted Pakura, the Kazekage trying with all his mind not to fall for her trap, but finding it very difficult himself, his eyebrow twitching furiously.
"Just tell him already!" snapped the Kazekage.
"Okay! Listen, I know you're a puppeteer, but I'm gonna teach you a little ninjutsu that I think will aid you with your puppet techniques. I'm going to teach you the basics of wind and fire manipulation. What we're gonna do is this, we're gonna seal that nature chakra into special storage seals that will be attached to your puppets' limbs. The seals can store nature chakra and than release it in a pressurized form! This is a forbidden technique that was created by Akasuna no Sasori, he is a traitor, but that does not mean we should let such powerful techniques go to waste." said Pakura, causing Kankuro to smirk at the young Jonin's words, a satisfied expression visible through even his facepaint.
"You know what, that doesn't sound bad at all, I was worried there for a second, thought you'd try to get me to stop being a puppeteer." joked Kankuro.
"Wouldn't dream of it!" retorted Pakura with a playful smirk.
"Father...I am greatful that you have organised this opportunity for us, but you rarely do anything without an agenda...so...why are you doing this for us?" asked Temari, trying to maintain a respectful and grateful demeanor so as not to offend the Kazekage.
"Nothing ever flies past you does it, Temari? Nevertheless, your anology is spot on, there is a motive behind all of this, I tried to explain to you earlier before we were rudely interupted!" said the Kazekage, giving Pakura an accusatory stare that made her fidget nervously in her place.
"Listen carefully my dear children...this is the reality of the situation...Suna is suffering from an economic crisis, mainly because of what I told you earlier, the Wind Daimyo has lost faith in us and has, for a very long time now been redirecting missions that were meant for us to Konoha. As a resultt, I have asked Pakura to do her best to turn the three of you into what will be by far the strongest genin team in the elemental nations by the time the chuunin exams begin in Konoha, roughly twelve months from this day. Many important people, the Wind Daimyo included will be watching these exams, especially when they are being hosted by what many believe to still be the strongest shinobi nation..." trailed off the Kazekage, taking a deep breathe to regain his breathe, the three siblings each giving him their most undivided attention.
"Your mission is simple, crush anyone that gets in your way during the exams and make sure you win the tournament! We need all of you to make it to the finals and we need at least one of you to win the tournament. People will judge Sunagakure by what the three of you show them in these exams, and if you impress, or better yet, win the tournament, than the Daimyo and other important digntaries will be forced to re-evaluate their opinions on Suna. Suna's hopes rest on your shoulders, I'm counting on you..." said the Kazekage, the tone of his voice making the gravity of the situation unmistakeable.
"I will win this tournament and verify my existense!" said Gaara with determination and conviction. It wasnt't that he loved Sunagakure or its people, but he still had his pride, people everywhere would recognise him as the Kazekage's child and a Suna shinobi, even if he were to go rogue, they would still call him 'Gaara of the Sand' and he would still be a 'Suna' missing nin, there was no way to absolve himself of his roots and heritage. That, besides verifying his existence, was why he so desperately wanted to win this tournament, if they didn't do well in this tournament and Suna lost all power and respect, than he would also lose his respect by association, and that was something he would never allow.
"Don't worry father, we'll win this tournament and verify Suna's strength..." said Kankuro
"We are after all, the Yondaime Kazekage's children!" said Temari, closing off Kankuro's sentence.
'They seem to have found their resolve as a team, maybe there is hope for us yet!' Thought Pakura, the Kazekage also sharing the same thoughts as her as he prepared to dismiss the new team, only to be interupted by a bang as Baki came budging through the door and into the office.
"What is the meaning of this Baki? Speak now or forever hold your peace!" threatened the Kazekage, apalled by the elite jonin's uncharacteristic disregard for standard protocol and the blatant lack of respect for his office.
"Forgive me Kazekage-sama! But I have an important delivery! It concernes an urgent matter of utmost importance!" said Baki hastily, placing a small, black box in front on the Kazekage's desk. The Kazekage gazed at the black box with a scrutinizing stare, staring particularly at the words 'open me' that were written on the lid of the box.
"What is this...?" asked the Kazekage suspiciously, honestly, he couldn't recall ever receiving such kind of a delivery, especially one that was supposedly of such importance. Standard procedure mandated that an important delivery be sealed within a storage scroll that could only be openned with the Kazekage's seal, this was just too fishy for his liking, and that was saying something, considering that they were in the desert far away from water.
"Sir! We have been presented with an opportunity that can reverse the downward spiral that Suna has been subjected to, all you have to do is open the..." Baki was was unable to conclude what he wanted to say, finding himself wrapped in gold dust from neck to toe in the blink of an eye, his eyes wide in surprise at the Kazekage's actions.
"Gold Dust Coffin!" whispered the Kazekage harshly.
"K-Kazekage-sama/Father!" exclaimed Baki and Temari simultaneously, surprise and fear written all over their faces, both fearing for Baki's life.
"Who are you, imposter?" asked the Kazekage maliciously, right hand stetched towards the cacooned Baki with his hand wide open and prepared to curl into a tight fist, causing Temari's eyes to widen even further, knowing exactly what would happen to Baki if her father went through with that hand motion.
"K-Kazekage-sama, it is I, I'm not an..."
"Oh please give it a rest already, Kazekage-sama has been friends with Baki since their genin days when they used to be in the same genin team. If he thinks you're an imposter, than you're definitely an imposter!" shouted Pakura in exasperation.
"You have no respect for your superiors, did you really think that you could fool the Kazekage with such a parlour trick?" asked the Kazekage with feigned conviction, truth is, he was rather confused and unsure himself. He, like his son with his sand, had the ability to sence presences that were in contact with his gold dust, this...imposter somehow managed to replicate Baki's body and chakra signature to perfection, if he didn't know Baki so well, he would never have seen through his disguise. Nevertheless, it was important that he didn't give away even a hint of his doubt, lest his enemy use that against him.
"Hehehe! Ehehehe! This was unexpected, they say Suna is one of the weaker if not the weakest of the big five, but you have more than impressed me today, Kazekage-dono!" replied Baki in a very different voice, one that sounded far more sinister and borderline demonic, although still slightly recogniseable as Baki's voice.
"Who are you, who sent you, and what do you want?" asked the Kazekage monotously.
"Who am I...well...I am just someone who has borrowed Baki's body for the time being, if you want him back, then you'll listen to what I have to say!" said the voice that was now confirmed to be inhabiting Baki's body.
"A mind transfer technique...? You're from Konoha's Yamanaka clan aren't you? What is the meaning of this! Has Konoha betrayed us?" asked Pakura furiously, eyes narrowed in anger and hate. Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro's eyes were wide in surprise at the proceeding events, awed by the abilities of the Yamanaka clan and filled with a little trepidition at the possibility of going to war with Konoha, mixed with excitement on Gaara's part.
"W-wow! You Suna shinobi are quite knowledgeable, to have figured out my jutsu so quickly is simply outstanding...but...you're wrong, I'm not a konoha shinobi nor am I a member of the Yamanaka clan of Konoha, but yes, I do have in debth knowledge of mind techniques." replied the imposter.
'I was unable to detect any lies, not even with my gold dust? Than...he really isn't a konoha shinobi...but who is he...and what does he want with Suna...?' Thought the Yondaime Kazekage.
"You said that you would give back Baki if we listened to what you have to say, we're listening..." trailed off the Yondaime Kazekage.
"A wise decision on your part, Kazekage-dono. First of all, you may from this point forward call me 'Ido', that is the name that I am known by..." said Ido, pausing slightly for dramatic effect.
"Now, I hail from a new hidden village known as Otogakure no Sato, the founder and leader of this village is Orochimaru Of The Densetsu no Sannin...!" trailed off Ido dramatically, pausing once again, this time to give her audience the chance to digest the no doubt shocking and disturbing news.
"Orochimaru of the Legendary Three Ninja...has his own hidden village!?" asked Pakura in surprise.
"Let me guess, you want to ally yourself with one of the Five Great Elemental Nations for protection and security in your early years of development. Furthermore, you want to use Orochimaru's status as a Legendary figure in order to lure us into this agreement and you've targeted us because you think we need this alliance more than the other members of the big five." theorized the Kazekage.
"Hmmm...interesting analogy, but for the most part completely wrong. Yes...it is true that Orochimaru's name carries a lot of weight, but we do not need your protection! In fact, we have the power and the means to help you turn around Suna's spiraling downfall, we have some...gifts that we want to extend to you...in exchange for a treaty alliance and a small little favor in return...a favor that would benefit you in the short and long run anyway should you keep your end of the bargain." Explained Ido with a sinister smirk, knowing that the Suna contingent would be interested no matter how much they distrusted her, no matter how suspicious her actions up until now were, because they were just that desperate.
"Alright...let us hear what you have to say..."
"Let's just kill him Kazekage-sama, Baki will be a great loss, but you can't possibly believe anything this Ido person says! This could just be a trap, or a trick! It's almost like making a deal with the devil! We can't possibly trust him, he tried to trick us not more than five minutes ago!" protested Pakura.
"I'm aware of all the possibilities Pakura, but I also know in my capacity as a shinobi, that jumping to conclusions and making hasty decisions is never a good idea. We don't have to decide anything yet, let us first hear what he has to say." lectured the Yondaime in a sage like manner, extending his experience and wisdom to one of his potential successor, or rather, four of his potential successors if his children are to be considered, even though the idea of Gaara taking over after his death terrified him, he still believed there was hope for his son, he couldn't bring himself to believe otherwise. Sure he'd sent assassins after him, but he had also trained him, he never sent people after him that he didn't believe Gaara could handle. if he'd really wanted to kill him, he would have sent Pakura after him, or simply done it himself. He just wanted Gaara to grow strong and master the Shukaku, so that he could one day protect Suna and his siblings
"A wise decision Kazekage-dono! I can see why they chose you to succeed the Sandaime Kazekage, you really are worthy of the title of Kage!" praised Ido, trying to lighten the tension for the oncoming negotiations.
"Thank you, but flattery will do nothing for my village, I'm more interested in the retrieval of my subordinate that you captured and these gifts that you spoke of..." trailed off the Kazekage, indicating that the negotiations have officially begun.
"So you want to proceed with negotiations huh...problem is, I'm not qualified to make any binding agreements on behalf of the village, you'll have to speak to someone more higher up than me for that, I'm just the messenger!" replied Ido.
"That sounds reasonable, so...I assume you want to re-schedule a meeting date, time, and place?" asked the Kazekage.
"That will not be neccessary Kazekage-dono...if if you would open the black box, than you would have the means to make direct communication with our Head Of Safety and Security, who is also our Jonin Commander!" explained Ido.
'So that's what the box was for...' Thought Pakura.
"I see...Gaara, prepare your absolute defense, you too...Pakura, Temari, Kankuro, make sure you're ready for anything! This could still be a trap!" ordered the Kazekage.
"Hai Kazekage-sama/Otou-sama/Father!" saluted Pakura, Kankuro, and Temari respectively, each adopting their fighting stances, Kankuro unwrapping his puppet and attaching chakra strings to the weapon while Temari unfurled her battle fan all the way to three stars. Pakura on the other hand molded hand seals for her scorch release, ending with her right hand placed against her lips in a funnel shape. Gaara, as usual did not bother to respond, but the cork to his gourd did pop out as sand flew out of the container, circulating the space around his body viciously.
The Kazekage, seeing that everyone was prepared, opened the black box with his gold dust only for his eyes to widen in horror!
"I-Impossible...this is..."
"The Hiraishin no Jutsu! All you have to do is to throw that kunai and the Jonin Commander will appear! He is already expecting you to call on him." cut in Ido, stopping the Yondaime mid-sentence.
"B-but...!"
"But the Yellow Flash was supposed to have died 11 years ago during the Kyubi's assault on Konoha? True, but we have the second coming of the yellow flash in Oto, his son...Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto! Ahahahahahaha! Ahahahaha! Ehehehe!" exclaimed Ido with mad elation, basking in the fear, confusion, and horror that her words had caused within the Suna contingent.
"W-wait a minute! We know about Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha, we know he is the Yondaime Hokage's secret son, and container of the Kyubi, but our spies have reported that he has shown no real shinobi talent and is in fact dead last in his class. He has even failed the academy exam three times already! What you said can't be true...unless...unlesss...!" exclaimed Pakura hysterically.
"Unless the one in Konoha is an imposter!" concluded the Kazekage in realisation.
"It makes a lot of sense come to think of it, I've always wondered how in the pits of hell the son of the greatest shinobi I've ever known and the Heiress of the Uzumaki clan could be so weak! More so considering his jinchuuriki status, but I can't help but wonder, why would the son of the Yondaime Hokage betray Konoha? This, all of this just seems too suspicious to me, is this some kind of trick by Konoha to test our loyalty, or some elaborate plan to destroy us?" thought the Kazekage out loud.
"You said it yourself, the Yondaime Hokage's son is a jinchuuriki just like your son. If Gaara were to betray Suna after everything the village has put him through, would you be surprised that he did? Would it even qualify as a betrayal, could it not be said that rather, Suna had betrayed Gaara since the day he was born?" asked Ido rhetorically, causing the Suna contingent, apart from Gaara to all bow their heads in shame and contemplation.
"Naruto-kun might have stayed in Konoha and endured the pain had it only affected him, but he found someone precious to him when he was still a young boy. And that girl was facing the same kind of hardship and pain that he was going through. In order to protect her, in order to give her a chance at a happy life, Naruto realised that he would have to leave Konoha with her and find a place that would be more accepting of people like them, and he found that place in Otogakure no Sato, a place that they could be acknowledged as shinobi and not just as monsters, a place that would allow them to harness their true potential. In Oto, they made new friends and found more precious people, more loved ones. But Naruto-kun knows that he can't live his life hiding forever, one day he will be discovered, and Konoha will stop at nothing to capture him and retrieve their military weapon, that's why he has made it his goal to destroy Konoha and assassinate the Sandaime Hokage, so that they can never pose a threat to him or his family ever again!" said Ido, taking a small breathe to give the Suna contingent a chance to process her words.
"This goal is shared by our leader, Orochimaru also wants to destroy Konoha and kill his former sensei! This is what binds our Commander and Leader in their rule of Oto. Oto has the military strength to go toe to toe with Konoha in battle, but we don't want to leave anything to chance. We want to guarantee our success, that is why we want to ally ourselves with you and your village, Kazekage-dono. We want to destroy Konoha during the chuunin exams, but they will not expect you, their allies to attack them, rather, they would expect you to help them defend their walls, the surprise that your aid will provide will secure our victory against Konoha. Think carefully about this before you decide Kazekage-dono, are you really allies with Konoha, or are you just slaves on a leash? What has Konoha done to help your village, do you even think for one second that it is a coincidense that the Wind Daimyo is giving away your missions to Konoha? Do you think that Konoha are not aware of this, or behind this?" asked the Ido rhetorically, allowing the Kazekage to come to his own conclusions.
"I'm not stupid! I'm already aware of everything that you have said, but what do you want me to do? Go to war with them? That, up until now has not been an option, they are too powerful and resourceful for us to handle on our own, our country has never been the same since Sasori's betrayal and the Sandaime-sama's disappearance! We have never truly recovered from that blow!" said the Kazekage, his words causing a knowing smirk to appear on Ido/Baki's face.
"Orochimaru is a former member of an organisation that I believe your village has had dealings with in the past, Kazekage-dono...I believe you know of the Akatsuki do you not?" asked Ido, causing the Kazekage to narrow his eyes in suspicion.
"And what would you do if I said I do?" asked the Yondaime non-commitedly
"Well, as it so happens, Orochimaru was partnered with Akasuna no Sasori while he was involved with this organisation, in other words, we have significant intel on Sasori and we know about his human puppet technique. Orochimaru once said that Chiyo-sama had a scroll containing the prototype of Sasori's puppet technique. I'm not supposed to mention this, this was something Naruto was supposed to present to you himself, but the gifts I spoke of earlier are the bodies of the 1st and 2nd Hokage! We were thinking that with Chiyo's puppet and medical knowledge, and the prototype scroll Sasori's that she obtained before his defection, that your son, Kankuro could one day wield the 1st and 2nd Hokage as his puppets! We would give you the Second Hokage now as a sign of faith and the First Hokage after the invasion and annihilation of Konoha as a thank you! That is, if you agree to the alliance!" said Ido.
"Think about it Kazekage-dono, how much money does Suna spend on buying water and wood from other countries...from Fire Counrty? With the Second Hokage, you could cut Suna's budget on water supplies to zero, you could simply use the Second Hokage to create underground and cave water systems. That money that would have been used on water can be used to stabilize your economy. And when the time comes that we give you the First Hokage, you wouldn't have to buy fruits, vegetables, wood, medical and poisonous herbs or other such products and beverages anymore, you could simply produce them yourself. Kankuro would also be able to help Gaara to master and subdue the Shukaku with the First Hokage's powers. Not only that, but in Kankuro, you would have a legitimate successor as the Kazekage, as with Chiyo's training, and with two Kage Puppets, Kankuro would surely be a good candidate! Kazekage-dono, all of you have to do is to swear yours and Suna's loyalty to us and help us invade and destroy Konoha during the chuunin exams that will be held in Konoha a year from now. With Konoha's destruction, the Wind Daimyo will have no choice but to provide for Suna like he was always meant to." proposed Ido with a slippery toungue worthy of her demonic status.
"The First and Second Hokage's powers...? You would give away that kind of power just for an alliance? Why do I find that so hard to believe...really, why would a ninja village give away such kind of power and not harness it instead to boost their own strength? Do you really take me for that much of a fool!" asked the Fourth indignantly, adopting an angry and insulted facial expression.
"Hmmm...you ask a lot of questions you know, sometimes it is wise not to look a gift horse in the mouth! Nevertheless let me say this, we have already harnessed the Second Hokage's cells and powers, in fact, we have a shinobi in training that is now, thanks to his genetic composition and our science devision, able to utilize the Second's powers. We are however having a little problem regarding the First's cells, that is part of the reason we have postponed the transfer of ownership. We want to harness these powers first for ourselves before we give them to you, and we have calculated that we should have found a solution by the time the chuunin exams commence in Konoha. At that point, ownership of the First's Body will be transfered to Suna, off course, only after the invasion." explained Ido.
"I see...you guys are very smart...and you've thought this out thoroughly haven't you. These gifts, you're not just handing them over to help Suna are you? I mean come on...the Kazekage's eldest son using the Second Hokage's body during the chuunin exams? Or any other time for that matter...? That would be an outright declaration of war against Konoha, an insult to their pride, history, and heritage! These are not just gifts to us, this is your insurance! You want to make sure that our relationship with Konoha is permanently damaged, that we won't switch sides at the last minute and betray you in favor of Konoha and that Konoha will never forgive or trust us again! At the same time, we will be in debted to you for the radical but positive changes your gifts will create in Suna, Kankuro will become a strong candidate for Kazekage, and possibly one of, if not the strongest shinobi in the history of the elemental nations, Gaara will be able to master Shukaku with the help of the First Hokage's powers, and we will never have to expend our monetary resources on water, wood, herbs etc. And since Fire Country was our main supplier, this would cause them to lose a lot of money while we gain just as much if not more so..." said the Kazekage, pausing slightly to regain his breathe.
"All in all, you would have effectively put us in a situation where we would be forever in your debt! You're not even worried about how much power you have given us, because you have the nine tails jinchuuriki whereas we have the Ichibi, you will have also harnessed the powers of both the first and second for yourselfves anyway and you also have the Flying Thunder God Technique. Kami knows what other sources of power you have that you're not telling us about." said the Kazekage, using his gold dust to launch the Kunai into the space behind Ido/Baki straight towards the door...
"Let us begin the Suna/Oto treaty negotians..."
6 Months Later
Konohagakure no Sato
"Ladies and gentlement today's meeting is to discuss the matter of the chuunin exams that all of you should know by now, will be hosted right in our own backyard six months from now! But before we discuss that, we will begin with the matter of the academy graduation...are there any Jonin amongst you that would like to take a genin team from this year's batch of graduates? Please step forward, those of you that are interested..." said Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, not beating about the bush at all as he began this week's jonin meeting, going straight to the point in an instant.
Four figures immediately stepped forward, one of them a legendary figure known to have copied over one thousand jutsu, Hatake Kakashi, a man with silver grey gravity defying hair with a forehead protector going across his head and completely covering his left eye. The man is fairly tall and is dressed in the standard Konoha jonin outfit and a brown kunai pouch wrapped around his right leg.
Next to him is the Sandaime Hokage's very own son, Asuma Sarutobi, a tall, well built man with brown eyes, spiky black hair and a black beared to go with it. He is wearing the standard Konoha Jonin uniform with halfway rolled upp sleeves, and a 12 Ninja Guardian sash wrapped around his waist.
And on Asuma's right hand side is Yuhi Kurenai, a very beautiful woman with black shoulder-length, untaimed hair and unique but beautiful eyes that are red in colour with an extra ring in them. She is wearing make-up consisting of red lipstick and black eyeshadow. Her outfit consists of a red mesh armour blouse with only the right sleeeve visible and a broad material resembling bandages with a patern similar to that of rose thorns worn over it. She's also wearing the Konoha forehead protector on her foreheadand also has bandages wrapped around her hands and thighs.
And last but not least...on Kurenai's right hand side, is non-other than the A.N.B.U commander himself, Uchiha Itachi, not having changed much since the Uchiha Massacre, apart from his height and the more pronounced tear troughs running down his cheeks perhaps, and a longer pony tail. He is wearing a black, turtle-necked t-shirt with a silver-grey standard A.N.B.U armour on top, black shinobi pants and black ninja sandals with a tanto strapped to his back. On his right thigh is a blue kunai pouch and the Konoha Forehead protector wrapped around his forehead.
"Itachi...what are you doing?" asked the Sandaime with a suspicious frown.
"You asked if there were any jonin that were interested in taking in a genin team this year, and I have stepped forward as a jonin that is interested in grooming the next generation of Konoha shinobi." stated Itachi monotously, shocking everyone that was present in the hall, except for only two other individuals, one of the clan heads, Hyuga Hiashi, and one of the village honourable elders, Shimura Danzo.
"Itachi...what's going on? You know you can't take any students under your tutorship, you're in the A.N.B.U! And the commander no less, how do you plan to make this work?" demanded Sarutobi authoratively, not liking what was transpiring before his eyes at all, and not without reason either.
It all started with Uchiha Madara's betrayal, than the Kyubi's assualt 11 years ago, which lead to the isolation of the Uchiha clan followed by the Uchiha rebellion and Massacre, and followed by Uchiha Mikoto's death. It was barely noticeable, but Itachi changed after the Uchiha Massacre. Before than, he'd been more open to others and shared informattion with the village higher ups willingly. He'd been a boy whose heart was overflowing with the will of fire and loved his village more than anything, apart from maybe his little brother.
After the Massacre, Itachi's attitude took a drastic change, he became closed off and secretive, avoiding conversations with the higher ups or anyone outside of Hyuga Hiashi and his family unless absolutely neccessary. He stopped sharing information about his abilities even with his comrades and teammates, even going as far as to complete missions on his own, without the aid of his comrades.
As if this wasn't bad enough, Mikoto started showing symptoms identical to those that his ex-lover, Masaki showed prior to her death, and upon medical examination, was revealed to have contracted the same virus that had killed Masaki. It was also revealed that, just like it had been with Masaki, that the virus had been dorment within Mikoto for eight months already. With this information, it became clear to Itachi that this was Shishui's doing, that he had already struck a killing blow on his mom even before the Uchiha Massacre.
Itachi, not wanting to feel the pain of losing a loved one again, and worried about the mental and emotional trauma his little brother could go through had worked tirelessly to find Tsunade, the only person he knew that could have helped his mother. It didn't help that his mother only had 8 days to live by the time the examinations on her had been completed.
He'd begged the Sandaime to dispense some of his subordinates to help him find Tsunade, asking that Inuzuka Tsume, Abuame Shibi and Hyuga Hiashi be allowed to help him in his quest. Unfortunately, with the time constraints and the bad weather conditions for tracking, they had not been able to find Tsunade in time, and Itachi had been forced to return on the fifth day, a three day travel back home allowing him to make it back to spend the last two ours of Mikoto's life with her in the privacy of the Uchiha Compound.
After that event, Mikoto had entrusted her eyes to Itachi, allowing him to obtain the Eternal Mangyeko Sharingan, asking for one favor in return, that he and Sasuke should love and protect each other no matter what happens and that they should rebuild a strong and united Uchiha Clan. Itachi had promised his mother and was trying by all means to live up to the promise.
But things were not easy, he and Sasuke did not get along at all! They had very different views on what should be done, Sasuke was frustrated by Itachi's passiveness, accusing Itachi of not loving the clan and even their mother as much as he should have, noting Itachi's stance against the persuit of revenge against Shishui as absolute proof of the truth in his accussations.
Itachi however could not tell Sasuke that he knew why Shishui killed the clan nor could he even say that he, to a certain extent, agreed with Shishui. To Itachi, Shishui was a savior of many lives, and a hero of the clan, because without his sacrifice, than the whole Uchiha clan would have been wiped out. Enemy nations would have taken advantage of the civil war, with a possible result being the complete extinction of the Uchiha and Konoha for that matter. At least, as things were, they could rebuild the Uchiha clan, Sasuke was alive and safe, and Konoha was still standing, better than the alternative definitely if you asked him.
Of course, Itachi was still human and thus had to face the conflict of emotion, rationalizing what happened did not stop him from loathing Shishui, the bastard did kill his lover and precious mother after all, and even tried to kill Sasuke! He truly didn't know if he would not try to kill Shishui if they met again. On the other hand, Sasuke seemed to be living solely for revenge and made every single decision in his life based on how much closer said decision would get him to that goal, and it didn't take a genius to know how unhealthy such a mentally was. The boy had even gone as far as to refuse Itachi's help in training, saying that he would never accept help from a coward who would not even try to avenge their clan, and even worse, their beloved mother.
As can be exected, Sasuke's rejection was perhaps Itachi's greatest source of pain, he'd never thought things could ever turn out like they were now, they were like strangers to each other, even though they lived in the same house, with Sasuke refusing to talk to him unless absolutely neccessary.
Telling Sasuke the truth about what happened would probably be the ethical thing to do, as Sasuke really deserved to know the truth about what happened, because otherwise he would be living a complete lie. But Itachi knew without a shadow of a doubt that Sasuke would turn against Konoha in the blink of an eye if he ever found out the truth, in the end it was better that Sasuke continue on this path than the alternative, at least, he would be gauranteed success, since Shishui planned on dying by either Sasuke's or Itachi's hand anyway, whereas Konoha would not extend to him the same curtousy.
Itachi tried to hide it, and did well at hiding it too, but Hiruzen knew deep down that Itachi had never seen the village in the same light since his mother's death, Mikoto's death had been the breaking point. Itachi disliked Tsunade and maybe even the Senju-clan as a whole, that was certain! He may not have said it, he may not have even shown it, but Hiruzen knew, the signs were small, but they were there. The slight twitch of the eye when the slug sannin's name was mentioned, the clenched fists when the Senju-clan was praised for its strength and 'compassion', the look of disgust in his eyes when people prayed for Tsunade's return to cure their ailments. It wasn't something obvious, but to those who payed enough attention, it was clear that Itachi did not have a good opinion of the Senju Princess and her kinsman. Not since the Uchiha Massacre, and definitely not since his mother's death.
'But at least he is still loyal to Konoha as a whole...though how long that may last is debateable! I can't even judge how strong he truly is, no one seems to know the limits of his powers outside his intelligence, the sharingan and his elemental affinities. He has lost many loved ones, there is no way that someone of his clalibre hasn't awakened the mangyeko sharingan after such a traumatic event...is he hiding his abilities or has he simply not needed to use them in battle yet...? And if he is hiding them...why exactly is he hiding them?' thought Hiruzen in frustration.
"I know that A.N.B.U are not permitted to take genin teams, that is why I have retired from the A.N.B.U division and elected a successor as commander! As we speak, the new commander is aquinting himself with his new office and the paper work is being delivered to your office for confirmation. As of today, I am a simple Jonin of Konoha and will hopefully, become a jonin sensei by the end of the day." explained Itachi with a straight face and flat voice, showing no emotion at all, it was almost like talking to an android.
"Who is this replacement and why have you made such a decision without my permission? Is this not an act of insubordination...Itachi?" asked the Hokage furiously, blasting the young Uchiha with his overbearing KI. Even some of the most hardened Jonins, elders included felt the full force of the Sandaime's KI, struggling to stop their knees from buckling under their own weight. It was at times like these that everyone remembered just who exactly they were dealing with, that behind the kind, friendly old man, was a powerful and ruthless killer who has survived two shinobi wars and countless battles, times like these made them realize just how priviledged they were to be in the same room as the god of shinobi.
Itachi however held on firmly to his calm persona, not even flinching under the pressure. If he was feeling the pressure, than he certainly didn't show it, staring back at the Hokage with his patent, intense gaze.
"I have elected Tenzo as the new Jonin Commander! As you no doubt already know, with his unique talents and A.N.B.U upbringing, there is no one more suited for the job. It is my right as A.N.B.U Commander to elect and recruite members for A.N.B.U positions and I have simply excercised that right. Besides...you still have the option to ratify that decision...or not to ratify it, that is why the paperwork has been delivered to your office after all...Sandaime-sama." replied Itachi monotously, showing no fear in the presence of his superior, with absolute confidence in himself.
The Sandaime could not help but to frown in concern and frustration, frustrated because it seemed that Itachi, as usual, was one step ahead of him and planned everything out to perfection. The boy could have done all of this before the meeting, he could have told him about his retirement and the subsequent election of a replacement beforehand, in the privacy of his office, but he didn't, he chose to do it publicly in a jonin meeting no less. Hiruzen wasn't stupid, he knew exactly why the boy did this, the boy did not want to give him the chance to refuse him and deny him of this opportunity, because in front of everyone, Hiruzen wouldn't be able to deny the boy his wish without losing face with the other jonin. Itachi was the best jonin in the village and he had the respect and love of many Konoha shinobi, the fact that someone like him was willing to sacrifice such an esteemed rank in order to nurture and groom the next generation would be seen as something honorable of him and good for the future of Konoha.
To Hiruzen however, this was a worst case cenario, if Itachi groomed a genin team successfully, than he would officially qualify as a candidate for the title of Hokage, something that Hiruzen had been trying for years with all his might to prevent. Itachi reminded him too much of Orochimaru, a person who used to be a kind and loving boy, lost his parents, and than became shrouded in darkness and secrecy, isolating himself from other people with behavior patterns that were hard to identify and explain by even members of the Yamanaka-clan. Even worse, the boy is a member of the Uchiha-clan that tried to overthrow the higher-ups and wrestle control of the village not too long ago.
'Looks like I have no choice but to wave this off...for now!' thought Hiruzen.
"Hmmm...fare enough! You have excercised your rights and not acted out of insubordination, also, Tenzo is indeed the ideal replacement, it also explains why he was unable to be present in this meeting, he will need to acquint himself with his new duties and responsibilities as soon as possible! Having said that, I am afraid that you will not be able to fullfil your wish to become a Jonin-Sensei at this point in time!" said Hiruzen authoratively, dropping a bomb inside the meeting hall, shocking and confusing almost everyone except for three particular individuals, those being Hyuga Hiashi, Shimura Danzo, and Uchiha Itachi, all three having expected something like this. Everyone watched the proceedings with intense concentration and anticipation, waiting to see how the unpredictable prodigy woud react to the Hokage's decision.
"On what grounds, if I may ask...Hokage-sama?" asked Itachi emotionlessly.
"Hmmmm..." sighed the old Hokage, taking a long puff from his pipe before responding to the Uchiha prodigy's question, putting everyone on edge with the suspense.
"Well, there are only 12 people who have graduated this year, and they have all been already accounted for. Hatake Kakashi aproached me last night, requesting that he be allowed to groom Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. After some prompting, he revealed that his reasons for requesting Naruto were because he wanted to honour his Sensei, Yondaime-dono, by helping his legacy develop into a fine shinobi. He also revealed to me that he also wanted to honour his late teammate and friend, Uchiha Obito by developing one of the last living members of the Uchiha clan into a great shinobi, he said that this way, he could in a sense, contribute to the rebuilding of the Uchiha-clan. Knowing this, I could not have in my right mind denied him such a passionate request, and henceforth, it has been decided, that Hatake Kakashi will mentor a ninjutsu orientated combat team, the new team seven, consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke!" said the Sandaime Hokage, taking another long puff from his pipe, unintentionally increasing the tention and anticipation in the hall.
"This morning I had two people making requests for genin teams, Yuhi Kurenai has been like a big sister to one Hyuga Hinata, the heiress of the Hyuga-clan and has asked to be the Sensei of any team that the Hyuga heiress should be apart of, noting her reasons as wanting to help her regain her confidence and unleash her potenial on the shinobi world. Also, the head of the Hyuga-clan, Hyuga Hiashi has given his support and permission to Kurenai in written form and presented it to me. And so it has already been decided, that Yuhi Kurenai will be the Jonin-Sensei of a tracking and scouting team, the new team 8, consisting of Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino!" said the Sandaime, looking at Yuhi Kurenai from the corner of his eye, with her nodding her head in approval.
"The other person to meet with me this morning was Sarutobi Asuma, simply requesting to guide the next generation of shinobi and stating that he would do his best no matter what team was given to him. And it has already been decided that Sarutobi Asuma will groom the infiltration, interogation, and assassination team, the new team 10, consisting of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Yamanaka Ino!" concluded Sarutobi, staring directly into Itachi's sharingan eyes.
"Those are all the teams that were available, as you can see...Itachi." drawled out Hiruzen, taking silent pleasure in the teeneager's misfortune.
Itachi simply closed his eyes, pulling out a scroll from his weapon pouch, causing everyone to tense up at the teenager's actions, only to relax again when they realised that it was just a scroll, although curiosity at an all time peak now, wondering what the Uchiha prodigy could be up to now.
"I have heard you Sandaime-sama! I respect and have accepted your decision. Kakashi-Senpei, Asuma-san, and Yuhi Kurenai have earned this priviledge and fully deserve to be given their chance...but so do I...!" said Itachi with conviction and determination.
"Itachi...I will not change my decision..."
"Nor do I expect you to Hokage-sama! I have already recruited three of my own students and I have already received permission to take them under my wing from the relevant parties, the only person whose blessing I need now, is yours!" said Itachi, causing the Hokage's eyes to widen in surprise, a forboding feeling settling at the pit of his stomach.
"W-who? Who could you possibly have recruited?" asked the Sandaime, unable to think of anyone at all that the Uchiha could be talking about.
"I have recruited two students from the Academy, Hyuga Hanabi and Sarutobi Konohamaru..."
"Unacceptable! You have overstepped your boundaries Itachi! What made you think you have the right to go behind my back and do something like this! Those children still have two years left at the academy before they are ready! They're still too young!" exclaimed the Hokage furiously, slamming his fists hard against his desk, rizing to his feet in an instant, his KI lashing out at everything and everyone within the meeting hall.
"Sir, with all due respect, I was three years younger than them when I became a genin, and the same age as they are now when I became chuunin. Your son was a year younger then Konohamaru when he made genin and so was Yuhi Kurenai! Kakashi senpei was already a chunin at age 10 too, and half their age when he made genin! Furthermore, I have a scroll here that has a written and signed recomendation from both their class teachers, acknowledging that both students are miles ahead of their peers and mentally ready to handle the life of a shinobi. Also, they privately took the same test that this year's graduates took and passed with flying colours, their scores matching that of this year's rooky of the year! And lastly, but not least, I also have the head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi-sama's written and signed consent to take his daughter, Hyuga Hanabi under my wing! All I need now is your consent, Hokage-sama!" replied Itachi in a flat voice.
Hiruzen on the other hand wanted to claw his grey hair off in frustration, he could honestly say that he had never met someone that frustrated him to this extent, not even Danzo or his former teammates could cause him this much stress. But it was unbecoming of a shinobi, especially a Kage to show any weakness at any point in time, and he refused to be exposed by a mere teenager, he was a war veteran that had fought in two world wars, with that in mind, the Sandaime took a deep breathe and re-seated himself, taking a small puff of smoke in order to calm his nerves.
"Itachi, are you aware that you cannot have a team with only two students, our policy is that every genin team should be a four man squad with three genin and a single Jonin." argued Hiruzen, grasping on his last straws.
"I am aware of that bit of information Hokage-sama, but, it does not concern me too much. Right now as we speak, a boy, Sai is his name, is undergoing his own graduation examination. He was formerly a boy that was apprenticed to elder Danzo-sama, but will now be joining my genin squad as part of his development! I have the utmost confidence that he will pass the examination and will join what will be an all round team, the new team 13 that will be lead by me as Jonin Sensei, consisting of Hyuga Hanabi, Sarutobi Konohamaru, and Sai...with your permission of course...Hokage-sama...?" trailed off Itachi, surprising everyone that someone would be willing to go to such great lengths just because they wanted a genin team, even using the Hokage's own grandson to further his ambition.
"Is this true, Danzo...Hiashi? Has Itachi received your consent?" asked Sarutobi with a sinister undertone.
"I have faith in Itachi both as a shinobi and a friend, and thereby entrust my daughter to him. He has my consent, Hokage-sama!" replied Hiashi monotously.
"I have entrusted my apprentice to him!" Said Danzo in a flat voice.
"I see...well...I cannot give you permission to take Konohamaru under your wing, as I feel he is too young and immature. As his grandfather, I want him to enjoy his childhood before he is thrust into the cruel and harsh ninja world! I'm sorry...Itachi!" apologised the Hokage with fake sincerity.
"Ahem...actually, I have already given my permission to Itachi, as Konohamaru's legal guardian. Frankly, I feel that you're underestimating Konohamaru way too much Hokage-sama." said Asuma awkwardly, scratching his cheek nervously. He knew that his dad would be livid with him, but he honestly didn't care, Konohamaru has been training very hard for years now, he should know, he was the one that taught the boy wind manipulation after all. In his opinion, the boy was more than qualified, Asuma had no intention of spoiling this opportunity for his nephew because of whatever political game his father was playing.
'Asuma you fool!' thought Hiruzen angrily, unable to believe what was transpiring in front of his eyes. Deep down, Hiruzen knew that he couldn't really blame Asuma, his son did not know about the tension and power struggles between the village and the Uchiha clan, but even knowing this, he couldn't help but to blame his son for his consistent poor decision making. Hiruzen knew that he was getting old, he would be forced to choose a successor within a year or two, and Itachi would no doubt be the best candidate, even the Fire Nation Daimyo had taken interest in the boy's development. The Fourth was dead, and his three students had gone wayward, but Itachi was here, winning the approval and respect of many important and powerful people. Hiruzen had been hoping to use the excuse that Itachi did not groom any apprentices for the village to deny him the title, it was a law that Hashirama-sama had enacted when he first founded the village, but that plan was crumbling right in front of his eyes, even worse, Itachi had somehow managed to legally get his hands on Konohamaru, this was obviously an act of revenge if you asked Hiruzen, the Village used Uchiha Shishui against the Uchiha clan, and now Itachi was going to try and use the Hokage's grandson against the Hokage and the Village.
'Hiashi I can believe, but I can't understand how Itachi has managed to win Danzo's support, he was at the forefront of the Uchiha Massacre and never liked them from the start! What could have changed...did Itachi offer him something that he couldn't refuse...or does Itachi know a secret that Danzo wants to keep?' thought Hiruzen.
'I have lost this battle...there is nothing I can do at the moment, but I will not lose the war!' vowed Hiruzen. It was clear to him that Itachi was at a level higher than his predecessors, whereas they had fought the battle with brute force and aggression, Itachi was fighting the war with brains and finesse, which was something much harder to fight against, because Itachi wasn't doing anything that was illegal.
"Permission granted! It would be unethical for me to deny you this wish...Itachi, the will of fire burns brightly within your heart, I can tell by the lengths that you have gone to just to obtain this priviledge. You, Uchiha Itachi are now officially the jonin-sensei of team 13, consiting of Hyuga Hanabi, Sarutobi Konohamaru, and Sai and I herby declare the meeting adjourned! We will discuss the chunnin exams in the next meeting, you're all dismissed!" said the Hokage, placing his Hat on his head in such a position that it covered the upper part of his face, hiding the fury and anger that was manifest in his eyes...
END CHAPTER
That's it, so much more I wanted to do in this chapter, but that's my limit!
What is Itachi up to and how are Danzo and Hiashi related to it?
Who is the boy with the Second Hokage's cells and how does Oto plan to harvest Hashirama's cells?
Stay tuned for the next chapter if you wana find out!
The title for the next chapter is: The Chuunin Exams!
I thought I would give Ido her chance to shine in this chapter! I'm curious to hear what yaw think about that. It won't happen to often of course, although some of Yakumo's tactics and jutsu will require her participation.
I also introduced Pakura this chapter and I made her younger than she is in manga, what do yaw think about her being the sensei of the sand siblings?
I will be introducing the Oto genin teams in the next chapter, I think you'll all be surpprised.
Anyway thanks for reading, and keep it real! I'm out!