disclaimer: i don't own any part of naruto
The Chain of Change
Chapter Three
"Can anyone tell me who the hokage is?"
A hand immediately shot up. It belonged to a girl with straw-colored hair and freckles, wearing an obnoxiously purple jumper. She was leaning so far forward over her desk that the back legs of her chair had lifted off the ground.
Naruto turned and smirked at his teammate, who flushed the same shade as her hair and looked away. The resemblance was obvious.
"Tomoyo-chan?" Iruka said kindly, inviting the girl to answer.
She immediately obliged. Standing up with her hands clasped behind her back, she closed her eyes and recited diligently, "The hokage is the highest-ranking ninja in Konoha. It is his job to lead and protect the village."
"Very good, Tomoyo-chan," Iruka said. The redhead beamed and sat down. "Now, can anyone tell me about the current hokage?"
A dark-haired, pale-eyed boy (doubtlessly the Hyuuga genius of their generation) stood up and answered this time. "The Yondaime is considered the best ninja that Konoha has ever produced. He is famous for his decisive role in the war with Iwa, where he defeated an entire army by himself. He also saved the village from the demon fox Kyuubi by sealing it into an Inari statue. Since then, he has overseen one of the longest stretches of peace in Konoha history."
"That's exactly right, Yosuke-kun," Iruka affirmed. "Now, today I have asked a jounin to bring his team to talk to you all. Class, this is Hatake Kakashi and Team Seven: Hanuro Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Namikaze Naruto."
"Whoa," some said at the back of the classroom, "Is he really the hokage's son?"
Naruto forced himself to smile and said, "That's right, the Yondaime is my father."
The class dissolved into a flurry of excited voices. It took a minute for Iruka to reestablish quiet. Then he said, "Let's ask Kakashi and his team what it's like to be an active Konoha-nin."
There was an awkward silence as each member of Team Kakashi waited for the others to speak first. Finally, the jounin said lamely, "Being a ninja is hard."
Twenty sets of eyes stared blankly at him. Someone in the back began to giggle.
Sakura tried to salvage the situation. "What Kakashi-sensei means is that being a ninja involves a lot of difficult training. But anyone can be a good ninja, as long as they work hard at it."
Again, silence followed. Then, someone shouted, "Show us a cool jutsu!"
Team Seven exchanged nervous glances. Finally, Sasuke formed a brief series of hand seals and blew a (very) small plume of fire out of his mouth. The flames flashed a dazzling cobalt for a brief moment before wisping out of existence. The class immediately broke out into shrieks of delight.
"Does anyone have questions for Team Kakashi?" Iruka asked as soon as the excitement died down, wanting to head off any other demonstrations that could potentially destroy his classroom.
A girl with brown hair tied up in pigtails raised her hand, and Iruka called on her. She stood up, stared accusingly at Naruto, and said,
"My kaa-san told me that you're a very, very bad person. And that your kaa-san was a bad person too! She made the Kyuubi attack!"
Kakashi winced at the childish self-righteousness in her voice and quickly glanced at his most volatile student. Naruto's eyes glittered darkly and his hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists, but thankfully he seemed to be in control of himself. The jounin was just about to suggest that Sasuke show the class his Sharingan to defuse the situation when the classroom door opened and four ANBU stepped inside.
Ignoring the academy students as well as the rest of Team Seven, they quickly surrounded Naruto.
"Namikaze-san, please come with us."
The one who spoke was wearing an eagle mask. Kakashi recognized him as one of the guards Minato had assigned to watch over his son. Mouse was also present, but the other two wore unadorned masks and he didn't know them.
They could not have come at a worse time. Naruto had been angry but unable to act upon it, but now a suitable target had arrived. Already a wicked grin was beginning to form on his face. If he left with the ANBU, there was no telling what he would do.
What a pain, Kakashi thought. Abruptly, he stepped forward and said, "As his immediate superior, I'm coming along too."
His blond student shot him a murderous look, but the jounin shrugged it off. The class watched in complete silence as the ANBU led them away.
Kakashi had seen plenty of corpses during his tenure as a Konoha-nin. Some of them had been particularly gruesome -- corpses rendered unrecognizable as human by forbidden jutsu, corpses put up on display as a macabre warning to their living companions, corpses left to fester on the forest floor weeks after the life in them had expired. But a corpse placed on a metal slab at the morgue lost much of its context. The jounin had a difficult time reminding himself that what was laid out before them had ever been alive.
It was the body of a dark-haired male. He looked somewhat older than Kakashi, but it was difficult to tell. His neck was ringed with ugly purple bruises, but it was obvious that he did not die by strangulation: the corpse looked like it had been run through a food processor. Every visible portion of skin was riddled with lacerations. Some of the cuts were small, while others manifested as wide, angry slashes. There was no pattern to their dispersal or severity, as if the man had been attacked repeatedly by a blind guy with a machete. Or maybe a master of wind manipulation.
"We found the corpse lying near the hokage's tower earlier this morning," one of the unmarked ANBU said.
"God, what an idiotic place for someone to hide a body," Naruto said caustically. "Are you going to arrest me now, or are we going to stand some more in a room with a dead guy?"
"Would you care to explain why you killed him?"
"I was doing your job for you. Last I thought, attacking the hokage's family was considered an act of treachery and a capital offense. Or did you forget that he tried to kill me yesterday?"
"He was a civilian," Eagle said evenly. "They are not subject to military justice. We had no choice but to release him."
Naruto laughed derisively. "You are all such fucking awful liars."
Before anyone could stop him, the blond tilted the corpse's head up and pried open its jaw to show them a series of thick black markings that started at the back of the tongue and extended down into the dead man's throat. It looked as if a colony of termites had crawled into the man's mouth and taken up residence. Kakashi wondered that, if he were to look at Mouse and Eagle's tongues, he would find the same thing.
If the ANBU were surprised by the curse seal, they did not show it.
"The elders want to see you," Mouse said abruptly. "We shouldn't keep them waiting."
Naruto was led out of the room in disgust. He had no doubt in his mind which elder he was going to be seeing.
Much to Naruto's surprise, all three elders were present when he was escorted inside the room by the ANBU.
It was a classic interrogation chamber, framed by thick stone walls on three sides and a tinted, one-way window on the fourth. The blond was led to one end of a thick wooden table, opposite Mitokado, Utatane, and Danzo. Mouse and Eagle were there also, each guarding one of the corners by the elders' side.
As Naruto seated himself, Danzo stared the blond with his one good eye, flat and dead like a shark's. His two colleagues, seated on either side of him, maintained impassively blank expressions and looked for all the world like motionless mannequins, waiting for a command from their puppetmaster.
"Well." Naruto, never able to bear complete silence for too long, was the first to speak. "Here I am again."
His offhand demeanor did not amuse anyone.
"Namikaze Naruto," Utatane said sternly, "How long have you been back in Konoha?"
"The day before yesterday."
"And in that time, how many of our laws have you broken?"
Naruto blinked innocently. "None that I'm aware of."
Mitokado Homura snorted. "Try four. Disobeying a direct superior, using a controlled substance, patronizing a prostitute -- not to mention, killing a civilian."
Naruto whistled admiringly, then said venomously to the two ANBU, "Wow, you guys get around! I don't even remember getting with the hooker. Was she any good?"
"Namikaze!" Utatane snapped, her voice tight with anger. "I don't think you understand the seriousness of your situation. Murdering a civilian violates the unspoken agreement we Konoha-nin have with the villagers. They will be demanding your blood for this."
"What else is new," Naruto said dismissively. "If that man was a civilian, then I'm a fucking virgin." He leaned forward and rested his elbows against the table. For lack of anything better to do and to annoy Danzo, he drummed his fingers a little against the table. "Hey, do you mind if I smoke?"
"Keep your filthy habits to yourself," Mitokado immediately growled.
"I simple 'no' would do," The blond retorted peevishly, slouching back in his chair.
"Your father seems to think that having you back on duty will somehow help our chances if war breaks out." This time, it was Danzo who spoke, and his voice contained a not-so-suble undercurrent of malice. "I think that you are a loose cannon, more of a danger and a detriment to Konoha than an asset. Your recent actions have only further confirmed this."
Naruto smiled. It did not reach his eyes. Finally, the man was getting to the point. "Is that why you tried to have me killed?"
Danzo sneered. "You think I am somehow connected to the victim? A mere civilian, with no training in the ninja arts whatsoever?"
"I don't know," the blond replied conversationally. "He seemed to have the curse seal that you're so fond of putting on all of your lackeys."
Before Danzo had a chance to retaliate, a knock sounded at the door. One of the ANBU went and opened it, his body blocking the intruder from sight. Words were exchanged, then the ANBU stepped back from the door to let Nara Shikamaru into the room.
"What's this?" Mitokado said, rising from his seat. "This is a closed meeting. No one else is allowed in here, shinobi or otherwise."
"Sorry sir," Shikamaru said, but his lazy tone made him sound anything but repentant. "The hokage sent me, actually. To deliver Yasu Takashi's files." In the chuunin's hand was a thickly stuffed manilla folder, which he presented to Mitokado. The elder opened it and flipped through the first few pages. Then he frowned and snapped the thing shut.
"Well, that appears to be in order. Namikaze, it's your lucky day. It seems that you have been cleared of the murder charge."
"What?" Danzo thundered, springing up from his own chair with such violence that it toppled to the ground with a loud clatter. Shikamaru edged closer to the door. With so many people suddenly standing, the room began to feel more crowded.
"What is the meaning of this, Homura?"
"It's all here, Danzo," his colleague murmured, handing him the file. "The man Namikaze Naruto killed was actually a ninja. Yasu Takashi, rank: chuunin." Mitokado nudged his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and looked at Danzo directly. "I'm surprised you didn't recognize him. It says that he was assigned under your command two years ago."
To his credit, the one-eyed veteran cooly brushed off Mitokado's subtle accusation. "There's a lot of ninja in my task force -- I don't know them all by sight." Turning to the blond, he said, "Well, this is rather convenient for you, Naruto-kun, wouldn't you say? I'll wager you have your father to thank for this, as usual."
Naruto bristled at the words, but surprisingly, elected not to respond.
"In any event," Danzo continued smoothly, "I think that, in light of his past history and the other three charges that still stand, we should at least require some measure for Naruto's rehabilitation from the hokage."
"Very well," Utatane said, finality in her voice. "ANBU, you may escort Namikaze home, while we formulate his sentencing recommendation."
Kakashi was waiting for him when Naruto was led out of the interrogation chamber.
"For Kami's sake!" was the first thing the jounin said. "Couldn't you have at least waited until after we returned from Suna to get into this much trouble?"
"Believe it or not, Kakashi-sensei, trouble tends to find me about as frequently as I go looking for it," his blond student responded, grinning wryly. He looked to his side, expecting to see the ANBU, but apparently they had not deemed seeing him safely home a task worth their time. It was only he and Kakashi in the hallway.
"Anyway, I know how the system works. Those old bats can only recommend a sentence. They have no power to enforce it, and they certainly have no way of keeping me from going on this mission." For some bizarre reason, Naruto had been in a particularly good mood ever since he had been informed that they would be leaving for Suna.
"You are aware of who actually has jurisdiction over those two things you mentioned, right?" Kakashi pointed out. "And who got you out of that bind in the first place?"
Naruto's expression darkened.
"He brought me back here so I can do these fucking missions," The blond snarled. "I doubt that he'd lock me up while I'm still useful."
"Naruto, grow up. Hatake-san is right."
The two Konoha-nin turned to face Shikamaru, who had apparently just been dismissed by the elders. Despite the chuunin's blunt words, Naruto's face broke out in a genuine smile.
"Shikamaru! Man, I'm glad you showed up."
"You know who was really responsible," The lazy nin replied laconically. Then he smiled as well. "But it's good to see you back, even if you are troublesome."
Naruto wanted to continue in the vein of disparaging his father's priorities, but he found that somehow his heart wasn't into it. Instead he said, "How is Asuma-sensei doing? Still smoking three packs a day? Damn, now that I mention that, I could really use a smoke," he added under his breath.
"Don't do it here. Smoking's bad for you," Shikamaru said matter-of-factly. "Besides, that crap you exhale stings my eyes. Asuma-sensei is fine. He's waiting for you to go visit him, actually. Keeps saying that you were the most talented idiot he ever trained to use wind-elemental chakra."
"Yeah, I was a little slow on the uptake," the blond admitted with a chuckle. "Hey, are you busy? Why don't I buy you a drink for saving my ass in there?"
Before Kakashi could point out that they were leaving early the next day for Suna, Naruto and Shikamaru were already making their way down the hall, chatting amiably.
The next day, Team Seven cut a grueling pace westward towards the Land of Wind. Besides a brief stop at a small village in River Country to fill up on water, the four Konoha-nin traveled through the day and well into the night, only sleeping for a few hours before setting off again. By mid-afternoon on the second day they had entered into the desert.
It was hard going, and the desolate landscape took a toll on their pace. Surrounded by a flat, white line of sand for as far as the eye could see, even Naruto felt exhaustion overtake him faster than usual. It was not long before Kakashi called for a rest so that they could sleep through the worst heat of the day.
Later that night, Team Seven set up camp. They were perhaps half a day's distance from Suna. Although the daytime was scorching hot, at night the desert retained no heat and became frigidly cold, to the point where the Konoha-nin had to light a small fire and huddle around it to keep warm.
As they sat around the fire and stared stupidly into the flames, Sakura asked suddenly, "Exactly how 'undercover' is this mission going to be, Kakashi-sensei?"
It took a minute for the jounin to clear his head of the afterimages of the fire and respond. "This mission isn't meant to be too dangerous. We're ostensibly here on a diplomatic mission, to talk over the terms of the chuunin exams Suna's hosting next year. But Suna-nin aren't exactly stupid -- I'm sure they'll realize that we're here to scope out their new Kage, if they haven't already. Hopefully they'll want to remain on good terms with our village and let us meet with him."
Never one to leave out the worst-case scenario, Sasuke prompted, "And if we're not lucky?"
"If you want to start a war with another village, what better way than to hold a team of their ninja hostage?" Kakashi said dryly.
"We'll have to arrange for some means of escape then, just in case," Sakura concluded, stating the obvious.
They were silent for a few minutes. Despite the chill, Naruto found himself beginning to doze off. Then,
"Seems like a pretty stupid mission for the hokage to send his son on," Sasuke said bluntly. "If Naruto's captured, Suna could demand a lot more than usual."
Naruto opened one eye to regard his teammate. "Well," he replied, "That all depends on how keen he is on getting me back."
Sasuke scowled in disgust. "Look, moron, I don't know why you suddenly seem to have all these father issues, but do you really think the hokage would throw you to the dogs? Not exactly good for his public image, for one thing."
The blond turned away from his team. He tilted his head back to peer at the impassive stars, clearly visible in the cloudless desert sky. "Oh, he will. He has before, when the dogs happened to be Danzo-shaped."
Author's Note: Sorry, I know this is short, rough, and not very exciting. The events in Suna will be more entertaining, I promise you.