Wind blew around a clearing, doing nothing to distill an oppressive heat. Two figures stared at each other in it, the heat radiating off of a red-haired woman. The scent of molten rock was in the air, the woman standing ready with one arm outstretched in front of her and the other huddled to her side, emerald eyes steeled in an intense glare at the blonde across from her. A leaf hit the ground, seeming to mark the beginning, for the woman vanished from view.
Her fist blasted towards the blonds face, dodged by a tilted head, as she twisted her body sideways to avoid the retaliatory punch. She kept up the momentum of her spin, her other hand spinning with her to strike at his side, deflected off course by his fist as he lunged towards her, elbow moving to strike her stomach as he bent down. She continued her spin, avoiding the blow as she attempted to strike his now exposed neck, but the man's continued momentum prevented it, turning a deadly attack to the neck into a harmless one onto his shoulders. He grabbed her arm, twisting it easily as he straightened up, but his hand was struck by hers, forcing him to let go. They were just a few inches apart now, and the man's eyes widened as an orange liquid dribbled out of the corner of the woman's mouth.
A steaming red liquid blasted out of the woman's mouth, at high speed, blasting over the man's now bent body, his upper torso perfectly parallel to the ground. The stream stopped as soon as it began, only for a slight blue aura to pulse out of the man's feet before he back flipped perfectly despite the awkward position, his feet kicking up towards the woman's face, right palm pressed onto the ground as she dodged by leaning back. Her hands grabbed at his ankle, attempting to halt his momentum, but she was a second to slow. His momentum carried his legs almost to the ground behind him before he turned it to his advantage, fingers digging into the ground before he twisted his wrist, using sheer strength to wrench his entire body around, both heels heading straight for the woman's side.
Her arms crossed, the incredible power behind the kick sending her back several feet as the blond-man flipped again, recovering his footing. His palm flashed up, several small bullets of water forming in it, multiplying into several dozen. Both the woman's palms came up, the exact same amount of water bullets forming, yet taking more effort. The two forces clashed in between the two, both shinobi kicking off the ground before the bullets met, clashing in a deadlock even as both sets of water canceled each other out. They struck out at each other, fists, kicks, and jabs being deflected or dodged in a high speed taijutsu fight. The woman's hands heated up, glowing red and steaming as she continued the fight, forcing the man onto the defensive and pushing him back, forced to dodge rather than deflect.
He leapt back, realizing his folly as the woman used the moment to go through hand seals, cheeks swelling up before four large spheres made of lava rocket towards him. He twisted around the first one, ducking under the second to roll under the third, using the momentum to leap over the fourth and kick towards the woman's face, the red-head only just getting her hands up in time to block it, only for more water bullets to strike her in the head, as the man kicked off the log he had landed against, and turned to face where the woman appeared, except he spotted a massive amount of lava being blown from her mouth. A slight blue aura appeared around his feet as he prepared to move, the woman's jutsu completing as she sent a massive lava dragon towards him.
The blue force covering his feet rippled outwards as he stepped off of mid-air, easily jumping above the heated creature and making it to behind the woman before she had time to react. Emerald eyes widened in shock as a hand grabbed the back of her dress, flinging her up several hundred feet above the ground in under a second. Flipping in the air to regain control, she went through hand seals and shot dozens of large lava bullets at the man below her, who was swiftly running on air to get to her.
His hand fell to the katana hanging at his hip for the first time in the battle, drawing the steel blade as it began to glow a brilliant white, sizzling as it came into contact with the air. He dodged several bullets before he cut through several more, the split halves of lava falling slowly to the ground as a shockwave blasted through even more of them. The rest were out of his way, flying down harmlessly around him towards the ground below. The woman's eyes widened in shock at the complete failure of her technique, but went through several hand seals, a long sword made of lava forming in her hand, clashing with the man's glowing katana. Several slashes were deflected, but it was obvious who the better swordsman was as he broke her blade, the tip of his sword slicing into her stomach, the intense heat of it cauterizing the wound even as it did so. But there was no pain for her, confusing her for just a moment, until a heel slammed into her spine, sending her rocketing towards the ground. She flipped again, facing the man who was now in the sky above her, sending a large stream of lava to match the spear of water he had flung at her, before flipping again to land feet first on the ground, the intense impact causing her to wince.
Her head glanced up, seeing the man falling towards her with incredible speed, lava leaking down her arms to her hands to form two lava kunai, which came up in an X to block the man's katana, massive shockwaves exploding through the clearing as a crater formed underneath them, the earth atomized from the sheer force. The woman winced in pain, arms jarred and legs nearly broken from the blow. She broke the deadlock, lava kunai flinging him back up into the air, soon following him up their only to be batted away from him by his sword. Lava orbs formed in the woman's hands, and flinging her hands up they multiplied, chains of lava forming in between the two, a ball and chain like weapon forming in each hand as she spun them around, before throwing them at the man.
It was useless, as the blue aura once again blasted out from his feet, allowing him to dodge the two attacks easily by jumping over them, yet he fell into the woman's trap as the ball and chain weapons curved around right behind him, striking his legs and wrapping around them, completely shattering the kneecaps. Or it would have, if it wrapped around him instead of a log. The woman whirled around, a white-hot kunai coming out to deflect a stab from an equally heated ninjato, the man's icy glare unnerving her as they clashed, the man's katana switched out for something less awkward at such close range. She dodged a stab, arcing a return one right at his neck, only for him to reverse his grip on the ninjato, parrying it with ease. She gritted her teeth, knowing that so long as he had a blade she couldn't beat him, so she had to separate him from it. More lava bubbled up inside her, but before she could a fist rammed into her stomach, causing the lava blast out of her body as the clone exploded, spraying the blond man with lava.
The woman rose slowly from the ground, eyes on the dead man, before it dissolved into nothing as a fist slammed into her face, the man suddenly appearing in front of her, a log shattering where she had been as a kunai stabbed at the man's side, the ninjato blocking it as he twisted around, the bottom of his foot slamming into a palm as she blocked. The ninjato heated up for a moment, slicing through the kunai with ease before slashing towards the woman's arm, only to be caught in bubbling lava once it got halfway through. A small smile appeared on the woman's face, right before she exploded, lava covering the entire clearing.
The red-head rose from the lava, just as she had from the ground moments ago, facing the slightly burned man from across the clearing, his ninjato having sliced straight through several trees and embedding itself into a bolder some distance away, far too far away for him to get to without giving her an opening, something she knew quite well. He still had his katana, but this was a point to her.
Lava arrows blasted out of her palms towards the man, elegantly dodged as he flowed around them, despite the massive number she just couldn't hit him. Every movement he made flowed into the next, not a single movement wasted. He made it through most of the swarm before she made a second move, hands flashing through seals before she slammed her hands on the ground, dozens of stone spears blasting up to impale him. They had did their job, impaling him right through, blood spraying out before it turned into crimson hawks and flew away, the woman only just breaking the illusion before being stabbed through the heart, only to crumble into dirt. The man sighed, katana appearing in his hand as he whirled around, the blade already singing as its glowing blade sliced a dragon of earth in half, the man appearing behind the crumbled remnants.
His blade flashed up, meeting two white-hot kunai in a deadlock as his head tilted to the side to dodge a point-blank water bullet, his other hand coming up to block a clones punch. Four emerald eyes narrowed at him, as his cerulean eyes turned to ice. The earth cracked underneath him as the clone dispelled into lava from the sheer force of his intent to kill, the woman's eyes widening in shock and fear as a shadowed, nine-tailed beast formed behind him, roaring at her. A fist to the face broke the genjutsu, a bruise swiftly forming upon her cheek as she was sent flying back, flipping in the air and landing, still skidding back.
Her kunai came up again, just in time to block the still-heated blade, but a smirk crossed her face as the kunai vanished, the blade sliding through her body as it turned to lava. He was caught in the same trap again as the woman once again exploded, sending the katana to imbed itself right above the ninjato. She rose from the lava again, spotting an unharmed Naruto standing on some of the newly-formed rock from her lava attacks. She stood a chance now.
She was at his side in an instant, hand chopping at his neck as he leaned back, elegantly flipping his body around, perfectly perpendicular to the ground with his legs in the air. His palm hit the ground as his foot smashed into the red-heads head, strong enough to shatter the rock that appeared there. He launched himself up into the air, the same blue aura from before pulsing out of his hand as the woman appeared, leg sweeping low at what had been his head height. He got right above her, flipping again to heel-slam her head with immense force, obliterating the log that appeared in her place. He used the force from the shattered log to back flip over a lava spear, landing on the ground behind the red-haired woman.
She wheeled around, striking at him with a fist, deflected by his forearm. He sent a return strike; his fist blocked by her other hand. They broke the engagement, the woman spitting out lava bullets as the man's hands glowed. He slapped the lava balls away from him, hands slightly burnt despite radiating their own intense heat. The pair stared at each other, less than a second passing, yet in the high speed of the battle it seemed like an eternity.
Lava blasted out around the woman, but a bell ringing had it dissolving into the air as quickly as it had formed, allowing the red-head to nearly collapse on the ground, panting. She saw a slight smirk on the man's features, causing her to growl slightly. A puff of smoke from each of his hands announced the unsealing of two bottles of water, icy cold, which he handed to her after he sat down beside her. She took a swallow, its wonderful chill making her feel quite a bit better. She struggled up to a sitting position, leaning up against a bolder that conveniently appeared, causing her to glare slightly at him again.
"You're doing better Mei. That makes two minutes and five seconds that you can survive without passing out." Her glare intensified. She knew she was quite strong, but no matter how much better she got, Naruto grew every bit as much. It was almost as if he had been in the same position as her, forced to fight in a new way, and getting better through experience. They had spent the last four months working furiously to bring Mei up to par with what Naruto considered an S-Rank fight. Naturally, that wasn't all they did, the pair had worked intensely with the Daimyo, Chika the merchant queen, and several others to bring Kirigakure back up to where it should be, but it would take years.
"Two minutes and five seconds…how are you alive!" Her little explosion, which held no real anger behind it, seemed to amuse him, if the upturn to his lips was any indication.
"I swear to Kami I've killed you a hundred times or more in these little spars, and yet you never have so much as a scratch on you!" A slight teasing tone entered his voice as he responded.
"Not my fault you can't see through genjutsu." She sighed, the mock anger draining from her.
"I'm shooting jutsu at you, several of them in a single second in fact, you shouldn't be able to make a genjutsu, and how do you expect me to see through them? You never use the same one twice!" Then something else occurred to her, and it made her slightly sad.
"You let me knock your katana away didn't you?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Look at your shoulder." She looked at him curiously, before looking down, gasping in shock as she noticed the cut in the fabric.
"It was a necessary sacrifice, and if you had been even a millisecond later it would have completely ended the fight." She didn't say anything, knowing that both his blades were laced with an incredibly effective paralysis poison. Of course, it was only paralyzing because she was an ally. She should have known, Naruto rarely got caught in the same trap twice.
"Any advice?" She asked. She had grown to respect the blonds opinion, as a friend, a shinobi, and a teacher. Thinking over the fight, both what he needed to fix and what she did, a few things came to mind.
"Your observations for one. You are good enough at catching things when you have a moment to think, but if I was faster you would be dead." She nodded in agreement. For some reason Naruto limited himself to low Kage speed once he recovered, though she didn't know why.
"Second is the manipulation of your elements other than lava. Your other bloodline could have come in hand on several occasions during this fight, and your water manipulation could use some work. Next, pick up some kind of weapon. I'm not saying sacrifice your taijutsu, but I could have killed you several times because of your lack of one." She winced at that one; she knew quite well that she needed something better than kunai. She just hadn't found something suitable yet.
She waited a few minutes, but he gave no more advice, so they lapsed into a comfortable silence, recovering from their exertions. She spoke again, keeping an eye on the blonde as he rested against another rock, formed from cooled lava.
"You continue to amaze me though, Naruto-kun. It's so hard to read your movements, and yet once we got a bit closer you could actually warm up, rather than the icy killers I've seen who had anywhere near your level of skill." A brief, thanking smile appeared on his face, but he said nothing, content to simply watch the trees blow in the wind. The further he got in his Sora Sennin training the more he loved the wind. Mei however wanted more than this. She was mature enough to admit that she was beginning to crush on the blond, if she hadn't had one before, and wanted to know more about him. For all the warming up he did, he was still rather quiet. She was surprised when he spoke after a few minutes.
"You have the same potential Mei; you just haven't been forced to unlock it yet." He stretched, yawning.
"I have to admit though, you're getting better. You've been pushing me hard, something I hadn't thought would happen for another month at least. You should proud." There wasn't much more for either to say after that, but it left Mei pondering on how to get closer to the blond enigma. A few minutes later they left the ruined clearing, the place having massive holes in the ground that were filled with obsidian rock.
~Break~
A door shut slowly, the woman closing it stretching with a loud sigh of happiness. The brown-haired woman had just gotten off from work, being the secretary of the Hokage was no small thing. She was forced to keep Tsunade awake and on task, regardless of what it was, and the blond Hokage made it incredibly difficult for her, often attempting to get drunk on the job in response to the various things she was forced to deal with.
To be perfectly honest, Shizune didn't really mind her teacher and Hokage getting drunk; it was her insistence on doing it while in the Kage office that grated on her nerves. This left her with a very large workload, as she had to sort the paperwork, cart it to and from the room, read every document that came passed her in order to make sure her mentor hadn't done something stupid in a drunken stupor, because despite her very best efforts Tsunade still managed to get drunk.
She was so tired from the immense amount of work she had done that day that she never even thought to check for intruders, something she had done nearly every day of her life, and on this one day it cost her, the woman having fallen prey to a sleep genjutsu as she passed out on the ground, a brown-haired man appearing from the shadow's to crouch next to her, swiftly and cleanly stripping her, not a single piece of clothing even slightly damaged, no DNA or chakra left upon them.
A soundless, cloudless unsealing revealed a brush and a container of ink, along with a syringe filled with a red liquid, swiftly injected into the ink. The needle was stabbed into one of the brunette's veins, drawing out her crimson blood, before it to was injected into the liquid. A long sequence of hand seals, nearly a full hundred of them, was formed by the brown-haired man, the bottle of ink and blood glowing the entire time, before it ceased, right as he stopped making seals.
He picked up the brush, flipping the Hokage's secretary and assistant onto her stomach, revealing her back, his hand wandering slowly over it as he dipped the brush in ink. His eyes narrowed, speaking to himself.
"There." And he began to write, forming dozens of elegant kanji in a few minutes, hand almost a blur as black ink spread over her entire back and neck, originating from and circling a very small point on her lower back. His fingers glowed blue as chakra raced through them, his other hand going through seals once again.
"Fuinjutsu: Loyalty." The fingers slammed into her back, the woman's back arching from pain, almost enough to make her scream despite her unconscious state, but she didn't wake. The man paid no attention to this, continuing his work at an almost feverish pace as he painted more seals upon the back of her neck, trailing down her entire spine, before his hand once again glowed blue.
"Fuinjutsu: Treachery." This seal provoked a much less violent reaction, only a slight despairing moan. He flipped her onto her back now, using up the last of his ink in a small seal on her forehead, one on her hand, and using nearly half the bottle on a full bodied seal, covering her from head to toe, that took nearly half an hour to make.
"Fuinjutsu: Knowledge. Fuinjutsu: Transmission. Fuinjutsu: Genjutsu." His work complete, he completely redressed her, laying her sloppily on her bed, making sure that it seemed as if she had simply collapsed after her hard day's work, no sign of any of the seals on her body. He erased every part of his presence that was in her apartment, before vanishing, just as he had done several times before that night.
Safely back in his own hotel room, he flawlessly substituted with the Shadow clone that had been sleeping in his bed, the ANBU watching him not noticing a single thing. Hanzo smiled mentally, his Konoha spy network was complete, the second major hidden village had been finished, the surrounding country-side as well. That made Iwa and Konoha, and he was quite happy that it had been so successful.
His wanderings started off simply enough, posing as a shinobi academy dropout who took up a mercantile trade in an attempt to get by, with moderate success at it. Wandering traders were common enough throughout the elemental nations, even going so far as to have a guild of "Registered" traders, ones that could get into the Hidden Villages easier than most everyone else so long as a percentage of their earnings was paid to the guild, which in turn was paid to the Shinobi. Naruto was of course a member, a fairly new one, just a year old.
Anyways, he had set out, traveling through the elemental nations, sailing all the way around Lightning country so that he could start off in Earth, widely regarded as the most militaristic village around. Ironically, it was the easiest village to get into for a merchant, as they could always more equipment and supplies. Whereas Konoha had their own merchant guild, Lightning had a roaring trade with Iron, much more so than the usual trade, and Suna got their equipment from the minor countries of Tea and River, Iwa would accept any merchant willing to sell high quality ninja supplies.
He had done the same things as he did here, going after the "bureaucratic" ninja instead of what most spy rings preferred, the high ranking front line shinobi. It was generally accepted that the front line ninja would be able to send information about things quicker than others, but that was only because most spy masters could only corrupt a few people in each village, if any, and there was always the chance of betrayal.
Not so with his system, no, Naruto had developed a masterpiece in his most humble opinion.
First, he spent a few days in the village frequenting the bars around what was generally referred to as "quitting time." This was when most of the chunin and jonin frequented the bars, and there was always someone complaining about their job. It wasn't active shinobi, oh no, they went to bars to get drunk, not bitch about the fact that they had terrible jobs. Those who complained were the chunin, or retired and crippled jonin who still wished to serve Konoha, who were assigned desk jobs, and it was most often the chunin complaining. A few rounds of Sake for the "Protectors of the Village and our livelihoods" later and he could skillfully wheedle just which shinobi was assigned where out of them, all completely without having it seem like he was trying to find anything out. Practice makes perfect in that regard, he got a large amount of practice with his spy network in Kirigakure.
All that was left then was deciding which areas to target, as he needed at least two per area of paperwork. Tracking his chosen ones to their place of residence was easy, as was sealing them. As it stood currently, he had upwards of thirty spies in the Hidden Leaf Village on the Shinobi side alone, with fifteen more civilians as well. However, the real genius in his plan wasn't in the numbers, or in the backup's he had in place, but in the ninja he chose.
Every time a shinobi was sent out on a mission, the necessary paperwork was immediately filed and stored, temporarily of course, to be kept safe for eternity in secure vaults in case they were needed. The only exceptions to this rule were the top secret above S-Rank Missions, and even then there were the suppliers required for such serious tasks. A shinobi force was all about supply, and having spies in every single department in the paperwork section ensured that he would know every major movement amongst the village, hold files on every shinobi, including ANBU, and have a fairly good idea on the various missions each ninja was sent out upon even before the mission was undergone. With his latest "acquisition" for his spy network, the Secretary of the Hokage and the blonde woman's most trusted shinobi, he would quickly know everything of importance amongst the village.
Sorting paperwork was often overlooked in scale of importance, but in all honesty someone who worked in even a humble records department could cause the village serious trouble if they decided to go rouge, which was why ANBU forces intensely trained in observation were put in every high-risk area. If it dealt with sensitive information, ANBU were there, undoubtedly. One thing that had always amused Naruto was how visitors to Konoha saw the two chunin gate guards who were always there during the day, seemingly lazy and always in good humor, as the "face" of the village. The sayings about first impressions were quite true, as those two "chunin" were elite ANBU, masters of observation, taijutsu, and their respective elements.
It was incredibly effective, and he was already getting some good information involving some of Konoha's more…eccentric Jonin that he might be able to convert to Kirigakure's ranks. One of whom he was intending to deal with in the morning, a rather surprising shinobi who he had never thought would possibly betray Konoha. It seems his "death" had caused a fair few changes in certain people.\
~Break~
Hattori Hanzo walked out of the Leaf Hotel, a middle-class hotel for travelers, cheap enough to be affordable on a tight budget, yet good enough to get service from even some richer shinobi, preferring those who were used to dealing with shinobi to the high class civilian resorts.
Shoulder length brown hair cascaded down over tanned shoulders, chocolate eyes sparkling with good cheer, a genuine smile upon his face as he returned many greetings from the "friendly" people of Konoha. A katana was at his him, mid-quality steel rather than the high class chakra steel alloy he was used to. He walked with an air of one who knew how to use the blade on his hip, making Konoha ninja wary of him upon firs sight, yet with further observation it became rather obvious that the man used this blade only for defense from the odd bandit who made it past a shinobi guard, for his gait was one of middling skill rather than the kenjutsu master he was.
Black traveling pants covered leather boots, designed for comfort and sturdiness while on the road. Tucked into this was a long-sleeved, dark blue shirt, button up, giving others the impression of professionalism, without getting the stuffy aura that is often placed with a professional nature. The smile and twinkle to his eyes also ensured that people let down their guards around him, and it was thanks to this that he was able to gain access to the shinobi memorial stone, where his target was most likely to be. The new chunin who had obviously just been promoted had attempted to stop him, but a simple request to pay his respects to a dead relative, along with a name, was enough to get access, Hanzo walking into the clearing, standing in front of a large black stone with hundreds of names on it, one of several. A silver-haired shinobi sat in front of it, hair defying gravity in a unique upside-down fang-like style.
As if his hair was not odd enough, the man had the vast majority of his face covered by a black face mask, coming up to just under eye level, and the slanted Hi-Tae-Ate covered his left eye, leaving only the right grey orb exposed to the world, a little bit of fair skin surrounding it. Baggy black pants covered his legs, bandages wrapped around his right thigh, along with a kunai holster attached to it. A black shirt was covered by a green Jonin vest, some sort of tight suit underneath it which was attached to his mask.
This man was HatakeKakashi, elite Jonin of Konoha, and currently a mere shadow of his former self.
He had a full bottle of Sake near him, which he took occasional sips from, the liquid somehow passing straight through the mask to the mouth underneath, and a sealing scroll was at his hip, likely full of more Sake. An orange book also lay beside him, completely untouched, even weather beaten, as if it had been left exposed to the elements, left in that exact spot for some time.
He sat next to the man, passively ignoring the curious drunken gaze directed towards him as he offered prayers to the gods for the only people in this village he had cared for who had died, Namikaze Minato and UzumakiKushina. He saw no point in hating his parents for certain things, though once he got to the afterlife he was going to severely damage the blond Kage for failing to ensure that Naruto would be taken care of correctly.
"Why are you here?" The slightest hint of a slur in his otherwise depressed voice, nowhere near the easily amused, lazy tones of the man he had known.
"Paying my respects." He stated, before questioning the other man.
"You?" The one-eyed man stared at him for a few moments, a tear beading up in his eye.
"Drowning in regret." He said bitterly, taking a long pull from the sake bottle. Naruto, still in Hanzo persona, raised an eyebrow, curious that the man acknowledged what he was doing, yet did nothing about it. Kakashi seemed to notice his false confusion, taking another long pull before speaking.
"You're new to Konoha aren't you?" The question was rhetorical, but Naruto nodded anyways.
"Well in that case, I suppose I can tell you. It's not like it's a secret after all." The Sake was impairing the man's judgment, either that or he just didn't care about the possible consequences or if Hanzo was an enemy spy.
"My name is HatakeKakashi, Elite Jonin of Konoha and supposed genius, from a minor clan full of geniuses. My father, HatakeSakumo, committed suicide because he followed the rules this village had ingrained into him, putting his teammates before the mission and being scorned by damn near everyone because of it. He killed himself to regain the family's honor, in an attempt to make up for his mistake…I'm considering doing the same." Kakashi continued to drink from the bottle as he spoke, draining a full quarter of the bottle in one go in the pause before he admitted to considering suicide.
"A boy that I considered a little brother, and still do, died because of my stupidity and arrogance, and that broke the heart of one I grew to consider a sister, and not long after that I killed her. The man I considered a father died not long after that, and I was too weak to uphold my promise, eventually resulting in the one who should have been my little brother dying at my hands rather than come back to the village." He finished the bottle about halfway through, a new one popping out of the scroll for him to chug after he finished. Naruto remained silent, rather happy that no one else was around, as several things he was about to do would get him arrested, and likely killed.
"The last one, who was he?" The masked figure stopped drinking for a moment, another tear leaking down his eye as he glared at this civilian who brought up bad memories.
"UzumakiNaruto. I suppose you want to know why he refused to come back? Or why I killed him?" He downed another bottle, not waiting for an answer. It seemed that now he had begun, he was unable to stop.
"He was assigned to track down a traitor, I assume he let him get away so we would be distracted from his escape. In fact if it hadn't of been for my arrival he would have most likely faked his death, making it seem like that boy had killed him." Another tear fell, soon joined by a second as his grey eye hazed over, lost in the memories of the fight, the events rolling off his tongue exactly like they had happened.
"I confronted him, trying to talk him down, it didn't work. And so we began to fight. He held the upper hand for most of the battle, having surpassed me in all but ninjutsu repertoire, and it is possible that he had done even that, if unlikely. Eventually I used my most powerfuljutsu against him, and he returned it with what I assume to be his strongest, and it was obvious to us both that his was stronger…but." The memory itself flashed in front of his eyes.
Naruto gave a light smirk to Kakashi as the man poured every ounce of chakra he had into his jutsu, and it made no difference in the clash. Kakashi was steadily pushed back, nothing but sadness in his eyes.
Naruto smiled at him, and ended his Rasengan.
Kakashi's eye widened in horror as his Raikiri destroyed the blonds heart, Naruto's dying smile being etched into his memory even as blood poured from his Sharingan eye, an odd pinwheel forming in it for a brief moment. Kakashi ended the jutsu, holding his former student close as Naruto's last, whispered words reached his ear.
"Don't…regret…this." Crimson tears fell from Kakashi's eyes, heedless of his injuries as he howled his grief to the world.
"He didn't want to kill me, but knew that if he was to take the time required to subdue me without killing me the others would be all over him, the backup that was coming. So he ended his technique…causing me to kill him." The tears ended, but the sorrow remained, another long pull from a new bottle being taken.
"I couldn't even bury him, for his body for the last of a demon's chakra devoured his body." A low chuckle formed then, almost insane.
"If I didn't know already, upon my return I would have been quite aware of just why he chose death. The civilians were happy. Fucking happy!" Anger exploded out of him, killing intent starting to pour as a smell of flesh, burned from electricity, ruled the air.
"They were happy that the man who had saved their ungrateful lives for every day of his existence was dead. The man who stopped not just one, but TWO of the fucking BIJU from destroying Konoha. And on top of that, they didn't even carve his name onto the memorial stone, the one that was created and made so that every shinobi who died in combat would be remembered. Even despite the fact that officially, Naruto was killed by Orochimaru, even if I was the one to kill him." More Sake flowed down the Jonin's throat, tears once again flowing down his face, his mask becoming stained with the water.
"Three people know that, four with you. The last thing Tsunade did for the boy was ensure he would be honored. Tell it if you want to, or don't. I honestly don't care anymore, this bit of information couldn't hurt his reputation anymore." Hanzo's eyes narrowed at Kakashi, as he spoke.
"There is something else as well." It was a statement, but it caused Kakashi to nod anyways, finishing his third bottle of Sake. A grey eye turned to him, glazed over in grief and self-hate.
"I was willing to go with him, and help him, but because I thought he would have a greater chance of success…to leave…I tried to bring him back. Thinking it over…he had to of been planning it for a while." That shocked Hanzo, he hadn't thought the older man would have been willing to go with him. Now a slightly insane laughter bubbled up from deep within him, coming from deep within his stomach and rocking the man's entire frame, tears flowing freely, even from underneath his Hi-Tai-Ate.
"After all, what do I have in Konoha?" That got the man thinking. He knew when he came here that he was going to make Kakashi recover; after all he owed the man that much for his training. However…this would provide Kiri with a valuable agent, and himself with a valued friend. Despite this the area wasn't safe, even if there was no one that he could sense. His hand glowed green for less than a second, pressing against the drunken Jonin's stomach. The eye narrowed as the man instantly sobered up, one hand at his Hi-Tai-Ate so fast Naruto hadn't even seen it move.
"Who are you?" Hanzo's head cocked to the side as he calmly removed his hand from the Jonin's stomach, heedless of the kunai at his neck.
"Someone who knows Naruto." The shock was clear in the man's eye, recoiling as if physically struck. Hanzo gave him no time to form a response, standing slowly and dusting off his legs.
"Provided you meet me on the Nidaime's head tonight, I can put you in contact with him."
"He's dead. Weren't you listening? I killed him." A raised eyebrow was the silver-haired man's response.
"If you think Naruto would let you stop him from fulfilling his goals, you didn't know the blond anywhere near as well as you think you do. Meet me at nine P.M., come alone, and tell no one. If you do those, I will put you into contact with your friend…for a price." He vanished in pure speed, knowing Kakashi wouldn't tell anyone, a genjutsu placed upon him right before he was forcefully sobered ensured it.
~Break~
Hanzo smiled at the scene of Konoha from high up on the monument as Kakashi appeared behind him, completely sober and equipped for war. The man started off strong.
"Listen to me. If at any time I think you're bullshitting me I will kill you, slowly." He threatened, intense killing intent pressing at Hanzo, to no effect. In fact it even caused him a slight chuckle, making the man even angrier.
"Hatake-san, do you really think that I would lie to you? You're a legend, a very good one, and unlike most other people it seems your skills haven't degraded with your fall into becoming an alcoholic." There were several moments of silence, before the Jonin spoke again.
"So who are you, and how do you know Naruto?"
"Me? I'm Hattori Hanzo, a…comrade of sorts with Naruto. We happen to serve the same Hidden Village now, and let's just say that without him, I wouldn't exist. I approached you because you were one of two, maybe three friends he had while in the village, and I decided to give you a chance to see him again. You said you would have gone with him from the village, but the question now is would you spy for him? For me?" Hanzo continued to stare at the wall, seeing quite well the struggle of his former teacher out of the corner of his eye. Kakashi and Jiraiya were the only ones who he would be able to contact again, and unlike with Kakashi, Jiraiya would never betray the village. Kakashi however…could be convinced.
In tune with his thoughts the older man sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. 'What the hell do I do? I swore an oath to keep an eye on Naruto, both to Sensei and to myself. I failed it many times, yet when I finally met the boy and explained it he held no grudge. Hell, in our short time together I honestly came to see him as the brother I should have had. And Hanzo would get not benefit from lying to me, and no genjutsu can mimic a person perfectly unless you know them well, and as such I can simply demand to meet him to ensure it. Hmph…genjutsu…that certainly explains how Naruto would be able to fool me. Sensei…what do I do?' Kakashi was honestly considering betraying the village. After all, on Konoha's orders or for the sake of Konoha he had wound up killing almost everyone he had time to grow close to, even in ANBU.
"Let me see him." That would be the best way for him to find out, but a slight chuckle came from Hanzo, causing him to nearly grow.
"I'm disappointed Kakashi-sensei, your genjutsu detection skills have gone down." His eye widened, a shaking hand undoing the Hi-Tai-Ate as he pulsed his chakra, the genjutsu not dispelling. The metal plate hit the ground, the blue band fluttering around before it too landed on the ground, Kakashi's usual fang-like hair falling down around his head into a naturally spiky pattern. Two eyes stared wide at the now blond in front of him, shocked beyond all belief.
"N…N…Nar…Naruto?" He exclaimed, voice several octaves higher than normal.
"Not quite Kakashi. A shadow clone." The man nearly collapsed, even if it was just a shadow clone it was proof that the boy was alive. Clones couldn't live without the creator after all. However, the year of drunkenness had done little to dull his paranoia.
"Prove it." Voice icy cold. It was quite clear to Naruto that if he messed up then chance were Kakashi would go crazy and attack. Fortunately he had expected this. He made a few hand seals, a genjutsu seal ceasing to work for the first time in over a year, revealing the vertical scar over his left eye, the eyelid revealing the full scar when he blinked. There was another across his throat, and a third trailing down his chest from his neck, causing the man to gasp. Once those scars had vanished from Naruto he had thought they had healed, or Naruto had gotten them removed, but those things identified him. If that wasn't enough, what he said next proved it.
"The first thing you did once you saw these scars was panic, and the earliest moment you could you acted like a mother hen, panicking that I might not be able to speak. Then after I made a little condition, you dragged me into a restaurant, nearly killed both the waiter and the receptionist, and forced me to explain." The man sighed, before nearly dispelling the shadow clone in a powerful hug.
"Kakashi…clone." Only that reminder stopped him from destroying it. They both knew no one was around that day, so only those who had been there could have known the details. There were so many things he wanted to know, but the very first thing he asked him wasn't dealing with most of them.
"Have…have you been happy? Was it worth it?" The blonde paused to think for a moment, red hair and the smell of heat flashing before him for that instant, before smiling, nodding gently. Kakashi sighed, happy for the blond now that he knew he was alive. And he couldn't even blame him for what he did, because Kakashi knew he would have done the same. So what was left was what he had wanted to do since the moment that fight had started.
"I'm sorry Naruto. I'm so sorry." The boy frowned at him before speaking.
"You have nothing to apologize for. You were doing what you thought was right, and what would work. And in fact, you gave me the best cover possible, so thank-you for that. Besides, you've spent the past year wallowing in guilt; you don't need to do it anymore." Kakashi's head lowered again, before he raised it again, grief in his eye.
"Still I'm sorry." Naruto was going to continue trying to make him feel less guilty, but something in Kakashi's eyes told him to just accept it.
"I accept, and you're forgiven." The relief in Kakashi's eyes let him know he had made the right choice. Then the man frowned, something having popped into his head.
"So I take it you're Hanzo? What, are you doing back in Konoha?" A new voice spoke up, deeper than it Naruto's in keeping with the man who had visited him earlier. He whirled around, spotting the brown-haired man reclining in the shadows.
"Au contraire Hatake-san, I'm right here. Naruto-kun here just wanted to be the one to see you. The genjutsu was his idea as well." Looking at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy was completely at ease in Hanzo's presence, so he relaxed as well, though he kept his guard up and his Sharingan on the man.
"As to what we are doing Hatake-san, I thought it would have been quite obvious with my conditions earlier." The Jonin's eye turned to iron, but he sighed, staring at Naruto.
"Can I ask a few questions first?" Naruto nodded, but gave a caution.
"We may not answer them all though." Kakashi nodded, thinking it was fair enough. He considered his question, but figured out the first thing to ask quite quickly, owing it to his only Jonin friend.
"The information I give you…will it threaten Konoha?" Naruto thought it over for a moment before answering.
"Possibly. If Konoha goes to war against my village I will use the information you give me to our advantage, certainly, and I will also stop a great many missions that interfere with our interests, but otherwise I will only stockpile information. It will be a compromise of security, certainly, but you won't need to go out of your way to obtain anything." Kakashi cocked his head curiously at that, but shrugged.
"What will you have me doing?" Hanzo took over now, turning his attention to the stranger.
"Other than a scroll which you will be able to use to send messages to Naruto, you will be using everything you have to do exactly what you normally would, keep a close eye upon your village. Only now, instead of just reporting it to the Kage or dealing with it yourself, you also send a report about it on a second scroll to me. Keep an eye out of anything that seems interesting, and write it, and I'll take the rest. I'm even willing to pay you for your trouble." Kakashi sighed, half in happiness and half in guilt. He no longer loved Konoha, but the only friend he had left did, so he was happy that he wouldn't be doing any active betrayals. After all they could get the information from anyone, it was just more convenient to have a slightly trusted source there already.
"Is there anything else that I need to know for this…condition?" Hanzo shook his head, gesturing to Naruto as he melted back into the shadows.
"I have the two scrolls you need. The original made sure to give me enough chakra to last the night, so we will be able to catch up. I have several questions for you, and I'm sure you have many for me." Kakashi considered asking where Hanzo was going, but decided that he was better off not knowing.
"First things first then. Where have you been?" Naruto shook his head slightly, making Kakashi sigh, but understand. The boy didn't want to endanger his village on the off chance Kakashi was going to betray him.
"Fine…you said you've been happy. Found anyone special?" There was a slight teasing tone in his voice now. Kakashi was still under the impression that this was a dream, so he wanted to find out the things he considered most important before he woke up, and Naruto's happiness was it. He watched as the blond considered, for some time, before shrugging and saying "maybe. I'm not sure." He nodded, that was the way it went sometimes. Now for the second most important thing.
"Why the fuck did you do it Naruto?" Warm cerulean eyes iced over, and somehow Kakashi knew that for everything he knew about Naruto, the truth was worse. It was only confirmed as he began to speak, voice dead.
"I was the villages punching bag for years Kakashi. Then the Hokage refused to allow me to grow strong, refused to allow me to thrive. I would have never been truly loyal to a village that prevented that. However…have you ever had a pet?" Kakashi cocked his head curiously, before nodding, remembering Pakkun especially, the cute little pug had been the first dog he had ever met, and had become his first pet and summon once his father had given him to him. It was a treasured item, and one of the reasons he rarely risked the dog in actual combat.
"Imagine a shinobi of this village, or anyone really, after all the torment and abuse I've gone through, viciously murdering your beloved pet and laughing while they did it?" Kakashi's hands unconsciously clenched into fists at the mere thought, both of them knowing the answer. He'd kill them in a heartbeat.
"I got a pet, a rather cute little fox. The little ball of fluff and cheer loved me Kakashi, and because I got distracted I allowed her to be killed. I couldn't live in a place that would destroy something so innocent, and one that I disliked to begin with." Kakashi sighed, but before he could ask another question Naruto asked one of his own.
"Now, Kakashi. Why is it that when I came into this village I came upon a certain green spandex wearing Jonin, drunk out of his mind, sobbing in a deserted alley that he couldn't help bring his brother out of depression?" Kakashi winced visibly. He had known that his drunkenness hurt Gai, but not that much.
"Gai and I have always been close. In fact, that man is the reason I got through Rin and Sensei's deaths. His unwavering support has always meant a lot to me, and his ridiculous challenges have never failed to bring a smile to my face, especially with the various punishments he puts himself through when he loses. After I saved his life when we were children he was always there, trying to surpass me, like an annoying little brother that you secretly love to have around.
Your death, however, hit me harder than any other so far." The Jonin's eyes glazed over again as he retied the Hi-Tai-Ate around his Sharingan.
"I couldn't think, couldn't exist without your dying face embedded in my eyes. The only thing that took it away was Sake, so I drank. Tsunade's healed my liver from certain failure five times in the last six months. I drank and drank, hell the only thing that stopped my body from completely degrading was Gai literally dragging me away to train. I've gone on nothing but suicide missions, I've had nothing to live for." Naruto's raised eyebrow told something else entirely.
"What were my so called "last words" to you Kakashi." The man didn't even blink.
"Something impossible to obey. I had just shoved my hand through your heart. It didn't matter what you said, hell I only remembered because of the Sharingan." The blond sighed, but nodded. His hand came up, resting on the older man's shoulders.
"Well, I'm here, alive and well, and we'll be able to talk to our hearts content through the scrolls, so long as that ass Hanzo gets his information from you. So I don't want to hear of you even touching Sake for a few years, alright?" Kakashi narrowed his visible eye, and just like that the weight that had been on his shoulders for a full year seemed to vanish, the Jonin visibly standing straighter.
"So no reunion Sake? Oh, that's too bad. I happen to have some really good Sake from the Land of Iron that I was saving for…for a special occasion." Naruto's eyes widened in shock, the best Sake in the elemental nations being held by his former Sensei. He paid no attention to the little slip, easily guessing just what the man was saving it for.
"…I think I could be persuaded otherwise." An eye smile was his response.
AN: Another fight with Mei, and how Kakashi begins to recover.
Near15, the answer to your question is that far too often the main characters are the ones fighting defensively. They can't afford to retreat, whereas the villains can spare the resources spent and start over later. Especially in Orochimaru's case. That immortality jutsu ensures he can wait as long as necessary.
Juniorreal my Naruto is currently a little over fourteen, but because of the Kyuubi his body is Seventeen, close to eighteen. It sacrificed an equivalent number of years in his lifespan though. So for an Uzumaki, he is just about to enter his prime.
Thorndsword, I must admit I'm curious as to why you think it was arrogance? Sure, there was confidence in her, a great deal of it, yet remember she is the second strongest ninja in the village of mist at this point in time. I'm sorry you felt that way though.
R. Peter, wow! You thought it was that good? I can feel my ego blowing up right now, thank you very much.
ChronoMisturugi, don't worry, Hanzo will be appearing more in the next few chapters. Not so much of this one, because of who he was recruiting and what he was doing, but definitely in the next ones. And I agree, Kyuubi is awesome, and the anime made it complete bullshit when Naruto actually managed to beat it. I chose the Juubi because of the sheer, legendary power behind it which in terms of amount, dwarfed even the Rikudo Sennin.