Flash of Red and Black
Chapter IX
"I'm sure you are all more than prepared to make sure everyone is safe during the finals tomorrow, but I wanted to speak to all of you today anyway. To be honest, I'm pretty nervous about tomorrow since it's the first big event in Konohagakure since I've taken office. And as you all know, I'll be even busier since the Konoha Medical Training School is about to open, but what some of you may not know is that we will be admitting students from other nations to our training school and to gain interest from the other nations, we'll have an open house of sorts the on its opening day. I'm going to be announcing all this officially at the Chuunin Exam, but I thought it best to let all of you know first. I'm relying on you to not only keep Konohagakure no Sato safe, but I also trust you to keep every person from every nation within our village gates safe. I know that it's a big task, but I know that you all will do well. If there's anything I can do to help any of you over these next few days, anything at all, let me know," I said before giving a bow. The room was silent, but once I straightened I saw all the ANBU had dropped to one knee at once, and all the jounin followed suit. Even Neji turned to give his own graceful bow.
I scratched the back of my head and smiled at everyone awkwardly, nor really sure about what to do from there, but thankfully Neji took over for me and gave some other last-minute reminders before dismissing everyone.
"Ah, thanks for letting me do that, Neji," I said smiling at him.
"Of course. But can I ask you something, Naruto?"
"Sure, anything."
"You've been seeing Kakashi?" he asked, though to anyone's ears that would have sounded like a statement.
"Ah… yeah," I replied, confused about why he decided to bring it up right then, and I couldn't keep my face from warming some.
"Ino saw him moving in his things. Word has been spreading."
"Word always spreads with her in the mix."
"I just want to make sure that this is okay for everyone to know with the Chuunin Exams tomorrow."
"Whaddya mean?"
"If enemies learn about the relationship, they will try to take advantage of it, and though I am confident in my security system, these next couple of days will be vulnerable ones for Konoha."
"Got it, but Kakashi can take care of himself. I didn't have him go back into ANBU for nothing."
"I just felt it necessary to point that out. But there's also the matter of how the other Kage may view it."
"The Raikage and Tsuchikage are going to put up resistance at every turn no matter what. Even so, I don't think that they can really be that against the Hokage being in a relationship with someone they respect just as much."
"Understood. Sorry to get into your personal business," he said, looking a little embarrassed himself.
"It's your job. Good luck tomorrow," I said, giving him a smile before leaving. I still had some more work to do before the third stage started, so I headed over to the training school.
"Ino! Is everything ready?" I asked once I finally found her in the building.
"Oh, hey Naruto! We should be ready. How's everything looking for the finals?"
"Great! I just met with Neji, so everything's ready there. I just can't wait to see how it turns out," I said grinning at her.
"Ah, so is Kakashi-sensei on security?" she asked, pretending to be casually setting out some papers.
"Yup. But I'm pretty sure that's not what you want to ask, right, Ino?" I said, sitting down at the desk in front of her, grinning up at her. I wasn't angry over the rumors, but I couldn't help being a straightforward person. I always had been after all.
"W-well, since you mention it. Are you and Kakashi... well, um…you know," she said, fidgeting with the papers. Apparently, just because I'd always been straightforward didn't mean that everyone was used to it.
"Yeah, we are," I said, still smiling at her, though I couldn't help trying to gauge her reaction a little.
"R-really? Well… I won't tell anyone if you—"
"C'mon, Ino. People are already talking about it, and we both know that you're as bad with staying quiet as I am," I said, teasing a little before getting up. "Anyway, I just wanted to check up on you to see if there was anything that I could do for you, but it seems like you've got it under control."
"Ah, right. Thanks, Naruto," she said, giving me a sheepish smile before I waved and left. With that, I knew that it would be only a matter of time before everyone was totally positive about Kakashi moving in with me, but I didn't care. If I was really being honest, I'd been looking forward to it 'cause I could brag to everyone that I was with the coolest shinobi ever (aside from myself, of course. But it would be pretty hard to date myself).
From there I went back to my office to prepare for the next day. There was a lot that was about to happen in the next couple days, and I needed to be totally prepared.
oOo
"Welcome, everyone! I'm glad that you all came! I want to thank the other Kage for being here today to watch the exams, and I want you all to enjoy your time here! Now, Raido, I leave it to you," I said before sitting back down between Mei and Gaara.
From there, the contest began. There would be nine matches just for the first round, but each one was a good show. I was impressed with those that went up against Konohamaru's team, especially when Udon went up against a girl from Kiri that was in the team that beat them to the tower. Udon ended up losing, but it was the first time I'd seen him fight so hard without giving up. Eventually, it was just a matter of not having enough chakra to pull off one last ninjutsu attack. He still tried, but he ended up collapsing without the attack coming to anything, which was lucky for the girl because she was obviously too tired to even be able to attempt to dodge another attack. Obviously, she ended up losing in the next round rather quickly since she could hardly even stand. Konohamaru's power ended up taking her down after only three punches in the next round. As for Moegi, she was smart enough to outwit everyone and ended up winning, though she looked like she could take the next week off by the time the exams ended.
Once it was over, I jumped down to the arena to congratulate Moegi personally.
"Everyone! We have our winner! Moegi of Konohagakure no Sato!" I shouted to the crowd, raising her tired arm to the crowd. She smiled at the cheers despite how tired she was and even waved some, but I could tell she was totally exhausted.
"Great job, Moegi. Go ahead to the rest area. Sakura will take care of you from there, but be sure to expect a visit from Tenten. I'm sure she's just as proud as I am," I said, smiling at her. She smiled back, her face turning a little redder than it already was, but she nodded and left, waving at the crowd a little more as she left. Then I turned my attention back to the crowd.
"That concludes the Chuunin Exams! Thank you all for coming to cheer for the participants, but I have a few things to say before you all leave. As some of you may know, the Konoha Medical Training School officially opens the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, though, there will be an open house for anyone interested in either attending or teaching at the school. This is not restricted to those from Konoha. Anyone from any nation and any village may participate! If you want to hear more about it, please go to the school tomorrow. Thanks again for supporting the competitors! I look forward to the next exam!" I called, grinning at everyone in the crowd before jumping back up to my earlier seat.
"Thank you all again for coming. I'll see you at the meeting later tonight. If you want to see me before then, though, you're more than welcome," I said, smiling at the other Kage.
"For my part, there is one thing."
"What is it, Raikage?"
"You should learn to control the rumors in your village, Little Kage."
"I'll keep that in mind, but if it's true, I can't really call it a rumor," I said, giving him a grin, though my eyes were totally serious as I looked back at him. He fell into a shocked silence and I turned to the other Kage.
"Well, if there's nothing else—"
"You're actually in a relationship with Hatake Kakashi?" asked Mei, surprise on her face evident. I just turned a smile on her too.
"I am. Is there something wrong, Mizukage?"
"N-no, nothing. Just—"
"Hatake Kakashi is a crucial part of the strength of Konohagakure. Are you able to send him on the missions that he is qualified for?" asked Gaara. I straightened and let my face fall back to serious neutrality, eyeing all the Kage before replying.
"The strength of Konohagakure no Sato will not waver, and neither will I. As for Kakashi specifically, he has rejoined ANBU Black Ops. His recent missions will be a topic of discussion for the meeting later," I said, appraising the reactions of all the Kage. It seemed that they had all moved passed their surprise, but their posture seemed to stiffen as I looked at each of them, but then I blinked and they all relaxed again, and I grinned.
"Now, I have some things to do. Again, if there is anything else you would like to discuss before the meeting tonight, please don't hesitate to see me. Also, give my compliments to the genin who participated. I really was thoroughly impressed by their skills," I said, giving them all one last grin before heading to the hospital to check on Sakura and the participants.
"Sakura! Do you have a minute?"
"Naruto! Sure! What's going on?"
"I just wanted to check on everyone. No one was injured too badly, right?"
"Right. A few have broken bones, but overall everyone will recover in a few weeks. I heard Moegi won?"
"Yup! Tenten really did some awesome work with her, and she's as smart as you were at her age too. She's going to become a really great kunoichi."
"You sound pretty proud of her," she said, smiling at me.
"'Course I am! But it's not just her. I'm really proud of everyone. They've all been doing their best and have really been helping me out," I said, smiling while staring off into space, thinking about all the hard work that everyone's been doing. I snapped out of it after a moment or two, though, just in time to catch a smile on Sakura's face.
"It's no more than how hard you've been working, Naruto. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Well, I wanted to thank you for that report this morning since I know you've been busy, but also I was wondering if you'd be free enough to stop by the training school tomorrow for the open house? If you've got your hands full already, then don't worry about it."
"Sure! I haven't really been able to check it out yet, so why not?"
"Great! Is there anything I can do for you?"
"No, I've got everything under control here. I guess I'll see you at the open house tomorrow?"
"Yeah, as long as nothing else comes up. Thanks again. See you around!" I said, giving her a grin as I headed out of her office.
"Later, Naruto. Oh, and congratulations!" she called behind me. I glanced back at her and saw a teasing grin on her face. I smiled back before leaving with a little wave.
From there, I went around to the hospital rooms of all the contestants, chatting with them all for just a little while and giving them a few tips when I thought of something. I couldn't spend much time with them, but I wanted to talk to them, even if it was only for a little while. They all seemed surprised and nervous when I walked into their rooms, but they got over it by the time I left each of them. I saved Udon and Konohamaru's room for last, but they grinned tiredly when they saw me walk in.
"Great job, guys! You've both really improved a lot. Once you guys recover, I want you to come see me in my office. I have some paperwork that you will have to sign," I said, grinning at them. Some of their energy seemed to come back when I said that because their smiles seemed a little less tired when they glanced at each other.
"Anyway, I'll leave you to rest up. I'll have more to say once you've recovered, but for now take it easy, alright? Both of you have definitely earned a break," I said smiling at them before getting up and leaving again, finally heading to my office. I didn't have much time left for the meeting with the Kage, and I still had some work to do before that.
Once I arrived at my office, Neji appeared in front of me, ready to report. I just nodded for him to go ahead as I sat down.
"So far there have been no incidents. I have twenty guards stationed for the meeting tonight, aside from those who are coming with you. We are prepared for tomorrow, and everyone has been informed of the plan for security for the training school. We won't let you down, Naruto." I smiled at him and nodded.
"I've never been worried about that, Neji. But I would like you to discuss the plans with Kankuro after the meeting, if you don't mind. Another perspective won't hurt, and you might give him some ideas for security in Suna."
"I'll welcome his experience."
"Good. Thank you. Is there anything else?"
"I stationed a few extra ANBU in the hospital to make sure that nothing happens to any of the participants while they recover. Otherwise, everything is as planned."
"Great. I'll leave you to it, then," I said, dismissing him. He nodded and left, leaving me to my work. Not long after he left, the current generation of Ino-Shika-Cho appeared in my office.
"Ready?"
The three nodded and I headed to the meeting, trying to mentally prepare myself for the questioning that the Kage would surely put me through.
"Good evening!" I said, smiling as I walked into the room. The Tsuchikage hadn't arrived yet, but the other room occupants returned the greeting.
"My genin told me that you paid them all a visit, Naruto-kun," said Mei. I smiled a little sheepishly and nodded.
"Yeah. I hope you don't mind. They all worked hard, so I wanted to personally thank them for participating."
"One of my genin mentioned that you explained the kagebunshin technique to him," said the Raikage, staring at me with something that looked like suspicion. I kept my sheepish smile and scratched the back of my head as I replied.
"I just gave out some tips where I could. I didn't let anyone try it right then, of course, since they were all already exhausted, but I figured that I could try to help a little."
"You're willing to help to the point that you explain the basics of teaching your signature technique to a genin from another village?" asked the Tsuchikage as he walked in. Mei and Gaara eyed me with barely-contained surprise, and I was pretty sure that Ino and Choji held the same look behind me. (I heard Shikamaru snicker, so I knew that he wasn't so much surprised as he wanted to make fun of me for doing something so, well, like me.)
"As I've said before, Tsuchikage, even if your genin are from another village, they are our comrades none the less, and I want to help the next generation to be prepared to take over once their time comes," I said, my face serious again as I stared him down. He gave a small nod after a moment and then I smiled.
"Well, now that everyone's here, how about we get started, huh?"
I left it to Ino to discuss the open house and training program. There were plenty of questions, of course, but Ino took them all on herself, not even giving me the chance to stick up for her. I had to suppress a smile at that. I was glad that she was proud of the program and so willing to defend it, even if it meant keeping her cool while parrying with the questions of the Kage. She did a great job and I was glad to see that even A and Kitsuchi seemed interested in the program once she'd finished.
"Right. Now for the investigations of Danzo. As you all know, I've been doing serious investigations into his dealings before his death, and it seems that there were strong connections between himself and Orochimaru," I said before Shikamaru stepped forward.
"Thanks to our ANBU teams, we have managed to retrieve data of Orochimaru's experiments from his old bases. However, some of the bases appear to be temporarily active. Orochimaru seems to be having his subordinates move the information elsewhere, and just a few days ago an ANBU team working with another team from Kirigakure reported that a new base has been discovered in what was formerly the Land of Whirlpools," Shikamaru said, holding a report in his hand as he listed off the main points. Other than Mei and myself, the whole room stilled at the news. However, Shikamaru continued his report unperturbed.
"Because of its proximity, we have already notified the Land of Waves and sent extra patrols, especially since our ANBU discovered an old base there that was being cleared out too. A team is still trailing the materials that are being transported elsewhere. Also, since the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost have remained more or less abandoned since the war, there is potential that Orochimaru has several more new hideouts in the area, which could pose serious problems since we still don't know how far Akatsuki's networks burrowed beneath the battlefields and Orochimaru or other threats could take advantage of that," Shikamaru said, looking up from the report to see if there were any questions at that point.
"Have there been any sightings of Orochimaru?" asked Mei.
"None reported since the war," Shikamaru responded quickly. He knew the report inside and out, I was sure, based on the slight frown, I could tell that he was frustrated that he didn't have it totally figured out yet, and I couldn't blame him. I was just as on-edge about it all, if not more.
"You mentioned retrieving data?" asked Gaara after a few moments of thoughtful silence.
"Right. From the base in the Land of Waves we acquired heavily encrypted data about some of Orochimaru's experiments while he was in Konohagakure and his continuation of those experiments before he was temporarily deceased before the war. The experiments seemed to involve the eyes of the Uchiha and the Shodaime Hokage's DNA for the sake of recreating the ocular jutsu of the Uchiha and strengthening it. Also, when infiltrating the bases, some of our teams had run-ins with Orochimaru's followers and they had strengthened versions of the curse mark that was once on Uchiha Sasuke. One team brought back a body of one of the individuals and a blood sample of another which has been analyzed by our head medical ninja. A copy of her report is in front of each of you. We also retrieved various concoctions, assumed to have been used for some of the experiments. The formulas are still being analyzed. Just this morning we finished decrypting the rest of the data from experiments gathered from the Land of Waves. According to the report, there are references to old bases in the Land of Sound and near Takigakure," Shikamaru finished. He stepped back and flipped the report folder shut, and I looked around the room, waiting for their appraisals.
"So these curse marks have been strengthened since the war?"
"That's how it seems. But since he is gathering the data from his previous experiments, I think that it's safe to say that Orochimaru is trying to make the curse mark even stronger," I replied to Mei, waiting for more questions.
"I assume you're sending teams out to investigate the bases?" asked Kitsuchi.
"As soon as this meeting is over," I nodded. "If any of you want to send a team to join ours, I will welcome the help."
"Konoha can't handle tracking down its missing-nin by itself, huh?"
"We can more than handle this situation on our own, Raikage. However, you will be able to get information more quickly if you have your own teams join us," I said evenly, not falling for A's taunt.
"Kirigakure will join you in the Land of Whirlpools since the proximity is concerning. I will send word of my orders to my best ANBU team tonight."
"Thank you, Mizukage," I said, returning Mei's smile.
"Iwagakure will join you in the search near Takigakure," Kitsuchi said. I was a little surprised that he agreed so readily to join, but since Taki shared a border with the Land of Earth, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
"Thank you, Tsuchikage," I said giving him a small smile and a short nod. I could see the Raikage shift uncomfortably for a moment before speaking up.
"Fine. Kumo will help in the Land of Whirlpools and search through the Land of Hot Water for more activity."
I gave a little smile and a nod, ready to continue, but then Gaara spoke up.
"I will send two of Suna's best ANBU teams to Konohagakure. You may use them where you see fit. They will still send reports to Sunagakure, but they shall be under your command for the foreseeable future."
The whole room sat there in shock for a moment, not believing that one Kage really just gave another command over his forces, even if it was only two teams, especially during a time of relative peace. Even I hadn't expected Gaara to speak up since none of the bases that we'd discovered at that point were very close to the Land of Wind, but I recovered quickly and grinned at my friend.
"Thank you, Gaara. I'll make sure they stay safe," I replied, getting a small nod and a look that was a softer version of "Well, duh" from Gaara, though most others in the room probably weren't able to tell.
Slowly, everyone else recovered from their shock and general mission plans were discussed before the meeting was adjourned and I returned to my office. Ino and Choji returned home, but Shikamaru accompanied me as I summoned five ANBU teams, a bunshin of mine with each. I sent two teams to the Land of Whirlpools, ordering them to stay silent and observe the base there. Two other teams were sent to sweep the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost. And the last was sent to search near Taki.
"You leave this time tomorrow. Be ready by then. Dismissed," I said once I'd finished giving orders. Instantly, all twenty ANBU disappeared from the room and I turned to Shikamaru, waiting for him to say whatever had been on his mind the since the meeting with the other Kage began.
"Whatever that snake is doing, it isn't good."
"Even I know that much," I said, but I wasn't angry. I was just waiting for him to say what was really on his mind. He stayed silent for another moment or two, but then he sighed.
"You of all people should know about the reputation of the Uzumaki Clan's longevity, and we both know how obsessed with immortality that guy is. And now he has a base in the Land of Whirpools," he said, staring hard at me before sighing heavily again. "I haven't figured out his plan yet, but I already know that I don't like it. Just… Make sure that security doesn't get lax, Naruto."
I gave him a little smile and nodded before speaking. "Right. If you want, tell Neji everything. He's smarter than me, so he'll probably follow your train of thought better and be able to help you figure out whatever it is that you're missing. He's probably done talking with Kankuro by now too"
Shikamaru gave nodded and left, but he was still obviously concerned with whatever it was that was bothering him. Once he was gone I sighed and sunk down into my chair before a familiar chakra appeared in the room.
"You're not sending me on this one?"
"Shikamaru has a bad feeling, and honestly I do too. I need you on standby in case something goes wrong," I said looking over as Fox perched himself on my desk. Then I sighed again and looked up at the ceiling.
"What's wrong?" he asked, setting his gloved hand on my cheek gently. I looked at him again before reaching over and pulling off his ANBU mask.
"I know that I can rely on Shikamaru to figure this all out, but I wish I was smarter. Maybe then I could be of more use," I said quietly, fiddling with the hard mask in my hand.
"Naruto, everyone has total confidence that you are the right person for this job. You are already doing more to maintain and even improve this current peace than anyone else ever could, but don't try to take this all on by yourself. We're all here to help you, not the other way around even though you make it seem like that most of the time."
I gave a little smile.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Good. Now, you haven't eaten all day. I'll make you something once we get home, okay? No place is going to be open this late." I nodded and followed him home. Dinner was great and I crawled into bed right after, totally exhausted and knowing that the next day would be just as exhausting.
Updates are going to slow down a bit again since my classes have started, but my goal is to get them up weekly. Also, I know that this one doesn't have much fluff but be prepared for tons of it next time. And if you have any suggestions for the story, let me know! I'm curious about what you guys want to read. :)