Flash of Red and Black
Chapter XIV
My body ached as I stood there in my black robes in the crowd. My eyes stung as more flowers piled up in front of the three framed pictures. My heart throbbed as I heard the wails of an orphaned child and the chocked sobs of two widowed wives.
Finally once the crowd had dwindled, I walked up to the widowed women first. They put on their strongest faces when I greeted them, but their grief was plain to see.
"Your husbands are shinobi to be proud of. If I can do anything for you, please let me know," I said, bowing. The two glanced at each other, seemingly unsure how to react, but then they bowed in return.
"My husband was honored to be a shinobi for you and the village, and I am sure that he does not regret his death. Thank you for coming," one said, and the other nodded in agreement.
"My husband truly believed you would be able to bring peace to the world, and I do too. I would like to fight for that world in his stead, Hokage-sama," she said, her eyes intense despite the grief. I was surprised, but I gave a small nod
"Thank you. If you are sure about that, see me in my office any time you like. I would be honored to have you," I said before walking over to the young orphaned boy standing with his aunt.
"What's your name?" I asked the sniffling boy.
"Yuu," he said, puffing out his chest as he tried to stop his tears. My heart ached for him, but I was impressed with his strength.
"Yuu-kun, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I wanna be a great, powerful shinobi like my dad!" he exclaimed loudly. His chin quivered, but he held strong. I gave a nod before squatting down and putting a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.
"He was one of the best, so it'll be tough, but you're his son, so I'm sure you can do it. And I know that he believed you could too. So don't give up. I'll help train you when you're old enough if you want, so come see me any time you feel like it," I said and tears started falling down his face again, but he quickly wiped them away and nodded. I nodded too and gave him another short squeeze on the shoulder before righting myself. Then I greeted his aunt before I headed back home.
Immediately when I opened the door, Kakashi was standing there waiting for me. I smiled a little, but then I rushed inside to hug him as tightly as I could.
"They still believe in me," I mumbled, feeling an entire mix of emotions rush through me, and I felt Kakashi's head nod against mine.
"And so do I. So you can't stop believing in yourself," he said, and I nodded.
After staying there for a while longer I finally pulled away, sighing.
"I have work to do. Will you check the Archives for Shikamaru? He went there yesterday morning and I haven't seen him since."
"Sure. Work hard," he said, kissing my temple before leaving. I changed and then headed to my office. Inside, I sat and started on paperwork and reviewing reports, but after a while I stopped and pulled some scrolls out of my desk, scribbling some things down before calling for Shikaku.
"I'm going to alert the other Kage about Kakashi's mission. You have the time it takes me to walk from here to the aviary to convince me otherwise," I said as soon as he walked through the doorway. I stood, handing him the scrolls to be sent to the other Kage as I walked out of the room.
"Are you asking them for assistance?"
"No. I want them to be alert. Despite the fact that we mapped some of the Akatsuki tunnels, we don't have any idea how extensive they are, so if Orochimaru tries to escape, we won't know where he may end up, deba. They should be aware of the threat so that they will be able to protect their own villages," I said, and he stayed silent as he walked next to me, reading through the information on the scrolls.
"You're giving them copies of the maps our teams made?"
"Yes. We may not know much, but every little bit helps."
"You're not asking them to trap Orochimaru should he manage to escape?"
"No. If we don't capture or kill him, that's our failure. I'm not going to ask another village to risk their shinobi for the sake of our missions," I said, nearly to the aviary. Shikaku stayed quiet until I had my hand on the handle.
"In other words, you're asking them for help without asking. You want them to volunteer their assistance by making them aware of a mutual threat," he said, and I kept my face carefully neutral as I walked into the aviary.
"If they decide to join Konoha on this mission, that will be their decision, and I will neither encourage nor discourage any of their actions," I said, and I saw Shikaku smirking next to me.
"You're smarter than you let on."
"I just spend too much time with your son," I said, smirking right back at him before he handed the scrolls back to me. Then I attached them to the fastest birds we had, and once they were out of sight, I returned to my office with Shikaku.
"Is there anything else that will improve the odds of the mission?" I asked, looking over at Shikaku as I sat back down.
"You'll know if I think of something. In the meantime, you may consider talking to the Suna ANBU," he said, smiling a little. I smiled a little in return and gave a nod before calling an ANBU to retrieve the teams while Shikaku left. As I waited for the Suna ANBU teams to arrive, I took to paperwork, though I didn't get much done before the three teams appeared in my office.
"Hokage-sama, you called for us?" the head captain of the three teams asked.
"Yes. Sorry for not seeing you recently. Have you been able to get everything you need from headquarters?"
"Yes, Sir. We have been training with the newer recruits as well, just as you asked," she replied, as serious as always.
"Thank you. I appreciate it. Has the training helped you guys any?"
"Yes, Sir. We have been able to further refine our skills. However, several of your ANBU have offered to teach us various specialty jutsu of the clans of Konohagakure no Sato or to teach us the village's techniques. We have refused the offers since you did not give direct approval," she said. I was surprised for a moment before I started laughing. I was proud of my ANBU for wanting to teach them, and I was glad that the Suna ANBU were consciously trying to keep from "stealing" secrets from Konoha, but since such a thought never even occurred to me, I couldn't help but laugh. I calmed down after a moment and just smiled at the bewildered group.
"I appreciate your restraint, but it's unnecessary. As long as you're in this village, my shinobi will treat you as shinobi of Konoha. You are welcome to learn anything and everything you can while you are here," I said, and even with their masks on, I could tell the ANBU were glancing at one another behind their captain.
"Understood. Thank you, Hokage-sama," she said after a moment, bowing her head.
"Good. Now, I would like to request your help for an upcoming mission."
"What are your orders, sir?"
"No orders. Like I said, I'm requesting your help, so you all may refuse if you like," I said, and again I knew the ANBU were glancing at one another. But after a moment, the captain nodded her head, and I grabbed several scrolls out of my desk.
"These scrolls contain the plans for a mission to attack what seems to be Orochimaru's main base in the Land of Whirlpools. It has all the information we have collected to this point. It also has plans for a mission to attack the base in eleven days. If you will, I would like for you all to read through the information and the mission plans and report your opinions and suggestions to me. I sent the same information to the other four Kage this morning," I said as I set all the scrolls down at the front of my desk. Though I expected to see the ANBU glancing at each other again, I was somewhat surprised when an ANBU aside from the captain spoke up.
"You are seriously going to give us that information? A technique or two, sure. We could learn those from watching you all during the war, but to tell us what missions you will have and when you will have them, that goes against every—" the large male who spoke out last time started until the captain flashed her chakra darkly. Some of my ANBU appeared in the room, instantly reacting, but I just shook my head at them before looking to the captain.
"If that is how we can be of service to you, Hokage-sama, then we will respect your decision," she said, though I could hear both frustration and confusion in her voice, and I saw the same emotions lining the shoulders of the man behind her. The others seemed just as confused, but once the captain spoke, they instantly fell into obedience. I just sat there, staring at each of them for a few moments, but then I looked back at the captain.
"I would like you and your vice-captain to stay with me for a few moments. I leave these scrolls to the rest of you," I said before looking at my ANBU who remained in the room after the captain's chakra burst. "Dog, go get Kakashi and have him join them." I said before looking back to the ANBU group. "He is the person the mission centers around. You will be helping to ensure his safe return from the successful mission," I said, my voice leaving no room for argument this time, and instantly all but the captain, vice-captain, and my ANBU disappeared from the room. I stared at both of the Suna-nin again for a long moment before standing and walking to the door.
"All of you, come with me," I ordered, and they were instantly following behind me.
I walked out of the tower and through the streets, grinning and waving at people as I walked before heading to the Yamanaka flower shop. After getting several flowers, I headed to the graveyard and silently went about placing a flower on each headstone and silently reaffirmed my promises to each of them. The widows and the orphaned child from earlier were gone, so the ANBU and I were the only ones in the graveyard. The Konoha ANBU had purchased their own flowers, and they were placing them at the headstones of people they knew while the ANBU from Suna trailed me silently. Once we had all finished, I headed over to the hospital and found Ino just coming out of her office
"Naruto! What are you doing here?" she asked, glancing over my shoulder at all the ANBU following behind me.
"Don't worry about them. I'm just trying to teach these guys a little something. How are you? Do you have any more classes to teach today?"
"Actually, I'm headed there now. Why?"
"I thought we could give it a try… Or maybe there's an easy class that you recommend? I don't think I've got the control to revive a fish just yet," I said, grinning and scratching the back of my head. Ino smiled and nodded.
"Sure, Naruto. I think I know just the thing. Follow me," she said before leading us away.
We followed her to the greenhouse in the back of the building, and she ushered us inside, saying that she had to go teach her class, but someone would be there to take care of us in a minute. True to her word, just a couple of minutes later, Hojo-san walked in and smiled at me, though she seemed a little nervous when she took note of the ANBU standing behind me.
"Hokage-sama! Ino-san told me that you were looking for a lesson on the basics?"
"Yup! Are you going to be teaching us today, Hojo-san?"
"Yes. If it's alright, Ino thought you could learn a little about the medicinal plants in here."
"Sounds great, Hojo-san! What should we do?" I asked, grinning at her. She had us put on some gloves and follow her around the greenhouse, telling us the uses of several of the plants and pointed out where they came from. She said that the ones Suna gave us were great for dehydration and that ones from Kumo were useful for most antidotes. She even had me eat the leaf of one plant once she assured me it wasn't poisonous, saying that it was helpful for stress-relief.
"Thanks for teaching us, Hojo-san! I'll be sure to bring a thank-you present next time I come to see Kyou-kun train," I said, grinning at her once we'd finished the lesson.
"No, no. Please, it was my pleasure today. Thank you for coming by. I'm sure Ino-san was glad to see you too. Please come anytime you're free."
"Of course! See you again," I said, smiling at her before leaving. Then I headed to the Hokage Monument and sat on top of the carving of my father's head, overlooking the village.
"I will protect this village with everything I have," I said, turning to speak to the ANBU for the first time since we left my office.
They seemed surprised when I suddenly started speaking to them, but they said nothing.
"I will give my life to keep everyone in this village safe, just like my father. However, protecting Konohagakure no Sato is not my only duty. This morning, I went to the funeral of three men who gave their lives during a recent mission. Hojo-san's husband was on the same mission as those three men, and he was injured too. Ino's childhood friend and one of my best friends was nearly killed during that mission, trying to get his team out safely. We are all prepared to give our lives for the safety of this village.
"But I am trying to do more than just sacrifice shinobi to make this village endure. I am trying to create a peace that will last so that this village and this world will be able to thrive for years after my death. The mission those men were on was to help get information on Orochimaru. That information is what we are using to execute the mission eleven days from now," I said before pausing to look at each of the ANBU sitting around me. Then I looked intently at the two Suna-nin sitting by me.
"My lover is the one going on that mission. And though I will do everything I can to ensure his safe return, I am prepared to give up everything I have in this world for the chance of an enduring peace that will allow Kyou-kun and his future children and grandchildren to thrive and know nothing of the war that awarded me the title of 'Hero of the Shinobi World,'" I said before standing and looking down at each of the ANBU, studying them again.
"I do not want my legacy to be my name. I want it to be the peace I create," I said before squatting down again, placing a hand on the shoulders of each of the Suna ANBU.
"Now, this peace will never come to be if I only give orders. I need people who believe in the same future I do," I said before standing again. Then I bowed to all the ANBU sitting in front of me.
"I request your help to make this future come true."
It was silent for a long moment, but then I heard shuffling in front of me, and once I righted myself, I saw the faces of all the ANBU, no longer hidden by masks, turned to the ground while they bowed on their knees.
"Sir, please allow me to give everything I am able while following you," one of my men said.
"As dedicated as you are to your vision, so am I to you," another Konoha kunoichi called out.
"Nothing gives me greater pride than working to help you achieve your goal," said the last Konoha shinobi.
"Forgive my outburst earlier, Hokage-sama. I will try to learn all I can while I am here so that I may better help create such a future," the large Suna shinobi said, bowing even more deeply as he spoke.
"Now I understand Gaara-sama's faith in you and in all Konohagakure shinobi. I will do everything I am able to help you both shape the future into the peace you fight for," the Suna captain said last, bowing just as deeply as her counterpart.
I stood there, stunned for a moment, not expecting such a strong reaction, but then I smiled, pride and hope radiating through me.
"Thank you. I'll look forward to continuing to work with you all," I said, and they all replaced their masks and rose before giving another small bow. With the formalities done, I gave another nod and spoke again. "Now, I've kept you all long enough. You're dismissed," I said, and instantly all the ANBU were gone and I gave one last look over the village before returning to my office, feeling better than I had in days, and I knew it wasn't just because of the stress-relieving plant that Hojo-san had me eat earlier.
Well, I was able to get this chapter out sooner than I expected. Next one should be in a few days. I hope you liked it! Also, I want to hear your predictions for the Orochimaru fight! I pretty much know how it's going to go down, but I want to know what you think. Hope you're looking forward to the next one!