Team Haruka - Intermission
Kanshi
The first direct interaction Kanshi had with Haruka Hiteien was when he told them that he'd lost Yumika.
Naturally, they didn't quite hit off.
It also meant that he wasn't particularly pleased when his father informed him that Haruka would be overseeing his and Isae's training, as a result of a lost bet.
By all accounts, this should have gone horribly, but Haruka being Haruka didn't give a damn what Kanshi felt about him, and Kanshi was driven to improve.
A few months into training…
"Father? What prompted your presence? Where is Haruka?"
"He asked me to take over today so he could pursue a lead on Yumika. There's a chance they're not keeping her in the hidden leaf itself, which would mean that he might be able to retrieve her."
…Kanshi realised that he had been a bit harsh in his initial assessment.
With that bias out of the way, Haruka grew on him, much to the older man's chagrin.
"Sensei! What shall we be learning today?"
"Don't call me sensei." he turned to Isae "Girl, start your warmup, the normal routine."
Then he pulled Kanshi aside.
"Sir?"
"Do you know what your biggest weakness is?"
"I am incapable of holding my own without my teammates present since my arsenal is dedicated to support, but-"
"Not that."
"Then I am unsure."
"You don't make decisions."
"You must be mistaken, many of our comrades have commended me for taking the lead while on mission-"
"I'm not. You don't make decisions." he folded his arms. "You make plans and suggestions; ideas that others are thinking; and when others agree, you follow through. That's the problem. You wait for others to affirm your choice before committing.
"What will you do when you end up alone, or when you're given orders you disagree with?"
Kanshi's silence said enough.
"...go start your warmup and send Isae over."
Waho
As had become usual, Waho was in Iruka's office helping him with his paperwork. Though in this instance it might have been more accurate to say that Waho was doing paperwork and Iruka was brooding.
"Something's bothering you."
The sudden accusation threw him off for a second.
"What? No, I'm fine."
"If you were fine we would be done by now, what's bothering you?"
"Alright, you got me." Iruka admitted as he put down the test he'd been marking. "It's Naruto."
Waho nodded before asking: "Anything specific this time?"
"He's been struggling with the transformation jutsu."
"Yes, and you mentioned you were going to talk to him about it."
"That's right, and I did, but Mizuki had already talked with him."
"So he's fine now?"
"Well, yes, no… sort of."
Waho raised an eyebrow, and Iruka sighed.
"Instead of correcting him, Mizuki told him about some obscure ancient variant that most people can't manage. Naruto got it to work and I'm proud of him for that, but…" Iruka shook his head to get his thoughts in order before continuing. "The basics are the foundation upon which a ninja builds their understanding and their skills. Even if they never use the jutsu, the lessons learned while mastering it are applicable to almost every field a ninja will get involved in."
"Hm, and if Mizuki has done it once, there may be others who have been sabotaged similarly?" Waho surmised.
Iruka's posture shook with alarm.
"No, no, no, that's not what I was getting at. Mizuki assured me that this was a one time thing and that he thought it was the only way to help Naruto move forward. I'm just concerned about what this will mean for Naruto's education."
"I'm sure he'll manage. He's got good friends, and you are looking out for him."
"Yeah, you're right. Thank you, it was good to get that off my chest."
The two of them wordlessly got back to work, but Waho's mind was not as clear as Iruka's.
One time thing…
There was something about that that didn't sound right.
"So… you're suspecting foul play?"
Waho nodded to affirm Beniyo's summary.
Asuri shook her head in disagreement.
"You hardly have any basis for this accusation. So the boy Naruto was taught an ancient variant, and you were given poor advice. There's a chance he told you the same thing, but we don't know how this 'ancient variant' even goes. Furthermore, he was far less experienced when he failed to help you-"
"Then we just have to check that right?" Beniyo interrupted, before jumping up with gusto "Naruto's cool, I'm cool. I'm sure I can get him to tell me what Mizuki said."
"Yes, just casually coax out his now secret technique, that will go well…"
As the argument kicked off, Waho was deep in thought, until she stumbled upon an idea.
"Why stop at Naruto?"
The two stopped their arguing and turned to acknowledge Waho.
"Come again?"
"Asuri's right, if it's just Naruto that's an incident. Even if it's Naruto and I, then it's merely a coincidence. But if there's a pattern, then there have to be others." Waho turned to Beniyo "Could you get a word from everyone in our graduating class about Mizuki's instruction by the end of the month?"
"Puh-lease." Beniyo drawled out, before putting on only the most prideful smirk "I can get a statement from the last three graduating classes in that time. I know half of them already."
"That social networking has to be some sort of bloodline." Asuri lamented quietly to herself, before addressing Waho again. "And what will you do?"
"Document everything Beniyo finds out and compare that to what the official records say. I know the academy books well enough to know where to look to confirm the witness accounts."
"Yea! Sound like a plan, let's go-"
Beniyo went limp before she could run off, courtesy of a quick series of pressure point jabs from Asuri.
"Not now, we have training in 10 minutes."
Waho took that as her cue to leave.
Beniyo may have been a subpar ninja, but she was a social prodigy. She'd tracked down, befriended, and gotten a statement from everyone relevant before the month's end, just like she said she would.
So even though the village had started an official investigation of their own, Waho was determined to continue.
My turn.
Waho settled down in the academy archives, and armed with a stack of written interviews, she started her work.
First she used the grades to sort the interviews into categories. First separating those whose own personal assessment matched the grades given, and those who didn't. The inaccurate reports were further divided amongst: those who overestimated themselves; those who underestimated themselves; and the ones with no obvious trend either way.
That was quick…
Already there was a noticeable pattern. Many of the civilian born kids who overestimated their abilities compared to the grades had been examined by Mizuki.
Let's see what excuses he cooked up…
Waho started digging through cabinets to find the teacher's notes associated with the exams she was looking at, but-
Gone. They're all gone.
She knew she was in the right place, Mizuki's part of the file cabinet was right next to his predecessor's.
Takanori may have been harsh, but at least his filing was in order.
Waho retreated to the standing desk in the archive room.
If the files were missing that would be a security issue and someone would have noticed, they must have been checked out.
She retrieved the log book.
Of course… Mizuki.
Stated reason: to review past years in preparation for upcoming exams.
Just happens to be the day Iruka confronted you, just a coincidence I'm sure.
It was a simple trick. Most ninja would just look through the reports available to them, and they wouldn't notice the missing files. Proper 'bookworm' type shinobi were the exception, and it was doubtful that Intelligence would spare anyone for a minor accusation such as the one levied against Mizuki.
He'd have to keep the files in the building. The most obvious place to keep them would be at his desk.
Waho put everything back where it was meant to be, found an appropriate space for the interviews, and made her way to Mizuki's office.
The lights were off, but the door was unlocked. To be safe, she knocked and waited.
No one inside.
The door creaked as she made her way inside, clicking shut behind her.
Carefully, she started sweeping through the room. There wasn't anything of note until she came across a locked drawer.
Everything else was left open. Must be something important in there.
Like any good ninja, Waho picked the lock without issue and got the drawer open.
She'd recognised the contents on sight.
That wasn't a pile of reports.
That was a hidden sound cipher.
A creak announced the door being opened once more.
"You're in the wrong office."
Oh fuck.
Danzo
Danzo was a bit confused. Which for someone as unfeeling as he was, practically meant he was absolutely befuddled.
Yumika had been good on her word and provided him with intelligence reports. That had been fine, then one day he'd received an interesting addition via the dropoff in the capital.
"Due to circumstance my memory is going to be temporarily wiped. This will likely be my last report before the chunin exams in the hidden leaf in 1 and a half years."
It was a shame, but expected. Sources burnt out. It was their nature.
Then he'd gotten another report.
"Umm, hi? I don't know why I'm doing this, or how this is going to reach whoever it is meant for, but here's some information…"
It was obvious to him that her continued assistance was due to the Kotoamatsukami, which was good, but there were… issues.
Instead of being a well put together report like she'd been instructed, the result was closer to Danzo being her unwilling pen pal.
For all Danzo wanted to ignore any and all mentions of what she'd been up to, what friends she'd made, the 'cool' things she'd seen, and all other sorts of inane nonsense, he couldn't, because between it all was vital information that could determine whether the hidden leaf stood another day. Especially whenever she revealed any information concerning the upcoming invasion.
The worst part was that none of his agents were able to comprehend, identify, and separate the nonsense from the useful contents. So he had to sort through the inane drivel himself.
It was perhaps this pain that finally pushed Danzo to abandon the original ROOT training program.
At least he was assured his efforts weren't for naught. Hiruzen had gotten a report from a hidden agent of his own, one that had somehow slipped Danzo's notice. While the intelligence was good, he could recognise that what it said regarding the hidden sound was outdated, matching the reports Yumika had given before she'd fallen to madness.
Either way, he had preparations to make.
Kunda
Kunda watched the pyre burn.
The factory was in ruins.
His father's dream in ashes.
His father was dead.
She'd stabbed him right in front of his eyes.
He'd been feeling so much. Whether it was anger, sorrow, or pain.
Now..?
Now he just felt empty.
Sorrow mellowed out.
Pain went numb.
But rage had merely died down from an inferno to a beating drum that marched in tune with the beat of his heart.
He was going to kill her.
"Kunda, are you sure you're ready?"
"It's fine, Eya. There's nothing left here."
He turned his back on the fire and followed the hidden cloud ninja home.
Kanshi.
Isae.
Haruka.
He didn't have 'her' name, but he had theirs.
That would have to be enough.
Jun'you
This wasn't how she'd imagined things would go.
Jun'You had been entirely serious when she'd said she intended to try to drown the snake in blood.
It started with a mistake.
She'd leaked to Isoaki's rebellion that Yumika was going to rat them out. There were bound to be asshats that would try to kill her to stop that. At that point it'd be obvious we weren't with them. It would be just like those hidden leaf shinobi that tried to kill Yumika.
What Jun'You hadn't considered was that these people had been Yumika's friends, and that she might have forced a teensy tiny bit of trauma upon the girl.
No… that was a lie. Jun'You knew that if Yumika had enough time to think it through she'd prioritise her friends over her own safety, like she had when she fought Jun'you. So Jun'You needed the girl to panic so she'd defend herself.
Jun'You saw the moment something important in Yumika's mind snapped like a thread pulled too tight. Jun'You saw Yumika struggling with panicked quick shallow breaths after her first kill there, even as her body continued to move. Jun'you saw the tears form in Yumika's eyes as the kill count rose. Jun'You was sure the girl would have screamed and wailed if she'd had her voice. Finally, Jun'you saw the snapped thread unravel and Yumika lost something important, something core to who she'd been. Then the girl snapped back to consciousness, as if none of it happened, but still changed.
To top it off, the gambit didn't even work.
In fact, the sound ninja had gotten more suspicious, and Yumika had to fix it.
Jun'You had messed up.
It was like her ability to do right fell apart whenever that girl got involved. Perhaps it was that which led to Jun'You sitting across from the Shiin clan head.
"Yes…I see your problem." he answered calmly as he swirled his drink.
Jun'You simply folded her arms and glared. She wasn't keen on playing his games. All it got her was a roll of his eyes.
"I'll be blunt: you're a destroyer." He took a sip. "That's all you know and all you're good for. You hate everyone and everything, so you tear them apart. Except you've encountered the one thing you don't want to, and you don't know how to deal with it. Sound about right?"
Her clawed hand groaned under the pressure of her clenched fists.
"Fuck you."
"That's what I thought."
…
To Jun'you it was obvious that this was Shikyou's rebellion they were supporting. Though she denied it at every opportunity, because Jun'you despised him, just like everyone else.
Shikyou was everything that Isoaki was not.
Where Isoaki was passive, Shikyou was active.
Where Isoaki panicked, Shikyou seemed in control.
Where Isoaki wavered, Shikyou remained confident.
Where Isoaki emphasised, Shikyou was indifferent.
Where Isoaki was passionate, Shikyou was cold.
Where Isoaki was selfless and reliant on Yumika…
"...thank you father. Now that you've explained it, I can see that we need this mission pacing to make it to the chunin exams." Kanshi said before taking his leave.
She waited a moment to make sure he was gone.
"You're a liar Shikyou."
"What could you possibly be referring to?" the man asked in a mockingly cryptic way as he continued his work.
She scoffed.
"The team's ability has no bearing on their participation. You had their exam applications written up and filed the moment the team was formed. It's all politics, not strength."
"Hm, an interesting theory…" he signed a document "...and why would I lie about something like that?"
"Cut the crap, you're the one who put my allies and I where we had access to documents like those." Jun'you stepped around the table so she was facing him. "...but I do know why, so I'll tell you anyway.
"The clans, they're acting calm, but you and I both know that this plan's got them running around like headless chickens when nobody's looking. They're all worried about the odds of success and the price of victory. They beg, buy and barter for a chance to stay safe in the backline." She swung her arms in a mockingly grand gesture. "Then, you swoop in. Their glorious saviour, Shikyou Shiin. The 'fool' who yearns for his moment in the limelight, and will carelessly sacrifice his clan at the front. Except that to you, you know that the hidden leaf is going to do most of the heavy lifting. Victory is all but assured. So all of this?" she scoffed "It costs you nothing, and when it's all done, the curtains fall, the audience applauds, and the Shiin ride their moment in the spotlight out into the epilogue. The Hidden Sound's little Senju clan.
"Doesn't mean you're not scared, but unlike everybody else, it's not Orochimaru you're scared of…" She folded her arms. "You don't want her to notice, so you're keeping her busy. You're playing this situation to your advantage when, you could-"
"Spare me the idealism, it doesn't suit you," he interrupted, knowing full well what she was going to say next. "You don't care about the common good. You just want to watch the world burn, which is why you haven't told anyone yet and why you won't."
Jun'you scoffed.
"I'd rather have Yumika's village than yours."
"Life isn't a concert, reality doesn't take requests."
Hidden Cloud
"Team Saigorou, please report to the Raikage's office."
The lumbering large man nodded his affirmation, before making his way as told, his trio of genin following behind him.
"So… what do you think this is about?" Tatsuoki asked the other two.
Motoe shrugged, and chimed in with his thoughts. "Maybe they want to hear about the hidden sound again."
—
"We don't need you pity boy, if it actually mattered to you, bring us some food or water."... "It's beautiful seeing karma at work."
"It doesn't matter, compared to the clan kids and Yumika, we might as well just be practice dummies."..."Not being hit means making the attack useless."
"The boy betrays his friends to rescue his parents, who are long since passed."..."They weren't worth feeding."
"Grandpa's too old, and I'm too young, so they let us keep the clan name and whatever scrolls we could carry."..."Wind Release: Silver Spear!"
—
"No way." Funida rejected, "First off, if that was the case we would be talking to someone less important than the Raikage himself. More importantly though, they would have done that before our first proper mission-"
—
"Team Saigorou, your first assignment out of the village is to do a survey concerning village popularity on the outskirts."
…
"How Motoe?! How did you end up in a fight with an actual criminal syndicate?!"
Funida side-stepped to avoid the tiger's claw, before retaliating with a rapid barrage of attacks.
"I don't know! I was just asking around like we were supposed to and one thing led to another!"
Motoe stepped in to block the next strike.
"Fight now, argue later!"
Tatsuoki interrupted with a wave of silver coloured air.
—
"-or when we got involved with that trouble on Rice's border."
—
"Saigorou and Funida, since the two of you were citizens of the land of Lightning while you were imprisoned in the Hidden Sound village, we have a grievance against the village. We plan to negotiate some concessions to make up for it, and need your testimony. Bring your team"
…
"How'd it go?"
"Negotiations fell apart and escalated to conflict. Our orders are to signal our reinforcements then support the front until they arrive."
—
"Do you think Hei heard about that?" Motoe asked.
"He must have, I swear that Sound sent every jonin they had to crush us." Tatsuoki added.
"Which is why we were pulled away. Now quiet, we're here." Saigorou ordered.
The team stepped through the doors and were met with an irritated Raikage sitting behind his desk and his brother Killer Bee sitting off to the side.
They weren't even fully in the room before Ay rose to his feet and slammed a seemingly nondescript letter onto his desk.
"What the hell is this!?"
The three genin looked up at Saigorou who shook his head and threw responsibility right back at his team.
"Um, that's our request to take our chunin exam in the hidden leaf?" Funida fumbled out.
"I know that, I can read. Why is it in my office?!"
"Oh, were we supposed to ask the diplomatic core-"
"You're not supposed to be wanting to take your exam in the hidden leaf!"
"That does make sense." "Right, right."
"Why?" Motoe asked, confused.
The office went entirely silent, Ay was cooking and ready to blow-
"Hey bro don't sweat it.
"He just do'n't get it.
"So he ain't outta line-
"-and I think it'll turn out fine.
"You see I'm the man-
"-with a team that can-
"-take the exam-
"In the land of fire,-
"-we'll all rise higher.
"We got little to lose,-
"-so you gotta choose-
"-to let 'em see their friend-
"-and I'll make sure their lives don't come to an end.
"Fool, ya fools."
After an awkward moment Ay answered, calmer than he'd started.
"Fine, don't embarrass us."
What none of the team knew at the time was that Killer Bee had been arguing the point the last 30 minutes and Ay just really wanted to get on with his day.