YO! I'm back, the story still isn't dead! I'm already working on the next one so stay tuned faithful readers. Questions, comments, and concerns can all be addressed in either review or PM function. Thanks for reading y'all.
The sun was just beginning its descent beyond the horizon as a young chunin brought the daily scouting reports into the office of the Third Hokage. Kurenai Yuhi knocked twice before entering and bowing to the three legends who turned their attention onto her. She drew herself up to her full height as she walked to the old kage and presented him with several sealed scrolls. Tsunade offered the younger woman a small smile while Jiraiya was too busy trying to get a peak at her assets as she completed one final bow before exiting the room. When the slug sannin leveled a glare at her lecherous teammate he just shrugged.
"Come on Princess, she was wearing bandages as clothing, cut me some slack." Tsunade just shook her head with distaste before they both looked at their former sensei as he began poring over the scrolls.
Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his brow with a wrinkled hand as he gazed over the most recent border reports. They all but confirmed his greatest fear, Lightning Country was preparing for invasion, the fourth shinobi world war would soon be upon them. The aged hokage supposed that they had been lucky that the peace had lasted this long. Ay has been carrying a grudge against the leaf ever since Kakashi foiled his attempt to steal the Hyuuga heiress nearly eight years prior.
"How bad is it?"
The question from his former student brought him out of his thoughts. He looked at Jiraiya, the tall man's face was neutral, but Hiruzen could sense the tension in his posture. "It seems your source's intel was correct. The Land of Hot Water is now, either voluntarily or against their will, harboring Cloud shinobi. Border patrol has seen multiple squads just over the border with cloud headbands. There has been no direct conflict as of yet, but with them becoming so brazen it's only a matter of time."
Jiraiya nodded frown still firmly in place, but it was Tsunade who spoke next. "We aren't ready for war, not yet."
Hiruzen wanted to argue, wanted to say that the leaf was always ready to defend her people, but he would be lying to himself. It had only been two years since they lost the Uchiha Clan, and that was while they were still rebuilding from the Fox tragedy. For just a moment he allowed himself to think of his late wife Biwako, as he often did when he felt the true weight of the hat he wore. Being Hokage had been hard enough when he had his biggest supporter at his side, without her, these past ten years had pushed the old Professor to his limits.
He looked into the honey colored orbs of his one female student and found only warmth, she was the daughter he'd always wanted. Her deciding to rejoin the village had been a massive boon, one which he was certain he had a masked blonde boy to thank for. Her dedication to the young Hatake's recovery had fostered a genuine relationship between the sannin and Naruto. There wasn't anyone else in the world who could get away with calling Tsunade Senju of the Sannin "Granny" and live to tell about it, but the rambunctious blonde somehow managed to do just that and more. Konoha's medical corp had never been stronger and her ideas for improving the health of the shinobi forces were revolutionary.
He then looked to Jiraiya who still seemed to be deep in thought. While he wasn't a constant in the village due to his spy network, the Toad sage still came by every few months and stayed long enough to teach Naruto, and more recently Kakashi, something new before departing once again. His perverted pupil was the happiest he had been since Orochimaru defected, and Hiruzen was glad the younger man was finally getting some peace.
Having the two of them had been a key part of strengthening the leaf, but even they wouldn't be able to deter The Cloud for much longer. Konoha was vulnerable, and while the next generation of shinobi looked to be excellent, they were not yet mission ready. Excluding one or two notable exceptions of course.
"We simply don't have enough bodies, Cloud already had the largest shinobi force before Konoha's losses and now they nearly triple the leaf in number." Jiraiya finally spoke after feeling his sensei's gaze.
Hiruzen nodded in agreement with his statement, before adding his own viewpoint. "The cloud will always outnumber us, that is a given. What do you suggest we do to lessen that advantage?" He asked not because he had no ideas himself, but because genuinely valued his students' input. They were both experienced shinobi in their own right, and he hoped their unique perspectives may spot something he didn't. This was also just the sort of dilemma they would be faced with should one of them actually take this old hat.
It was Tsunade who answered first, "If we can't beat them in number we have to win with quality over quantity. I'd suggest an immediate increase in mandatory training. Too many of the rank and file have stopped improving, they plateau and then only train to maintain that level and not push beyond it."
Hiruzen liked the idea in theory, but unfortunately it wasn't realistic. Just as he went to voice his concern Jiraiya turned to his fellow sannin and did it first. "It's a good idea Princess, but since our numbers are low all chunin and jounin already have an overly full mission load. There simply isn't enough time for them to have any sort of meaningful training. By that I mean that even if we managed to get them all to schedule in extra training time, then most of them would be so exhausted that the training would do more harm than good. We certainly can't lower our mission load because without that income we couldn't even afford to go to war. The way I see it there is only one feasible solution." He paused and turned to face Hiruzen again.
"We need allies."
At that moment the door opened. Jiraiya and Tsunade were on their feet instantly placing themselves between their Hokage and whatever intruder was entering the room. No one walked into the Hokage's office without knocking, it was an enormous sign of disrespect that was not usually allowed by the hidden guards posted in the hallway at all times. Their surprise turned to disdain as Danzo stepped into the room. Jiraiya scoffed mentally "Of course that old bastard wouldn't knock, he respects no one but himself."
The warhawk outright ignored the two sannin and took a seat on the small couch to the left of Hiruzen's desk before addressing his old teammate. "I see that my invitation to this advisor's meeting seems to have been lost on its way to me. I can only assume that's the case considering the two you replaced Homura and Koharu with were aware yet I was not."
Hiruzen sighed internally at his old friend's thinly veiled accusation. He may have been able to rid himself of Danzo's puppets under the guise of bringing new blood onto his council, but the man himself still stayed firmly rooted in The Hokage's inner circle.
"Apologies Danzo, it seems that the messenger I sent got lost on the road of life and misplaced your notice." The obvious reference to one of Kakashi's famous sayings was to prevent his old friend from using his lie as an opportunity to punish a shinobi loyal to Hiruzen. While Danzo may have tried in the past, he now knew that Kakashi Hatake was not a man to take lightly.
With the verbal sparring done, Hiruzen bid Jiraiya to continue, as he handed the reports over to Danzo.
Danzo read over the pages as the foolish toad sage continued his bid for world peace. Once he was confident that the reports contained nothing that his own shinobi hadn't already found he turned his attention to the white haired oaf. He was espousing the same weak ideological drivel that Hiruzen spoke of so often, but now wasn't the time to disagree. Allies would be necessary especially with The Raikage already claiming The Land of Hot Water as a foothold. The cloud was able to get into Konoha's backyard without either himself or Hiruzen being any the wiser until it was too late. It was a mistake that they couldn't afford to make again, now was not the time for discourse among the ranks. If the leaf wasn't wholly united then it would be destroyed, and if recent years had taught him anything it could not be united under Hiruzen. The leaf needed unwavering strength, it needed Danzo, or at least someone whom he could control. He would support the perverts idea. He needed an excuse to visit the land of rice paddies anyway, so he would suggest sending a team of his root to meet with them. The normal forces were stretched too thin as it was, so Danzo was confident the aged Hokage would not buck his suggestion. Hiruzen foolishly thought he had their loyalty, but his trust would be his undoing. "It seems my next meeting with Orochimaru will be sooner than I had planned."
When the sage finished speaking Danzo decided it was time to play nice. "I agree with your student, Hiruzen. We should send an envoy to Suna and the other neighboring countries to at the very least seal pacts of non-aggression should they decline our request for support."
As Danzo surveyed the other's reactions to his statement he was only surprised by one. Jiraiya wore a scowl no doubt irked that Danzo had declined to refer to him by name, whereas Tsunade was looking at him as if he had grown a second head. Both were predictable, but the knowing smile on Hiruzen's wrinkled visage, half hidden by his steepled hands, was not. Unease churned in the gut of the warhawk, exacerbated only by his rival's next words.
"I'm glad you agree, old friend, because I was planning to ask you to send a team of your black ops as one of the envoys. I've noticed that the foundation has completed a large number of missions there in recent years, far more than any other squads in the village, so I assume they're familiar with the area." The benign smile on the Hokage's face never wavered as he looked at the bandaged man sitting on the couch.
Every cell of Danzo Shimura tensed as he absorbed the pointed jab at his meetings with his rival's wayward student in the recesses of Rice Country. He didn't allow any outward shock or displeasure to show, no he was far too experienced for that. Instead he found himself nodding in response with a face as inscrutable as ever, while his mind ran through any and all possible leaks within his organization. The problem was, that there shouldn't be one, every root operative had a seal placed beneath their tongue which can only be removed by Danzo himself. Anyone else attempting to tamper with the seal would activate the fail-safe, which would instantly kill the host via a deadly poison within the seal itself. Orochimaru had been very thorough in his design, after all dead men tell no tales.
But if the leak wasn't from within, then someone had been monitoring root activities for years with Danzo being none the wiser. Irritating, but not catastrophic to his plans. Whoever they were obviously didn't have a full picture of his operations. The Hokage had no proof of what his shinobi had been doing in The Land of Rice Fields, or he would already be dead. If Hiruzen found out he'd been plotting with his former student to usurp power in the leaf, then he doubted the old man would bother with fake niceties. No, Danzo was safe for now, but he would need to be more careful. As for the spy, whoever it is would have to be found and either silenced or fed misinformation. Danzo could decide which after he had them in his sights.
"Very well Hiruzen, I believe I have a sufficient team in mind, I'll brief them and they will report to you at your leisure to receive the treaty proposal. For now though, I shall take my leave, be sure to choose a different messenger next time, Lord Hokage, it wouldn't look good for the senior advisor to be absent in such trying times." With that he rose to his feet and exited the room without acknowledging either of the Sannin present with a goodbye.
The Hokage watched him go with no small amount of satisfaction in his eyes. His hunch had been right. When his operative had told him of Root's many trips to Rice Country, he knew the old warhawk was up to something. This meeting confirmed that his instinct had served him well. To the casual observer Danzo hadn't reacted at all to mention of his trips, but Hiruzen had known the man since they were children. He saw past the stoic indifference, he noticed the slight flex of the other man's fingers, and the minute tensing of what little of Danzo's brow was uncovered. He had spooked his rival, of that he was sure. Only time would tell if that was a good thing or not. He would have to tell his mole to take extra precautions to stay safe.
Turning his attention back to his students, who were both looking at him for clarification on the unspoken interaction between the two elders, he smiled and turned the conversation toward selecting the envoy's for the other bordering nations. He just had an idea, and he was certain at least one of his students would hate it.
Just a few miles away in a crowded classroom Naruto Hatake stared blankly out the window as Iruka Sensei Spoke about the warring clans era. "Senju,Uchiha, yadda yadda yadda, who cares about fights from a hundred years ago when I could be training right now!"
Despite his rant being internal he still managed to attract the attention of the student seated to his right. "Pay attention Naruto, Sensei literally just said this was gonna be on this week's test." The hushed whisper of his longtime friend and training partner Sakura Haruno, brought him out of his pouting long enough for him to offer her a sheepish grin from beneath his mask, and for Shikamaru to snicker at the scolding from the seat on his other side.
This of course caught Sasuke's attention from behind them causing him to roll his eyes at the blonde's antics. Hinata and Choji both smiled at the scene from either side of Sasuke, Hinata behind Sakura and the Akimichi heir behind his best buddy Shikamaru. Sasuke wasn't exactly sure how he had been pulled into this exasperatingly difficult friend group, but he couldn't say he hated every second of it. As if sensing Sasuke's disapproval Naruto rubbed the back of his head while subtly giving the Uchiha a rude hand gesture out of Iruka Sensei's line of sight.
Choji choked on his chips at the sight of the gesture and Hinata gave a slight disapproving frown at the rudeness of the act. Sasuke on the other hand preferred the direct approach and flicked his eraser at the back of his friends head with a sloppy chakra enhanced flick. His control wasn't fine enough to increase the speed too much but it certainly stung if Naruto's yelp was anything to go by.
"Something to say, Naruto?" Iruka had finally noticed their antics and was now giving their two rows his best attempt at an intimidating glare. It was extremely effective on Choji and the girls, but Shikamaru already had his eyes closed again, and Naruto and Sasuke had both seen scarier.
"Nothing at all sensei, an extremely weak bee seems to have stung the back of my head, it didn't hurt, just surprised me that's all." Iruka just shook his head in response, no doubt debating with himself over which battles were worth fighting, before continuing his lecture. Meanwhile, Sasuke was vowing to show the loud mouthed blonde exactly how "weak"he was during their sparring later.
Any further confrontation between the two was halted as the bell rang signaling the end of classes for the day. Naruto shook his sleeping friend's shoulder, "Wake up Shika, the last time I left you here I found you in this exact spot the next morning."
The Nara heir grumbled as he straightened and stretched his arms above his head, before turning to his masked friend and the dark haired boy behind him. "Choji and I were headed to the hill on training ground ten for some cloud watching if you guys want to join."
Naruto decided to answer for both of them "Sounds great let's go now!" He then turned and began to quickly walk towards the exit, as if running from something, before he felt a hand on each of his shoulders.
"Just where do you think you're going, Naruto?" The falsely sweet voice of Sakura filled his ears, while ino spoke from his other side revealing his other captor. "You wouldn't be trying to blow off your session with my dad today would you?"
Naruto turned and as convincingly as possible denied their accusations. "What? Noo! I was just gonna make a quick stop at the training grounds on my way there."
Lies of course, Naruto hated his monthly sessions with Ino's dad, Inoichi, and actively did everything in his power to avoid them. Honestly he didn't even see the point of having them anymore anyway. It had been two years since his extended nap and Naruto was completely over it.
"Honestly, who doesn't have the occasional horrifying night terror about the Demon inside of them breaking free and murdering all of their closest loved ones, am I right?
His mental question was left unanswered as Ino and Sakura took both of his arms in theirs and shook their heads resolutely.
"Dad said we were to walk you straight to his office after lessons ended, and that we were not to allow any stops on the way so you couldn't pull one of your disappearing acts."
Sakura nodded at Ino's words and the two girls marched their blonde friend out of the classroom despite his many protests. Shikamaru watched them go before shaking his head
"Man, girls are a drag."
Sasuke and Choji silently agreed with his sentiment while Hinata jabbed the slacker in his ribs with her finger for his remark. She wasn't using the chakra but it still stung enough for the Nara heir to regret not checking his surroundings before speaking.
"Ok I may have deserved that, though you did kinda just prove my point." Hinata giggled at the grumbling before speaking. "I don't have training with my family until this evening so can I go with you all to the hill? I don't mind sparring with you, Sasuke, since you won't have Naruto there today."
Shikamaru shrugged as if to say "Whatever." But Sasuke looked eager at the opportunity. The Hyuuga Heiress was one the few classmates that could keep up with him in a spar, and it did get boring going back and forth with his blonde rival every other day. He needed experience fighting different opponents if he was gonna improve enough to beat him. It also helped that she was one of the few girls who didn't fawn over him. Sakura didn't do it as much anymore either, and Ino… Well the Yamanaka girl was getting better at least. She had only yelled out "Sasuke-Kun" twice today.
"I'll take you on if you think you can keep up." The cocky smirk he usually reserved for Naruto accompanied his challenge. Hinata just narrowed her eyes in response, but didn't take the bait. "I think I can handle the sting of an extremely weak bee." She then walked out leaving Sasuke to wonder how he had gotten burned by the usually quiet Hinata of all people.
"Oof, that's gotta sting buddy."
Sasuke was not amused by Choji's commentary, but Shikamaru definitely was.
"Good afternoon Naruto, go ahead and take a seat and we can get started." Inoichi's calming tone was wasted on the masked blonde who had just been dropped off by two of his surprisingly terrifying friends, but he took the offered chair and prepared himself for what he was sure would be another hour wasted making sure he wasn't crazy.
Already familiar with Naruto's disdain for their appointments, Inoichi decided to skip the pleasantries and just dive in. "Have you had any nightmares since our last session?"
"Nope, sleeping like a Nara every night." He quipped while throwing his arms behind his head and leaning back in his chair a bit.
Inoichi couldn't stop the chuckle that arose at the joke about his friend's family. He knew it meant no harm since Naruto had practically been adopted into their clan via Shikamaru. Despite his amusement he did notice the way Naruto avoided his eyes as he answered.
"Are you sure? A nightmare still counts even if you don't remember all the details." As he probed he studied the young blonde across from him. Everything about the boy's posture oozed nonchalance, but Inoichi recognized it as the same apathetic air Kakashi used when he was feeling particularly stressed. It seemed that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Normally he would back off and let the patient open up on their time, but the message he received from Lord Third earlier that day changed things considerably. He needed a fully accurate assessment of Naruto's mental health by the end of their appointment.
" Yessir, no foxes running through my dreams."
Inoichi smirked inwardly "Gotcha."
"I never said anything about foxes Naruto, though I am curious as to why you did."
There it was, the crack in the boy's armor. Naruto's eyes widened considerably as he realized he said too much. He tried to back pedal, but Inoichi went in for the kill.
"I can't help you if you won't be honest with me Naruto, you know that." He then smiled at the future shinobi "We've made excellent progress together these past two years, and I'd like to think you know me well enough to know that I wont judge you for anything you say. I'm just here to-"
Naruto cut him off before he could finish. "To listen, yeah yeah I know. I feel like I've heard that more than I've heard sasuke go "Hnn". This time the attempt at humor did not faze the jounin, instead he just waited patiently with a kind smile on his face for Naruto to continue speaking.
Naruto seemed to debate with himself before grimacing as if he'd just eaten a particularly mushy rotten fruit. "Ok yes, I have had a few nightmares since our last session." He then turned his head toward the large window next to Inoichi's desk and stared out over the village. The Yamanaka clan head allowed the boy a moment of pause before he motioned for him to continue.
Still looking out the window Naruto recounted his current recurring nightmare. "It always starts the same, I'm back in the Uchiha compound, but all my friends and family are there. Everybody is laughing and joking at first and everything seems fine, but…" He trailed off not wanting to continue. Inoichi to his credit didn't press, he just once again sat patiently with an understanding look on his face. It worked just as well as it usually did, Naruto was never one for uncomfortable silences.
He sighed and closed his eyes, steeling himself before continuing. "Then the screaming starts, but at first no one can hear it but me. Its terrible, loud and screeching, but everyone else just keeps on laughing. My friends die first, each one with a sword through their chest, next it's Granny, Pervy Sage and Grampa Hokage, bodies crushed beneath some invisible weight." At this point his voice was pure monotone, as if expressing any emotions about the dream would make it real. "Dad is always last. I run to him and try to get him to escape but just before I reach him.." Now he has stopped fully. Eyes shut as if he was trying to hide from his memories. Several seconds passed before Naruto composed himself enough to continue.
"The fox suddenly appears and tears out his throat, and he bleeds out at my feet while I watch helplessly. Then I wake up, and usually don't go back to sleep."
When he was sure Naruto was finished Inoich began his questioning. "So the fox kills your father, but what about the others, do you ever see who attacks the rest." Naruto shook his head looking as if he might be jounin nodded slowly as he digested the blonde's story.
"So what do you think doc, am I crazy or what?"
Inoichi smiled and shook his head before answering fully. "Of course not Naruto, this dream just like the others you've had over the past two years is just that, a dream. You dealt with something that no child your age should have to see, and you lived to tell the tale. It's completely normal to have vivid nightmares about traumatic experiences, as I've told you many times before." His reassuring smile at the end seemed to at least get the masked boy to stop squirming in his seat.
"Now onto less unpleasant matters, how have your academy classes been coming along?" Eager to change the subject the young Hatake launched into several stories about his friends from the past month including his spectacular prank on his Uchiha friend involving two buckets of orange paint and an angry pig. Inoichi listened with rapt attention and asked questions at all the right places, keeping the conversation flowing as smoothly as possible. The fact that Naruto's friends remained such a big part of his life was great news. The jounin had seen first hand what isolation could do to a child after tragedy, ironically with the boy's father. Kakashi had been a psychologist's worst nightmare before he adopted Naruto. On the other hand, fear of losing his friends seemed to make up a large chunk of the masked child's worry, no doubt his fear of rejection stemmed from his status as a beast vessel.
They spoke for several more minutes on Naruto's home life and his training regimen, all the while studying the boy for any signs of distress. Thankfully he found none, despite what he's been through, the blonde seemed to be remarkably well adjusted. Inoichi hoped their sessions had had some contributions to that. By the time their hour was up Inoichi was confident he could give Lord Third the all clear for his plan.
As Naruto walked out he threw a lazy wave over his shoulder before the door shut behind him. Once on the other side his smile dropped beneath his mask. He hated lying to Inoichi, but the blonde was confident he'd made the right decision. "It's just like he said, they're just dreams regardless of what happens in them." He nodded to himself, as if trying to assure his conscience. "I'm sure murdering all your friends and loved ones is a completely normal dream, and not at all a sign of repressed trauma…"
Once he exited the building he suddenly brought both hands up and slapped his cheeks to clear his mind of the unpleasant thoughts. This had the unfortunate side effect of scaring the poor old woman watering the flowers near the entrance. After a quick apology the blonde was on the move, already headed for the training ground where he hoped his friends were still hanging out.
"RAIKIRI!" The boulder exploded into rubble just as the previous nine had. Once again Kakashi had to mentally thank Jiraiya for his seal work. Who would've thought a few brush strokes on the interior of his forehead protector would make such a difference. Without the constant drain on his reserves the jounin felt as if he had chakra to spare. His limit had been five lightning blades in a single day, and now he easily doubled that.
In a way he had his Sharingan to thank for that. Turns out having your chakra reserves constantly depleted via a doujutsu was a great way to build your chakra pool. The extra stamina had come in handy with all the extra missions Lord Third had him take on. Kakashi was enjoying some solo training in between said missions at the moment before he had to get home to greet Naruto and begin their evening training.
As his thoughts turned to his son he frowned a bit beneath his mask. He had found another ruined set of sheets in the trash earlier this week, the once cute dog patterned cloth had looked as if it had been torn apart by a wild animal. It had been one of Naruto's favorite bed sets since he was a baby, and Kakashi was getting worried. He almost considered asking Hiruzen for advice, but decided against it for Naruto's sake. He knew the blonde had been experiencing nightmares, and that he was doing his best to keep Kakashi from finding out. Normally such behavior would have The silver haired man hounding him for answers, but he didn't think that was the right approach at the moment. Naruto was finally in a good rhythm with his friends at the academy and Inoichi's reports had all been very positive for the last few months. That's not even mentioning how focused he'd been in his training. He had attained combat ready status in both Earth and Fire and was making quick progress into Water.
Honestly Kakashi thought he might have had a hidden secondary water nature with how quickly Naruto was adapting to the style. "Kushina had been an expert water style user." He thought nostalgically as images of the vibrant woman lashing out with expert strikes of a what're whip. Back to the problem at hand The man believed Naruto just needed some space to deal. Kakashi would always be there if he asked but until he did the jounin was only going to observe. He of course was second guessing himself the entire time he journeyed back to his and Naruto's apartment. He made it home relatively quickly and was in the process of opening his fridge to get a glass of milk when he was interrupted by a knock at his window.
"Jiraiya-Sama to what do I owe the pleasure?" The young jounin asked without looking as the toad sage climbed through the now open window of his apartment.
The Sage scowled as he heard the honorific for the millionth time. "Dammit kid, drop the Sama garbage! At least drop it to sensei if you have to add something. I feel like I've beat your ass into the dirt enough at this point for you to classify me as your teacher.
Kakashi just raised an eyebrow in response. Jiraiya knew full well that their spar wins were actually only 36 to 30 in The Sannin's favor. So what if a few of those wins had been because Kakashi lured him near a bathhouse and let the women distract him.
"A "W" is a "W" no matter how you get it."
Since Kakashi ignored his request, as he did every time, the Toad Sage let out a long suffering sigh before addressing his being there. "The Old Man sent me to get you, he wants to talk to you about your next mission and update you on our intel."
Kakashi nodded "Well, why didn't you say so Master Jiraiya-Sama? Lead the way."
With another sigh which sounded even more burdened than before the Sage turned around and exited the way he came with the white haired young man following close behind grinning broadly beneath his mask. Annoying Jiraiya was almost as fun as annoying Guy.
"GET HIM HINATA!" Shouted Sakura as she watched the Hyuuga heiress go on the offensive in her and Sasuke's spar. Sakura always envied how beautiful the dark haired girl looked as she fought. She looked as if she was dancing around her opponent, not trying to hurt them. But Sakura knew exactly how wrong that thinking was, having been on the receiving end of Hinata's dance several times herself. She watched as Sasuke back pedaled away from the nimble girl, all the while doing his best to avoid her every strike. That was what made fighting a Hyuuga so hard, you couldn't block their attacks without risking having chakra shut off to your arms. You had to keep an eye on their hands at all times. No chakra meant no jutsu and Sasuke couldn't compete in a straight hand to hand bout with the Byakugan user forever, eventually he would slip and she would begin to systematically dismantle his chakra circulation.
Sakura heard Choji let out a cheer of encouragement from where he sat with Shikamaru as the raven haired boy managed to back handspring away from the furious limbs of his opponent. Before the boy landed he was already forming hand seals. FIRE STYLE, GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU! With a deep inhale Sasuke suddenly let loose a massive gout of flame from his mouth.
Sakura's mouth dropped open "SASUKE WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SHE ISN'T NARUTO!
Sasuke seemed to realize that exact thing about .3 seconds after the flames left his lips. He had been so engrossed in the spar he had forgotten who he was fighting. Naruto could easily escape a Grand Fireball from that range but it would cost him attention which Sasuke could capitalize on. The problem was Sasuke wasn't fighting Naruto, he was fighting the Heiress of the current most powerful clan in the village.
Sasuke had just barbecued the most valuable girl in Konoha… Naruto was gonna be piiiiiiisssed…
While he contemplated his inevitable lecture and possible execution he suddenly heard her. The girl's voice was breathy with exhaustion from just having sprinted away from certain death, but she sounded deadly calm as she stated "You're within my range."
"EIGHT TRIGRAMS THIRTY-TWO PALMS!"
Hinata was suddenly at his side landing two strikes then four then another eight, sixteen, and then finally thirty-two strikes to his abdomen and the Last Uchiha went down hard. He wheezed as all the air was forced from his lungs as he fell flat on his back.
"Ooooh that looked like it hurt." Naruto said sympathetically as he stepped out of the tree line from where he had been watching his two friends spar. Bull snorted in agreement from the blonde's side. Naruto often wondered who was stronger between the two future clan heads and it seemed as if, at least for today, the answer was Hinata. Though in Sasuke's defense had he not cut off the fireball early Hinata would've almost certainly lost the fight and received third degree burns. Sasuke hesitated and it cost him the win, but saved him the wrath of the most powerful clan in Konoha. Seemed like a fair trade in Naruto's opinion.
Hinata was too busy fussing over the downed Uchiha to even notice the masked blonde's approach. Ino and Sakura quickly joined her side. After getting one look at the downed boy Sakura couldn't help but tease the panicking heiress.
"Dang girl, I said get him not kill him"
Hinata flushed scarlet and began profusely apologizing to anyone who'd listen. Sakura chuckled at the girl's reaction before assuring her she had been kidding.
"Eh, he'll be alright." He assured the girls, though judging by their disbelieving expressions they didn't seem to take his word. He then turned to Sasuke "Just walk it off bud come on." Naruto said nonchalantly as he studied the state of his prone friend. Sasuke was conscious and looked a mix of furious and miserable, which honestly was kind of his resting face but it felt more strained at the moment. Sasuke's only response was to return the rude gesture his rival had given him in class earlier.
Naruto, of course, found this hilarious and howled with laughter while Bull rushed over and began licking the Uchiha's face covering him in drool. The three still standing boys were now cackling and Sakura and Ino had small smiles on their faces as well, attempting to hide their giggles behind coughs. Hinata unfortunately only looked all the more panicked that the boy she had just broken was now being covered in saliva. Naruto, when he regained the ability to breathe, called the dog back to his side. By this point Sasuke had just accepted his fate and lay there attempting to look unfazed as Naruto's massive hound spit all over him.
"Aww come on Sasuke, you can't be mad that Bull loves you."
The raven haired boy slowly turned his head to face the boy now grinning beneath his mask. "I don't blame the dog, he has good taste. I blame the owner."
Naruto snorted "Yeah, yeah, you're just mad you got beat by a princess." He retorted as he reached down to pull the downed boy up by his arm. Everyone was so distracted by the scene they didn't notice the Hyuga girl's cheeks light up at the boy's words.
"Princess!?" She screamed internally, while on the outside she fixed her features back into that of concern for Sasuke. She truly did feel awful about using the 32 palms in a spar, but to be fair the boy had almost immolated her.
Her thoughts turned introspective, if she were being honest with herself, that had been the greatest spar she'd ever had.. Nobody ever fought her that hard, she was too valuable, too fragile, a princess. She felt joy that finally someone went all out on her, that joy was only increased by the fact that she had come out as the victor. She knew that her position was one of limitations, and as clan heir she had to take extra precautions in all things both physically and socially. She couldn't allow anything to damage the Hyuga Clan's reputation or its Heir. But Sasuke had fought her not as a princess but as an equal, as a fellow shinobi in training. She was grateful to the boy who was now being hefted across the shoulders of Naruto and Shikamaru. They hadn't been particularly close before, only interacting when there was someone like Naruto or Sakura with them, but now whether he knew it or not Sasuke had just earned himself a brand new friend.
"For the record I think this is a terrible idea." Tsunade stated flatly as Kakashi sat in a chair between the two Sannin, all three of them situated to face the desk of The Third Hokage. He had just arrived and been asked to take a seat when the blonde Senju gave her unasked opinion.
Hiruzen raised a hand in a placating gesture before responding rather tiredly "Yes Tsunade we are aware of how you feel, but we are here to hear how young Kakashi feels about it. That being said, we cannot even get his opinion if we do not first let him hear the plan, so if you would please allow me to explain my idea to him we can let you once again list all of the reasons you think I'm a fool." This had the effect of getting the slug user to harumph and cross her arms but otherwise stay silent.
"Thank you. Now, Kakashi, as I'm sure you've gathered, I wanted to get your opinion on an idea that I've come up with to address two issues that Konoha is now facing. To put it frankly, The Cloud now occupies the Land of Hot Water and is positioning itself for an invasion into Fire Country. Your efforts at the border and on international missions these past few years has been invaluable in keeping the enemies from our gates. You have turned yourself into quite the boogeyman. Your infamy has risen to the ranks of the Sannin with your Bounty in the Bingo book being higher than Tsunade's in every major village excluding Suna." He paused to give the young jounin a grandfatherly smile. "I'm proud of you Kakashi and I know Minato would be as well."
Kakashi kept his expression neutral and only nodded in acceptance, but his heart warmed at the elderly man's words. He had been working extremely hard to keep his promise to become Konoha's deterrent. The jounin had pushed himself to his limits, and then pushed some more. He felt he could realistically say he had risen to S Rank.
"Hell, Kumo has me listed as SS because of how many of their spies I've killed." The Hatake Patriarch had always made sure to end each one the same way before throwing them back over the border. A Chidori straight through the heart. It had become his calling card of sorts, he did it to make sure The Raikage knew exactly who was killing his shinobi. Occasionally it made him feel sick as he was struck by old nightmares, but he bore the burden all the same, and it paid off. The Raikage had ordered a flee on sight order on him, regardless of rank or the number in their group all Kumo shinobi were ordered to retreat if there was even a sign of him in the area. This had come after one night when Kakashi was feeling particularly vengeful; he'd let the pack loose first to disorient the enemy with their echoing howls and yips as they slowly herded the unfortunate victims into the waiting arm of their demise.
As he was contemplating whether that made him a sadist or not he realized Hiruzen had continued speaking. "Which is why I have come to the conclusion that we must stack our deck, so to speak. Konoha has never been known for her quantity of shinobi, but her quality. Statistically speaking Konoha has produced more "prodigy" shinobi than most of the other villages combined. We invest more time and money into our academy than any other village, and it produces shinobi that are a cut above the rest. With the losses we've suffered Konoha has the fewest S and A Rank shinobi that it ever has, and for now there is nothing we can do about that now, but we can speed up the recovery."
Kakashi knew what the aged Hokage was saying was true. Konoha just didn't have as many assets as they had in past conflicts. They would need to rely on alliances in this war. Kakashi assumed the old man's plan had something to do with traveling to Konoha's bordering villages to seek aid, or at the very least negotiate a treaty of non-aggression. "Not really sure why Tsunade wouldn't like that though." At this point the silver haired jounin was just waiting for Sarutobi to get to the point.
As Kakashi waited impatiently, the old man continued, "My plan is two fold. We need allies if we are to win this war so I shall send ambassadors to each of our bordering nations. The Daimyo will also be meeting with the other country's respective Daimyos over the next few weeks. That would solve our quantity problem, but we still have the quality issue. This leads me into the second part of my plan."
"This is the part I don't like by the way" Tsunade snarked from where she sat with her arms crossed.
Hiruzen continued as if she hadn't spoken. "We need to start showing Konoha's new strength and while we will be elevating our current potential heavy hitters like Guy and my own son Asuma, we need to show that the Leaf Village has a strong future as well."
"Ah, I see where this is going."
"We have several extremely gifted students in our academy at the moment who quite honestly are no longer benefiting from what the Academy has to offer."
He picked up a piece of paper off his desk and offered it to the younger man. As Kakashi looked at the list of names he was unsurprised to see Naruto at the top of the list.
"This list is the group I have selected based on their academy scores and current skill levels. Each of these students are at least genin level, with a few nearing chunnin in certain areas."
The list wasn't long, and Kakashi knew personally all but one that was chosen, it read
Naruto Hatake
Neji Hyuga
Sasuke Uchiha
Hinata Hyuga
Sakura Haruno
Shikamaru Nara
Shino Aburame
Kakashi was surprised to see Shikamaru on the list. Of course he knew of the boy's massive intellect, but for the most part the Nara scion was completely unmotivated. Then it hit him. It must be Naruto's influence. The one person who seemed to be able to coax Shikamaru into motion was his son. The blonde's ridiculous energy levels didn't allow for his best friend to be stagnant. As he turned his attention to the rest of the names he was unsurprised to see Naruto and Sasuke, nor was he shocked to see the Hyuga Cousins.
He knew for a fact that Naruto could beat a full fledged chunin, he had seen him do it. He swore he was never going to let Izumo live it down. The man had jokingly offered Naruto a spar but the boy took him seriously and jumped at the chance to fight a new opponent. Izumo started the match thinking it was just gonna be some light hand to hand with an academy student. His opinion changed when Naruto almost took his head off with an Earth Spear. The chunin quickly took the fight seriously but it wasn't enough. Naruto had a blade under the man's neck within 3 minutes. His son had terrorized the older teen, substituting with shadow clone after shadow clone every time the man landed a hit. It was both beautiful and hard to watch. Izumo ended up totally demoralized, but Kakashi heard both He and Kotetsu had upped their training regiment so he did benefit in the end. Naruto had gotten an all you can eat trip to Ichiraku as his prize.
Kakashi was brought back from the fond memory as the Hokage continued.
"Of course we would need the parents permission before we could even begin to assign teams or the jounin that would lead them in their mission. That mission being to go and "show off" so to speak on a diplomatic mission to our neighboring villages. I'm thinking two teams, one to be sent to Suna and the other to Kusa. Each led by two jounin on diplomatic missions to broker alliances and or Non-aggression treaties. While in the respective villages the students are to find ways to display their strength anything from spars, to contests of skill, to games of intelligence. Anything that will show that Konoha has a bright and talented crop of young shinobi. Their second objective and the one I find to be more important is to seek out and attempt to bond with others in their age range."
He paused to clear his throat and Kakashi considered the old man's words. The plan was sound if a little obvious. Using children as political tools was a little wild in his opinion but he saw how it would work. Either the other villages would take notice and believe these kids are a threat which could make them feel hesitant about fighting, or they would laugh at them. The thing was though that if they laughed and called Konoha desperate they would most likely underestimate the leaf which would give Konoha an early advantage. Essentially a win-win, unless you count the third possibility where an enemy killed or captured all of these young outstanding shinobi in an attempt to weaken the village. The second part of the Old Man's plan intrigued him though. If the children of two villages become friends the parents take notice. If they become good enough friends it could bring forth an entire generation of shinobi who would be reluctant to attack Konoha. Eventually a leadership that has ties in the leaf would take over and a long-standing true alliance could be created.
"Definitely playing the long game on that one."Kakashi realized suddenly that all eyes were on him, apparently it was his turn to speak."I see the idea's potential but there is a lot of risk involved." At this Tsunade piped up "You bet your ass there's a lot of risk. We would be sending kids into a war zone.. AGAIN!"
Hiruzen sighed, "It Is not a war zone yet and this plan could prevent it from becoming one for a good while longer. If we are able to gain these Allies then it may push Kumo off long enough for these kids to not see a battlefield for a few more years, possibly never."
"Which is a whole lot longer than we've got at the moment." Jiraiya continued for his sensei. "My reports say We've got 8 months at best as it sits now. The Cloud smells blood in the water, and I doubt they are the only ones. We've had whispers from the Mist and the Stone that both are bolstering their forces. Once the leaf starts bleeding they will all come in for a piece. Allies are our only deterrent and kids connect with kids regardless of where they are from. If our kids can form bonds with those of Sand and Grass then that could cement an alliance that spans generations."
Even Tsunade looked less sure of her position after the Sages words which mirrored kakashi's thoughts a moment ago. Konoha was in a tight spot and this could actually make a huge difference in the future of the village. The jounin made up his mind at hearing his own opinions seconded by the Sage.
"I think it could work and I would gladly be one of the team leads." He paused as he watched relief break over Hiruzen's face before continuing. "The issue we are going to have though is getting the parents permission. Naruto and Sasuke are a given, but I doubt Hisashi will allow his heir to go into potential enemy villages, though Hizashi, his brother, may allow Neji as an attempt to increase the Branch Family reputation. Shikaku would see the logic in it but Yoshino may say no, so Shikamaru is a 50/50 shot. Then Harunos will most likely let Sakura go as long as she goes with me."
Kakashi took a moment to be proud of his cute little student. She had improved so much from the weak shy girl she once was. Now Kakashi didn't even like blocking her strikes in her training, he could take them of course but damn were they starting to sting. She gave Naruto a concussion last month, by accident of course. Her Chakra control was exceptional, truly the greatest Kakashi had ever seen in a child so young. At only Ten she already had four Genjutsu that were combat ready, and thanks to pure intuition and a few helpful tips from Tsunade she had begun to learn how to wield a lesser version of Tsunade's enormous strength. He was proud to have been a part of her growth, and he knew if she kept up this pace she would be a monster one day.
He then continued "As far as Shino Aburame all I know about him is that he is the second and now only son of their clan head. And I do not know Shibi well enough to gauge anything about how he handles his heir, though since he has already lost one he would most likely be less inclined to risk his remaining son."
Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "Yes, that was why I was hoping to inform all of them together of the plan this evening so we could go ahead and get our teams set and sent out as quickly as possible." He smiled almost guiltily, "And I was hoping you would be there to let them know you support the idea."
"He wants to use me as an incentive." That sly old monkey wanted to use Kakashi's relationship with the Hyuga, Nara, and Harunos to tilt them in favor of his idea.
"Then again he has been in politics for twice as long as I've been alive so of course he knows how to scheme."
Kakashi sighed internally, "What time do I need to be here and are we bringing the kids?"
Thats right folks some of our heroes will be getting to leave the village a bit early. I just couldn't realistically keep them in the academy when they are openly as advanced as they are. Dont worry I'm not sending 10 year olds to war lol. Please review to show people are still reading this story, plus your reviews fuel the muse. If you read all the way the the end you're the real MVP.
