Kakashi's POV
The people in the room looked agitated, some even looked more perplexed about what I'd said. It seemed like the hokage already announced that Sumire is a Senju to the group since they did not ask who she was when I mentioned her name. The chatter started to get loud as people discussed what just happened. My dad stayed quiet though, but he stood by my side and put an arm on my shoulder.
"Silence!" The sandaime roared, and the noise receded, making the room fall back into order. The hokage looked at my direction before speaking, "Kakashi, how did you know about the current situation?"
"I can feel her, hokage-sama. I knew she was struggling, I feel her chakra slowly wavering. I've felt it since about an hour ago." I truthfully answered.
I saw the faces of the people in the room look surprised at my statement. The hokage asked further, "How did you know that quickly? We only received the distressed message about 30 minutes ago by a summoning animal that can travel quickly."
"Maybe I felt it while it was still happening?" I said I was unsure of my answer since I did not really know.
"But how, Kakashi? You're not a sensor, and their location is too far for anyone to notice. It's about four hours away from the village." Minato-sensei asked and explained at the same time.
I looked at my sensei anxiously before I replied, "No, sensei. I just feel her chakra inside me. I know that she is in danger because I feel her chakra within me diminish, like its running out."
"How about Hideo-san, can you feel his chakra too?" Shikaku Nara asked, trying to deduce my words so they could understand my predicament better.
"No, I don't feel anyone's chakra but hers. She channeled her chakra to me and my body accepted it. I feel her essence in me every time. I thought the adults would know the reason for this, even Sumire and I didn't know why it happened. Shouldn't we go find her now because I feel her slowly burning out?" I answered continuously feeling very frustrated, slowly losing my composure.
"They are bonded. That's the only reason that comes to my mind. It's an old Hatake ability that was told in stories, we thought it was just an urban legend." My father explained to the group.
"How does this bonded ability work?" The hokage asked.
"It's bonding by chakra, the two people need to get accepted by each other. You couldn't choose who to bond with since it just happens naturally. It's said that each Hatake only gets one exact match for the bond to happen, so it's like finding a needle in the haystack. Maybe that's why it was thought to be just a legend since it is rare to find the perfect match." Father explained to us and then paused to look at me. "You are lucky to find your bond in your young age, it's a one in a million chance of happening because there are millions of people in all the elemental nations. They say it's like being spiritually unified, so if you are bonded you won't be able to find a different partner since it would never be the same as the bond you had."
It all made sense now. The unexpected feelings, the emotional attachment, the constant pull towards her, the innate need to be with her. I crave for her because she is the perfect one for me, my exact match. I knew these big feelings inside me were not common for my young age and I had an inkling that it had something to do with my clan. It made perfect sense too, since it is kind of related to the pack mentality that the Hatake clan had. But being bonded is more on an intimate level, something more personal and spiritual.
Father glanced at the hokage and continued his explanation, "The two people involved would channel their chakra towards one another as an invite to be bonded. If both of them accepted, their chakra would be imprinted onto each other's body. It's like having a piece of each other, they would become connected somehow and would share each other's chakra attributes. They would be one and the same, unstoppable together. What the other has, the other receives." Father stated then glanced at me again. He continued, "There could be more aspects about it that I've missed, details that probably got lost in time, but it can't be helped since it's supposed to be a legend."
"What the other has, the other receives," Minato-sensei repeated. "Say Kakashi, do you know any ability Sumire has?" He asked curiously.
I replied with a straight face, "She is a sensor." Clearly, Minato-sensei is already ready to uncover all the abilities that came with me being bonded. He always liked discovering the unknown and I can see the glint of curiosity in his eyes, but this isn't the right time to discuss this.
My sensei asked inquisitively, "How many ANBU are guarding around the tower except the ones in the meeting and by the door?"
I sighed at sensei's antics but still answered him, "Four on the roof, one next to each of those three windows, one on the big tree there and two near the stone faces." I said plainly.
Minato-sensei said in wonder, "Now you are a sensor too. They are bonded, indeed. It's a legend no more."
I said in exasperation, "But sensei, won't we go and find them now? We can talk about this later!" Understandably, I am not in the mood to wonder and talk about new abilities at the moment. I added, "I could summon my pack, they know Sumire's scent so we could find them quicker."
"You already know how to summon at your age?" A jonin I did not recognize asked in amazement.
I answered him while I tried to calm myself down from anxiety, "Yes, father trained me."
"You do not need to do that, Kakashi. I already sent a team after them." The hokage said in response to my statement earlier while he showed no emotion on his face.
The sandaime hokage continued speaking, "Back to what I was saying before Kakashi came, they were obviously ambushed. We don't know if they were after Hideo, or if they finally knew about Sumire's identity and planned to take her out or kidnap the poor girl." He paused before continuing, "Somehow, they found out about the two traveling today and knew which road they would take. It is either a spy found out about this information, or somebody who knew about it sold the information out."
My blood ran cold as I listened to the sandaime talk. They were ambushed. I pray that Sumire is safe and not suffering under whoever attacked them. I could still feel the flicker of her chakra, so she is still alive but I knew she is currently struggling as her chakra felt like a candle about to burn out.
"I'd like the information about Sumire's identity to stay in this room. I know Hideo wouldn't go down without a fight and will prevent her daughter from being killed or taken." The hokage looked sternly at everyone. Then he added, "But if word got out that a Senju got taken from Konoha, it wouldn't be good for the village or for the girl. If she managed to escape the ambush, more people would be after her." He paused while scanning the room and puffed smoke from his tobacco pipe. "All of you were informed because this is a sensitive matter that might affect the village, an attack on the Senju is a provocation to Konoha and Hi no Kuni. I warn you all, this would even be bigger if the daimyo got involved. If another village is proven to be behind the attack, he would wage a war for this." He seriously stated.
"Sandaime-sama, why would the daimyo be involved with clan matters in Konoha." Shikaku-san asked with a confused look.
"Because Sumire is the daimyo's granddaughter." The hokage explained with a firm voice. A collective gasp was heard in the group, only a few were not surprised by the information like my father and I who already knew about it.
"In fact, the reason for their travel today is because their presence was requested by the daimyo at the capital."
"Sandaime-sama, Hideo and Sumire were expected to arrive at the capital by sundown. I think it would be best to inform the daimyo about the situation as soon as we can. He will probably be at the village gates by tomorrow or the next day." My father stated solemnly.
"Yes Sakumo, that's another matter I would like to address." The hokage stated while he put down his smoking pipe at the table, then looked at the crowd in front of him. "I informed you all of Sumire's family heritage since I wanted all of you to be prepared and not be surprised if the daimyo arrived here with a battalion of samurai guards behind him. All of you should be ready in case any development occurred, the daimyo would not hesitate to strike back at the enemy village or nation if he found out who was responsible for this situation, and he would expect Konoha to do the same."
"So if we cannot find them, a war might break out?" The Hyuuga clan head asked very worriedly.
"Probably, I have suspicions that Iwagakure is behind this. They have been trying my patience lately, they are trying to provoke us to attack openly in the past years already. I asked Danzo to handle the aggressions privately without connecting the deed to Konoha. But clearly, Onoki is itching for a war. He might have likely succeeded this time." The hokage explained with a very serious face.
"Kakashi, do you still feel Sumire? Knowing that she is still alive might calm down the daimyo and think things thoroughly before he takes any action." Shikaku-san asked, he looked like he was strategizing and planning in his head already.
"Yes, but her chakra is unstable and it feels like it could snuff out any moment." I said as I feel very worried for my Sumire. If she comes back, I would never let her out of my sight again. I never want to feel this dread and worry again. I hope she is safe along with oji-san.
"I would like to talk to Shikaku and Minato privately. The rest of you are dismissed."
I saw the adults with very concerned faces as we all headed out of the meeting room, a war breaking out is never a welcome thought. If the daimyo would decide to take action, I would understand it. I would wage a war for her too.
It had been a day since Sumire went missing and just as father had predicted, the daimyo arrived the next day with a battalion behind him, ready to declare an open war to whichever village or nation is responsible. Most Konoha residents had no idea what was happening, but the rest of the shinobi forces who were not present at the meeting already had an inkling that conflict was brewing in the horizon. This made everyone tense in the village, the daimyo can be seen going back and forth to the hokage tower and looking even more agitated than he did previously.
Hideo oji-san and an ANBU agent had been found on an off-road next to the dead bodies of their attackers. The hokage had been right, the elder Senju did not go down without a fight and managed to take out their pursuers. Father said they were barely alive when the rescuers spotted them. Sadly, the rest of the ANBU team with them were killed in action.
The identity of the attackers were not yet identified since the dead bodies do not have forehead protectors on them or any indicators that would connect them to their village or organization.
The team of trackers discovered that the carriage Sumire had been riding in fell on a deep ravine. They followed the current of the river to see where she might have ended up but didn't find her. We know she survived though because I still feel her chakra. It is barely there, but at least she's alive. The hokage sent several search parties to find her whereabouts but we got nothing so far. I even volunteered to search with the help of my summons but they did not let me go since they already included the Inuzuka clansmen in the teams conducting the search, and because they said I am too emotionally invested so it would be better if I remain in the village.
I heard that the daimyo might finally go back to the capital and not take action for now. Father told me that the hokage managed to convince the daimyo that openly taking action will only lead to more people pursuing the whereabouts of Sumire, and they might be able to get her before we do, so it would be best if the situation is handled discreetly.
I feel anxious as each day goes by. My sensei and father had been worrying about me a lot since I never left the training ground at all on most days. Training helped me focus on something else other than thinking about the purple-eyed girl. I sent Sumire chakra pulses as much as I could, hoping that she would respond somehow but she hadn't responded yet.
Since the day my father explained that I am bonded with Sumire and I've managed to develop her sensing ability, I've been training this skill with Minato-sensei since he is an adept sensor. Every time I was sent outside the village for a mission, I would always check around for her chakra signature hoping that I could somehow find her unique presence in the area. I would also watch my necklace if it would glow since it would mean that she is nearby since I've noticed the necklace brightened when we were close to each other before she left the village and went missing.
Hideo-oji san was still unconscious in the hospital, he was in a deep coma and not even the great medic skills of Tsunade Senju can wake him up. The medics explained that he suffered a nerve damage in the head, and it is too risky to do an operation since his injury was too close to the brain, and healing it with medical ninjutsu might fry up the nerves even more since it had been severely damaged and is very sensitive. It might even kill him if we pushed with any medical procedure. They said that he was lucky that the back-up team was able to get him back to Konoha in time since he lost too much blood and on very low chakra, he wouldn't even survive that encounter if he was brought back a little later. All we can do now is wait until his body heals itself naturally and pray that he wakes up eventually from his deep slumber.
I heard from my sensei that Jiraiya-sama was assigned to give the bad news to Tsunade-sama. The sandaime decided that the Toad Sage was best suited to inform her of Hedio oji-san's current medical situation and Sumire's disappearance because they were old team mates and he would be able to handle the slug sannin's anguish. Family is always a sensitive matter for Tsunade-sama, so we all understood when she decided not to go back to the village. It might only worsen her emotional state if she would be forced to remain in the village since she could do nothing about the situation either way.
A few more months passed and there is still no news about Sumire. There is an empty feeling inside me that slowly grows over time, it is very agonizing and my emotions are in a state of disarray. It is already summer and the chunin exams are approaching, sensei found a genin team for me to get integrated into so that I could participate and be evaluated for promotion. I've been keeping myself busy with training and going on missions with my new teammates. They were older than me by six years though, and it's highly unlikely that I would stay with that team after the exams ended.
I managed to pass the exam and got promoted to chunin at only six years old, but it's not yet enough for me. I still need to get stronger and better so I pushed myself more and made sure my skills would keep improving over time. I tried to take up as many missions as I could, it made my mind focus on something else other than Sumire. Her disappearance is driving me crazy, I needed to keep myself busy and occupied in order to stay sane.
Kurenai kept bothering me whenever she saw me around, she asked about Sumire's whereabouts all the time. The other kids were interested in knowing as well since she has been gone from the academy for quite a while now. I would just ignore them, they aggravate me and get on my nerves because the questions about the purple-eyed girl put me in a nasty mood. I felt like exploding every time someone asked about her. If I only knew where she was, I would gladly tell them. I would have gone to her without second thoughts and brought her back to Konoha. All of us wouldn't have to wonder about her well-being, and I could sleep easily at night again knowing that she's alright. But I don't know, and it's killing me that I couldn't do anything about it at all.
September came again, and this year I am not looking forward to celebrating my seventh birthday. Father asked me how I would like to spend the day, but I just wanted to have a normal day and asked him to cook my favorite food instead. We had miso soup with eggplant and some salt-broiled saury.
Father and I spent our free days together training as much as I wanted. He knew it's what I always wanted to do these days and having him accompany me was better than letting me train myself to death. Knowing he is with me gave me a sense of comfort and solace. He knew what Sumire meant to me, it was more than a silly childhood crush or friendship. He knew what being bonded meant for the clan so he understood my despair.
One time while I was busy exhausting myself on one of the training grounds, my father put a hand on my shoulder and said firmly, "Son, she is still out there. Wherever Sumire may be at the moment, take comfort in knowing that she is still alive. Live each day looking forward to seeing her again. As long as you still feel her essence within you, do not lose hope that you can find her again." I looked at him and processed his wise words. He added, "If you die by exhaustion, she would not be happy once she comes back and finds your grave instead of your masked face. So take it easy."
Father is right. He has always been smart and can see more of the bigger picture. So I decided to stop my training for the day and asked him to come visit Hideo oji-san in the hospital with me. Sumire would get mad if she knew I am not looking out for her dad or visiting him at the hospital. I made sure to get some flowers at the Yamanaka's shop before we headed to oji-san's hospital room.
I talked to Hideo oji-san. I did not know if he heard me but I still told him how we were still looking for Sumire. I mentioned how we are bonded together and assured him that she is still alive because I can still feel her essence. I also told him about my chunin promotion and how I keep on training hard to become a jonin soon since I took his words seriously. Lastly, I told him that he should wake up and get better so Sumire wouldn't be sad to see him in that state once she comes back to us.
Father also told him what happened to the Senju house and their household staff. When the daimyo came to the village after their ambush, the hokage had asked the daimyo to take the staff with him to the capital once they went back. The sandaime and my father decided it would be best to put the whole property in a stasis seal. Everything would be preserved and untouched until one of the Senjus comes home and deactivates the seal since their chakra signatures are the only ones permitted to do so. It took the combined mastery of Jiraiya-sama, Minato-sensei, and Kushina-san to create and place the complex seal in the Senju compound. I did not even dare to go there to get the things I have in my room at their house. I couldn't step inside their house knowing that Sumire wouldn't be there. It's a good thing I kept our picture and the poem she gave me in the Hatake house instead, or else it would be stuck frozen in time until one of the Senjus deactivates it.
My father was assigned to a mission that went out of control. His team failed the mission since father decided to save his comrades instead of completing the mission objective. Many people ostracized him for choosing his teammates' lives over the mission and he became depressed about it. To be honest, I don't know how to feel about it at all.
Sad?
Angry?
Disappointed?
I genuinely don't know what to feel anymore. I am still distressed about Sumire's disappearance and then this happened.
I do not know what mission they had or how significant it is for the village, but it probably is something important since people reacted that way. Konoha is known to give importance to camaraderie and teamwork but how come father was being shunned for the very same ideology that the village believes in.
This made me think of a lot of things and it reminded me why I hate most people.
People would praise you and want to be your friend if you are highly successful, but it would only take one stumble for them to kick you in the dust and leave you there. Just like what happened to father, the famed White Fang of Konoha, now considered a disgrace by the village he serves and the comrades he protects.
Many would argue that a shinobi is a weapon made to be utilized by the village, so a shinobi must always be ready to die for it. I agree to that notion to some extent, but not the entirety of it. A lot of people would say that dying for the good of the village is the greatest reward and honor for a shinobi, but isn't living to continue the legacy of the village significant and rewarding as well?
A shinobi who died in battle or killed in action is highly revered, why can't a shinobi who lived to tell the tale be regarded the same? Can we not celebrate the living the same way we honor the dead?
I have a lot of questions that need to be answered. A lot of conflicting ideas I need to sort out.
How does one choose between a shinobi's life and the village's interest? Aren't they equally important?
I realized things such as these thoughts cannot be answered in a simple way. How can a young shinobi like me decide to choose the expected option when it means losing something else that is also important?
Even though I am considered a prodigy, a genius or whatever title people bestowed upon me, I am still conflicted. This is an expertise I have never trained in, a field I haven't walked yet, a riddle that I am still trying to solve.
Morality or honor?
Principle or objective?
Life or death?
If I need to choose over these, how could I pick? How could I weigh which is heavier?
I am still contemplating these mind-boggling thoughts when I came home one night after an intensive training session, and found my father bathing in his own blood with his famed chakra sabre blade buried on his torso. His breathing had stopped and his body was cold to touch.
He gave in to his depression. He drowned in his own misery. Leaving me, his equally miserable son, to be swallowed in desolation.