Here's the new chapter. No action here, it's focused on the various characters to conclude this part and set up the next. I'll have a bunch of interlude chapters.
"I don't know if I could do this, Jiraiya."
She was panicking. Why of all people was she made Hokage ? She begged Jiraiya to take it on, but he just shook his head and reassured her, saying "Don't worry, you'll do great. What're you even worried about ?" She scowled at that and grumbled, "This is stupid. I've been off the field for years. Heck, I still haven't gotten over my hemophobia properly. Why can't that brat Kakashi take on the role ?"
Jiraiya just sighed and said "Kakashi is good, but he's still not there yet. In 4 or 5 years, he will be. But we don't have the luxury of time. Konoha needs it's Hokage, and whether you like it or not, you are the best option."
"What about Guy" she shot out. She regretted it as soon as she said it. The idea of everyone in green jumpsuits went through her mind, and she shuddered. Guy was an excellent fighter and Shinobi and was likely their strongest fighter if he used all 8 Gates. However, being Hokage meant one had to manuever political situations and be the face of the village. Guy's eccentric appearance and straightforward personality didn't help in that.
"All right, not Guy." After grumbling some more, she relented and said "All right, I'll do it, but don't blame me when it all goes to shit."
Jiraiya laughed as he said "Are you willing to bet on that ? With your luck, it'll all go perfectly. A nice win-win situation."
She snorted at that, and then asked "So what do you plan on doing ?"
Jiraiya gave a look as though telling her about it had never dawned on him, but he replied in a slightly unsteady voice "Oh Yes. I was just going to tell you. I'm taking Naruto with me. I figured we'd go on a little training trip. While we're out, I can investigate various suspicious groups, like the Akatsuki while training the kid. It seems like multiple Jinchuriki have already been taken. It'll be safer for him to be hidden and on the move with me."
She'd come up with her answer, and so went to share it with Kakashi sensei. After entering the field where he was watching over Kiba do his rehab while playing with Akamaru and Chouji. She was glad that Kiba was looking better. He was the fun member of the team. He brought a lot of energy and chaos to the team that she loved. Without even looking up from his book, Kakashi said "Yo, Sakura. What brings you here." After walking upto him, she replied, "I have an answer to the question you asked me before."
He raised an eye row, but simply said "Oh, do tell." while gesturing for her to sit down on the grass.
She did so, and after thinking for a while, she began. "During our fight, Kabuto taunted me by saying that I was a sheltered little girl. It angered me then, but I realized that he wasn't entirely wrong. I have been blessed with a relatively peaceful childhood. Most of us in Konoha in the recent generations have, really. Though even then, there are some like Naruto and Sasuke who've had a difficult time. So I know that I'm blessed. But you know, I've never considered that to be a bad thing. If I could, I would want to ensure everyone is able to enjoy that kind of peaceful life. While I enjoy getting stronger, I don't particularly enjoy killing. But the darkness of the Shinobi world exists, and will probably continue existing. So I want to be the kind of Shinobi who can shoulder that darkness, and allow generations of Shinobi to enjoy the kind of life I have."
She paused there, and looked to her sensei, who stroked his chin thoughtfully. He'd clearly been paying full attention since he'd even closed his book. It seemed like even Kiba and Chouji had been listening in. He then finally said, "Well, it's slightly different than what I was expecting, but there's nothing bad there. Your nindo is pretty ambitious and not well-defined yet. But that's to be expected at this stage. Excellent job."
Then, as he got up, he said "Let's move on to the next stage of your training then." Puzzled, she asked, "What exactly is that going to be, sensei ?"
Kakashi casually said while opening up his book, "You're going to be making and mastering your own jutsu that'll form the basis of your fighting style."
She silently pumped her fist at that. HELL YEAH. Kiba whined about why he couldn't do that, and as she laughed at his ridiculous display, and Kakashi calmly explained that Kiba already had the Inuzuka fighting style to work with as a base, to which he could make modifications and even new additions if he pleased. Sakura had to make that base from scratch, which was why he was personally supervising her on that right away.
After everything settled down, a question popped up in her mind, and so he asked in a soft voice, "Sensei, what's your nindo ?"
Kakashi looked like he was caught off guard, but he quickly composed himself and said "Oh me. Nothing much. I exist to preserve and pass on the ideals and dreams of the people I've lost. That's all."
As he was sparring with his Hyuga teammate, he thought through the events of the past few months. He'd sauntered into the chunin exams, absolutely sure of himself. His only real rival there was Neji, and once he beat his rival, he would have finally proved to the world that Hard work can truly make a Shinobi great. He'd been an arrogant fool. Since when did he begin to look down on others the same way he'd been looked down on himself ? He gritted his teeth as he remembered. He picked up speed, and Neji did the same. Even Neji's gotten faster, he realized. Was this the strength of natural talent ? But that didn't matter. He'd learnt from his mistakes of the chunin exams and would return stronger. His nindo still burned as bright as ever within him. This was the way he had chosen to live his life. Or to be more accurate, this was the only way he could live with himself.
He pondered the new developments in his life as he sat on the Hokage Rock. He'd always considered it to be pretty egotistical of the First to make something like this a custom. But it did offer a great view. The longer he stayed a Shinobi, the better he understood his life's path and the journey he was on. He understood the level he sought to be at better than ever. His revenge impossibly seemed both closer and farther than ever. He had to admit, being on a team made him feel better than he'd ever expected. It felt a little like a family. Of course, none of these recent developments changed his thirst for revenge. Until Itachi was dead at his feet, his anger would not subside.
After getting prepared to leave, he met up with his team near the village gates along with Jiraiya. He'd been asked if he wanted any others with him there, but he'd already told his goodbyes to the others he was close to, though the only other really important person was Iruka since the Sandaime was dead. His sensei smiled warmly as she asked if he'd packed all his things and told him to write regularly, and went on and on about how to do this and that. After multiple questions and lectures, he scowled at her, and she raised her hands in mock surrender. Then, to his surprise she closed in towards him. He flinched, but before he could react, she had wrapped him in a warm hug. "Take care, Naruto" she said, in a soft voice.
He hesitated at first, but eventually melted into it. But after realizing that he'd been hugging his sensei for quite some time, he quite pushed himself away, said "Enough already", and tried for a scowl, though he didn't sound very convincing. He glared as Ino starting snickering. Once she'd stopped, Ino smiled and said "While you're travelling with Jiraiya-sama, don't be an Idiot, Naruto." Before he could whine in protest, she hugged him. This was far shorter than the previous, one, but left him more surprised. After letting him go, she said in a soft voice "I'll miss you, Naruto." And then, in a louder voice, she said , "All right, enough of that. Go kick some ass."
And the last one, was of course Shikamaru. They eyed each other for some time.
"Yo. Looks like you're leaving."
"Yup."
"Take care."
"Yeah you too."
"... I'm not going to hug you man."
"Heh. Yeah, I figured."
And with that, he left on a 3-year journey with his godfather, one that would forge him into a Shinobi of legend.
A/N
I hope you enjoyed that. The Rookie teams are now all around the age of 14. I actually still haven't decided all the stories to write for the Interlude chapters. I have several characters in mind, but I'm not sure which ones to choose. The ones I've decided are a set of Sakura chapters focusing on her making and mastering her jutsu, a set of Sasuke chapters focusing on the interesting transition he makes during the 3 year timeskip, a mini story following Shikamaru that'll be covered in a couple of chapters that'll be a whodunit action thriller type story, and a set of Slice-of-Life chapters with Tenten as the narrator that'll have a lot of Rock Lee, but I'll also explore a bunch of different characters. I'm also thinking of exploring some parts of Naruto's journey, but I haven't decided yet. Are there any other characters you'd like to see ? Add your thoughts in the review section.
Neji
Ninjutsu: 3.5
Taijutsu: 4.5
Genjutsu: 2
Intelligence: 3
Strength: 2.5
Speed: 4
Stamina: 3
Hand Seals: 3
Total: 25.5
Lee
Ninjutsu: 0.5
Taijutsu: 4
Genjutsu: 0.5
Intelligence: 1.5
Strength: 3.5
Speed: 4
Stamina: 3.5
Hand Seals: 1
Total: 18.5
Tenten
Ninjutsu: 2.5
Taijutsu: 3
Genjutsu: 1.5
Intelligence: 3
Strength: 1.5
Speed: 3
Stamina: 2
Hand Seals: 2
Total: 18.5
Sasuke Uchiha
Ninjutsu: 4
Taijutsu: 3
Genjutsu: 3
Intelligence: 2.5
Strength: 2.5
Speed: 3.5
Stamina: 2.5
Hand Seals: 3
Total: 24
Shino Aburame
Ninjutsu: 3.5
Taijutsu: 2
Genjutsu: 2
Intelligence: 3.5
Strength: 2
Speed: 2.5
Stamina: 2
Hand Seals: 2
Total: 19.5
Hinata Hyuga
Ninjutsu: 2.5
Taijutsu: 3
Genjutsu: 1.5
Intelligence: 3
Strength: 2
Speed: 2
Stamina: 2
Hand Seals: 2
Total: 18
Naruto Uzumaki
Ninjutsu: 3.5
Taijutsu: 3
Genjutsu: 2
Intelligence: 2
Strength: 3
Speed: 3
Stamina: 4
Hand Seals: 1.5
Total: 22
Shikamaru Nara
Ninjutsu: 3
Taijutsu: 1.5
Genjutsu: 2.5
Intelligence: 5
Strength: 1.5
Speed: 2
Stamina: 2
Hand Seals: 2.5
Total: 20
Ino Yamanaka
Ninjutsu: 3
Taijutsu: 1.5
Genjutsu: 2.5
Intelligence: 2.5
Strength: 2
Speed: 2.5
Stamina: 2
Hand Seals: 2
Total: 18
Sakura Haruno
Ninjutsu: 3
Taijutsu: 2 5
Genjutsu: 2.5
Intelligence: 3
Strength: 1.5
Speed: 2.5
Stamina: 2
Hand Seals: 4
Total: 21
Kiba Inuzuka
Ninjutsu: 2.5
Taijutsu: 3
Genjutsu: 1
Intelligence: 2
Strength: 2.5
Speed: 4
Stamina: 2.5
Hand Seals: 1.5
Total: 19
Choji Akimichi
Ninjutsu: 3
Taijutsu: 2.5
Genjutsu: 1.5
Intelligence: 1.5
Strength: 4
Speed: 2
Stamina: 2
Hand Seals: 1.5
Total: 18
