Chapter 3: The Next step

(a few days later)

Ide woke up in his new apartment. Located in a more suburban area in the eastern part of the Leaf Village, he know longer had the view of the village center but his new apartment was a significant step up from the studio as far as its amenities. His new residence had a kitchen, a living room along with a bedroom connected to a full bathroom and a terrace balcony with outdoor furniture. During the war Ide never really had much need to spend his ninja salary so he kept most of his money in a savings account and leaving it untouched for 17 years to accumulate interest made home shopping significantly easier.

Ide always enjoyed the mornings, getting up early for some hot tea to start the day as he watched the sun rise. In the leaf village the sun had to rise past Hokage Mountain so you got to enjoy a few extra minutes to enjoy the red, purple and orange lights that filled the sky. Ide finished his tea as the blue light of day reached the sky, he wasn't much of a cook so he'd be going out for breakfast which was fine by him as he had a few errands to run that morning.

Ide dropped his teacup off at the sink before returning to his bedroom to get dressed. Since returning to the village he'd abandoned the military uniform he used to wear now he wore a thin blue jacket with black accents along the sleeves and outlining the pockets with his clans logo sewn onto the back he zipped it up only halfway revealing the white T-Shirt. His pants were long and colored black and the only remaining piece of his old outfit that he kept was his Leaf Headband still displayed proudly on his forehead and with that he was ready for the day.

(Later)

Ide strolled through the urban sector of the Leaf Village eating a breakfast pastry he'd bought form a street bakery as he walked. 'It's nice to know the village hasn't changed much in all this time.' Ide smirked as he took in the familiar sights. 'Yakiniku Q, Dango, Yamanaka Flowers… No way!' Ide saw something something that caught his eye a street side ramen shop with a name that read "Ichiraku"

Ide pushed past the cloth screen to get a look at the restaurant inside. 'Ichiraku? With the cheap uncomfortable stools? With the chili sauce ALWAYS empty? And no variety. if I remember right they had one type of broth and all that changed was the toppings and they used to boil the noodles to order so the wait time took forever and you'd spend all that time balancing yourself on these cheap uncomfortable stools.' Ide thought to himself as he looked over every corner of the restaurant. 'Man, did Maede love this place though. Then again that guy liked Uruchi's Senbei too, ugh.' Ide Grimaced at this thought.

"Hey!" The shop owner called out, not even bothering to look up from his paper. "You gonna order something? Or are you just here to take in the scenery cause the first minute is free but after that I'm gonna start charging you." He finally looked up to find Ide with his back turned allowing him to get a view of the Uchiha symbol. "Hey! You're that kid! The one that was frozen in stone, so you're here to satisfy a 17 year old craving for Ichiraku? I understand."

"No, I was just strolling down memory lane and this place caught my eye." Ide answered honestly as he took one last look at the ramen shop that had seemingly remained unchanged over the past 17 years. "I just couldn't believe this place was still open, anyway I've got some errands to run so I'll get going."

"Alright come on back when that craving hits you!" The shop owner waved Ide off before taking a moment to reflect on what he'd said. "Wait… Can't believe we're still open?... WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" With that side-track down memory lane taken care of, Ide was ready to refocus on the day's priorities before his meeting with Lady Tsunade Ide had one more stop scheduled before then.

DING! DING! The store bell rang as Ide pushed through the front door to what appeared to be a weapons store. Kunai, Shuriken and smoke bombs were presented in a display case next to the counter and in the front window hung a number of bladed weapons, broadswords, Katana, knives and a few hand blades.

The store seemed unmanned but there was a small bell placed on the counter and Ide knew he didn't need to hesitate to ring it. Yet another DING! rang through the store, this time met with a rustling from the back of the store. "Alright! Alright! Give me a minute!" A voice called out from behind a cloth door that separated the workshop from the store. After a moment the cloth was pushed to the side and an older man stepped out from the workshop. He seemed small and withered wearing welding gear that fit very loosely, in his youth it was likely more appropriate but the blacksmith seemed to have shrunk in his old age. "Oh it's you!" The old man brightened up upon seeing Ide. "The Uchiha boy."

"Good to see you again." Ide replied with a smile. "Well, You said it'd be ready by friday. So?"

"Ah! Yes!" The old man suddenly exclaimed as if memory of Ide's order had just come to his mind. "Yes! I just finished it last night. It's still in the workshop. I remember it took me three separate attempts to…" The oldman trailed off as he returned behind his cloth veil for a moment before re-emerging carrying a sheathed short sword with him. "Here it is, some of my very best work in ages."

Ide carefully took the blade from the old man's hands, safely pointing it away from him before unsheathing it. The blade was pristine and almost appeared to be glowing as it reflected the light from outside. "I've been waiting for the day one of you Uchiha would request my handy work again. Modern ninja just don't appreciate fine swordsmanship anymore. They act as if Kunai and a couple hand blades can replace quality Kenjutsu but your clan always treated the sword with its proper respect."

Ide smiled back at the old man before taking a few test swings of the blade. Finding it satisfactory, Ide sheathed the sword and attached it to his waist. "I appreciate your hard work. Box me up a few of those Shuriken and I'll be on my way." Ide said putting his ninja bag on the counter for him

"Oh! Of course!" The old man replied, opening up his display case and loading the bag with Shuriken. "But, that blade will be fine as a defensive weapon but on it's own I'm afraid it's not long enough to be effective offensively. If you'd like I can get started on a proper katana for you? It'd take me a few extra days but I can make one that should compliment your short sword in combat."

"Thank you…." Ide replied, pulling his wallet out to pay. "But I can make do with just this one for now."

With that Ide left the blade shop behind and feeling complete he proudly marched his way to the Hokage's office where he was greeted by Shizune as he entered the front door. "Oh, good morning… You're here… on time…." she answered with a smile that she used to hide her inner frustrations.

"Yeah… That's not a problem is it?" Ide answered raising an eyebrow at Shizune's odd response.

"Well it shouldn't be…" Shizune said with a sigh. "Follow me…"

Ide did as she asked following her up to the hokage's office where he was met with a sight he was unprepared for. "Hoooonnnn…. Shuuuhhhhh…." The fifth Hokage laid fast asleep on her desk surrounded by massive stacks of papers.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune called out in an aggressive unapologetic tone that roused the Hokage from her slumber. "Ide's here to be assigned to his new team but seeing as you're so far behind on your paperwork how about I tell him to come back after lunch?" Shizune suggested as she shot Tsunade a passive aggressive smile.

"NO! No…. This is important." Tsunade argued. "Ide's being so patient waiting to resume his ninja duties, it'd be cruel to make him wait any longer. The paperwork can wait!" Tsunade shoved the stacks of paper off her desk causing Shizune to grit her teeth. "Oh, please track Sakura down. This involves her as well."

(Sakura's POV)

The pink haired tea bearer from the other day nervously paced her way up the steps to the penthouse office. 'I wonder what Lady Tsunade wants with me? I already completed today's training this morning and Shizune seemed upset too. Have I done something wrong?' Sakura's worries ate away at her as she slowly worked up the courage to knock on the office door.

"Sakura? You can go ahead and come in…" Tsunade answered from behind the door.

"Yes ma'am." 'At least she doesn't sound too upset.' Sakura took a little solace in this as she opened the door but as soon as she did her eyes were met by the fan symbol of the Uchiha. That symbol, no matter where or how she sees it her mind can only manage to generate a single thought. 'Sasuke.'

She quickly and violently shook her head before taking the seat next to him. 'No! That's not Sasuke… Even if he does look a lot like him…' She thought as her mind forced an image of Sasuke's face over Ide's. 'There hairstyles are certainly different… Even their faces have very subtle differences but it's those eyes. Even without the Sharingan his eyes look just like Sasuke's, like there's some sort of mystery behind them….'

"I figured you should be here to hear this Sakura." Tsunade addressed Sakura before moving on. "I'm going to be placing Ide on Team 7 as Sasuke's replacement going forward." Tsunade stated causing Sakura's eyes to go wide as she was unable to control her reaction.

'What! No!' She thought to herself knowing better than to audibly question the Hokage. 'You can't just replace Sasuke like that. Like he's not coming back! Like he died….'

"The Third Hokage assembled Team 7 with Sasuke as a member of that team in mind and I have no reason to question that decision making at this time." Tsunade went on to explain as if she knew her decision didn't sit right with Sakura. "Ide is not sasuke, I of course am aware of that. Regardless, Ide's skill set is comparable to Sasuke's given both his Sharingan and adeptness with fire-release Jutsu. Because of this I believe Ide will be able to fit well into Sasuke's role on your team without much of an adjustment time."

"I look forward to working with you…" Ide said as he extended a hand to Sakura along with a smile.

'His smile is different from Sasuke's…' Sakura thought as she begrudgingly shook his hand. "Yeah… Good luck.." 'He's certainly more polite than Sasuke but still… He's no Sasuke.' She thought as she turned away from Ide with a dejected look on her face.

(Ide's POV)

"Hmm…" Ide muttered back in confusion due to this strange reaction.

"With that being said…" Tsunade continued recapturing the two young ninja's attention. "All that will have to remain on paper for the moment seeing as both Kakashi and Naruto are currently away on training and Sakura is too preoccupied with her training with me to be sent out on missions anytime soon and with enemies of the leaf making themselves known as of recent I wouldn't be sending out any 2 man teams regardless. That being said I understand Ide's desire to resume his ninja duties so until a point in which Team 7 can resume full strength Ide will assume the role of a Replacement-Nin."

"Replacement-Nin?" Ide repeated with confused tone as he seemed unfamiliar with the term.

"For teams that for whatever reason aren't able to operate at full strength you will fill in as the team's third or fourth member." Tsunade explained. "You have the Sharingan that drastically improves your visual prowess and your record indicates you're well versed in combat so you should be able to fill in on most teams at least on a temporary 'll also give you a good chance to familiarize yourself with this generation of shinobi that will be your new comrades. Does that work for you?"

"That'll work just fine." Ide stood and bowed to the Hokage. "When do I start?"

(Later)

Ide sat perched on a branch glaring out into the distance his three tomoe Sharingan activated as he tried desperately to scan the horizon. "See anything up there?!" A deep voice called out from below the tree line.

WOOSH! Ide dropped from the tree branch, falling past a layer of leaves and landing onto a trail below him. There to greet him stood an imposing figure with olive skin, he had short black spiky hair connected to a short beard by his sideburns he also held a lit cigarette in his mouth. Behind him was a girl dressed in purple with her long blonde hair tied up into a ponytail along with a young man with black hair also tied back.

"You know a Sharingan and a Byakugan are not the same thing right? My distance vision is not that much better than yours…" Ide said following his landing. "If there was significant movement that'd be a different story but a stand at this moment we're probably better continuing to our destination."

"Understood." The Jonin replied. "We'll press on." And with that the four continued onwards.

Ide hung back to walk with the two younger ninja focusing more so on the black haired boy. "What are you staring at me for?" The boy asked bluntly.

"You're from the Nara clan aren't you? You remind me of someone, that's all." Ide answered in reference to his old teammate.

"Really?" The dark haired boy replied as he watched Ide's Sharingan revert to normal, angering the boy. "Right back at you…" He growled as he hopped away. "Asuma wait up!" He called out as he increased his speed to leave Ide behind

'What was that about?...' Ide thought as he glared back at the boy.

"Oh don't you worry about him. He's always a little cranky." Ide looked up to find the Blonde Kunoichi now running closely beside him, perhaps a little too closely. "Hi, I'm Ino. Ino Yamanaka."

"Yamanaka? Like the flower shop?" Ide asked, taking a subtle step back to which Ino responded by nodding. "I remember, your clan specializes in mental jutsus? Is that right?"

"You got it. And combined with Shikamaru's shadow control makes a pretty nasty combination so I put up with him even if he can be a little rude sometimes." Ino moved in closer again and got a better look at Ide's face. "You sure do look like him but you're a lot nicer than Sasuke aren't you. By now Sasuke would've told me to buzz off or call me annoying."

'Sasuke huh? I keep hearing about this Sasuke, it was apparently his brother who wiped out the rest of our clan and he ran off a year ago.' Ide's eyes narrowed a bit as he couldn't help but find Sasuke frustrating. "I don't know this Sasuke but I doubt the two of us would get along very well. A Uchiha who would abandon the Leaf Village, that just seems impossible to me, it flies in the face of what our clan stands for."

"You wouldn't be the only one…" Ino lowered her head remorsefully. "Sasuke seemed destined for great things so when he left the village it left a lot of people in the village bitter. Shikamaru was never Sasuke's fan but he knew Sasuke so his betrayal hit him…us especially hard."

'Ah, I get it now. Sasuke and his brother Itachi, the last of the Uchiha and a pair of traitors. No wonder I've received a few icy responses since I woke up.' Ide thought to himself before a few of his thoughts slipped out as words. "So that's why Sakura reacted so negatively…."

"No, that was probably something else…" Ino replied sporting a knowing but at the same time a sad smile. "Sakura had…has a huge crush on Sasuke, it's really embarrassing. I mean he was cute don't get me wrong but you'd never see me going gaga like that over some boy. She, really her whole team, still cares an awful lot about Sasuke so she's probably just upset to see him replaced. I bet she still hoped that once Kakashi and Naruto finish their training that they'll be able to go rescue Sasuke, poor girl is still lovesick."

This got Ide's expression to soften a bit, at least until Ino threw in her last words. "I'm single though, just so you know…" This bit nearly made Ide stumble as he continued walking.

(That evening)

The four shinobi arrived in a small village town where Asuma checked them into a small inn where they conducted a quick planning session as they sat on the floor around a small table. 'According to the mission report this village is being attacked by a cloud demon every 7th night and during these attacks a number of resources will go missing, food, medicine and most often money.' Ide thought as Asuma conducted the meeting. 'Team 10 was dispatched to investigate and I'm replacing their 4th member who is currently in the hospital due to a severe case of indigestion.'

"Alright everyone, understand what the plan is?" Asuma asked, receiving a solid head nod. "Alright then, good luck."

With that everyone quickly rushed out of the room, Ide stayed behind a moment ditching his blue jacket and replacing it with a hooded black cloak. He then leapt out the Inn's window and dashed from rooftop to rooftop with his eyes locked onto a church's bell tower. It was the tallest building in town and Ide was able to slip in through one of the openings near the top and his new all black outfit allowed him to disappear in the evening shadows.

'Assume doesn't believe there's a demon at all.' Ide continued to go over the plan in his mind as he sat motionless in his new hiding spot. There are similarities between these "Attacks" and a series of robberies committed near the Mist village a few years ago by a couple of thieves who implemented Ninjutsu to carry out their thefts. My role in the mission is as a lookout, during the "attack" I'll use my sharingan to detect any unusual movements in the town below. It doesn't matter how fast any thieves might be or even if they're invisible. If they move I'll be able to see them.'

Ide remained in his post for hours, Ide remained stationed in his post for hours. Day had faded well into night and there was no sign of any attack. Ino was stationed near the Village's primary food storage, she was hidden in a faux barrel of rice. Shikamaru posed as a sick villager stationed lying in a bed in the Village clinic and Asuma had buried himself near the center of town ready for an ambush attack.

It was past midnight when a faint stream of fog began to seep into the town. Ide spotting this knew to signal his team. He activated the wireless radio placed in his ear and whispered. "They're here, everybody ready?" With that, Ide's Sharingan activated and a flood of smog suddenly filled the village.

As if a cloud had descended from the sky above along with it came loud claps of thunder and a long with it something unexpected, a monstrous roar. "RAAAAWWWWWHGGGG!"

Ide's eyes were quickly drawn by the Sharingan to the tree line where he saw tree after tree fall and with each tree followed the sound of an earth shaking footstep. "There may be a problem here." Ide said threw his radio. 'So much for the demon being a hoax…'

(End)