Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version:
Chunin Exams Arc Part 2:
Chapter 54: To bud anew …
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Dusk had descended over the Hidden Leaf. Despite the approaching darkness, the streets were filled with activity. People cleared rubble and put temporary patches on houses. Others had to find a place to stay due to their homes being completely destroyed. Naruto watched it all from atop the Third Hokage's head on the Hokage Monument.
His tears had long since dried, though his eyes were still red. There were simply no more tears to give. Salt crusted his body, the stink of dried sweat and blood hung about him like a cloud of death. Despite how disgusting he felt he couldn't bring himself to move. The breeze had long since chilled him to the bone. But it was inconsequential. He felt empty, and raw, like any moment he might break down and start crying again. It was as if some piece of him had been torn away, never to return. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw flashes of Gramps. And that just reminded him that he was gone.
Naruto stared at his hands, trembling. Not a sliver of skin was visible under a macabre gauntlet of caked on blood. Somewhere under all the blood from his enemies, was the blood of his grandfather, he realized. He struggled to hold down his bile.
Through the depressing scent of iron, an acrid smell managed to reach his nostrils. Naruto wrinkled his nose, at first, he thought it was a figment of his imagination as he remembered Gramps. Then he saw the tobacco smoke drifting by and realized it was real. "What the …" For a single amazing instance, he thought everything he'd seen was wrong. Somehow, gramps was alive. He turned in excitement, only to have his hopes dashed as he saw Asuma-sensei standing there casually smoking a cigarette.
"Oh, it's you."
"Yep, just me." Asuma replied.
Naruto nodded blankly, turning to lay his head on his arms once more. After a few minutes, he remembered what Gramps had said. "…He wanted you to know he loved you and was proud. Konohamaru too." The words were flat, carrying no empathy or feeling.
"That's nice to know." Asuma replied nonchalantly, taking another drag from his cigarette. It wasn't dismissive, but Naruto took it as such, and it annoyed him. Asuma stepped forward to stand alongside him, looking out over the village. "So, how ya holding up?"
"Apparently not as well as you," He glanced sharply at Asuma, who seemed cool and collected as ever.
The jonin chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "I'm plenty broken up kid, I just hide it better. The village needs rebuilding right now. Jonin like myself have to be strong so others don't lose heart. Pops would want me focused on that." There was a note of rebuke in his voice. Naruto ducked his head in shame. Asuma sighed, ruffling Naruto's already messy hair. "No need to worry kid, it's your first time with this sort of thing. For better or worse, the older you get in this life, you experience this kind of loss more. You figure out ways to cope with it all."
Naruto stayed silent, offering the tiniest nod acknowledgement of Asuma's words. He watched as three men pinned a tarp onto the roof of an apartment building, trying to get over the awkwardness he felt. As it was, he wasn't comfortable holding a conversation. Asuma seemed to sense this and carried the conversation himself.
"A lot of people are torn up right now, he meant a lot to everyone. That was one of his talents, having time for anybody. Seems like he belonged to the whole village a bit, like a member of the family. That was something I resented. Always seemed he had time for everyone else but not for his blood family."
"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Naruto asked suddenly, a little annoyed to hear Asuma complaining.
The jonin laughed. "Sorry, guess I feel a little off. The point I was trying to get to, is even among all the people whose lives he got involved with, you were special. He thought a lot of you, my dad."
Swallowing past a lump in his throat, Naruto nodded. "I know." He whispered hoarsely. Gramps's final words were still stuck in your head. He repeated them in a daze. "When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew."
Even now, he wasn't exactly sure what it meant.
"What was that?" Asuma asked curiously.
"Oh, just Gramps' last words." Naruto replied, repeating the poem louder, so Asuma could hear. "Not sure what it means." He offered with a shrug.
Asuma wore a sad smile, a single tear trickling down his cheek and into his trimmed beard. "Even to the last, he was thinking of the village. He really did think a lot of you." Naruto was confused, something that clearly showed. "It's his philosophy. The most important part of the village isn't the buildings, or the Hokage. It's the children. They're the ones who will carry it forward, they're what needs to be protected. The fact he passed that along to you, tells me he thought you were someone he could entrust his legacy to. Someone to uphold that philosophy. The Will of Fire."
Naruto couldn't speak. Despite thinking he'd run out of water to give for tears, he felt them prickling at his eyes.
"Well, I gotta go check in on Konohamaru. Take care of yourself Naruto. And take a hot shower, it'll help." Asuma clapped him on the shoulder, before standing to leave.
"Think I'll do that." Naruto muttered as the jonin disappeared.
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Three days passed following the invasion. Naruto sat in his underwear on his mattress, trying to work up the nerve to put on the black clothing he was wearing to the funeral. It was of a finer quality than his usual wear, made of soft fabric that couldn't stop a butter knife. Every tick of the clock remined him that the time to leave was approaching. He let out a world-weary sigh, before standing up and finally getting dressed.
Somber grey clouds hung overhead, as Naruto left his apartment. A bone-chilling breeze swept through the stone-cobbled streets. Rubble was still scattered about, little pieces that nobody could be bothered to try and sweep up yet.
He walked slowly on his way towards the Administrative Building, where the memorial for the ones that fell in the invasion was being held.
Turning onto the same fence-lined street that his team had met the Sand Siblings on, Naruto felt a certain sense of irony that this is where they were meeting today. This was where that entire ordeal leading to the invasion had begun. That seemed like a lifetime ago now.
Sakura and Sasuki waited silently already, both wearing simple black kimono's. They silently stared between themselves, before falling into a line and proceeding.
With slow, weary steps, they walked through silent streets past other people in black clothes. Some wept, others wore stoic expressions. Down somber streets with their windows shuttered, through the shingled entrance past the barrier wall, they continued on their trek. The entrance courtyard to the Administrative Building already had a few people meandering about. As they entered the building, a receptionist with red-ringed eyes handed them all a single white chrysanthemum.
They proceeded up the stairs, all the way to the concrete roof of the building. There they took their place in neatly packed rows of black-wearing shinobi, facing a stage where dozens of pictures rested on a cloth-covered dais.
Smiling faces of their fellow shinobi stared out at them, frozen in time, unknowing of what had befallen them. And at the center, placed on a wooden stand, Gramp' picture rested on a pillow in a place of honor. An elderly man and woman stood in front of the pictures with solemn looks. From his many years around gramps, he knew the glasses wearing man and the bun-haired woman to be the Third Hokage's former teammates.
Standing amongst the silent lines of mourners, Naruto stared ahead at gramps pictures, even as the rooftop began to fill evermore. Minutes passed, and Konohamaru came to stand alongside him with Asuma behind them.
Konohamaru was holding it together remarkably well, unshed tears swam in his eyes but didn't fall. As they stood there, the skies finally let loose their burden. Rain fell like tears onto the village, soaking through Naruto's mourning clothes.
"It's like the heavens are crying." Sakura commented softly.
Slowly the crowds grew on the rooftop, as well as below. People gathered in the walled courtyard, spreading out into the streets surrounding the towering administration building. When the crowd had swelled completely, gathered in neat lines of black-clad mourners, the old man at the front finally cleared his throat.
"Our village has suffered a great loss. We are gathered here, not just to honor our fallen Third Hokage, but all those who died defending the village. Step forth and pay your respects."
Gramp's teammates were the first to do so, silently laying a chrysanthemum at the feet of the stand holding the elderly Hokage's photo. As the elderly pair muttered on the dais, Konohamaru finally lost control of his emotions.
The brown-haired boy rubbed his eyes furiously as fat teardrops leaked down, stifling his wounded cries. Naruto felt as if his heart was being wrenched from his chest, kneeling down to place a comforting arm around the boy's shoulders.
"Why'd he have to die? Konohamaru whispered.
Swallowing past a lump in his throat, Naruto had no answer for his young friend. He'd lost Madara, but that had been different. It wasn't so sudden, so painful. He had no clue how to comfort someone when he himself felt his heart tearing in two. It was Asuma who answered, placing a hand on Konohamaru's head. "Pops died because he wanted to protect the village. It meant so much, he gave his life to protect it and everyone in it, including us. That's the life of a shinobi, putting your life on the line for what you believe. He died so we can live, and that's exactly how he'd have wanted it. One day, we might have to make the same decision."
Naruto remembered Asuma's words from that evening. When put like that, it seemed like Gramps had died as he wanted to. It still didn't make him feel any better about it.
'I've never understood, why you humans make such a big deal of death. Seems like it's more for the ones alive than the dead.'The Nine-Tails commented, as they watched people begin to pay their respects.
One by one, people went up and placed a flower down. It would be a while before it was Naruto's turn. 'I suppose … you're right. It gives us closure. Our lives are a lot shorter than yours, and we don't regenerate if we die.'
Eventually, it was Naruto's turn. His body felt tight, like a wound coil, as he stepped up to the mound of flowers, their petals now soaked and drooping. He placed his chrysanthemum gently on top and stared into the face of his grandfather in everything that mattered. The last of his pillars who'd supported him since the beginning. It felt like the end of a book. A very sad ending.
"I'll carry on your Will, no matter what. I will become Hokage." He whispered.
Naruto retreated to stand next to his team. He stood stoically, as the mourners passed them by and paid their respects. It had to be close to an hour. When the last flower was placed, and the gathering was breaking up, he slipped away. The coil inside was winding ever tighter. He ducked inside a side alley, before using a teleportation to travel the long distance up to the Hokage Monument.
The rain fell down in thick sheets, leaching the warmth from your skin. Taking shelter from the rain, he stayed inside the tree line above the carved stone faces. There, the coil inside him finally burst. Tears poured down his face for the first time in days, as the weight of his loss finally came crashing down on him. In some ways, Gramp's death hit harder than his grandfathers. At least with Madara, he had time to get used to the idea. Hiruzen was simply torn from his life.
Here, alone, he finally let loose the tears he'd been holding in since the end of the battle. They flowed freely, even as the rain let up and the clouds parted for a clear blue sky.
As he knelt on the ground, consumed by his grief, Naruto felt the presence of someone else. He quickly dried his tears with his sleeves, as he looked up to see Sasuki walking towards him with a gentle gate. Here hair hung about her face damply, and her fair skin glistened under the sun.
"Oh, Sasuki, hey, I was just … just." Naruto floundered, searching for a way to pass it off as if he hadn't been crying.
Before he had a chance to gather his wits, Sasuki rushed forward, throwing herself to the ground as her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him into an embrace. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
Naruto hesitated as he returned the hug. "No need to feel sorry for me, I'll be fine." He replied. And he mostly meant it. Though he felt terrible now, he knew that would pass, despite the fact he felt as if the hole in his heart would never heal.
Sasuki pulled back and sat down beside him. She took his rough calloused hand in her dainty grip and stared into his eyes with a watery gaze. "I … I didn't mean the Third Hokage." She confessed. "What I meant, was I'm sorry I let that stupid lie come between us. After the battle, it just hit me how stupid it was to let that come between us. If we hadn't talked in the stadium … you could've died thinking I was still mad."
He placed a comforting arm across her shoulder. "But I didn't, don't beat yourself up over it."
The normally calm girl seemed close to tears. Sasuki sank into his side. He was reminded of when she'd comforted him following his grandfather's death. That was the last time they'd hugged. But something felt different here. Something about this felt right to him.
Eventually, a chill crept in as a light breeze buffeted his damp clothes. Naruto shifted, reluctantly taking his arm off Sasuki, and pulling away. She looked up, her eyes swam with confusion. As she gazed at him, a shaft of sunlight pierced the thin clouds and fell across Sasuki's face. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. His heart sped up. The light threw her face into stark contrast, dark eyes and raven hair set against pale, smooth skin with cherry red lips. Drops of water glistened like diamonds on her skin. There was something in her eyes that seized him, demanded he act. But Naruto couldn't.
"We should … get going, don't want to catch a cold." He finally said.
Standing up, he offered Sasuki his hand. She took it and pulled herself up. Together, they began to meander down the walkway off the mountain.
"Oh yeah, Kakashi wanted me to let you know we'll be having a team meeting in a couple days."
"Really, so soon?" Naruto wasn't opposed to the idea; it would get his mind off Hiruzen's death. But it surprised him.
"Not sure, guess we'll find out in two days."
Naruto nodded in agreement. Suddenly, he was reminded of something Gramps once told him. "We fight so everyone else can be happy, that's why Shinobi deal with the life we do."
A genuine smile broke out across his face. Just as their training would resume, he'd eventually feel better. Until then he'd do his best to live happily, after all, that's what Gramps would have wanted.
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Two days seemed to stretch the length of a week for Naruto. Whenever he wasn't doing something, he thought of Gramps. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Gramps' peaceful face, a trail of blood trickling from his lips. Then came the heat and the panic. There was no escape, so he sought to busy himself, doing extra training and helping where needed in rebuilding.
Thus, it was a relief when it was finally time to meet with his team. The sound of hammers pounding nails into pine boards carried throughout the village. It was becoming a familiar sound, and the sight of wooden scaffolds around homes being repaired and rebuilt was common.
Naruto was the first to arrive at the training ground, though Sakura and Sasuki appeared soon after. Even as they chatted, Naruto had difficulty meeting his best friend's eyes. He'd feel the heat rising to his cheeks every time he tried.
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for more than ten minutes before Kakashi arrived. There was something in the way he carried himself, a tension and tiredness, as if Kakashi been getting less rest than usual. That was likely, given how busy they'd been securing the village and ensuring none of the other major villages tried anything. Kakashi waved in greeting.
"How's it going you three?"
"Well enough, I suppose." Naruto replied.
"Fine." Sasuki grunted.
"Same."
Kakashi nodded, before moving on to why they'd been gathered. "Good. Now, for why we're here. The higher ups have already informed the jonin that we'll be taking the majority of B-rank and up missions to free up time for Chunin and Genin to aid in the re-building."
"So, what happens with our training?" Naruto asked. He clenched his fist. There was no time for his training to stall.
Though she didn't express it, the way Sasuki's eyebrows tightened together indicated she held similar sentiments. Kakashi was quick to placate them.
"You'll still be training, but there'll be less in-person instruction and having my ninja hounds curry messages. I know it's troublesome, but this is a precarious time. The jonin will be taking the burden of securing our borders and bringing revenue to the village while we figure out our next steps forward while we're figuring out our status with the Hidden Sand."
Naruto reluctantly accepted the situation. Could he really ask for anything more? With the village in such a precarious situation, complaining would be selfish.
"Have we learned more about the invasion, why the Sand was involved?"
"That's a bit complicated." Kakashi's eye became steely. "It looks like Orochimaru preyed on their dissatisfaction with their Daimyo exporting missions to us. At some point he killed the Kazekage and took his place before the exam. That makes it a bit unclear when or if the Hidden Sand decided to betray us."
"Which means most likely we'll let it slide." Sasuki concluded with a displeased look.
"Are they seriously getting away with it with no repercussions?" Sakura asked incredulously.
Kakashi nodded. "You nailed it. The Sand has offered their surrender. Considering the position we're in, the village will likely accept with few if any concessions. For now, though, there are far more vital issues being discussed by the elder council and the jonin and Anbu commanders."
"You mean they're deciding the next Hokage?" Naruto asked sharply. That was the only reason he could imagine they'd gather.
"Yep. The Daimyo just arrived today."
Sakura gasped. "Who do you think they'll choose?"
"If I had to guess? Lord Jiraiya of the Sannin, though it's too early to tell." Kakashi shrugged. "Now, let's discuss your training."
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As Team 7 was having their meeting, a gathering of more vital importance was happening. High atop the Hokage Monument, in one of the three supremely fortified cylindrical buildings that usually housed the Anbu, a space had been set up. A large oak table stood in the center, with five high-backed chairs on either side.
On one side, five elderly men with greying hair sat, all dressed in identical black robes with matching hats emblazoned with the symbol for fire.
Opposite them sat the elder council, Koharu Utatane, a woman with narrow eyes and silver hair pulled into two buns, Homura Mitokado, a man wearing a thick pair of glasses and with a full grey beard. Finally, there was Danzo, a man with one eye and messy hair who wore an odd robe that kept one arm bound.
Then there was the Anbu representative, a brown-haired man wearing an expressionless fox mask.
Next to the Anbu was a man who looked bored, with his hair bound in a spiky ponytail, a small goatee on his chine, and two scars on the right side of his face. He wore a torn-up vest over his flak jacket, a darker shade than all other jonin. This was the Jonin Commander, Shikaku Nara.
Finally, at the head of the table was an ostentatious chair with a back that nearly scraped the ceiling, and the symbol for 'fire' on it painted in red. It was occupied by an older man with circular eyes and dark pupils, wearing silken robes with a fan-like head dress that had tassels hanging down and the symbol of their country. He carried an air of importance.
"Was your travel pleasant, Lord Daimyo?" Homura asked, his low, rumbling voice filled the room with ease.
The Daimyo fanned his face with a frown. "I don't think pleasant is the right word, considering the circumstances. It saddens me that I shall never get to have tea with my old friend again. Yet now I must choose his successor. Can we not wait a few days?" He lamented.
Koharu shook her head, and spoke out, "That would not be wise my lord. In the current situation, we need a new leader quickly to make decisions, especially when it comes to our talks with the Hidden Sand."
Shikaku suppressed a sigh. All of this was more effort than he liked.
"Very well, let's begin with suggestions." The Daimyo relented.
As the Daimyo asked for suggestions, everyone looked around, as if waiting for someone else to make the first suggestion. Finally, it was one of the advisors, a balding man.
"I would nominate Kakashi Hatake."
Shikaku eyed Danzo wearily. Was it his imagination, or had he been about to speak before the advisor? Danzo's mouth had opened, though the savvy old buzzard had quickly shut it when someone else spoke, He didn't want to think who Danzo might suggest. The best case scenario would be someone he thought he could manipulate.
The Daimyo appeared intrigued with his advisors suggestion. "Oh, the Copy Ninja? I've heard good things about him! What do you think everyone?" He asked his other advisors.
"Kakashi, who was his teacher again?" asked a bespectacled advisor on the Daimyo's right hand, the youngest of the five.
"He was taught by the Fourth Hokage. Undoubtedly, the man is one of our strongest jonin." Homura was the one to answer.
"Ah, he seems like an excellent choice."
"To be honest, we are unfortunately short on shinobi with the requisite strength to back up the position. Kakashi is one of the few I could imagine tangling with a foe like Orochimaru and surviving." Koharu said, there was a begrudging reluctance to it.
The second to last advisor, directly across from Shikaku, leafed through a file. He was a full-faced man, with thick dark grey hair and prominent laugh lines. His name was Genryu, a very reliable and decent man in Shikaku's experience. He let out a hum of thought.
"Something you'd like to say, Genryu?" The Daimyo asked.
Genryu nodded. "Indeed, my lord. I've been reading the reports during the exam. A name keeps popping up that intrigues me. He'd be an unorthodox choice, but I see potential."
"Oh, who is it?"
"A young genin named Naruto Uchiha."
One of the fellow advisors scoffed. "A genin? Have you gone senile, the boy can't be more than what, fifteen?"
"Fourteen, actually." Genryu answered, the man looked uncowed by his colleague's derision. "Despite that, the boy apparently managed to hold off Orochimaru single-handedly and escape with his team during the second exam. Then, he managed to defeat the jinchuriki of the Sand and put down most of the resistance following Orochimaru's retreat. He has two powerful bloodlines, the Sharingan, and the Magnet Style. Given a few years he could make a fine leader."
"Oh? Uchiha, yes, I remember, he's the one they've been calling 'Black Flash'. Intriguing." The Daimyo replied.
"There is another thing, my Lord. Something I think you'll find interesting." Genryu goaded his lord gently. Watching him, Shikaku knew he was looking at a master politician with the way he pulled the Daimyo's strings.
"Yes, continue man."
"Naruto is the son of two renowned shinobi. Kushina Uzumaki, and Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Apparently, Minato was not a civilian orphan as was thought."
The Daimyo gasped in excitement. "Oh, his nickname is quite fitting then! How intriguing, the son of a Hokage becoming Hokage so young? It seems like destiny."
The advisors murmured amongst themselves, before a glass of cold water was doused on it by Danzo. "Talented as he is, the boy still has much room to grow. Both in strength and personality. We need someone who is ready immediately to assume the role, with the power to keep our enemies from thinking us weak."
"Lord Danzo brings up a valid point. The Fifth Hokage must be strong." The Anbu representative spoke up.
"For that matter, Kakashi himself is not quite strong enough. Not to mention his predilection for melancholy and being tardy. He is not currently fit for the role either." Danzo quickly capitalized on his momentum.
Shikaku wanted to rip his hair out. Need the man be so obvious with his ambitions? He'd eliminated the only viable option brought up in Kakashi.
"Oh? And let me guess. You'd nominate yourself?" Shikaku bit out sharply, placing his chin in his palm.
Danzo's eye narrowed. "Yes, I would. I have the strength–both in body and will –to carry our village forward. Under me, we shall recover quickly and even begin to grow. This village needs a firm hand in these trying times."
Some of the advisors to the Daimyo looked convinced. Shikaku didn't like it, not one bit. There were still questions surrounding the invasion. Plans had been changed that allowed the invaders to exploit the security. He glanced at Danzo. The man was power thirsty, and thought he was doing the right thing even when using despicable means. But would even he go as far as to be involved in assassinating the Hokage?
Either way, he had to act. Somebody had to put an end to this farce, before something foolish happened.
"No offense, but Danzo is too old. We just lost our Third Hokage because of his waning strength in his advanced age. Even five years ago Lord Third likely would have beaten Orochimaru easily. " He spoke up, drawing the attention of the entire table. "As entertaining as it's been discussing this, I think everyone is forgetting a rather obvious name. Jiraiya, of the Sannin."
"Ah yes, Jiraiya! How could I forget. He's the ideal choice. Hiruzen's student, and the one who taught the Fourth Hokage." The Daimyo was quick to agree.
"He does seem like a prime choice. His strength is unquestionable." Genryu agreed.
Homura and Koharu exchanged a look, before speaking as one. "We have no objections with him."
"Agreed." Danzo said with a reluctant hiss.
"I concur." The Anbu agreed.
Shikaku's eyes shifted over to the corner near the doorway. To most anyone, it would have looked like everything was fine. Just your normal double doors. But he saw a slight disturbance in the dirt on the floor, four little bars.
"What do you say, Master Jiraiya, do you accept?"
Everyone looked at him as if he was mad. Well, everyone but Danzo, who showed annoyance when glancing to the corner of the room.
The air shimmered, and Jiraiya's tall form was revealed, the man had a put-out expression. "Way to blow my cover Shikaku."
At the head of the table, the Daimyo's eyes brightened. "Jiraiya, it's good to see you. So, when can we hold your inauguration?"
"Sorry, but I decline the position." Jiraiya answered without a hint of regret.
He felt a headache coming on, though frankly Jiraiya's refusal didn't surprise him. Unlike him, some were affronted by this.
"What do you mean? You are the only candidate. A Sannin would stabilize our position. You have a duty to the village." Koharu criticized him.
Jiraiya waved placatingly at the old woman. "Jeez, jeez, cool down Koharu-sensei. If it's a Sannin you want, then might I suggest an alternative? After all, there is one more."
Homura's eyes widened. "You can't possibly be suggesting her!"
"Of course I am. She is the granddaughter of the First. Not to mention, her medical skills will help with some of our more difficult cases after the invasion."
"You speak of the Slug Queen, naturally?" Genryu commented.
Jiraiya smirked. "Indeed. The Fifth Hokage … will be Tsunade Senju."
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Omake #2:
– Hidden Cloud Village, After the Chunin Exams –
The Hidden Cloud stood amidst snow-capped mountains, where the air was thin, jagged rocky peaks jutted to the sky like the teeth of a dragon. The majority of buildings lay on the ground. However, when they ran out of room, they used the mountains. Buildings circled the peaks like upside down tier cakes, each floor getting wider as the summit narrowed. At the largest peak stood the biggest building. A behemoth of wood and glass. Painted sapphire blue, with huge banks of gleaming windows, the Raikage building stood at the center of the village as a testament to their ingenuity.
Samui stared out at the village below from an office at the top of the Raikage Building. She stood before a large, lacquered oak desk, with a muscular dark-skinned man behind it, sitting in a high-backed chair. His muscles made his white haori bulge, boulder-sized shoulders shifting as the man steepled his hands. His rich brown skin contrasted with the platinum hair braided into cornrows, matched with a mustache and well-trimmed goatee.
Despite his dark eyes staring a hole into her, there was no lechery behind her Raikage's gaze. Unlike most men, he was not one to be distracted by her charms. Samui tried not to shift uncomfortably; she wanted to rub her shoulders more than anything–her back was killing her, what she wouldn't give for a good soak in the hot spring to relieve the pain from her chest weighing her down–but she didn't dare show unprofessionalism in front of Lord A.
"Tell me Samui, how did your mission go?"
She bowed, before beginning her report. "The peace talks with the Hyuuga have gone well. Our overture appears to have done a great deal to thaw the ice, as it were. As you know, the failed invasion by the Sound-Sand alliance interrupted the exams."
The Raikage waived his hand dismissively. "That was merely a formality in the first place. Team Bee will all be promoted to the rank of Chunin." A leaned forward, an intense gleam entering his eyes. "Now get to the good part. How did your other mission go. Tell me of Naruto Uchiha."
Samui nodded. It wasn't unusual for the Raikage to be impatient. He was a man of action, one most would find unsuited for the role of kage. Yet he was a perfect leader, she would follow him to the death if need be. Thus, when he'd come to her with the most outlandish theory, about investigating a remarkable Hidden Leaf genin he suspected to be the son of the Fourth Hokage, she'd accepted. In the end his hunch had proven true. She should have known not to doubt her Raikage's judgement.
"It is as you suspected Lord A, Naruto Uzumaki–or should I say, Uchiha–is the son of Minato Namikaze. I was able to match the blood samples." Learning of Naruto being an Uchiha, had been quite a shock. She'd sent a message to the Raikage as soon as she left the Second Exam.
Her words dropped into the silent room like a bomb. Slowly, the Raikage's face lit up in a massive grin. His eyes shone with excitement.
"Excellent. It seems there was more to the Yellow Flash than met the eyes. Our battles were legendary. I can only imagine how fast Minato would have been with the Sharingan. But enough reminiscing. Tell me more about the boy."
The blonde kunoichi eagerly fulfilled the request. She told her leader everything. She'd spent many hours observing him. Especially following the invasion, she'd spoken at length with him. So, she had a great deal to tell. From the way Naruto spoke, to his help in dealing with the Hyuuga situation. And perhaps most important, was the boy's skill in battle. Part of her felt guilty for taking advantage of Naruto's attraction to complete her mission. But in the end, her Lord's orders were more important.
As she continued to speak of Naruto's skills, the Raikage got more and more excited. Like a child that was learning about an amazing toy. He had always been a man that enjoyed battle. If she didn't know him better, she might have been afraid the Raikage would recklessly start a war in his desire to test a strong opponent. But that was much more like Bee-sensei. She could easily see the Eight-Tails jinchuriki accidentally causing a war due to wanting a rap battle.
"–above all, he is incredibly fast. Naruto used some sort of movement technique I couldn't even follow. After the battle, people began to call him the Black Flash. I have little doubt, in the future he will surpass the Yellow Flash in speed."
That, it seems, was all the Raikage needed. Jittering with excitement, he slammed his forearm into his desk. The poor furniture was reduced to splinters, dust filled the air as he let loose booming chuckles.
"Finally, a real rival!"
x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x
Hey everybody, hope you're having a good day. Here is today's chapter. This is the last in the arc, next will be the beginning of the next arc. I've added this short little omake, which was originally a ".5" chapter, little snippets I put out that play into the larger story but don't really fit in the narrative of the full chapter.
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I'll have the first chapter of a One Piece story out next. You can find Chapter 2 and eventually chapter 3 of that on my Pa tre on. To anyone coming from AO3, welcome, hopefully that gets resolved soon.
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RinneTaicho, Signing Off!
