Hiiii ! :D How are you all doing?~
My dear people, let's agree on something. From now on, we'll consider that NO ONE knows when I'm about to update, even if I say that I'm doing fine and have a lot of time and stuff. Because that's precisely when writer's block tends to hit me :) (But when I'm supposed to write a 60pages memoir, I have so many fanfic ideas I can't focus on anything else, obviously. Ugh.)
Btw, we'll also consider that no matter for how long I haven't updated, I am NOT abandoning the story. Unless I write in the summary and the tags that the story's abandoned but, that's not happening anytime soon, I have too many ideas still.
I'm sorry for making you wait for so long each time, I hope you'll keep enjoying the story and have fun while reading it :)
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Chapter 11
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It was early in the morning when Sakura took her usual seat in the classroom. She had been the first one of her friends to arrive at school, although she was already surrounded by her classmates who were chatting vividly in small groups. Or others, like Shikamaru, were finishing their night on their table. In the meantime, she grabbed a book from her bag and picked it up at the page where she had left off, explaining the theory of chakra propagation in the body. Chakra was the basis of any ninja technique to be used, yet it was a concept that was still foreign to her. They hadn't started using it yet in the first year, so the principle of using an energy present inside one's body to create flames, manipulate the earth, or to heal... It was so exciting! She couldn't wait to get started!
Sakura was pulled out of her reading when she heard the sound of familiar laughter in the distance. She looked up from her book with a smile; Naruto's joy was as infectious as ever.
At the entrance of the classroom, she spotted her two friends and called them as she waved at them with a huge grin on her face. They both reciprocated her smile.
Naruto greeted her excitedly as she sat beside her. "Good morning, Sakura-chan!"
"Naru, Ino! I was waiting for you!"
"Sorry for the wait," Ino said with an eye-roll as she looked at Naruto, "someone here was taking too much time to eat her breakfast."
"Hey!" Naruto shouted before her mouth twisted into a pout. "It was delicious, okay?"
Sakura's gaze shifted from one of her friends to the other as they bickered friendlily. "Wait… You had breakfast together?"
Naruto grinned at her in response, her eyes bright. "Yeah! I slept at Ino-chan's last night! I met her mom too and we helped her cook, it was fun! You gotta come too next time!"
Sakura nodded slowly, although her smile dimmed a bit at the news. She was glad to see her friend so happy, she really was, but she couldn't help the twinge of envy that gripped her heart. She wished that she had been there as well, that must have been so much fun… Why hadn't they invited her? She had known that Ino had suggested keeping her company at her parents' shop while she was working, but Sakura had had to visit her aunt alongside her mother in the afternoon. She would have been free in the evening though, if only she had known that they'd still be together at the time…
"Whatever happened during breakfast is not the important part," Ino continued, giving Naruto an insistent look. "Wait until you hear about Naru's soulmate."
As she focused once again on her friends, Sakura's thoughts flew out of the window when they brought her up to date with the latest news about Naruto's love affairs.
Her soulmate wanted to meet her.
Her soulmate wanted to meet her.
Her soulmate wanted to meet and Naruto HAD SAID NO?!
The succession of excitement, shock, and disappointment that she felt made her stand up impulsively as she slammed her hands on the table.
"What! Why?! He's so nice! Why not?!" she whined. Naru's soulmate would have loved her on the spot! She was sure that he already did anyway! And he was so nice and caring all the time! If only Sakura's own soulmate was at least once a year like Naruto's…!
However, when Naruto started fidgeting and ducked her head in her shirt, Sakura paused. Her gaze shifted in Ino's direction who stared at her with round eyes and a shake of her head, a silent way to tell her to watch what she was saying. Taking a deep breath to calm down, Sakura slowly sat down again and she peered at her friend.
Well, it was true that despite Naruto's vibrant nature and her friendliness, she was rather uneasy around other people. And the face she made right then reminded her of the way she reacted whenever she was embarrassed and unsure of herself.
Sakura's face twisted into an annoyed pout and a wave of determination washed over her. Okay, she was really surprised – completely shocked! – that she didn't want to meet him… But that was Naru's decision. If she wanted to talk to them about it on another day, they would listen. And if it was because she didn't think she was good enough, they would be there to remind her exactly how wrong she was!
Sighing, Sakura crossed her arms. "Ah, I swear, these two lovebirds! To think that they write love letters to each other as soon as they wake up...!" She paused to give off a dramatic effect. "While my own soulmate writes on my butt and draws on my face. Tch."
Ino snorted. "Well, this morning, Lover Boy even called his beloved 'Beautiful'. And when I asked her about it," – Ino's voice jumped an octave – "Naruto said that he always called her that in the morning! Why doesn't my soulmate call me Beautiful?" she asked herself, a finger under her chin.
"Maybe because he hasn't seen you yet," Sakura suggested.
Ino huffed. "And? Is my personality not enough for him perhaps? I'm gorgeous, he should instinctively know that!" For good measure, she threw her hair back as Sakura rolled her eyes with a click of her tongue.
"What are you complaining about?" she growled before raising her fist in the air. "How many times has my soulmate just made fun of me, huh?! I don't get cute and heartfelt daily chats, I get embarrassing scribbles! He doesn't tell me anything about himself either! The first thing I'd do if I ever saw him would be to introduce him to my fist!"
When Naruto finally burst out laughing, Ino gave her a shoulder tap with a snicker and threw a knowing look at Sakura. "Still, look at these two lovebirds... Their sweet exchanges are so dreamy!" she giggled with one hand over her mouth.
Sakura cupped her hands over her cheeks, her eyes unfocused before a sigh slipped from her lips. "You tell me about it!" She glanced at Naruto out of the corner of her eye. "So, is there anything else I should know?"
Naruto smiled shyly, her cheeks rosy.
Oh.
Ohhhh, there was something else!
Naruto hummed as she seemed to think over the way to formulate her answer. "Usually, we just say Hello in the morning. But this time he told me about his day yesterday."
Sakura's eyes widened and she leaned closer to Naruto as if she could imagine the scene better that way. She noticed that Ino had laid her cheek on her hand and was grinning proudly as she listened to Naruto's retelling as well.
"He said his friends pranked him and they ended up having a food-tasting contest. He lost against a crazy lady who has a hole in her stomach, and now he's sick," she blabbered excitedly, a huge grin stretching her face. "He said that he'd never try to match her again, but then he said that he always says that and ends up doing it anyway 'cause she always knows how to annoy him and make him do stuff."
Sakura digested the information with appetite, realizing that it was the first time that Naruto's soulmate talked that much about himself; and about his friends. That was progress!
When Naruto ran her hand through her hair, her eyes closed as she giggled, Sakura's gaze moved to Ino who winked at her.
Sakura's heart fluttered, and she relaxed.
She'd been a fool to worry; everything was fine. Everything was even getting better!
"So, what else did I miss?"
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Today's class was a bit special. All the first-year classes were mixed together, and the senseis had asked the students to form groups of two to four people to work on a presentation. They would have to choose a specific ninja figure, describe their job and specialty, and give an oral presentation to everyone the next morning. They had one hour to agree and they all had to choose a different person, after which they would be free to go to the library, interview ninjas about the ninja of their choosing, and gather as much information as possible for the presentation.
The four Hokages were quickly selected, much to Naruto's dismay who let out a disappointed whine. That was understandable; she most likely wanted to talk about her father.
Ino squeezed her arm and gave her a reassuring smile. They'd get to learn more about the Yondaime Hokage another time. They couldn't really talk about Uzumaki Kushina either, since they didn't have much information about her (she was insane. Used fuinjutsu. And chains somehow. And her hair. And a frying pan. Who used a frying pan, seriously- Ino wanted to try fighting with one now).
Speaking of which, Ino's father was out of town for a mission this week. It would have been interesting to interview him... She didn't have enough information on his job, other than the fact that he was a ninja who used psychology for his specialty and the clan's technique that she couldn't describe in detail to just anyone.
"I've read about a lot of clans and ninjas," Sakura reminded them. "We could choose one of them and get more information in the library? I found out a lot about Lady Tsunade, and we mentioned her in class last week."
Beside her, Ino heard a whimper, though when she glanced at the source, Naruto had her hands on her mouth and seemed to be trying to hide how badly she disliked the idea.
Both Ino and Sakura glanced at each other and giggled. Their poor Naru couldn't stand reading and staying still for too long.
"Though we can fill in the information I have by meeting ninjas too," Sakura added with a smile and a teasing nudge at her friend.
After all, she should be more interested if she could actively ask questions about them.
Then again, if they wanted to interact with a ninja, they'd have to be careful and choose someone who wasn't dumb enough to hate on Naruto for... stupid reasons or whatever. (Like being from a deceased badass clan. Which was so- Ugh! People!).
With a nod directed at Sakura, Ino turned her attention to Naruto. "D'you know any ninja that we could talk to? I'd ask my dad, but he's not available right now."
"Umm... I know Grandpa, but he's already taken. And some people who work for him, but they're no fun, -ttebayo. Oh, and there's the ninja I met yesterday, he wanted to learn kunoichi skills for his mission!" she added excitedly.
Right, Naruto had told her about him the day before. He seemed to know a lot about ninja specialties and gave her some interesting advice. It could be nice to interview him.
"What's his name?"
"That's- ..." Naruto stopped in her track and looked up at the ceiling. "... I dunno? We just talked, he didn't give me his name, dattebayo... Or maybe he did. I don't remember."
Sakura frowned. "It will be hard to find him without a name."
Naruto lowered her head, thoughtful. "Yeah, I guess so... I also talked to Sasuke's brother a few times, he was nice. And the Uchiha Police." Her eyes widened and she raised her head with a huge smile. "Hey, what about Iruka-sensei? He's a ninja too, and we all know him!"
Sakura cocked her head to the side, doubtful, but Ino had stopped listening to her the moment the police were mentioned.
Glancing at the board where the names of the ninjas taken were listed, she noted that aside from the Hokages, most of the names were from Konoha clans. But no Uchiha was mentioned yet.
A wide grin spread on her face and she turned back to both her friends. "Hey, what about the Police Chief?! We all met him, and his job is very important in the village!"
Naruto blinked. "Huh. That's right. Why not."
As for Sakura, she ran a hand under her chin, pondering the idea, before she shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I read some about the police and the Uchihas, I think that I've got a few ideas. And we can always interview the Chief for more information." She nodded to show that she most definitely thought it was a good idea. "Do you remember his name?"
"Fu-," Naruto tried, "Fuji-sama?"
"Fugaku," Ino corrected, "Uchiha Fugaku. Seriously Naru, you've known him way longer than us."
Naruto stuck out her tongue playfully, prompting Ino to respond with a grimace of her own. What would she do without them, eh?
Having made their decision, Ino raised her hand and gave Iruka-sensei the name of Uchiha Fugaku, the Police Chief.
Now, they would have the rest of the day to collect more information about him.
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"Look in the box in the back?"
"Uuuuhhhh… This one?"
"Yeah, that one. Find the brown vial."
"A brown vial, huh… Oh! Found it! I think that's the one. Hmm, red and sweet, like grenadine juice."
"Yeah no, that's still medicine, so it's two sips at mos- Wow wow wow! What are you doin'? That's not what you're s'pposed to drink! This one's to apply on wounds!"
"But… You said a red beverage in a brown vial, I'm just listening to you!"
"There's also the symbols for 'don't drink, danger, toxic' on this one!"
"... Oh. Touché."
Seated comfortably on a sofa, Jiraiya cackled as he listened to the exchange of the two men arguing in the living room before he turned his attention to Yahiko. The young leader of the Akatsuki was resting beside him and pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. It was amazing to see how much he had grown up, and it gave Jiraiya a warm and fuzzy feeling deep inside. Was that pride? Teheheh, he hadn't felt that way since Minato had been made Hokage.
"Those are quite lively friends you have here," Jiraiya remarked with a teasing grin.
Yahiko shook his head. "That's why I was chosen as the leader of the group. I'm the only one who can handle these clowns since Konan and Nagato want nothing to do with babysitting."
Jiraiya burst out laughing loudly and ruffled his student's hair with energy. "I don't think that's the only reason why you were elected."
After all, even as a child, he had been fascinated by Yahiko's determination, his ambition, and the goodness of his heart. Jiraiya didn't take just anyone as a disciple, and this trio immediately convinced him to take them under his wing after their first meeting, nine years ago.
He was so proud to see what they had become and so happy to see them alive. He couldn't imagine what would have become of them if he hadn't arrived in time.
And when he thought of how hazardous his comeback had been…
He shuddered.
After Kakashi had told him of his doubts regarding Danzo, and revealed his latest discoveries about him, Jiraiya had made the decision to find out more about the movements of the old advisor and his organization. Although inwardly he had always distrusted him, Jiraiya had always preferred to let Sarutobi-sensei handle him so that he could focus on the external affairs of the village.
However, if Danzo was really a danger – if he had anything to do with Minato's death –, he preferred to keep his eyes wide open as well. Not that he didn't trust the Hokage, but... As the Orochimaru case had demonstrated, Sarutobi-sensei tended to be far too much in denial when those closest to him were involved, and a part of Jiraiya that he preferred to ignore told him that if the old councilor was out of line as well, there was little chance of the Sandaime taking any real action until the village was put in danger.
This led him to question what the village actually meant to him. After all, if he let his young and talented leader die, wasn't he indirectly causing the loss of the village itself?
He was well aware that these were serious accusations; however, if even Kakashi and Shikaku decided to take action on the sly, then the warning signs must have been significant.
So when one of his informants reported the deployment of a large Konoha Special Forces Team, Jiraiya decided that a short trip to Ame was in order. Normally, he would have simply jotted the information down in a corner of his head; however, his current mindset made him wonder more than usual.
Sarutobi-sensei very rarely sent more than five ninjas – five ANBU, no less – on a single mission. And if there was a big enough deal going on that a small army was sent to another village, he should have been made aware of it somehow.
Besides, it was his job to stay informed of Konoha's activities.
How surprised had he been when, upon his arrival in Ame, he discovered that the ANBU army was there to partake in a civil war that had nothing to do with Konoha? Which also consisted of murdering his students?
Hohoho. They would remember why no one pissed off Jiraiya the Gallant.
At least, the survivors would.
Never again. Never would he be late to save one of his students ever again.
As he watched Yahiko's little band bicker, he thought back to the aftermath of his fight against the Konoha ANBUs.
It turned out that they were ROOT members. Sent by Danzo.
Did Sarutobi-sensei truly agree to this mission, or was Danzo acting behind his back? And should he find out about it, would the Hokage really take action? Jiraiya wasn't sure.
He hadn't set foot in Konoha for years now – since Orochimaru's betrayal. But now, he couldn't continue to manage external affairs knowing that a time bomb was lurking within the village, in its most influential roots.
He would have to return to Konoha.
And above all, he needed to have a serious conversation about all the discoveries he had made as of late.
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"Shisui! What brings you here?"
At Uchiha Miyo's call, Shisui raised his hand in greeting, displaying a basket he had brought with him from his mother along the way.
"Your snack!"
He immediately saw his cousin's face light up. "You know I love your mama?"
That elicited a laugh from him. "Funny you'd say that, the love she gets from you always seems proportional to my visits."
Miyo tapped his shoulder with a chuckle, before giving way to him into the police station. It was common for clan members to bring food to the police officers, given they often worked overtime and didn't go back home until late, and Shisui's mother was one of the most usual providers.
Although he would also participate at times, Shisui had not helped her that day despite the fact that he had nothing else to do but to train. The day before, he had had a food-tasting contest with Anko, and he was deeply regretting it at the moment. Just smelling the aroma of food was enough to make him cringe. He was still delivering the snacks, like the good soul that he was, but his vision was blurred because of his nausea.
Never again would he follow Anko in her nonsense.
Never again would he speak to Genma. Ever again.
Kakashi-senpai had a free pass, but he wasn't as annoying as the other two oddballs anyway.
When he entered the police station, he went to the lounge where the policemen were resting to drop off his basket; they knew where to help themselves after all. There, he saw a few policemen who must have been taking a break, slumped on couches. However, their attention was focused on an atypical group.
Indeed, Fugaku-sama was there too, despite his reluctance to stop working usually, as the hard-core workaholic that he was. Plus, he was accompanied by three children, one of whom had a head of tousled blond hair recognizable among thousands.
With his curiosity getting the better of him, he approached his clansmen, who would hopefully be able to provide him with more information. He hoped that these children had not had any serious problems that would require their presence in a police station.
Miyako was the first to notice his presence, and she raised a hand in his direction with a smile. "Hi Shisui," she whispered.
Reflexively, he also replied in a low voice. "I brought you some cakes," he informed them before settling in with the group. "What's going on? Are the kids in any trouble?"
Yakumi only laughed at his question before turning his attention back to Fugaku-sama. It was Tekka who answered him, he who was the calmest of the lot, motioning for him to be quiet before pointing at the other group. "A lecture for the academy."
Shisui raised his eyebrows, startled at the very least. This was the first time he'd heard of such an activity. Well, one that involved the Uchiha Police, that was.
To his surprise, he quickly realized that it wasn't Fugaku-sama who was interrogating them, but that he was the one receiving the interrogation.
The Police Chief was sitting on an armchair in front of the trio, his arms crossed. All the kids – three little girls, one of them being Uzumaki Naruto; so he figured that they were all Sasuke's age – were surrounding him, seated on sofas. Naruto had her legs crossed in butterfly pose and was eating an onigiri comfortably, most likely from the box placed on the coffee table behind her; she seemed to be listening to Fugaku-sama's talk as she ate with gusto. The other blonde girl held herself highly, her arms and legs crossed... in a way that mimicked the Uchiha Clan Head somehow...? As for the last one, she had pink hair and was writing diligently every word that was exchanged in her notebook.
"Do you get to work outside of the village too?" the little pink-haired girl inquired as she readied herself to write down his answer.
Fugaku-sama replied in his usual impassive voice, yet carefully and thoughtfully answering the interview. "Very rarely. And even so, that would be joint missions with other ninjas of the village." He seemed to try to simplify his answers, which made sense. Otherwise, he'd have to talk about politics and that could quickly get complicated.
As much as Shisui was quick-minded, he hated politics.
The vision of the serious group broke when Naruto turned round and got up on her sofa to grab another onigiri from behind her. She sat back down as if nothing had happened and bit into the rice ball, refocusing on her friends' questions.
Shisui heard a snicker beside him, and he guessed easily that the others were as amused as he was. When he had decided to come to drop his mother's goods at the station, he had been far from imagining the view that was before his eyes at the moment.
Now that he thought about it, it was such a rare occurrence to have outsiders come in for another reason than a criminal affair. Being able to see the Clan Head interacting with non-Uchiha children in such an innocent setting... That was refreshing.
"Are you allowed to use your clan techniques on the villagers?" the other blonde girl asked.
Shisui's heart squeezed at the question.
Ah, there it was. The familiar feeling of uneasiness whenever the matter of his clan and the rest of the village was involved.
It was true that people reacted badly whenever they activated the sharingan on civilians, but technically, it was the job of the police, so...
"My dad told me I can't use our clan's techniques on anyone in the village," the kid added with a wave of her hand, as if to emphasize the facts; "because we're supposed to protect them and civilians can't fight back. And ninjas aren't supposed to show off their skills and should be working together in tandem and all that."
A clan kid, then.
Yeah, it was actually a rule that was also taught within the Uchiha Clan, as soon as they started to learn the use of weapons and of any kind of jutsus, even before they entered the Academy.
That being said, the context was completely different when it came to policemen.
Fugaku-sama moved his head in acknowledgment, showing that he saw the problem she was underlining. "The job of the police is to regulate the misdeeds of the villagers and intervene when there is a problem within the village itself."
Yeah. Exactly.
"Of course, we cannot use our clan techniques for the purpose of simply showing ourselves as superior. However, we can use them to apprehend wrongdoers, as we would with any other weapon."
There! Precisely!
"As far as civilians are concerned, our forces are obviously adapted to simply apprehend them, without there being any abuse of power. All police officers undergo strict training to know how to handle their missions in a fair way."
Calmness flooded Shisui's heart as he felt his shoulders slump and the weight of pressure leave his body. It was nice to hear these reminders. Fugaku-sama should be giving this kind of speech to the rest of the village to remind them of the Uchihas' actual role.
"And it's obvious that an Uchiha who is not a policeman is subjected to the same rules as the rest of the villagers."
The pink-haired girl took notes vigorously as Naruto let out an 'Ohhhhh!' of understanding.
"That makes sense!" the blonde girl who had asked the question nodded in agreement. "Thank you!"
Beside him, the policemen who were also eavesdropping on the conversation shared proud looks. They must have felt the same way as him. And to see children be so captivated and amazed by the Uchihas' job was rather pleasant.
"How d'you punish the bad people?" Naruto asked as she leaned towards the Uchiha Chief.
Fugaku-sama looked up, in deep thought. "It depends. Some can be thrown in jail, and depending on their crimes and their situation, it can last a few hours to a few weeks. Community service may be required, and they may be restricted in their movements for a certain period of time depending on what they have done."
"Oh! Work like writing the code of criminals?"
Shisui blinked. What was that?
He noticed that Fugaku-sama stayed silent a few seconds too long. He was either uncomfortable or amused by the question, and was working on himself to keep his poker face perfectly on.
"The criminal code, Naruto. And yes, absolutely. Some recurring criminals should learn the law and are told to write the criminal code until they memorize it, so that they can know what they are not allowed to do and stop exercising their crimes."
...
What the-
What.
It was the first time he heard of this rule.
Since when was that a thing?
When he looked back at his clansmen, Miyako had her head buried in a pillow, her shoulders shaking heavily. Tekka had closed his eyes and was biting his lips, while Yakumi had buried his head in his hands and turned his back to everyone. They were all laughing silently- and he was apparently the only one who didn't get what was going on?
"Uhh, care to explain? I'm kinda lost?"
Both Miyako and Yakumi lost control, the former by bursting into a high-pitched scream against the pillow, while the latter erupted in laughter into his hands before leaning forward in the hope of stopping quickly. As for Tekka, he ran his hand over his face to calm himself down, before opening his eyes and turning to Shisui, his eyes laughing and a smirk adorning his lips.
"Naruto, the blonde girl who asked that question- she is the 'recurring criminal' who's supposed to learn the law by writing the criminal code. And by learning how to write kanjis, while she's at it."
Miyako lifted her head from the pillow, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling. "Right. Just know that this kid spends more time here than you do. Every time she gets into trouble - since she used to be quite the troublemaker -, she'd end up spending the day in Fugaku-sama's office and writing the criminal code. At first, he made her do that to keep her busy, until he realized that she didn't know how to write, and it eventually became a How-To-Write-Kanjis session."
Wow.
For real?
That was unexpected.
This little bit of information made Shisui view his clan head in a whole new light.
That was so sweet of him!?
Should Sasuke ever find out that Naruto knew the way to spend quality time with the clan head, he'd become the worst troublemaker the village and the Uchiha Clan would have ever seen since the foundation of the nations.
He could never, ever hear about this.
... Or could he?
Shisui turned back his attention to the band, by making himself more comfortable on the couch, his arm laid on the back, and his head buried in his hand.
The girls continued to ask questions, which he himself had never taken the time to think about sometimes, and his leader always answered them with calmness and pedagogy.
Upon closer observation, Fugaku-sama must have been enjoying this brief moment. Answering the innocent and curious questions of the children of the village must have been refreshing for him as well.
A smile spread across Shisui's face. In the end, his mother had been right to force him out of his house.
There was no better way to regain his energy.
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To be continued
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Just to make something clear, there won't be unnecessary drama between the girls.
A few people asked me about the future teams, because apparently, the Naru-Ino-Saku is rather popular. I'm just going to say that the genin teams have been decided and that I have plans for all of the girls :) I've also been asked about Hinata and Sasuke and their soulmates. I've made some decisions for them as of now, but I keep changing my mind and it might still change again. They won't have an important role right now though; it might happen in the future but I'm still not sure. I have control over nothing 〒▽〒.
Oh, and btw, Miyako is an OC (because I wanted a female Uchiha in the police), and both Tekka and Yakumi are canon characters.
Thank you for reading, and for your kinds words, and for your support. I love youuuu, take care! ❤️