The wave of noise that washes over you as you enter the classroom is almost enough to make you turn around and leave. You sigh tiredly and move towards your seat, pausing when you notice Shin frowning at you beside a dozing Shikamaru.
You know you have to explain what happened yesterday, but you're not looking forward to it. How can you explain it to them without sounding like you're lying or pathetic?
"Good morning," you say uncomfortably as you stop in front of their desk.
"Good morning," Shin replies, his eyes fixed on you.
"I'm sorry for yesterday, I can explain," you say, fumbling for the right words.
"No need," he replies.
"But..." you try to get out, but Shikamaru interrupts you.
"Shin made us spy on you yesterday, so we know what happened," he mutters, his eyes still closed.
"Ohh..." you flush with a mix of confusion and embarrassment, "You saw that?"
"You need to be more observant if you want to become a ninja," Shin teases.
"Yeah," Shikamaru agrees, finally opening his eyes and giving you a lazy look. "Even your tutor looked right at us."
"I was kind of busy," you start defensively, embarrassed, not even realising the rest of the room has fallen silent until you're interrupted.
"Sota, please sit down so we can start class," Iruka-sensei says.
"Oh, I'm sorry," you say, quickly bowing down and running to your seat.
"You don't need to bow," Iruka mutters, barely audible over the laughter of your classmates.
You sink into your seat and try your best to be invisible. At least the day can't get any worse.
-x-
"We didn't find your hairclip, but, look, we found this weird key," Shin holds up the piece of metal.
You glance at it as you rush through your lunch.
"There is something engraved on it, but it is not a clan symbol I can recognize," Shin adds, lowering it again to frown at it in his palm. "I wonder where it leads, maybe we can investigate one day. Oh, and we found four 100 ryo coins, but you can't have any, since you didn't help."
"Shin is just teasing you, we thought we could buy some candy with it," Shikamaru says. You might be a bit unobservant, but even you can tell Shin isn't serious when he's grinning like that.
"We know you didn't mean to ditch us yesterday. Anyway, how about BBQ after school today?" Shin asks. "Ino and Choji are busy today so you don't have to worry about them."
"I wish I could, but my tutor is keeping me after school every day now," you respond.
"Your tutor is becoming a real drag," Shikamaru complains.
"I feel I've not seen the worst of him yet and I'm already tired of him."
"Why don't you just avoid him?" Shin suggests, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
"I thought you said you were spying on me yesterday," you reply, "Since you're so observant, you must have noticed I'm not exactly a match for him."
"That's because he had the advantage from the start," Shin says. "Just hide from him the entire day and he'll grow tired of looking for you. When Dad got someone from my clan to tutor me, he got quite mad when I snuck away to play with Shikamaru and Choji. He made me apologise if I wanted to continue, and made it clear to me that he was only offering me another chance because Inoichi is my father. Since your tutor has no connection to you, he will probably not even give you a second chance if you make it too troublesome for him."
"So… I should play hide and seek with him?"
"Exactly." Shin grins again, "If you want, I can create a distraction for Iruka-sensei while you escape out the window."
That doesn't sound like such a bad idea. If you don't meet with Ichirou in the first place, he won't be able to find you, and he won't be able to make you stay late. As a bonus, he might actually stop teaching you, and solve your tutor problem for good.
"I'm ready."
Shin's grin widens and he immediately stands up, heading to the front of the room. As he goes up to Iruka, you duck between the desks and push the already open window far enough that you can fit through, climb out, and escape.
-x-
'This was a terrible idea,' you think as you dart through the narrow streets of the village, trying to shake off the relentless pursuit of your tutor. Your mind races as you search for a place to hide. Just when you think all hope is lost, you spot a large crate leaning against a wall. You dart behind it, pressing your back against the rough wood as you try to catch your breath.
For a moment, you think you might have lost him, but then you hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Your heart pounds in your chest and you hold your breath, listening for any indication that he might have spotted you. Suddenly, you feel a sharp prod on your shoulder.
"You need to work harder to hide from me," Ichirou says, a hint of amusement in his voice. "And it doesn't help to hold your breath when your rumbling stomach gives you away."
You sigh in frustration. "At least I managed to hide for a while."
It starts with a chuckle, but he can't hold in his loud laughter. "I've been tracking you the entire time, just waiting for you to come to your senses. We'll start our next lesson after I've eaten, I've gotten quite hungry following you around the village."
"I'm hungry too, so I don't mind a break."
"You'll start with your warm-up," Ichirou says sternly, "You've wasted enough time today. You can eat when you go home."
-x-
It's much darker than usual when Ichirou finally ends his gruelling training session, and without the threat of being smacked by a wooden sword, your body is not willing to move very fast. With Hanako gone, you can't even sit down for spring rolls and nothing else really tempt you.
"Sota, is everything okay?" You turn around and see Itachi, geared up in his ANBU uniform minus the mask.
"I'm just tired and hungry," you mumble in reply.
"You shouldn't be out this late," Itachi scolds, "Sasuke went to bed hours ago." He pauses, dark eyes scanning you sharply. "You seem to be falling asleep, too. I'm going the same way, so I can carry you if you want?" He offers.
You stare at him blankly. Itachi, being pleasant? Is this who he really is when Sasuke isn't waiting for him? He's still looking at you, waiting for a response, and you finally nod, stepping toward him.
"Be careful with the sword," he warns as you climb on his back.
He leans a bit forward and holds your legs so you don't fall off. "Sasuke tells me that you're not taking part in his ninja classes anymore."
"We're not friends, so not sure why he cares."
He lets out a small chuckle. "He's just annoyed that he doesn't get more chances to try to beat you."
"My class isn't really challenging, so I've been given a tutor."
"It was the same with me, I learned everything before I started the academy. Father didn't want me to show weakness by having to learn something at school."
You let out a big yawn.
"So who is teaching you?" He asks.
"Ichirou," you mumble sleepily.
"I know an Ichirou," Itachi says slowly, "Sota… is there something peculiar about him?"
"He only has one arm. Doesn't make him any less of a ninja, though, and he pushes me quite hard." You struggle to think through your exhaustion. "Is there something about him I should know?"
"No… So you're staying up late every night?"
"No. I tried to run away from him, so he extended our lesson. I want to do more than just practice, but he doesn't leave me room to do anything afterwards but to eat and do my homework before I need to go to bed."
"Oh," he mutters. "At least you've got a day off from school tomorrow."
"What do you mean?" you ask.
"Sasuke told me that your teachers are going to be busy with first aid training tomorrow. We're going to the library instead."
Why hadn't you thought about that before? This was a ninja village, so of course you'd find a lot of useful stuff at a library.
"Do they have books about ninja training there?"
"I'm not sure what they have available that's useful for you, but just ask the librarian and they will help you out. "
This is promising, it might be a bit slower to learn on your own but you don't have to deal with any annoying tutors.
"Where is it?" You ask, your voice getting a bit more slurred.
"I could… no he wouldn't be happy if I brought you with us, but I'll draw you a map."
Before you can thank him, you're already falling asleep on his back. You can easily come to like this much nicer Itachi.
-x-
As you follow the map that Itachi left on your table the previous night, you find yourself approaching the library. It's a lot bigger and more impressive than you had imagined.
Heading inside, you see a teenage girl, presumably the librarian, sitting behind the desk near the door, reading a book. You walk up to the counter and greet her. "Hi, could you help me find a book?"
"Oh…" she mutters, turning her head around before leaning over the table. "Oh, there you are. Yes of course, what do you need?"
"I want to learn sealing and wonder if you've got any books on that?"
"I'm sorry, we don't have those kinds of books here." She smiles down at you, "Why don't I help you find some picture books, instead? Wouldn't that be more fun?"
You feel a familiar anger bubbling up at the tone of her voice, but before you can snap a reply, you hear the familiar sound of a cane tapping the floor to your right. You turn to see Danzo, with his usual stern expression, approaching the counter.
"I'm here for the book I ordered," he tells her.
"Oh, yes, Shimura-san," she says, sorting through one of the desk drawers for a moment. She hands him a book wrapped in paper.
"You're not a ninja?" He asks.
"Oh yes, I became a chuunin not long ago," she replied with a smile. "You have to be a chuunin to work here; I thought you knew that?"
"Then you should know not to underestimate someone based on their age."
"I'm pretty sure I can take him on," she laughs.
"Would you bet your life on it?" Danzo asks, causing her confident smile to falter.
"Ehh…" She looks around and picks up a small stack of books. "I'm sorry, I need to sort these now, have a good day." She gives him a short bow before disappearing among the bookshelves.
"I need to go now, too," you say, quickly turning away.
He puts his hand on your head and holds you in place. "I thought you wanted to learn the art of sealing?"
"Yeah, but no one wants to teach me. They all just tell me that I'm too young, and you sent away the one person who was willing to help me out," you glare at him.
"I can help you," he offers.
"I don't want your help. I can find someone else…" you say and try to pull away.
"Who, that fool Yasu?"
"Yeah, maybe. He wants me in his class, so I might be able to use that…"
"Come with me," Danzo says firmly. "Let us not disturb people more than we've already done."
You look uncertainly at the entrance door. Going with him is a terrible idea.
"It's impolite to look away when someone is talking to you. Come," he says and drags you along further into the library and a side corridor before stopping at a wooden door.
He pauses, and you look at the intricate seals drawn on the door with curiosity. Then Danzo's fingers blur with seals too fast for you to see, the seals on the door light up for a brief moment, and he opens it like any other door.
Inside you see a small, sparsely decorated office. The largest single tatami mat you've seen covers nearly the entire floor.
"Sit down," he says and goes to the shelf and picks out a paper bag that looks like the bag of tea he bought the last time you saw him. He fills a pot of water and puts it on a stove plate and then just waits, watching the pot.
As you sit down, you notice something poking out where the mat meets the wall. You reach down to touch it, and Danzo's cane suddenly slams to the floor. You look up quickly, pulling your hand back.
"Leave that alone," he says, his tone composed. From what little you could see, you're pretty sure it's a strap for a trap door. Why be so secretive about it? He's exactly the man who anyone would expect to have a secret tunnel under his office.
You sit back in your chair, and Danzo turns back to his tea. Looking around the office more, you notice there are seals everywhere, even on the paper packaging on the books he just received.
Eventually, the teapot whistles with steam, and Danzo prepares his drink before sitting down with you.
You both sit in silence for a minute or two while Danzo's tea steeps. It feels weird, and you're itching to break the silence. Finally, you start with an awkward, "So…"
"You won't find anyone else who will teach you sealing. It requires both a license and permission to teach a student. The permission to teach an academy student can only be granted by me or the Hokage." He takes a sip of his tea, "You should be happy I didn't let that troublemaker teach you; she could have gotten you killed."
Now that you think about it, maybe it was a bit irresponsible of Hanako to offer to teach you when everyone else considered it dangerous. But with all his other lies, you can't trust Danzo, either.
"I don't trust you. That hairclip you took, I wore it for a year, and you only now accused me of stealing it and took it away. You said a tutor would help me improve, but he keeps me later and later and doesn't let me see my friends. Hanako told me I've been avoiding you for some reason; I don't remember why, but maybe it's because of all the lies."
Danzo took another long sip of his tea, studying me with his cold eye. "So, you want the truth?"
You nod. You know you can't take anything he tells you at face value, but if he's willing to tell you about yourself, about your past, you're willing to listen. Maybe there will be some truth in it.
"You're right, Sota. I lied about you stealing that hairclip as I needed a way to justify getting it from you. I believe you intended to assassinate someone with it and I took a risk to reveal who is giving you orders and who you intended to kill."
"So you would just let me kill someone for your own curiosity? And why do you talk like I'm some kind of assassin?" you ask.
"Patience, boy, I had already taken a small portion of the poison from the needle to create an antidote, and the amount inside would give me plenty of time to save your target. But after your head injury and memory loss, anyone could fall victim to it, including other children, who would be harder to save. The one thing you didn't forget was how to injure your own classmates."
You shift uncomfortably in your chair as you remember how you hurt Shikamaru. "Not on purpose," you mutter.
"Which only makes the problem worse," Danzo says. He continues before you can respond, "As for your tutor, he knows what he's doing and my only instructions to him were to not insult your talents by going easy on you, and make you prepared for the real world. I never promised you time to make friends, so that's irrelevant. According to his reports, you have been progressing at a good rate–it would take a year of training at the Academy for you to come as far as you have in only a few weeks. Would you prefer that I have a more active role in your training?"
"No, but-"
"As for what Hanako told you; yes, we have got a history. Is that enough for you?"
"No!" You feel frustration bubbling up inside of you, your fingers curl into fists. Finally, someone can tell you about your past and he's still dodging your question. "Nothing makes any sense and you haven't answered anything! Why would I want to assassinate someone? How did you know my hair clip was a weapon if it's not used by ANBU? Why did I avoid you? Why am I living inside a secret ANBU compound?"
"I can explain everything, but if I do, you must promise not to discuss it with anyone. Some of the events in your past are considered to be classified and are not to be spoken of in public or to unauthorised individuals. Is that clear?"
You nod. "I won't tell anyone." It will be harder to check if he is telling the truth or not, but he won't tell you anything if you don't agree so it's not like you've got a choice.
"Good, then I will start from the beginning." Danzo leans back in his chair, quiet for a moment as though deciding where to start. "I first met you at an orphanage near the northern border. We'd received a request for assistance with a child the staff was not able to handle, a troublemaker who was violent and appeared to have had some ninja training. I was interested in seeing whether you might be an asset to the village, and led the team sent north."
"The staff had been keeping you locked in a room to prevent you from harming the other children at the orphanage. My first impression of you was not good as you were small and dirty, and you refused to speak when I asked you questions. You glared at me as if you wanted to kill me, a habit that you still have, it seems. I decided that you were not worth the trouble it would be to civilise you." Danzo pauses to drink from his teacup.
"What made you change your mind?" You ask.
"It's rude to interrupt, Uzumaki," the man chastises. "When I turned to leave, you jumped on my back and leapt past me out the door only for Yamanaka-san to catch you. Even though you were outmatched, you didn't stop resisting until you were sedated.
"That you were able to surprise me, even with my guard down, along with being fearless in a situation where most children would be unable to act, indicated that you weren't so uncivilised, after all. You had potential. Yamanaka-san didn't seem to notice, but you seemed to be grabbing for your hairpin. I investigated it on the trip back. That's how I learned it contained poison, which raised more questions."
"Where did I get it from?" You ask.
"Yes," Danzo agrees, "Who gave it to you, and for what purpose? While you did seem to try to use it against Yamanaka-san, it didn't seem like we were your primary targets, or else you would have attacked me first. No, that seemed more like desperation. This only leaves one explanation: you were trained and sent to Konoha to take out another target. However, it seemed like you were improperly prepared to interact with other people and panicked."
You frown. Danzo's story links a lot of things together. Someone must have trained you before you came to Konoha, and they must have warned you against Danzo which explained why you had avoided and feared him. It explained why your instincts were so aggressive. But it only leaves you with more questions, and it was ridiculous to think that Konoha would have just treated you like a normal child and enrolled you in the academy.
"If you think I'm a trained assassin, why do you let me run around free in the village? Why would Inoichi let me hang out with Shin if he knows that I might be dangerous?"
Danzo smacks your head with his cane before you can react, "How many times do I have to remind you not to interrupt? I'm the only one who knows. As I told you, I saw great potential in you and you haven't disappointed me much the last year. If I were to let it out that you were a foreign agent, you'd never be allowed to become a ninja and in the worst-case scenario would be swiftly dealt with by some of our more hardened ANBU. But under the guise of your violent tendencies, it wasn't hard to put you in the care of ANBU; they don't ask questions and your continued harm to your classmates keeps on justifying the decision. And that's not the only way I've kept an eye on you."
You silently absorb everything Danzo has told you. As much as you hate to admit it, it makes sense. It explains why Shin described you as coming out of nowhere and why you were so much better trained than your classmates. But, like his first story, just because he's able to explain away everything doesn't mean it is the only explanation.
"No, I don't believe you. It's been a year and I've not yet tried to kill anyone, and you've no other evidence against me than the hairpin. There could be another explanation for it."
"What other explanation would there be other than the obvious? Why would anyone give you a weapon like that if not for you to use it?" he asks.
You shouldn't need to propose an alternative, he should show you some real evidence. But maybe… that would also explain your abilities.
"My parents must have given it to me. I've far more chakra and stamina than any of my classmates besides Naruto, so I must have had ninja parents, pretty strong ones too. The hairclip might have been given to me by them with the poison still in it. Maybe they trained me and I acted like I did because I had just lost them."
"You propose the hairclip is an heirloom?" He asks.
"Yes."
"Perhaps, but there is more conclusive evidence that you were sent here to harm Konoha," Danzo says and stands up to walk to one of the filing cabinets in the room.
You look at him in anticipation as he searches through a drawer. This isn't the answer you expected.
Finally, he closes the drawer and turns back to you.
"Recognize this?" Danzo asks and hands you a small piece of paper.
You take it and start to read.
Tree, Tobirama, Bridge, War
Sacrifice, Hero, Spark, Ninja
Fire, Kinkaku, Gold, Konoha
"Umm… it's just random words. Didn't you tell me that you were going to show me evidence? It looks like my handwriting, but that's it."
"It's a book-cipher. It's not commonly used as it is quite inflexible, but it is easy to teach and lets even small children like you send coded messages about fixed subjects. It follows a standard pattern of three lines with four words on each. The exact cipher differs, but the idea is to disguise codewords using an ordinary book you have on hand so it becomes almost impossible to decode without the proper key. If you were to look through your academy history book, I'm sure you would find all those words in the section about the first great war."
Danzo took the paper back from you and returned to the filing cabinet, "My agents managed to catch you hiding the message, but despite leaving it alone for a while, we failed to find your accomplice. With just a single message it is impossible to know exactly what you were reporting, but you were seen paying a lot more attention to the ANBU agents around you before your memory loss than now. Is that good enough evidence for you?"
This was one thing Danzo couldn't make up. While he could copy your handwriting, it seems unlikely that he would have prepared it just in case you were to pester him with questions.
"Yes, but just because you can show that I'm a spy doesn't mean that I'm an assassin."
"It's the most natural conclusion, for more reasons than I can tell you, but you are right. It is compelling evidence, but not absolute proof. Now that I've told you everything, what will you do?" Danzo asks.
"What do you mean?" You ask.
"What will you do to make up for your treachery? Assassin or not, espionage is still a serious charge."
"I don't know, I don't remember any of this."
Danzo smiles, "That doesn't absolve you from your crimes. I suggest that you agree to my offer of further training. Repent by becoming a capable shinobi of Konoha, and the best way you can do that is to become proficient in sealing as it allows you to make up for your small size."
"I don't want to hurt anyone, anymore," you say, "I've put a lot of thought into this. I want to become a medic-nin so I can help people instead."
Danzo snorts, "With your chakra reserves? The most you can hope to accomplish as a medic is being able to perform quite painful amputations. If you truly want to avoid hurting people, you will need a reputation that fights for you, you need to make others fear you."
It's a funny enough idea that you smile, "No one would be afraid of me, I'm too small, you even said so yourself, and you saw how the librarian dismissed me."
"There are only a few ninja I would flee from, and one of them could be mistaken for an academy student," Danzo says. He sets his teacup aside and stands abruptly, tossing his cane into the air. His fingers blur through a series of seals and he disappears in a puff of smoke, all before the cane falls.
As the smoke clears, a small hand snatches out to catch the cane with ease and you stare to see a carbon copy of you, down to the clothes that you're wearing, holding Danzo's cane, with a blank expression on your–his–face.
"What are you doing?" You ask with worry, scrambling to your own feet.
He pulls a blade from the cane, discarding the rest on the floor. His eyes narrow and he slashes toward you, the blade a blur.
You step back just in time to avoid being sliced, but you can feel the wind from the blade cutting through the air, and you know the cut would have been quite bad if you were just a second slower. Danzo doesn't give time to rest or reflect, he slashes at you again and again as you dodge and duck, each strike faster than the last.
Your back hits the wall, but Danzo's sword suddenly stops, the blade resting lightly on your neck.
"What's the matter?" He asks, his voice not quite intimidating with its high-pitched, childish tone, "Didn't you just tell me that no one would be afraid of you?"
You start to laugh at the ridiculous sound of your own voice and the rush of adrenalin, but you quickly stop as his eyes narrow in a glare. You avert your eyes to avoid the glare, there is something really uncomfortable about it on your innocent face.
"Answer," Danzo presses. "Are you telling me that you're not scared at the moment?"
"I guess I can be scary," you say, mindful of the blade at your neck.
After a long moment, Danzo draws his blade back. He lets your form drop and picks up the sheath portion of his cane. "You have a sword, start carrying it around so you can defend yourself. Yes, you are too small to be much of a threat yourself, but a sword is lethal even in your hands and it will do well for now."
You nod again, not quite trusting your voice as your heart is still hammering from the adrenalin and you don't feel like you can lower your guard just yet.
Danzo sheaths his sword and leans on the cane. "I ask one last time, will you take my offer of further training? I only overlook the rules for those who are loyal to me. If you're not interested, I will have to do my duty and hand over all the evidence I've collected to the Hokage. While your acts may be forgiven due to the circumstances and your young age, they won't be forgotten."
There was a small risk that you would still get punished, but trusting Danzo and taking his offer is also risky.
"It's bad enough now, I don't want another tutor to make my life hell. If you don't think I'll get punished, then I don't need your protection."
"The ANBU take good care of you, right?"
"Yes, they provide me with what I need and ensure that I'm always stocked with healthy food. Without them, I don't think I could handle Ichirou's tutoring at all."
"Do you think those ANBU will still help you if they learn that you might have spied on them? You will likely be evicted, and you will have to take care of yourself with the money provided to you. You won't get away from Ichirou, either, as the Hokage will most likely insist on continuing your tutelage in order to keep an eye on you and ensure that you grow up to be a loyal ninja. This is your last chance, Uzumaki. I want an answer now, will you take my offer?"
"Yes," you say before you can think about it. You are not prepared to take care of yourself, especially not in this body. Whatever Danzo throws at you can't be worse than what would happen if ANBU kicks you out.
"Wise choice," Danzo says and smiles.
"Why do you care so much about me becoming a proper ninja?"
"The peace we made after the last war is fragile and Konoha needs to show strength. The Chuunin exam is our main way of showing off our younger talent in peacetime, especially towards the Daimyo, who is responsible for diplomacy between the villages.
"What I want from you is to make the Fire Daimyo gain renewed confidence in our village and strike fear in the rest," he explains.
"Shouldn't you rather help Neji, then? He's a lot stronger and older than me."
"The Hyuuga boy you fought? I don't think you understand the situation properly. While I could without a doubt prepare him to win, it would take me a lot longer and by then no one would be impressed by a Hyuuga winning. No, your small size and young age are the point. Because if even our youngest ninja can beat their experienced genin, how strong must the rest of our force be? There is, of course, no correlation, but it is the impression the Daimyo will be left with and if you can not just win, but crush the opposition, then no one would think about war with Konoha for a while."
You look down at the floor. You really are screwed. The things Danzo is asking of you are impossible. You won't know who you would face this early, but you know how strong everyone was in the anime, and even if you're unlikely to meet any jinchuuriki like Gaara and Naruto, someone like Temari would be completely impossible too. With the luck of the draw, you could at most win a single fight against someone like Sakura, two if Kabuto is participating this early and gives up against you.
"As long as you do as I say, I won't fault you for failing. As much as I would like you to defeat the Tsuchikage's granddaughter in the next exam, it isn't enough time. I want you to graduate at the end of next year, but for that to be possible you need to improve your behaviour. Your teacher needs to agree that you have got the skills required and that you're suitable to become a ninja, and you also need a jounin-sensei who is willing to take you on. This means that from now on, you cannot continue to injure your classmates, so use the time you're with Ichirou to get your act together."
So that's about one and a half years to achieve the impossible. He will probably blame you for your failure no matter what, so his promise to not blame the loss on you isn't worth much. But this is insane. You basically need to be a jinchuuriki like Gaara to crush your opponents, both figuratively and literally.
You nod. "I won't hurt them anymore. I know what to expect now, so I should be able to resist going too far. But can't you pull some strings to help me out if something should happen?"
"No, I will not be able to get away with foul play here. If the Hokage thinks that your teacher is approving your graduation under duress, he will reject it. Do not take this lightly. If you start to become a bigger threat to the people around you, I will take steps to protect them from you. That should be everything, now go back to the academy, you won't convince your teacher that you're fit to be a ninja if you keep skipping classes."
"I have the day off as our teachers are busy with first-aid training. Umm… if the hair clip is an heirloom, do you think I could get it back? Without the poison of course."
"I don't have it here, but I'll make sure it gets back in your hands soon. You can take the day off from training today. I think that should be a suitable reward for your cooperation and I will talk with Ichirou about changing up your schedule. I should have a new tutor ready for you tomorrow. You'll meet with them after lunch, then Ichirou-san afterwards."
"Both on the same day?" You sigh, it is too much already.
"If you're going to reach the goals we agreed on, you need to work hard," Danzo says, meeting your gaze with a stern expression. "But I will shorten the sessions with Ichirou to compensate."
"I see," you mumble. Hopefully, things will get a bit better then. Whoever he finds can't be worse than Ichirou.
-x-
Back home, you pick up your sword and hold it up in the mirror. It kind of tingles in your hands. Seeing Danzo, as you, handle a sword like that kind of sparked something in you. He wasn't wrong. A sword is just as sharp in your hands as someone like Zabuza. While you might not be much of a threat unarmed, with a sword you would make people think twice about attacking you.
You've already seen signs that Danzo might be right. Shikamaru refused to fight you in the spar as he knew he had no chance and if Iruka had let him surrender, you would have won the fight without any violence.
If you had been an enemy ninja he would have just tried to flee if possible.
Not to mention what happened in Kumo where Danzo saved Neji's father with what sounds like intimidation alone.
But overwhelming opposition isn't making everyone reconsider, despite Zabuza's show of power, Team 7 didn't give up in Wave, they could have left the bridge builder to die and saved themselves but they decided to help despite the danger.
So this might not be as simple of a solution as Danzo claims.
Same with using this to avoid war, impressing the Daimyo might just cause them to give more missions to Konoha, which was what caused Suna to attack Konoha.
There is no way around having to hurt people eventually even after you manage to build a reputation, and when you do, you also risk people making it their life's goal to seek revenge on you.
It feels like an impossible choice, where every decision is packed with contradictions. Step wrong and people will hunt you down for one reason or another. You still have more than a year till you become a ninja so you don't have to make any real decisions yet. You'll just have to take one day at a time and do what Danzo tells you to do.