Chapter 10: The Elders' Fear (Incomplete/Part 1)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"Is…is it over?" Kori asked, noticing the surrounding ice beginning to melt away. She shifted her focus towards Sakura and Ino as they began applying healing ninjutsu onto Chikara. She looked at Aya for a moment before affectionately patting her head and smiled at her, earning a smile from the young girl when she placed her smaller hands over Kori's. After a brief pause, Kori removed her hand atop the younger girl's head and earned a slight pout in the process. Kori decided to kneel in front of Aya, her demeanor now serious: "I have to go help Chikara. Stay right here, okay?"
"Okay." Aya answered. Satisfied with the response, Kori rose to her feet to face her cousin, a determined look now on her face like Kori's.
"You ready?" Yuina asked, simply earning a nod. They both headed closer to the scene within a few seconds to assist with the healing ninjutsu. Upon their arrival, both Kori and Yuina felt a contemptuous stare aimed towards them by Ino while Sakura was more unfazed by their arrival which didn't stop her from continuing her efforts. Yuina for her part nearly retched at the sheer amount of Chikara's blood around a small yet noticeable area, the teen Tokubetsu jōnin comparing it to a mini bloodbath.
"Why are either of you here?" Ino asked angrily as she snapped at both Kori and Yuina, which managed to slightly break her concentration: "It's because of Yorukō over there that we nearly died! And neither of you raised a finger to help!"
"Ino, neither of them had anything to do with this. They both acted in Aya's best interest, which was to protect her at all costs." Sakura intervened to Kori's defense, not looking up at either kunoichi while she continued to heal Chikara: "Besides, with this amount of blood, we definitely could use the extra help."
"Fine." Ino relented after a pause, returning her focus on providing medical ninjutsu. Both Kori and Yuina shared a nod as they too knelt and began applying their healing jutsu onto the unconscious man. Soon after, Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai arrived at the scene. Given the prior situation, all three jōnin were considerably on edge, cautious at the idea of another attack sprouting despite Yorukō clearly being knocked unconscious a fair distance away. Kakashi walked closer towards Chikara first and gave an apologetic eye smile.
"He pushed himself too far." Kakashi shook his head and said, observing the girls' treatment of the man: "I never recalled someone within the Foundation protecting everyone like this."
"I never expected to see him use an ice jutsu." Asuma added: "It's weird that all this time in the leaf, I wouldn't have thought that someone possessed this ability."
"Lord Danzō rarely ever sent any of his men on missions unless absolutely necessary, making it even rarer to know who any of them are." Kakashi commented: "Honestly, we only just met Chikara – we wouldn't even know who he was had Danzō-sama not specifically requested for him in this mission." Asuma nodded in agreement.
"In any case, we'll have to report this back to Lady Tsunade." Kurenai commented as she turned her attention towards the unconscious Yorukō: "I personally don't hold anything against him, but if he's this way after losing control of his temper, then that can spell trouble for the village in the long run."
Kurenai's comment caused a tick to appear on Kori's forehead while she assisted in healing Chikara. She ceased her healing jutsu on Chikara, much to Yuina's confusion before she stood and faced the jōnin. Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi briefly looked at the Tokubetsu jōnin in confusion as she stood directly in front of the genjutsu mistress.
"Kori?" Yuina asked.
"What is she doing now?" Ino added.
"Honestly…" Sakura added with a sigh, still focused on Chikara.
"Is that what you see Yorukō-kun as? Someone who can't control his temper?" Kori asked the genjutsu mistress.
"With all due respect, Kori," Kurenai started: "Yorukō lost control during 'training'. How would you feel if you were in our shoes?" She made a sweeping motion towards Kakashi and Asuma using her left hand: "We have to take the village into heavy consideration."
"And Yorukō-kun isn't part of this village?" Kori asked, her anger rising.
"He is, but…" Kurenai started.
"But what? He's still an outsider to 'most of the village'?" Kori quipped.
"Where is this coming from?" Yuina thought to herself.
"He endangered our shinobi, Kori." Kurenai answered, pinching her forehead in slight frustration: "We can't ignore something like that."
"He hasn't done anything to us though!" Kori retaliated.
Now it was Asuma's turn to say something as he cleared his throat and pointed in Chikara's direction: "What do you call that, then? Were it not for Chikara, we'd all likely to be looking at certain death."
Kori briefly faltered in her resolve when she heard the ROOT ninja's name, her face full of conviction being cracked if ever so slightly. Asuma noticed and took this opportunity to press down on his point further: "I like Yorukō. We all do, believe it or not. However, we have to consider one shinobi versus an entire village. Ask yourself this: what if he loses control of his temper again and he retaliates while in the village? If this is what we can even somewhat expect when he's like that, then how many villagers do you think will run the risk of losing their lives before we can stop him?"
"I…" Kori barely managed to get out.
"I think that this conversation has dragged on long enough." Kakashi said, catching everyone's attention: "Like Asuma said, we all took a liking to Yorukō, but we're also under orders to detain and bring him back to the village for questioning."
"Under whose orders?" Now it was Yuina's turn to jump into the conversation.
"Lady Tsunade." Kurenai simply answered.
"You…can't be serious?" Kori asked.
"Let it go, Kori." Sayuri said as she appeared beside the group with an unconscious Yorukō over her shoulders: "Same for you, Yuina. We have orders, and we need to follow them."
"How can you be calm about this?" Yuina asked the reanimated woman.
"I never said I was taking this 'calmly', Yuina." Sayuri answered with a sigh: "However, let's survey the current situation. Yorukō, despite meaning well when we started, gave into his temper and rage, and subsequently endangered literally everyone. No offense to either you or Kori, but the chakra I faced when he 'transformed' nearly eclipsed mine. Were it not for his inexperience versus both my experience and Ghost Release, everyone here would have died."
"Not to mention, Chikara himself almost died protecting everyone." Kakashi chimed in, pointing at the still unconscious shinobi.
"I'm still lost on how he knows Ice Jutsu." Sayuri thought to herself, observing the teen herself: "Best to look more into that later."
Asuma cleared his throat, bringing attention to himself: "In any case, we'd still need to take both Yorukō and Chikara back to the hospital. We can worry about bringing Yorukō to Lady Tsunade after."
"I don't like this, but I guess we have no choice if even Sayuri-san agrees with them." Kori relented.
"I agree." Yuina added before pointing upwards at the hazy sky: "I'm somehow surprised our barrier withstood this fight."
"It didn't." Sayuri informed the teen: "It broke after Yorukō created that massive sword. What you see now is a mix between his chakra, Kori's, and yours. It should disappear completely within a few hours."
"Oh…" Yuina commented, slightly crestfallen.
"It was strong though. It contained most of our fight." The reanimated woman reassured, sensing the girl's shift in mood.
"Alright then, I'll go and retrieve Aya." Kori cut in.
"We'll bring Chikara with us." Sakura commented. Ino nodded in agreement. Both Sakura and Ino each placed his arm over their shoulders, successfully managing to keep him stable. Kori briefly gave Kurenai a hard glance before turning on her heel, her new focus being to escort the much younger girl with them to the village.
"Honestly, I have a bad feeling about this." Yuina told Sayuri in a hushed voice.
"I do too." Sayuri replied with her voice also hushed: "However, we just need to buy some time. If I do know my son, the last thing he'd want us to do is make a scene. We're still Leaf shinobi, and despite being stronger than most of the shinobi here, if we retaliate in any way, we'll get kicked out and run the risk of once again being hunted by the Frost Village."
"You may be right, Sayuri-san." Yuina said with a hesitant nod: "Best thing we can do now…is play along and see how this goes."
"Precisely." Sayuri concluded, her greyed eyes now focused on the journey ahead. Kori managed to bring Aya back to the group during their conversation which prompted everyone to begin leaving the badly damaged training field, their main purposes now concluded.
At Tsunade's Office…
"It seems that the effects are beginning to wear off, Lady Tsunade!" Shizune exclaimed as she looked outside the window to see the skies beginning to clear up.
Tsunade turned her head to confirm what Shizune said, the Sannin letting out a sigh of relief. However, she didn't get a moment further to relax as she heard a knock at her door. Composing herself, she gestured for them to come in when her face quickly scrunched into a frown as she realized who it was.
"Danzō, Homura, and Koharu." The Hokage started in a neutral tone: "I didn't expect to see you guys back so soon."
"We had to check on the state of affairs after…the obvious spike in chakra we just witnessed." Koharu began explaining: "Hopefully, there weren't any casualties."
"There shouldn't be." Tsunade answered: "They participated in their training activities outside of the village."
"'Shouldn't' isn't good enough, Tsunade-hime." Homura interjected, clearly displeased with the Hokage's answer, shaking his head in further disapproval: "Why weren't there any of our shinobi with them during this… 'training' so to speak?"
"Because they are Konoha shinobi, just like every other shinobi in this village." Tsunade answered as she turned to look at the Elder, a vein now showing on her head.
"Be that as it may, if this was 'training' for that family and they used that much chakra…" Danzō commented, the Hokage now turning to look at him: "…such chakra like that can harm the village at any given notice."
Before Tsunade could make a retort, another knock was made at the door which caught everyone's attention. The Elders remained affixed in their position in the office where they saw Shizune walk over to open the door, revealing a female ANBU member wearing a bear mask. The operative allowed herself in and gave a short bow towards Tsunade, Koharu, Homura, and Danzō. A few seconds passed before she raised her head to face her leader.
"Lady Tsunade, we have reports that the dispatched team are currently en route towards the village." Bear informed the Sannin.
"Good to know." Tsunade said, resting her head upon her palms: "Were there any casualties?"
Bear shook her head: "Negative, Lady Tsunade. However, we have learned that Chikara was critically wounded."
This caused an audible gasp from Shizune, Koharu, and Homura. Danzō for his part remained stoic in his expression but his evident annoyance briefly reared its head, managing to suppress it almost instantly. Tsunade took the information provided and briefly closed her eyes, pondering on what to say next.
"Is he dead?" Danzō asked, his cool voice concealing any possible emotion.
"No, Danzō-sama." Bear answered, turning to face her Elder: "He's been stabilized as far as I am aware, but he may need to be admitted to the hospital for further evaluation."
"Thank you, Bear." Tsunade said, catching the operative's attention. "Is there anything else to report?"
Bear nodded before pulling out a scroll, handing it to the Hokage: "The contents of what we learned are all in this scroll."
Tsunade nodded appreciatively as she took the scroll from the operative's hand: "Thank you. You may be dismissed."
"Roger-" Bear started before being cut off by Danzō.
"I think we can also hear the contents of this report, yes?" He asked.
"I don't think so." Tsunade answered: "You're an advisor; matters like this are for the Hokage to deal with."
"While you're right, this 'matter' as you put it is dealing with one of my shinobi, don't you think?" Danzō countered.
"In an organization that shouldn't be continuing any form of operations." The Hokage snapped back.
Everyone that was present in the room began to notice the growing tension between Tsunade and Danzō. Koharu and Homura glanced between both individuals for several seconds, waiting with bated breath to see who'd make the next comment. Tsunade glared daggers at the Elder with more veins popping out on her forehead, but Danzō remained unperturbed, not bothering enough to return any of the same animosity being shown towards him. Shizune, who was standing behind the Sannin, noted how she became more tense as the minutes raged on. Bear remained quiet at the situation she was the unwilling catalyst for, not wanting to draw the ire of Tsunade, or the discontentment of the Village Elders. Several seconds pass with no comment from either side before Tsunade cleared her throat and brought everyone's attention towards her.
"There are times when you, the Elders," She began, her eyes shifting between the three: "need to remember that I, the Hokage have the final say in things. These practices have been put in place since the times of my grandfather, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju." Tsunade turned to Bear and gave her a warm smile as she took a brief pause: "Therefore, Bear will no longer be needed for any further report. She has brought a rather thick scroll for me to read through, and if the concern of hearing the contents of the report is your primary concern, then we can discuss it AFTER I've read it. Understood?"
"Very well." Homura answered first with a nod, Koharu following suit. Danzō paused for another moment before nodding himself, although it became clearer that his calm demeanor began to wear off, his shoulders tensing ever so slightly. Nevertheless, he too waited on Tsunade's next move.
"You may be dismissed, Bear." Tsunade instructed the ANBU member. Bear nodded once more as she gave everyone in the room a swift bow before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Tsunade examined the scroll for a second as she proceeded to remove the string holding it in place and began scanning through its contents. A couple of seconds passed before her eyes widened, unable to conceal the gasp that escaped her lips, something Shizune, Koharu, Homura, and Danzō all picked up on.
"Well?" Koharu asked: "What did you see, hime?"
"Well…" Tsunade began.
As Tsunade began to explain the contents of the scroll delivered to her, Yorukō finds himself in his mindscape once more while his unconscious body is being transported alongside the others towards the hospital.
"Ah, I'm back here again." Yorukō said out loud, observing his new surroundings inside his own head. To him, Yorukō noted how his own headspace looks "bleak and depressing", the main setting being a singular pond and a small bench on an almost small patch of land. The "skies" inside his mind looked grey, neither sunny nor cloudy, a representation of his turmoil and burden he's taken on, even if some of it could be willingly brought on by himself.
"If this is what it looks like inside my head, then maybe I should be able to change it, right?" The teen asked himself. Closing his eyes, he imagined a more comfortable resting place beside the pond, while also adding a waterfall to match its size. When he opened his eyes, he saw how the pond water began to flow more consistently while now having an equally large waterfall atop a small cliff. The land beside the pond also increased in size, with a swing beside the now-larger bench. Satisfied, Yorukō laid on the bench and took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he reflected on the training he had with his mother and how much she held back against him in the grand scheme of things.
"It's funny, really." The teen said to himself: "I never knew I had that kind of power within myself, yet I still lost. What was that thing inside of me anyway? My 'hatred'? Is that what we're calling it now?"
As if on cue, Yorukō felt a foreign yet oddly familiar presence beginning to surface close by in the form of a face resembling Yorukō's own, the striking difference being its blood red eyes as opposed to his crystal blue ones.
"Say its name and it appears, eh?" Yorukō mused: "I thought you were subdued by my mother when she invaded my mind?"
"You cannot really subdue me, Yorukō-kun." It began with a dark chuckle: "After all, I'm you at the end of the day. However, your…our mother is rather…crafty. While she destroyed my 'body', she placed some form of seal on us which prevents me from even the idea of influencing you."
"When did she even have the time to do that?" Yorukō asked.
"Beats me." It replied with a sigh: "In any case, even if you lose your temper, it seems I won't be fueled by it or be able to 'influence' you." It let out a rather loud wail after this: "I won't get to take over for a while!"
"Isn't that a good thing?" Yorukō asked: "I get to keep my anger in check, and if I don't, then I won't flare up as badly as I've been up to this point."
Yorukō walked closer to his construct and cupped its face with both hands as he continued: "In any case, I should properly name you, so you feel some form of individuality."
"Why would you waste your time doing that?" it asked: "If I eventually take control or should you somehow find a way to kill your father, then my 'existence' comes to an end, no?"
"I don't plan succumbing to you, nor do I see myself killing Reiki anytime soon." Yorukō answered, removing his hands from its face: "Besides, you mentioned that the display of power I showed was a 'glimpse' into even greater power that I possess, correct? Why be rid of you if I can't control it?"
"Ah shit, he -" It thought to itself before being cut off by Yorukō with a devious grin on his face.
"-remembered, right?" he asked: "You're a construct that I subconsciously made, what makes you think I can't know what I'm thinking?"
"…fair enough." It answered, defeated.
"See, I don't want to always hold on to such hate towards people, even my own father." Yorukō said as he turned his back to the construct: "So, how about I try to work on my own problems and turn this hate of ours into nothing but pure power?"
"As much as I'd want to agree with this idiotic idea, I still want to control you and show the world our true potential. So, I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass." It answered.
Yorukō smiled for a moment: "I figured you'd say that."
"What are you talking about-GAH!" It began speaking before feeling a large crack forming on the forehead: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"You see, my 'hatred', I wasn't asking you to work together." Yorukō started as he turned around, now facing the damage he caused to the construct: "If I didn't care about anything other than to defeat my own father, part of me would be willing to actually entertain the idea of using my vengeful feelings against the world for what he's done."
"Then why not do it?!" it screamed: "Think of the possibilities! Who could stop us when we have a jutsu powerful enough to scar the planet's core?!"
"See, that's where you're wrong." Yorukō answered, placing his right index finger over its lips to shush it: "I have people I care about, people I love, people I owe debts to. Losing myself to my own linear, acute hatred would spit on their faces…and their graves."
"While a large part of me – which most likely played a large hand in creating you – really does want to kill my father, I'm no longer that concerned with losing myself to it. I learned that from the match I just had." Yorukō added.
The constructed face, while garnering further cracks, remained silent as it heard its creator continue.
"As I am now, I'll at least try to be better. Do better. Become a better person not only for myself, but for the people who love and care for me, and to honor a certain someone's wish." Yorukō said in finality when he removed his finger: "Come to think of it, I'll name you…Yuki."
"Like your cousin's clan?" The now-Yuki asked.
"We'll go with that for now." Yorukō said with a nod: "Whenever you feel ready to change that name, feel free to." By this point, before Yuki could say anything else, the face shattered into a million pieces of ice, leaving Yorukō alone.
"I need to tame this power of mine and make it stronger." Yorukō said, clenching both fists in slight anger: "Before I do something I completely regret."
Outside Yorukō's mind, we find ourselves back in the real world, Konoha Medical Center to be specific.
"…and that's how it is." Yuina concluded. Yorukō at this time began to stir around, his consciousness returning. The four women were so encapsulated in the conversation that none of them noticed him waking up, so he took the chance to act as if he was still asleep.
"So let me get this straight, what started as a training session between Sayuri and Yorukō turned into a death match because he lost himself to his own self-hate?" Tsunade asked, folding her arms.
Sayuri nodded. "While I wouldn't just call it self-hate, you're also right. It's…almost like he became a whole different person when we began talking about his father."
"I noticed his demeanor change when his father was brought up while we were coming back from our mission in the Sand Village." Kori added: "He was in a good mood while we were leaving, but at the mention of his name, he quickly tensed up and didn't want to entertain the conversation any longer."
"He calmed down after a long time, but even then…just his actions and body language suggested that no matter what we can do to help, I'm afraid that it just won't be enough." Yuina said, turning to look at her boyfriend's bed: "When his chakra spiked the way it did on the training grounds, it's not the amount that frightened me." She turned to walk towards his bed and placed a hand on his chest, a sad smile forming on her face as she continued: "It's what he looked like. He seemed…almost demonic. He didn't even look human."
"What did he look like?" Tsunade asked.
"Scary." Aya suddenly answered. To this point, despite being with the group, everyone had overseen Aya's presence when they began their conversation. Hearing the young girl, everyone turned around to face her which made her look away in embarrassment from their stares, wondering if she said anything wrong.
"I think that's the best word to describe it, Aya-chan." Sayuri said, looking towards the girl for a moment and made the group being their attention back to her: "In my time, both alive and dead, I've never seen chakra visualized like…how his was."
"Did I look that intimidating?" Yorukō asked himself.
"How did he look?" Tsunade asked Sayuri: "I understand that aside from Chikara, you were the closest to him during that ordeal."
"Well…" Sayuri started: "He had no pupils in his eyes for starters. Looking at him, you'd think he resembled a demon of sorts. He grew a horn of ice on the side of his head where I attacked him pretty hard but he ended up breaking it off for some reason or another." Sayuri was not looking at the group at this point of her recollection, her now thousand-yard stare fixed at a window, resembling a jaded veteran of war rather than a confident kunoichi. Despite being a reanimation and not needing to, the Tachibana 'heiress' took a breath before she continued: "His ice chakra covered him whole, then shattering and covered only the parts that had injuries from our fight. As more time passed, I saw cold smoke coming from the parts covered up – then it healed up. What remained was just…chakra."
"Wicked chakra at that." Yuina added, attention shifting towards her: "Scary is one word to use, but when you were there to witness it…I've never felt anything so malicious. It felt like whatever it was inside him possessed so much murderous intent that it can be felt from almost anywhere."
"In any case, there's another issue we may need to address." Tsunade said.
"What might that be?" Kori asked, already becoming tense at the Hokage's words.
Before Tsunade and anyone else could comment, Yorukō groaned. His sudden noise immediately shifted all attention towards his bed, Yuina being the first to run towards him as he 'began to stir'. In reality, since he's been conscious for some time as he wanted to find the perfect opportunity to be in the conversation. Sitting up, he nearly managed to fully complete his action when he felt a strong crash on his chest. Looking down, he saw Yuina's face buried deeply in his chest with the girl letting out a rather loud wail before looking around and seeing the concerned looks on everyone's faces. He was about to say something when he scanned the room once again to see Chikara's heavily injured body in a bed not too far from him. He decided to place a hand on the top of Yuina's head in an attempt to placate her.
"Hey…it's alright now." Yorukō started with a soft voice and a warm smile: "I'm a shitty boyfriend for making you worry like that."
Yuina looked up at Yorukō, her eyes now blood red from crying for a moment. Before either of them could say anything, Yorukō felt a rather hard fist hit the top of his head, causing him to yell in pain. He turned to notice his mother look at him with a leveling gaze, although he could've sworn he saw tears coming from her eyes.
"Add a shitty son to that as well." Sayuri added, her quivering smile immediately betraying her voice. She jumped at him and joined Yuina in giving him a bear hug, now unable to conceal her own wails. Yorukō smiled for a second before hearing sniffling sounds coming from Kori's and Aya's direction. Looking over, he saw both girls with tears in their eyes; Aya's being more akin to sobbing. Yorukō placed a hand on both Sayuri's and Yuina's heads for a moment, gesturing them to ease up for a minute. When neither woman would let up, he sighed and gestured for both girls to come towards him with his right hand. Slowly nodding, they both walked to the bed, stopping mere inches away from the teen.
"I'm sorry." Yorukō said with a weak smile. Tsunade looked at the scene unfold before her eyes as she observed how they were all so serious mere moments ago then immediately becoming concerned with the nuke-nin. Kori recounted the confrontation she had with both Kurenai and Asuma at the training grounds after the course of events that transpired.
"You had us worry that much…and all you have to say…is 'sorry'?" Kori asks him as she began to choke up. Aya seemed scared to directly look at Yorukō for a moment once she was next to him. She continued to look away as Kori continued: "You scared all of us, especially Aya-chan! Imagine how she felt when she saw you, felt your chakra become so malignant!"
"I…" Yorukō started but was cut off.
"Let me finish." Kori quickly said: "I won't get another chance to say this, so listen well." Taking a deep breath, she steeled her resolve as she continued: "There are…consequences to ambition. If this is how you'll be in your pursuit of taking your father down, you'll end up hurting everyone who ever cared about you. If this is how you want to be from now on, I can't stop you. None of us can."
It was at this time that both Sayuri and Yuina removed themselves from Yorukō's bed, both kunoichi understanding the weight of Kori's words. This served to confuse the teen as he watched both women fixing their composure and rested their eyes on the Hasegawa heir with an…even-like gaze, hoping their display would reach him, if even a little bit.
"We want to all help you, Yorukō-kun." Kori continued: "We all do; but if you want to continue down this path, or even worse, harm Aya-chan in any capacity, we…" she pointed at herself, Kori, and Sayuri: "…will stop you before you hurt yourself any further. Understood?"
"When did they have all this resolve, or rather, Kori? She's going to be the one to end up making me regret my decision in the long run…but after that fight, there may be no turning back." Yorukō thought to himself after hearing the Nogami's plea and subsequent warning. He looked down at his bedsheets for a moment as he quickly replayed the most important points of the conversation when he closed his eyes and gave a small chuckle, everyone in the room anticipating his next response.
"I… don't deserve any of you guys. Honestly." The teen said after a while. Yorukō took a second to raise his head to the ceiling, slightly wincing at the pain of moving his joints. Letting out a sigh, he continued: "I'll work on myself for you guys so that you won't have to worry anymore, okay?"
"I'd prefer to see that rather than hear you say it, son." Sayuri answered after remaining silent for a while.
"I agree." Yuina chimed in.
"I don't want to see sensei like that anymore." Aya spoke up: "He looked mean with his chakra like that. I want my nice sensei!"
Everyone chuckled at Aya's words, even Tsunade. However, before anyone could make any further comments, said Hokage cleared her throat to regain attention, the atmosphere suddenly becoming serious.
"While it's touching to watch this display you guys put on, I'm afraid that there's something else that we need to talk about." Tsunade started.
"Something else?" Sayuri asked, mirroring the Hokage's words.
Tsunade nodded: "Yes."
"What is it?" Yuina asked, considerably concerned with the tone of voice Tsunade used.
"Well, it has something to do with the elders." Tsunade began explaining.
"The Elders?" Kori asked apprehensively: "What do those old bastards want?"
Tsunade snorted at Kori's comment: "While I personally won't call them 'old bastards', I won't disagree with you on that either." Seconds passed before Tsunade's expression once again became serious. She paused to turn and briefly faced Yorukō while folding her arms. She took a breath as she readied herself for the eventual backlash from what she was about to say.
"It has something to do with me, doesn't it?" Yorukō asked, only earning a slight nod from his Hokage.
"Hasegawa Yorukō, based on the events that recently unfolded with your training session and the subsequent injuring of one of our valued shinobi, I have no choice but to place you on an indefinite suspension from your duties." Tsunade informed the teen.
To say you could hear a pin drop after Tsunade's announcement would be an understatement. The hospital room fell into such silence that you could hear even the faintest conversation from three floors down in the facility. Aya became confused at what Tsunade meant, her confusion only intensified at the sight of the now-crestfallen faces of the other kunoichi. Kori owlishly blinked a few times, as if she couldn't fully process the weight of Tsunade's words. Yuina's eyes darted between Tsunade and Yorukō, worry now on her mind for what could happen next. Sayuri remained silent, the reanimation closing her eyes before folding her arms.
As for Yorukō? Well...
"I kind of expected it." Yorukō said with a rather deep sigh after a pregnant pause. "The fact that you're suspending me implies that there's way more to this story, isn't it?"
Everyone but the confused Aya looked at Yorukō in shock. They each thought that he'd take this news badly but here he is, surprisingly…unfazed?
Tsunade cleared her throat for a second as she continued, nodding at Yorukō's sudden question: "If I left it up to the Elders, they wanted you to be completely stripped of the rank and arrested."
"Danzō, you mean?" Yorukō asked back.
"While he was the one to push it the biggest, this time it was all three of them." Tsunade answered. "Right before you guys came to the hospital, I had to deal with them in my office after this fiasco." She pointed an accusatory finger towards Yorukō as she finished: "You've been causing ninety percent of my problems lately, you know that? You're making it harder and harder each time for me to defend you, and by extension, your family. You're beginning to make enemies in places I would really advise you not to."
"Is that right?" Yorukō asked, no longer looking upwards at the ceiling but to now face the Hokage.
Tsunade nodded at the teen. "Let me clue you in on the conversation we had before I got here."
Flashback, one hour before current events…
"Well? What do you see, Hime?" Koharu asked.
"According to this report, it seems that Yorukō lost control of his power during a 'training' session with his mother and his family." Tsunade began.
"What do you mean by 'lost control'?" Koharu interjected as she further narrowed her eyes, catching the Hokage's attention: "Don't try to be vague; leaving anything to our imagination will only make it worse."
Inwardly rolling her eyes, Tsunade sighed at the elder for a moment before returning her attention to the scroll in front of her: "He seemed to have undergone a change during his 'sparring session' with his mother. Based on Sayuri's account, it happened when she mentioned his father, Reiki Hasegawa. This seemed to trigger some repressed emotions within him which caused the surge in chakra. What I am most concerned about is that this 'chakra surge' of his was strong enough to affect such a wide area."
"His father is a trigger to him?" Danzō asked while he gave Tsunade a monotone look: "I find that hard to believe."
"Believe what you want, Danzō." Tsunade curtly replied while giving the elder a glare, not wanting to give in to his antics: "What's in this report is what we currently know of the situation."
"Let's not get too rash, Tsunade-hime." Homura interjected with a sigh: "It'd be best if we can hear the report first and then we make our own conclusion from it."
Homura's comment seemed to relax the tensions in the room if even somewhat momentary. Several more seconds passed in silence, the elders looking at their Hokage in expectation of the report, carefully examining the slug sannin for her next move. With a deep sigh, Tsunade turned her attention to the scroll once again as she seemed ready to continue the report.
Clearing her throat, Tsunade continued: "The main purpose of this training between the two was for Yorukō to apparently master a family technique from his mother's clan. As I mentioned earlier, Yorukō's power went haywire when his father was mentioned, implying that there may be a potential level of trauma within him. This did awaken the technique Sayuri was looking for, but as we know, Yorukō couldn't control the amount of chakra he was letting out. It took the efforts of Kakashi, Sayuri, and Chikara to eventually subdue him. What's most surprising about Chikara was his ability to use Ice Release. During this, Chikara did indeed sustain heavy injuries in his efforts to stop a sword construct from Yorukō's technique."
Danzō briefly tensed at Tsunade mentioning Chikara's Ice Release, something that the Hokage definitely picked up on.
"Is there more to his Ice Release, Danzō?" She asked, not wanting to miss the opportunity to grill the ROOT leader.
"What I know of my men is not of your concern, hime." Danzō answered, slight irritation laced in his voice.
"Despite your status, you're still my shinobi in a village that I'm currently the leader of." Tsunade retorted, not backing down from his jab.
"Our feelings on the matter are irrelevant at the moment." Danzō replied with an air of authority. "What does matter is that Chikara was heavily injured in trying to prevent Yorukō, someone you…" the elder mildly raised his hand to point at Tsunade: "…vouched for to be part of the village. I think repercussions should be in order, no?"
Homura and Koharu seemed to agree with Danzō's idea. Tsunade, sensing that there'd be no way to argue with the three stubborn elders, sagged her shoulders in defeat.
"What do you propose we make of this situation then?" Tsunade asked.
"I propose we arrest Yorukō on endangerment charges against Leaf Shinobi." Danzō began: "At the rate he's going, it'll only be a matter of time before he becomes a risk against the village."
"You want me to arrest him?!" Tsunade asked incredulously: "As it stands, he's one of our best shinobi in the village! Decommissioning him would be a blow to our forces!"
"Are you suggesting he walks free from this ordeal?" Koharu asked the slug princess: "Even you know that's not possible."
"I'd suggest you come up with a punishment for him…before we have to." Homura added: "Frankly, we've taken your word when it came to justify having him and his family in the village, but we need to look at these constants since he's been here. For starters, he's the head of his little group – which already has some formidable fighters in their own right. If he retaliates for any reason, he could essentially instruct them to do virtually anything. Another thing to mention is that he IS a wanted shinobi from his own village for whatever reason. Even though he sought asylum here, we can send him into exile if he's too much for us to handle."
"I understand that you've taken a liking to him and his group, but remember that you ARE the Hokage, and there are decisions that you'll have to make that you won't like." He finished.
Tsunade pinched her temples in frustration, a heavy sigh escaping her lips: "Fine. I actually…agree with some of your points, Homura. While I won't arrest him outright, I will place him on an indefinite suspension and keep an extremely close eye on his movements within the village."
"Personally, I do not fully agree with that decision." Koharu commented: "However, you are the Hokage, and I'm content with that outcome…for now."
"I second that." Homura said: "While I also don't agree with that move, I'll also be content with that decision."
Danzō seemed enraged at the Hokage's decision. He'd been looking for any and all chances to remove Yorukō from the village, and when he finally found it…he gets overturned by Tsunade. He wondered about becoming Hokage himself so he could take care of the problem himself. He managed to keep his outward calm composure but remained pissed at Tsunade, promising to never let this go for the foreseeable future.
"Well, Danzō?" Tsunade asked, turning her attention to the ROOT leader: "Do you have any objection to this decision?"
"None at this time." The elder cooly replied as he turned to exit the office: "But this isn't over."
Tsunade, Koharu, and Homura only watched as Danzō exited the office, choosing not to say a single word. A couple minutes pass before the remaining elders also exited her office, neither having anything else to say to the other. Once she was certain that all three elders are no longer in earshot of the area, Tsunade slouched further into her chair and let out a long and deep sigh.
"…And that about sums it up." Tsunade told Yorukō who looked to be attentive while listening to the Hokage.
"I injured Chikara?" Yorukō asked, facepalming and sighing at the revelation.
Tsunade nodded, her expression softening if only slightly: "While he sustained some major injuries, I was told that he will still recover. However, he may not be the same as he was before."
"I'm glad." Yorukō said with a smile. "While I feel bad that he won't be the same, I had some questions to ask him…especially about that Ice Release and how he has that particular jutsu."
"So, what does it mean that he's suspended?" Kori asked Tsunade, catching hers and everyone else's attention.
"Well, for the time being, Yorukō won't be able to take missions, subsequently cutting an income source out." Tsunade began to explain: "And given the reason behind the suspension, I'll also have to monitor your movements in the village. I hope you understand."
"Makes sense." Yorukō said in a calm voice: "I'm assuming that there can be more to my suspension if I were to disobey these orders, correct?"
Tsunade nodded: "I wouldn't even want you to have the idea of leaving the village any time soon, especially when the elders want a far more strenuous punishment dealt unto you. Doing anything, and I mean ANYTHING stupid right now would see you playing right into their hands. While I hold the decision power as Hokage, sparing you any further would become a blight on my record, and I already have a lot to deal with outside of this situation."
"What would that mean for team one, Lady Tsunade?" Yuina spoke up: "Will we still take missions?"
Tsunade nodded: "Yes, but under Sayuri's supervision. She'll be the de facto leader of the squad. Furthermore, I'll be removing Chikara from the team due to his injuries and that his main purpose has been halted indefinitely due to Yorukō's suspension."
"You're really lenient with my family, especially when dealing with my repeated blunders." Yorukō said: "For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"Think nothing of it, Yorukō." The Hokage replied with a brief smile before fading into a neutral look: "However, this was your last 'get out of trouble' card. I can't keep protecting and justifying your actions against the elders, especially when you're breaking protocols that shouldn't be broken. I need you – and everyone here in this room – to listen what I have to say."
This garnered their full attention, anticipation wafting in the air at their new leader's next words.
"The circumstances behind your refuge here already had created a strife between my authority as Hokage versus the influence of the Elders of the village. I refuted their points during your transitioning phase into becoming Konoha citizens, knowing full well the risks that came with it – that being your bounties." Tsunade explained.
"Bounties?" Kori asked: "We had those?"
"Correct." Tsunade answered with a nod as she continued: "It is my duty as Hokage to know about any and all shinobi under my command, or any we deem as 'high-profile'. In each of your cases, you had all received bounties when you fled Shimogakure. Knowing this information, we still had faith in giving you guys asylum on the hopes that you could provide us intel on either your village or the shinobi world; something that we held off on asking as we wanted to see your worth to us."
"I'm hoping we had some value to the village to this point." Sayuri commented, Yuina and Kori looking at Tsunade for a form of confirmation.
"You guys have definitely proven useful to the village up to this point, and I think you'll continue to protect your new home, but where you've done good…" Tsunade continued, pointing a finger at Yorukō: "…Yorukō here has ruffled some unnecessary feathers with the way he's conducted himself in some missions, to the point that the elders have seen that as a threat. Even some of the villagers now fear Yorukō on account of his mannerisms, his tone of voice, and short temper."
"Furthermore, I don't know if you guys are even considering the thought of going back to your home village, but if you are, that sees the possibility of either of you retaliating against the village before you leave. Not that I think either of you will, but if provoked…" Tsunade said, letting her words hang for added effect.
"I still plan on fighting my father, Hokage." Yorukō said with an edge in his voice, clenching his fists in mild anger: "When the time comes that may be when I leave this village. It's treated me too well for any fighting to occur here, and if I'm being honest, it isn't Konoha's place or business to meddle with Shimo's…matters."
"Yorukō!" Yuina hissed, reaching over to smack her boyfriend's head: "Don't make it worse for yourself, or us!"
"It's okay, Yuina." Tsunade spoke up, regaining her and Yorukō's attention: "I appreciate the reassurance Yorukō, considering what you've done to villages before. Nevertheless, as you're under immediate and indefinite suspension, should you leave the village during this time, it will count as an act of desertion. I believe you know what may happen then."
"I'm well aware." Yorukō simply answered.
"Wait, I have some questions." Kori said, bringing the attention towards her: "What are our bounties?"
"If my memory is most recent, yours remained at an A-Rank, 2 million ryō, Kori." Tsunade informed the young adult. She turned her attention to Sayuri as she continued: "You're a special case, Sayuri. Despite being a reanimation, you're classified as an S-Rank, 40 million ryō bounty, but only if you're captured." Pointing a finger towards Yuina, she continued: "According to reports from the Taiyōkage, you fled the village after allegedly 'exposing' a false mission he gave, which puts you around an A-Rank threat with a bounty of 3 million ryō."
Kori looked at her cousin with mild jealousy at the revelation of their bounty difference, with Yuina flashing a cheeky grin towards Kori.
"Lastly: Yorukō." Tsunade said, pointing a finger towards the teen jōnin: "It's amazing that yours hasn't increased considering the crimes you've committed. You're sitting at an A-Rank with a bounty of 20 million ryō."
There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room at the amount of ryō under his name. Yuina took the first opportunity to speak up after a couple of seconds passed, the shock mildly wearing off: "Yorukō-kun wouldn't even be in this position had it not been for the Taiyōkage! Why slap such a high bounty on him?"
"While I'll agree that the circumstances of leaving are very shady at the very least, Yorukō didn't help his case by killing those other shinobi that night. It gives a bad impression for the rest of the shinobi world." Tsunade explained.
"Keeping you here under Konoha protection despite your… 'baggage' caused us to lose some faith from the other nations, Yorukō. Despite this, we still took a chance on you. While we've seen good results, your temper and subsequent outburst has caused us to take a precautionary measure by way of this suspension."
"I understand." Yorukō told the Hokage.
"What was this jutsu that you used in the village, Yorukō-kun?" Yuina asked, catching his attention.
"Oh, that." He replied, suddenly becoming devoid of emotion: "It was my Ice Style: Sphere Strangledome jutsu. It's a variant of the jutsu that my mother used in our fight. This one feeds off the chakra of anyone in its range, including the caster; it'll immediately impale anyone and leave them dangling until I stop it. I expanded my chakra across the village until the people who decided to still follow Tatsuya's preachings were all impaled. After that, I melted everyone stuck inside the dome, and by extension, the village by using my Strangledome Melt technique."
"Why did you use such a technique?" Yuina asked, shaken by either his describing of events or how he sounded so…detached from the situation. Maybe a mix of both?
"I offered them a chance; save yourselves or cling onto a ridiculous fantasy." Yorukō explained: "The villagers who chose to take a chance on me…I spared them. The others, well…" he let the weight of his words hang in the air for added effect.
"You decided to 'pass judgment' on them yourself." Tsunade concluded. Yorukō nodded at her words.
"There's no use dwelling on the past anymore. It doesn't matter if I 'passed judgment' or anything of its kind." Yorukō suddenly said with an air of authority in his tone: "I feel as if someone's going to try and ask me to justify why I did it or to make me repent on it even more. Trust me, I've already repented, and I still don't know why I decided to use a jutsu like that."
Sayuri and Kori flinched and remained quiet, seemingly validating the Hasegawa's words.
"Well, in any case, I believe Yorukō needs more time to recover." Tsunade said, mainly looking at the three adult women in the room: "Why don't you guys take Aya home and get some rest of your own? I'll need to debrief you guys on the new structure of your team with Yorukō being under indefinite suspension." Her tone held some level of finality, if telling them in no small words that there will be no further discussion on the topic.
All four women looked at Yorukō with worry in their eyes as they were beginning to leave the hospital room. Sensing their discomfort, the teen laughed gently and gave his family a warm smile. He took a second to look at each member as he said: "Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be home before you know it, and we'll have a great dinner."
Kori and Yuina both looked uneasy at his words, both wanting to stay with Yorukō as he further recovered but not wanting to risk furthering the Hokage's ire. However, they relented and gave up wanting to stay and began to walk towards the exit. Turning back to look at him one more time, Yuina gave him a smile as she then turned around to leave the room, Kori following suit soon after. Sayuri left with Aya after several seconds, leaving Tsunade and Yorukō alone in the hospital room.
"I'm guessing there's something else you want to tell me?" Yorukō asked.
Tsunade sighed in mild exasperation: "Look, with everything that's happened and what you just said, just…don't do anything stupid, okay? Lately, you've been causing more problems with you being here in the village…and at the end of the day, I really don't want to make that hard decision. I've taken a liking to you and your family, Yorukō." She turned towards the exit and began walking. She stopped at the door; her hand placed firmly on the handle as she finished while not turning to looking back towards him: "Don't make me come to regret me sticking my neck out for you." After saying that, the Hokage left the room, leaving Yorukō only his thoughts.
Meanwhile, in a secluded area…
"I think these scrolls should do." Yorukō's clone said to no one in particular. Right before his 'training' session with his mother, the original Yorukō created a lone shadow clone to visit the library that Orochimaru…bequeathed to him as thanks for helping him roughly a year ago, albeit with a bit of coercion. Fearing that something may happen to the original which would cause the shadow clone to dispel, Yorukō decided to reinforce this particular clone with far more chakra than usual, which led to his own chakra being cut in half, diminishing his actual capabilities.
"Honestly…" clone Yorukō said, walking towards a bookshelf and grabbing a scroll with the kanji for 'dead' written on it as he turned and headed back to a desk: "I think this particular jutsu will be necessary for us to learn. Mastering the reanimation jutsu was easy enough within a couple hours of me being here, but this one…" allowing a smile to grace his lips, the clone gently rubbed the scroll before placing it in a bag. He turned to the side where he noticed said reanimation scroll sitting there; also placing it in the bag.
"My original's going to be excited when he sees this particular scroll, but if it's going to be a while before he comes here himself, let me grab a few more to make it worth our while."
With Sayuri and the others…
A prolonged period passed since the family left Yorukō and Tsunade alone in the room, each of them with the exception of Aya still seeming to be in a serious mood after that uncomfortable exchange they shared with Yorukō. It took Yuina a while to shake her feelings of unease after they left, replaced with a more serious demeanor compared to before. Kori remembered her profound words she imparted on their now former leader, albeit temporarily, concern solidifying her mood towards him. As for Sayuri, well…she surprisingly remained quiet since Yorukō described his jutsu to Yuina. Aya periodically squirmed at the tension which was shifting between the three women, unable to process the entire situation either due to her age, her naivety, or a combination of both. They all opted to walk through the village as opposed to their usual method of traversing on rooftops towards their home, leading them to earn scathing glares from the villagers they were passing by, the shock factor still not faded from earlier events. In some areas of the Leaf, the group even noticed large amounts of snow piled up in areas.
"Look at them walking like one of their own didn't just cause this mess." One villager said in a hushed voice to another villager.
"I hear he's in the hospital due to the number our shinobi caused on him." Another commented: "I don't get why Lady Tsunade is so lenient with them."
Kori and Yuina both flinched in anger when listening to the murmurs around them. They've both noticed that what they know couldn't be further from the truth but they couldn't really comment on anything at this time. It still didn't mean that they hated what they were hearing though.
"I wish they killed him instead of detaining him." A short, fat villager commented rather loudly, unconcerned of his discretion: "Then the remaining idiots that follow him could be thrown in jail or just exiled as well."
This was the last straw. Both Kori and Yuina could not take the disrespect any longer from the villagers. Yes, they both agreed that it's a bad situation but they are in no way involved in the decision that led to the village being in such a predicament. They couldn't continue listening any further; both women turned around to say something when they were both interrupted by an unlikely source.
"Take that back." Aya said, walking towards the villager: "Take back what you said about my sensei!"
"Oh?" the villager said, looking down to face the young girl, at risk of already damaging his weirdly shaped neck: "What if I don't? I didn't say anything wrong; you know. I'm merely voicing my opinion. You should go back to your family, brats like you are too young to understand."
Aya drooped her head, seemingly giving the villager his 'victory'. However, she allowed a sliver of an evil smile to grace her lips for a moment before jumping as high as she can, using the velocity to stomp on the man's toes. He never got the chance to process what was going on as she jumped, his mind focused on only feeling the massive pain from the attack.
The other villagers looked on in a mix of shock and mild amusement at the scene between the two. Their anger not waned towards Yorukō; they began to flock around the two, mixing voices of disapproval and discontent towards Aya and the others.
"You little brat!" The short man exclaimed, grabbing his foot in anger: "How dare you stomp my feet!"
"It's what you get for talking bad about my sensei!" Aya defiantly snapped back.
"I can report you to the Hokage for assaulting me." The short man said, pointing a finger towards Sayuri and the others: "Is this how you Frost people treat your elders? With disrespect?" The man's comments seemed to incite the crowd against them more; their overlapping voices coming off as more annoying than offensive to the three kunoichi.
"They haven't even reprimanded her yet. What behavior are they allowing with this girl?" One villager murmured.
"These guys must think that they can do any and all things in the village, right?" Another murmured.
Aya began to look around nervously, the different comments and scornful looks from villagers scaring her to a degree. The confidence she displayed earlier slowly eroded away into nothing but fear at the sight of the crowd around her. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, the short, fat villager decided to double down on the situation and returned his attention towards the little girl.
"Your sensei – he isn't shit." The man started, his voice dripping with venom: "All you are is a disrespectful little brat who doesn't know how to respect your elders. If Yorukō trained you properly, better yet – was taught by someone to be respectful himself, then you'd know to shut the hell up and listen to what I have to say and not do anything about it!"
This caused Aya to break down and start sobbing. Although some villagers in the crowd slightly repulsed at the man's comments, the young girl's crying did nothing to sway the majority.
"How dare you say something like that to her!" Yuina screamed at the villager while being restrained by Kori.
"Stop! If we physically retaliate against any of them, then we'd also be in trouble!" Kori informed her cousin: "We should take Aya and leave!"
"Listen to your friend, woman." One villager said from the crowd: "We don't want to deal with any of you dirty Frost scum!"
"Dirty Frost…scum?" Kori blinked before asking herself, releasing Yuina from her hold while now incensed herself: "I'll show you how 'dirty' we-"
"That's enough. From all of you." Sayuri said, performing a quick Ice jutsu to restrain both Tokubetsu jōnins. The reanimated woman could not hide her own contempt towards the crowd as she walked towards Aya, kneeling to embrace her in a tight hug.
"It's going to be okay, alright?" She told Aya reassuringly, only earning a very slow nod from Aya. She released her hold on the young girl after a few moments who then ran towards Yuina and Kori. After the young girl was no longer beside the reanimated woman, Sayuri turned her attention towards the villagers with pure contempt in her eyes.
"How dare you make Aya cry?!" she screamed towards them; her voice laced with pure venom. Her chakra levels raised with each passing second, its density so thick it made some older villagers pass out in fear: "If any of you say anything else at this point, you won't like it!"
"You…you can't do anything to me, woman!" The fat villager nervously cried: "My life is worth more than yours!"
"Wanna bet?" Sayuri asked as she directed her KI at the villager. Walking over, she used her right hand to grab the man by the collar to raise him up: "It's one thing to talk shit about us…but directing it at Aya, or any young child for that matter…really pisses me off."
"Also, neither of these women had anything to do with my son's burst in rage." She said towards the crowd while continuing to hold the man by the collar as he continued struggling to break free, to no avail: "You should all be glad that I stopped him, lest you wanted to be buried under many feet of snow." Further irritated, her body began to exhume a cold air, staggering everyone around her as she continued, her focus now returning towards the villager she holds captive: "Should I do to you what my son nearly did to everyone else?"
Instead of receiving a response, Sayuri noticed a small puddle forming beneath the older man, an indication that he soiled himself at some point during their exchange. She let out a sigh before throwing the man towards a food cart and causing property damage in its wake. "Seemed he pissed himself while I had him by the collar." She said with a shrug before turning her attention to the other villagers (who managed to remain awake from her chakra being leaked out from earlier): "Anyone else wants to try me?"
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary, Sayuri-san." A voice said from inside the crowd before a man wearing a boar mask appeared in front of her. Within seconds, two more appeared wearing similar masks to surround the reanimated woman.
"Lady Tsunade sent you, huh?" She asked, her chakra no longer being pushed but now replaced her stance by nervously scratching her head: "I didn't realize that I was causing such a scene for the ANBU to be called."
Boar nodded: "Yes. Your chakra can be quite potent, you know. It also doesn't help that there was a large crowd surrounding you and your family."
"We were tasked with breaking this crowd up and to make sure no one got hurt…" The second ANBU operative commented as they turned their attention towards the destroyed cart: "…but it seems that we were a little too late."
"How much of this did you see?" Yuina spoke up, catching their attention: "Better yet, are we in trouble?"
"Fortunately for you, we managed to watch this entire fiasco unfold." The third one now answered: "Unfortunately, because Sayuri-san placed her hands on a villager and destroyed a cart, we will have to report this back to the Hokage. It may be at her discretion with what may happen next."
This response by the ANBU seemed to have reignited the crowd, with them beginning to voice their own disapproval of the situation. This caused their voices to overlap with each other, which began to confuse Aya who hid her face in Yuina's leg. Yuina for her part remained guarded of the child, secretly hoping another villager says something which can incite her own rage.
"Why can't you guys arrest them now?!" A villager cried: "Hooligans like them will only cause more problems from now on!"
"Yeah!" Another villager chimed in: "She had no right to throw him into the stand like that! Now someone's business is ruined!"
"Maybe he shouldn't have said anything about Aya-chan!" Kori shot back towards a villager: "What business does an old ass man have with berating a child?!"
"Watch your mouth, brat!" Someone else commented: "We wouldn't be in this situation if that bastard Yorukō didn't try to ice us!"
"Watch what you say when you're talking about my son. He's not a 'bastard'." Sayuri immediately cut in before giving that particular villager an icy stare: "I won't be as restrained next time."
The villager in question only nodded while the others became quiet.
"Alright…we're getting nowhere with this." Boar said, sighing. He affixed his focus toward the family as he continued: "Because of what Sayuri-san did, I mentioned that we'll have to report this to the Hokage, so I'll need to know why you did it."
Again, the villagers began to overlap their voices with each other after listening to the ANBU speak. This time, the three operatives turned their attention toward the rambunctious crowd when Boar spoke up: "This matter is now between shinobi. It's best if you now leave as your presence is no longer needed."
Not wanting to challenge the ANBU's authority, the crowd began to quickly disperse, albeit further disgruntled and disappointed at the outcome. One villager went over to help the man who Sayuri had thrown into the stand. He groaned for a few moments as he felt pain run through his body. He also blinked for a couple of seconds to regain his bearings; when he was able to see properly once more, he immediately shot Sayuri a look of pure contempt as he said: "I hope you and your dumb family leaves this village soon. People like you aren't accepted here." After he said this, he placed his free hand over the back of his head as he walked away with the other villager's help who also had given Sayuri a scathing look.
After the ANBU confirmed that everyone left the vicinity, they once again returned their attention toward Sayuri, arms folded. This time, Yuina, Kori, and Aya walked towards the reanimated woman and joined her.
"Now that they're all gone, I can ask you again." Boar told Sayuri who also took a quick glance at the other women who joined her: "Why did you throw that man into the stand?"
"We were all minding our business while we were all heading home after leaving Yorukō in the hospital when the villagers around us began talking ill of us." Sayuri started: "As we – Kori, Yuina, and myself - were used to it, Aya was not. That particular fatass that I threw said something about my son in which Aya surprisingly reacted to. For some reason, he decided to target the little girl with vicious insults – and the villagers began to surround the two. What's worse, they all decided to gaslight him in continuing to insult her further!"
"I'm guessing that's when you reacted." Boar interjected.
Sayuri shook her head: "No. At first, Yuina over there…" she pointed her finger towards the girl: "…wanted to retaliate against them in which Kori restrained her. However, one of them called us 'dirty Frost scum' which made Kori want to intervene herself. Disgusted at their comments and highly irritated at this point, I decided to act as the leader of this situation and intervene myself so that neither of the girls get in trouble, which by then Aya was already sobbing at the fatass's words."
"I see." Boar concluded: "I'm going to correctly assume that was when you took action."
The reanimated kunoichi nodded: "At first, I will say I wanted to take everyone out, but we're better than that. The only person I dealt with was the person who went out of their way to insult a little girl who has nothing to do with this."
Yuina and Kori stared at the three operatives with determination in their eyes. One operative sighed as they turned around and disappeared from the scene. Within seconds, the second one followed suit and disappeared, leaving Boar with the four women. Surprisingly, the man let out a small chuckle as he folded his arms. "Well, while I won't object you doing it to protect the little girl, you will have to see the Hokage for her judgment. Thank you for being honest with me." With that, he too turned around and disappeared from the scene, leaving the four women alone.
Kori was the first to say something as she let out a sigh and looked towards Sayuri: "I'm really sorry, Sayuri-san! If I knew this would've gotten us in trouble, I would've done better with holding us both back!"
"That was immature of me. I'm sorry it got us to this point." Yuina said with a deep bow.
"I…" Aya slowly started, gaining everyone's attention: "…I didn't mean for us to get in trouble. I just don't like it when anyone talks bad about my sensei…"
"What's there to apologize for, any of you?" Sayuri said after a brief pause, regaining attention: "I'd have done this ten times over if it means to protect each and all of you, including Yorukō. Don't feel bad for what happened; let's just all stay with each other from now on for as long as we're here, okay?" She earned vigorous nods from all three women which satisfied her. She turned in the direction of their home as she finished: "Let's just get home, okay? Try to make the best of the rest of the day, especially before my son comes home. If hospital food here is anything like the Frost, I know he'll want to eat some great food."
"Right!" Kori, Yuina, and Aya exclaimed. After this rather terse exchange between the family and the village, they all went home. However, the seed of resentment towards the village had begun to take root after this altercation in each woman, especially in both Yuina and Sayuri.
Meanwhile, at Konoha's Hospital…
Yorukō was aimlessly looking outside a window after the exchange he had with Tsunade and his family. He had much to think about from the conversation, ranging from his past actions with being in the Leaf to his current actions, and then to his recent conversation he had with the Toad Sage Jiraiya. He was broken out of his train of thought when he noticed a middle-aged female nurse enter the room with a clipboard in hand.
"You only have a few more tests to complete then you're free to go, Hasegawa-san." The nurse informed the teen: "It shouldn't take too long."
"Sounds good to me." Yorukō replied as he closed his eyes.
"We need to test your chakra levels for any abnormalities or deficiencies, then we just need to take a blood sample." She continued before turning around to exit: "Hang tight, I'll be right back with the equipment."
Yorukō only nodded as he watched her leave. Within a few moments, she returned with a medium-sized needle and a single piece of chakra paper. The teenager's eyes widened slightly as he saw the needle; an irrational fear which has long been established within him beginning to resurface.
"You uh…aren't gonna use that on me, are you?" Yorukō nervously asked.
The nurse gave a slightly devious grin as she answered: "I'm afraid so, Hasegawa-san. How else will I be able to take a blood sample?"
"Don't think about it, don't think about it!" Yorukō told himself to amp up: "Fine. Let's get it over with."
"Right." She replied as she proceeded to rub a spot on his upper right arm with alcohol: "Bear with me; this won't take long." "Or will it?"
After she prepped his arm, she slowly punctured his arm with the needle to extract blood. Yorukō winced at the sudden pain he was experiencing from the needle (which was ironic considering he's a shinobi) before seeing the vial quickly filling up with his blood. When she finished, she quickly extracted the needle from his arm and went to receive a band aid to cover the puncture wound. However, she dropped the band aid in shock when she noticed his arm completely healed from the puncture.
"Your arm…it's completely healed!" the nurse exclaimed: "How?"
"Healed?" Yorukō asked before looking over his arm to not see the puncture: "When did that happen?"
"That's odd." She said: "Only other person I've seen do that is that demon brat, because of his…power…" The nurse venomously spat at the word 'power': "…he's able to heal himself from most injuries. In any case, I need you to pour as much chakra into these papers as you can." She handed the papers to him: "Try not to destroy them."
"Sure." Yorukō only replied. "Smartass."
Yorukō began to concentrate and began pouring chakra into the paper as instructed for a few moments. Unlike the paper he's used to, this one didn't react with his nature type but rather with a number burned into the middle of the paper. He proceeded to hand the nurse the paper for her to look over. She quickly glanced at the number when her eyes widened in shock.
"Is everything alright?" Yorukō asked.
"Y-Yes…" the nurse managed to get out: "I'll…get this submitted and then you're…free to go…"
Yorukō nodded as he watched the middle-aged nurse turned to leave the room which once again left him to his own devices. As for the nurse, she kept looking at the same reading over and over again incase of any discrepancies from the test. When she realized that the numerical results on the paper that Yorukō poured chakra into did not change, she darted back at the teen's room for another glance.
"This chakra reading shouldn't even exist…" she said to no one in particular: "…if this is accurate, then this kid may have more chakra than three high-ranking jōnins combined, even at the low-end. I should take this to Lady Tsunade."
Five Minutes Later…
"I wonder if my clone finished my task yet." Yorukō asked himself: "Sustaining this particular one definitely took more of a toll on me than I thought."
At this particular moment, the same nurse returned and broke Yorukō from further self-discussions. She decided to hand him a form to fill out and once again headed for the exit as she told him: "Fill that out and take it downstairs before you leave."
"Understood." Yorukō replied. After she left, it didn't take Yorukō long to get himself and his room cleaned up. He noted how he felt much lighter than before alongside a rush of chakra entering his body: "What's this?" He asked himself as he looked down at both hands: "It feels like I can take on almost anything!" Quickly remembering that he needed to get home, Yorukō grabbed the clipboard after covering the bed and exited the room; closing the door behind him as he did so. He scanned through each question on the form presented to him as he walked to the reception desk, finally stopping at a round desk by the door. He laid the form on the table when he gestured for a pen which the receptionist gave him.
"Before you sign, you are aware that you'll be charged for this visit?" the receptionist asked Yorukō.
"Charged?" Yorukō asked, looking at the woman incredulously: "Don't shinobi get free health care in this village?"
"You weren't a shinobi." The receptionist sneered: "Not now, not ever; so therefore, you pay."
"Is that right?" Yorukō mockingly asked: "Since when was I never declared a shinobi? Better yet, since you don't want to have me use these rights, then I simply will not pay."
"Your estate will receive the bill." The receptionist countered: "Either way…you will pay."
"We'll see about that." Yorukō simply said as he flipped the receptionist off before disappearing with a smokeless shunshin. After he left, the receptionist merely scoffed at the exchange, silently cursing under her breath about 'disrespectful immigrants'.
Tsunade's Office…
"Today can't get any worse, can it?" Tsunade asked Boar who slowly shook his head.
Within five minutes of the incident where Sayuri threw the fat villager into the stands and speaking to the reanimated woman, the three ANBU operatives disappeared from the scene and reappeared in the Hokage's office with their report. After listening to Boar, Tsunade slumped further into her chair and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Lady Tsunade…I hate to be that person, but…" Shizune started. Tonton just walked around the office aimlessly.
"…Yes, I know." Tsunade finished, fixing her posture in the chair to look at Boar. Taking yet another deep breath, she continued: "I'll have to take the damages she caused out of her pay. However, as she's one of my elite shinobi, I'll have to keep her on the active roster alongside her family, but the next mission they get may have to be with a docked pay."
"If I may, Lady Tsunade." One operative spoke up, catching her attention: "It may be best if we were to give the others some form of surveillance; perhaps not as intensive as Yorukō-san, but to try and mitigate situations like these for the future."
"It's something to think about." Tsunade replied before waving her hand in dismissal: "You guys are free to go. Thank you for your continued hard work."
They all let out a gruff 'hn' before disappearing from the office, once again leaving Tsunade and Shizune to dwell over this situation.
"What do you think about this so far, Shizune?" Tsunade asked.
Shizune jolted at the sudden question: "About what, Lady Tsunade?"
"Everything about this family." Tsunade started: "With the exception of Yorukō's outbursts – which are few and far in-between – the others really haven't done anything to garner such a volatile response from the village. If I give them more protection, then it'll look like I'm favoring them over the other villagers, even though they're now Konoha citizens as well."
Before Shizune could answer her mentor's question, another shinobi frantically ran into the office which surprised both women. The shinobi in question turned out to be Yurika of the Cryptology division. Catching her breath, Yurika composed herself as she quickly said: "Lady Tsunade! It's urgent!"
"What's the matter?!" the Hokage asked.
"We received a messenger bird from the Sand Village just now with a shocking message! The Akatsuki has invaded and captured Gaara-sama!" Yurika frantically explained.
"What?!" Tsunade exclaimed as she shot up from her seat, fully alert. Within a few seconds, the slug princess pushed a button on her desk and summoned two ANBU operatives: "I need one of you to get me Team Kakashi, and the other to get Team 1, minus Yorukō, NOW!"
"Roger that!" Both operatives quickly replied before disappearing in smoke.
"Yurika. I need you to get me a copy of this message and bring it to me as fast as possible." Tsunade said, instructing the woman.
"Roger that!" Yurika quickly replied as she ran out of the office.
After Yurika left, Tsunade's shoulders sagged once again. She sat down once more and grabbed a small cup and a bottle of sake from her desk, pouring only a small amount before taking a quick swig of it. She looked at Shizune as she said: "I should learn to shut my mouth sometimes. Today really did get worse." She only earned a nod from her apprentice when Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi entered her office on full alert.
"You wanted to see us, Lady Tsunade?" Kakashi asked.
"Well…" Tsunade started.
A/N: I had to end it here (for now). I'll post the rest of the chapter along with an announcement on my inactivity when things are much easier to handle and explain the reasons behind it, even though I don't like making excuses.