Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Not everything is as it seems
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[Danzo's POV]
I don't feel ashamed to admit that I realized my choice for the Hokage back when Hiruzen retired was wrong. I believed Minato to not have the trips it took to lead the village, and such a position should have been handed to Orochimaru, but I now knew I was wrong.
However, while Minato has proven himself to be worthy of the title he bears, he has undoubtedly gotten softer over the years.
We were on the verge of an all out war against the four others Great Nations, yet he was basing his decisions on the well being of a single Kunoichi.
Sukaina Sumichi was talented, that is for sure, but she was not worth to jeopardize the war before it even began. If I gave this mission to Team Ro, it is because I am confident she will successfully do her part, and not bring her team down.
As an S Rank Mission, their mission of disturbing the Land of Forest's power was extremely important, and very few of our teams would be able to carry it out. If failed, it could have dramatic consequences for the incoming war, so I couldn't hand it to anyone.
That girl first came into my sight back when we first met, and after some digging found her to have the potential to become one of our greatest assets.
To make sure of that, and allow her to grow more, I tested her several times in the past few months, giving her team suspicious missions and sending some mercenaries to disrupt her missions, and she has always shown an incredible capability to react.
Despite being under the umbrella of a Jonin, she was capable of thinking for herself and adapting her plans if needed. I also tested her various skills, and she wasn't just good at assassination, she was divine.
I pride myself to be a great sensor, and one of the abilities I mastered over the years is to discern whether someone is telling the truth or lying according to the fluctuations of their chakra. I could also find any target through their chakra signature even in a dense crowd, making it very hard for anyone to get past me.
Yet, as I observed her, I found myself losing her from time to time while I observed her on her missions. And this, was not something I had seen in anyone, ever.
She wasn't just good at stealth, although she could make herself literally soundless, it was only part of her skills. Back when we first met, I felt some minor difficulty in discerning whether she said the truth or not, which was astonishing in and on by itself already.
But even more surprising, was how quickly she had caught onto my ability to discern lies. I don't even know how she guessed I could do that, but she undoubtedly did, and I have found checking her intentions to be harder and harder every day since then. Today, I couldn't even say for sure I knew the truth in what she said 100% of the time, making my ability pretty much useless against her.
And this wasn't done by masking her chakra. Instead, she mastered acting to such a high level that she was capable of fooling herself into thinking she wasn't lying, when she did, making her chakra fluctuate differently.
If she was capable of fooling herself, then fooling others was much easier.
Being soundless was good, but a sensor would easily catch onto her. However, if coupled with her acting and skill with transformation, then I'm confident she could slip into any place.
So as long as Karasu followed my advice and let her do the assassination on her own, then not only will she never be caught, but that brat puppet of Kiri is living his last few days on Earth.
Again, I wouldn't send her on a mission if I thought she would fail. It wouldn't just be detrimental to the leaf, it would also be sending a precious asset to the rubbish bin. I'm not a sentimental like Minato, but I know better than waste my ressources.
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[Minato's POV]
As Sukaina exited my office, probably excited to join her Anbu team knowing her, I turned to Danzo and asked, "Is that really reasonable? They should have been given an easier mission."
Danzo, being his usual self, did not show any emotion as he slowly enunciated, "You are too soft to Spider. She has shown herself capable enough to join the team and stand on equal footing with the rest."
I sighed and said, "Still, an S Rank Mission is unusually difficult for a first mission, even for Anbu. Those are supposed to come when they get experience."
Danzo turned towards the windows, and replied, "Team Ro is one of, if not the most, efficient team we have in Anbu. Even if we weren't at the dawn of the Fourth Shinobi World War, we couldn't afford to let them stay inactive just for her."
I shook my head and argued, "She just promoted to Chunin, B Rank Missions are supposed to be rare for her, yet she's given an S Rank Mission."
Danzo groaned, "You still haven't gotten rid of that soft spot of yours. Stop seeing her as a 9 years old child. She is a full fledged Kunoichi of the Leaf, and you and I both know she has the skills to become a Tokubetsu Jonin specialized in Assassination. And she could still be hiding many things from us."
I, again, sighed. I knew all of that was true, but I couldn't help myself but worry. Sukaina was special, in more ways than one.
Having had a son had put many things in a different perspective for me, and affected my view on many subjects, even to this day. One of them was Sukaina.
She was the same age as him, so everytime I saw her, I inwardly put Naruto in her place. And Sukaina had a rocky career, to say the least.
Started when she was 8, with that Iwa Spy. She went against the odds and survived, before graduating. Then, it was the Land of Tea Mission that went wrong, and she was forced to once again go against the odds.
And it didn't even end there, although none of the following situations were nearly as bad. Still, each and every time, I felt like shit.
She wasn't my daughter, but anything that happened to her, could have happened to Naruto, and that's what destroyed me. So I grew to care for the girl, Kushina maybe even more than me, and Naruto's constant questioning about his friends made dinner a real chore to go through.
Some days, I would be reminded of the girl all day, without interruption, and with time, I grew to care for the girl, deeply. More than I should, for it made decisions like today harder than it any right to be for the Hokage.
I knew I was wrong, and Danzo was right. Still, I couldn't help but grit my teeth as I knew she was heading for a dangerous mission.
But I guess the world is fair. Sukaina didn't possess the greatest talent I ever saw. I had taught Kakashi of the Sharingan, seen much of Shisui and Itachi Uchiha's childhood, was father of Naruto and was myself the Yellow Flash.
All of them, and me, were more talented than her on paper. However, I believe that none of the people I thought of could have possibly survived what she went through.
And I guess that was exactly Sukaina's talent, to always go against the odds, and come out stronger of them. Death followed her in a high rhythm battle, and she always danced on the line, never sure of which side she would land in.
Almost as if she was dancing a Tango with Death.
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