Chapter 48: Chapter 48 : Hope
Hope. Only four letters, yet such a big word. To some, it's only just that, a word. But to others, to the few who have nothing else, hope is so much more.
I have been called a bringer of hope since my time in Mizu no Kuni, and if I were honest, I quite like the name. It was given to me by someone I care a great deal for.
A person who brings hope, it does sound rather fancy. Through my many travels around the Elemental Nations, I have searched for another. I have looked for years for someone else who brought hope to the hopeless.
I have finally found that person.
He may not be a monster like me, but that's okay.
I do monster perfectly fine by myself.
And now… plus one.
...
Naruto was staring at the third member of Team Seven with something akin to a predatory gaze. The kid was very strange, and his lack of emotions was getting to the blond. It amused him for a moment, and then it pissed him off.
Danzo really underestimated them, and the Uzumaki was finding it irritating. Naruto knew that 'Sai', if that was his real name, was a member of Root, and the only reason he hadn't ripped the spy's throat out was because there was a little… he couldn't explain it, but there was something deep down inside the genin, something slumbering. Something that felt like… emotion, something that felt like…
Anger.
Naruto smiled, he could work with anger. The boy was asleep, and the Kamikage wanted to see the real Sai, when he was awake. Once Naruto had seen the real him he would ask his leader to pass judgment on him. If he wished for the boy's death, then he would be given his head. If he was told to spare him, then he wouldn't touch the genin, as was what the commander of god's army was expected to do.
During his thoughts, Kakashi came up to stand next to him as they watched the genin practice the Tree Walking Exercise. Oddly enough it was Sakura who completed the task first. The pink-haired girl had exceptional chakra control, and was able to complete the task right away.
Sai had pretended to struggle for a little while, which was just insulting to the blond. He knew that if he was a Root member then he would most definitely know how to cling to surfaces using his chakra. His act didn't fool him, or Kakashi.
"So you noticed, too?" Kakashi asked, already knowing the answer. If he could tell on the first day, then he didn't doubt that his kohai knew the very second he stepped through the door of Tazuna's home.
"Yeah," Naruto said softly, watching Sasuke have trouble with the exercise. He could tell that the boy was annoyed that he looked incompetent in front of such a powerful figure like the Bringer of Hope, which made it all the more difficult for him since his concentration was split.
"And your decision?" Kakashi asked.
"I want to wait and see something for myself," he admitted, never taking his eyes off Sasuke. "After that, I'll ask Hokage-jiji what should be done."
Kakashi nodded. He wasn't sure what was worth discovering about the boy, him having no emotions or will of his own at all, but if that's what his brother wanted, then he would give it to him.
A few minutes later and Kakashi decided to go back to the house with Sakura and Sai since they had the Tree Walking Exercise down already. Sakura wanted to stay, but Kakashi made it clear that she didn't have a choice. His explanation was that they needed to take Tazuna to the bridge and watch over him, but there was another reason why he wanted them both to leave.
This was the perfect time for Naruto to talk to Sasuke, and Sai couldn't really report anything to Danzo except that they were alone together for a while, which was bound to happen eventually since he was attached to Team Seven now. Naruto smiled and nodded to his aniki for giving him his first time alone with the Uchiha.
The blond approached the raven-haired boy who was panting a little and just staring up at the large tree in front of him, trying to figure out the secret of sticking to it. "Can I give you a few pointers?" Naruto asked. Sasuke turned his head to the blond and huffed.
"I don't need your help." He stood. "I'm an Uchiha, I can do this on my own." He took the kunai in his hand that he used as a marker and ran at the tree. It was painfully obvious that he was using the wrong amount of chakra. He was probably doing so because he had no desire to launch himself off the tree and land on his head like he did the first time he used too much. The last Uchiha didn't even get halfway up the tree before he slashed at it and made his way down rather skillfully.
"I wasn't implying that you couldn't." Naruto smirked. "I just thought you were mature enough to take the advice of a fellow Konoha-nin. I guess I was wrong." He began to leave, but was stopped by the genin.
"Wait," Sasuke sighed. "I…" he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated because both of my teammates got this within twenty minutes and I can't even stick to the tree for a few seconds." Naruto smiled, it was taking a lot for the Uchiha to admit this, and it showed him that the boy wasn't a complete stuck up like so many people said he was. "Can I still," he looked to his left, not wanting to make eye contact with the blond, "get those pointers?" He finished rather quietly, like what he was asking for was something to be ashamed of.
"Of course," Naruto said cheerily, a huge grin on his face. "It's not as difficult as it seems," he continued as he got closer to the genin. "I can show you a little trick senpai taught me." Now standing in front of the Uchiha, Naruto couldn't help but smile. He looked like Itachi, and it reminded him of his first human friend.
He wondered what Itachi was doing right now. He really hoped that he was okay, because he couldn't wait to see him again. He hoped that when they next met, Sasuke could be there with him, on their side instead of in the smothering darkness of hatred and revenge.
If he wanted that to happen then there was much work to be done.
Gato was very, very nervous.
The short, stout man had thought he was untouchable with his growing monopoly of the shipping industry. His large arrogance was what led him to believe that, since he was such a rich man, said to be the richest in the world, then not even the prestigious Konohagakure no Sato would dare touch him.
The message the Bringer of fucking Hope sent him yesterday was proof enough that no one was out of their reach. It didn't matter how 'big' the target, if God wanted someone's soul, he'd have it, and Gato was sweating profusely because he now knew it. He had no doubt in his mind that God's Shadow would, and very much could, kill him. For god's sake, the boy was a Kage slayer, responsible for the death of the Fourth Mizukage. One was enough to earn the title Kage slayer, since even one of them would have been extremely difficult to kill.
So now here Gato was, constantly jumping whenever there was a sudden noise around him. Even though it was never the Kamikage, Gato still jumped and searched for what made the noise. He was paranoid, extremely so, and terrified out of his mind.
What did he have to go and piss off a god for? He was an idiot for rerouting the raw materials shipment for Konoha to himself in Nami. He just wanted his men to be able to make high quality weapons, is all. Most of his thugs were walking around with dull knives and cracked swords, they really needed better materials.
That's when his arrogance got the best of him. He had stolen from Heaven, and now an Angel of Death was going to reap his soul. He was a fool to openly flaunt his trespasses on Konoha, and he understood now why they were the greatest village in the Elemental Nations.
There was only a sliver of hope left for the shipping tycoon. After he had spoken to Zabuza, and that brat Haku who almost broke his arm, he had explained their predicament and was pleased to hear the man's plan. Hopefully, two previous Seven Swordsmen and this mystery partner would be enough for Gato to keep his life.
Hopefully.
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