Chapter 28: chapter 28
The council chambers were filled once more with all of those who were able to make the attendance. Indeed the only empty seats were those which once belonged to the Haruno and the honorary seat that used to be Danzo's. The event had brought every civilian council member as well as all of the clan heads to the table. Standing off to one side were others of high standing in the village, including Hatake Kakashi, Morino Ibiki and Sarutobi Asuma who had wheeled one guest of honor for his temporary relief from the hospital for this occasion.
Yes, in his rightful place sat Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato and he couldn't be more...displeased. He had finally caught up to the happenings in the village since his injuries and he was far from happy with what he had discovered. He sat, glaring at the civilians and despite the contraptions that he still had connected to himself, they were all shrinking back in their seats.
"So...The Haruno and the Uchiha decided it would be a good idea to steal Uzumaki Naruto's belongings, and to top that off the villagers tried to take advantage of the open gate like it was a yard sale with a free sign over the house. Please, tell me if I've missed anything."
"Hokage-sama, they were merely doing what they believed to be best in order to help the Uchiha get stronger, and the populace was simply trying to..." Junzo tried to reason with the old man.
"They were trying to take things that they had no rights to whatsoever. Indeed there is no one in this village who deserves those items more than Naruto for all the shit you people put them through." He tried to pound his fist on the table, but due to his weakness it ended up as a simple tap.
"But nothing was stolen in the end from his house and yet he killed so many, civilians and shinobi alike, when he could have easily just escorted them off of his property." The warehouse owner countered.
"Yes, he could have, but because he is a property owner now, he has the right to deal with trespassers as he sees fit. Since those that went in had the intent to steal his possessions, not just the things that Minato left behind but items that he bought after he became the rightful owner of the estate, he had every right to do what he did. He currently has others living with him as well and their items were also being boxed up, according to the reports I was given. Do you have an excuse for those as well?" Denbe made to open his mouth, but Hiruzen stopped his train of thought instantly. "If I hear one word about their association to the boy being a good enough reason to rob them I will see to it that the owner of that voice is banned from all future council meetings."
"Y-you can't do that!"
The aged Hokage glared at the man. "I am Hokage. This is my village. You will not tell me what to do!"
"...H-hai...Hokage-sama..." The pudgy man suck a bit deeper into his seat from the killing intent that was coming is way. Not just from Hiruzen but Tsunade and Jiraiya as well, whom at the moment were flanking their sensei.
"I am pleased, however, that the instigators of this raid on Uzumaki Naruto's estate were properly handled." He nodded his thanks to the ninja side of the council as well as Ibiki, whom he continued to address. "I trust they are getting their just punishments?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama. They have been treated with the best care we had to offer. Ironically it was Uzumaki-san's own methods that broke them in the first place." He took a glance at the table in front of him and debated for a moment. "I do have slight concerns about the actions of one of my interrogators whom saw himself as unfit to continue the interrogation of Haruno Isako due to supposed personal reasons of which he was not forthcoming."
Deciding that now was not the time to discuss such topics, Inoichi intercepted the coming question. "Hokage-sama, I will discuss the reasoning behind my actions in regards to Haruno Isako at a later time of your choosing. I promise you that my reasons were just and you will most likely agree with them." To his relief, and some peoples' discontent, the old man nodded in acceptance.
"I will speak with you after this meeting then Inoichi. For now let's move on to Haruno Sakura. The girl, along with the Uchiha whom we will get to momentarily, assisted in the attempted murder of Uzumaki Naruto after he saved the village from a releasedbijū." Despite the grievous reasons behind the report, Hiruzen couldn't help but be immensely proud of the boy for such a heroic act, and even more angered at how he was treated after the invasion despite that fact.
"According to reports, sir, she didn't actually try to kill the boy, she simply took a sword out of him and attempted to defend Uchiha-sa...Uchiha-san." Koharu attempted a weak defense, trying to claim innocence for at least one person they were trying to defend.
"That may have been true had her followup actions not pointed to other reasons. Kicking him to see if he would react then stealing his current possessions and giving them to the Uchiha before finally breaking into his estate with a stolen key in order to rob him blind after he defended this village and myself. I will be the first to admit that without his aide I probably wouldn't me sitting here today."
"Sandaime-sama, there is no need to go that far." Tokiko waved off his comment, but was taken aback by his glare.
"This isn't a joke damn it. Naruto made it possible for help to get in with me behind that barrier. His clones interrupted a forbidden jutsu that would have done who knows what if Orochimaru would have been allowed to complete it. As it was, the ANBU and I had to fight against Orochimaru and two resurrected Hokage. Finally, Naruto's clones distracted my former student enough so that I was able to get one last jutsu off and burn his arms to the point that he won't be doing jutsu for awhile."
Tsunade, who had been somewhat impressed by her sensei's respect for the brat, confirmed his analysis of Orochimaru's condition. "When the traitor showed up just before this pervert and the gaki came to get me, I could see that both of his arms were indeed nearly irreparable. It would be a miracle if he's able to form a single hand sign."
"Make no mistake, He knows other methods to rectify the problem with his arms. We are getting off topic. Where were we? AH yes, Sakura. Ibiki, report." Hiruzen clarified, making even Tsunade take a step back in shock as she had determined the limbs to be completely useless without the aide of someone of her caliber to heal them.
"Upon initial examination, the girl appeared to be headstrong but she shattered in no time at all, especially after watching her mother's treatment. Due to certain admissions from her mother, we believe she may have broken a bit too well. She has answered any and all questions asked of her without hesitation in a subservient manner. She still has her free will, don't get me wrong, but I believe her to be in a state of perpetual shock and I don't see an end to it anytime soon."
"I see. Inoichi and Tsunade, you will work together to try to make her at least semi-competent again. Even if she can't continue her career, she shouldn't be so badly damaged that she can't at least live a civilian life."
"Hai Hokage-sama."
"Hai sensei."
"So, who would like to tell me about our guest of honor?" Hiruzen asked, confusing some into thinking he was talking about those that weren't normally present."
Ibiki was not one of those few. "Heh, Anko seems to like her new toys. He is her guinea-pig for testing Naruto's methods. I am pleased to say that some of his methods far surpass our own at their stages in the process."
This surprised many in the room. A mere preteen knowing better torture techniques that the head interrogator was more than enough for them to get a little nervous, those who had done wrong to the boy in the past more so than the rest.
"Where, pray tell, did he get access to such things?" Tsume inquired, not entirely certain she wanted to know.
"He didn't come right out and say it...but he did take quite the glance at the village when he implied how he learned them." Shivers went down a few spines while the elder Sarutobi hung his head slightly.
"Please, continue with your report Ibiki."
"Hai, Hokage-sama. The Uchiha seems more mentally unstable than the last time we saw him. This could be due in part to the cursed seal that he acquired from Orochimaru." Gasps surrounded the chamber at the new information gained from those who hadn't known. "Of course, he left us with reason to believe that such a thing could be false, and that his previous mental assessments could have been...influenced." He glanced meaningfully at the two advisors who managed to look indifferent to the matter.
"Does anyone have anything to add before we move on to decide their punishments in full?"
Inoichi once again spoke up. "Hokage-sama, I will need to discuss accusations against Isako with you, privately, before we take action against her. I believe your final decision for her could be...dire."
Hiruzen threw the man a calculating gaze, but he wouldn't dare question him on the matter. His trust in Inoichi far surpassed his trust in almost anyone else due simply to the man's unbiased standing in almost all matters. "Very well. We will talk after the meeting, privately." His gaze switched to the rest of the gathering, letting them know that there would be no argument over the choice. "Now, for the young Haruno, she will go through a psychiatric evaluation. After we determine her mental state we will try to rehabilitate her. Once she is deemed stable once more we will look into whether we want her to continue on as a shinobi or retire her to civilian duties. Any questions?"
"Where will she stay during this time?" Chōza asked.
"She is in a perfectly fine jail cell right now. I see no reason to move her. Despite her possible mental state, she did take actions to harm, and steal from, a fellow Konoha ninja. For that she will serve her prison time of two years regardless of how long it takes her to recover from any shock she's experienced."
"What is the other option?" Junzo asked, honestly expecting an answer.
"Other option?"
"Well we need another option if we're to take a vote won't we?" His jovial laugh was cut off by a somewhat irate leader of the village.
"There will be no other options at all today. I have clearly let this council forget itself over the years and as such you have all tried to wrestle far more control than you rightfully have. Need I remind you, Shiratori, of our earlier conversations on civilian involvement in ninja matters? The decisions today will be made by me as I determine what is right for the good of the village. The only people in this room that are allowed to question my punishments are those ninja that are the heads of their clans or the two at my right and left. Do I make myself clear? The only reason you all are here right now is because there were civilians involved in these issues than may need to be contacted later. I assume you took names during these infractions of those who were involved?"
The civilians looked between each other nervously, making the Hokage sigh in frustration. Tsunade put a calming hand on his shoulder to warn him not to go overboard. "W-we didn't see it as necessary, Hokage-sama. We figured that the boy had punished them enough."
Thankfully someone else decided to enlighten the woman as to why that was not the case. "He punished them in accordance to breaking into his home in a way that he saw fit in order to remove them from his estate without unnecessary damages. The actual punishment for breaking and entering, as well as attempted theft, is still the jurisdiction of this council. It seems though, that due to the incompetence of those who were supposed to be fulfilling their duties, the names of those involved were not recorded and now we have let a bunch of criminals loose in our village." Shikaku glared at the civilians, specifically Homura and Koharu.
"You consider them criminals for trying to liberate the Yondaime's possessions from the..." Denbe was stopped as killing intent filled the room. He watched as each of the ninja drew a kunai, even Shibi. The man was sweating profusely as he audibly gulped.
"Go ahead, just give us a reason." Tsume growled.
"Enough, we're wasting time talking about useless topics. Rest assured, I will determine a suitable punishment for this lapse of duty. Now, since Haruno Sakura's punishment is decided and Isako's will be determined after my talk with Inoichi, we will move on to the Uchiha. This is my decree and it will be followed. Uchiha Sasuke will be forced to give up his genes when we find a suitable, willing, recipient for them. There will be no intercourse, he doesn't deserve it for all that he's done. He himself will remain in a high security cell unless an extraction is needed and even at that time he will guarded. His eyes will be covered so as to not allow any possible attacks from them and he will be bound, hand and foot, at all times."
"Hokage-sama! You are treating him like an enemy assassin! Surely he should at least get the same chance that was given to the younger Haruno." Koharu pleaded. She was, after all one of his guardians.
"I think not. That boy has gotten more than he ever deserved and he still saw fit to steal from others of his own village just because he wanted to get power without doing any work, even going so far as to steal Kakashi's personal assassination jutsu. He didn't want anyone stronger than him around and as such he tried to kill Uzumaki Naruto, even though said boy was in a weakened and distracted state. Correct Inoichi?"
"Hai Hokage-sama. Uchiha-san has done nothing but try to steal or harm the boy nearly every time they've come in contact since they graduated from the academy."
"But what if he decides to defect to another village because of this?" Homura shot back.
"I would find it rather difficult if he managed to get out of our prison, but if he were to defect he would be labeled as a missing-nin with a capture or kill order."
"But Sandaime-sama! What about the sharingan?"
"What about it? That damn eye has cause more grief than any other group of people that have come through our gates. Though I admit this civilian council, and the Hyūga clan as of recently, are becoming a very close second. A fact I intend to discuss with you later, Hiashi." He could see the man wasn't happy, but nor did he care at the moment. "Many people have been overstepping their bounds lately and this will be rectified, immediately. Now, unless there is anything else we have to say about the Uchiha, that is not in his defense, we will move to our next topic of discussion. The civilians."
The usually argumentative side of the council perked up at the hint that it was now their turn to be officially included in the discussions. Koharu once again became the spokesperson for the group as she stood and addressed the gathering. "We have grievances from various civilians who are looking for damages from Uzumaki Naruto due to, what they feel, was an unjust amount of pain and suffering to their person in comparison to the actions they took."
"You're correct, it was unjust." He watched some of them smile as he himself let out a smirk. "I''l make sure to send them a notice of what they are to pay Naruto for trespassing onto his property as soon as you give me their names." He couldn't help it, he had to chuckle at their spluttering. "Civilians breaking into a ninja's house, as I believe you've been told before, is a breach of security and could be treated as such. Those bigots and narrow minded fools have compromised the position of one of my best ninja and if they continue to do say I can promise you they will pay dearly, more so than those few who have already lost their lives."
"Sandaime-sama, surely you can't be serious. They weren't even successful any yet you want to punish them?" Fumihiko complained.
"Would you rather I allow people to walk about anyone's residence freely and rearrange their belongings? Because that is exactly what happened according to what I've been told, and that's putting it lightly.
I do not know how my successor will handle things, but I for one will not stand for such blatant disregard for security. If people want to play these types of games, fine, but they better be prepared to face the consequences. I expect a list of the names of the people who are seeking damages to be in my hands later today. Failure to do so will result in their punishment being put on the civilian council members here today."
This of course started up the arguments once again as to why they should have to pay anything to Naruto, when he's the one who hurt others in the end. The shouts didn't last long though as the combined killing intent backed glares of the Hokage, two sannin and some clan heads managed to quiet them down very quickly, though afterward Tsunade had to heal Hiruzen a bit as the stress began to make his injuries ache. That action was not lost on anyone present.
"Sandaime-sama, with your current injuries and rather obvious degrading health, I believe it would be in our best interest as a village to name your successor." Hiashi announce in a none too friendly tone. Though his words may have seemed harsh, others couldn't help but nod in agreement. They would need to keep a strong front unless they wanted more enemies knocking at their gates, and a one-armed leader who nearly fell to his rogue student would not have that affect.
"I agree, and that is another reason that this council has been called together. I am officially announcing my retirement in one week." Despite their need for a strong leader, many of the ninja present hung their heads in sadness for the loss of their oldest leader. "I wish to name my successor, but I believe she still needs a little more convincing." He saw Tsunade scowling out of the corner of his eye and grimaced a bit. "If she accepts, then I will announce her as the Godaime Hokage. If not...then I will choose my second or third preference."
"If we may, Hokage-sama, who are these people that you rate so highly as to consider them for the Hokage position?" Homura was genuinely curious. He had an idea of who the top two were, but a third candidate eluded him.
"Ask you have probably guessed, the top two candidates are those to my direct right and left, respectfully. The third, well hopefully we won't have to come to that because I don't think he is completely ready, so I'll let you keep guessing on that one." He smiled a little, but stubbornly refused to give them any further information. The man he would have chosen if his first two fell through would indeed be powerful, but he also seemed too aloof for the job and would need to be a bit more serious if he were to accept. A bit more serious than the old man thought he could be.
Tsunade on the other hand looked over her sensei to the second candidate. 'Could I really let that old pervert be Hokage? Hah, he'd probably alter the kunoichi dress code as soon as he was sworn in and put viewing booths in the hot springs.' She shook her head and for once seriously considered her position in the matter. Coming back to Konoha hadn't been nearly as bad as she at first thought it would be. Sure there were pangs of grief when she'd spotted places that she and Dan would go for dates or where Nawaki would make her play ninja with him, but most of those had changed so much in recent years that they were hardly recognizable. Even the place where Dan had proposed to her was torn down due to its structural degradation. It truly had been a long time since she'd last been here.
Hiruzen cave a small smile as he heard a resigned sigh from Tsunade. "Now that those issues are taken care of, I believe I have been far too out of the picture for over a month. I would like reports on both the ninja and civilian status as well as the current state of repairs in the village. Koharu, how are the civilians fairing after the invasion, and I warn you right now I don't want to hear a word concerning Uzumaki Naruto or I will have you escorted out of this chamber."
The woman gulped a bit as she stood to give her report. She now had to find a way to cover her long list of issues without pointing them all at a certain blond-haired brat.
• • •
The meeting took a good portion of the day but by the end everyone had a decent idea of what all had happened in the past month. There were surprises on both the civilian and ninja sides of the council as to what the other half had managed to accomplish. Amazingly a topic about Naruto never had a chance to come up as they had far too many other important matters to deal with at the moment. One main topic that came up was the damage to the hospital during the invasion. With Tsunade's input it was decided to add a small auditorium during the ongoing reconstruction. It would be to assist in the training of future medic-nin. To her surprise, Hiruzen was all for the idea.
When she asked him why the hell he hadn't agreed with it before, he informed her that at the time they were still in strain with the other countries and couldn't afford to spare the ninja she was requesting to train. She reluctantly conceded the point. Now that the moment was in the past she had more than enough time to look back on the actions and knew that there was a reason the old man had denied her that desire, even if it took this long to finally find out why.
Among the ninja specific issues, there were mainly topic about balancing reconstruction and mission duties. He was happy to hear reports of all of their recent successes and not too concerned about their losses. Indeed it seemed that nothing could darken his mood too much after finally getting out of that hospital bed and into some fresh air, even if he had to be stuck in a room with the council. At least his day didn't consist of staring at blank, white walls.
Once their topics began to dwindle, the meeting was called for the day so that everyone could take a break, eat and tend to their other duties. It wouldn't do to have the clan heads stuck with him all day when they had duties of their own to see about. The only one that was held back was Inoichi, who sat in place and locked eyes with the Hokage to remind hm that they still had a private matter to discuss.
"Leave us Tsunade. If you have something to do, just send a nurse to come pick me up when I'm done here. I'll be fine until then." Giving her a small smile, he patted her hand reassuringly.
She hesitated only slightly before nodding her head. "If that's what you want sensei. I have something to take care of quick, if you're not done by the time I am, then I'll get someone to come pick you up. Just try to stay calm." She shot a glare at the Yamanaka clan head in warning, and waited for him to acknowledge it before she left.
As the door closed, Sarutobi turned back to the blond man and narrowed his eyes. "So, what did you find out that was for my ears only?"
"Hokage-sama...I know who she is."
Hiruzen waited for the man to continue, but when nothing came he turned inward to consider who 'she' might be. It took a few minutes, but upon realization his eyes shot open. "Who?"
Despite the man's sudden outburst and the wave of killing intent that flooded the room, Inoichi stayed mostly calm. "Before I answer that, I ask that you let me give a request." He watched the older man give him a calculating gaze. It wasn't often that the Yamanaka gave the Hokage a request, but when it was it was usually something dead serious. He was given the allowance to continue, but it was only to voice his request, not the acceptance of it. "Hokage-sama, I ask that Uzumaki Naruto be allowed to determine the punishment for her crime. I know we do not condone acts of revenge, but I believe in this case it could help him in more, personal matters. If he can personally lay his demons to rest, I believe that he may be able to become somewhat more normal in respect to the better half."
Seconds passed, then minutes until the Sandaime's voice finally rang through the empty council chamber. "...He will be allowed to request punishments, but they must be approved and he is to have minimum involvement. I don't want him to have the chance to have his emotions become too involved. Depending on what is approved I will see about what more punishment this woman should endure. Now, who is she?"
"Haruno, Isako..." As soon as the name came out, Inoichi was on the floor gasping for breath as the air pressure in the room seemed to instantly multiply ten times over.
"That whore! That slutty little tramp! I'll see her tortured until Shinigami-sama begs for mercy for this, and...and...oh god!" The weight holding the clan head down suddenly released and he looked with concern at his leader. "We...we made him face her. Every council meeting he was forced to see her and...and they both acted like nothing happened." Tears threatened to drop from the old man's eyes as he thought of the pain that the boy, who was akin to a grandson to him, must have been going through at those times. He wanted to scream, to storm out of the room and beat the woman to a bloody pulp and fling her soul into the Shinigami's stomach himself, but Inoichi was right, that would do little good fro Naruto. All he would get from it was the knowledge that his tormentor was dead. There was a reason the boy had stayed quiet about all of this and it wasn't just so someone else could have the satisfaction of taking away his pain.
"Hokage-sama?"
"I-I'm ok Inoichi, thank you. I'd like to talk to Naruto soon, but not yet. I need some time to think this over. I-I need some time to figure out how to tell him that I'm sorry."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Inoichi felt a little uncomfortable. He'd seen one of the strongest shinobi in the world go from a dominating force, to a shriveled being full of self remorse in seconds. It was a a lot to deal with. "Hokage-sama, I think if Naruto would have felt too uncomfortable being forced to see her, he would have mentioned it, at least to you. He adores you, and I find I hard to believe that he would want you to be like this for his sake. Besides, he's happier now than at any other point in his life. That has to amount to something."
Hiruzen sucked in a shaky breath and nodded to himself. "You're right. I shouldn't be pitying him like this. He's grown strong even without the care of anyone else, and with the whole world against him he's done so much good. I think...I'm ready to go now."
"If you don't mind Hokage-sama, I'll take you back to the hospital." Inoichi walked over and after a nod of acceptance, shunshinned them out of the room.
• • •
Tsunade entered the office that her two most beloved people had wished to call their own. Slowly she traced her hand over the top of the desk before settling into the chair behind it. Could she really accept such a position? What would they think of her if she did, what would they think of her if she didn't? She spun the chair around so that she was looking out over the expanse of the village and couldn't help but wonder again at how different it looked. The Kyūbi must have destroyed so much for all these changes, and the Oto/Suna invasion only added to the distortion of her memories.
The soft sound of the door closing brought her out of her musings as she turned to face the visitor. "Oh! Tsunade-sama, I didn't expect anyone to be here."
"Shizune? What are you doing here?" She had barely seen her apprentice since they'd arrived.
"Um, I decided to help out at the hospital while we're here, so I've been bringing the doctors' reports here." She dropped the stack of papers she held into a box in the corner of the room. "I didn't feel like just sitting around and doing nothing after all."
The sannin allowed herself a smile. "You always were the one to jump into your work right away. I seriously wonder if I'd even be able to order you to take a vacation."
"With all due respect Tsunade-sama, running around with you gives me all the reason I need to stay in one spot as long as possible."
The older woman flinched, and looked a little ashamed. "I suppose I have been forcing you to run around a lot." She sighed loudly and rubbed her temples. "I just wish I had all the answers sometimes, you know? Maito Gai recently asked me if I could take a look at his student. The boy has the worst fractures I've every seen in his arm and leg. He shouldn't even be moving around and yet he ignores the doctors' orders and tries to train. He's more passionate about being a shinobi than anyone I've ever met. A person like that should be completely mentally destroyed by having an injury that ended their career so soon and yet he still isn't giving up, even after they told him there was no hope."
Shizune giggled a bit. "Hai, I've met Lee-kun. He's not exactly your average ninja is he?"
"It just makes me wonder...And then I look out at the village and I hardly even recognize it. It's like it all moved on without me and left me behind." She motioned towards the panorama behind her to show her point. "I feel like I'm still living in the past Shizune. I don't know what to do. Sarutobi-sensei wants me to be Hokage. I think he's allowing me to modify the hospital just to tempt me into staying."
"That's great Tsunade-sama!" The apprentice nearly jumped for joy at the prospect of staying in the village instead of continuing their travels.
"...Is it? I-I don't know."
"Tsunade-sama...Think about it. Dan and Nawaki may not have been able to see their dreams come true, but maybe you can live their dreams for them."
"Hmmm...I wonder..."
"If you want to take your mind off things for a bit, Tsunade-sama, I'm sure everyone would be really happy if you'd stop by the hospital. Maybe even give a few pointers?"
"Thank you Shizune. Maybe some work is what I really need right now." Tsunade stood from the desk and took one last look out over the village. 'It's all just a memory now.'
• • •
"I heard I was to report here for a mission. Oh! Hey Haku-chan, Kin-chan, Mutt, Hatake-san." He was immediately glomped by said females as he made his way to the missions counter.
"Hai, Uzumaki-san. You are to team up with team Kakashi on their mission while completing your own. You mission is in this scroll and it's parameters are classified, even amongst your teammates, that includes Kakashi, unless it is necessary to do so in order to complete the mission." The chūnin threw a look at the jōnin to make sure he understood, but let out a sigh when he saw that said jōnin was too engrossed in his book to voice anything but a small giggle. "You may however, explain you mission to them upon completion. Good luck."
"Understood." Naruto took his mission scroll and read over it. His face changed to surprise as his head shot up. "This is..."
"classified Uzumaki-san." The chūnin cut him off.
"...Understood." Naruto bowed as he rolled up the scroll and sealed it in another before slipping it in his vest. "Hatake-san, when you're ready."
Kakashi looked up from his book as though hearing the surrounding world for the first time. "Oh...right. Team, pack for a week long mission and meet at the gate in one hour. We're heading out tonight to keep this as short as possible."
Three sounds of acceptance sang out through the room as the two genin and female chūnin rushed off leaving Kakashi, Naruto and the chūnin in charge of mission for the day in the room. "Not to sound disloyal, but Haku-chan is a chūnin as well and is already going on the mission with Hatake-san, shouldn't she be taking this mission?"
Unsure how to answer, the chūnin looked to the jōnin for help. "Naruto, the mission my team was assigned requires a full squad. Your mission must have you separating from us at some point if it requires an extra person, thus why we need you to come along. If you wish, you can have Haku do that mission and you can come with the rest of us, though that may become an issue since you've already seen that scroll."
Naruto absentmindedly put his hand over the scroll in his pocket and considered his options. "...No, I think I'll let Haku stay where she is. It'll keep her mind a bit more at ease in the end." Deciding he may need some specialized equipment for his mission, Naruto left for his house leaving the two other men alone.
"You know he couldn't have handed over the mission Kakashi." The chūnin said as he finished marking down the information for the team.
"I know, but I also know he wouldn't put unnecessary strain on those he cares about." The chūnin just nodded at him as he left to get his own belongings.
"Come on Naruto-sama. We're going to be late!" Kin shouted from the front door. Seconds later Naruto came out of his office, stuffing some seals into a pouch at his waist. He had changed into a pair of black pants, similar to those he war during the chūnin exams, and a tight, black, long-sleeved shirt. His chūnin vest was proudly displayed over-top his clothes with his tanto resting just below it.
"Sorry about that girls. I had a little trouble finding what I needed. I seems so long since...well let's get going!" He smiled at them as he opened the door to let them out. True he no longer needed to since there was no key required, but he was a gentleman and he was being polite.
"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" Haku asked, a little worried at his slip.
"Fine, just a little anxious at this one. I'll be alright though." He assured her as they walked out of the estate and made their way to the village gate. By the time they got there it only took Kakashi about ten minutes to show up. "Impressive Kakashi-san. You're right on time."
"Well, I heard a voice awhile back that made me start to think, and I like to think that I've taken a better path recently. Perhaps I could tell you where it was and it could give you some advice as well?"
"Sorry, but I doubt that voice would have any bearing on my problems." He chuckled a little, remembering what exactly got Kakashi to change. "Anyhow, I believe we have a mission to attend to, if you would like to lead the way." Naruto flourished a bow and signaled the jōnin ahead.
"Heh, fine. Kiba, take point. Haku and Kin take center guard. Naruto you've got left and rear, I'll take right..." The jōnin suddenly looked around as though something were missing. "But not until our client gets here." Team seven dropped their jaws at the man's lack of attention. How could he possibly have just now realized that they were missing someone? "Well I guess this is as good of a time as any. We'll be escorting a political figure named Funabashi to the Ame no Kuni boarder where he will be handed off to Ame ninja."
"But sensei, isn't Ame hostile?"
"Hai, Kiba. That's why we're only going to the border. One we do the hand off to the Ame ninja we'll be making sure they stay on their side before retreating home. Funabashi-dono is from beyond Tori no Kuni and his quickest way home is through Ame."
"Let's just hope this doesn't turn out to be like your last escort Kakashi-san."
"Hai, hai. I could deal without having missing-nin ambushing us on this one. Anyhow, once the scroll is signed by Funabashi-dono we head home and it's mission complete. Since we won't be leaving the country the mission is slated as a mid C-rank." He looked over to Naruto who was absently patting his own scroll. "How about you Naruto? What rank did you manage to pull?"
"Huh? Oh, um, sorry but I can't say even that much."
"I...see." The two stared at each other for a minute before breaking eye contact, leaving three rather confused individuals.
It took another fifteen minutes before the robes of an obvious political figure came into view. His fine silks swayed around as he walked through the crowd on his way to the gate. "Apologies, I was caught up in a discussion about your monument with a jewelery store owner and didn't see the time." Overall their first impression of the man was that he was kind and considerate of others. He looked over the group and seemed pleased. "I was under the impression that I would be getting a guard of four, but it seems that it was decided that a spare should be added. Either you aren't as confident in your ninjas' abilities as I'd been lead to believe or there is another purpose for the extra company, not that I'm one to complain."
"Funabashi-dono, Uzumaki-san has his own mission which just happens to follow our path for the most part. He'll be accompanying us as support until he has to split away fro his own agenda." Kakashi informed the man.
"I see. Well I'm not exactly up to the standards of a ninja, but I'm no slouch either, so let's be on our way. We only have a week to get to Ame, and though you five may be able to get there in no time at all, a politician like me may take all week. I hope you can put up with an old fool for that long." The politician laughed jovially as he began to walk forward, his escort quickly falling into position.
The group walked and laughed as Funabashi cracked jokes, and before long the sun was setting and they were forced to make camp. They found a decent-sized clearing, far enough off the path to conceal any light from a fire, and began to set up their tents.
"Haku and Kin will be in the left tent while Naruto, Kiba and myself will take the right. Funabashi-dono will be in the middle so that he will be guarded at all times."
"Oh nonsense. I don't need a tent all to myself. You three boys will be far too crowded in one tent. I'll have plenty of room for one of them to sleep in Hatake-san."
"As grateful as I'm sure they are for your offer, We are going to be taking guard shifts during the night, so only two will be in the tent at any given time. You can rest easy knowing that we'll all be comfortable and watched over at night Funabashi-dono." Kakashi gave the man an eye-smile as he finished with their cooking fire.
Naruto, who had stopped upon hearing the discussion, came out from the trees with a couple dead rabbits in his hands. He handed them off to Haku, already skinned and gutted, for her to add to their meal tonight. Not three minutes later Kiba came strolling out with three rabbits of his own which he began to gut and skin right in camp before being hit over the head by Kin.
"Ow! What the..."
"Baka! Go do that in the woods. We don't want any uninvited guests to show up later because of the smell."
Kiba looked from his kunai, which was about to dig into the creature, to those in the camp. The ninja seemed to simply be waiting for him to do as told while Funabashi looked rather disgusted and seemed to have a bit of a green tint to his face. "Fine, fine. Not like whoever is on guard shouldn't be able to handle anything that gets close." He muttered as he got back up and headed into the woods a little ways.
"Honestly, you'd think he would at least have paid attention during survival training. Was he this bad in the academy too?" Kin looked at Naruto for an answer.
He shrugged in return. "From what I saw when I was actually there and inside the classroom he spent more time asleep or ogling the girls than paying attention. I'm rather surprised I was able to keep the position as dead last with him around. But then, I guess I had a bit of an advantage there..."
"What do you mean Naruto-sama?"
Naruto inwardly cursed himself while maintaining a calm appearance. "I mean that I was actually trying to stay in last place, so as long as I did worse than him I was pretty much set. I wish I'd have paid more attention to Shikamaru though, he did almost as bad as I did because he slept through most of the tests." He breathed a sigh of relief as they seemed to accept his explanation.
Over supper the girls marveled at the politician's jewelery. Most of it was simple gold links and bands, but there were a few pieces that stood out amongst the glimmer. One such piece was a ring on his smallest finger that held a large emerald as its centerpiece, which in turn was flanked by two rubies before the design disappeared in some ornate gold filigree. The girls were, of course, enthralled with the unique piece while the most reaction it got from the boys was a raised eyebrow from Kakashi.
Once finished, Naruto opted to take first watch while Kakashi would follow and Kiba would take the tail end of the night. The girls were left to sleep peacefully so they would keep to Kakashi's word of having no more than two people per tent at any given time.
The second night, the girls refused to not keep watch so with a little arguing, and the admittance that they regularly slept in the same bed with Naruto, the two chūnin and lone female genin shared that night's watch. The only one that seemed to be largely disgruntled by the fact was the local flea market, sidekick not included.
On the third night, just inside their borders, Naruto finally decided to part ways with them after he had eaten. Funabashi seemed to despair at the news as he claimed they had so much fun together. Indeed their trip had plenty of good moments, but a ninja's duty called and he had a mission to complete. The girls gave him their hugs and kisses as he left, Kakashi following slightly behind, waving off his teams attempts to follow. Once they were well away from the others the two stopped with Naruto slightly ahead of the jōnin.
"Are you going to tell me your mission Naruto?"
"No, Hatake-san. My mission is still a secret. Just do me a favor and get the others away as quickly as possible after the exchange. I fear that the noise I make could cause yo some problems if you stick around too long. If all goes well I might make an effort to catch up and join you on your way back to Konoha." Naruto said over his shoulder.
"...Don't seek out danger Naruto. Even if there aren't a lot of people that would miss you, such a thing would devastate those who would."
Naruto leapt off the branch he was on and disappeared into the night. Leaving his last words for Kakashi to shake his head at. "Like I would give all those bastards something to celebrate!"
• • •
The air was tense as the group of Konoha ninja faced the equally wary Ame ninja. The only ones who seemed to keep their cool were the two jōnin. An altercation at this point would not be beneficial for either country. "Funabashi-dono, if you'll just sign this scroll we will release you into the care of your next escort."
"Of course Hatake-san." The man flourished a pen as he elegantly signed his name to the document. He smiled at the Konoha ninja before looking at the sky. "It looks like the weather is about to turn. I do believe I will regret not bringing the proper attire for traveling such a wet area. Oh well, I suppose that is what I get for having a country that wants me back fast enough that they are willing to got through this whole mess to get me there." The Ame ninja behind him scowled a little at the derogatory comment about their home, but this was their mission even if the client seemed to be rather rude.
"Thank you Funabashi-dono. Now my team and I have to head back to Konoha. We're on a rather tight schedule, so if you'll excuse us..."
"Oh of course. Farewell, and I look forward to the next time I will require your services." As the four ninja sped into the distance, the politician smiled at his new entourage. "Well, no reason to wait around If you wouldn't mind leading the way ninja-san I will do my best to keep pace."
The team of ninja were well out of sight when they heard the commotion. Akamaru picked up the distant sound and barked his worry to Kiba. "Sensei, something just exploded behind us. Should we go check it out?"
"Negative Kiba. We're close to the border still, so a skirmish isn't unlikely. Without knowing any details we aren't getting involved unless it spills over into our direction. Let me know if you hear anything getting closer though."
"Hai sensei."
They continued on until late evening at a much faster pace then they had traveled with their charge. They would easily make it back the next morning, but there was no reason to rush things so Kakashi had them set up camp for the night.
"How do you think Funabashi-dono is doing right now? I bet he's soaked to the bone!" Kiba laughed and was joined by Akamaru who barked along with him.
"I kind of pity him you know. He seemed so nice I don't really think it would be proper to wish bad weather on him." Kin said, a little mellow due to the lack of her boyfriend and Funabashi's jokes.
"Yeah I know. I just think it's funny how he reacted to it. It seemed like just a mild annoyance, or something that he's used to. I wonder if they make him go through Ame often?"
"He did seem rather light hearted about the whole situation. A man without a care in the world. If only that were true for everyone..." Haku chimed in between bites of her rice.
Throughout their conversation, Kakashi kept looking back the path they came. He was brought out of his own musings as the others turned their attention to him.
"Sensei? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, fine, just looking for our straggler. Naruto said he might catch up to us if he finishes quickly, so I thought I'd keep an eye out." Kakashi smiled at them to lay their worries to rest.
"So, sensei, did he tell you what his mission was?"
"No, Haku. I have my suspicions, but we'll have to wait until he gets back to find out. That is, if he feels like telling us."
"What do you mean if? It's Naruto so of course he's going to want to rub it in our faces about how cool his own mission was. He'll probably play it up and exaggerate the whole thing. Like saying it was a solo raid on an Ame jōnin exam or taking out another A-rank missing-nin or..."
"Assassinating the same man you were escorting for three days." The four looked up immediately, shocked to hear the familiar yet distant voice. "You really need to learn to keep your trap shut and your ears open Kiba. Akamaru has been trying to warn you about me coming here for about five minutes no doubt." Naruto jumped down to a clear spot near the fire.
"So I take it your mission was a success?" Kakashi inquired.
"Hai, hai. Not my favorite, but it's finished."
"Assassination never is easy, but at least you've completed you mission. How many casualties for them?"
***Flashback***
Naruto made his way in a wide arc around the meeting point for the escort detail. He was now in enemy territory and had to be extremely cautious so he wouldn't get caught. He found an adequate lookout point for the exchange and watched the politician get handed off. Just as he'd hoped, Kakashi didn't wait around and took his advice to leave quickly. He ducked back behind the tree and waited for the small dots on the horizon to disappear. Then he waited longer for the escort of Ame ninja to pass beneath him. Then he waited more until they were just about to disappear amongst the trees before triggering his trap.
In less than five seconds there was a loud explosion as light filtered through the trees. He rushed towards his target, he would have to act fast if he didn't want to be caught. He arrived at the scene of the explosion to see most of the Ame-nin laying on the ground. The only one left semi-conscious was leaning against a tree and would soon be sleeping just like his companions. Unfortunately for him, that was too long for Naruto so the boy just rushed up behind him and knocked him out the hard way, foot to head.
With all the witnesses taken care of, he made a few clones to rummage for what he could find as he advanced on their unsuspecting charge. He took a brief moment to remember exactly why he was doing this, but once the information hit him he continued without hesitation. A slice later and the man would bleed out his life's essence from the jagged cut under his chin. No amount of healing would save him now.
Gathering his new possessions, Naruto leapt back up into the trees. He threw one last glance at the man to see the too large puddle spreading beneath him and the blue tint to his lips. Indeed he would be dead in seconds if not sooner. He leapt off to hit his retreat trail before anyone else would have a chance to happen across the scene. The Ame escort detail would wake up in a half hour to find their possessions gone and their charge dead by a seemingly talentless assassin.
***Flashback End***
Kiba shot up from his seat and pointed at Naruto. "Wait! You were telling the truth? You really killed Funabashi? What the hell man! Why did we even escort him to Ame if you were just going to kill him?"
"Naruto-kun...You...Did you really kill him?"
Naruto sighed and leaned back against a tree, helping himself to some of the leftovers of their meal. "Yeah, he's dead and to answer your question Hatake, just the target."
"You left the Ame-nin alive? You better hope you weren't seen." Kakashi scolded.
"A combination of delayed flash-bang seals followed by a very strong knock-out gas planted on Funabashi himself. If they weren't blinded then they weren't going to voluntarily open their eyes either. To be safe I also covered myself with a cloak and hid my hitai ite." He turned to those of his generation in order to answer their questions next. "Funabashi was a sick man, a murderer and a fiend. He was part of Gatō's operation in illegal trade and we finally tracked him down recently. We were given the go ahead for the assassination with the stipulation that it wouldn't be tracked back to us, thus the reason we couldn't just do away with him in Konoha."
"He was trading with Gatō? What was he trading?" Kiba asked, now slightly interested instead of angry after the mention of the tyrant who threw Nami into turmoil.
"Try to figure it out Kiba. Why did he seem so interested in having one of us sleep in his tent with him? Of course you may not have seen it, but I'm sure everyone else did if they think back a bit." He smirked a bit at Kiba's confused look and the dawning realization on the faces of the others. "How he stared at your ass every time you moved and licked his lips." Oh how he wished he'd had a camera as he watched the Inuzuka's mouth drop open in disgusted shock.
"I-I think I'm gonna be sick." The poor boy rushed off into the bushes and after a few seconds, the sounds of a half digested meal could be heard hitting the ground.
As soon as he came back, Naruto decided to add a little seasoning to Kiba's night. "I don't see why your so upset Kiba. He was treating you nicer than you've treated a lot of women in the past. At least he didn't try to force himself on you."
Kiba glared at the blond, but didn't make any aggressive movement towards him, though a growl did escape his lips. "While you may be right about that, at least I went after the opposite sex. Besides, after what I experienced because of your big mouth, I don't think I'll be able to look at another girl the same way again."
"So you're saying that maybe Funabashi's actions weren't that bad of an option?" Haku quirked her brow as she fought a smirk.
"Damn it! That's not what I meant and you know it! I just won't be able to, you know, force myself on one again without remembering the 'retraining' that it's earned me in the past."
"Alright, alright. Enough fun for the night. So, our mission was successful and Naruto was able to complete his without incident, so we're all in the clear. By the way, Naruto, what did you get as proof of his death?" Kakashi asked.
"You mean besides his DNA on my clothes?" He pointed to a bloody spot on his pant leg to emphasize his point. "I got...this." He smiled as he held up a piece of jewelery. More specifically he held up a ring with a large emerald and two rubies. The girls gasped in recognition.
"That's Funabashi's ring! What are you going to do with it Naruto-sama?"
"Well...If they don't need it as proof then I guess I'll just add it to the other pieces I took off him. I decided to add to the pile of suspects by including the possibility of bandits and missing-nin."
"Even without that they would have a huge amount of trouble proving it was us as long as you didn't get careless. That was more like adding insult to injury." Kiba gave his rare, and possibly only, moment of praise to the blond.
"I ran the border to a stream and made a clone. The clone went upstream while I came back here. They'll likely follow the dirty water up and lose the trail than risk crossing our borders. Beside. If her was practically drooling over you, imagine what his thoughts were of me." Naruto struck his most dashing pose as the others fell down laughing. Even Kiba managed to laugh despite the jab at his looks.
That night passed quickly and the next morning came with four ninja ready to depart for their home. Because of their increased speed they crossed the threshold of the gates by mid-morning to see two alert chūnin ready to greet them. After signing back in they handed in their mission scrolls before leaving Kakashi and Naruto hanging back to fill out their reports, the former giving the latter some tips on what to and not to include. After handing in their scrolls, the chūnin on duty informed Naruto that the Hokage wanted to see him soon about an important personal matter, to which Naruto told him that he would do so after he had a quick change and some lunch.
Naruto arrived at his estate, about a quarter of an hour after the girls, to find Neji and Hiashi standing outside his gate. He groaned as he walked towards them. Nothing good was going to come from this confrontation.
"Hyūga. To what do I owe the pleasure of such esteemed company?"
"Know your place boy. I will have a word with Hinata now and you will not get in my way."
"Of course not. Go right ahead." Naruto waved his arm towards the gate indicating that Hiashi head right through.
"Don't play games with me child open the gate and let me in."
"How about I go to the Hyūga estate and demand entrance to see Hanabi? How well would that go over with you?"
"Absolutely not! You wouldn't make it past the front gate, if the guard allowed you to go that far."
"So what makes you think that demanding me to open my gate will get you anything but the same reaction?"
"Boy I am the Hyūga clan head and I hold a seat on the council of this village. By rights I can demand what I want from a peon like you. Now open this gate or I will be forced to take actions against you."
"Force all you want. You'll get nothing out of me, but I promise you that if you lay a single hand on me, or anyone under my protection, you will regret your decisions. Now get out of my way and leave Hinata alone. She has no desire to talk to you, and you lost the right to ask for such a thing when you banished her from your household and clan. Now leave." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the clan head as the man stayed standing at his gate. "Fine." Naruto began to walk away.
"Where do you think you're going boy?"
Naruto suddenly felt a hand applying pressure on his shoulder. He calmly looked behind him and into the glare of the Hyūga head. "I don't think that is something that should concern you. Where I feel like going and when is entirely up to me. Unlike your clan, the rest of the people in this village are free to do as they see fit with their time. You would do well to remember that, Hyūga."
"I demand you let me see my daughter before you go anywhere fiend."
"...fiend huh? You treading awfully close to breaking some laws, be careful you don't tip over the edge, and last I checked your daughter is tucked away safe in your estate right where you left her when you decided to come harass the innocent populace of Konoha. Perhaps you'd like to learn a little lesson though?"
"What could you possibly have to teach me you little wretch?"
*Clang*
"Never underestimate the uses of kage bunshin."
The Naruto that Hiashi had grabbed went up in smoke, obscuring the man's vision of the area. When it cleared he saw an empty street. Gritting his teeth, he set off to find Neji and ask him why he ran off instead of guarding the gate like he should have. Granted he didn't give him that specific order, but the slave should have known.
The door to the house swung open and two figures walked inside. Naruto warned his companion of the rules of the house and the other teen begrudgingly accepted. They walked inside and Naruto looked around for their prey, only splitting up when Naruto went upstairs for a brief moment. The house seemed empty so the two headed out to the back yard where any liveliness that had been going on immediately stopped.
"N-Neji-nīsan?" Hinata's stutter seemed to come back full force for a moment.
"What the hell Naruto!" Kin shouted in outrage as she and Haku turned to see what Hinata was so nervous about.
"Calm down everyone." Naruto commanded as he and Neji stepped out into the yard. "Girls, go inside. This is going to be a private matter I'm sure." He watched as they refused to move from their position. "Now!" With a little more anger in his voice they jumped up and reluctantly moved away, though choosing to work on a more distant part of the garden just so they would be withing helping distance if needed. "Sorry Neji, but I think that is about as good as you're going to get right now."
Neji looked took his gaze from Hinata in order to see where the other girls went. "That will be adequate Uzumaki-san, now if you would please leave us I would like to talk to Hinata alone."
Naruto shook his head. "Like I said Neji, this is as good as you're going to get. In other words, I still don't trust you enough to leave you alone with Hinata, so anything you have to say you will have to say in front of me. Don't worry about anything getting back to your uncle though. I'm not one to squeal unless it's something that will put the village or my precious people at risk." Walking over to Hinata, he put a hand around her shoulder and signaled for them all to sit. "Now, why are you here Neji?"
Neji looked from Hinata, to Naruto's hand on her shoulder then to Naruto himself before settling back on Hinata. He stiffened for a moment as he prepared to do what he needed to do, causing the other two to stiffen as well just before their eyes widened in shock as Neji bowed to the ground in front of them. "Hinata, though we no longer are of the same family I wish to apologize to you for my former actions against your person. I was recently made aware of the fact that I was taking out my hatred for the main branch on someone who was in nearly as much pain as I was. Had I not been so focused on my own fate I may have been able to see the distress of those around me and as such given you the aide you needed instead of throwing useless and senseless glares behind your back."
"N-Neji..." Hinata held her hand out towards him as if to comfort him. Her kind heart reaching out despite all the boy had done to her.
"Please do not forgive me Hinata. I have lived in nothing but hatred and spite and such a thing is unforgivable. I nearly killed someone I was meant to protect, and for nothing but the satisfaction it would give me to see the pain in the clan head's eyes. A pain that I now fear I would never have seen regardless of the outcome."
Naruto was smiling at the confession while beside him Hinata was in tears.
"Uzumaki-san, since I am no longer able to watch after my cousin, I charge you with her safety. If any harm befalls her I will lay the blame on your head."
Naruto just snickered. "Like you really had to demand that. I'd protect her even if Kami told me not to." His arm around her tightened as she broke out in sobs and collapsed into his chest.
"Uzumaki-san. I would ask one other favor of you." Naruto turned his attention back to the Hyūga. "I ask that you watch Hiashi if he ever decides to punish a cadet branch member in front of you. If you can learn the seals, it may help in more ways than you could imagine." Naruto nodded at his fellow shinobi as he watched him stand. "Now if you would be so kind as to let me out, I fear Hiashi may be looking for me and he won't be too happy if he finds me here. I do thank you for this chance, even though I may not have deserved it."
"Most people deserve a second chance Neji, some just don't get it."
"N-nīsan..." Their eyes turned to Hinata as she wiped hers and looked up with the best smile she could muster. "Come visit again sometime nīsan."
Neji just gave an awkward smile and a nod before he turned to leave. Seeing him coming towards them, Haku and Kin rushed past towards Hinata and Naruto as the latter got up to let Neji out.
"Hinata, what did he say to you? You're crying! Just wait till I..." Kin was cut off as Hinata grabbed both of the other girls' hands.
"H-he apologized." She smiled as more tears rushed out. "He apologized." She leapt into their arms as she happily cried, not ashamed at all that the other two were seeing her in such a state.
"Shh Hinata...shhh." Haku combed her fingers through the girls hair to comfort her. "It seems Naruto-kun struck again, and if a bastard like Neji can change that much, maybe there is hope for this village yet.
• • •
After Neji left and Hinata had settled down, the four of them talked about their recent missions over lunch, leaving out any gory details of course. Once finished and cleaned up, Naruto left the estate and headed towards the hospital to see what the old man wanted to talk to him about. It was always a hassle to get into the hospital, and today was no different. He was currently engaged in a shouting match with the receptionist and it didn't look like he would be winning anytime soon.
"I told you that Hokage-sama is not accepting visitors right now, so scram runt before I call the ANBU to take you away for disturbing the peace!" The woman shouted at him as she pointed towards the door.
"And I told you that I was sent here because I received a message saying he wanted to talk to me, so tell me which room he's in and you'll be able to lower your voice about a hundred decibels so that people can rest again." He stood there and stubbornly glared at her.
"Sandaime-sama is getting along well enough without any detriments to the environment like you hanging around."
"Listen lady, let me put this in simple terms that you might comprehend. You let me see the old man or you can likely kiss your job goodbye for interfering in village affairs."
The woman opened her mouth to give a retort but never got the chance as a familiar voice came to them from the side. "Oh, Naruto-kun! What are you doing here?"
"He was just leaving. Now get out of here brat and don't come back!" The receptionist did her best to hastily push him out the door from behind the desk, but he simply sidestepped her attempts.
"Oh hey Shizune-san. I was asked to come here by Ojii-san, and I seem to be having some trouble finding out what room he's in." He glared at the woman behind the counter as she huffed in annoyance.
"Well if that's all it is then I'll show you to his room myself. I was on my way to restock the bandages in his room anyway." True to her word, she was carrying a stack of medical supplies.
"As long as it's no trouble, sure. I'll even carry those for you if you want."
"Oh thank you, and no trouble at all."
"Shizune-sempai! You can't seriously be thinking about letting him see the Hokage?"
"And why not? If he was asked to come then he should get there right away shouldn't he?"
"But he's, he's..." The woman seemed at a loss for words, but the stuttering and look of offense on her face told Shizune all she needed to know about the woman's disposition towards the boy.
"I suggest you keep such comments to yourself, and if I ever hear of you delaying an appointment with the Hokage again I'll personally escort you out the door and make sure you're banned from the property, injured or not." The pair turned away, leaving a shocked nurse to stare at their backs.
"Thanks Shizune-san..." Naruto sighed as he they walked away.
"No problem Naruto-kun." Shizune was having trouble trying not to embrace the boy and found herself wondering yet again at how he could possibly be so strong.
The two walked in silence all the way to the Hokage's room, stopping only briefly to knock on the door before entering. "Hokage-sama, I brought you a visitor. I found him in the lobby trading barbs with the nurse on receptionist duty."
"Hey Ojii-san." Naruto grinned at the old man, showing a smile reminiscent of the days before his graduation.
The Sandaime smiled his grandfatherly smile in return, but it soon turned sad as he remembered what he had called the boy here for. "Shizune, could you excuse us please?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. I'll be on call, so if you need anything just let me know." She bowed before leaving, though not missing the suddenly somber mood.
Once the door clicked shut, Hiruzen look cautiously to Naruto. "Naruto-kun...Before we begin I just want to say how proud I am of you. Never in my life had I dreamed of seeing someone so strong and yet so caring. You have exceeded the expectations of myself and your father already and I can only see great things in store for you." It saddened him a bit when Naruto gave a mirthless chuckle. "They'll understand someday Naruto, don't worry. For now though we have a much more serious matter to discuss."
Naruto was suddenly nervous. The look in the old man's eyes didn't bode well for him and he knew that whatever the topic would be, it was going to strain his emotions.
"Naruto...we know who she is now." He almost regretted the words the instant they left his mouth. He saw the boy's features span an array of emotions, none of them good, before settling back into an empty stare. It pierced his soul to see the once cheerful boy look so dead inside.
"So...what are you planning to do, Hokage-sama?" His monotone voice and empty stare was more than just a deadening of emotions. It was a shield against further shock to his system. An instinctual self defense that he'd built up over the years. It helped him through both physical and mental trauma when necessary. It was the same tactic he'd used against Inoichi when the man would try to probe his memories, and he could tell that it unnerved anyone who witnessed it.
The Hokage shook the sudden images of despair out of his head before addressing the blond. "I was hoping you could help me with that. You see, this wasn't just a case of rape..." He flinched as he saw the boy flinch. "This is also a case of abuse, physical and mental assault, endangerment of a minor, attempted murder, conspiracy and instigating those same acts from others." He saw Naruto's head shoot up at the last part.
"Wh-what do you mean?" He asked, his mask cracking a little.
"Naruto...some of the fluids found on you...in you, were not fro Isako. Some of them she would not have had any access to whatsoever. This only leads to the belief that others were involved. Naruto, if you know anything else from that night, I need to know."
"I-I-I don't remember, after she...I just blacked out. I don't remember anything after that until I woke up. I-I just don't..." Despite his guard, somehow the old man always seemed to worm his way around it with just a look. It was a good thing that he wasn't around when Inoichi was working on him before or they would have found this out a long time ago, or was that really a good thing? Now he wasn't so sure.
Sarutobi sighed again. "If you don't remember, that's fine. We can try getting it out of Isako. It was your methods that Inoichi and Ibiki used to break her you know. I have a good idea that we would find the sources for those methods if we took a close enough look at your medical records, but I don't think you want to dig up those memories right now. Once you're ready we'll talk about what to do about Isako. I have already determined that her punishment will at the very least consist of lifetime imprisonment, but beyond that it's your call as long as it's nothing too absurd. I know how bad she hurt you,but there is such a thing as mercy."
Naruto was silent for a long time. He contemplated all the things he had wanted to do to the Haruno since that day and he considered whether they would still be worth it. He had planned his revenge so thoroughly but now that it was at hand, he couldn't say whether or not he wanted to go through with it completely. After an hour of debating with himself as the patient next to him watched, Naruto finally had Isako's punishment planned out, and it wasn't going to be pretty if he had his way.
As he came out of the room, Naruto looked around the hall. It had taken thirty minutes to give his plan to the Hokage, and another two hours to iron out the details. It would be less messy than he had wanted, but he had gotten most of what he though she deserved in the end. As he leaned his head against the wall in exhaustion, he turned to look at the source of the footfalls that were headed his way.
"Are you alright Naruto?"
"Hai..."
"...Are you sure?"
"Hai, Shizune-san. I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"...wait here." He nodded as she quickly took the tray of food she held in to the Sandaime for his dinner. She returned in less than five minutes to find Naruto in the same position. "Follow me." She lead him down the hall a bit. Since this area had been vacated due to the Hokage being there, it wasn't difficult for her to find an empty room where they could have some privacy. She ushered him inside and sat him on the bed. She was nervous already, and could tell that he was too.
"What is it that you want Shizune-san?"
"Naruto...I want to know how you went on."
"Huh?"
"I saw your files...well some of them. I haven't read through them all yet. I can't get through more than a few dozen a day without feeling like killing every person I see, so I want to know how you were able to do it." She lowered her head in shame. She knew she was digging up bad memories for him, but she really wanted...no, she needed to know.
"I see..." Naruto closed his eyes and brushed a hand through his hair. This was quickly turning out to be one of those days. "What would you do if someone told you that their whole life was a lie?" Now it was Shizune's turn to be confused. "A person can wear many faces depending on the situation. Some of us become so good at wearing those masks that they become a part of us, something to hide behind. Before I graduated from the academy I played the part of the village idiot. I played pranks and got in trouble. I made myself fail tests and do poorly in every physical exam. All for the sake of hiding from everything."
Shizune stared at him in awe. At that moment he seemed many years her senior rather than the other way around.
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway of course. All my tests were rigged so I would fail, and by the time my most recent graduation came around the traitor Mizuki decided to act. In the end I was forced to cut my act in order to help someone precious to me. Iruka-sensei was the only nice teacher I had and I wasn't about to let that teme kill him while I was there. I kicked his ass and earned my rank. After that I decided that I would drop my mask and become the shinobi I had always prepared myself to be. So far though I have only managed to slip it off part of the way. I think if I let it go any farther, and show the world my true self, I may lose what little I have."
"Naruto...would you drop your mask for me? Just for a second. Let me see the real you."
He looked at her hesitantly before shaking his head. "I'm sorry Shizune-san but I can't. The only one that has come close to seeing it was Sarutobi-ojiisan and I saw how much it killed him inside when he saw it. I won't put that on anyone else if I can help it. I'm no longer at my worst thanks to those I have gained in my life recently, but I am still far from what I am comfortable showing. Please, don't ask me such a thing again, and please stop digging in my records. There are things in there that no one needs to be reminded of."
"Then do me one favor. Let me look at one more record. The worst one, if you can remember it." She almost gasped in horror as she saw his face change. Despite his best efforts he'd let himself slip a little before schooling his features back up.
He stood and headed for the door, leaving the stunned woman in his wake. Stopping with his hand on the handle he looked up at the ceiling as a lone tear streaked down his cheek. "Four years ago, October twelfth. It's not the worst, but it should give you answers to multiple questions that you may have soon." Without waiting for a reply he left her alone in the room to ponder his words. It would take the setting sun's rays landing on her face to bring her out of her daze...and another hour for her to stop crying.
• • •
Tsunade opened the door to Sarutobi's room. She had been slightly confused at her apprentice's tear streaked face as she passed her on the way, but the woman had always been soft and she simply attributed it to seeing a bad wound on a child or something of that nature. She was going to follow her into the records area, but decided she had more important things on her mind than the well-being of her traveling companion.
"Sensei?" She whispered into the room, half hoping he wouldn't answer. When the light next to the bed flickered on, she stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her.
"Hello Tsunade-chan. What brings you to my humble abode at this time of night. You'll have to excuse me for not offering you tea, but I admit I wasn't expecting visitors this late." He grinned at his student as she took up a seat next to him.
"Very funny sensei." She absentmindedly started going over his chart as she sat there, setting it down on her lap when she saw there had been no changes. "Sensei, do you remember Dan's dream? Or Nawaki's?"
"If I remember correctly, they both wanted to be Hokage. They were fine ninja. I believe they would have been admirable in the position."
"Hai...Sensei? Do you think it would dishonor them if I took the position?"
"Are you considering sticking around Tsunade? We could definitely use your help around this place. Too many good ninja still lose their lives because of mistreatment. Your expertise would be invaluable."
"...I just...I don't think it would be right to take the dream of both of them. I just don't think I have what it takes to be a Kage. I've run away all these years and now these people are supposed to trust me with their lives? I don't know if I'm ready for that."
"None of us are ready for things like that Tsunade. Imagine my surprise when I got assigned the position of Hokage at the same time that Nidaime-sama was telling us that he was sacrificing himself for the sake of our futures. I was so ready to die for them and yet he took the burden himself and placed his burden on my shoulders. That was long ago Tsunade, and yet I can still feel the weight that pressed down on me. It felt like the whole Nation was suddenly on a scale and I was the one who was forced to balance it out. If you think about it, your decision isn't nearly as strenuous. At least yours isn't during wartime."
"That doesn't make it any less of an important step. I suppose having their dreams live on through me though, would in a way be honoring their memory."
"Yes, I believe so too. I thing that both of them would want to see you move on. It's been too long Tsunade, and you need to see that there is more than just the past in this world. Wheels are spinning and we need to be ready for the next major event. Good or bad, I am past the point that I can see it through. It's far past time that the mantle be passed on. Tsunade, will you bare this burden, and relieve the weight from this old man's shoulders once and for all?"
Silence enveloped to room for a few moments before she gave her reply. "...I...will."
Sarutobi smiled gently at the woman that sat beside him. A bit of pride ran through him in knowing that one of his student would now lead the village that he had so carefully guarded for so long. "Then in five days you will be named Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. Thank you, Tsunade."
That night, the two discussed the meaning of their shared position and what it meant to care for the village and have it care for you in return.
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