Kapitel 337: Ch337. Inevitable
As Kakashi watched the hilarious scene of Anko and Ringo childishly brawling with their feet under the table while they provocatively stared at each other, he couldn't help but feel surreal.
'To think Lady Tsunade was a friend of the Fifth Mizukage...' Kakashi shook his head in silent bemusement, 'Just how many secrets does the Senju Princess have?'
The second Tsunade became the Daimyo, the village started going through a massive overhaul. Every jonin noticed a stark improvement. It was nothing short of miraculous and cemented her position as their leader in the hearts of Konoha's ninjas.
But that didn't mean the most experienced jonins were stupid. They noticed Tsunade pulling otherworldly concepts, never-heard-of-before teaching methods, and outrageous but efficient reforms out of her proverbial posterior. Tsunade was an enigma for them to this day, nobody knowing what kind of trick she will pull out of her sleeve next.
'Well, not like such a thing is impossible.' Kakashi hummed to himself, enjoying the antics of the two S-rank kunoichis. 'With how much Lady Tsunade traveled, she was bound to meet some interesting people. The world is really unpredictable.' He chuckled, his mind trailing off to the person he admired the most.
The man who put forth a massive sacrifice. Who took his duty as the most important thing. The man who was the role model of the current ninjas! The one and only gallant Jiraiya-sama who took it upon himself to traverse the world in search of interesting 'situations', meeting all sorts of interesting 'people', so he could then relay his important findings to his devoted fans. Truly, a man cut above others!
As Kakashi thought about this topic and started outwardly quietly giggling to himself, inwardly his mind simply refused to settle down. There was something nagging at him. Something he couldn't really grasp...
That was also when the 'battle' between the two kunoichis intensified.
"Ei! I had enough of you." Ringo calmly spoke, standing up from her seat quick enough that nobody could react, and reached towards Anko... and flicked her forehead, causing her head to snap back, leaving behind a nice red spot in the middle of the Snake Mistress' forehead.
"Auu~, Ringoooo~!" Anko whinily drawled while petulantly pouting, her lips quivering in an attempt to garner pity, "That was mean!"
Seeing how the two women interacted with each other, how buddy-buddy they were, how calm and relaxed their body language was in the presence of the other... Something finally clicked in Kakashi's head, causing his eyes to go wide in horror.
Kakashi desperately hoped he was wrong but as he went through the happenings of their recent mission, every piece fit perfectly into the puzzle.
He slowly turned towards Anko who lifted her eyebrow at him... it wasn't as if she didn't pay attention to what was going on around her just because she was having a mock-fight with Ringo... and gave her the biggest desperate pleading look with his lone eye he could possibly manage.
"Anko... please tell me Konoha is not going to form a treaty with Kirigakure." Kakashi begged.
This display! This friendliness! He finally understood what seemed off to him. Lady Tsunade might be a friend of Mizukage but what about Anko? When did the woman who, as far as Kakashi knew, stayed inside of Konoha for the past few years, manage to become so friendly with the Mizukage? When did the two even meet?
It was very fishy.
The attitude of the two women and this trail of thoughts gave birth to crazy speculation. One that sent chills crawling up Kakashi's spine.
"No, of course not, Kakashi." Anko rolled her eyes, making the white-haired jonin release a relieved sigh. If Konoha signed a treaty with Kiri... it would be tantamount to setting fire to a gunpowder keg.
The hidden villages didn't sign alliances and treaties often. Even the treaty between Sunagakure and Konohagakure was shaky at best. In fact, if Suna betrayed Konoha, no other hidden village would bat an eyelash. Not because they were basically enemies but because it was expected.
On the other hand, the hidden villages avoided allying with other major hidden villages because such an action symbolized a threat to their enemies who would also start to ally themselves with other villages...
Simply put, it was a surefire way to lead to a ninja war with how paranoid hidden villages were. The only reason why Suna and Konoha could have a treaty between them without Iwa freaking out was that Suna was extremely weak. They could defend well thanks to the environment around their village but... they didn't have the necessary numbers, required funding, and skilled powerhouses to invade.
'Phew. That gave me a fright.' Kakashi mentally chuckled, 'What did I think? Of course, there would be no treaty between our villages. Even if Kirigakure was weakened by its recent civil war,' Which it wasn't and Kakashi knew that very well. 'Iwa and Kumo would not take kindly to Konoha pacting with Kirigakure. Lady Tsunade would not be so reckle-'
"Konoha and Kirigakure are going to enter a three-way alliance alongside Sunagakure." Ringo casually revealed, making Kakashi freeze in his spot and the jaws of the other occupants of the room to drop to the ground.
'Just as I thou-, wait what!?' Kakashi's eyes bulged out as he abruptly stood up and shouted without even realizing it, "You can't! It will be the start of a new ninja war!"
Everybody looked at him in surprise except for Anko and Ringo. Zabuza didn't care for politics so this conclusion was a new thing for him. The genins of team seven stared at Kakashi, not expecting the lazy and casual jonin to burst out like this. It only showed them how serious the situation was. Raiga suddenly understood what would happen in the future and why Ringo decided to give him this chance instead of outright killing him. As for the prisoners... even they were speechless.
Ringo just raised an eyebrow at Kakashi who finally realized he just screamed at Mizukage before awkwardly sitting down with a muted, "Sorry."
"And you think we are not aware of how the hornet's nest will be disturbed after that?" Ringo clicked her tongue. "Do you think Sunagakure is the same as it was five years ago? Or that Kirigakure stagnated under my watch? No, Hatake. I am genuinely surprised that Iwa and Kumo did not yet demand the dissolution of the treaty between Konoha and Suna with how much stronger Suna became in recent years." She calmly spoke, explaining the situation.
"The only reason for that is that they have no clue about it." Anko quipped in. As Tsunade's apprentice, Anko was privy to a lot of information. The kind that would cause a lesser man nightmares and worries.
"Yes." Ringo nodded, "It doesn't matter if we form an alliance or not. Once Iwa and Kumo get wind of exactly how much improvement our reforms have caused for our villages, they will inevitably join together to fight us if only to drag us back to their level. These past few years were very strenuous. getting rid of every spy in the village was a lot of work but I am not delusional. The truth will eventually come out and it will cause a war."
Frankly, it wasn't strenuous for Ringo. With Rei's seals, taking care of spies and infiltrators was as easy as setting up a detection barrier around the village. Kinda the same thing, but improved, Konoha had around theirs but never used under Hiruzen's watch.
"Lady Tsunade didn't introduce too many reforms since her rule started." Anko looked around the room, especially at her three students, and decided now was as good time as any to reveal a few unimportant village secrets, "But that frankly doesn't matter. Lady Tsunade wants to start improving Konoha on a large scale but she can't because she knows Iwa and Kumo would notice it. Konoha has too many merchants, too many civilians calling it home."
While Kirigakrue and Sunagakure also had civilians, Suna was in a very inhospitable place, hence not that many merchants visited. The information coming and going could be easily regulated. As for Kiri, they were always a village focusing more on the assassination. They had their ways of stopping information leakage. Ways that would be impossible to implement in Konoha's case.
"And once the war breaks out because of Iwa and Kumo's insecurities about Suna and Kiri... Konoha will be unavoidably swept in. While we did not have that many reforms, the Academy reform was enough to propel our strength back into the heyday. Basically, we are in the same situation as Kiri and Suna by default." Anko uncaringly shrugged. "So yeah, we are going to form an alliance. Better to join forces now even if it caused the war to erupt than being caught with our pants down later down the line."
After all, Iwa and Kumo were still ninja villages. They will not fight fair and square. Not after they realize that Kiri, Suna, and Konoha are stronger than them. Then again... Rei had his own plans. Plans Anko was not privy to but she was sure this upcoming shitstorm was a part of it.
Needless to say, Kakashi was shocked about the circumstances described to him by Mizukage and Lady Tsunade's apprentice. 'Is the international situation really so bad?' He gave his students a glance full of pity and inwardly swore to make their training harder. He didn't want them to die. Now on his watch!
Worse yet... Kakashi understood what they tried to tell him. The powderkeg was already burning and it was impossible to stop the explosion. The question was not 'if' but 'when'.
The status quo was disrupted and the war was inevitable.
Kapitel 338: Ch338. Just do it!
The depressing debate about the surprising upcoming war continued for a few minutes and the younger ninjas learned a lot of things such as how the inter-village politics in the Elemental Nations worked, what exactly kept the status quo and the balance of the world in check, and most importantly, just how easy it was to upset said balance and cause a war. It was an eye-opening discussion for the young genins.
When the debate reached its end and the people started to slowly leave the table, Anko suddenly noticed Sasuke subtly glancing at the back of the leaving Haku, his lips set in an indecisive frown before his eyes gained a strange resolve. He stood up and put his hands into his pockets, slouched a bit in his usual fashion, and donned his broody expression on his face before he slowly followed the unsuspecting Haku.
Anko's lips involuntarily stretched into a wide grin as she stood up from her seat and stealthily followed Sasuke. She instantly knew there would be entertainment!
...
Anko sat on the roof of Tazuna's home, watching as Haku practiced senbon-throwing in the backyard, patiently waiting for the fun to start when Kakashi suddenly appeared next to her and sat down in his usual depressing manner with a heavy sigh.
Anko inwardly clicked her tongue and thanked her foresight for spreading pre-made silencing seals around herself; otherwise Haku or the stalker-kun would definitely notice her with how much noise the distraught jonin was generating.
The two watched Haku's practice in silence for a few minutes before...
"Aren't you even a little worried about our genins?" Kakashi suddenly asked, his tone somewhat reproaching. He didn't like how casually Anko talked about the upcoming war as if it didn't matter. Kakashi lived through one already and didn't want his genins to go through the same experience. Yet, Anko seemed carefree as always. It really irked him somewhat fiercely.
Anko slightly turned her head towards her displeased co-teacher and scoffed, "I trained them for years. I know exactly where they stand ability-wise. They will be fine."
"You don't know that. War is unpredictable. Anything could happen." Kakashi argued in a calm tone but the struggle in his sole uncovered eye was plainly visible for Anko.
"And what exactly do you expect me to do about it?" Anko asked, thoroughly amused by Kakashi's attitude, realizing why he came to talk to her.
He was not here to do something about it. He simply wanted to complain, rave and rake about the unfairness of the world, and most importantly, he wanted someone who would listen to his worries. Anko found it distasteful that he chose her but considering his next best bet was Zabuza, it was somehow understandable if a bit annoying.
Hearing Anko's question, all righteous anger suddenly left Kakashi, making him humorlessly chuckle. What did he expect her to do, indeed...
Anko was the apprentice of Lady Tsunade and to say a small part of him didn't want her to talk to the ruler of Konoha and persuade her to stop the war would be a massive lie. But Kakashi had to acknowledge that even if Anko by some miracle decided to indulge his wish, and then if by some higher power Lady Tsunade decided to listen to Anko, it wouldn't matter anyway.
"Nothing." He released a pent-up sigh and helplessly shook his head. "I expect nothing from you."
"Mhm." Anko nodded in satisfaction, "Good. At least you won't be disappointed." She offhandedly added as she turned back, continuing her stalking of the stalker.
A vein popped up on Kakashi's forehead and his lips twitched when he heard the casual dismissal Anko gave him. Nevertheless, he noticed how his melancholy was instantly converted into irritation and had to admit Anko had a talent for alleviating the mood by being annoying.
"Haah~. What did I expect..." Kakashi mumbled under his nose with a reluctant smile.
Unfortunately for him, that's when his cute little Uchiha genin finally got enough courage to act and Anko no longer paid attention to what the cyclops had to say.
"Shush!" She brutally silenced him by bonking him on the head, earning herself a light-hearted glare.
As he glared at Anko, Kakashi noticed she was too focused on something in the backyard and curiously turned his gaze towards it, only for his jaw to drop when he noticed the fidgeting Sasuke freaking Uchiha, the broody emo-edgelord himself, approaching Haku with an utterly insecure expression.
"Ah, young love... isn't it precious?" Kakashi was pulled out of his shock as Anko dreamily sighed with the biggest shit-eating grin plastered on her face while she took out a camera from a storage tag.
He realized what would shortly happen and could only offer Sasuke a pitiful glance. 'This woman is too evil. I am sorry Sasuke, your teacher is incapable of saving you!'
Contrary to his thoughts, he also got comfortable in his spot and under his facemask sported a wide teasing grin that only got bigger the closer Sasuke got to Haku.
...
Sasuke approached Haku, grateful for the chilly air that prevented his hands from sweating too much as he nervously admired the beauty in front of him. Gulping down, he gathered enough courage and decided that as Uchiha, it was ungraceful to hesitate. This might be his last chance to speak to Haku and he will not miss it!
Haku noticed Sasuke... in fact, Haku knew Sasuke was standing there, observing... and truth to be told, it was creepy as heck.
When Sasuke finally decided to leave his hiding place, Haku sighed in relief, thinking that the Uchiha finally decided to speak out what was his problem.
"Hi." Sasuke nervously greeted.
"Good evening, Uchiha-san." Haku slowly nodded and with a curious head-tilt. "What can I do for you?"
"Er... I wanted to... you know," Sasuke fidgeted, "I mean... this is might be the last time we see each other since we are from different villages and..." He paused, embarrassedly looking for proper words.
"Yes?" Haku asked, not really getting what the boy wanted. This was getting too weird.
'Ei! Just do it!' Sasuke mentally encouraged himself. 'What is the worst that could happen!'
"What I want to say is..." Sasuke took a deep breath. "Haku-san, I fell in love with you!" He loudly exclaimed, his cheeks turning deep crimson from embarrassment. His eyes, however, held a firm resolve.
A deafening silence suddenly engulfed the backyard of Tazuna's house, making Sasuke that much more nervous when he didn't receive a reply straight away.
"I... I am sorry Uchiha-san. I don't swing that way." Haku awkwardly stated in a flabbergasted voice that still held a polite undertone.
"You... you are lesbian?" Sasuke frowned.
"Uchiha-san, I am a boy." Haku evenly said, trying to hide how mortified he felt at the moment.
Sasuke's brain froze and his mouth slightly opened in half-formed retort...before he registered what Haku told him and that the not-female had a dead-serious expression.
"I am sorry but I think we should forget about this conversation ever happening." Before Sasuke could even fully comprehend what happened, Haku decided it was the best time to take his leave, far away from the gender-confused Uchiha who creeped him out.
Sasuke found himself standing alone in the Tazuna's backyard in shocked silence, the events replaying in his head again and again as shame filled his body and disgust seeped into his mind. Suddenly, Sasuke deeply regretted looking at Haku's posterior with Sharingan, etching it forever into his mind.
That was one thing that will forever haunt him.
The young Uchiha was thanking Sage nobody saw him in what he dubbed the most shameful moment of his life... when he registered stifled laughter coming from above, making him snap his gaze towards it with a deer in the headlight's expression on his face.
Right there, on the roof, were both Anko and Kakashi, having blast at Sasuke's expense, Kakashi trying to repress his chuckles while Anko was failing hard at stifling hers and holding... 'Is that a camera?' Sasuke paled and almost blacked out as he realized what that meant for his future.
Noticing that Sasuke was looking at them as if he saw a ghost, Anko gave the boy a sweet smile, "I must say when I followed you, I didn't expect to get such quality blackmail. Way to go, lover boy!" She choked on her chortles.
"Fuck you!" Sasuke angrily growled, narrowing his eyes at her but knowing it was in vain. The most he could do was swallow his shame.
"Oh~, naughty! We should be careful. We wouldn't want to make Haku-chan jealous, would we, now?" Anko teasingly quipped, her eyes full of mirth. Sasuke wanted to curse at her again but she started speaking again, "Huh, who would have thought you swung both ways. I guess there is still hope for the Uchiha clan."
At that, even Kakashi no longer managed to keep his face blank and burst into wheezing laughter.
Needless to say, Sasuke Uchiha was not a happy camper.
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