*Knock-knock*
'Guh, a dream, again?' Kaname woke up and pinched her arm.
'Ouch, it's not a dream' she looked to her left only to see Naruto calmly sleeping on her side. Kaname silently left her bed not to wake the blonde up and walked to her window.
Opening it she heard a squeaky voice of a monkey messenger "Kaname-sama! You are call-" she caught the little one's mouth silencing it, with a finger put up to her lips she gave the sign to stay silent.
Taking the monkey outside of the room, she spoke "Sorry for that, Naru-chan was woken up in the middle of the night, I wanted him to stay in bed for some time"
"Not a problem Kaname-sama" White monkey admitted with a bow of its head, "You are called as soon as possible to the Hokage's office"
"I will be there posthaste. Here is a cookie for you." she gave the biscuit from the cookie jar on her kitchen table.
"Hehe, that'hs why h'all of my'h friends h'are j'healous of me'h" the monkey replied inhaling the cookie half-his size into its mouth.
"Yeah-yeah, knock yourself out. By the way, you look like a white hamster with a tail at the moment, remember to swallow"
"*Gulp* Thank you Kaname-sama. Nothing like a good breakfast to start a day" the monkey disappeared in a puff of smoke.
'Hmm, it's 6 a.m.' She created two clones, one to prepare the breakfast for Naruto, and the other for her students. Kaname dressed and left towards Hokage's Mountain.
Dozen minutes later she jumped to the office through the open window, she was flying legs first already when she noticed a long white-haired man standing on the other side with his back facing her.
"Oups, sorry Jiraya-san. I did not expect someone standing here" she apologized walking off his back.
"Hehe, hi Kana-chan. Don't worry I'm already accustomed to women trampling me" he replied with a dumb smile.
"*Pft* At last! I knew this would happen sooner or later, that's why I asked for both of you to use doors like normal humans"
"Meh, it's faster this way Jiji" Kaname replied not interested.
"Yeah, and I like the draft coming from outside Sensei" Jiraya picked himself up and leaned against the ledge.
"*Sigh* Okay, first things first. Jiraya-kun can you repeat your findings to Kana-chan?"
"I heard there was a disturbance in Suna" he replied confidently.
"Were they attacked?" Kaname asked.
"No, I mean the Tailed-Beast incident, there were many victims, but after some time the Kazekage subjugated Ichibi"
"Son of a bitch…" she murmured under her breath.
"It seems you were right again Kana-chan"
"Not that I like to be right Jiji. This idiot of a leader must have done something stupid to his son"
"Son?" Jiraya asked.
"It's a long story, I expected something happening in two years or so, certainly not so fast Jiji"
"That's what I was worried about. We're their allies, so we're expected to send at least relief forces to them. But I'm reconsidering that idea"
"No sensei"
"Yeah, I agree with Jiraya-san. The population of Suna is not guilty… Okay, they are in a way, but we should send at least some medics to help them"
"Ah, one more thing Kana-chan. I learned of a rather brave kunoichi from Suna yelling at Kazekage so loud that my spies heard her, probably the rest of the village as well... She shouted 'Kana-chan warned you not to do anything'. It did not take me much time to connect the dots"
"Ah, Pakura-chan doing what she does best…" Hokage acknowledged.
"*Sigh* Kazekage doesn't like opposition, what are you doing Paku-chan..." Kaname commented.
"Okay, before we delve into the next report, we should wait for Kakashi-kun" Old man started.
"Guh!"
"Oups, I'm sorry Jiraya-san, I did not expect that there is a queue here" Silver-haired man walked off the lying body of Jiraya.
"Strike! I got them all!" Hokage fist-pumped clearly happy of his success.
"I do not mind being walked upon by women Kakashi, but being trampled by men is not my kind of fetish…" Jiraya growled out.
"I ask for your forgiveness Jiraya-san" After long thought, he asked, "Can I get your autograph?"
"Ho, that's Icha Icha Violence. Are you a fan of mine works?" Jiraya asked signing his latest work and giving it back.
Kakashi hugged the book to his cheek with starry eyes.
"*Cough* Did you not forget about something Jiraya-kun?" Hokage pulled a red book from under his desk.
"Muhaha, I'm freaking famous!" Jiraya laughed out signing the next copy.
"Bunch of perverts…" Kaname commented on the side.
"Thanks, Jiraya-kun. Now it's time for the report that is important for you. Three hours ago four ninjas of Team Ro were attacked by the border of Mizugakure, Crow-kun was lightly wounded, Cat-chan is in hospital, Monkey-kun and Tiger-kun are K.I.A."
"Should I go to hospital Jiji?" Kaname asked worriedly for her friend.
"No, your mother reported that everything is under control, Cat-chan needs to rest now"
"Who did this?" Kakashi asked with anger in his voice.
Hokage made a gesture with his hand.
"Yes? Hokage-sama?" A boy with an Anbu crow mask appeared in the office.
"Can you retell the story?" Sarutobi asked.
"Hi, Nee-san, Taichou, Jiraya-san" Itachi bowed his head in greeting, "The border patrol proceeded without complications, at least until we noticed a small wooden boat slowly drifting to the coast. After a quick check, we observed two masked men touching the land. One had a fox mask, the other an orange mask with a swirly design"
"Eh?" Kaname instantly recognized the description.
"Yes Nee-san, I believe only thanks to your early warning I somehow survived the fight. Both men wore dark cloaks with red clouds on them."
"Later, Jiraya-kun. I will let you speak after Itachi-kun finishes" Hokage said seeing that his student wanted to speak about that.
"The fox-masked one stood on the side, his partner toyed with us, he easily decapitated Monkey and Tiger heads. At last, I was able to activate my dōjutsu, but even with Sharingan, I was not able to defeat him. The man with an orange mask was a hairbreadth away from killing Cat-chan but was stopped by his companion. And now the story gets weird. He called himself Ai-no-Trakun, do you know him Nee-san?"
"...No idea whatsoever" Kaname replied turning her head sideways.
"Maybe he was crazy, he spoke that you will know him if you heard his name, he called himself the Harem King, the Protagonist, and the Chosen of the Gods" Itachi replied.
"Still no idea who is this, but hearing about his titles I would love to knock him down a peg or two."
"Apparently they finished all their objectives for the day. After madly laughing, they left us defeated on the ground. Thanks to your lessons Nee-san, I was able to provide the much needed first aid to Cat-chan and brought her back to Konoha"
Kaname tussled Itachi's hair, "Good job Itachi-chan, I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, Nee-san"
"Now that we all know that they were attacked by an impostor of Madara and this Ai-no-Trakun"
"Ah, I forgot Hokage-sama, this time he changed his name to Tobi" Itachi interrupted the old man.
"*Sigh* Why can't the bad guys keep their bloody names… So, they were attacked by Tobi and Ai-no-Trakun, both men wore black cloaks with red clouds. I asked Jiraya-kun to find any information about such an organization."
"There is a group of bandits named Akatsuki on a black market. They are a collection of S-rank criminals, that will do any mission for the right price. They operate in a team of two, with two S-ranks they can overpower most ninja's on the field. Or so I have thought, at least until Kana-chan came into play" Jiraya informed them with a smirk on his face.
"That was a one-time fluke Jiraya-san. I wouldn't be able to repeat it" Kaname replied, 'No freaking way I'm calling Shinigami any time soon…'
"There are whispers that the leader of Akatsuki obtained the legendary dōjutsu, the Rinnegan, making him the class of his own."
"Jiraya-kun, have you got anything about their goals?"
"No sensei, but it's worrying that Kakuzu and Akai targeted Naruto-kun, maybe they want to weaken our village. " he speculated.
"We shall see in the future. And the second part Jiraya-kun" Hokage answered.
"My spies informed me about a new hidden village and the change of leadership of the Land of Rice. Some time ago they changed their name to the Sound Country with a village named Otogakure, as of yet I did not receive any news about who is their leader"
"Jiji, could it be the Snake? We know he is hiding somewhere out there" Kaname commented.
"We do not know yet Kana-chan, I advise caution with the dealings on our north border. Thanks for coming, if you have any ideas please come to me" old man answered.
"Talking about Naru-chan, Jiraya-san do you want to meet with your godson?"
"I- No, it would be a bad idea Kana-chan, I will leave Konoha in an hour or two, I don't want to give him a new family member and leave him a moment later" he replied.
"*Sigh* You three are just impossible"
"What?" Kakashi asked.
"Zip it Doofus-kun. What would have happened to Naru-chan if I died on one of my missions? You were too scared to even talk with a son of your sensei! Jiraya-san, the godfather, would most likely find a good reason to stay out of Konoha for as much time as possible skirting around the responsibility. Jiji you would be too overworked to pay any attention to your foster grandson, letting the Council make his life even more hellish than it is already…"
"I can't say anything about those two, but what do you mean about Council making his life hell?" Hokage asked pointing at the men with sadness on their faces.
"Probably every one of you understands that the civilians of our village can't tell the difference between the kunai and the seal that it is sealed in. In their infinite wisdom, they believe that Naruto is the Fox, not his jailer. Yesterday I carried out a dialogue with one of the most stupid people I ever met, he belongs to the Civilian Council"
"What was his name?" Hokage asked.
"Dunno, his name should be on a ledger of the civilians sent to the hospital with broken bones Jiji" she replied not interested.
"... Okay continue"
"He gave Naru-chan a bright orange tracksuit, from the smell, I easily recognized that it was taken out from the garbage pile. As all of you know, Naru-chan doesn't have many friends, so after a couple of compliments, he instantly fell in love with his new gift. I won't even speak about the unsuitability of such bright colors on a ninja, if I had proofs I would kill this imbecile on the spot for trying to murder Naru-chan"
"Kana-chan, you should let Guy work it out, just let the bushy brows know that someone wants to know about youthfulness, the effect is guaranteed" Kakashi commented.
"I'm not a monster Doofus-kun!" Kaname joked.
"*Sigh* Okay, it's enough from both of you. You are protected by Uchiha clan Kana-chan, I doubt someone from Civilian Council has enough balls to argue with a shinobi clan"
"It was not the first nor probably the last idiot that will make problems. I just hope that if anything bad happens to me, Naru-chan would have a guardian for himself" Kaname pleaded.
"I would do whatever is necessary to provide my godson" Jiraya assured.
"I hope you would, but there is another thing I need you for. I need your expertise in seals, can you help me?"
"What are we talking about?"
"Hyuga's seal" she replied.
That got Jiraya wide-eyed "Wow, Kana-chan! How did you get your hands on one of these?!"
"We will dismiss ourselves, for now, Jiji, See you later" She left the office with Jiraya on her tail.
"Ah, this place brings back memories. So, why did you bring me here?" he asked after they entered Kaname's workplace hidden below her house.
"I was tasked with the development of a new seal for the Hyuga Clan, I prepared a couple of prototypes, but I need a view from an experienced seal master. This is their original seal, just look at this…"
"I would call it a clusterfuck, Kana-chan. How did you get a copy of the seal? I doubt Hiashi-kun would let you walk out with it"
"Heh, I have got the Sharingan"
"Ah, right. Kushina-chan always talked about how good of a seal copier you are with those eyes"
"Thanks, now let's talk business…" Kaname showed him her prototypes.
"Damn girl, how did you make them so intricate, right I forgot, an Uchiha… Hmm, why did you use so many, ah, the protection for brain damage…" Jiraya studied her seals.
After three hours of work, Jiraya had to leave "You're really close to hammering out a solution Kana-chan. In truth, I don't see a problem to test one of these on a live subject"
"I tested them on fishes already, they did not survive, but that's maybe because they don't have any chakra. You gave me some ideas to test out. When are you coming back to Konoha? I won't be able to convince anyone without you backing me up."
"*Sigh* I do not know. A year, two? Maybe even longer" Jiraya replied.
"Okay, I will have enough time to check everything out. I'm sorry for my words in Jiji's office, I know that your work is important for Konoha, and it's not a place for young kids."
"Heh, no problem Kana-chan. You were right about me, thinking about it I would just send Naruto-kun money and leave everything in old man's care. Thanks for giving my godson the family he deserves"
"He deserves even more than I could ever give Jiraya-san, you should watch his smile, it is like watching sunshine after a cold and cloudy winter" she reminisced.
"Someday I will, I promise. I need to go now, the world of whispers and double agents awaits. Bye Kana-chan"
"Goodbye and take care, Jiraya-san" she parted with him at the front yard.
Half an hour later Kaname was escorted in the middle of Sarutobi clan district, she was stopped in front of an inconspicuous building. Knocking on the doors, she listened of a pair of feet coming closer to the other side.
"Who is it?" a woman's voice asked.
"Kaname Uchiha, a jōnin-sensei of Koji-kun" the doors opened almost instantly, from them Kaname saw a woman face in the mid of her thirties with brown curly hair and a kind face.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you, my name is Hozumi Sarutobi, please, enter sensei" the woman greeted her politely and led inside the house.
"Nice to meet you too Hozumi-san, don't worry it's nothing bad, I just wanted to meet the parents of my student" she assured.
"Honey! We have got a guest!" Hozumi shouted out to the corridor on the left, "Please sensei, follow me to the living room. Do you want to drink something?"
"Water, if it's not much of a problem"
They entered a clean living room with a tv and a sofa on one side, on the other there was a small kitchen pressed to the wall. At this moment from the other doors entered a man, Kaname instantly recognized the face so much like Koji's, the same protruding ears, snub nose, and a small mouth.
"Hello, I'm Sozen, who are you little lady?" he asked.
"Nice to meet you Sozen-san. I'm Kaname Uchiha, Koji-kun's team captain"
"Hohoho, who wouldn't have heard of that name. You're well known around the Konoha Kaname-san. So how can we help? Did my son do something bad already?" the man asked.
"No, no. I just wanted to meet with his parents and ask you a couple of questions"
"Saying that, can I ask one thing Kaname-san?"
"Sure, what is it Hozumi-san?"
"Shouldn't you oversee the training of your team?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, at this hour they're most probably painting the fences around Konoha, I left my shadow clone with them" Kaname replied.
"*Whistle* You just spoke of a B-rank Cloning Technique like it was nothing Kaname-san. I spent the last five years to master a B-rank jutsu, you jōnins are insane."
"Thank you for the compliment Sozen-san"
"So, what do you want to know Kaname-san? Both of us will answer to our best knowledge" the woman assured her.
"You know that I bought him a weapon yesterday, I hope you do not mind the choice"
"Kaname-san, Koji-kun slept with his three-section-staff. As long as he understands how to use the weapon we won't have anything against whatever he uses" the man replied.
"Good, because there is an expert on the use of such a weapon in Konoha. I thought of letting Koji-kun join in his training. I can help your son with the basics, but I never used staffs for combat"
"Who?" Hozumi asked.
"Tokubetsu Jōnin Maito Guy" Kaname replied.
"Guh, him? I'm not sure"
"Easy there, honey." the woman calmed her husband, "On one condition Kaname-san"
"Yes?"
"If I find even a piece of spandex in Koji-chan's wardrobe I will hunt you down" Hozumi had a sweet smile that did not venture to her eyes.
"Hehe, don't worry. I would kill Guy-kun before he had such an idea. Hmm..." she confirmed, 'Now that their guard is down I should check what do they know'
"Yes sensei?"
"What did you feel when Koji-kun decided to become a ninja? I have a little brother that I'm taking care off, and wanted to know what to expect in the future"
"Firstly, we weren't happy. It's a dog eats dog world" The man replied to his wife's nod of a head, "But in truth I... we were proud of him, especially after he finished the academy and joined your team"
"Ah, I read the reports do you have any idea what happened with Koji-kun after his first semester?"
"No sensei, maybe it was our fault, as we were pushing him to study and practice more"
"Yeah, he slowly started to lose all of his friends, his grades dropped to a barely acceptable level." the man added.
"Did you find any traces of bullying on his body? Did a friend of his die in an accident? Or maybe he broke up with his girlfriend, no wait, Koji-kun was eight… Hmm" Kaname asked.
"Neither of the above Kaname-sensei"
"*Sigh* Okay, the last question, what do you expect of Koji-kun? What do you want for him?"
"Only the best, make him a Hokage if it's possible"
'There is nothing wrong with his parents, a normal family that wants their child to travel further than they ever went. I will have to talk with Koji-chan one-on-one, I don't want him to falter when the situation calls' Kaname replied with a nod, "Thank you for the conversation, I promise I will do anything to protect him"
"The pleasure is ours Kaname-sensei, you are always welcome"
"Goodbye" Kaname left the Sarutobi district and headed home.
After dispelling the clone she walked to Naruto sitting cross-legged with a green leaf on top of his forehead.
'And the fate is going round and round…' she brought back the memories of her own efforts against a single leaf. At this moment the leaf fell of blonde's forehead.
"GAAAH! Sasa! Help me ~dattebayo!" Naruto shouted out.
"Hahaha, yes-yes"
I think I gave you enough clues of a new antagonist OC in the story, especially his name should show you "what" he is :-) He will be my lifebuoy for Kaname's OP-ness. And no he isn't a romance candidate :-P.
In the next chapter, I will skip to the next C-rank mission that Kaname's Team 7 will receive. No one wants to read about three kids catching cats, taking dogs for a walk or painting fences :-)
Comment, give me ideas and if you like the chapter then vote :-)
If you found any mistakes please inform me :-) I don't like mistakes.