บท 15: Aftermath, Truth And A Plan

During the rest of the trip Hinata and Kurenai were as silent as Shino. I was the same. No one felt like speaking. Our first C-Rank mission turned out to be a total failure, even if it did turn out to be a way more difficult mission than we thought it would be. I was angry, mostly at myself, for being so weak and for having insisted on taking the damn quest.

This had been an eye opener. Not because I was ready for something meant that I was ready for everything. I had been thinking like a frog in the well. But no longer. I was going to grow from this, and I was going to become stronger.

"Hey sensei"

"What is it, Ryota?"

I looked at her with clear eyes, determination written in them. I knew what to do, and I knew how to. Now I needed the resources.

"I want scrolls on Suiton and around a month off from missions. I'm upping the level"

Two days later we arrived at Konoha and, when they saw our faces, the guards understood that whatever had happened, wasn't good. We rushed to the Hokage's Office, were Hiruzen was already waiting for us. Upon seeing the sombre look in our faces, he didn't pressure us, but asked a single question.

"*sigh* What happened?"

We told the Hokage everything, from how we learned of the true nature of the Mission to how we were attacked by Sasori. We told him every detail about him, from his clothing to his technique. He quickly came to the conclussion that it was Sasori of the Red Sand, a missing nin from Suna. Then I told him every detail about the fight. To the last minute thing that happened, the Hokage paid attention to everything I said. After learning of our situation, he looked at Kurenai with pity.

I knew that she was the most frustrated one. Not only had her student proven to be more useful than her in such a situation, but I also became the one who took decisions for the team. As a Jonin and as our sensei, she must've been feeling quite useless these past few days. Luckily, she, just like us, had people to rely on.

"Ok, I understand what happened. Ryota"

"Yes, Sandaime-sama"

"I'll make sure you get the Suiton scrolls you asked for"

"Thank you, Sandaime-sama"

Then he looked at Hinata and Shino, and told them to not feel down, since they just faced an enemy that was easily on the level of a Tokubetsu Jonin if not higher. He clarified that it was a miracle that I was able to do what I did and that I was lucky to be alive. I knew he was right, and even if he wasn't, I could do nothing but keep my mouth shut. After all, I had failed.

"Kurenai, don't worry. You're a strong Kunoichi. Ok, dismissed"

The following day, when I woke up, an Anbu presented himself to me and gave me the scrolls that the Hokage promised me. I wasn't panning on trainin until tomorrow though, since I was still mentally tired and training under that strain wouldn't work properly. Hence, I decided to take the day off.

Anytime during the following month, the Chunin Exams would take place. I wanted to train hard so that, when the time came, I could ensure the safety of those close to me. Besides, I could pitch in a little bit of info about Kabuto and Orochimaru to help everyone be on their top shape.

"I've decided. I'll go talk to the Hokage today and ask things directly"

That is how, after eating breakfast, I departed towards the Hokage's Office. The receptionist already knew me, so she asked what was my reason to be there. I said I had something important to talk about with the Hokage. After going back and forth a little bit, she allowed me to go inside.

"Yo, old man"

"What brings you here, Ryota-shounen?"

"Why do I feel emotions, old man?"

The look of shock on his face was one that I will never forget in my entire life. He seemed to be torn between answering truthfully or blaming it on something else, but in the end he decided to tell me the truth. He knew I could when he was lying, so it would've been meaningless anyways.

"You know that Naruto's surname is Uzumaki, right?"

"Yup. What does that have to do with my question?"

The Hokage sighed when he heard me and proceded to explain to me my real origin. I wasn't a pureblooded Inuzuka, something I had guessed as soon as I woke up in this body. And my heritage was indeed that of an Uzumaki. Apparently, my father was an Uzumaki who had hidden in Konoha for a long time while pretending to be an ordinaty Nin. The Hokage didn't know of his existence until he died in the Kyuubi's attack. His transformation jutsus was undone there, and so was his real identity revealed.

"As for why you can feel emotions... it must be some kind of mutation born of your already high senses mixed with the huge amount of chakra that comes from the Uzumaki blood in your veins"

At that moment I began thinking of everything I could do while being an Uzumaki. I knew that I needed my mother's permission, but I wanted to reveal everything to Naruto. He deserved a family and, in some weir way, he had a cousin and an aunt alive.

"Thank you old man. I'm really grateful to you for telling me the truth. Not even mom gave me word of my father"

"I'm sorry for that, I ordered her directly. It would be better if no Uzumaki's were known to exist, since they could be potential targets"

I wanted to ask him why Naruto then, but I remembered that he was forced into such a situation by his father rather than anyone else, so I decided against it. That was when I remembered something completely unrelated to the topic at hand. Something that perhaps, just perhaps, could give me a chance at becoming stronger.

"Say old man... I think there is a Bijuu on the wild"

Hiruzen looked at me confused at what I had said. When it seemed to finally have downed on him, I had to cover my ears from the shout that came from him. I was sure that they heard him even from Kumo

"WHAAAAT?!"