What If Naruto Is Cold To His Family || 2 ||

Hey guys, how are you all? Welcome back to my channel. Today we will see what if Nar is cold to his family part two. Last part. If you enjoy then please like, share and do comments. Teen Guy was making good speed. They had abruptly left the road along the coast to head to the north directly towards Konaha. Nei was keeping the rear and closing their formation, flashing his baugan on and off to watch for any pursuers. Lee was guiding them, forcing the four of them to maintain an excruciating pace. Tenton was already failing every tenth step. Neji was covered in a layer of sweat, and even Lee was breathing hard. Nar had the distinct impression someone had placed hot pieces of coal under the soles of his feet and stabbed him in his legs. The blond's heart stopped when something barreled in Lee out of the sky with a shrieking sound that was all nails scraping against a blackboard. Nar felt his balance get shook by the noise and fell from the branch he was leaping from. Falling to the ground. Enemy attack. Neji bellowed from somewhere above and behind. Narut writed himself as best as he could, sliding down a tree trunk, chakra burning both his sandals and the bark before bouncing off it in an attempt to break his fall and landing in a roll. The blonde instantly flung an explosive tag as high up as he could, willingly butchering the priming sequence and the chakra influx. The improvised flare gave Nar enough light to see Lee struggling weakly against something large and beastly. He recoiled at the sight, fear gripping his heart like ice cold fingers at the otherworldly shape that was assaulting the older Jennon. The vaguely humanoid form with arms too long and talent feet looked like a nightmare made real and Nar pushed on his feet to get away from it. That was before the smell of blood whipped his nose, breaking him out of his fearful trance. Nar growled, his fear of the monster erased by fear for his comrade and lunged forwards, a primal roar escaping his throat. His cany was drawn, chakra grinding along the blade in a surge of cutting wind. before he could swing at whatever it was that had assaulted Lee. The thing kicked the blonde square in the chest before it jumped up and scaled a tree, launching a mind-piercing shriek that made the blonde see double. Nar, stumbling back from the hit, felt too late his foot being caught in a route and stumbled. He heard someone cry out Lee's name, realized belatedly that it was him and writed himself. Neji and Tenton seemingly appeared in front of him. The tired girl peppering their monstrous enemy with dozen of her weapons. The thing howled again, and Nar felt like he was under a bell as it rang. The blonde vomited, not seeing Tenten's weapons veering off course as if repulsed by a shock wave. Neji was on his knees hurling while Tenton simply crumbled. The beast produced something akin to laughter high up in its tree. It was a high-pitched, breathless sound. You got kiddumaru, but you won't get me, little Jennins. Nar shot a shuriken out of pure reflexes, guiding himself with the voice. The cutting star whirled with a wine wind chakra escaping messily from its blades. The beast shifted from its tree to another as the sound of a branch falling came to the blond's ears. That's it. Struggle. I love nothing more than when the prey is that. The Uzumaki fished for another shuriken. But the opponent, he still wasn't clear on if the thing attacking them was even human, jumped high and opened what looked like wings, obscuring what little light they had from the starry sky. Before Nar could even think of throwing his weapon, the thing flew away, leaving him stumped. Slowly, on all four, he crawled towards the others, his vision gradually returning to normal as the seconds passed. Nei was kneeling next to Tenton, who seemed knocked out, and Lee was holding a hand to his neck and looked pale even in the dark of the night. "What the hell was that?" asked the blonde, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. "That thing." Nei looked back, veins bulging and pulsing around his temples. Nar recoiled. The Hyuga looked furious. "I don't know and I don't care. It attacks with sound. I saw it. It concentrates chakra on its throat before each of his shouts. The boy barked harshly. Now I know I have to look up. Dat wash a bat, Lee said with a slur. A weary, weary big bat, he added before falling to his knees, his eyes wide and his breathing short. I don't feel so good. Very sleepy in fact. Neied his teammate. And Narut saw worry paints itself on his face. What's his problem? The blonde whispered. He lost a good chunk of his chakra. Of what was left given how much we ran? How is Tenton Ko? I can't see anything wrong, so she should wake up soon. What do we do? Neiedeyed Lee and Tenton alternatively, his mind churning to reach a solution. We need to move. The Hyuga stopped Narut with a raised hand. Think if we stay here, we take the risk of it bringing reinforcements. The blonde nodded. It was a good point, but if they kept moving, the thing would attack again. Do you have any chakra pill? He asked the Hyuga, who shook his head. [ __ ] damn it, Nei cursed. No, I don't because it was supposed to be a boring C rank, not war. Nar chuckled at hearing the older boy, usually prim and proper, loses his cool. Well, I don't either, but right now, you're our only way to negate the enemy's flight approach. The blonde analyzed before he crossed his fingers, four shadow clones appearing. What are you doing? Nar grinned weakly. What I do best? Nei threw him a glare and Naruto's grin widened. Confused the [ __ ] out of people. One clone transformed as Neji, another as Lee, replicating his wound, and a third as Tenton. Nar, the real one, took Lee on his back while one of his replicas took Tenton. We run on the ground. We'll be a bit slower, but it should leave you time to detect the Fugly. The blonde gestured to his shadow cones and each took an explosive tag out of a pouch. And of course, we prepare a surprise for it. Neji nodded. It was as good as it would get. The rag tag team started to run while the replicas took to the trees. Nar looked up at best as he could with Lee on his shoulders. The night was going to be a long one. The strange enemy attacked again, dispelling Naruto's clones without falling for the trap and plunging like some nightmarish hawk on the tired Jennins. The blonde had time to alert his comrades, and they were ready for the assault. The bat-like pursuer tried to get to Neji, but only managed to leave an ugly gash along Neji's arm, earning a Jukin strike in the process. Still feeling wobbly, Tenton tried once again to pepper the beast with Kana and Shuriken, but her aim was off, and the blades only grazed its left wings, eliciting no reaction. It flew away before the fight could truly begin, and Nar once again produced four replicas to act as decoys. They had been seen through somehow, but they were still the first line of defense and had played their main role, alerting Nar of incoming danger. The blonde and Tenton bandaged Nei's arm as best as they could, and the exhausted group began to run again. They all agreed they couldn't stop for fear of possible enemy reinforcements. The enemy ninja attacked three more times, always somehow pinpointing which group was the clones and which was the real Jennins. Several shrieking sound attacks knocked Tenton out and toppled Nei over, which the monster exploited to steal what little chakra the Hyuga had left in a gruesome display of m and teeth. Nar was on his last leg himself, creating clones after clones after clones and running in the dark for hours while fending off the beastly pursuer was taking its toll on him. The blonde had thought their last hour had come in the last attack. But for some reason, the bat had once again allowed them to live a little longer, to run a little longer, to get a little closer to Konaha. The enemy Shinobi was playing with them much like a cat would play with a mouse. Narut looked at Teen Guy. Tenton was once again out of it. Lee couldn't recover fast enough, too exhausted to replenish his chakra reserves, and Nei was blinking hard to stay conscious. He felt himself sway and leaned against a tree. His body was like lead and his muscles were sore. His throat was dry and tight and he wanted to cry from tiredness. He wanted to lie down and just sleep. Pathetic. They were going to die. Narut choked on a sob and breathed raggedly. They were going to die so close to their goal. He could feel it. Yet they were going to fall here. And whatever nefarious plot was brewing would bear fruits and harm the village fire country even. He was going to die on his first C-rank mission, sucked dry by an overgrown, freaky bat monster. Weak, Nar gritted his teeth. The blonde felt his fist tighten, and before he could stop himself, he punched the tree in a surge of red-hot anger. He wasn't afraid anymore, he realized. Or maybe he was, but bitterness and fury prevailed within him. It was boiling in his guts like some sort of vile potion in a witch cauldron. He was angry at the ridiculous thing that was killing them. Angry that it would rob him of the opportunity to see his Gigi again and Assuma Oji and Konahamaru and Ibiki. Nar punched the tree once again and the bark caved under the shock. He scoffed. Not on his watch. Kill it. He forced the fires of his anger to cool down and turned to ice. He needed to think. He needed to be smarter. He needed to be deviant. He was going to stop the monster. He would bloody his hands if necessary. He looked at team guy once again and his fist squeezed so hard that his nails bit into his palms. No, not if necessary. He was going to absolutely murder the [ __ ] out of that thing. Yes, good. Now, how to do that? Nar quickly gathered what he knew about their enemy. It attacked with sound, could suck Chakra away from its victims, and could recognize his clones from real people. It was normally an impossible feat. Except it apparently wasn't. But then how how is that monster able to tell them apart? Especially under a transformation jutsu and in the dark of the night. Naruto's eyes widened after a minute of reflection. Of course, Nei pleaded the blonde. I'm going to need one last ditch effort from you. Kurokui was gliding high up in the sky. The balance was a bit delicate to maintain since the annoying Jennirl had pierced the left wing of his flying apparatus, but it was nothing he couldn't manage. With practiced ease, he rolled and banked in the night sky, his overgrown ears listening to the world around him. Kurokumori frowned as he recognized the sounds of some dal animals. He had underestimated the time if those were awakening already. There was no time to be lost then. He had to finish the little Jennins and the reinforcements be damned. It was going to make concealing the crime scene tiresome. But whatever, he'd punish the slackers for coming too late. right now. He couldn't allow the four ninjas to run further. It was a shame. They were such fun toys to play with. He would regret them. For 5 minutes, maybe. He focused on his sensing ability and found his praise in no time. He then nearly choked as there were 14 chakra signatures that were all exactly the same. Kurokumori panicked for a second before he centered himself. It was obviously a trick. He had absorbed the chakra of two out of four and they should be too exhausted to replenish their reserves. It was kind of annoying for Jennins to be able to trump a sensory ability like his. But then again, he had decided he was done with the chase. He would simply kill them from afar with one of his sonic shriek. Folding his wings, Kurokumori dipped down on the Jennins and run through hand signs. Chakra accumulated in his throat, swirling and vibrating already, eager to be released. The man took a deep breath and opened his mouth wide. Kurokumori played his own vocal cords like a harp. Several waves of different frequencies mixed together in a deadly harmony escaped his throat. It would be just enough to knock his praise out so he could stab them to death. It wouldn't do to use the version that liquefied internal organs. That would scream. Shinobi and Kurokumori didn't want that. Like planned, the Jennins fell to the ground, knocked out, 10 of them disappearing in a puff of smoke. Something fluttered in the wind. Tags full of chakra, hastily devised to fool his sensing ability. Aius, Kurokumori had to admit, but far from enough. The man landed gently and climbed down a tree, folding his wings and storing them in the pack he was carrying on his back. Taking a canai into his right hand, he approached the first jennon. Suddenly, his sensing ability was overwhelmed by a bright flash of chakra that bathed as far as he could feel. A resounding clap deafened him. Obviously, the tags he chided himself and something hacked at him, piercing his left lung three times and his heart once before he could react. Kurokumori flailed his arms wildly and hit something. Blood was seeping in his mouth just as panic was clawing at his brain, and he could listening to his heart beating haphazardly. He spat blood. His blood. What was happening? How? Who? Something hacked at him again. Messily and pain flared as Korokumori felt his right arm fall severed. Then his throat was opened and his mouth and his cheeks and the piece of cloth he had covering his eyes to enhance his focus on his sensory ability fell. Just as a canai worrying with badly controlled wind chakra stabbed his brain, Kurokui saw the blonde jennon. The boy was bleeding from his ears. He had destroyed his own eard drums to resist his attack. Then all lights went out and life left him with a gurgling sound. Nar woke up groggly. Something soft was covering him and he felt warm and comfortable except for the bandages he could feel around his head, pressing two plushy things against his ears. His eyes were caked with nightly mucus and the blonde took a second to clear them before he blinked. He was in a hospital room. that much he could tell by the white walls and the heavy smell of medication floating in the air. Nar hummed, the sound echoing strangely in his skull and barely reaching his ears. He then smacked his dry lips open and close. His tongue felt bloated like a slug had decided his mouth would be a fine home and died once settled. His throat was raspy and itchy, begging for water. He swiveled his head left and right and offered a quick prayer when he saw a large glass full of water with a straw. With trembling hands that weighed as much as lead, he carefully took the glass and rose it to his face. After a second of hesitation, he took a sniff, closing his eyes to focus on any possible shifty smell. Nar detected nothing and shrugged. He wasn't good enough with poison to detect one that didn't have any odor in right now. He was pretty certain that he would die of thirst sooner than from poisoning. Taking the straw between his lips, it took three strong suction to be done with it, and Nar sighed his satisfaction. "Ah, Uzu Maki San, you're awake," someone said in a muffled voice. The blonde tensed minutely and turned his head to see a nurse in the uniform of the Senju Military Hospital. "He relaxed." "I can't<unk>t hear you well," Narudo said, for some reason, feeling like an idiot as soon as he said it. The nurse gave him a practiced smile. "Yes, your eard drums were ruptured." "They are fine now," she explained with slight hesitation. "The blonde could hear the unsaid somehow, and guess the woman's unease. But we put some protection around your ears to avoid any complication just in case." She smiled again. Nar breathed in deeply and forced a smile on his own. "Thank you," he said, bowing his head slightly. "You're welcome. Do you feel strong enough to see someone?" Just as she said that, Naruto's stomach rumbled like a hungry animal, which caused the blond's face to color a remarkable shade of red. "If it's not too much to ask, I'd like something to eat." "But sure, I can see people. I feel fine. A bit tired, but fine," he informed the nurse, who nodded. "Good," she turned towards the door. "Please come in, Hokag Sama," she invited with a deep bow. Naruto's eyes brightened as his surrogate grandfather entered his room and his fake smile was replaced by a genuine one. "Hello, Gigi," he exclaimed, probably too loudly given the old man's wse. "Hello, Narcun," he answered the blonde with a smile before he turned towards the nurse. "Would you be so kind as to procure this young Shinobi a meal? He is coming back from a strenuous mission where he saved three comrades, and I bet he is famished." The nurse's eyes widened and she stole a glance at Narut before she bowed once again. The Hokag had phrased as a question, but it was out of politeness. Of course, Hokag sama. She disappeared, closing the door behind her. The Hokag neared the bed and took a seat on the only chair available. Naruto's smile dimmed a bit. That was nice of you, Gigi. What was my boy? Nar gestured towards the door. What you said? he explained to the Hokag who looked at him in fault puzzlement about me saving teen guy. The blond's eyes widened in alarm and he jumped upright. The covers of his bed already halfway on the ground. Teen Guy, how are they? Are they? The hoage's hand fell on the boy's shoulder and gently but firmly pushed him back in the bed. Calm yourself, my boy. They are fine. You were found by team Assuma yesterday in the late morning as they were on route for a routine patrol of our south sector. They immediately called for help and you are in this hospital since yesterday evening. Nar groaned. Team Assuma met Eno. The blonde hoped the Yamanaka wouldn't be insufferable about finding Nar unconscious in the woods. His Gigi must his blonde hair and gave him a thin smile. Teen Guy is fine. Nothing more than chakra exhaustion and a few bad cuts. They were all seen too. And I think they are all up and fed. And young Rock Lee is quite energetic already, much to his doctor's distress. Nar chuckled. He could see the green clad Jennan trying to do push-ups against the nurse's recommendation. I've already heard their report. Now I'd like to hear yours, Narun. If you feel up for it, Naruto's gaze unfocused for a second before he breathed in deeply and nodded. Yeah, sure. for at least an hour. Interrupted by the nurse coming back with a generously garnished tray for Nar to enjoy and a genuine smile. The blonde told the tale of his first C-rank mission to the Hokag. When he was done, the blonde felt exhausted as if he had lived through everything he had just endured once again. Yet, it was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. "How do you feel?" his grandfather asked cautiously. "About your first life taken?" Nar kept silent for a while, his mind churning to put words on his feelings. I don't know really, he shrugged. I don't feel guilty. At least I don't think so. It was him or us, and I'm glad it was him. The blonde shrugged again. That's what they teach at the academy, yao. He took a deep mock voice and pushed his lips in a pout. By killing the opposition, you protect yourself, your comrades, and most importantly, the mission. You accomplish your duty, he recited. But there is this. I don't know. I feel gross. Yeah. Nar muttered, unsure, his eyes prickling and misty. Yeah, I feel gross. It feels gross. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and breathed deeply. I wanted to to kill the [ __ ] out of him, you know, like he was going to kill us. And then I felt fear, but then the blond's voice died. Then I felt anger, the kind I never felt before, not even against the meanest villagers. Narut shook his head and spoke lowly. "That wasn't anger. That was fury." "Cold," he muttered. "And I killed him. The sack of shit." He was startled by the hoage's sigh and looked up to see his surrogate grandfather look at him with sympathy in his eyes. "It is," the hoag hesitated before his gaze firmed up. "It is good that you don't feel guilty. Killing is what a shinobi does. It is what a soldier does. Duty is the frame through which we judge the morality of our action. and by saving your inner comrade<unk>'s life, you did nothing but your duty." The old man nodded more to himself than to Nar as if satisfied what he had just said. However, he continued, "I'm relieved you find it gross. Some feel pleasure at taking the life of another, and those are the people we need to be wary about, for more often than not, they deem duty to be far too restrictive." The old man squeezed the blond's shoulder. And don't feel bad about wanting to kill this guy so badly. You were angry and worried for your comrades. I know I felt that same fury numerous times in the battlefield in the past when one of my teammates was in danger. Nar nodded, swallowed, and exhaled a long sigh. Okay, he smiled as his surrogate grandfather. Thanks, Gigi. I feel better. You're welcome, my boy, answered the cage with a warm smile and a pat on the blond's head. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go back to my duties. You should be released tomorrow morning. According to the doctors, Ibiki is waiting for you eagerly. For some reason, that piece of news made Nar go pale and the blonde boy swallowed nervously. Sure. Haha. I can't wait. Good. See you next. Wait, Gigi. MH, can I know? What are you planning to do about the situation, Gigi? The cage's smile fell and his lips thinned to a fine line. He seemed to consider how to answer for a while before he looked back at Nar and sighed. I know you won't like what I'll be telling you, but we need to act extremely carefully. There was an enemy shinobi deep within the land of fire hailing from an unknown village. One of the damos governor is corrupted, and we have possibly a spy in our ranks. I will, however, act as fast as I reasonably can. That I promise you, the Hokag explained solemnly before he gave Nar a slight tilt of his head and closed the room's door. Nar could only stare at the door. the hoage's words, or rather those he had not said, looping in his head. He felt guilt at his inside and offered a quick prayer to whatever gods were possibly listening. He hoped Shinji and his family would be okay. Before the day's end, he received the visit of Team Guy, who brought him a basket full of fruits and their thanks. Lee spoke of Naruto's youthful actions against the enemy. Tendon kissed him on the cheek and Neji nodded. The Hyuga nodded his acknowledgement. Narut nodded back, gave lead totally over-the-top and fictional details on how he had actually defeated bad guy, and blushed at Tenten's present, much to the girl's amusement. Nar almost asked them to stay longer when they departed and felt their absence keenly as guilt started gnawing again on his endrails. He had a fitful night. Hokag sama told me you had your first kill. Hello, Ibiki sensei. I'm happy to see you, too, Brat. How do you feel? Nar sighed, but offered a smile at the gruff-looking man. Nonetheless, "I'm fine," he said. "Really, I am?" he insisted before the doubtful look Ibiki was giving him. "It's not an experience I'd like to reiterate immediately, as I'm sure it's bad for my heart, but it's okay." "I'm okay." "Good," Ibeki smiled. "I'm proud of you, student of mine." Nar perked up at that. You accomplished your mission and kept your comrades safe. You acted as well as you could given your experience. Overall, from the crossed reports, it was a satisfying performance. The blonde positively beamed, which means we can get to second gear. Nar pald. Ibeki grinned dangerously. The days that followed saw Ibeki up his game once again in a renewed attempt to drive his genin mad. When the tea and I wasn't mentally torturing his apprentice, Nar was left to his own device with the same objective. still beating the obstacle course record time. This time, however, Ibiki additionally tasked the blonde to come up with new chakra control exercises, telling him that discovering clever ways to use one's chakra could sometimes lead to developing jutsu or smart uses. And indeed, by the end of the week after his return, Nar discovered how to silence his steps using a little stream of chakra radiating from all over his body. In between two uneventful C-ranked missions, the blonde explored his newfound ability. Combining the technique with the tree and water walking exercise proved an excellent way to work on his control over his chakra. For another week and through a fourth C rank, the blonde struggled to manage the two different flows of chakra until he achieved a level he deemed satisfactory. His improved control allowed him after a fifth C-rank patrol in the company of team Kurinai and as payment for the trashing he had inflicted to her team almost a month ago to trap Ibeki in a genjutsu one fine morning. For all of one second, the Junin stood frozen in place. Just enough time for a pellet containing orange paint to explode right upon him. When Idiki broke out of the illusion, the Junin complimented his apprentice for a job well done, then decided it was time to drill the blonde in the benefits of retreating before an overwhelming opponent. Nar finished the chase with his head half shaved as punishment for not fleeing fast enough. Nar was currently sitting in front of a shogi board. Across him was Shikamaru, whose face was marred by a preoccupied frown. Normally, Nar should have been training with the Hokag today, but seeing as the old man was too busy, he had asked Auma to take care of Nar after giving a scroll to the boy. The blonde was happy to be able to spend time with his almost uncle, especially given that he needed more pointers on how to better transform his base chakra into wind chakra, and especially especially given that the scroll the Hokag had left him with was about the clone jutsu. the clone jutsu, the very jutsu Nar couldn't for the life of him do. The jutsu Nar had failed for his graduation, which had in turn kickstarted the forbidden scroll incident. That jutsu, well, the hokag wanted him to be able to do it. For what reasons? Nar didn't know because all the scroll said was that mastering the simple clone jutsu would have interesting implications. The blonde was sure he would have been more motivated if the interesting implications had been stated in the letter. But no, his Gigi had simply signed the scroll with a smiling face that was sticking out their tongue. So here he was reading the scroll with one distracted eye, playing shogi with the other, all the while trying to focus his chakra along the blade of a canai. Nature transformation of base chakra was a mysterious exercise, and it seemed the wind transformation was especially difficult. Assuma Oji had told him to mold his chakra in two opposite streams and grind them together to obtain a thin flowing cutting strand. Ah, so the clone jutsu was about a thin light reflective chakra construct. Apparently, the most basic version acted as a mirror, mimicking the originals movements to a tea, but there was a way to implement a more independent behavior when casting the technique. Nar wondered why his clones tended to act like a crumpled, sick version of himself. Oh, so Shikamaru was going for that kind of strategy. Of course, trust Anara to think that far ahead. The blonde observed the board for a few seconds before he shrugged. It was time to reverse the steam and the flow of this game. He looked up, scratching his chin, and winked imperceptibly. The clone in the tree behind Shikamaru winked back and ran through hand signs. Time to [ __ ] with the N. Nature transformation couldn't be confused with shape transformation. For example, if Nar separated his chakra in two parts, pulled each in one hand, and ground them against one another, it wouldn't produce wind chakra, that would be a silly shape transformation exercise that would give a thin strand of normal chakra, but not wind chakra. No, nature transformation was subtler. Chakra itself had to be taught to behave a certain way. Nar eyed the scroll a new weird those explanations seemed much clearer than anything he had received in the academy slowly to show Shikamaru he wasn't going to attack him. The blonde ran through the necessary hand signs trying to figure out how the sequence was affecting his chakra. Hand sign theory and jutsu crafting was one hellish field of the ninja arts. And even something as supposedly simple as the clone jutsu with its three hand sign sequence was incomprehensible for Narut. The genjutsu was in place. The Naru would make silly mistakes now, confusing his pawns and moving them badly. It would turn in an easy win, one Shikamaru wouldn't understand. Nar squashed the guilt he felt rising in his guts. Nowhere in the rules was it explicitly stated that casting a genjutsu on your opponent was forbidden. and Nar was a ninja. Unsaid rules were just an invitation to take advantage of a situation. An hour later, Nar won the game of shogi, much to Shikamaru's frustration who accused him of cheating. The blonde smuggly asked the Nar to prove it. His tone and admission of his guilt more than anything he could have said. Shikamaru, however, was incapable to demonstrate the truth of his claim and challenge Nar to a new match. Determination burning bright in his eyes. Nar obliged with a smile. The Naro was too much fun to annoy. The dark-haired boy was also the only one in their age group who was bright enough to see through his mind games. Apart from Shino, but Shino wasn't as fun to tease because he was always cool. Nar hoped he would go on a mission with team Kurana again sometime soon. The Aberame wouldn't keep his facade for long. The bond smiled and divided his attention once again between his multiple tasks. There was work to be done. Kakashi looked at the black stone carved from obsidian standing for the fallen. On it was etched various names. All heroes of Konahagakir in their own right. He for an especially brave act during a battle. She for dedication beyond duty and so on. The Junin's gaze trailed on five different names. Obito Uchiha, one of his teammates under their sensei Manato Namakazi, had died 16 years ago on a mission on the border of Earth country. 6 months before their sensei had ended the war in a single battle. There was the characteristic shape of a fire lily next to the name, a distinction awarded for gallant act of bravery on the battlefield. Kakashi smiled bitterly as he remembered how the Uchiah clan had fought Manado sensei on the medal, arguing that Obito Uchiha could never have behaved so. Never had Kakashi seen his sensei so utterly furious. He hadn't been furious against those who had killed Obido. He hadn't been furious against the armies of Earth country. They were enemies fighting in a war and as such there was no need to hate them. As Kakashi remembered him say to Ren and him once, but the thought that Obido's very family would deny his act was deserving of the most furious loathing his sensei could muster. Kakashi side. Sasake Uchiha, the last loyal Uchiha, was Oido's cousin. Just as Kakashi was indebted to Manado Sensei, he was indebted to his teammate and he wished he could have been of help to the young San of the Uchiah clan. But Sasake had a deep, deep hatred in his heart. And it closed him off to all who surrounded him. And Kakashi had no idea how to reach out. No idea how to guide him out of the path of revenge. If not his desire for blood, he at least understood the boy's loneliness. He suffered the same way. But how was he supposed to help someone deal with something he didn't know how to deal with himself? And how was he supposed to get through someone who simply didn't want to listen? Who couldn't consider any other path than the one they had fixed for themselves? Sasuke needed a psychiatrist, not a jun sensei. That was something that was known in the higher spheres of power. But as always, the good of the many came before the good of the one. Konahagakir needed to appear strong. and the last uchiha, the most talented and advanced jennon from his generation, which wasn't surprising when teachers had been discreetly asked to specifically focus on the boy to avoid the disastrous effects of Sasake training himself without guidance was an ideal poster child. They had created a child who had a superiority complex the size of the Hokag tower yet was as fragile as glass. Sasake took any comparison badly and couldn't suffer not being the best at something. And that was in addition to the fact the Uchiha heir suffered from an aggravated case of PTSD. An affliction that hadn't been seen to because sending the scan of such a prominent clan to a mind healer was unthinkable. Konahagakir was strong and its citizen didn't suffer from the sickness of the psyche. The 8-year-old child who had been trapped in a mindshattering jenjutsu by his own brother after witnessing the slaughter of most of his clan hadn't been sent to a psychiatrist because as long as he wasn't a drooling vegetable, all was considered all right. The result was that Sasake was an angry, immature child, dangerously armed with the ability to breathe fire, unhealthily obsessed with power and the ways to obtain it and without care for the village. something that Kakashi would have honestly ignored if Sasake cared for his teammates, which he absolutely didn't. The way he was now, Sasake was paralyzed by the murder of his clan. It was the root of his problems, a dark poison that fueled a destructive behavior, one that would prove fatal for the boy. The Uchiha was a mess of feelings, and he needed to process them if he wanted a chance to progress. Hopefully, he would then be better off. Not good, never good, because it wasn't possible anymore. But he could maybe live again. Otherwise, Sasake would kill himself before he got anywhere with his revenge. His obsession also made Sasake a flight risk. Konaha was only a mean to an end. A place where the Uchiah had no home, somewhere he would discard the second someone with a better offer would approach him. And Kakashi knew someone would eventually. It was only a matter of time. And whose fault was it? Here isn't Serbi's fault, that's who. Well, Kakashi wouldn't allow this masquerade to continue any further. Konaha could go burn for all he cared. The village had taken enough. Sasuke needed therapy, and therapy he would get. The needs of the one would outweigh the needs of the many. And even if the Hokag refused to sign the necessary paper, Kakashi would be able to legitimately say he had done his duty. The only duty that mattered, the one that protected and upheld the will of fire. Kakashi breathed in deeply. He knew Sasake would resent him, but he would do his best to explain to the Uchiha that it was a necessary step if he ever wanted to have a chance to seek justice for his clan. It was a necessary step if he ever wanted to achieve his potential. It was a necessary step if he wanted to not be eventually deemed too dangerous and be put down. Kakashi once again felt satisfied with his conclusion and breathed deeply to relax his back. His eyes returned to the standing stone and stopped on a second name. He would fix team seven, one member at a time, and do what had to be done, for the good of the few, for those forgotten by this damnable village, by this so-called family, for the will of fire. Nar was whistling, reading the scroll on the clone jutsu his Gigi had given him, all the while walking down the southern road away from Konaha. How do you do it, Doby? Nar sighed with a shake of his head. Really, Ka? I get it. It was fun calling me that in the academy, but after I beat up your ass. I was expecting a change in my nickname. The blonde riveted his blue eyes to the Inuzuka face. I don't want a title, dude. Just my name will be fine, you know. I concur. It is needlessly degrading for you to keep calling Nar a dead last, as it is evident he is not anymore. Shino said from behind his high collared jacket. I I think Shino I I is right. Hinata managed to sputter before she became red and tried to disappear in her own jacket. It would be good to show at least some respect to a shinobi who beat up your ass. Ka achieved Kurani with a smirk. The Inazuka boy looking like he had been stabbed blanched and mumbled something about the world being against him before he sighed. All right, all right, sorry Nar. It still doesn't mean you're better than me at posturing. That's for sure, answered the blonde. Ka choked and his face became red before a grimace marred. You want to go? I'll just show you what a real shinobi is. Narut looked at the boy in fault puzzlement. Why would I need to go anywhere to see a real shinobi? I've got Kurani sensei right here. Arg. Stop being such a smartass. You're not better than me and I'll prove it to you. Ka exclaimed, getting in a ready position to attack by assaulting a teammate while a mission is ongoing. Sure, Ka. Show me how much better you are and get kicked out of the shinobi corps after I get my formal complaint signed by the hokag. Narut, please don't do that, intervened Kurinai. That's a lot of paperwork for me. The blonde smiled at the Junan. You know I'm a crook. Kurinai sensei. What do I get for not doing it? The junan smirked. Nothing because ka won't do it. She said while sending a murderous glare at the Inazuka. He isn't that stupid, huh? Could have fooled me. Ka choked again before he lunged in anger. Arg. Kurinai pawned her face. Hinata gave a squeaky eep of alarm and Shino sighed. Nar exploded in a cloud of smoke as the Inuzuka barreled into him. You failed again, Ka. Kurinai exclaimed as she slapped the back of the boy's head. God damn it. You need to seriously control your temper. Nar, she bellowed. Get down from your tree. Nar appeared in front of team Kurani. his scroll still open and one eye still on it. The blonde had a pout on his lips. You can still detect me. Of course, I'm a Junan. I have my ways now, Ka. She turned towards the Inazuka, fuming. Temper control. What in these two words are you incapable to understand? Ka swallowed thickly. You can't be goated by words, Mr. Inazuka. That'll get you or one of your teammates killed. Do you have any idea how much ninjas insult each other's mother in a fight? just to create an opening or your appearance, your supposed intellect or whatever they can think to set you off. Your anger makes you sloppy, Ka. So, you need to learn how to control it. Is that understood? Ka nodded hurriedly and Kurinai groaned her exasperation before she offered the Inuzuka a sincere smile. I'm worried, Ka, she said, cupping one of the boy's cheek. You're too much of a hot head and it'll get you wounded. or worse," Kurinai explained with worry in her red eyes clear for everyone to see. The woman suddenly glared and pinched the boy's cheek harshly, eliciting a squeal for help from Ka. "That's why you need to control your temper." She hammered, stretching Ka's cheek further and further with each word before letting go. She sighed and looked at the boy. "What is your mission today?" "To not get annoyed by Nar?" Ka answered monotonously. in before he flailed his arms wildly and screamed his frustration. Oh, I can't do it, sensei. Please, anyone but him. He wailed, crocodile tears streaming from his eyes. He suddenly gritted his teeth and squeezed his right fist. He is so infuriating. Why can't I do that with Shino or Hinata? Kurinai rolled her eyes. Because you know very well that the point is to pit you against someone who can get under your skin. I know it doesn't work with Shino and Hinata. I admit the noble art of trash talking is still something that eludes me. Admitted Shino with a dip of his head. Hinata dipped her head down, red coloring her face and neck, looking sad. As sorry, muttered the girl. I'm useless. Ka flailed his arms again, this time towards Hinata. What? No, no, no, Hinata. That's fine. Leave this kind of grunt work to the Dobby. He is only good for that anyway. That and beating your ass. The blonde remarked snidly. Shut up, Nar. You're making progress. You said my name. Soon you'll know how to count to 10. I'll squish you, Dobby. Aw, false alert. He is still as stupid as he was 10 seconds ago. Nar slapped his forehead. Sorry, forgot you can't count. Don't worry. I'm sure Hinata can teach you that. She was what? Second place in the academy ranking for the Kunoichi. That she was, confirmed Kurani. See, Hinata, said Narut with a sageike nod. Some people mastered the art of insulting others. That's me. Some people have mastered the art of being loud, smelly, and overall not of much use. That's Ka. I need to stab something. The Inuzuka bellowed, ready to pounce on the Uzumaki, but restrained by Shino. Narut smirked. Shino mastered the art of looming over people silently. I'm sure you have something you know how to do better than anyone else. W. What if I don't? The Hauga girl asked shily. her voice barely above a murmur. P. Nar scoffed. Nonsense. He looked at her teammates. What's her hobbies? Flower pressing. Shino informed. She accepted to show us some of her work, and it is of rather high quality. Nar gave the girl a triumphant smile. See, no one here knows how to do that. He eyed Kurani. You don't do flower pressing, right, sensei? The redeyed woman gave the blonde and the haug girl a smile. No indeed. Hence that makes you the master among us. Nar bowed to Hinata. Oh flower pressing master. I'm honored to be in your presence. The girl reened to never yet reached levels just as she giggled. A frown soon marred her features however and she cast her eyes down again. That's useless for being a ninja though, Hinata muttered. Narut shrugged. Sure, but being good at one thing doesn't mean you can't get good at another. Were you any good at flower pressing when you began? And no, admitted the girl. Then that's the same for being a good shinobi. You have to work for it. Or better around it. The blonde said with a wink. A around. Nar shrugged. Sure. Do you want to become a good shinobi? Shinobi aren't only those who endure. They are those who conceal. Hinata. We dissimulate. We lie. We cheat. The blonde shot the girl a disarming smile and wiggled his eyebrows. That's how I beat your ass. Hinata produced a mixed sound between a giggle and choking noise. Narut ignored her and took a pose, eyes looking up and index finger pointing at the sky. That's how I pranked the Hokag. Hinata looked at the boy with admiration in her eyes. The blonde returned to a slouched pose. And that's also how I beat Shikamaru at shogi. But don't tell him. I truly am unsure if that makes you more or less intelligent than Narasan. And this question puzzles me to a degree I would never have imagined, confessed Shino while Hinata was laughing quietly behind one of her hand. What if I tell you that's exactly what I want and it's part of a plan to make you lose your composure? Wouldn't revealing that drastically lower the chance of that plan being a success? Maybe, maybe not. After all, who knows if I'm telling you the truth? Shino breathed in as if to say something, but stopped. The boy frowned. It would seem I kept underestimating you, Uzzumaki San. The Aarame eventually said for that I apologize. He bowed. It stops now. Ka looked at his teammates and sighed. They had lost their mind and the Uzumaki had perverted them with his games and honeyed words. The Inazuka squeezed his fist and silently swore he wouldn't fall to the same fate. Guys, look. Ka reverted to his natural state, that of the oyster. Observe how he is staring at nothing while drool drips from his lips. I'm going to murder you Doby. Kuran Knight palmed her face again and this was going to be a long mission. Ibeki took another report from the large box on his desk and gave it a cursory glance. It was enough to be the final statistical piece of data that proved his hunch. The return of team Guy on one hand and Guy on the other had started an investigation and Ibeki already didn't like the implications of his first finds. In the land of fire, the daimo gave local lords a bunch of prerogatives like organizing the police or collecting the taxes and a few duties like keeping the defensive infrastructures in a good state. Only the courts of justice and the garrisons were independent. the judges answering directly to the damo's minister of the left while the military commanders answered to the minister of the right. As long as the grand accountant was happy with the amount of money sent by each lord, they were left pretty much to their own device. In theory, something like policing could be left to any kind of private mercenary company, but Konaha had ruthlessly eliminated this kind of concurrence long ago, and the village was de facto the only choice for the governors. In any case, there had been a policing contract between the previous Lord of Funadamari and Konahagakir for two teams of trackers to be on a permanent post in the city in order to patrol the coast and intercept smuggling attempts. For some reason, however, the port city had never been deemed a place of national priority due to its size. The harbor was too little for an invading army and its equipment to land properly. Hence, when the contract hadn't been renewed, two things had happened. Firstly, a routine investigation had been launched to understand why exactly the contract hadn't been renewed. Secondly, this investigation had been sabotaged. The forgery was perfect, and Ibeki would have been impressed if the situation wasn't so serious. The report was neat and basically told of a special core of dogkeepers funded by the young lord of Funadamari, whose members supposedly served both as helpers during hunts and as coast guards. There were enough details to tell Ibiki that the Lord of Funadamari probably had such people in retinue. There was only one little mistake that told the head of T and I that the report was absolutely fake. The date of submission. Normally, even a superficial investigation took at least a week, but the report was dated two measly days after the end of the policing contract. It was about gathering enough intel to make such a report in only two days was simply impossible when an average tunin from the analytic department would need at least four to travel to Funadamari and back. Ibeki eyed the date of the report. The writing wasn't the same as whoever had filled it. So it meant one of the archavists in the analytic department had put the date in and stamped the piece of paper as was mandatory, but wasn't aware enough of the circumstances to detect the foul play. Whoever had covered up the affair had been too eager to smother the investigation and too hasty in doing it. Yet they would have succeeded if not for the mail delivery mission. There wasn't a lot of business opportunities that would send Konaha ninjas in this side of fire country. Sometimes a local court of justice required a team to help an investigation or nobles would hire some muscles to keep watch over a ceremony. But basically what they did in these parts was escorting merchants or their wear and keeping the roads safe from missing n as part of the staggered defensive strategy of fire country. However, distributing the mail was a classic task and one which ensured that anything weird happening in border fortresses was known in Konaha. It was one of those missions with two objectives. Jennine teams were sent on. Jennins took care of the male as a mock defend and deliver situation and the Junin was basically expected to report anything strange. It was also part of the staggered defensive strategy. No one suspected the mailman from spying except for other Shinobi. Team Guy had confronted a situation that should never have happened in the first place. Fire country had been infiltrated by hostile ninja forces and they had a possible foothold in Funadamari. More importantly, there was a mole in Konaha. Ibeki was taking it as a critical failure as the head of torture and investigation. It was his job to run counter intelligence, and his oversight had almost costed the life of four young and promising ninjas, including his apprentice. That made it personal. Ibeki breathed in deeply and mentally prepared himself to make his case to the Hokag. He had to be quick, decisive, and convincing. He would get Anbu to lurk around Funadamari if it was the last thing he did as the head of TNI. Patroling the surroundings of Konaha was honestly a boring C-rank mission that was given to new teams as a learning opportunity for the future when their members promoted to Chunin would have to accomplish the truly important and a rank border patrols. Kurani was a good teacher however and more than that she was a serious Junin. That left little time for Nar to read and work on the exercise the Hokag had given him. Instead, he learned plenty of things about tracking, how to detect hints of someone's passage, and how to, on the contrary, leave as little as possible behind him. While the blonde was rather good at infiltration already, he had broken in the Hokag Tower somehow, and how he had done it was an S-rank secret. It was true he had never bothered to hide his trail. At one time, his pranks had been committed in the hope of attracting people's attention after all, and if nobody knew it was him, then they would have lost their meaning. As a ninja, however, leaving traces was considered sloppy, and so Nar learned. Team Kuranaya learned too, at least how to conceal their trail, as tracking was something they knew how to do already. Ka gloated and mocked Nar, but it was as much to get a rise from the blonde as from relief that there was something he was still better at than the dead last. So the Uzumaki allowed it. He had ribbed Ka for a lifetime already and he had been merciless about it. So he wasn't too bothered, especially as it was true. Ka and his team were better than him at tracking, which was entirely normal given they were a tracking team. If Nar had been better, he would have been worried. It was the fifth day of the mission, which was a week-long trek in the hilly forest south of Konahagakir. When trouble arose, Nar was teaching the Jennins of Team Kurinai his trick to walk silently in exchange for some help obviously and all four Jennins were doing their best to step as stealthily as possible and trying to approach Kurana who was walking ahead and touch her back. Ka suddenly turned his head to the right so hard Nar thought he'd given himself whiplash. Ka san? Shino asked. I smell blood. Old and nearly dried but blood. Animals hunting. Nar questioned already drawing one of his canai. Wolves were known to populate the mountains north of the village, but a few black bears did prowl in the hills. Ka shook his head and looked a little pale. Trust the Inazuka's nose. I'm pretty sure it's human. How far from our position? Kurinai interrupted her face a mask of seriousness. I I can lead us there. The Inazuka had lost his usual poise and Nar understood his nervousness. It would be the first time team Kurinai would see a dead body. Come to think of it, it would actually be his first time too. He hadn't had the chance to contemplate the body of his attacker the first time he had killed. Manado Namakazi Yandai Hokag had died 13 years ago saving Konahagakir from the Caillobi's rampage. He was the only shinobi to be awarded two times the fire chrysanthemum, the highest distinction of fire country. The first, Manado Namakazi had received for slaughtering Earth country's invading force and ending the third war. The second, he had been awarded postumously for vanquishing the Caillobi. Kakashi cared not for that. Medals meant nothing, especially when the little boy who should have received the pension hadn't, leaving him barely surviving on an orphan stipend. They meant nothing when the villagers only spat on the man's sacrifice. They meant nothing before the unbearable grief of loss. Manado had been Kakashi's sensei, his second father. Kakashi owed him much, too much to properly settle the dead, and Kakashi had failed again. How he wished his sensei had only one fire chrysanthemum. How he wished he was a little less of a hero and a lot more alive. Kakashi immediately mentally chided himself for the thought. Manato was the embodiment of what it meant to be Hokag and he wouldn't have wanted his student to think like that. Still, Kakashi wished the man had chosen Narut and him over this village of despicable hypocrites. Kakashi wished for a lot of things. He wished his teammates were still alive. He wished he wasn't so broken that getting out of bed in the morning was a victory. He wished his guts didn't twist in terrible, unbearable guilt for being alive when good people, better people were dead. He wished he hadn't been so afraid to lose that he had lost all the same. He knew why he hadn't taught his team anything else than teamwork. Nothing was as important as that. And he still held that belief. But it wasn't the primary reason. No, the real explanation was that if his Jennins didn't grow up if they didn't become strong, they wouldn't be sent outside the village. They wouldn't be put in danger. They wouldn't die all over again. And he wouldn't be left alone with a pit of dark nothingness cleaving his soul in half. Because as much as he pretended that he didn't care, as much as he gave the feeling he didn't want to be anywhere near his team, he very much did. Nar should have been his brother in all but blood. Sasake. He could have taught with Obito. Sakura, he was certain, would have been taken under Ren's wing. They would have made an incredible team. But it wasn't like that because everyone was dead and gone, and the only thing they had left behind was a husk. That was what Kakashi was, a husk too afraid to be filled by any positive feeling for fear of finally breaking when it would inevitably go away. Kakashi snorted. Who was he kidding? He was already broken. And after failing his duty as a Junan sensei, he was also a broken tool, not even useful for the village. But who cared about the village? The village took and kept on taking, but never gave back. It expected dutyful loyalty, yet answered it with contempt. Much more than the Caillobi, it was a demon, always demanding fresh souls to be sacrificed to its insatiable hunger. And for what? What worth was the good of the many if it was built on the sacrifice of the few? What worth was the good of the many if some could never be a part of the many? Nar, or his clone at least, was right. They were slaves, the expandable trash of a system that used them liberally and threw them away when they broke. Why would anyone give so much and suffer for ungrateful and unappreciative people? Even if the boy was trained right, and he was, Kakashi had taken the time to check, he would never be accepted. Because the village didn't care because he was a slave, no matter what honeyed words the hokag used to dress up the situation. That despicable old man, Kakashi had argued with him to have Narut reinstated in his team, promising he would do better, but the Hokag had denied him. The Uzumaki had finally exploded after years of neglect and hate, and Kakashi was made to bear the consequences of the old man's errors. The Jun knew full well how the Hokag imagined the situation. He had convinced himself that he had never forbidden Kakashi to approach Nar. Except Kakashi had been busy in Anbu for nearly 11 years, murdering left and right to avoid another war. And when he had been discharged, Nar was already grown up and it felt shallow to try and be a part of his life. That hypocritical old man. So Kakashi had waited for the opportunity to be his teacher, equally eager and fearful. And when finally Nar had landed on team seven, Kakashi had sworn he would do good. But Nar was a terrible, terrible ninja, worse than even Obito had been. And fear had won the battle within him. And Kakashi had seen the blonde die again and again in his nightmares because he wasn't strong enough. Because the village and the hokag had made sure of that, that hateful old man. For the first time in years, Kakashi didn't feel empty. There was no guilt twisting his insides either. Rather, there was a fire, the hot flames of anger swelling inside him, sweeping and cleaning his feelings. He wouldn't allow for his brother to be used and discarded like that. He knew Nar was aware yet refused to admit to it. His clone had been the proof of that. He just had to provide a few more truths to the boy. Revelation that would force him to realize the situation. He was going to save his little brother if it was the last thing he did. Kakashi felt intense satisfaction at the decision and returned his attention to the stone. A corpse, Narut decided, wasn't anything pleasant to look at. It didn't make him sick, but there was something incredibly sad in the lifeless body sprawled against a tree. The dead was an old man if his gray hair and beard were any indication. His head had been covered by a straw hat that had been cleaved in two. Whatever weapon had mangled the hat had shattered the poor man's skull and spilled blood all over his gray sleeveless top. The broken frame of a pair of glasses was at the dead man's feet. Kurini had searched for anything to identify the man, but failed to find any paper, which meant that either the deceased had been an illegal immigrant, or given the massive wound on his head, he had been assassinated, and whoever was responsible didn't want anyone to be able to track the man's identity. Nar looked at the smashed bottle of sake the man had grasped, maybe in an attempt to defend his life. The blonde could smell the alcohol mixed with the metallic stench of blood as he kneled next to the body. The bottle was all glass and had probably contained cheap stuff as the fine rice wine was often kept in lacquered terracotta jugs. The label was torn and soaked, but a fine print immediately attracted Naruto's gaze. "Made in wave country," the blonde muttered before he turned towards Kurana. "Sensei," he called, showing her the piece of paper. The redeyed Junan immediately saw what the Uzumaki wanted her to see. "Well done, Nar Shino Ka. anything. The Inazuka, looking a bit green, threw a questioning gaze at his impassible teammate who nodded minutely and stepped forth. Ninja did this. My allies are formal. There are residual traces of chakra being used to stick to the threes around. Ka nodded. I smell steel of good quality in the sweat of at least two men. They went south. Anything your eyes could see, Hinata? The Hauga girl, looking just as green as the Inuzuka boy, shook her head. As sorry sensei know nothing she know san and ka san didn't already as said the girl hesitated pushing her index fingers against each other before she stuttered further. I th think h he swallowed thickly. He died at least 3 hours ago. Kuran eyes smiled reassuringly. Good job all. The jun got up inside. Now observe this is the ceiling procedure when dealing with a body. she explained as she pulled out a scroll which she unfurled, revealing esoteric markings that Nar slowly deciphered. Next to him, the Jennins of Team Kurini looked at the scroll with dull eyes, evidently incapable of comprehending it. "We call them body scrolls. We use them to carry the bodies that we have the opportunity to recover from a battle," the Junan explained, her voice cold as ice. "It is more complex than a standard storage tag and made to preserve the body as much as possible. You'll be required to carry at least three of these scrolls at all time once you reach tunin rank and know how to use them. Look closely. The Junin placed the unfurled scroll across the dead man's belly and ran through five hand signs slowly as she leaked a bit of her chakra with a sickening sound of something being horribly splintered. The body was distorted in an impossible flux of butchered space-time fabric before it disappeared in the scroll. The large empty circle in the middle of the fuenjutsu formula suddenly filled up with the kanji for death. Kurini rolled the scroll without a word. Nar shuddered. He couldn't help but see himself having to do just that to the corpse of a teammate. The heavy gaze the Junin gave them all told the blonde Kuranai had done that at least once. We will drop this to the nearest outpost and continue our patrol. There were a few seconds of silence before Ka broke it in a furious exclamation. What? Sensei, we can't. We have to find the bastards who did that. Nar silenced himself. He had been a hair breath away from saying just that before the simple truth of the situation had settled. Whoever had done it was at least a two men team who had 3 hours on any pursuers. No one from team Kurani could tell how truly proficient the assassins were. And lastly, and most importantly, according to Ibiki Sensei, it just wasn't their mission. The parameters for a patrol included dealing with any bandits they could find while sweeping the various checkpoints of their itinerary, but certainly not running after shinobi assassins, especially when the patrolling team was made of jennins. If an investigation was created, it would be given to more competent Shinobi. A sudden cold invaded Naruto's heart as he realized something he hadn't even envisioned at first, but that his rational mind slowly imposed to him. For all he knew, Konaha had ordered the death of that man. No, he corrected immediately. It made no sense. If Konaha had ordered that man's death, they would have taken the body in a mortuary scroll or not, as there could be something deeper to whatever operation it was that Nar wasn't seeing. But why would Konaha murder a man coming from wave country? As Ibeki has taught him, the blonde ran through various possible scenarios. Konaha murdered that man on requesttor as a part of some national security scheme and the executives had left his corpse here for a patrol to discover for some unknown reason. That was a scenario Naruto's heart refused to acknowledge but the blonde had to face reality. Konahagakir no sad was a village of ninja. Another possibility was that someone had paid at least two foreign ninjas to kill the old man. But for what reason? And again, why leave the corpse behind to be discovered? Maybe the culprit didn't have the necessary equipment. Looking at the ceiling scroll, he knew it was a difficult fuenjutsu formula, so it wasn't excluded. The assassins simply didn't have a mortuary scroll to begin with. But then why not use a simple caden jutsu to burn the evidence to ash or maybe a doden jutsu to sink the corpse in the soil because they didn't know any supplied a part of his mind. Suna kiri or kumo? The blonde shook his head. No, the lack of a mortuary scroll was a strong hint towards the involvement of missing nins and the evidence left behind meant jennins or clumsy tunins maybe or two bloodthirsty junan level shinobi who simply didn't care. So the assassins weren't affiliated to any village opting to serve themselves in the highest bidder. The worst kind of mercenary, the most dangerous. There is something really bad going on in Wave, he muttered. The country had apparently been taken over by the Godto Corporation and now Wave denisens were being killed in the land of fire. The boy knew the Hokag had ordered the matter to be investigated, but it didn't calm his nerves. Who knew what the people of Wave were enduring right now? He turned to Kurinai, ready to plead his case and support Ka, but the redeyed Junan sent him a glare that silenced him. Our mission, she strained, her voice cold as ice and grading as shattered glass, is to patrol sector S13 and report to Jedan outpost and come back to Konaha through patrol route S14. It is a C rank mission fit for Jennins to teach them the joys of patrol assignment, but most importantly to enforce discipline. We will not stray from our mission. Is that clear? She asked with murder in her eyes. Ka swallowed noisily. Shino nodded minutely and Hinata looked down fearfully. Nar glared back before he sighed. He couldn't save everyone. He wouldn't save everyone. Mission teammates and Konaha before the people of Wave duty above all. Feeling disgusted with himself and everything that had to do with the shinobi life. He nodded. Dragging their feet in silence, team Kuranai made way to Jedan outpost. The outpost was one of many spread across Fire Country. While the land was smaller in super fishies than the countries of earth or wind, it still took something like an entire month for a walking civilian to cross it from west to east. Hence, the outposts were places, small military forts where a good number of ninjas were stationed under a Junin commander who had the responsibility to meet the demand of various clients who as a result didn't have to walk all the way to Konaha or send a message. This also had the effect of keeping Konaha more or less hidden, at least from the common folk. Patrol missions from Konaha to one or more outpost and back were something of a weekly occurrence. Most of the times used as an opportunity to bring the Junin commander updated orders, the pay of his men, and any other thing that the officer would need or alternatively bring back his reports to the Hokag tower. Most of the time the ninjas in those outposts were used to police the roads and various territories of importance as part of the country defensive strategy. They were different from the border fortress in size and in that they were entirely under Konah's command. The damos minister of the left had no influence nor any of his men in station here. The Jedin outpost bore the name of the small village it overlooked. A simple place inhabited by peasants who worked the earth and took care of cattle. This southern part of fire country was called the bald plane as it was almost devoid of trees in comparison to the rest of the land and its soil was rich and carved by numerous streams and rivers. It had attracted the cupidity of wind and earth on many occasions, three of which had turned into bloody wars. Nar looked down from the last hill at the seemingly endless expanse of land geometrically divided in large rectangles, some of good solid earth covered with green grass and the rest gorged with water and rice plants. It had a body of its own to the blonde who had only known the gigantic trees surrounding Konaha and covering the majority of the country. The south was truly deserving of its second nickname, the granary. Slightly above, Jedan outpost was looming over the village lower in the plain. a strange outgrowth of stone walls and watchtowers covered in gray tiles, overwatching much more modest but more elegant wooden houses. Nar looked back down again. Children were playing in the streets of the little village while adults were mostly busying themselves either in the patties or at home cooking dinner, fixing clothes, making hats, and whatnot. It seemed like an arduous yet simple life, and many had a smile on their face. The Uzumaki wondered how it was for the people in wave right now. Were they smiling like those folks down there? What about him? Was he smiling as he lived the life of a shinobi? The blonde shook his head. He couldn't save everyone, but then what use was it if he couldn't even help those who needed him truly? The land of fire was at peace with a truckload of available shinobi while something was happening to Wave Country where there was no ninja to intervene. Without a word, but with his mouth full of ash, he followed team Kurani as they went up to the drearyyl looking walls and the dark towers of the outpost. Kurinai disappeared somewhere, probably to see the outpost commander and Nar and the others were invited to the refactory where they were served a jug of water and something supposedly edible. Jedan outpost was honestly a run-down place and all Jennins of Team Kurini plus Nar dreaded the day they would be stationed in such a place when their apprenticeship under their jun sensei would end. It was apparently a classic type of assignment according to a team of Jennins four years older than them. After 2 years under a Junin's command, a team integrated the ranks of the regular military. Their learning period over and done with. More often than not, they were placed under the lead of a Chunin officer. Nar forced himself to eat his plate. It wasn't tasting succulent, but it was hot and spicy enough to taste like something in the first place. Field rations were decent, but they got old fast. You na narun? The blonde turned to face the meek address and smiled lightly. Yes, Hinata s something is be bothering you. It wasn't a question in the blonde side. He hadn't made it a secret and the girl had a special pair of eyes, so it wasn't a wonder she had noticed. Nar looked at his nearly finished food. I'm just thinking of the dude we found. Hinata nodded. There was nothing to say to that. I know there is something wrong going on in Wave right now, and I have the feeling we're doing nothing to prevent it, Nar explained, playing with the broth of his stew. It's<unk> ninjas, the blonde exclaimed suddenly with anger, startling Hinata. We can do so many things, but do we go out of our way to help those in need? The boy scoffed. Not if it isn't profitable, he concluded bitterly. Konaha is our home. It is logical we seek her safety and betterment. Shino intervened. Nar shook his head. Her safety, yes, but her betterment, no, Shino, that's just greed at this point. Konaha is rich. It's prosperous. Have you ever seen anyone in the streets in the village? To that, the Abberame shrugged his shoulders almost imperceptibly. Nar suddenly took a somber look on his face. Is it perfect? Probably not, but we could spare. Give a bit of what we have so much and that others don't have at all. No service is ever rendered freely, Naran. I failed to see the logic of your reasoning, answered Shino. Ka nodded, supporting his teammate and looking at Nar as if the blonde had gone mad. The blonde could tell it was clanbred logic that prevailed here. Shinobi didn't set foot outside the village without being paid. After all, as the hoag had put it, "The village, it was all that mattered." Agreed, interjected the Inuzuka. "I don't like leaving whoever killed that dude run free but aiding wave." "Why would we do that?" "Because we're decent human beings," Narut asked in response. "Because if we don't, the will of fire doesn't mean [ __ ] I've always been told we were better than Iwa, better than Kumo. The blonde smiled crookedly, but we aren't, are we? Having said that, the boy gave the three members of team Kurinay a nod of his head. I apologize. It seems I soured the atmosphere. I'll be outside. The outpost had a little courtyard, and Nar found a seat out of the way, his mind churning as he looked at the evening sky. Why had he become a ninja? The Hokag had told him when he was little and alone that it would be the best way to gain the attention he wanted, the attention he needed. Loneliness was a poison to life. Having no one to go home to, no one to talk to, no one to confide to, no one to say it was okay to fail, no one to compliment his success, no one to just be there with him. It was akin to a physical burden, one that grew over time until he had nearly been unable to muster the strength to get up. worse was being ostracized at all time, actively being avoided. People refusing to talk to him, to listen to him, to see him were like as many knives piercing his flesh. Being a ninja, the Hokag even was intended to be the cure to all that. If he were the Hokag, the people of Konaha would not be able to ignore him anymore. That's what he had imagined when the old man had regailed him with tales of the powerful shinobi of old and the leaders of Konaha. He couldn't have left. He now knew that as the Hokag would have brought him back every time. He didn't think he could have survived alone anyway, not without the skills he had obtained now. Yet maybe life would have been easier in a place where he wasn't universally despised. Maybe people would have taken him in even. Nar smiled bitterly. In the end, his motivation had been selfish. He wasn't even like these proud clan heirs of Team Kurani, who no doubt had grand dreams of protecting their clan in the village. His plan had been solely driven by his personal wish to be too important to ignore. Maybe it had even been bratty in a way. If he was stuck in a village that ignored him, he would make them see him as a revenge of a sort. Nar didn't care about the village. His clone had been right on that point. How could he care for a place where he was met with nothing but fear and hate? The blonde shuddered. It wasn't true anymore. He had Assuma, Konahamaru, the old man, even if the cage was two-faced. and someone Narut now was wary of at least a bit. He had Ibiki sensei. He guessed he got along all right with team Guy, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, and even Ka when the Inuzuka wasn't being overly competitive. Whatever the case, he who had been in Marge of the Konaha society had seen how those people cared for each other. That plus the stories of how the village was better than Iwa and Kumo and Kiri had given the blonde the belief that Konaha held power to share it or at least to protect those who couldn't that maybe just maybe being a ninja was about rescuing princesses and countries that is was about doing good with their abilities. It apparently wasn't. Here is Seru Tobi looked at his top Junin with a gaze that gave nothing of his emotions away. Kakashi had just announced to him that he was dropping team 7. Annoyingly, the Hitaki had the right to do that as per the ninja charter established by the second Hokag. Ajun sensei had the right to judge any or all members of his genine team unfit for duty, including themselves. While Hirozen was the Hokag and he had absolute authority, the charter was still there to guarantee a minimum of right to the shinobi serving the village. Ordering the Junin to keep his team running under his command would create a dangerous precedent, one that he had no doubt the Hitaki would use without any remorse given how angry Hirzen knew he was. In addition, Hiazen had threatened the Junan to rescend his nomination as a Junan sensei in the first place. On this fateful day a few months ago, telling him he had to keep his position now would feel shallow and hypocritical. Two things Hisen was ready to be for the sake of the village. However, the old Seru Tobi supposeded it was natural for Kakashi to push back, but still he was the Hokag. He couldn't afford one of his best element to be so rebellious it would show weakness. It didn't mean he didn't have regrets. Naruto's lashing out had dredged up old wounds to the surface and poured salt on them. He hadn't done well. That was a firmly established truth he accepted. He was tired, however, to hear the silent reproach in Kakashi's unsaid words, as if everything was his fault. Are you certain of this, Junhitaki? The man gave the Hokag one of his eye smile. Quite Hokag sama, as you made certain I understood. I'm not fit to teach Jennins. In addition to that, Sasake Uiha doesn't need a teacher right now, but the help of a mind healer, as I made certain to explain in my report. What of your other two students? The old man asked, ignoring the barb and holding back a sigh at the mention of the young Chiha. Another thing he had butchered. Sai is a non-factor for reasons we both know full well. Hokag sama. As for Sakura, I honestly recommend she is dropped from the shinobi roster. She is physically unfit, is below par in all practical aspects of the shinobi arts, unfocused, naive, blindly infatuated with the Uchia to the point of stupidity, and all that will get her teammates killed at one point or another. She shouldn't have even graduated from the academy in the first place, but I suppose the standards did drop. The Hokag nodded. It was a time of peace and he had allowed the academy standards to drop as a way for more civilian children to join the ranks of the shinobi. It should have been ideal for subpar recruits to be included in their ranks. Supposedly, the low level of risk meant they had time to grow reasonably strong before being faced with any real danger. Or at least that's what some of his analysts had suggested in a plan he had personally backed up. Ignoring all those who had warned him that the life of a shinobi was by its very nature dangerous and deadly, he had briefed the teachers to be laxer. The result had been deplorable as almost no team made of purely civilian recruits made it past their true test. And as much as he knew Kakashi was angry at him, Hisan also knew he could still trust the Junan to be analytical. And if he said young Sakura was unfit, then she was. If she insists on becoming a ninja, however, continued the Junin, I recommend she is set up with someone forceful yet patient enough to bring her out of her delusions. I also recommend she tries her hands at medical njutsu. If anything, she has the control for it. What about you, Jun and Hitaki? Do I understand this as a wish to be reinstated in Anbu? No, Hokag sama. I believe I gave enough to Anbu here as kept himself from snarling at the underlying meaning of the Junin's words. Never forget that you asked to be a part of the organization in the first place. Junhaki, he said, not exactly hiding the venom in his voice. He watched as Kakashi momentarily froze and sent him a murderous glare. The Hokag returned it. I grant you permission to speak freely, Junin Hitaki, so why not come clear? The Serbi challenged. He heard the white-haired young man snarl behind his face mask before the Junan took a deep breath. I will not allow you to keep me separated from Nar. I've never ordered that. You chose to do so yourself, Jun and Hitaki. It is high time you took him away from me. Kakashi bellowed suddenly, all veneer of politeness and patience scraped and replaced by rage. I was supposed to be his teacher, and you didn't teach him. The Hokag retorted in a similar tone. Knowing what he needed, you did nothing to help him achieve it. Because I didn't expect to have to teach him things he should have learned in the academy. Something you allowed to happen. Something you didn't check. Content to let me deal with it. I was in Anbu as you wished. Despite my recommendation, you stay in the regular forces. I kept him safe from the shadows. You were supposed to keep him safe in the light. You are the Hokag. Then if I did such a poor job, take that damnable hat and teach what you think is just to this village. The Hokag bellowed with such anger that it rooted Kakashi on the spot. Do not pass your actions as anything else than you coping out. Hitaki. The old cage threatened in an ice cold voice. You aren't the only one who lost people to our way of life. And Nar has always been there waiting for people to reciprocate his calls for attention. But you ignored him. His said, punctuating each word with a punch to his desk. The Junan blinked once before he snarled. And maybe you didn't. He spat bitterly. I wasn't supposed to be his brother. I wasn't supposed to be his hokage. The village. Screw the village. Kakashi hurled. Narut isn't part of it. Everyone made it clear. Including yourself. Why didn't you help him correct that? I'm tired of you making me shoulder all the blame. Hitaki. The state of your relationship with Nar is your doing only. I'll kill him. I'll kill him like I killed everyone else. The Junin howled, a snarl of mixed pain and fury distorting his face before he sagged in a seat. A second of silence seemed to stretch into a minute before the Hokag broke the dark spell. You're like the villagers for reasons your own, but you're like them. What? You refused to approach Nar because you cannot confront your own fears. So you decided to be angry at me instead. Something stuck to Kakashi's throat. He had nothing to answer to that. The way back from Jedan outpost had been a silent trek for Narut. Oh, the blonde did answer any request from Kuranai. But apart from that, he was too occupied with his own thoughts to tease Ka, play mind games with Shino or discuss with Hinata. He had been going in circles regarding his problem. And it was with relief that he saw the gates of Konaha grow larger and larger as they approached them. He had to talk with his surrogate grandfather, with his sensei, with Assuma Oji. Kurani san. Welcome back. One of the two tun guarding the entrance greeted team eight sensei. Nar narrowed his eyes for a second before his brain supplied him with the name of the ninja Katetsu. Hello you two still on guard duty. Hey, it's a peaceful job protested Katetsu's companion. Another tunin named Isumo in a lazy draw. Nar allowed a small smile grin to paint itself on his face. He wasn't sure what the two's game was, but Ibiki had been a smart teacher and seeing underneath the underneath now had an actual meaning for the blonde. Those two were much more than gatekeepers. So, we have Inazuka san, Abarame, and Hayuga. All good. Katetsu smiled to the members of team Kuranayai and Chakra stamped their papers before he turned to Nar. The Uzumaki opened his ID, now used to the procedure, and waited for the tunin to admit him in Konaha proper. We heard by the grapevine that you did a good job with team guy. Uzumo commented. Katetsu made a show of looking at Naruto's ID before he stamped it and returned it with a smile. Yeah, well done on that. Umaki san. It took Narut everything he had, including a vision of Ibiki threatening to fry his ass to not gap at the two shinobi. Swallowing thickly, he bowed slightly and mumbled a thanks. Before he hastily retreated to where team Kurana was waiting for him all the way to the Hokag tower, his previous concerns erased by the novel experience. Nar wondered what this was that he was feeling. This comfortable warmth in his stomach wasn't exactly new yet. It wasn't the same as when his Gigi or Ibiki sensei or even Asuma Oji complimented him. Mission report was a quick affair and Nar soon found himself back in the streets. Still wondering about the weird greeting at the gate. He noticed the three blurs only at the last second. It was enough for him to make two clones appear by his side with a flip of his right hand and a flex of his chakra. He caught a dark-haired boy in person, while his replicas captured a young girl with carrot hair done in two pigtails and a brown-haired boy with glasses. All three seemed to be around eight and were all wearing curious combat glasses as makeshift headbands. "Boss, Konahamaru, Moi, and Udon" exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Hello, you three?" answered the trio of Narutos with a light smile. "Is today free?" the original asked. "Peef, boss, it's Saturday. Of course, we don't have school." Nar scratched the back of his head. The thing with long-term mission was that they tended to make one lose sight of the day and date, especially as there was no weekend while on duty. Right. Right. What have you been up to while I was gone? Konahimaru whed. Boss, it was so boring. The academy is really useless. Nar snickered. It teaches you patience above all else. It's a valuable skill, Konochan. One that makes learning all the others much easier. The young Serbi pouted. It's boring, he retorted. And apparently that was that. Mhm. Is there really nothing that boss? The young black-haired boy whined again. It's<unk> so much better to work with you. That's right. Moi abounded. Udon nodded frantically. All right. All right. I'm a little tired today and I need to meet my sensei anyway, but if I'm free tomorrow, I'll come to teach you. Yay. Konahimaru beamed victoriously, one of his teeth missing in his large smile. Thanks, boss. Now, now remember, there's no guarantee I'll make it. Ibiki sensei makes me work hard. That dimmed the children's enthusiasm for a second before it returned full force. But if you can be there, you'll be there, right? Nar smiled. That's a promise. Konahimaru extended his pinky, a serious look on his face, and Nar extended his own and laced the finger around the child's. The Serbi gave his boss a nod. Hm. Then it's all good. All right. I'm all out of whack, but I could go for something to eat right now. Ichiaku Ramen, my threat if you're hungry. Nar offered, "Yay! You seem even more enthusiast for ramen than training with me." The three academy students threw him somewhat guilty smiles and Nar exhaled through his nose. "Brats, he the Uzumaki smiled mischievously." "Oh, it's like this, huh?" He drawled before throwing Konahamaru on his shoulders. his two clones doing the same with Moei and Udon. "Godspeed," he suddenly exclaimed. "He and his clones disappearing in a body flicker while the children screamed in mixed fright and glee." After a round of Naruto's patented Uzu Maki roller coaster, the four arrived in front of a modest stand. "Konohimaru and Udon were soothingly rubbing Moagi's back, who looked a bit green." "Boss, you went way too hard." Konahimaru admonished. Unappreciative brat. The blonde grumbled as he entered the stand, flipping one of the piece of cloth hanging from the front to reveal a ramen bar. Hello, Tui Oji Ayame Nay. The blonde greeted before he could even see if whoever he was addressing was there. Hello, Narut [ __ ] Two voices answered in concert, one belonging to an older man and one to a young woman. Long time no see, the woman added warmly. Nar smiled. A miso ramen to begin and I'll go from there. One miso ramen coming right up. Tui, a man in his 50s and dressed as a cook, immediately answered. The brunette woman threw a glance of her night black eyes to the three students outside. What will it be for the little ones? Nar shrugged. Meh. Moi needs to get back on her feet properly first. Oh, could you give me a lemonade? Ayame already on the counter. Narut [ __ ] And indeed, there was a bottle of his favorite lemonade on the counter, opened and ready to be consumed. Smoking from the frost deposited on its surface by the powerful fridge of the restaurant. Nar didn't know what kind of ninja art it was, but Ayame was quick, silent, and nearly undetectable like that when she served people as a waitress. The blonde smiled again. The rest of the day was spent without much more incident. Nar met Ibiki, who told him he had his Sunday off to do whatever he liked with it. Then he was nearly at his flat when an Anbu delivered an invitation to have dinner with his grandfather. The blonde wasn't surprised by the invite. He had been less than subtle about his inner turmoils, and he had no doubt the Hokag had picked up on it. It was the reason why Nar dressed in matching blue pants and a long-sleeved shirt with a red orange spiral on the shirt, was knocking on the door of the Hokag mansion. Evening Gigi greeted Nar as it was opened by his surrogate grandfather. A hokag had to officially reside there. It was a symbolic way, as far as Narut understood it, to make whoever was wearing the hat appear distinct from any clan or family. It didn't stop his Gigi to spend plenty of time in the Serbi compound or Konahamaru from sleeping in the mansion. Hello, Narut [ __ ] Come in. Dinner will soon be ready. The blonde smiled and removed his sandals to slip on inside shoes. They were slightly too large for his feet and Nar suspected they belonged to Assuma. Asuma not here tonight. He is away on a mission. He is due to come back tomorrow. The dinner was a quiet affair. Nar and the Hokag bering lightly during it all. It was only when the two returned to the comfortable living room and were sunk deep in the couches that Narut broached the subject he wanted to speak about. Gigi. Yes. Narutkun. The Uzu Maki hesitated. He didn't know how he wanted to formulate what he wanted to ask. He wasn't sure what he wanted to ask in the first place. The blonde struggled for a minute with his thoughts while the hokag patiently waited for his almost grandson to find his bearing. "What's the will of fire?" Nar eventually asked. Whatever a ninja of Konaha believes in his heart of heart to be right. That had been the response of Hiazen to Naruto's question and confusion would be understating greatly what the blonde was feeling right now. He had had the entire night to mull over his grandfather's words, but the fabled nocturnal advice hadn't come to him. His Gigi had given him examples, of course, to help him understand. For Hashiama Senju, the will of fire was to extend the hand of friendship in the war torn age of the clan era. For his brother Tobberenju, it had been about making Konaha powerful as a way to protect it. For the Sandame, his surrogate grandfather, it was about caring for the village like a large family. For the Yandimei, courage, when faced with adversity, had been the answer, for there was nothing below. Then his surrogate grandfather had said to him that he had each of these beliefs carved in his own heart. According to the aged cage, Narut was like the eldest Senju brother as he kept his hand open for the villagers to take in spite of their fear and treatment of him. He was also like the younger Senju in that he took any threat to Konahad to heart and his handling of his first enemy during his mission with team Guy was proof enough of that. He was like Hien himself and called those dear to him sister, brother, uncle, and grandpa and treated them as no less than family. Finally, he was apparently much like Manado Namakazi, for in face of adversity, he had shown nothing but courage, even in what should have been his home. This had greatly embarrassed Nar. First, because he wasn't feeling deserving of such high praise, and secondly, because his feelings regarding the village were a mess. He wasn't sure he was still offering the hand of friendship because keeping it open and extended at all time was immensely tiring for his metaphorical arm. Rather, team Guy, Asuma, and Kurinai had offered friendship on their own accord. And finally, finally, it had felt normal, natural. The reason he had struggled so hard to save team Guy and himself, he wasn't sure. He hadn't wanted to die. If the team had treated him coldly, would he have fought as hard to keep them all alive? He didn't know the answer to that question. As for his family, everyone was entitled to one, so why not him? He was far from considering the village as his family. They were privileged, fearful people who didn't even realize the luxury of their life. Taking so many things for granted, it was disgusting. And ultimately, he had bowed without a word to the necessities and rules of the military when he hadn't protested against Kurini's order to continue their patrol rather than investigate the murdered Wave citizen and the situation in Wave. That wasn't courage. Everything felt bitter. He used to will these considerations away, and there were multiple reasons he did so, some he wasn't even sure about. His perceived lack of choice, the ambient hostility, and his own naivity were as many factors dictating him to ignore all those questions as he understood, even unconsciously, that answering them wouldn't be tolerated. However, life was also simpler without them. He didn't spend so much energy at finding things unfair or tallying wrongs done to him. Rather, he actively tried to make them right. Now, he couldn't help but think the village had to be punished for what it had done to him. He didn't want revenge because he honestly didn't know if his life called for revenge, per se. He wasn't sure what revenge was about anyway. No, it would simply be justice. Yet, he also knew the Hokag had been very clear that he couldn't extract it. Simply another unfairness. Weirdly or maybe not, it felt like taking the path of least effort, hoping for a supposed justice to set things straight. His idiot self had been harder at work than he was in a way. But his idiot self hadn't realized how mentally exhausting everything was either until a clone had threatened to release a beiju on the village. All that, however, felt insignificant before his last point. Through it all, he still had thought Kona had to be better. Becoming a ninja was the cure to his loneliness and the ostracism he was the victim of because ninjas were heroes and no one could ignore a hero. So, he had simply thought he was the exception to the rule, that one person the will of fire couldn't welcome in its warmth. He had thought if there was one thing to be proud of, it was that Kona had did the right thing and that he belonged to such a village. That courage wasn't second to concerns that honestly seemed petty to him when human life was at stake. He had said all that to his hokag and grandfather figure, and it had felt like unloading a massive weight from his shoulders. "Better come clean," Narut reasoned, then allow it to fester. And the old man had said to him that he could speak to him without fear. It wasn't like Narut could do anything anyway if the Hokag suddenly decided he was a risk and was to be locked up. So, the blonde had chosen to trust his grandfather. And the Hokag had clasped his shoulder with one of his strong hands and with a smile simply told him that all those feelings were exactly the reason why he should become Hokag. A Hokag, his grandfather had said, is the ninja who guides the village to greater heights, who ensure the will of fire burns bright and powerful. He is the ninja with enough acknowledgement to influence the village with their sense of what is right and what is wrong. Nar couldn't stop himself when he had then asked why his grandfather hadn't done anything concerning him. Why he had allowed his childhood to be so suffocating, so inhumane. Because I'm not the hoag, the old man had answered with regrets heavy in his voice. I may wear the hat and shoulder the day-to-day duties, but my most sacred mission I squandered. I'm sorry, Nar Very much so that you suffered for it. Nar couldn't resent the old man. He had been weak, made mistakes, but at least now he was teaching him, and the blonde knew full well that the shinobi grapevine had been encouraged by the Hokag. The old Seruto Tobi was actively trying to do better, and that was what counted. Doing better, wasn't that what the will of fire was all about? It was with his mind swarmed with countless thoughts that Nar arrived in the training ground where he would usually meet Konahamaru and his two friends. Sighing, the blonde decided that he wouldn't solve everything in one go and certainly not today. As he entered the clearing, he saw the three academy students chasing each other in a game of tag. Nar observed them wistfully. He had never been allowed a game of tag. The adults of Konaha had made sure of that. Hello you three, he eventually called after straightening his back and putting a lid on this particular train of thoughts. That was a thing of the past and he only had power over the present. Boss, you made it, the trio exclaimed joyfully. Nar smiled at their enthusiasm. What are we learning today? The Uzumaki asked. The trio made a show of thinking. Nar had agreed to help them become better only if they could come to him with an identified weakness. Of course, he had demonstrated how to evaluate oneself beforehand and urged the three to work on it. Chakra control, answered Udon eventually. Nar looked at the trio. You all agree with that? Moei nodded and Konahamaru grumbled something under his breath, but nodded too. Naruto's smile crooked. He knew chakra control wasn't that exciting and had been his personal bane in the academy until his grandfather and Ibeki sensei had explained why it was important to work on it. Contrary to Aruka, who had only told him that it was necessary without telling him why, his new teachers had made explicit why control was a primordial aspect of using chakra. Nar still didn't find it an absolutely riveting activity, but he could acknowledge its necessity. It then simply became a matter of making it interesting and amusing. Maybe putting a leaf on your forehead was dull. To be able to climb trees without your hands was much cooler, but too much for three 8-year-old students. So Narut retrieved a small ball made of cloth and filled with rice approximately the size of his fist. I have a game for you kitties. He started and watched as Konahamaru<unk>s face brightened. The goal continued Nar is to pass the ball to each other only by using chakra. So you need to stick the ball to your palm with chakra and then spike it to launch it to one another. Understood? Yay. It took 15 minutes for the three kids to get used to manipulating the chakra the right way and 10 more for them to be able to do so when moving. After half an hour, Nar walked to the three wooden posts in the center of the training ground and clapped in his hands. "All right, come here." The trio grouped around him with slightly winded but anticipatory looks on their face. "What are we doing now, boss?" Moi asked eagerly. She had been slightly better and faster than the boy at the exercise. Girls did have slightly lower chakra reserves and better control in exchange than boys. So now we can play for real. See these three training posts behind me? Your goal is to hit at least one post by shooting the ball at it. If you can do that within an hour, you'll get something from me. The trio beaned. What? What? What is it? Nar smirked, not telling. It's a surprise. So there is one rule. You can only walk three steps before you have to pass the ball. Then you're free to move as you want. Remember, three steps and that's it. You pass. Got it? The trio nodded. Now go at the other end of the ground and wait for my top. Konahimaru, Udon, and Moi scampered away. The young Seru Tobi carrying the ball. How are we going to do this? Asked the girl. Boss is strong. We need a plan, agreed Konahamaru. I have an idea, offered Udon. Nar smiled, his keen earring having picked up on their conversation. These three were already a team. He allowed a minute for them to hatch their strategy, plugging his ears to avoid listening in before he bellowed. Start. The game of hitting post ball. Yeah, good enough. The game of hitting post ball was a foot. In his office, the sandame watched through his crystal ball with increasing awe as his surrogate grandson devised a simple yet obvious game to practice endurance and chakra control. Call me Ruka Amino. He ordered suddenly at his seemingly empty office. Now there was a shadow whooshing away and he nodded with satisfaction before he turned his gaze back to the game. Danzo Shimura was not a man of regret. He was a veteran of numerous wars and he had sacrificed too much, lost too much to even allow himself to feel regrets. Their weight would be crushing him otherwise. Hence, Danzo Shimura didn't regret losing his left eye and his right arm in defense of Konaha. He didn't regret having led the Anbu division for close to 30 years under the command of Hiazen Serobi, his old rival, and doing less than savory things. He didn't regret lobbying protocol route. It had been a sound plan. In theory, the one thing he did regret was being so blindingly convinced of its efficiency when all indicators had been in the red. Making emotional retards of young children had not worked. His old rival had been proven right for the wrong reasons, but proven right nonetheless. The young recruits inducted in protocol route had been trained extremely harshly with the objective of making them reflexively compartmentalized their emotions. The few who hadn't turned into murderous psychopaths and been executed as a result went to make good Chunin level shinobi. But that was it. Smothering their emotions had killed their drive, their creativity, their initiative. It had killed their will of fire. And Danzo was faced with the one regret he allowed himself to feel. The knowledge that had these children been groomed the normal way, many could have made Junan. Undoubtedly, many would have failed to go anywhere, but all the same, they would still be alive. Probably not Shinobi, but Danzo couldn't in good faith say that people were of more use to the village dead than they were while being alive. Simple mathematics. Really, any of the sacrificed recruits could have become a contributing member of society, have children who would have been enrolled in the academy and so on. Those death were as many futures snuffed. Danzo Shimura eyed one of the few ninjas who had survived the protocol and entered service. The youth was a black-haired boy with black eyes and pale skin. His face was devoid of any emotion. He couldn't properly feel them anymore anyway. Sigh. Danzo began remembering the temporary code name given to the boy. The protocol, no, he had even robbed them of their name. The children had been nothing but numbers. Any traces the civil society had of them thoroughly erased. Danzo couldn't call the boy by his true name, as he had no idea what it even was. away. The old Warhog knew to distance himself from he was doing to them. Those children of Konaha, his sensei would have beheaded him. Yes, Danzo sama, as you have been informed, protocol route is being collapsed. His program had been disavowed long ago by Serbi, but both men had agreed that returning emotionally impaired Black Ops shinobi to normal society just like that would be both impossible and dangerous. You will integrate the regular shinobi forces under a new master. You will obey him as you obey me. Is that acknowledged? Yes, Danzo Sama. Sai had been chosen to replace the Uzumaki and team Kakashi after the Genturiki had been pulled from the formation. In a twist of logic, placing Sai with two emotionally withdrawn peers had made sense. Kind of. This iteration of team 7 had been a weird weird social experiment Danzo himself would have advocated against had he known what his hokag had been planning. But Hisen had been very clear as to what would happen to Danzo if he concerned himself with Narut Uzuaki and as much as his rival had mllified with the years. Danzo had no doubt the men would have made good on his promise to scatter him to the four winds. In any case, Team 7 had just been disbanded and now Sai was once again without guidance. His name is Ininoichi Yamanaka. He will help you get accustomed to life in the light. Your duties as a shinobi will be reduced while you get acclimated. Yes, Danzo sama. Sai. Yes, Danzo sama. I'm not sama anymore. Sigh. Try to live well. This momentarily stumped the boy. Danzo could tell. The conditioning had never been properly completed with sigh. And so the boy still allowed some strong emotions to shine in spite of his control, which was good considering he would soon be encouraged to show more and more. Yes, Danzo saw Danzo San good. Dismissed Sakura Haruno was lost as she had seldom been. She brushed her pink hair for them to cover her large forehead, a tick she thought she had lost long ago after Eno had helped her beat back the bullies. She was holding her headband, the sign she was a shinobi, and her green eyes were riveted on it. Team Kakashi was no more. Everything had gone downward ever since Narut had been pulled off the team a few months ago. No, she corrected. Nar had been pulled off a hostile environment when she had contributed to creating along with Sasuke Uiha, her second teammate, and their sensei Kakashi Hitaki. The Hokag had been very clear on that. She had protested at first. Everyone treated Nar like they did. Nar was loud, obnoxious, could be bered, used for a self-esteem boost at any time because Nar wasn't like them. Nar was supposed to be treated like less. He was the pariah. That was how Sakura had been raised. That was what her parents and her family, her teachers, the entire village had assured her again and again. that was ingrained in her much like washing her hands before eating, being polite to the elderly, and everything else. Hence why, when the Hokag had admonished her for her treatment of Nar, she was perplexed. It was like saying to her that she didn't need to say thank you for someone helping her. Plus, she had all the right to hit Nar. The blonde was so annoying, damn it, asking her relentlessly on dates when she was after Sasuke's attention. She couldn't bother with him, the pariah, if she wanted to enter the good graces of the prince. When she had explained all that, the Hokag had seemed absolutely horrified. With infinite patience, he had then simply asked her if she would think it normal if any other boy her age were subjected to that. She had immediately said no, horrified before her intellect had done the rest. If it weren't okay, then why was Nar treated like that? Why was he shown such disgust? No, not disgust, disdain, and strangely fear as she thought about it. Two emotions that shouldn't coexist. She remembered his pranks, but they couldn't explain it. Pranking caused people to be annoyed, not fearful, and disdainful. The Hokag had given her no explanation, saying that Narut didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of such treatment, period. That he was like anyone their age, and that what the village had done was basically a crime. A crime the Hokag didn't even know how to punish. Sakura had protested once again. She trusted her parents. What child did not, and they couldn't be so misguided that they would do such a thing. They were shobbi of Konaha, Chun, and both, and they believed in the will of fire. What they did to Nar, there was a reason for it. But as she had said that, her brain once again didn't let the matter rest. What could ever justify something like that? What could she answer to the Hokag, the very first defender of the village's ideology, when the man himself was saying that her parents, who she loved dearly, were mistreating someone her age from the same village. Sakura stared at her headband. It had made her so proud once, but now all she felt was a great shame. Ibeki eyed the three reports in front of him. The analysts of T and I had worked overtime to produce them, tallying all the elements they had recovered from various investigations to feed to their predictive models. Otogakir was a new unknown village deemed hostile by their action. The chance they were preparing an attack on Konaha was estimated at 80% and rising. Their behavior at the border between Rice and Fire was worrying and the projections estimated there was a high probability Otto was allied to a major power. The maneuvers at the border were a tad bit too obvious and the model showed a 60% probability that it was a diversion to allow an attack coming from elsewhere. The only thing missing was an opportunity and there was a golden one coming soon. The tunin exams. It was an international event held by Konaha and its allies. Mildly hostile shinobi villages from various smaller countries were invited to display their strength against Kono his best in a welloiled PR stunt. In 3 weeks, it would be happening in Konaha, which meant security would be strained thin as a multitude of guests would be welcomed in the village, allowing a good number of spies to slip in undetected. Of course, there would be no direct assault. The perimeter around the village was simply too closely guarded for an army, even of Shinobi, to close in undetected. Ibeki scoffed at the thought. No, if anything were to happen, it would be a terror attack, a bombing, targeted assassination, poison released in the village's water sources. Maybe something that would cause enough disarray for an army to begin invading fire country while Konaha was slowed down. The only major village invited was Suna because a treaty had officially been signed between the countries of wind and fire. Ibeki had no illusion that this alliance wasn't even worth the paper it had been agreed on. He also knew Jeriah sama who was undoubtedly their best infiltrator and spy had been redirected towards wind in the hope he could uncover something. The analysts evaluated the implication of Sagakir as 50% given their recent financial difficulty. The armies of wind however the ninja of Sunna included had to cross river country before entering fire which meant Konaha would see them coming. In addition, their moles in river had nothing on a possible agreement of free passage for military troops. The fact that the company had somehow its fingers in the pie was worrying. The company exact involvement was unknown, but it included at the very least paying for an army's worth of food. The takeover of Wave wasn't understood yet, but scouts had been dispatched already, and the murder of one of Wave denisens in fire was being investigated. Even if Ibeki didn't have much hope, the corpse had been found far too late. The port of Funadamari was likewise under close watch. It still wasn't counted as a viable place for an army to disembark from ships. The pier was too narrow, but better safe than sorry. The last problem was the implication of at least one of the lords of the Damo's court. Mukab, lord of Funadamari, was obviously a part of the plot, but the man could have been convinced to act by yet another party. It was time his apprentice met a protege of his. Ibiki decided he just had to convince the Hokag it would be a good plan and a necessary step in Naruto's formation. Rising from his seat, Ibeki gathered the reports and played the conversation he was going to have with his leader. As he exited his office, his gate purposeful as he made his way to the hoage's office. Ibeki's thoughts went to his apprentice. To say he was immensely proud of the boy as far as Shinobi studies went would be an understatement. In a little less than 6 months and with pretty much no basics to speak of, Narut had grown in ways even Ibiki hadn't expected. Their beginnings had been a bit rough, but fortunately the head of tea and I had been properly briefed as to what were the boy's needs and expectations. Nar was a kinesthetic learner and as such prone to progress by trials and errors, but it didn't mean the blonde wasn't intelligent. He just needed filters to understand how to prioritize one information over another. Then Nar had proven to take quickly to what Ibiki wanted him to learn. They had grown close enough that Nar had told him about his feelings towards the village. Had it been anyone else, Ibeki would have signaled a potential flight risk, but the Hokag knew full well of the boy's state of mind. Ibeki understood who would be fundamentally attached to serving and defending a place that treated them like trash. The village however couldn't afford to lose Narut Uzumaki and not only because he was the genturiki of the Kaobi nokitsun. He had never felt so foolish as the head of Konaha spying and counter spying agency. What's more, as when he had realized just who exactly Nar was before, he had never taken any interest to the boy. Nar was nothing else than the resident prankster. And it was easy to forget he was also the guardian of the village's worst bane. It had taken all of 30 seconds after seeing a photograph of the boy. The villagewide case of myopic stupidity was incredible, and Ibeki had felt shame. Not because of who the boy's parents were, no, or at least only partially. Giving the orphaned boy parents made him real somehow. It made him a young boy unjustly mistreated and ignored by the village. It made him impossible to forget, to dismiss. It made it cowardly to dismiss how Narut with each of his breaths kept the village safe. Of course, the Hokag had noticed and quickly forbidden him to mention anything to anyone. So, Ibeki endeavored to help Nar the only way he could think of, to let go of his desperate need for attention and acknowledgement, of his anger and resentment, of his fears and weariness. He had encouraged the boy to focus on what he had and can have rather than what he didn't. He had obtained mixed results. Nar had found good comrades among the teams of his generation, and Ibeki had more or less sold him the idea that it wasn't him who had to prove everything to the villagers. They had to do their part. The problem was that Nar didn't seem to know when to stop, when enough was enough, and more was a wasted effort. And Ibiki understood the village had to recognize him, acknowledge him like any other shinobi of Konaha. Otherwise, how could he justify laying his life low for them? Things could not however continue like that. Integrating the memories of his shadow clones was an interesting exercise for Nar in that he had to stay focused on whatever he was doing when the memories assaulted him. He had experienced numerous time pouring tea over himself because he was suddenly distracted by memories that were his without being his. It was weird and painful. Anyway, after nearly 6 months of doing it so much, plus Ibeki sensei explanation on how to weight various stimuli against one another, he would have enjoyed knowing that during the academy, it led to him being able to basically follow three conversations at once. He had heard men were bad at multitasking while whoever had said could go suck it. "Ha, Narut San, are you even listening to me?" Shino Aborame asked the blonde, a twinge of impatience in his voice. Yes, Shino San, I'm very much listening to you, assured Nar with a smile. I'm not sure about the snake sign either, but I appreciate the input on the bore sign. That's something I've never heard," Narut continued, his nose deep in a scroll about chakra molding theory. "Hand signs were a complicated topic." The blonde then moved a piece on the shogi board, checking Shikamaru. You are troublesome. The Nar sighed, one hand combing through his black hair from his forehead to the top of his pineapple-like ponytail. I immensely enjoy being troublesome to you, Shikamaru. Someone has to keep you sharp, the blonde retorted, not departing himself from his good-natured smile. Assuma sensei works us to the bones since you won our spar. I don't need someone to keep me sharp. Yet, I keep winning these shogi games of ours, and you have yet to figure out how. Wouldn't you agree it's<unk>s proof Shikamaru isn't sharp enough, Shinoan? I believe I would, answered Shino. Now, the thing I do not understand is why you require my help regarding that new jutsu of yours. Nar smiled wider. Because your chakra control is leagues above mine. You actually understand what I'm talking about, and you could be the one to test it. You know I'm a crook, Nar said. What would I get in exchange? Nar laughed at that before he eyed the Aborame boy. Fair enough, I suppose. Isn't the judu enough payment in and of itself? I can, like most members of my clan, achieve pretty much the same result without it, Shino answered with something in his voice Nar didn't like. It felt like bitterness. The blonde looked at Shino slowly discarding the scroll to his side and absent-mindedly moving another piece on the shogi board, checking Shikamaru again. Intently, Nar kept his gaze on the Abor who only returned it. Maybe. Shino always wore glasses, so it was pretty much impossible to tell. I've never thought you were invisible, Shinoan. Nar began suddenly, his voice solemn. I know I was loud and many thought me annoying when I was younger. I won't apologize for it. I'm an orphan and no one ever told me it came off poorly. I never approached you because you were calm and silent and I thought you'd never want to. The blond's voice pitched in unease before he cleared his throat. Never want to be my friend," Nar breathed deeply. "For that assumption, I do apologize," the blonde said, bowing his head slightly and feeling both lighter and yet strangely nervous. Shino eyed him for a long silent minute, Shikamaru, keeping to himself as he observed the two boys. Nar began to fidget and redden under the Aborame's gaze. He was certain Shino<unk>s eyes were on him. "If you, I would be honored to call you friend, Naran. Even if you are still a loudmouth, though we might disagree on some points, you're a valuable, talented comrade. Friendship is advisable, and I have no doubt it would be fruitful. Nar was stumped. Advisable and fruitful sounded a bit calculating, but he knew Aarame were like that. Speaking from almost pure logic. And was that humor from Shino? I feel left out. I can come back later if you want. Don't be an idiot, Shika. I'd like to call you my friend, too. Narut retorted immediately with a growing smile before it dimmed and the boy scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment. I have to warn you though, I have no idea how this friend thingy is supposed to work. Shikamaru Nar, the heir to the Nar clan, was a boy with an above average IQ. In spite of his ever bored demeanor, he was observant and always had been. So, his insight twisted at Naruto's words because he knew them to be true. He had never been one to spend an excessive amount of energy on anything but shogi. The rest was troublesome. The word he had elected to use instead of boring to not insult people. Some things of course were truly troublesome in the base sense of the word. Shikamaru's mother was troublesome. Assuma running team 10 in the ground was troublesome. Nar being stalled in the academy, bullied by their varied teachers and always alone was troublesome. But again, Shikamaru had little energy to spare, and approaching Nar then would have forced him to spend it in excess. The Nar liked to take the path of least resistance. Nar not knowing what friendship was like, was wrong. "Troublesome," muttered the Nar. "I<unk>ll be friend with you, Nar," he said out loud. "At least you play shogi. I even watch the clouds." Nar offered with an extended hand before he shook it in a so- so gesture. Sometimes, Shikamaru smirked and shook the blond's hand. "I'm in your care," said Nar, eyeing both Shikamaru and Shino alternatively. "Actually, Naran, I do not know much about this friendship thing either," admitted Shino. I believe Shikamaru's inclusion to be advisable, and I'm sure it'll be fruitful. "You're both troublesome. Do you want to go cloud watching somewhere? I'll bring Cho Gi and we<unk>ll have snacks, the Nar boy offered, moving a piece on the shogi board absent-mindedly. "This seems like an advisable idea, and I'm sure it'll be fruitful," Shino repeated with something that could have been mirth seeping in his voice. "This made Nar and Shikamaru snort before both were shaken by silent laughter under the silent gaze of the Aborame." "That doesn't really answer what I owe you," Shinoan, Narut said. Eventually, I believe we have reached a sufficient accord. I see. Thank you, Shino. His Junins were out to get him. Hi was convinced of that. You want to pair Anko Midarashi and Narut Uzuaki as a team for counter intelligence purpose? The old cage asked his head of tea and I for the second time, unsure he had understood every nuance of the man's plan. Yes, Hokag sama. And it is a good and reasonable idea because hokag sama token and midarashi is one of my best element considering my own workload at the moment and seeing as sending Narut on yet another C rank with his peers would be wasteful for his development. Pairing him with Tokuo Midarashi for an internal investigation would teach him key skills in counterintelligence process while exercising his mind to become even sharper. I do not expect Nar to solve anything per se and I have full confidence Anko would be enough anyway. It will be an occasion to shadow and learn. An admirable sales pitch, Ibiki. But Anko, while I have no doubt about her loyalty, she has a chip on her shoulder, much like Nar, I don't know if it would be wise for those two to be seen together. Ibiki sighed. He had been prepared for this kind of argument. So he squared his shoulders and soldiered on. Hokag same. I believe Enkko can be good for Nar in other ways. As loath as I to use her like this, Nar could realize he isn't alone in being hated villagewide. I have no doubt about Enko's loyalty either. So, I'm hoping she could firm Naruto's own view on the village and help get a different outlook on things. A different outlook? Hokag sama. Nar cannot hold onto his feelings for long. At some point, something will have to give and at best, the boy will go missing. The Hokag looked struck but gestured for the man to continue. I don't hold it against him. Hell, nobody could, but I see it. It's like that. Either we have a promising shinobi going rogue or Anko can impart some of her wisdom to the boy. Her wisdom, Ibiki, the head of tea. And I took a deep breath and stealed himself. That the village as a whole will never ever see him for who he is. I'm sorry, Hokag sama said the Junin before his superior could interrupt, but it's the truth. We allowed it. However, it doesn't mean Nar cannot gain the acknowledgement and friendship of those who matter. Everyone in this village matter, Ibiki, except Nar, because for 12 years, we certainly behaved like he didn't. Once again, the cage looked struck. I'm of the mind that the past is the past, Hokag sama. If Nar can be shown that he is forming connections as we speak, and if he can accept the people's view on him will possibly never change, he will be the better for it. That is not the will of fire. It truly wasn't. The will of fire was supposed to be shared by the entire village, not by a select few or only when it was convenient. And the hokag was supposed to be the embodiment of it. Everyone living in Konaha was valued and part of a community that helped its members equally. If we wanted to be Hokag sama, then it's a responsibility we all must share. Especially as the boy is convinced that he is not doing enough to gain their acknowledgement. It's time the villagers do their part or not for all I care. But Narut cannot continue to be saddled with this impossible task. He'll keep holding ranker towards the village. Ibeki, I cannot allow that. Even if he did, that would be his right. And as long as he doesn't act on it, we cannot force fake sentiments upon him. That will earn us his animosity. Hokag sama. Disdain is a better response than slaughter. Yet again, I believe Nar to be capable of coming to term with it. The Hokag side. He never gives up, you know, about what and those he cares. No, he doesn't. But if he doesn't care anymore, he'll let go of this foolish endeavor. Foolish? Is that how you see it? It isn't particularly noble nor reasonable to seek the acknowledgement of people who hate and fear you. Hokag sama. We are lucky his mind tipped this way. The alternative would have been unpleasant. The old cage winced. He hadn't assigned Ibiki to Nar just because he trusted the Junin to be an excellent instructor for the blonde. The man head of T and I was an expert psychiatrist, a master in seeing and decoding emotions and thought patterns in other people. Ibeki was as much a teacher to Nar as he was a warden of the boy's psychological state. He is forming connections. Hokag sama. He just needs to focus on what he has and can have rather than what he doesn't and won't get. The Hokag side. You believe Enko may show him how? Yes, Hokag sama. Very well. The mission is green lit. Token and Midarashi and Jennen Uzuaki will be teamed together for the next 3 weeks. Ibiki had no time to allow his satisfaction to show. The door of the hoage's office was suddenly opened by his colleague Ininoi Yamanaka. The mind reader looked panicked and short of breath and his face was marred by the sweat of strenuous effort. Hokag sama panted the cinder blonde Junin. We broke the prisoner's defenses. The man steadied his breath before talking in a white voice. It's Orochimaru. The words Ibiki had said just yesterday were looping inside Hisan's head as the Hokag made his way to the academy. In the shadows, his amboo guards were watching, always vigilant. Absent-mindedly, the old man answered back the citizen of his village who offered him their greetings. This isn't the will of fire. These words had the bitter aftertaste of truth denied for too long. Hien had told a young six-year-old Nar that the villagers would see and acknowledge him if he were to become a ninja. It had been the only solution he could see at the time, but it wasn't a solution for Nar. No, it was a solution for the village and himself. The villagers had to acknowledge Nar. They had to be ultimately good people. They could be ignorant and confused and afraid, but they had to be good people. Because otherwise, what did his five decades of service mean? The village had to be worth it for otherwise. Wouldn't it mean he had wasted his life? If the villagers could bond over mistreating a young child, despite the words of their hero and leaders that he was harmless, if the village could betray its core ideal, if it could be so ugly, what did it mean? So herein had decided to forge ahead giving time and again to the villagers the opportunity to redeem themselves to accept Nar is one of them to share with him the warmth of the fire and the shade of three. And he had sacrificed Nar once more in the process. He had done nothing for Nar partly because this scheme of his wasn't even meant for Nar in the first place. Then he had willingly fooled himself believing the smile of the small blonde boy to be genuine and healthy. The worst was it had been genuine once. He had sold a false dream to a little boy who trusted him and the little boy had believed him, giving him a toothy smile and swearing he would do it. Because believing was better than accepting he would always be alone. Even if the dream was a travesty of one, even when 6 months ago he had promised to do better by Nar, it was still with the hope that the boy would redeem the villagers by his efforts that he would effectively become such an impressive shinobi. and the boy was becoming an impressive shinobi that the citizens of Konaha would be forced to see him and realize their mistake. It hadn't been once again for Narut as much as it was here in holding on the hope that the villagers could do better, that they still believed in the will of fire, that their Hokag could still be proud of his precious family. Yet, Ibiki was correct. It wasn't right to keep pushing Nar in this direction. The villagers had been given a 12 years long chance to heal and do better. And yet they still relied on their black sheep. Nar was a wound Hisan had allowed to fester, a cane he should have confiscated back long ago. Yet what could he do? The crux of the problem now was that for 13 years he had done nothing. If he started punishing people right now, it would feel empty. And here would appear indecisive and cruel. The work of a hokag was to protect the village. But what or in this case, who was the village? Was it the people who had strayed from the path, or was it a little boy who deserved much and got nothing? The old cage breathed in deeply. It would be the work of his successor. As for him, it was time he allowed Nar his own path. And if it wasn't one that allowed the villagers to prove their worth, then so be it. Here shook his head to disperse his thoughts as he arrived at the academy. Students were gathered in the yard and arranged in rows under the watchful eyes of Aruka Amino, a tanned dark-haired Chunin with a horizontal scar across his nose. One of the teachers of the academy while Nar was talking animatedly while holding out a ball. All right, kids. This is a simple game to help you with chakra control and reserves building. There was a general groan in the assembled use. Chakra control was never fun. Nar smiled at his audience. I guarantee you it's fun. Let me explain the rules. You stick this ball to your palms and you pass it by spiking your chakra. If you have the ball, you can walk three steps before you have to pass. The goal of the game is to score points by sending the ball in the net of the opposing team. Everything clear? Here is watched as the faces of the youngsters brightened as Nar explained the game. The old cage smiled. Trust Nar to make chakra control intensive and interesting somehow. Hi was glad the blonde was still inventive. He was even more content at the thought that it was as much energy not directed towards pranking anymore. We'll form humor for teams. Is that right? Aruka sensei. The tunin instructor nodded and Narut returned his gaze to the students. I'll be with each of you to teach you how to manipulate the ball properly and then we'll have some matches. Does that sound good? There was a collective enthusiastic yes. Before one of the students, young Hannabe Hayuga, here is and recognized her, rose her hand. How are you going to be with every one of us? Naruto's smile crooked. I'm glad you asked Miss Hayuga. Hannibi, Miss Hannabe, observe, said Nar smugly before he crossed his fingers in a unique hand sign, and in three puffs of smoke, three replicas appeared. Those are clones, dead panned the young Hyuga. I can make these, too. Are they? Nar questioned while nonchalantly passing the ball to one of his clones. "Who caught it?" the students eyes comically widened at the sight. Another little boy rose his hand. "Can you teach us that, Naruto sensei?" he asked with a grin, lacking a tooth. The blonde reened slightly and scratched the back of his head. "He, I'm sorry. You need the hoage's express authorization to learn that jutsu." Nar suddenly smiled again. But you're in luck because you'll be able to ask him the permission yourself. The blonde gestured for the students to turn around. Their eyes widened even further. "Boed Ruka, too starruck to protest." The youngster all bowed to the old man. "Here isn't bowed slightly in return." "Good day, children. I've heard of a new sport being practiced in my academy, and I was curious as to what it was." "You want to play, Hokag Sama?" Narut asked with mirth in his voice. The hokag gave a smile back to the blonde. Why not? We are a team. Let's demonstrate, shall we? Urukun, would you mind doing the referee for this game? The tunin bowed. My pleasure, Hokag sama. The old man imitated the blonde hand sign and three perfect replicas appeared in the same puffs of smoke. The first two scored two points. The kids need to learn how to play. We can't hog the field for too long. Hokag sama. Narut informed. Aruka, launch the ball in the air as straight as you can. The tunin obliged. Four young blondes were facing four wizzed old men, eyeing each other like it was a battle to the death. Go. Aruka screamed before jumping backwards. Uzzu Makiball was an instant favorite of the academy students, and the sport became widely practiced in the schoolyard outside of just chakra control exercises. Also, the Hokag lost. It could be that it was because he didn't want Nar, the proud inventor of the game, to lose in front of the students. Or it could be that the fifth clone of Nar under the boy's white jutsu and dressed in a cheerleader outfit was that much of a distraction. That's all for now. If you enjoy, then please like, share, and do comments.