Chapter 23
After class, Naruto and Sasuke both made a beeline for the bakery. Usually this would actually be the time Sasuke went to the blacksmith but since everyone was prepping for the meeting he was excused. “Any idea what it’s about?” Naruto mused as the two of them watched some civilians get ushered out of the village square. The meetings weren’t secret per se, but they were supposed to be for villagers only.
“I heard my dad and brother talking about supplies for the trip to the other villages yesterday. Maybe that?” Sasuke added. He was shooed away before catching any more details but he did know enough to not be worried.
The two loaded down the cart that Sasuke managed to build while working With Hiko. He was slowly getting better if Naruto only made two wise cracks about the crooked wheels this time. With all the wonders Sasuke could do with most things, woodwork was not one that came easily to him. it was just as interesting as the glass and metal making but it was so much more unyielding, almost resistant in a way that was hard to explain.
“At least we don’t have to walk anymore,” Sasuke quipped back. He then adjusted the rope in the front of the cart before pulling while Naruto pushed from behind. It wasn’t heavy since it was mostly bread but still bulky. The rolls were almost popping out of the sides.
“Yeah, that’s awesome,” Naruto admitted, sheepishly looking away as he continued. “It’s too bad I'm horrible at building stuff. I would have loved to make something even better than this for auntie.” Auntie because Naruto almost never calls Haruka by her name anymore]. It was always auntie or aunt Haru. A personal request from the woman according to him so Sasuke had tried to do the same but it felt awkward and wrong coming from him. So he stuck with Aunt Haruka.
“You’re not that bad. Besides, brother said it was important for us to learn separate things so we could be a better team.” He pointed out. “I don’t know anyone that knows as much about the forest as you and you build the best traps.” Even the hunters used Naruto’s designs to catch meat for the markets. Sasuke had found that there's a lot to learn about Naruto and that he shouldn’t tease him about certain things and what he could or could not do was one of them. He got quiet and embarrassed if Sasuke insulted something he worked hard on, so he tried to say something nice when Naruto got all self-deprecating.
Naruto beamed and Sasuke was happy he was beginning to become fluent in Naruto. He didn’t put his foot in his mouth as often as he did at first. Then again, they had been friends for at least 6 months. By the time they had set up the table and Naruto had snagged one of the meat buns, there were Uchiha everywhere. It alway surprised Sasuke at how loud the meetings in the village square could get.
Naruto and him tried to talk with the other children but kept getting pulled away. Sasuke by Kurata and Kobo and Naruto by Aunt Haruka and a few of the hunters. At first Sasuke tried to get back to Naruto but he eventually gave up and was sucked into a conversation about different minerals that changed the color of the metal with Kobo.
He was so engrossed, his father had to call silence at least twice to get his attention. He flushed and looked at the ground while Kobo patted his shoulder in sympathy at the look his mom gave him.
“We are gathered here today to go over several points of interest.” Fugaku started in a commanding voice, effectively hooking the rest of the clan to his words . “For the first order of business, congratulations on planting the first crops of the village.” Sasuke stood straighter at the indirect praise. He helped plant the beans and peas, even if he couldn’t till the ground. “As you’ve noticed, we’ve also had some new faces coming in and out of the village. There have only been a few fights and no kidnapping attempts from the outsiders. That doesn't mean we shouldn’t remain vigilant.” Fugaku stopped until the murmuring died out on its own.
“The pro bono work to get rid of the bandits in the area is going well and I’m happy to report we haven’t had any in our direct vicinity in the last month. They are still running rampant in the surrounding towns but with hope, they will start coming here to hire us to help.” Sasuke didn’t like the idea of taking money to help people but he trusted his father to do what he could.
“There still isn’t enough traffic for us to say we’re living in peace, however. With our current stability, I have decided that we will send out our convoy in two weeks time. Due to the precarious position we’re in, I’m going to send my oldest son to lead the envoy.” That got a lot of responses.
“Can we really give such a big job to a child that specialized in…..” The person who asked looked at Sasuke and then away in shame, refusing to finish the question. “All I’m saying is we need people to believe we’re coming in peace, not war.” He finished a little lamely.
Itachi was the one who stood to answer the question. “While I find myself lacking in interpersonal skills, I have been training to take over as the head of this village. If my father, as the current head, has faith in my abilities then I will not argue with his decision.” Sasuke knew there had to be a verbal attack somewhere in there because the other man flinched but he couldn’t point it out.
The clearing came to an awkward silence before Kobo, bless him, broke it. “Who else is going?”
Fugaku took the invitation to continue. “I also intend to send a few apprentices with goods to advertise. There will be two other jounin level shinobi. Overall, I don’t want to send more than 7 individuals.”
“They couldn’t protect themselves with so few people.” Someone complained from the back. Sasuke’s mind flashed back to the night Shisui was hurt.
“What if something happens…..”
“Maybe we could…..”
“What goods can travel….”
All the voices blurred together and Sasuke couldn’t keep up. He was able to make out his mother’s shrill whistle. It had been a while since she was required to use it.
“We cannot afford to send any more shinobi out of the village. As soon as the other villages catch wind, we can expect attacks on both the group and our home.” The air was tense enough to cut with a kunai. “A small mobile unit is best. The idea is not to fight but to be able to escape if the need arises.” He must have been learning from Mikoto because that glare was enough to quell the opposition. “This is an envoy, not a war party. I will post the mission tomorrow and release the names.”
Fugaku was always picky about posting everything. Even if they couldn’t take missions, everyone was given equal access to them. Most of them were things from around the village like painting or yard work but others would appear at random, like killing a bandit leader. Fugaku explained to Sasuke it was so there couldn’t be any missions assigned that were darker than what the village would do. Sasuke didn’t understand but figured he would learn eventually.
The trip itself wasn’t a huge surprise. Most of the craftsmen had been working almost nonstop to have goods to send. Sasuke made several weapons and trinkets to send off. Naruto had even made some traps of both human and animal variety. He’d also been helping dry some herbs to sell.
There weren’t any other major complaints after the first two points. Everyone was probably exhausted from the meeting. It was decided that the entire mission would take almost a year to complete. With the amount of goods there would be, they would need to take a horse and buggy. The good news being they would camp and eat outside the buggy so it wouldn’t be that cramped.
Sasuke was surprised he stayed awake for the entire meeting. After his father finished talking, he spoke to Kobo and Kurata, the glassmaker, about what they were planning to send. Itachi had to pull him away and he could see Shisui doing the same for Naruto. His brother offered to carry him but he refused with a wave of his hand and started catching up with Naruto.
Then Itachi and Shisui started discussing the leaving plans. And while Sasuke didn’t want to be apart from his brother for so long as he could be a big boy and suck it up. He understood the reasoning behind it. He justified not listening to Itachi’s plans as giving him privacy, instead of being upset that he would be leaving in two weeks. Instead of splitting up like usual, Shisui and Naruto came into the house when they returned home.
Sasuke gave Naruto a curious look but the blond shrugged his shoulder, being just as in the dark as Sasuke. “Boys, come here.” Mikoto called from the kitchen. That explained the company. Who would miss Mikoto’s cooking if they could help it? Shisui and Naruto ate way too much bread. Sasuke guessed it was because of the lack of ramen.
What was unusual was Fugaku sitting at the head of the table and looking so serious. He didn’t know why but the situation was putting him on edge. Itachi must have felt him tense because he laid his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and started a rubbing motion meant to relax the younger boy.
Mikoto saw the reaction and was quick to reassure them. “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.” She smiled and Sasuke felt the tension ease. “We,” she gestured to herself and Fugaku “wanted to ask you boys to do something.” She gestured to all of them and Sasuke focused on her. She didn’t ask for help that often so he always gave it his all when she did.
“What do you think of the envoy?” Fugaku led with a question.
Naruto was quick to latch on. “It’s great. They get to travel all over and eat all the different kinds of food and hunt different animals and….”
He trailed off when Mikoto held up her hand. He didn’t take offense and she knew that once he was started, they might be there a while. “Sasuke?” she prompted.
He took a few minutes to come up with an answer he was happy with. “I think it will be dangerous and I don’t want brother to get hurt. I know it’s important though, I just…..” He looked away as his own words trailed off.
“What if you didn’t have to be away from Itachi?” Mikoto asked and Sasuke gave that idea some thought, getting an inkling about what this was about.
“If I could see him, I don’t think I would worry so much.” He volunteered. It must have been the right words because both his parents smiled.
“Would you two boys be willing to go as part of the envoy?” Fugaku asked.
Sasuke was speechless. That was okay because Naruto had plenty to say on the matter. “Yes, yes, yes! That would be so cool. Can we get ramen,” he pulled on Itachi’s shirt. When he looked up, he saw Shisui and some of his enthusiasm faded. “What about bro… Shisui? I can’t leave him.” He looked about ready to cry.
Fugaku rescued the situation. “He could come too.” Naruto lit back up. “He is a jounin and really fast so he would be perfect for this mission. He’s also been paired with Itachi quite a bit, so I know they work well together. I was hoping you and Sasuke would go as apprentices.”
“We figured since you two already know self defense and because you’ve worked with most of the craftsmen in the village, you would be the best option.” Mikoto continued. Naruto was almost vibrating in delight and pulling on Shisui’s shirt.
“I want to go,” Sasuke was surprised he answered but the more he thought about it, the better the idea was. No one would expect two children to be able to fight and the two of them were the best in their class. They also knew how to store and set up most of the items in the shop. Naruto would be able to learn about other plants and they could gather information without anyone knowing. It was perfect. “What about school?” He asked. Naruto puckered up his face.
“Itachi and Shisui can take over for the year.” Fugaku answered. “From what I understand, they have already taught several things they weren’t supposed to.” All the kids looked in a different direction except Itachi.
Itachi looked Fugaku in the eye and said in the most deadpan voice Sasuke ever heard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sasuke had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Those lying lessons weren’t doing anything for him.
Fugaku sighed and continued and Sasuke took that as a blessing. “We still need to pick a few more people to go.”
“We don’t necessarily need seven, do we?” Shisui was starting to help with the planning now.
“Not really, but nobody will take us seriously if we only send a bunch of kids.” Fugaku pinched his nose.
“Yeah but one of those kids is Itachi,” Shisui sounded smug. “I don’t think anyone would discredit him. Also, if we leave it at four, we don’t need the horse. We can seal everything and travel like Shinobi. That might get us more respect.”
Mikoto looked like she was coming around to the idea. Sasuke liked it too. “It’s easier to protect less people.” He added. They learned about ambush tactics last week.
“What if you’re attacked?” Fugaku wasn’t being difficult, just thorough.
I can carry two kids and high tail it out of there while Itachi fights if needed. If not, we might give the kids some battle experience.” Shisui only half joking on the second part.
“Itachi?” Fugaku prompted. It made sense to defer the decision to Itachi, he was the team lead.
“I like the idea. If it gets bad, we can always turn around and try again with more help. Let’s do it.” Decision made, everyone began eating the late dinner Sasuke didn’t see Mikoto make. She was magic sometimes.
They talked about details for a while before Naruto made the mistake of yawning. After that it was off the bed for the two of them. Sasuke wasn’t too upset. It had been a while since Shisui and Naruto last slept over. He went to be with ideas of what was to come dancing behind his eyelids.
I can’t believe it started from this. No, actually I can but still. “The pro bono work to get rid of the bandits in the area is going well and I’m happy to report we haven’t had any in our direct vicinity in the last month. They are still running rampant in the surrounding towns but with hope, they will start coming here to hire us to help.” Sasuke didn’t like the idea of taking money to help people but he trusted his father to do what he could.