Chapter 11
Naruto sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as he stared at not-his-Konoha. Team 7 has yet to arrive and it’s not like anyone would notice he’s watching.
He laid his chin on his knees, glaring at the Hokage tower. He could make out the agitated chakra of Hiruzen and Shikaku’s ever tired feeling. Inoichi was worried and Genma and Raido were drunk. Their chakra was all swirly in the way drunks were, though their chakra was light. Unlike the dark, loathing chakra the civilians usually had towards him.
But the amount of chakra the jounins, and the few special chunins, were on a completely different level. They were strong. There was no way he’d be able to beat a group of them and he had to get strong enough to beat them.
And he wasn’t. Not right now. And sure, his body was still growing but that shouldn’t be an issue. He’s stronger now than he was back in another life, but he wasn’t strong enough. Despite training for years, he wouldn’t be able to beat any of the Akatsuki.
The only reason I’m in the Bingo Book as an S-rank is because I’m not known, he thought, snorting. I took care of many gangs and high ranking officials. He leaned back, stretching for his bag. He dragged it towards him, digging into the depths of it, pulling out the dull kunai he scavenged from the training grounds. He got out the whetstone and started sharpening them. I guess assassins are still dangerous. He felt Tetsuya hopping around in the shadows of the village, spying on the inner workings of the village even Naruto didn’t know.
Maybe that’s what I am. Not a front line fighter, but a in the shadows person who assassinates, he mused. Those are still dangerous, even if they don’t fight a lot and are seen. He sighed, I wonder if Zabuza would be willing to train with me. He looked up, glaring at the full moon. I’m still technically a kid, so I still have room to grow, like with my chakra reserves and muscle and whatnot.
He scowled down at the spike of chakra from in the Hokage Tower. Danzo was still a problem…
But not one he could afford to take out right now. He needed people on the inside(Shikamaru). Shikaku and Inoichi would no doubt want to stop Danzo, but he needed their trust and cooperation if he’s going to do so. He would need to flush out everyone of Root to properly pull the weed out of Konoha.
He stood up and stretched his arms above his head, looking down on the village once more before turning around, placing the dull kunai in his holster and collecting his bag. He shunshinned away. He had training to do and the Demon of the Mist to kidnap find.
*****
It narrowed its eyes at the swirling leaves Naoki left behind before sinking into the ground. The kid was hiding something. He had a strange attachment to Konoha. He also felt weird, but it could not understand what it was.
It rose up from the ground, head bowed even as it sneered at showing that false god any submission at all. Its submission was met for mother and only mother.
But it had to play the part to play the false god with its puppet strings. It had to act to bring back its mother. Then it could kill the false god.
“Pain.”
“Report.” It inwardly sneered at the curt command. It does not bow to this mere mortal.
“Naoki is not ready yet. Let us wait until after the Chunin Exams. I believe he has a plan I wish to see.”
“Very well. Dismissed.”
It sank into the ground.
It already had Indra’s body in its sights. It just had to find his brother.
*****
Hiruzen let out a sigh, watching his old best friend exit his office in a fit of anger. Ever since Tobirama-sensei named him Hokage, Danzo had an air of anger around him. Or resentment seemed to be a better word for it, as he must’ve resented Hiruzen for being named Hokage instead of Danzo, who everyone believed to be the next Hokage.
(Hiruzen still wondered why Sensei named him Hokage instead of Danzo, or hell, Kagami would have been a better choice! His old – rest in peace – friend would have been able to calm both the village and the Uchiha clan. It would have been better for the village. Surely Tobirama-sensei would have seen that.)
He glanced at Shikaku before looking at the stack of paperwork in front of him. The Chunin Exams took priority. There was no proof that Danzo was planning something, anyway. There was no use looking into whatever Danzo was doing if there was nothing to look into.
“Have we heard from Team 7?” Hiruzen asked, shuffling through the papers to see which needed to be looked at the soonest. He long since got past procrastinating within the first few years of his being in office. It only caused him a bigger headache than what was worth.
“We just received word that they will return in a days time. They…ran into some trouble.” Shikaku paused, taking a deep breath. Hiruzen looked at him curiously, what got Shikaku all tied up? “Naoki and Zabuza of the Hidden Mist. Kakashi reported that they seemed to know each other and are in each other's good graces.”
Hiruzen let out a sigh. “Of course they are,” he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Everyone is safe?”
“Yes. Minor injuries were recorded.”
The ‘we’ll have to see for ourselves’ were left out. Kakashi wasn’t the most trustworthy when it comes to his own injuries. He, according to Itachi(Poor boy), often collapsed in his bed and had onced needed to be dragged into the hospital to be treated.
“Tell all of Team 7 to report back to me once they are released from hospital inspection.” Shikaku nodded. Hiruzen let out a long sigh. He would have to raise the pay a bit. And there would be more paperwork… “What of the messengers?” They had sent out ANBU messengers to the hidden villages for the chunin exams last week. They should be coming back soon if the other Kage weren’t taking their sweet old time to respond.
“None have returned as of yet.” Hiruzen let out a sigh. It would seem they were.
Silence surrounded them as Hiruzen filled his pipe, opening one window to his right. “Who do you think will be nominated this year?” It was a question Hiruzen often asked himself while he allowed his mind to wander away from his paperwork when the headache became too bad. Team Gai would obviously join this year, but everyone else would be a guess. Though he had an inkling that Kakashi would nominate his team to compete. He could hear Kakashi saying it was ‘for experience’ cheerfully to Asuma.
Shikaku let out a long suffering sigh. “Gai’s troublesome team, obviously. He’s already hounding me for the chunin exam participation papers,” Shikaku huffed, leaning on the window and looking at the sky. “Other than that, it’s a toss up. There’s a few older years joining, of course, but no newer years that I know of.”
“What do you think the chances are that Kakashi will nominate his team?” Hiruzen asked, staring at the Hokage monument. He could have sworn someone was up there before, but they were gone. Probably one of the new genin up there.
“He might not after this disaster of a mission he just had. But it’s Kakashi. Who knows,” Shikaku sighed. “Inoichi is betting that he will nominate them. With Sasuke and Sai, it wouldn’t be fair to hold them back because of the civilian girl.”
Hiruzen hummed. Shikaku made good points, or Inoichi did. Kakashi probably would shove his genin into the exam with Sasuke and Sai on the team.
Maybe Hiruzen shouldn’t let them enter the exams. Team 7 needed to become better at teamwork. Something to think about when he couldn’t sleep. Maybe he could even push the council into agreeing to the one year policy before genin teams can be entered into the chunin exams. He’s been wanting to implement that after all.
“Anything else to report?” Hiruzen asked, looking at the Nara.
“Nothing of the utmost importance,” Shikaku said, pushing himself off the wall.
Hiruzen nodded, righting himself so he faced the neverending paperwork and complaints he had to address. “Very well, you are dismissed if there is nothing else.”
Shikaku nodded, bowing. “Have a good night, Hokage-sama.”
“You as well.”
*****
Sai let out a breath, eyes trained on the ground even when the clacking sound of Danzo’s walking stick hit the ground and grew more defined the closer he got. Sai hadn’t been here since he was placed on Team 7 and given his name. It was…unnerving, as surprising as it was to say. He’d grown up here, afterall and it was his home for most of his life.
(But it was a jail house even if there were no actual chains.)
“How is your mission?”
“It is progressing well, Danzo-sama,” Sai responded, eyes trained in front of him. He still remembered his manners. “Naoki confirmed that he has the Jinchuriki in his possession. He is also in contact with the Demon of the Mist, though it seems to be a new acquaintance.”
Danzo hummed, pleased. “Good. Your mission for the recovery of the jinchuriki is being reassigned. Your new mission is to recruit Uchiha Sasuke. Understood?”
“Yes, Danzo-sama.”
“Dismissed.”
Sai bowed before shunshinning out of the base and into the apartment he was given for his mission. He liked his apartment, it was small and suited his needs perfectly. Nothing was out of place and if need be, he could collect what little stuff he had and leave without it seeming like anyone was there.
He took off his shoes before entering his living room…
And if he were any other genin, he may have jumped when a snake as tall as Kakashi-sensei(at least from what he saw). But no one could blame him if he jumped back in a defensive position and took out a kunai to defend himself. It was a very large snake, albeit very beautiful, and snakes that large are not normal. “Who is your summoner?” he demanded. It couldn’t be Anko, she doesn’t use her snakes, so…
“Sssai,” the snake hissed. “Orochimaru-ssama has a propossitttion for you,” it said, rising even taller to the point it almost touched his ceiling. Sai distantly hoped that it wouldn’t damage anything. He didn’t want to replace anything here. Then people would remember someone lived here, it wouldn’t be practical.
“And what is he proposing?” He might as well gather some information on Orochimaru. It would do Danzo and his village good if they got rid of the missing-nin.
“Dansso’s ssseal. Orochimaru-sssama will remove it.”
Sai’s heartbeat entered his ears. Even as a distant feeling, he always had an anger for what Danzo made him and Shin do. Even if he repressed it to the point even a Yamanaka wouldn’t be able to see it if they looked(and they had), it was still there, known to him. If the seal came off… “For what?” Sai asked, glaring at the snake.
“Uchiha Ssssasssuke.”
.
..
…
What did his Uchiha teammate do to gain the attention of both Danzo and Orochimaru?
Sai regarded the snake for a moment. The last Uchiha wasn’t anyone special. He could easily be traded for the chance of getting the seal off. “I…will consider,” Sai decided on, forcefully relaxing his body despite the danger in his apartment. He lowered his arms, scanning the snake as it had done to him in the beginning of their encounter.
“Orochimaru-ssssama will be in touch.”
The summon poofed out of existence and Sai sighed. First Danzo, now Orochimaru? Seriously, Uchiha wasn’t even that special despite what people might think. He was brash and prideful. Other than the last pair of sharingan in the idiot's head, there was nothing special about the last Uchiha.
He sighed, letting his shoulders fall as lights flickered on in the houses across from him. What a weird encounter.