"What a strange man..."
Before Shirogane fully came back to conscious, Naruto stood up and turned to leave to give them some privacy and time to discuss their next course of action. He didn´t doubt that the Hatake would uphold their end of the deal, now that their clan head was in safe hands, so Naruto told himself that he could wait until they caught up. They were to emotionally riled up at the moment, and eventhough they masked it well, their chakra gave it away for the blonde.
He put his hands on his knees and pushed himself up. Kozume glanced up at him in confusion, but only half of his attention was on him. The other half was still on Shirogane, who let out another groan, trying to push himself up.
Wordlessly, the blonde nodded his head in the direction of the entrance of the hidden cave and whispered, low enough for only Kozume to hear as to not interrupt the adults, “I´ll wait at the entrance. Meet me there whenever you´re ready to.”
He didn´t wait for a confirmation and instead turned around, quietly making his way back. Behind him, he could hear Yona fussing over the healed wound, trying to make sure that it was really alright now. Senjuro was whispering a small prayer of thanks and relieve, which would have been too quiet for him to hear if Naruto didn´t have heightened senses. Kane on the other hand was simply quiet, clutching to the robes of his clan head with a pinched expression on his face that he desperately tried to smooth out, to no avail.
From where he waited at the entrance, he could still faintly hear them if he strained his ears enough, but only actually picked up bits and pieces of what happened to the clan head.
As soon as the clan head woke up entirely and became aware of his surroundings, he immediately tried to comfort his kin, his chakra leaking as much as it possibly could to embrace them in a gesture of comfort. With how exhausted he was, it was barely a thin layer.
“I´m alright, everyone. I have been dealt worse before, these are only a few injuries.” Naruto found himself startled at how soft this man´s voice was. Despite what he had just gone through, there was absolutely no sign of wavering or any weakness in his chakra of in his demeanor. Instead, he immediately acted to comfort his clansmen and assure them of his safety, calmly and kindly. The change was recognized immediately, because the crashing tides of worry in everyone seemed to calm a little, even if they were still there.
“My Lord, don´t strain yourself yet! The injury just healed and –“ Yona was flailing – which was very unlike the first impression Naruto had on her, but he supposed that she had a soft spot for the clan head especially, so therefore had no problem to openly how her feelings – and worried, likely fussing over her clan head, and even though Naruto couldn´t see her face, he could clearly imagine the way her eyebrows pinched together and how the corners of her mouth pulled down in worry.
A vaguely crooked and rough sounding laugh echoed, laced with the pain of his injury, but done to reassure those around him. “Ever the mother hen, Yona. Calm yourself, I am alive.”
It was then that Kane snapped.
“Lord Shirogane, please don´t take your health so lightly! The entire clan is in frenzy because of your disappearance and no one knew what happened to you! We – we thought you had –“ He doesn´t finish the sentence because saying it would mean confirming his fears were true. Naruto listened as the sentence broke off and his chakra shuddered so deep that he could feel it in his bones.
There was a brief moment of silence were no one said something. The quiet almost echoed louder than the words Kane had spoken before.
Then, there was a deep sigh before Shirogane spoke again. “I apologize, everyone. My carelessness caused the clan great distress and by endangering our pack I have done great disservice to the clan.” And it sounded so incredibly hurt and full of guilt that Naruto couldn´t help but feel sympathy for the man.
He knew himself what it was like to have a responsibility to the people relying on you. Vanishing, even if it wasn´t voluntarily, and therefore leaving your own people to themselves is something that stings deep within you. It´s a feeling of failure that will haunt you and tear at you to make amends. Even if no one else blamed you, people like Naruto himself, and Shirogane apparently as well, found the blame in themselves and would do everything to redeem themselves. Being the pillar of support was the responsibility of a leader that they had to fulfill, no matter what.
The four Hatake seemed to disagree.
“Don’t apologize, Lord Shirogane! You didn´t do anything wrong!” Kozume protested this time, voice ever so slightly wobbly in both relief and worry.
“No,” the man answered, but not unkindly, “I should have been more aware. Especially with Hina being with me. As a clan head, I shouldn´t have allowed her to get in harm´s way.”
Naruto perks up at the name and thinks back to a few hours before, where he had been spying – watching – the Hatake. Hina was the woman that had apparently been with him during this mission. She was found fatally injured, but Naruto didn´t know much else.
However Yona did. “Hina is alive. She was injured, but the medics said she´ll make it!” She spoke the reassurance and as soon as she finished the sentence Naruto could feel bone deep relief bleed into Shirogane´s chakra. “I´m glad.” He says, and his voice is so heavy with genuine relief and happiness, that Naruto feels his stomach twist in an uncomfortable way.
This was a good man. He obviously cared about his clan – his pack, as the Hatake liked to call it, fitting for the mindset they were working with – and losing him would have been a great blow to the clan´s morale. He can feel it in the way the chakra of those near him lit up, but also in the chakra of the Hatake further away that have been informed of their finding, lightening ever so slightly.
Naruto didn´t know whether or not he had died in the first timeline, but whatever the case, he´s glad he helped save him in this one.
“But Lord, what exactly happened? How come it came to this?” Changing the flow of the conversation, Kane asked the question that seemed to burn in everyone´s mind, even Naruto´s.
“We were betrayed,” the raspy voice of the clan head echoed, voice laced in anger and grief. “Shinobi of the land of stone paid our handler for information. What was supposed to be a diplomatic mission, ended up being a planned ambush. After our fallout at the border during the mission last year, it seems they have it out for me.”
Naruto could hear colorful curses from Senjuro as a response, and surprisingly Yona didn´t scold him this time around. She voiced her agreement instead and her chakra swirled in righteous anger. Kane was still silent and Kozume didn´t say much either, but the betrayed swirl in his chakra was enough of an insight of his opinion on this.
The rest of the story went about as expected. They had been attacked during their night stay at the host´s place. The shinobi of the land of stone had managed to catch them by surprise and split up Shirogane and Hina. In an attempt to save the woman, Shirogane ordered her to report the betrayal to the clan and send reinforcements while he unsheathed his sword and went into battle. He claimed it to be the best decision, since Hina was still young, and while talented, she was suited more for politics and underhanded infiltration missions than a straight up brawl, meaning she would have lost her life if she stayed there. They hadn´t thought to bring more comrades, since their handler had been a trusted comrade of them for years.
The betrayal had been as unexpected as it had been hurtful.
Shirogane, being outnumbered, tried to first kill off as many enemy shinobi as possible, with success, before his condition worsened. Being unprepared for battle he tried to turn to a strategic retreat and thereby found this place. Many shinobi died by his hand and only few survived, but he managed to shake those off and doesn´t know what exactly happened to them.
“I must thank you, Kane,” Shirogane says, “As my advisor, you have done a great job of doing what you had to and taking over the lead in my absence. I chose well, when I chose you.”
A bone deep gratitude filled the air and Naruto could only imagine the way Kane bowed his head low in respect to the man who named him his advisor. His hunch had been right, Kane was indeed a little closer to Shirogane than the others.
Naruto could relate. For him, his advisor had been Shikamaru.
He shook his head quickly, trying to get rid of the thoughts as well as the aching stab of pain that went through his gut at the memory.
Naruto intended to listen further, because it was then that Kane decided to explain the current situation to Shirogane, but he was distracted when he felt chakra approaching quickly, worried and furious as well as hectic, coming towards him at a rapid pace.
Tilting his head up, he could see a squad approaching from a little further away. A group of Hatake jumped out of the trees, led by the summon that Kane had sent away before. Akame was her name, if the blonde remembered correctly.
“Is this Ren´s squad? The reinforcements?”
The first person to stick out to him was a tall and broad man with short shaved silver hair and an eye patch. He carried a large sword on his back and out of the four people, his chakra was the most potent. It swirled in anger and even slight panic as it stretched itself out, likely to look for Kane, who had requested his back up.
Naruto stayed quiet, not intending to make a fuss, but once Ren spotted him his visible eye widened and instead of the squinted look of concentration, his features twisted into a snarl.
“You!” He practically growled, sword in hand and taking a dangerous step forward, and Naruto cursed his luck. He doesn´t know what he did to deserve this man´s anger, but since he didn´t have anything to prove this time around, he didn´t wait until the sword nicked his skin. Instead, he quickly jumped out of the way when the man lunged at him at high speeds, faster than it should be possible for someone of his size and build. The three men behind him were ready as well, but Naruto simply twisted mid air, dodging the heavy blade with ease.
He landed on top of the large stone and was about to jump away once again, when Akame´s voice of all people – or well, of all wolves – sounded out.
“Master Ren! He is the one that found kin!” That seemed to have Ren pausing for only a moment during his second swing at Naruto, which gave the blonde enough time to jump over his head and land in a crouch further away from the entrance and out of reach for any kind of close combat. His blue eyes were fixated on the slightly perplexed form of Ren, ready to act if he chose to go against what Akame said, but before it even came to that, a voice sounded from the entrance of the cave, making everyone´s attention shift.
“Stand down, Ren. Let us not escalate this situation so rashly.”
There, in all his glory, stood the clan head of the Hatake, Hatake Shirogane.
Despite the visible injuries, the torn clothes and the fact that he was leaning with one arm on his advisor, steadying himself, his presence was incredibly strong and practically radiated reassurance and mental strength.
He stood proud, with a stern look on his face that didn´t give much away, but the way he reached out his chakra to touch towards his clansmen that have gathered here, and the way they reached back just in the same manner, spoke way more than words ever could about the respect they have for eachother and how glad they were to see one another again.
Ren´s eyes widened and he hastily took a few steps closer to Shirogane, the squad behind him coming closer as well. “My Lord! You´re alive!”
There was somewhat of a wild smirk on the man´s face before his expression faded into something more solemn, but not any less smug. “Of course I am. Don´t worry too much, and that goes to each of you. It is thanks to your efforts that my life was preserved.”
Naruto hadn´t moved an inch from his crouch, which was not yet quite a battle stance, but still alert enough in case of something going downhill. Shirogane had turned his head to him, as had Kane, and the clan head tilted his head to the side, seizing him up and basically examining him.
While Naruto wasn´t threatened – he would never be, not after the things he had faced in the fourth war. Not even Kaguya would ever scare him anymore, he had sworn to that. He swore that should he ever see a speck of the white haired goddess, he would kill her immediately, alien-like creature or not. – he was certainly impressed with how the clan head held himself, even in this state.
There was no surge of anger or protectiveness in the man´s chakra like Naruto expected there to be, instead there seemed to be something like curiosity and a certain degree of expectance.
Naruto mirrored his action, tilting his head as well, and staring at the man through his mask. Cerulean blue met dark grey and Naruto could feel himself being evaluated.
Whatever the man saw, he seemed to approve, because the corners of his lips twitched upward into something akin to a smirk. “Well, I suppose I owe you my gratitude as well, Kitsune. My advisor told me of your deed, as well as your requested deal.” The newly arrived squad reacted with confusion as to what deal they spoke about, but Naruto didn´t mind them. He finally moved, standing up from his crouch and slightly lowering his head in an agreeing manner.
“I did have a request, Lord Hatake, but first and foremost it´s good to see you safe,” he then raised his head and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck a little sheepishly. “You already know me, but still. I´m Kitsune, it´s a pleasure to meet you.”
His chipper tone seemed to throw off some of the Hatake. Especially Ren threw him a nasty glare. He still didn´t know what he did to deserve the man´s anger.
Shirogane let out a pleased chuckle. “I could say the same. It´s a pleasure to meet the rumored cold blooded Kitsune, who´s appearance is similar to that of a hunting fox.”
Naruto would forever deny that he let out a surprised shriek, but the tips of his ears did tint themselves bright red from embarrassment and he bristled a little.
“Cold blooded?!” He sighed and let his shoulders drop ever so slightly, exasperation mixed with mild annoyance at the running mouths of the rumor mill starting to form. “Ah, what happened when I stopped keeping up with the rumors? Since when have people been calling me cold blooded? And seriously, a hunting fox? It´s a fiber mask, where do people get all these ideas from!?”
His easy demeanor threw off some of the Hatake. Kane on one hand seemed very amused, while Kozume held back his laughter behind the palm of his hand, turning his head away when Naruto turned to shoot him a dirty look. Senjuro now seemed to be very smug, having gotten his revenge for the previous embarrassment the suffered from the blonde´s comment.
This time, Shirogane openly laughed, easing the little bit of tension left in the air. He hid a quick wince when his laugh stung in his side, the only one to notice being Kane, who shot him a warning look to be more careful with himself, but Shirogane just waved him off.
Naruto couldn´t help the small smile that graced his lips at the caring display between the two, but now that they seemed rather fine with him being in their presence and were not inclined to attack him any time soon, this was the time to speak about the deal. He took a deep breath and let his voice flatten a little to convey his seriousness.
“Lord Hatake. While I see that you enjoy being back with your clan, I request you uphold your end of the deal now. As much patience as I have, this matter is urgent. Do you, or do you not agree to speaking with me privately?”
The question was pretty much courtesy, since most of the time, a deal not uphold meant a fight. Naruto wasn´t planning on fighting them, even if they declined, but they didn´t have to know that. Besides, just because he fought them, doesn´t mean he would give up on having the Hatake as alley.
Still, his farce worked, because the air around them became heavy again. Even the happy expression of the clan head faded, and seriousness replaced it just as quick as it came. His dark grey eyes narrowed on Naruto, challenging him, but Naruto´s resolve was bigger.
The moment between the two of them was broken when Ren spoke up, chakra spiking in confusion and anger. “Deal? What kind of deal?!”
Senjuro seemed to want to add his input too, but Kane beat him to it, scowling at the masked man. “You expect our Lord to speak with you now? Have you no-“
“Sure.” Shirogane interrupted, surprising Naruto when the answer came so fast. Kane looked at him with an incredulous look in his face, but before any protests could rise, he continued, eyes darkening. “If Kane is with us as well.”
Blue eyes widened and Naruto didn´t even try to hold back his surprised laugh.
“The gall of this guy, I swear. He´s the one being threatened by me and yet thinks he can make demands? He´s in no position to, seeing the state he´s in. Then again,” he let his eyes wander for a moment and promptly noticed each and every Hatake´s eyes on him, face set in determination, and slight hesitance from some members, “Going by his point of view, they have me outnumbered. It would be no surprise for him to become bold in this situation with people to back him up.” He sighed, “Well, it´s not like that matters anyway. He would have confided with Kane anyways, since he´s his advisor, but I did hope to be able to speak to him alone.”
Naruto simply shrugged, not giving price any of his inner thoughts. “That´s fine with me. You would have told him anything after that anyway, I´m not stupid enough to think you don´t confide with your advisor."
The satisfied expression on Shirogane´s face was enough of an answer.
.
“So, tell me. What is your deal supposed to entail?”
The three of them were arranged in a way that let Naruto and Shirogane look directly at eachother, sitting down on the floor in order to make it easy for the still recovering clan head, while Kane was standing behind his leader, eyes trained on the blonde. Going by how he kept silence and how his chakra pulled itself back, he understood that this was a conversation between Shirogane and Naruto, so he was not to intervene.
Good.
Naruto sighed and scratched his cheek – well, his mask – and leaned slightly back to straighten himself. He wasn´t sure how to tell them what he needed without giving too much away, but this would have to do.
“To put it bluntly, I need your help. There is something I´m trying to do, and while I have the power and the confidence to know I can pull it off, what I don´t have is the numbers and political influence. My voice won´t be heard, no matter my strength, if I don´t have any allies.”
At Shirogane´s slightly darkening expression, he quickly adds, “I don´t need your men to fight my battles. I fully plan on doing that myself. I just need something like a reputation to fall back on in case I need support.”
The silver haired man hummed in thought and put a hand to his chin, eyebrows furrowing. “So you need the Hatake name behind your back to take responsibility for your actions?”
Naruto shook his head. “No, that´s not what I meant. My actions are mine alone and I will take responsibility for what I do, but should it come to a confrontation with the other clan heads, I need the political power that I am lacking to back me up. No one will listen to me if I´m on my own.”
At that, the clan head´s eyes widened and he dropped his hand, surprise and wariness mixing in his chakra. Kane´s reaction was much the same, only that he looked much more indignant.
“You´re going to challenge other clan heads?” he asked, voice laced with surprise and slight apprehension. Understandable, seeing that in his eyes, Naruto was asking him to go against other clans in order to help him when everything was already torn by war. Not to mention that the clan was currently weakened with the clan head needing to recover. Anything that might endanger his pack was something that he would not accept.
Naruto however didn´t need him to fight with the other clan heads, and he doesn´t understand why they can´t see that. Their first guess is that he immediately want to challenge the other can heads, when in reality he´s only trying to unite them.
Then again, peace is a foreign concept during this time. No one would guess that a lone shinobi with not much going for him would work towards uniting the major clans in the land of fire to build a village.
“Not challenge, no. I want to talk to them the same way as I am with you right now, Lord Hatake. For what I am trying to do, I need the clans to cooperate with me and with one another.”
That wording seemed to catch their attention, because Shirogane´s expressions morphed into something more perplexed. “With one another?” He muttered, confused, before shaking his head and aiming a leveled glance at Naruto, eyes glinting with the need for clear answers.
“What is it exactly that you want to do, Kitsune? For you to be trying to cooperate with different clans, as you say, and have them cooperate with eachother as well, knowing fully well of the relationship each clan has with another, your goal must be something of great significance.” There was no mockery in his tone for suggesting something that might sound outlandish to anyone who hear during this time. Only sharp suspicion and thirst for knowledge.
Naruto simply shrugged. He saw no issue with telling him of what he was planning. Afterall, if he wanted them to trust and work with him, then he would need to be honest. Lying to them or beating around the bush wouldn´t – in most cases – do much good. This was supposed to be something that could help them both, Shirogane´s clan and Naruto´s goal, so they would have to work together.
“I want to unite the clans. Build a village. I want to bring peace to the fighting and end the war, but I know that I can´t do that alone.”
Silence.
Neither Hatake was speaking after what he said. There were only swirls of chakra with complicated emotions that passed so fast that Naruto wasn´t able to make any sense of them. Kane twitched in the corner, wide eyes staring at Naruto in disbelieve, but Naruto´s expression didn´t change. He wasn´t joking.
At least that was the case, until Shirogane slammed his uninjured fists onto the ground, his chakra lashing out at Naruto, who simply countered with his own, pushing against the cackling wave of lighting with his own flowing wind. In complete contrast to the seemingly soft and kind man that Naruto saw right after they found him in the cave, this man was a clan head who was currently feeling threatened. Who was currently feeling his clan´s safety was being threatened with this suggestion.
Naruto had stepped on a landmine.
“Uniting the clans? Creating a village with them and living together in peace? I haven´t heard such nonsense in a long time, Kitsune. Our clans have been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and you have the gall to suggest us all living together in harmony, when so many of my kin already died?” His voice was a low growl and the white freezing chakra was still pushing against his, but Naruto was completely unbothered like that. Realizing this, Shirogane bared his fangs at him.
Naruto just frowned, tempted to take off the mask and flash his own, but he held himself back. He wasn´t here to start a fight, he was here for peace. And reaction to the man´s outburst and rising to the challenge would only make them spiral further. As much as he wasn´t one for rationality and would rather punch first and talk later, he couldn’t do that here.
His talk no jutsu – as Kurama and pretty much everyone else liked to call what he did – would have to be utilized now instead of during or after a fist fight. He couldn´t fight an injured person.
“Isn´t that reason enough to end this? Too many have lost their lives already.”
“You´re asking us to just move on and forget all the bad blood then? For the pack to ignore ours kin´s sacrifice and walk hand in hand with the enemy?”
Naruto´s eyebrow twitched in irritation, even if he could understand. Giving in first would be considered a sign of weakness, and with how many people already died, the clan would feel like they did the deceased a dishonor by trying to put their conflict aside. Revenge was a common thing in this time, in any time, really. However Naruto had seen it escalate often enough to know that it would lead to nothing but more blood being spilled. More people being killed and more people yearning for revenge.
That is precisely what the cycle of hatred is. The very thing he is trying to break free from.
“That´s not what I am asking of you. Understand that building a village and living in peace doesn´t mean ignoring the sacrifice other people made. Is that not precisely what they fought for? For this war to end? Is that not why a shinobi goes out to fight, even when the end is far from near? Wouldn´t most be happy if the war ended?”
The fact that Naruto wasn´t immediately snapping back but rationally trying to argue, as well as the fact that he realized that Naruto´s chakra wasn´t being pushed away in their fight of will, seemed to bring some carefulness back to Shirogane. He pulled his chakra back ever so slightly and his voice lowered itself a little, even if the venom in his tone wasn´t gone.
“That might be the case for some, but most would be happy to avenge those they have lost. Because that is what family does, fight for the ones they love, even after they left. That´s what a pack does.”
So close. So close to the point, and yet he missed it.
“That´s exactly the problem, isn´t it? If one kills the murderer of their loved one, then what? The one killed had family and friends too. They too will seek revenge. They too will kill again. It goes back and forth like that.” His voice edged to slightly desperate. Desperate for this man to understand. For this man, who was born and raised in war, but only had the best in mind for his people, to understand that they were only digging a grave for themselves. Not only him, but every clan.
He speaks up again when Shirogane glares, not letting him interrupt him, “That is the cycle of hatred. What we, as shinobi, need to do is look past that. Break that cycle. There will be no end to war if no one takes the first step out of there and reaches out a hand, even when betrayal and fear is something lingering in the back of the mind as a possibility.”
The heavy air seemed to settle a little. Kane, in the back, regained some color back to his face. He had stood silent and shivering ever so slightly when their chakras had met and fought for dominance, the pressure too heavy for an ordinary shinobi. Even injured, the clan heads chakra capacity wasn´t a joke, and neither was Naruto´s.
“Even so,” Shirogane spoke, and this time he wasn´t angry. Well, not as much as he was before. This time there was something bone deep and aching inside of his chakra. A grief and bitterness that was there for years on end and had festered itself in his system.
Naruto had to swallow a lump in his throat when his chakra in that moment felt so much like Kakashi´s, the moment he had realized that Obito had survived Kannabi bridge and had become their enemy.
“This “cycle of hatred”, as you call it, being broken is a nice fantasy, but as a clan head with the responsibility of making sure my clan lives to the see the next day, I can´t help but ask how you expect us to look past that?”
It was then when Naruto´s features softened.
It was a good question? How could they? How could they look past all the bad blood and learn to forgive?
He sighed and let his head drop a little, and right at that moment, his overwhelming chakra almost crushed them.
Grief, sadness, hope, regret, determination. All of these and many more swirled in Naruto´s chakra, clear and strong. It engraved itself into their own system and at that moment, they could fell his emotions, his genuine intentions, so clear that they couldn’t help but pause. Kane had felt it before, but even that time it hadn´t been this strong. It hadn´t left this much of an expression on himself like it does now. Now, it felt dense and bright, like looking into the sun itself, but also calm and reliable, like being embraced by a body of warm water.
It was so different. So sincere. It was incredible to feel someone else like this.
“Why,” Naruto starts, and it´s only then that they snap out of their trance, having been too busy to sort out their own feelings to not mistake them for Naruto´s, “do you think I am a lone shinobi, Lord Hatake?”
He looks up, and deep cerulean eyes look directly at Shirogane. So sincere and so hurt that if he were any lesser a shinobi, his breath would have been stuck in his throat. Still, he had no time to answer before Naruto answered his own question.
“It´s because I had everything and everyone taken away for me. However,” he continues on, ignoring the way they were trying to compose themselves from the onslaught of heavy emotion intruding into their own system– this was a point he had to make, no matter how much it hurt him to speak about it – “I know what we fought for. We fought for peace, for the chance of the new generation to be able to live in a world safe from war. For the chance we would be able to see our loved ones for a day longer. And it´s because I know that, that I can look past it. It´s because I know that this was not only our dream, but the dream of others as well, people who have hurt us and who we have hurt, that I can learn to forgive.
I´m not abandoning their memories. I´m not disregarding their sacrifices. I once had people to protect, Lord Hatake, and just because they are not here anymore, doesn´t mean their efforts aren´t.
The man who killed my parents became one of my greatest allies. He sacrificed his life for mine and my comrades, even if moments before he had tried to kill us. The man who killed the sensei we shared gave his life to save dozens of my people because he saw that the way he was approaching pace was not the right way. People can change and people can learn to help one another. That is exactly what I need your help for, Lord Hatake.”
Silence fell over the trio as Naruto finished his speech. Neither was looking at him, their eyes seemingly stretched into the distance.
Naruto let them. He let them work through the impact his words surely would have. And he was sure they had a big impact, because their chakra was so incredibly disheveled, much in contrast to before, even if their demeanor didn´t show it.
He quickly spared himself a moment to appreciate the perks of emotional sensing, because in situations like these, where people put up a font, knowing exactly what they feel and being able to respond accordingly was a blessing.
Completely unexpected, the silence was broken when Shirogane let out an amused huff. It sounded tired, maybe even defeated, but not angry, not anymore.
“For all that you claim that no one will hear your voice were to stand alone, you certainly have a way with words. I can´t believe that someone can make such fantasy sound like a possibility actually in reach.” This time, a chuckle followed the response and Naruto found himself looking directly at the man, dark grey eyes softer than during the argument.
“Let´s assume we will help you, what would you do in return?”
Completely baffled at the response, Naruto took a moment to regain himself, not having expected this much of success with his speech. Kane clearing his throat was what snapped him out of it, and with a muffled yelp he quickly scrambled to get one of his hiraishin seals out of the storage seal on his arm. There was a surprised spike in their signatures when he revealed his sealed tattoo, but he reacted too quickly for them to ask any questions.
“Here, take this,” he reached over, holding out the piece of paper to Shirogane. The man took it, curious to see what Naruto was planning.
“This is a seal I made myself. In exchange of the Hatake putting their trust into my goal and giving me their support, I will always be available. If you channel a little bit of chakra into this, I will immediately come to help. Be it for issues with sealing, missions, or certain things you need an outside perspective for. Whatever it is, I will be a reliable ally for any and all Hatake that need my help and will come at any time, day or night. I swear to that.”
The clan head turned the paper left and right, trying to make sense of the seal, but here wasn´t much he understood. Kane was looking over his shoulder, also trying to discern what only looked like scribbles and nonsense to him.
Shirogane raised an eyebrow, skeptically looking at Naruto. “Just channeling chakra into this will do?”
Naruto nodded, and now that the atmosphere was somewhat light again, he smiled under his mask. “Exactly. You can try it out in a few days, maybe even tomorrow. Whenever.”
The Hatake clan head seemed to contemplate that offer for a long time. He didn´t have much of an insight of what Kitsune was capable off, but if his actions of the last hours, his capability to manipulate the chakra around him the way he did and his reputation within the economic and the handlers was anything to go by, then taking the risk was worth it. Kitsune could prove himself to be a powerful ally.
His thoughts were interrupted when Naruto spoke up again, this time a little sheepishly. “Also, I´m pretty sure that having peace would benefit you too. So, that is another thing I can give you.”
He couldn´t help it.
Shirogane let out a snort at that sentence while Kane blinked in surprise.
“When you´re not talking nonsense, you´re a very cheeky brat, aren´t you?” He ignored the squack of offense coming from Naruto and the mumbled protest of him not being a brat.
Instead, the silver haired man tilted his head to the sight with a slight smile, this time much more like the first time he had interacted with Kitsune. This was a man who hoped, not the clan head who defended his people. Naruto´s mumbling died down when he saw that and he carefully listened for his response.
“Alright. It seems I have no choice but to agree, Kitsune. After all, even if what you say sounds ridiculous, the Hatake are indebted to you and if this is what it takes to repay that debt, then so be it.”
Naruto practically lit up in joy and triumph, and once again his chakra mirrored his reaction. The two Hatake felt it this time again, but instead of the crushing and deeply sorrow inducing chakra, this one was light, happy and swift like a warm summer breeze. Kane took a deep breath, almost like he was trying to inhale that feeling, before Naruto sheepishly reigning his chakra back in again, not noticing the disappointed spike in their chakra once he did.
He bowed his head from where he sat, not able to contain his smile. “Thank you, Lord Hatake. This means a lot to me.”
Shirogane waved him off. “Don´t dwell on it and show me your gratitude through your actions instead, Kitsune. I´m curious to see whether or not that effort of yours will pay off.”
Seeing a friendly challenge when being presented with one, Naruto grinned and stood up, quickly dusting himself off, before cocking his head to the side, accepting the challenge. “Just wait and see, Lord Hatake. Peace isn´t impossible, no matter what anyone thinks. I´ll make sure to show you.”
With a last nod of the head, Naruto was gone in the blink of an eye, startling both Hatake, and yet none of them found themselves to be surprised.
Shirogane sighed and leaned his head back, closing his eyes for a moment. Kane watched silently, knowing when his clan head was thinking and not to be disturbed. He only perked up when Shirogane spoke, prying one eye open to asses Kane.
“What do you think, Kane? Did I make the right decision? Let me hear what you think as my advisor.”
Kane hesitated, contemplating how to express the feelings he had about this complex situation.
“Well, my Lord, as your advisor, I think you´ve taken a big risk. We don´t know much about Kitsune, and we don´t know whether his intentions are we he say they are, so I can´t easily make a judgment…”
Sensing that Kane still had something to say, Shirogane prompted him to continue with a nod of his head, wanting to fully hear his opinion. Kane only sighed before scratching the top of his head in silent frustration.
“However as a shinobi and as your friend, I… I think you did the right thing, my Lord. Kitsune seemed genuine and knowing he saved your life when I couldn´t have…” his expression scrunched up in pain and his fists clenched at the side, angry with himself for having failed when his clan head needed him the most
“Just for that… I can´t help but admit that I owe him. And that to a certain degree, I trust him. He just has that kind of presence that –“
“Makes one want to follow him,” Shirogane finished the sentence for him. Kane wasn´t surprised that he did, knowing the two of them were often in tune with their opinions.
“He is a strange man,” Shirogane mused, “but despite the threat he may become, I don´t believe he is a bad man.”
He smiled. “Just a very strange one.”