Shisui POV
Fugaku agreed to my request to speak privately and ushered me to follow. A few minutes later, we were standing on the roof of the Hokage building, looking down at the village and the Hokage monument. The wind pulled at his cloak, but Fugaku stood perfectly still. He eyed me with interest as I spoke.
"Fugaku-sama, I am worried about Noa."
Fugaku's eyes narrowed slightly. "What is the issue?"
I took a deep breath. "As I mentioned, during the last mission he was forced to take the lives of a large number of shinobi. However, I feel like it left a profound mark on him."
Fugaku nodded. "That is expected. He is not a clan shinobi, so he was not trained from a young age to handle that aspect of the shinobi life. It makes sense that his first kills would affect him."
"The issue is that he is not reacting like it is his first kill," I countered, looking up toward the Third Hokage's stone face. "It felt like the act awakened something inside him. A darkness and a bloodlust matching that of Danzo's. It worries me deeply."
Fugaku noticed my gaze and let out a low chuckle. The sound carried a cold weight that seemed to chill the ambient breeze. "Every shinobi has to face the darkness inherent in our profession sooner or later. However, I have been through a shinobi war and endless deadly missions, so my perspective might be colored by my experience, and I think yours is as well."
I nodded in agreement to the Hokage's sage words, allowing him to continue.
"However, I do not mind the darkness, Shisui. I embrace it as part of this world. My issue with Danzo was never what he did, but how he did it, and why. The darkness is what a hidden village needs to stay afloat and prosper. It is the burden of the strong few to witness and commit all sorts of atrocities so that the people we are responsible for can live in peace."
He waved his hand, gesturing down at the villagers moving through the streets below. Children darted between the stalls like schools of fish, while parents and grandparents guided them with a sense of security. Watching the peaceful, orderly flow of life from above provided a stark, fragile contrast to the grim reality of our conversation.
His eyes shifted, the three-tomoe Sharingan activating as his voice hardened. "Being weak only means you will be a toy in the hands of the strong."
He spoke with absolute finality. "It is the darkness that shapes and defines our strength. It is what makes us the strongest hidden village in the shinobi world."
As the words left his mouth, the tomoe in his eyes blurred and shifted, morphing into a new, incredibly sharp design. Three intersecting ellipses formed a complex pinwheel around his central pupil. As the pattern flared to life, its sheer power radiated outward, a crushing, physical pressure that made the very air feel thick and heavy in my lungs.
The distant sounds of the village below were instantly swallowed by the overwhelming gravity of his chakra. The wind died, and time itself seemed to halt. As I stared into his eyes, his absolute conviction shaped the immense power behind his gaze, freezing the world around us.
My breath caught in my throat as the unfamiliar geometry burned into my vision. The Mangekyou Sharingan. He had kept it hidden this entire time. If the hardliner faction of our clan knew he possessed such a visual prowess, they would have pushed him to utilize it against the village, either driving the coup forward at an accelerated pace or causing a civil war within the clan.
I forced myself to shake off the shock of the revelation, keeping my focus entirely on Noa. "Nevertheless, Lord Hokage, if we keep Noa on this route, I am afraid of what he will become."
Fugaku's eyes returned to their regular black. Time began moving naturally again, and the village regained its vibrant colors as he asked, "Is that a real possibility?"
The feeling I always got looking into his eyes after he woke from his nightmares told me everything I needed to know. 'I am afraid so, Lord Hokage.'"
Fugaku turned toward the Hokage monument, falling silent. He sank deep into thought before answering a few moments later. "It is not like I can keep him on the sealing team. His abilities would be wasted there. I would be a bad Hokage if I did not utilize such a powerful shinobi for the village."
He scratched his chin, calculating his options before continuing. "From what I know of Noa and his motives, he values his loved ones immensely. Those bonds are his true connection to this village. I am currently in great need of every Jonin we have. Masahide has been absent from teaching Genta and Shizuru most of the time due to his active missions. Furthermore, their third teammate, Shota, has just been reassigned to barrier guard duty, leaving their squad severely lacking."
Fugaku turned back to me, his decision made. "I will assign Noa to lead that team, which will free up Masahide. Leading a squad through difficult missions while working directly with his friends and protecting them should improve his mindset and give him the balance he needs."
I immediately knelt on one knee and bowed. "That is a very wise and considerate decision, Lord Hokage."
Fugaku scoffed lightly. "Stop it, Shisui. You are my guard. If you are kneeling and your eyes are not on me, who is going to protect me from an attacker?"
He patted my back, a small laugh escaping his mouth. I could not help but smile as I rose to my feet, standing beside him as we looked out over the peaceful village below.
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Noa POV
Watching the memories of my old world was not easy on me. It broke something within me, almost threatening my resolve for this new life and shattering the concept of who I am and who I want to become after this second chance at life. The first few days here at home were hard. However, I was greatly thankful for the company. Genta, Shizuru, and even Sena visited me. Since they knew me so well, they did not push me to do anything besides eat, drink water, and sleep, which I deeply appreciated.
Naruto, however, was not having it. He kept jumping around. Although I felt like I should be annoyed, like I should add his chakra signature to the barrier so he was not allowed in, I could not help but smile. He was so innocent, and his energy felt like sunshine. I knew he was like that from the story I remembered, but witnessing it in real life was something else entirely.
Little by little, I started to feel like myself again. The darkness, once let out, could never be completely bottled back in, but it was muted more and more as I grounded myself. Working on my intricate mural always helped. I stood, observing the beautiful imagery, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to enjoy the quiet atmosphere before Naruto's voice chimed in.
"Noa, my drawings are getting better since you started teaching me!"
I looked at his scribbles on the wall and smiled. They were not much better than before, but there was improvement. I nodded. "Indeed. Well done."
A huge, bright smile appeared on his face as he continued scribbling on the walls. "Thank you, Noa, for letting me do this to your home and not shouting at me like Takemura-ojisan."
I walked up the wall and kept walking until I hung from the ceiling, looking at my sister's face. I touched the plaster, closing my eyes. One good thing from that horrific memory was that, for some reason, my sister's picture had become clearer in my vague memories. I started to add very minute details. They would not change the painting at all, but they would make it somewhat more complete.
Naruto looked at me with amazement and asked, "Noa, can you teach me how to do that? The skills of a shinobi?"
I dropped to the floor, flipping mid-air. "Why do you want to be a shinobi?"
"Because I want to be the strongest shinobi and become the Hokage, so that everyone will finally acknowledge me!"
I smiled and replied, "Well, shinobi do all sorts of horrible stuff. They steal, kill, and deceive to reach their goals. Do you still want to be a shinobi after knowing that?"
A complicated expression appeared on Naruto's face as he balled his little hands into tight fists. Finally, he reached a solution. "I will be the first shinobi to be Hokage without doing any of that!"
While most people would see this as a kid boasting about something impossible, I knew Naruto's story. So, I did not mock him. This caused Naruto to become extremely happy. Seeing the serious, believing look on my face, he grinned and pointed his thumb toward his chest. "Now you see how great I am for coming up with that idea!"
We both started laughing. I looked back at his drawings. While most of them were random shapes or parodies of people he had seen, some were eyes. Affected by my art style, his sketches showed much more expression than they did before. A few of those eyes held the exact same glares the villagers gave him. Although he drew over them to mock them, I still saw the sadness buried there.
I ushered him to come closer, and we moved to the training ground. I lay down on the grass, looking at the brightly lit, clouded sky. Naruto followed my example.
"Well, Naruto, if you want to be a shinobi, you need to know who you really are."
Naruto appeared puzzled. I continued. "Do you want to know why a lot of the villagers look at you with fear and anger, why they treat you the way they do?"
His eyes widened. He shot up into a sitting position, staring at me in disbelief. "Do you know why they do that? They never answer me when I ask." His gaze turned sad by the end of his sentence.
I sighed, closed my eyes, and said, "Let me tell you a story about a fox spirit with nine tails."
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A/N: A rare insight into Fugaku's thoughts, not to mention what comes next for Naruto heheh, the comments should be fun to read XD