Chapter 2
Itachi kneeled behind the Third Hokage, while he was still covered in the blood of his clan, and it would be the last time he would be here.
"I know that you have something that you wish to say to me. But first, I must thanks for your actions. I sincerely regret that there was nothing else that could be done to prevent such a thing," and words did not matter now.
"You will be branded as a rogue ninja who killed his entire clan. What will you do now?" Hiruzen asked, and he already had his next mission.
"I have found a place in a criminal organization called Akatsuki. Will you make a promise to me that you will continue to protect Sasuke?" and he was the very reason he had done this.
"I can protect him. But he will hate you always," Hiruzen added, as his face tightened.
"And he is not the only one," and there would be another who would hate him, who would hate this entire village.
"I am ready to bear the hate," and Hiruzen closed his eyes.
"But is the village...." and just then with his final report given, Itachi vanished leaving Hiruzen all alone on that roof, when an ANBU appeared infront of him.
"Hokage-sama. We have a problem...."
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SARUTOBI HIRUZEN
The Third Great Ninja War may have ended more than a decade ago, but the hostilities it had created still lived to this day. Even now Iwa and Kumo loathed them, and while there was peace, there was a tacit understanding that this peace could end at any moment.
And sadly Sarutobi was not confident in how their village would fare if such a conflict broke out. Konoha had suffered much in the years since the great War had come to an end.
First had come the Kyubi incident which had robbed them of the Hero of the War, and forced him to take back the reins. The loss of Kushina and Minato had been a devastating blow to their village, for in them they had lost two great pillars of their village.
Kushina had been the sole inheritor of Mito-sama's legacy, and no one alive could match the potency of a Uzumaki fuinjutsu master, while Minato was their Hokage. He was the Hero of the Third Great Ninja war, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he had won them the war single handedly.
Even by itself, the Kyubi incident was a great loss on its own, but tragedies continued to strike, for a few years after the Kyubi incident saw the village suffer from the greatest massacre ever.
And Hiruzen was partially to be blamed for that, as he had let the tensions brew to such an extent, until there was no other option left and in many ways the village had yet to recover from these great losses.
But there was hope still for a new generation had come up now, and he hoped that they would do better than him and his generation. They were young still, but full of potential, and he had full confidence that given time and nurturing they would far surpass the older generations and usher in a new era for their village.
But fate and tragedy would not wait for them, and as the flag bearer of the bygone generations it was upto him to provide them with the perfect opportunities to succeed, and the Exams this year were meant to set the foundation for their rise.
The Chunin Exams had been a great way of shoring up alliances, and building connections and confidence for decades. Kumo and Iwa had denied the invitations but Sunagakure and a few other villages had accepted the call, and now for the first time since the Uchiha massacre Konoha would be hosting the exams with foreign participants.
It was a great step forward in moving past the mistakes of their past, yet all was not well in the world.
"This is troubling indeed," and within the village, Shikaku Nara held the most power and influence after him. He may not be an S-ranked shinobi, but only a fool would underestimate the Devil Strategist of the Nara clan.
The reports he was reading were from their Intelligence Division, and he was the second person to lay their eyes on them after him. Hiruzen nodded, as he took out his pipe and put it on the table.
"According to these reports an attack seems imminent during the exams," and yet it was too late to put the entire thing on hold.
"We could postpone the exams and try to gather more intel," the man suggested, and it was the easier solution but it would only tarnish Konoha's reputation, and the village could not lose anymore face.
"I am afraid it is too late for that," he rubbished that suggestion at once.
"Many of the teams have already arrived, and others have departed from their home villages. Postponing the exams now would only disparage our position," and Shikaku sighed.
"Still, the increased prices of steel, and ninja gear. The change in prices for many long term missions, and the troublesome pedigree of Orogakure all point to the same conclusion," and now he put down the file and leaned forward.
"There is a plot being hatched somewhere out there," and that much was obvious, yet still they remained oblivious to their target, their purpose and most importantly their identity.
"And most of our jounin will be busy with their teams during the exams," and that was why he had summoned him here, for as the jounin commander the deployment of their troops and shinobi all fell under him.
"That is why I summoned you here today," Hiruzen added.
"I want you to prepare a quick reaction force. Call in the reserves, put a halt on long term missions and reinforce our borders with Iwa and Kumo specifically," and of the five Great Nations, Iwagakure and Kumogakure held the greatest grudge against their village.
Iwa's grudge came from the humiliation they had suffered at the hands of Minato during the war, while Iwa's animosity was much more recent.
"Both of them hold great animosity against us for different reasons. They will try to pounce the second they sense any weakness from our side at all," and while the duo may not partake in the initial assault, but Hiruzen knew well that they would happily jump in if they smelt blood.
"Hmm," the Nara clan head rubbed his cheek.
"Reinforcing two borders while preparing the village for an assault. That is easier said than done," but if there was anyone who could make it happen, it was him.
"Iwa would be easier to guard, but Kumo. They are troublesome," and that was an understatement.
"I would need someone reliable to lead the defence there," and he could see him raking his mind for names of possible candidates, before suddenly he sighed.
"I can think of just the perfect person, but I highly doubt that he would be up for it," and Hiruzen frowned for a second.
"Who?" he asked.
"Hatake. Gojo Hatake," and it had been sometime since Hiruzen had heard that name, and his reaction made much sense now.
"There is hardly a better march for Kumo shinobi than him in the village, and it was not just Kumo shinobi. They could put the younger Hatake on any battlefield and he would change the tides of battle single handedly.
He was the second coming of Sakumo himself, and yet it was a tragedy that their village could not rely on him anymore.
"You are right, but I am afraid that ship has sailed now. He has retired," and not on his own terms.
"He fought on that border for a year all by himself. Just the sight of him would be enough to drive the Kumo nin back," and that may be true, but Goho Hatake was no longer a shinobi of their village, and the fault for that lay with him as well.
He is a legitimate S-ranked nin, and having him on the roster would make things much easier.
"I know, but I am afraid if he draws his blades once more, he is more likely to aim them at myself and the elders," and he spoke through experience.
"He still has not moved past that," and the Hatake kid was as stubborn as his father.
"Years ago he would have killed my entire council if I had not intervened in time. I am afraid he was rather clear in his ultimatum, that he would never draw his blade for this village as long as me and my Council are alive," and Shikaku sighed in defeat.
"What a drag," but Shikaku was right, for if the village was indeed under threat they could use his strength.
"Perhaps I could try to change his mind," Sarutobi whispered as he spun his chair to gaze at the village through his window.
SAKURA HARUNO
Six months had passed since she had passed the exams at the academy to become a full fledged kunoichi, and then to the envy of much of their class she was put on a team with none other than Sasuke-kun.
Sometimes she still could not believe her luck. T be on the same team as Sasuke-kun. It had always been her dream. He was even cooler than she had thought. The privilege was almost enough for her to forget about the third member of their team.
Still, even Sakura was forced to admit that dunderhead was not entirely useless. Idiot that he was, Naruto was stubborn and with that resilience came another strength.
Still, he was no match for Sasuke-kun. She was sure of that.
But soon enough she would not have to bother with him for their team had qualified for the chunin exams, and the first exam was set to start in a week's time. She planned on topping the exams, and then impressing Sasuke-kun with her powers.
If she were to top the exam, there was no way that he could ignore her.
Still, she was rather surprised when their sensei summoned them all to the training ground. They had no mission from what she could remember, and for the first time since he had become their sensei the man was on time.
And now in another surprise the three of them found themselves infront of a rather unique looking shop, with a heavenly smell coming out of it.
"What are we doing here, sensei?" and it was a restaurant, that was on the outskirts of the village. She remembered hearing its name a few times from a few friends, but she had never had the chance to visit it.
"Well, since the three of you qualified for the chunin exams, I thought you all deserved a little treat," and for a second she could not believe her ears. Kakashi-sensei was as stingy a person she had seen, and yet now he was offering to treat them.
"REALLY!" Naruto jumped out in joy.
"Indeed," he said and she noticed the slight hesitation in his accent.
"Still, if we you were going to treat us then you should have taken us to Ichiraku's," Naruto complained, and that was highly impolite.
"AGHHH!" the blonde shried in agony as Saukra slapped his head.
"Shut up!" she warned him.
"You are being impolite," she warned him as he whimpered.
"Sakura-chan," he cried.
"Plus, I have heard good things about the place," though as her eyes fell to Sasuke-kun, his face seemed pensive as he eyed the shop with a strange expression.
"We will go to ichiraku's some other day. This is a new place, and their food is said to be rather unique," and the location did not help the place for it was on the edge of the village, while most major shops were in the main market.
"Have you been here before?" she asked, as they began to walk into the shop.
"Many times," he answered, and for some reason he seemed a bit nervous.
And at first glance the shop seemed unlike anything she had ever seen, with glass counters, showing some strange round pies with vegetables topped over them, along with a few sauces.
"Wow!" still it was rather pristine, and there seemed to be a few tables around.
"What is that? I have never seen anything like that?" Naruto asked as he rubbed his face on the glass panels.
"I believe it is called a pizza," and so he had been here before.
"Pitza," Naruto had trouble pronouncing the foreign word.
"Pizza," she corrected him, before she turned towards Sasuke-kun.
"Have you ever tried it before Sasuke-kun. I have heard it is quit...."
"I have," and his answer shocked him, and Naruto both.
"What" and she was still reeling from the shock, when a new strange voice came from the side.
"Welcome to the Pizzar..." and the person stopped mid sentence, and so did they all for his hair were white a familiar white, and were propped up by some dark bands that covered the upper half of his face.
And Sakura could not help but shift her gaze between him and their sensei. The familiarities. They were obvious to anyone.
"Yo, long time to see," their sensei greeted casually as he stepped forward but then in the blink of an eye, a knife whipped through the air, and hit the wooden pillar behind her.
"Hey! Who do you think you are attacking Kakashi sen..."
"SHUT UP!" Sakura hit him on the back of the head, as tension filled the room, as Kakashi sensei and the stranger looked at each other.
"If I had not dodged that in time, you could have killed me," their sensei glanced at his collar, which had been cut.
"You will need to pay for this now," he said, but the strange frowned.
"What the hell do you think you are doing here, nii-san...." and those words hung in the air.
"Nii-san," Naruto repeated in a gasp, and her guess was right. They were related.
"Wait! He is your brother!" Naruto screamed, and this time she did not hit him.
"You never told us about him, Kakashi sensei," and now the stranger's eyes finally shifted to them, and even with those bandages covering them she could feel his gaze cut through her very existance.
"This is my team, and I brought them here for a celebration," and then he pulled them all in.
"You see they have just qualified for the chunin exams," and she saw his brother raise a brow at that as he eyed the three of them separately.
"Really?" he asked, as their sensei nodded.
"Hmmm, interesting that this lot here qualified," he said straightening up as a smile appeared on his face and she felt as if he was looking into her eyes as he said the next words.
"They are all kinda weak...."
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