The Chosen One: Hatake SI (Naruto)

Chapter 21

It did not long for him to set up the shop. What the Hatake clan lacked in personnel it made up in wealth. Sakumo Hatake had been a frugal man, and his earnings as an S-ranked shinobi were nothing to scoff at. Gojo himself was rich enough, so he bought the land in a week and the construction began not long after.

The recipes took a bit longer, and as he standing in his newly made kitchens he heard the doors open as a familiar face walked into the place.

“So, its true,” she spoke in that familiar voice, and he finally turned up and saw her walk into kitchen. She had grown taller since the last time he had seen her, and her purple hair her shorts, and metallic vest little to the imagination.

“I did not know you were coming back, Anko,” and she was one of his few friends in the village. The two of them had been classmates during his time at the academy, and were then apprenticed to two Sanins afterwards. A fate that had been far kinder to him than her.

“What the hell have you done?”

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GOJO HATAKE

Despite his appearance, Shikaku Nara was a devil in disguise. The man worked him till the last second possible until it was time for his departure. Kumo had been targeting their settlements for some time now, and they had already broken through the first line.

Akimichi Choza was now leading the defence, but the plump man had been rather succinct that without reinforcements he would not be able to hold back Kumo’s onslaught.

Usually, he would need a platoon for this. But he planned to nip this in the bud, without losing a life. He was in no mood of fighting a war, but if forced he would decimate Kumo.

Still, as he was walking out of the gate he found his path blocked by a familiar face he had not seen in a long time.

“You are out of the Hospital,” and her fight with Orochimaru had taken a toll on her, and she had been admitted to the Hospital ever since.

“I do hope...,” she did not let him finish.

“Why?” she nearly screamed at him, and her eyes were laced with rage and betrayal. She looked hurt, just like the day orochimaru had defected from the village.

Anko was an orphan. She had joined the academy alongside him, and despite her status she had quickly jumped to the top of their class. Excluding him of course.

The Snake Sanin had been like a father to her, and Anko had treated him as such. He had molded her like a toy, using her to experiment his techniques and seals. He had tried to warn her, but she had refused to listen and in the end the two of them had a bit fight over the entire matter.

But after his defection she was lost. She was put into a cell, and held for investigation. Everyone thought of her as an accomplice, and in that moment he stepped up to speak up on her behalf.

By then he was not a nobody. He was a seasoned jounin, and so it was not easy to ignore his words.

“Why?” she asked again, as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Why did you let him go!” and in that moment when she had first left that cell, she had cried in his arms. It was the only time she had ever cried, and in that moment of vulnerability she had made him promise something.

“Why did you let that bastard escape?” and he knew well that he could not lie to her. She would see through it easily.

“You promised me,” she spoke in a trembling tone, as a tear slid down her cheek.

“You promised me,” her voice grew weak. He tried to speak up, but she stopped him once more.

“Do not lie to me about the circumstances, Gojo. I know you,” she began.

“I know you better than everyone else. I know that you could have killed him that day,” and that was not exactly a lie.

“And soon enough I will,” he answered back, as he walked towards her until he was right in front of her.

He was a head taller than her, and she looked up at him as he wiped away the tear from her face.

“But I need something from him, and so until I have it he gets to breathe,” and while his eyes could see much already, they were blind to one region in the world. Ame.

He had tried of course, but the barrier jutsu cast over the village shielded it from his vision and so he could not look into the village, and given his promise to himself Gojo needed to meet with someone there.

“Why would you ever need that bastard!” she challenged, and he had already let her down once so he did not wish to lie to her now.

“Just as I made a promise to you, years ago I made a promise to myself as well,” and he intended on keeping that promise, and the way she stilled she somewhat understood his reasons.

“In order for me to fulfill thar promise, I need that bastard alive,” and so he would live until that day, but not a second more.

“So, he must live,” and her eyes narrowed.

“I heard that he can summon the dead now,” and that was an S-ranked secret, and she did not have the clearance for that.

He raised a brow at her, and she smirked.

“You know I have my ways,” and he did know that. He knew that better than most.

“For all I care he can summon a damn army,” he whispered as he walked past her.

“He is still going to die by my hands....”

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SASUKE UCHIHA

“He is leaving,” Sasuke asked in surprise.

The village was still reeling from the war, and only now a week later did things begin to return back to normal, or at least as normal as they could be after the betrayal.

Sasuke had been busy helping the village in his own way, and their team had not come together after the incident. So, when Kakashi-sensei summoned him early morning he had thought that he would finally be seeing his old teammates but they were not here.

“Yes,” and now he was just hearing that their team, was falling apart.

“Circumstance make it so that, he will be leaving the village with Jiraiya-sensei for some time to train. Sakura herself is seeking an apprenticeship with my brother, so I believe team seven is on a hiatus,” and Sasuke did not care for the team.

He had his own purpose, yet the news still ached his heart.

“So, why have you called for me then?” he asked sharply, genuinely irritated over the circumstances.

“Because I have a proposition for you,” Kakashi finally cut in, making him raise a brow.

“What?” he asked, with gritted teeth.

“I know that you wish to kill Itachi,” and Sasuke stilled at the mention of that name, as his fists balled up on instinct.

“I do not like it....”

“He killed them!” Sasuke screamed at the masked nin.

“He killed my entire clan!” and the memories that he had long tried to suppress burst fourth.

“I do not wish to kill him, Kakashi,” he corrected.

“I have to,” and the masked man listened in silence, before he gave a long sigh.

“There is so much you do not understand, but I am afraid those are not my secrets to tell,” and he did not understand what he was trying to say.

The man then looked him in the eye, and spoke in a cold scathing manner.

“Then let me be clear. As you are right now, you don’t stand a chance against him,” and the words made his heart sink, but Kakashi was not done.

“I knew your brother. I fought with him, and the truth is that the only shinobi even comparable to him is Gojo. No one else. They are in a class of their own,” and Sasuke grit his teeth in frustration, but a part of him knew that he was speaking the truth.

He had been on that roof, when the Sandaime had died. He had seen what sensei’s brother had did to that bijuu. Sasuke knew well what a tailed beast was, and how they were considered to be the pinnacle of power in their world.

Even if the bijuu was not at full strength, to defeat such a beast with a singular attack. It was nor normal, and to think that Itachi was his equal.

It made him nervous. It filled him with doubt

“What are you trying to say?” he asked, angrily.

“I am saying that as you are right now, facing Itachi would be nothing less than suicide,” and he wanted to scream, and vent. He wanted to call him a liar.

But it was the truth, and he knew it.

“But you have potential,” he added, making him lift his gaze of the ground.

“I am not saying it will be easy, but you can do it. With enough hardwork, you can become his equal,” and he did not wish to be just his equal.

No. He wished to be more. He wished to be better.

“I can help you do that, but believe me the path you wish to seek has no contentment to offer you. Revenge will not bring back your clan, nor will it undo the pain you have suffered,” and he placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It will only add to it,” and he did not care. He did not care at all.

“I do not care,” and he brushed away his hand and looked into his sole eye.

“Tell me what I have to do,” and so Kakashi reached into his pocket, and presented him a box.

“If you truly wish to face Itachi then you must traverse the same path as him. A shinobi has much to learn in his life, and everything from fence painting to babysitting teaches us something,” and Sasuke took the box, already having an idea about what lay inside.

“But if you wish to kill, then the best place to learn that is the....,” and he had removed the top, to reveal the porcelain mask lying inside, shaped into the form of a hawk.

“...ANBU,” he finished his word.

“You will be paired up with me. Death will consume your life, but two years. Two years, and I believe you will come out as a shinobi equal to your brother,” and he understood that this was special treatment.

“Do not let your brother define your life, Sasuke,” but he had already picked up the mask, and put it on. There was a small chakra seal on its edges that sealed his face.

“He already has...”

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On the Northern border, Dodai walked ran alongside Atsui as the Kumo squad made its way through the thick forest. They rode slowly, and cautiously for they were in enemy territory.

The skirmishes had began with an attack on their border, and Dodai had been surprised that Konoha would dare do such a thing especially during such a troubling time for their village. They were holding the chunin exams, and so inciting trouble at the border was not in their favor.

The Raikage-sama agreed with his assessment and sent him to investigate the attack himself but in the end, his findings were the same as the report. The attack had been the work of Konoha shinobi, and soon enough the skirmishes expanded.

As tensions grew, they were asked to move in and teach a lesson to the bastards and with Sunagakure betraying the Konoha and launching an attack of their own, the odds turned in their favor.

“It’s empty,” Atsui added, and the boy was a good chunin if not a bit hot headed. They had reached a settlement, but it seemed abandoned.

“Do you think the situation back at their village is so bad that they would abandon the border?” he asked, and Dodai shook his head.

“Never,” but before he could answer, he felt a shiver run down his spine as a familiar wave of chakra roared through the forest, and he looked up and in the blink of an eye he was there.

Even now Dodai could recognise those white hair with a single glance, and his heart sank as he realised that their fates had just been sealed.

“Long time no see, Dodai....”

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