The Chosen One: Hatake SI (Naruto)

Chapter 23

It had been some time since he had met the Hokage, and in their last meeting Hatake had done nothing but throw away the heads of Danzo’s little thugs at his feet with a warning.

Now, a few weeks had passed since that incident, and he sat on the roof of Sasuke Uchiha’s home while the Hokage stood beside him.

“So, I do hope you were able to convey the message?” he warned, and Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face hardened as he gave him a nod.

“Indeed. No more such incidents will take place,” he assured him, but Gojo simply shrugged.

“I honestly don’t mind. I want him to try again, and then I will have every reason to kill the bastard,” and even with the Hokage standing beside him, he did not mince his words about his intentions.

He was going to kill Danzo. He was going to kill him, no matter what. The aged Hokage glanced at him and sighed.

“I had hoped that time would make you see some reason,” and Gojo chuckled.

“I am perfectly reasonable,” and the truth was that he had spent months pondering over the massacre and his failures, trying to find the ones responsible for his misery, and in the end, only two names came to his mind.

Not Itachi’s. Not even Sarutobi’s.

Only Danzo’s and Tobi’s, or more accurately Obito's. He knew of the seal over his heart, the one placed by Madara to control him, but this was not Madara’s work. This was all Obito’s doing, and the bastard had taken an active part in culling his own clan.

“I will not try to change your mind, but Sasuke is under my protection,” Hiruzen clarified.

“If you plan on using the boy to draw out, Itachi, then I am afra...’

“I have already told you,” Gojo cut in sarply.

“I am not going to harm the kid.” he actually held great sympathy for the kid, and he glanced towards him.

“One could say that I pity him,” and he did indeed.

“I pity him for being alive, for being alone, for being Itachi’s brother...”

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TSUNADE SENJU

Sensei was dead. Sarutobi Hiruzen was the closest thing Tsunade had to family, and the man was gone. Yet despite that, she felt nothing. She had lost so many people already that his death was simply another addition to the list of people she had lost.

There was a time when she had nearly worshipped the man. She had considered him to be a God, but such was the tragedy of growing up that our Heroes become more and more human. Her belief shattered over the years as she saw the man fail in protecting all those around her.

Nawaki had been the first to die. Dan had followed soon after, and the killings had refused to stop. Soon enough, all of her family was gone, and Tsunade found herself all alone, carrying the burden of two lost legacies.

The village, its walls, its streets. They began to haunt her. She found herself losing her mind, as every moment became a reminder of the people she had lost, people she had failed.

So, she left. She left because she could no longer bear the pain of this continuous reminiscence. Her sensei’s death was a great blow for the village, for they had not just lost a Kage.

No, they had lost the very man who had held their enemies back at bay for decades, a man whose very existence was a symbol of power, perseverance, and stability. They had also lost one of their staunchest allies in Sunagakure, yet despite all these troubles, she had no intention of returning.

That was until a missive came for her. One from their newly inaugurated Hokage. She was surprised by the name, for she had expected her teammate to take up the mantle, but instead the title went to the youngest son of Sakumo, her own former student, Gojo.

In the grand scheme of things, there was no better choice than him. If her sensei was the symbol of perseverance, then Gojo was the opposite of him. He was the symbol of change, and progress and given the contents of the letter he intended on wasting no time.

Changes. Reforms. Transformations that had been stalled for decades began to happen in a span of days, yet his most surprising act was the revival of her legacy.

Karin Uzumaki.

She grit her teeth as she read the girl’s medical report and the details of the scars covering her body. It was heinous. It was cruel, but what else could she have expected out of this world?

She was an Uzumaki, and Tsunade could not help but think about her own grandmother and her sorrow when word had reached them of Uzushio’s demise. Mito-baa had spent years after that, hoping for a refugee to walk through their gates, yet such a day never came, and she died without being able to see the revival of their clan.

She had passed on that dream and responsibility to her, but much like everyone else. Tsunade had failed her as well, but now she had an opportunity to change that. Now, she had a chance to change it all.

“You are going to burn holes in that paper,” and the voice shook her out of her stance as she looked up and saw her old teammate standing there in front of her.

“Jiraiya,” she greeted him after taking in the surprise.

“When did you come in?” She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she had missed him completely.

“A few minutes ago, but you were simply too busy trying to burn a hole into that report,” he teased as he plopped down in front of her.

“I did not know that you were coming back?” Jiraiya asked, and until a few days ago, she did not know that herself.

“I was not,” she told him the truth.

“But the idiot literally begged me for my help, and I could not quite refuse him, especially after he had somehow revived Mito-baa’s dream,” and Jiraiya raised a brow at that.

“The Uzumaki girl?” and so he knew of her as well, and while they were not keeping it a secret, they were not flaunting her existence as well.

“She is a good kid. A gentle soul. Her kekkei genkai means that she was part of the main line, and to see and read about what the monsters in Kusa did to her and her mother,” Tsunade’s chakra roared forth with rage.

“I want to kill those bastards,” and Jiraiya rubbed his chin.

“I could do that for you,” he interjected, much to her surprise.

“I am headed in that direction,” and that was news to her.

“Why?” she asked.

“The village head has taken offense to our actions. He is currently hosting a delegation from Iwa trying to make an alliance with them. Gojo has asked me to pay them a visit and clear a few things up,” and that was exactly what he would do.

Gojo was not like their sensei. He did not believe in the status quo or the norms. He was changed. He was a revolution, and he was effective.

“Good. Teach those idiots a lesson from me as well,” and Jiraiya gave a mock salute.

“Aye, aye, captain,” but he was not done.

“Are you staying?” he asked, and that was the most important question. For years, she had stayed away from Konoha, not only because of guilt and pain but also because of anger.

Despite being her sensei, the Third Hokage was not fond of change. He had refused to let her carry out the reforms she and Dan had dreamt of years ago. He refused to let her reform the Academy or the team structures.

He simply wished to use her as a simple piece on his shogi board, but Tsunade wanted more. She wanted to honor her family and her lover’s legacy. But her sensei refused to let her do so.

Yet he was now gone, and in his stead Gojo sat at the helm.

“Gojo wants me to,” she clarified, and that much was obvious.

“He wants to make me one of his advisors. He has promised to give me a free hand over the internal aspects of the village,” and he was essentially handing her the keys, without offering any of the responsibility associated with such decisions.

“You want to take him up on that,” and she did.

“Well, I can’t let that idiot run my family’s legacy into the ground,” she teased.

“Moreover, I made a promise to Mito-baa,” and she intended to keep it.

“I have to look after this girl,” she pointed at Karin’s file.

“Still, I fear this will complicate things with Minato’s boy,” and the boy had his mother’s last name, and now, with another Uzumaki within the village, he would definitely seek answers.

They could lie to him, but they had fed him enough lies.

“Not really,” Jiraiya countered.

“Gojo has given me permission to tell the boy about Minato and Kushina. He thinks that Naruto deserves to know, and once I think him ready, I intend on telling the boy about his past myself,” and that was better.

“When will he be ready?”

“The day he can face me all by himself...”

0000

KABUTO YAKUSHI

Kabuto would be lying if he said that he was certain of his master’s victory over the Sandaime Hokage. He was amongst the few people who knew of the power of the Edo Tensei, but the Third Hokage was a master shinobi.

The man had no equal in all of the land, and yet he was no more. The Professor had been slain by his own former student. For years now, revenge had fuelled his master, but now he had achieved his goal.

But in doing so, he had caught the eye of some rather dangerous people.

“So, they are looking for me now?” Kabuto nodded.

“Yes, Orochimaru-sama. The entire organization has been tasked with looking for you,” and Kabuto was a man of many loyalties, so he was aware of Akatsuki’s plans for them.

“They can try, but I believe I can use this,” and he heard his master chuckle as he continued to work, and Kabuto gathered his courage as he continued.

“Master,” he began while the Snake Sanin worked in his lab and tinkered with the Hashirama cells.

“May I ask a question?” This had been on his mind for some time now.

“It concerns the Uchiha boy. Sasuke Uchiha?” and a part of their mission in Konoha had been the retrieval of the boy, yet for some reason their master had given up on the task after a single attempt.

For as long as he could remember, his master had been fascinated by the Sharingan, yet for some reason, he had given up on it without any fight.

“What of him?” Orochimaru-sama asked, and he hesitated a bit before speaking his mind.

“I am simply surprised by how quickly you lost interest in him,” and after his victory against the Sandaime Hokage, they had a perfect opportunity to capture the boy.

Yet he had refused to let them do anything.

“Hmm, you are intrigued by my lack of interest in the Sharingan,” and he was, for he knew well just how obsessed the man had been with that specific Kekkei Genkai.

He had joined up with the Akatsuki for that very reason.

“How impudent of you!” Kabuto stilled as the man finally glanced towards him, and those golden orbs were like the promise of death as Kabuto lowered his gaze in obedience, praying for mercy.

“I apologize...”

“But I think I can answer you,” and with that, the man turned to face him.

“After all, you are my most loyal servant,” and he blinked slowly at those words.

“I am honored to serve you, master,” for he knew nothing else.

“I learned the truth some three years ago. I was a part of that organization then, and had joined it to get my hands on Itachi-kun’s eyes,” and there was a smile on his face as he reminisced about that time.

“All of us had come together in Ame when I felt that gaze for the first time,” and the master shook his head.

“I had believed the Sharingan to be the pinnacle of visual doujutsu, but then I felt that gaze, and I realized the truth that the Sharingan was nothing in comparison to the power of those eyes,” and it took him a second to realize who he was speaking about.

“You speak of Hatake-san?” Orochimaru-sama nodded.

“He was standing at the edge of Ame, yet his gaze could be felt all the way to its heart. If it were not for the intervention of the leader of the organization, our secrets would have been laid bare in that moment, and the Akatsuki would have met its end,” and so it was not that he had lost interest in the Sharingan, but more about how he had realized that there was a greater prize to be had.

“The sharingan is a powerful doujutsu, but there are greater prizes to be had,” the Snake Sanin answered.

“I do not think that I have the ability or the capacity to utilize Hatake’s ‘Six Eyes,’ but I have my eyes on another prize. A doujutsu no less powerful than the one possessed by Hatake, the kekkei genkai of the Sage of the Six Paths himself,” and Kabuto finally realized his actual target.

“You mean to say,” he gasped, as his master smiled at him.

“I plan on obtaining the Rinnegan....”

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