The Chosen One: Hatake SI (Naruto)

Chapter 29

Sasuke had lost the bet, and now he found himself confined to the bed at the Hospital waiting for Shizune-san to clear him. A mix of rage and guilt filled him as he lay there, cursing his own incompetence while the red-haired girl responsible for his misery used her iryo-ninjutsu on him.

“You do know that you can take off that mask, right?” she suddenly added, and Sasuke frowned.

“I already know who all of you are,” she clarified, and that was quite a security risk.

“How?” he asked, with his mask still on.

“Given the nature of your work, we cannot keep physical files on the ANBU, but the thing is that medical history is very important. It can help us reach complex diagnoses and avoid mistakes that could prove fatal,” she began softly, and she had yet to answer his question.

“How do you know our identities?” he asked a bit more sharply.

“Oh, it's because of my abilities as a sensor,” she clarified.

“It’s why Hokage-sama made me the head of this place, because he believed that it would be a good way for me to train, and other than that, I could keep track of each and every ANBU’s history in my head because of my abilities,” and he could not believe her.

“So, you know that dog is....”

“Allergic to cashew nuts and type-R insulin,” she answered, and he did not know about the latter part.

“I also know that he is the brother of our Hokage-sama, while you are Sakura-chan’s broody teammate,” and he hated that nickname, and he glanced at the door on instinct.

“The door is sealed. No intruder can come in,” she assured him, and Sasuke slowly reached for the mask and removed it. It was liberating, really, and the red-haired girl smiled down at him.

“You really do brood quite a bit,” she pointed out, and Sasuke’s face heated up.

“I don’t,” he countered, but it was not convincing.

“Can I ask you something?” she added a bit softly, and he raised a brow.

“You already have,” but still he motioned for her to ask away.

“Why do you push yourself so much?” She was serious now, and it took him a second to realize that, unlike the rest of his friends, she had not been in the village for long, so she probably did not know about the massacre.

“I can tell that you are strong, yet each time you have come here, you are battered and bruised, she continued.

“But more than that, you are always filled with guilt and rage,” she added a bit more softly.

“Why?”

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OBITO UCHIHA

In all his years of planning and plotting. Obito had never feared a shinobi as much as he had feared Gojo Hatake. The young Hatake’s talent went beyond even his own brother’s, but what made him truly dangerous was his mind.

Gojo Hatake was a born genius who could do anything he put his mind to, and that was why it pained him to see the boy waste his talent in retaliation. Rather than trying to use his abilities for good, he had no doubt in his mind that he was the one person in the entire world who posed perhaps the greatest threat to his plans.

Orochimaru may have learned of the Edo Tensei, and the kinjutsu created by the Nidaime Hokage was quite troubling, but in the end it was but a mere technique, and he was confident enough of handling it by himself.

But the same could not be said of Gojo Hatake. Kakashi’s younger brother held a grudge against him for orchestrating the Uchiha massacre, and how he had figured out this truth Obito did not know still, but it mattered little.

Even on that night, when he had attacked him by surprise, he had seen a troubled recognition in that gaze, before Itachi had put him down.

“Obi...” he had uttered, and he had hoped that it was nothing more than a coincidence. But he was proven wrong years later, as the white-haired boy released his true powers for the first time.

He could still remember that feeling, and even now it unsettled him quite a bit. And to think that he was able to do all that while standing on the border of Amegakure.

Obito knew that for his plans to succeed, he needed to get rid of Gojo Hatake, but it was easier said than done. Even with Nagato’s power, such an outcome was not truly certain, for such was the nature of his prowess.

But now, the situation had become dire. The boy had just captured Konan, one of Akatsuki’s most integral members. She knew too many of their secrets, and now she had been taken in by the enemy.

“He was able to take down Konan,” Nagato whispered as he stood there weak and lethargic, with chakra rods holding him in place.

“She was taken down by Orochimaru, but Hatake was able to intervene before the Snake Sanin could capture her,” and he had underestimated Orochimaru. They both had.

“Well, it seems like little pest has learned quite a few tricks,” and despite them, he would have lost his battle against Hatake if it were not for the army he had used.

“He summoned over ten thousand of those creatures,” and somehow Orochimaru had created for himself an army out of Zetsu-esque creatures even without having access to the Gedo Mazo.

“We must act now,” Obito spoke to Nagato, or otherwise they faced absolute ruin. Both of them had spent years working on their plans, and now they could not afford to let them all be destroyed.

“Konan knows too many of our secrets. We must deal with her,” Obito argued, and those purple orbs narrowed onto his form as Nagato’s eyes came together.

“Are you suggesting that we kill her?” Nagato’s words contained a warning, and while that would have been the optimal solution, the simple truth was that it was impossible to do such a thing as long as Gojo Hatake reigned over Konoha as the Hokage.

“We must all make sacrifices for true peace,” Obito reminded the frail man of their purpose, and suddenly the cave roared with his chakra.

“But the truth is that it is simply impossible for anyone to reach her as long as she is inside Konoha,” and so they would have to use a frontal assault.

“We have no choice but to launch a frontal assault on Konoha,” and there was only one person here who could lead such a thing.

“What about Orochimaru?” Nagato questioned.

“The traitor needs to be punished for his transgressions,” and Nagato was right about that.

“I will deal with Orochimaru,” and suddenly Nagato’s head shifted up, as those eyes narrowed.

“What is it?” Obito sensed a change in his demeanor.

“What is it?” he questioned sharply.

“It’s him,” and now Obito frowned.

“Orochimaru has just walked his armies through our borders,” and his eyes widened at that declaration.

“Well then that solves one of our worries,” and still it was quite bold of the Snake Sanin to walk into Ame like this.

“You should go to Konoha,” Obito recommended, and that was the most suitable way of handling all this.

“I will deal with Orochimaru,” he added, and the man had chosen to attack them in their stronghold, and even with an army at his beck and call, it was simply too thoughtless of him to do such a thing.

“It seems like he has gotten too confident,” Obito whispered.

“It’s time to put him in his place,” and he would do just that.

“Be careful with the man,” Nagato added just as he was about to walk out of the cave.

“The man was able to bring down Konan. He is not an enemy you should underestimate,” Nagato warned, and Obito nodded.

“I could say the same to you,” and he headed out of the cave.

“Hatake is probably the strongest shinobi of our time. He has no equal,” Obito warned.

“Facing him will not be easy, even for you,” Nagato said, but he was determined.

“Even with his strength, he cannot stand against a God!”

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Obito stood atop the building as he watched Orochimaru’s armies marching through Ame. The Snake Sanin had let go of all pretenses and ploys and was now mounting a head-on assault, which was quite unlike the trickery bastard.

Though not without good reason. Obito spotted some twenty thousand of those same Zetsu-like creatures he had used against Hatake, and even if they were not so strong individually, the truth was that with such numbers, individual quality mattered very little.

He stood on a rooftop watching them plow through the land, like a swarm of rapid locusts, as the rest of the Akatsuki landed beside him.

“What the hell are you doing here, you scaredy-cat!” Hidan teased, as he was the first one to land.

“Indeed,” added Deidara.

“This is no place for scaredy-cats. Go and hide, and leave this to us,” the Bomber from Iwa was smiling wildly, while he gazed at the army in front of him.

“It has been some time since I have really let loose,” Kisame Hoshigaki added as he joined them all.

Still, Obito ignored them all as his Sharingan gleamed in the darkness, as all of the Akatsuki except for Pain himself landed beside him. His gaze finally found the target he had been looking for, and Orochimaru was not hiding in the back. The man was leading his army while riding one of his great summons.

“Well, I never quite thought that it would come to this,” Obito began, letting go of his shrill Tobi voice.

The change in his demeanor surprised quite a few of them, but some of them already knew that there was more to the person with the mask than jokes and japes. He saw Itachi’s eyes narrow as suddenly a wave of chakra rushed off of him as Obito brought his hands together.

It had been some time since he had entered the fray himself, but if there was ever any time when he needed to show his actual prowess, then this was it.

“Oi!” Hidan’s eyes widened as he was forced to step back from the sheer force of his chakra.

“Oh, so you have finally decided to show your true self,” Kisame teased, while all of them looked on as he cycled through a series of handseals.

“Katon:...” and he let the chakra lace his very breath, as he blew out the largest torrent of flames any of them had ever seen.

“Majestic Destroyer Flame!” and what came out took them all by surprise, as the fire rushed forth and swallowed up all of the vanguard. It would have swallowed up Orochimaru as well, but the revived Shodaime jumped in front of him and shielded them both with a wooden cocoon.

By the time the fire storm came to an end, all of the vanguard was gone, and the woods protecting Orochimaru had been charred, yet the man was still untouched.

He jumped down first and landed right in front of the man, as the woods receded to reveal the man’s untouched form.

“I was beginning to wonder when you would show your true self,” Orochimaru teased, looking him right in the eye.

“Do you really think that you can defeat us with these pests?” Obito roared, and no matter their number, each and every member of the Akatsuki was an S-ranked nin.

They were monsters, and the number of the army in front of them mattered little given their sheer power.

“I knew that they would not be enough to deal with the likes of you,” and so he saw the man bite into his thumb before he put his hand on the ground.

“Summoning Jutsu!” and in a puff of smoke, four more figures appeared and came to stand beside the Shodaime Hokage as Orochimaru smirked at him.

“That is why I have prepared a special gift for you,” and his eyes narrowed as he saw the summons he had called on.

“Is that!” Kisame gasped, for he recognized them all, and the shinobi standing in front of them were monsters equal to the ones who stood beside Obito.

Orochimaru had summoned the Second Mizukage, the Second Tsuchikage, the Third Raikage, and the Fourth Kazekage with his technique.

His armies moved forward, and for the first time, he could feel some hesitation and nervousness from the men beside him.

“What do you have to say for yourself now, stranger behind the mask?” Orochimaru’s golden eyes gleamed with confidence.

“Impressive,” he praised, and that was true. Suddenly, the ground began to shake as Zetsu emerged from the ground beside him.

“It is done, Tobi-sama,” the black and white creature answered, and just like that, hundreds upon hundreds of actual white zetsus began to emerge out of the ground as Obito met the Sanin’s gaze.

“But you are not the only one with an army, Orochimaru....”

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