Mitsuko, Sasuke, and Sakura were walking through the village together.
Ever since that incident, which their jounin-sensei Akuta had prevented them from discussing, they had been rather lost.
"Hey," Sakura, who had been looking at a blooming flower by the roadside, suddenly spoke up. "What do you think happened to Akuta-sensei?"
Sasuke paused upon hearing the name. A moment of emotion passed by his eyes.
Under the man's strict tutelage, he had grown a lot.
Akuta had made sure that his Sharingan had been put to good use — from teaching him a variety of Taijutsu to help with the convoluted techniques he copied from Suguru, as well as thickening his book of Ninjutsu to make sure he was well-equipped.
Had Suguru been present, he would've thought it odd. After all, instead of growing in the teamwork-oriented way that Kakashi had taught Team 7 in the original, it seemed like Akuta instead focused on refining their individual skills.
Much like the way the Sannin were all capable of holding their own.
Of course, teamwork still played a major role in their strategies. However, Akuta's persona was more individualistic.
More self-serving.
Thus, Sasuke could not help but admire the man, wondering what past he held, and how powerful he truly was.
'Even when Suguru had asked for his help, we still didn't get even a single glimpse of his true abilities.'
Sasuke wondered where they both were — after having disappeared shortly after a major clash. One was a mystery, and the other was a ghost.
"..."
While Sasuke stayed silent, Mitsuko spoke up, "I have a feeling it has to do with those rumors."
"Rumors?" Sakura asked, placing a finger to her lips in questioning.
"Yeah... You probably haven't heard of them because you come from a civilian background..." Mitsuko glanced around, "But I heard from my Clan Elders that the Hokage's seat hasn't been occupied by the same person these last several months."
Sasuke raised a brow, similarly glancing around him to be careful.
"The Hokage?" His voice was soft, "How is that possible? Wasn't Lord Third the Hokage this entire time?"
Mitsuko shook her head, "No. It seems like someone else had taken the seat by force!"
Suddenly.
"Scary,"
A voice shook the three from their whispering reveries. A masked shinobi with white hair had sprung up behind them, his eye gleaming with suspicion.
"Wah!" Mitsuko and Sakura both yelped in surprise.
"...Kakashi," Sasuke turned around with a twitch in his lips.
Hearing such a brusque tone headed his way, Kakashi merely let out a sly chuckle. "Yaaa~ How can you blame me for listening in?"
Kakashi's eye curved into a delighted crescent, his single eye more expressive than other people's faces.
"Furthermore..."
—Rustle.
The trio noticed a subtle shift in movement. A familiar blonde boy wearing orange and black emerged from it. However, the aura around him wasn't anywhere near what they once knew.
"Yo," Uzumaki Naruto raised a calm hand.
His boisterous nature no longer had any traces on his weary face. However, the slight tug at his lips told Sasuke and Sakura that their old classmate still had some mischief hidden in him.
"Naruto!" Sakura was the first to react, "Where have you been? I heard you went rogue!"
Naruto glanced at Kakashi upon hearing that question. Seeing the latter nod, Naruto gestured with a thumb at his back.
"I had to go somewhere. The Fifth Hokage wasn't someone I could deal with."
"The Fifth Hokage..?"
Silence befell the conversation just then. The realization started kicking in like a growing flame.
"The Fifth Hokage?!" Mitsuko nearly exclaimed out loud. However, what was left was just a strong whisper. "What do you mean? Who was the Fifth Hokage? What happened to Lord Third?"
Rapid-fire questions erupted from Mitsuko, who was deeply invested in gossip.
Naruto had to take a step back as Mitsuko took one step toward him with every question. The duress of curiosity seemed to be too much for him at the moment.
"H-hey, calm down. You know I can't tell you everything. Please believe it!"
Kakashi chuckled upon seeing this. "It's okay, Naruto. Jiraiya-sama told me that you can speak freely. After all — Lord Third is back."
"...Ah," Naruto paused, "Then, where should I start?"
***
Gaara and Tatsuya were standing before Hiruzen in the Hokage's Office. Itachi, who still wore his crow mask and long black robe, was standing in the shadowy corner.
Nara Shikaku was also in the room, reviewing a document that Tatsuya had just handed over.
"...So you have no issues becoming a shinobi of the leaf?" Shikaku asked, truly baffled by the discrepancies between the Gaara of the past and the one now.
It was eerie... As if another personality had formed within the red-headed boy.
"I had time to think," Gaara's answer was a low drag, like sand crunching under one's feet. "My father never saw me as his child. I have no reason to be loyal to such a monster. I'd rather be here, where I can have friends."
Tatsuya chuckled, "Friends? You just want a sparring partner."
"...We need strength to survive in this world. I don't want more people dying because of my own weakness." Gaara closed his eyes as he spoke matter-of-factly.
This made Tatsuya roll his eyes. "Lord Third, why are you keeping Sunagakure's jinchuriki here in the first place?"
Tatsuya took a glance at Gaara for a moment before continuing.
"I'm aware that Lord Fifth was the one who issued the mission to kidnap the Ichibi's jinchuriki. However, why is it necessary to continue pursuing his wishes?"
Under the notion that Danzo had been a tyrannical ruler who had also ordered the massacre of his clan, Tatsuya could not understand what Hiruzen was doing. It seemed so... out of character.
The usual warmth that he felt from the old man had dissipated into something more cold. Like steel, forged out of the furnace, finally quenched in oil.
Even the gleam in Hiruzen's eyes did not waver as he nodded to Shikaku, signaling the latter to speak for him.
"It's for Gaara's own sake that he is not returned to Suna."
"...?" Tatsuya tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Shikaku paused. He still couldn't believe what had happened while they were on their mission to capture Gaara from within Sunagakure itself.
Had Hiruzen not moved proactively to catch the tails of everyone involved in Danzo's recent machinations, they would not have realized the scale of it all. Furthermore, if Hiruzen had been the same soft-hearted Hokage he had been known for, Gaara would've been subjected to even greater enslavement.
"Well,"
Shikaku continued to extend the suspense.
"Sunagakure is no more."
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