Chapter 43
SASUKE UCHIHA
Sasuke had realised rather quickly that the marks and grades from the academy mattered very little when it came to real life, and the chunin exams had just proven him right once more.
Sasori of the Red Sand.
That was the name of the shinobi who had nearly decimated their entire village, and to think that he was a genius who had taken down a Hokage when he was around his age.
And he was not the only one. There was Hikari here in the village as well, and Hinata's cousin was around their age, yet he had faced a bijuu all on his own and defeated it, drawing parallels to the great Yondaime Hokage himself.
Even here in the hospital, as the village faced the threat of war and devastation, he could hear whispers of hope that all was not lost. That they may have lost the Sandaime-sama to the betrayal of Otogakure and Sungakaure, yet they had gained another rising star in return.
A young prodigy ready to decimate their enemies to protect their village.
Sasuke, though, was troubled by his memories, for in that moment when the red-haired puppeteer had struck him with his poison, he had thought his life over. In that moment of vulnerability, he remembered seeing an Oto-nin walking upto them with his kunai drawn.
Even as his vision darkened, he remembered his face and his smile, as he stood over them and tried to strike them down, and yet it was what came next that troubled him.
Before the kunai could reach his neck, he saw him die in the blink of an eye as a shadowy figure came and stood over him. Sometimes he thought it was all his imagination, that it was all but a figment of his mind, yet a part of him was so sure that it had been him.
That it was Itachi.
That his brother had returned to the village. That he had saved his life.
And the mere thought of that nauseated him and made him want to plunge a kunai in his neck. The Iryo-nin had denied him the truth, calling it all a hallucination, but Sasuke was sure of it.
Itachi was here. That he had spared him once more.
And the only way for him to know the truth was to confront him by himself. For this was just another question that he needed answered. Their clash was inevitable, yet the chunin exams had highlighted his own weaknesses to him.
Sasori of the Red Sand was part of the same organization as his brother, and despite his circumstances, the Suna traitor had toyed with them and had gone toe-to-toe with the likes of a Sanin all on his own.
It was a testament to his brother's prowess and his own weakness.
Sasuke needed to get strong. For if he were to get the answers he so desired, then he would have to beat them out of his bastard brother.
"I need to get stronger...."
0000
INO YAMANAKA
The conflict with Suna and Otogakure was officially over, and peace had been established once more. Suna had lost not just their kage, but their jinchuriki as well.
Their entire village was facing an existential threat, and in that moment, they had no choice but to surrender and seek peace with Konoha once more. It was a bitter pill to swallow for both villages, for though Sunagakure had just betrayed them, Konoha was also in need of this alliance, for the village faced a threat of invasion from both Iwa and Kumo as well.
So, in the end, the entire incident was blamed on the traitorous Sanin, Orochimaru, as Suna and Konoha renewed their alliance, hoping to dissuade Iwa and Kumo from causing another war.
Thankfully, Kiri was having a civil war of its own and had no manpower to spare. But still, the attack had left Konoha wounded, and recovering from such an atrocity was easier said than done.
Already, many retirees had been called back up, and their reserve force had been put into active duty as Konoha prepared itself for any further conflict.
But Konoha needed to make a statement. They needed to remind Iwa and Kumo that, despite their stumble, they were still a great power, one that should not be underestimated under any circumstances.
And their new Hokage had chosen the instrument to make that statement.
"So you are going to the border," Ino questioned as her fists balled up.
"Yes," Hikari answered as they stood on the Hokage faces, while the moon lit up the village from behind. It was the first time in days that there was a semblance of peace in the streets. Ever since the attack, everyone had just been rushing to make sense of things, but now things had finally calmed down.
"Lady Tsunade wants me to lead operations against the Iwa forces posted there. She wants me to remind them what it means to attack Konoha," and loathed as she was to admit it, she had made the right choice.
But that did not lessen her pain or ease her worries.
"It is a very important assignment," she added, as they sat there holding hands, and he nodded.
"It is," and one that would take him away for quite some time.
"I believe it is both a punishment and a test," and she bit her lip.
"It is wrong of them to punish you," especially when they had let a traitor rise to such heights within the village. They had been ordered to never speak of the secrets of Danzo Shimura to anyone else. Still, Ino knew the truth about the man's crimes and was of the opinion that Hikari had done the village a great service in taking out such a traitor.
He should have been celebrated for it, yet here he was being punished for saving the village.
"How long will the mission last?" she asked, and Hikari shrugged.
"A year, maybe longer," and that was too long.
"That is too long," she complained as he turned towards her and gave her an indulgent smile.
"I know," he said, and she pouted.
"What will I even do without you?" and he raised a brow.
"You will be pretty busy yourself. After all, you are a chunin now," and indeed she was. Lady Hokage had promoted nearly all of them after the exam, and now that they were all chunins, that came with their own set of responsibilities.
"Still, I don't want to spend an entire year without you," she complained as Hikari chuckled.
"I will try to visit," and that gave her an idea.
"Why don't you take me with you?" she suggested, and the more she thought about it the better it seemed.
"Yes, that is it," she added quickly.
"It's an ANBU mission," he corrected.
"So what? You trained me in the ways of the ANBU yourself. I will fly through the tests..."
"You are the heiress to the Yamnaka clan, Ino," Hikari quickly burst her bubble, as his face turned serious.
"They will never let you near the border in the current situation," and he was right in that.
"Yet they are sending you," even though in her mind she was far more expendable than him.
"I am being sent because I am the best person for the job. You are needed here in the village," and she shook her head.
"They do not need me here," and he nodded.
"They do," he countered.
"Sensors are in short supply, and I know for a fact that the T&I department is planning a complete revamp of the village's intelligence apparatus. And as the next chief of the department, you could give valuable suggestions," he suggested, and her father had talked to her about joining the department, but she had not yet given him an actual answer.
"But I want to come with you," she complained as she put her head on his shoulder, and he smiled.
"I know, but I will be back before you know it....."
0000
JIRAIYA-The Toad Sage
Jiraiya had returned to the village on his sensei's prompting a few months ago, and within that time, the village had undergone a great change. The Betrayal of Otogakure and Sunagakure, and the death of his sensei, had shaken the village's entire foundation, and he could only hope that with Tsunade at the helm, a semblance of stability would return to the village.
Still, tough times lay ahead for Konoha, and they needed to prepare for that. Thankfully, Tsunade had found the manpower needed to see them through such times.
"Clashes have already begun along the borders," Tsunade told him, as he came to visit her for the last time before he and Naruto were about to depart for their journey. And their journey had just gained even more importance, for if these clashes were to escalate, then Konoha would have great need of its jinchuriki to even the odds against Iwa and Kumo.
Though it was his own assessment that it would not come to that.
"They are just being bold," Jiraiya added, as Tsunade pushed the report towards him.
"Once an appropriate answer is given, both Iwa and Kumo will settle down," for they would have no other choice. Both of these villages had suffered heavy losses during the Third Great Ninja War and had yet to fully recover from them.
And while Konoha had struggled greatly with domestic issues, Iwa and Kumo had their own set of problems. It was well known that Ohnoki was actively searching for a successor to take over his mantle and had yet to find a shinobi suitable for the task, while Kumo had its own set of internal problems.
"I do hope that you are right," Tsunade sighed, as she rubbed her forehead, and Jiraiya was amongst the few who knew that it had been two days since she had slept and that ever since she had taken over the mantle of Hokage she had been running herself ragged as she tried to clean up the mess left by their sensei and his damned council.
"The Hyuga just announced the passing of their former clan head, Hittori Hyuga," he added, and the clan had refused to make a big deal out of it, and were treating it as a small internal matter while the clan itself was undergoing massive transformation.
"Good," Tsunade snarled, and unlike the common man, both of them knew of the man's crimes about how he had struck a deal with Danzo Shimura to keep a hold of the power within the clan.
The man may not have been as heinous a monster as Shimura, yet he was a liability nonetheless, and Jiraiya could say for certain that the Hyuga clan would be better with him gone.
"I believe Hiashi has even made an offer to Hikari to come back to the clan," and that would make things easier for Tsunade's grand plan, for though she may have just accepted the job, she was already on the hunt for a successor, and she had set her eyes on that Hyuga prodigy for now.
He was a good choice, really, and with the Hyuga clan now ready to welcome him back, his path to the position was now far less perilous than it had been a few months ago.
"Still, Hiashi has asked me to visit his clan compounds tonight," Tsunade added, and that made him raise a brow.
"Any idea why?" he questioned as Tsunade shrugged.
"Not yet," she answered, and he could only hope that it was not for anything troublesome.
"So, the plan remains the same, right. I take Iwa and the ANBU unit led by the boy take Kumo?" he confirmed, and Tsunade nodded.
"Yes, we need to make both Iwa and Kumo realise that a war favors no one," and that would be easy enough to convey.
"And what about afterwards?" he asked.
"Nothing much. Suna has agreed to the alliance, and given their history, they were rather subservient to the terms. Though they did quite push for one certain condition," and it was not as if Suna had much leeway to dictate the terms, given that they held two of their most prominent genins in their cells, and that their village had just lost its Kage and jinchuriki.
"What was it?'
"They want us to hunt down the Akatasuki after things settle down," and that was quite an ask, given that the information they currently held on the group painted them as highly dangerous.
"Did you agree to it?"
"I did....."
.
.
.
Later that night, Tsunade found herself in the Hyuga compound as she was escorted to a secluded and secretive room where Hiashi Hyuga was waiting for her.
"So, what do you want?" she asked, refusing to waste time on ceremony, as the clan head took out a file and placed it before her.
"I have been told that you have taken a keen interest in my nephew," and she frowned as she read the name on the medical file, 'Hikari Hyuga'.
"And what if I have?" she challenged coldly.
"Then you must know that years ago, he was robbed of his true potential as he lost his eye to an evil plan orchestrated by Kumo. It was a tragedy that cost him his greatest treasure. Though he shines bright enough without the Byakugan, a Hyuga can only unlock their true potential if they have these eyes." She saw the veins around his eyes dilate as he activated his Byakugan.
"Yes, I have heard," she began.
"And so that is why I must ask this of you," and the proud clan head lowered his head, as his forehead hit the floor.
"Please, help me give him back his true potential...."
0000
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