Chapter 11
In the end, it took two days to design and apply the seal. Tsunade applied the seal herself. She had been called to the village by the Hatake boy and usually she would ignore any such summons or requests, but Sakumo's child was one of her students.
She could not ignore his request even if she hated coming back to the place that had taken everything from her, and as she stared as the beat up and bandaged form of the kind, she wondered if he had been affected by her curse as well.
"You are leaving already," her sensei asked and with her work done, she had no reason to stay.
"I have no reason to stay," she countered
"The village needs you," he added, and she turned towards him as her fists balled up.
"Just as it needed the Uchiha clan," and she saw his face shift for a brief moment.
"There are things you do not understand. The Uchiha were...." and she was in no mood to listen.
"You slaughtered an entire clan," and she could not even believe that he had let that happen, and as much as he may try to separate himself from what had happened, as the Hokage he was responsible for everything.
She now understood why Gojo had been asking her to come back for months, but she was too lost in her own pains to accept his request. And now she had failed him, just as she had failed Dan and Nawaki.
She was grateful that she had managed to make it back in time to save the kid, but she did not have the heart to face him. Not after she had failed him.
"I am leaving," she repeated as her sensei was left speechless, and with a final glance at the kid she turned around and began to walk away.
"And do remember," she stopped at the end of the corridor as she glanced back.
"He is the only reason I ever stepped back into this place. If you harm him, then I will never step a foot in this village ever again..."
.
.
.
HIRUZEN SARUTOBI
Hiruzen was old. He had thought his servitude over when he had passed the hat to Minato more than decade ago, but tragedy had forced him to don the thing once more and his troubles had only become worse ever since that day.
He had tried his best to do right by the village but in the end his second reign as Kage was marred by tragedy and trials, and even now he faced one such trial in the form of his wayward student.
Orochimaru was one his prized student, and once he had thought him to be the best of the three. But Hiruzen had been wrong, for Orochimaru was perhaps just as defective as the rest if not even more so. He was simply better at hiding away his scars.
And now his wayward student had set his sight on revenge for his percieved betrayal, and no one knew of Orochimaru's persistence better than him. He would not be denied his revenge, and while once he could play around with him, the years had finally caught up with him.
Now, for the first time Hirzuen doubted his victory if he were to face the former Sanin in battle and with that realization he knew that it was up to him to leave the village in the most capable hands.
With the threat of death looming over his head, Hiruzen had begun to ponder over his own succession. Once he could have depended on his Council, to make the choice for him.
But after the Uchiha incident Homura, Koharu and Danzo, all had been put under house arrest. Their fate was now tied to his own, and he very much doubted that they would last long after his demise.
So, the matter of succession fell onto his shoulders and as he drew up the list for possible successors, he found it rather lacking. Jiraiya, for all his ambition had little desire for leadership and given his pacifistic nature, he was unsuited to the position even if he had the capabilities for it.
Tsunade was the better choice, but she was wallowing in anguish over the death of Nawaki and Dan. She had been left traumatised by the two wars, and had developed a phobia for blood and gore.
The only other shinobi with the powers to bear that burden was the one who now sat opposite to him. Gojo Hatake was Sakumo's younger son, and even before he had been a prodigious talent even before Hana Uchiha had left her with the Sharingan.
But unlike his brother whose growth had been hampered by the foreign Kekkei Genkai, he was able to make it adapt through his special chakra and had unlocked a new Kekkei Genkai turning him into one of the most powerful shinobi in the village.
The boy hated him, and Hiruzen was not much fond of him either. But in the end, he found him to be the most suitable candidate to replace himself as Kage.
The boy seemed to take his insinuation as an insult.
"Do you really think you can buy me so easily?" he snarled back, and Hiruzen was not so delusional.
"No, I do not," but he was not just offering him revenge now was he.
"But it is not only revenge that I offer you," and now he raised a brow, at his insinuation.
"For years now, you have judged me and my generation for our actions. I will not defend my decisions now, but perhaps it is time now for the village to enter a new era," and he understood the hint.
"You are thinking of stepping down?" he realised, and Hiruzen confirmed his suspicions.
"It was meant to happen long ago. But then the Nine Tails incident robbed us of Minato, and I was forced to answer the call," and sometimes he wondered if that was the right thing to do.
But it was too late to ponder such things. It was all in the past now, and he believed it was time to look ahead into the future.
"The thought has crossed my mind many a times, but the burden of this hat is a heavy one," and he knew that better than most, and the Sakumo's son was frowning now.
"A Hokage must not just defend the village. No. He must lead from the front, and offer hope to the next generation and until now the village simply lacked a shinobi capable of bearing that burden," and it was not that Gojo's name had not crossed his mind before, for it had.
But firstly, he had been too young and afterwards Hiruzen found the boy lacking in connections to the village. After the massacre he had isolated himself from his peers, and the only person he entertained was his brother.
But it was different now, and he was much thankful for it.
"Oh, so you have found someone apt now," and he smiled, as Gojo remained oblivious to his ploy.
"I have," Hiruzen answered, making him scoff.
"Well, I can only hope they won't do as bad a job as you," and he ignored the insult, and nodded.
"I am sure they won't," and now he saw his eyes narrow, as he leaned forward.
"Who is it though?" he asked, and just then Hiruzen heard the sound of hurried steps behind him and sensed Kakashi's team rushing towards the door as he answered his question.
"You," and as he was reeling from the shock of his answer, Sakura Haruno threw open the doors as she screamed out his name.
"GOJO SENSEI! PLEASE HELP US!"
0000
SAKURA HARUNO
Sakura stood in the Konoha Hospital, but not for her own injuries. She had shattered the bone in her arm while trying to defend Sasuke-kun, and while she could have chosen to continue. In the end, she had chosen to forfeit the preliminary round.
These exams had been a reminder of just how much she had yet to grow, and despite her growth she understood that she was not yet ready to be a chunin. So, with that understanding she chose to forfeit.
But unlike her, Lee was different. He had come into the exams to prove his worth. She had heard about him before, and he was in the class ahead of them and the entire school knew of the hopeless kid who couldn't use genjutsu or ninjutsu.
They had all believed him to be nothing more than a fool. But they were wrong. He was no fool. They were the fools.
In all her life, Sakura had never seen taijutsu of that level. Lee had found himself facing one of Suna's candidates, and he was perhaps the only candidate that she truly feared.
Gaara of the Sand. He was no ordinary shinobi, but more than that it was the look in his eyes that made her tremble. That deadpan gaze of his, it was filled with sheer bloodlust, and it reminded her of the gaze from Orochimaru, and to think that he was only a genin.
She was certain that if Lee had faced anyone else, then he could have won his fight. In many ways it was a tragedy that he was paired up with Subaku no Gaara, but the fight had ended in his defeat, but she was certain that none of them would ever dare question Lee's competence as a shinobi again.
"You are saying he can help him?" Naruto asked, as they stood outside the room and watched Gojo sensei examine Lee out from the window.
"Yes," and Sakura had done her own research on the man, for halfway through her training she had realised that she knew nothing about her sensei apart from his relationship with Kakashi sensei.
So, besides her readings for the chunin exams she had sought some help from Kakashi-sensei and he was happy to pint her towards the relevant resources, and what she had found had shocked her.
Gojo Hatake was no ordinary shinobi. No. He was the son of a village hero, the White Fang. She had not read much about him, but the man was said to be an equal to the Three Sanin. Combined.
Gojo-sensei himself was a student of the Senju Princess, and was a master of Iryo-ninjutsu. But he was more than a simple iryo-nin. He had famously held back the entire Iwa offensive after tensions had come to a boil over an incident involving the Hyuga clan.
He had retired shortly after his return, but he had dealt Kumo such a blow that they had put an S-ranked bounty on his head, which existed to this day.
In the absence of Tsunade Senju, he was considered to be the best Iryo-nin in all of the world.
"But how can he even see anything with that thing over his eyes?" Naruto questioned, as Gojo-sensei walked out of the room and she had asked herself that question many a times, but she was certain that he could see.
"Please, can you help him?" she asked, and Lee's resilience and resolve had lit a fire inside her, and she did not wish to see his career come to an end.
He did not answer at first, as he continued to look down at her with a frown on his face.
"I can," he answered, and Naruto jumped up in joy.
"YES! You hear that, busy brow sensei?" and he ran towards Lee's sensei at that, but Gojo sensei was not done talking.
"But I have a condition of my own," and she nodded.
"Of course...." but he did not let her finish as he continued in a rather cold tone.
"I will help him, but only if you give up your hitai-ate," and Sakura's eyes widened at those words, as everyone around her was stunned by the demand.
"What?" She felt that she could not trust her ears now.
"I said that I will help your friend, but only if you give up your hitai-ate and stop being a kunoichi...."
0000
As always, you can read ahead and support me through my Patre 0n. Your support and patr 0nage are what make all this possible. So, drop a sub if you can. It would help me out quite a bit.
(P)(A)(T)(R)(E)(O)(N) / Drkest
Have a fantastic day!