Kakashi walked into the Hokage's office looking like a man who desperately needed sleep. Fair enough in this case since he had to look after the little group of ducklings after they went ahead and evolved from being simple ducklings to gooselings, if that is even a word.
[A/N: That Angry Goose Game On Steam LOL]
Everything of course started from Sukuna. Asking new Genin to commit mass murder in the name of training. How come even that boy can ask something like this with so much ease?
Kakashi only had Konoha Hospital to blame for this, because outside of that nothing explains why the boy was so calm about killing others.
Perhaps letting him enter the Hospital so early on wasn't the right decision.
Kakashi for once couldn't say. Everything he did was practical to the fault. Much like how a seasoned ninja should act over a newbie Genin.
Still, if it was up to Kakashi, he wouldn't wish for his Genin to bloody their hands this soon.
He couldn't even refute it since the boy's logic was on point. Those thugs indeed would have been a huge problem if they were left behind. Killing innocents, looting, and burning.
Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and Karin went along with it.
Beating those dozen or so shinobi wasn't the hard part, any decent enough shinobi can beat dozens of civilians easily.
It was killing where they really showed hesitation. Especially when after the first kill those men started to run, and when running didn't work as Sukuna broke their legs, they begged for their lives.
That's when they really hesitated.
But ultimately they did it. That day his Genin lost their innocence and came out as Shinobi.
His shoulders drooped, his hair was somehow messier than usual, and he moved as if gravity suddenly got stronger just for him.
The entire way back was a quiet affair, neither talked and the enthusiasm of when they first left their mission was completely absent.
Kakashi just gave them time and so did Sukuna.
'That boy's too insane…' he murmured to himself with a sigh.
Hiruzen, sitting quietly behind his desk, already sensed something heavy.
"Kakashi," he said gently, "report."
Kakashi sighed and rubbed his forehead. "This… might take a while."
"Go on."
So Kakashi began.
He started from the beginning—how Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, had been working under Gato.
That alone made Hiruzen frown.
That meant Hidden Mist was under some sort of contract or trade relationship with Gato. That was concerning already because of Gato's wealth, but there was also the Waves.
On paper Land of Waves was a free nation, however, people knew Gato had a very strong influence there. With Hidden Mist working with Gato then their own control over this neutral land would increase.
No one wished for that. Because Hidden Mist already controlled the water of the southwest area. It was their exclusive territory, mostly because of their mastery of Water Jutsu.
If they had a deal with Gato himself—a long-term one—that meant the Mist Village, a major power, had some kind of influence in the Land of Waves.
Hiruzen's hands tightened around his pipe.
"This is very troubling," he murmured. "If the Mist is moving so far out… there must be instability."
Hiruzen said, as he recalled how for a long time now Hidden Mist had been closed off from outsiders after the Bloody Mist era. He didn't know what exactly was going on there.
Once again the lack of Root and Danzo's strict spy network was felt to him.
Danzo was trouble but the kind of trouble which at least benefited Konoha to some degree.
Kakashi nodded. "It gets worse."
"How much worse?" Hiruzen asked quietly.
Kakashi inhaled deeply.
"Yagura showed up."
The pipe nearly fell from Hiruzen's hand.
"…Yagura? The Mizukage?"
"Former Mizukage," Kakashi corrected. "He wasn't acting like a Kage. Told himself that he was no longer one."
Hiruzen leaned back, clearly shaken.
He really needed a good spy network at this rate. He mentally filed the idea to get Jiraiya's help on this case and later create a separate infiltration unit like Root for information gathering.
To not know that Hidden Mist had another Mizukage was alarming, to say the least.
There was also the fact that Yagura showed up to Waves. This means whatever contract Hidden Mist had with Gato, it was significant.
To send a Jinchuriki and former Mizukage. It must be of significant matter.
One of the Five Kage leaving his village? Didn't matter whether he was a former Kage, it was a big deal.
The fact that this person was a Jinchuriki was another landmine. That alone could trigger a war if interpreted badly.
"And?" Hiruzen asked. "What happened after that?"
"He fought Sukuna."
Silence filled the room.
Hiruzen blinked slowly. "I… must've misheard."
"You didn't," Kakashi said, voice flat. "Sukuna fought Yagura."
"And survived?"
"He didn't just survive," Kakashi said. "He defeated him."
The Hokage stared at him, speechless. Kakashi had seen a lot of reactions over his life, but seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi—the Professor, the God of Shinobi—actually gape was something rare.
"Kakashi," Hiruzen said in a strained voice, "you're telling me a Genin defeated a perfect Jinchuriki?"
"Near-perfect," Kakashi corrected again, "but yes."
"Explain."
So Kakashi explained everything.
How Sukuna pushed Yagura back with pure taijutsu at the start. How his strength and speed were monstrous—far beyond any Genin level, even some Jonin.
Then Kakashi talked about Sukuna's abilities.
"He used medical ninjutsu, Hokage-sama. High-level regeneration. He rebuilt his own limbs. I've never seen anything like it."
Hiruzen's eyebrows rose. "Regeneration of that level is nearly impossible. Even Tsunade cannot regrow lost limbs instantly."
She can, he just didn't know it since he never saw 100 Healings in action. But that was beside the point.
For a newly made Genin to do that—that was unbelievable.
"Seems like Aizawa still underestimated the boy's proficiency in Medical Ninjutsu. So did I." Hiruzen muttered under his breath. Once again recalling how the director of the hospital, Aizawa, was so adamant about keeping Sukuna in the hospital.
Hiruzen sighed, recalling how troublesome it was to convince the man. Only recalling the issue brings a headache to him.
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
"And what else?"
Kakashi sighed. "He fought me."
Hiruzen nodded slowly. "And how strong is he? Be honest."
Kakashi looked embarrassed. "Stronger than I expected. Stronger than I was prepared for."
"How strong, Kakashi?"
Kakashi thought for a moment. "High-Chunin level in pure Taijutsu alone… but with abilities he displayed, that pushes him into Jonin and perhaps high Jonin overall."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples. "That's high praise coming from you. What kind of abilities could make him equal to a high Jonin?"
"For once, the brat has learned Teacher's Jutsu."
"What?!"
Hiruzen almost shot out of his seat upon hearing this.
He just recently gave him the technique the boy wanted as a reward to stop Mizuki and heal Iruka.
He asked for Hiraishin. Hiruzen didn't think he'd be asking for that. Honestly the entire reason he let the boy choose was because he wished for him to learn techniques left behind by Tsunade.
Konoha needed a strong medical shinobi, especially after Tsunade left. And now that a boy with talent in Medical Ninjutsu had come up, of course Hiruzen wished to nurture him.
However, unexpected to him, the brat didn't go for any of the Medical Ninjutsu he expected him to choose. One might think that would be the case since he was a Medical Nin, however he asked for Hiraishin.
Hiruzen sighed, recalling how even after having such talent in healing arts, the boy wished to be a front-line fighter.
In fact, that mannerism was quite similar to Aizawa if he now thought about it—headstrong and stubborn.
How come all medical ninjas are like that? Hiruzen recalled his own student and genuinely asked.
Back to a corner, Hiruzen had no other option but to give the boy Hiraishin as his reward for stopping Mizuki while sneakily putting the healing techniques in there as well, another reward for healing Iruka.
What can he do, he still wished for the brat to advance in the medical field.
"To think that he learned Hiraishin so fast. Guess we all underestimated his talents." Hiruzen puffed on his pipe with a dazed look.
His eyes went back to the photos of the past Hokages hanging from the building. Eyes wandering especially at a golden-haired man.
"He kind of reminds me of Minato."
Kakashi hearing that too looked at his passed teacher's image. Decade-old wounds felt like bursting but he just shook his head.
Sukuna wasn't exactly like Minato. At least not that much. But they might be similar in terms of their talents.
Then Kakashi continued.
"He displayed Ice Release."
This time Hiruzen did drop his pipe.
It hit the floor with a soft clunk.
"…Ice Release?" he whispered. "You're absolutely certain?"
"He only used it when he fought me, never when fighting the enemy. I doubt he was trying to hold back from his intel leaking. My guess is he wasn't good at the Kekkei Genkai," Kakashi said. "My team happened to encounter another Ice Release user from the Yuki clan and by comparison alone I can say that Sukuna's technique was far inferior."
Hiruzen stood from his chair, pacing slowly.
"Sukuna Haruno… Ice Release… regeneration… Hiraishin… defeating a Jinchuriki…"
"This boy is not normal," Kakashi said plainly, also recalling how calm Sukuna was about killing and not acting like a newly made Genin but rather more like a seasoned ninja.
"No," Hiruzen agreed softly. "He is not."
And there were also his eyes. Kakashi didn't bring it up, though. What color that boy's eyes were had far less importance than what he was capable of.
The Hokage looked toward the window, deep in thought.
A child this powerful… this unpredictable… could become a blessing for the village—or a disaster.
"There is one more thing." Kakashi finally added.
"Go on." Hiruzen sighed and motioned the masked man to keep talking.
"After Sukuna fought Yagura, there was no sign of him. There is a possibility that he is dead."
That brought another round of silence in the office. This time though, it was serious.
"You are certain of this?" Hiruzen asked, already knowing what the implication of this could be.
War!
A former Kage and Jinchuriki's death. That was inviting war.
"No! Sukuna himself isn't certain. Their fight resulted in a huge explosion caused by the Jinchuriki's own Biju Dama. Sukuna said he blasted the Biju Dama before even Three-Tails had a chance to use it.
That was also when the boy lost his limb and showed his incredible regeneration. He still got out in time with Hiraishin.
But after that there was no sign of Yagura." Kakashi completed, making Hiruzen sigh.
This was indeed troublesome.
The report was a long one, took Kakashi the entire evening to explain the report.
Only by the time he came out of the office that he realised that he completely forgot about telling Sukuna's Fuinjutsu which he used in his eyes to Hiruzen.
"Oh well, it can wait. I am dying to read the new Icha Icha series."
o
A/N: Well, what do you think about this chapter, not much about the MC but I had to cover other points of view as well so yeah.
I intend to speed up the fic a little since many asked me to do so.
Do many of you wish to see a war in this fic? Doesn't have to be against Hidden Mist. Against any hidden village.
Not talking about the Fourth Shinobi War though.
Tell me in the comments.
Once again, please tell me how to improve my writing. Much appreciated.
xxx
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