"Naruto Uzumaki," Devan bit his lip slightly as he murmured. He had spoken with Naruto that day, the first time he had seen him. The boy had seemed, to say the least, "Interesting." He had a rather particular perspective. "Become Hokage? I think you could end up ruling the world," he said to himself quietly, remembering the blond's smile.
However, Devan had something else on his mind, a counter. At that moment it was at zero with a single phrase above it: "Fractured Mind" was written there.
"I don't think you can become Hokage. Everyone who has ever held the position was destined for glory. Hashirama was born with Mokuton, Tobirama was his brother, Sarutobi is Tobirama's apprentice, and you… well, you're just an orphaned child," Devan said that day. He wanted to see Naruto's reaction.
The blond lowered his head that day, looked at the ground with some regret, and a moment later quickly regained his composure. He looked at him with those blue eyes full of courage and willpower. "I will make it, I really will!!!" the boy shouted while giving him a thumbs-up.
But Devan saw something else that day. He saw fear, hopelessness, disappointment, and many negative feelings swirling in that young heart, in that fragile body.
However, Devan's attention that day was more on the counter in his mind. It had risen from zero to one, which made him open his eyes in surprise. Curious, he decided to continue observing Naruto from a distance.
It had been the first time he spoke to Naruto, and he had not spoken to him again. Two weeks ago, Devan had another strange dream, one where Naruto saved a strange girl who would become his wife in the future.
"Altair," in his office, Devan continued remembering, murmured the name of a boy he had once bought some food from. He told Altair about Naruto, about what he had dreamed, and told him that life is often unfair.
"I really didn't think he would take my words about my strange dream seriously, hehe. Altair, now you're dead; your body will be buried in a few days. It's… really a shame," Devan slightly bowed his head as if in mourning.
"But, the counter has gone up again…" Devan said, paying attention to his mind where the counter had gone from 1 to 10.
Devan then stood up. "Naruto, you can make the Fractured Mind counter rise from zero to ten. This is… new, hehe," he could not help but stroke the tip of his robes. "Still, What is this counter for?"
Devan did not understand. The Fractured Mind Counter had simply been in a part of his mind. It was there and reflected a number, but until now, it had been just that—a strange mental counter.
Devan finally shook his head. "In any case, I need to find out. Maybe I can gain something by raising the counter," Devan said, threw the scroll aside, and left his office.
The Konoha cemetery was specifically located in the northern corner of the village. It was about the size of a hectare, surrounded by a wall, and in each of the four corners there were gates with ninja guards protecting the entrance.
But the Konoha cemetery itself was reserved for less prominent clans and civilians, so normally there were people visiting the cemetery every day to see their deceased family members.
Although it was a cemetery, the hectare it occupied had abundant vegetation, fruit trees sharing some space with the graves, and in general, it did not feel like a gloomy place.
Devan quickly passed through a corridor, crossing several areas, and reached the nearest entrance-exit gate.
"Mr. Devan… the body of the boy Altair has arrived," a Genin near the gate quickly bowed to Devan while informing him. Devan nodded his head before murmuring, "Take me to him. We will bury him soon."
With an order, Devan was led to see Altair's body in the morgue.
On the way, Devan could not help but notice that there were a few more people in the cemetery today. "It's likely that spy ninjas from other villages have noticed that the fox is unstable and can easily break free from its Jinchuriki, or at least that's what people think and are preparing supplies instead of coming to the cemetery." Devan quickly concluded.
"If enemy spy ninjas inform other villages about the fox's potential release, then it's likely they intend to attack Konoha, taking advantage of the Jinchuriki's weakness, although that… of course, seems unlikely," Devan analyzed, bringing a hand to his chin.
Not long after, Devan arrived at the morgue, where another ninja quickly received them and led them inside.
"You've been inactive for a while, Devan. Some bodies have piled up on us," a white-haired man, wearing white clothes and a calm expression, who was analyzing a body on a stretcher, spoke.
Devan quickly recognized him. This guy had come to apply for work at the morgue six months ago. He didn't know why someone like him would want to work in a cemetery, but he couldn't refuse because he brought a recommendation letter from Lord Hokage.
"Kakashi, well, some things require my deep attention. Managing the cemetery isn't easy, hehe," Devan smiled while bringing a hand to the back of his neck. Kakashi glanced at him sideways while calmly examining the body.
"His neck was completely destroyed, there are marks of wounds all over his body, and it seems he hasn't eaten well for a long time… really a shame," Kakashi said while examining Altair's body.
Despite his words full of emotion, the white-haired man's face remained completely expressionless, detached from any feelings of guilt or empathy.
"What do you think, Kakashi? The boy, Altair, tried to kill Naruto," Devan was honest. He looked at the white-haired ninja, approached him slowly, and as he stepped forward, he put on fabric gloves, preparing to examine the body.
"What do I think? Hmph. I already said, it's a shame. Some people come to this cemetery and waste all their potential among the dead…" Kakashi slightly lifted his head, observing Devan with his single visible eye. His words had hidden intentions.
"The cemetery is a good place. Here I don't have to fight, I don't need to compete or be…" Devan was speaking, but he was interrupted by the door opening abruptly.
"Devan!!! Lord Hokage wants to see you!!!" Someone spoke, drawing the attention of both men in the morgue. Even Devan couldn't help but look toward the door, only to see an Anbu with a mask he hadn't seen before. He exchanged a glance with Kakashi and shrugged.
"You need to be in Lord Hokage's office in less than an hour," the Anbu said, closing the door sharply behind him.
"What exactly did you mean by those words?" Devan asked once he saw that only he and Kakashi were in the morgue.
There was a brief moment of silence. Kakashi looked away slightly. "It's been a while since we were all together, Hasn't it? Kurenai, Guy, you, and me. I don't understand why you came to look for a life in the cemetery—a ninja like you…"
"Enough!!" Devan interrupted Kakashi's words, took a few quick steps toward the stretcher while fixing his eyes on Altair. "Now I'm in charge of Konoha's cemetery, not a ninja…" Devan said in a slightly low voice, some hidden feelings in his tone.
Chapters Ahead on: [email protected]/tgthegoodd
Replace "@" with "a"