A few minutes later, Devan left the morgue. He didn't look back at Kakashi; instead, he exited the cemetery, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and began walking toward the center of the village, where the Lord Hokage's tower stood.
"The magic of a Necromancer is different from Chakra…" he said to himself quietly, remembering when he used to practice Ninjutsu.
In fact, Devan, with slightly glowing eyes, recalled a bit of the past, those days when he used to get high grades at the academy, when he went to war and emerged victorious, when he shared some meals with Kurenai, Guy, and Kakashi.
"However, that wasn't me…" Devan said to himself, looking straight ahead. He had arrived in the Naruto world exactly three years ago, just when the real Devan had died at the hands of a ninja from the Sand Village.
Devan felt the nodes of Chakra in his body with a certain anguish. Chakra itself, being a combination of mental and physical energy, was a type of energy he had never seen in his previous world; he only knew magic, which in this ninja world is solely mental energy.
Devan looked at his slightly pale hand. "My physical energy decreases day by day, and there's nothing I can do…" he said to himself. After all, although his mental energy was increasing, his physical energy declined a little more each day.
He tried everything, from exercising to taking some ninja drugs, yet nothing had any effect; his physical energy declined with each passing day. Devan smiled. "At the end of the day, necromancers are known as decrepit old men with the strength of a ten-year-old child, Right?" he shook his head while speaking to himself.
A moment later, he arrived at the Hokage Tower in the village center. A Chunin ninja received him and began guiding him to the village leader's office.
Along the way, the ninja tried to start a conversation, but Devan simply ignored him with a calm look and a grave silence.
…
"Mr. Devan, Lord Hokage is expecting you," the Chunin slightly bowed before pointing Devan to the entrance door.
The necromancer didn't hesitate; he acknowledged with a hand and pushed the door open calmly. His eyes were soon captivated by the beauty of the Third Hokage's office.
The floor was perfectly clean, with a rug imported from the Thunder Village; the wood of the furniture was made from special wood capable of conducting Chakra; the decorations were by renowned local artists; and the Hokage robe worn by Sarutobi was made from silk exclusively available in the Grass Village.
The Third Hokage lay there with his pipe, releasing light rings of smoke. His old but astute face lifted slightly as the elder observed the necromancer with his bright and contemplative eyes.
A smile formed on his aged face, causing wrinkles to appear all over, "Devan, you've arrived… this time, a bit earlier than usual," Sarutobi said as he set aside the magazine he had been reading on the table.
"Please, sit…" the elder seemed quite kind, but Devan did not lower his guard; he knew he was in front of the man known as "The Professor," a man who had participated in and achieved incredible feats in the last shinobi war.
So he took a few steps forward calmly, recalling his academy classes: upright, head held high, looking forward—not with arrogance, nor with humility, but with respect; breathing through his nose as softly as possible; and finally, with a slight movement of his hands, he pushed the chair back a little to sit.
"The presentation movement before a superior—the old Academy Professors were good at this…" Sarutobi smiled brilliantly, nodding a few times at Devan's movement.
"I suppose you've heard the latest news… Naruto, he is…" the elder took a breath, opened his eyes, and made a slight grimace of pain before letting out a long sigh. "I… don't know why a civilian child would harbor so much hatred as to attempt to kill Naruto."
Sarutobi looked into Devan's eyes; their gazes met. The cunning old man seemed to be using the classic trick of observing the other person's eyes to see if they would speak to break the silence.
"It's… truly a pity. I saw the boy, Altair; he seemed to have suffered greatly, months without proper food, probably surviving on garbage. His skin had a strangely pale, perhaps grayish tone, and his hair was brittle, though the latter was likely due to Naruto's nearly transformed attack…" Devan gave his analysis without hesitation.
"A child like that, in that state, would be incapable of having the courage to attempt to kill anyone. Moreover, How did he get the kitchen knife? It's strange, Devan," Sarutobi let out a slight sigh as he spoke, his voice rougher than usual, never taking his eyes off Devan.
"Do you believe it, Lord Hokage? Well, I don't know. Children in war commit all kinds of atrocities. I've seen them; I've seen them many times—they are often crueler than adults because…"
"Because they don't yet fully reason about the pain they can inflict, and their reasoning ability is not fully developed. You said that a couple of times two years ago, though I don't know where you got that statement from." Sarutobi interrupted Devan, raising a hand.
"But, back to what I was saying, Altair's case is strange. It almost seems as if someone told him a forbidden secret in Konoha, Don't you think?, Devan, After all, it's forbidden to speak about the incident with the Nine-Tailed Fox and the Fourth Hokage," the elder emphasized in a deep and forceful voice, his eyes almost accusingly fixed on Devan.
"Anyone who broke the prohibition should be punished, Lord Hokage. Do you need me to help find the culprit?" Devan, however, spoke with an almost overwhelming calm, not flinching under the elder's accusatory gaze, instead expressing a nearly genuine intention to help with the case.
"Hehehehehe…" Instead, the old man simply chuckled lightly. He had no intention of playing cat-and-mouse with Devan. He narrowed his eyes. "However, there is no evidence of anything. The ANBU couldn't find any clues either. What help could a corpse-burying necromancer provide?" Sarutobi shook his head.
…
Devan didn't show any change in expression, remaining calm. "It's true, Lord Hokage. I was arrogant to assume I could be of help. I apologize," he bowed his head, but Sarutobi simply clicked his tongue.
"I didn't call you this time to talk about the incident. I have my elite ANBU team trying to find the culprit. I need you to take on a new mission, Devan… Naruto needs someone to watch over him," Sarutobi's words were filled with seriousness.
The necromancer, with slightly narrowed eyes, while tilting his head and looking at the rug, couldn't help but pause for a moment. His face returned to calm in a second, and he raised his head again.
"What do you mean, Lord Hokage?" Devan asked.
"Watch over Naruto, leave the cemetery for a few months or years, and take care of what he needs—from food to security. Sleep in the room next to his, take care of the boy. Probably the news that Naruto almost lost control of the Fox has spread to enemy villages… Do you understand what that means?" the elder said, taking a puff from his pipe.
However, Devan narrowed his eyes, this time in front of the Hokage. He couldn't help it; being taken out of the cemetery was not something he wanted—not because he had some fetish with the dead, but because in the cemetery he could practice his basic necromancer spells.
"Is something wrong?" the elder asked, a slight smile on his face as he observed Devan's expression. "No, nothing, Lord Hokage. I will take care of Naruto, rest assured," he bowed once more, turned halfway, and began leaving the office.
Sarutobi watched Devan's back for a moment, and when he finally left, he smiled brilliantly. "I don't know why I feel you're too strange, Devan, but I want to uncover your secrets," Sarutobi said as he pulled out a report from one of the boxes on his desk.
The report clearly detailed how a mercenary hired by Danzo had assassinated Devan. There was no mistake; the trusted mercenary decapitated Devan and threw his body into a nearby forest.
"Could it be a lie?" the elder wondered, thinking that perhaps the report could be false, but then he shook his head several times. "No, the mercenary is trustworthy; it's impossible for it to be false. Still, Devan, he's strange."
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