5 Chapter 5: Lord Third

Chapter 5

Puff...a plume of white smoke filled the air as the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen smoked his pipe. He flipped over some paperwork while relishing the taste of tobacco in his mouth.

Knock, Knock…

"Enter." He said with a deep and old voice as he gently placed the paperwork to the side and straightened his back in his chair awaiting his guest. From the other side of the door was heard a cough. "Ahem. Excuse me for disturbing you Lord Hokage."

The door to the Hokage's room opened to reveal a Jonin, Kotetsu Hagane, one of the guards to the entrance of Konoha.

"Oh, Kotetsu, what brings you here." Hiruzen asked.

As Kotetsu walked inside, Kimimaro, Haku, and myself followed suit. As it turns out, even though we were a bit nervous as to how things would go down, aside from the Konoha guards being a bit wary and asking a lot of questions, they ended up humoring our request and took us to see the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen gave a surprised look as he saw the three unfamiliar children walk in behind Kotetsu. Kotetsu cleared his throat before explaining the situation to the Third Hokage. "Lord Third, these three children claim that they fled from the country of water. They claim that they aren't affiliated with the village hidden in the mist." Kotetsu said.

Hiruzen had a pensive look on his face before speaking, "Hmmm...Even if they claim they are not affiliated with the village hidden in the mist it can't be denied that they were born in the country of water, therefore, they are rightful citizens of that country."

"Errr…." Kotetsu gave a sheepish look and rubbed the back of his neck before Hiruzen continued on. "Hahaha, alright, I don't want to make things difficult. Children, why don't you tell me your names. Why have you come so far to Konoha?" Hiruzen asked amiably. He then gave another puff of smoke from his pipe.

The three of us looked at each other before I stepped up to speak. "Greetings Lord Hokage, my name is Izaya. Karasuma Izaya. These two are my sworn brothers, Yuki Haku and Kaguya Kimimaro."

"Oh!" Hiruzen let out a surprised remark and also a look of deep contemplation. He stroked his beard as he spoke, "Yuki? I recall there was a famous Yuki clan in the land of water, however, I heard their clan was wiped out after the Kekkei Genkai war awhile back. And Kaguya...I was certain that I received news regarding the Kaguya clan. It waged war against the village hidden in the mist and they were exterminated not long ago…Forgive me, but I've not heard of the Karasuma clan or tribe."

Both Haku and Kimimaro flinched inwardly having their past brought up. Hiruzen seemed to notice this which inwardly confirmed his suspicion that these two were indeed of the famous Yuki and Kaguya clan he mentioned. He softened his expression after realizing that these two children in front of him were probably the last of their clan.

"Ahem. My apologies for bringing up such a dark part of history. It seems from your reaction that you both are surviving members of the Yuki and Kaguya clan. I'm sorry children such as yourselves had to go through something as terrible as a war like that." He then turned his attention towards me. "You said your name is Karasuma Izaya correct? I see that the three of you indeed have very close ties together and it appears that you are able to speak for both of your companions. Would you mind telling me why the three of you have come all this way?"

I turned my head at the Jonin, Kotetsu, who brought us in before turning back to face the Third Hokage. "I must first apologize Lord Third Hokage...Before I answer you might I be so bold to ask for an audience in private? This...concerns my life."

Hiruzen became more and more curious about these three children and before Kotetsu could protest, he said, "Very well. Kotetsu, why don't you bring Haku and Kimimaro and wait in the hallway while I speak to our young friend here."

Kotetsu gave a defeated look but assented whilst I nodded silently to Haku and Kimimaro, letting them know it was okay. After they walked out they shut the door behind them. "Now, young friend, what is it that you wish to speak to me in private about?" Hiruzen continued.

"Lord Third, to tell you the truth, I am actually an abandoned experimental subject of Orochimaru."

Hiruzen's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets as he exclaimed, "What!" Followed by a series of coughing from inhaling the smoke on his pipe to fast. After a few seconds he finally calmed down and studied me more closely with his eyes. After more rounds of inquiry and explaining I came to tell him the whole story, of course minus the part of my reincarnation and a few other minor details, overall I painted the big picture of how Haku, Kimimaro, and I came to be here today.

"And that is why we sincerely hope you grant us permission to stay and be a part of this village." I finished saying and gave a deep 90 degree bow.

"Hmmm…." Hiruzen mused thoughtfully as he went back to stroking his beard and puffing smoke out of his pipe. "Raise your head. There's no need for you to show such humility. Your circumstance was brought about by my foolish disciple."

Sigh.

"Oh Orochimaru...What have you been doing...In short, that boy Haku and Kimimaro no longer have a home to return to. They are not listed as rogue ninja as they have not committed any acts of evil. They are not eligible to be claimed by the village hidden in the mist since they were merely born in the country of water but not affiliated with the shinobi system there, and you were abandoned by Orochimaru as he believed you to be dead. You are not actually blind but possess the sharingan and the reason you wear a sealing blindfold is to ensure your safety from other shinobi who may harbor evil intention of your eyes. You all wish to become part of the village hidden in the leaves as proper leaf shinobi."

I looked up from my position as I gave a curt nod and replied, "Yes Lord Third."

For what seemed like a lifetime was actually just a split second but waiting for Lord Third to make a decision on the spot was nerve-wracking. "Mmmm, very well. I consent to this."

I breathed out a sigh of relief at that moment. Hiruzen gave an amiable laugh before looking straight at me. "Would you mind showing me your eyes?"

I hesitated for a second, but slowly took off my ragged black blindfold revealing the blood red black patterned eyes of the sharingan. What caught me off-guard was that Lord Third had a look of sorrow the minute he saw them. I understood at that moment that he probably felt grief for what he put Itachi through and sorrow for the loss of an entire clan that he couldn't protect. Hiruzen let out a sigh and then pulled something out of a drawer. It was a fine black colored cloth.

Before I could react Lord Third formed some hand seals and then placed his hands on the black cloth before saying "Seal." A beautiful golden light emanated from the cloth before dissipating. "I understand why you would like to keep your eyes hidden from sight. In fact I'm impressed you could even perform the One-Way Concealing Visual Seal in the first place. It is true that the topic of sharingan and the Uchiha clan right now are sensitive subjects, therefore, at least for now, I will help you conceal your sharingan.

The sealing jutsu I just performed is known as the One-Way Heavenly Concealment Visual Seal and is many times more powerful than the one you had on. With your sealing jutsu you could fool ordinary ninja but not those who either wield special dojutsu of their own or are adept at sensory type techniques. With the One-Way Heavenly Concealment Visual Seal I used it can conceal your eyes from all those who wish to see through this blindfold. Even those with the Byakugan or mangekyou sharingan. Alright, come put this blindfold on and then tell the others to come in."

While all that happened I had watched intently and memorized the hand seals Lord Third had used to perform the sealing technique and stored the memory in the back of my mind, compliments of the sharingan. I nodded to Lord Third and thanked him for the blindfold before tying it on and calling the others back inside.

Hiruzen looked up at Kotetsu before saying, "Kotetsu, I've heard what our young friend Izaya had to say and have come to a decision. From this day forth Konoha will have gained 3 excellent young shinobi. I will have their transfer papers prepared so that they may begin enrollment at the academy starting next week."

"Eh?" Kotetsu gave a confused look. Then again he wasn't really against the three youngins sticking around. They were well behaved enough and didn't seem like bad kids.

Hiruzen then continued on, "I will finalize their paperwork today and have them listed in our system. Please find a nice place for the three of them to live in the meantime."

"Uh...Ahem...Yes Lord Third. I shall do as you say." He saluted the Third Hokage before bringing the three kids out to look for a place to live. Kotetsu brought the three of us to get a glimpse of the essential spots in town such as where we could get food, buy clothes, the location of the academy, where the training grounds were and more. As we were walking around town finishing up our tour I noticed a familiar bright orange color attire out of the corner of my eye and briefly paused.

"I know I have it here somewhere!"

Huh? Isn't that Naruto? I silently thought to myself. And of course he's looking for a coupon to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop.

"Ha! Found it!" Naruto laughed in his disheveled appearance. "I knew I had it on me. I forgot I placed the coupon in the inside pocket of my jacket."

Haku momentarily paused and turned to look at me after he noticed I wasn't walking by their side anymore. He stared where I was looking and saw a disheveled orange clothed yellow haired kid getting some ramen. Confused at why Izaya had stopped he called out, "Big brother, is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh." I snapped out of my stupor and turned my head back to Haku and jogged over to him. "Sorry, I just thought that guy was a bit interesting. Let's catch up to Kimimaro and Kotetsu-sensei."

"Mn." Haku nodded. He gave Naruto one more quick glance before running alongside Iazaya back to Kimimaro and Kotetsu.

Not long after Kotetsu brought us to some apartment buildings and after discussing in private to the person in charge we got settled into our apartment room number. "Alright, you three have your own apartment rooms. Izaya is in room 309, Haku gets 310, and Kimimaro is in 311. For now the leaf village will cover the cost of your living quarters until you three graduate from the academy. You'll receive a monthly stipend to help you buy some food to eat. It's not much so please spend it wisely okay? You'll receive a letter sometime in the next couple of days to officiate your enrollment to the academy.

Since the school year started already you'll be announced as transfer students. From this day forth you'll be citizens of the land of fire and shinobi of Konoha. Lord Third has gone out of his way to accept you three kids so don't disappoint him okay? Alright, any questions?"

The three of us simply nodded our heads as Kotetsu went on with his speech. "No questions." I said. I then looked at Haku and Kimimaro and as if we all understood each other, we all cupped our fists as a show of respect and bowed saying, "Thank you for taking care of us Kotetsu-sensei."

Kotetsu instantly turned red in the face from embarrassment and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. He turned his head to look away and said, "Ahem. It's only natural that I should help you kids in need. Don't think about it too much. If you've got any questions you can always come find me. I'll be at the main entrance guarding the gate most of the time. Alright, I've been away from duty too long I'm sure my partner is getting anxious." He then turned to look at the three kids in front of him one last time before saying, "Take good care of yourselves okay." He then disappeared in a puff of smoke with the Body Flicker Jutsu.

"He seemed nice." Haku commented.

"As long as he doesn't hurt you two." Kimimaro remarked.

"Haha…" I chuckled lightly, wondering if Kimimaro will ever lighten up a little. "Okay, let's check out our rooms and rest, it's been a long day. We'll meet up tomorrow morning and go shopping for some new clothes."

Kimimaro and Haku nodded before we parted ways.