Chapter 26

I will freely admit that I half expected what happened during my first C-rank mission to develop into some kind of plot. Reality though, proved to have different laws than anime and manga… for the time being, that is. Either way, it definitely didn't deter my sensei from going on more of those. Although, she did have me only do those once a week (usually ones that took a day, two at most), the rest of days were spend doing a single D-rank each.

My routine though, changed the smallest bit. First of all, and most noticeably, Anko started teaching me more than just fighting. Her answer when asked why now and not before was something along the lines of 'because you are already enough of a monster compared to other genin'. My response when trying to say that I wasn't that much ahead was a deadpan and a raised eyebrow.

I started to wonder if I was more than just very good for my age and rank.

Anyway, my new classes involved leadership, strategy and other more academically oriented topics. I was fine with that, and they were actually a nice breath of fresh air. My regular shogi matches seemed to have cultivated my mind into a fine tool for tactics though. Which turned out to be a bad thing, making my sensei grumble to no end about monstrous students.

She had also surprised me by managing to add teamwork training to it too. I hadn't expected that, considering that it was just Anko and me in the 'team' but she had easily done so by having me work with her summons against her. The madwoman had even gone as far as summoning some snakes that didn't particularly like her, which meant that they got really into the training exercise even if they didn't like me much. Apparently, they liked her less than they disliked me, which I managed to make work… decently well, I guessed.

Another change was that, in order to make up for the previously mentioned sessions, Anko upped the difficulty of my battle training again but participating herself. I had an ongoing theory that the actual reason for the academic classes was to give me time to recover from the… spars. But it was kind of a chicken and egg dilemma, really.

With that added to my already strenuous training regimen, I was very grateful that my other C-ranks were calmer. From guarding the gates to patrols, all missions turned out to be a breeze. I wasn't sure if that was good though, because those tended to bore my sensei, and a bored Anko Mitarashi was a very dangerous, inventive Anko Mitarashi. This was, for anyone that may doubt my words, evidenced by my new dodging training, which consisted of her throwing senbon, kunai, shuriken or, occasionally, a dango stick, at me at totally random moments, even in my sleep.

Sometimes I had the strangest feeling that I had annoyed her somehow.

Nothing much changed besides that though. Time passed in relative tranquility as my skills grew slowly but steadily, nothing new to add to my lists but I was ok with that. I preferred to have less skills at high levels than to have a massive list of skills between 1 and 5 levels high. The pains of a system that wasn't broken, I guessed, although I wasn't complaining anymore. I knew it would have been a lot worse had I not had it at all.

I was content throughout all that time too. Missions went just fine, training was progressing faster than it ever had in the Academy and while our group get-togethers had lessened in number and frequency, we still managed to make them happen. Granted, we were free at different times, which meant that there were usually one or two teams that couldn't make it, but it was something.

From that, I knew that Naruto's seals were scarily good. Especially since even Sasuke admitted that he couldn't win against the blonde if the latter had even a remotely decent amount of time to prepare for it. Sakura, for her part, seemed to still be undecided about what to do, which meant that she was learning a bit of both Genjutsu and Iryoujutsu. Maybe it was hypocritical of me, but I wasn't sure how good she would get trying to divide her attention between the two arts. At least I had the advantage of the system to back me up, but she was very smart, so maybe she could make it work.

As for Team 10, their training had been divided between their parents and their sensei. The former were obviously teaching them their family jutsu while the latter only had to worry about keeping their general skills up to snuff together with leadership, teamwork and all that.

I was slightly worried about Team 8 though. From what I managed to gather, they weren't really training much on the fighting department. Yes, they were getting trained on their family styles and such, but Kurenai seemed really into the tracking and locating targets thing. Which was fine in my books, but she seemed to neglect the general training that Asuma was doing with Shika's team.

I had to wonder if that was a slip because she seemed to be a new teacher or something.

I had done two things on that front. First, I had told Shino to outright tell Kurenai that they needed that type of training. Hinata had been understandably worried, but the Aburame had simply nodded and accepted the suggestion easily. I wasn't too worried about them getting into trouble, both based on the knowledge saved in my notebooks and what I had gathered about Kurenai by myself.

The second thing I had done was help the two members that were in our group train, focusing on Hinata's shurikenjutsu and Shino's taijutsu, since those were the most glaring blind spots left by their family styles.

Overall, almost a month passed since my C-rank mission and everything was calm.

I should have known the storm was coming.

[}-o-{]

"Bro!" I heard Naruto shout as he closed the front door, a smile forming on my face, both because of him arriving and also because of his enthusiastic tone. I rolled my eyes and continued setting the table for dinner. "You won't believe it, Kakashi-sensei said we can finally take a C-rank!" My grin froze on my face and I felt myself go pale. "We are going to the Land of Waves. Can you believe it?" My hands almost cracked the plates that I was holding before I stiffly put them on the table.

"That's great, Naruto," I said, carefully turning around so that he couldn't see my expression and keeping my tone casual. Internally though, I felt a cold hand wrap itself around my heart and my mind quickly conjuring everything that could go wrong. "What's the mission about?" I asked, almost wishing I wouldn't get an answer.

"We are protecting a bridge builder," His tone lost a bit of his enthusiasm. "He is a bit of a jerk though, said we were kids and what not. Really made me want to kick his ass."

"You can't kick a client's ass, Naruto," I replied, almost instinctively. Naruto had problems with half his clients, after all. Which was warranted, most of them didn't like him either and weren't afraid of showing that.

"I know," He whined, already seated at the table and waiting for me to take my seat too.

The meal was an… uncomfortable affair, since I had to be very careful not so show my thoughts as Naruto continued telling me about their mission, how they had convinced Kakashi and what their sensei had told them they had to bring for the mission. It was word for word what happened in canon, and that scared me to no end.

"So… um, can you help me prepare everything?" I raised a surprised eyebrow at that. Yes, Naruto had his moments when he wasn't a boisterous brat, but those were still rare. And I couldn't, for the life of me, think of a reason for it this time.

"Sure, but why the shyness?" I asked with a half-smile that dropped quickly as the blonde started to scratch the back of his head.

"It's just… Sakura said something about asking her father for help because he was a retired ninja… and I just… you know, didn't want to forget anything," Those were the words that came out of Naruto's mouth. What I heard, however, was, 'I wanted to ask a family member for help too.'

"Welp, I've gone on some C-ranks before, you gather your things and I'll tell you if you missed something," I grinned at him when his expression brightened like a sun.

Later that night, I sat alone at the table like many other nights. This time though, there were significant differences. Like my right foot, that was tapping the floorboards underneath with uncharacteristic nervousness. My left hand running through my hair from time to time, as if trying to push thoughts aside.

Inside my head, my brain insisted on playing all the changes I had caused on the plot. Specially how I had affected Team 7 and Naruto in particular. He didn't have the Shadow Clones here. He had seals, and while he was very good and they were useful, they wouldn't be as OP as his bullshit amount of chakra was with the clones.

The silver lining here was that Sasuke was better than in canon, both in battle prowess and in attitude. He and Naruto didn't hate each other, at least. And I had helped him train a lot, which meant that even with the AUish elements in this world, I had still made him even stronger than he would have been.

And Sakura should be able to do something in this arc, so there was that.

Ultimately, I knew that they should be fine. Especially with Naruto as he was. While not in the way that his canon counterpart had, he had his own kind of strength. Namely his traps and seals. I was sure that anyone that attacked the bridge would meet with a very nasty surprise.

And still… I worried. What if something happened during their first encounter with Zabuza since Naruto didn't have the clones? What if the swordsman found a way to counter his still developing seal skills? What if, what if, what if…

I couldn't lose Naruto. He was my first friend here. The first one to make me realize that people here weren't just characters in a page. That I was a real person. And he was also the one to make me realize that I needed to aim higher than just survival.

"You have to dream bigger!"

The stupid brat had even been given what amounted to a wish from the lamp by the Hokage himself. And what had he asked for? Something for me.

"I want enough space for Eiji to live with me."

He was the one I was the closest with. Had been there with me almost from the beginning. I had his back and he had mine. And I would be forever grateful for that.

"You're the best, Brother."

And that meant something. I clenched my hands into fists, staring intently ahead, lost in my own thoughts and memories. The blond knucklehead had absolutely no idea how much those words meant for me. The weight that had on me, after dying, after being separated from everything that I had and knew. To know that there was someone in this world that cared that much.

"I'm going to be Hokage, just you wait! Then everyone will respect me!"

Naruto would be Hokage. That was a promise I had made to myself somewhere along the line. Because he was my brother even with all his annoying and hyperactive stupidity. I loved the fool like I had loved my past family. And I would be damned if he failed in his one dream.

I would be doubly damned if something happened to him this early, because of me no less.

"What do I have to do?" I asked at the empty air in front of me. My eyes narrowed as I took a deep breath in. "What do I have to do for you to make sure nothing happens to Team 7 during their mission?"

'So, this is what a deal with the Devil feels like?' I asked myself as a bitter smirk made its way to my face. Was it a gamble? Obviously. Would it come back to bite me in the ass? Most probably. Did I care? Not. At. All. I would do literally everything to help Naruto, and even the others. They were everything I had in this world I had been thrown in. Short of dying, I would do whatever needed to be done.

My eyes moved down as a piece of paper eventually blurred into existence on the table.

Picking it up, I almost laughed at what I found on it. Nothing about it was funny though. On the note was written one D-rank mission for me to select and a task for me to do. But this was nothing like the mild espionage that I had done before. I couldn't brush this off nearly as easy.

Sabotage.

The reason? It was actually a fairly good one, which should have surprised me more than it did. It was on a shop, a shop whose owner had been subtly (but not nearly enough, evidently) trying to rip off the village. It was made even worse by the fact that they targeted the shinobi side more than the civilian one.

I had all of three seconds to wonder why this had been allowed to continue before the bitter feeling inside of me grew more. Whoever was playing this little game with me was really dedicated apparently, if they let this go on just for me to do this. Granted, the guy hadn't created much of a problem yet. But it still spoke volumes of my mystery benefactor.

Once I memorized the note, I clenched my fist around it before throwing it up. A second later, a half-hearted Embers hit it midair and the evidence was no more.

My eyes stared coldly ahead as an equally icy grin spread over my face.

"Consider it done."

[New Title Acquired: Shadow of the Shinobi]

Once more, I almost laughed at that. It wasn't a happy laugh though. 'If I ever doubted that it was Danzo,' I thought to myself, fighting down hollow smirk.

[Shadow of the Shinobi

Increases stats when taking part on a not officially sanctioned mission by 25%.

Increases skill efficiency when taking part on a not officially sanctioned mission by 12.5%.]

'Much better than the Genin title, that's for sure,' I thought, none of the usual cheer I had while checking new screens was present in my mind this time. 'I'll take it thoug-'

[Secondary Title Unlocked]

'Wha- Status!'

[Eiji Satou

Main Title: Anko Mitarashi's Apprentice

Secondary Title: None

Energy Points: 680/680

Chakra Points: 510/510

Strength: 34

Dexterity: 37

Constitution: 34

Chakra: 34

Chakra control: C]

'Main and Secondary Titles, huh? That's… unexpected, but really good,' I thought, standing up from the table and making my way towards the bedroom as I continued processing this new development. With a thought, Shadow of the Shinobi was equipped on the second slot. As stated, it was much better than the Genin one, and considering that every time I went on an official mission there was an unofficial one to be done, it would be much better.

A moment later, I found myself in my room, light off but still fully clothed and sitting on my bed, the dim light of the moon coming through the window. With an empty laugh, I rested my elbows on my knees and put my face on my hands, a shaky breath leaving my lungs. I felt as if my insides had decided to tie themselves into knots all of a sudden.

I disgusted myself. I was working for Danzo. Had been for months, had done so willingly and knowingly, despite telling myself that I wasn't sure. I gave a derisive snort at that. As if it could be anyone else. I couldn't see the Hokage pulling something like this, and they were the only ones with the power to do this. They or Orochimaru, maybe, but that was only worse.

I felt ugly, in a way that had nothing to do with appearance. What would my friends think of me if they knew? If they really knew what I was doing. Would they understand? I doubted it. I didn't want them to understand either.

I felt like a monster.

And I didn't regret it.

That was probably the worst part though. I was absolutely fine with all that I was doing. I could care less for whatever Danzo had done in the past. If I remember correctly, he had orchestrated the Uchiha Massacre. And I had only one thought on the matter, I hated him for it. But not because it was horrible, not because it doomed Itachi to a life of exile, not because all the lives lost. No, I hated him because the Massacre had hurt Sasuke. That was all I cared about.

The group was my family.

The group was my everything.

I was twelve years old, at least in body. But I had lived in Konoha for just two years. Two years sounded like a lot, but it was nothing, not really. Nothing in comparison to what I had lost. To twenty something years that I had lost from my previous life. I didn't even remember the exact number anymore.

However, despite my progressive loss of memories, worrying as it was, the point stood. I had lost all that and then was thrown into a place where I had nothing at all. And thus, my resolution was born. I wouldn't- couldn't lose anything. Not again.

Then, I laughed. A hollow, cold laugh resonated in my room.

And I was laughing at how much I had changed after dying. From a sad, sick man that mourned years of life that he would never have, to a prodigy student with loyal friends, to a twisted genin that could care less if his village burned so long as his friends were alive. And I was fine with it.

It was more than fine for me.

'I'm a monster,' I both realized and accepted as I finally laid on the mattress.

It would be a long while before I fell asleep though, as my mind was filled with thoughts about how to pull off my task while trying to keep it secret from Anko. I was half sure that she knew what was going on. I didn't believe myself good enough to keep what I was doing undetected, maybe once or twice, but as much as I was doing it? No way. And this one would surely be detected… But I could damn well try, and that's what I would do.

'I'm a monster,' I repeated, after deciding that I had schemed enough and needed to sleep. 'And I'll continue to be a monster, if I need to.'

[}-o-{]

Sasuke PoV

"Hey, Sasuke! I heard about your mission," I turned my disinterested gaze to the side as I continued to lean lazily against the village wall next to the gate. It had taken a while for me to get used to being treated so casually, what with half the village walking on eggshells around me and the other half not even daring to interact with me. There was only a handful of people that would just outright call out me like that.

And sure enough, there were two of those walking towards me, the blonde one waving energetically while the one that had actually talked nodded his greeting. I simply nodded back, taking note of Naruto's lack of backpack. For a split second, I half expected the idiot to have forgotten that he needed to bring things for the mission. But Eiji's presence brought pause and a second later I remembered something.

'Seals, of course,' I realized as I looked at the blonde's waist, where there laid three scrolls that he usually didn't have with him. No doubt inside was everything he could possibly need.

"Got everything?" My black eyes snapped to meet red ones. I would never admit it, but I was just now getting used to the sight of them. It had been recently that I had stopped internally flinching, and having flashbacks of a night that I desperately wanted, and at the same time didn't, to forget.

I nodded again. My eyes narrowed slightly at the tense shape of the Satou. He looked almost on edge. Then I remembered an overheard conversation that Naruto and Shikamaru had had about Eiji being overly worried about them, all of them. Maybe he was so now? Due to the C-rank? It was… unnecessary, barely anything happened on this missions, the other boy should know, having done several of them already.

"Food, Clothes, Medkit?" Eiji asked, like I hadn't replied at all. I nodded again, this time with a frown to show my annoyance. "Don't look at me like that. Equipment as such is a given, but you would be surprised how many people forget the essentials thinking only about battles. Or so my teacher said," The Satou shrugged. "Naruto confirms it."

"Hey, I packed food at least!"

"If you count instant ramen as food," The red-eyed boy shot back instantly with a dry tone, getting Naruto to scratch the back of his head embarrassed.

"Don't put me on the same league as him," I muttered, earning a scowl from the blonde and a snort from Eiji.

"True, but one never knows. Anyway," He smiled at put a hand on my arm. I raised an eyebrow. "Good luck on the mission, and be careful. One never knows what can happen."

"Eiji! Can you stop that?!" Naruto whined, and I was inclined to agree with him. This once. "We are good. We can do this!"

"I know, Naruto," Eiji's smile lost a bit of his cheer with each word. "But a brother worries, you know?" I almost flinched at that. Something must have shown on my face though, because the Satou's hold on my arm tightened. "That goes for you too, we are all brothers, remember?"

They always said things like that on the gatherings. Shikamaru, Shino, Chouji, Naruto even Ino. All of them referred to one another as brother (or sister in Ino's case). It was, however, the first time that any of them had done so directly at me. It was…

I didn't even know.

For once, I was grateful for Sakura's appearance. Despite her joining the group some time ago, I had never forgotten her attitude or how she treated Naruto. Her actions had showed a lot of her character, and she hadn't showed as much change as Ino had. The blond girl had showed that she could be a… friend, with time and actions. The pinkette had yet to do so in my eyes, and the whole group too, if I were to guess.

This time, she had saved me from a situation that I really didn't want to deal with, and for that I was grateful. Still… I also didn't need to tell her that.

"Good luck, guys. We'll celebrate your first C-rank once you get back," Eiji said after Kakashi had showed up with the client and they went to leave.

An hour later, I couldn't shake a slightly bitter feeling that formed in me as I heard Sakura talking with Naruto. Both discussed how their night had gone with her father and Eiji, respectively, helping them pack and the silly things they had forgotten to pack. That topic didn't last long though, after Naruto took one side-eyed look at me and quickly started talking about something else. I was initially surprised that he had been the one to notice, but since he was an orphan, then it probably made more sense that he would understand better and quicker about that.

I appreciated the thought, but I wasn't actually jealous. That was a shock, actually, even for me. But I really wasn't…

"Got everything?" "Food, Clothes, Medkit?"

"Good luck on the mission, and be careful."

"But a brother worries, you know?

"We are all brothers, remember?"

The corner of my lips twitched up.