Chapter 17
Chapter 17
KAKASHI HATAKE
"So how is it being in a team?" questioned Ohashi as they ate their breakfast. Their daily spars had now become a thing of the past, with both of them getting busy with their schedules, and now they only met about once a month, if even that.
Kakashi wanted to groan at that question. It had been a month since he had become part of a team, and each day was becoming more and more frustrating. Rin was fine as a teammate and tried to keep out of his way. On the other hand, his other teammate was a complete wreck.
Uchiha Obito had no regard for rules and regulations and was a slacker who could only spout nonsense. He dreamt of becoming the Hokage yet lacked the discipline and fortitude to train properly. His hold over his chopsticks nodded as he thought of words to respond to this question.
"They are weak and naïve," he spoke after some contemplation, and Ohashi shrugged.
"Well, not everyone is as talented and dedicated as you. You will have to learn to get along with all kinds of people in the field," Kakashi scoffed.
The only saving grace was their sensei, Minato-sensei was a wealth of knowledge and skill. He was the only reason he even tried to put up with those two, especially that insufferable Uchiha. His brother had been given a team of his own. That had been quite a surprise given his age, though Kakashi was quite aware of the sheer ability of Ohashi and could understand the village's desire to have him pass on his skills to the next generation.
Kakashi's fists balled up as he thought of all this. He could feel himself falling behind, being held back by the attitudes of his teammates. They behaved like children, and Kakashi had no time for their antics. He had a purpose to fulfill. To bring back the prestige of the Hatake name. It was his duty as the heir to the clan.
"Aghh, about your graduation, I heard a rumor that you might be promoted to chunin soon," Ohashi suddenly said, surprising him. Kakashi didn't know that such a promotion was under consideration. Though it was understandable, he had been a genin for about a year now and his overall skill level was above that of a mediocre chunin.
"I wasn't aware of that," Kakashi frowned. Ohashi simply shrugged.
"It came up during the last jounin meeting. If you continue at this pace, you will even break my record," said his brother with a small smile. And Kakashi wasn't fooled by that statement. As skilled as he was, he was still a long way from being in the same discussion as Leaf's Yellow Flash, or even the Shimmering Death, for that matter.
"And since I didn't get you something for your graduation. I have just the gift for you," added his brother as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. And he had his attention on those words.
"How would you like to learn a jutsu that rivals your sensei's signature move," said Ohashi with a grin on his face. And Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
Afterall, who wouldn't like that?
0000
MINATO NAMKIKAZE
Minato sat in the famed Akimichi establishment, Yakiniku Q. The war had entered somewhat of a stalemate. The constant loss of lives had made all the villages quite cautious over any major offensive for the time being. He could tell that the war had entered its decisive phase now, with each village getting ready for the final push.
As he was lost in thought, the person he was waiting for finally joined him as a blonde man wearing a purple overcoat sat down opposite him. The dark circles around his tired eyes told of extreme stress and countless sleepless nights, which was no surprise given the man's position.
"I am sorry for being late, but I was caught up in some new reports," apologized his academy classmate. Inoichi Yamanaka was the clan head of the Yamanaka clan and was now the head of Leaf's Intelligence division. A position he had gotten after the whole Southern border debacle.
"Don't worry. I just came here a minute ago," said Minato though he had been waiting for a little over ten minutes. Yet Inoichi didn't need to know about that. The Intel department head nodded as they placed their order and began to make small talk.
"So, tell me what you want to discuss with me," spoke Minato as he decided to get to the main topic. Inoichi tapped a seal on the side of the table, and then he felt a privacy seal activate around the table, making sure none would be able to eavesdrop on their discussion.
"I looked into what you asked me to, and you were right." Spoke Inoichi, his voice extremely serious, the previous hints of exhaustion and casualness completely gone from his eyes.
"There are many discrepancies in the files of the orphanages. Though someone put in a lot of effort to obscure it all, I was able to gain a rudimentary picture with the files I was able to recover. A large number of kids from the orphanages vanish every year, never to be seen again," Inoichi spoke, confirming the suspicion of Lady Tsunade and Ohashi.
Minato's lips thinned as soon as he heard those words. He had hoped that they had been wrong. Yet hoping was futile.
"And is there any order from the Hokage sanctioning this?" Minato questioned with a sigh, and Inoichi shook his head.
"No. At least not officially," and Minato leaned back. That was something. This wholeness with Elder Danzo had begun to get out of hand. Jiraiya-sensei had never liked the man hand had told him to be cautious of the man, and so when Shikaku had approached him for aid in investigating the man, he had accepted the request to help his old classmate. And he could feel that with each passing day, things just got more and more complicated.
"There are even records of some clan kids in those files. If this gets out, there will be anarchy in the village," said Inoichi, his tone grave and his eyes sharp.
"If our suspicions are correct, then this is in violation of the by-laws the clans signed when Konoha was created. If he did this, then he has committed treason and bloodline theft. We must report this to Hokage-sama immediately," spoke Inoichi with conviction, and Minato immediately shook his head.
"No, not yet," Minato spoke up, making the Yamanaka clan head frown.
"But why? If we bring this to Hokage-sama, he will be forced to carry out an investigation," replied Inoichi and Minato argued.
"We need concrete evidence to make the Hokage-sama move. Just give me some time. Ohashi is trying to track down the establishment where these orphans are taken. After we have complete evidence, we will put everything in front of Hokage-sama, forcing him to prosecute him," spoke Minato.
Inoichi nodded.
"I understand that. But I cannot withhold this information indefinitely, Minato. The most I could give you is a month, but after that, I will have no choice but to present it all before Hokage-sama," spoke Inoichi gravely, and Minato nodded.
"That is ok. Hopefully, we will have something by then," and Inoichi nodded as he began to sip his tea.
"So, tell me about your team. I have heard you have got quite a prodigy on your hands," Inoichi suddenly added with a smile, and Minato shrugged. That was quite true. Kakashi Hatake was quite a prodigy in the making, his skill set as a shinobi put him years ahead of his peers, yet the young kid had quite a lot of problems.
"Well, Kakashi is quite special, he," Minato replied cryptically.
"Quite special indeed. I heard that he is going to chunin soon," and Minato nodded at that. Holding Kakashi back anymore would be detrimental. His skill set was already miles ahead of a regular chunin and would only grow further. His attitude towards his teammates left much to be desired, yet even Minato wouldn't discount his work ethic or dedication.
"Yes, he will be promoted by the end of the month after a special exam," and Inoichi raised his brow, impressed by the news.
"Well, at this rate, he might even break his brother's record. Speaking of his brother, how is he? From what I recall, he got a team of his own right," and Minato nodded.
"He did. We are set to have a joint training session," spoke Minato. It had been his suggestion in an effort to motivate his other two students. He had seen Ohashi train his students, and he was a surprisingly strict sensei despite his usual cheery demeanor.
"Speaking of him. I have some rather interesting information for him," Inoichi suddenly said with a frown as he leaned forward.
"Tell the kid to be careful. I have noticed someone snooping into his records." Said Inoichi making Minato frown. Only one person in the village would have the audacity to pull off something like this.
"I will," and then the conversation veered off to some other mundane topics.
0000
ASUMA SARUTOBI
Asuma sighed as the leaf in his hand caught fire once again, and he immediately let go of the burning leaf and sighed as he watched Ebisu struggling with fire nature beside him as well. In front of them, Kurenai was sweating as their sensei continued to interrupt her chakra as she tried to master his original technique.
"Tch, I still cannot believe I lost to her in that challenge," Asuma cursed as he saw their sensei once more dismantle the chakra pathways Kurenai had constructed by lifting a single finger.
Kureani had won the chakra control challenge, and their sensei was teaching them his original jutsu, and only after talking with his father had he realized just how big of a deal it was. Creating a single original jutsu was considered quite an achievement. Their sensei had created two, and he wasn't even in his twenties.
"Ok, that is enough for today. You have made ample progress, Kurenai," said their sensei, and Kurenai immediately slumped to the ground. Their sensei walked up to her, placed his hand on top of her head, and closed his eyes. Then with a small thrum, his hand lit up in a green hue characteristic of iryo-ninjutsu.
That was another thing that had come as a surprise. Ohashi sensei was learning iryo-ninjutsu, an art that Asuma had considered only useful for kunoichi. A statement that their sensei had warned him not to make in the presence of Tsuande-sama.
After a few seconds, the chakra hue vanished, and Kurenai stood up, looking reinvigorated.
"Thank you, Ohashi-sensei," said Kurenai as she joined them. Their sensei walked up to them as well, and his lips turned up as he saw the pile of charred leaves by their side. He had told them how he had struggled with fire nature as well and had needed help to master nature.
They hadn't just worked on their control over the month. Every morning they would have a spar, followed by an hour of chakra control training. Then after lunch, they would do a couple of missions, before departing to their homes.
"Ok, now it has been a month since your graduation, and I believe you all have made good progress. From tomorrow onwards, we will be on the roster full-time, which means long missions that will take us outside of Konoha. Is that understood?" he finished.
"Yes, sensei," they all chorused. A hint of excitement in their tones at the chance of leaving the village. Their sensei nodded.
"As for today, I had something special planned for us," said their sensei with a smile. And the three of them looked at each other.
"What is that, sensei?" questioned Kurenai, and suddenly there, sensei turned towards the right, and Asuma frowned before he heard a couple of somewhat recognizable voices.
"Ohh, it seems they are finally here," said their sensei, and Asuma glanced at where he was looking, and his eyes widened when he saw four people walk out of the trees.
Three of them were genin, he recognized from his class. It was the loudmouth Uchiha and his friend Rin. The third genin was someone who had been a part of their class for six months, his hair color a bit lighter than their sensei, and he had a tanto strapped to his back.
They were being led by a jounin who had become a household name at this point. He was leaf's strongest shinobi and was the only shinobi after the Shodaime-sama to get a 'Flee on sight order.'
He was Leaf's yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.
"Hello, Ohashi-kun," greeted the blonde man as their sensei shook hands with the legend. The two of them exchanged pleasantries as the Uchiha joined.
"Yo, how are you, Asuma, Ebisui?" spoke Obito in his usual brash manner.
"I am fine. How are you, Obito," said Asuma as he shook the Uchiha's hand. They all exchanged greetings when they were finally interrupted by their sensei.
"Ok, everyone, please pay attention," began their sensei, and they all lined up.
"Today, we are going to have a little competition," began their sensei in his cheerful tone.
"Team Minato will face Team Ohashi in a team battle!"
0000
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