Chapter 24 : Unmasked(1)

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The mask I wear on my face means a lot more than my codename and keeping my identity a secret.

I am a monster, and it is important that I stay one. But there are times when I can't afford to be anything but a regular human. As Nezumi, with the mask on, I am capable of being that human, that person. The mask keeps the monster at bay.

As Naruto, without the mask, I am a warrior of God, a monster who enjoys taking the lives of demons.

What am I to do now?

The mask is gone, taken from me by a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The monster is all that remains now.

And that frightens me.

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Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at the top of the Hokage tower, letting the breeze wash over him in the dimming sunlight. It was nearing dinner time, he thought. It was a calm day in Konoha; there were clouds above with the sunlight peaking just behind. It was quiet and peaceful, a rare thing these days. He was relaxing, waiting for the captain of Team Ro to meet him, going through all the new things that had happened in the past four years.

After they had returned to Konoha, Ro-Han had gone through a lot. His shadow lost his best friend, the young Uchiha becoming a Missing-nin for the sake of his village, but only a handful knew of his task. His shadow had known, being there to witness both the meeting between the Hokage and the village elders with Itachi and the horrible massacre itself.

The order to take the lives of his fellow clan members was not given by Hiruzen, but by his old friend, Danzo. That had caused the Hokage to strip the war hawk of his title of Second in Command. He hadn't known, but he had become number one on Nezumi's shit list. He had taken his friend away, and he would not go unpunished. But that would come later, and with the help of a certain Uchiha survivor.

The Uzumaki would give his friend's brother exactly what he wanted when the time came, and the Hokage knew it. It wouldn't happen until the young Uchiha was ready though. No one but Hiruzen knew that the blond had spoken to Itachi before and then after the deed was done, and the promise he had sworn to his first friend.

As long as he was breathing, Uchiha Sasuke would be safe. When the Kamikage said something, it would be done.

That was another new thing; Kamikage (God's Shadow) had become Nezumi's official moniker. People who followed him, which was practically any ANBU or jonin – by this point – who heard stories of his triumphs, knew of his other name, the Bringer of Hope, the Hero of Mizu no Kuni.

The young blond had become the most famous shinobi in Hi no Kuni and no one even knew who he was. After one of the lower-ranked ANBU teams heard the Hokage talk about his 'shadow,' they had spread the word about the Kamikage actually existing. It became such a big spectacle that Hiruzen had to confirm that the operative Nezumi, Konoha's Kamikage, was in fact real or risk a riot. It was absurd.

Soon after the Uchiha Massacre, Inu had left the ANBU corps to become a full-fledged jonin, which was not his choice. Nezumi had been sad but had greater things to worry about, like leading Team Ro. Sarutobi had named Nezumi the official successor of Inu as the captain of Ro-Han. He had many responsibilities, so he had little time to miss his senpai.

After the confirmation of his existence, Nezumi was known not only as the youngest ANBU operative ever, but also the youngest captain ever. He was the new poster boy of Konoha, except no one knew who he was or what he looked like. Somehow, word of him being blond surfaced – he suspected Saru was the 'traitor' – and many people thought that meant he was a Yamanaka. Which he wasn't, he was an Uzumaki, and what he now knew, a Namikaze.

Hiruzen and Jiraiya had told him of his heritage a week after he returned from Kiri, right after he mentioned he felt like the Lord Fourth when he set Mizu no Kuni free. The old teacher and student were a little nervous how he would react, and were extremely relieved when he understood, and felt nothing but happiness at the news.

He had looked up to the man his whole life; to learn that he was his son was the best thing to ever happen to him. He was even excited to learn that his mother was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi before him. He had something in common with her as well! He had worn a smile under his mask the entire month after that, the Uchiha Massacre the only thing that would cause him to lose it.

He was sad that all of the Uchiha, his fellow Konoha shinobi, were gone, but he was more depressed about losing his best friend. When he was titled a traitor and Missing-nin, Nezumi had almost killed Danzo early. The things he heard people say about Itachi made him furious, and when he became the captain of Team Ro, he had banned any bad words about the Uchiha.

During the time before the Massacre, Nezumi had felt the disgruntled minds of the Uchiha. They had felt ostracized by the rest of Konoha, and they had finally had enough of it. The Hokage wanted to find a peaceful solution with the clan that co-founded the village, but after several reports from Itachi and Nezumi, he knew that Danzo and the elders were right – extreme action was required.

The Hokage had decided that Nezumi would carry out orders to only kill the Uchiha who wanted the coup to proceed, and spare the ones who were against it. Afterwards, the Hokage would work with Mikoto and Itachi to fix the relationship between the clan and Konoha. It would have worked too, if Danzo hadn't acted on his own accord. Now, Itachi was a Missing-nin and the entire Uchiha clan was gone. Nezumi had lost his first friend.

With the loss of one friend, he had gained another who he was much closer to. Neko had stayed with Nezumi in Team Ro, and the two were like siblings now. Neko, who he now knew to be Uzuki Yugao, was the only person alive who was brave enough to stand up against the Kamikage. She was just like an older sister; she was strict with him when the time called for it – like with women – and gentle with him when he needed it – like with Itachi.

She was his closest friend, even more so than Itachi was, and he loved her like she loved him. He had even met her boyfriend, Gekko Hayate, who was a nice guy. He had a strange cough that he never seemed to get rid of though. It was weird for Nezumi to speak with someone outside of ANBU, but Hokage-jiji had allowed it, and Neko really liked spending what she called 'time with her boys' now, so he had no choice. When Yugao-nee said something, it was done…

Hiruzen was happy that Nezumi had found someone he could depend on and talk about non-ANBU related things, like his feelings, which he could not talk about to any man. Neko had kept all of his personal feelings a secret, like he did with hers. It was strange; a fifteen year old was best friends with a twenty-two year old. Oh well, the boy was never ordinary in the first place.

The Uzumaki had kept his perfect completed missions record even still, after eight years of being in the Black Ops. It was amazing, and never done before. Everyone had a few failed missions, it was close to impossible not to, but Nezumi had always said his hobby was making the impossible possible.

The Sandaime had always thought that his shadow was beyond powerful, but the things he was accomplishing now a days was awe inspiring.

He had left every other shinobi in the realm of mortals and ascended to something different, something more. Even with all of the power brimming inside him, he still spoke of gaining more. The things he had hypothesized he could do with a little practice were godlike.

It made Hiruzen and his student nervous that the blond would turn out to be like Orochimaru, craving power and willing to do anything for it. They were relieved when Nezumi had felt their nervous thoughts, explaining that he only wanted to gain more power to protect his nation, nothing more, and he'd never sink as low as the traitorous scum.

The Hokage had his eyes on the Hokage Monument, admiring the view. He really missed his teachers, and wished that Minato could have seen what his child became; a true patriot. It was a shame that none of the previous Hokage could meet his shadow; they would have loved to meet such a powerful and loyal Konoha-nin.

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