18

Chapter 18: seventeen: kingSummary:

"Knowing your value protects you from having to prove it."

- BJ Thompson

Notes:

Warning: I know jackshit about shogi.

I do not own Naruto.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Becoming Hokage 101

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Section Four

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Chapter Seventeen

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"Rin isn't coming?"

"No, she's helping out at the hospital again."

"That's tough."

"Yeah."

Obito and I fall into a companionable silence as we watch Kakashi and Genma spar, waiting for our turn. With Rin at the hospital and Gai training with Choza-sensei, today it's just the four of us on an open training ground. Minato and Kushina are away more often than not, fighting at the frontlines, which means Team Minato rarely trains with them these days.

"Oh, that move reminds me of Kushina-oneechan." I pipe up, watching as Kakashi punches Genma in a movement that's more brawl than grace.

"That's because she was the one who taught us that." Obito snickers as my oldest teammate falls to the ground only to get back up immediately after.

Under Kushina's guidance during the past year, Kakashi and his teammates learned a bit of the Uzumaki taijutsu style, as well as valuable sealing techniques that my silver-haired brother took like a fish to water. From what Rin told me, it looks like Obito has got the hang of it quite easily too.

Genma attacks Kakashi with a series of kicks that look more like a dance move than actual battle moves, and since it's nothing like Choza has been teaching us so far, I assume Inoichi's been having fun with his temporary student.

"You guys are off to a mission the day after tomorrow, right?" The Uchiha suddenly asks me, something hidden in his voice that I can't identify.

"Yeah." I had told Rin about it, so it was no surprise he knew about it. Still, even though there's no hum of iron other than ours, I hesitate in saying more without being prompted to do so.

Obito takes a breath, as if steeling himself. It's kind of making me nervous.

"Obito?" I ask gently, not wanting to spook him - or worse, make him uncomfortable. "You know that we're friends and that you can tell me anything you want, right?"

He seems to really look at me for the first time in the day, dark eyes shining with emotion. He spends a few seconds looking into my own without blinking, searching for something, and then he nods. As if he'd found it.

"Rin told us you guys were labelled as a Heavy Combat team."

'Ah. Well, that explains some of it.'

As soon as it was decided that the genin teams would join in on the war, we were separated into categories, in order to fully make use of our skills.

'Honestly, it's not a bad strategy, although I've never heard of anything like this in canon.'

Team Choza, as well as Asuma's team, were labelled as Heavy Combat ones. It means we'll fight mostly on the frontlines, where the flashy and messy battles happen. Team Minato, on the other hand, had fit into the Search and Destroy category. With Kakashi's ninken and Rin as a combat medic, it made sense that they'd be shuffled into that group, although Obito without his sharingan wouldn't really fit in it-

-unless-

I take a sharp breath in, not wanting to jump to conclusions. Obito thankfully seems to be lost in his own dylema and hasn't noticed the slip.

'Think with your head, not your face. Head, not face. It's a relief Shikaku isn't here to nag at me.'

"Obi?"

"I got the sharingan." He says in a rush, low enough for it to stay between the two of us. "It's been a while."

My brain short circuits for a moment, then reboots and starts to work frantically, trying to put the pieces together.

'Think with your head.'

Without really thinking, I put my hand on Obito's shoulder, and that seems to relieve the tension there a bit.

'None of the genin teams have been on missions outside the village since we graduated. There's no way Obito awakened his sharingan in such a controlled environment as Konoha. There hasn't been any opportunity to, unless-'

"The outpost mission." I whisper, horrified. That mission happened nearly two years ago.

The Uchiha nods, a pained expression on his face.

'I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I realize it before?'

"I'm sorry." I end up blurting out, regretting the words as soon as they're out of my mouth. Awakening the sharingan is a sign of pride for the Uchiha, right?

'We were seven during that mission. Seven!'

This world doesn't think like I do. Obito was probably super happy when it happened-

'-but doesn't it require a traumatic experience for the sharingan to awaken?'

I fall silent, not knowing what to say. Obito, however, gives me a wobbly smile. It's small but honest, and he grabs my hand on his shoulder and holds it with his own.

He's always warm, probably as a result of his fire affinity. His hand, already full of burn marks and calluses, grips mine in a firm but gentle touch.

"Thanks. You were the only one to say sorry, y'know. The entire clan congratulated me. Said that I could finally bring honour and glory to the Uchiha clan."

"You already do." I say, angry and upset for him. And at me. His smile only widens, although it's still wobbly.

"...thanks."

"What did Fugaku-taicho say?" I ask, dreading the answer already. During this past year, Fugaku and I have been in tentative contact with one another. Team Choza often got called to the Police Force for something or another, and I valued Fugaku's work policies.

'I have an inkling that the bad seeds are the Uchiha elders, and not the clan head. Please, please don't let me be wrong on this one.'

Obito blinks, surprised, before he thinks back on it for a couple of seconds.

"Now that you mention it, Uncle didn't congratulate me either. He just patted me on the shoulder."

In my mind, I sigh in relief. I do believe Fugaku is a man with a good heart who wants what's the best for his family and his village, but most of it ends up hidden behind an unwilling puppet for the elders.

I nod, turning my head back to watch the spar when Obito does the same. I can feel Kakashi glaring holes at my head, but I merely grin and wave, just to tease him. It works, and the action costs him a punch on the shoulder.

"So that's why your team got assigned to Search and Destroy." I say lowly, not wanting every person in the village to hear about it. Obito nods, messing his hair with his free hand.

"I wanted to be on Heavy Combat too, but Minato-sensei explained it to us a few weeks ago." I nod, and he continues. "With our skillset, he said we're much more suited for missions in the dark."

"In a war, people that work in the dark might do a more important and more dangerous job than those who fight in broad daylight." I reply honestly. "Spywork, assassinations, hunting, as well as capture and interrogation, have a better chance of turning the tides than a full out fight, Shikaku-taicho told me."

"Yeah, that's what Minato-sensei said too." Obito mumbles, and that's how I know that's not all.

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" The grass beneath our joined hands tickles my skin lightly, once again reminding me that this is all very much real. Right now, Obito is sitting next to me, basically pouring his heart out, and for a second I see Tobi. I see a man so broken who's cornered into thinking he's doing the right thing up until he's not. A man who's left with nothing after giving so much.

I see a boy who has so much love to give, and I make a vow to myself and to whoever might be listening.

'I won't let you become like that, Obito. I'll make sure you receive as much love as you give, if not more.'

"I probably won't become hokage." He says, tone resigned. There are stars shining in his eyes, though, and I refrain from saying anything.

"I originally wanted to become hokage because then people would have to look at me and respect me." My heart squeezes because he reminds me so much of Naruto, yet not at the same time. He continues, unaware of my thoughts. "I wanted people to look up to me and realize what a cool ninja I am."

Obito turns to look at me and there's an entire galaxy in his eyes.

"Why do you want to be hokage, Chiyuki?"

"...at first, it was to make Konoha grow. To fix the wrongs and make things better. But now…"

I take a deep breath in, feeling the crisp air enter my lungs. The Uchiha's hand, still holding mine, keeps me warm and grounded.

"What does it matter how great of a village is if we're at constant war? If we have to live looking over our shoulders forever?" I shake my head, squeezing his hand when he squeezes mine. "That's no way to live. That's why I'm gonna be hokage. I'm going to build alliances and sign peace treaties. More than just Konoha, I want the whole world to thrive and grow strong."

The boy next to me grins so wide it's contagious. I grin back, my chest light and my thoughts free.

"Obito, will you help me?"

"Of course! Who do you think I am?! I'm gonna be the next head of the Police Force and kick your ass if you don't become hokage!"

I laugh, feeling so light I might pass out.

"I don't know if I'm relieved or worried for the future of the PF." I snicker and he bumps my shoulder with his, faking offense.

"Hey! I'mma be the greatest officer ever!" He yells, although he's still grinning. I smile widely, making sure to look deep into his eyes.

"I know you will. You're gonna be one of the strongest ninjas ever, Obito." I say with the conviction of someone who's seen what he's capable of, and how insanely strong he can - will - be.

He sombers up, galaxies still shining bright with determination in his dark eyes.

"If you don't become a good hokage, I'll steal the hat from you."

It's my turn to shove him, both of us sprawling to the ground in a heap of limbs. A part of me registers Kakashi and Genma are done with their spar and are leisurely making their way towards us, and their iron hums in a cheery tone.

"Way to ruin the mood!"

"I'm being serious!"

"Chiyuki! I'm telling Choza-sensei you have another boyfriend!"

"Eww, I'm not dating Chiyuki!"

"What do you mean ew, Obito? I'll kick your ass."

Obito and I end up not sparring seriously as somehow both Kakashi and Genma end up joining us, but the peace of mind I have after that is enough to last me the entire night.

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You can't feel your chakra running inside their pathways in the same way you can't feel your blood running in your blood vessels. It's a matter of survival, of 'why the hell would this matter biologically', so it makes sense.

In contrast to that, we can and are encouraged to sense other people's chakra. Imagine you're playing a FPS game and that you have a mini map on the corner of the screen. People whose chakra you've been in contact with for a long time, like teammates and family members, will appear almost effortlessly on your little map. It's like they're on the edge of your vision, little colorless dots you don't have to make an effort to sense if they're not suppressing their chakra. Your map has a range, and if you train properly, more and more unfamiliar people will become visible to you in longer distances and in a shorter time.

Now, I suck at this. I can easily sense the chakra signatures of those who are closest to me, but I can never sense an ANBU's chakra even though I know they're there. A big reason as to why I suck so much at sensing is because I rely a lot on the Iron Release, since it's easier and has a better accuracy rate. It's become second nature to me to hear people's hum of the iron in their blood. Small as the quantity itself might be, it's still there and you can't suppress it like you can do with chakra.

Of course, like all ninja related abilities this one can also be trained and harvested to be the greatest skill of all, but to do that you'd need a decent scroll on sensing techniques and/or an expert sensor to guide you on the process. During the time Sakumo-oji died, I had been training to expand my sensing range, but when I learned that someone's blood can sing to me, I stopped doing that.

Sensing someone's blood flow is better than sensing their chakra signature 9 out of 10 times. Of course I'd have no problem sticking to only using the Iron Release's techniques for the rest of my life, but there are two exceptions to that rule: one, Zetsu, who is basically an animated doll; and two, the six bodies controlled by the rinnegan.

The sound of wood against wood brings me back to reality. Shikaku has just finished his move, and now it's my turn. It's the weekend and tomorrow we're finally leaving on our mission, and the Nara clan head had invited me for dinner at his house.

My face blank, I plan my next move. He'll probably get me on the next two turns, seeing as none of my strategies have worked so far.

'My king is kind of safe here, but if he does that… and if I do that…'

I've been getting better at thinking with my head and not my face, as Shikaku had so kindly pointed out during the first day of my apprenticeship. He actually gave me real sound advice on the third day, when he told me to think of it like meditating. It worked, kind of, and now I just have to be careful to not let anything show on my face whenever I realize something.

"You've gotten better at this." Shikaku drawls after I move my bishop, sharp eyes not leaving the shogi board. He doesn't give out compliments freely, and I get the feeling he's trying to throw me off.

'Well, too bad. You're still one of the people I admire the most, but I've gotten immune to you. Mostly.'

"Thank you." I reply in what I hope is my usual tone of voice, face stuck in the same expression. Out of the corner of my eye I notice his lips tilting upwards, and I know I've failed at being casual.

Here, in this house, I can relax even though there's someone like Shikaku aware of me at all times.

There's usually only one ANBU trailing me, and sometimes there is none because even ROOT is part of the war. I've tried time and time again to sense their chakra, but the only reason I know they're there is the hum of the iron in their blood, singing indiscriminately. It remains unchanged, even if there's no trace of their chakra. My parents' house in the clan compound is usually where I feel it the most, because who'd suspect ANBU guarding the hokage's house?

At the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's houses, though, there is none. The Nara and the Yamanaka are way too sharp for something like that to go by unnoticed, and even if the Akimichi's ninja to civilian ratio is lower than the other clans, the three families frequent each other's houses often enough that it'd be impossible for an ANBU to remain hidden. It'd be stupid to even attempt to send someone to their compounds.

Shikaku moves another piece, and I realize his plan too little too late.

'Damn. He hid a strategy beneath another one, that sneaky sneak.'

I haven't won a single game against him, but I had no hope I would. This is more practice than a real competition.

"So you finally see what I did there."

"And it only took me nine turns this time."

The man hums, a light sound in contrast to his deep voice. Shikaku doesn't speak much, but he's actually quite vocal in all the humming and sighing he does. I'd like to say I've gotten to know him quite well in these past few days.

'He's neither disappointed nor proud. He's just acknowledging it.'

"Is it possible to apply this in the battlefield?" He asks, and I take a moment to think.

Instead of capturing the majority of the pieces before going for the king, Shikaku usually finds a way to corner the opponent into checkmate by isolating their king. At first I thought this was it, but by the end of the game he managed to isolate his own king and push all my pieces back, so that they'd have no chance of reaching his king without having to go through his wall of other pieces. His generals and bishops are on the main front, but his paws cover both sides, which makes it impossible to reach his king without bumping into at least one piece.

"In my opinion, yes. If the Heavy Combat teams are kept on the frontlines, it'd give the other stealth teams more room to do their thing. Assassinations would most likely catch too much attention, so instead I'd put the Sabotage and Infiltration and the Interrogation teams as the pawns, moving silently and without drawing attention to themselves. The ones on the battlefield would act as the generals and bishops, pushing the opponent back until the pawns cover the sidelines and prevent any attempts to the king."

'It's certainly a good strategy, but...'

"Do you think it's a good idea to do so?"

I shrug, a bit at a loss.

"Probably not. It is a good strategy, but it took a lot of time. If someone realizes what you're doing before a good portion of the plan has already been done, chances are they'll turn it around and take advantage of your isolated king. It also involves a lot of variables, even if they're accounted for. If even one of the pawns messes up, it could compromise the entire plan, and one single free path to the king could mean checkmate. On the other hand, there's not a lot of freedom for a plan B because all of your generals and bishops are focused on the main strategy, so even if you wanted to fix holes, the opponent would take notice of your scattered pieces and attack."

I look up at the Nara clan head and he's smirking, a lazy thing coupled with that glint in his dark eyes that make me blush and feel self-conscious.

"What?"

He shrugs and says nothing, but continues to look like the cat that ate the canary.

"Are you bullying Chiyuki-chan?"

Yoshino appears in the doorway like a goddess, a dangerous look in her eyes. Her husband immediately wilts in her presence, and I take great amusement in the couple's dynamic.

I actually love the Nara matriarch. She's a very no-nonsense woman who's a tokubetsu jounin, fearsome and gentle in the right proportions. She took one look at me and decided to treat me honestly, which is very refreshing and extremely nice. Many of the shinobi I meet act as if they're walking on eggshells around me, and it pisses me off.

The Nara couple is also one of the few who doesn't address me as if I'm the descendant of Amaterasu herself, which means bonus points.

"No, of course not."

"He is, Yoshino-san."

Shikaku whips his head to shoot me a look, but I'm too busy making innocent eyes at his wife. She smiles, a sharp thing that could cut through steel, and I briefly wonder if the Nara clan head has masochist tendencies.

"Well, it's a good thing someone's come to pick you up at the right time, then." And sure enough, Asuma's more than familiar hum of iron calls out to me from the gates, as patient and kind as ever.

"Yoshino-"

"Be quiet, we'll talk later."

I can't help but snicker as I watch a grown-ass man, feared by all the shinobi villages, hang his head in response to his wife's scolding.

"Thank you very much for having me. Dinner was lovely, Yoshino-san." I say honestly, and her smile softens.

"Of course. You're welcome anytime."

As Shikaku guides me to the Nara's clan gates, four spots of light catch my attention.

The moonlight hits just so that the woods behind the clan head's house is alit with an ethereal glow. Bugs chirrup merrily and fireflies dance without a care in the world. In the middle of this surreal painting are two deer, majestic in their sheer presence.

I'd known that the deer that live with the Nara are extremely intelligent, but I also knew that they were very careful around strangers, often choosing to stay hidden in the woods whenever an outsider came. Yet, I find myself staring at two of them, their gazes curious like a child's.

'I wonder if they know.'

"How beautiful." I end up whispering, and Shikaku's chuckle breaks my trance. I blink and the two deer are gone, leaving me to wonder if it was just my imagination.

"I'll let them know you said that." I blush, briefly wondering if I've offended them. I look back and bow, even though I can't see them anymore.

As Asuma grabs my hand and I bid my goodbyes, I swear I can see Shikaku genuinely smiling, but it's gone before I can make sure.

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The smell of grilled food and different spices fill the air, warm with the light atmosphere. It's lunchtime and we agreed to meet Choza-sensei at the front gates at exactly, 1400 which gives us plenty of time to eat and discuss strategies before we're off.

We've all got our bags packed and at the ready, as well as new, standard clothes for genin who leave the village on missions. It's obviously nothing flashy or awe-inspiring, it's actually the exact opposite: pants and long sleeved shirts much like the ones jonin wear, only in black, as well as a dark green bomber jacket with a lot of hidden pockets of various sizes. Everything is light but sturdy, with room to breathe. It's meant to help us blend in with the scenario but also easily recognizable for Konoha shinobi in case we need back up.

Likewise, all chunin-ranked shinobi and above must wear the dark blue clothes with the standard green flak vest, mostly for the sake of recognition and identification of Konoha shinobi. It's purposefully made of a mix of materials that aren't easy to replicate, and I can't help but wonder how much this all cost.

It's a good idea in the long run, of course, but then again I don't remember anything like this happening in canon.

'Well, I did talk about less-than-practical clothing choices with Sasakibe-oji, but I didn't think he'd take the idea to my father.'

"You've gotten a lot better at thinking quietly." Genma compliments me as soon as we settle down to eat, a surprised look on his face.

"Thank you." I say with a nod, even as I think he looks good in the new uniform.

"We must review team formations, as I'm sure all of us burned bright with the Blinding Flames of last week's youthful training!" Gai exclaims with a grin, and from my seat across from him I can feel the iron in his blood singing in anticipation. If he's trained as much as I think he has, he's definitely a force to be reckoned with.

'Even more so now that he can't wear that hideous green one piece. Sorry, Gai, but it was necessary for the greater good.'

"I agree. I think we all learned a lot these past few days and we need to incorporate that in our strategies. Speaking of which-" Genma says, raising his arm. "-I appoint Chiyuki as the new captain of the team in Choza-sensei's absence."

I nearly spit out the tea I'm sipping, subtlety out of the window. Staring incredulously at our oldest teammate, I watch in horror as Gai takes on a pensive look. Soon, he too raises his hand.

"Two votes!"

"You two can't be serious." I try to reason, barely thanking the waiter when he arrives with our food. "Didn't we agree that Genma would be team leader?"

Said boy shrugs, casually grabbing a slice of meat and munching on it.

"That was before. You trained with Nara Shikaku, Chiyuki. You know more about strategies than anyone else at this table by far."

"It was one week!"

"I must agree with Genma! You underestimate yourself, youthful Chiyuki! I can see the potential burning brightly with the Power of a Thousand Suns!"

"Guys…" I sigh, starting to resign myself to it.

"Listen, the only reason you weren't made team leader sooner was because you lacked the confidence for it." The pre-teen says, pointing his chopsticks at me. "Now, though? You got it. Take it and shine or whatever."

"You're the smartest out of us." Gai says, nodding all the while. "I'd trust any plan you came up with."

"Okay, fine, fine." I throw my hands up in the air, defeated. Deciding that I have the right to sulk a bit, I munch silently on my rice.

"Why are you so against it? I thought you'd be happy." Genma says, still waving his chopsticks in my direction. I roll my eyes at him and bat it away, mumbling that it's rude.

"I don't know." I finally shrug after a moment. "I always thought you were the most suited to lead us."

"Well, I might've been a long time ago, but not anymore."

"Genma, you're twelve."

"Details, details. Don't get too hung up on those."

"I think Genma's experience was why we chose him as a team leader in the first place." Gai suddenly speaks, face uncharacteristically serious. "It's been two years since we were put on the same team and now I can say we finally move like one. The one who thinks the fastest and most thoroughly is you, Chiyuki. You're the first to think for possible solutions and lay out plans efficiently and effectively. I see no reason why you shouldn't feel worthy of being our team leader."

I get up from my seat and throw my arms around our dark-haired teammate without hesitation. It's rare for Gai to speak so seriously even though most of the things he says are valuable by themselves.

"I love you, Gai."

His arms, already so strong for a ten year old, wrap around me and I sink in the safety it provides.

"I love you too, my most youthful Chiyuki."

"Eww, feelings."

"Come here Genma, you're not getting out of the group hug."

"No-"

"Come, Genma!"

"I'm too cool for this!"

"You were never cool."

By the time we finally finish our meal and sort out new team formations as well as possible battle formations, we're barely on time. Choza-sensei takes one look at us and laughs merrily, a sound that grounds me at the same time it gives me wings.

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Our mission ends up being a B-rank right off the bat, and we're told to keep an eye out for anything and everything. Delivering an important scroll to Minato, who's stationed at the border between Konoha and Suna, has a lot of potential to go downhill, fast.

We run at a steady pace, camping as soon as the sun goes down and taking off again as soon as it rises again. Since the only one who has stamina to go side by side with a jonin is Gai, Choza-sensei makes sure we push our limits, but not so much that we can't fight if we need to. After three uneventful days of three hopping and running, we finally arrive at the small camp where Konoha shinobi are stationed, and soon enough the scroll is safely in Minato's hands.

For some reason, as we take a moment to sit and rest before we go back, I can't help but feel restless.

"Hey, what's up?" Genma is the one who approaches me first, nudging me on the shoulder after it's clear I've been staring at the grilled fish for too long.

"I got a bad feeling." I turn uneasy eyes to him, and his own instantly sharpen.

"How so?" He motions Gai closer swiftly, in the code we came up with all those months ago. With each boy on either of my sides, it just feels as if we're huddling together to gossip.

"I feel like this has gone way smoother than it should've. I couldn't sense anyone following us or anything like that, but I can't shake off the feeling that something's wrong."

We're a team of genin with only one jonin sent out on a B-rank mission to deliver a scroll to one of the key people in this war, Minato. There's no way things are supposed to be as smooth as this. Whatever is in that scroll, Suna shinobi would most likely have made a move by now-

I take a sharp breath as soon as I hear unfamiliar iron screeching in the distance.

"Incoming." I state, and Minato kneels before me, probably already on his way to check me out.

'I hate being right.'

"How many?" He doesn't ask how I know and he doesn't ask for confirmation. It's a statement to how much he trusts me and my abilities, but that's a thought I push to the back of my mind to be dealt with later.

"Nine." I reply, triple checking on the iron that doesn't hum, but screeches. Both Choza-sensei and another shinobi confirm with grim faces the incoming ninja. Now that they're getting closer, they're letting their chakra signatures flow widely, my teammates stiffening beside me. They're not hiding their killing intent, and it feels like a taunt.

'Just like the outpost mission.' I realize, equal parts shocked and horrified.

"Be ready!" Minato yells, and by this time there's no need for subtlety. We're all aware of each other, and nothing good is gonna come out of this.

"This reminds me of the outpost mission two years ago. Stay alert and don't drop your guard." I barely manage to say my thoughts out in a rush before the first explosion comes.

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