Chapter 23

Kuzo had to recheck what he had just heard.

Did he just get promoted to a Jonin, and now he was leading a Jonin squad with a mission to take Orochimaru down? Sure, Kuzo had a goal of killing the snake, but he had never thought he would be entrusted with such a mission.

He formed a hand sign, trying to dispel any possible genjutsu, earning himself a chuckle from the Hokage.

The Hokage smiled, "It's not out of calculation. You, on your own, managed to take Orochimaru's bodyguards despite their numerical advantage. With your tactics, no one will oppose giving you a squad to lead. Moreover, you have enough power to be called a Jonin."

Although he was not on Orochimaru's level, Kuzo could kill him with that Fury Jutsu if he caught him off guard, and he had Kimimaro's powers. Orochimaru in the anime mentioned he couldn't kill the Kazekage without Kimimaro's help, so Kuzo possessed something Orochimaru didn't. Better yet, he could trap him in the formation of the violet fire.

"And you also have a library of ninjutsu and Kekkei Genkai. You may end up being called the ultimate taijutsu master one day," the Hokage said.

Well, his statement wasn't absurd. With the power to lift mountain-sized creatures he got from that person, plus the bone density from Kimimaro, Kuzo had both the muscle and bone. If there was a technique that could break one's fist, like punching faster and harder than your body can handle, such as some gates, such techniques wouldn't harm Kuzo's bones or flesh. He also had the ability to grow spikes out of his body and the imperfect sage mode, which could make him ten times more powerful.

Seeing that Kuzo was being silent, the Hokage smiled, "Do you still think you're unable to do that?"

Kuzo shook his head. He smirked, "I was a bit shocked to achieve this much at this age. I'll gladly accept your mission."

Kuzo had a hidden agenda, which was to kill Orochimaru for the pain he caused him in the last days. There was no reason to refuse.

"Glad to see that you accepted." The Hokage stood up, walked to a nearby closet, and grabbed a scroll. With a hand sign, a green vest appeared from nowhere. It was the same size as Kuzo. "I had this prepared in advance since I had high expectations for you. You can take it now."

"So, who are my team?" Kuzo asked.

"Two shinobis with the same agenda as you. One of them is a Jonin, Anko. I believe you can help her like you helped the Sound Four. Another one is a trusted member of the black ops; he'll reveal himself later to you," the Hokage said. "Other than that, you are allowed to request as many resources as you need through me."

"Can I get, let's say, some Hyuga and others, like Guy…" Kuzo was thinking of many plans.

'If I possess him, with mind transfer jutsu and then let a Hyuga block my chakra points, Orochimaru wouldn't have a chance to use some mystical jutsu to run away. But on the other hand, my original body will receive the damage. But easier said than done.'

The Hokage took a deep breath. Tapping Kuzo on the forehead, he said, "I hope you didn't forget what I said the last time you were here."

"Get back to the village when it needs me."

"The time before that."

"Learn from your mistakes." Kuzo suddenly remembered the time when he had been after that Uchiha mimic. A whole inn ended up blowing, and he was detected because he didn't check for seals around. "I understand," Kuzo added. It meant that he shouldn't depend too much on his planning, as things wouldn't go as planned in the future.

Kuzo then stood up, gave a slight bow, and said, "If that's all, I'll be leaving."

-x-X-x-

As there was no other place to go, Kuzo went to his house with Hotaru. He didn't know if he should go there after making the parents of the body owner worried about him for many days, especially with a pretty blonde like Hotaru, who happened to be at his age. But, you know what that guy said, home is a place where people think of you. And the only people who were thinking of him were Orochimaru, Danzo, and his family. He didn't see much choice.

"I'm home," Kuzo announced when he entered. There was some silence in the house, and Kuzo acted as if everything was normal when he turned to Hotaru and said, "You can come in."

"That voice… It's you!"

A black-haired woman got out of the kitchen, looking at Kuzo with astonishment. She rushed toward him, looked at his face, and said, "Where have you been!?" that was his mom, not the real one, but had good cooking skills, which he missed honestly.

"Didn't they say I was on a mission?" Kuzo replied, "I was under special training."

"Have you been missing meals? Looks like you've thinned." She said, examining his body.

Well. Asian parents could be nice sometimes.

"You didn't look this concerned when I became a spy."

"I gave you a kunai. And civilian spy is an easy job and safer. Basically living like a civilian somewhere." She replied, "anyway. I'll call your father."

Kuzo scratched his chin, thinking of the best way to deliver the news to her. He turned to Hotaru, grabbed her, and put her in front of him.

"Ah, before that, Mom, meet Hotaru. She'll be living with us from now on." He said with a casual smile. "I was staying in their place, and now, she's staying with us, the Hokage said so."

She paused for a brief moment, looking at Kuzo, then to Hotaru, who looked at her before looking at Kuzo.

Hotaru bowed, "Hello, Auntie. I hope we get along well."

"But I promised your cousin of you," replied his mother, "My sister was excited."

"Whatever. Add her to the list," Kuzo didn't remember who was his cousin or whatsoever.

Upon seeing Kuzo not denying any sort of relationship, Hotaru coughed a few times.

Kuzo's mom took a deep breath, and then she said, "I'll check with Hokage later. But now, we should take care of our guest. She'll stay with your sister. Hotaru-Chan. Follow me to your new room. As for Kuzo, go to your room. We'll talk after dinner."

Apparently, the shock of him bringing a new girl home had his mom ignore the fact he was wearing a Jonin vest. Well, one could ignore that since it looked similar to the Chunin vest. But still, even the Chunin vest should be shocking for them.

'Well. After dinner. That went well.'

Stretching his arms up, Kuzo went to his old room. Seeing that they still cleaned his room, he couldn't be any happier. He took off his pants, vest, shoes, and threw himself onto his bed.

As he laid down, he appreciated the break.

'Maybe, maybe, it's time to train.'

Kuzo laid down, and he thought if he could train in this room to master any jutsu.

'I have En No's experience. He's near to Kage's level. Maybe not physically, but his chakra control experience is mine. So maybe… I can manipulate chakra.'

If Kuzo could get his opponent's powers and combine them, then chakra control and manipulation were a part of it.

He looked at his hand and thought, 'Maybe I can master that Jutsu. The Rasengan. After all, It's about rotating chakra in a different direction, focusing it in one point, and keeping it in a sphere shape. Easy, step by step.'

After around 15 minutes, the chakra in his palm was rotating in different directions. He smiled.

'Step one, complete.'

'Now, for step two.'

-x-X-x-

Kuzo was sitting in his room, facing his father, explaining to him the situation about what happened in the last days, and how he had been training under En No, before Orochimaru's people attacked, and they ended up in a battle.

They had dinner, and Hotaru had been getting along with his family. If there is something these people respected, it would be their guests. Anyway, Hotaru now was staying with his sister in her room. As for him, he had a long talk with his family about what had happened in the last month.

"Never thought you'd grow up this fast," the father sighed. "You are old enough to be entrusted with someone but not to own your own house."

"She's rich, you know, her granddad is En No." Kuzo replied, "she can buy a few houses…"

The father and mother smiled after hearing the 'rich' word.

"No. It's okay. You two suit each other anyway," said the mom, "as for your cousin, she'll be okay with it. Maybe add her if she was okay."

'Who is she again?' Kuzo just rolled his eyes. Deciding to change the topic, he went to the corner and brought a green vest.

"By the way, I'm a Jonin now." When he wore the vest and turned to the shinobi household, he saw them looking at him with shock, slightly dropped jaw.

'It's better than I imagined.' Kuzo stretched his arms open, a cocky smile appeared on his face, "What do you think?"

"You've been promoted to a Chunin. You're not fooling anyone. But good job," said the mother, earning a nod from her husband. They still didn't believe him. "We'll make you a cake, so, rest for now."

They then left the room. Kuzo sighed and shook his head. He'd expected to see eyes of worship and admiration. But they had strong denial.

It's all right. He shouldn't focus on being cocky. He should focus on finding some strong missing-nins, kill them, and attain power in preparation for the near confrontation against Orochimaru.

Anyway, two chakra signatures appeared beside his window.

Knock Knock

Kuzo turned to the window when he heard someone knocking on it.

A young masked man and a purple-haired woman with a large chest were looking at him.