The Old Man

Hiruzen looked calmly at the boy, who was still sleeping on the bed. The things he heard earlier brought shivers to his spine, strengthening his belief about the boy's powers. Danzo indeed planned to assassinate him in the past so that he could become Hokage. Fortunately, Kakashi informed him about his plans which made him confront the smug Danzo. What amazed him more was the fact that Okami was even able to find out about his decision of sparing Danzo's life even after the said treason. Without a doubt, this child was a treasure and must be protected.

"Yamato, get Tora and Ushi to guard this boy without him knowing. Be careful to be discreet about." Hiruzen ordered as he sat still on the chair. "You know what to do."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Yamato disappeared as soon as he heard the command. Hiruzen was still contemplating if he would still leave this boy alone when he saw him rousing up from his sleep.

Okami massaged his forehead as he sat down. "Ugh...Hokage-sama..."

"Yes, Okami-kun. Are you feeling okay?" Hiruzen felt the boy's temple and felt relieved. "At least you don't have a fever anymore. You need a drink?"

"It's okay. What...what happened, Hokage-sama? Did I faint again?"

"Yes, Okami-kun. Iruka told me that you faint every time your powers activate. Is this the case why you collapsed earlier?"

Okami weakly nodded as he leaned on the wall and sighed. He clenched his fists and hesitated for a bit before replying with, "I've...I've seen your future...Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen felt nervous all of a sudden, realizing that the boy had seen something ominous about things to come. "What about it, Okami-kun?"

"The snake guy that killed my father...he will come to you as well...and do something bad," Okami looked upset and teary-eyed from his revelation and took time before adding with, "Konoha will be attacked."

Hiruzen felt clammy when he heard the unexpected reply. If this was true, then Konoha would be in the dire situation considering a Sannin would attack the place. To make matters worse, Okami was saying that he would be in a bad situation. He had to make sure about this and thought of a plan.

"Okami-kun, I want you to cooperate with us since this involves Konoha. Can you allow yourself to be subjected to mind-reading? We wanted to further investigate what you have said earlier if that is okay with you."

Okami nodded strongly. "It is my pleasure to help Konoha, Hokage-sama. I am more than willing to subject myself to mind-reading even if it harms me."

Hiruzen smiled and gave him a reassuring gaze. "It will not harm you, Okami-kun. Remember Inoichi Yamanaka? He will do the investigation."

"When will we do it, Hokage-sama?"

"If you are feeling good right now, then we can do it today. We can go to the Intelligence Division headquarters and look for him. He is the head of the Analysis Team of Konoha, so you can be assured of him."

"Then let us go, Hokage-sama." Okami roused up from the bed and stretch his arms and legs. "Fit like a bull."

Hiruzen chuckled when he saw how the kid acted. It reminded him of his grandson and furrowed his brows when he thought of Okami's revelation. He had to take things seriously and decide after the mind-reading.

The duo talked about many things as they walked towards the Intelligence Division office. After passing several blocks, they arrived at their destination and went inside.

Okami looked at the hall and he was reminded of Japan's classical architecture. The anime was indeed accurate of its depiction and he was fully convinced that Masashi Kishimoto, the author of Naruto, was a prophet. He had a firm believed that mangakas were prophets and dimension travelers, able to depict such an otherworldly and magical world with fearsome accuracy. He was cut off from his rumination when they reached the far east side of the hall.

Hiruzen knocked on the door and a loud voice answered with, "Come in."

The duo entered the room and they saw the ash-blond haired man sitting on his office table. "Hokage-sama. And Okami-kun."

"Yes, Inoichi. We need your services right now." Hiruzen gave him some sort of signal which Inoichi understood and gave a slight nod.

Inoichi turned his attention towards the boy. "Are you sure that you want your mind to be read? There may be secrets in your clan that you wanted to keep in secret."

Okami cupped his fists and bowed while standing. "Yes, Inoichi-ojisan. I wanted to help."

"Just relax, Okami-kun." Inoichi smiled and tapped his shoulders while looking at the other door just behind them. "Neto, please prepare the Mind Reading Amplification Machine. Let three people assist you to increase the Psycho Mind Transmission. Just let someone give me a heads-up when you are done."

After a few minutes of waiting, the door behind them opened and a black-haired man with glasses entered. "You may now do the mind-reading."

"Thank you," Inoichi replied and turned around after his subordinate exited the room. He then placed his right hand on Okami's head and gave him a reassuring gaze. "Just close your eyes, Okami-kun. Relax and take it as if you are taking a quick nap."

"Yes, Inoichi-ojisan."

==========================================

Inoichi was now standing at the edge of a long, narrow hallway. The floor was covered with tiles and the walls were made of glass. He could see the surroundings very clearly because it was illuminated with bright bulbs, which were mounted throughout the walls until the end of the hallway. What made him curious was the glimmering light at the end of the hallway as if inviting him to approach the light like a firefly to a flame.

Without a choice, Inoichi walked straight ahead as he cautiously looked around for possible traps. It took him for about a few minutes before he arrived at the exit and exhaled a deep breath. As soon as he entered the room, he saw an old man wearing a lab coat in the middle of the room, which he suspected to be a laboratory of some sort. And at the right side of the old man was a humanoid, about 4'11" in height.

Inoichi noticed that it had a large mustache, and long, thin snout, narrow eyes, ear-like spikes extending from the top of its head, and an additional spike protruding from each cheek. Its yellow, skeletal body was covered with brown armor-like sections over its chest, shoulders, forearms, and knees. He looked down and saw three toes on each foot, each of which had a white claw. Two of the toes faced forward, while one faced backward. It wielded a silver spoon in each hand as if he was ready to eat.

"Oh, so it is you, Inoichi Yamanaka," the old man faced him as his arms were folded on his chest. "Took you a long time coming here."

Inoichi readied himself and stood in a fighting position. "How did you know me?"

"Ah, you don't have to be guarded against me, I've meant you no harm. I'm just an old man with no powers to harm you."

Inoichi looked at the humanoid creature beside the old man and grumbled. "The older the ninja is, the stronger it gets. And the summons beside you is strong enough to give me an impression."

The old man laughed boisterously as he patted his stomach. "Now, now. This is Alakazam, one of the Pokemon summons that has psychic powers. I know that you are aware of what a Pokemon is, right? Ah...it was rude of me to not introduce myself right away. I'm Professor Oak of the Ketchum Clan."

Inoichi was still in an alert mode. "So you're one of the ancestors of Okami?"

"Yes. I believe he had told you about our powers, right? So do not be surprised if I say that I was expecting you to come. The truth is I sealed my last thread of power inside my Grandson's memory to meet you."

"What do you mean, Professor Oak?"

"Through the visions, I was already conscious that my Grandson will be orphaned and my clan will be exterminated because of the greediness that several ninjas have towards our Kekkei Genkai. I never take advantage of people, so please help my Grandson and in return, I will let you have one of the Pokemon as your partner."

Inoichi slightly tilted his head. "What kind of help?"

"Just relay every single memory you will see to Hiruzen Sarutobi and help my Grandson become a full-fledged ninja so he can continue the Ketchum legacy."

"Even without the deal, I intend to tell the Hokage everything that I saw. But I am kind of interested in your offer. Do I become a Pokemon trainer?"

"Yes. With the last of my chakra, I can still connect you to the world of Pokemon and let you have the ability to summon them. I'd also let you choose your starter Pokemon."

"Starter Pokemon?"

Professor Oak snapped his finger and three Pokeballs appeared on the table. He pressed the knob on each Pokeballs and three Pokemon appeared.

The first one was a bipedal Pokémon that resembled a tapir. It had tired-looking eyes, a short trunk above its mouth, and triangular ears with brown interiors. The upper half of its body was yellow and the lower half was brown. A wavy line separated the two halves and it had a round belly and short legs. Its feet were brown, except for its two yellow toes. The bottom of each foot had a small, round, pink pad in the middle of it. There were three fingers on each of its hands.

The second one was a blue, bat-like Pokémon. While it lacks eyes, it had pointed ears with purple insides and a mouth with two sharp teeth on each jaw. It had purple wing membranes supported by two, elongated fingers, and two long, thin, tails.

The third one was a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon. Blue growths resembling clown hair extended from the sides of its pale pink head, and there was a magenta circle on each cheek. Its jaw was curved inward, resembling the mouth of a wooden dummy. It had a round, white body with a magenta spot in the middle, light pink arms, and legs that connected to its body via magenta spheres, and small white coverings over its knees. Its white hands resembled gloves with magenta pads on the tips of its white fingers and its dark blue feet curled upward at the tips.

"The first one is Drowzee, a Hypnosis Pokemon with a Psychic nature. As its name implies, it pretty involves itself with dreams and hypnosis. The second one is Zubat, a Bat Pokemon with a dual-nature: Poison and Flying. It specializes in echolocation and sonar ability. The third one is Mr. Mime, a Barrier Pokemon with Psychic and Fairy nature, which is very good to have when you want to be strong in barrier and trap techniques. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses."

Inoichi looked at the three Pokemon, still mystified by their appearances. He was amazed by the powers of the Ketchum clan, and he thought that if Okami was telling the truth, then there were more than 800 kinds of Pokemon. He unconsciously turned his attention on Alakazam and his interest increased. "What about Alakazam? Can I get this Pokemon?"

Professor gave a hearty laugh when he saw Inoichi's greediness and somehow was pleased with his reaction. "This is an evolved form of Abra, of which I have given to my Grandson in his Gift Box. Don't worry, the other three Pokemon are strong. And the two of them can evolve as well."

"Evolve?"

"Yes. Evolution will make their appearances change and become stronger in the process, gaining new abilities and techniques. You can ask my Grandson as to how they can evolve."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I just want our legacy to live on. And I want my Grandson to be protected. This is the very reason why I will allow you to read his memories, of course, after you agree to my request. So, do you agree, Inoichi Yamanaka?"

Inoichi weighed against his choices and realized that they would only benefit from this interaction without suffering any losses. He gave his affirmation. "I agree, Professor Oak."

"Then, before you start reading his memories, may I know what Pokemon you choose as your starter?"