( 19 April- year 13 AK )
I was sitting among the branches of a tall poplar, distractedly watching over the Inuzuka compound. In their courtyard, which was approximatively 500x300 meters large, Tsume Inuzuka was hammering into Kiba the proper way to use their clan techniques.
I sighed. I hadn't spoken to Tsume since Hana's death, there was really nothing to say, and that was without thinking of the sheer human disgrace that I thought she was for feeling better after I had killed Yugito.
With a tired sigh, I flickered over the wall that separated the street from the Inuzuka compound, immediately being noticed by both Kuromaru and Tsume. I waved at them and crouched, I was perched like some kind of vulture, but it hardly mattered. I only had to deliver a message.
Less than a minute later, I watched as the head of the Inuzuka clan left Kiba and Akamaru painting on the ground, trying to recover, and tilted my head as she walked towards me. What if she has actually become a decent human being? I wondered.
"Tsume-san, Kuromaru-san, hello." I started with a bland tone, I wasn't good at interacting on a personal level with other people. Especially non-civilian ones.
"Daiki-kun, it's been years, I heard you were back but I never saw you around. And look at you! You have a team now, don't you?" She greeted me with a surprising jovial attitude, which indicated her having already come to terms with Hana's death. Disgusting.
"Do you remember Yugito Nii?" I asked, likely with more bite than strictly needed. I could be subtle and shinobi-ish, but I really couldn't be bothered.
Her eyes narrowed and her expression closed off, a low growl leaving her canine companion.
"Sabaku no Gaara is the same as her." I added before she could attack me for bringing up painful memories. "Only more bat-shit crazy. Make sure that your son understands."
Tsume showed me her teeth in what I assumed was a threatening motion, I blinked, the gulf between our respective abilities was so vast it wasn't even funny, so I was hardly cowered.
"My son is a proud shinobi of the leaf, he will not disgrace the village by giving up."
"Did Hana honor Komohagakure by being slaughtered in Iwa?" I cut her off, the little patience I had evaporating fast.
"Did her meaningless death strengthen us? Because the only effect I see is the destruction of my former team, and our pain, Tsume-san." I retorted, forcing my voice to remain calm.
"Kiba doesn't have to die, and neither has to avoid participating, simply make clear in his eyes that a chunin recognizes when a battle is lost and retreats to attack another day." I pleaded her, forbidding myself from punching those canines out of her mouth.
She took a step back, her lips once more covering her teeth and the raised fur of Kuromaru returned down. "I'll think about it." She conceded.
I nodded and flickered away, my message sent. I only had to replicate the same with Kurenai and maybe bribe the proctor. Who was he again? Genma Shiranui or Hayate Gekkō? I couldn't remember. For the first time I cursed at my lacking social interactions with the shinobi community.
I went back to the training ground 11, a killer headache almost making it impossible for me to take notice of the orange mass of kids punching each other on the river, and of a pink-haired kunoichi skating on the water with sudden turns while reading the thick anatomy-tome I had provided.
I had left my genins to the care of their clan for today, so I was surprised when the Jiraya himself settled down among the branches of the big mangrove tree I was spying team 7' genins from.
"I'm guessing you are the annoying presence that has been spying on my training the other day?" I greeted him with a blank tone.
"Ah! Congratulations, I wasn't sure I had been spotted, but it's obvious, since you are an 'Actual Sage'!" He bantered as an answer.
I shrugged. "Is Sandaime-sama satisfied by my and my team' skills?" I distractedly asked, keeping an eye on Sakura, who had sat down on the mud and kept studying her textbook. Naruto had spammed a new batch of clones against which he was sparring.
"You have curious training methods." Jiraya diplomatically answered.
"I'm a curious person. Did you also happen to overhear my Yin and Yang theory lesson?" I asked, if the Hokage had sent him to either befriend or keep an eye on me I couldn't tell. But the reason behind his presence was obvious, and we both knew it.
"I've never been one for theory, and it was so difficult you almost killed your genins' brains, even if I admit that you managed to make it less dry than sensei did."
That was interesting. "Sandaime-sama actually sat down and explained this shit to your team?"
The toad sage barked a laugh: "Ah! Dear Kami, no! The Professor" and I could hear the love beneath the kind mocking of his title, "wrote a book on it, I never managed to read it until its end."
I blinked. "Uh, what's the title?" It would be nice to see if his understanding checked out with mine.
Jiraya gave me a strange look: "I honestly don't remember kid."
I arched an eyebrow: "Sure."
The conversation pretty much died then. An hour later, Naruto was still going at it, while Sakura was laid down on the water and kept reading, somehow engrossed by the dry tome.
"Did you gave her one of your books? Hey, what do you say if I give you one of mine? I'll even sign it!" Jiraya pathetically tried to rekindle our chat.
Wait. One of my books? I faltered for a moment, before realizing that Konoha's spymaster was more than likely to find out. That meant that the higher-ups knew, and Danzō along with them. My headache increased its hammering, talking with Tsume before, and dealing with big ass secrets immediately after was a killer cocktail.
I sighed, while the most difficult part in achieving my dream of living in a world that didn't send 5 years old prodigies to war had already been set up, Jiraya suddenly reminded me that I was far from being the top dog.
And that I needed to find a way to kick Nagato Six Steps into the next week before considering how to face Kaguya's third son. Fucking zetsu.
"I read Tale of the utterly gutsy ninja." I informed him, skirting the topic of my books for the moment.
"Oh? My first work, not many know it." Jiraya beamed.
"I learned something from you." I went on, "When the Hokage ordered you to let Yugito kill Hana, and you obediently stopped me." My tone turned frosty.
"You had almost fifty years to build your dreamland. Because you believe it possible. Well, good for you, but in case you haven't noticed, faith do not change the world.
Your actions, maybe, can. Your actions at my chunin exams clearly stated how much your nindo of peace is worth."
I turned my head toward the sannin, staring him in the eyes: "Everyone is quick in having faith in the next generation, I can understand teaching them your ideas, but betting on them? Why don't you do something instead of twiddling your thumbs?
And what have you tried to change the world? Teaching other shinobi the stuff you've been taught. Great job it did, didn't it?" I kept my tone even, albeit a bit sarcastic.
Jiraya eyes had turned steely, his expression was unreadable. I sighed again, letting both my rage and headache simmer down.
"I don't hate you, how could I? You've been given and shown hammers your whole life, how could you see any problem in any shape that does not resemble a nail?"
I shook my head. "Have you read The Matrix?" I asked him.
He frowned briefly, considering the non-sequitur. "The one in which everyone in the world is under a shared genjutsu?" He asked.
I nodded an assent. "What would you do if you were the only one awake? would you act like Cypher and ask to the Genjutsu Masters to be put under, or would you try to awaken everyone? Mind that people don't wish to awaken, the genjutsu is their life after all."
I looked at him tilting my head, not expecting him to understand what I had just told, but fucking hell I was tired of the Sandaime going all paranoid on me.
"As I said to my students, food for thought." I concluded.