Chapter 35
"Nope," And with that, the matter was settled, and they all lived happily ever after.
"We can't deny them so simply," Shikaku, the villain he was, always had a counter for Hiruzen. "They use peace treaties to their full disposal. The Land of Lightning and Land of Fire Daimyos had already had a meeting and wished for Kumo to participate in Chunin Exams."
"No."
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but our hands are tied," Shikaku continued to deny Hiruzen. "Even our Daimyo couldn't deny it. Two teams from Kumogakure will participate, and if they reach the finals, the Fourth Raikage shall come personally to watch the final test."
"Fuck," Shikaku didn't seem to be surprised by Hiruzen's mood, as he felt the same. "Do we at least know who would come?"
"No, sadly, we can't force them to reveal anything, but they are genin," Shikaku replied. "And worse, we know their Jonin senseis that will accompany them. One of them is Dodai, and the other is."
"Don't say it."
"It is Killer B."
"Fuuuuck."
And there everything was going fine, Hiruzen was getting some time off of the late, finishing his work earlier every day. So, he put some time into training a few jutsu from the clan's archive with Asuma since he was preparing for the Jonin exam.
The preparations for the Chunin exams were almost done, with only Suna attending from the Big Five, but now a mountain was dropped on Hiruzen's head.
"On the other hand, I think I overrated our village's growth from the Nine-Tails attack," Hiruzen quickly tried to scramble some kind of excuse. "We would need another year to prepare fully for something like Chunin exams."
"Hokage-sama."
"It is Killer B, for fuck's sake," Hiruzen wanted to cry. "Why the hell would Eight-Tails jinchuriki come here? How did our Daimyo allow it? Clearly, they are scheming something. I don't want to deal with this. Wait, I know. Of course, such a simple solution stood right before me, and I didn't see it."
"Hokage-sama."
"Shikaku Nara," Hiruzen took off his hat and place it before Shikaku. "From today onwards, I bestow you the title of the Fifth Hokage. Since this is an emergency and there is no time to discuss this any further, you shall take upon your position immediately."
"That will never happen, Hokage-sama," Shikaku coldly rejected Hiruzen's perfect plan.
"I don't want to deal with this," At this point, Hiruzen had long since given up pretending to be a wise old man. "Fuck."
"Hokage-sama, we still need to decide upon our team that will represent Konoha in the exams."
"Smoke, I need a smoke," Hiruzen ignored Shikaku as he was having a meltdown. "Where is my pipe?"
"You are already smoking, Hokage-sama."
"Fuck," Hiruzen let a long smoke that momentarily filled the office, it somehow calmed him down, and he was able to speak normally. "I have already decided on two members. Yamato and Shisui, I wanted a rookie for the last spot."
"I have a few outstanding genin that graduated this year," Shikaku quickly opened a scroll, feeling relieved to change the topic. "Hayate Gekko, excellent combat skills, especially with a sword. Kō Hyūga has shown excellent knowledge in tracking and medical theories as well at close combat, graduating first in theory. There is also…"
"What about Iruka Umino?" Hiruzen interrupted Shikaku.
"Average in all aspects, but he did show excellent growth compared to last year," Shikaku said. "He got all basics down, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu even fuinjutsu and medical jutsu. But he doesn't show any talent in either of them."
"Ordinary in all aspects," Hiruzen chuckled. "Interesting, put him on the team."
"But Hokage-sama, both Yamato and Shisui are generational geniuses. Iruka will only hold them back."
"I don't think so," Hiruzen knew the boys well, so he knew what they lacked the most. "Or do you want to do my job, eh, Shikaku?"
"Fine," Shikaku surrendered.
Hiruzen smiled at his victory before falling on his table, remembering how the conversation started. There was no way Kumo didn't plan something. Why else would they send their Jinchuriki? It made no sense. And it was hurting Hiruzen's head badly. There was no way they would attack straightforwardly, right?
No, even Killer B would be quickly dispatched in Konoha. Their movement would be carefully watched, and they would know that, too. So, there would be no surprise from them. But, then, why? Will they try to kidnap one of the Hyuga? Or maybe Uchiha? No, they would not use such a public event for this.
It only left with Konoha's genin. Everything could happen in tests, even death. So, Kumo's target probably will be to kill or cripple Konoha's rising stars. And Killer B would be there to defend their shinobi if such accusations would arise. And in the end, Hiruzen wouldn't be able to do anything.
'All right, let's calm down.'
Nothing was certain yet. And panicking didn't help anyone. In the end, it was still his village, and as long as they were inside, no one could threaten it. They want to harm his genin, well they will see that it isn't as simple as they expect. The Chunin Exams were under his control, so he only had to make the tests in a way where they couldn't do much.
'But was it enough?'
That question always loomed over his head no matter what he did. It was never enough; his decisions were always lacking. If only he were better, then this kind of situation wouldn't bother him. But this time, he couldn't be caught lacking.
Fuck Kumo.
If they think they can mess with Hiruzen, they will learn the hard way what kind of consequences it will bring them. Hiruzen already chuckled at the thought of how he would mess around with their genin in the Chunin Exams. By the time he is done with them, they won't want to step a foot back in Konoha.
…
Kakashi wasn't in a good mood. He was tired. Tired of those damn rumors spreading around the village. He couldn't even go shopping in peace, as everywhere he went, he heard Kunoichi giggling at him while looking at him. The shinobi were worse; everyone was now curious about who the mother was. And it wasn't like he could just say the truth and tell them all that he kidnapped the kid. So, he stayed silent and let the rumors spread.
"I wouldn't go in here if I were you," Kakashi stopped as he was about to enter Hokage's office, as Shikaku Nara blocked the path. "Hokage-sama is mad."
"Did he start denying everything?"
"Yes."
"Did he swear?"
"Multiple times."
"And he had offered you the Hokage's position?"
"Yes."
"That bad, huh?" Kakashi shivered at the thought as he saw the Hokage do one of these things when things were bad, but all three, it was a disaster. "Didn't the smoke calm him down?"
"It had no effect, and it seem he couldn't even notice that he was smoking."
"Hah," Kakashi let out a sigh. "I block the building and won't let anyone come in. But I won't be able to do his work. I have other things to take care of."
"It's fine; I will take over for today," Shikaku agreed. "We better not disturb him, or who knows what he will do."
Kakashi remembered how it was when the Daimyo called the Hokage out to meet him in the capital. At first, Kakashi didn't care much for Hokage's mood, but he still remembered how he destroyed the Daimyo and shook him out of all his money. And Kakashi didn't think the attempted assassination was the cause for that.
"What all this fuss about?" Both Kakashi and Shikaku turned to Tsunade as she was walking toward the office. "Is the old man busy? I need to talk to him."
"I think you should talk another day."
Shikaku tried to warn her, and Kakashi tried to block her path. But in the end, Tsunade was more stubborn than a bull to let them stop her. Fortunately, before she could open the doors, they heard a sinister and chilling chuckle coming from inside the office. Tsunade quickly backed away.
"That bad, huh?" Tsunade asked.
"We got the news that Kumo will participate in the Chunin Exams," Shikaku explained.
"He doesn't have anything to drink, does he?" Tsunade asked. "As funny as it was, no one can stop him when he is drunk, you know that, right? So, think carefully before you answer."
"I have checked the office before coming in," Shikaku replied calmly. "There is no way he could hide the amount of alcohol to make him drunk."
"Phew," Both Tsunade and Kakashi let out a relieved sigh.
They still remembered how he started drinking out of nowhere, and before they knew it, the Hokage was berating Danzo and beating one of the elite ROOT members. None of them wanted to be on the receiving end of Hokage's berating, as the only thing that hurt more than his punches were his words. They were too insecure for that.
"Well, I will be going then," Tsunade was the first to leave, and Kakashi followed right behind her.
After arranging that nobody would disturb the Hokage until he calmed down, Kakashi was forced to return home.
Somehow doing something he thought was right bitten his ass hard, and now he had to take care of a child. The rumors he could ignore, but he certainly couldn't ignore the chilling gaze the kid looked at him with.
"I bought dinner. I hope you will like fried chicken," Kakashi's return home was met with silence.
At least the child ate, probably his survival instincts kicking in. But Kakashi was lost, as Haku didn't speak a word to him yet. But the thin layer of ice covering every surface of his house told everything he needed about how Haku felt about him. At least he didn't need to worry about the leftovers getting bad.
But what could he do? The kid was taken away from his family and home, and he has no idea why. And what could Kakashi say to explain the situation? That Haku was unwanted and dangerous because of the abilities he was born with? That his mother gave him away to foreign shinobi? There was no way the kid wouldn't harbor hatred, no matter what he said. So, at least, it was directed at him and not at his family.
"Would you like to go sightseeing?" Kakashi tried to get anything out of him. "See the park? The Hokage Rock? Ice cream? Dango? Candy? Toys?"
There was no reaction for Haku, and Kakashi could only crumble on the table. He needed help, and that is why he was visiting the Hokage, even if it was technically his parental holiday. But who else he could ask for help? Guy? Not a chance. And without Guy, he didn't have any other friends.
"How about training?"
That triggered a reaction, as Kakashi feared. The kid wasn't, per se, afraid of Kakashi, but he probably felt weak and powerless. So, a promise of getting stronger garnered some reaction. But Kakashi didn't like it because he knew that feeling.
Kakashi barely remembered his mother, but he remembered how powerless he felt, so every second he had, he dedicated himself to getting stronger, but that feeling never went away. It only grew stronger until it completely engulfed him. Only Minato-sensei was able to get him out of that darkness, at least until he was still alive.
"Then you can join us from tomorrow onward."
But at least it would get Haku out of his stupor and whatever he was thinking. It was better that the kid joined them than being closed in a house. Yamato will probably be happy to get another friend to train with, as the young wood release expert seemingly never gets enough friends. If only Kakashi had the same enthusiasm.
At least he had some free time since Hokage decided to make a joke. But it was something deeper. Under the surface of a joke, the Hokage knew that Kakashi would need time to have some kind of bond with Haku. The Third always knew better, and under all his eccentricities lay a golden heart that experienced more than anyone else and that could understand others better than they could understand themselves.
Looking back at the silent kid, Kakashi decided to give him some space. And left the dining room. He never felt this way before. After Obito's and Rin's deaths, he never thought he would start caring for someone else. And now people just keep crashing into his life without his say, but with the Third standing by his side, he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would.