Chapter 41
NOHARA RIN
Nohara Rin was still disturbed by her last conversation with the water daimyo, her jailor. She had tried desperately to get the man to divulge the meaning behind his words. Yet, he had been tight-lipped about it and, despite her various attempts, he had refused to divulge even a tiny bit of information.
Yet they continued to meet, and he would often accompany her to her meals and sometimes escort her to the garden.
The apprehension and fear she had felt when she had first woken up in this mansion had now lessened considerably. Though she stayed vigilant and acutely aware of her words and actions to not divulge any village secret, she had begun to understand that her life was not in danger—at least not in any acute danger in this enemy territory.
And so as another day dawned, she found herself infront of the man who had both kept her safe and in prison sat infront of her, still dressed in ostentatious clothes as he sipped his tea regally.
"Word has come from Fire country," he began, and she perked up at those words and looked up expectantly at news from her home country.
"The war of succession has concluded," he finished. She was surprised that the conflict had barely lasted a few months, and though she was not an astute student of history, she could tell that the war was shorter than usual.
"Akihito Shirahoshi has been sworn in as the new daimyo," he finished with a smile before reaching into his pocket as he passed along another envelope.
"Konoha has also begun preparations to crown a new king," he added, and she stiffened, already an all too familiar name popping into her mind.
"Minato Namikaze has been selected as the fourth Hokage," he finished, and her guess was proven right. Her sense had been made the Fourth Hokage, and she grit her teeth as she realized just what a precarious situation her capture put him in. She eyed the envelope, teh water daimyo held in his hands, before he suddenly slid it forward.
"You have letters from both of them. They have been scrutinized, of course. But their content was not incriminatory." He added, and she was not surprised that they had went throught them.
"You would be allowed a response, which will be scrutinized, so I would advise that you try not to be too smart." He finished with a polite smile, and it did little to assuage her fears or her frustrations.
"What should I write in my replies?" she questioned condescendingly.
And his lips turned up, knowing that this was nothing more than useless banter at this point, for though she was a prisoner, she had little to complain about.
"I am not dictating to you about what you may or may not write in your replies. I believe you are smart enough for that," he replied, still smiling smugly at her as she sighed.
"You should enjoy your time here, Nohara-san. Few shinobi are ever welcomed and hosted in foreign lands as you," he said, and she narrowed her eyes.
"I would much rather enjoy myself back in my own home," she replied sarcastically as he shook his head in faux hurt as he animatedly clutched his heart.
"Your words wound me, Nohara-san," he spoke dramatically acting as if her words had truly hurt him.
"I had hoped that you would grow to appreciate my company. After all, I have been making time, especially for you, out of my busy schedule," he replied, and she did not know how much of it was the truth.
Though he had made an effort to dine with her at least once a day, she was not blind to the continuous going ons of the castle as various nobles came to meet him during the day.
She could tell that the war in Kiri was entering its final stages and that her time in captivity would soon come to an end.
A captivity that had somewhat grown on her. When she had been captured, she had thought her life forfeit, for few shinobi ever made it out of enemy clutches, and those who did were never the same.
Yet she had been spared that cruel fate. Though she lost many freedoms and was entrapped in a foreign land, she was safe and honored.
And it was in some part thanks to the man infront of her. Yes, the fire daimyo had supposedly requested that she be treated well, but she was sure that if he wished, Kiri could make her life miserable, yet that was not the case.
So, she bit her lip as she glanced down, building up teh courage as she opened her mouth.
"I know that you could have made my life much tougher," she began as she looked up.
"Yet you did not. And allowed me to live a life of dignity and peace. Even though I am a prisoner, you have treated me well, and for that, you have my gratitude," she said as she gave the man a small bow.
"There is no need for that," he answered, his voice smooth as he looked her in the eye.
"I have quite enjoyed your company as well, Noahara-san," he replied as he made to stand up and began to walk away and told her the following partying words as he gave her a small smile.
"And what do we know? Maybe our futures will not be as distant as you may seem to believe."
0000
SHISUI UCHIHA
Shisui found himself kneeling down on one knee in the Hokage tower, the village had just celebrated the ascension of a new kage with the Sandaime Hokage retiring from his position and the young prodigy, Minato Namikaze taking up the mantle of the Yondaime Hokage.
There were some tensions in the village with the recent demise of Danzo Shimura, an older and esteemed Councilman. The man had been a teammate of the Sanadaime, a student of the Nanadaime, yet for some reason his funeral had been a quiet affair done in secret with no honors.
There were some rumors around the man, and how he had committed crimes against the village, yet nothing had been made clear yet.
Though teh thing causing the most anxiety was teh defection of Konoha's infamous Snake sanin, and the news had all the clans and forces on edge, for the Snake Sanin, was no ordinary shinobi. He had headed Konoha's R&D division and was a kage candidate until recently, one who had been considered quite seriously for the position.
His defection had sever implications for the village, and already specialized task fores had been developed to track the man, yet Snake sanin was anything but incompetent. The only ray of hope in these times had been the yondaime, Minato-sama, whose strength and prowess inspired confidence in the village.
"Jounin Shisui, at ease," the Hokage-sama commanded him with a smile as Shisui stood up, still unaware of why he ahd been summoned.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," he said as he stood up and saw those blue eyes staring at him with a glint as the Hokage-sama opened his mouth.
"Do you have any idea why you have been summoned?" the man questioned, his tone lighter than the one Sandaime-sama would have, yet he knew that he should not let that fool him. Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was the only shinobi of their time to get an SS rank and a flee-on-sight order.
And he had not gotten that rank through smiles and politeness. He was a projection of Konoha's might, one shinobi who had singlehandedly slain over a thousand Iwa-nin to turn the tides of the war.
"No, Hokage-sama," he replied evenly. However, he feared that it may have something to do with the grievances of the clan, which were growing as they felt slighted after Fugaku-sama had been overlooked for the position of the Kage, with the Uchiha once more denied a position they had sought for years.
"You have risen through the ranks quite quickly. I have talked to many a shinobi, and all of them have touted you as a true prodigy amongst your peers, and I would tend to agree with them," the Hokage-sama praised him, and the words coming from the mouth of a man, Shisui thought a role model felt good.
"Shisui, the teleporter they call you. An interesting name," the Hokage-sama continued with a smile as he leaned forward.
"And it seems your fame and accolades have gone beyond the shinobi world," he finished his words, surprising him.
In general, most residents of the nation were not given any information about the Hidden Village, for they were Hidden. Only the essential information was passed to the relevant bodies of governance, and only a truly fabled and stories ninja would be known to the common residents of the fire country.
"Jounin Shisui Uchiha, by the order of the current daimyo Akihito Shirahosi, you have been offered a position in the esteemed Guardian Twelve. Your clan head has been informed of the offer and has given his assent already," and with that, a scroll was put forward.
"Further details and obligations of this assignment of your duties are listed in this scroll," and for a second, Shisui could not believe those words.
Guardian Twelve. The daimyo's personal guards were all special shinobi, honored and skilled beyond a regular shinobi. It was an honor, a position of great influence and power.
"Me?" he questioned, perplexed that a simple chunin like himself had been nominated for the position.
"But I am just a Tokubetsu jounin, of course there must be better options," he protested. He could name a few from the top of his head, and Hokage's student was one of them.
Hatake Kakashi was almost a household name at this point. The silver-haired ninja had been training with vigor and carrying out missions at such a pace that he was already being given an epithet of his own, the Copy in, as he made use of his friend's last gift to him.
And the Hokage-sama smiled.
"You underestimate yourself, jounin Shisui after all the recommendation for you came from the daimyo himself," and he stilled at those words.
"The daimyo-sama himself," he questioned, not believing those words.
"Indeed. The daimyo-sama himself nominated you for the position by name," he reiterated as he smiled while he tried to make sense of those words.
"You can reject the offer, of course. Though I believe you should think about it and maybe talk to Fugaku-san before you decide."
And he nodded as he picked up the scroll.
"I will," he answered, still in a daze, with a single whisper leaving his lips as he left the office dazed, for he had just learned that not only was he becoming quite famous, he had just received a nomination from the highest power in the land. He had just received a nomination from "The daimyo-sama."
0000
Back in the capital, in the training ground in the daimyo's castle, Tsunade Senju found herself standing opposite to the most esteemed noble of their land as teh guardian twelve looked on worryingly from the side, their eyes locked onto her with worry and apprehension as the newly risen daimyo-sama stood opposite to her with an unreadable expression.
"Are you sure about this, Akihito? Killing intent is no joke, and I am no regular shinobi, no matter what you may think. I have participated in two wars. Even if I were to reel myself back, it could be dangerous," she reiterated, yet the young daimyo nodded.
"I know, but this is necessary, and I would not have asked you if I had not believed it to be. I will be fine, so let us get started," he said as he slowly took a breath. She nodded before closing her own eyes, knowing there was little she could do to stop him.
"Then so be it." She replied as she closed her eyes, bringing her chakra to just beneath her skin, before she let it go with a burst as she focused all her killing intent on the young boy infront of her.
CRACK!
SCHING!
The ground beneath her feet cracked, and she suddenly found herself surrounded by twelve overly zealous shinobi, their blades at her neck.
"HALT!" came Akihito's voice, and she watched as the Guardian twelve pulled back revealing a still standing but rather huffing form of Akihito Shirahoshi and she was surprised by his resilience, for she knew full fledged shinobi who would falter after such pressure.
"I ordered you to not interfere," he barked angrily, and the leader of the twelve stepped forward.
"But daimyo-sa...."
"I was clear. She will not harm me. Do not interfere again!" he ordered, and the man nodded.
"As you wish, daimyo-sama," and with that, they vanished once more as he locked eyes with her and as sweat dripped down from the side of his head.
"Again!"
He spoke, and she nodded, trying to reason out the reason behind this unique request.
'Just what are you planning now, Akihito?' she thought as she got ready once again.
0000
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