We reached the village without much interaction.
When we reached the gates, it was one hell of drama.
Izumu spewed the juice he drank all over, Kotetsu with his large ass sword was jumping around like a monkey.
In seconds, 6 or so jounin gathered at the gate.
Ready to kill.
But a bunch of Anbu came in and handled the situation.
It was an exhausting event.
My mind just skipped through it as we were dragged all the way to Hokage's office.
We were made to sign papers to keep Jabuja's presence inside the village a secret.
S rank secret to be exact.
To think I will have my name on that pink file so early in my life.
The whole Jabuja thing was ....big.
So big, that Haku's topic was mostly ignored.
He just blurted "yuki clan", and "refugee" words outta his mouth, Hokage put him under 3 months of observation, before rolling him into the academy for evaluation. Not wanting to deal with any other things than Jabuja.
And here we are .....leaving the premises.
"I'm hungry as hell dude, let's hit Ichiraku", Naruto wobbles on his feet.
I myself, am exhausted, that pork ramen is what I want. Cheap and fatty.
I feel my mouth drooling. Naruto is literally drooling.
Sakura has a confused look, considering between going with us or going home to see her parent first.
This girl sure does emotionally push herself to the limit.
"We are gonna be stuffing our mouth like an hour in the Ichiraku. You don't have to come with us if you wanna go home?", I shrug.
Sakura jumps at the chance.
"Alrighty. Then I will go home. See ya!", and she vanishes.
After All this time with her, I can now faintly see the direction she leaves. Like a Chameleon. For a certain distance, then she just fades. Impossible to find, without sensing chakra specifically.
Hmm...I wonder what nickname she will have.
Kakashi looked like he wanted to say something.
Since she left, he gave up.
"Ma... okay....that marks the first team clearing of An "A rank", mission. Good job team. Don't forget to write your report within 3 business days. Training and D rank missions will continue after 3 days, dismissed", Kakashi says like reading a script.
Then a blast of smoke followed by his disappearance.
Naruto looks at me with a frown.
"We gotta find some cool way of leaving the party too", he sighs.
I sigh.
"See what I can cook. Let's just walk out through the door, like normal ninjas", I state.
"Normal ninjas walk out the window", Naruto retorts.
"Like people. I had enough of ninja for the past months", I am this close to snapping.
"Wow...chill dude. Why do you gotta be a stick in the mud?", Naruto whines while walking upside down on the ceiling.
"Unlike you, I don't have a 9 dicked fox in me, that will keep them shoved up my ass, like you have", I snapped finally.
Naruto gets down.
"Hei...that's tail. Not dicks. Maybe you are jealous cause your weak ass can't keep up with my "superior" stamina", Naruto has his nose up in the air.
"Spell the word "superior" and are you sure those aren't dicks? Like, you have ever seen the Fox? Maybe those were actually dicks but the village twisted it to keep it family-friendly?", I shrugged.
Naruto's face morphs between rage and confusion.
I get close to his ear.
"Imagine this, giant dicks, thrashing around, smashing buildings. That literally sounds like " the 9-tailed fox fucked up the village", I whisper.
Naruto's face is like a tomato about to burst.
If he laughs his ass off in the Hokage's building, he will be in big trouble.
"Or maybe those are 9 breasts, like those Inuzuka doggies have. Large, humongous breast thrashing around the villages", I say while wondering at the ceiling.
Naruto is at a breaking point.
Just a little bit more.
"The village never lies to its citizens ", a lean voice is heard from behind. Like stabbing me in the back.
I Snap around, Naruto too.
Not a single sound, nor smell, let alone chakra sig.
I didn't feel the old man coming this way.
"To even think such atrocious thoughts, not to mention, about the topic concerning the jinjuriki is treason in on itself", Says the eyepatch Oldman with one hand hanging inside his robe.
Danzo.
He just made himself appear out of nowhere.
Should I apologise?
No....his presence is not really a piece of common knowledge... His name is on the list of council members. But unlike them, he never appeared at the academy.
So the best approach would be...
"Do I know you?", I ask with narrow eyes.
I relax my body. Full of openings.
My whole being is screaming to run or punch his face, but I completely suppress it.
Even a speck of hostility might cause suspicions.
You are a civilian or a friendly retired ninja to me.
Not a threat.
"Yeah! Mind your own business, Oldman! What do you know about treasons?", Naruto says with a frown. But he is wary. Animal instincts?
Danzo clicks his tounge.
Like he is disappointed.
.....did I dodge a serious bullet here?
Gives him the look like he the smelliest trash he ever smelled.
"Take your disgusting antics someplace else. This place is already in the mud with this monster in the vicinity ", he flaps his rob around to leave.
I heard some things Snap. More like a burst.
A vein on my forehead just popped.
"Respectable elder", I call out.
He stops in his tracks.
Does he want to test me? Then I will give him a performance. Naruto looks at me.
"I think you owe my friend here an apology ", I calmly say.
I feel the floor under my feet slither away as he fully turns to face me.
"What?", he asks. He is not even hiding his bloodlust.
I bow slightly.
"We apologise for our misconduct and defiling the sanctity of the Hokage tower with our words. But you owe Naruto Uzumaki an apology for calling him a monster. Naruto is.....respectably a well-deserved ninja", I say while looking at the floor.
I made him come down to my level, with this.
"I don't know who you are, but you look like an important person. Naruto here wants to be a Hokage one day. Helping people like you, for the betterment of the village. By no means he should be treated in such since it's the village itself that selected him to be a ninja as its protector", I say.
"Protector?", Danzo has his nose high in the air. It's weird as fuck since he has an eyepatch.
Looked like he was looking at the ceiling from my angel.
That .....kinda killed his mood. But what an old timer can work with....right?
"More like a leash put on an uncontrolled beast. The fact that Hokage lets it roam around the village astonishes me", He is trying his utmost to rile me up. And he is good at it.
On the other hand, Naruto is surprisingly chill about it. He has his fair share of offensive remarks from all around the village. One more, will not put a dent in his armour.
"You mean to say his job and vow to protect the village is a leash? Leashes are there as a weakness. As far I remember, the will of fire that we were taught, tells us to find strength in protecting the village and serve", I retort. Naruto is looking at me with narrow eyes. I guess my political voice is out.
"Don't lecture me about the will of fire, kid. I've been around before you were a worm. Before you chanted that mantra to boast that sounds like a kids poem. A ninja is a tool for the village to use, nothing more. It becomes useless when they become like you , driven by emotions and ideals that end in jeopardy. And it's us that has to clean up that mess", Danjo says.
Wow.....this guy needs a place to vent
...I feel like if I move a muscle I will be killed. Where is the plot-assisted intervention when you need it? Why is it that I am always getting mixed up with people that can end my life with a pinky finger?
Okay...here goes nothing. When in peril, remember ....always agree.
"The village was made based on the ideals of the 1st Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Do you mean to say, they ended up in jeopardy? The whole concept of a village only comprised of trained killers is as unrealistic as it can get", I chuckle.
Danzo....went silent for a second.
"What's your point?", he asks. Wow....ignored the fact that I just insulted Hashirama Senju. Or maybe he did....
"I agree with you", I give the stage to him.
Danzo stands there stunned for a second.
I rub my chin look at the ceiling and ponder.
"I've been waiting for someone to point out exactly the thing. Ninja, by the history, shouldn't even be banding together like this. Or run a whole ass military programme. It should be discreet. More secluded. Not to mention, the amount of dropouts we have. It just allows secrets to flow into civilians. And what's up with the secret village "hidden in leaves", if its hidden how the heck do civilians come here to market? ".
Danzo is now looking at me with narrow eyes. Trying to understand what the heck is going on.
"On top, of that, due to the so-called "ninjas", now consist of a large population, have warranted an ideological society where you have to have a set emotions like "will of fire" to operate. Requiring some level of political involvement. That surely does impact on efficiency! Am I to the point or not?", I point at Danzo.
I know those eyes. He couldn't agree more with me.
But on the bright side, he isn't showing any blood lust.
"Is this all a joke to you?", Danzo asks.
Now that is a million-dollar question.
"No, dear elder. It's not. I myself am a slave to the system, laying down my life on the line. The fact I am not a proper ninja proves my view towards it. Although, If it was a joke made by Hashirama Senju, that came to reality then....I sympathise with you. If we are all tools, it makes all of us a joke. We are a bunch of ninjas, acting like civilians. That sure does sound like a joke. Then my friend here being a monster has to be better. Am I right?", did it make sense?
I bow to him.
"Then I should be one apologising for disrespecting you and Thank you for praising my friend by calling him a monster", I state.
Danzo at this point has given up.
He sighs ever so slightly.
"You are an interesting kid", Danzo rubs his chin.
Eh? What was that?
Then he turns,
"I look forward to your carriers. You and your friend over there", he has a smile on his lips.
What the heck? That is scary.
And then he vanishes into some wobbly mirage. He was a genius the whole time?
I sigh of relief.
Now that I think about it.....he didn't call Naruto a monster at the end.
My friend.
"What in the actual fuck was that?", Naruto deadpans. "And who was that Oldman?"
"We really gotta find some cool way of leaving the party", I dodge the question. Since I have no idea myself and I can't answer the latter.