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After that, enjoy your reading!
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Hiruzen considered the masked man kneeling before him over his paperwork. "Report, Saru."
Of course, he was aware of the man behind the mask but protocol had to be followed at all times. After his eldest son and daughter-in-law joined the Shinobi Reserve to properly lead the Sarutobi clan, the mantle of Saru had fallen to his protegé and the newest addition to Hiruzen's personal ANBU guard, Sozen Sarutobi.
"Yes, Lord Third," replied Saru.
Hiruzen noticed that he had overcome the nervousness of being in his presence and smiled.
"Genin Yamanaka has been taking a rather active break. Her schedule is as follows: she wakes up irregularly through the night but always leaves her room at 0730 hours, helps the family business with deliveries until 1630 hours, and spars with Jonin Yamanaka before retiring at around 2045 hours."
"Any deviations from that schedule?"
"No—" Saru strangled the rest of that sentence. "Apologies, sir—yes. On Saturday at 1340 hours, she visited Genin Inuzuka at the hospital as he was receiving treatment for a soldier pill he consumed during training. More importantly, at precisely 1205 hours today, Genin Uzumaki entered the establishment shortly after Genin Yamanaka returned from a delivery run and left at 1235 hours looking mildly upset."
"...Interesting." Hiruzen filed that information away and nodded at his subordinate. "At ease, Saru."
Saru immediately relaxed. "Permission to remove my mask?"
"Granted."
Sozen sat in one of the two armchairs in front of Hiruzen's desk, releasing an audible sigh of relief. He clutched his hands in his lap and Hiruzen could feel the young man's eyes roaming restlessly.
"What's the matter, Sozen?"
"Enzou has been watching Genin Yamanaka while she sleeps—if you'll beg my pardon, sir, I don't believe she'll reveal Genin Uzumaki's Jinchuriki status to anyone."
Without looking up, Hiruzen asked, "And what has led you to that conclusion?"
"She has had ample time to do so—such as visiting Genin Inuzuka alongside Genin Nara and Haruno. However, she did not. Instead, she seems to be doing her utmost to prevent herself from thinking about her encounter with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."
"Noted," Hiruzen replied. "Is there anything else you wish to report?"
"No, sir."
"Then you are dismissed. Enjoy your lunch, Sozen."
The young man put his mask back on and opened the window to Hiruzen's left. "Ready the table weights, sir."
After ensuring his paperwork wouldn't follow his subordinate out of the window, Hiruzen gave him the go-ahead before closing the window after him and returning to his work. Each member of his guard liked to leave the room in their own clandestine ways after reporting. It was one of the few sources of amusement in Hiruzen's otherwise dreary day besides his grandson's frequent so-called assassination attempts.
His office fell into a peaceful silence but the solitude did not bring him any peace—not when he had learned that Naruto was not doing well off the back of his friend's confrontation with the Nine-Tailed Fox. Contrary to popular belief, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not an ignorant man, even in his old age.
Softer, perhaps, but never ignorant. The Professor, he was called these days, a softer title in softer times. He hadn't been referred to as the Bloody Ape in decades. He wasn't sure he still had it in him, truthfully, which was why he was so hesitant to take the hat back.
His personal ANBU briefed him on things many would consider unknowable—like his old friend Danzo's machinations regarding his son, yet he let it happen for the sole purpose that his son seemed to be all the better for it and his experiences at the Fire Capital would ensure he didn't stray into the darkness.
Naruto, however, was an entirely different kettle of fish. He was vulnerable, malleable, and a weapon for war if needed—not that it would be needed on his watch.
Danzo seemed to have given up his ambitions of turning Naruto into his emotionless toy and wholeheartedly supported the boy's efforts to grow strong. That he let Asuma take charge of Naruto's training was evidence of that—but it also ensured he would be kept up to date on the boy's capabilities.
To what end, Hiruzen did not know, but for now Danzo's schemes helped Asuma and Naruto, and so he would tolerate them.
He had distanced himself from his advisory counsel in recent years after allowing himself to be pressured by them until young Itachi took the burden of choice upon himself and massacred his entire clan. Worse, the loss of the Uchiha was a terrible blow—they were a source of incredible military strength and struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.
That same strength was ready to turn on the village and because he could not make a choice in time, his counsel had seen fit to make it for him, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of innocents when the heads of the conspirators would have been enough. All because Hiruzen lacked the firmness to take a stand on his own.
His teachers fought for a world where children would not see death and decimation so easily yet it happened right before his eyes and, on that night, he promised himself it would never happen again. He would not put himself in that position again. To ensure that, he needed to put his counsel at arm's length and remind him that he was the Hokage, that their job was to advise him and nothing else.
However, he only had cause to punish Danzo for brazenly establishing an independent faction for personal gain within the ANBU—a fact he'd turned a blind eye to until Danzo manipulated a volatile Itachi into doing something rash.
Danzo adhered to his order to disband the ROOT by joining the shinobi reserve, separating his faction from the ANBU. The order was meant to overtly kneecap Danzo's influence more than anything else. He would still have the prestige of an elder, but none of the power he previously held as Hiruzen's shadow.
It was the frustrating game they had been playing for years now, with Danzo skirting along the edge of Hiruzen's capacity to forgive.
The Sage knew that the only thing saving his old friend was his usefulness to the village—a fact Danzo had reminded him of repeatedly in the years after the Uchiha Massacre. In truth, he knew the usefulness of the ROOT to the current village ecosystem and knew that despite its missteps, especially in the Land of Rain, ROOT had hamstrung many of A and Onoki's ambitions.
The other two members of his advisory counsel were far simpler to deal with. Utatane and Homura had used his indecision as justification in backing Danzo—and so he rewarded them.
He made Homura the headmaster of the Academy at the beginning of the year following the Uchiha Massacre. Shortly before that, he also commanded Utatane to focus on her duties as head of the Intelligence Division in light of such a tragedy and in doing so, ensured that the burden of responsibility sat squarely on his shoulders thereafter.
Once more, he faced his duties with a clear mind and with the knowledge that every decision he made was his—and this time, he had no one to outsource problems to. He could discuss things with his jonin, with the village's many divisions, touch base with the ANBU Commander, and call on his advisory counsel.
But just like in the Great War, the ultimate decision—both above and under the table—resided with him; only this time, his job was ensuring the current peace lasted.
He hummed and looked through the recent mission requests—it was about time for the new jonin teams to leave the village's borders. Kakashi had come to him, reporting as much; as had his son.
Hiruzen hadn't expected the jonin to carry out regular joint training so regularly, least of all Kakashi. It was as close to live combat as the children had seen so far and their skills were improving every day. He had the confidence to send Teams 7 and 10 on C-rank missions and believed they would be able to survive most unforeseen circumstances.
Team 8 was in a difficult spot that required a more delicate hand. Luckily, Kurenai was better suited for that.
All that was left was deciding which missions to send each team on. It was a village tradition for new jonin teams to request their first out-of-village mission from the Hokage. Ordinarily, they would go to the Missions Office and collect a request from the board. However, the missions posted on the ranked boards never exceeded B-rank, meaning all the other missions were issued through the village's divisions after passing through him.
For the first time since eight in the morning, Hiruzen set aside his usual paperwork and looked through the mission scrolls he had requested the day before. Three C-ranks: an escort mission, a request to identify and apprehend the head of a human trafficking ring, and the elimination of just under three dozen bandits—half a dozen of them being rogue ninja.
He put away the trafficking mission with a long sigh. It would have to be sent back down to the missions office for the Genin Corps batch to take instead of giving it to Team 8 as he had originally planned.
The intercom positioned on his desk crackled to life and his receptionist's voice hissed into clarity. "Lord Third? Team 10 has arrived for their scheduled meeting at four."
"Is that so…" His eyes lingered on the mission scrolls for a moment before he pushed down on the respond button and leaned towards the microphone. "Send them up, Hanako."
Hiruzen heard them before he saw them and, as expected, none of them knocked. His son entered first and saluted him with an easy grin.
"Yo, old man!"
His greeting left his students in various states: Choji Akimichi was stuck between horror and awe at his teacher's behaviour; Hinata Hyuuga's face was dead set in disapproval; and Naruto Uzumaki sent Hiruzen a half smile in apology for Asuma's greeting.
Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Asuma, Team 10, welcome."
The three genin bowed in unison and even Asuma gave a small bow of his own.
"Judging by your curiosity," said Hiruzen, quickly sweeping his gaze across the three children, "you three are not aware of this meeting's purpose."
They looked at Asuma who shrugged. "They're not, no. I thought I'd make it a surprise."
"And the surprise is?" asked Naruto, voicing his teammates' concern.
Hiruzen smiled. "Why, a mission, of course."
Choji Akimichi gasped. "Is this really happening?"
"That appears to be the case, Genin Akimichi." He chuckled and picked one of the three scrolls he'd gathered. "Team 10, listen closely: Yasuhiro Ohashi of Tenka Village has requested the elimination of the Jagged Blades, a brotherhood of bandits three dozen strong. Further information is included in this scroll. Read it and commit it to memory—you leave in thirty-seven hours."
His words had the intended effect on the children, exciting and scaring them in equal measure. Even the usually unassailable Naruto looked shaken by the news but Hiruzen had full confidence in their ability to return successfully. The mission he gave them was, in some respect, the most difficult one out of the three.
Unlike the other two, combat was a certainty and they would return having taken human life for the first time. As a frontline vanguard squad, combat and killing was unavoidable and would be something they needed to get used to.
Asuma walked closer to acquire the mission scroll, stashing it safely inside his flak jacket. "That'll be all, right?"
"Not quite. Let me deal with them first and then stay behind for a moment," replied Hiruzen. "Genin, I have one more announcement. As I'm sure you're aware, the standard mission split is forty-sixty—40% to you, 60% to the village. That percentage will then be divided between the four of you at 10% each."
Naruto immediately raised a hand to interject but Hiruzen held up a hand to mollify him.
"However, any extra money that a shinobi earns while on the mission, like the mission rank being adjusted in retrospect—be it higher or lower—will affect the sum that each of you receives. In your case any bounty money you make is yours to keep—do you understand?"
The three children nodded with a seriousness that only made them look adorable—but that was the danger with most fresh genin. They ran headfirst into danger out of sheer ignorance and it was the responsibility of their elders and superiors to protect them while they learned to do better.
"Good. Team 10, dismissed." As the children turned to leave, Hiruzen added, "Asuma, stay."
The genin froze and looked back at Asuma, who ushered them to the lobby below, promising that they'd look at the mission scroll together. When the door had closed behind them, their footsteps padded down the corridor into silence. He fell into the chair opposite Hiruzen, making his curiosity apparent by asking a question.
"Why the secrecy, old man?"
Hiruzen sighed. "I must enquire about young Naruto. The next time I will see him personally—and outside the walls of this office—will be his birthday. I do not know if he wishes to continue a relationship with me after clearing that… misunderstanding between myself, yourself, and Danzo but it has come to my attention that I have let us grow apart for too long."
"Ah," Asuma grimaced, "so, it was about that. Honestly, make the effort, Dad. Go and visit his apartment and talk with him instead of just doing the bare minimum. From what I hear you've been dancing around his identity as our Jinchuriki for years."
The, "From Danzo", went unsaid but both Hiruzen and his son knew where that particular bit of information had come from. Asuma had no reason to suspect Danzo was planning anything nefarious but Hiruzen?
Hiruzen had known his old friend since they were children—long enough to see him adopt more of the world's darkness until he became it.
"So, I say you clear the air."
"Perhaps… perhaps I will, my son. I've spent so long discounting that option that it's become second nature." Hiruzen scratched his goatee. "But more importantly, how is Naruto handling the week's revelations? How is he coming to terms with being a Jinchuriki?"
Asuma smiled. "He's been taking it better than I thought—even if he's having some doubts about the fox's influence on him, but as you said, the seal's airtight. I think it's more his guilt about the Nine-Tails harming Ino Yamanaka than anything else."
"I see. Keep me updated on his progress, Asuma."
"Will do." His son gave him a final lazy salute and left the room to find his students.
Hiruzen looked between the two scrolls and decided which mission he would give to Team 7. It was a simple enough decision and, once it was made, the daily drudgery resumed and he sat up, intent on making a sizeable dent in the week's paperwork.
As Lord First had loved to say—a Hokage's work was never-ending.