"I see.", Hiruzen said with a slight nod as he heard Yamato's report about the situation in the Land of Waves.
He then took a deep puff of smoke from his smoking pipe and looked at the four genin that had gone on the mission and had luckily survived.
"We shall hold a funeral for both Hatake Kakashi and Maruboshi Kosuke in three days."
All the genin had tears in their eyes, but they didn't let them fall.
"Yamato please remain here, the rest of you may leave."
Yamato nodded while the genin left the Hokage office, each taking their own way back home.
"Yamato, would you be able to handle it?"
"Me Hokage-sama? But…"
"You're the best candidate Yamato. Although you cannot teach Sasuke everything about the Sharingan, you can still seal the Kyuubi in case Naruto gives in to its influence as he did in the Land of Waves Mission.-"
Hiruzen paused for a moment before explaining further.
"-And given the information leak, I don't think you need to stay in the ANBU anymore. It would be better for you to handle Team Seven."
Yamato thought briefly before nodding, "I shall do so then Hokage-sama. Thank you for entrusting me with such an important mission."
"Don't worry about it. I plan for them to participate in the upcoming chunin exams and I want you to train them till they are ready."
"Yes Hokage-sama. I will do it!"
"You may leave.", Hiruzen said and with one final bow towards him, Yamato left the office to go to the ANBU headquarters where he would hand over his mask and resignation.
"Give me the Jinchuriki Hiruzen!" A voice spoke out of the shadows of the room.
Hiruzen turned towards it, only to find a one-eyed man looking sternly at him with focus and fervour.
"No Danzo, this is not possible. I've already told you I cannot give Naruto to you. The village needs more shinobi in the light, especially after two of the most respected shinobi in Konoha were just killed because of a spy in our midst! You've failed in your task!"
Danzo frowned as he spoke angrily, "That was not my failure Hiruzen! I need more shinobi to support the burden of tasks you've thrust upon me! If you give me the jinchuriki I will be able to train him so that he can become a weapon for the village!"
"No Danzo I'm the Hokage and my words are final!!!"
Danzo frowned but then spoke his true reason for coming here, "Give me the boy who can predict the future. I will turn him into the perfect weapon."
Hiruzen thought for a while as he puffed smoke from his lips before he said calmly, "Yamato has reported that he wants to research Ninjutsu, we can discuss him once he becomes chunin. Until then let him form a bond with Naruto."
Danzo almost smiled because Hiruzen didn't fully reject him, but he contained his happiness as he put on an angry facade as he left without a word after shouting, "You'll regret this Hiruzen!"
Near the forests of Konoha in the lone Senju home, Tachibana made sure there was no one in his direct line of sight using his spirit vision as he entered the bathtub and called out to his system.
[ Is the host ready to consume the Sequence 7 Magician potion? ]
Tachibana read the statement and closed his eyes, he thought back to his time as a Sequence 8 Clown. About how he helped the village orphanage kids have fun even while he recognised how they were in danger.
He thought about the mission he'd gone on with Maruboshi to recover kids kidnapped by the Samurai of Land of Iron and how he killed their leader by pretending to be a clown in front of him and the bandits.
He thought about the various times in his mission in the Land of Waves when he had to suppress his fears and sadness to put on a smile as if nothing in the world could upset him.
'To be a clown is to follow fate's wishes while smiling to hide one's sorrows.'
'Yes. I'm ready to consume the Sequence 7 Magician Potion.'
A small vial appeared in Tachibana's hands. It was filled with a liquid that had three parts to it. Each part was coloured in three distinct colours, either gold, red or yellow.
Bubbles fizzed in the drink as if it was eager to be consumed.
Tachibana uncorked the vial and with a swift gulp swallowed the entire contents of the vial in one go.
Almost instantly signs of losing control began to appear on Tachibana's body. His skin wiggled and his eyes and ears started to bleed but Tachibana quickly used cogitation to control his state and properly allow the potion to integrate with his body.
Tachibana remained in the bathtub for a while as he observed the changes within his body and analyzed the information about his new abilities that had been stuffed into his head.
Almost instantly, Tachibana could feel all the inflammable objects around him in thirty meters which he could use to ignite a flame and teleport to.
He felt an inconceivable closeness to fire. It felt as if flame was and always had been by his side and was his little friend.
Getting out of his bathtub, Tachibana walked over to his toolkit and pulled out a simple piece of paper. Then with a flick of his hand, the paper transformed into a solid wooden baseball bat. Then he flicked his hand again and the bat transformed back into a paper before becoming a brick!
'Hmmm…interesting.'
Tachibana then flexed his bones and found they had become a little rubbery. He felt like his bones could bend the wrong ways and allow him to escape things like handcuffs and ropes he was tied to.
It would also help him make more precise changes and controls while throwing cards to give them a complex unpredictable trajectory.
With his index and thumb finger extended like a gun, Tachibana aimed at the water in his bathtub and made a simple sound, "Bang!"
Suddenly as if an air bullet had been spawned in, the water in his tub splashed up and crashed loudly.
Tachibana took the piece of paper he was holding and crudely tore it in the shape of a human. Then with a simple flick, the paper transformed into a crude clone of his. It looked just like he did at the moment.
Tachibana dismissed the clone and then used his new ability to cast light illusions to give himself the smell of roses, he gave himself a modern dress that didn't quite fit in with the world of Naruto and marvelled at his ability to do so.
Once he was done with the illusions, he dismissed them before ducking his head underwater into his bathtub.
And unlike a normal person who would be unable to breathe at this moment, Tachibana was able to perfectly breathe, it felt as if a pipe had been attached to his nose which allowed him to breathe freely.
'If I'm not wrong the length of the pipe is five meters initially.'
Tachibana got out of the water and then looked at the kunai in his tools pouch.
'Now for the final experiment.'
Tachibana picked up the sharp kunai and stabbed its tip into his thigh. Then bringing his hand on the slightly painful wound, Tachibana dragged it across his body until it reached his finger.
The spot on his thigh was perfectly healed while the spot on his finger lightly bled out.
'How nice…I should be able to save myself in life-or-death situations if I ever get ganked and need to wait for reinforcements to bring me back to the Konoha Hospital.'
'This is it. I've become a Sequence 7 Magician. Now I just have to act as one and digest the potion fully.'
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A/N: Konoha now has its very own magician! Let's hope this magician doesn't end up turning them into puppets in its own story anytime soon.