Chunin Tetsu Flat.
Outskirts Center Ring, Iwagakure.
It's been what? Eight years or Ten years? we know each other and had a fallout two years earlier when he challenged Tsuchikage-sama for a bet, and here I am, gonna visit my brother in all but blood with a letter of summon (Formally) from the said Tsuchikage-sama. I checked my weapon pouch and started checking my outfit, Sugito said Black is an edgy color but f- Sugito, Black is my color. Getting out from my rented flat in the outskirts center ring of Village (Iwagakure had rings of Stone wall protecting her), Chunin has its merit in Iwagakure after all closer to the center ring and others, although not as good as Jonin but it's enough for an Orphan boy like me, Like us. Out and down to the market marketplace to find his Dessert, I still don't understand where his sweet tooth came from, I mean they said Genius had their quirk but again can't believe with that stoic expressionless face he has a sweet tooth.
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2 hours earlier.
Tsuchikage Towers, Iwagakure.
"Chunin Tetsu, Your turn" Saya, the tsuchikage secretary said from her desk.
"Thanks, Miss Saya" I gave her my best Ikemen-smile to her, what? Saya IS pretty, 5 ft 8'' tall, with dark raven hair, she's a Chunin too, although she has her disability, some of her fingers were cut off when she met a Jonin from Kumogakure in the border of Earth County, I heard that one of her teammates get killed and her Jonin captain get hospitalized for 3 weeks after that fiasco, Well, she had a good job now and position in the Tsuchikage office. She has that hips too, damn.
We also don't know why more and more ninjas from other villages started patrolling their border, we still looking for it. Some of them even used Jonin for that, Jonin was rare, even in Konoha, those monster-breeder-tree-huggers only had 20 to 30 Jonin, and then they used it for border patrol. Tsuchikage also told us to train more and He even opened the Kage library, using merit-based points we could use that to exchange it to some Jutsu's.
I started to imagine the rest of my life with her. Because of my strength and my good looks, I have a lot of points and exchange them for a powerful jutsu, taking names and kicking ass on the battlefield, Upgrading my rank in the Bingo book from B rank to S rank, having a child, a daughter, I want a daughter, and getting old so I could be one of the elders in Iwagakure. Life is good, but everything crashed down and I came back to reality when I felt Tsuchikage's eyes on me.
"Welcome back to the realms of the living, Chunin Tetsu" Tsuchikage-sama, Onoki, said to me in a sarcastic tone with his hand clasped in front of him.
With him in the middle of the long table, there are four more people at that table aside from the Jonin Commander on the far left, resting by the window.
"Ahh, Good Afternoon, Tsuchikage-sama. I'm ready to serve" I said with a tone of full conviction and gave him a full 90-degree bow.
"Haa" Tsuchikage pinched his nose, "This is why you can't climb your Special-Jonin rank, Tetsu-boy. You lost focus too easily"
"Haha, I know, I know, I'm trying, Tsuchikage-sama," I said with a smile. 'Dang it, so that's why!'.
He stared at me for a few seconds, I bet he knew that I didn't know. Damn, old monsters with their experience.
"Anyway, we need you to deliver these Letters to our Friend. A formal Letter of summons" Daiki Setsuna, one of Iwagakure council members said to me. He got that stern old man with no horse-shit face, but once you know him, you would know that he is a pretty funny man. His face was burned by Uchiha members in The Second Ninja World War and when the medic tried to heal it, it was too late, his face was set to that no-horse-shit expression ever since.
"Yes, our Friend," Tsuchikage said with a hiss and started rubbing his chest, I bet the scars are tingling now.
"Sugito? But why me? I mean no offense, but didn't you have an ANBU or something? They could just come and tell him, no?" I said with one of my eyebrows raised.
"Well, first, Sugito isn't a ninja so we can't use ANBU as a messenger for him. Second, one of the win conditions is to lift his status, equal to a clan patriarch. Besides, the two of you have known each other long enough. Although there's some misunderstanding, I know Sugito won't harbor any hatred towards you." Miyami Momoka, a a 40-ish woman, the only woman in Iwagakure Council answered my questions. She had smooth dark raven hair and glow-up smooth skin, if you don't know her age is twice the times she looks right now, you would try to hit her.
"Well, not a lot of people know about the Bet either, so don't worry." Jonin Kaede Samsuri, Jonin Commander pitch in. He had laid-back expression and body language but he didn't get a moniker for 'The Hyena' Kaede in the bingo book for nothing.
"Well no matter, Your mission is to give this letter of summon to Sugito and come back. We will need your ability later. Jonin Kaede will brief you later. Dismiss" With the bow to Iwagakure Tsuchikage, I left the room and went to my next destination. And I hope that's not the afterlife.
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Present
I came back to my senses after I got near of Dango shop.
"Two portions of Special Dango to take away, please," I said with a smile to the plum old lady, Mrs. Shiba, one of our friends and the owner of Red Bean Dango Shop, who we know and one of the caretakers but in name of the Red Stone Orphanage. She is always good to us orphans, Sugito said she's coping with her lost child from The Second Ninja World War but hey, he's the genius, not me, all I care that She's a nice old Lady without any other ulterior motives (Trust me, I check).
"Ara, Tetsu-kun, How are you? I rarely saw you these last months, and are you going to see Sugito-kun? he always -"
Yup, she's a chatterbox but they said that's how old ladies behave.
"-and he rarely comes to market except to sell his farm bounty or visit me. Seriously that boy needs a Friend! or a Wife! With him being loner like he is I am worried about Uraume's social life. -" she said quickly, as fast as a ninja spelling their jutsu. I bet my next paycheck that she's a retired ninja. I wonder if Tomo would take the bet? Nah, he would. Definitely. F-ng Gambler.
"-and there you go, I put some bonus for him," she said with a smile, a different expression from how she was in her chatterbox mode.
"Thanks, Mrs. Shiba, I got very busy with some work but I finally got my holiday last week. Anyway, I would tell him to visit you more often with little Uraume" I smile too.
"Ara, please, you know my door is always open for kids of Iwa"
"Again, Thank you for your service. I will go now, Mrs. Shiba. Take care" I lightly bow to her and step out of her shop.
"You too, Tetsu-kun" a whisper-like voice sounded around me, damn genjutsu, always creeping me out, even though I'm already Chunin.
Seriously I should close or lose this weakness, I need to be ready and not be jumpy anymore. I mean ain't no genius or monster but graduated from academi at 10, was in Iwa Genin Corp for 4 years, and got promoted to Chunin at 15. AND stay alive until I'm 18 years old as Chunin IS a good feat for someone who hauled from orphan of Iwa, but we know, other villages know that IF you searching for a monster, Konoha is the one you should look for.
'Damn tree hugger, Root smoker, land jumper-'
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