Chapter 29
Iruka's eyes met with the Third Hokage's, who smoked his pipe with a smile. Iruka could only glare at the old man while sitting in his wheelchair. He understood very well what was happening when the Third Hokage introduced those two kids, Shin and Sai, to him.
"Ahem, there, the honey you requested." Iruka snatched the basket full of containers of honey, confusing the Third Hokage.
Iruka relaxed a bit with the basket in his hands. He was getting paranoid as more time passed. Soon, he would have to repay his dues to that honey badger of his. He knew very well how vicious that beast was, and if it didn't receive its dues, Iruka would be in a world of pain.
He still remembered the first time he forgot to pay it up. Waking up with a pillow next to him, shredded to pieces, wasn't very nice, especially when he was in enemy territory doing espionage. That honey badger knew very well when and how to strike to elicit a reaction from Iruka.
As the two kids pushed Iruka's wheelchair, the Third Hokage continued to explain to him that those kids were there to help him, and that there were no expectations set for them. Iruka could teach them or ignore them as long as they stayed with him.
"Of course, since you are going to live together, you will need a place to stay." The only reason Iruka couldn't refuse the deal was this. "I have prepared a house that would be more than suitable."
A whole house. Iruka didn't think he could afford one in a long time. It was truly too good a deal to pass up. The shinobi job paid the bills, but it didn't make anyone rich. Only clans and the top one percent profited well from this work.
In the end, it was just two troublemakers, so he didn't have anything to worry about. He was just going to use them as the Third Hokage suggested, as servants while he recovered. Thinking that way, he just couldn't find a reason to refuse the Hokage's offer.
In fact, it wasn't a bad deal at all. Not only did he get a house, but two servants. He was moving up in the world. It was worth celebrating. Too bad he couldn't drink or eat what he wanted just yet.
"Is ROOT properly cleaned up?" Iruka asked, changing the subject.
"There are still some things to go through, but all the personnel are taken care of," the Third Hokage replied. "Still, it isn't something that can be done overnight, and it needs consideration moving forward with the cleanup."
"Hokage-sama," Iruka bowed his head. "If you would listen to my humble opinion, I would suggest just destroying everything and being done with it. Nothing good will come from whatever you might find from them."
"I would agree, but it isn't that simple."
So annoying. The Third Hokage was still as indecisive as ever. Iruka thought that with this incident, the Third Hokage would be more willing to take things into his own hands. But like those kids, he just couldn't destroy everything and be done with it.
It wasn't like Iruka was worried. There was no way any of the former Danzō men would resurface, but it was still annoying that the Third Hokage had to waste time on them. He thought that he had proved they weren't that useful to begin with.
"Well, it isn't any of my business, so do as you wish." In the end, Iruka didn't care much about how it would be handled as long as it didn't come back to bite him.
Danzo was dead, and that was all that mattered. He took revenge for Itachi, and it did feel good to get rid of scum like that. For once, things were looking good for Iruka and the village, though he still didn't think it changed much of anything.
"Then I will be taking my leave," the Third Hokage said. "Sai, Shin, take good care of Iruka."
Those kids seemed to listen to the Third Hokage. They probably only recognized strength and didn't care about anything else. Well, they were just kids; Iruka only needed to handle them and make them proper servants who would clean up after him and cook for him.
Damn this diet. Just thinking of food, Iruka wanted some spicy ramen with a drink or two. But he understood his body still couldn't handle it yet. He still couldn't even walk, being pushed in a wheelchair everywhere he wanted to go.
"Put it down, boy." Iruka suddenly glared at Sai, who had a kunai in his hand, trying to hide it like Iruka wouldn't notice Sai's changed demeanor. "Even in this state, I will break your arms."
"Iruka-sama, I don't understand what you are saying." Sai bowed his head, like he was innocent, and Iruka scolded him for nothing.
"Call me master from now on," Iruka instructed them. "And forget everything you have learned in ROOT. Since I have already proven how useless it all is. And I am resting now, so don't even try anything funny, or I won't hold back and will make you into vegetables. Now, bring me back to my room."
"Yes, master," Shin seemed to be quick on the uptake.
Being pushed from behind, Iruka thought that it might be fun to have these two around him. Finally, things were going his way. Now, he couldn't wait to recover so he could start drinking in celebration.
…
Iruka struggled to walk while using the railing to support his weight. There was little muscle left on his bones, so he would not only have to rehabilitate but also retrain his whole body. Good thing he wasn't in any hurry.
One step after another, Iruka continued his recovery. Since the facilities and the doctors were paid for, there was nothing else for him to do but follow the doctor's instructions. Though it pissed him off that there weren't any pretty nurses to keep him company, only old men.
"That is enough for today," the doctor said as Iruka collapsed to the ground.
The doctors were good at their job and very experienced, but it sure annoyed Iruka to look at their ugly old faces all day long. A soft touch from a pretty nurse would have been a hundred times better.
"You look quite pathetic on the ground." Iruka looked up at Hayate, who looked down on him.
Shin and Sai helped Iruka to his wheelchair, as he was way too tired to do it himself. Hayate observed them but didn't even offer a helping hand. What an inconsiderate bastard he was. But it wasn't for this that Iruka had called him.
"I heard you are enjoying your new job."
"There is plenty to teach those kids. Since someone failed to do so, I had to pick it up." Hayate wasn't someone to back away from a fight and replied coldly to Iruka. "So, those are the kids you called me for?"
"Yeah," Iruka nodded. "I need to test them, but you know that it isn't possible for me right now."
"Well, that's what you get by picking a fight without me around," Hayate replied. "How long are you going to look so pathetic, anyway?"
"Hopefully not for long." Even though Iruka had no intention of returning to the shinobi world, he still couldn't let his body be so pathetic. "I am still young, so the recovery won't be a problem."
Hayate nodded but didn't respond. Instead, he examined the kids. Both Sai and Shin tried to smile awkwardly, but the smiles were clearly fake. Rather than looking disarming, they looked creepy. Their emotionless eyes contrasted weirdly with their wide smiles.
"Sai, Shin, don't ever smile again," Iruka instructed them, as he noticed how it put Hayate on edge. "Let's find a quiet place first."
Shin took over to push Iruka's wheelchair as Hayate followed them out of the hospital grounds. In the backyard, it was quite desolate. It was a good enough place, since there weren't any people around, and Iruka couldn't leave the hospital grounds just yet.
"Let's get this over with." Hayate wasn't that interested in those kids and wanted to finish quickly. "I have classes to prepare for."
"Sai, Shin, don't use any ninjutsu, just pure taijutsu and weapons, nothing else."
After Iruka instructed them, he backed away and watched as the kids pulled out swords from their jackets. Hayate smiled at the display and drew his sword, too. He wasn't a person who could deny a sword fight.
"Well, come at me," Hayate said, and Iruka nodded to the kids to do their best.
Immediately, they fell into the tactic of splitting up and surrounding Hayate from different angles, attacking at the same time. Their basics were incredible. There was nothing bad Iruka could say about their movement and decision-making.
Even while attacking from different sides, one of them went for the upper body and the other for the lower body, making it even harder for Hayate to contend with both of them. Too bad for the kids, Hayate was someone used to petty tricks like this since he had fought countless times against Iruka.
Hayate didn't even try to block the attacks; he just disappeared before their eyes. Damn, before Iruka realized it, Hayate seemed to have gotten even stronger, or at least faster. Able to move so quickly, Shin had no choice but to block Hayate's sword and be pushed back.
Sai's sword was an inch too short to reach Hayate's neck as he leaned back. A kick to the stomach lifted Sai into the air, and the kid only survived being brought down as roughly as he was lifted because Shin caught Sai and backed away from Hayate.
This time, they attacked from the same side, trying to overwhelm Hayate with their attacks. But to Hayate, it was child's play to deflect them. He was one of the best swordsmen in Konoha, so it wasn't surprising.
Shin was an excellent swordsman, too, as he used his sword so effortlessly, as if it were just an extension of his arm. A piercing strike turned into a slash as Hayate avoided it. And with Sai supporting Shin, Hayate didn't seem to have time to counter either of them.
But Iruka already noticed the limitations of these kids. They were trained to kill, not to fight. There was nothing wrong with that. Iruka himself had taught himself to kill, but there was a reason for that. A reason those kids didn't have.
Iruka was weak and untalented. He wouldn't last in a proper fight with anyone. So everything he learned was how to kill others. All his techniques and even his thinking in a fight were about how to kill someone as quickly as possible. That was his foundation.
But it was a problem for Sai and Shin because those kids were neither weak nor talentless. They were exceptional, and they were wasting their lives by doing something that wasn't necessary for them.
Heart, neck, and arteries were the places Sai and Shin focused on. Hayate noticed it too and was able to form a counter to their attacks quickly, making their skills useless against him. In the end, they were still just kids who didn't understand what they were doing wrong for not being able to kill Hayate.
Rather than change their tactics and strike at other areas to distract or weaken Hayate, the kids backed away once again to assess the situation while throwing weapons to keep Hayate at a distance.
Hayate lost any interest in those kids as he used the hilt of his sword to block the shuriken thrown at him. He didn't even want to use his blade, as it would be a waste of time later on. He'd have to sharpen it afterward since it could chip away.
"Enough." Seeing Hayate looking at Iruka, asking if this was enough, Iruka decided to end it here. "There is no point in continuing this."
Shin and Sai looked dissatisfied with it. Iruka could understand; those kids had been taken away by Danzō and forced into a cruel training regime. Selected to be the best of the best, only to be effortlessly defeated like this. That's why Iruka didn't like Danzō, along with other reasons.
"I told you to forget what you have learned in that place," Iruka reprimanded the kids. "Have you yet to understand? Danzō is dead. I killed him. I killed many of your senior members who were trained like you were. This was the limit of Danzō's ideology. Your basics are excellent, but everything else... Just throw it all away; otherwise, you will never be able to surpass your current selves."
There were many things Iruka would have to teach those kids. They were so damn helplessly pathetic that Iruka couldn't help but take pity on them. And he didn't like that their talent was so wasted, a talent Iruka was envious of.
"Don't be harsh on them," Hayate said. "They did well for their age. I don't think either of us could have stood a chance against them at their age."
That was true. By their standards, their skill was already terrifying, to the point where only a few chunin, like Hayate, could contest them. But that was also their limit. Like Iruka said, if they didn't throw away what was useless to them, they would never reach a higher level.
At this point, they wouldn't be able to contest any of the jonin of the village. And even though Iruka knew that at least Sai would grow up to be an excellent jonin, it would not be because of the things he learned, but despite them.
"Let's have a drink once I am discharged," Iruka said to Hayate. "Oh, and don't think you can hold your job for long once I return. There's no way you can teach those kids better than I can."
"I beg to differ. I think I'm a way better teacher, and those kids have learned far more from me than they will ever learn from you."
"It's because I was setting their basics first; you only took over when the foundation was already there."
Iruka and Hayate glared at each other before a doctor came between them and started to complain to Iruka that he shouldn't stay outside for so long, and that he needed to rest after all the efforts he put in today.
In the end, Iruka was forcefully pushed back to his room and made to eat nutritious but bland food. Even an excessive amount of salt was forbidden for him to consume, so any spices were only a dream for Iruka. And the worst part was that he was forced to eat things that would help him with muscle growth. And only those things.
If he had known this would happen, he would have never taken that Akimichi pill. At this point, he would rather have died by Danzō's hands than suffer this. But it was too late to cry over spilled milk; he could only swallow his regret and do as the doctors forced him.
But he did make a promise that once he was out of this place, he was going to ruin his body with various junk and alcohol. Maybe he would even pick up smoking, all just to spite those damn rigid doctors. At least a pretty nurse could have been there to take care of him. He would never forgive them for denying his fantasies.
A.N. As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.