Chapter 4: Conversation after Wake-up, The Mice,
"WHAT!" Bunta screamed in shock
"Two… weeks…" Bunta started to say when his stomach growled so loud it sounded like a growling beast
"Hahaha! Sounds about right." Bunta laughed, hearing his stomach growl, grabbed some snacks from somewhere on his person, and started eating them
While the four visitors were standing around watching, well, three because the Akamichi leader looked longingly at the plates of warm dango in Bunta's hands
Chōza looked away when he noticed that all besides Bunta, who was busy filling his stomach after two weeks of fasting due to the coma, were looking at him.
Chōza wiped his mouth with his sleeve and spoke up quickly before he got distracted again.
"I would like you to spend some time with your mother, Bunta. She collapsed when you became unresponsive, if you will. I would also like to ask, well, more like a request, that you meet my son. He has not eaten much in the last two weeks, blaming himself for your situation." Chōza said
"... sure…" This made Bunta stop for a moment from snacking before continuing again, after grabbing a monster pack of chips, while giving a short reply
"My mother is a given; she has always been like this if anything happened to those she cared about. And the little guy? Well, I will talk to him, and beat in his head to think before you do something, or in his case, accept free food from those that do not like the clans, how to recognize those people as well, will get him far in life."
Bunta stopped eating and said, still with his well-known smile, but with the glint in his eyes that looked sinister instead of his usual jolly way.
"I would like to ask you to take the next two weeks off as well to recover. After that, the exam will continue. Shikaku will explain more. When you are done, I'd like a word, Shikaku in my office." Hiruzen the Hokage said.
"Of course, sir." Shikaku said while Bunta nodded, mouth full again with snacks, as they watched the Hokage leave the room. Likely walking back to the tower to put off his dreaded, well-known hate for paperwork
— — — — —
After I watched the Hokage walk away, I wondered what he meant by his words, but also curious about what Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka would say to my questions.
Well, questions about what he encountered in my head in Inoichi's case, and the analysis of Shikaku's case about the entire situation.
I kind of wonder if I should share my idea about the situation with them as well, but then again, I shouldn't know about the darkness that I suspect is somehow involved. I'm a chūnin still. Besides rumors, I would only know him as one of the elders and advisers of the Third Hokage.
Well, first to get Chōza, my clan head, out of here so I could try to gain some answers to questions that could be sensitive. Better to have him away. I am not sure how much he knows. I expect a lot since he is in a team with the other two.
"Chōza, mind telling your son I am awake again? So he can start being happy and eat again? I have some questions for the others I'd like answered. After that, I will visit you guys to see him along with my mother. It would do everyone some good." I said with a smile, watching a relieved Chōza nod and walk away mumbling about his wife's dango.
After he left, I quickly put away my snacks and looked at both Inoichi and Shikaku. My smile turned a bit strained due to my worry about what answers they would give.
"Okay, question time… Shikaku-sama, what did the hokage mean before? I failed, did I not? Even though my clone handed over the supposed intel. I still failed. So what is this about the next part of the exam?" I asked
I'm rather curious about this because those guys said I failed my last attempt, so even though I was devastated before, I knew I had another chance after hearing the Hokage talk. Than about things in the last two weeks, well, four. The last two weeks can't be counted since I was stuck in a coma, but the two weeks before do count.
It all happened so fast when I woke up from sleep and went into the village, and a little ball of joy, Chōji, then the dumpling thing, and here we are.
Just thinking about what was to come would have allowed me another chance to get promoted. Having the story in your head and knowing the short but devastating attack on the village during the next Chunin Exams would be perfect to be promoted to Jonin after all, so I did not dwell on the failure too much.
But the words from Skikaku Nara woke me up and made me pay attention once more instead of thinking about other things.
"I never let the other two attempts be counted. You have no idea how many fresh Chunin overestimate themselves and try to become Jonin right away. Due to the large number of attempts, it became too much of a 'drag' to count them all." Shikaku began speaking
"Then the second attempt was not counted because when you arrived, you collapsed from chakra exhaustion and likely blood loss with how injured you had been. You never started the first exam at all. If you had started and collapsed, it would have counted." Shikaku finished speaking
"I see, so I talked myself into believing it was my last attempt." I said, shaking my head when I looked at Inoichi
"Inoichi-sama, what did you encounter in my head? I take it I'm awake due to you, since I doubt the others can wake someone up from a coma." I questioned the Yamanaka leader.
"Well, you could say that, yes. However, it was with Hokage-sama's assistance with earth chakra that we woke you up." I heard him say, clearly surprising to say the least.
I mean, how would I not be surprised? Earth chakra was needed, not just any chakra, but earth… elemental chakra. That would make no sense, at least not to me.
"You see, your brain at the time had been fully surrounded by earth elemental chakra with hints of water and wind crisscrossing around. I was unable to wake you up alone since my affinity is not earth-related." Inoichi continued, seeing my surprised and confused face
"However, besides that, I did notice some memories, yes, some rather obvious once, as if they were forced to the front, anything else was heavily guarded in the large amount of earth chakra around your brain." he kept talking and talking
"You see, you were somehow analysing the exam attempt you did over and over again, even sounding frustrated at something rather peculiar for an Akimichi, you normally give up over thinking and start eating then look for a Nara and tell them things for them to analyse and clear up any doubts." after these words of Inoichi I took on a thinking pose
I had one finger on my chin as if trying to think about the situation, while frowning, but soon crossed my arms in a huff with slight steam coming off my head.
He was right, though, beyond some basic analysis, I did not do much else I could think of, and just shrugged it off. I mean, most I had already forgotten about the analysis I had done.
"Besides that anomaly of the looping memory, I also noticed some others. One of them was when you received the news that you failed. Some parts of it were adjusted like a crackling noise in parts of your thoughts, as if someone wiped portions of it away." he kept speaking with arms crossed, looking at me
I knew what he meant. I think that part was somehow covered up, unable to be heard by him, when I think about the story of canon and the many fanfics in my head, while other things about the here and now are heard by him.
"And finally, the memory of you accepting those dumplings and eating them, then rushing to your room before collapsing, and here we are." Inoichi finished speaking
Seeing my confusion, Shikaku spoke up
"I guess that in a quick defence of your mind, your chakra started covering most of the mind and brain, how I do not know that is Inoichi's expertise. But the fact that your most recently remembered memories were adjusted shoes, the clear playbook of…" He stopped speaking, looking at me
"What do you know of the shadows of Konoha?" he suddenly asked me
This in and of itself told me something I speculated, and if I play this well, I will be in the clear or gain information beyond what a chunin would be able to get due to low rank.
So I decided to play the card I had because many chunin believe it to be anbu, and other rumors are flying around, making it seem we had two distinct divisions of anbu.
"Shadows, huh? Normally, I would say it's a Nara expertise of their clan justu, but you specifically asked about the shadow of the village…" I began saying
"Beyond some rumors around the ranks, not much, I'm afraid, beyond that, most, myself included, suspect it to be anbu… but, then there are rumors of two groups of anbu being active." I continued watching both of them frown when I cut off my words with the 'but'.
I mean, cutting things off at 'but' is never a good thing unless you are a troll or forgot, like a certain Uzumaki blond boy in the village tends to do.
"But I do suspect some elements of the civilian Shinobi to be involved. I mean, some things spread way too fast among our ranks than they should have. Also, the fact that a portion is not happy with the clans, no matter what we do. Likely due to preferential treatment they suspect is happening, and I'm not helping in this regard since I diverge from the norm, focusing on other aspects than just clan jutsu, which they reluctantly agree could not be learned by them." I finished, watching both of their faces turn emotionless
What I just said must have struck a chord with them since I can't read them anymore, and what I heard next made me realise something problematic.
"Recover and do the next portion of the exam. More will be clear when you complete it. Now, the Hokage wishes to see me. I'll leave first." Shikaku Nara said, disappearing in place, leaving a pile of leaves on the floor
"Sigh, what you said just now. What can you tell me of those two supposed Jonin, who brought the news of failure?" Inoichi asked after a small sigh
"Not much, I'm afraid, I never saw them before that day, but since they had no clan markings anywhere and had brand new Jonin flak jackets, I guess they are civilian-born who just became Jonin themselves." I answered with a shrug
"I understand. Well then, I won't hold you up any longer. Take a good rest and take care of things on your end for now. Good luck in two weeks with the next part of the exam." I heard Inoichi say before he also disappeared in a clear, smokeless shunshin, leaving another pile of leaves for me to clean up
"Sigh, wish they did not do this inside people's homes all the time, but for now, time to see my dear mother…" I said with a sigh, watching the pile of leaves on the floor, getting off my bed, I soon scrunched up my nose in disgust
"First a shower and clean clothes… man, I reek, can't show up in front of mom like this." I said, quickly grabbing some clothes and walking out of my room into a big converted bedroom, into a bathroom due to my size and height.
— — — — —
While Bunta was cleaning up to meet his mother elsewhere in the village.
"You sure about that?" a nondescript man with small glasses asked his compatriot
"Yeah, I saw them go into the Akimichi compound. Hokage-sama and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio." A man with hair covering his eyes, standing with his back slouched against a wall
"Not only that, they entered that Giant failure guy's home, I also heard the Akimichi clan heir is no longer eating… but why?"
"That makes no sense, an Akimichi…" When two female voices were heard interrupting them
"I'm telling you, I won!" A sing-song voice was heard
"Bah! In your dreams, girly, at least your footwork is getting better." A growling voice spat back
When both looked up and saw the two women, the wild-haired Tsume Inuzuka and the always unpredictable Anko Mitarashi, their faces turned white.
"Look at that! Two scared little Mice!" Anko's sing-song voice was heard
"If it ain't those two weaklings from the exam." Tsume snarled, clearly unhappy seeing them
When both looked frozen at the two women, they saw that both had ruffled clothes and dirt all over. When they looked at the partner of Tsume, the large Ninken, which was even more dirty with leaves and twigs stuck in its fur
Anko suddenly disappeared and appeared behind them, arms slung across their shoulders, a kunai to their throats.
"So, little 'Mice'. Care to tell us why you talk about the big Jolly Giant?" Anko said in her sing-song voice, with a nasty smile on her face
"... we wondered why the Hokage would go to that guy's home!" the shaking glasses-wearing man quickly stated
"Sigh, I told him what I heard, and we got curious… Why the hokage and the leaders of the three clans, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, wend into that guy's home, and why the Akimichi heir no longer ate as much." the one with the hair covering his eyes and most of his face said, frozen in place
"Oh? Little Mice worried about the clans? Worried about that Jolly Big Guy? WHO is many times better than you two combined?" Anko said, snarling, now pressing the kunai to their throats
"You both reek. What is this smell?... oh." Tsume growled with a twitching nose, then she and her Ninken looked down and saw a wet spot on the pants of the shaking guy with glasses
"HA! I knew you were pathetic, but wetting yourself from this? HAHAHA!" Tsume spontaneously started laughing
"Come along, Anko, it seems a report is needed to the Jonin commander about reevaluating the current Jonins, let's make a bet! I bet these two will be demoted to Chunin in a week!" Tsume said with a smirk to Anko before walking along
Anko disappeared and arrived next to Tsume.
"Bye now, 'Little Mice'! Make that three days, you win, I walk the Inuzuka dogs for a week for free. I win, you get me a month-long free Dango!" Anko said, waving bye to her new targets
"HA! You're on girly! Also seems you found new toys?" Tsume said, agreeing to it
"Scared 'little mice' perfect to train the younger snakes on." Anko said, arms wide and a happy smile
Both of the two men watched the two women disappear from the area they had been standing in, looked at each other, before disappearing in a cloud of leaves with smoke included
They rushed across rooftops as far away from the snak and dog women as possible.
"You think they know?" the glasses-wearing man asked
"No clue, we did our part, no idea about the others, better take a mission and get out of the village, heard this time of year the borders are understaffed and nice and peaceful." the other said
"Let's do that then, I'm afraid we would otherwise become training partners of the snake-whore." the glasses man said in a hateful tone of voice
"..." eye covered by hair, one stayed quiet while both jumped quickly to the Hokage towers, Mission hall to the side of it.
Neither of them ever noticed the tiny young snakes that had crawled into their flak jackets.
— — — — —
In the Hokage office, Shikaku Nara stood next to the Hokage, who sat behind his desk doing paperwork while he was looking outside at the clouds.
Both were silent beside the sound of ruffling papers, a tap put on a paper, and the puffing of the Hokage's pipe or the exhale of the pipe's smoke.
'The clouds look auspicious today; it seems something will happen.' Shikaku thought, looking at the clouds that looked dark and moving in the village's direction, dictating rain might come or something worse.
"Only four weeks till the new batch of genin are put into teams, Shikaku-san, are you sure about your request?" the sudden voice of the Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, known to all as the Third Hokage, 'The Professor' to many of the older generation and only known to a specific number of the newer generation of shinobi in all nations due to the long peace and him not been seen in action.
"When he has recovered, he will be more than ready for it, but due to being too new, he won't have time to prepare for his genin team. So I am certain of this Hokage-sama." Shikaku stated, not looking away from the clouds
"Mmm… leave us." Hiruzen said, and four anbu kneeled in front of his desk before disappearing
Hiruzen touched a part under his desk, and everywhere became covered in a slight film of blue chakra, barely noticeable unless you know what to look for.
"Speak honestly to me, Shikaku. What are you planning with this? This idea or plan, if you will, is never done before." Hiruzen said in a stern voice, Gone the grandfatherly persona
"I am Hokage-same, something is happening, and Bunta… this poisoning attack through Chōji Akimichi, the Heir of the Akimichi clan, and someone who has been trained a few times by Bunta himself." Shikaku said, looking ready for a fight in a stern voice
"Since it is clear someone is targeting him, it is clear something is going to happen. I do not have enough information to make concrete plans. Therefore, this idea is the best possible… Also, with Kakashi Hatake in the mix, something will not be able to happen, and I plan to have his team 7, who will be problematic, to mainly get the most help possible." Shikaku continued turning to look at the hokage
"With his experience, he will be able to help Bunta adjust to his rank, and such Bunta, in turn, will be able to assist him in managing his team." Shikaku finished saying
"Mmm… this is unlike you speaking this much. It has been many years since I heard you say so many words. The last time, if I remember right, was when you had been worried about marrying your wife. Another one about twelve years ago, when your son was about to be born, and you were rambling about names to be all for naught when your wife had a name decided upon." Hiruzen stated with a small smile, reminiscing about the past
"Sigh, troublesome. I am worried, Bunta-san is an outlier, one of the first to branch out, who is still 'Alive', anyone else died under suspicious accidents or out on missions." a grave-sounding Shikaku stated, making the hokage frown
"That means the attempt for the clans to get better shinobi who are not one-tricks with only clan techniques and some basic academy jutsu… this sounds like his playbook, to keep the clans in check and prevent potential rebellion. One that would not happen with how happy the other clans are, some even celebrated the destruction of the Uchiha." Hiruzen started sounding grave
"Indeed, Hokage-sama, and that is what worries me the most, and the main thing driving this idea of him being part of the new teams to learn from the Jonin as a brand new one himself. In turn, he will be able to help all the teams and clan heirs improve." Shikaku said, rubbing his temples
"Then, for his next test, go for something basic, no surprises, since it is clear he's already worthy. I watched the surprising first exam. Or you would never have pushed this idea forward at all," a smiling Hiruzen stated
"By your command, Hokage-sama." Shikaku bowed, and when Hiruzen disabled the protective anti-listening array, Shikaku walked out of the office just when the four Anbu came back, and unnoticed, beside a slight bit of wind ruffling the hair
Shikaku walks out with his hand in his pockets, slightly slouched shoulders, and head walking outside the Hokage Building.
'Strange, the dark clouds are drifting away from the village now, troublesome, time for home and some shogi with Shikamaru.' Shikaku thought walking away through the streets to the Nara clan compound, the moment he turned into a dark alleyway, he disappeared, and reappeared in the Nara forest of his clan
Back in the Hokage office, Hiruzen looked at the village
'I wonder what you're planning, you are testing my patience… old friend' Hiruzen thought