Chapter 12: A Fractured Belief (Part One)
Late November, Konoha Year 44. The Land of Fire was experiencing some of the coldest weather it had seen in years.
"I just want to go home and sit under the kotatsu. School should cancel everything right now."
During the lunch break, Obito complained at full volume with a bread roll in one hand and his eyes drifting toward Nohara Rin's bento. Ever since his grades had climbed, he had started slacking again.
Rin, who had been pushing herself harder and harder in the medical track, looked up and corrected him immediately:
"We promised to graduate early together, Obito. Don't forget, I'm watching you."
"Sorry."
Obito turned away in embarrassment under her gaze, then noticed Sarutobi Asuma slumped face-down at his desk with his usual look of defeat and asked with genuine curiosity:
"What's wrong with Asuma lately? He's been like this for a while."
"At the last assessment, the Hokage couldn't make it because of work. Asuma came in first and probably had nobody to show it to."
Ebisu slid over quietly and offered the explanation in a low voice, adjusting his sunglasses. Obito startled at his sudden appearance, but hearing the reason left him with a strange pang:
"What a pointless thing to be upset about..."
Obito, who had spent his whole life wanting a warm family, couldn't begin to relate to Asuma's problem. As far as he was concerned, nobody in their class had it better than that guy.
"Shizune, your bento looks incredible!"
"It's so beautifully put together, it actually looks delicious!"
Shizune had just opened her lunch when Nohara Rin and Yūhi Kurenai both exclaimed at once. Her face went slightly pink:
"Osamu prepared lunch for Tsunade-sensei and happened to pack a portion for me too..."
Three kinds of meat, a generous spread of fried items and vegetables, and a handful of light palate cleansers on the side. It was an exceptionally well-rounded bento.
"That's amazing. Cooking is something I'm completely hopeless at."
Kurenai said it with a touch of envy. The three girls quickly fell into quiet conversation.
Watching from the side, Obito lost what little appetite he had left. He leaned back with both arms behind his head and complained to himself:
Not even here and he still manages to steal the spotlight.
...
That afternoon, inside the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat with his pipe, brow furrowed. The room was tense. Nobody had said anything for a while.
Advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado understood Sarutobi Hiruzen's position, but as advisors they had their own views to offer:
"The mission failed. The secret forward outpost in the Land of Grass was destroyed."
"The supply line was also severed. The transport team and both squads were wiped out. With consequences this serious, the village has to issue some form of punishment."
Koharu Utatane gave her assessment with narrowed eyes. Sarutobi Hiruzen still said nothing. Homura Mitokado spoke with quiet gravity:
"We don't need to answer to the daimyo, but we still need to give them something they can accept."
"..."
Hatake Sakumo's S-rank mission had ended in failure, and the damage to the village's reputation was real. Word of the daimyo's skepticism had arrived alongside the mission report.
"Iwagakure and Sunagakure were involved. There were problems with the intelligence."
"As for Sakumo, let him rest. Don't worry about the daimyo. They have no standing to involve themselves in the village's internal affairs."
Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted his head, delivered his decision without hesitation, then fixed his gaze on Danzo Shimura, who had been sitting in the corner with almost no presence at all, and said in a low voice:
"The specific details of this mission should not be circulating among the jonin."
"The Root overstepped."
Danzo, the bandages wrapped around his head and eye, seemed not to have expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to catch on so quickly. He finally opened his eye, and spoke with no expression at all:
"I only wanted to use this as an opportunity to send a warning to all jonin. Mission failure must carry consequences."
"No one stands above the village's interests. This incident only confirms again that Hatake Sakumo lacks the mindset of a Hokage..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't expected his old friend to be arguing back under these circumstances. He cut him off immediately:
"I will issue a gag order. This matter ends here."
"Hiruzen, you are growing soft. The moment war breaks out, if something like this happens again..."
Danzo hadn't finished the sentence before Sarutobi Hiruzen cut him off a second time:
"Sakumo knows what to do when it comes to war. And remember, I am the Hokage."
"Every action must go through me. I don't want any more unwanted reports coming to me from the ANBU."
The Root's expanding power had already drawn ANBU surveillance, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had even dispatched Orochimaru to keep tabs on it. Everyone in the room understood this clearly.
Unable to finish what he wanted to say, Danzo simply stood, turned, and walked out.
The meeting ended badly. Homura Mitokado felt the punishment was too light himself, and tried to keep Danzo in the room:
"Danzo, we still need to discuss how to respond to the daimyo's side."
"Does the master need to worry about the dog's opinion? The Root has matters that require my attention."
Thud.
The door closed. Out in the hallway, Danzo's eye narrowed again. The Hokage faction had been accelerating its efforts to draw in talented ninja, and it was clear his old friend's wariness of him had only deepened.
Sarutobi Hiruzen kept smoking, pipe between his teeth. Thinking of the power Danzo had accumulated, he felt a flicker of dissatisfaction with Orochimaru's progress on that front.
He wasn't old yet. There was still time to deal with it. Noticing the expressions on his two advisors' faces, he shifted the topic:
"Tsunade has been getting a lot done lately. The new herb cultivation has been exceptional."
"The secret medicine has entered active use. It seems Osamu's talent far exceeded our expectations. No wonder so many people think highly of him."
"..."
Faced with a Hokage who had made up his mind, the two advisors let the argument drop. With the Three Sannin, the major clans, and ANBU all behind him, Sarutobi Hiruzen still held every lever of power firmly in hand.
* * *
Evening, already dark outside. In the medical lab, Tsunade stretched lazily in her chair and looked over at her student working diligently beside her, smiling to herself:
"Weather this cold and all I want is a hot cup of sake."
Shizune was organizing records on the cultivated herb trials. Furukawa Osamu was working through feedback reports on the secret medicine, pulling out the useful data.
"Sensei, Captain Shikaku reminded me about the three ninja prohibitions just recently..."
Tsunade made a face at that and got up, drifting over to the two of them in a relaxed way:
"Did that Nara kid not teach you two about balance?"
"Sensei, the records are all sorted!"
Shizune stood and handed them over with a smile. Tsunade's mood lifted even further. Thinking of the past month going smoothly, she decided on the spot to address something Furukawa Osamu had brought up to her before:
"Ordinary ninja can't accumulate chakra reserves beyond their natural limit. But for exceptional medical ninja, there is actually a way around that."
"You've both been performing well lately without any signs of slacking. I've decided to teach you the Yin Seal ahead of schedule."
"This is an ancient technique that has been passed down since the time of the Sage of Six Paths himself. Through my continued refinement, combined with other jutsu, it has developed into its own unique S-rank medical ninjutsu."
"The first stage is chakra accumulation. I'll walk you through the fundamental principles..."
Tsunade was in full flow when she noticed the look of admiration on both their faces, which only made her feel better. She kept going, but somewhere in the middle of it, Furukawa Osamu's thoughts had already drifted elsewhere:
I wonder if this technique can accumulate sage chakra. It might solve the problem of being unable to sense natural energy directly.