40 Naruto : Domination: Chapter 40

"But you will be able to think that it was impossible to do anything more, for anyone. But I can't deny that being the strongest you can be, usually does make a difference. Life will never be fair, I fear."

I rose from my position. "Think about it, tomorrow morning we'll meet here at 7:00 am, sharp. And you'll tell me your team's choice."

...

I left in a flicker and sat on one of the branches that gave a good position to look into the classroom where team 7 was still waiting for their sensei.

I noticed that Sasuke's fingers were moving following a pattern: he was exercising some tabs. I was glad that I managed to help him help himself. It didn't matter the world, music was magic.

"So, will you wait another couple of hours to see who will crack first?" I asked the other shinobi hidden among the branches.

Kakashi hmmed instead of properly answering.

"If you are wondering, it's your smugness that gave your position away." I continued conversationally.

The smugness that he hadn't any right to display, in my opinion. Sure, he had won at the tournament, after a while, and after I had shown my proficiency in several fields, but he managed it only because I didn't do 'not lethal'.

He had the experience necessary to turn every single one of his movements into a not lethal one, while I had to stop and think about it before actually doing it.

Annoying bastard. I thought.

"You do know that with Naruto and Sasuke on the team you'll be forced to sign them up for the chunin exams yes?" I asked.

When he didn't give any kind of answer I went on: "Iwa and Kumo will join too this year, and both will target Uzumaki. I did, in fact, kill Kumo's jinchuriki during my exams, and well... you know what problems Onoki will have with the kid."

That last statement caused a reaction. Kakashi's head turned towards me and his eye narrowed.

I rolled my eyes: "Step up your game, Kakashi, or they'll get butchered. Maybe you should take up your rival' challenges for a spar more often, your conditioning went to shit."

And just like that I hopped down the tree and strolled through Konoha, hoping that my advice would be followed. Kakashi was born a genius, and after dropping out of Anbu he had let himself go.

He was still fearsome, the sheer amount of experience he had, coupled with his intellect, made for a scary shinobi. But he could have been an actual S rank. I still didn't know if the Sharingan helped him or not. It had become a crutch in my opinion, but I couldn't micromanage the life of everyone.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I found myself at the east gate of Konoha' ninja cemetery. It was a vast place. But I didn't have anything better to do so I strolled in.

I had never gone to the cemetery before, Hana sure as hell wasn't in her dead body anymore.

I reached to the most recent line of tombs and started walking my way up. At least she had a proper resting place instead of only a name scribbled on the monument to the MIA ninjas.

I stopped when I read 'Sarutobi Asuma' His photo wasn't the same one of his file, he was smiling, with a lit cigarette in his mouth. The flowers had a couple of days, and it had been some time since someone burned some incense.

I was surprised by a sudden twinge of guilt. It was like Hana all over again. Another one dead before his time only because I had climbed my way into this world.

I sighed, staring at the tombstone with something akin to regret on my face.

I sat down, pulled out a couple of cigarettes and lit them both with a flare of fire natured chakra. I put one where a stick of incense should have been and took a deep breath, circulating wind natured chakra in a thin layer to protect my lungs from the nocive effects of the nicotine, at the same time lacing the smoke with my chakra.

And just how I saw the Sandaime do years before, I exhaled, shaping the smoke in the kanji for fire.

I really didn' t believe in talking with the dead, they either can't hear you, or I hoped they wouldn't care. Dying should free you from the worries of the living shouldn't it?

So I just sat there reminiscing in 'what ifs'.

"You know, I got your team." the words left my mouth on their own.

There weren't other news I felt I had to share. "You would have played shoji with Shikamaru and waited for them all to become a better copy of their parents. So I gave them a choice."

I smoked in silence for another minute, simply enjoying the silence, it had been a heavy day, decision-wise. I knew the kind of loyalty a team could develop for their sensei, but I also knew that true loyalty could be paid only with the same coin.

And I was kind of fine with it. It would be nice having someone carrying on my work in case of my death.

"It will be interesting to see if they choose my way over yours, and if they survive it, of course." I mused.

A disdainful sniff made me look at the presence I felt a few seconds before. I didn't consider her before because I wanted to leave whoever was around their privacy.

But it wasn't to be. It was Kurenai.

"Kurenai-san." I greeted her. And notice the way she was glaring at my cigarette, I rolled my eyes. "Asuma-sempai made me start smoking, you know. I'm actually honoring him."

That made her falter. It wasn't anything obvious, but for a fraction of a second, her chakra had tensed. That close to me she could have just as well been wearing a tag with her emotions written on it. "Were you with him when he died?" She asked, her eyes narrowing to slits.

I considered her question, tilting my head while taking in her posture. I had been back in the village for several months already, she waited that long to ask me?

"Nobody told you?" I blinked. I got it, for security reasons the less talk about any mission in which a Konoha nin dies the better, but still.

The answer was obvious, so I sighed.

"I was hunting a nuke-nin with another of the Twelve, we pushed our target into sempai' arms while he was coming back from a mission. We welcomed him on board." I started. The unreadable expression on Kurenai's face didn't change, nor she made any motion to ask for details.

They had a daughter together didn't they? Another thing changed forever. I thought.

"The enemy kunoichi had a team who set camp into an abandoned castle nearby, they were only two and didn't expect to be attacked. So we barged in."

Exhaling, I tied my chakra more deeply to the smoke, augmenting its mass, and I shaped the kanjis so that it would read: "Souls do not die."

"Turns out the castle was a giant summon, who had been eating people for the last, dunno, fifty years. Sempai burned out his chakra to break us out of the summon, but a fire jutsu interacted with some kind of airborne gas.

If it was a messed up technique of one of the nuke nins or a characteristic of the summon is not clear. He manipulated the air even when he was running on an empty tank to keep us alive, smothering the fire." I recalled. "He saved us."

I rose from my seated position, my cigarette was finished anyway and resumed my way walking up the aisles. I had a few years of dead people to pass before finding my first teammate.

...

That evening found me sitting on the head of the Nidaime, taking in the sight. Konoha was a beautiful place, there was no doubt about it. I felt someone approaching and turned my head toward the Anbu.

"Hokage-sama calls." Turtle said.

I blinked, rising from my seat "And I answer." I sarcastically pointed out, flickering over to the Hokage Tower.

I made my way tho the top going as fast as it was considered polite. Shinobi going full tilt towards the head of a hidden village made people jumpy.

Entering the Hokage's office, I didn't bother to hide my surprise. Along with the Sandaime himself, waiting for me there were my genins' fathers.

What is this, teacher-parents meeting? Jeez.

"You called for me, Hokage-sama?" I politely asked. Thankfully, Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza were veterans, and as such were keeping a tight hold of their emotions, I really couldn't be bothered to deal with those too.

"I did, Daiki-kun." The old shinobi answered "There have been some... questions, regarding your teaching methods."

"Curious, since I haven't started teaching yet." I answered, not volunteering any information.

"You asked your genins if they wanted to be civilians, what kind of..." Inoichi started getting on my case but I rudely interrupted him. Causing several frowns, but eh, see if I care.

"I have no use for slaves." That, however, froze the room.

"You gave me a team tailored for someone too lazy to put in the effort." I continued, looking straight at the Hokage.

"I will not disgrace the title of sensei. If they choose to learn, I'll teach. That's it, if they choose." I glared at Inoichi, who clearly was the mother hen of the group.

"Ino is more concerned about her hair than the safety of her teammates, Choji doesn't think for himself, choosing to follow Shikamaru, who applies himself only if I trick him into it." I watched the other two fathers with a raised eyebrow. I had somewhat managed to keep my voice level, I was sincerely honest about what I was saying.

Oh, the Sandaime probably hoped to glean something on me by the reactions of the genins, and I had my own plans developing with them, but a teacher should be not only competent but driven.

And I would see if it was possible to teach those kids to think.

"You promoted me after the tournament, so while the parents can squabble with you, Sandaime-sama, all they want, I fail to see why it concerns me." I pointed out. I was honestly confused by the whole parents needing to meet me in the presence of the Hokage.

I turned sharply toward an incensed Inoichi, thanks to all that was holy Choza looked thoughtful and Shikaku simply tired of it.

"They stopped being children when they donned the hitai ate, and if they will decide to, I'll accept them as my soldiers." I calmly went on.

I turned once more towards the Sandaime.

"The Wind Lord has been directing work at Konohagakure, Kumo is still sore for the jinchuriki I killed, Iwa has yet to show Onoki's grandaughter at the chunin exams and I heard rumors of a new Hidden village. The next chunin exams will be held here, and my team is made up of clan heirs. I'll be ordered to enter them, ready or not, and they will be a giant target unless I push them. Do I have your... permission... to do so, Hokage-sama?"

The old shinobi held my eyes for a long moment, looking for something I couldn't name, before nodding slowly, his gaze never leaving mine.

"You have it." he answered.

...

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