102 Chapter 102:
After Fuyōna had spent some quality time with young Naruto, he headed to the hospital as he had planned, to see Kimimaro.
Once he arrived he was greeted by Koyuki, Haku, and Kaga, all of who had, had the same idea.
Kimimaro had woken up and been given the all-clear by one of the doctors, having little damage to his body other than a few burns, which would heal by themselves without much trouble.
Chika was also fine, once she had been fully hydrated again, her body had started to recover from the burns on its own, seeing as how she was made of mostly water.
Seno and Tomo on the other had remained in critical care, having received devastating wounds due to the debris that had been kicked up by the blast, with the doctors not sure that either of them would make it.
Fuyōna had heard from one of the nurses say that Iseto Uchiha had yet to wake up and remained unconscious. Fuyōna understood that his body had most likely used a huge amount of chakra if he awakened his mangekyou Sharingan.
"Father," Kimimaro said in surprise when he saw Fuyōna walk into his hospital room, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"What's wrong Kimimaro, surprised to see me here?" He asked, flashing the boy a small smile.
"Lord Mizukage!" Koyuki said in respect as she bowed her head.
Haku also smiled at the sight of his adopted father.
"Sir," Kaga said also bowing his head in respect to him.
"Please enough with the formalities. I'm here to visit you as family, not as the Mizukage." Fuyōna said.
The others all smiled and relaxed, going back to the conversation they had been talking about.
"We were just talking about the last exam," Kaga said as he crossed his arms.
"Yes, it certainly was a surprise when Muse launched his final attack. Even I didn't see that one coming." Fuyōna said with a goofy expression.
Kimimaro seemed to wear a guilty expression, something Fuyōna and Kaga noticed all too well.
"It's not your fault Kimimaro, there was nothing you could have done to stop that jutsu," Kaga said, knowing he was blaming himself.
"Besides, you saved Chika's life!" Koyuki said jumping in.
Kimimaro smiled ever so slightly at the news.
"But what about Iseto?" He then asked.
"He survived too," Fuyōna said.
Kimimaro was shocked to hear that, but then felt a wave of relief wash over him.
"He is?" He asked.
"He's completely fine Kinimaro, In fact, he has fewer injuries than you." Fuyōna then said.
Kimimaro was amazed to hear that, having felt a bond form between the two during their battles in the exam.
"Anyway. The doctor said you are all good to be discharged, but that you should be on bed rest for at least a week." Fuyōna said, giving him the good news.
Kimiamro nodded before he leaned back into his bed, feeling as if he could finally relax at the news.
"Guess that means no missions for the rest of us either!" Koyuki said as she shot her hands into the air celebrating.
"I wouldn't say that," Kaga said giving her a serious look.
"You may have finished your time in the exams, but you still have a long way to go."
Koyuki frowned as she lowers her arms.
"Aw, man."
Haku also smiled.
"Don't worry Koyuki, we can both pick up the extra work while Kimimaro gets some rest." He said with a gentle expression.
Fuyōna watched the four of them smile and joke around with each other, happy to see that they felt so relaxed and could enjoy themselves. It was easy to forget how young they were when watching them in action, acting well beyond their years in combat. The three of them were still ten years old, going on eleven. It was still crazy that they had been ready for the chunin exams at all, considering that Naruto and his classmates wouldn't even become genin until they were twelve.
Of course, they were not the only squad he intended to at a visit today. He had already sent clones out to see the other two squads, feeling it was the duty of the Mizukage to congratulate all of them on their efforts in person, rather than by expression.
"Alright you three, make sure you pack your things. It's a long trip back to the mist village." Fuyōna said as he crossed his arms while leaning on one of the walls.
The three of them nodded in response, realizing that the chunin exams were now over and that they would be returning to their own village once and for all.
"Alright, I leave them in your care, Kaga," Fuyōna said as he stood back upright, pushing off the wall.
Kaga nodded, knowing that he must have some business to attend to if he was leaving now.
"Leave it to me." He said.
"I will see you all when you return to the village," Fuyōna said as he smiled at the three of them.
"And remember Kimimaro, make sure you rest."
Kimimaro smiled at Fuyōna, nodding his head as he did.
"I will father."
With that Fuyōna turned and opened the door to the hospital room, exiting the room and shutting the door behind him before he started walking down the hall.
Currently, Hattori was led to one of the others hospital rooms, having has his injuries treated by one of the doctors and left to rest. Yuri sat with him, keeping him company with only the two of them were there.
Yuri sat quietly as Hattori rested while thinking back on his fight with Haku.
"Knock, knock." Came the sound on the door before it opened.
Both Yuri and Hattori sat up in surprise seeing who it was as Fuyōna walked through.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Hattori." He said flashing him a reassuring smile.
"L-lord Mizukage!" Hattori said, blurting it out in surprise as he tried to sit upright to greet him.
"Please, don't strain yourself, Hattori," Fuyōna said as he walked over to the bed and put his hand on the boy's shoulder to help him relax.
"Y-Yes, sir..." Hattori said in surprise.
Fuyōna smiled as he felt the boy relax, letting go of him before he looked up to Yuri.
"How are you feeling Yuri?" He then asked.
I-I'm fine sir." She said quietly.
"Good," Fuyōna said as he turned back to Hattori.
"I wanted to visit you personally in order to congratulate you both on your efforts during the exam." Fuyōna then said.
"You both displayed great skill and ability in every aspect of the exams, and made your village proud," Fuyōna said letting them know their efforts had been noticed.
Hattori stayed quiet for a moment as Fuyōna's words sank in.
"Thank you, sir!" He suddenly blurted out after a moment of silence.
Fuyōna smiled, knowing that he was still a little down about his fight with Haku, but he was glad that he had been able to cheer him up a little.
"Just remember, this is only the start of your journey to becoming a shinobi. You must never rest until you achieve your dreams."
Hattori listened to Fuyōna's words, taking them to heart as he looked at his role model.
"Yes sir! I will train even harder than I ever have! I promise I won't lose ever again!" He shouted as he clutched the hospital bed sheets tight in his hands.
Fuyōna simply smiled, knowing that he had reignited the flame in his belly, knowing that he would prove a great rival for both Kimimaro and Haku.
"That's what I like to hear!" Fuyōna then said as he gave them both a thumbs up.
Yuri also noticed the glint in Hattori's eye return, giving a small smile from behind her scarf.
"Well, make sure you have a safe trip back to the village. I shall leave you in the hands of Noda Sensei." Fuyōna said before he walked over to the door.
Both Yuri and Hattori nodded as they watched him take his leave, feeling honored that the Mizukage had taken the time to come and see them.
Fuyōna carried on his journey through the hospital, heading even further down the hall before he came to the last door on his list.
"What the hell Chika! Don't steal my food!" Kujira's voice shouted even through the door.
"Now, now you two, let's try and keep calm until Ryo sensei gets back," Rokuro said, trying to keep the peace.
Fuyōna couldn't help but smile as he heard the three of them continue to argue and shouted, knowing that it was all in playfulness.
Fuyōna slowly lifted his hand up, and knocked on the door before clearing his throat.
"Hello, is it safe to come in?" He said, cracking the small joke as he opened the door.
To his surprise, Kujira and Chika were holding each other in a headlock as they had been fighting over some food, each of them quickly freezing on the sport in shock as they saw Fuyōna standing there.
"Am I interrupting something?" Fuyōna said as he rubbed the back of his head.
Both of them quickly let go of one another before they sat upright.
"No sir, sorry sir!" They both said, shocked that the Mizukage was standing before them.
"Now, now you three, you can relax," Fuyōna said as he started laughing.
Chika was the first to listen and quickly snatched the food that she and Kujira had been fighting over.
"Argh! Chika!" Kujira shouted as he watched her quickly gobble it down without a second thought.
"You snooze you lose fat boy!" She shouted as she swallowed it.
Kujira frowned as crossed his arms.
"How many times do I have to tell you! I'm not fat!"
Fuyōna laughed to himself as he watched their interaction. He could tell that the three of them were very close as a squad.
"I can see that your injuries are almost healed Chika," Fuyōna said getting her attention.
"Y-yes, sir. Almost fully healed now." She said as she swallowed the last of the food in her mouth.
"That's great. And how about you Kujira, how are you feeling?" Fuyōna asked as he looked at the Hoshigaki member.
"My body is strong lord Mizukage, I have always healed fast," he said as he flexed his bicep.
"Good to hear," Fuyōna said as he nodded, expressing a smile.
"I just wanted to stop by to see how you were all doing. You all did excellent in the exam, and I thought you deserved a visit so I could congratulate you." Fuyōna said.
The three of them were very still surprised that the great and powerful Mizukage would take time out of his day to stop by and see how they were doing, still, the three of them bowed their heads in thanks.
"Thank you, sir!" They all shouted.
"Alright then, remember to keep training hard. After all, this is only the start of your journey to becoming a shinobi." Fuyōna said, giving them the same speech as he had given Hattori.
"I will take my leave, have a safe trip back to the village." Fuyōna then said as he nodded his head to them, flashing a small smile before he took his leave.
Chika, Kujira, and Rokuro all watched as he left the hospital room, not speaking until he had closed the door.
"man he's so cool!" Chika shouted as her cheeks turned red.
"Calm down Chika, he's already taken," Kujira said as he crossed his arms.
"I know that you idiot!" She shouted as she slapped him around the head.
"Hey what the hell!" Kujira shouted as he went to retaliate.
Now that Fuyōna's clone had made the rounds and seen all the squads that had been in the hospital from the exams it walked into another room so he could release his clone Jutsu, bursting into smoke harmlessly as if he was never there.
Meanwhile, the real Fuyōna had left Kimimaro's room some time ago and headed into the village in disguise. Keeping to the busier areas and shadows so he could blend in, knowing that the leaf Anbu had lots of surveillance and would notice any kind of strange activity.
Fuyōna knew that the way things were going, Itachi would be getting ready to complete his assassination mission against Mukai. Fuyōna knew that he had been selling information to the hidden stone and other villages who were willing to buy it.
Of course, this didn't sit well with Danzo and the other higher-up of the hidden leaf and as such, they had ordered his assassination.
Fuyōna had been able to see his information as he had taken a little peek in the Hokage's office out of hours, something he had to be very careful in doing as if caught, things could have gone very badly.
The only question left was did Fuyōna want to interfere with their mission. Did he want to cause such a drastic change to the world by allowing the Uchiha clan to survive, or would he allow time to flow on course and for Itachi to kill them?
Fuyōna slowly made his way through the village under his disguise, which so far had done its job well. After all, no one would recognize him as he looked in his previous life. Or what he remembered himself to look like.
He kept to the busy areas, pretending to shop and even interact with other villages as he asked basic questions and made small talk. He was slowly heading towards the outer limits of the village, knowing that would be his best bet to locate Itachi before he set off for his mission.
That would be his best chance to follow him, knowing that if he missed that opportunity he wouldn't get another one without using his sage mode to try and locate him.
Fuyōna could see that he was now the old one left on the path at this late hour, knowing that if seen he would look suspicious. Luckily a bench was nearby and he decided to go and take a seat, pulling out a book for a cover story.
The bench was located just off the path on a small grass verge that overlooked a large lake with a jetty going out towards the water.
Fuyōna recognized it as the place where Sasuke had first learned his fire style jutsu, remembering the scene in his head all too well.
A moment passed as Fuyōna continued to reed his book, while occasionally looking up as the sun was close to setting, leaving a beautiful orange tint in the sky.
"but big brother! I can walk just fine, I promise it doesn't hurt!" A small voice said, catching Fuyōna's attention.
"Now, Now Sasuke we are almost home." Another voice, one who needed no introduction said.
Fuyōna slowly looked up at the pair, only looking at them for a moment before he looked back down at his book with a smile.
"He really is sharp." Fuyōna thought, knowing that Itachi had already clocked him.
Itachi was quick to notice Fuyōna, only clocking him for a moment before he acted as if he had seen nothing.
Fuyōna couldn't tell if Itachi knew it was him, or if he had simply clocked that he was out of place. After all, none of the other villagers would come this far out of the village and hang around the outskirts of the Uchiha clan's space.
Still, Itachi walked right past him with little Sasuke on his back, not batting another eyelid at him. Fuyōna posed no threat and simply smiled at the bothers to put them at ease.
"Beautiful sunset isn't it." He said, catching Sasuke's attention.
"It is," Itachi said, almost a little too quickly in response.
"Who is that big brother," Sasuke asked, looking at Itachi and then back to Fuyōna.
"I'm not sure Sasuke, just another member of our village..." He said, talking as if he hadn't made his mind up yet.
Fuyōna watched as they both passed him, watching slowly as Itachi carried Sasuke back towards their home until he faded out of sight down the long path.
"It's time I made a decision..." Fuyōna said to himself, knowing the time had finally come.
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Alright guys thats the end of this chapter! Now we have a big dicsion to make and I would like to see what you guys think.
Would you like Fuyōna to interfear with the killing of the Uchiha clan?
Or, would you like him for him to do nothing and make sure that Itachi carries out his mission?
Either way thank you for your continued support! I look forward to seeing your thoughts!
