Naruto: The Prince of Lust

Chapter 187: Chapter 187

Temari and Kankur? turn to Baki, but as expected, their glorified babysitter does nothing. Gaara retires to his room and rather than plan how they're going to make this outrageous demand happen, Temari calmly walks into her room.

TENTEN

"Tou-chan," Tenten calls out with a hint of curiosity as she enters her father's shop. At first, she didn't understand why the shop was closed, and then she's further bewildered by the dark room. She turns on the light before she walks through the shop into the back and up the stairs to their apartment above.

All the while she can't help but constantly replay the fight between Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun.

Absentmindedly, she recalls her team meeting around Lee's bed. He was awake, however, having used the Inner Gates, he'll be bedridden for at least a week. The only two questions the three of them had was why he stopped Lee's match and about Naruto-kun. Having fought the loud blond herself, never in her wildest imagination could she have predicted such an absurd amount of strength.

Guy-sensei wouldn't completely reveal why Naruto-kun was so powerful but he assured his team it's not too unlike Lee's gates.

"He can call upon power when he truly needs it, very much like that young Gaara-kun," Guy-sensei told a bedridden Lee. "I'm sorry Lee-kun. One of life's greatest difficulties is no one ninja is capable of defeating everyone they come across."

Focusing on herself and Neji-kun, Guy-sensei adds, "none of you are. No one shinobi that can beat everyone. If Konoha expected as much out of its ninja, our village would surely be weak indeed. We fight as a team because this world and its monsters are much larger than any one man."

Turning to Lee, their sensei tells him, "if I allowed the match to continue, I feel confident he could've ended your career as a shinobi."

Lee was dejected to hear such disheartening news, as was Tenten, because it means Naruto went easy on her. She thought it was impressive that he could create so many clones of himself, but that didn't even scratch the surface of his full capabilities…

'I'm not good enough to bring out his best,' she loathes to accept.

With a sigh, she enters the living space of their two-bedroom apartment to the startling shock of seeing her father tied and gagged to a chair. Before she can even utter a syllable, the very long blade of Kubikirib?ch? advances from behind her, passing the side of her head so the corner of her vision can see an ill-defined reflection of her entire face against the flat of the blade.

The edge was pointed to the floor, and if whoever was wielding the blade brought it down, it would cut through her trapezius muscle, her collar bone, her ribs, lungs, liver, and she'd surely die.

"Far too lax," a deep and dark voice calls from behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stand, however, she manages to control her breathing as he continues. "Your life hasn't hovered near death enough, girl. You're no ninja."

"Wh-Who-" Tenten starts and is interrupted by her father's muffled yelling.

"Your trash of a father made a grave error when he tried to sell my sword," the ominous voice imparts.

With wide eyes, a shaky Tenten realizes aloud, "you- you're Momochi Zabuza…"

His sinister chuckle was his only response.

...

KAKASHI

'…I fucked up,' Kakashi's simple thoughtfully expresses.

Standing at attention with his fellow J?nin-sensei before their Hokage's desk, Kakashi couldn't help but recall his ever-lengthening list of miscalculations. Avoiding thoughts of his failures to Rin, to his Sensei, to Obito, his perceptible mind fast forwards to his neglect of Sakura and Naruto.

'Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan may not contribute to the village as much as Sasuke can, but that's okay,' he thought. Kakashi knew he could still form a team around Sasuke. The last Uchiha would elevate his teammates, in turn, they will do their absolute best to keep up. If one died in the process, such is the life of a ninja. If not, they will always grow stronger with Sasuke as the bar.

Considering Naruto is at the heart of this matter, Kakashi saw fit to bring a clone for this meeting, if only to offer his opinion. Watching the clone lazily stand next to Hiruzen's chair, Kakashi couldn't figure out how the amiable blond completely blindsided him.

The bored blue-eyed blond may be his sensei's son, but, it was evident early on he was no ninja; not in the truest sense of the dark word. Naruto was simply too bright, too optimistic, too good for the heinous deeds a ninja is meant to do.

Many children hear stories of saving princesses or protecting towns, however, Kakashi knew that was the shallow end of their world, and for most of his life, he's operated in the deep, dark, murky depths of death and survival. Rather than saving lives, ninja serve countries better by taking lives; politicians, merchant princes, tycoons, feudal lords, warlords… innocent or not.

'Anything for the mission…' his mind voiced.

Naruto does not represent the full depth a ninja must struggle with. For this deeply damaging way-of-life, a shinobi must be a little dead inside and Kakashi was content with Naruto not embodying that motto. If it meant preserving that ray of hope within the boy for as long as possible, he's certain his peaceful and caring sensei would approve.

'Because even if Naruto can't bear the worst of a shinobi's struggles, the world still need ninjas like him,' Kakashi believes. Shinobi like Naruto and Sakura are the future dark-horses like Kakashi and Sasuke will protect. It's the best way broken shinobi like them can contribute.

Still, as the contemplative Hiruzen turns from the heedful window in his office, and takes a seat, Kakashi thinks, yet again, 'I fucked up.'

As Sarutobi observes the five J?nin-sensei standing at attention before him with elbows on his paper stacked desk and hands fastened together by interlaced fingers, Hiruzen doesn't initiate security protocol just yet. Guy, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Yari all await their Kage's directive over Naruto's red chakra cloak witnessed not more than two and a half hours ago.

"Appearance only regulates mere scraps of what is truly underneath," Hiruzen's wise and airy voice starts. As he continues, however, the sudden shift to a commanding tone is quickly evident to every J?nin in the room. "It is why we teach our own to always search underneath the underneath, so we are never unduly surprised."

Despite the clone of Naruto yawning, Hiruzen's piercing eyes land sternly on Kakashi, and ignoring the urge to swallow his embarrassment as a J?nin-sensei, he, yet again, thinks to himself, 'I really fucked up.'

"As you all may have guessed," Hiruzen addresses his captains of education. "I risked everyone's lives to answer one question; Could Naruto-kun retain control under extreme distress? I agree the answer to that question shouldn't have such high potential for loss, however, I've been blessed with the fortune of observing this young man beside me grow up since his birth."

Kakashi notices Naruto pay more attention as the Sandaime resumes saying, "regardless of the very real risks to you, your students, my countrymen, and warriors, I wanted to believe in Naruto-kun…" Hiruzen turns to the surprised clone and finishes, "and this very old man is proud to witness his trust has not been misplaced."

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