Blazing eyes (Uchiha OC/SI) chapter 58 (Patreon)

Chapter 58

Naruto stared at the white ceiling of the infirmary. He could hear cheers outside the room, indicating that the final fight had ended. Naruto grasped the sheets of the bed in frustration. He should have been out there and faced Sasuke. But he could barely move. Naruto could already imagine Sasuke prowling all proud and smug.

“I should have beat that smirk out of you,” Naruto mumbled.

“Shut it,” A voice from the bed beside him replied.

“Don’t tell me what to do, no-eyebrowns,” Naruto replied. “I will beat you again.”

“If he hadn’t stopped us, you would already be dead.”

“I remember you being on the ground and I on top of you.”

“Shut it. I still would have killed you and…” Gaara didn’t finish his words as he started to cough.

The infirmary was quiet, filled with the faint hum of medical equipment and the occasional muted footsteps of medics going about their duties. Naruto lay on one of the beds, his body covered in bandages and his face marked with signs of the intense battle he had just fought—Gaara, who had been equally battered and bruised, occupied the bed next to his.

There weren’t any other patients apart from them. Naruto couldn't help but steal glances at Gaara from the corner of his eye. That asshole was the reason couldn’t fight Sasuke, but Naruto knew better than blame others for his failure. Gaara was simply strong, and Naruto couldn’t beat him, but he would never accept defeat against Gaara.

“Hey, Gaara,” Naruto got the boy’s attention once he stopped coughing.

“Don’t address me so friendly.”

Gaara shifted slightly on his bed, one good eye fixing on Naruto while the other was swollen and blue. His gaze was less intense than during the battle, but there was still a hint of something unpredictable in his eyes. Naruto was similarly covered in bandages. Naruto didn’t know how to continue, but thinking wasn’t his suit, so he blurted out his thoughts.

“You are the same as me, aren’t you?”

“We are nothing similar. You lack ambition. Your existence is only meant to be extinguished by me.”

“Will you shut with that nonsense!” Naruto threw an empty tray at Gaara but missed. “You have a demon inside you like me, don’t you? You said you were born as a monster.”

“Demon?” Gaara muttered. “I guess you could call it that way.”

“So, what's your demon like?”

“Shukaku is a malevolent spirit,” he explained. “A force of chaos and destruction. It hungers for bloodshed and revels in suffering.”

“Sounds a bit like my tenant, the Nine-Tails,” Naruto admitted. “But, you know, I've been trying to make friends with him, sort of.”

“Friends?”

“Well, not friends, but you know.”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want my demon to dictate who or what I am. So, he will have to accept me and the decision I make, no matter what he wants.”

“You make no sense.”

“At least I don’t tell everyone I must kill them to prove my existence.”

“You don’t understand.”

“But I do,” Naruto turned away from Gaara. “I am similar to you. I want to prove that I exist, too. I didn’t go around killing people and will never do that. But I did everything else to get attention from others so they couldn’t ignore me.”

“It won’t work.”

“No, it won’t,” Naruto agreed. “Because I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. What I truly wanted was to accept myself. I didn’t like the boy people called a demon. I didn’t want to be a crybaby who ran away because he was afraid to face anyone. I don’t need to prove my existence to anyone but myself.”

“You weak.”

“Yeah,” Naruto agreed. “But I will grow stronger.”

“Why?”

“To protect people precious to me,” Naruto answered. “Don’t you have anyone you want to protect?”

“No,” Gaara replied. “I thought I had once, but I don’t anymore.”

“That sounds lonely. I don’t want to say that I understand your pain, but I know you won’t grow stronger if you continue rejecting others.”

“Why do you care?”

“I want a rematch,” Naruto said. “Next time, I will beat you. But I don’t want it to be a match between two monsters but two shinobi.”

“I will kill you next time.”

“Will it be you or the demon inside you?” Naruto asked. “Either way, you won’t beat me, I will kick your ass like I did before.”

“There is no chance of you doing so,” Gaara replied. “You too pathetic, I will beat you.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes. I will.”

Kaen smiled as the two jinchuriki lay side by side in the quiet infirmary, arguing like little boys. He felt sorry for Gaara, but there wasn’t much he could do to change the boy. Kaen could only leave it to Naruto. Before they realized that he was watching them, Kaen left. There was one thing Kaen could do for the boy, but firstly, he needed to talk with the Fourth Kazekage about it.

…

Kaen opened his eyes after the memories of his shadow clone came to him. The last match of the chunin exam just ended with Sasuke’s victory. Naruto and Gaara were disqualified due to their injuries, so Sasuke only needed to face Neji. At least Neji gave some trouble to Sasuke, but Kaen could tell Neji wasn’t in the best condition.

“A spending spectacle,” Rasa commented.

“You are free to mingle with the nobles from the Land of the Fire and visit your children,” Kaen said. “But the Third Hokage will have a meeting with you soon after.”

“I will come,” Rasa replied.

Kaen nodded and left to entertain the noble guest visiting the village. Kaen was sure many of them would be impressed by the fights. And Konoha’s future generation was secure in all of their eyes. The village should be ready for a new flow of missions. But Kaen had other things to worry about. And he did need to make a good impression on the guests first.

…

The dimly lit room within the Hokage Tower was filled with tension as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat at the head of a large round table. Around the table, various high-ranking Jonin and advisors had gathered, including Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of the Sand Village. The threat of Orochimaru and the newly formed Sound Village had grown too great to ignore.

Hiruzen has decided it to be his final act as a Hokage. He will give up the title of Kaen while the Daimyo and other nobles are still in the village. Kaen has proved not only capable in fights but in diplomacy, too. Hiruzen didn’t have any reason to postpone any further. His body was already too old and fragile to continue his tenure as a Hokage.

“Thank you all for coming,” Hiruzen leaned forward, his expression grave. “We're facing a threat that we cannot underestimate. Orochimaru and his Sound Village pose a significant danger to Konoha and the Five Great Nations. It's time we put an end to this menace.”

“I've seen firsthand what Orochimaru is capable of,” Rasa, his arms folded across his chest, nodded in agreement. “His experiments and forbidden jutsu threaten the entire Shinobi world. We cannot allow him to continue unchecked.”

“If we are waging war on the Sound, then we need to gather intelligence on the Sound Village,” Shikaku Nara said. “Their forces and Orochimaru’s desperation are growing rapidly. We must act before they become an even more formidable enemy.”

“That's why I propose to renew our alliance with Suna and work together,” Hiruzen said. “We can't afford to underestimate Orochimaru's cunning. We need to coordinate our forces carefully.”

“It is impossible,” Kaen, sitting silently, suddenly spoke. “We need to think of the other villages. If we make a rash move, the others will not let it slide so easily. The other villages might presume our movements against them, so they might strike us before we can do anything.”

“Iwagakure will not see our actions favorably,” Shikaku agreed. “Once they get a whiff of our actions, they will take it as a personal attack against them.”

“Kumogakure won’t stand still either,” Kaen added. “We can’t use all of our military; otherwise, we might begin the next Shinobi World War.”

Hiruzen shivered at that thought. He fought in all three previous wars. Every single one of them was worse than the previous one. But they couldn’t leave Orochimaru either. He had made the mistake of letting him go once. He won’t repeat it. Seeing how Kaen looked confidently, Hiruzen could tell he had already prepared a plan.

“What would you suggest?” Hiruzen asked.

“We make two teams,” Kaen began. “One from Konoha, another from Suna. They will move independently but for the same goal.”

“Attacking Orochimaru and his forces,” Kakashi summarized it.

“We could exchange information and help each other,” Shikaku nodded in understanding. “The other villages won’t be able to see through our movements, and even if they get suspicious, it won’t be enough to take it as an offensive movement against them.”

“Very well,” Hiruzen didn’t see any need to disagree with the plan. “Kazekage-dono, I will leave you to decide the team you will make.”

“Then I will take my leave,” Rasa agreed.

“There is no need to finalize the plan now,” Hiruzen addressed the rest of the shinobi in the office. “Shikaku, I will leave analyzing our next plan to you.”

“It will be done, Hokage-sama.”

Soon, everyone else left, too. Some had to check on their genin teams after the chunin exams, while others had to return to their duties. Only Hiruzen and Kaen were left now. Hiruzen motioned for the ANBU hiding in the shadows to leave them alone before deactivating a seal in his cabinet and removing a vial from the hidden compartment.

“I think before we continue talking, I should give you this,” Hiruzen provided Kaen with the mangekyo sharingan that once belonged to Shisui Uchiha. “It should be entrusted to you.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama,” Kaen carefully took the eye before sealing it away.

“I entrust that whatever you will do with it, it will be for good reason,” Hiruzen said. “It is tremendous power that I wouldn’t want to use for any reason.”

“Don’t worry, Hokage-sama, I will think extremely carefully before even considering using it,” Kaen said.

“Good, the next thing I want to give you is this,” Hiruzen took off his hat and placed it onto Kaen’s hands. “You've proven your strength. You showed your expertise in politics and tactical thinking. I entrust the future of Konoha to you and pass down the will of fire into your hands. Do you accept it, Kaen Uchiha?”

“I, Kaen Uchiha, swear to uphold the will of fire and protect the village with all I have.”

“Good,” Hiruzen nodded. “I will announce it tomorrow, and with the Daimyo of the Land of the Fire and other nobles, I will pass down the title of the Hokage to you.”

“I will not betray your trust, Hokage-sama.”

Hiruzen felt like a massive pressure had left him. After so long, after losing so many people dear to him, he might finally rest and leave the responsibilities of Konoha to the next generation. He knew that Kaen was a perfect candidate for this position. He didn’t need to listen to Jiraiya’s praise to realize it. He could see that Kaen was strong and had enough compassion, even if he hid it well, to protect the village from all dangers it might face.