SHIMMERING MIST : HATAKE SI Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Chapter 7

OHASHI HATAKE

Ohashi Hatake sat on the porch as he stared at the starry sky. The silence in the Uchiha district was calming, and distinctive for the rest of the village was rarely this quiet. He sat on the porch as he waited for his sensei to come back, she had gone to tuck in young Itachi and Shisui. Both of whom had fallen asleep after their hour-long excursion with him.

“Thank you for playing with Itachi and Shisui, they were both excited to see someone they could play along with,” Mikoto sensei spoke up as she sat down beside him and he waved away her apology.

“I don’t mind. They were both pretty well-behaved,” he replied and she gave him a warm smile as she nodded though he noticed how her eyes were a little strained. And he could guess the reason for her stress.

“So, what was the issue with Itachi-kun?” he asked and he noticed her eyes drop at that as her smile vanished and was replaced with a forlorn look.

“Lady Tsunade told me that his lungs are chakra sensitive and that could affect his life as a ninja. It can be managed but I am quite concerned about it and don’t know what to do,” she told him and he nodded along. He turned to face her, and found her fists clenched in frustration, and decided to assure her.

“It will be fine, sensei. Itachi’s an extremely bright kid and he will not be affected much by this,” and he noticed her smile at the praise for her son before he continued.

“Have you told the rest of the clan or Fugaku-san?” and she shook her head.

“Not yet. I plan to tell him when he returns, such information is too risky to be written in a letter,” and he nodded though he saw her eyes narrow suddenly as she focused on her.

“Speaking of Fugaku, he wrote to me about your recklessness during the mission Ohashi. How many times must I tell you to not take such risks? He said you were barely breathing when he found you, what were you thinking taking on such a risk?” and she scrunched his nose as the conversation turned towards him. And then his ear was in her hands and getting twisted.

“What if anything was to happen to you? Did you even think at all before you risked your life like that?” she twisted it a bit more making him shout out in pain.

“Ouch! Ouch! I am sorry sensei. But there was no other choice!” he begged her and after a minute or so leaving him whimpering in pain, as she shook her head in stark disapproval.

“Honestly, you haven’t changed a bit from your genin days. And they have even promoted you to a jounin now. Though listening to me Ohashi!” she made him look towards him as her tone became serious again.

“I don’t care whether you are a chunin or jounin, you cannot do something like this,” and he noticed her voice tremble a bit as she continued.

“I cannot have you die as well. So, please. Promise me you won’t do something so reckless again!” and he nodded along as he thought about his lost teammates. Izuna and Ikumo had both died in the chunin exams in Iwa when their team had gone to participate in them. They had been with Mikoto-sensei for a year longer than him when he had joined the team though he had served as her apprentice as a chunin as well. He nodded at that, knowing he had taken an irrational risk during the last mission. Something which he did not plan to take any time again.

“I promise, sensei, I won’t do something so risky again,” and she saw him nod at that as she leaned in and wrapped her arms around him. And Ohashi felt her care and maternalistic warmth wrap around him as he let himself get lost in her warmth for a second.

“I am so proud of you, Ohashi. And I know if Sakumo-san was here, he would have been equally proud of what you have achieved,” she muttered as they separated and she wiped away the tears welling up in her eye. He bit his lip at the mention of his father before he nodded.

Sakumo Hatake had been one of her instructors from what he knew. There was not any official file though Ohashi had his suspicions about how much mentorship had happened in a rather infamous masked organization. He looked at the darkening sky and stood up.

“Well, it was nice seeing you, Mikoto-sensei, but I think I will leave now,” though she shook her head as she stood up as well.

“It was nice seeing you, Ohashi. Please be careful in the field,” she advised him one last time as he said the final goodbye and left the Uchiha district. Outside, the village was still bustling with activity. He stopped to look at one of the stalls selling musical instruments, his eyes lingering on a harp placed on display before he continued walking with a shake of his head.

Not missing the shadowy silhouette following him throughout it all.

0000

HIRUZEN SARUTOBI

Hiruzen watched the young shinobi standing in front of him and smiled, for this was the future of the hidden Leaf standing there. Ohashi Hatake was still a teen and, from his file, had recently turned fourteen and was now the third youngest jounin in Konoha history.

His mood soured a bit as he thought about the fate of his father, Sakumo. Yet, it was done, and he couldn’t change the past—only the future.

The kid’s white hair was darker than Sakumo’s, and his eyes were of a different color together, favoring his mother, a cousin of the famous Dan Kato.

“Congratulations on your promotion, Jounin Hatake,” he told the young shinobi, who gave him a bow.

“Thank you, Lord Hokage,” and Hirzune recalled the first time he had seen the young kid. He had been brought into his office from the academy by a teacher who had caught onto the uncanny resemblance between the kid and his father. A very strange debacle that had been but thankfully it had resolved itself without any major mishap.

“I must say, I was highly impressed by your efforts on the Northern border. Your commander Uchiha Fugaku mentioned that you were instrumental in the success of the offensive,” and the kid perked up at his praise, and Hiruzen motioned for him to take a seat.

The kid nodded and sat down on the chair opposite him. He wore a simple dark blue uniform, and instead of the regular jounin jacket wore a black one over it.

“Commnader Fugaku is very kind. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t even be sitting here,” the kid replied and Hiruzen smiled at that.

“Yes, Fugaku did mention your recklessness as well. But I believe that greatness often lies on the edge of such daring. Though I would caution you to be careful in the future, you have made quite a name for yourself with your last mission,” and he picked up the latest edition of the Bingo book from Kumo and passed it to the young man.

Ohashi opened the book to the folded page, and Hiruzen saw his eyes widen a bit.

“The Kirameku kiri- The Shimmering Mist. An apt name considering the special technique you used,” he mused, and Hiruzen was quite intrigued about the technique itself. He hadn’t seen it for himself yet from what he had. He mused it was a combination of all three of the basic, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu.

Quite impressive for any shinobi, let alone a fourteen-year-old. Hiruzen felt the chakra of the young shinobi sitting in front of him and was reminded of his sensei. Their natural affinity for Suiton gave their chakra a calming edge to it, and yet such affinity wasn’t the only thing he shared with his sensei.

“I must say I was quite surprised with your progress in Nidaime’s special sensing technique,” he said, breaking the kid out of his trance. The kid closed the bingo book.

“Thank you for the praise, Lord Hokage but it never would have been possible without the help from Tsunade-sama. She was kind enough to give me some guidance in my early days,” and Hiruzen shook his head.

“I can assure you, you weren’t the first person to ask her about it yet none before you have ever succeeded. It is quite an achievement that you were able to replicate it,” he praised the kid who nodded again at the praise.

“How is young Kakashi, I believe you have been helping him train for some time,” Hiruzen questioned him and the kid nodded slowly.

“Yes, I often spar with him. He is still adjusting but it is expected with all that happened,” and Hiruzen sighed as he thought about Sakumo’s fate.

“Indeed. What happened to your father was tragic and you have my condolences for your loss.”

“Thank you for your concern, Lord Hokage,” and Hiruzen hadn’t missed the slight sharpening of the young Hatake’s chakra. But this was enough small talk, it was time to get to the real reason he had called the young jounin into his office.

“I believe we must now speak of the issue at hand. Our forces are now engaged with Iwa and Kumo along the two borders. But there are rumors that they have made common cause with Kirigakure. This is troublesome for us as this would could open up a new front,” he began in his official voice as the silver-haired Hatake straightened up.

Hrizuen pointed at the map, at the southern border along the shoreline.

“We have a small force guarding the border here, yet they wouldn’t be able to hold back a large invading force. So, I am deploying you with a small team to bolster the defenses and hold back any invading force from Kiri,” Hiruzen finished and passed the kid the mission scroll.

“This is an A-rank mission, and you will be serving under Minato Namikaze as his vice commander. The names of the rest of your team are inside,” and he noticed the young Hatake perk up at that name. Well, it seems Minato had left a lasting impression on the kid.

“Will that be all, Hokage-sama,” Hiruzen nodded.

“Yes, you are dismissed, jounin Hatake,” and with a nod, the silver-haired shinobi left his office, leaving him alone once more. Hiruzen picked up the file of the young jounin once more and began to skim over it. And it would be an understatement to call it impressive.

He had consulted his sensei Mikoto Uchiha about his promotion, and she had supported his decision staunchly. A shame that she had retired now. She had been an invaluable asset and an extremely good teacher. She had also served as an ANBU under Sakumo for a time, and that had been one of the reasons, young Ohashi had been assigned to her.

“Perhaps, I should assign him a team to train,” he thought as she thought of the graduating class. There was still time, and Ohashi would be nearing fifteen when the graduation would come along, and from what he recalled there was someone who would flourish under someone like him.

“Perhaps, I will consult Danzo over it,”

0000

Deep underground, a bandaged man stood tall as he read a scroll.

“Ohashi Hatake. Jounin. Impressive,” came a whisper before he closed the scroll and burned it to a crisp.

“Such a shame that he got away from us,” All that effort to obtain a Hatake had been wasted by a single mistake. Danzo Shimura shook his head as he stuck his cane on the ground summoning a ROOT operative.

“Has there been any communication from Orohciamru?” he questioned. Ohashi Hatake had soured his plans when he had helped Uchiha Fugaku defeat two of the three Kumo platoons. Kumo had doubled down despite their losses and sent reinforcements to the border.

“Not yet, Lord Danzo,” and this news troubled him. With the fighting resumed, Orochimaru should have sent a confirmation about completing his mission. Perhaps, he shouldn’t have trusted the man with such an important task.

Well, it was good that he had prepared alternatives.

“Leave me!” he ordered and the masked operative vanished again. Danzo closed his eyes as he sensed for any presence around him and when he found none he began to cycle through a series of handseals.

“NINPO: Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal: ACTIVATE!”

Miles away on the northern border of Konoha, a dozen or so shinobi suddenly choked before their bodies exploded, destroying friend and foe around them indiscriminately.