SHIMMERING MIST : HATAKE SI (Naruto)

Part 2

Chapter 2

HIRUZEN SARUTOBI

Being a Hokage was the dream of every shinobi, yet few understood the weight of the hat. The sacrifices that the position demanded. The burden it carried. He was reminded once more of that burden as he stared at his student's disappointed and enraged face.

"How could you let this happen? How could you!" Jiraiya screamed, his face filled with anger as he stared him straight in the eyes, and Hiruzen could see the damage this had done to his image in his student's eyes. Jiraiya had always been the idealist amongst his students, a trait he shared with the First Hokage, yet this very trait had been the source of the man's ultimate demise.

"You allowed them to vilify him for saving his comrades! YOU ALLOWED THEM TO MAKE HIM THE VILLAIN! SAKUMO!" Jiriaya screamed, and Hiruzen tried to intervene.

"It can not be denied that the man broke the rule...." yet Jiraiya was having none of it.

"FUCK THE RULES! IF THOSE RULES WERE SO FUCKING IMPORTANT, THEN THE SANIN WOULD HAVE DIED THAT DAY IN AMEGAKURE!" Jiraiya screamed, and Hiruzen was reminded once more why his stubborn student often reminded him of the Shodaime.

"JIRAIYA!" Hiruzen let go of his chakra and felt it fill the room. Yet Jiraiya did not relent as he did not cower as he would have years ago. He continued to glare at him.

"One word! You could have prevented this with ONE WORD! Yet you chose to do nothing and let everyone vilify him. Gods, if he weren't covering for those incompetent bastards, the mission wouldn't have been a failure. Yet they blamed it all on him to hide their incompetence! BASTARDS!" his student said through gritted teeth cursing the incompetent teammates of Sakumo.

"Debating over the past is useless. We cannot change what has already happened, Jiraiya," Hiruzen replied to Jiraiya as he reeled in his chakra though Jiraiya's temper did not change. He had always been close to the Hatake clan head, having a unique friendship.

"You could declassify the mission report and let the whole village know what went wrong! Then those bastards will learn exactly what Sakumo went through," and Jiruzen shook his head.

"You know I cannot do that. Doing so would lower the morale of our forces. In these trying times, it would cost us greatly in the war," Hiruzen reasoned. He was not happy with those shinobi as well. Yet he couldn't public the report. Though that did not mean they would get away scot-free, neither them nor the one behind all this mess.

"And Sakumo's loss will not! He could easily rival you in strength. The man's very name made our enemies tremble. The White Fang was a name to fear. Are you saying that to you he was just a regular shinobi?" Jiraiya said through gritted teeth, and Hiruzen shook his head. Standing up, facing the window, and looking over the village.

"NO! Jiraiya. I did not mean that. But Sakumo is gone, yet the war rages on. We are on the back foot. We cannot have our forces face a second morale collapse. However, I assure you that I will deal with them. I promise," and he would. He definitely would.

"You better, or I will, and you will not like what I will do to them," Jiraiya said as he turned and walked out of his office, though he did stop at the door, his eyes glaring at a certain corner of the room before he closed it behind him with a bang.

Hiruzen brought his pipe to his mouth and took a huge puff, savoring its effect for some moments before he exhaled it out.

CRACK!

And then he let go! His chakra roared as he finally let his eyes focus on the shadow in the corner.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, DANZO?" and his old friend walked out of the shadow, his body bandaged, his cane clicking into the ground. And not a shred of remorse on his face.