[ Extra chap just cuz I can... luv me.]
.
.
.
.
________________
Beneath the city's bustling streets lies a secret base. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary run-down building, the kind you walk past without a second glance. Inside, it's a maze of dimly lit corridors and hidden chambers.
There's a hall in the heart of the base where a stone throne sits, and on that throne lounges a man.
He's handsome, gotta give him that. Jet black hair with a shaggy style that probably takes way too much effort to maintain. Eyes so intense they could probably see through your soul. Face all sharp angles and strong jawline, with an X-shaped mark on his chin. Wearing traditional shinobi gear, all dark colors.
*SWOOSH.*
Suddenly a ninja appears before the throne, dropping to one knee. Black cloak and a bear mask. The whole Root aesthetic.
"Danzo-sama! Bear is here to report!"
---------------
DanzoPOV/
I look at this ninja kneeling before me and feel a warm glow of satisfaction.
My first batch.
Years of work, years of grooming, years of brainwashing, all paying off beautifully. They don't think, they don't question, they just obey.
Perfect.
"Speak." My voice comes out cold and commanding. I rest my head on my hand.
"The new heir of the Hatake clan seriously injured one of your clan kids in a spar on his first day, Danzo-sama." Bear's tone gives nothing away.
I narrow my eyes. "Wasn't that kid a failure? Gintoki's boy, the one who can't use chakra?" I remember hearing about him.
The defective Hatake heir. "How could someone like that possibly have the ability to hurt one of my own?" I asked.
"One of our Root ninjas informed me that Hatake Sakumo was called to the Hokage to discuss the boy." Bear pauses. "It appears the boy might have some kind of Kekkei Genkai."
I raise an eyebrow at that. A Kekkei Genkai? Now that's interesting.
"A Kekkei Genkai? What does it do?" I lean forward, suddenly very interested. If this boy has a bloodline limit, he might be worth recruiting before Hiruzen gets any ideas.
"The specifics are unknown, Danzo-sama. But based on his fighting style, it appears to be something related to strengthening his physical body to an abnormal degree."
"What about his chakra?" I ask. If he has a Kekkei Genkai, it needs chakra to function. That's just basic logic.
"None, Danzo-sama. One of our Root members with a Byakugan confirmed that the boy doesn't even have tenketsu. No way to circulate chakra at all."
I lean back, disappointed.
Here's the thing about power... real power. The body has limits. You can only get so strong before you hit a wall you can't break through. Chakra is what lets you smash through that wall and keep going. Without it? You're just a really strong normal person.
Impressive, maybe. Useful for certain things, probably, but ultimately limited.
That boy will hit his ceiling eventually. All that potential chakra he should have had? It got burned up as a sacrifice to just make his muscles work better.
A waste.
"Forget about him." I wave my hand. "He's useless to me."
And Bear doesn't react.
"And if I remember correctly, he's the new heir of that clan, right?"
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
"Perfect, then that's another reason not to waste our time on that failure." I almost laugh. "He'll become a clan head eventually, so recruitment is impossible. Also, he will make the Hatake's standing in the village lower if he becomes the clan head, a win-win situation. And as for the matter of him beating one of my clan kids..."
I pause, letting my next words land with cold weight.
"That pathetic boy couldn't even stand against someone with a disability. No need to embarrass ourselves further by asking for compensation and tarnishing the Shimura name over one weakling. He got what he deserved for losing."
Bear nods.
"Now leave. Return to your duties and inform me if anything important happens."
"Hai, Danzo-sama."
*SWOOSH.*
I stare at the empty space where he knelt and clench my fist.
I swear I will make Konoha great. I will prove that I'm better than Hiruzen. Tobirama-sensei should have chosen me.
The unwanted memories surface, and I push them back down where they belong.
----------
GintokiPOV/
Zombie... can't you just touch grass? For fucking once!
That Zombie of mine. Can't go anywhere without stirring up trouble. Not even his first day at the academy, and he's already nearly crippled some poor kid who got on his bad side.
"Establishing dominance or whatever the fuck his excuse will be when he comes back for hospitalizing a kid and traumatizing the whole school." I mutter to myself with a hand on my forehead.
How could he not notice the change his Zombie went through some time ago.
From easy going to a training maniac!
The change in Garou wasn't to the point of questioning things too seriously, but it was still a change.
If not for one day Ayaka showing me Garou's underwear, which had some white and dried spots on it, we wouldn't have known the reason for that change.
The kid hit his puberty it seems.
What a freak of nature.
Sighhhhh.
"Why are you sighing so much? You look like a depressed sea cucumber. Is something wrong?" Ayaka says with a small smirk.
'What's a fucking sea cucumber? My wife and his lame ass jokes. What a cutie! I am in love again~'
I look at my beautiful wife who's doing the dishes like she is some kind of normal person, but that act won't fool me. This woman is the devil herself.
"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't."
She stops and gives me The Look. "Tell me what's wrong. Please don't let it be about cupcake!"
'Ohh boy,'
She dries her hands slowly with a towel, and I know better than to keep secrets when she makes that face.
"It's Zombie again." I rub my forehead, already feeling the headache. "He went nuts on some poor kid at the academy."
She walks over and sits beside me on the tatami mat, worry creasing her forehead. "What did he do?"
"Some kid challenged him to a spar, and your insane cupcake took it way too personally." I pause. "He beat the crap out of the kid. Broke some bones in the process."
"WHAT DID HE DO?!" Her voice hits a pitch that makes the whole house shake. "DIDN'T I TELL HIM TO MAKE FRIENDS?! HUH?!"
"Now now, don't get angry or you'll become ugly, my princes–"
"NOW YOU THINK I'M UGLY?!"
"I... I DIDN'T SAY THAT!" Sweat starts forming on my forehead.
*SLIDE.*
"I'm hom–"
*CRASH. BREAK.*
"AYO WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"
Our Zombie. Right on time to see his mother handing my ass to me.
-----------
GarouPOV/
I slide the door open, ready to relax after my eventful day.
"I'm hom–"
But I pause as I look at my mom choking my dad for no reason.
A moment later, I dodge on pure instinct as a frying pan rockets past my head and destroys a vase behind me.
Mom stands there with her arm still extended, hair covering her eyes like she's in some kind of horror movie.
*step step step.*
She walks toward me with a sweet smile.
"My sweet cupcake, I heard you had an... eventful day. Care to tell me how you... hospitalized a kid?!" Her voice becoming darker at the end.
Crap!
Who the hell snitched?!
I glance at my dad, his arms crossed, and had a stoic face... But I know! I KNOW it was him.
That fucker!
"I know what kind of man you are," I gritted my teeth as I looked at him with bloody murder.
"Sorry, Zombie, you know I can't lie to my sweet princess." Holy Cap!
"YOU are in BIG trouble, cupcake."
She dashes forward.
----------
A moment later/
I sit in front of this devil with a black eye.
My mom taps the floor with her foot. A pan dangles from her hand like a weapon.
Sighhhh.
My dad's voice comes from the side. He's leaning against the wall like this is all just another Tuesday. "Zombie, even though it's unlikely anything will happen, what you did was reckless."
I glare at this fucker I will never trust again, not like I did before, but the bar is lower. "What do you mean?"
"You went too far in that spar." His face is serious now. "A ninja delivered information to me. You broke that kid's bones to smithereens, he will need months to recover."
He pauses.
"Let's not even talk about clan politics. You're an heir. He was from the Shimura clan. Normally, that would be a diplomatic nightmare." He crosses his arms. "But the Shimura only care about strength and reputation. A kid without chakra beating one of theirs? That's embarrassing. They'll probably never mention it just to save face."
I nod, makes sense.
"But Zombie." His eyes narrow. "What if it was another clan? What if it was the Senjus who care too much about their descendants? Or the Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka alliance? They don't let things like this slide."
"Even though I know you won't do something that stupid, but come on Zombie, it's YOU we are talking about, you get what I mean?" My eyes twitch.
"And now everyone knows you're not just some normal civilian. They know you can beat genin with ease. And that makes you a target." His voice drops. "Assassination attempts aren't out of the question. No one knows your full capabilities except us. And I want it to stay that way until you're strong enough to handle any threat."
Nahhhh, I don't care, let them come. Being low-key means admitting being a bitch, and I ain't no bitch.
"But WHY did you expose yourself?!" Mom's voice cracks with real worry.
"That boy thought I was easy prey because I can't use chakra. He wanted to bully me and shit as If I was some nerd shit with big bones or something, so I beat the ching chong outta him."
My parents exchange a look.
Then they smile.
"Seems we didn't raise a bitch." My father says.
"Yeah surely, I don't look like you–"
"Now now, let's not get that low." Gintoki interrupted.
"It ain't low, just pure fax!" I grin at him.
"Okay now, you are being a bitch for that you know," Father said with annoyance.
"Enough! What matters now, won't this make it hard to make friends?" Mom's face falls a little. "If you always look so aggressive, no one will approach you."
"You don't need to worry. I already made some friends." I said.
"REALLY?!" Mom EXPLODES with excitement. Literally bounces in place. "Who are they?! Is it a girl?! Is she beautiful?! Tsunade?! Why don't you invite them over?! When can I meet them?! What are their names?!"
The questions hit me like machine gun fire. I look at Dad for help.
"Cough, calm down princess. Well, Zombie, I also heard the Hokage called you in. He didn't try anything, right? Hope you haven't agreed to his offer?"
His eyes narrow protectively. Zombie's ass must stay virgin; Gintoki thought.
"He asked for my secret techniques. I said no. Don't worry about it."
Gintoki nods, satisfied.
Ass secured.
Gintoki always suspected that Monkey. He never trusted the man at all. He tested waters all the time by questioning or using other dark psychological techniques, and each time, he became more suspicious of Hiruzen. The Aura surrounding that man screamed... divergence.
Hiruzen might be... Gay.
I slowly stand up, "If there's nothing else, I'm going to my room."
"Aren't you hungry?" Mom's already heading toward the kitchen. "I'll cook you something right away!"
"I already ate, thanks." I visited some other stalls after Teuchi and ate my fill.
I leave them there and head to my room.
TheEnd