"Haruno Sakura," the Third Hokage said, gazing into his crystal ball, which showed a scene of Sakura and Guy. "She will be your target. She is suspected of possessing a powerful kekkei genkai that grants her exceptional strength for a brief period. According to her, when she becomes angry, her strength increases. So, be careful in your observation. You have to collect more information about her personality, talents, and her kekkei genkai."
"You, Shisui, and Kakashi will be working in shifts," the Third Hokage said, then added with a small smile as he looked at the ANBU standing in front of him. "That way, you'll also get to spend some time with your brother, Itachi."
"Understood, Hokage-sama," Itachi replied, taking the mission file. Without another word, he vanished from the room.
"Uchiha," After Itachi left, he muttered softly. He then looked at the portrait of the second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
"I finally understand why you wanted to bind the Uchiha within the village. Except for a few individuals, the Sharingan is a curse for both Uchiha and the village. The more tragedy they observe more extreme and evil they become."
He tapped the ashes from his pipe, his voice somber.
"You wanted them to serve as a police force so that they would regularly interact with the villagers and to keep them away from bloodshed. But the wars after your death have awakened the curse, and recent tragedies have further intensified it. Danzo may think I don't know, but he is adding fuel to the fire."
"Now, I can only hope on individuals like Itachi and Shisui to maintain balance and peace between the village and Uchiha. I hope this mission will help them see a new perspective of the village through the life of a civilian aspiring to become a ninja." He observed the village as smoke from his pipe obscured his eyes.
*****
"Promise me one more time, you will only do what I told you to do." Sakura pleaded.
"You don't have to worry, leave everything to me," Guy said, patting his chest.
"Just follow what I said," Sakura took a deep breath and opened the door of her house.
"Mom, I am home," Sakura said, opening the door.
"Sakura, you finally returned." They could hear the sound of someone who was clearly a civilian running.
"Why did you take so long to return home. We were thinking of calling the Uchiha police force to look for you," Hizashi's loud voice came before him.
"I had told you I would train for an hour or so. You didn't have to worry." Sakura replied.
"But, you were out for two hours. Wait, who are you?" Kizashi came rushing to the front door. He stopped immediately after seeing Guy.
"Please, do as I said."Sakura prayed desperately in her heart. She was worried that her parents would not accept him as her teacher. Because in Konoha, everyone knew three people: the Hokage, Naruto, and Might Guy. The prior was obvious, and the latter were infamous.
"I am an elite jonin, the blue beast of Konoha, Might Guy." He said with his signature smile.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Kizashi asked politely. He didn't know why a jonin was in his, a civilian's house.
"Haha, I am the teacher of Sakura. So, I came to let you know she will be in good hands."
"Oh, you are Sakura's teacher in the ninja academy." Kizashi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Please come inside." Kizashi invited Guy.
"Sakura, you should have invited him to the living room and asked if he would like to have tea or not." He tried to act like a strict father.
"Haha, kids these days lack manners," Kizashi continued. "Back in our days, if we'd behaved like this, our parents would have scolded us for hours after the guest had left ."
"Yes, my father would have punished me to make 10 laps around Konoha." Guy nodded.
"Please have a seat."
"Thank you."
"So, you're Sakura's teacher from the Ninja Academy. I was worried for nothing when you said you were a jōnin," Kizashi said with a relieved chuckle. "I'd heard the academy teachers were usually chūnin. Has there been some kind of new change in the academy?"
"Elite jonin, I am elite jonin." Guy focused on the elite part.
"Ok," Kizashi felt weird. And Sakura knew he misunderstood what she had said. She had told him to introduce himself as an elite Jonin so that her parents could know he was one of the best ninjas of the village.
"I am not a teacher at the ninja academy. Only chunins teach in the ninja academy. Jonins teach the genins that graduate from the academy." Guy said to clear the confusion.
"Then why is he here?" Kizashi was becoming more confused.
"I have taken Sakura as my student because I can see a huge flame of youth burning inside her," Guy said in his dramatic way.
*Cough* *Cough* Sakura tried to warn Guy by coughing.
"I am going to train her to become the best Kunoichi." Guy declared. "Even Kakashi's future student won't be able to beat her. So, as a responsible teacher, I have come to inform you." Guy said with emphasis on 'Kakashi' and 'responsible'.
"What?" Kizashi shot up from his seat, eyes wide. His mind scrambled to process the situation. A jōnin wants to personally train his daughter, who had only just started at the academy yesterday. And the said jonin looks weird, talks weird, and acts even weirder.
"Why are you shouting? Is Sakura back?" Mebuki's voice floated in from the hallway before she stepped into the living room.
As she entered the room, she immediately noticed a weird looking ninja with a weird haircut and fiery determination in his eyes below those thick eyebrows. Her husband stood still in shock, and Sakura looked a little angry at the weird man.
"What's happening?" She asked.
"Well, you see, Guy-sensei here wants to make me his student. So, he is here to talk about it. He is one of the strongest ninja in Konoha." Sakura said to her mom, pointing at Guy.
"He thinks I have huge potential, so he wants to train me to become a strong ninja," Sakura told her mom, who was a clearer thinker than her father, hoping to talk with her.
"What?" Mebuki also found the situation absurd. Her daughter had her first day at the academy yesterday, and today, a strange man was trying to take her as a student. Either Sakura really did have exceptional potential, or this man was the unsettling kind of weird.
As Mebuki looked closely at Guy. She felt that she had seen him somewhere.
"Aren't you the ninja who runs around Konoha upside down?" Kizashi asked, squinting. Mebuki also recognized him after Kizashi pointed it out.
"You're right!" Guy beamed. "I am that youthful ninja who spends every minute of the day training."
Mebuki and Kizashi exchanged a glance, their unease growing. His confirmation of being the weirdest ninja of Konoha didn't help. If what he said is true, then it will be a huge opportunity for a civilian to learn from one of the best ninjas of the village. On the other hand, was their daughter's safety. So, they already know what to say.
"Mom, he is also a civilian ninja. He trained hard and became this powerful on his own. So, he can guide me better than other ninjas." Sakura talked in his favour.
Mebuki and Kizashi were both silent. They couldn't decide if what he said was true. They can't agree until they are sure he is the right person to become Sakura's teacher.
"I know what you are thinking. You don't know what we said is true or false, so you can't decide, right?" Both Mebuki and Kizashi nodded.
"I first heard about him from Ino. So, we could ask Ino if you feel uneasy about me training with him." Sakura brought her trump card.
"Ino? The Yamanaka heir?" Hearing her name, both Mebuki and Kizashi felt that they had found the answer. If he is the ninja he claims to be, then she must know about him. They can ask her, and if he is an excellent ninja, then Sakura can train under a powerful ninja. Ninjas may be idolized in Konoha, but they know the fate of the ninja.
Having a strong mentor means learning early, becoming stronger, and having higher survival. The heart of the parent that had been uneasy at the prospect of Sakura becoming a ninja will calm down if she gets a good mentor.
"I am sorry. We are doubting you, but please look from our perspective as parents of a young girl. We will only allow Sakura to train under you after we can confirm what you have said is true." Mebuki said. Kizashi also nodded from the side.
"Don't worry. You can ask any high-ranking ninja. They will tell you the truth. Since you have given your approval in case what I said is true, then I will consider Sakura as my student." Guy smiled happily. For him, it meant they approved. What was there to check about? He was an elite jonin, a taijutsu master, and one of the strongest ninja in Konoha.
"Might Guy, the blue beast of Konoha, elite jonin and taijutsu master, Hokage-sama has asked for you. He wants to discuss an S-rank mission with you. It involves the recent event in Hidden Mist village. So, come quickly with me." An ANBU suddenly appeared in front of them and asked Guy to follow him.
"Is that so?" He became serious. "It seems I have to go now. I will come again after I complete my task." He said to Sakura's parents and left with the ANBU.
"Did you see that? There was an ANBU here." Kizashi said to his wife.
"Yes, I haven't seen an ANBU this close after the Nine-tailed incident," Mebuki replied. They were shocked. For civilians as well as low-level ninja, seeing an ANBU was very rare. Most of the time, they see ANBU from very far when they are returning to the village or when they are guarding Daimyo.
"If the ANBU came to call him in Hokage-sama's order, then isn't he a very important ninja?" Kizashi's eyes widened.
"Yes, ANBU said Hokage had called him for an S-rank mission. They are the most important mission, right?" Mebuki asked. They knew about the mission ranking because they had also posted some small D-rank missions.
"Now, we can confirm that he is a powerful ninja and a taijutsu expert if the ANBU himself said so. He also seems to have a title given by another village. So, I think we can trust him to train Sakura." Kizashi said excitedly. Finally, he will have to worry less about Sakura's future.
"Yes, he must be very powerful for other villages to give him names. Now, I can sleep well at night knowing our Sakura will also become a powerful ninja." Mebuki was also happy and excited.
Sakura was also shocked seeing the ANBU, because that ANBU was clearly Kakashi. The white hair was a dead giveaway. Also, no ANBU will call out the whole title of a ninja. Kakashi may have seen that her parents were skeptical and wanted to help Guy, but why, though?
But why weren't her parents skeptical about the whole ANBU calling Guy thing? Wasn't this whole scene quite convenient, when they were doubting Guy and thinking of asking Ino, an ANBU suddenly appears, confirming his identity and telling how he is supposed to go on an S-rank mission, which they aren't allowed to tell.
"Whatever, at least my parents agreed." Sakura was finally relieved. She can now start her training.
Her parents didn't suspect the ANBU because the punishment for impersonating an ANBU is huge. Once in a decade, someone gets a brilliant idea of impersonating ANBU to do something shady, and it ends disastrously for him. Then, the entire village knows about it and understands there is certain things you must not do if you want to live in a world filled with ninja.