Chapter 13: A Fractured Belief (Part Two)
Early December. Some unpleasant noise had begun spreading through the village.
The previous month, two full squads of genin had been killed, and the chunin and jonin leading them had died alongside them. Eventually, a handful of grieving families made their dissatisfaction known.
Since the end of the Second Shinobi World War, nothing quite like this had come up.
"A Leaf ninja must hold onto the belief that they can die for the village at any moment."
The Academy would never put that sentence in a textbook, but most ninja internalized it once they became genin, quietly turning themselves into instruments of the village.
Given that, the complaints drew little attention at first. Dying on a mission was simply part of the life.
It wasn't until a jonin got into an argument with a colleague at a tavern that certain details started circulating in a small way:
"High-ranking mission requests might go down next year."
For Academy students and genin this was barely relevant. Chunin mostly worked B-rank assignments. It was a different story for jonin. A-rank missions topped out at one million ryo. S-rank started there.
Not everyone landed those contracts, but hearing that high-ranked work might dry up drew a few complaints from corners of the jonin corps. The loudest voices were the jonin from commoner backgrounds. Less meat on the table meant unhappy faces.
...
In the medical lab, Furukawa Osamu was still collecting data. Different amounts of Essence infused into the same herb produced different degrees of mutation. Some were positive changes, but most produced nothing useful. All he could do was keep running experiments after each Gathering.
Fortunately the Land of Fire had rich soil, and with the village's backing, the lab's selection of medicinal herbs was comprehensive.
When Tsunade appeared in her green jonin vest, she caught sight of Furukawa Osamu absorbed in his work and smiled again:
"Given how hard you've been working, how about curry rice for lunch?"
Noticing that Tsunade was wearing her jonin vest and headband, Furukawa Osamu asked with genuine curiosity:
"It's rare to see you dressed like that lately, Sensei. Are you heading out on a mission?"
"The old man called a jonin meeting. It's related to Sakumo's mission last month, but nothing to worry about."
"You're a genin. You don't need to be thinking about any of this. That's the White Fang of Konoha we're talking about. Sakumo can handle whatever comes."
There was real respect in Tsunade's voice, which was rare. In her view, their teacher was worrying too much. A failed mission couldn't shake the village's foundation.
From what she understood, the daimyo were talking about reducing requests on the surface, but their budget allocations for the following year had actually gone up again. That alone said they knew which way the wind was blowing.
"The mission requests situation? That does sound like trouble. I've been hearing some rumors."
Furukawa Osamu pulled on his coat and wrapped his scarf around his neck. Tsunade didn't answer directly. She took off her headband and shot him a sideways look:
"Children don't need to worry about things like this."
"Ninja are the power brokers who manipulate daimyo in their games for dominance. You've probably read parts of the archives your grandfather's generation left behind."
Since being formally taken on as her student, Tsunade had opened up her personal collection to him, and much of it had helped Furukawa Osamu understand this world more deeply.
He could hear that Tsunade had little respect for the daimyo, but he was still uneasy. Second-hand information rarely captured the full picture.
"This afternoon I was planning to go train kenjutsu with Kakashi..."
"Perceptive little brat."
Tsunade grumbled, but agreed. Then she heard Furukawa Osamu's next suggestion and her mood shifted.
"Sensei, the new technique seems to originate from the First Hokage's own abilities. A lot of it hasn't been fully developed. The sealing jutsu components are the most complete part."
"Is it a Uzumaki clan technique? I came across some references in the Second Hokage's manuscripts."
"Maintaining bodily functions appears to consume a portion of the chakra. You might consider dropping that component to reduce the overall difficulty..."
Age sensitivity was a real thing, and Tsunade wasn't having any of it. She spun around and flicked him on the forehead mid-sentence:
"Stop talking. Only children make compromises. I want every single effect, all of it."
* * *
After a packed year, Hatake Sakumo finally had a rare stretch of leave. The rumors going around the village weren't something he was paying attention to.
Watching the two figures trading blows in front of him, Hatake Sakumo felt a deep satisfaction. A talented person who worked hard would reach greater heights than either quality alone.
Kakashi, body pushed to its limit, swung his short blade forward with a slight lean. He caught the shift in his opponent's stance just in time and brought his left arm up across his chest.
Thud.
Launched into the air, Kakashi's eyes went wide. He watched Furukawa Osamu coil in midair and come around with a spinning slash, and could only block, over and over, until his strength gave out and the final blow drove him into the ground.
Hah... hah...
Kakashi lay there breathing hard, unable to get up right away. Furukawa Osamu walked over, slid the short blade onto his back, and said sincerely:
"You've improved again, Kakashi. I can only ever get to you at the very end."
"Sakumo-sensei's right. At this age there's really no need to worry about chakra reserves."
They had comparable control, but Kakashi's gradually growing chakra reserves were still no match for Osamu's. Knowing it came down to raw talent didn't make it any less frustrating:
"You always get me with that final counter. And I still can't put you away in the shortest possible time."
"It's not just the chakra, either..."
Kakashi couldn't understand why Osamu's sensory ability, reflexes, chakra, and physical conditioning were all improving so fast. He had never let up, and yet he was still being held down by what was supposed to be his opponent's weak points.
"While you've been working hard, Osamu has never stopped demanding more of himself either."
"It seems Lady Tsunade was actually being modest. To be handling medical ninja work at this age, and with chakra use that's already approaching jonin level."
Hatake Sakumo gave his son a pat on the shoulder with a smile and filled him in on just how much Furukawa Osamu had been putting in.
Thinking of the medical jutsu Osamu had used to treat him after a recent training session, Kakashi gave a serious nod. Then he looked at his father, hesitated, and asked quietly:
"Father, why didn't you explain things to those people? The mission failed because intelligence broke down. The people you helped haven't thanked you. They've been blaming you instead."
Just as Hatake Sakumo had quietly supported Furukawa Osamu after Ichiro's death, he had this time extended help to the families of the genin who had died on the failed mission.
Sensing that Furukawa Osamu also had something he wanted to say, Hatake Sakumo looked at both of them with a gentle smile and answered simply:
"The intelligence did affect what happened, but choosing to save my teammates was my decision."
"I've lived through war. I've seen too many deaths. What I want you both to understand is that ninja are not tools. That belief is part of what has kept this village growing."
"..."
Kakashi fell quiet, looking down. The same idea had been put to him by Nara Shikaku when he served as team leader.
Furukawa Osamu said nothing either. In any world he had lived in, he had never seen war firsthand. He was a genin, and there was nothing he could do or say that would change anything. He could only turn it over privately:
What happens when the people you called "teammates" have already decided they are "tools," and turn around to blame the one who saved them?