Cherry Blossoms and Chakra Strings: A New Assignment

Jonin bars were like any other bar when it really came down to it. They were loud, most of them stunk, and if you looked at the right person the wrong way, you were probably going home with less teeth than you arrived with. Despite that, there was a reason that damn near every single jonin in the village could be found at one at one point or another during the day. With a job like theirs, they needed a way to destress that wouldn’t end with them in a nice cushy cell before their hangover even had time to set in.

Iwabi tossed back his shot, relishing the warm alcohol slipping down his throat and the warmth that it brought him. The man was sitting at the bar, surrounded by comrades and even more drinks as he slowly tapped his foot to the music playing from the shitty radio just behind the counter. The bar he was in right now wasn’t the nicest, but it was the only one that consistently carried the only stuff he drank so he was a bit of a regular here.

“Yo! Is that you, Iwabi?”

He could take or leave the company, though.

Iwabi leaned away from the red-faced man who tried to get into his personal space, pushing him back with one hand while protecting his drink with the other, “What do you want, Shisui? I thought you were out on a mission.”

Said drunken Uchiha gave him a massive grin, pale skin tinted red by alcohol and mirth, “I got back yesterday!”

Shisui was what Iwabi would call a circumstantial friend. They didn't run in the same circles and barely saw each other once a week, but on the odd occasion they met up in this particular bar they hit it off like they were best friends. Even though he was pretty sure the man didn't even know his last name.

Iwabi held his drink out of the way as Shisui made a swipe for it. The Uchiha grumbled as he missed and Iwabi smirked, “And your first decision was to come here to drink your ass off, huh?”

“It was a tough mission, I'd say I deserve a reward for all my hard work.” Shisui laughed, waving the bartender over as he realized he wasn't going to get his hands on Iwabi's drink, “I asked Itachi to join me, but he's busy with another mission from Hokage-sama. He's been working his butt off here recently.”

Iwabi hummed. He has heard much the same. It only made sense that the Hokage would make use of the prodigal Uchiha given his skills, but the frequency with which he called on the man was something to be examined.

“You think he's grooming him for the position?” Iwabi asked idly, only to raise an eyebrow as Shisui nearly choked on his drink as a snort of laughter ripped through his throat.

“Itachi? No way! Could you imagine that guy giving a speech? That would be hilariou!” Shisui laughed, shaking his head, “No, Itachi’s not gonna become Hokage any time soon. It probably has something to do with Anbu. Bear’s been super irritated lately.”

“Is that why he sent you through the Land of Water all by yourself?” Iwabi pried, “With that civil war, I bet things are still pretty rough, especially around Kiri.”

Shisui groaned, “You're telling me. It took me two days to get where I needed to be. They've got patrols freaking everywhere all through the country. It's a miracle I didn't cause a diplomatic incident because those documents were time sensitive so I didn't have time to be super careful.”

And wasn't that saying something? Shisui was the fastest ninja in the village thanks to his signature body flicker technique. If it took him more than a day just to get to his destination, then that meant things must have really been bad.

Shisui swirled his drink, “Since the failed coup and the dissolution of the rebel faction, things are calming down a bit but it'll be a while before it's actually safe to travel anywhere in that village.” He sighed, “It’s a damn shame too. I'm pretty sure all of us were hoping that there'd be some change in that country when they won. With the Mizukage still in charge, I sure as hell didn't feel safe lingering anywhere near there.”

“Things will stabilize. They always do.” Iwabi said, “The question is whether they'll do that in time for the Chunin Exams. Kiri already opted in during the civil war so now that it's over, there's no chance in hell they're gonna be missing out.”

Shisui nodded, sipping his beer. He glanced at Iwabi, watching as the man drained his own bottle, “So are you planning to let your team try their luck? You held them back last year, but from what I've heard, they're better than most genin their age.”

“I'm not sure.” Iwabi admitted, “They're strong, but we both know you need more than strength to be a chunin. I'd like to see how they handle themselves on a high pressure mission or two before I put them up for promotion. The Chunin Exams can be pretty deadly.”

Shisui elbowed him, “Aww, come on, they’re strong enough! Genin these days are all soft, they won’t have any trouble with the crowd that shows up to the exams.”

Iwabi frowned, recalling the Kumo kunoichi that his team had faced on the way back from Rice and her words as she departed, “I’m not so sure about that. You never know what kind of people might be out there these days.”

“You’re such a mother hen.” Shisui laughed.

“Maybe.” Iwabi agreed, “But I'm not letting what happened to Jin happen again if I can help it.”

Shisui’s face sobered immediately, “I heard about that. I’m sorry for your loss. He was a good kid.”

“He really was. A bit rough around the edges, but he had a good heart. If he were more of a people person, I probably would have made him squad leader.”

Iwabi’s hand tightened on his drink as he looked down at it, “Too late for that, I guess. The rest of the team is pooling money together to send for a body retrieval. I chipped in too, just a bit. It doesn’t sit right with me that we didn’t bring him home.”

Shisui clapped him on the shoulder, nodding approvingly, “You’re a good man, Iwabi.”

“I’m not too sure about that but I guess I’ll take your word for it.” Iwabi said wryly, before glancing at the man, “So tell me, on that last mission, did you-”

His words were cut off as someone blurred into being right between himself and Shisui. The figured resolved into a young man who opened his mouth to speak, but the words were choked dead in his throat as Iwabi’s sickle was suddenly held to his neck the moment he appeared. Similarly, Shisui had unveiled a kunai from somewhere on his person and was holding it to the man’s ribs, his eyes blazing red as he glared at the idiot who had suddenly appeared.

The bar seemed to pause as all of the patrons took in what was happening. A heavy tension filled the air in an instant as several of them twitched at the possibility of imminent violence, before someone placed their drink down a little too loudly and brought the attention elsewhere.

Iwabi sighed, putting his sickle away as he caught sight of the man’s young face and shiny hitai-ate, “Are you an idiot?”

“W-what?” The chunin was shaking like a leaf. Clearly he hadn’t had that flak jacket for long.

“You don’t shunshin in a building like this unless you want to get stabbed.” Shisui said, his kunai disappearing from his hand as he turned back to his drink, “Jonin are a jumpy bunch and we don’t like being surprised.”

“I-I’m sorry, b-but the Hokage! He requested your presence immediately.” He stammered, looking at Iwabi who paused with his bottle halfway to his lips, “He told me to come get you and bring you to him as soon as possible. Apparently, it’s urgent and can’t wait."

“Urgent, huh?” Shisui said with a thoughtful expression on his face, “Wonder what the old man could want.”

While the clearly green chunin gaped at the casual way Shisui spoke about their village leader, Iwabi sighed, “Guess I better go find out. I just hope whatever it is, it pays well.”

“Don’t we all?”

Iwabi drained the last of his bottle in one big swing and sat it on the table alongside a stackful of Ryo, “Put him on my tab too.” He told the bartender. Ignoring Shisui’s cheer at the prospect of free booze, he turned to the chunin who was waiting for him anxiously. He raised an eyebrow, clapping the kid on the shoulder as he passed him by, “Chill out and have a drink, kid. Shisui, keep an eye on him and make sure none of these idiots try and mess with him for that stunt he pulled.”

“B-but I have to get back to work.” The chunin said, fidgeting in place.

Shisui pulled him down into the seat and shoved a bottle in his hands, ignoring his denials as he gave Iwabi a big grin, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they don’t mess with him. At least not in a way he won’t enjoy. Tell me kid, you ever been with a jonin before? Trust me, the women around here really know how to have a good time. If you don’t mind a little roughness and a couple dozen bite marks.”

Shisui was clearly joking but the man didn’t know that and gaped at him like he was crazy. Iwabi shook his head as he stepped out of the bar, knowing that he didn’t want to stick around for the stories that were about to follow.

~~~

Iwabi’s lungs itched for a cigarette as he pushed open the door to the Hokage’s office. He was immediately greeted by a thick cloud of pipe smoke which did little to alleviate the craving. The Hokage was sitting behind his desk, puffing on his pipe as always, and Iwabi gave the elder a short bow as he closed the door behind him.

“Reporting for duty, Lord Third.” He said dutifully, “You asked for me specifically?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave him an aged smile as he entered, “Yes, Iwabi. Please come in.” Iwabi strode forward, stopping just in front of the man’s desk and standing with his arms behind his back in a textbook parade rest. The Hokage saw this and sighed, “Come now, there’s no need for that. It’s just us in here, my boy. Loosen up a bit.”

“As you say, Lord Third.” Iwabi’s posture immediately relaxed, and he even went so far as to pull a cigarette from his flak jacket and light it up with a small application of fire chakra. The Hokage stared at him with amusement as all of his decorum went out the window, and Iwabi felt no shame as he satisfied his addiction. The man had insisted, after all.

“Did you have need of me, Hokage-sama?” He asked as he burned his cigarette. The Hokage nodded, giving his pipe one last puff before placing it on his desk.

“Yes I do.” He said, shifting some paperwork on his desk, “That team of yours, how would you say they are progressing in terms of skill? Where do they stand in your personal opinion?”

Iwabi took a moment to think, briefly wondering where the question had come from, “I’m afraid I don’t have many experiences to pull from, but if I had to make an estimate on the spot, I’d put them around the level of an average chunin squad. Maybe a little lower. Sakura’s the weak link, but not by much. She’s very specialized but she does it well. I’d put her maybe at tokubetsu chunin. Maybe a bit higher thanks to her new summoning contract.”

“A rare feat, especially for someone her age.” The Hokage praised, leaning back in his chair as he took in his jonin’s words, “To tell you the truth, I’ve had my eye on her for quite a while. I never imagined she would manage to acquire a summoning contract at her age. It gave me quite the shock when she reached out to me for permission to allow the clan to nest in the Forest of Death. I almost fell out of my chair!”

Iwabi chuckled, “She has a way of surprising you when you least expect it.”

“She certainly does.” Sarutobi agreed, “Of course, I would have been a fool to refuse an ally such as an entirely new summon clan at this time, so I granted her request. I may have to rethink some stages of the upcoming exams but I may leave things as they are. It would make for an interesting variable.”

He picked his pipe back up and puffed on it, adding to the smog filling the room, “For a civilian born child to gain strength so quickly… She must be some sort of prodigy to become so skilled in a few short months.”

Iwabi’s lips turned down at the word, “I wouldn’t say that, Hokage-sama. She’s been training since she was in the Academy and she had an excellent teacher. It only makes sense she’d be so strong.”

“That’s true.” The Hokage agreed, “Few could ask for a better instructor than Lady Chiyo of Suna. The woman has even sent me several correspondences asking after her apprentice so she clearly saw something in the girl.”

Iwabi was surprised at the news, “She’s sent you letters? Why haven’t you told Sakura about them? I’m sure she’d be thrilled at the news.”

The older man shook his head, “I’m afraid Lady Chiyo asked me specifically not to mention her to the girl. It seems she wants to see how she grows without direct guidance.” He smiled, “I thought about ignoring her orders and sending them anyway, but from what she told me about the girl, they likely wouldn’t have been read once she realized Lady Chiyo expressly forbade her to.”

“I see.” Iwabi said, still a bit confused. He personally thought it was very strange for a teacher to pretty much abandon their student like that, and especially for the student to be fine with that, but then again puppeteers were a strange bunch in the first place. This was just another quirk he had to get used to alongside his student’s affinity for tasting every poison she came across.

Changing the subject, Iwabi decided to get into why he was even here in the first place, “Why did you ask about my team, Hokage-sama? Do you have a mission for us?”

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry, it seems I lost my train of thought in my prattling on.” He apologized, “Yes, now that you’ve given me your opinion, I do have a task for your team. You see, a few days ago, Team 7 was sent to the Land of Waves on a C-Rank mission. It was a simple escort mission and it should have been nearly complete as of now, but a few hours ago I received an urgent message from Kakashi. It seems they’ve run into hostile missing nin and the mission has since been upgraded.”

Iwabi frowned, “So they need extraction? Who could be giving someone like Kakashi enough trouble to call a mission off?”

“You misunderstand. Kakashi hasn’t requested extraction, he’s requesting reinforcements.” Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, “ Unfortunately, it seems that he is currently bed-ridden with chakra exhaustion and won’t be able to pull himself and his team out safely. He doesn’t believe they are in immediate danger because Zabuza also sustained severe injuries as well. His team insisted they continue the mission and he agreed, though he would like another team on standby just in case.”

Iwabi nodded slowly, “Who are the nin? If they managed to put Kakashi of all people in a bind like that then they must be dangerous.”

The Hokage’s face became a bit serious, “According to Kakashi’s report, they encountered the Demon Brothers but they were dealt with without issue. The one who put him in his current state however, is a much bigger issue. It seems Zabuza Momochi has left Kiri behind and taken up trade as a mercenary for a business mogul in the area. To what end, I’m unsure. He also apparently has an accomplice, though Kakashi didn’t have much to say about them.”

As Iwabi digested the information, the man picked up a piece of paper and slid it across the desk, “There is the request so you can read it for yourself. I need to know if you think your team is up to the task. You will be paid for a A-Rank mission.”

As Iwabi read the report, he thought about the situation. Reinforcement missions like this were usually safer than normal missions because they had more info going in, but Zabuza Momochi was no joke. You didn’t get a moniker like the Demon of the Hidden Mist because you were an average shinobi, and though Iwabi was confident in his skills, he knew he was nowhere near Kakashi’s level when it really came down to it.

But Kakashi was already there and by the time they arrived the man would be well on his way to recovery. Between the two of them, they would be able to handle Zabuza. And with both of their teams combined, the mission itself shouldn’t be too difficult to complete either.

Not to mention, this was the perfect opportunity to truly gauge if his team was ready for the exams. A mission like this came once in a blue moon, and he would be stupid not to take the opportunity when he had just been talking about needing something like this moments ago.

Still… something about this mission made Iwabi's skin tingle, and he gave the Hokage a serious look, “There's more to this that you're not telling me, isn't there?”

“Perceptive as always, Iwabi.” The older man said, “As I'm sure you know, there's been a lot of buzz around a certain shipping mogul who has set up shop in that area. Gato's been growing in power and influence at an incredible rate. He's causing ripples in the pond, so to speak. And if we don't do something soon, those ripples are going to attract the other big fish in the water.”

Iwabi read between the lines and nodded slowly, “I see… and I assume that this isn't a spur of the moment decision? This will create waves either way.”

“Waves we can redirect as we see fit.” The Hokage said, “A rogue element is dangerous, especially one so large. It's best to err on the side of caution, in this case.”

Iwabi placed the report on the table, thinking intently, “This is a big step up for my team. Are you sure you wouldn't rather have a team of anbu deal with this one.”

“I have faith in your abilities, Iwabi. Teaching or otherwise.” The Hokage puffed on his pipe, giving the jonin a shrewd glance, “The goal of your team was always to partake in these sorts of missions. Even moreso with your new addition. I have faith that you'll succeed.”

Iwabi knew what the man was really saying. He frowned, glancing down at the report as he warred with himself. This sort of mission was usually saved for older ninja. The stakes were high and the danger was even higher. For a trip of genin with less than two years of experience under their collective belts, there was no telling how it might go.

“Your answer?”

But they couldn't be kids forever. They'd already take

n their first steps to surpass their fellow genin. If they could manage this, then maybe the Chunin Exams wouldn't be such a huge challenge.

“...I accept.”