=Ashira POV=
This is hell, I thought, as I was surrounded by a group of children talking my ears off about the battle that had happened less than an hour ago. Automatic and generic responses left my lips, like yes, I know other water-style jutsus and no, I'm too busy to teach you any of them, as my mind drifted off to the duel with Fugaku and the repercussions that would follow.
Being a clan kid is a powerful shield that protects me from various forces both inside and outside the village. But with that protection comes expectations. Before the duel, I was only known as that eccentric Nara boy who's out of place in a clan of eternal slackers, with only the elders, my uncle, my parents, and Shika knowing about my Kekkei Genkai. Now, if rumors spread that I bested a young Uchiha prodigy with an awakened Sharingan at the age of 7—which I have no doubt they will—my every move will be scrutinized. What's more, tensions between the major villages are rising right now, and showing that Konoha has her own prodigies will lessen the villagers' worries and project strength to our enemies.
Danzo is going to be a problem right off the bat. That man loves going after young geniuses and promising seedlings for induction into his unsanctioned black ops force. Hopefully, the fact that I'm neither an Uchiha nor a Senju will stay his hand. Hiruzen, on the other hand, is an unknown for me. Despite being portrayed as a loving and gentle elderly figure in the anime, fanons didn't portray him in the best light, and for good reasons. The Uchiha's response is also something I should watch out for. A child he might be, Fugaku is the son of an elder. Hopefully, those Uchiha will be too prideful to make trouble with me. My current best solution is to leave it all to my uncle and the clan elders to deal with the fallout.
Sighing in exhaustion at my mounting problems, I snapped out of my thoughts and looked to my right, passing a few kids still ogling me, toward my friend group. Shikaku was the first to meet my gaze with that infuriating, knowing smirk on his face, followed by the apologetic looks from the other three. Inoichi, for all his love of gossip, doesn't do well in overcrowded areas. Same with Tsume and her overly sensitive senses, a byproduct of Sage-knows-how-many centuries of selective breeding. Choza is just too sweet for me to want him to suffer alongside me.
"I'll get you later," I mouthed, savoring the look of horror on Shika's face at the mock sparring that would definitely happen later today.
"EVERYONE GET BACK TO YOUR SEATS!!!" a voice rang out as Jin-sensei walked into our class, glaring at the large crowd surrounding me with a menacing stare. Kids started running back to their seats as a group of four walked back toward me.
"We're sparring today after class. And there's no sneaking your way out of this. I'll drag Auntie into it if I have to," I said, looking at the depressed pineapple, ruthlessly cutting into his cloud-watching time.
"That fight was nuts, Ashira. I know you've probably been asked this a thousand times, but when the heck did you even learn all that stuff? We've barely been taught the academy-style taijutsu katas, and anything chakra-related isn't taught until next year," said the resident rumormonger Inoichi, followed by curious looks from the other trio, excluding Shikaku. And is that a hint of frustration I see on Tsume?
It's only natural for them to be curious. We were only taught taijutsu this year, which is quite fast compared to the other civilian- filled classes that will only be learning it next year. Yet here I am showing solid C-rank elemental jutsus and even sealless shadow manipulation jutsu for those with keener eyes to spot it. Plus my Nara-style taijutsu, which is leagues above even an Uchiha, even with an awakened Sharingan.
"You know all those times I skipped hanging out with you guys? Yeah, I've been training on the side with my parents," I said, hoping they'd buy it and chalk the rest up to my natural talent with the shinobi arts.
Which they did thankfully, with the trio nodding in acceptance—except for Tsume, who had something more marring her face. Eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, I was about to ask before noticing that everyone was back in their seats, and sensei was looking at us with raised eyebrows.
We quieted down before Jin-sensei started speaking. "Next time, I want you all to be in your seats and ready for class BEFORE I'm even anywhere near the classroom. Is that understood?"
Heads nodded along before Jin-sensei resumed speaking. "On that note, I have two pieces of good news for you all. The first is that Fugaku seems to be doing well and should be joining us tomorrow."
Sighs of relief could be heard from the Uchiha group—shared by me. I did limit the chakra amount for the exploding elemental clones, but since it was my first time sparring against someone near my equal (not counting the ten shadows), I wasn't sure if I had done any long-term damage. And if Fugaku is fine enough to be here tomorrow, then all I did was superficial damage.
Pausing for a bit to let the class take in the news, Jin-sensei continued. "On to the other news—we have a new student joining us today. Everyone, please give a warm welcome to Kushina Uzumaki!!!"
Subdued applause rang out as Kushina walked in with her head down, nervously tiptoeing her way to the podium.
Raising an eyebrow in surprise—since the timeline of when she joined Konoha's academy wasn't that clear in my memories—I looked toward Minato. The boy seemed intrigued but not overly infatuated with her. So, no love at first sight then, I thought as I refocused my attention on Kushina. Crimson hair the shade of blood red and greyish irises with shades of blue—the girl would stand out in any crowd. Although…
"What's wrong with her hair?"
"Why is it so red?"
"She looks weird. Where is she from?"
Whispers rang out as Kushina started shrinking into herself before finally gathering the courage to yell out, "My name is Kushina Uzumaki, and I'm going to be the first female Hokage!!!"
The silence afterward was deafening. Even Jin-sensei was speechless, but after a while, everyone started laughing and making snide comments.
"Hokage? A pipsqueak like her?"
"With hair like a tomato? No one is going to vote for her."
"Pfft! Tomato, that's what we should call her."
…
Man, kids are ruthless. This'll do wonders for her self-esteem I'm sure.
"SILENCE! I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in my class," yelled Jin-sensei, which quieted the whispers and snide remarks.
Sighing in exasperation, I raised my hand to speak. "I think you can do it. Being Hokage, I mean."
And I really meant it. Kushina has the potential to be a Kage-level shinobi, and with her relationship with Mito, she can have the prestige needed for the Hokage position. Though that might have been the wrong thing to say, as shocked faces started appearing and speculation started spreading—from how Kushina is a secret jōnin to how she has special training from the Nara clan itself. Seriously, these kids have some of the most absurd imaginations ever…
"Ahem." Sensei cleared his throat before smiling kindly and said, "That was very nice of you, Ashira. And since you've been such a charitable host, it's only right that you should be Kushina's guide until she gets settled in."
Wait—huh? I was just trying to be nice, not signing up for babysitting duty. Truly no good deed goes unpunished…
~Scene skip - Later that day~
=Danzo's POV=
Inside a dark underground structure, with water tanks and metal pipes lining the surroundings, stood two men in a dimly lit, cross-shaped open area with red balcony railings running around the large space. "And with the chakra-infused fog limiting the visual prowess of the Sharingan, the boy managed to incapacitate Fugaku with his ninjutsu," said one of the figures, an Anbu in a bear mask, to a middle-aged man with an X-shaped scar on his chin.
The man nodded and spoke. "So he hid his cards during the initial taijutsu bout to gauge the Uchiha's abilities. And when Fugaku's Sharingan was revealed, the boy used his sealless shadow possession jutsu to bait the Uchiha into disengaging, turning the battle into a ninjutsu contest where he had the upper hand—with his chūnin-level chakra—all the while hiding almost all of his hands inside the fog."
Truly, the boy is almost perfect for Root, Danzo thought before asking the bear-masked nin, "And you're sure you didn't see the boy use any fire jutsu or fire-nature transformation, no matter how rudimentary?"
"No, Danzo-sama. We got one of our sensor bugs on the boy while he was inside the fog. The trick he used with the exploding elemental clone involved overloading his clones with typeless chakra. No nature transformations were used," said the Root nin confidently, before hesitation marred his face. "Although there's a matter that could be troubling."
"Then speak it, Bear. Time is gold, and I do not like it when gold is wasted," said Danzo.
"The future Jinchūriki has made contact with the Nara boy. I know you have future plans for her, Danzo-sama. But it would be too suspicious if we meddle directly in the affairs of children."
"That is indeed troubling—but nothing we can't salvage. That will be all for now, Bear. You may go. Although, continue monitoring our Nara prodigy," said Danzo. Bear bowed and shunshined out of the balcony.
"Hmm… What do you think of the future Jinchūriki's development, Takuma?" Danzo asked, seemingly speaking into the darkness, before the skittering sound of what must have been thousands—perhaps millions—of insects was heard. They pooled together to form a humanoid mass, revealing a young man with dark shades, the signature of the Aburame clan.
The man kneeled before speaking. "This is a good thing for Konoha, in my opinion, Danzo-sama. The Nara clan is notoriously loyal, and Shikano knows that to betray the Leaf would mean the end of his clan, regardless of their strong ties with the Akimichi and Yamanaka. They just don't have an S-ranker in their force to make a difference."
"Do go on. You look like you have something else to say," said Danzo, eyeing the Aburame, whose forehead was slick with sweat.
"It's good for Konoha, but not for Root, Danzo-sama," Takuma said, hesitating before continuing. "The Nara are firmly in the Hokage's camp, and Hiruzen will use this newfound relationship to its fullest extent."
"Aye, that is correct. And we do have that plan to remedy it. But before that, how goes your investigation into the Nara clan? Ashira's suspected Kekkei Genkai status—just like his father's—seems unlikely now that he's not proficient in fire release. He might still have the chains, of course, but without offensive nature transformations like lightning, fire, or wind, those chains aren't that threatening. At least, not threatening enough for all the Nara elders to be training the boy in secret."
"Nothing so far, Danzo-sama. It seems that whatever the boy has, it's so important that no one but his parents, the clan head, and the elders know about it. Even Aihori Nara, the one we usually get our info from, went silent on us no matter how many promises and concessions we've made," said the Aburame with a troubled look.
"No matter. All will be revealed in due time. Get the plan in motion, Takuma. I want it ready when the boy is close enough to the Jinchūriki," said Danzo, a cocky smirk on his lips.
"This early, Danzo-sama? It could bring a lot of heat onto us—and may even kickstart the Second Shinobi War," said Takuma in protest.
"And it will be worth it. If it all goes well, we will have both the Jinchūriki and the Nara boy in our pocket. This is an order. I will not tolerate any unknown variables on my board any longer. You are dismissed. I have a council meeting in 30 minutes," said Danzo with a dismissive tone, before walking into the darkness.
A/N: Sorry that I was gone for so long. Alot happened but I'm back now, and should be able to release regularly now since I'm pretty free for the next couple months. Do tell me if you find any mistake, since it's been a while and I may have gotten some stuffs wrong. I'll also do like a Ninja card for Ashira in case yall forgot some of his stuffs.