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  Daichi became somewhat cheered up after the depressi that happened several minutes ago. But he kept his emotions in ched made his way back to the vilge. Before long he reached the river and within no time he crossed it.

  Daichi looked around and didn't see ahey must have left or the Anbu got to them and they're in the Hokage tht now. Either way, no point in staying here.'

  Daichi slowly walked forward trying to decide his destination. Home, his friends or report to the Hokage what he had learned.

  'Now I have an excuse to tell him about that bastard Kabuto. If the Hokage does a thh iigation on him, he'll be in trouble and Orochimaru would lose his spy.' Daichi stopped that train of thought immediately.

  'Wait. If I rat him out now, Orochimaru will just have another oake his pce here. And my future knowledge will bee useless and I'll lose my edge.'

  Daichi was screaming in his mind. 'Damn it! Looks like I'll have to let him go for now. And it's not like the Hokage could know what Yota said before he was gone.'

  Just then an image of Hiruzen watg Naruth the crystal ball came to his mind. Daichi stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened in realization.

  "Oh no!"

  Daichi thought back to everything that's happeoday. 'Anbu would have woken up soon after we had left and informed the Hokage of our situation and he definitely would have used the Telescope jutsu to find us.'

  'And since I made an impression on him, I'm pretty sure he would have been watg me. So he definitely would have heard my versation with Yota. Fuck! I 't lie or omit this information now. Wait, is he still watg me? Did he see me take out my cloak?... Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!'

  Just as Daichi was having a mental freakout the Gamer's Mind activated and calmed him down. 'Maybe he's seen my iory skills, maybe not. 't take any risks. I'll tell him the info on Orochimaru and Kabuto but I'll keep quiet about the cloak and iory skill. But if he asks about my ability, I'll show him and give limited info on that. And if he demands a look at the cloak I'll hand it to him. Since he's not a Mana user he won't be able to activate it anyway, so he'll think it's an ordinary item… I hope.'

  Due to making a logical and smart decision, you have obtained +1 WIS

  Looking at the notification Daichi calmed down a bit.

  ‘Gd the system agrees’.

  As he walked for a few more minutes, he saw the shadow of someone behind a tree. Daichi slowed down and was o. He walked a few more steps and finally saw who it was.

  "You sure took your time." The Jonin ander Shikaku Nara said to the boy.

  "I had a lot on my mind." Daichi cautiously replied.

  Shikaku just grunted and turo walk. "Keep up." Saying those words he took off.

  Daichi k would be uo disobey, so he quietly followed the older man.

  —-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Hokage Office

  Hiruzen sat in his chair pting the events that just took pce. 'Orochimaru… To think you would use such a forbidden and perverse jutsu… It seems you might be more dangerous to the vilge than I thought.'

  His mio the day his te sensei showed him the reanimation jutsu. Hiruze out a sigh. 'Tobirama sensei. You never should have created that jutsu…Orochimaru is a perfeist and a stist. He would definitely study and try to perfect the jutsu. If… No! When Orochimaru es for me there's a possibility that he'll use the reanimation jutsu. And it'll be more powerful.'

  'It seems I'll have to take termeasures against it and anything else he might have up his sleeve.' Hiruzen looked towards the location of the forbidden scroll in the room. 'Looks like I'll have to due researy own.'

  As he thought about what he should do he heard a few knocks on the door. "e in."

  Shikaku entered with the students following him.

  "That will be all. I'll have a word with the kids." Hiruzen said to Shikaku.

  The Jonin ander heard the polite dismissal and quickly disappeared. Everyone was nervous. Even Naruto, who never hesitated to speak his mind to the person he sidered his family, was silent.

  Hiruzen's face showed ion as he stared at them. He looked at eae of them and after a few seds of silence he spoke.

  "You realize that you interfered with a serious vilge matter and have caused some otion don't you?" The Hokage asked them in a ral tone.

  Hearing his words the kids lowered their heads. Naruto gathered his ce, took a step forward and spoke up. "We're sorry that we caused problems… But… We're not sorry we saved Yota."

  Hearing Naruto's words to the Hokage surprised his cssmates. They gathered their strength and looked at the Hokage.

  "Naruto is right. We regret the troubles we created for the Anbu but we don't regret saving our friend." Shikamaru spoke in agreement with his friend and took a step forward standing by Naruto's side.

  Hiruzen was internally surprised at the determination Shikamaru showed. He remembered the observations made by Daikoku on the files of each student.

  'The heir of the Nara with good potential and high intelligence. But he has no ambition and energy. He only pletes enough questions oests to get a passing score. This along with his behavior in css corroborates my observation. He won't even go out of his way to verify his results. He would rather be sidered wrong than go to the trouble of proving himself right. Lazy unless properly motivated.' This was the observation made by Daikoku sensei in Shikamaru’s file.

  'Instead of being zy aing the situation py out, he took a. It seems his friendship with the boy Yota and this experience has somewhat ged him. And it seems for the better. Time to see how the rest of them fare.' Hiruzen wao see just what the kids in front of him were made of. He was going to test them.

  "Is that how the rest of you feel? There will be sequences for your as but if anyone wants to step forward and disagree with Naruto and Shikamaru now is the time." He said in a somewhat stern tone.

  Sakura, Choji, Ino and Kiba looked at each other and then took a step forward.

  "We agree with Naruto and Shikamaru."

  "Yeah. We're sorry we caused trouble but Yota isn't a bad person. We couldn't just let anything happen to him." "Arf".

  Sakura and Kiba said. Ino and Choji nodded agreeing with them.

  Watg the students standing up for themselves and not turning on their friends brought a small smile to the Hokage's fabsp;

  "It's not a sin to fight for the right cause. Sometimes one would be stuck between their loyalty to their family or vilge and doing the right thing. It be a very difficult decision to make." The friendly tone in which Hiruzen said it brought some relief to the students.

  But the Hokage wasn't done. Regaining his serious attitude he spoke. "Still… This vilge is going through a troubled time. The security of everyone in it is the utmost of myself and the ninjas of this vilge."

  "You kids have caused some difficulties with your stunt. But nothing too major. So you'll receive a bck mark on your files and nothing more. But someone has to be punished for this. And since Daichi was the one who antagohe Anbu and helped the young boy escape across the border he will face severe punishment. He will be expelled from the academy." The Hokage said in a stern tone, making them believe his words.

  "What!? You 't do that.!" Naruto shouted in dismay.

  "Oh 't I? I'm the Hokage of this vilge. Daichi itted a crime by interfering with the people who do their jobs aing the boy escape. He will face the punishment." Hiruzen spoke with a serious too Naruto for the first time and it surprised the boy.

  Hearing the Hokage's reasoning, Shikamaru spoke immediately. "Please resider this Lord Hokage. Daichi is the st person amongst us who should be punished for this. He tried to vince us to not gh with this."

  Naruto, Choji, Sakura, Kiba and Ino agreed and heir heads. "Yeah. Daichi told us that there's tensioween the vilges and if we do something like this it would cause trouble for the people here. He warned us not to do it. So please don't punish him." Ino said pleadingly to the Hokage.

  "Is that so?..." Hiruzen appeared to mull over the information. 'It seems Daichi khe risks of doing something like this and still went ahead anyway. He's got guts.'

  "Regardless he still went through with it. He helped an unknown person escape the vilge with valuable information. He will be expelled but sidering the circumstahat's as far as I will go."

  The Hokage really wasn't going to expel Daichi. He just wao see how they would react. 'Would they accept this result or would they challe?'

  Naruto had his head down hearing the Hokage's words. He thought about his ret dream to bee Hokage of the vilge and then to his iions with Daichi. He remembered what Daichi said on his first day at the academy.

  “My goal is to bee the stro.” It was Daichi’s ambition and dream.

  Daichi was one of the few friends he made. Naruto thought back to the versation they had at the ke.

  "Do you trust me?"

  "Yeah. I do."

  "Then trust me when I say I'll get Yota to safety. I promise."

  Naruto made his decision. He looked up at the Hokage and spoke in a resolute tone. "If yoing to expel Daichi then you might as well expel me too."

  Hiruzen looked surprised hearing that response. "Are you sure about this Naruto? You'll never be Hokage if you don't bee a Ninja."

  "Yes." Naruto lightly gred at the old man as he responded.

  "If Daichi's expelled then I'm quitting too. Besides, the academy is way too much work anyway." Shikamaru said in a nont tone.

  Ino and Sakura also agreed with the two. "Well if you guys aren't going, then I'm not going too." Ino said in a somewhat childish tone.

  "My mom's soo not gonna be happy when she hears I quit the academy." "Arf, Arf"

  "Yeah. Same here."

  Both Kiba and Choji shivered whehought about their mother's rea to the news.

  Looking at his cssmates, Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle. "Guess Daichi was right. We really are a bunch of reckless fools."

  Hiruzen was surprised at their resolve. 'Even most genins wouldn't have their stohis ordeal has definitely brought them closer. And it seems Naruto has gained some truly wonderful friends. I'm gd. Time to end this charade.'

  A wide genuine smile appeared on the Hokage's fad it surprised the students. "You urned on your friends or let oake the fall by himself. I'm impressed."

  Hearing the Hokage's words, cogs started turning in Shikamaru's head. "Wait, that was a test? You really weren't going to expel him?"

  Looking at their shocked faces, Hiruzen chuckled. "No. I lied. It's something I said to see if you would truly stand by him."

  Relief flooded their faces as they heard the old leader's words.

  "Whooo…. You really had us going there for a minute, old man." Naruto said with a smile.

  Looking at the smiling faces of Naruto and his friends, Hiruzen spoke. "True loyal teammates would urn their ba their friends. It's one of the many lessons my seaught me. Usually you would learn this only by the time you bee a genin but it seems you’ve all grasped that lesson a few years sooner."

  "But what about the situation with Yota and everything that's happened?" Shikamaru couldn't help but ask.

  "I'm aware of the boy and after reading the reports, I have e to the clusion that he is not a threat to the Leaf… But unfortunately at a time like this, he ot be allowed ba the vilge. I'm sorry." Hiruzen didn't want to tell them that their friend had departed from this world, so he phrased it in such a manner.

  Hearing his words made the kids happy and sad at the same time. But they uood the situation. They khis was the best oute that could have happened sidering everything.

  "Now just because this isn't a serious matter doesn't mean you'll be scot free… First yoing to up the mess you've made on the Hokage mo and then you'll every in the academy. I'll inform the teachers to give the ing staff the day off." Hiruzen chuckled looking at the dumbfounded faces of the students.

  "But…" Naruto was about to protest but Sakura gave a sharp elbow to his ribs, shutting him up. "We uand Lord Hokage." Sakura said, bowing her head.

  "Good. Now go on. I believe you have a lot of work ahead of you. Oh! And tell Daichi to e in. I o speak with him." Hiruzen dismissed the students.

  "Daichi's here?" Naruto was excited. He ran outside the room and the others followed. Naruto found his friend leaning on a wall waiting for his summons.

  "Daichi you're back." At Naruto's shout, Daichi looked up.

  "Hey Naruto." Daichi walked to him. He saw Shikamaru and the others ing as well.

  "Yota! Is he gone?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.

  "Yeah. He's free." Daiodded.

  Hearing the answer brought sad smiles to everyone. "Hey you better go in. The Hokage wants to talk to you." Shikamaru said to him. "And we have a giant fad an academy to up." The young Nara gave a long sigh. "Could've been worse I suppose."

  Daiodded a io meet the leader of the vilge. He walked in and stood in front of the Hokage.