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  "You've certainly had an iing day." Hiruzen started the versation.

  "Yeah… That's one way to put it." Daichi gave a subdued answer.

  Notig his ck of energy or emotions Hiruzen recalled what Daichi just went through. 'To see your friend die and be helpless to do anything about it…These emotions... It would drive someone down the wrong path if not properly dealt with.'

  Just as the Hokage was about to ask how he was feeling, Daichi spoke up. "I've learned some things about Yota that I think you should know."

  "Oh and what is it?" Hiruzen asked pying dumb. 'Is he really going to tell me?'

  "Yota is someone who died not too long ago. He was brought back by a reanimation jutsu by the missing nin Orochimaru." Daichi said to the Hokage.

  "I see… Go on. What else did you learn?"

  "Yota said Orochimaru was dug an experiment with the jutsu that brought him back. And there was someone else with him." Even before entering the room, Daichi decided to give all the information he learned from Yota to the Hokage. He wasn't going to keep quiet when there was a ce the Hokage knew about everything.

  "Did the boy tell you who it was?" Hiruzen asked as if he wao know.

  "He didn't know who it was… But he gave me a description. Male, with grey hair and has round gsses. And he wears a purple shirt." He said the same thing Yota said. He couldn't make any mistakes and give more informatiohough a small part of him wao.

  Hiruzen o Daichi's words. "Thank you for telling me Daichi."

  The boy he Hokage noticed his hesitation and ched fists. 'Time to see how these events have affected him.!'

  "How are you feeling Daichi?" Hiruzen asked him.

  Daichi stayed silent for a couple seds before he answered with a question.

  " I have permission to speak freely?"

  "Go ahead." The Hokage nodded.

  "I'm angry…" Daichi then stayed silent for a couple seds.

  Hiruzen motioned for him to tinue.

  "I'm angry at Orochimaru for using Yota like that… I'm angry at the Anbu ninjas for interrogating him like a criminal, I'm angry at the vilge for not letting him stay… And… I'm angry at myself, because I couldn't save him." Daichi stopped.

  "Anger is a powerful emotion. If used correctly it bee the key to achieving yoal but if it es you, it will destroy you and everything around you." The Hokage said to the boy. He tinued after a few seds of silence.

  "Do you think uhe current circumstahe vilge was wrong in not letting the boy stay?" He asked Daichi.

  Daichi was silent for a minute before he answered. "Yes."

  "Why?"

  "Because he was just an i kid who didn't mean anyone any harm."

  "Yes. But as you've said, he was Orochimaru's experiment. The jutsu that brought him back is known as the Reanimation Jutsu. It's a forbidden jutsu capable of trolling those it binds... If Yota had attacked the vilge under Orochimaru's orders, what do you think would have happened?" Hiruzen asked him in a ral tone.

  Daichi didn't have an ao that. Truthfully he didn't want to a. 'With Yota's capabilities he would have caused a lot of damage before being stopped. And since he was a reanimation, it would have been difficult to take him down.'

  "I see you uand. It might seem unkind areme, but the methods and measures the ninjas take are to ehe safety of the vilge and all of its citizens." The Hokage wanted Daichi to uand a go of his aowards the vilge. He was examining the boy's chakra throughout his versation. He could feel the slight agitation and fluctuations of his energy.

  'Is this all we are? Does being a shinobi mean I'll have to take as like these iure?' As Daichi was having these thoughts, the se of Sasuke talking with the first Hokage in the Naka shrine came to his mind. Daichi remembered the words Hashirama Senju said to Sasuke.

  'Shinobi are those who endure for a purpose. But depending on their purpose, a shinobi ge.'

  'It seems Kensei was right after all.' Daichi calmed down and looked at the Hokage.

  "I uand Lord Hokage."

  Sensing no lies, the Hokage nodded and dismissed Daichi.

  Daichi left the Hokage offid slowly walked down the hall. He had several thoughts running through his mind.

  'The ripple effects of saving Yota. What could those be? One of them is defihe Hokage learning about the reanimation jutsu and Kabuto but what else… Nothing else es to mind. I'm sure I'll figure it out someday.'

  As he recalled everything that's happened his mind stopped at the failure part of the quest.

  'Why was the failure part of the quest being forced to join the root and Kensei's death? How does Danzo fit into all this?'

  Daichi pondered on this question for a while before he reached a clusion.

  'If I had failed and they had recaptured Yota, then they would have definitely found out he was a reanimated person. And they would have used more inteerrogatiohods and Orochimaru's name would have e out. And then siried to rescue him, I would have definitely bee a suspect. They would think that l y. But then wouldn’t Shikamaru and the others be in trouble too? '

  Daichi thought about it for a while and came to a clusion. ‘Everyone present in the group has strong bag except me and Sakura. Naruto has the Hokage’s bag and Shikamaru and the others are heirs of the heads. Aween Sakura and me, Danzo would pick me because of my talent and he probably wouldn’t see any value in Sakura. So he would leave her alone.’

  'If this quest had gone sideways then all of them would have been safe except for me. Danzo keeps an eye on Anbu forces and this i would have been brought to his attention. And knowing him and his hard-on for talented children he definitely would have forced me into root. Kensei would have been opposed to this and sihe failure showed possible death of Kehen that means Danzo would have had him killed…. It all fits…'

  Daichi shuddered at the implications. He was gd everything turned out alright in the end but he vowed himself to be more careful iure.

  'Until I graduate I have to keep a low profile.'

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

  Ohe boy left, Hiruzen leaned ba his chair, took his pipe and smoked. 'He looked like he came to terms with what happened but… I'll have to keep an eye on him… Maybe it's time I go see Kensei.'

  The Hokage sat in his chair p on what to do ? 'Before I do anything I o figure out who it was that was with Orochimaru. If he was showing this man how to use the reanimation jutsu then he must be someone close to Orochimaru.'

  'This man most probably could be a spy ihe vilge. But figuring out his identity would be like finding a needle in a haystack…Hmm…'

  Hiruzen taught Orochimaru almost everything about being a ninja. So the old Hokage had an idea as to how his student would think. He tried to put himself in his former student's shoes.

  'Orochimaru would never keep someone inpetent close. And definitely not a civilian. This person must have skills to defend himself, so he's probably a shinobi. But a ninja posing as a civilian would be a waste of resources, so he's definitely ied himself within my forces.'

  'But he could be of any rank and there are so many ninjas in differements… Still… I have his description, so that's something. This will have to be done discreetly. When I find him and his identity is exposed, Orochimaru would use another one in his pd I'll lose my leverage…. A much better strategy is to use him to feed false Intel and see if he has es to any other spies here…'

  'Alright. One problem at a time. First things first. Identifying the spy.'

  "Bear!" The Hokage called out. An Anbu wearing a mask with brown stripes resembling a bear appeared out of the shadows kneeling.

  "As you've just heard, we have a mole in our midst. We o identify him as quickly as we . Start with the genin and in forces. There's a probability that he could be one of them."

  "Yes lord Hokage. Should I capture aain him once I find him or…?" The Anbu asked.

  "No. For the moment, let him be. This is an opportunity to find out more about Orochimaru's operations and if possible, we use the spy to pnt false intelligence. Right now your priority is unc his identity." Hiruzen made his decision.

  "Uood Sir."

  "And Bear... Keep this between us. Not even the cil elders must know. And make sure this iigation is carried out discreetly. No mistakes."

  "Yes sir.!" The kneeling Anbu vanished into the shadows as quietly as he came.

  Hiruzen stood from his chair and walked to the window. As he looked down he saw Daichi leaving the building and walking home. He sighed thinking about the young boy. 'It seems I 't dey it any longer. I'll have to speak with Kensei.'

  "I'm going out for a while. You three stay here." Hiruzen said to his guards hidden in the room. He left the tower and walked to a certain training ground. His mind was on the former Anbu captain and once close friend. He had an idea as to where Kensei would be today and that was where he was headed.

  After some time he reached a specific training ground in the vilge. It was a rge area with several stumps and targets lined up. There were craters on the ground indig the use of destructive jutsus. A wide river ran at the far end of the training ground. Hiruzen stood there for a few moments taking in the view.

  As he stood there he suddenly heard a voice he hadn't heard in several years.

  "If you're looking for nostalgic memories then you're in the wrong pce. This is training ground 6, not 3."

  Hiruzen turned around and found Kearing at him. "How did you know I'd e here?" Kensei asked.

  "This was your training ground when you were a genin and the pce where you taught your students and your son. I know you e here every weekend to… remihe Hokage replied.

  "Hello old friend. It's been a long time." Hiruzeed him with a smile.

  "Not long enough…" Kensei said with aionless face.

  The smile on the Hokage's face dropped. Hiruzen sighed thinking about the events that lead to their curreionship. "Are you still angry with me?" He asked him.

  Kensei looked at the Hokage for a while and the out a tired sigh. "No… I guess somewhere along the way I lost that anger."

  Hiruzen slightly smiled hearing that answer.

  "What are you doing here?" Kensei khe Hokage was here for something.

  "'t I see an old friend and subordinate and mend our friendship?" Hiruzen asked in a jovial tone as he walked to a tree stump. He sat on it looking at Kehe smile on Hiruzen's face dimmed as he saw Kensei's pegleg.

  Hearing his words Kensei couldn't help but grunt. He walked forward and sat on a nearby tree stump as well. Kensei saw Hiruzen looking at his leg. He started speaking.

  "I was angry with you." Hiruzen looked up hearing Kensei's words.

  "Even though you're the Hokage, you couldn't do anything to Danzo after what he did to me. Even after what he tried to do to my son… I was furious for a long time…" Keopped looking at his once close friend and ander. His eyes wahe training ground.

  "You know why I couldn't…" Hiruzen didn't say anything more. He felt that saying anything more would only damage the already torn friendship between them.

  "Yes. I uood why you didn't do it… And after years I came to accept it… After the ails attad the whole Hyuga ess, I know he has had some hand in keeping the vilge stable... A necessary evil as you've said that day…" Kensei paused looking at his panion.

  "Danzo is ruthless and would use ahod avaible to him to achieve his goal. But everything he does, he does it for the vilge." Hiruzen sighed and stopped. Both of them were quiet for a while.

  "How have you been?" The Hokage started the versation again.

  "Good. I feel happy… More than I did in a long time." Kensei said with a small smile.

  "Does it have anything to do with the young boy you adopted?"

  "Of course you'd ask about Daichi. You've seen his talents haven't you?"

  "He is a remarkable young man. His progress is quite exceptional. I only pare his rate of improvement to a handful of people."

  Kensei smiled as he listened. He knew about Daichi's progress better than anyone save the boy himself. "That he is…"

  " I ask you something?"

  Kensei o the Hokage.

  "Why did you adopt him?... Does it have anything to do with Hotaru?"

  Kehought about a certain memory as he heard the question. The memory of a promise made to his savior. After a few moments of silence he answered.

  "Why I adopted him?… I sider it my sed ce… To make the right choices…And yes, he reminded me so much of Hotaru… His looks, his talent, the way he acts…"

  Hiruzen nodded as he listened. He could uand the parison. He had met Hotaru Yasaji at a young age and watched his growth throughout the years.

  "You've been training him, haven't you?"

  "Yes!" The old man Kensei nodded.

  "But why push him so hard so early?" Hiruzen wao know Kensei's motives…

  "I don't want him to have regrets… I know that's impossible but… " Kensei didn't finish his sentence. He looked towards Hiruzen.

  "Why are you so ied in him, Hiruzen?"

  "Daichi's talents remind me of Minato and...Orochimaru. One of them died for the vilge and the other has bee its enemy…. I don't want Daichi to leave this world before his time o down the wrong path."

  "Daichi is no 'Orochimaru'. I promise you that. And I have a feeling he'll be like a cat with nine lives when it es to surviving." Kensei's words made it clear to Hiruzen that he knew Daichi's path. But the Hokage doubted Kensei would share it with him.

  "There was an i a few ho. Nothing major. When you get home you should talk to Daichi about it?" The Hokage told him. Kensei nodded in agreement.

  Both of them stayed there till the su down discussing various topid traveling down memory ne. Ohe sun had disappeared, each left for home with their own thoughts.