Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Malcolm Tent, Marethyu, Beans
Guild of Gamers: The Challenger
Chapter 03: The Hokage
— Quest Section —
What should Kyo's new position be?
Field promotion to Chunin, his skill is too useful to leave in the Genin pool. (21%)Remain as a Genin to draw less attention, but get a private tutor. (65%)Remain as a Genin, but be attached to an existing Genin team. (15%)
How should Kyo test his powers next?
Challenge another person from Avatar. It worked once, and why change what isn't broken? (23%) - Mai won the second pollChallenge another person from Avatar but focus on the Legend of Korra this time. (12%)Try to work out how to unlock a new world. The more the merrier, right? (17%)Challenge someone from Konoha, see how it works with people from his world. (21%)Try another Gimmick Challenge? (9%)What the fuck is an Event Challenge? (19%)
— Hiruzen Sarutobi —
In truth, Kyo's story would seem completely insane coming from almost anyone else. The Senju had always been an... odd breed and Kyo was also an Uzumaki, two bloodlines known for producing unique people.
Koharu had brought up the possibility of Kyo hiding his capabilities all these years. Homura had wondered if this was some kind of con from a boy sick of the expectations placed on his shoulders, but Hiruzen knew better.
As part of a debt to both his sensei and his student, Tobirama and Tsunade, he'd taken it upon himself to watch Kyo carefully over the years. He was the last Senju in Konoha, after all, thanks to Tsunade's flight. In truth, this had only made matters worse for Kyo.
People had high expectations of clan members, and being the 'last' member of a legendary bloodline had an almost mythical quality. One only had to look at the Uchiha heiress for that. Kyo, as the grandson of Hashirama and the cousin of Tsunade, was expected to be a genius by default. When the village saw how much attention he paid to the young boy, those expectations skyrocketed even further. They thought he was grooming Kyo to be the next Hokage, that Kyo would be a true genius amongst geniuses.
Kyo was by no means weak. Admittedly, he'd failed the Chunin exams, but not by much. A couple of bad match-ups in the final test, and the disadvantage of having other teams team up to take down the 'threat' of the Senju. Kyo was a hard worker who didn't let defeat or failure discourage him, but he was no genius.
Kyo's growth was consistent but slow. The tale of the hare and the tortoise came to mind, as so many geniuses burnt out or lost their lives due to inexperience or arrogance, while the tortoise gradually trudged along, making progress slowly but surely. This explosive increase simply didn't align with what he knew of the boy.
It was true that he had limited the visits and personal attention he gave to Kyo, as the special treatment of someone so 'average' was chafing his fellow genin and Hiruzen had hoped that it would get the village to relax their expectations somewhat. Not that he was innocent of those same expectations, in truth. That didn't mean he'd simply stopped paying attention to the grandson of his sensei.
The simple truth was that Kyo was too important for that. Tsunade was not going to have children unless she got truly drunk and fucked up badly. Her trauma meant that she refused to bring a child into a world she held such a grudge against. Kyo was going to be the source of the next generation of Senju. At the same time, he was weak enough to be at risk from Konoha's enemies.
Villages had tried to steal clan members with 'good genes' before, and while Kyo himself lacked the raw power of his famed grandparents and relatives, their blood ran through his veins. It was why Kyo never got missions far outside of the village.
Sometimes he patrolled the forests around Konoha or escorted a merchant, but very rarely did he leave the Land of Fire, and never alone. Kyo was a person of interest and importance to the future of Konoha, and with that came surveillance.
It meant that Hiruzen was rather well-informed on Kyo's regular habits and training. Kyo preferred to train with Genjutsu and Earth Release, as well as his throwing weapons. He was generally well-rounded, a jack of all trades but master of none, and while he did train his Water Release, it was not a priority. Hiruzen had a record of exactly what scrolls Kyo borrowed from the library. He also knew that Kyo's recent interest had been in fuinjutsu, rather than ninjutsu.
In truth, he could see an Uzumaki pulling off something as bizarre as Kyo's story with fuinjutsu, but the truth was that Kyo was a beginner with seals. It was something he'd taken up to add more tools to his repertoire. He could make explosive or elemental tags, but little else at the moment. The Uzumaki fuinjutsu couldn't explain this.
No, Kyo was telling the truth. He'd even accepted Hiruzen's request to have a Yamanaka view and share both his and Ty Lee's memories. Hiruzen had, much to Homura and Koharu's displeasure, stressed that this was optional and that there would be no consequences for refusing, and Kyo had accepted all the same. Ty Lee simply seemed to find the experience interesting and amusing.
Ty Lee had an entire lifetime's worth of memories in another world, where chakra was replaced with chi, jutsus with elemental 'bending'. And now, Kyo had access to that bending. These memories did not seem to be faked in any way, and Ty Lee was a real, living, breathing person that Kyo had just pulled out of thin air.
This was naturally classified at the highest level instantly. He simply did not believe that the village was ready for the revelation of other worlds existing. In truth, he wasn't sure he was ready either but fate didn't seem to care.
At best, he could try to pretend that maybe the elemental nations were simply across the sea, undiscovered, but he knew better and Kyo had admitted that his power seemed to be able to 'unlock' more worlds.
That wasn't even mentioning the fact that he had access to a future timeline from which he took Ty Lee. It baffled the mind to even consider it.
Ty Lee and Momo were real, and yet they were effectively summons that Kyo could summon, dismiss and command. Stranger still, Ty Lee saw nothing particularly wrong with her position as his servant or the complete power he now held over her.
Her personality, her memories, showed a young woman with a need for independence, individuality and freedom and yet she was now effectively a slave and was… perfectly happy with that reality. She was even aware that, in her own words, she wasn't the 'real' Ty Lee. Somewhere out there, in another world, there was the original Ty Lee, unaffected by Kyo's death challenges.
Frankly, this had led to him spending several hours with Homura, Danzo and Koharu arguing over the multiverse, a topic that none of them knew a damn thing about. By the end, he suspected that every one of them except Danzo wanted a drink. It had gone nowhere and had been shelved on 'things we are not telling anyone, preferably ever'.
Things were volatile enough without informing the world about the possibility of other worlds. Somehow, he knew Danzo was already beginning to make countermeasures for otherworldly invasions, for what good they would do.
This led to a second question that ended up with another argument. What would happen if Kyo challenged someone from Konoha and won all the 'tiers' of the challenge?
Would he gain a copy of that person as a summon? Would he gain their skills, potentially even their bloodlines? Could he gain the Sharingan from challenging an Uchiha? The Byakugan? The Clan Techniques of the other clans?
Danzo suggested testing this immediately with a weaker clan ninja, one of the Nara or Inuzuku perhaps. He disagreed. Such a thing could cause an outright rebellion if it was discovered, and such matters needed to be handled with extreme caution so he'd temporarily forbidden Kyo from challenging any Konoha ninja from a clan.
Which still left him with the question of what to do with Kyo himself. They couldn't hide this. Not unless he had Kyo leave the ninja force and never use his abilities again, which he both didn't want to do and had the foresight to see where that path went. Kyo was under too much scrutiny thanks to his Senju heritage for any sudden jumps in power to be missed. All it would take is a single spar or combat encounter on a mission for the truth to come out.
But at the same time, revealing the truth of Kyo's power was equally unrealistic. Not only would most not believe such a tale, it came too close to revealing the multiversal nature of this bizarre power, which still could not be adequately explained.
Sitting in his office, he smiled as Kyo arrived. It was still early morning, and the tests had run late into the night yesterday. Kyo seemed alert enough as he took the offered chair.
"I see you didn't bring Miss Lee today," Hiruzen said, pouring him some tea from the pot.
"I can summon her if you like, but I'm testing out how our connection feels with some distance between us. I've sent her on an errand to do some shopping for essentials," Kyo explained, getting a calm nod from Hiruzen. He'd given Ty Lee the paperwork to explain her existence, because it was easier than explaining the truth. "Are there going to be more tests?"
"No. Not today, at least," Hiruzen admitted. "I simply wanted to discuss your future, going forward."
Kyo didn't respond, but Hiruzen could read him enough to see the mixed emotion on his face. Danzo would scowl at how expressive Kyo was. Kyo was both excited, bitter and apprehensive at the same time. Hiruzen bought a moment by taking a puff of his pipe, meeting Kyo's gaze.
"There have been suggestions to field promote you to chunin. Your new skills are simply too useful to leave in the genin pool, after all," Hiruzen explained, pausing for a moment to take in his reaction. Again, excitement at 'finally' escaping the genin pool but at the same time, a certain bitterness. He wanted to advance, but having it handed to him on a platter was angering him.
As prideful as his cousin. His grandmother as well, now that he thought about it. Stubbornness was an Uzumaki family trait. Mito was one of the calmest and she could dig her heels in so deep that even Hiruzen couldn't hope to move them.
"But in truth, it seems rather foolish to do so when the chunin exams are so close," Hiruzen continued. "You almost passed last time, after all. With your training alone, you would likely have passed this round of exams even without your new development."
And like that, the bitterness was gone. Acknowledging that Kyo, results aside, did train hard was something he wanted to hear.
"Wouldn't I need a team for the exams?" Kyo asked, getting a nod.
"You would, yes. I had considered Ty Lee but while her taijutsu and chi-blocking is undeniably powerful, her lack of chakra would make her a liability against many forms of attack," Hiruzen admitted. "Perhaps it would be less problematic with a 'bender' but instead I've registered her as a civilian vassal of the Senju clan."
Kyo's face shifted again, just a brief scowl and it took Hiruzen a moment to realise his concern.
"Yes, this would legally give Tsunade some control over her but I do not believe that will be a concern. Even if she does return," Hiruzen reassured him.
"Forgive me for not having any faith in her. The last time we met she stumbled into the village, crashed in my bed, looted the Senju bank account to pay off a debt before running away again," Kyo replied bluntly.
"I do believe that Shizune admonished her for that, and made her promise to pay back the money she took," Hiruzen pointed out.
"She did, which is why I'm another of the idiots that the Legendary Sucker owes money to. If nothing else it gives her another reason to stay away so she doesn't have to actually repay it. It's bad enough that she's technically my clan head, I don't want her getting control over my companion summons as well the next time she's desperate enough to come 'home'," Kyo replied with a scowl, his displeasure blatant.
It was a shame that Kyo had been born after Nawaki's death. His parents had not wanted to bring a child into a world at war and had held off until after the Second Great Ninja War to have children, causing him to be born far later than his cousins. Losing both Dan and Nawaki had turned Tsunade's heart cold and she refused to get attached to another. Shizune had gotten through her defences since she was Dan's niece and Tsunade had taken her on as an apprentice more out of a self-inflicted debt to Dan rather than any actual desire to have someone else around. By the time Kyo was growing up, Tsunade was well into her shameless drinking and gambling and the pair had never seen eye to eye.
Kyo had only seen Tsunade at her worst. Tsunade refused to acknowledge him as family out of fear of losing him.
"An understandable concern, but you have my word that I will not allow her to try any such thing. She might be the clan head, but I am the Hokage," Hiruzen replied bluntly. He did not interfere in clan affairs often because it was a good way to antagonise the cornerstones of Konoha's power but the Senju clan consisted of two people. Tsunade might complain, but she was providing no value to Konoha as she was, while Kyo had been quick to come to him for aid and advice upon gaining this new power. Tsunade, for all her genius and talent, was not the Senju he saw as valuable to the village. As such, antagonising Tsunade was no issue if it kept Kyo happy.
The Senju in the village was more valuable than the one running around looking for a bar or casino that she didn't already owe money to. Hiruzen frowned for a moment, a thought occurring. Kyo was guaranteed to get attention soon, it was inevitable. Both from within the village and from outside of it. Tsunade's debts could provide hostile agents a reason to come to Konoha seeking the 'Senju Clan' for reparations. There had already been an attempt to have 'debt collectors' who were revealed to be Hidden Stone ninjas abduct Tsunade herself. Of course, the Tsuchikage had claimed they were missing-nin but he had his doubts. Problematic.
"As I was saying, Tsunade's position will not be a concern. Of that, I can assure you," Hiruzen continued, plans forming in the back of his head. "But the key issue is as you said. You no longer have a team or jounin sensei. Both of these matters will be addressed before the chunin exams start. I have decided to appoint a jounin as your tutor for the time, though in truth the tutor themselves has not yet been picked as it will likely require bringing them in on the secret of your new power, something I wish to keep to a very select few."
God, he hoped Orochimaru never heard of Kyo's power. It was almost handcrafted to be the perfect bait for his power-obsessed rogue student. Orochimaru was as envious as he was greedy and if he even heard a whisper of a power that could potentially steal bloodlines, he'd be after Kyo with all he had. That wasn't even mentioning how Orochimaru would react to the revelation of other worlds and power systems beyond chakra.
"So, what am I meant to do until then? Business as usual?" Kyo asked, relaxing again.
"Not quite. You are wasted on D-Rank missions. It is a better use of your time to focus on learning the aspects of your new power and train for the upcoming exams. It won't attract any attention as it is fairly common for genin to stop taking missions in the months prior to the chunin exams to focus on their training," Hiruzen explained. "Or, if you are feeling restless, rather than the odd jobs and patrols you usually do, I would suggest taking a brief apprenticeship at one of the branches of Konoha ninja force to hone your skills further."
"I can do that?" Kyo asked, blinking.
"Ordinarly, it would be arranged by your jonin instructor but you are a Senju and I would be happy to write you a letter of recommendation for whichever department catches your eye," Hiruzen explained cheerfully. In truth, he wanted Kyo interacting with other ninja again as he had withdrawn after his teammates had become chunin while he had been left behind, and Kurenai had found herself teaching another team shortly after, and simply didn't have time for Kyo. He was sure Kurenai would have welcomed Kyo if he'd requested she continue training him, but Kyo was a stubborn person and once she was no longer his sensei thanks to his team breaking up, he'd gone his separate way.
He had no doubts about Kyo's loyalty, but Kyo had a lack of bonds with his fellow ninjas that could become a worrying issue down the line. As his power grew, so would the people trying to tempt him away. Solid bonds with the people of Konoha would be more effective at keeping Kyo from falling to such temptations. He wasn't blind to Kyo's distaste for much of the village, his bitterness over the high expectations forced upon him leading to his self-imposed isolation.
The village was bound to change its tune when Kyo started to live up to those expectations, but that wouldn't erase the bitterness inside his heart. In fact, it could even antagonise Kyo more that he was suddenly treated so differently now that he was 'living up to the Senju name'.
"That's… interesting. And admittedly a better use for my time," Kyo agreed after a moment of thought. "I'm not sure which one would be best for me, I've never really thought about it."
"Well, there is no rush. Simply let me know if you decide to go down this path," Hiruzen said cheerfully. Chatting with Kyo for a little while longer, he made a note to take up his regular meetings for tea with Kyo again, since his main reasons for distancing himself were no longer applicable.
He wasn't going to leave his sensei's grandson to struggle with the inevitable trouble that would follow.
As the meeting ended and Kyo left him to his work, Hiruzen frowned and stroked his beard before he pulled out some parchment and a pen.
He didn't want to do this, but in truth, maybe he should have years ago as he wrote his decree and sealed it with the seal of the Hokage. It couldn't get more official, as he arranged for it to be delivered.
He could almost taste Tsunade's rage already at his message, but this was not a state of affairs that could be allowed to continue. The head of the Senju Clan hadn't been in the village for any extended period of time for years, and that could not be.
As such, he was finally delivering her an ultimatum. Return and take up her responsibilities to her clan and village once more, or step down as the head of the Senju clan.
When it was only herself she was endangering, he could tolerate it as long as Jiraiya and Shizune were keeping an eye on her (and getting Jiraiya to watch Tsunade had never been overly difficult. It was getting him to stop watching that was the problem). Now that her recklessness was risking Kyo and his new powers? He had a duty as Hokage to end this, one way or another.
Which just left him with the question of who to pick as Kyo's tutor. Tapping his pipe against the desk, he considered his options.
— Kyo Senju —
Collapsing into my chair, Ty Lee perks up at my return. It's been a long time since I regularly spoke with the Hokage and I won't deny that it's a little stressful to be in that office. I always feel like I'm being called to the headmaster's office.
"Rough morning?" Ty Lee asks. I know Lee is her first name but I can't call her that. The image of her with bushy brows, a bowl cut and a skintight green outfit flashes in my mind and that scares me…
The bowl cut and brows, not the skintight outfit. That's not bad.
"Something like that, yeah. Just had a talk about 'my future' with the Hokage," I explain, frowning slightly.
"Ouch. He's basically like our Fire Lord, right?" Ty Lee asks curiously.
"Kinda, yeah. From what I've learnt, your Fire Lord is kinda like our Fire Daimyo and Hokage combined, but the Hokage is the leader and dictator of Konoha," I explain, pausing as she places her hands on my shoulders. I give her a curious look as she begins to massage them, working on the stiff muscles, but as she just shrugs I accept it.
"I can't imagine having to have a chat with the Fire Lord about my 'future' being anything but super stressful. Still, the Hokage seemed like a kind old man," Ty Lee says cheerfully as I close my eyes and enjoy the sensation. It helps that my head is resting against her impressive breasts, and I'm in no rush to move.
"He is, to an extent. He truly cares for the village and everyone within it," I agree. "But he's still the Hokage. The second God of Shinobi. He's really fucking powerful and you can't forget that he is the supreme power in Konoha."
"And your grandfather was the first, right?" Ty Lee asks, making my eyes snap open. "People gossip. Thanks for letting me go shopping, by the way. I got everything I'll need. The fashion here is interesting, and I made a new friend named Ino."
"Ino? That's the Yamanaka heiress, I think. But yeah, my grandfather was the founder of this village and the strongest shinobi… basically ever. I got beat up by a bunch of girls," I sigh, getting a giggle from her.
"But you still won, Kyo. You're a tricky one, you know? You caught me off guard, twice!" Ty Lee encourages. "Plus, the Kyoshi warriors aren't just a bunch of girls."
"True. I'm just hoping Suki doesn't remember that if I challenge her," I agree with a shrug. "You're awfully cheerful over being blown up and then enslaved."
"I know, weird, right? I was beating you up and you did have like three swords inside you, so no hard feelings about the bombing. That was actually really smart!" Ty Lee praises, stroking my hair playfully. "But I should hate this but it just feels right. Your power is weird, huh? Super impressive, though."
"Thanks," I say after a moment, chuckling. "Say, you know your world better than me. Who do you think I should take on next?"
"Definitely Mai. She's super smart and she really likes throwing weapons as well, but you should be able to take her," Ty Lee explains after a moment. "Or Suki?"
"Are you just asking me to recruit your friends?" I ask, getting a giggle from her.
"Pretty much, yeah. Don't get me wrong, Mai would be useful when it comes to planning and stuff, but yeah I picked her because she's my best friend," Ty Lee admits shamelessly. "Or you could challenge my sisters? There's six of them. We're septuplets."
"…my sympathies to your mother," I say, trying to imagine that. "What do they do?"
"Basically nothing. They're circus acrobats but they're all really cute?" Ty Lee confesses. "Plus, septuplets. I've seen you staring at my boobs. Imagine it. Seven girls who look like me."
"You are a very strange girl," I eventually decide.
"You're invading other worlds to challenge people to fake death matches to copy their powers and get them as summons. I don't think you get to talk," Ty Lee counters with a small grin.
"As always, fair enough," I reply, leaning back against her as she continues to work my muscles. "You aren't worried that I have basically complete control over you? I could take advantage of it, you know."
"Nah, you're a sweet guy at heart. When you're not trying to do war crimes to win fights, anyway. Besides, I figured you would have already. Most guys would if they got complete control of me. I'm kinda hot, you know?" Ty Lee points out, ever so slightly understating things. "But as I said, your power is pretty amazing because I should find it worrying or intimidating but instead I'm just disappointed you had me sleep in a guest room, master."
"Wait, what?" I say, eyes snapping open again as I lean back to look up at her.
"If you bring Mai, I'll ride you till you see stars. Is that clear enough, master?" Ty Lee says.
"And if I don't?" I ask.
"Well, I'll still ride you till you see stars if you want but I'll definitely pout a bit before, maybe during and probably after," Ty Lee admits. "I have really dangerous puppy dog eyes. Even Azula fell for them, sometimes, before she went batshit insane."
"You drive a hard bargain, Miss Ty. So, how does Mai fight and what's the best way to get an easy win?" I ask, getting a giggle from her as I go over my choices and track down her friend. She was on my list anyway and she only has one tier. Difficulty wise, she seems around the same or even a little weaker than Ty Lee.
I might have control over Ty Lee, but I'd rather she be happy under me. I don't know how far my control truly goes and she certainly is a sapient human being so she could plot against me if I go out of my way to be a dick.
…still, septuplets? Seven identical Ty sisters?
Damn.