Arc II Chapter 5

    II

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    Arc II Chapter 5

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    The days went by and Asami recuperated. Being shackled to a hospital bed wasn''t a pleasant experience. She felt alone. Aside from the doctors and nurses visiting her, nobody took notice of her existence.

    She missed Okaa-san. She really missed her. But Okaa-san would never return, and the hole in her heart grew. Every second here felt like a waste of time. She had better things to do than spending her time in a bed. Thus, she ended up being bored, extremely bored. The days passed and nothing happened.

    And to make matters even worse, she was even running dangerously low on reading material, despite her repeated threats to ignite the children''s books they brought her. They insulted her sense of literacy. No picture books, no little princess stories, no stupid novels about gutsy shinobi. She wanted something proper to read. Eventually, she got what she wanted. Or she thought so, at least.

    Asami held a newspaper in her hands, the Daily Konoha. The journalistic style reminded her of a tabloid and the quality of the paper was doubtful at best, but she wasn''t choosy. She took what she got.

    Her eyes scanned the pages, searching for useful information. Her search yielded little information of value. Instead, she stumbled across a ranking of the ‘Sexiest shinobi alive’, an article about a ‘Secret Hyuga love affair’, and a ‘Which Hokage are you?’ quiz.

    Asami suddenly stopped flicking through the pages after she discovered an ... interesting article. There was an article about her.

    “Mysterious murder case

    Current investigations regarding the brutal slaughter of the rich Minami family last week haven''t brought forward any new information. No official statement was made yet. The Hokage and his administration remain silent about this utter failure of internal security.

    Can we, the normal people, still feel safe in Konohagakure? Doubtful.

    The Minami family was massacred, and their mansion burned down to the ground.

    “Not much ... That means, though, that you know something, correct?” Hiruzen didn''t fall for her deflection.

    Asami clarified, “I mean what I say. I don''t know much aside from the obvious, and the same applies to you. Otherwise, you wouldn''t stand here in front of me to interrogate an injured girl. You demand answers, answers that don''t exist. You have no idea who the attackers are, and neither do I. They escaped, and their identity remains unknown.”

    “...” Hiruzen fell silent, contemplating. “I see ... Now my last question, Kakashi informed me ...”

    “Kakashi?” Asami blinked, confused.

    Hiruzen''s gaze turning to the sliver haired ANBU next to him. “Let me introduce you, this is Hatake Kakashi, He is the captain of the ANBU squad that found you unconscious among the ruins.”

    The man named Kakashi nodded. “...”

    Hiruzen continued, “Anyway, he informed me that they found a sword in your hands and that your chakra reserves were depleted when they stumbled across you ... Asami, why were you holding a sword? And why was your chakra exhausted? You fought them that night, didn''t you?”

    “... ... ...” Asami merely nodded, giving up her resistance. “... I did ... ... ... There were three men that night. They claimed to be ANBU that were investigating strange occurrences in the vicinity. I didn''t trust them ..., but I followed them. The men killed my mother before my very eyes. I don''t know why ...”

    No words were spoken. Cold silence reigned. A cloud of smoke escaped Hiruzen''s lungs. “I see ... Thank you for your time, Asami. You were helpful.”

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    “What do you think, Kakashi, is she telling the truth?” Hiruzen walked down the corridors of the hospital on his way back to the Hokage tower. It was unusual, but he directly oversaw the investigations due to the relative prominence of the case. Not only was Asami''s family wealthy, but also a mysterious explosion occurred in the middle of Konoha. There were many questions that had to be answered.

    Kakashi offered his analysis. “Difficult to say, but I think she is telling the truth. The entire mansion got razed to the ground, and I strongly suspect Asami in part was responsible for it. She was probably also behind the explosion ... What I don''t understand is why they were targeting her and her family ... Her family is rich, but otherwise she is just a normal girl ... It makes no sense ... What was their motive?”

    Hiruzen stroked his chin. Kakashi was right. “A good question indeed. Unfortunately, we don''t know ... Their intentions remain a mystery ... But do you realise the implications of what she told us, Kakashi?”

    Kakashi summarised, “That we have an immensely talented kunoichi attending the academy? A girl with plenty of destructive potential and prodigious combat skills. A girl that was able to fend off and survive trained ninja. A girl that was able to deceive the academy staff for years about the true extent of her capabilities.”

    Hiruzen agreed, “The fact that the girl has escaped our notice for so long is quite surprising ... So much talent hiding in plain sight, and nobody had the slightest idea.”

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