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Twin Demons. Chapter 29
🕑 Added 2025-09-25 21:53:24 +0000 UTCHiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office, surrounded by silence broken only by the crackle of burning tobacco in his pipe. Bitter smoke coiled upward, lazily drifting to the ceiling before dissolving in the heavy air. The desk was buried under scrolls and reports, but the Hokage didn’t so much as glance at them: his attention was fixed entirely on the figure kneeling before him.
Kakashi Hatake — gray ANBU vest, face bare of its mask. His ash-blond hair was disheveled, his gaze stubbornly cast down.
Hiruzen drew on the pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke, letting the pause linger. He liked his words to fall slowly, like poison.
“So, Kakashi,” he began evenly, his voice calm, which only made it colder. “Let’s sort this out. You know I had to leave for the Daimyō’s palace for a week. Taxes, formalities, diplomacy… dull but necessary matters. As Hokage, as Konoha’s shield, I couldn’t simply leave the village without oversight. But I had you. The strongest jōnin, an impeccable ANBU captain, someone I even consider as a possible successor. With a man like that watching over things, nothing could have gone wrong. Right?”
Silence stretched through the room, broken only by the crackling of the pipe. Kakashi said nothing, hunched over like a dog waiting for the blow.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
“But something did happen,” he continued, blowing smoke aside. “I returned today to learn that our jinchūriki — my grandchildren, your sensei’s children, no less — were the target of an assassination attempt. Tell me, Kakashi… how do you explain this?”
Kakashi spoke dryly, in the clipped tone of a report, though guilt laced his voice.
“Hokage-sama… to avoid misunderstanding, I’ll tell it from the very beginning.”
Hiruzen gave a curt nod, leaning back in his chair, though his eyes remained as hard as steel.
“Twenty-four hours ago, the surveillance targets went to Ichiraku,” Kakashi recited. “I followed them covertly, in accordance with the mission.”
“Go on,” Hiruzen urged.
“They ordered their usual Uzuramen.” Kakashi’s voice faltered for a moment, but he forced it steady. “As always, they overdid it with the spices and turned red from the heat. I thought nothing of it. But seconds later… they clutched their stomachs and collapsed from their stools.”
Hiruzen didn’t move, only bit harder on the pipe’s stem.
“In that instant I rushed them to the hospital,” Kakashi continued. “The medics followed poisoning protocol — stomach cleansing, stabilization. Then I returned to the crime scene, to Ichiraku.”
“And what did you find there?” Hiruzen asked quietly, smoke trailing from his lips.
“The owners, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, were uninvolved,” Kakashi reported. “I checked them myself with the Sharingan. Then Yamanaka specialists combed their memories. The culprits used them blindly. The criminal simply replaced the hot sauce with poison.”
Hiruzen frowned, irritation creeping into his voice. “So not a single customer tasted the poison before the twins? Not one? And what kind of cook doesn’t taste his own dishes before serving?”
“That’s the point.” Kakashi’s fists clenched. “Uzuramen is far too spicy. Only the twins ever order it. No one else dares. Even Teuchi spares his tongue. And the culprit knew that.”
Hiruzen leaned forward, his gaze turning predatory. “Who was it?”
“A jōnin from Iwa,” Kakashi’s voice grew heavier. “My ninken tracked him down. He tried to leave the Land of Fire, but I intercepted him. He’s in a cell now, interrogation complete.”
“And?” Hiruzen drew so deeply on his pipe that it glowed bright red. “What was Iwa hoping to gain?”
Kakashi lifted his gaze for the first time, meeting the Hokage’s eyes. Barely restrained anger edged his voice. “An order from the Tsuchikage. Kill Minato’s children… revenge for the last war. The poison wasn’t meant just to kill them. It was designed to rupture the seals. To release the Kyūbi.”
The air in the office grew as heavy as the sky before a storm. Hiruzen exhaled slowly, a cold glint sparking in his eyes — the kind that had made even war veterans tremble.
“All these years I’ve lived,” Hiruzen inhaled, letting the smoke seep out unhurriedly, “and I’ve never heard of such a poison.” In his voice lay not only curiosity but a trace of mocking amusement. “As far as I know, a jinchūriki’s chakra burns out any toxin. And chemistry affecting a fūinjutsu seal? That’s more far-fetched than the campfire tales genin tell about their first missions. Kakashi, you’re not about to tell me the Tsuchikage has gone senile, are you?”
“I don’t know,” Kakashi answered flatly, his tone even but weighed down. “The lab already issued its report. It wasn’t poison. It was a mutagen. The stomach cleansing did nothing. The substance immediately began altering their DNA. Perhaps, if the Kyūbi weren’t bound by the Seal of Will, his chakra might have burned it out. But now… the changes are irreversible.”
The office sank into silence. Even the ticking of the clock sounded louder.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, drew on his pipe again, and exhaled smoke toward the ceiling.
“I want the test results on my desk within the hour,” he ordered. In his mind he was already picturing forwarding them to his former students — let the so-called geniuses figure it out.
“Do we still have any of that mutagen?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Kakashi shook his head. “The operative received only a single vial. It was used immediately on the twins. The Tsuchikage didn’t want to take risks — he knew we might try to reproduce the formula and turn it against his own jinchūriki.”
Hiruzen gave a crooked smile, smoke hanging lazily from his lips.
“Clever old bastard… No wonder they managed to resist us for so many years.” He tapped his pipe against the desk. “Well then, tell me — what exactly does this mutagen do?”
“It releases the inner beast,” Kakashi answered grimly. “The pattern resembles the nature of the Inuzuka clan: bodily changes, heightened reflexes. But the difference is, the mutagen’s effect is permanent. According to the Tsuchikage’s calculations, such physical mutations were supposed to weaken a jinchūriki’s seal as effectively as an outburst of rage. But because of the Seal of Will, things turned out differently. The Kyūbi stayed locked away.”
Hiruzen rubbed his temples, muttering under his breath, “The old man’s tying me in knots… First the Seal of Will ruins everything, now it saves everyone.” His eyes sharpened, pinning Kakashi.
“All right. Speak plainly. What’s the state of Menma and Naruko?”
“They’re in the hospital,” Kakashi reported crisply. “The mutations have taken hold. Their bodies have stabilized. At present, there’s no threat to their lives.”
Hiruzen exhaled deeply and allowed himself a short nod.
“At least something good.…” Another cloud of smoke rolled from his pipe. “Do you realize how lucky you are, Kakashi? If not for that assassin’s mistake, you’d be digging graves for Minato’s children right now.”
The words hung like a heavy verdict.
“I acknowledge my failure,” Kakashi replied dully. His shoulders sagged, his eyes stayed downcast. “And I’m prepared to accept any punishment.”
Hiruzen studied him closely. This wasn’t just a gifted shinobi standing before him. This was Sakumo’s son — the man he had already saved from collapse once. And again the same stubborn guilt was gnawing him from within.
Leaning back, Hiruzen took a long drag and said,
“You’ll have your punishment. Since you couldn’t handle simple surveillance of children, you’ll have to learn. It’s time you passed your experience to the next generation. Starting with the next graduation, you’re becoming an instructor for genins.
The room grew even quieter. Normally Kakashi would respond with a short “Hai, Hokage-sama.” But this time, the silence dragged on.
“Hokage-sama,” he finally spoke, still not lifting his head, “I’ve been considering taking a team myself. But I ask… let me do it in two years. I want Uchiha Sasuke in my squad.”
Hiruzen clicked his pipe, clucking his tongue thoughtfully.
“We’ll see, Kakashi. We’ll see…” he said noncommittally. “Now go. I need time to think.”
“Hai, Hokage-sama.”
Kakashi dissolved into thin air, leaving the office once more in silence.
Hiruzen turned toward the window, where the bustle of Konoha filled the streets. His face darkened, his eyes went cold. His thoughts drifted back to the day he had read Minato’s will before the entire village — and the spies hidden among them. He had always known the past would strike back someday. But Iwa had crossed every line.
The Professor drew from his pipe one last time and exhaled smoke through his teeth.
“It’s time,” he muttered. “Time to give Danzo a mission. Let my old friend stage a little sabotage in their lands… with consequences. A courtesy in return, so to speak.”
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