"Next is you go capture some hostile ninja."
Naruto Clotheshorse, S-rank ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, blinked.
"I what?"
Hazō met the other ninja's eyes, pushing every trace of sincerity that he could muster. He had yet to master the 'killing intent' power of more senior ninja; he could not force his will upon reality and make the world seem colder or full of demons. Nonetheless, his seriousness burned on his face.
"They are my family," he said calmly. "They will not die. Period. I lost my father when I was five, I lost all the friends I had in Hidden Swamp, I lost my mother to exile, I lost Jiraiya, I lost who Mari used to be. I am not losing anyone else. You can help, or you can get the fuck out of my way."
Naruto Clotheshorse studied him for a moment. "Let's be clear about something," he said at last, his voice very calm and remote. "These threats that you keep throwing around? They're cute. Really. I appreciate how much you care about everyone, I admire your ability to function as a decisive leader, and I understand how much stress you're under right now. That said, you're a newly-frocked chūnin and I'm the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. I have 'flee on sight' orders in three separate bingo books and I used to hold my own against people like Maito Gai, Hatake Kakashi, and Jiraiya of the Sannin. Confidence is a good trait in a ninja, but a proper appreciation of reality is also important."
All the emotions Hazō had been struggling to suppress—the fear for his teacher and his friend/ex-girlfriend/clan sister/???, the incipient panic that he wouldn't be able to save them, the otherworldly jangling that sang through his nerves after his encounters with the 'voice' of the blotch—coalesced and changed. They ceased to be separate things moving in different directions and forged themselves into a unity, a spear raised against the world and surrounded only by ice and purpose. He stepped forward into Naruto Clotheshorse's space, leaving them almost chest to chest, and locked his eyes on those of his target.
"Threats?" he asked quietly. "You think those were threats? Those were promises, Naruto. I know what I'm going to do: Save my family, even if the world burns. What about you? Will you stand back and allow Leaf-nin to die when you maybe could save them? Will you kill me, the Clan Head of Jiraiya's clan? Is that the Will of Fire that you care so much about? What would Gai say, if he were here? Jiraiya? The Third?"
Clotheshorse met his eyes for a moment, then looked away. "Okay," he said. "Fine. I'm in, but I'm not going to start a war to do it." His lip twitched for a moment in something vaguely akin to a smile. "For the record, Jiraiya would say: Don't start a war, even if that means they die."
"Yeah, well, I'm not Jiraiya."
Clotheshorse chuckled. "No, you're—oh, hang on. Just got an update. We captured a bristleback. Plenty big enough to take the...you called it 'the Blotch'? Well, this thing can definitely take it. We're still looking for something better, though. Bristlebacks don't emit active chakra, so they might not be able to bait the thing onto themselves. We're still looking for a zaprat or something like that."
Hazō blinked. "Naruto, you're a genius. Pack your gear, we're headed north." He turned and dashed off back to camp.
