Naruto: A Lazy Life

Pov: Kakashi Hatake.

...

I watch the sun lower as Saburo wipes away his sweat with a towel before he leaves, clearly exhausted and in need of sleep- something I should probably get too...

...

I sigh as I study my bleeding palms and shake my head as I then begin to bandage them up.

I look across the training field and see that Takumi still remains- he never usually stays back this late, often leaving at the first opportunity... ever since Rin's... passing...

... He has changed- sleeping over training, less likely to be aggravated and being far lazier than what I saw of him before.

-That is what I want to tell myself... but I do not think it is him who has changed, but rather the world around him- he looks different but functions the same, while the world recovers from war he treats new peace the exact same way he treated the ongoing battle. It scares me to think of what is rumbling within that head of his- I know how... it feels to lose those close to you, and he has lost almost everyone he was close too.

...

No- not almost- he has lost everyone close to him.

No grandfather- No Obito- No Rin.

Those three were his primary contacts and family, the people he trusted the most- loved the most.

So how can he be fine? When I am like this? I can't get that image out of my head- nearly killing Rin, seeing her jump in front of my Chidori... and thinking about that leads me to thoughts on Obito- on my father...

How is he fine? How is he functioning like normal? He actually had to kill Rin- was forced to- to make the tough decision to kill his last connection to his social world.

"Any reason your staring at me Hatake?" Takumi jolts me from my thoughts.

"Not particularly..." I let my exhaustion take over, to cover for my genuine worry underneath.

"Is that so? Hn. I will take your word for it" Takumi bends down and picks up his jacket.

"Why did you stay so late today? Unusual of you..." I comment.

"I had something on my mind- and I think I need to make some rearrangements in my life... I just lack the idea of where to start" Takumi sighs as he puts both arms through his jacket and flicks it onto his torso.

"Something private?" I tighten my bandage as I finish applying them.

"Not particularly- no" Takumi shakes his head and walks over to me.

...

When was the last time I actually talked to Takumi? It feels like the last proper conversation we had was before Obito...

... All this time in the same Training grounds and all we have exchanged is greetings and goodbyes? Was I that distant? Should I have offered to help in some way? He must be suffering like me under that face of his.

"Cooking, Sleeping, Reading and walking... I like doing those things, I have grown used to those hobbies of mine... and yet I cannot shake the itch to fight and rush of joy I get when I am within battle. How can I remain myself and rest at the same time? What equilibrium must I meet here? I feel as though my rest is coming at the cost of losing myself- That is the question that has been on my mind, it is haunting my afternoon nap" He stands opposed to me and begins describing his dilemma in an annoyed tone.

?

"You like fighting?" I ask curiously.

"I do- the feeling I get is akin to scratching an itch that has tormented me all day" He nods along.

"Could I ask why you were so hesitant to participate as a regular Shinobi then? If that isn't too much to ask?" I respond.

"I have many excuses- all viable and true to my own beliefs... but instead of repeating myself I will instead tell you this. I am glad that I never participated in that manslaughter- all battles were of victory, land or money. I would only ever participate in a War with actual meaning, actual benefits and actual purpose... not the mess we both witnessed" Takumi plainly tells me.

"Mess? I suppose that is one way to look at it..." I glance down.

"It was a mess. We gained nothing from that- did we protect our people? Sure- but I will not congratulate a village for doing the bare minimum" Takumi shrugs.

"Fair enough- I can't defend it... not after what we lost through it" I pocket my injured palms and agree quietly.

"Hn. Luckily Minato seems to be aiming for a brighter future. A much better Hokage in my opinion" Takumi states.

"Better?" I tilt my head.

"The Thirds methods of rulership fit war perfectly- he was needed for this era of the village, but I fear that he did such a good job playing war that our Village could not fail... and therefore grow into something more than what it is" He replies.

"You wanted us to lose?" I ask with a confused tone.

"I wanted this place to grow- I wanted the adults to fall so the children may rise. That is what I would have done for this place" He glances at the faces carved into the cliffside.

Sounds Cruel... and yet I can tell he would have been the first to fall for the children of tomorrow- Obito was always telling me that Takumi is a tricky bag, hard to understand unless you look for the good underneath his cruel tone.

"I see..." I cough lightly to change the mood.

"Hn. My perspective on how things should function is almost alien here however, so I do not mind the judgement- I have a unique look on what should be done" Takumi shakes his head and sighs to himself.

...

"I will see you tomorrow Hatake" Takumi nods at me.

"... Are you... Fine?" I ask before he leaves.

I have to ask- I need to know.

"Am I fine? In what sense?" Takumi hesitates to turn and go as he is replies.

"Your life seems so... lonely" I add.

"It does? I suppose I would lack clarity on a more lively life. I am fine Hatake, but I can see that you are not" Takumi instead of leaving plants his feet firmly into the ground to look me in the eyes.

"How? How can you act fine?" I ask sincerely.

"Act? This is no act Hatake- I am fine" He reiterates.

"But- Obito, Rin-" I stutter out, breathing slowly.

"Ah- I see now. You mourn them, yet you wonder why I have gotten over them so easily?" He raises an eyebrow at me.

"Yes..." I lower my shoulders, exhausting myself of the burden that I was holding onto.

"I have not gotten over them. They were close to me, my finest friends- they were the people I loved the most in this world... and now they are gone, never to appear again" Takumi coldly tells me.

"And you are fine with that?" My eye widens a little in surprise.

"I once thought like you... I understand what you mean- but after a while, the pain fades and becomes a scar- something to remind you of the good times. Physical scars remind you of a victory over a tough enemy, while Mental ones remind you of love for a good person. Everyone hates getting a scar, it is ugly, painful and you desperately wish to hide it... but eventually you must come to terms with the scar and acknowledge how it is now a part of you- it is you..." Takumi begins to rant with comforting words.

I grip my hands tightly into a ball- the bandages are dyed red inside my pocket.

"... Obito and Rin will forever have a corner in my mind to sit- with everyone else I loved who has fallen. It is life, you simply get used to the scars that it deals you" Takumi Shrugs his shoulders.

Scars...

"You seem to have a lot to think about- so I will leave you alone to mull it all over, when you are finished let me know. I would not mind getting to know the famed Idiot-Kakashi that Obito talked about so often" Takumi turns and walks off into the distance, leaving me alone to think about his words.

---

Pov: Yu

I grasp my basket handle Rapier and examine it- ensuring the quality is perfect before sheathing the blade and placing it with my other belongings.

I then hold up a book that I was given.

A full book- dedicated to breaking down my custom made technique- I have gotten through half of it and learnt none of it. These techniques are incredibly dangerous and useful... to the point where the Hyuga clan would confiscate it and keep it as technique solely for the main family if they ever found it.

And Takumi Uchiha wrote it within four hours right in front of me- made edits to it- asked my opinion on it.

In a measly four hours, just last week.

This book is a different level to Saburo's technique- which plays to Saburo's strengths and starts out weaker, but with a gradual increase in power through training. The Yu Technique functions differently in the fact that it is immediately powerful even as a beginner practitioner.

The first set of forms: Ninjutsu Peircer.

All designed to dismantle Ninjutsu that has been cast- the points of chakra to focus on, how your weight should be distributed, how the Gentle fist can help learn this ability, how your stance should be depending on elemental type- and myriad other things that I need to study...

I of course hesitated to believe this book at first- but then Takumi performed the same stances perfectly, had he wielded an actual Byakugan to see chakra far deeper than his sharingan... I am sure he could eliminate ninjutsu from the battlefield completely.

The second set of forms: All-Block.

Something I cannot wrap my mind around- Takumi could perform this technique without the use of a Byakugan.

It is a set of forms that allows the user to block and evade multiple attacks from many fronts with precise chakra enhancement and simple technique- although it is anything but 'simple' as the hundreds of forms are a huge hurdle to memorise let alone master... apparently Takumi used this in his last battle, and adapted it so I could use it as well with just the use of my eyes. What monstrous senses does he have to handle so many High-ranked shinobi at the same time?

The third set of forms: Defence-Breaker.

Focusing a major amount of my chakra into one point to break through defences easily- I could pierce through stone like butter with this set and technique... and more importantly it shows me how to break through chakra based defences that can normally tank immense amounts of damage... again using my byakugan to pin-point weakness in a mud wall for example and reduce it to regular mud as I break it apart.

A more aggressive use for the Ninjutsu Peircer- instead of destroying the jutsu directly this technique focuses more on hitting whatever is behind the ninjutsu- and is able to destroy ninjutsu designed to defend against attacks.

The rest of the forms: All Kenjustu.

Every single other form is pure Kenjutsu, no fancy trick or special ability that Takumi has prepared for me... I would have underestimated the rest of this book if I didn't know better. But any and all Kenjutsu designed by that Uchiha are to be treasured immensely.

I would rather have this than the first three forms in fact- that is how far Takumi's blade work can take you, he covers the foundations just as much as the building- every single weakness is handled and has a counter form to remove it- every form has a back up form that functions to completely dismantle the other, in case an Uchiha copies my move set... I am sure if I told him of all the bloodlines in the world he would have doubled the books length to ensure there was a form to handle them.

But I lack the memorization skills to learn this fast- this is something that would take me years to learn and decades to perfect.

What I need now... is the first three forms- and the forms that focus on fighting Iwa Ninja.

...

A dark smile covers my face as I continue reading through this very special book.